40 Description of the Falls of Niagara. 



His canoe was overturned : he retained fast hold of 

 it, and it very providentially fastened itself to the up- 

 permost rock. Some people on shore, seeing this, 

 ventured to his assistance, and saved his life, at the 

 risk of their own. 



As we approached the Falls the first time, the sun 

 was low in the west, which gave us an opportunity 

 of viewing the beautiful rainbow, which is occasioned 

 by the refraction of his rays, on the cloud or fog, that 

 is perpetually arising from them. We afterwards 

 found, that the whole phenomenon is never viewed to 

 so much advantage, from the Canada side, as in a 

 clear evening. The vast fog, ascending from the 

 grand cataract, being in constant agitation, appears 

 like the steam of an immense boiling cauldron. In 

 summer, it moistens the neighbouring meadows, and 

 in winter, falling upon the trees, it congeals and pro- 

 duces a most beautiful crystaline appearance. The 

 view of this fog at a distance, which, when the cause 

 of it is known, is in itself a singular phenomenon, fills 

 the mind with awful expectation, which, on a nearer 

 approach, can never end in disappointment. 



The first sight of the Falls arrests the senses in 

 silent admiration. Their various hues, arising from 

 the depth, the descent, and the agitation of the water, 

 and the reflection of the sun-beams upon them ; their 

 great height ; their position between lofty rocks, and 

 their roaring noise, altogether render them an unpa- 

 ralelled display of nature's grandeur. But what 

 chiefly distinguishes them, and gives them a majesty 



