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Show TRAVELS THROUGH LOWER CANADA: The next n~ orni 11 g we left Sorel1e, beyond which pLtcc the (' t, J. :1.\ !CllCC cx-p.l-,lC1 s, to .'-.,' br rre"" t bre'a dth ' Here . it• ab. ounds• with [m. all ifhnJs, fituatcd io clofcly to e.1ch other, that 1t IS unpo!l1ble to t1unk without aftoniO•ment of large vc1Tels, like thofe that go to Montreal, paun·m bcr between them: the channel through. them is very intricate. This wiu.! part of the rive r is called Lac St. P1errc; the greate~ breadth of it is about four leagues and a half, ::1nd its length from the 1f1ands :tt the head of the lake downwards about eight lc~lgue5. I• rom hence to ~ebcc the river is in no place more th an two miles acro!s, and in fomc parts it narro\vs to the breadth of three quarters of a mile . . The tide ebb and flows in the river within a few leagues of Lac St. P1erre; the great cxpanfion of the water at the lake, and the hrong current which fcts out from it, prevents its aClion higher up. From Montreal as far as the town of Trois Rivicres, which !1-ands about four leagues below Lac St. P ierre, the D1ores on each fu:Ic of the St. Lawrence arc very flat; the land then begins to rife, and on the fou th-eaft fide it continues lofty the whole way down to ~ebec. On the O} poiitc fide, however, below Trois Rivieres, the bank vary confid rably; in fome places th y are high, in others very low, until you approach within a few leagues of OEebcc, when they affumc a bold and grand app arance on each fide. The fcenery along various p:u-ts of the river is very fine: it is impoflible, indeed, but that there mufl be a variety of pleafing views along a noble river like the St. Lawrence, winding for hundreds of miles through a rich country, diverfified with rifing grounds, woodlands, and cultivated plains. What particularly attmtls the attention, how ver, in going down this river, is, the bcautifnl di fpoiition of the towns and village • on its banks. Nearly all the fettlemcnts in Lower Canada arc fituated clofe upon the borders of the rivers, and from this circumHan e the fcenery along the St. Lawrence and others differs materially from that aJong the rivers in the United States. The banks of the Hlldfon river, which are more cultivated than tho!(; of any of the other large rivers there, are wild and dcfolate in comparifon with thofe of the St. Lawrence. For feveral leagues below Montreal the houfes il:and fo clofely together, that it appears as if it were but one villoge, B A T I S C 0 N. vil <lg , which extended the whole way. All the houfes have a retnarkably nc.tt appearance at a diftance, and in each village, though it be ever {o fm nll, th, n.: is a church. The hurche are kept in the neatefl: r~pair, and mufl:: of them have fpi rcs, coverc..:d, according to the cuftom of the country, with ti n, th at, from being put on in a p:u ticular manner, never become. rufl:y *· It is ple<''i l;6 beyond defcription to behold one of th cfc villages opening to the view, as you fail round a point of bnd covered with trees, the h ou fes in it overha giog the river, and the fpires of the chur hes fJ)arl ling through the groves with which they arc encircled, before the rays of the fetting fun. There is fcarccly any p:trt of the river, \,vhcrc you pafs along, for more than a leag ue, with out feeing a village and church. Tl.c fecond night of our voyage we landed at the village of Batifcon. It :frands on the north-weft fide of the river, abvu t eigh ty miles below Montreal. Here the D1ore is very flat and marfhy, and for a confiderable difiancc from it the water is fo !hallow when the tide is out, that a bateau even, cannot at that time come within one hundred yards of the dry ground. Lower down the river the D1ore is in fomc places extremely rocky. The firft habitation we came to at Batifcon was a farm houfc, where we readily got accommodation for the night. The people were extremely civil, and did all in their power to ferve us. A ii11all table was quickly fet out, covered with a neat white tablecloth, and bread, milk, eggs, and butter, the bcfl: fare which the houfe afForded, were brought to us. Thefe things may always be had in abundance at every farm houfe; but it is not often that you can procure meat of any fort; in go ~ .ing through Canada, therefore it is cuil:omary for travell ers to carry a provifion b:.tlket with them. The houfes in Lower Canada arc in general well furnil11cd with beds, all in the French il:yle~ very large, and raifed four or five feet high, with a paillaife, a mattrafs, and a feather bed. • The fquare plates of tin arc nailed on diagonally, and the corners are carefu)ly folded over the head of the nails, fo as to prevent any moill:ure from getting to them. Cc The |