WATER FLOWING OVER THE FALLS. 255 



the hoaiy hair of thousands of years, and its perpetual 

 rainbow a halo round the head of the sleepless spirit 

 which has seen these changes and survived them all. 



The quantity of water which falls over these rocks 

 lias been variously estimated. The most trustworthy, 

 perhaps, is that of Mr Barrett, already quoted, which 

 was deduced from three different observations, made at 

 Black Rock during the high water of 1838 and 1839. 

 This estimate makes it amount to nineteen and a half 

 million cubic feet per minute. It varies very much, 

 however, with the height of the water and the direction 

 of the wind. When a strong wind blows from the west, 

 the water at the east end of Lake Erie will rise several 

 feet in a few hours ; and so much more water is driven 

 down the Niagara River at such times that the river in 

 the ravine below the Falls, though so rapid, " frequently 

 rises 15 or 20 feet during a westerly wind." A wind 

 from the east produces a contrary effect, lowering the 

 water at the east end of Lake Erie, and lessening the 

 quantity of water which passes over the Falls. 



September 17. — The forenoon of this day I spent 

 chiefly on Goat Island, wandering about the Falls on the 

 American side. There is nothing to be seen from this 

 side which can compare with the quiet and graceful 

 beauty of the American Fall , as seen from the Canadian 

 side. The perfection with which the folds of that broad, 

 living, spotless stream are draped together cannot be 

 imagined ; and though there are many beauties among 

 which days are too little to spend on Goat Island, the 

 quieter spots were to me the most attractive. In truth, 

 the reason why the disappointed people talk of the thing 

 growing upon them is, that they must become so 

 familiarised with the noise and roar as to be able to 

 abstract these altogether from the scene, before their 

 eyes and hearts can come into independent contact 

 with its true attractions. This abstraction, to the 



