this high service; so much so, indeed, as to indi- | together. In this connection, one and one make cate that it is consigned to their hands. Where more than two; they exert a triple force against shall we find two nations placed so advantageously every opposing obstacle. on the surface of the globe to this end? Where shall we find them in possession of so much of the world's commerce, which is a direct means to this end? Where shall we find a people whose civil and religious institutions are so prepared to bless mankind? And where shall we find any people who are so ready, by desire and effort, as these, to bestow whatever makes them distinguished and happy upon all other nations? Blot out England and America from the map of the world, and you destroy all those great institutions which almost exclusively promise the world's renovation; but, unite England and America in energetic and resolved cooperation for the world's salvation, and the world is saved. It is not only important that they should render these services; they should render them in union. It should be felt, that what the one does, the other virtually does also; and the very names, indicating the two people, should be a sort of synonyme, which might be applied to the same works. The service is arduous; the difficulties are great; and the adversary of liberty, light, and religion, should be suffered to gain neither advantage nor confidence, by regarding us as separable. We shall have more relative and more real power, by acting Here, then, is the province of these two great countries. They are to consult, act, and labor in union for the conversion and blessedness of the world. For this they are made a people; for this they are evangelized; for this they are privileged, and blessed themselves. Theirs is no common destiny; and theirs should be no common ambition. They are to find their greatness, not in the degradation of other nations, but in raising them to an elevation of being which they have not known. They should rise from the patriot into the philanthropist, and express love to man from love to his Maker. Great as they then would be, their greatness would not create fear, but admiration and confidence; and He who made them great would not withhold his approbation. Let them look to this! Let no one "take their crown." Let the man that would enkindle strife between them, be deemed an enemy alike to both countries. Let them turn away from the trivial and the temporary; and look on the great, the good, the abiding. Let them faithfully accomplish their high commission, and theirs will be a glory such as Greece, with all her Platonic imaginings, never sought; and such as Rome, with all her real triumphs, never found. NARRATIVE OF A VISIT TO CANADA AND PENNSYLVANIA. LETTER I. the evening. Upon inquiry, I found that no room MY DEAR FRIEND-Having decided to visit the nor place could be found in which we could hold a Canadas, at the request of ministers and friends French. It was distressing to see a large propormeeting. The mass of the people are Canadian who sent deputations to us at New York, we left tion of them spending the evening in idleness and Boston on the 5th of June, and arrived at Burling-pleasure. No such scene had been presented to us ton, on Lake Champlain, on the evening of the 7th. We there embarked in a steamboat, and reached St. John's, in Lower Canada, early on the morning of the 8th. This frontier town is a poor uncomfortable place; and much as I wished to cherish suitable feelings in once more entering the British dominions, I could find nothing pleasant either in the place, the people, or the surrounding scenery. The weather was hot; the dust was lying six or eight inches deep in the street; and the millions of flies which covered the walls and windows, could only be compared to one of the plagues of Egypt. The very atmosphere was so clouded with these troublesome insects, that one could not breathe or move without destroying life. And the number of those that were lying dead, appeared equal to that of the living; the duration of their ephemeral existence seemed, indeed, to be limited to a day. It was the Sabbath. At the hour of worship we proceeded to the Episcopal church, a small building, and thinly attended. Glad should we have been to hear within its walls, the great doctrines of the Church of England faithfully and simply proclaimed. An opportunity of listening to these truths in such a place, would have been as "the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." The sermon, however, was not calculated to afford either comfort or instruction. The text was Job xlii. 5. The preacher's main design was to apply the passage to the season of spring, and to show that its return was calculated to inspire the feelings which Job expressed. There was not one allusion to the confession of the following verse, as resulting from enlightened views of the Divine character and law; nor the least reference to the way of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. Seneca or Plato could have made a better discourse. It was unsuccessful even in the sentimentalism at which it aimed. I visited the Sunday school, which was conducted in the church during the interval of public worship. A young minister has been chosen by the people, to assist the old missionary, and is supported by them; and this school has been revived by his exertions. There were about fifty children in attendance.The teachers appeared anxious to do good; but they are much discouraged by the indifference of the parents to the religious instruction of their children; as well as by the jealousy and opposition of the Roman Catholics. We attended the afternoon service, and heard the junior minister. His sermon was quite in contrast with that of the morning. His theology was correct, and it was evidently his desire to be useful. If there was any deficiency in the discourse, it was in the want of adaptation to the circumstances of the congregation. It was suited to the edification of real Christians; but it related more to their experience than was likely to benefit those who had been used for twenty years to the preaching of the senior minister. There was no religious service in 736 in the United States; and the contrast with what we had recently witnessed in towns of similar size, was very painful. Much of this Sabbath profanation may of course be attributed to French manners and Roman Catholic influence; but it indiders the plain and powerful preaching of the goscates a gloomy state of moral desolation, and renpel peculiarly necessary. Protestants, in such a situation, should feel that zeal and consistency on their part are especially called for. The influence of an evil example, however, seems stronger than that of an opposite kind. This was the least satisfactory Sabbath we had spent in the New World. On Monday we left St. John's for La Prairie (eighteen miles.) There was little to give interest to the journey. We had abundant opportunity to observe the pernicious effects of cheap ardent spirits. The public houses were thronged with people, and the work of demoralization was evidently going on. This day, as on former days, we met great numbers of Irish, proceeding to different parts of the United States. Many of them appeared to be in a wretched plight. When we reached La Prairie, we found that the steam ferry-boat had just arrived from Montreal, with three hundred Irish emigrants. Seldom have I witnessed such a scene of confusion, or such a motley company. Every variety of age, of appearance, and of character, was to be seen. Some were encumbered with boxes and trunks; others seemed to possess nothing but the rags which covered them. A few of those who had luggage, had obtained vehicles for conveying it; and in these they had already placed it, together with their wives and little ones. They were hastening onwards, not knowing what might await them in a land of strangers; while others, uniting in little bands, were slowly following on foot. A long voyage, and its privations, had given an ap pearance of wretchedness to many of the emigrants. But while the looks of some bespoke distress, and fear, and anxiety, others looked perfectly unconcerned, and reckless of consequences. In this way tens of thousands of these destitute beings are thrown into the midst of American society. What nation could receive such numbers of wretched, and too often demoralized, individuals, without sustaining deep injury? That the United States have been morally injured by this cause, I have no doubt.— Their bearing up against this evil as they have done, proves the elasticity of their national character, and the powerful influence of religious habits. I very much question whether, in our larger towns, we have succeeded so well in restraining the evil consequences of Irish and Roman Catholic emigration. While waiting the departure of the boat, and surveying, with mingled emotions, the scene I have described, a poor creature came up to me, with a torn slip of paper, which she asked me to read for her. It had once contained the address of some person, but it was now so mutilated as to be unintelli gible. The State was New York, but the name of Canadians) had sheds, formed of the materials they the town I could not make out. This piece of pa- were conveying to the vessels. We passed on per was all she had brought from Ireland, to direct large raft, which was navigated by twelve or fifteen her to the habitation of her sister, who had pre-men. The owner of it was on board our steamer. viously crossed the Atlantic. I was sorry for her; He estimated the value of it at a thousand pounds but the only advice I could give her was to continue sterling. He remarked that the trade was a great with those who had accompanied her from Ireland, speculation, as the wind sometimes arises with such till she reached the State of New York, and the set-violence, as to separate the rafts entirely. In this tlements of her countrymen, and then to make inquiry. We crossed the magnificent St. Lawrence to Montreal; the distance, in an oblique direction, is about nine miles. The view of the town from the river was singular. The roofs of many of the houses being covered with tin, and glittering in the bright sunshine, presented a brilliant appearance. Our moist atmosphere would soon corrode and destroy such roofs; but there the air is so dry that they last for a number of years. case, the oak trees sink; trees of lighter wood can sometimes be drawn ashore and secured. But it not unfrequently happens that, in an hour or two, the hopes of the speculator are altogether destroyed.As we approached near the end of the voyage, we saw the rafts taken into little bays, on both sides of the river, to which places some of the vessels come up to receive their cargoes. The approach to Quebec is very magnificent: the craggy rocks of Cape Diamond, crowned with the almost impregnable forIt is not my province to enter into a particular tress, stand out in fine relief against the sky. Nudescription of the city, even though I possessed abili- merous vessels were lying at anchor, a short disty to do so. Its peculiar aspect attracted my atten-tance below the citadel; and in the back-ground is tion. The language, dress, and manners of many a range of blue hills, which form a striking contrast whom we met, might have led us to imagine we with the level and cultivated country before them. were in France. Many French names, too, met our eye on the doors of shops and dwelling-houses; but intermingled with these, there is a large proportion which plainly bespeak a Scottish or Gaelic origin. I read the names of Mackintosh, M'Gregor, and M'Donald, with an interest which, perhaps, I might not have felt if nearer home. We found that the ministers and missionaries whom we expected to meet us at Montreal, had not arrived, though written to some days before. As it was likely two or three days more would still elapse, before they did come, we decided on going to Quebec. We embarked on Tuesday, at two P. M. From Montreal downwards for seventy miles, we had most magnificent views of the mighty river. It was the most splendid sight I have yet seen in the New World; and, indeed, I should think, cannot be surpassed in any part of our globe. Before us lay an immense body of water, extending onward as far as the eye could reach; pursuing its course in a channel two or three miles wide, and this channel filled almost to overflowing. It looked like a lake of molten glass, so clear, and placid, and full. The banks are thickly studded with cottages, generally built of wood, which give an air of life and cheerfulness to the scene. We had ample time to admire it, as our progress was somewhat impeded by having three vessels in tow. Night, for a little tíme, threw a veil over the objects at which we gazed; but it was followed by a lovely morning.Vegetation here, at this season, wears all the freshness of spring. The foliage of the trees is but just making its appearance, bursting, as if with conscious delight, from its winter' prison. We had not been many minutes in the town, before we had a visit from the Rev. Mr. Hicks, who was known to Mr. Reed. He had heard we were coming down, and soon received an intimation of our arrival. We spent the afternoon and evening with him. Our conversation related chiefly to the state of religion in the Canadas, where he has been for eighteen or twenty years, and was closed with devotional exercises.* Next day we visited the Fort-the heights of Abraham-saw the field of battle, and the place where Wolfe received his mortal wound. A considerable part of the battle-field is built upon, so that the space now appears contracted. The ravine, by which Wolfe approached during the night, and gained possession of the heights, was pointed out to us, as well as a road to the right, leading from the suburbs of La Roche, by which the French troops marched to attack him. But I forbear description. We also went about nine miles, accompanied by some friends, to visit the Falls of Montmorenci.With these I was much delighted. The principal fall is about a hundred and fifty feet in height, and thirty or forty in width. At a distance, it was like an immense sheet of the purest snow. The road to the Falls is tolerably good. The farming here is superior to what we had seen before. The owners of the land are chiefly English farmers. I noticed the backwardness of vegetation, and consequently of agricultural operations, compared with England, or even with the United States. My pear trees were showing blossom on the 12th of March, before I left home. In New Jersey, and around Baltimore, the blossom of the peach and pear trees was fully out The distance from Montreal to Quebec is 180 on the 16th of April; at New York, on the 1st of miles; and the cottages of the Canadians continue May; at Boston, the 26th; and at Quebec, the 12th to appear at thirty or forty yards distance from each of June. Here, too, the simple and fragrant hawother, all the way down. I was informed by a per- thorn is now displaying its richest bloom. The farson on board, that they are equally numerous for mers are busy planting their potatoes. The soil apninety or a hundred miles below Quebec. It gives pears to be good; and here there are few unsightly one the idea of a dense population; but I under-stumps presented to the eye. The views of Questand that the settled parts do not extend into the interior, more than nine or ten miles from the banks of the river. Near Quebec, the country becomes more elevated, and mountains appear in the distance. As we proceeded down the river, we observed canoes lying opposite to almost every cottage. Stone crosses occur frequently, and churches at every eight or nine miles. There were many rafts of wood on the river, proceeding to Quebec, to supply the British market. Some of these were of great extent, and of considerable value. Those which were navigated by Indians, had wigwams made of bark erected on them. Other navigators (chiefly Number 24. bec, which we had, in going to, and returning from, the Falls, were very fine; as we could perfectly command both the lower and upper town, and the Fort crowning the whole. We remained in Quebec for a short time after our return, in order to consult with friends, and obtain some information respecting the state of religion in the Lower Province. After communicating *This excellent and useful man is now no more. A few weeks after we saw him at Quebec, the cholera, which was committing fearful ravages in the town, seized him, and he also became one of its victims. VOL. II all they knew on this subject, "they accompanied us to the ship," and we sailed in the evening for Montreal. There were immense crowds of people; and in port, or a little way up the river, there must have been nearly three hundred sail of vessels waiting for cargoes. Our steam-packet had to receive a shipment of emigrants, from a Hull vessel, which had just arrived. They had such quantities of luggage to remove, that we were detained an hour or two beyond the time fixed for sailing. We had also aearly twenty Roman Catholic priests on board.They were polite and obliging, but only one of them could speak English, and that in a very broken way. Most of them landed at the different places where they reside, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, before we reached this place, which we did yesterday afternoon. On Saturday we had a meeting with a number of ministers and other friends. We had with us, ministers of the Wesleyan, Scotch and American Presbyterian, Baptist, and Independent denominations. They seemed desirous to give us all the information they could, respecting the state of religion in the Colonies. The substance of their replies to our inquiries, together with the religious statistics of both provinces, which we obtained, will be given in this report. On Sabbath, the members of the deputation preached in the Presbyterian and Methodist places of worship, where collections were made to assist in the erection of a new chapel for the Congregationalists, their present place of meeting being small and inconveniently situated. It was gratifying to us, to find this cordiality among the Christians of different denominations; who, forgetting for a while their peculiarities, were willing to assist another section of the church, holding the same essential truths of Christianity with themselves. It ought also to be stated, that the Baptist chapel was closed in the evening, to allow the congregation to attend the Presbyterian church, where the collection was to be made. By this time, some other friends, missionaries and agents of different religious institutions, had arrived. We had two lengthened interviews with them, and received a variety of information respecting the eastern townships, and some of the newly settled districts of Lower Canada.We deeply feel the responsibility of our present engagements, and anxiously desire that our coming may be for good to this neglected country. LETTER II. MY DEAR FRIEND-While at Montreal, I met with a Christian family from Greenock, related to the late Mr. Hercus, for so many years the esteemed pastor of the church there. A good man was visiting them, who has been a number of years in this country, but who was formerly a member of one of the Congregational churches in the Highlands of Scotland. He had come to Montreal, a distance of thirty miles from his residence, it the interior, in the hope of obtaining a missionary to labor for a few weeks in his township, where the people anxiously desire the preaching of the gospel. But, as they require one who can preach in the Gaelic language, I fear there was no probability of his being successful. He himself, however, has been indefatigable in using such means as were in his power. He has held prayer meetings, established five Sunday schools, and tried, in a variety of ways, to do good. We left Montreal on Monday, the 16th, and arrived, on Tuesday afternoon, at Brockville, about 152 miles farther up the river. We travelled by stages the first thirty-seven miles, in order to avoid the Rapids; and then got on board a steam boat for the rest of the way. The views on the river are very fine, especially from Cornwall to Brockville. The islands are numerous, and the indentations of the shore present a continual variety. The friends at Brockville gave us a very kind reception. We found several ministers, who had come from a considerable distance, in order to further the object of our mission. Here there are persons from various parts of the old country, some of whom we had met before they quitted its shores. To renew the intercourse so far from home was delightful.-— The people in this place are anxious for additional means of religious instruction, and would willingly exert themselves to secure it. They had written to their friends at home, to send out a suitable minister, but had received no reply. In expectation of our arrival, notice had been given, that there would be a religious service in the Court-house, the place usually occupied on such occasions. Both Mr. Reed and myself preached. The morning of the 18th was spent with the ministers from a distance, and Christian friends on the spot. Their communications were highly valuable and important. In the afternoon, we set off for Kingston, and arrived early on Thursday morning. Mr. Reed remained there, according to arrangement, while I went forward, in another steamboat, to Coburgh, about one hundred and twenty miles farther. The voyage up the Bay of Quinte was very delightful. It is about eighty miles in length, and four in breadth. One of the missionaries, who met with us at Brockville, accompanied me about half way up the bay, to his station. We passed an Indian village, inhabited by about four hundred of the Mohawk tribe. An Episcopal missionary, who takes care of their religious instruction, was also my fellow-passenger. He preaches once on the Sabbath in English. The church is a frame-building; and when the time of service arrives, instead of a bell, a flag is hoisted, to summon the people. Those of the inhabitants whom we saw at the vil lage landing-place were miserable looking objects. I had a good deal of conversation with one of their tribe, who came on board. He knew English tolerably well, and very readily answered my questions. The boat arrived at the "Carrying-Place" late at night. It was a wretched spot, the stage-house poor and uncomfortable, and a long way from the water's edge. I was glad to leave it by the stage, at four o'clock on Friday morning, though the journey was far from being agreeable, on a swampy, muddy, corduroy road. The first part of it has been but newly made through the forest. I had particularly wished to see the superintendent of the Indian missions, who resides not far from Coburgh; but finding him from home, I proceeded at once to the town. It is an increasing, rising place, and promises to be an important settlement. I was now within eight or ten miles of a family whom I had known in England, and whom I had promised to visit, if in my power. Having some hours to spare, I hired a vehicle, and a young Irishman (of whom there are many here) drove me to their farm, which is in Hamilton township. After we had proceeded a mile or two from the lake, we entered on the forest, and travelled more slowly.Some parts of the road were newly cut, and it required considerable skill to drive with safety. A few farms had been cleared, others were but just undergoing that process. Some settlers were only clearing a few acres, immediately around their log huts. It must require a stout heart and strong hands to begin such a work. Many of the trees were fine majestic specimens of the fir tribe. You may imagine the joy of -'s family on seeing me, and hearing from me of their friends in England. Valuable as letters are in a distant land, | ble to make any provision for the children, or to esit is still more valuable to hear from the living tablish them in business. It did seem a duty to save voice, answers to the numerous and anxious in- what yet remained; and though the parents will quiries which rapidly succeed each other. When I have to struggle while they live, they do so under looked around me, and saw the dwelling, the scene- the conviction, that, when they are removed by ry, and all the external circumstances in which the death, they will not leave their children destitute, family are placed, I was much affected with the con- or without a home. trast presented to their former situation. A crowd of recollections rushed upon my mind; and I thought it must be a very plain case of duty, which can justify such persons in leaving their native land thus to dwell in the wilderness. I recollected my visits to this family about fourteen years ago. You know the beautiful situation of the farm which they occupied, the fine scenery and cultivated appearance of the valley in which it lies. The house and offices were new and commodious; every thing wore the appearance of comfort, and they were surrounded with friends and religious privileges. They had only to cross one of their own fields to reach the highway, and then they were close to the market-dinances, and without a sanctuary. They meet, it town. I remember considering it one of the finest specimens of an English farmer's onstead that I had ever seen. The interior of the house was suitably and respectably furnished, and the farm well stocked. But what is their situation now? They have a og hut for a dwelling; and the only out-house is a smaller hut, of the same kind. There is but one apartment for the whole family, consisting of nine individuals; a ladder, it is true, leads to an upper room; but, judging from the height of the building, this must be a very low and inconvenient chamber. One of our meanest cottages at home affords conveniences, which this family do not possess in theirs. I saw neither cupboard nor closet, and I wondered much where the provisions and culinary vessels were kept. Before I left, however, I found they had a sort of cellar underneath, which they reached by removing one or two deals from the floor.How different from the cool and spacious dairies, and neatly arranged closets, of English housewifery! it. The mother, as might be expected, feels their privations most. The daughters, of whom there are five at home, appear more willing to be reconciled to their new circumstances. Of actual fatigue and hardship, the father has had the largest share. He spent nearly all his capital in the purchase of a farm, and cannot afford to hire laborers. The great burden of all the field labor has, therefore, fallen on himself, his sons being too young to be of much use to him. The farm consists of about one hundred acres, seventy of which were cleared when he bought He paid £500 for it, besides purchasing the crop on the ground; and then the farm was to be stocked. This exhaused his resources, and left but little to procure those articles of furniture which were almost essential to their comfort. While it is thus plain, that the family have been much tried by the change they have made, and perhaps have endured more severe privations than they expected, yet I was pleased to find, after the first burst of feeling had spent itself, that they spoke of the future with hope. They seemed aware that the first year or two was the period of trial; and that if they overcame that, the prospect would brighten, and they might begin to gather around them the comforts and conveniences of their early home. They have the necessaries of life already; their provisions are substantial, though served in a homely way. And they need have no anxiety about quarter-day, tithes, or taxes. The property is all their own; and, happily for new settlers, the provincial rates are too small to be worth naming. While in their own country, they had been every year losing part of the little fund they possessed; so that the parents were una But while, as I have said, they cherished resig nation and hope, there is one circumstance in their lot which occasions unmingled sorrow, and that is their religious destitution. The mother feels as a Christian parent ought to feel in such circumstances; and it seemed quite a relief to her to tell me all her sorrows. She described the blank presented to them on the Sabbath; no place of worship nearer than Coburgh; no conveyance to carry them there; and if they even could reach it, no instruction suitable for themselves or their children. She looked at them, and her heart sickened at the prospect of their growing up without religious oris true, with a few neighbors on the Sabbath, in a little log hut not far off, for singing and prayer, and reading the Scriptures but she felt that this was far less likely to engage the attention, and impress the minds of young people, than the preaching of a faithful and affectionate minister of Christ would be. She trembled lest her children should become indifferent, and perhaps opposed to sacred institutions, and forget the good old way in which their fathers had walked. Fixing her streaming eyes on me, she addressed me with the most moving earnestness:-"O, if the Christians of England only knew our situation, and that of thousands around us, they would not rest satisfied till they sent men of God to preach the gospel to us. If they only knew a mother's grief at seeing her children growing up without the means of grace, would they not feel for us, would they not send us help? Do tell them of our case, and that of many around us, who would willingly attend the preaching of good men of any denomination. Only let such men come, and we will show them all the kindness in our power." I need hardly say, I promised to let her request be known at home, and to do all I could to help them. I was deeply moved by her appeal; and never did the possession of wealth seem more desirable than at that moment, as affording the means of sending forth laborers into such a sphere of usefulness.. I thought how little our good people at home prize their religious advantages, compared with their real value; and how delighted many here would be to possess a tithe of what they enjoy. We had a solemn parting, not expecting to meet again on earth. The mother was the last to speak, and her words were an urgent entreaty-" Do not forget us; do tell the good people at home how much we need their sympathy and their prayers." And surely her request will find a response in every Christian parent's bosom, and plead more strongly than any arguments I could employ. This good woman's father was a venerable minister of Christ; and such having been the privilege of her youth, no wonder that now, in her old age, with all a mother's anxieties, she is so importunate for gospel ordinances. I did not see the father, as he had gone to the sawmill. My thoughts will often revert to the scenes of that day in the midst of the forest. LETTER III. MY DEAR FRIEND-On the morning of the twentyfirst, the steamboat from Kingston called at Coburgh. Mr. Reed was on board. And here he had a short but pleasing interview with two former pupils of the London Orphan Asylum. I had previ |