Up the Ottawa. ioi 



lighter dressings, which gives a rich and ornate appearance 

 and the stones being undressed reflect the light and give \ 

 sparkling effect in the sun. The Parliament Building is 

 about 475 feet in length, the body of it 40 feet high, with 

 slanting roofs. The Legislative Halls, one on each side of 

 the interior court, are as large as those of the British Parlia- 

 ment, being 90 feet long and 45 feet in breadth. The library- 

 is capable of holding 300,000 volumes. The principal tower 

 is not yet at its full height of 180 feet. The grounds in front 

 will be laid out in terraces, with lawns, fountains, &c. ; and 

 when completed the beauty of the situation and elegance of 

 the buildings, will enable the capital to compare with any in 

 the world. 



Besides the Parliament Buildings, several of the Depart- 

 mental Offices, such as the Queen's Printing House, and 

 numerous churches, among which the Roman Catholic 

 Church may be mentioned as one of the handsomest in 

 Canada, add greatly to the stable appearance of the city. 



Ottawa is connected with Lake Ontario by means of the 

 Rideau Canal, the entrance of which is at Kingston, ninety- 

 five miles distant. It was originally constructed by the 

 Imperial Government for military purposes, and has in it 

 forty-seven locks, but it is now the outlet for a great amount 

 of the local traffic. This means of communication is more 

 correctly a succession of raised waters by means of dams, 

 with natural lakes intervening, than a canal, properly speak- 

 ing. Lake Rideau is the summit pond, and the waters which 

 burst out at the White Fish Falls flow into the Gananoque 

 River, which is the waste-weir for regulating the water in 

 Lake Rideau. Thus the water in the whole canal, whether 

 in times of flood or drought, is kept at a steady height. In 

 Ottawa eight magnificent stone locks empty the canal into 

 the river, and a massive cut stone bridge crosses it. At the 

 western extremity of the city are the Chaudiere Falls, a 

 scene of imposing grandeur and beauty, and in the opinion 



