The Backwoods of Canada | Page 7

or watching for the appearance
of the white porpoises tumbling among the waves. These creatures are
of a milky whiteness, and have nothing of the disgusting look of the
black ones. Sometimes a seal pops its droll head up close beside our
vessel, looking very much like Sinbad's little old man of the sea.
It is fortunate for me that my love of natural history enables me to draw
amusement from objects that are deemed by many unworthy of
attention. To me they present an inexhaustible fund of interest. The
simplest weed that grows in my path, or the fly that flutters about me,
are subjects for reflection, admiration and delight.
We are now within sight of Green Island. It is the largest, and I believe
one of the most populous we have passed. Every minute now seems to
increase the beauty of the passage. Far as the eye can reach you see the
shore thronged with villages and farms in one continuous line. On the
southern side all are gay and glittering with the tin roofs on the most

important buildings; the rest are shingles, whitewashed. This I do not
like so well as the plain shingled roofs; the whiteness of the roofs of the
cottages and homesteads have a glaring effect, and we look in vain for
that relief to the eye that is produced by the thatched or slated roofs.
The shingles in their natural state soon acquire the appearance of slates,
and can hardly be distinguished from them. What would you say to a
rose-coloured house, with a roof of the same gaudy hue, the front of the
gay edifice being garnished with grass green shutters, doors, and
verandah. No doubt the interior is furnished with corresponding taste.
There is generally one or more of these smart buildings in a Canadian
village, standing forth with ostentatious splendour above its more
modest brethren.
August 11.--Just below Green Island we took on board a real pilot, who,
by the way, I do not like half so well as Monsieur Paul. He is a little bit
pragmatical, and seems evidently proud of his superior knowledge of
the river. The good-natured fisherman relinquished his post with a very
good grace, and seems already excellent friends with his more able
rival. For my part I was very sorry when the new pilot came on board;
the first thing he did was to hand us over a pamphlet, containing
regulations from the Board of Health at Quebec respecting the cholera,
which is raging, he tells us, like a fearful plague both at that place and
Montreal.
These regulations positively forbid the captain and the pilot to allow
any person, whether of the crew or passengers, to quit the vessel until
they shall have passed examination at the quarantine ground, under the
risk of incurring a severe penalty.
This was very annoying; as the captain, that very morning, had
proposed taking us on shore at a lovely spot called Crane Island, to
spend the afternoon, while we waited for the return of the tide, at the
house of a Scotch gentleman, the owner of the prettiest settlement I had
yet seen, the buildings and grounds being laid out with great taste.
The situation of this island is of itself very beautiful. Around it are the
waters of the St. Laurence, bearing on its mighty current the commerce
of several nations: in the foreground are the populous and lively
settlements of the southern shores, while behind and far, far above it
rise the lofty range of mountains to the north, now studded with rural
villages, pleasant farms, and cultivated fields. The island itself showed

us smooth lawns and meadows of emerald verdure, with orchards and
corn-fields sloping down to the water's edge. After a confinement of
nearly five weeks on board, you may easily suppose with what
satisfaction we contemplated the prospect of spending a few hours on
this inviting spot.
We expect to reach the quarantine ground (Gros Isle) this evening,
where the pilot says we shall be detained three days. Though we are all
in good health, yet, having sailed from an infected port, we shall be
detained on the quarantine ground, but not allowed to land.
August 12.--We reached Gros Isle yesterday evening. It is a beautiful
rocky island, covered with groves of beech, birch, ash, and fir-trees.
There are several vessels lying at anchor close to the shore; one bears
the melancholy symbol of disease, the yellow flag; she is a passenger-
ship, and has the smallpox and measles among her crew. When any
infectious complaint appears on board, the yellow flag is hoisted, and
the invalids conveyed to the cholera-hospital or wooden building, that
has been erected on a rising bank above the shore. It is surrounded with
palisadoes and a