24 



that's IT j 



vations, and cascades when the 

 descent is so considerable as to 

 greatly increase the agitation of 

 the stream. The largest water- 

 fall in England is situated upon 

 the river Tees ; there are several 

 also in Ireland, Scotland, and 

 Wales. Still greater descents 

 than those which distinguish wa- 

 terfalls and cascades, produce ca- 

 taracts, 14. 

 The falls of 

 the Niagara, 

 in America, 

 form two 

 splendid ca- 

 taracts, one 

 of which has 

 a descent of 

 158 feet, the 

 other of 164 

 feet. The 

 traveller to 

 the Tails 

 hear3, at the 

 distance of 

 two or three 

 miles, a deep booming sound, 

 and this becomes louder, until 

 he stands in view of the bewil- 

 dering cataract. 



An observer thus describes the effect : — 



" So entirely was I unprepared for the enor- 

 mous volume of water, that, in the weakness of 

 my comprehension and inability to grasp the 

 scene, I was unwilling to turn my aching eyes 

 from the glorious spectacle, apprehending it 

 could only endure for a season, and that the 

 overwhelming rush of water must speedily 

 cease. But as 1 gazed with trembling anxiety, 

 and marked no change beyond the masses of 

 spray clouds, swayed by the wind across the 

 mighty sheet which ever retained its sublime 

 proportions, the truth be»an to force itself 

 upon me, that for thousands of years the wa- 

 ters had been falling, by day and night, at all 

 times and seasons, ever soundii g, in a voice j 

 which, once heard, can never be forgotten, the 

 praise of Him who bade them flow. Here, 

 indeed, may be felt the beauty of tbe words in 

 our canticle, 4 O ye t-eas and Moods, bless ye 

 the Lord, praise him, and n:agnify him for 

 ever ! ' — and it wa-« probably with feelings of 



161. 



deep &we that the Indian of olden time, 

 worsh pping the Great Spirit, gave the pecu- 

 liarly appropriate name O-Ni-aw-ga-rah, the 

 Thunder of Waters, to this matchless scene. 

 It is indeed eloquent 'as with the voice of a 

 great multitude — the voice of many waters 

 — the voice of many thunderings, saying, 

 Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent 

 reigneth.' " 



In passing over a long decli- 

 vity of land, the waters form 

 rapids or torrents, 15. Three of 

 these obstruct the navigation of 



162. 



the Canadian river the Great St. 

 Lawrence, and canals have been 

 cut to connect the navigable por- 

 tions. Waters having found 

 their Way to the valleys and low 

 levels of the earth, spread out 

 into fertilizing rivers, 16, impart- 



ing beauty to scenery, and afford- 

 ing means of communication be- 



