miration. Description may convey
an idea of the height and breadth[129]--the vast body of
water[130]--the profound abyss--the dark whirlpools--the sheets of
foam[131]--the plumy column of spray[132] rising up against the sky--the
dull, deep sound that throbs through the earth, and fills the air for
miles and miles with its unchanging voice[133]--but of the magnitude of
this idea, and the impression, stamped upon the senses by the reality,
it is vain to speak to those who have not stood beside Niagara.

Tho descent of the land from the shores of Lake Erie to those of Ontario
is general and gradual,[134] and there is no feature in the
neighborhood of the Falls to mark its locality. From the Erie boundary
the river flows smoothly through a level but elevated plain, branching
round one large and some smaller islands. Although the deep, tremulous
sound of Niagara tells of its vicinity, there is no unusual appearance
till within about a mile, when the waters begin to ripple and hasten on;
a little further it dashes down a magnificent rapid, then again becomes
tranquil and glassy, but glides past with astonishing swiftness. There
are numberless points whence the fall of this great river may be well
seen: the best is Table Rock, at the top of the cataract; the most
wonderful is the recess between the falling flood and the cliff over
which it leaps.

For some length below Niagara the waters are violently agitated;
however, at the distance of half a mile, a ferry plies across in safety.
The high banks on both sides of the river extend to Queenston and
Lewiston, eight miles lower, confining the waters to a channel of no
more than a quarter of a mile in breadth, between steep and lofty
cliffs; midway is the whirlpool,[135] where the current rushes
furiously round within encircling heights. Below Queenston the river
again rolls along a smooth stream, between level and cultivated banks,
till it pours its waters into Lake Ontario.

Ontario is the last[136] and the most easterly of the chain of
lakes.[137] The greatest length is 172 miles; at the widest it measures
59 miles across; the circumference is 467 miles, and the surface is 334
feet below the level of Lake Erie. The depth of Ontario varies very much
along the coast, being seldom more than from three to 50 fathoms; and in
the center, a plummet, with 300 fathoms of line, has been tried in vain
for soundings. A sort of gravel, small pieces of limestone, worn round
and smooth by