BERTHIER. 41 



pie who were successively left by the retreating boat, — some express- 

 ing their indignation while others, like ourselves, contented themselves 

 to wait their turn. At last, twelve o'clock, and our captain, came ; 

 and the steamer started. We slowly passed along the channel, 

 watching the scenes on either bank, and, leaving the city with its 

 confusion and the harbor with its abundance of crafts of all kinds, 

 we steamed into pure waters, clearer atmosphere, and the rocky 

 borders of the mighty St. Lawrence. On our left we presently 

 passed, if I remember rightly, the famous falls of Montmorency — 

 at least we saw a precipitous mass of dashing, struggling waters, 

 that looked the mighty cascade that it probably was — while a short 

 turn soon brought us to the Berthier wharf. Our vessel was at the 

 wharf receiving her last cargo, in the shape of potatoes and sev- 

 eral kinds of fresh vegetables, for her voyage, and as it would take 

 several hours to complete the loading we accepted the captain's 

 kind invitation to visit his home and dine there with him. Berthier 

 is a small French Canadian village, situated on the southern side of 

 the St. Lawrence, and very nearly opposite the eastern extremity 

 of the island of Orleans ; it is about fifteen miles from Quebec. 

 The long wharf built for the accommodation of freight and coal, 

 extending far into the water, had several vessels lying at each side, 

 either being or waiting to be loaded, and though the coal dust 

 was everywhere under foot, and in the air flying in our faces, we 

 forced ourselves through it and soon reached a cleaner footing 

 and much purer air. A walk up a rather long slightly sloping 

 hill brought us to the principal street, along which low roofed, yet 

 small and cosey looking houses, for the most part clean with 

 white paint, not yet ugly from exposure, with their correspond- 

 ing barns — mostly unpainted — extended on either side where 

 the open fields on the right near the water, and high hillocks of 

 granite on the left, back of the houses, had not established a prior 

 claim. As neat a house as appeared, on this apparently one 

 streeted township of about fifty houses — if the town was really no 

 larger than it seemed — was that of our Captain, and we 

 passed a quiet time both before and after a hearty, homely meal, 



