CHEAP DINNER. 173 



Nest. I understood the islands at the mouth of the Mait- 

 land and the adjoining banks, had been granted as a common 

 to the inhabitants of Goderich. The grass was very limited 

 in quantity as well as variety of species, but tall growing 

 weeds of great beauty covered the surface. I do not know 

 whether these plants flavoured dairy produce ; but the butter 

 we got at Goderich was so nauseous, that neither my friend 

 nor I could eat this substance for some days afterwards. The 

 butter of Upper Canada was generally of the worst quality. 



On returning from our walk we called on Dr Dunlop, at 

 the office of the Canada Company, who introduced us to his 

 brother the captain, recently arrived in the country. I had 

 been furnished with an introductory letter to the Doctor, 

 from a well-known character, both in Scotland and Canada, 

 and which I left with Mr Jones at York. The Doctor 

 seemed busy, and our conversation was limited, which I 

 did not much regret, as I visited America with a determi 

 nation to judge of matters more from what I saw than what 

 might be told me, and there appeared nothing in the circum 

 stances of the Goderich settlement requiring much explanation. 



As Mr Fisher s establishment did not appear of the first 

 order, we determined on dining at the principal hotel, where 

 we were admitted to what Mr Reid termed a family dinner. 

 The table seemed surrounded by all the inmates of the house, 

 twelve or fourteen in number, including boarders and travel 

 lers of all descriptions. Mr Reid presided, and amused me by 

 distributing a tureen full of Scotch broth, with a tea-cup for a 

 divider, and from^Jthe shortness of the handle, his fingers were 

 immersed in stirring -up the liquid. The entertainment was 

 poor enough, and cost the moderate sum of sixpence sterling. 



Having promised, on parting at Montreal with Mr D , 



to endeavour to visit, if possible, a friend of his in the neigh 

 bourhood of Goderich, who once farmed in one of the finest 

 situations in East Lothian, I felt anxious to witness the pro 

 ceedings of an East Lothian farmer in so new a settlement as 

 this ; and immediately after dinner set out in search of Mr 

 K , who, we were told, lived about four miles from Gode 

 rich, on the shores of Lake Huron. We at first attempted to 

 walk along the margin of the lake ; but the quantity of drift 

 and fallen timber which lined the shore, joined to the surge 



