On our passage from Prescot to Kingston we passed Brockville, which
looked very pretty from the river, and soon afterwards we were
threading our way through the intricacies of the Thousand Islands.* Who
has not heard of the far-famed Thousand Islands--the Archipelago of
the St. Lawrence? Nothing can exceed the beauty of this spot. The river
is here several miles in width, studded with innumerable islands, of
every variety of form. The moon shone brightly on this lovely scene:
not a ripple stirred the mirror-like bosom of the stream--"There was
not a breath the blue wave to curl."

[* "The Lake of the Thousand Isles. The expression was thought to be a
vague exaggeration, till the Isles were officially surveyed, and found
to amount to 1692. A sail through them presents one of the most
singular and romantic succession of scenes that can be imagined--the
Isles are of every size, form, height and aspect; woody, verdant,
rocky; naked, smiling, barren; and they present as numerous a
succession of bays, inlets, and channels as occur in all the rest of
the continent put together." "Encyclopaedia of Geography," iv. 1321.]

The reflection of the trees in the water enhanced the natural beauties
I have endeavoured to describe.

The next morning, June the 3rd, I embarked on board the schooner
"Shamrock," on my way to Darlington. We passed the Duck islands towards
evening, and found ourselves fairly launched on the bosom of the Great
Ontario. We anchored next day opposite the town of Cobourg, then a
small village, without a harbour, now a fine, handsome, well-built
town, containing a population of nearly 4,000 inhabitants. A large sum
of money has been laid out in the construction of a harbour, which
appears to answer very well.