before he went down the Ohio, and was more intimate with my father than with any other person in America. They thought alike in politics, and the politics of Blennerhasset were such as almost to exclude him from the society of the first families in town, to whom the very name of a United Irishman, at that time, was hellebore. He was undoubtedly a fine sample of the polished Irish gentleman, and his lady was both beautiful and accomplished. When I last saw him, some years afterwards, at the village of Gibsonport, Mississippi, in company with his lady, he appeared to have changed his opinions entirely; she was always aristocratic in her feelings, and I believe they both sincerely regretted ever having touched the shores of America. The English nobility and gentry, if they will come, should remain in our cities, and keep away from the back woods; they are as little fitted for the situation, as the wild Indian is for the city life. The next morning we passed Letart's Falls, having passed several villages during the night, and also some considerable streams, and among others, that one which bears 'The name so shocking Of Hock-Hock-Hocking.' As this was the Sabbath, the banks, chiefly on the Ohio side, were alive with people going to or returning from places of worship, or seated in groups in their best apparel. On the Virginia side, instead of seeing dwellings, we saw occa sionally houses of more ambitious structure, but unfinished, and already showing marks of decay; while much of the river bottoms was still unimproved. What a contrast with the uninhabited banks of the beautiful river, when I first saw them! When the howl of the wolf, or the hooting of the owl were enough to strike terror into the heart of the voyager, fearing that these might be the telegraphic sounds of Indians preparing to attack him. As we passed Point Pleasant, and the little island below it, Gallipolis, which I looked for with anxious feelings, hove in sight. I thought of the French inhabitants-I thought of my friend Saugrain; and I recalled, in the liveliest colours, the incidents of that portion of my life which was passed here. A year is a long time at that period-every day is crowded with new, and great, and striking events. When the boat landed, I ran up the bank, and looked around; but alas! how changed. The Americans had taken the town in hand, and no trace of antiquity, that is of twelve years ago, remained. Í hastened to the spot where I expected to find the abode, the little log house, tavern, laboratory and garden, of the doctor, but they had vanished like the palace of Aladdin. After some inquiry I found a little Frenchman, who, like the old woman of Goldsmith's Village, was the sad historian of the deserted plain' that is, deserted by one race to be peopled by another. He led me to where a few logs might be seen, as the only remains of the once happy tenement which had sheltered me-but all around it was a common; the town had taken a different direction. My heart sickened; the picture which my imagination had drawn-the scenes which my memory loved to cherish were blotted out and obliterated. A volume of reminiscences seemed to be annihilated in an instant! I took a hasty glance at the new town as I returned to the boat. I saw brick houses, painted frames, fanciful enclosures, ornamental trees! Even the pond, which had carried off a third of the French population by its malaria, had disappeared, and a pretty green had usurped its place, with a neat brick court house in the midst of it. This was too much; I hastened my pace, and with sorrow once more pushed into the stream. CHAPTER XIX. A DISTURBANCE IN THE WIGWAM-NEW MADRID- DEFEAT-ST WORTHY OF ROMANCE. As I am not writing a tour, minute descriptions of every duck puddle, or broken pane of glass, will not be looked for. It will be expected, however, that I should take some notice of Cincinnati, which, thirteen years before, was covered with the native forest, excepting the space occupied by a rude encampment. I now found it a beautiful little city, in the midst of a highly cultivated country. I went up to the market, which I found equal in goodness to that of Philadelphia, but much cheaper. A turkey may be had for sixteen cents; and, if thought too high, a goose will be offered into the bargain. The wonderful and almost magical change which had taken place here gave me pleasure; for there were no objects which, as at Gallipolis, were associated with the deep impressions made on my boyish mind. Louisville had also become a handsome town; and thus far the curtain of the wilderness may be said to have been lifted up; but, further down, the Ohio was still the abode of solitude and gloom. I will describe a phenomenon which we beheld a few days after leaving Louisville, but which, I fear, will tax the credulity of the reader. It was not a sea serpent, but something almost as difficult to believe. In a part of the - river where the vision extended at least ten miles down, after day break (weather rainy the night before, and then drizzling), the whole heavens, to the edge of the horizon, were covered and concealed by a flight of wild pigeons, and remained so for upwards of two hours, until we reached the lower part of the long view. During the whole of the day immense flocks continued to pass. According to my computation, the principal flock was at least (if we allow a mile a minute to the flight of the pigeon), ten miles in width, by one hundred and twenty in length! If each pigeon occupied one foot square, there will be sufficient data to compute the number of the whole. I leave the matter in the hands of the schoolmaster, who may give it as an exercise to his scholars. The captain stopped at the mouth of the Wabash, where he expected to find a boat ready to take part of his freight intended for Vincennes, an old French town up this river. We were detained here three or four days and nights-but such nights and days may I never see again! The musquitoes fell upon us like a shower of |