There is a waltz! nearly every one joins. At what a pace they go! It makes me giddy to look at them. The brass instruments in that terrible band scream louder than ever. The room is filled with flying clouds of white muslin-with scarlet and gold flashing through. Surely they must be growing tired now; some of the young gentlemen with the stiff collars are becoming nearly as red in the face as in the coat. Some breathless couples vanish among the bystanders; others sink exhausted on the seats round the room. Now, there is a clearer stage, and we can distinguish the dancers better. There go the Captain and she of the fair ringlets! Her tiny feet spin round so fast that they can hardly be seen; she seems not a feather weight upon them. There is a limit to the power of human beings. That storm of wind instruments cannot last much longer. Hush! there is a calm. The whirlpool instantly subsides, and the stream glides away to the rural passage.

I was soon walked off from this gay scene to make a fourth at a rubber of whist, whence I was released to escort one of the chaperons to supper. While I was performing the necessary duties of attendance, the lady told me that there was to be a pic-nic on the morrow to the Chaudière:

"Beautiful waterfall, large party, steamer sails from the wharf at eleven o'clock, happy to see you there." (At this moment, in came the Captain and fair ringlets):-" Dear child, don't dance too much to-night-hot rooms-pic-nic in the morning. My daughter, Sir."

I am very glad she is going, I will certainly go, too, thought I. Whatever the Chaudière may be, it will look the better for having those bright blue eyes sparkling beside it.

About two o'clock the ball-room began to empty; gentlemen with their pea jackets on sauntered about the foot of the staircase; every now and then, two or three figures, with extraordinary headdresses and long cloaks, would emerge from the ladies' waiting-room, take the arms of the pea jackets, and walk away with them. There is the Captain, I know his walk. Who is that leaning on his arm? The face is quite covered up in the snug bonnet, but as they pass out under the lamp into the street to join their party, I can see that two or three long fair ringlets have strayed out over the cape of the cloak.

At eleven o'clock the next day I joined the party, of some five and-twenty people, on the wharf; soon after, we were taken up by a quaint little steamer,

and going merrily with the tide up the great river. About seven miles from the town we landed on the south bank. A crowd of country carts were waiting for us; we mounted, two in each, and placed some plethoric-looking baskets in an extra one. These conveyances were very simple: unencumbered with springs, or any other unnecessary luxury, the seat, slung with ropes across the centre, held the passengers; the driver, a little Canadian boy, sat on the shaft, to guide the stout little pony.

It was a beautiful September day; a fresh breeze blew from the river, rustling cheerfully among the varied leaves of the trees by the road side, and chasing the light clouds rapidly over our heads, while the landscape lay in alternate light and shade. The road was a very rough one; every · here and there crossing little streains by bridges made of loose planks or logs of timber, over which the active little ponies trotted without a false step. The country was rich, but carelessly cultivated for two miles, and then we entered the bush; we continued through it about the same distance, when we arrived at the halting place.

The younger people of the expedition had managed to get the fastest ponies, and were far

ahead of us; the lady who had asked me was my travelling companion, and our united weight kept us last in the race. We found them all waiting patiently for our arrival, and the partnerships seemed much the same as at the ball the night before. It was the custom of the country lucky Captain that it should be so!

All now, old and young, scrambled down a steep and narrow path through the wood, making its echoes ring again with noise and laughter. At length the party, with a few exceptions, re-assembled at the foot of the Chaudière Falls.

The height of these is little more than a hundred feet, and at this time of the year there is but little water in the river; but it is a singularly beautiful scene: the rocks overhang and project, so that the misty stream plunges turbulently about among them, falling in a zig-zag course, half shrouded in spray, to the cauldron below, which is shut in by steep cliffs and banks. The waters foam and whirl about in an extraordinary manner near the fall, but grow still and dark again as they approach the gorge between the hills, when they pass through to the level country. By this gap opens a distant view of the fields and forests of the rich banks of the St. Lawrence.

VOL. I.

Overhead, and

F

wherever the grim rocks offer a resting-place, firs, pines, and cedars cluster down to the very edge of the stream, as well as on the little rugged islands between the divisions of the shallow river above the falls; while bright green mosses and lichen, with creepers hanging over the rough sides of the cliffs in fantastic drapery, complete the picture.

When we had for some time gazed on the fair scene, we and the mosquitoes began to dine: the plethoric baskets yielded up their stores; a white deal box produced a dozen of bottles with long necks and leaded corks, which were cooled under a shady rock in the waters of the Chaudière. There was a great deal of innocent mirth, and the fun usually arising from such things as scarcity of drinking glasses and of knives and forks; a servant tumbling while coming down the steep path, and breaking half the plates; and a lean dog darting off with a fine fowl; accidents which are to be expected in pic-nics in all parts of the world. After dinner, groups wandered about in all directions; the falls were examined in every possible point of view. These discursive rambles were far too difficult for the chaperons to undertake, so they, wisely, did not attempt it, and quietly rested sheltered under the shade of the rocks, till the long shadows of the