The Log House by the Lake | Page 4

doubted whether Mr Ashton himself derived
full advantage from his large income. Few of his guests knew him by
sight, and he had often to steal off to bed fatigued with his labours as
director of numerous promising speculations in which he had engaged
to increase his fortune. Altogether the Ashton family were very busily
employed. Some might say that they were like those who "sow the
wind to reap the whirlwind." We gladly quit them to follow the

fortunes of their emigrant cousins.
CHAPTER THREE.
Canada is now traversed from one end to the other by railways, with
numerous ramifications to the north and south, while steam-vessels run
not only on its main artery--the Saint Lawrence--and the great chain of
lakes, but also on numerous other rivers and lakes in every direction on
the lines of the highway to any inhabited district. Notwithstanding this,
the romance of travelling through Canada is not altogether done away
with. Although several of the chief cities contain very large populations,
Montreal having 100,000 inhabitants, and Quebec and Toronto not
many thousands less, and possessing likewise all the advantages
required by civilised communities, yet a very few miles away from
them the stranger may find himself in some wild district where he
might suppose that the foot of man had never trod. In the summer,
steamers on water compete with locomotives on land in conveying
passengers; and when time is not of consequence, the route by water is
generally preferred.
A few days only were spent at Quebec by the Ashtons after their arrival,
before they embarked on board one of those wonderful constructions,
an American steam-boat, to proceed up the Saint Lawrence to Montreal.
The entrance was in the side of the vessel, and on the main deck, which
appeared lumbered up from one end to the other with casks, chests, and
packages, a flight of steps led to an upper deck, which had the
appearance of a long gallery, fitted up as a drawing-room, with sofas,
easy chairs, and every luxury. The glazed roof was supported by pillars,
but no access could be discovered to any spot where helmsman, captain,
or crew might be posted. Harry, after many enquiries, found that the
wheel was on a platform on the roof forward, where the captain and
pilot stood. He pronounced the vessel to be constructed on two huge
arches, having a vast Thames wherry below, with a superstructure of
picture galleries on a wide platform extending far over her gunwale on
either side.
Montreal, the head of the ocean navigation, was reached; and then by a

series of magnificent canals the rapids of the Saint Lawrence were
avoided; the lake of the Thousand Isles, with their rocky bases and
tree-covered summits, was passed, as were several larger and thriving
towns, and Lake Ontario was entered.
At Kingston they embarked on board another steamer, which was far
more like an ordinary vessel than the one they had just quitted. Who
should come on board, just before she left the wharf, but Mr Norman.
A few hours afterwards, when Harry and Charley came on deck, they
uttered an exclamation of surprise as they looked around. "What, is this
called a lake, Mr Norman? Why, where is the land?"
"Out of sight," answered their friend, laughing. "North, south, east,
west of us. It is rather hazy to the north, or you would see the
pine-fringed shore. We shall soon again see it, as we have to touch at
several towns on our way."
Several large vessels were met under all sail, with numerous crews,
steering for the Saint Lawrence.
"Where can they be going to?" said Harry.
"To Liverpool, perhaps, or to some other English port, laden with
wheat from the Western States," answered Mr Norman. "Vessels have
sailed all the way from Lake Superior to England."
They saw, however, more things to wonder at than can well be
recounted. Not the least, in the eyes of the boys, was the fine city of
Toronto, with its numerous public buildings.
"Why, I thought that we were about to enter the backwoods by the time
we got thus far west, and here we are in the middle of as civilised a city
as any we have seen," exclaimed Harry, on their return from an
excursion through Toronto.
"We have many other fine towns still further west," said Mr Norman,
who had stayed at the same hotel. "If we go into the States we shall find,
several hundred miles off, Chicago, which has sprung up as if by the

wand of the enchanter. The secret of this rapid increase is its peculiar
position at the head of a great navigable lake, with a background
unrivalled in its corn-producing powers. In the course of years we may
hope to see cities, towns,