360 TRAVELS THROUGH LOWER CANADA ! 
feet in breadth. The scenery round this ca¬ 
taract is much superior in every respect to that 
in the neighbourhood of the Montmorenci. 
Contiguous to the latter there are few trees of 
any great magnitude, and nothing is near it to 
relieve the eye; you have the fall, and nought 
but the fall, to contemplate. The banks of 
La Chaudiere, on the contrary, are covered 
with trees of the largest growth, and amidst 
the piles of broken rocks, which lie scattered 
about the place, you have some of the wildest 
and most romantic views imaginable. As for 
the fall itself, its grandeur varies with the sea¬ 
son. When the river is full, a body of water 
comes rushing over the rocks of the preci¬ 
pice that astonishes the beholder; but in dry 
weather, and indeed during the greater part of 
the summer, we may say, the quantity of wa¬ 
ter is but trifling. At this season there are 
few but what would prefer the falls of the 
Montmorenci River, and I am tempted to 
imagine that, upon the whole, the generality 
of people would give it the preference at all 
times. 
