BOOKS.

MAJOR STRICKLA.ND'S CANADA WEST.* THESE reminiscences of a settler's life and experience in Upper Canada, by the brother of Agnes Strickland, is a book of consider- able interest. The reader accompanies a youth of good education, active habits, and a taste for adventure that might have marred his success in an old society moving for the most part along well- formed ruts, to a new country whose indispensable labours bring down the strongest, and whose very sports furnish a field to safely run off the wildest excitement. la 1825, Major Strickland, then in his teens, accepted the invitation of a friend to accompany him to Canada. Thither he went, and there he has since resided ; having in the twenty-seven years which have elapsed gone through the usual difficulties of the first settler in a new district, witnessed the wonderful changes that such a period makes in an advancing co- lony, and experienced the usual pains and pleasures of human life. He married very early ; lost his wife in childbirth ; but soon mar- ried again,—for an uncleared district in Upper Canada is not the place for a single man. He was for some time in the service of the Canada Company, promoted thereto by Galt ; and he made many explorations through the primeval wilderness, and witnessed the rapid changes in the face of nature, brought about by settlers in a body. Thrice he cleared a farm, and twice he sold his clearing ; he made a march to put down rebellion, but it was put down beford his corps could arrive. In the course of his experience, Major Strickland has assisted at " bees " and all the other labours of a colonist "jointly or severally ". he he joined in the sports of the country, discharged the duties of officer of Militia in its various grades, and acted as Commissioner of Court of Requests and Magistrate. Traits of all these modes of life, together with ad- vice to intending emigrants, and general remarks on the country of his adoption, constitute the contents of his work. Reality, freshness, information, and that Robinson Crusoe cha- racter which arises from seeing the wilderness roughly reclaimed, give attraction to the book. Major Strickland has not the literary ability of some members of his gifted family, but he writes plainly and. unaffectedly, though now and then finely ; but his matter supports the interest of the reader. At the same time, parts of the book have lost the gloss of general novelty, from the number of persons who have published their experiences of Canada, both as colonists and sportsmen. Twenty-seven Years in Canada West, however, stands alone in the comparison of the present with the past, and the continuous picture it offers of an individual settler's varied career. In this last sense it.is an autobiography of everyday life without the commonplace. Niagara has often been described, though never to realize the stu- pendous character of the fall. The upper current has not received so much attention, and our author animates his picture by a stir- ring incident.

Many accidents have occurred by canoes and boats having been carried past the mouth of the river Welland, or Chippewa Creek, as it is more com- monly called. This river empties its waters into the Niagara river at the village of Chippewa, about one mile and a half above the Great Horseshoe Fall. A few hundred yards below the entrance to the Chippewa Creek, the waters of the Niagara river attain a fearful velocity, which continually in- creases as it approaches the dreadful gulf. At first it runs smoothly but swiftly, till, gathering strength and meeting rocks and inequalities in the bottom, it 'breaks into cascades and foaming waves, leaping and contending together in wild and indescribable confusion. The descent between the first ruffie caused by the rapids and the Great Fall is upwards of seventy feet. From the upper point of Goat Island nothing can be grander than the scene; for from thence the spectator beholds the whole masa of the descending waters, rushing downwards in fall career against the rocky island upon which he is stationed, with seeming force enough to drive islands and rocks into the boiling gulf below. Small is the chance of escape for the crew of any bark unfortunate enough to pass the friendly harbour of the Welland, few ever escaping the certain death awaiting them at the termination of their awful voyage. It was near this spot that an incident of most exciting and overpowering interest took place last year.

" Just below the harbour of the Welland a small beat was lying moored in apparent security, when two little boys, animated by the adventurous spirit not uncommon in creatures of their age and sex, unmoored the skiff, and, getting into her, launched away, awake only to the enjoyment of their voyage and utterly unconscious of their peril. An instant previously these infants had been seen by their mother sporting on the shore ; she looked for them again, but they were gone—were hurrying to the rapids. Her cry thrilled every ear, but her wild impulse was checked; stronger arms than hers retained her firmly, and stopped the despairing effort of maternal love which prompted her to save her children or perish with them. Her screams vibrated many a manly heart; but the endeavour seemed the utterly hope- less even for pity to attempt or courage to achieve. One young gallant breast was more compassionate, or more brave : he believed that the innocent unconscious children could be rescued. His humanity nerved his will, but he knew that unless he could find minds noble and generous as his own the effort he meditated must be made in vain. He asked for companions in his daring voyage, and he found them in two youths, like himself scarcely out of childhood, who ran with him to the shore, and, unmooring another boat, embarked together on the wild waters, and rowed with desperate strength to overtake the children before they reached the rapids. God, who had inspired the noble impulse, was with the generous three ; they gained the other boat and as it rushed forward to destruction, caught the infants and left the skiff to its fate. But though their first object was attained, they had yet to ac- complish what no mortal band had then achieved; they had to turn the bow of the boat in an oblique direction, and ascend the mighty current, which they must effect, or lose their own lives as well as those of the children whom they had just rescued from destruction. We may imagine the cool energetic courage of Burnham and his gallant mates, and how their efforts were watched by numerous spectators from the shore and by her eyes who had seen with wild maternal hopes and fears her children taken into the boat, and how, while all despaired, the heart of a mother hoped and prayed,

• Twenty-seven Years in Canada West ; or the Experience of an Early Settler. By Major Strickland, C.M. Edited by Agnes Strickland. In two volumes. Published by Bentley.

and believed that God would yet save the frail ark which contained her trea- sures and their generous preservers. He did hear them. He nerved the arms of the young rowers, and well and skilfully they stemmed the current and made the shore, bringing back the infant fugitives to the sacred Bande- au of a mother's arms."

This account of a " bee," or gathering of neighbours to assist in any work that a settler and the hired labour at his command can- not qniekly accomplish, is from Major Strickland's first year.

"Soon after my arrival at Darlington, one of my neighbours residing on the lake-shore invited me to a mowing and cradling 'bee.' As I had never seen anything of the kind, I accepted the invitation. On my arrival at the farm on the appointed day, I found assembled about forty men and boys. A man with a pail of spring-water, with a wooden cup floating on the sur- face, in one hand, and a bottle of whiskey and glass in the other, now ap- proached the swarm, every one helping himself as he pleased. This man is the most important personage at the bee,' and is known by the appellation of the 'grog-boa.' On this occasion his office was anything but a sinecure. The heat of the weather, I suppose, had made our party very thirsty. There were thirty-five bees cutting hay, among whom I was a rather awk- ward volunteer, and ten cradlelusnetoyed in cutting rye. pa "At eleven o'clock, cakes andpailfuls of tea were served round. At one, we were summoned by the sound of a tin bugle to dinner, which we found laid out in the barn. Some long pine-boards resting on treads served for a table which almost groaned with the good things of this earth, in the shape of roast lamb and green peas, roast sucking-pig, shoulder of mutton, apple- sauce, and pies, puddings, and preserves in abundance, with plenty of beer and Canadian whisky. Our bees proved so industrious, that before six o'clock all Mr. Burke's hay and rye were finished cutting. Supper was then served on the same scale of profusion, with the addition of tea. After sup- per a variety of games and gymnastics were introduced, various trials of strength, wrestling, running, jumping, putting the stone, throwing the ham- mer, Ace.

"About nine o'clock our party broke up, and returned to their respective homes, well pleased with their day's entertainment, leaving their host per- fectly satisfied with their voluntary labour. One word about bees and their attendant frolic. I confess I do not like the system. I acknowledge that in raising a log-house or barn it is absolutely necessary, especially in the bush ; but the general practice is bad. Some people can do nothing without a bee ; and as the week has to be returned in the sihne manner, it causes continual round of dissipation, if not of something worse. fhave known several cases of menslasighter arising out of quarrels produced by intoxica- tion at these everyday gatherings. As population increases and labour be- comes cheaper, of course there will be lees occasion for them."

In point of reason nothing can be said against this argument ; and hay or any other harvest is a work that generally can be ma- paged with the common labour of a farm, if not so securely against change of weather. But if reason took a man to the back-woods, it is doubtful if reason would keep him there. These " bees" are necessary to supply a stimulant to life, which in an older country is furnished by various amusements ; and after all, the meeting and the friendly contest in work and afterwards in sport is the true training for men. It is this, and their daily work, with their hard- ships in the pursuit of pleasure, which formed the militia, badly drilled for the parade-ground, and ludicrous in their garb, but which acting amid the woods and other difficulties of their "own countree " established the independence of the United States. Among the common everyday struggles in a new settlement, that of the simplest locomotion is considerable, on account of the roads. The subject frequently turns up, not as matter of com- plaint but matter of record. This domestic incident will illustrate the difficulty of travelling in Canada, and realize the state of roads in the middle ages.

" When I left Guelph, I had arranged with my wife that as soon' as I

could get the new house ready I would send for her. I did not think that this could possibly be done before sleighing-time, as the newly-cut road was almost impassable for waggons. Judge, then, duly surprise, when on re- turning home from the storehouse one day, I noticed the door of my log- cabin open, and saw a lovely curly-headed child sitting in the doorway. I could hardly believe my eyes—it was my own little Maria. My dear little bey had remained at Douro with my wife's sister Eliza, of whom he was so fond that my wife did not like to separate such friends from each other. On my entrance I found my wife surrounded by a pile of luggage, laughing heartily at my astonishment.

"She told me, she ttlt so lonely that she determined to brave all the dan- gers of the road order to join me. Accordingly, she hired a settler who was the owner of a waggon and a yoke of oxen, which she loaded with the moat useful articles we required, bedding and bed-clothes, &e., reserving room in the waggon for herself, the child, and nurse-maid.

"During the whole of the first day's journey, and part of the next, all went on smoothly enough, their route lying through settlements ; but as soon as they entered the newly-cut road their difficulties commenced, and before they had traversed five miles the waggon was twice upset. This Be alarmed my poor wife, on aecount,of the baby, that she durst not ride an- other step of the way, although the travellers had still upwards of sixty miles to go. Moreover, she was obliged to carry the child the entire dis- tance; for the teamster had enough to do to look after and guide his cattle, and the servant-girl was too young and too tired to render much assistance. "Fifteen miles a day was the outside distance they could persuade the oxen to travel ; consequently, they were compelled to camp out two nights i out of the six in which they were on the road. Luckily, the weather was dry and warm. At night the musquitoes were dreadfully annoying, as my poor little Maria's neck and arms too plainly showed. "During the afternoon of the second day, when within six miles of Trifogle's tavern, their intended resting-place for the night, they were overtaken by a man who was going in the same direction, who very politely —as my Wife thought—offered to carry her baby part of the way. She was, of course, very glad to avail herself of his kind offer ; nor did she perceive, till after he had got possession of the bairn, that he was intoxicated. She immediately demanded back her little treasure ; but no inducement could persuade him to relinquish it, and he set off with the infant as fast as he could. In vain the poor mother besought him to stop—in vain she sobbed and cried. On he went, followed by my Mary, who found great diffi- culty in keeping up with him, which she did at first; till, at length, ex- hausted by the unusual fatigue, maternal anxiety, and the roughness of the road, she lost sight of him when about a mile from the tavern. He had walked off with his little burden.

"She was now dreadfully alarmed, for night was fast coming on, and she did not know whether she was on the right track or not. Fortunately, a light through the trees extricated her from this dilemma: her only uneasi- ness was now for her child. She was soon, however, relieved from this un-

certainty ; for, on entering the house, there sat the man with the baby on his knee. The child appeared to be on very friendly terms with him, and had, no doubt, enjoyed herself amazingly while her bearer was running away with her. " He at once restored the child to her mother's arms ; observing, 'that he hoped she would give him the price of a quart of whisky for his trouble, for the child was main heavy, God bless her !' "My wife, of course, did not dispute the payment."

The practical hints in these volumes will be found useful to in- tending emigrants of a respectable class. The subject is not in- deed new, but it is newly treated; the adviser superadding expe- rience to liberal education,—qualities which do not always meet together in Colonial writers.