adoption,--the great foster-mother of that portion of the human family,
whose fatherland, however dear to them, is unable to supply them with
bread.

To the honest sons of labour Canada is, indeed, an El Dorado--a land
flowing with milk and honey; for they soon obtain that independence
which the poor gentleman struggles in vain to realise by his own labour
in the woods.

The conventional prejudices that shackle the movements of members of the
higher classes in Britain are scarcely recognised in Canada; and a man
is at liberty to choose the most profitable manner of acquiring wealth,
without the fear of ridicule and the loss of caste.

The friendly relations which now exist between us and our enterprising,
intelligent American neighbours, have doubtless done much to produce
this amalgamation of classes. The gentleman no longer looks down with
supercilious self-importance on the wealthy merchant, nor does the
latter refuse to the ingenious mechanic the respect due to him as a man.
A more healthy state pervades Canadian society than existed here a few
years ago, when party feeling ran high, and the professional men and
office holders visited exclusively among themselves, affecting airs of
aristocratic superiority, which were perfectly absurd in a new country,
and which gave great offence to those of equal wealth who were not
admitted into their clique. Though too much of this spirit exists in the
large cities, such as Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto, it would not be
tolerated in the small district towns and villages, where a gentleman
could not take a surer method of making himself unpopular than by
exhibiting this feeling to his fellow-townsmen.