mill. At the market-house stands a monument erected by the colony in

honour of Lord Nelson. It consists of a statue resting upon a single column. On one side of the pedestal is an inscription; two others contain representations of naval engagements; and the fourth, a representation of the capitulation of Copenhagen.

The next day, Lieutenant-colonel Mac Gregor conducted me to the parade, where a part of his regiment was assembled. They formed a battalion of six divisions. The battalion exercises were not performed, but the manœuvres, which were very complicated, and only adapted to the place, were executed with much precision and admirable celerity. I learned a new mode of making ready. At the command “ready,” the soldiers levelled their muskets, cocked them in this position; at the command “fire,” they brought them slowly to their cheeks. The infantry were divided into two bodies, but in making a flank march, they formed into three, by passing through the files. The platoons were divided into sections, containing from four to six files, in consequence of which the oblique march was easily executed.

After this manœuvre was completed, we took a boat, in company with the officers, for the island of St. Helen, oppositely to Montreal, in the middle of the St. Lawrence. This island contains a large artillery depôt, under the direction of Major Wallace. Upon landing we were saluted with a discharge of twenty-one guns from the battery on the neck of the island. This battery is of a crescent shape, and serves as a training-place for the company of artillery stationed here. The gunners were just practising with one nine, and one six pounder, and a seven-inch howitzer, each of which was charged with grenades. The mark stood in the river, and their dexterity was such that the grenade never exploded before reaching it. The skill consists chiefly in the proper calculation of the fuse, so that the powder of the grenade may explode the moment it is over the mark.

St. Helen was the only point that the French retained after all Canada had submitted to the British power. It is about two miles in circumference, and is covered with fine elms and different kinds of nut trees, particularly the hickory. The soldiers have made excellent paths through and around the island. A botanic garden was established here a few years ago by the government, in which all the North American plants are collected, for the purpose of furnishing gardens in England. On the north side of the island you have some beautiful views of the shores of the river, and Montreal, with her numerous churches, and situation at the foot of the green mountain, presents a very imposing appearance. Here are also the arsenal and barracks, new massy buildings, which are protected against a _coup de main_ by a breast-work, as well as by embrasures in the walls. The interior of the island is hilly, and in a really romantic valley is a powder-magazine, containing four thousand barrels of powder. Through Major Wallace, who resides in a very beautiful house at the barracks, we became acquainted with his wife and daughter, who pass their time very pleasantly at their solitary habitation in music and drawing. During the winter, the people who are obliged to stay on the island are sometimes prevented from going to Montreal for six weeks, in consequence of the ice.

After our return to Montreal we took another ramble through the city, and observed some very large stores. As Montreal carries on some fur trade through the Ottawa river, with the Hudson Bay and North-west Company, I had supposed I should be able to procure some cheap fur; but I found little that was good, and this was valued at an enormous price. In the evening we went to the Royal Circus, whose pompous advertisement had promised a large company of riders and a good play. The riders, four grown persons and two boys, performed some tolerably good feats; but the play was so badly managed that we soon returned to the house. The theatre is in other respects handsomely arranged: it has two tiers of boxes, and a circle for the horses, which, during the play, forms the pit.