Niagara Falls 



1854 and on, on, on, the flood pours, in undisturbed majesty. This 

 erguson - g m y j m p ress j on f Niagara from a distance. 



Sabbath, June 24. — I rose at eight, and looked out. It was 

 raining in torrents, and evidently had been for some time. 

 Streams, of no inconsiderable size, were pouring down the road, 

 in front of the house; and when I went down stairs, I found 

 the walks in the beautiful garden behind filled with gushing 

 water, which poured over the terraced steps in miniature cascades, 

 and threatened to flood the lower part of the house, as some of 

 the upper part had already been by defects in the roof. Look- 

 ing, however, from my window, which commands both falls, I 

 thought the view enhanced by the pouring rain. There was a 

 mist, which became a magnifying medium. The falls looked 

 grander than they did last night, and the din sounded louder. 

 The banks above are of red earth, and the water running in 

 from them tinged the cataract red for a little way from the edge. 

 But in the middle, it was emerald as before. The American 

 fall seemed more discoloured. Many an impromptu waterfall 

 had been called into existence by the rain, and poured each its 

 independent cascade over the cliffs into the huge cauldron below. 

 It was curious to see how long their discoloured waters moved 

 down in-shore, unmingled with the green depths in the centre; 

 but as the rain continued, the discolouration increased, till, 

 towards evening, it had reached nearly the whole body of the 

 river. 



The Horseshoe fall is divided into two by a rock near the 

 American shore, or more correctly, near the shore of Goat- 

 island, and a tower has been built upon it. This tower, and the 

 wooden staircases, and some twopenny-halfpenny museums, 

 which cluster all about the edge of the falls, spoil the general 

 effect sadly. 



About half-way between the falls is a staircase. ... A 

 very steep ladder leads down the slope of the upper bank, and 

 then an enclosed circular stair, of ninety steps, carries you down 



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