is bounded in every direction by luxuriant woods; while in front, the Niagara river glides in majestic stillness, and may be traced, with all its windings, till its waters are swallowed up in the vast expanse of Lake Ontario. The soil around Queenstown consists chiefly of a red clay, the bright colour of which, upon the roads and declivities where it is exposed, forms a singular contrast, during summer, with the pure green of the trees and fields in the vicinity

"Queenstown must infallibly acquire magnitude and importance when the province becomes populous and flourishing, for it is situated at the commencement of a portage which never can be evaded by any improvement in the navigation, it being rendered necessary by the falls of Niagara; therefore, all vessels containing goods and stores destined for the western parts of Upper Canada must unload and leave their cargoes at Queenstown, that they may be conveyed overland to Chippewa, where the Niagara river again becomes navigable. Even now, a good deal of this carrying business goes on during the summer months. The North-West Company forward a considerable quantity of stores to the Indian territories by this route, and the country merchants receive annual supplies of goods from Montreal, and send down pork, flour, staves, and potash, in return.*

"The environs of Queenstown are beautifully picturesque and romantic, and nothing can be finer than the prospect up the Niagara river. Immediately above the village its channel narrows very much, and the banks rise to the height of 300 feet perpendicular, while at the same time they become wild and rocky, and are thickly covered with trees of various kinds. In some places they partly over-arch the river, and throw an appalling gloom upon its waters, now dashed into turbulence and impetuosity by the ruggedness of their sloping bed.

*The construction of the Welland canal has since furnished better means of transport between the two lakes by another route, and Queenstown has in consequence lost the advantage which it once possessed.

"At the ferry, the Niagara river is 1,250 feet in breadth, and from 200 to 300 in depth. The current is very rapid, and the wreathing and perturbed appearance of the water shews that its course is much impeded by the narrowness of the channel, which must be entirely composed of rocks; for, otherwise, the continual and rapid attrition of such a large river as that which flows through it, would undermine and wear away the banks, and thus gradually enlarge and widen its course.

"The prospect from the top of Queenstown mountain is the finest and most extensive that Upper Canada affords, and, in an eminent degree, combines the beautiful and the magnificent. The wild and majestic precipices which engulf one part of the Niagara river, the windings and mirrored expanse of that noble body of water, the dim and undiscoverable extent of Lake Ontario, together with the verdant orchards, thick forests, and improved fields, glowing beneath a pure sky, collectively form a scene of admirable effect and composition. Even York, which is 36 miles distant, and lies very low, can be seen from the summit of this hill during clear weather.” *

ON THE DEATH OF MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK.

Low bending o'er the rugged bier

The soldier drops the mournful tear,

For life departed, valour driven,

Fresh from the field of death to heaven.

But time shall fondly trace the name

Of BROCK upon the scrolls of Fame,

And those bright laurels, which should wave
Upon the brow of one so brave,

Shall flourish vernal o'er his grave.

. H. R.

* Howison's Sketches of Upper Canada. London, 1821.

CHAPTER XV.

(HISTORICAL.)

"If I might give a short hint to an impartial writer, it would be to tell him his fate. If he resolves to venture upon the dangerous precipice of telling unbiassed truth, let him proclaim war with mankind - neither to give nor to take quarter."

DE FOE.

*

Sir Isaac Brock was succeeded in his civil and military commands in Upper Canada by MajorGeneral Sheaffe, who was created a baronet for the dearly bought victory of Queenstown, which was scarcely achieved ere he agreed, on the same afternoon of the fatal 13th of October, to a cessation of firing for three days, on condition of the Americans destroying their bateaux, which they complied with; and the truce was prolonged on the 16th to an indefinite period. After the battle, General Wadsworth and some of the principal American officers were paroled, the remainder proceeding to Quebec. Among the prisoners, 23 were found to be deserters from English regiments, and British born subjects; and

* Both the Canadas were now governed by British officers, born in the United States.

"D. G. O. Fort George, 13th October, 1812.-A cessation of firing having been agreed on by Major-General Sheaffe and Major-General Van Rensselaer, commanding the American troops at Lewistown, &c., for three days, ending on Friday, the 16th instant, at four o'clock, p. m., the officers commanding the several posts on the line will regulate their conduct accordingly. THOMAS EVANS, B. M."

"D. G. O. Fort George, 16th October, 1812.-A prolongation of the cessation of hostilities having been agreed upon between Major-General Sheaffe and Major-General Van Rensselaer for an undefined period, the officers commanding posts along the line will strictly govern themselves accordingly until further orders. By order. THOMAS EVANS, B. M."

they were sent to England for trial as traitors. This caused a retaliation upon British prisoners in the United States, and an equal number were put by the American government into close confinement as hostages for the security of the traitors.

On the 18th of October, General Smyth assumed the command at Niagara, and applied to the British general for an armistice; and notwithstanding the well-known prejudicial effect of the former one proposed by Sir George Prevost, it was also agreed to by Major-General Sheaffe! * This unaccountable proceeding, as might easily have been foreseen, proved of material detriment to the British on Lake Erie, as the Americans availed themselves of so favorable an occasion to forward their naval stores unmolested from Black Rock to Presqu'île by water, which they could not otherwise have effected but with immense trouble and expense by land, and equipped at leisure the fleet which the next year wrested from us the command of that lake. When the enemy was prepared for a third invasion of Upper Canada, General Smyth did not fail to give the thirty hours notice required for the cessation of the armistice, which terminated on the 20th of November.

"After the surrender of Detroit," said the inhabitants of Niagara in their spirited letter to Sir George Prevost, already quoted, (page 297,) "the enemy were suffered unmolested to concentrate a large force on the Niagara, at Sackett's Harbour on Lake Ontario, and at Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence; they were not interrupted in bringing forward to these places a large quantity of field and heavy artillery, with the requisite supplies of ammunition, and in equipping a flotilla, to dispute with us the superiority of the lakes. When their preparations

"But General Sheaffe, like his superior, was a lover of armistices, and after the action he concluded one of his own with the American general, for which no reason, civil or military, was ever assigned."Quarterly Review, July, 1822; article, "Campaigns in the Canadas."

were complete-when our regular and militia forces were nearly exhausted with incessant watching and fatigue, occasioned by the movements of the enemy, which kept them constantly on the alert by uncertainty as to the point of attack-they at length, on the 13th of October, attacked our line at Queenstown. The behaviour of both regulars and militia on that memorable occasion is well known to your excellency, and added another wreath to the laurels they had gained at Detroit: the glories of that day were, however, obscured by the death of our beloved and now lamented chief, whose exertions had prepared the means of achieving this great victory. This was

another triumph for the militia; they had fairly measured their strength with the enemy, and derived additional confidence from the glorious result. Here was another opportunity that slipped away without being improved: Fort Niagara was abandoned by the enemy, and might have been with the greatest ease destroyed, and its guns brought away by a trifling force. It is neither necessary, nor do we feel inclined to enter into the causes why it was not done; we have, however, the strongest reason to believe that, had General Brock survived, it would have been attempted.* In addition to this (as we consider it) capital error, Major Mullaney, and other natural born subjects of his majesty, actually taken in arms as commissioned officers in the service of the United States, were released and allowed to return on parole to that country; and a partial armistice was agreed to, liable to be broken off at thirty hours notice, which could be productive of no real advantage to us, nor give any repose to our harassed and suffering militia, though it enabled the enemy to recruit his

"Such was the dismay of the enemy at the result of the action at Queenstown, that had General Sheaffe, who commanded after the death of Brock, crossed over immediately afterwards, as it is said he was strongly urged by his officers to do, the fort of Niagara, which its garrison had even evacuated for some time, might have been captured, and the whole of that line cleared of the American troops."-Quarterly Review.