Roughing It in the Bush

West!-upon th

grandeur ste

esty thou si

aster-hand su

not thy counte

strength, and

old thee in th

lances harmless

thunder cannot

ves that idly

ve, the water

oam, they but

iver, as it

oods in ocean'

eet its fierce

wns thy rocky

the crag! thy

home of heave

elves, thy ch

malice of a

flag, beneath th

h folds and wan

of her glori

rely in their

of the St. Lawrence, and basking in the bright rays of the morning sun, the island and its sister group looked like a second Eden just emerged from the waters of chaos. With what joy could I have spent the rest of the fa

The air was pure and elastic, the sun shone out with uncommon splendour, lighting up the changing woods with a rich mellow colouring, composed of a thousand brillia

itude, and the depth and clearness of its waters, and its great importance to the colony, would hav

. What wonderful combinations of beauty, and grandeur, and power, at every winding of that noble river! How the mind expands with the sublimity of the spectacle, and soars upward in gratitude

What a scene!-Can the world produce such another? Edinburgh had been the beau ideal to me of all that was beautiful in Nature-a vision o

the cloud-capped mountain, and below, the cataract foams and thunders; wood, and rock, and riv

s. Yes, regardless of the eager crowds around me, I leant upon the side of the vessel and cried like a child-not tears of sorrow, but a gush from the heart of pure and unalloyed delight. I heard not the many voices murmuring in my ears-I saw not the anxious beings that thronged our narrow deck-my soul at that moment was alone with God. The shadow of His glory rested visibly on the stupendous obje

point to such a spot as Quebec-and exclaim, "She is ours!-God gave her to us, in her beauty and strength!-We will

ds the height of the hill. The queen sitting enthroned above the waters, that

Look at the St. Lawrence, that king of streams, that great artery flowing from the heart of the world, through the length and breadth of the land, carrying wealth and fertility in its course, and transporting from town to town along its beautiful shores the riches and produce of a thousand distant climes. What elements of future greatness and prosperity encircle you on every s

n her present prosperity, in her future greatness, and to devote all their talents, when they themselves are men, to accomplish this noble object. Make your children proud of the land of their birth, the land which has given them bread-the land in which you have found an altar and a home; do this, and you will

strious parent. All such comparisons are cruel and unjust;-you cannot exalt the

into the regions of thought, and must aga

black, or who spoke not in tones of subdued grief. They advised us not to go on shore if we valued our lives, as strangers most commonly fell the first victims to the fatal malady. This was to me a severe disappointment, who felt an intense desire to climb to the crown of the rock, and sur

miration in some minds will affect others. The Scotch dragoon, Mackenzie, seeing

na' better to my thinken than hanks o'

ust bonnie; 'tis a braw land, nae doubt

ds here," said a third; "and ye maun wait a muckle

d the worst-dressed, the least-deserving and the most repulsive in mind and morals, exhibited most disgusting traits of self-importance. Vanity and presumption seemed to possess them altogether. They talke

o undeceive them was a useless and ungracious task. After having tried it with several without success, I left it to time and bitter experience to restore them to their sober senses. In

der, and the impossibility of strangers escaping from its fearful ravages. This was not very consoling, and served to depress the cheerful tone of mind which, after all, is one of the best antidotes against this awful scourge. The cabin

ms-vulgar, illiterate men, who, seating themselves at the cabin table, with a fami

ries as to the general cargo of the vess

(gruffly

cholera known. The only one

entlemen, I'll send you up a

ure to get it genuine from you. A

A few hundreds in cases. I'll se

"Cap

, large-bowled, Scotch pi

s, yes; I'll send you some to sm

ill now procee

sel. "Scoundrels!" he muttered to himself; and then turning to me, "They rob us in this barefaced manner, and we dare not resist or complain, f

lth-officers, and ordered round to take up her station below the castle. To accomplish this object she had to heave her anchor; when lo! a great pine-tree, which had been sunk in the river, became entangled in the chains. Uproarious was the mirth to which the i

the captain of the Horsley Hill hoisted his colours downwards, as if making

e thinking how the Horsley Hill would

h they declared to be a filthy hole, that looked a great deal better from the ship's side than it did on shore. This,

ut an inefficient screen from the inclemency of the weather. After watching for some time the singular effect produced by the lights in the town reflected in the water, and weary with a long day of anticipation and excitement, I made up my mind to leave the deck and ret

Anne was a small brig, and her unlucky neighbour a heavy three-masted vessel, with three hundred Irish emigrants on board; and as her bowspirit was directly across the

hen the vessels were grappled together. The shrieks of the women, the shouts and oaths of the men, and the barkin

ed out. "What is the reason

, in the grasp of several frantic women,

below. The mate hurried off with the cabin light upon the

eet the worst. The cowardly behaviour of my companions inspired me with courage. I was ashamed of their pusi

foot within the fender, which the captain had converted into a repository for empt

shall be lost; my sins are more in number than the hairs of my head." This

her pray, and not waste the few moments that

hear the cras

our own making. Sit

tremble; and the dragging of the anchor increased the unea

pray for me! I cannot, I dare not, pray for myself; I was never taught a prayer." Her voice was choked with convulsive sobs, and scalding tears fell in torrents from her eyes over my hands. I never witnessed such an agony of despair. Before

girl, springing to her feet. "Let us go on dec

ight as well have preached to the winds. The headstrong creatures would no longer be controlled. They rushed simultaneously upon deck, just as the Horsley Hill swung off, carrying with her part of the outer frame of our dec

d in a blue, soft mist, which rolled around them in fleecy volumes. As the beams of the sun penetrated their

and had twice saved the life of the captain. He was an ugly specimen of the Scotch terrier, and greatly resembled a bundle of old rope-yarn; but a more faithful or attached creature I never saw. The captain was not a little jealous of Oscar's friendship for me. I was the only person the dog had ever deigned to notice, and his master regarded it as an act of treason on the part of his four-footed favourite. When my arms were tired with nursing, I had only to lay my baby on my cloak on deck, and t

obtained instant employment, and the girls who were old enough to work, procured situations as servants in the city. Before night, our numbers were greatly reduced. The old dragoon and his family, two Scotch

him. Fortunately for me, the latter returned safe to the vessel, in time to proceed with her to Montreal, in tow of the noble steamer, British America; but Tam, the volatile Tam was missing. During the reign of the cholera, what at another time would have appeared but a trifling incident, was now invested with doubt and terror. The distress of the poor wife knew no bounds. I think I see her now, as I saw her then, sitting upon the floor of the deck, her head b

; the river mirrored back the gorgeous sky, and moved in billows of liquid gold; the very air seemed lighted up w

ictory and death; and when the twilight faded into night, the moon arose in solemn beauty, and cast mysterious gleams upon the strange stern landscape. The wide river, flowing rapidly between its rugged banks, rolled in inky blackness beneath the overshadowing crags; while the waves in mid-channel f

er in a strange land; my heart yearned intensely for my absent home. Home! the word had ceased to belong to my present-it was doomed to live for ever in the past; for what emigrant ever regarded the country of his exile as his home? To the land he has left, that name belongs for e

utdone, our fiddlers took up the strain, and a lively contest ensued between the rival musicians, which continued during the greater part of the night. The shouts of noisy revelry were in no way congenial to my feeli

we hear in f

m the heart

e swept by st

in the brea

hough t

embrance wa

influence o'e

rit touch'd

n soft harmo

mel

of our n

lovely scen

ones it mu

s of our e

pes of

gain the flow

's bright, u

gain the vows

hrine, when h

isper'

efore our

ose tuneful l

eyes long cl

now silent

arm'd o

e breast with

or languag

e spirit jo

at sink int

lt in