Our steamboat came up directly this had left the wharf, and soon
bore us to the mouth of the Niagara; where the stars and stripes of
America flutter on one side and the Union Jack of England on the
other: and so narrow is the space between them that the sentinels
in either fort can often hear the watchword of the other country
given. Thence we emerged on Lake Ontario, an inland sea; and by
half-past six o'clock were at Toronto.
The country round this town being very flat, is bare of scenic
interest; but the town itself is full of life and motion, bustle,
business, and improvement. The streets are well paved, and lighted
with gas; the houses are large and good; the shops excellent. Many
of them have a display of goods in their windows, such as may be
seen in thriving county towns in England; and there are some which
would do no discredit to the metropolis itself. There is a good
stone prison here; and there are, besides, a handsome church, a
court-house, public offices, many commodious private residences,
and a government observatory for noting and recording the magnetic
variations. In the College of Upper Canada, which is one of the
public establishments of the city, a sound education in every
department of polite learning can be had, at a very moderate
expense: the annual charge for the instruction of each pupil, not
exceeding nine pounds sterling.
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