The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-08-03

OF the North has to show and an uninterrupted en-
joyment OF the sensation OF shooting the rapids,
you had better not make 1t till later in the year.
The rush OF travel Is something tremendous,
and, as the main elements OF the crowd
are such pleasant, courteous and forbearing
companions as young English tourists, "doing
the world" Southern planters, Injured to the ameni
ties OF river voyagng the Red River and the Tom
bigbee, wellto-do farmers and traders from the far
West, and Canadians, a New Yorker generally
comes out little behind In the periodical scram-
bles for camp stools and for '.hash.n Jones' Wood,
In the full agony OF one OF our halfdozen annual
national pcnics is indeed mild infection in the
way OF rowdyism and sellshness compared with the
scenes you will witness on Her Maesty's royal mail
steamer from Toronto to Prescott. or on the boat
from Hamilton which takes you thence onward to
Montreal Perhaps however, the discomfort OF the
trip Is sufficiently made up to you by the instruc.
tive warning you thus gain OF the ease with which
under unfavorable circumstances the finer Instincts
OF civilization are lost and mankind swept back
again into the Old barbaric stage OF society, whose
cardinal principle was,
That he should take who has the power,
And he should keep who can.
For example, take the way you have to get your
dinner. There would be plenty OF for all II the
steamship company would extend the tables
plates and knives and forks. But as the
Inc IL entlrtIy unuer Canaulau control tnttt necu
scarcely be hoped for, and the present accommo
dalton Is simply single table, capable of seating
fifty or sixty persons If the chairs are packed TO-
gcther very closely, and without any regard what
ever to the trivial question whether there will be
room enough for man OF average width 10 weid
the ribs OF his neighbcr. Please to note further
that every one Is very hungry, having mad nothihs
to eat al aa ssSen Ceky bad a il
could scarcely be touched though you had been up
since halfpast three O'Clock, when you left Kings;
md 10
had to endure three hours last in the
RAW, CHILLY AIR OF A CANADIAN MORNING.
leaving their comfortable positions on the decks
positions yon had envied all the m0rning-and
bringing their chairs into the aft cabin, where the
and lay the CLOTH "what can IL meanY'' You ask
yourself; 'dinner won't be ready for an hour yet"
Inquiry will inform You that they are going 10 walt
for
THE "FrRsr TABLE"
And wait they d. for f1 hour hour Se sNws
against Itch the Sides SIDES Of the cabin, watching
the walters with hungry, wistfal eyes, as
with impatience. No matter though the boat reels
through one OF the most interesting of the RAPIDS,
not soul daros stir from his anxious seat" AS
the eyentlul moment OF all approaches the excite
ment eliminates, and the instant the head waiter
gives signal that ii is no longer necessary to pre-.
serve gangway round the table each man and
woman--l was going to write lady and gentleman,
but that would be q blunder, wouldn't II 9-grasps
their seats by throwing his or her arms back, While
as best they can, in this position to the nearest
plate The table reached there Is OF course, Jam OF
chairs, and once saw an over eager person tumble
backwards in the struggle, chair and ALL Here and
there candidate for meal Is crowded out, anG
as even with this, there arc still more mouths
than plates, eager hands grab at anything
they can reach, and sometimes succeed In
snatching away from an unfortunate neighbor his
plate or his knife, or even his fork, II that alone
can be secured This scene Is repeated two OF
three tlmes-for the table has generally to be SET
thrice-while the head walter now and then cries
dies and gentienen-"would only be little more
orderly We could seat more people and give better
satisfaction" charming episode Of summer !,
travel, isn't it For my part, enjoyed 1t I'M
mensely. When was boy, and went to see the
SEEING THE WILD BEASTS FED
than ANYTHING else in the show This Is a specl-
men OF what you have to suffer for thirty hours.
The boats, indeed are Altogether inadequate to the
a absence OF Of administrative ability on the
part of the men who run them makes
on board esang 9od that there Mas
longer an American owned steamer on the St
Lawrence, and perhaps until there is such thing
again 1t would be well for Americans to post pone
| goipG down the river at all. Even now the eyi
reputation Of these boats has driven away large
number of Eastern and Middle state tourists, and
| the main bulk OF American passengers come from
the South and the West, more especially the South
And although passengers from those sections arc
pretty well accustomed TO roughng IL, even they
grumble loudly. But, some romantic reader will
saw isn't the scenery OF the Lake OF the Thousand
Islands and the river itself and the Rapids worth worth
m ansS t oEf wN viii n fa' confess them
selves a little disappointed. The st. Lawrence
is noble river, and there is majesty aud statell-
ness in its breadth and volume that are certainly
very Impressive and appeal strongly to the imag
nation. But the banks are low and UlOnotonous
and are devoid absolutely OF any picturesque or
pleasing features. great deal has been said and
written about the quaintness OF
THE OLD FRENCH VILLAGES
that here and there dot its banks but they can only
be seen ana enjoyed by going ashore, The glimpse
OF them you get from the deck OF the steamer is
altogether too BRIEF and generally also too distant
to give You, fair idea Of the strange, Old.
you merely, hurriediy, see that a great many
houses have projecting gables and tin roofs
Against the Lake OF the Thousand Islands, Of
whisper even q word of depreciation. They are
indeed, wonderfully beautiful and deserve all the
through them takes only four or five hours-from
Kingston to Prescott-and 1t Is hardly worth while
going all the way down the ST Lawrence, from
Hamilton to Montreal, q thirty hours Journey aud
an expensive one at that, for the sake Of seeing
what you might Just as well see without any special
discomfoIt in half dozen hours ut the very most.
Only one other sensation OF the trip remains To he
noticed,
THE RArrps,
the passage OF which, according TO the guide books,
is a thrilling and perilOus adventure. But. except
Iachine they are none OF them ever really danger
at Lachine--for instance, when there is bad
storm-the passengers are not taken through
them but are landed and sent by railroad to Mon;
treal. When the hotel touters, who are aboard
this Is the "Cedars or the "LOng Sauit,' and try
to brighten them by stories Of wreck
and disaster, there are some who are
foolish enough to get up little theatrical alarm,
and there are even rural ladies, who, thinking 1t
still fashionable to be very timid, as IL used really
to be half century ago, before Walter SCOTS adj
Vernon" founded q new type of heroine, show
signs OF falnting and Mysteries, and cling cOnvui.
sivey to the nearest friend, and say in agonIzed
accents, "lf we should be lost ~ But such are eX-
ceptlons. The majority OF tourists are fresh from
In smooth water quietly say "Is that all ~
think II vote were taken on the subject
among all the gentlemen passengers, who have
passed the age OF twenty-five, a verdict would be
rendered that the Rapids are very mild sensation
opnortunity. and a comiortabie boat to travel in.
but not otherwise Ladies' OF all ages ana young
gentlemen fresh from college keep diaries, and
being, therefore, almost necessarily on the side OIL
hook yyalld not Xntc imIu rIially and Cd