is more common than for men to magnify an evil at the time when they themselves are enduring it; and with regard to my own case, as few writers have entered deeply into the subject, I shall more readily be charged with hyperbolical minuteness, if with nothing more. But if I were disposed to swell my letter with quotations from the few travellers who have touched on the subject, I think I should be able to avert the particular charge, and to shew that I agree with them in the main of my remarks upon Canadian insects. I have, however, no desire to lengthen my correspondence by the labours of other men, and shall therefore content myself with two quotations,-the one from Mr. Lambert's Travels in Canada, and the other from Stuart's Emigrants' Guide, by which, in your eyes and in the eyes of every candid I shall be amply justified. person, I think Mr. Lambert, in speaking of the months of May, June, July, August and September, observes: "The Spring, Summer and Autumn of Canada, are all comprised in these five months. The rest of the year may be said to consist wholly of Winter. The month of October is sometimes agreeable; but nature has then put on her gloomy mantle, and the chilling blasts from the North-West remind the Canadians of the approach of snow and ice. November and April are the two most disagreeable months. In the one, the snow is falling; and in the other it is going away. Both of them confine the people to their houses; and render travelling uncomfortable and even dangerous. Nor can the inhabitants enjoy the Summer months with that comfort and pleasure experienced in Europe. One of the greatest plagues to which they are subject is, in my opinion, the common house-fly. It is not decided, whether they are natives of the country, or imported. I think, however, that their boldness and assurance greatly exceed their European brethren, and their number is beyond all conception. Your room must be entirely darkened, or it will be impossible to remain in it undisturbed. The warmer and lighter it is, the more numerous and active the flies will be, and the greater will be your sufferings. The stoves keep them alive in Winter, but the sun restores them to their full vigour and power of annoyance. In Summer, I have sat down to write, and have been obliged to throw my pen aside, in consequence of their irritating bite, which compelled me every moment to raise my hand to my eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, in constant succession. When I could no longer write, I began to read, and was always obliged to keep one hand constantly on the move, towards my head. Sometimes in the course of a few minutes, I could take half a dozen of my tormentors from my lips, between which I caught them just as they had perched. In short, while sitting quiet in the chair, I was continually worried by them; and, as it has been observed of the same insects in Russia, none but those who have suffered could believe them capable of inflicting so much torment. At length, when my patience was exhausted within doors, I would put on my hat and walk out, thinking to enjoy the delightful breezes, that frolic in the atmosphere at this season of the year. But, in less than five minutes, I was oppressed by the scorching beams of the meridian sun. To avoid a coup de soleil I retreated to a thick shady grove, which seemed inviting me to take shelter under its umbrageous foliage; but, as if to bring my sufferings to a climax, I was immediately surrounded by myriads of musquitoes, sand-flies and other venomous insects, whose repeated attacks upon my face, hands, and legs, compelled me reluctantly to return to my old tormentors at home, which, though equally teazing, are certainly not so venomous as their long-legged brethren." He adds, "the sting of the musquito is trifling at first, but the next day it is extremely painful, and sometimes dangerous if violently rubbed. The best remedy is to wash the part with some powerful acid: Lemon-juice and vinegar have frequently relieved me from the painful irritation which its venom excites. The blue-lots, or sand-flies, are so very small, as to be hardly perceptible in their attacks: and your forehead will be streaming with blood, before you are sensible of being among them." So much for the statement of Mr. Lambert. Now for Mr. Stuart: In page 298 of his Emigrant's Guide to Upper Canada, he says, "The insects during the Summer months, are the greatest natural nuisance in the country: After a hard day's toil, the wearied labourer often seeks for rest in vain. The musquito wanders round him with its perpetual alarum of attack, and, by assailing him at every unguarded moment, invests that alarum with almost perpetual anxiety. Smoke is in a great measure an effectual guard, when properly employed; but you must be almost suffocated with it, in order to render it efficient. Nor are the poor dumb animals less molested. In the midst of their enjoyment of the fresh herbage of the opening Summer, a tribe of flies suddenly attacks them; and from that time until the coolness of Autumn commences, tribe succeeding tribe, these relentless animals continue their attacks from early morning until evening's close, and deprive the poor creatures, in a great measure, both of food and rest. At such seasons, you will see the wretches, crowded to some open space, under the shelter, if there be any such, of some solitary tree, heedless of the sweet and luxuriant herbage of the surrounding wood, and seemingly seeking nothing but peace. The intervals of coolness, which occasionally intervene, are a temporary relief, as the ephemeral existence of these tormentors, or at least their activity, seems to be entirely dependant upon a hot and humid atmosphere." I complain of these drawbacks on the felicity of those, and myself among the rest, who live in |