Regret, admiration, and astonishment rapidly su ceeded each other; -REGRET, when I reflecte that so many of this unfortunate race are per mitted to live and die uninstructed, unpitied, an contemned;-ADMIRATION, as I gazed upon

The charms her downcast modesty concealed ;

and ASTONISHMENT, when, instead of a wild savage I beheld a being endued with all those nameles graces, which irresistibly impel us to admire the female character, even when beauty is wholly

excluded.

I was accompanied to the Isle of Orleans by Captain Blake, Mr. Hardy, Mr. Burton, Mr. Geary, and my brother. Immediately after landing on the shore, we proceeded to the house of a Canadian pilot, for the purpose of soliciting permission to inter another of those little ones in whose burial we were then daily employed. We knocked at the door, which was immediately opened by a female elegantly attired in black silk, whom, if we had judged merely by outward appearances, we should have supposed to be an European Countess, and not the wife of a Canadian pilot. After apologizing for our intrusion, we acquainted her in English with the mournful object of our mission. She replied, with a smile, "Je ne puis pas parler Anglois." One of the company then addressed her in French, informing her, "that we

came to solicit permission to inter a child, which

"had died the preceding night and then lay upon "the shore." She very politely acceded to our

request, sent a man to point out a spot in which we might deposit the body, and afterwards kindly invited us to return and partake of some refreshment. It is needless to observe, that we availed ourselves of this friendly invitation; for we had been long pent up within the confined bounds of a ship, and had consequently enjoyed no change of society. When we came back from the funeral, we were introduced into an apartment, which would not disgrace the most splendid mansion in Europe. We found a most delicious beverage prepared for us; it was composed of Jamaica spirits, new milk and maple sugar. Of this rare and unexpected treat we partook with delight; and, after having spent nearly an hour, in applauding the liberality of our hostess, and admiring the neatness and cleanliness of her inimitable little cottage, we returned to the ship, highly pleased, and much prepossessed in favour of Canadian hospitality.

The soil of Orleans, though it is said to be richer than any in the province of Lower Canada, appeared to us to be of a very inferior quality. The wheat, which is now ripening, would in Europe be considered scarcely worth reaping. Potatoes looked better, and tobacco was luxuriant; but it is evident, that little, if any, attention is paid to the cultivation of the soil. Time was, indeed, within our own recollection, when nearly

as little regard was paid to this object, in several parts of Great Britain. But when, in the course of the late war, agricultural produce was enhanced in value, a stimulus was imparted to the farmers to improve waste and neglected lands; and every barren speck of soil soon became the subject of various experiments, which were in most instances eminently successful. The tenants were not the only persons who were early gainers by the improved system of husbandry: Their landlords received accurate farming information, in rather a refined form, by means of "Agricultural Societies," which were instituted in almost every district throughout the kingdom. Adopting the mass of intelligence which had been communicated to the public by "the Board of Agriculture," that may be correctly denominated "the Parent Society," each of the branches proceeded to offer premiums for excellence in various departments; and, from the results of the competition which was thus excited, the landlords were generally instructed in the art of increasing their rents, and augmenting their income. When, at the conclusion of the war, the stimulus subsided, or, rather, did not exist in the same degree, it would have been well for all the parties concerned if the rents had lowered in proportion to the reduced value of produce. One good effect, however, has been produced by this spirit of enterprise and exertion, which will not cease to operate in favour of the amelioration of the soil and the improvement of agriculture ;—

the value of land has been duly appreciated; and every particle of it, which, in years of comparative cheapness, will more than repay the cost of tillage, is brought into cultivation.

When the Canadian farmers shall, in a similar manner, find their interest concerned in a provident tillage of their extensive possessions, they will abandon the practice of conveying their superfluous litter to the St. Lawrence, and will begin to husband their own and that of the inhabitants of the various towns on the river. No longer regarding it as a nuisance of which they cannot be too speedily rid, they will then suffer their manure to accumulate and become useful; and, not trusting to the common, but foolish, idea of "the perennial and unaided fruitfulness of all cleared lands," they will apply it in aid of exhausted nature, and may then hope to extract as abundant produce from her bosom, as in the days when their grandsires first heaved the axe, and smoothed the rugged surface of the soil. Till interest and reflection shall thus combine, in vain may we look for any improvement in the system, where land is cheap, and the means as well as the desire of information exceedingly restricted.

Orleans, which is very little elevated above the stream, gradually rises from the shores to its centre. Its woods are nearly all cut down. Scarcely a tree presents itself to the view. The fences are composed of rails of split wood, which have a tendency to impart to the whole

island an impoverished and unpropitious appearance. It is about 48 miles in circumference; its length is twenty, and its greatest breadth six miles. At the lower extremity of the island, the river is about fifteen miles across; and the stream is, thence to the Western point, divided into two nearly equal channels; where a basin opens, which extends in every direction about six miles, and may be said to be bounded in one angle by the mouth of the river St. Charles, and in another by the shores of the St. Lawrence opposite the extremity of Cape Diamond. Within its safe and ample bosom may be seen riding at anchor an immense number of merchant-men, and minor trading vessels, from various quarters of the world; but "the forest of masts," which is a conspicuous object in all busy sea-ports, dwindles here into insignificance, in consequence of its contiguity to thicker and more towering woods.

On entering this basin, a delightful combination of imposing scenery arrests the attention. On the left, the falls of the Montmorenci, the waters of which pour over a precipice Two Hundred and Ninety feet in height;-the rocks of Point Levi on the South shore, displaying signs of human industry down to the very banks;-and the elevated promontory opposite, on which the city of Quebec stands ;-combined with the crowded trees on each side of the river, compose a grand scenic exhibition, from the contemplation of which the stranger turns aside with the utmost reluctance.