Bellegarde in the Pyrenees, from Montpelier, nor from Cintra near Lisbon, are to be preferred to this specimen of American scenery. He enlarges also very justly on the commercial advantages of its situation in extent of water carriage: but he allows imagination to carry him too far, when he contemplates [page 73] the possibility of Quebec being the first city in America; because the length and rigour of her winter, which suspends navigation and almost all other business during half the year, will form an insuperable obstacle to that proud elevation. Of the intenseness of the cold, he gives several very striking examples. Experiments have been made on iron shells, by military men, to ascertain the force of the expansion of freezing water. After having nearly filled the shells with water, iron plugs were strongly driven in at the fuze hole by means of sledge hammers: but they could never be so firmly fixed as to resist the expanding ice, which sometime afterward pushed out the plugs with great force and velocity, a bolt or cylinder of ice immediately shooting up from the hole. When a plug was used with springs to lay hold of the inside of the shell, so that it could not possibly be pushed out, the force of the expansion split the shell. The great distance to which these iron plugs were thrown shows the amazing power of the expansion of frost; a plug of 24lb. weight being thrown 415 feet from the shell. A different experiment, of a still more remarkable nature, we shall relate in the author's own words. It is mentioned when he is describing his journey to the southward over Lake Champlain, in the depth of winter:

"The Lake, though 120 miles long, is not broad, seldom above 10 to 15 miles; and there are a great many islands and headlands, which direct the course of the pilot in summer, and the cariole or sleigh driver in winter. "So soon

as the weather moderated, we set out on the lake; and took a guide

for some time till we should fall in with some one going our way, or discover a track in the snow to direct us.

"Travelling on Lake Champlain is, at all times, really dangerous; and I would not advise any one to attempt it, if it can be avoided; which may generally be done by lengthening the route. Instead of going on the Lake to Burlington, or Skeens

borough, you may go by way of St. John's, ton, and from thence to Skeensborough. Windmill point, and Sandbar, to Burling

"It is very common for sleigh, horses, and men, to fall through the ice, where the water is some hundred feet deep; and you have no warning of your danger till the horses drop in, pulling the sleigh after them; luckily the weak places are of no the sleigh as quickly as possible, and you great extent; you extricate yourself from find the ice generally strong enough to support you, though it would not bear the weight of the horses. You instantly lend your aid in pulling out the horses, and in endeavouring to save them, which is done will require the greatest stretch of your in a manner perfectly unique, and which faith in my veracity to believe-the horses are strangled to save their lives.

"When the horses fall through the ice [there are almost always two in an ertions they make, serve only to injure American sleigh] the struggles and ex

and sink them; for, that they should get out of themselves, is, from the nature of the thing perfectly impossible. When horses go on the Lake, they always have, round their necks, a rope with a running each of them such a rope; and on inquiry, noose. I observed that our horses had found out for what purpose it was intended. The moment the ice breaks, and the horses sink into the water, the driver, and those in the sleigh, get out, and catching hold of the ropes, pull them with all their force, which, in a very few seconds, strangles the horses; and no sooner does this happen, than they rise in the water, float on one side, are drawn out on strong ice, the noose of the rope is loosened, and respiration recommences; in a few minutes the horses are on their feet, as much alive as ever. This operation has been known to be performed two or three times a day, on the same horses; for, when the spring advances, the weak places in the lake become very numerous: and the people whose business leads them often on it, frequently meet with accidents. They tell you that horses which are often on the lake, get so accustomed to being hanged, that they think nothing at all of it.

"Pray, tell me, do you not think that this is one of those stories that travellers imagine they may tell with impunity, having a license 2-Seriously, you are wrong. Though this manner of saving horses, and getting them out of the water, appears extraordinary, yet, I assure you, the thing is very common, and known to every one who has been accustomed to travel on the lakes and rivers of this country during winter. The attempt, however, does not always succeed. It sometimes happens, that both sleigh and horses go to the bottom: and the men too, if they cannot extricate themselves in time. There was an instance of it on lake Champlain, a few days before I crossed it.

"These weak places of the ice, which prove so treacherous, have been later in freezing than the surrounding ice. In all lakes, and large bodies of fresh water, there are some places which never freeze; and some which freeze much later than others. It is to be accounted for, probably, in this way. The great body of the water is of a higher temperature than the atmosphere, although the surface has been cooled down below the freezing point, and become ice. The water is constantly giving out its heat to the atmosphere, at some particular place which thereby is kept from freezing for a considerable time. By and by, when the frost becomes very intense, that place at length freezes, but does not acquire the strength necessary to support the horses."

Another danger in this sort of travelling arises from the fissures in the ice.

Large cracks, or openings, run from one side of the lake to the other; some of them, six feet broad at least. I had not proceeded many miles on the lake before I met with a crack; but instead of an opening, I found that at this place the ice had shelved up to the height of several feet; and I learned that this was an indication of their being an opening further on. At the distance of eight or ten miles from this place, I was surprised to observe the driver put his horses to their full speed. I could see no cause for it. In a few minutes, however, I saw the crack or opening, about five feet broad. We were at it in a moment. It was impossible to check the horses, or to stop and consider, of the practicability of passing, or of the consequences. The driver, without consulting any one, had made up his mind on the subject. The horses took the leap, and

cleared the opening, carrying the sleigh and its contents with them. The concussion on the opposite side was so great, however, that the runners of the sleigh were broken, and there was a great chance of our being thrown, by the violence of the concussion, out of the sleigh, into the gulf we had crossed: this had very nearly taken place; but I was fortunate enough to regain my seat. By the help of some cords we repaired our damage, and proceeded on our journey. We met with several other cracks, but as they were not in general above a foot or two in breadth, we passed them without fear or accident. When the ice is cleared of snow, which was frequently the case, I could see that it was about a foot in thickness; yet it made a crackling noise as we went along and seemed to give to the weight of the sleigh and horses, as we advanced, which produced sensations not very pleasant."

Summer travelling in Canada is performed in a calesh, a vehicle with a single horse and two wheels, without springs or cushions. Neither this conveyance, nor the Canadian auberges, can stand a comparison with the comforts of travelling in England: but, rude as they are, Mr. Gray has no hesitation in preferring them to the carriages and inns of Spain, Portugal, and even of France.

The population of Lower Canada, or the country lying along the course of the St. Lawrence, from above Montreal to the sea, exceeds 200,000. Of Upper Canada, the most populous part lies in a southwest direction from Lower Canada, ascending the St. Lawrence by its left bank, and occupying the northern shores of lakes Ontario and Erie. Thirty years ago, this tract was nearly one continued forest; but its climate, in consequence of its southward position, being less severe than that of lower Canada, it has become of late years, a preferable resort in the opinion of settlers. Its population amounts to 100,000, consisting of a mixture of British and Americans from the United States. The inhabitants of Lower Canada are almost all French, being the posterity of the colonists who occupied it when

it fell into our possession in 1760.The administration of justice, as far at least as it regards the law of debtor and creditor, is in no better state than in our sugar-colonies. "A man [page 120] needs not pay his debts here unless he thinks proper; he has only to intrench himself behind the forms and quibbles of the law, and laugh at his creditors.". In pursuance of the erroneous policy which we have adopted in all our transatlantick colonies, a trader in Canada cannot be declared a bankrupt; his property cannot be put in trust for the benefit of his creditors; nor can he even be prevented from disposing of it in almost any way which he thinks fit. Neither can he be arrested, unless on oath that he is about to leave the country. If he be sued, he may put off his creditor from term to term by a succession of quibbles; and if at last judgment be obtained in the lower court, the matter is carried to the court of appeals, where a year or two can easily be wasted. After all this, an appeal may then be made to the king and council, so that one appeal follows another till the patience of the creditor is exhausted; and the worst is that, during all this time, the debtor is combating the creditor with the money which he ought to have paid to the latter. The consequence of the want of law, and of the disadvantages inseparable from intercourse with a newly settled country, has been that the majority of mercantile adventurers in Canada have failed. Of the English manufactures exported to this colony, no payment has been made for a considerable proportion, but it has been, as in other quarters, deceit fully transferred from the hands of their British owners to those of colonial settlers.

It is said that, previously to our conquest of Canada, the inhabitants were honest and punctual in the performance of their various engagements; but that, after the con

quest, almost all the persons of the greatest respectability, those who, by example or authority were qualified to keep good order in the country, and who knew the people, their prejudices, and their wants, left it and went to France. In their room came English governours and judges, who, though well meaning and just, were strangers to the laws and customs of the people. The lower ranks of the Canadians, and a large proportion of the middle ranks, are immersed in profound ignorance; and to be able to read and write is an attainment not always possessed even by those who aspire to seats in their provincial assembly.

The constitution lately given to Canada was formed on the model of our own. Upper and Lower Canada, being very different in language and manners, are governed by distinct assemblies; the consequence of which is, that the French colonists, being far more numerous in Lower Canada than the English, have a correspondent majority in the legislature. This circumstance gives no small offence to Mr. Gray, who labours hard to show that these illiterate settlers have no right to a voice in the administration. But we cannot compliment him on a knowledge of the principles of government, any more than of the laws of commerce. He remarks, indeed, with great justice, that we are too eager to introduce our constitution among people who are by no means fitted to receive it, as in the case of Corsica. But, in attempting to point out a remedy for the defects of our Canada government, he ventures on a subject which is foreign to the occupations of a merchant, and should be reserved for minds that are accustomed to profound investigation.

A similar observation may be made on Mr. G's account [p. 158] of the manners of the Indians. It is marked by that precision which is the result of actual observation, but it discovers no traces of an acquain

tance with the general history of civilisation. A different testimony, however, is due to Mr. Gray when he avoids speculation, and confines himself to matters within the sphere of a merchant. His statements then bear the stamp of care and accuracy, and form documents of considerable importance to those who are interested in Canadian affairs.

After having noticed the perseverance with which the Roman catholick missionaries, in a former age, explored the interiour of Canada, submitting to the miseries of savage life, and setting its dangers at defiance, Mr. Gray remarks that the catholicks and protestants continue to live, in this quarter, on the best terms. They go without scruple to each other's marriages, baptisms, and burials; and they have even been known to make use of the same church for religious worship, one party occupying it in the forenoon and the other in the afternoon. Of the slowness of the Canadians in adopting improvements, the following may be taken as a specimen:

"It is only within these very few years that barley has been known in this country. It was introduced by a gentleman who erected a distillery near Quebec. He imported the seed from England, and after much pains taken to overcome the antipathy which the Canadian habitant has to experiments, he succeeded in prevailing upon them to give it a trial. He gave them the seed gratis, and bound himself to pay

them a certain sum for each acre they should sow, whatever the produce might be. In this way he overcame their prejudices; and barley is now very common in all parts of the country."

The quantity of wheat exported from Canada varies from half a million to a million of bushels. It is what we term in this country spring-wheat, the seed being put into the ground so late as May, and the harvest finished in the beginning of September. It obtains a higher price at Glasgow than at London, because the wheat in the West of Scotland is of such a quality (in consequence of the wetness of the climate) as to be materially improved by an admixture of the hard and dry grain of Canada. In Upper Canada, the grain is generally converted either into flower or biscuit before exportation; the length of the navigation to the coast rendering it an object to compress bulk in order to save freight.

The abstract which we have given will be sufficient to convey to our readers an idea of the plan of Mr. Gray's book, and of the different subjects which he has introduced into it. The arrangement of his materials has been made with care, and his style possesses animation; so that the author may be said to have performed his task well, except in those places in which he has ventured out of his depth.

THIS, in the preface, is stated to be the first volume of a projected series of memoirs of British animals; in which, for the accommodation of such persons as are inclined to pursue the study of any one branch of the zoology of these islands in VOL. II.

3 A

preference to the others, each class will be rendered perfectly distinct from the rest. Of all the classes, from the quadrupeds to the insects, the author says, he intends to give an account of every known species; but that from the insects, downward,

owing to the immensity of their numbers, it will not be possible for him to do more than insert a de

scription of the several orders and genera, and to delineate the habits of life and economy of the most interesting species.

pre

Mr. Bingley commences the sent volume with a general view of the structure and functions of quadrupeds; and the first genus that he describes is that of the bat. We

here find many original and very interesting remarks. All the animals of this tribe are extremely singular in their economy; and, until the celebrated experiments that were made upon them by the abbé Spallanzani, their habits and instincts were but little understood. These experiments were intended to ascertain by what means the animals were enabled in the dark, when even their eyes and their ears were perfectly closed, to avoid obstacles placed in the way of their flight, and so placed as even to render it a matter of some difficulty to avoid them. From Mr. Bingley's account of the common bat, we select the following description of the mode in which that animal con trives to eat when the insects on

which it feeds are so large as not easily to have admission into its mouth.

"At different times, I have had several of these bats alive; but in the spring of 1804 I caught one, which, within an hour afterwards, had courage sufficient to take food out of my hand. I held one of the common house flies in my fingers, in such manner as to touch the animal's nose, and rouse it from sleep. It made a kind of smack with its mouth; threw itself suddenly forward by its hind feet; and immediately devoured the insect. I then caught for it one of the large, blue, flesh-flies. I touched its nose with this, as I had done with the former, and the animal seized it precisely in the same manner. But in the latter case, there was some difficulty. The fly was so large, that, notwithstanding the width of the bat's mouth, it could not entirely have admission. My curiosity was excited to know in what manner it would so dispose the fly as to get it down its

throat; since its fore feet were evidently useless for the purpose. I was soon satisfied. The animal, raising itself somewhat higher than usual on its fore legs, bent its head with great dexterity under its belly, and forced the insect into its mouth, by thrusting it, from side to side, against that part of the membrane which extended betwixt the two hind legs. I cannot be mistaken in this particular; for, during often repeated.” the life of the animal, the experiment was

Mr. Bingley cnumerates six British species of bats; and he has horse-shoe bat. He then proceeds figured them all except the lesser with the seals. We shall insert, for the entertainment of our readers, some of the anecdotes which he has

related of a pied seal that was caught in the month of December, 1778.This animal was supposed to have been very old when taken. Its teeth its whiskers of great length, white, were yellow and much worn; and and the hairs very rough. Notwithstanding its great age, it was soon rendered docile and tractable.

"It was attentive to the voice of its owner, and, on all occasions, obeyed his commands with great readiness. It would bend itself, roll round, turn on its back, give the man one of its paws or fins; or elevate the upper parts of its body out of the water of the tub in which it was kept, according to his orders. It answered to his call or signs by its voice, which was hoarse, and seemed to proceed from the bottom of its throat, and had some resem blance to the hoarse bellowing of a bull. On attentively watching the animal, it appeared that this sound (though less harsh) was produced on inspiring as well as on expiring air. It would answer its master, when it heard his voice, though he were at some distance, and out of sight. Whenever this was the case, it seemed to search for him with its eyes; and as soon as it again perceived him, though only after a few moments' absence, it never failed to exhibit proof of its joy, by a kind of hoarse, murmuring noise. Till the ani mal was rendered tolerably docile, its owner said, that it invariably attempted to bite, with violence, any person who in the slightest degree offended it.

"For about eight days, at a certain season of the year, this seal, which was a