"Here," wrote Moore, in one of his celebrated epistles, "the Mohawks
received us in all their ancient costumes. The young men ran races for
our amusement, and gave an exhibition game of ball, while the old men
and the women sat in groups under the surrounding forest trees. The
scene altogether was as beautiful as it was new to me. To Colonel Brock,
in command of the fort, I am particularly indebted for his many
kindnesses during the fortnight I remained with him."

It was while Moore was paddling down the St. Lawrence with his
Caughnawaga voyageurs, after leaving Niagara--where he saw the fountains
of the great deep broken up--that he composed his celebrated boat-song:

"Faintly as tolls the evening chime,
Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time.
Soon as the woods on shore look dim,
We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn.
Row, brothers, row! the stream runs fast,
The rapids are near, and the daylight's past!"

In the fall of 1805 our hero was gazetted full colonel, and returned to
England on leave. While he had lost none of the buoyancy of his youth,
he was daily realizing the fullness of his responsibilities.

For the better defence of Canada, he submitted to the Duke of York, the
Commander-in-Chief, a suggestion for the forming of a veteran battalion.
He quoted the case of the U.E. Loyalists, who after the Revolutionary
war, had been granted small tracts in Upper Canada; contrasting their
perfect conduct with the practices of some of the settlers ten years
later, whose loyalty, from his own observation, would not stand the
test. Our hero, who was warmly thanked by the Duke for his zeal, was now