able islands, of
every variety of form. The moon shone brightly on this lovely scene:
not a ripple stirred the mirror-like bosom of the stream--"There was
not a breath the blue wave to curl."

[* "The Lake of the Thousand Isles. The expression was thought to be a
vague exaggeration, till the Isles were officially surveyed, and found
to amount to 1692. A sail through them presents one of the most
singular and romantic succession of scenes that can be imagined--the
Isles are of every size, form, height and aspect; woody, verdant,
rocky; naked, smiling, barren; and they present as numerous a
succession of bays, inlets, and channels as occur in all the rest of
the continent put together." "Encyclopaedia of Geography," iv. 1321.]

The reflection of the trees in the water enhanced the natural beauties
I have endeavoured to describe.

The next morning, June the 3rd, I embarked on board the schooner
"Shamrock," on my way to Darlington. We passed the Duck islands towards
evening, and found ourselves fairly launched on the bosom of the Great
Ontario. We anchored next day opposite the town of Cobourg, then a
small village, without a harbour, now a fine, handsome, well-built
town, containing a population of nearly 4,000 inhabitants. A large sum
of money has been laid out in the construction of a harbour, which
appears to answer very well.

Cobourg is the county-town for the counties of Northumberland and
Durham, which comprehend the following townships: Darlington, Clarke,
Hope, Hamilton, Haldimand, Cramache, Murray, Seymour, Percy, Alnwick,
South Monaghan, Cavan, Manvers, and Cartwright. The soil of most of
these townships is of excellent quality, particularly the fronts of
Hamilton, Haldimand, and all Cavan, being generally composed of a deep
rich loam.

These townships are well watered by numerous spring creeks, bounded to
the north and east by the river Trent, Skugog and Rice Lakes; and to
the south, for about sixty miles, by Lake Ontario. The chief towns are
Cobourg, Port Hope, and Bournauville. As I shall have occasion in
another place to speak more fully respecting these counties, I shall
take my readers again on board the "Shamrock."

Our captain having to land some goods at Cobourg, we were detained
there all night. He invited a few friends to pass the evening. A jolly
set of fellows they were, and they initiated me into the mysteries of
brewing whiskey-punch, a beverage I had never before tasted, and which
I found