at
was some sixty yards in length, and constructed only for passengers and
their luggage. The interior formed a long saloon in miniature, fitted up
with lounges, and tastefully decorated; a promenade on the deck or top
furnishing a good place for exercise. At night our saloon was converted
into a general dormitory, a portion being partitioned off for the
ladies, by ranges of shelves being suspended from the sides, on which
were laid the mattresses, &c. Owing to the number of locks and stoppages
at the miserable towns and villages on the canal banks, our passage to
Buffalo took several days; and the country being flat and uninteresting,
although divided into farms, which in general appeared to be in a state
of tolerable cultivation, I was not a little relieved when we began to
approach the city.

The formation of the Erie Canal was one of those grand internal
improvements frequently to be met with in that country, and which have
contributed to its general prosperity in no small degree. The projector
of this vast undertaking, De Witt Clinton, is justly esteemed by
American citizens, who regard him as a public benefactor, and his name
ranks with the founders of their independence. The canal runs, for a
considerable distance before it reaches Buffalo, parallel with the lake,
but separated from it by a sort of artificial sea-wall. As we merged
into the vicinity of this magnificent inland sea, the sun was shining
brightly, and gave it the appearance of molten silver. As far as the eye
could reach, a wide expanse of water presented itself, and the distant
shores of Canada gave beauty to the scene. At Black-rock we could
distinguish the sites of the British fortifications, from which in the
last war red-hot cannon-balls were ejected, to the dismay of the
terrified Americans, and the destruction of many of their houses.

Buffalo is a flourishing city on the border of Lake Erie, and about
twenty miles south of the Falls of Niagara. It is within the boundary of
the state of New York, and has of late years greatly increased in
extent, wealth, and population. The old town, quite an inconsiderable
place, on the site of which the present city has risen, phoenix-like,
was burnt to the ground during the late war, by some British officers,
who made a sortie from the Canada shores; which circumstance, having
been handed down from father to son, still rankles in the bosoms of many
of the older inhabitants, who do not fail to state their b