Open Road — Guides — Railroads — Canals — Bridges 



up by one bank, and down by the other. I sat in the sun, on the 1833 

 floor of the boat, revising my verses. ut er 



Arrived on the other side, i. e. Canada, there was a second 

 pause, as to how we were to get conveyed to the falls. My 



father, , and D, betook themselves to an inn by the 



road-side, which promised information and assistance; and 



and I clambering up the heights of Queenston, sat ourselves down 

 under some bushes, whence we looked towards Lake Ontario, 

 and where he told me the history of the place; how his country- 

 men had thumped my countrymen upon this spot, and how the 

 English general Brock had fallen, near where we sate. A monu- 

 ment in the shape of a stone pillar had been erected to his memory, 

 and to the top of this — betook himself to reconnoitre, which 

 ambitious expedition I felt no inclination to share. After he had 

 been gone some time, I thought I perceived signs of stirring down 

 by the inn door ; I toiled up the hill to the base of the pillar to fetch 

 him, and we proceeded down to the rest of the party. An uneasy- 

 looking, rickety cart, without springs, was the sole conveyance 



we could obtain, and into this we packed ourselves. 



brought me some beautiful roses which he had been stealing for 



me, and gave me a glass of milk, with which restoratives I 



comforted myself, and we set forth. As we squeaked and creaked 

 (I mean our vehicle) up the hill, I thought either my father's 



or 's weight, quite enough to have broken the whole down, 



but it did not happen. My mind was eagerly dwelling on what 



we were going to see ; that sight which said was the only one 



in the world which had not disappointed him. I felt absolutely 

 nervous with expectation. The sound of the cataract is, they say, 

 heard within fifteen miles when the wind sets favourably : to-day 

 however there was no wind : the whole air was breathless with the 

 heat of midsummer; and though we stopped our wagon once or 

 twice to listen as we approached, all was profoundest silence. 

 There was no motion in the leaves of the trees, not a cloud sailing 

 in the sky, everything was as though in a bright warm death. 



1213 



