Episcopal Church; an Hospital, called the Ursuline Convent, for the cure of the diseased and the instruction of young persons of the Roman Catholic persuasion; a Gaol and Court-house; a small Barrack, and a Monastery of Recollects-an order which is now extinct in Canada. There is also an extensive Iron Foundry at Three Rivers: It is the property of Government, and is leased out to some merchants of Quebec, who manufacture on the spot a great quantity of cast and bar iron. The ore is said to be very rich, and the castings are of a superior description, particularly the stoves. Wrought iron, manufactured there, is preferable to English iron, though still inferior to Swedish. The number of the inhabitants is 2000, nearly fivesevenths of whom are of French descent. At this place the steam-boats, in passing to and from Montreal, came to anchor, for the purpose of landing and taking in passengers and freight, and for receiving fresh supplies of fire-wood.

After leaving Three Rivers, we soon entered Lake ST. PETRE, which is only another of the numerous expansions of the St. Lawrence. It is about twenty miles long, and from eight to twelve wide, and is in general exceedingly shallow. Owing to some neglect on the part of our pilot, in not observing the proper channel, the river being here intersected by a number of islands, we were very near running aground in passing through this lake, having sailed for nearly an hour in water so

shallow, that each revolution of the wheels brought up either mud or weeds from the bed of the stream.

Forty-five miles from Three Rivers, and One Hundred and Thirty-five from Quebec, stands the neat little town of SORRELL, or William Henry, in latitude 45 degrees 50 minutes, and longitude 73 degrees 20 minutes. It is situated at the confluence of the Chamblois with the St. Lawrence. The 'streets are handsomely laid out, but not yet completely filled up with buildings. It is provided with two good places of worship,-a Roman Catholic Chapel, and a Protestant Episcopal Church. Its appearance from the water is respectable. Sorrell was first settled by a party of the Royalists, who quitted the Union at the period when the Independence of the States was recognized. It is a smaller town than Three Rivers, and contains only 1500 inhabitants, most of whom are English and Scotch. It is gradually on the increase; and, on account of its salubrious situation, frequently becomes the residence of his Excellency the Governor of the Canadas, for a few months in the

summer season.

Between William Henry and Montreal, there are several small villages; the principal of which is BERTHIER on the North Bank. Around this village there are several extensive and apparently rich settlements, some of which are still occupied by the descendants of the French Noblesse, by whom they were first cleared and inhabited.

MONTREAL ISLAND, upon which the city stands, is about 32 miles long and ten and a half broad. It' is the property of the Seminary of St. Sulpruse, and certainly possesses the finest climate and the most luxuriant soil in the whole Province. The city is situated on the South side of the Island, in 45 deg. 31 min. North latitude, and in 73 deg. 351 min. West longitude. It is 45 miles from William: Henry, 90 from the Three Rivers, and 180 from: Quebec.

Montreal is placed in the midst of the most picturesque scenery. It is at present very irregular in its construction, being in length nearly two miles; while its greatest breadth,-that is, from the banks of the St. Lawrence to the foot of an insu lated mountain from which it derives its name,—is only three quarters of a mile. It contains 15,900 souls, more than one half of whom are Roman Catholics. The streets are in general very narrow; and, to add to the inconvenience which this occasions, the side-paths or causeways are rendered almost impassable, by a barbarous practice which prevails in every part of the city, of erecting outside the doors wooden steps which project from three to four feet into the streets. If only two persons meet opposite one of those cumbersome piles, they will inevitably be obliged either to retrace their steps, or out of hasty complaisance to descend into the channel, probably up to their knees in snow, or to their ancles in mud. It is also impossible even for two persons to walk arm in

arm, without separating every ten or twelve yards. The houses are generally built of a durable kind of lime-stone; but those which were erected previous to the late war, assume the most forbidding appearance, in consequence of the outer doors and window-shutters being made of strong sheetiron. The use of these massive securities is now so general, and their value so highly appreciated, that scarcely a house can be found without them. They have been adopted to counteract the effects of fire, which in this city frequently rages to the destruction of immense property. It is impossible to walk along the streets of Montreal on a Sunday or other holiday, when the shops are all closed, without receiving the most gloomy impressions. The whole city appears one vast prison; and at every noise which salutes the ear of the passing stranger, he imagines that he hears the clankings of a malefactor's chains, or the pitiful moanings of an incarcerated debtor.

There are, however, several modern buildings in Montreal, that would be no disgrace to the finest squares in Europe. Indeed, all those which are of recent erection exhibit a superior style of execution. Some spacious streets beyond the former boundaries of the city, and towards the mountain, are now laid out, and the new buildings in them are standing proofs of the improving taste of the people.

The public edifices of this place are, the French Church, the English Church, the Methodist Chapel,

the Presbyterian Meeting-house, the Court-house and Gaol, the Montreal Bank, the College, the Hospital, and the Barracks.

The French Church, or Roman Catholic Chapel, called St. Maria and dedicated to the blessed Virgin, is an extensive old-fashioned building, the front of which is constructed of cut stone. It is situate in the middle of Notre Dame street, which is the principal one in the old part of the city, and runs parallel with the St. Lawrence. The steeple, which, before the erection of the English Church, was considered the finest in America, is now only regarded on account of its antiquity. The whole exterior of this huge building, except the roof and steeple, both of which are covered with tin, is plain and tasteless; but the interior is, after the manner of other Popish churches, most gorgeously decorated with every thing appertaining to a place of this description, which has a tendency to affect the heart by means of impressions on the outward senses. The pews indeed are not remarkable for any thing like variety in design or skill in construction; but the cieling is adorned in a most magnificent manner, and the altar is one on which, to use a heathen phrase, "the Gods themselves might sacrifice." The cieling is divided into conic sections by splendid gilt mouldings; and, in the vacant space between each of them, innumerable figures, fancifully gilt, occupy a place. In the centre of the cieling, is a circular painting of the Ascension. This picture, though not of the first order, is said