OFF THE "banks." 



of a glorious life in the far West. We soon struck 

 np an intimate acquaintance, and agreed to travel in 

 company as far as might be agreeable to the plans of 

 each. 



Before we reached the banks of Newfoundland 

 we fell in with numerous evidences of a recent storm ; 

 a quantity of broken spars floated past, and a dis- 

 masted schooner, battered and deserted by her crew. 

 On her stern was the name Muhy, and the stumps of 

 her masts bore the marks of ha\dng been recently 

 cut away. 



Off the " banks " we encountered a fog so dense 

 that we could not see twenty yards ahead. The steam 

 whistle was blown every five minutes, and the lead 

 kept constantly going. The ship crashed through 

 broken ice, and we all strained our eyes for the first 

 sight of some iceberg looming through the mist. A 

 steamer passed close to us, her proximity being be- 

 trayed only by the scream of her whistle. Horrible 

 stories of ships lost with all hands on board, from 

 running against an iceberg, or on the rock-bound 

 coast, became the favourite topic of conversation 

 amongst the passengers ; the captain looked anxious, 

 and every one uncomfortable. 



After two days, however, we emerged in safety 

 from the raw, chilling fogs into clear sunlight at the 

 mouth of the St. Lawrence, and on the 2nd of July 

 steamed up the river to Quebec. The city of Quebec, 

 with its bright white houses, picked out with green, 

 clinging to the sides of a commanding bluff, which 

 appears to rise up in the middle of the great river so 



