gling against it for a quarter of an hour, we succeeded in gaining an open shed by the road side, already filled with half-drowned pedestrians and equestrians, who were seeking shelter from the pitiless peltings of the storm. Such an arrival as ours, with a carriage loaded with heavy trunks, a pile of carpet bags and hat-boxes, with umbrellas, water-proof cloaks, and great coats innumerable, would have attracted the curiosity of less inquisitive people than thorough-bred Yankees. Five or six inmates of the shed busied themselves with examining the ivory Chinese handle of Mr. B.'s umbrella; and a person, whom they designated as "Doctor," dressed in a threadbare, shabby-genteel, frock coat, of blue cloth, with a collar originally black velvet, but which, by wear and tear of weather, had been transformed into a nondescript colour, observed that "they carved cleverly in New York." The patent leather hat-box soon fixed their attention, and, my answer not satisfying them that it was not made of wood, they took it out of the carriage and minutely inspected it both within and without. The patent boxes of the carriage wheels next became subjects for their conjectures and guesses; they had evidently seen none before. At this time we were joined by a most consequential person, the landlord of an adjoining ta. vern, whose curiosity had been excited by the crowd in his shed. Some one asked him whether he had ever seen such "mortal curious things in a carriage before;" he answered, "Yes ;" and just glancing at one of the fore wheels, "but these are those poor Yankee things; I have been a teaming these fifteen years, and would never wear one of them;" then turning to a hind wheel, why here, this box is clear gone, the wheel will come off the first heavy lurch you have, and you'll be cast adrift." For once, curiosity proved of service, it being very evident that the first heavy jolt would throw the wheel from the carriage. Another by-stander, a blacksmith, and old weather-beaten man of sixty, whom the inn-keeper addressed as "Uncle Jack," said he would render it secure in five minutes, and carried the box away to his forge, which was "but a few rods up the road."

ened by thick dark clouds. The doctor and a companion, one of thesteam-brethren also, took their departure on their poor and sorry animals, with their small black saddle-bags stowed with phials and cayenne pepper. The pedestrians commenced their wet and floundering journey anew through mud and mire; the landlord returned to his bar, and we alone were left to await" Uncle Jack's" pleasure, who spun out his five minutes to three quarters of an hour; and then, having reported all right, we also once more pursued our route towards the setting sun, over a road where there was no road, over bridges where it would be much safer to ford the stream, and through a country rich only in stones and stumps; where land would be no bargain at half a dollar per acre. Half an hour before sunset, when we gained the summit of a long dreary hill, the great orb of day burst through the clouds in all his setting glory, and the thin vapours were seen rising from the woods and valleys beneath us, and floating gradually away before the fast subsiding gale. The road, too, at the same moment improved, running over a firm earthen track; the driver cracked his whip, and, smiling, observed that "we should be in by an hour after sun-down yet." The horses trotted merrily along; we threw aside our wet cloaks and coats; while every thing to us wore a different appearance, and we now saw some beauty in the vast and endless forests which encircled us on every side, save here and there a solitary patch of cleared land, the effects of the industry of some hardy settler, who, one would almost imagine, had quarrelled with the whole world by seeking so secluded a spot; but we were now in a humour to be pleased with every thing.

Our gleams of sunshine and good fortune were only transitory; for in a few minutes we again dived into the dark, thick pine forest, whose ragged branches and tall straight trunks had but a few minutes before formed so fine a contrast against the lighter foliage of some other natives of the grove. Ascending higher ground, too, we were once more enveloped in the heavy damp clouds, and, as night set in, the road became worse, and the ha

Neither the coachman nor ourselves had ever travelled in the direction we were moving; so alike uncertain whither we were going, but trusting to chance and good fortune, we renewed our journey, grumbling against America and its miserable roads, and arriving at the fol. lowing conclusion-that to move out of the common coach route, to leave the turnpike road which was passable, and to attempt exploring new and undescribed scenery by striking out a line of road for ourselves, would never answer any end, and was in itself almost impracticable, that, for the future, we must be content with the old well-worn track of former tourists, and visit no places but those notified in the "Stranger's Guide," or "Northern Traveller." Tourists, however, are always in search for some incident which may be rather out of the common way, and which may vary some little the dull pages of their diary; and we too should have been satisfied had the fair and chaste moon shone brightly on us, laying open to our view some of the dark recesses of the dense forest, or the dreary depths of the vast ravines beneath us. But we had not a spice of the true romantic spirit in us; we preferred a warm supper and a good dry mattress, in a comfortable inn, to weathering it out in an unknown country, where we might be half drowned ere golden Phœbus again walked forth from his chamber in the East. At nine o'clock, from the cold breeze which swept past us, and from the streak of light along the horizon, as if the clouds, having nothing to cling to, were compelled to rise from earth, we knew that some large sheet of water was nigh, and shortly afterwards saw Seneca Lake, like a narrow stream lying far beneath us. We were doomed, however, to still farther disappointments; nor was it until an hour past midnight, after having trudged about eight miles on foot through deep and muddy pools, that we reached a small inn, at the head of the lake, wet, weary, famished, and consequently out of humour.

After much knocking at doors, and shaking of windows, we succeeded in rousing the landlord from his lair. In half an hour's time, he spread out before us a "rudes

ened by thick dark clouds. The doctor and a companion, one of thesteam-brethren also, took their departure on their poor and sorry animals, with their small black saddle-bags stowed with phials and cayenne pepper. The pedestrians commenced their wet and floundering journey anew through mud and mire; the landlord returned to his bar, and we alone were left to await" Uncle Jack's" pleasure, who spun out his five minutes to three quarters of an hour; and then, having reported all right, we also once more pursued our route towards the setting sun, over a road where there was no road, over bridges where it would be much safer to ford the stream, and through a country rich only in stones and stumps; where land would be no bargain at half a dollar per acre. Half an hour before sunset, when we gained the summit of a long dreary hill, the great orb of day burst through the clouds in all his setting glory, and the thin vapours were seen rising from the woods and valleys beneath us, and floating gradually away before the fast subsiding gale. The road, too, at the same moment improved, running over a firm earthen track; the driver cracked his whip, and, smiling, observed that "we should be in by an hour after sun-down yet." The horses trotted merrily along; we threw aside our wet cloaks and coats; while every thing to us wore a different appearance, and we now saw some beauty in the vast and endless forests which encircled us on every side, save here and there a solitary patch of cleared land, the effects of the industry of some hardy settler, who, one would almost imagine, had quarrelled with the whole world by seeking so secluded a spot; but we were now in a humour to be pleased with every thing.

Our gleams of sunshine and good fortune were only transitory; for in a few minutes we again dived into the dark, thick pine forest, whose ragged branches and tall straight trunks had but a few minutes before formed so fine a contrast against the lighter foliage of some other natives of the grove. Ascending higher ground, too, we were once more enveloped in the heavy damp clouds, and, as night set in, the road became worse, and the ha.

Neither the coachman nor ourselves had ever travelled in the direction we were moving; so alike uncertain whither we were going, but trusting to chance and good fortune, we renewed our journey, grumbling against America and its miserable roads, and arriving at the following conclusion-that to move out of the common coach route, to leave the turnpike road which was passable, and to attempt exploring new and undescribed scenery by striking out a line of road for ourselves, would never answer any end, and was in itself almost impracticable, that, for the future, we must be content with the old well-worn track of former tourists, and visit no places but those notified in the "Stranger's Guide," or "Northern Traveller." Tourists, however, are always in search for some incident which may be rather out of the common way, and which may vary some little the dull pages of their diary; and we too should have been satisfied had the fair and chaste moon shone brightly on us, laying open to our view some of the dark recesses of the dense forest, or the dreary depths of the vast ravines beneath us. But we had not a spice of the true romantic spirit in us; we preferred a warm supper and a good dry mattress, in a comfortable inn, to weathering it out in an unknown country, where we might be half drowned ere golden Phoebus again walked forth from his chamber in the East. At nine o'clock, from the cold breeze which swept past us, and from the streak of light along the horizon, as if the clouds, having nothing to cling to, were compelled to rise from earth, we knew that some large sheet of water was nigh, and shortly afterwards saw Seneca Lake, like a narrow stream lying far beneath us. We were doomed, however, to still farther disappointments; nor was it until an hour past midnight, after having trudged about eight miles on foot through deep and muddy pools, that we reached a small inn, at the head of the lake, wet, weary, famished, and consequently out of humour.

After much knocking at doors, and shaking of windows, we succeeded in rousing the landlord from his lair. In half an hour's time, he spread out before us a "rudes