A tour through North America

Excursion to Lake Simcoe—Hope—David Willson—Meeting-house—Tenets of the Children of Peace—Northumberland Farmer—Soil—Notices—Excursion to Niagara—Scenery of Lake Ontario—Return to York.

Next day my friend D—— and I set out for Lake Simcoe by the Newmarket stage, passing along a road called Younge street, a small part of which was Macadamized, in the vicinity of York. At Richmond hill, our dinner consisted of roast beef alone, so tough that my friend remarked the animal must have died in the yoke from distress. Human teeth could make little impression on it, and I satisfied hunger with bad bread and water, thankful that keenness of appetite exceeded my nicety of palate. At Newmarket we were disappointed at learning the steam-boat, passing round Lake Simcoe once a-week, had left Holland-landing shortly before our arrival, and there was no other possible mode of conveyance; I therefore committed letters to people residing on the margin of the lake to the post-office.

In the morning we were conveyed in a waggon round the neighbourhood of Newmarket, our first stage being the village of Hope, known also by the name of Davidstown, the residence of a religious sect called the “Children of Peace,” founded by David Willson. It is upwards of four miles from Newmarket, and consists of sixty or seventy houses scattered up and down. Not finding Mr Willson at his house, where we saw his wife, a thin yellow sickly looking person, we proceeded to the counting-room, a fanciful building, which was open, and no one within. Mr Willson being pointed out on the street, I introduced myself as a stranger anxious to see his place of worship, to which he dryly assented. He asked if I belonged to government, and on learning the object of my tour, and place of residence, two men who accompanied him enquired anxiously about Scotland, and the state of the working classes there. On entering the building we took off our hats, placing them on a table, and were told we might walk round the house.

The building is of wood, painted white externally, seventy feet high, and consists of three stories. The first is sixty feet square, with a door in the centre of each side, and three large windows on each side of the door. On two sides there is a representation of the setting sun, and the word “Armageddon” inscribed below. The second story is twenty-seven feet square, with three windows on each side; and the third story nine feet square, with one window on each side. The corners of each of the stories are terminated by square lanterns, with gilded mountings, and the termination of the building is a gilded ball of considerable size. The interior was filled with wooden chairs placed round sixteen pillars, in the centre of which is a square cabinet of black walnut, with a door and windows on each side. There was a table in the centre of the cabinet covered with black velvet, hung with crimson merino and fringe, on which was deposited a Bible. On the four centre pillars were painted the words “Faith, Hope, Charity, and Love;” and on the twelve others, I believe, the names of the Apostles. The centre pillars seemed to support the second story, and at the foot of each was a table covered with green cloth. The house was without ornament, being painted fawn, green, and white, and had not a pulpit or place for addressing an audience. It is occupied only once in a month for collecting charity, contains 2952 panes of glass, and is lighted once a-year with 116 candles.

There was a cold suspicious reserve in Mr Willson’s manner, which prevented me at first engaging him in conversation. After fruitless attempts I remarked the temple was a handsome building, and he muttered in satirical sounds, “we did not wish to raise a temple, it is only a meeting-house.” I said the interior of the building was tastefully finished, and asked if the design was his own,—when he repulsively replied, “Did you ever see one like it?” On answering in the negative, he said, with a great deal of self-complacency, “That is the work of the mind.” I had now a key to his good graces, which was used, and he conversed freely on a variety of subjects. I had a publication in my pocket, entitled “Canada as it is,” wherein he was mentioned; and on reading the particulars, he emphatically said, “Part is true—but three-fourths are lies.” From seeing Mr Owen’s name in the book, he said he had his writings, and asked how he got on in Scotland. I stated shortly his late career, and he seemed pleased at hearing of the breaking up of New Harmony.

David Willson seems about 65 years of age, and is a middle sized, square built man, wearing his hair over his forehead, and squints considerably. He reminded me of my early friend and preceptor, Edward Irving, but the association, in all probability, arose more from semblance of character than of feature. He was dressed in a short brown cloth jacket, white linen trowsers, with a straw hat, all perhaps home-made. Originally from the State of New York, he had resided thirty years in this country. The number of his followers is unknown, but all offering themselves in sincerity are accepted, as he dislikes sectarianism, and has no written creed. He seems to act on Quaker principles, assisting the flock with money and advice. The produce is sent to York market weekly in common, yet individuals are left to guide themselves. There is a school for teaching young women to be industrious, whether they join the sect or not. Most people in the neighbourhood say the “Children of Peace” are good people, but scandal has been busy with their leader.

On leaving Mr Willson he presented me with a small tract, which may be regarded as the tenets of the family, to the following effect.

“Matthew, Chapter xxv. Verse 34.

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me.”

“I make use of this text to explain the purposes of a building erected at the small village of Hope, in the county of York, and province of Upper Canada.—We who are distinguished from other worshippers, of our country, by the name of Peace, which name we have given to our place of worship, here insert singular purposes, not generally known to our friends abroad; we esteem all such who are not our enemies; these latter, in a literal sense, cannot be our brethren or our friends.

“The world is in a singular system to us, as we can be to them; that is, that they are in a state of servitude to a set of Christian priests, since Christ came to liberate the captives. The objector may say, they are in no servitude on the classical plan, but what is voluntary. I answer, a child should be directed in his choice, and a disciple taught to pray. We confess the people are directed in their choice, and invited to be baptized, join society, and partake of the holy ordinances. If we may give the ancient names to the present apostles, Peter saith come, for this is the way, and I can prove it by scripture; Paul saith come, for I can condemn the very creed that Peter approves, and justify mine own to an extreme. Now, we are of the mind to leave the creeds of the Christian Apostles of this age (of which they have no scant number) and take into a simple way, in which there can be no dispute, and which, we think, will outwit the priests of the Christian church to condemn. We take the words of Christ our Saviour for truth, but to believe in all the contradictions of the age, is to us impossible. Priests quarrel now for titles; the printers print them, and sell them to the world, and make barter of priests’ disputes; and the clashing of creeds has become a popular trade, and brings in a considerable wealth to the craftsmen that have set up selling these tales from their refined presses, which makes religious disputes and new occurrences subjects of detail.

“We publish these lines, and refuse for a considerable time to publish any more. We give them gratis, because the Lord hath given to us; not that which is the form of others, but of our own that we may rejoice in his favours, and envy not. Our form or ceremony is not in contradiction to any religious creed, and will therefore admit of no dispute; and with us, we intend that religious arguments shall come to a close.

“The Son of God hath plainly shown us how we shall gain admittance to the blessed purposes of the creation, for this is the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.

“We have built a house for the purpose of offering to God Israelite fashion; we purpose to commence the last Saturday in October, at twelve o’clock, and continue to offer to God for the purposes contained in the text, once in the month throughout the year, and so on successively until the year we die, leaving this example and precept to our children always; this we perform without the direction of a priest, or any officer in the church, for we are brethren.

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then he begins to justify, showing cause of mercy and of favour; (and when the harvest is ripe, and the wheat shall be gathered, and the tares burned;) I was hungry and ye gave me meat; here is the power and glory of religion, here teaching comes to an end. Can a priest preach to a man, when his heart is to do the deeds justified of God? As a doctor to a man in good health, so is a literal teacher to these. I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; various favours continue from the human mind, throughout all the excellent deeds contained in the text; the whole amount is this; Loving God, and the salvation of the world. (We have no written creed, and therefore we have no image to quarrel about, or literal rule to argue for, we are against nobody, but for all.) The answer of these souls shall be this, When saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee; or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in; or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

“I now leave the text, and turn to the practice of life, to show cause for a change of system; and we are required to give a reason for the hope that we possess. The priests are as despotic in their several congregations, as the potentates of the age; not all, I should say. I will say that all are above their brethren, and press subordination to their written creed, or line of doctrine. If a stranger comes to him of another creed, will he take him in as himself, or one of his religious kinsfolk? No; like the Almighty setting bounds to the sea, hereunto thou mayest come, but here thy freedom and thy liberty shall be stayed. As for me, I am numbered with the impostors, and am so contented with the name, I forgive all my accusers; but tell them how they use their creed, brethren, who can equally prove themselves as right as they are. How do we of the latter named class use each other? I confess upon an equal plan. You sell each other’s failings for money, through the means of the press, and electioneering converts by public arguments, and send them round sea and land to proselyte the world. And what are they when they are gained? We will impartially own the good with the evil. It puts away some rough and profane language, and some extreme immorality, a work glorious in its place. Do we not teach them to pray? To an extreme, but not how to receive. Do we not teach them the way to embrace society? Yes, a hundred ways. Christ said, I am the way, and that way through preaching is perhaps divided into a hundred parts; the number of sects in the Christian name, I know not; but I know that priestcraft hath done this, and with us it is coming to an end. It is not the one way, Christ the hope of glory, that hath divided the whole world, and produced vain argument to such an unlimited degree as it is now extended, from priest, pulpit, and press, and it is chiefly sold to the poor inhabitants of the world. And some extol themselves to be of high value, for they take shameful sums for doctrine, and the divines are more extravagant than the apothecaries. But a man cannot have soul or body mended now, but at dear cost. In the days of Israel, productions of this kind were cheaper, in the days of Christ, without money or price; a happy day for poor souls when Christ preached the gospel to the poor, and healed the sick without cost. The text suffers no man to go in distress, and binds us to use lawyers, doctors, and priests well; when we see them hungry, give them meat; if thirsty, drink; if naked, clothing; if they are in a strange place, show friendship, take them in, they are our brethren; if they are sick or imprisoned, go to them, they cannot come to us; and as we use this part of the creation, so do by all other classes, for they are our brethren; if we do it to the least of these that hope for salvation in Christ, we do it unto him, for this hope is the gift of God; and him that practises, doeth the will of God, the same is my mother, my sister, and my brother. Do the sects use each other as brethren, or doth not the priest use the common people, in many instances, as his footstool? Amongst the liberal kind, they only take the liberty of sect abusing sect, and priests liberally quarrelling with each other, which hath been operating in penmanship, ever since the dark ages of the world, that succeeded the apostles. Can you tell me, contending priests, how many quarrels will make a millennium? If you cannot, quarrel no more; for common people are laughing at such barter as this; selling priests’ quarrels at the printer’s office; dividing the world into unnumbered parts; and by example and precept, inviting divided proselytes to follow you; this is the practice of sects. But there is a practice between the priest and his brethren I think worthy of note, for the information of those more ignorant than ourselves in our home capacity, if it is possible that any such there be.

“The priest gets on a stool or pulpit, and preaches over what is already spoken, which is well done, and cannot be bettered. The potters prepare men for this purpose, take them in, passive as clay, and make of them what they will. It is far from me to speak against learned men; but rather note a little of the principle by which education is used. Literal education is no distinguishing mark of an apostle, for or against the service of God. Why, then, are learned men so highly extolled above their brethren, and sold at the highest price at market, like the best beef? The son of God equalizes, and owns all equally his brethren, that are for God and his righteousness. But some classes are taught by these self-thinking superior qualities, that an unlearned man should not be heard; if he comes to their house, the sentence is this, Be off with the goats, on the left hand; ye are fit for nothing, but to be convicted for ignorance; but ourselves for learning and office, are worthy of thousands a-year for preaching scripture creeds to the people. Poor people! little is obtained for your money, for you are not taught that equalization is man’s right, and that the poor are the heirs of the tribute in a Christian Church. Christ united Jew and Samaritan, and remnants of every kind to himself, and gave them the name of brethren; he is the pillar of a glorious Millennium. And when priestcraft is fulfilled, and God hath said it shall come no farther, it will come to pass. The priest is heir of the big sum—other church officers of less, whether according to their righteousness, what they do, or what proportion of learning it takes to fulfil their respective offices, I do not know; but this I know, the high priest first puts his head in the purse, for he is a general of an army, and holds subordinate titles under him, like military order, not equalizing his brother with himself, but a step lower on the righteous stairs that reach from earth to heaven (like Jacob’s ladder), he holds the chief power of putting in and putting out of office—of calling one a sheep, and another a goat—taking in and casting out of the church. This last prerogative descends quite down to the foot of the stairs, and they have got the world divided indeed; and one priest will call his neighbour’s sheep goats, and keep them on his left hand, because his creed is not written in their foreheads. But there is another dark class called sinners, and they are not fit for any body’s building materials, and have no mark upon them but the black mark, unworthy or uninformed. I belong to these, and I am resolved never to wear a priest’s creed on my forehead; for if I do, I am sure I will despise my neighbour or brother, and will not account him equal with myself. I am on the goat side of the question—the priests have put me there; but I mean to prove that such judges as ours may be in error, for these that some call goats, others call sheep. This judgment cannot be correct, and wants amendment. Christ hath passed the sentence, and it needs no alteration, and the priests need not preach any more about the matter.

“If men are generous, hospitable, and kind to all people in necessity, the Son of God hath justified them; he hath taken away their selfish and proud heart, and given them a generous one, equally wishing salvation to all the world, dividing their crumbs equally to those that stand in need. This is the glory of God, and power of religion. Where is the priest’s office here? The Son of God saw it would come to an end, when the hearers were preached or converted into the practice of the text.

“We have built a house to sacrifice to God, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. Any stranger may come in and sacrifice with us, without giving us money or price. It is for the various purposes of God’s glory, the end of doctrine, and the perfection of the world. We are not perfect; but the system adopted by us is justified of God in Scripture, and draws the soul near unto God and Christ. It is beyond all creeds and sectarian plans, and is with us the end of craft. We lament the divisions of the world, and the pride of the people, the superiority professed by priests, and the tribute paid to them. Therefore, in adopting this plan, we expect to employ them no more.

“We now commence a building of a different structure, and for a different purpose from the other. We hold that doctrine is good for the soul, as the physician is for the sick; but the above-written purpose is the end, when the soul is restored from selfish delights and purposes, and prefers the will of God before his own, he is as the patient healed. But this doth not constitute him to be an idle creature the rest of his days. What shall he do? Do as the sick man healed of God; devote his strength to praise, vocal and instrumental, that the harp of David, and the hymn sung by the apostles, may be united together. He shall not be idle with his hands, nor still with his feet; he shall not be redeemed from hearing the widow cry, or her offspring mourn; his eyes shall not be closed from seeing the hungry naked soul; he will take his burden upon him, and lighten his grief; he shall till the field, or improve the mechanic’s shop, and the widow and the fatherless shall rejoice in the works of his hands; and his soul shall rejoice before the Lord, because he shall dwell with Christ; for he hath said unto this description of people, Come, ye are blessed of God. This is riches indeed, of which we have reason to believe that very few high-priests enjoy; for they bear away the widow’s crumbs, and deprive their offspring of a garment. They are so greedy and selfish, the world mourns under the burden of these practices, and the very earth groans for relief.

“As for the purpose of our contemplated building, it is to prepare the heart for such a mansion as we have already. And as for our public friend, he is growing old, and seems hastily preparing to die, and he has enabled us in the hand of God to see as we saw not, and to liberate our hands from priests’ wages, lawyers’ fees, and the judge’s sentence at court. He will give way for nothing but civil power; to such we esteem him as a true subject, and not of the alien kind. Church matters with him are voluntary; he is bound to none, and refuses the control of creed or priest in the service of God. We rejoice in his labours; they make glad the heart for the exhibiting of such liberal and generous doctrines as hath so far liberated our hands and feet from a kind of veiled Christian slavery. We build a house where we intend they may be handed down after his death to our children, and the succeeding ages of the world. We covet craftsmen no more. Our adviser prefers his brethren before himself, and will not enter the peaceable mansion with us where we sacrifice to God. He saith he hath sacrificed his own interest, and received the liberal abuse of the sects, and gave up his family to provide for themselves. He tells us that the priest’s office is below ours, and that he, by appointment, is not worthy of that title that is justified of God; for you observe in the text, that a priest is not set above his fellows—that justification belongeth to brethren, those that love God and the salvation of the world. We cannot persuade his feet to enter there. He saith his eyes are forbidden to see the quiet place, but his children and his grandchildren may see it after him. He hath given us exact orders to perform by, and put a new song in our lips. We esteem him as a brother indeed, but he is not always used as such amongst us, but that amounts to our shame, and not his. His works, we trust, through the blessing of God, will speak for him for ever.

“We purpose not to open our present building but once in a month, commencing the last Saturday in October, and so on in succession, as time and God may permit. We refuse to open to every visitor. We are not indebted to the public for money, nor Parliament for ground; and a little dust on the floor from the feet, and a dry compliment for turning the key, will not pay the cost of leaving our labour—the work of our hands are for better purposes than these. If far distant strangers should come unto us, we may open unto them, and all our neighbours and friends once in a month. We think ourselves done with the sectarian plan of worship—rather the principle than the plan. We think that no priest can preach us to a better end than the purposes of our present house, and that no doctrine can lead us to better purposes than these. Therefore, we embrace our own, and set the dividing plan, of converting into a hundred divisions, free, and give this testimony to the world, that if our testimony in public doctrines is unworthy, not to suffer them into your houses, for we do not covet that yours should be offered unto us.

“Signed on behalf of the brethren by

After perusing such a production, many will wonder at the number and prosperity of David Willson’s flock, and the influence he has attained, which results from shrewdness, and not genius.

On leaving Hope, we proceeded north to Lake Simcoe, and returned by another road to Newmarket, being engaged to dine in the neighbourhood with Mr H——, who once farmed in the north of England, and has been several years in his present farm, which he rents. He manages 120 acres of cleared land, free from stumps, and none of it in pasturage, with two horses and two oxen. The potatoes and turnips were drilled, and howed in good style. Cattle and sheep are fatted, and, in common with those in almost all parts of America, get salt once a-week. Labourers can be had at all times, getting $10 a-month in summer—$5 in winter. Thrashing with the flail, one-ninth of the quantity; carriage, or teaming, from Newmarket to York, 7½d., Halifax currency, per bushel.

Timber around Newmarket is of the largest size, and the expense of obtaining the first wheat crop was stated by Mr H—— thus—

The country from York to Lake Simcoe is, generally, well cleared and settled, the soil being chiefly loam, carrying excellent wheat crops, and seems fitted for almost any kind of husbandry. It is difficult to classify the soil around Newmarket, which seemed well fitted for turnip growing, and such as would be considered of too soft a texture in the place of my nativity, yet it was producing wheat crops, with stiff straw and large ears. The farm-houses seem comfortable, and the stumps are chiefly removed. The surface is undulating, and free from stagnant water.

For the first time, we saw small flocks of wood-pigeons, collected after the breeding season, and people shooting them.

The bar-room of the Newmarket hotel was filled with drunkards of the lowest class, part of them in rags, and swearing in a disgusting manner. Before the arrival of the coach which carried us to York, we examined a large flour mill, and many samples of wheat it contained, not all of fine quality, and partly much sprouted. There were handsome iron ploughs, made by George Gray, Uddingstone, Ayrshire, Scotland, selling at $30, while wooden ones, of Canadian make, were $18. I observed a lime kiln, formed in a bank of clay, by excavation, without building materials, and which seemed to have been used for some time.

Our luggage, which Mr Chrystler, the landlord of the Pavilion house at Niagara falls, assured us had been despatched for York before we left his house on the 3d July, had not reached its destination, and not having received an answer to a letter written to him on the subject, I resolved to enquire personally. Next morning I got on board the steam-boat, King William the Fourth, for Niagara.

The scenery, when sailing up Lake Ontario, is uninteresting. Dark coloured monotonous forests fringe the low shore, on which, at different intervals, are the meanest habitations of civilized men; and now and then a puny vessel, with dirty sails, appears in view. On approaching Hamilton, the landscape is more varied from the heights and little lake, twelve miles in circumference, on which the village is situated, and divided from the main lake by a stripe of land eighty yards wide, through which there is a canal lined with wood. When going through the canal, the rope passing from the helm to the wheel in the forecastle, where the pilot of all American steamers takes his station, gave way, and the vessel narrowly escaped destruction. Six hours were spent in landing and shipping merchandise at Hamilton on Sunday. Many of the steerage passengers were tipsy, and some quarrelling. I walked into the woods to escape the scene. The stillness of a Scotch Sabbath is better appreciated after sojourning in a foreign land.

The steamer reached Niagara at ten o’clock. At four next morning I proceeded in an extra to the falls, which were visited before breakfast. Mr Chrystler assured me the luggage had been despatched as stated at the time; and on my return I discovered it in the lobby of a hotel at the village of Niagara, where it had arrived from the Pavilion house the night before. At noon I got on board the daily steamer for York. The day was so cold that people clothed themselves in great-coats in crossing the lake, and many became sick from the agitation of the waters.

On 14th July I found some wheat crops near Niagara almost ripe, the cherry-trees stript of fruit, and the graceful blossom of the sweet chestnut fading.

Journey from York to Coburg—Mail Waggon—Mr Somerville—Agricultural Notices—Clay Kneading—Female Helps seating themselves at Table—Port Hope—Coburg—Agricultural Notices—Fast Eating—Excursion to Peterborough—School-fellow—Peterborough—Rice Lake—Notices of Nature and Agriculture—Settlers—High Price of Land—Injudicious Settlement—Bay of Quinte—Indian Settlement—Canada Thistle—Kingston—Storekeepers and Store-pay—Grasshoppers—Lake of the Thousand Isles—River St Lawrence.

My friend D—— and I left York at 5 P.M., on 16th July, by the Kingston mail, an open waggon, drawn by two horses, and reached Windsor, a distance of twenty-nine miles, at two in the morning. The roads were worse than any yet travelled on, and a driver stopped two hours at a hotel notwithstanding our anxiety to get him away.

The soil, for ten miles down the margin of the lake, is poor sand, covered with pines, until passing some ridges, where there are good farms; here night shut out the face of nature.

From Windsor, in the township of Whitby, we set out on foot, after breakfast, to visit Mr W——, to whom we had a letter, and found him suffering under ague at Mr Somerville’s. I was anxious to see Mr Somerville, from having heard his letter, which appeared sometime before in the Edinburgh Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, censured by my lately-imported countrymen, and his establishment and prospects ridiculed. He received us kindly, and after walking over the farm, we returned in time for an early dinner.

On entering the house it was necessary to go one by one, as the door opened so as to close up the passage leading to the kitchen, through which we entered to the sitting-room, where we dined. Both apartments were small, clean, and crowded with old-country furniture. The house was a log one, but a better was soon to be built. The dinner consisted of fried pork, the standard dish of the country, eggs, new potatoes, and pancakes. Homely as the fare may be considered, it has seldom been my fate to rise from table more gratified with a repast, each dish being excellent in its kind, and the entertainment seasoned with the good sense, contentment, and manly feeling, of our host. Miss Somerville, like all my countrywomen met in Canada, was active and in good spirits; but her piano had remained untouched in the corner of the room since her arrival in the country, the churn being now her favourite instrument.

Mr Somerville told me his letter was not written with a view to publication, and it appeared in the Quarterly Journal without his knowledge. Under these circumstances it would perhaps be unreasonable to hold him responsible for its contents. Not having read the letter since the time of publication, I cannot say if it is a just representation of his situation, but I can testify to the good quality of his soil, which he says no visitor ever examined minutely but myself. His pasture-grass was truly excellent; wheat and oats of medium quality; potatoes and Indian corn well cultivated, and promising crops. He had let twenty acres of forest land to clear and fence, at $12 per acre, which he says is the common cash price of the country. Labourers have difficulty in getting employment during winter; and on the morning of our arrival Mr Somerville engaged a first-rate hand for his aguish friend at $80 per annum, and ordinary people may be had for $72; wages paid in cash. Boys fit for farm work, and women servants, get $4 a-month. Farms in the township, two-thirds cleared, with suitable buildings, may be had for $12 cash, and $16 credit. Bricks are $5 per thousand.

The soil of Whitby is rich, and not much inferior to that around Newmarket, being free loam, and occasionally approaching to sand. The vegetable mould in Mr Somerville’s forest was five inches deep.

Immediately after dinner we joined a waggon, by appointment, on the Coburg road, and by which we travelled to the Darlington hotel in the village of Bowmanville, passing over a poor sandy soil, of which the township of Darlington seems to consist.

On our journey we saw two oxen employed in walking round a pit, kneading clay for brick-making, which appeared cruelty, and wasteful of animal labour, the poor animals walking up to the bellies in mud, with erect tails and extended tongues. The common mode of preparing clay being with a tree drawn by a horse or ox round a pivot, the lopped branches kneading the clay. An elm-tree, twenty feet in height, was growing from the heart of one of rotten button-wood, ten feet from the ground. A plantation of hops, in Whitby, was luxuriant and healthy.

On stepping out of the waggon at Bowmanville, we walked over a farm which I had been requested to value for a friend, and we sprung a woodcock in a wheat-field, a bird that is said to breed regularly in the district. Woodpeckers, robins, and blackbirds, of the country, were devouring cherries so greedily, that a gun was fired at them to little purpose every five minutes. Two wrens were seen in Whitby similar to those of Britain.

In the United States and Canada tea and coffee are not prepared or poured out by travellers, but by the landlady or a female help. In no part of the United States did a female help, at a hotel, seat herself during meals; and I observed the practice only upon one occasion in a private house. The maid-servant at Bowmanville seated herself during tea in a corner of the room, and the like occurrence took place at Newmarket during supper. In Britain servants stand while assisting at table, and they also do so in Canada; the difference of attitude taking place when their services are not required. For my own part, I would much rather see a young waiting-maid seated, when not required, than standing perhaps painfully erect; and, in many instances, when taking tea or coffee, during my tour, I put it in the option of the helps to leave the room, which they generally did. There seems no general rule for attitude, as inferring respect. In some countries attendants almost humble themselves in the dust in presence of employers, and in others they are required to carry themselves erect.

We left Bowmanville at seven in the morning, by the mail-stage, which had taken fourteen hours to come forty-three miles; and my friend left my only thermometer at the door of the hotel. A few miles from Port Hope our waggon was changed for a small neat coach, which we found an agreeable alteration, and soon reached Coburg.

Port Hope is prettily situated near Lake Ontario, at the mouth of a small stream, murmuring over a rocky bottom, and well calculated for propelling machinery. There is a pier, and general appearances betoken prosperity.

Coburg is also situated near Lake Ontario, and much larger and more advanced than Port Hope. It has much trade with the country across Rice Lake.

There is a considerable extent of cleared ground from Bowmanville to Port Hope; the soil poor and ill managed. Near the latter it improves, and towards Coburg are some good farm-houses and offices, around which the fields are well cultivated and fenced.

Around Coburg the vegetable mould in the woods was three inches deep, and the soil sandy loam. The greater part of the soil we have seen in America is of soft texture, and easily laboured. Here we learned plough irons are only repaired twice a-year. At Newmarket a plough was pointed out, the irons of which had not been at the smithy since the previous October, and were still in tolerable order. Mildew was seen on wheat at Bowmanville and Coburg. A lime-kiln was preparing building-lime on the shores of the lake, and stones of the same rock were quarried for building.

We found the young men swallowing their food at the table of the hotel as fast as those of Albany did. It is almost a universal practice in the States and Canada to board men, such as clerks and shopmen, in hotels. A large bell or horn is sounded half an hour before meals, and again when served up. Hence the rush to table, and expeditious eating.

Next morning we set out in a waggon for Sully on Rice Lake, a steamer carrying us across the lake and up the river Otanabee to Peterborough, the head of navigation, where we found accommodation at Macfadden’s hotel.

When about to sit down to breakfast, I was introduced to Colonel B——, a Scotchman, who, when seated at table, stated he was from East Lothian. Knowing almost every individual in the district, I said in a tone of surprise, “Are you serious?” and scanned his features very closely. Answering in the affirmative, I asked if his name was Robert, if he had a brother, and immediately introduced myself as a class-fellow at the school of Haddington in 1806, not having since met or perhaps heard of each other. We talked over old stories, and I was delighted to find my friend possessed of one of the neatest and most comfortable cottages in the finest situation in Peterborough.

Peterborough is on the Otanabee, and likely to become a place of some importance. At present there are a number of mean houses scattered over a considerable extent of surface, and the population is stated at 1000 souls, although I would not have rated them near so high. It is said to contain a number of military and naval half-pay officers of Britain, and the society to be the most polished and aristocratic in Canada.

In the forenoon we walked up the left bank of the river to visit Mr T——, whom we met by the way, accompanied by his lady, who continued her journey on horseback, and he returned with us. In the evening we walked up the river side, passing an excellent mill-site, on which grist and saw-mills were being erected, until we reached a string of lakes, through which the Otanabee flows. The road up the banks of the river was just opening, the trees had not been felled the length of Mr T——’s, and in our evening walk some parts of the tract could only be crossed by leaping, like squirrels, from trunk to trunk of fallen trees. On one occasion my friend D——’s feet slipped, and he fell on his face, with both arms fixed in the mud.

We left Peterborough for Coburg on 22d July, by way of Rice Lake, and remarked that two-thirds of the people seen on the road were tipsy. This was a painful sight, which the heat of the weather did not soften or justify.

Rice Lake takes its name from the quantity of rice floating on its waters; it is surrounded by gentle rising banks, and contains several small islands. The lake is formed by the waters of the Otanabee, which, from the lake to within a short distance of Peterborough, forms an uninteresting sail, being a dense forest on both sides, with three or four log-huts in the course of sixteen miles. Above the rapids, at Peterborough, the river runs with considerable impetuosity, the banks become diversified, in size equalling the largest river in Britain, and its water-power, if properly developed, of considerable magnitude.

The surface, from Coburg to Rice Lake, is highly undulating, and, if cleared, would perhaps be picturesque; the soil gradually falling off, becoming poor sand, with timber of inferior size, and all kinds of crops bad. For miles, before reaching the lake, the road leads through thinly scattered oak trees, called plaines, or oak openings, covered with stunted underwood, with external indications of extreme sterility; but farther experience enables me to say, the appearance of the plaines is not owing to quality of soil, but to the herbage being annually burned.

To the west of the Otanabee, and on the banks of the lake, is a considerable clearance formed by government for the Massagur tribe of Indians, and called Indian Village, adjoining which is the residence of Captain Anderson, prettily situated.

The soil of the small clearances on the Otanabee, above Peterborough is not of very fine quality, and mingled with large stones, but seemed to improve on receding from the river. On cleared ground there was scarcely a plant of clover, or even of grass, with the exception of timothy, the seed of which had been sown. At the time of visiting this district I was inclined to think unfavourably of the soil from the want of clovers and grasses, but extended observation convinced me this circumstance had no connexion with the quality of soil, and would not operate unfavourably against the prosperity of these plants when their seeds are sown.

Near the banks of the Otanabee, a dark-coloured caterpillar had devoured some fields of timothy grass, with exception of the culms, and the insect had extended its ravages partially to Indian corn and wheat, but red clover was untouched, growing amongst timothy which had been entirely consumed. I could learn nothing of its natural history; but its attacks were said to have been felt in 1825; and accounts from distant parts of the north spoke of its attacks this year as highly destructive.

While delayed at Sully I strolled into the forest, and, on the margin of Rice Lake, found a solitary plant of red clover, having about fifty flower-stalks from one root, measuring five feet in height, and neither soil or situation seemed favourable to luxuriance. There were three heads faded, which I collected, and afterwards lost to my regret. On the plains there were many flowering plants and grasses, and I remarked triticum repens, the thick-rooted couch-grass of Britain, which is found over many parts of Canada. Gooseberries covered with strong prickles, which soften as the fruit ripens; and black currants, with prickly and unprickly fruit, were growing in the woods; and hazel loaded with nuts on open places.

Wages of farm-labourers in the neighbourhood of Peterborough were stated at $10 per month by the year, and at $12 in part of summer. A respectable settler in Smithstown told me he had offered $115 in cash per annum, to be paid when a crop was reaped from the labour. In all cases produce or store pay seems to be given, unless by special agreement to the contrary. Cash is a scarce commodity, and could not be obtained for wheat at the present time.

In course of my short excursion I had seen some bush life of individuals formerly moving in a higher grade than those on the Welland canal. The general impression was not favourable, and after farther experience of such life, many things appeared exceptionable. In particular, ardent spirits were too frequently used, mingled it is true with water, which perhaps did not mitigate their effects. A cask of spirits, with a crane, often stood in the corner of the room, and Mr D——r informed me Mr —— had a bee a few weeks before, which lasted two days, and at which eighty gallons of spirits were consumed.

The Newcastle district has been a fashionable place of settlement of late years, more especially around Peterborough; and I was soon aware of the means taken to induce people to settle in it. Before leaving Scotland I had seen a catalogue of a most extensive sale of land purporting to take place in course of summer, and which contained a chart of the district in which the lands lay. The chart formed our only map, and was studded with villages, &c. In particular, Gambletown was marked on the chart with numerous houses, as if a place of considerable size; and on sailing up the Otanabee, on which it is situated, I expected a thriving village; but on stopping to obtain a supply of firewood, what was my disappointment at only finding two log-huts, one of which was unoccupied! Accounts of the value of land appear exaggerated. Uncleared forest land had, it was said, been sold at some distance from Peterborough at $8 per acre, and some people wished me to believe all land bore a relative value. A gentleman estimated his property at $20 per acre, while I was offered the adjoining back lot of better soil at $6, and I have no doubt could have got it for $4 cash. A property has been said to yield annually L.500, which is very near the sum I valued it at in perpetuity after examination.

On the morning of the 23d we left Coburg for Carrying-place on the bay of Quinte, which we reached before dusk, having passed over an undulating surface, the soil of which, with exception of part near Carrying-place, was sandy and stony. Crops of all kinds inferior. A field of rye had been cradled, and one of wheat was sufficiently matured for the operation. This line of road illustrated the evils arising from want of knowledge of soils in new settlers. Much of the soil was drift sand, and would not repay the expenses of cultivation, cheap as those in Canada are. Several farms seemed to have been deserted after having been some years occupied; and unacquaintance with land, and other parts of the American continent, can alone account for human beings having wasted their labour in clearing such unfruitful soil.

Next morning we left Carrying-place at four for Kingston, where we arrived at nine P. M., having passed Trent, Belville, Sophiaburgh, Hallowell, and Bath.

The bay of Quinte is a branch of Lake Ontario, and a sail on its waters perhaps imparts as much pleasure as any in Canada. Numberless islands, bays, and promontories of every size, shape, and aspect, together with ever-varying shades of vegetation, delight the eye. In many places the margins are low, but for miles, on both sides of Hallowell, the banks are of considerable height, well clothed with wood and adorned with houses. In the distance was an island with a considerable sized Indian village, said to contain 600 souls. The white-washed cots had a fine effect in passing down the bay, while the inhabitants fishing in their fragile canoes, and gliding to and fro on the unruffled waters, added interest to the scene. On the mainland, opposite to the island, is an Indian reserve, on which is a church, lonely situated near the margin of the bay, and very unlike the worshipping places of more civilized men. But the half-naked Indian, in recesses of the forest, may offer homage to the Author of the Universe, with as much sincerity and hope of acceptance, as the purple-clad in the glittering temples of the city.

The shores of the bay of Quinte have long been settled, and a considerable extent of surface freed of wood. Wheat appeared nearly ripe, and in a few instances cradling had commenced. Crops were inferior and crowded with thistles, apparently the common perennial way-thistle of Britain. My friend D—— and I, walking on deck, remarked a field bearing a dense-looking crop with purple coloured flowers, which one pronounced clover, the other pease, but on nearer approach it was seen to be pasturage intermixed with thistles. This was an unfortunate mistake for those having some pretensions to a knowledge of practical agriculture, and perhaps the thistle-grower may esteem our discernment as lightly as we do his management. This species of thistle is known in the States by the name of the Canada thistle, and some proposals have been made in the State of New York, to legislate to prevent its increase.

Kingston is finely situated on a bay of Lake Ontario, over which there is an excellent wooden bridge, perhaps the best in America, connecting the town with the fort and naval yard. Most of the houses are of stone or brick, and the inhabitants estimated at 6000 souls. It enjoys a considerable trade, which is likely to be greatly augmented by the opening of the Rideau canal, which here enters the lake.

We examined the barracks, most substantial erections, also the fort and naval yard; the former is renewing with the best materials; the vessels in the docks are hastening to decay. Regarding war in every case an evil, and its engines too often misapplied, the rotting vessels excited more pleasing ideas than the rising fort.

We learned masons employed at the fort got $1 a-day, without finding or board; and in town considerably more, when store pay is given. One gentleman said he would rather give $120 store-pay than $100 cash; and a workman said he preferred $9 cash to $12 store-pay. I could not learn that employer and storekeeper unite for the purpose of plundering workmen. At present storekeepers constitute the most wealthy and powerful class in the community, landowners and workmen being generally indebted to them, hence enormous profits. The common per centage on retailing provisions at Kingston, being stated at 70 per cent, dry goods 100. Potash sells at Montreal for L.24 a-ton; the farmer at Kingston gets L.17 store-pay, equal to L.12 cash.

In the neighbourhood of Kingston grasshoppers were numerous, many of them having wings, and flying a considerable distance. This insect is numerous throughout America, and sometimes seriously injures grass crops. As cultivation extends, its numbers are likely to decrease.

Having perambulated Kingston and the surrounding country, the soil of which was inferior, with limestone everywhere protruding, we got on board a steam-boat for Prescott, where we arrived at midnight, and again sailed for Longsault in the Iroquois steamer, a light vessel with paddles in the stern, built for navigating the rapids of the St Lawrence, and which has been found to answer well. From Longsault we passed to Cornwall by a stage, and again by a steamer to Coteau-de-lac, where we got into a stage to Cascades, and by steam to Lachine, and from thence by land to Montreal.

On leaving Kingston I anticipated much pleasure in sailing through the Lake of the Thousand Isles, which forms the passage of Lake Ontario into the river St Lawrence, but the curtain of night fell before we had well entered, and the light of the moon did not render objects distinct. There was a pleasing novelty in the lake from the number of low islands like tufts of vegetation sleeping on the surface, and glistening with the fires of the wood-choppers. The moon’s shadow in the ripple of the waters was particularly beautiful, and some hours might have been passed pleasantly on deck but for a cold, damp atmosphere.

The St Lawrence being the first river of magnitude I had sailed on, my preconceptions of its effects on the senses were quickly dispelled; the objects on its level banks being indistinct and soon lost to the eye. The associations suggested by the endless and ever-varying objects, successively and vividly impressed on the mind’s eye in passing down a river in Britain, are altogether wanting. Fertility, shelter, health, and peaceful retirement, so dear to a Scottish farmer, and almost invariably the attributes of the streamlets of his country, belong not to the St Lawrence in this part of its course, where the low lying, and in many places reed-growing, margins suggest pestilence and privation. The immensity of fresh water hurrying towards the sea fills the mind with wonder.

Around Cornwall, and more particularly from Coteau-du-Lac to the Cascades, much excellent wheat was growing on clay soil formed into very narrow ridges. Other crops were indifferent, and nearly choked with perennial thistles. From Lachine to Montreal we observed many wild oats (Avena fatua) for the first time in America.