LETTEE I. 



Voyage in the " Persia." New York. The Hudson River. Barren Soil. Amer- 

 ican Railways. Saratoga. Extravagant Prices. Lake George. Lake Cham- 

 plain. Sunshine and Storm. Burlington in Vermont. Maine Liquor Law. 

 The Boundary Line. Poor French Canadians. The St. Lawrence. Montreal. 

 The Victoria Tubular Bridge. Grand Trunk Railway. Ottawa. The 

 Lumber Trade. Ottawa or Montreal as the Capital. Shorter "Water Route to 

 the "Western Lakes. Value of Land. Grants of Land. Prescott. Kingston. 

 Coburg. Process of clearing the Forest. Toronto. Hamilton. Complaint 

 of low "Wages and want of Employment. 



ON the 4tli of September, 1858, I embarked with a friend on 

 board the "Persia" at Liverpool, and loosed from our moor- 

 ings in the afternoon to proceed on our voyage to New York. 

 The ship had a full cargo and more than 200 cabin passengers. 

 Great order and regularity prevailed on board, and though we 

 had heavy head winds all the way across the Atlantic, and two 

 severe gales, the voyage on the whole was pleasant and pros- 

 perous. On the evening of the twelfth day we reached New 

 York. 



The bright clear sky and the sunny look of the houses and 

 public buildings, with the frequent cafes, reminded us that we 

 were now in the latitude of Naples. And the appearance of 

 the people was so different from that of Englishmen that we 

 almost felt surprised to hear them speaking the English lan- 

 guage. Everything was new and pleasant, except the manners 

 of the people, and the extortionate charges of every one from 

 whom it was necessary to obtain the slightest service. 



After spending a short time pleasantly in New York we left 

 it for Montreal, taking the Hudson River route to Albany. I 



