Page:Tupper family records - 1835.djvu/170

 148 SIR ISAAC BROCK.

manners and dispositions were so conciliating as to gain the affec- tion of all whom he commanded, while his innate nobleness and dignity of mind secured him a respect almost amounting to venera- tion. He is now styled the Hero of Upper Canada, and, had he lived, there is no doubt but the war would have terminated very differently from what it did. The Canadian farmers are not over- burthened with sensibility, yet I have seen several of them shed tears when an eulogium was pronounced upon the immortal and generous-minded deliverer of their country.

" General Brock was killed close to the road that leads through Queenston village, and an aged thorn bush now marks the place where he fell, when the fatal ball entered his vitals. This spot may be called classic ground, for a view of it must awaken in the minds of all those who duly appreciate the greatness of his cha- racter, and are acquainted with the nature of his resources and exertions, feelings as warm and enthusiastic as the contemplation of monuments consecrated by antiquity can ever do. — Pages 70 to 76.

" The prospect from the top of Queenston mountain is the finest and most extensive that Upper Canada affords, and, in an eminent degree, combines the beautiful and the magnificent. The wild and majestic precipices which engulf one part of the Niagara river, the windings and mirrored expanse of that noble body of water, the dim and undiscoverable extent of Lake Ontario, together with the verdant orchards, thick forests, and improved fields, glowing beneath a pure sky, collectively form a scene of admirable effect and composition. Even York, which is thirty-six miles distant, and lies very low, can be seen from the summit of this hill during clear weather. — Page 87.

"The Detroit river, which connects Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, is forty miles long, and divides that part of Canada, which it traverses, from the United States. Its banks are in many places thickly peopled, and in a high state of cultivation. The inhabitants here are chiefly French Canadians, who began to occupy the coun- try when Canada was still under the jurisdiction of France. They still retain that amenity of manners which distinguishes them from the peasantry of most countries. The houses are so numerous and so close together upon the banks of the Detroit river, that there is the appearance of a succession of villages for more than ten miles. The farms are very narrow in front, and extend a great way back. The lots were laid out in this awkward and inconvenient form, that their respective occupants might be able to render one another

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