stream,
and came by the English side to a most wonderful whirlpool, formed by
the river making a rapid bend, and proceeding in a course at right
angles to the one it had been previously pursuing; but the violence of
the stream had caused it to proceed a long way first in the original
direction; and it was evidently not till it had scooped, or hollowed
out, a large basin, that it was forced to yield to the barrier that was
opposed to it. This is the sort of bend it takes.

[Illustration: Whirlpool]

After dinner we went to deliver a letter which papa had brought for Mr.
Street, who has a house above the Falls. He was not at home; but we went
through the grounds and over a suspension bridge he has built to connect
a large island, also his property, with the mainland. There are, in
fact, not one but many islands, into which one large one has probably,
in the course of time, become divided by the raging torrent. It is just
above the Horse-Shoe Fall, in the midst of the most boisterous part of
the rapids; and it was quite sublime on looking up the river to see the
horizon formed at a considerable level above our heads by the mass of
foaming water. But now for the Falls!

* * * * *

You must fill up this blank with your imagination, for no words can
convey any idea of the scene. They far surpass anything we could have
believed of them. This, however, I write after a thorough study of them
from various points of view; for when we first caught a glimpse, in our
drive to-day, of the Fall on the American side, it disappointed us; but
from the verandah of this hotel, on which our bed-room windows open, we
had the first astounding view of the two Falls, with Goat Island
dividing them; and that sight baffles all description. The Horse-Shoe
Fall is magnificent. The curve is so graceful and beautiful; and the
mist so mysterious, rising, as it does, from the depths below, and
presenting the appearance of a moving veil as it glides past, whether
yielding to every breath of wind, or, as now, when driven quickly by a
gale; then the height of the clouds of light white mist rising above the
trees; and, above all, the delicate emerald green where the curve itself
takes place: all these elements of beauty combined, fill the mind with
wonder, when contemplating so glorious a work of God's hand; so simple,
and yet so striking and magnificent. We can gaze at the whole all day
and all night, if we please, from