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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 'i *J ^ 1 ■I ■-^^i'r'^^ te K^ w * iCi c 1^ k^i. 'V L' '»"'#' ' f : 7 ■'-■it su' /*' EXTRACT FROM A JOURNAL. BUFFALO. June 29tA, 1835. At three o'clock, p.m. I proceeded by railroad to the ferry of the Niagara river, at Black Rock. This road runs under a line of dark compact lime- stone quarries, which, judging from the fossils I collected in the neighbourhood, must belong to the Silurian group.* The ferry-boat, in which we had to stem the tremendous current of the river, was large enough * Since the above was written, this country has been examined by several of the State geologists, among whom, I believe, some difference of opinion exists. I find the fol- lowing remark in Mr. Hall's report :— " I consider the rocks of this district as belonging to the old red sandstone and the Carboniferous group, and to be above the Silurian system of Mr. Murchison. 3 m }^^'XM •■■(" 1 i*. •■' . HEAD OF NIAGARA UIVEll. to convey carriages : the pnddles were worked by a horizontal wheel, which was turned by four horses. The outlet of the lake Erie, which is the head of the Niagara river, is perhaps a quarter of a mile wide, and must be of great depth ; it has a force of current which is positively alarm- ing. The bows of our boat were directed towards the lake, and against the stream ; when launched from the shore, I felt as if we were at the mercy of the turbulent waters around us. We were evidently carried at a great rate in a direction contrary to that in which we steered. I looked astern at the waters, which, gradually expanding, became more tran- quil as they flowed ; and their bright smooth course in the distance, looked almost inviting to explore the apparent solitude, of the sky-bound forest which they penetrated. No elevated ob- ject broke the level line of the horizon; the colour of the waters formed a contrast with that of the uninterrupted dark foliage covering a flat country, which gave to the surface of the stream an appearance of relief; I could easily have ima- gined the whole river an embanked high road, lead- ing across an extensive marsh. The passage-boat 1» ■'4 m i BANKS OF NIAGARA RIVER. staggered under US, as she breasted the cverflowing, impetuous lake stream, which, notwithstanding, soon landed us in safety at Waterloo, in Canada. Once more I set my foot on British ground, and the reiterated question, " What do you think of us upon the whole ?" ceased, for a time, to be put to me by every stranger. I was too late for the coach which runs from Watorloo to The Falls, but a New York gentleman, who had engaged a private conveyance, kindly accommodated me. The road runs close along the banks of the river ; in many places there is no protection for the traveller, and the soil being clay or marl, washed perpetually by the water, is constantly slipping. The river soon widens : I was as- sured that, in some places, it has a width of more than a mile ; thus gradually enlarging as the pilgrim advances, it serves, in some measure, to raise his conceptions of the mag- nificence of its fall. Expectation excited me almost to a painful degree ; even the pelting of a storm which overtook us, did not confine me within the shelter of our coach. How often did I attempt in vain, to discover some indication that I was really approaching the high altar of Nature's worshippers ! Hi/'-'V- kv v . ' r / ^; ... \ r^' 1/ ¥' , f^-if • t 1% ii^^" PAVILION. Having crossed a creek, which I had been told was within eight or ten miles of The Falls, I leaned once more over the open side of our stage, and beheld, not without emotion, as- cending in two columns, what Mrs. Butler has so beautifully characterized as " The everlasting incense of the waters." Their appearance re- sembled that of smoke ; and, elsewhere, I should have regarded them as traces of the backwoods- man in the forest. At the same moment I heard a soft deep murmur; — it was the unceasing voice of The Falls which stole upon my ear. The road diverges from the river before ap- proaching the village of Chippaway ; an uninter- esting drive of three or four miles farther, brought us to the " Pavilion." To the observer, from this elevated position, The Falls, both British and American, with part of the rapids, suddenly reveal themselves. Though not the finest view that may be obtained, yet it impressed me beyond all expectation. I had sensations of delight such as I never before experienced, and gave evidence of them by exclamations, such as I believe never before escaped me. As evening was fast approach- ing, I hurried down to the " Table Rock," and returned with a confused head, a full heart, and APPROACH TO TERMINATION ROCK. a subdued spirit. In the evening I sat down with my journal before me ; I strove to express what I felt, but could not; the scene I had beheld, had taken full possession of my faculties. After retiring to rest, the last thought in my mind, like the last sound to my ear, was of Niagara. June 30/A. ' I started early to make the tour. I proceeded to the staircase which leads to Termination Rock, behind the falling sheet of water. I stripped and asssumed the dress ordinarily worn on the occasion ; it consists of thick woollen stock- ings drawers and shirt, a large loose oil-skin gown with a band round the waist, oil-skin cap, and shoes provided for the purpose ; thus appareled, I proceeded with a mere child for my guide. The moment the visitor leaves the shelter of the staircase, he is met by a current of air, which, with the drippings of the accumulated spray from the rocks suspended over his path, is no unfitting preparation for what he has to en- counter. The spray soon becomes so thick as to be disconcerting, and the blast so violent, as to affect the respiration. My eyes dimly discerned, "^^'^ BRITISH FERRY. m through % medium, half air, half water, a black line, which I supposed was the path I should pursue. At the same time, my ears were stunned, by the roar of the cataract. Understanding that, as I advanced, a comparative calm would suc- ceed this storm, I pushed resolutely on, op- posed by an almost overpowering gust of wind and spray; but all my expectations of relief proved vain. I had long been gasping for breath, and I was now in a state of positive suffocation. Though I had advanced some distance behind the sheet of water, I was compelled instantly to return, making my exit much more speedily than I had made my entrance. How humiliating the sensa- tion which my retreat occasioned ; — the blast in its violence hurrying me, and the torrent pat- tering upon my broad oil-skinned back, felt and sounded as if I was driven out for cowardice, lashed by a thousand hands, and hissed at by a thousand tongues. After resuming my ordinary dress, I proceeded to the ferry. On the British side of the river, a carriage road has been formed to the water's edge. On the American side, the ascent is made by steep wooden steps only. A commanding view of a part of the rapids is obtained from the !- • 8 6t»>' TERRAPIN BRIDGE. iter, a black th I should ere stunned, anding that, would suc> ely on, op- ust of wind ns of relief for breath, suffocation. behind the ly to return, than I had ' the sensa- he blast in ;orrent pat- ik, felt and cowardice, led at by a proceeded he river, a he water's nt is made mmanding I from the ifff- bridge leading from Manchester to Goat Island. My Guide pointed out this bridge as an illustra- tion of American engineering talent, which has been able to secure foundations amidst such a " war of elements." Nature and art have contributed to make Goat Island a fitting residence for a poet. There are points from which he may view each separate feature of the whole cataract, or at the Terrapin* * What is called the Terrapin Bridge, ia a large and very long beam of wood, placed on the American side, across a part of the bed of the river, where very little water flows, and extending, until the farther end projects beyond the margin of the Horse-shoe Fall. This beam is secured to the bank of the river. A slight hand-rail enables a person to walk to its extremity. It was by means of a rope tied to the rail at this extremity of the bridge, that Abbott used frequently to descend for amusement, or excitement, and hang, like a spider from its thread, over the awfiil gulf be- neath him. The following account of Abbott is taken from Parsom' Guide to Niagara Falls : — A young Englishman, named Francis Abbott, of respect- able connexions, either through misfortune or a morbid state of mind, which made him desire seclusion, took up his residence on Goat Island, and in the neighbourhood of The Falls, for two years ; he became so fascinated with the solitude, and infatuated with the scenery, that no induce- ment could divert his thoughts, or draw him from the spot, where he acquired the name of the " Hermit of Niagara Falls." y W«\ • ' GOAT ISLAND. Bridge he may suspend himself over a "Hell of Waters." He may pursue his course in the wood, listening to the sound of what he no longer sees ; through tastefully arranged pleasure grounds on one side, he may meander along the bank of the smooth proudly swelling river ; or from the lawn of the other, watch its angry course, fret- ting and foaming, as if impatient to fulfil the glory of its destination. The most striking view He arrived on foot in June, 1829, dressed in a loose gown or cloak of a chocolate colour, carrying under his arm a roll of blankets, a flute, a portfolio, and a large book ; which constituted the whole of his baggage. He took up his abode , in the first instance, in the small inn of Ebenezer Kelly, on the American side, stipulating that the room he occu- pied should be exclusively his own, and that certain parts of his cooking only should be done by his host. He then re- paired to the library, where he gave his name, and borrowed some books, and music books, and purchased a violin ; the following day he again visited the library, expatiated largely, with great ease and ability, on the beautiful scenery of The Falls, and declared his intention of remaining at least a week, for "a traveller might as well," he said, " examine in detail the various museums and curiosities of Paris, as become acquainted with the splendid scenery of JSfiagara in the same space of time." On a subsequent visit he declared his inten- tion of staying at least a month, perhaps six. Shortly after he determined on fixing his abode on Goat Island, and was desirous of erecting a hut, in which he might live quite secluded ; the proprietor of the island not thinking proper to grant this request, he occupied a small room in the only 10 TABLE ROCK. era "Hell of course in the t he no longer !asure grounds the bank of or from the ' course, fret- to fulfil the striking view in a loose gown inder his arm a jebook; which )k up his abode, Sbenezer Kelly, room he occu> certain parts of t' He then re- » and borrowed d a violin ; the atiated largely, cenery of The a.t least a week, tmine in detail is, as become ra in the same ired his inten- Shortly after land, and was ?ht live quite nking proper m in the only of the whole Cataract is, in my opinion, from the Table Rock: it surpasses that from the river's edge, because it includes the Rapids. The height too of The Falls impresses the beholder much more strongly when viewed from above, than from below. house, being occasionally furnished with bread and milk by the family, but more generally providing and always cook- ing his own food. During the second winter of his seclu- sion, the family removed, and to the few persons wUh whom he held communion, he expressed great satisfaction at being able to live alone. For some time he enjoyed this seclusion; but another family having entered the house, he quitted the island, and built himself a small cottage on the main shore, about thirty rods below The Great Fall. On the 10th of June, 1831, he was seen to bathe twice, and was observed by the ferryman to enter the water a third time about two o'clock in the afternoon ; his clothes remaining for some hours where he had deposited them, an alarm was created, and an ineffec- tual search was made for him. On the 2lst, his body was taken out of the river at Fort Niagara, and was decently interred in the burial ground near The Falls. When his cottage was examined, his dog was found guarding the door, and was with difficulty removed ; his cat occupied his bed ; his guitar, violin, flutes, music books, and portfolio, were scattered around in confusion; but not a single written paper of any kind was found (although he was known to compose much) to throw the least light on this extraordi- nary character. He was a person of highly cultivated mind and manners, a master of languages, deeply read in the arts 11 i. '■ . \. • r ■' rvr-..' m- ^■■'- ■ . ii€» ^*f" TAULE ROCK. A magnificent distant view is obtained from the British ferry — I spent the afternoon at the Table Rock. In the country surrounding Niagara Falls, and for a considerable distance in some directions,* Silurian rocks are extensively, though not exclu- and sciences, and performed on various musical instru- ments with great taste ; his drawingfi were also very spirited. He had travelled over Europe and many parts of the East, and possessed great coIloi>v ;4iku. f/^ii^B TABLE ROCK. '■^i;^ sively, developed : their strata are rarely dislo* cated or disturbed, but almost horizontal, dip- ping very slightly to the south east. The Falls have a height of perhaps 170 feet. The mass of waters, descending with so great a force, has the effect upon the lowest stratum, of educing the fissile or slaty structure, which contributes to its rapid disintegration. This stratum is, in fact, a very compact shale, and before its exposure to atmospheric or other causes, is scarcely distin- guishable, by its physical characters, from the limestone. The debris is soon carried away by the waters, leaving the upper beds of limestone hanging over the cavities left by the destruction of the shale bed beneath them. This is not the case behind the falling waters only, but also at the sides of the channel cut by the river. The Table Rock is the overhanging portion of the uppermost stratum on the British side, close to the falling sheet of water. The cause of the recession of The Falls, from Queenston to their present locality, which, has operated through countless ages, is still in action ; the upper limestone strata being undermined and left with- out support, have portions constantly falling; within a few past years, immense blocks have 13 1 ! Y'' FALLS. been precipitated from this rock into the river course below, and the remainder must, ere long, share the same fate. A crack running from edge to edge, including about six feet in width of the rock, exists at this moment. Frequently I lay down at full length, crawling forwards, and taking care to keep my body at a right angle to the edge of the rock, until I could stretch my head over the precipice. Two things struck me as wonderfully beautiful ; — first, the margin of the falling sheet of water near me, which was like a stream of large diamonds ; secondly, and in a still higher degree, the most receding portion of the curve, which gives the name of Horse-shoe to this Fall; I was told that the falling water at this point is very deep ; its colour being sea green , I should doubt the assertion. It has here a smooth surface throughout the course of its precipitation ; thus, differing from every other part of the white range of The Falls. Throughout the descent of this portion, is seen the white foam, produced at the deepest part of the falling sheet, gradually bubbling through the stream, and marbling the whole volume in the most fantastic forms ; and as it reaches the cauldron below, bursting into one white mass of surf and spray. I had not the good fortune to 14 ock into the river ler must, ere long, ack running from ix feet in width of fnt. Frequently I ing forwards, and t a right angle to could stretch my things struck me t, the margin of le, which was like ndly, and in a still ig portion of the lorse-shoe to this 'ater at this point » green, I should a smooth surface ipitation; thus, the white range descent of this produced at the idually bubbling le whole volume ^s it reaches the white mass of t)od fortune to TABLE P.D:*K, IIAI'IDS. see the sun's rays refracted ; but I was told that three distinct rainbows are not unfrequently visi- ble over this portion of The Falls. The rapids have an imposing effect, and when viewed in con- nexion with The Falls, contribute essentially to render them what, I believe, they are, — " The first wonder of the world."* After an absence, I never re-upproached them without experiencing the most powerful emotions. How grateful to my feelings were some of the verses with which my memory supplied me at the time, addressed, by Klopstock, *' To the Omnipresent God." One verse, peculiarly consonant with those feelings at the moments to which I have alluded, I cannot withhold : — Ich hebe mcin Aug ' auf, und seh Und siehe der Herr ist Uberoll ! Sonnen, euch, und O Erden, cuch Monde der Erden. ErtUUet, rings um mich.des Uncndlichen Gegenwart !t * A computation, (thougli indisputably an erroneous one,) has been made, that this cataract requires to form it, nearly half the fresh water on the globe. i 1 am indebted to my friend Mr. Charles Swjiin, for the foUowing beautiful English versification: — Uliwards I lift my gaze, and i; very where— Through time, through space, und all immensity, Do I behold the presence of the Lord ! O ye suns, O earths, and ye moons of the earths. Around mc with the fulness of the Inflnitc, How boundlessly the universe o'crflows ! 1j i i:^:ii BANKS, BELOW THE FALLS. It is related of RoUin, the author of the ancient history, that he could never suffer himself to read the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy, in any position, save on his bended knees. Do I mis- judge my fellow men in believing, that few can approach the Falls of Niagara for a first time, without feelings in some degree akin to tho»e recorded of the distinguished historian. July Ist. I set out in good time, along the cliffi), to the whirlpool. This task, it is not easy to accomplish ; I was, however, amply rewarded for my toil. The scenery along the banks of the river is little varied, but the monotony is occasionally relieved by the rapids, which present themselves in the river's course; the banks themselves, from the Falls as far as Queenston, arc quite precipitate on both sides, and of height generally correspond- ing with that of the Falls. The Table land of Niagara extends uninterruptedly for several miles to its escarpment at Queenston, where the surface suddenly falls nearly to a level with the Lake Ontario. I found a boulder of granite con- taining six cubic yards at least. I saw many black 16 CANADIAN FARM HOUSE. [the ancient lelf to read imy, in any Do I inis- iat few can first time, M to those liffs*, to the accomplish ; )r my toil, iver is little lily relieved lives in the s, from the ecipitate on correspond- Table land for several , where the el with the franite con- many black squirrels, and picked up some land shells, mostly the Helix albolabris. On approaching the whirl- pool, I was obliged to leave the cliffs, and thus lost myself in the woods. After some exertion, I found my way to a farm house. This house occupied a large space of ground, being of one story only, and was almost surrounded by a ter- race, six or eight feet wide, the roof of which pro- jecting from the house, was supported upon pil- lars. The occupants were Irish, who had passed one winter only in Canada. They expressed themselves as being quite contented and happy; and though the winter had been cold, they had passed it very pleasantly. Pressingly, they in- vited me to partake of their good cheer, viz. bread, butter, cheese, and milk, which I did with a freedom in which I would not have indulged, had I entertained the slightest idea that I should not be allowed to pay for my entertainment. All my offers of money were not coyhjy hut perempto- rily rejected. " In all my wanderings round this world of care," I was never, so far as I could judge, a more wel- come guest. They sped me on my way, and di- rected me to my destination. They shall ever have the stranger's grateful remembrance ! 17 I II t|! r.';- ■• ■ ■ ,-■> WHIRLPOOL. The whirlpool is in a complete basin, or crater, into which the river pours itself, pursuing its course to the left at less than a right angle from its entrance. Much nearer the river's mouth, than the centre of the basin, is the central point of the whirlpool. The appearance of the surface re- minded me of the section of a nautilus shell; curled radii, or rather septae of ever breaking waves diverge, in all directions, from the centre. Judging from the wood I saw floating, the por- tions of the surface unaffected by the whirl, appear to be governed by under currents ; another indication of this fact is, that the appearance which I have already described as so beautiful at the horse-shoe Fall, presents itself here. 1 returned by the high road to Niagara Falls, making a detour to that part of Lundy Lane, celebrated as the site of one of the most severely contested battles between the Americans and English. After dinner I again attempted the passage to the Termination Rock. I had now learned the mode of easy access ; it is, to keep the head deeply bent upon the chest. Having encountered, in this position, the thickest of the spray and the greatest violence of the blast, the visitor is enabled to pause and look around. 18 TERMINATION ROCK. Except for the black rock against which he leans, and the spot upon which he stands, he is within a globe of water. It has not, however, the com- mon appearance of water, nor of a grey mist, neither is there ordinary light or shade, nor a grotto of diamonds, nor the roar of a tempestuous ocean, yet of all these I was reminded. Though I lingered, yet I almost feared to stay. A respectable young farmer who accompanied my guide, exclaimed, on emerging into the open air, — " Every man that goes there should thank God when he comes back alive. I would not take nothing — no nothing for this stone," alluding to a small piece of rock which he had brought from the extremity. The passing behind the sheet of water is an appalling, but not dangerous undertaking, and would be accomplished by all who visit The Falls, if they could know the de- light it would afford them. I may safely say they would experience sensations such as no other ex- isting combination of causes could excite. July 2nd, At half-past five o'clock, I rode down to the ferry and crossed to Goat Island, for the purpose 19 1' i DEPARTURE. of exploring The Cave, and bidding The Terra- pin, adieu. I found that the account in my guide book was false in stating that " the cave is acces- sible.'' As to the trickling sheet, or detached portion of the American Fall, even a child may pass behind it in safety. No object which at- tracted my attention at this visit appeared new to me. This was my warning for departure from the neighbourhood, having previously resolved to quit the scene before the vividness of my impressions should be impaired by familiarity. It was not without regret that, on setting out for Brock's monument, " I cast a longing, lingering look behind." and sighed my farewell. Before I had advanced far, all my attention was arrested, by a break in the forest, or a turn in the road, affording a sudden burst of the music of The Falls. As that music died away, and I awoke to impressions from the objects immediately around me, I found myself revolving in my mind those sentences of Holy Writ—" The voice of the Lord is tipon the tvaters." " The God of Glory thun- der eth." 20 rra- uide cas- hed may at- wto Tom Ived my out was [1 the The le to ound hose Lord hun- REFLECTIONS. Having left The Falls of Niagara, I asked my- self — Have they disappointed me? Have they equalled my expectations ? From the moment that, in breathless expecta- tion, I caught a first glimpse of the cloud which marked their being, to the moment I quitted them, I had sensations such as I never before ex- perienced ; a fulness of delight, and yet, whilst gazing upon them, a feeling somewhat allied to vacancy of thought. Was it that my ordinary ideas were at once discarded as unfit associates for those resulting from the sensations which crowded upon me, and for which I could find no analogies? I was as an infant just placed in a new world, my senses busied in receiving impress- ions totally new, and my memory supplying none •21 DISAPPOINTMENT FROM UNNATUllAL EXPECTATION, for just comparison. In my rambles there was ever a something which acted ns a restraint on my tongue, and a check upon my steps. When giddy strangers indulged in idle and uncongenial laughter, I felt at the moment as if they were guilty of sacrilege, and, even upon reflection, I could not withhold from them my contempt. I could not pause without some ejaculation es- caping from my lips, such as, Great God! how wonderful — how passing wonder, He who made them such ! Let those who have derived their ideas of power from the volcano and the hurricane ; who have been familiar with floods, and bred amidst the roar of cannon, unite them all within na- tural limits, and they may certainly form a more terrific combination, but none so cncbantingly impressive as that produced by The Falls of Niagara. If, as Hamilton has observed, a man go expecting to see " the Atlantic ocean pouring out of the moon," he will find no such thing; and if he say, as my neighbour at dinner this day said to me, " I have seen many water-falls, and this is only larger ; and I don't sec why a mere matter of size should throw people into such ec- stacy," I should place him on a level with the 22 ON, SOUND OF THE FALLS. brute. In ray opinion, a man who feels disap- pointed on seeing Niagara, would best consult his own interest, by not whispering the fact even to a friend ; I should consider the expression of dis- appointment merely as a proof that he, himself, had a head Incapable of judgment, and a heart unsusceptible of feeling. To the sound of these Falls may perhaps be attributed no small share of the effect produced by them upon the mind. It differs from any other I ever heard. It has been said that a dis- tinguished British Royal Academician — one who must undoubtedly have been keenly alive to all that is beautiful and grand in nature — exclaimed on viewing the Falls of Terni, " Well done water, by G — d ! " Had Niagara been before him, the tone of his feelings must have been subdued, and if expressed, had partaken less of levity. Of the Falls of Terni, Tivoli, Montmorenci, and Tren- ton, I can speak from personal experience. They produce no impression upon the beholder which can give birth to conceptions at all analogous to those produced by the gigantic Niagara. — The greatest artificial sound with which I am ac- quainted, that of the explosion of artillery, is of a nature which gives to the hearer the feeling of 23 SOUND OF THE FALLS. *! utter exhaustion in the power which produces it ; but I never listened to the sound of Niagara, without the impression, that an inexhaustible power was in action, which, unless restrained and subdued, must instantly annihilate me. The thunder in a tropical region, is most awful and grand ; yet its sound, unlike that of the change- less Niagara, increases and dies away upon the ear, as it approaches and recedes ; it is thus con- stantly associated in our minds with place, a limited idea. Probably the feelings excited by the sound of the cataract, bear a greater resem- blance to those^ produced by the roar of a tempes- tuous ocean ; but that roar strikes upon the ear by pulses, which, in human exertions, imply a period of rest. For these or other reasons, per- haps merely our greater familiarity with them, they affect us less than the roar of Niagara, which is the same every moment, yesterday, to- day, and so far as man is concerned, for ever. A friend of mine, who read the auove remp.iks, has observed, that they reminded him of the de- scription given by Clarke of his feelings, on visiting the pyramids of Egypt. Referring to Clarke's Travels, I find the following passage, which pre- sents a vivid picture of those feelings: — " Now 11 ! 24 PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT. and then we thought we heard voices, and listened; but it was the wind in powerful gusts, sweeping the immense ranges of stone." The enormous magnitude of the human work, executed by a people whose history is obscured by the mist of ages ; the solitude of the desert, where thousands had formerly swarmed instinct with intelligence ; the melancholy record of man's attempt to bid defiance to the destroying power of time ; the humiliating proof how vain his efforts;* the fact, that this record, one of the oldest of man's existence upon earth, being partially con- structed of a rock,t one of the most recent in creation ; all must bring home to the mind of an intelligent observer, the everlasting truth, How great is God! how impotent is man! What wonder, that such a scene should induce super- stitious feeling, a personal dread, connected with * An appearance of ruins might indeed be traced the whole way from the pyramids of Djiza to those of Saccara ; as if they had been once connected so as to constitute one vast cemetery.— C&ir&e'* Travels. t Nummulitic limestone.— I have seen in the hand of the gentleman who broke it from one of the pyramids of Egypt, a piece of very compact straw-coloured limestone, admitting of a polish, and crowded with numraulitcs. 25 LANGUAGE OF THE FALLS. an idea of Almighty Power?* If such are the feelings likely to be excited by a visit to the pyra- mids, how different are the feelings I have wished to describe as connected with Niagara. Siissmilch has attempted to prove that liuman language was a direct communication from the Deity : Herder maintains, in his Essay " On the Origin of Language," that human language had its sole origin in natural language; that there is in sound, a language naturally understood by every living being ; that artificial language may be regarded as natural language perfected by reason. For my own part, I do not see any important consequences attaching themselves to this differ- ence of opinion ; namely, whether language be the result of a power or quality superadded to organic matter, depending upon sensation in its proper meaning, or a direct communication from God in- dependently of any material influence: of and from God, it must equally be, in either case. I shall not hesitate therefore, to state as my be- * On approaching the principal pyramid Clarke says : — " As we drew near its base, the effect of its prodigious magnitude, and the amazement caused in viewing the enor- mous masses used in its construction, affected every one of us ; but it was an impression of awe and fear, rather than of pleasure."— CtarA^e'i Travels. 26 'i; SOOTHING TONE OF THE FALLS. lief, that independently of any powers of reflection, of any association of ideas, of any mental action, there is. IN THE SOUND OF NIAGARA. A NATURAL LANGUAGE which can make the cords of every human heart to vibrate. The idea necessarily raised in the mind, is, as in Clarke's view of the pyramids, an indefinite but not less certain conception of the presence and operation of Almighty Power; but I would point out this striking difference : in his case that sense is accompanied by a vague apprehension ; a personal fear connected with the exercise of that power ; in other words, by a superstitious dread ; but at Niagara, an almost overwhelming sense of omnipotence is attended by a feeling of security, with a lively consciousness of unlimited power, the feelings are lulled into a calm, into a de- lightful state of repose ; the exercise of that power here inspires no terror, but soothes the mind, and fills it with ideas of satisfaction and of hap- piness. I have had no evidence from experience, of the effect of familiarity with the sound of the Falls ; but judging from the impression made upon my- self during a four days' visit, I should think, that an attentive and thoughtful listener could not, 27 EFFECTS FROM ASSIMILATION. whilst gazing upon them, give admission to an evil thought. If, within view of the Pyramids, the contem- plation of a Deity is calculated to superinduce personal fear, I assert, that that contemplation within the sight and sound of Niagara would, on the contrary, inspire confidence and h?pc. Dr. Samuel Johnson says, " that m^n is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of lona." I would add, — still less is that man to be envied who could listen to Niagara and not " Feel his heart o'erflow with silent worship." Finally, the emotion produced in me by the sight and sound of these Falls has exceeded any I ever before felt from natural objects, excepting perhaps that derived from a glance into the crater of ^tna. I feel at this moment as if raised a degree in the scale of intelligence, by having beheld what the native Indian of these forests might have justly termed, the track of his Creator! Every one who has attended to the sources of his thoughts must be well aware, that though his 28 EFFECTS FROM CONTRAST. ideas for the most part succeed each other, owing to some correspondence or similarity, yet that their succession is not unfrequently occasioned by the strength of contrast; I think this truth will be admitted by every solitary spectator of The Falls. In such a solitude, how strongly will the de- lights of society be forced upon the recollection ! How easily space will be annihilated in thought, which in an instant will travel thousands of miles, and fix itself among those who give to life its charm. At such a moment, I would mark upon whom the impulse of feeling first casts regard ; it will prove a true key to the affections. Here, indeed, " the solitude and surrounding scenery strongly superinduce the idea of the possibility of being left entirely to one's own reflections ; in a state of perfect seclusion ; at the same time, we are made to feel more deeply the benevolence of the Deity, who has constituted us social beings and rendered us susceptible of pleasure from asso- ciation with one another ; hence deriving comfort in trouble, and additional happiness in prosperity." Should any reader of this narrative visit here- after the neighbourhood of Niagara, I should strongly recommend him to make his first ap- '2U ti'>- ,*l FINAL IMPRESSION. proach to T^" Falls, alone, and to select an hour when he is noi likely to be interrupted by stran- gers. Little do I know of the workings of the human heart, if he do not return with strength- ened convictions of the omnipotence and omni- presence of the great Creator. Manchester ; Joseph Onictt, Printer, Market Street. 30 (/ ■ f ■'■- I on^mfi' ■ZtS'