PREFACE.

The route of the St. Lawrence has long been noted for the variety and beauty of its scenery. The traveller coming up from the Sea, should he turn aside to explore the chasm of the Saguenay, would witness a scene of grandeur scarcely equalled by any other of its kind, in any part of the world. Further up, the Rapids of the St. Lawrence present in succession displays of majestic power and volume that command admiration, and on finally reaching the level of navigable waters above, the approach to the first of the Great Lakes, leads through a labyrinth of Islands, which, for variety of scenery and quiet beauty, have seldom failed to awaken the enthusiasm of the traveller.

To this group of Islands, with their historical associations, and the impressions which their scenery has inspired, this little volume is mainly devoted.

In arranging the materials of this work, the editor has been necessarily engaged, in a large degree, in presenting the thoughts of others; but, believing that the enjoyment of this scenery would be enhanced by learning the manner in which it has impressed those who have witnessed it before, he has sought to present as wide a range of these impressions as opportunities allowed.

No one will doubt but that places acquire extraordinary interest, when associated with great events, or even when linked in with the ideal incidents of poetry and romance. In allusion to the interest which these associations impart to so many places in the Old World, while there are comparatively few in the New, the naturalist Wilson, in whom were united a keen perception of the beauties of Nature, and a highly poetic temperament, in the opening part of his Foresters, says:

"Yet Nature's charms, that bloom so lovely here,
Unhailed arrive, unheeded disappear;

While bare, bleak heaths, and brooks of half a mile,
Can rouse the thousand bards of Britain's Isle.
There, scarce a stream creeps down its narrow bed,
There, scarce a hillock lifts its little head,

Or humble hamlet peeps their glades among,
But lives and murmurs in immortal song.

Our western world, with all its matchless floods,
Our vast transparent lakes and boundless woods,
Stainped with the traits of majesty sublime,
Unhonored weep the silent lapse of time.

Spread their wild grandeur to the unconscious sky.
In sweetest seasons pass unheeded by;

While scarce one Muse returns the song they gave,
Or seeks to snatch their glories from the grave.'

In some of the prose descriptions that follow, the reader will find a poetry of sentiment and imagery of thought, that cannot fail to engage the attention. In others, there are incidents and events described, that may add new interest to this region, especially those relating to the accounts of travel in the olden time, with the humble accommodations and the discomforts of the period, that afford a striking contrast with the exact appointments, and the ample luxuries of the present day.

Lowville, N. Y.

F. B. H.

HISTORICAL

AND TRADITIONAL ACCOUNTS.