RIVERS. 289 



of disappointment a sour sort of deep disappointment, causing, for a few minutes, a 

 kind of vacuity ; but, while I mused, I began to take in the grandeur of the scene. This 

 impression is not unusual on viewing objects beyond the ready catch of the senses ; Stone- 

 henge and St. Paul's cathedral seldom excite much surprise at first sight ; the enormous 

 Pyramids, I have heard travellers say, strike with awe and silence on the near approach, 

 but require time to appreciate. The fact is, that the first view of Niagara is a bad one ; 

 and the eye, in this situation, can comprehend but a small part of the wonderful scene. 

 You look down upon the cataract instead of up to it ; the confined channel, and the depth 

 of it, prevent the astounding roar which was anticipated ; and, at the same time, the eye 

 wanders midway between the water and the cloud formed by the spray, which it sees 

 not. After a quarter of an hour's gaze, I felt a kind of fascination a desire to find 

 myself gliding into eternity in the centre of the Grand Fall, over which the bright green 

 water appears to glide, like oil, without the least commotion. I approached nearly to 

 the edge of the ' Table Rock,' and looked into the abyss. A lady from Devonshire 

 had just retired from the spot; I was informed she had approached its very edge, 

 and sat with her feet over the edge an awful and dangerous proceeding. Having 

 viewed the spot, and made myself acquainted with some of its localities, I returned 

 to the hotel (Forsyth's) which, as well as its neighbouring rival, is admirably situated 

 for the view ; from my chamber-window I looked directly upon it, and the first night 

 I could find but little sleep from the noise. Every view I took increased my admira 

 tion ; and I began to think that the other Falls I had seen were, in comparison, like 

 runs from kettle-spouts on hot plates. I remained in this interesting neighbourhood five 

 days, and saw the Fall in almost every point of view. From its extent, and the angular 

 line it forms, the eye cannot embrace it all at once ; and, probably, from this cause it is 

 that no drawing has ever yet done justice to it. The grandest view, in my opinion, 

 is at the bottom, and close to it on the British side, where it is awful to look up 

 through the spray at the immense body as it comes pouring over, deafening you with 

 its roar ; the lighter spray, at a considerable distance, hangs poised in the air like 

 an eternal cloud. The next best view is on the American side, to reach which you 

 cross in a crazy ferry-boat : the passage is safe enough, but the current is strongly 

 agitated. Its depth, as near to the falls as can be approached, is from 180 to 200 feet. 

 The water, as it passes over the rock, where it is not whipped into foam, is a most 

 beautiful sea-green, and it is the same at the bottom of the Falls. The foam, 

 which floats away in large bodies, feels and looks like salt water after a storm : it has 

 a strong fishy smell. The river, at the ferry, is 1170 feet wide. There is a great 

 quantity of fish, particularly sturgeon and bass, as well as eels ; the latter creep up 

 against the rock under the Falls, as if desirous of finding some mode of surmounting 

 the heights. Some of the visitors go under the Falls, an undertaking more curious 

 than pleasant. Three times did I go down to the house, and once paid for my 

 guide and balking dress, when something occurred to prevent me. The lady before 

 alluded to performed the ceremony, and it is recorded, with her name, in the book, 

 that she went to the furthest extent that the guides can or will proceed. It is 

 described as like being under a heavy shower-bath, with a tremendous whirlwind 

 driving your breath from you, and causing a peculiarly unpleasant sensation at the 

 chest ; the footing over the debris being slippery, the darkness barely visible, and 

 the roar almost deafening. In the passage you kick against eels, many of them unwilling 

 to move, even when touched : they appear to be endeavouring to work their way up the 

 stream." 



Supposing the cataract to be receding at the rate of fifty yards in forty years, as it 

 is stated by Captain Hall, the ravine which extends from thence to Queenstown, a dis- 



