350 The Acton Copyer Mines, 



the scenery becomes certainly more picturesque. Clumps of wood 

 and fertile fields relieve the eyes, and to the right the Beloeil 

 Mountain rises in front almost sheer out of the plain. Its abrupt 

 and sloping sides are at this season luxuriantly clothed with softest 

 verdure. This great intrusive mass of trappean rock is an object 

 of striking beauty and one of the choicest retreats for the lovers 

 of Nature. Its geological structure and character indicate 

 without mistake the peculiar disturbances to which this 

 region of country was subjected during the ancient Silurian 

 period. Obtruded into the stratified deposits of the locality 

 in a pasty, if not also in a molten state, and assuming a crystalline 

 character, it has withstood for ages — an everlasting mountain — 

 the destructive forces to the action of which it has been exposed. 

 The bluff" and rugged appearance of its north-eastern side and its 

 gradual slope to the south-west indicate that during the tertiary 

 age it was washed by the waters of the northern ocean. As the 

 land gradually rose from the bed of the deep it stood as one of 

 a group of small islands amid a waste of waters bearing on their 

 bosom flows, and bergs oC ice. But many a change has passed 

 over the earth's surface since these very ancient days. For ages 

 Beloeil has stood as it now appears an outpost sentinel of the 

 Mountains of Vermont. It has lono; looked over the fertile 

 valley of the St. Lawrence. It has been the abode of the wolf, 

 the bear and concolor, and the camping ground of the wild Indian. 

 Civilization has for half a century at least driven these away from 

 its precincts and it is now a pleasant resort of the summer tourist. 

 For the botanist no place can be more delightful or richer of 

 results. Its flora comprises a great part of the plants that are 

 peculiar to the northern United States and to Canada. Were it 

 our purpose now to descant upon this inviting topic we might 

 say much that would be interesting but we must pass on, however 

 reluctantly, to our appointed destination. Leaving Beloeil we sight, 

 in the distance to the west, the conical peak of Mount Johnston 

 and the huge whale-like elevation of Rougemont. Around us the 

 land is dry and barren. Farms and clearances are not so com- 

 mon. Tangled bush and mossy swamp everywhere prevail. "We 

 pass the flourishing town of St. Hyacinthe and traverse a country 

 which for many miles has no features of interest, and little to 

 indicate that it can be of much value for permanent settlements 

 About seventy miles from Montreal we finally reach the village 

 of Acton, a station on the line of railway. Once it was a poor and 



