their chastened radiance, are objects which fill every stranger with an astonishment at once solemn and pleasing, and produce in his mind the most favourable impressions of the country. + As soon as the revenue-officers had inspected the ship, orders were issued by our Captain, that no person should attempt to go on shore, until the ensuing morning. This injunction was not very patiently received by the passengers, many of whom were most anxiously desirous of mingling with the crowds that lined the quays, and were waiting to receive their illustrious Governor. As my father's family was not included in this prohibition, I received an invitation from Captain Blake to accompany him in an excursion to the city. The ship lay in the centre of the basin, which obliged us to put ashore in a boat. Arrived at the Queen's Wharf, we proceeded up a narrow gloomy street, partially illumined by a few paltry lamps, which were then just lighted. We next entered a more creditable street, (Cul de Sac,) + Some allowance, it may be supposed, ought to be made for the feelings of one who had not seen such a vast concourse of human dwellings for several weeks preceding. Admitting this, I may be allowed to add, the emotions that arose within my mind, at the first view which I obtained of Quebec and of the bold scenery in its environs, as I stood on the quarter-deck of the Brunswick, were excited, in all their freshness, at a subsequent visit to the capital. This, to myself at least, is a good criterion of the truth of my first impressions, and of the objects from which they were received; and it is confirmed by the acknowledgment of every intelligent man with whom I have had an opportunity of conversing. crowded like the former with a motley train of all nations, from the torrid, frigid, and temperate zones; among whom it was impossible to say, whether the descendants of Shem, Ham, or Japheth were the most numerous. Africans, Indians, Americans, Europeans, and Asiatics, composed the variegated groupe. Some were clothed in purple and fine linen, and appeared, from certain external indications, to have fared sumptuously every day; others displayed their grotesque figures in a state of almost total nudity; and here and there a sable countenance was seen peeping through the spoils of the forest; while, at intervals, the eye relieved itself by resting on the charms of female beauty, arrayed In all the glaring impotence of dress. In a word, such an exhibition of the costumes of all the nations which inhabit the terraqueous globe, is nowhere to be witnessed, except in America, and perhaps in the modern capital of Russia. The confused chattering and inharmonious diversity of languages had such an effect upon my auditory organs, that I could almost have fancied myself about to place the last stone upon the Tower of Babel. Not a word of English did I hear, not a face that was English did I see, until, to my great satisfaction, I found myself in a British mercantile warehouse; where, on looking around me, and reflecting on the short excursion I had taken, I was reminded, that, instead of having been engaged in placing the last stone on the tower of Babel, I had only concluded my first walk in the city of Quebec. The next visit which Captain Blake and I made, that evening, was to an Hotel. On arriving there, we were ushered into a large apartment, in which there were about thirty sea-captains. We entered suns ceremonie, and discovered, that each person had an enormously large tumbler full of liquor placed before him, with a smoking pipe about three feet and a half in length, and a paper of best Virginia tobacco. In a few moments, Captain Blake and I were furnished with similar accommodations; I drank some of the liquor, which was really delicious, but begged leave to dispense with the pipe and tobacco. The room was excessively warm, and filled with the smoke of burning tobacco and the effluvia of over-heated bodies: I wished most heartily to make my exit; but since I went to this place, not by choice, but in compliment to the Captain, who appeared as happy in the company of his amphibious fraternity, as if he were engaged in discovering the longitude, I could not with propriety retire, till he thought fit to propose our departure. These sons of Neptune talked of long and short voyages, of well and illbuilt ships, of the felicities of a sea-faring life, and the exhilarating qualities of Cognac Brandy, in such a lengthened strain as made me wish myself asleep in the worst-built house in Quebec. Not a subject was discussed, nor an idea suggested, which could afford either profit or pleasure to any one beside themselves. I therefore "sat in sad civility," until about eleven o'clock, when the whole party withdrew by mutual consent, but not before an appointment was made to meet on the following evening for their general edification, and the prosperity of the tobacco trade. This rendezvous, it is unnecessary to assure you, I did not attend. LETTER III. SITUATION OF QUEBEC-ITS FINE EXTERNAL APPEARANCE-FOR- OF THAT CITY. QUEBEC lies in 46 degrees 48 minutes North latitude, and in 71 degrees 11 minutes West longitude; and is beautifully situated between the rivers St. Charles and St. Lawrence, immediately at the point of confluence. It is, as I have before observed, in the form of an amphitheatre gradually ascending; and exhibits such a fine appearance from the river, that a stranger, unacquainted with its interior, would imagine it to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The amazing elevation, resplendent spires, and formidable outworks of the upper town, are all well-calculated to prepossess the mind of a spectator; but when he enters into the streets, squares, and alleys, especially of the lower town, and finds the whole to be con |