which gave it an appearance of a
miniature sea beach. Had I not been on a railway when I saw these small
pebbles, I should have picked up some for you, and I think you would
have valued them as much as your cornelians at Cromer. I searched for
them later, and never came up with such a pretty pebbly beach again.

_Montreal, Sept. 25th._--Unhappily this sheet has been packed up by
mistake for some days, and I have not been able to go on with my
journal, but I resume it this evening, for it must be despatched to you
the day after to-morrow.

We passed the 22nd and 23rd at Toronto, and had much pleasure there in
seeing a great deal of the Alfred O.'s, and their very nice children,
and it was quite touching to see the pleasure our visit gave them. We
had the sorrow, however, of parting from William, who left us on the
morning of the 23rd for the Far West. He went with Mr. Latham and Mr.
Kilburn, and it was a very great comfort to us that he had such pleasant
companions, instead of travelling such a distance alone. We had an early
visit at Toronto from Mr. and Mrs. W., friends of the O.'s: they begged
us so earnestly to remain over the 23rd to dine with them, that we
consented to do so. Toronto is a most melancholy-looking place. It has
suffered in the "crisis," and the consequence is that wide streets seem
to have been begun but never finished, giving the town a very disastrous
look. There is one wide handsome street with good shops, and our hotel
was an enormous one; but when this is said, there is little more to add
about it, for it looks otherwise very forlorn, and altogether the town
is the least inviting one we have yet seen in our travels.

In the course of our drive we had an opportunity of seeing the interiors
of some of the houses, many of which display considerable wealth; the
rooms being large, and filled with ornaments of every sort. The ladies
dress magnificently; a handsome coral brooch is often worn, and is
almost an infallible sign, both here and in the United States, of a tour
to Italy having been accomplished; indeed I can feel nearly as certain
that the wearer has travelled so far, by seeing her collar fastened with
it, as if she told me the fact, and many such journeys must have been
performed, judging by the number of coral brooches we see.

We did little the first day but drive about the streets. We drank tea at
the A. O.'s, and the next day they took us to see one very beautiful
sight; the New Univ