ide of the Falls as one went toward the river, and just in a line
with the spot where they plunge their full tide of waters into the rocky
basin below. From his solitary little window Batoche could see these
Falls at all times, and under all circumstances--in day time, and in
night time; glistening like diamonds in the sunlight, flashing like
silver in the moonbeams, and breaking through the shadow of the deepest
darkness with the corruscations of their foam. Their music, too, was
ever in his ears, forming a part of his being. It ran like a web through
his work and his thoughts during the day; it lulled him to sleep at
night with the last ember on the hearth, and it always awoke him at the
first peep of dawn. The seasons for him were marked by the variation of
these sounds--the thunderous roar when the spring freshets or the autumn
rain-falls came, the gentle purling when the summer droughts parched the
stream to a narrow thread, and the plaintive moan, as of electric wires,
when the ice-bound cascade was touched upon by certain winter winds.

Batoche's devotion to this cataract may have been exaggerated, although
only in keeping, as we shall see, with his whole character, but really
the Falls of Montmorenci are among the most beautiful works of Nature
on this continent. We all make it a point to visit Niagara once in our
lives, but except in the breadth of its fall, Niagara has no advantage
over Montmorenci. In altitude it is far inferior, Montmorenci being
nearly one hundred feet higher. The greater volume of Niagara increases
the roar of the descent and the quantity of mist from below, but the
thunder of Montmorenci is also heard from a great distance, and its
column of vapor is a fine spectacle in a strong sunlight or in a storm
of thunder and lightning. Its accessories of scenery are certainly
superior to those of Niagara in that they are much wilder. The country
around is rough, rocky and woody. In front is the broad expanse of the
St. Lawrence, and beyond lies the beautiful Isle of Orleans which is
nothing less than a picturesque garden. But it is particularly in winter
that the Falls of Montmorenci are worthy of being seen. They present a
spectacle unique in the world. Canadian winters are proverbial for their
severity, and nearly every year, for a few days at least, the mercury
touches twenty-five and thirty degrees below zero. When this happens the
headlong waters of Montmorenci are arrested in their course, and