or the pleasure of a night in a small cabin, we
decided on landing. We had tea first, with plenty of cold meat on the
table, and the fare was excellent on board, with no extra charge for it.

Before landing we had a most magnificent sunset. The sun sank at the
stern of the vessel; and the sky remained for an hour after in the most
exquisite shades of colouring, from clear blue, shading to a pale green,
and then to a most glorious golden colour. The water was of the deepest
blue, and the great width of the noble river added to the grandeur of
the scene. The Canadian evenings and nights are surpassingly beautiful.
The atmosphere is so light, and the colouring of the sunset and the
bright light of the moon are beyond all description. We made
acquaintance with a couple of Yankees on board, who amused us much. They
were a young couple, travelling, they said, for pleasure. They looked of
the middle class, and were an amusing specimen of Yankee vulgarity. The
lady's expression for admiration was "ullegant:" the dinner was
"ullegant," the sunset was "ullegant," and so was the moonrise, and so
were the corn-cakes and corn-pops _fixed_ by herself or her mother. She
was delighted with the bead bracelet I was making, and I gave her a
pattern of the beads. She was astonished to find that the English made
the electric cable. She and her husband mean to go to England and
Scotland in two years. I was obliged to prepare her for bad hotels and
thick atmosphere, at both of which she seemed astonished. She was also
much surprised that she would not find Negro waiters in London. They
remained on board for the night; and on meeting her in the street
yesterday, she assured us the last rapid was "ullegant," and that we had
missed much in not seeing it.

We arrived at Montreal at eight o'clock on the evening of the 24th, and
walked a little about the town. The moon was so bright that colours
could be clearly distinguished. We yesterday spent many hours on the
Victoria bridge which is building here across the river in connection
with the Grand Trunk Railway. It is a most wonderful work, and I must
refer you to an interesting article in the last _Edinburgh Review_ for a
full account of it. Papa had letters to the chief officials of the
railway, which procured us the advantage of being shown the work in
every detail by Mr. Hodges (an Englishman), who has undertaken the
superintendence of it--the plans having been given him by Stephenson.
The expe