The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-29 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Western Wanderings. By W. H. G. Kingston.
Chapman and Hall.
Commend us to a cheerful and unjaundiced
tourist, one who to a capacity for observation adds
a willingness to be pleased with what he sees, and
a thorough honesty of purpose. Give us a travel-
ler of this sort, and we will willingly overlook, if
we must, the absence of profound speculation, and
accept with gratitude the means for arriving at
correct conclusions which he sets before us. In a
word give us a tourist like Mr. Kingston, whose
" Western Wanderings" let us at once say, entitle
him to our gratitude. Thoroughly unprejudiced,
of course, he is not, for who is ? but no one can
deny him the merit of cheerfulness, and honesty of
intention, coupled with pleasingdescriptive powers,
considerable intelligence, and a scrupulous fidelity
of narration. A happy Benedict, it would
appear, he resolved to spend his honeymoon
in the far West, and, combining the pleasing with
the useful, note down as he proceeded, for the
benefit of others, what might meet his observation
mid the antique forests, splendid lakes, wild set-
tlements, picturesque hills and plains, and growing
towns and ports of Upper and Lower Canada. Ac-
cordingly, having armed himself with a host of in-
troductions to the elite of these colonies, and of the
United States, he took a passage for himself, his
amiable bride (a Scotch woman), and her attend-
ants, on board the Atlantic, one of the magnifi-
cent steam-ships of the American Collins' line,
lying in the Mersey, which paddled off with the
happy pair, and some 300 other passengers for New
York, on the 24th August, 1853, and after a short
and pleasant voyage, landed them in safety,
highly delighted with the scenery which greeted
them on the coast in the neighbourhood of that pic-
turesque metropolis of the New World. As a
matter of course our tourist found abun-
dant matter for observation, and, among
other things, was a little surprised at the
foreign aspect of the place, and considerably
taken aback on his first introduction to hotel
life in America. Like a sensible traveller, how-
ever, he speedily laid the blame in the right' quar-
ter, and found the creature comforts offered in
these magnificent civic (shall we call them ?) cara-
vanseras not to be sneezed at, whether as regards
quality or quantity ; the abundance of ice placed
at the disposal of the guests, owing to the extreme
heat, more especially challenging his approbation.
One or two disappointments, we regret to say, ap-
pear to have damped his spirits for a moment ; and
these were, first, the discovery of flagrant bribery
and injustice in relation to the distribution of
viands at dinner—the knowing ones, aware of the
frailty of the tribe of wai' :s, being in the habit of
dropping a dollar into the. 7 plates on their arrival
at "mine inn," and thereby insuring the best supply
of the choicest food—the fact of all the dishes
being dissected and apportioned in an ante-room,
enabling the rascals to manifest their gratitude—
at all events, to complete the iniquitous bargain ;
secondly, the cosmopolitan character of the popu-
lation; and, thirdly, the demeanour of the artisans,
at least that portion of them which met his gaze
while perambulating the streets. The last he de-
scribes as resembling more the reckless bravado of
audacious foreign adventurers than the manly,
Anglo-Saxon self-assertion to have been anticipated.
Broadway, with its rows of trees on either hand,
its multiformed houses, splendid shops, gay prome-
nades, and well-ordered omnibuses, far surpassing
those of London in comfort and convenience, chal-
lenged, as might have been expected, his admira-
tion. Unable, however, owing to the heat, to
stay above a day or two, his perambulations soon
came to an end, and he set to work to make
preparations for his journey westwards, which
being complete he took his departure by
steamer for Albany. Looking round him the
size and arrangements of the vessel, including the
separation of the passengers and the crew (which
is so complete that the latter are unable to see by
what agency the vessel is directed) naturally at-
tracted his observation. Arrived at Albany he
proceeded by train to Saratoga, which he reached
at the termination of the season, when the visitors
belonging to the " Upper Ten Thousand " were
dispersed in various directions. Having landed
and taken tickets for Montreal the waters of Lake
George and its richly wooded shores we are told
reminded the party, as they proceeded on their
voyage, of some of the most beautiful of the
Scotch lakes. Fort Ticonderaga, on Lake Champ-
lin, next challenged their admiration. There the
novelist James has pitched the locale of one of his
latest novels, describing the scenery, according to
the tourist, with singular fidelity. To judge by the
description given of it, the novelist has been most
tasteful in his selection--anything mere beautiful
in colouring than the landscapes presented to view
from the lake being impossible. Arrived at Mon-
treal, the remarkable purity of the air, and the
effects of the great fires in every direction, whole
streets having a twelvemonth ago been burnt down,
are briefly noticed. The Cathedral was not to the
author's taste—nothing, in fact, connected with
Roire appears to have been so, his prejudices, not
often nor coarsely obtruded, being amusingly in-
veterate in that direction. In connection with this
building he picks up a story of a providential
escape from a horrible death, reminding us of the
precipitation of the priest from the tower of Notre-
Dame, as veritably related in Victor Hugo's roman-
tic tale. Here he met for the first time with a
number of Indian women, whimsically attired,
whom he describes as " remarkably like the lowest
class of Irishwomen." The scenery on the banks
of the St. Lawrence, between Montreal and Quebec,
in the main, escaped his notice, the boats running
as usual at night. What he did see, however,
was not of a character to excite regret about the re-
mainder. Arrived at Quebec, the party, after a
number of excursions, and obtaining theinforma-
tion for which they had come in search
as to their proper course, turned backward
and made for Toronto, in the province of
Upper Canada, at which place they landed
deeply impressed, by the way, with the grandeur
of the lakes. To the surprise of our tourist, in-
stead of a " muddy little York," he found a large,
handsome, admirably laid-out, and -growing city,
with many fine public and private buildings—the
shops, vieing in every respect with those of
any city in England, except, perhaps, London and
Liverpool. As to the society to be met with there
his report is equally favourable. The scenery,
unfortunately, it would appear, is uninteresting ;
still, with this exception, for which the Falls of
Niagara in the neighbourhood compensate, he is
of opinion no more desirable residence for a family
is to be found in Canada. Before leaving Toronto
he took a trip into the country, and was agreeably
surprised at the striking indications of progress,
such as railways, lines of telegraph, &c., visible in
every direction, and not less amused at witnessing,
for the first time, the "irresistibly comic spec-
tacle" of a house changing its locality—the domicile
in question conducting itself as decorously as if it
was used to it. But westward, ho ! being still his
motto, the party took their places in the railway
train, and plunged into the backwoods at the rate
of 20 miles an hour ! Passing vast heaps of charred
trees, and a number of log huts scattered atintervals
through the wild forest, they arrived at Bradford
—landing at the head of a long sedgy creek,
haunted by wild fowl, covered with a profusioncoe
of water lilies, and running up from Lake Sim
There they had recourse to a steamer,
tits way'
which not
unfrequently, we are told, had to u
through floating islands as well as between the
winding sedges. At last Lake Simcoe was reached ;
whose open blue waters with the farms, cottages,
gardens, and orchards on the east
highly refreshing after the dreary shore proved
lake, it. would scene they had
just witnessed. The shore of this
appear, is Recounted the most healthy part o

. !

Canada, as its waters are the purest, because of its
elevation. Couchachine—a beautiful lake, with
marble quarries on its shores, and still paddled
.by,
the Red Man, was next entered. Arrived at
Orillia, the party started by waggon for Lake
Huron, and were duly bumped on their passage
over the " corduroy" or plank roads, witnessing,
however, as they proceeded, a great variety of the
wildest scenery and a number of romantic spec-
tacles. Chief among the latter were three magni-
ficent wood fires, by the side of which stood the
hardy backwoodsmen—" their figures glowing with
the ruddylight, while they fed the fires and watched
that the flames did not spread to their huts or the
neighbouring trees." Having reached Lake Huron
and taken their places in a steamer the party were
paddled onward, stopping here and there to pay a
visit to some of the numerous islands and settle-
ments in connection with it, including an Indian
village and missionary station, of the inhabitants
of which, their condition and prospects, we have an
interesting description. While threading the
Georgian Bay, as the eastern portion of the lake is
designated, the purser of the vessel gave our tou-
rist an account of the melancholy fate of the ro-
mantic young Englishwoman, who became the wife
of a half-caste Indian, exhibited as a Red chieftain
in Catlin's exhibition in London, from which and
subsequent information it appears that she was
treated with much cruelty by her savage husband,
whom, however, no entreaty would induce her to
quit, so strong was her sense of duty. That
she embraced the Roman Catholic faith, and
was indebted to the charitable offices of
the resident priests for a cessation of her husband's
cruelties, and that a couple of years before she had
slept her last sleep, worn out with suffering, and
praying to the end for the conversion of the man
by whom she had been so atroziously deceived,
leaving behind her the character of a mistaken but
" virtuous, high-minded, and devoted woman."
It but adds to the tragic effect of the story to nar-
rate that since her death her prayers appear to have
been answered in the conversion of the uncivilised
widower, who has built a tomb to her memory, to
which he nightly repairs, to bewail her loss and
his deep culpability. Having landed at the Bruce
Mines, on the north shore, the result of Mr. King-
ston's inquiries was highly satisfactory, much
progress being made and making there, and the
prospect opened out to capitalists being in every
respect of the most encouraging description.
Arrived at the small town of Sault St. Marie,
in the vicinity of Lake Superior, and 400 miles
distant from any other town of size, the author
embraced the opportunity of witnessing a burnt
forest, six miles in extent, on either side. The
impressions produced by the spectacle are thus
described :—" No churchyard, no battle-field,
no city of tombs, could create feelings more
melancholy and oppressive than did this burnt
forest. It seemed the abode of the very spirit of
sadness and regret ; and as the gloom came on the
blackened trees shaped themselves into gaunt
spectres stalking over the ground—fit denizens of
such a locality. I could endure it no longer, and
hurried away, splashing through the wood, heedless
of rattlesnakes and adders." To return : In this
locality, we may mention, the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany—whose grasping, cold-blooded monopoly is
elsewhere stigmatised—have a post, which the
author visited, meeting with a cordial hospitality
from the superintendent. Cooper's Indian charac-
ters arepronounced imaginative, the noblest tribes
being less brave than represented, and none but
arrant cowards, and worse, being to be found on this
side the rocky mountains. From Sault St. Marie
the party proceeded to Chicago, and from thence
followed the waters of Lake Superior, through
Lakes Huron, St. Clair, and Erie, to their
terrific plunge at Niagara, of which and the sur-
rounding scenery there is a graphic and animated,
but unexaggerated, description, the result of a pro-
longed inspection. The conclusion finally arrived
at respecting the falls by our traveller who cer-
tainly possesses a taste for the grand and pic-
turesque, is as follows :—" A poet may describe it
as his fervent imagination may dictate—but in ear-
nest, unexaggerated prose it consists simply of a
good-sized river falling over a very ordinary-
sized cliff, and very very inferior in grandeur
or in terror—inspiring power to a storm
on the ocean when lightning darts from
the lowering sky, the wind howls, and the waves,
lashed to fury, threaten the labouring ship." Still
" a very beautiful sight, and more worthy of a
visit than most sights and will afford subjects
for the painter's brush so long as the world lasts."
Leaving Niagara, Mr. Kingston and his party
made their way to Hamilton, the rival of Toronto,
and containing 23,000 inhabitants, the population
of the latter, the older city being some 24,000.
Here, it seems, are to be found more good hotels
than in any city in Canada. In the neighbourhood
the celebrated Sir Allan Macnab has a country
seat. The climate, it appears, is comparatively mild,
and "in winter it is a very pleasant residence,"
partly on this account, besides being healthier the
year round than Montreal or Quebec. The varied
effulgence of the foliage, interspersed with a luxu-
riant growth of fruit, in the neighbourhood are de-
scribed, pardon the bull, as indescribable. On the
highest spots on several of the farms tombstones
and monuments, railed in as in an English church-
yard, were observed, the custom of burying the
dead after this fashion having had its ori-
gin prior to the erection of churches. The
climate of Upper Canada is described as differ-
ing materially from that of Lower, the inhabitants
of the latter freezing with cold, while the Upper
Canadians are enjoying warm weather. The win-
ter, too, when it does come, is only half the length,
and at no period is the temperature lower than at
New York or Boston, in the United States. The
rapidity with which Hamilton has risen will ap-
pear from the fact that, 18 years ago, it only con-
tained one brick or stone house, the remaining
dwellings being made of wood ; and now, besides
the public edifices, the public buildings generally
are of brick and stone. Land in the outskirts,
it is stated, sells for 3001. per acre. Upper Ca-
nada, by the way, is a great cider country.
The next journey was from Hamilton to Wood-
stock, a rural straggling place, though the county
town of Oxford--from thence to London, a town
of rapid growth, and one of the most desirable in-
land places of residence in Canada. The reader
will be amused on learning that London has a river
Thames flowing through it, a Westminster on its
banks, and bridges over it bearing corresponding
names. From Londoif the party went on to Paris,
the prettiest town in Canada—so-called niirabile
dictu 1 because of the extensive beds of gypsum or
plaster of Paris in its neighbourhood. The next
stage terminated at Galt, a straggling town,
named after the author of " Laurie Todd."
From thence they proceeded to Guelph,
and onward to Toronto, the area between which
place and Hamilton embraces "the garden of the
Upper Province." From Toronto they pushed on
to Montreal, and from thence to Quebec, where our
tourist had his illusions dispelled as to the plea-
sures of sleighing, and the locale from which we
derive our supply of Wenham Lake (1) ice—that
luxury actually being imported, or exported, by
the American company from Norway I While
describing this city, its peculiarities and prospects,
and drawing attention to the numerous indications
he witnessed of Canadian prosperity, Mr. Kingston
gives it as his impression that Toronto is likely to
become the capital of the Canadas, Nova Scotia, and
New Brunswick, when these are provinces united.
Romantic youths are warned against delusion in
relation to life in the Backwoods, it being unendur-
able, generally speaking, to men of education. On
the whole, his report of the prospects held out to
industrious emigrants of limited means, and capi-
talists, is decidedly favourable; the Upper Province,
however, he represents as preferable to the Lower.
The general feeling in relation to the union above
referred to, is, we are told, in favour of a legisla-
tive rather than a federal bond. In Canada it
would appear there are no daisies, no holly, and no
wild ivy ; and with respect to the birds a curious
fact is narrated, viz., that they are acquiring the
art of song. The dog, it may be remembered,
owes the art of barking to its companionship with
man.

Bidding adieu to Canada, the party returned to
the United States, and visited Boston, Cambridge,
and other places'. At Boston, Mr. Kingston had
interviews with Mr. Prescott, the historian, and
the Hon. Abbot Lawrence, and attended a lecture
by Dion Boucicault, the dramatist, who appears to
have moved his indignation by a false and degrad-
ing description therein of the status of literary
men in England, At Cambridge it was his good
fortune to find the poet Longfellow at home, and
to discuss with him books and writers. The address
of the poet is described as affable and ani-
mated his manners those of the world,
and his general appearance indicative of genius.
Of the adaptation of a republican form of govern-
ment to America candour compels him to pronounce
most favourably. In like manner he acknowledges
the courtesy and kindness which he every where
met with there, as well as in " the Canadas."
Finally, the party took their departure homeward,
and arrived at Liverpool on the 29th Jan., 1854,
having been absent from England about six months
—thus affording a convincing proof of how much
may be accomplished by diligence and determina-
tion. In conclusion, we cordially recommend these
volumes, with their rich store of anecdote, illustra-
tion, and description, to all parties interested in
our colonial empire, and more especially to the in-
tending emigrant.

The Earl Talbot, in consequence of the delicate state
lot health of Lady Victoria Talbot, intends wintering
abroad, His lordship and family are now ait Cadiz.