SOLON ROBINSON, 1850 409 



I before remarked that the Canadians have a sort of 

 fancy for showing off in one extravagantly-fine public 

 building — a sort of Mormon Temple. In this particular, 

 Kingston has made a display of the grandest order in her 

 market house. It is built in the form of a T, the front 240 

 feet, two stories high, with a large dome in the centre, 

 affording room enough for all the courts and public offices 

 the city will require for five centuries. The end of the 

 projection, or bottom of the T, is also two stories, sur- 

 mounted by a balcony and clock, and if it stood alone, 

 would appear like a large building. The long intervening 

 building is the butchers' market above, and sundries in 

 the basement. The whole is of beautiful, hammered stone, 

 and certainly presents an imposing appearance. There 

 are, also, several very handsome stone churches, court 

 house, jail, barracks, nunnery, Catholic seminary, hos- 

 pitals, storehouses, and dwellings, and a little north of 

 the city, fronting the bay, the extensive buildings and 

 walls of the penitentiary stand out in bold relief to warn 

 the honest man to remain so. Upon the other class, it 

 has but little effect, for "A rogue's a rogue for a' that." 



The whole front of the town is fortified in such a man- 

 ner, that the whole Yankee nation never would be able to 

 take it — until they made the attempt. Two routes of 

 navigation to Montreal are open from here, one by the 

 river and canals of the rapids of the St. Lawrence, and 

 the other by the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River. 



There is very little wheat raised around Kingston, not- 

 withstanding its limestone soil. And I believe very little, 

 if any produce, is exported. Grass seems to be the prin- 

 cipal crop; but if I may judge from the few cattle I saw 

 alive, and the carcasses in market, both cattle and sheep 

 are of the small order. Horses are not generally so good 

 as at Toronto, and I fancy there are few places where 

 they are. Oats are a considerable crop, and are now, Au- 

 gust 20th, being harvested, and I suppose will be eaten 

 by some other animals besides horses, as I saw several 

 signs of "oat meal for sale." Barley is also grown largely. 



