peace until this was done.' Yet this Mr. Clay was afterwards one of the American commissioners who signed the treaty of Ghent !

"The first act of the commander in chief, on learning the American declaration of war, was an earnest of his future irresolution. He dispatched orders to the commanding officer at fort St. Joseph's to remain upon the defensive; but Captain Roberts knew that, if attacked, his post was untenable; he was aware that the enemy at Michilimackinac must shortly be reinforced, and he boldly preferred to follow the directions of his immediate commander, General Brock, to assault that place if he found it advisable. The important result has already been told. To General Brock himself, Sir George Prevost sent no instructions whatever for some weeks after he received intimation of the war. Whether this neglect was intentional, to leave that officer to his own responsibility, or was merely the natural effect of the infirmity of purpose which the commander in chief afterwards so repeatedly evinced, the consequences were equally mischievous; for General Brock had moved from York to Fort George with the intention of attacking the American fort of Niagara, then unprepared for defence, and was only restrained from that measure by the perplexity of his situation in being left without orders. Hull's invasion, however, put it beyond doubt that he should do right in opposing him, and the capture of that force preceded his receipt of the first dispatches from the commander in chief. These dispatches, indeed, were of such a nature, that it was fortunate they arrived no sooner. They announced, as we have already stated, the conclusion of that impolitic armistice between Sir George Prevost and General Dearborn at the moment which should have been devoted to active exertion against the American posts on the frontier. By the terms of this truce, General Hull was to determine, at his option, whether or not the suspension of arms should be binding upon his division. If he had not already capitulated before he could make his choice, what might not have been the fatal consequences of permitting him to claim the benefit of the armistice?

"No sooner was the suspension of arms, to which Sir George had agreed, at an end, than he issued positive orders along the whole extent of frontier, that no offensive operations whatever should be attempted against the different points of the enemy's line. The short-sightedness of such a system of defence needs perhaps little exposition, but a practical illustration of its tendency

was afforded, before the close of the year, in the unopposed devastation of great part of the Indian country by General Harrison, while Colonel Proctor was compelled by his orders to refrain from advancing to the aid of our allies. This want of co-operation had a most unfavourable effect upon the minds of the Indians, and was an impolitic and unmanly desertion of them."-Campaigns in the Canadas.

NOTE. Although the editor does not approve of the spirit of acrimony towards Sir George Prevost, which is manifested throughout the article in the Quarterly Review, from which the preceding extracts are taken, yet he feels it a sacred obligation due to the memory of Sir Isaac Brock to withhold nothing descriptive of his energetic views and intentions, and of the obstacles he experienced in the vigorous prosecution of the contest,obstacles which his gallant spirit could not brook, and which necessarily exposed "his valuable life" much more than it would have been in offensive operations. Sir George Prevost was most unfortunately induced to propose the armistice, in the expectation that the American government would stay all hostility on learning the repeal of the British orders in council, which were the chief among the alleged causes of the war; and this measure was attended with very prejudicial consequences, as it rendered unavailing the command of the lakes, which was then held by the British. It also caused a delay of nearly a fortnight in the contemplated attack of Sackett's Harbour by Sir Isaac Brock, as he returned from Detroit to Fort George on the 24th August, and the cessation of the armistice was not known at the latter post until the 4th September. This attack, however, could have been still carried into effect, and it was only relinquished by express orders from the commander in chief. The armistice was doubtless entered into as well from an error in judgment as from expectations which were not realized; but as the official intelligence of the president's refusal to continue the suspension of hostilities reached Sir George Prevost, at Montreal, on the 30th August,—a day or two before Captain Glegg, with the dispatches of the capture of Detroit,-it is difficult to account for his motive (unless it were that assigned at page 15) in preventing the attempt on Sackett's Harbour, as proposed to him by Major-General Brock, through his gallant aid-de-camp, a meritorious and talented officer.

The distance, by water, between Fort George and Kingston, viâ York, is one hundred and eighty miles, and from Kingston to Sackett's Harbour only thirty-six miles, so that the destruction of the arsenal at the last named post could have been effected by the 1st of September, had not the armistice prevented it.

Since the first memoir was printed, the editor has been informed by a provincial officer, who commanded the schooner Lady Prevost, of 14 guns, that on the 23d August he met Major-General Brock on Lake Erie, returning in the schooner Chippewa from the capture of Detroit, and, after saluting him with seventeen guns, he went on board the latter vessel, and gave the first intelligence of the armistice to the general, who, on hearing it, could not conceal his deep regret and mortification.-ED.

No. 9.

Preface to the Second Edition of Travels in Canada and the United States, in 1816 and 1817, by Lieutenant Francis Hall, 14th Light Dragoons, H. P.

"Soon after the publication of these travels, the author received an anonymous communication, charging him with misrepresenting the conduct of the officer who succeeded Sir Isaac Brock in the command of our forces in Upper Canada. The passages complained of are: the expression, (p. 227.,) that Tecumseh, after that general's death, 'found no kindred spirit with whom to act ;'the passages of Tecumseh's speech, quoted in the note;-and the expression he is said to have subsequently used, "Tell the dog,' &c.

"The author regrets that this communication, (which was conveyed in the most gentlemanly terms,) by being anonymous, left him no opening for private explanation, which he cannot but think would, on the whole, have proved more satisfactory than a discussion in print as it is, it only remains for him to commit the litigated points to the judgment of the public.

"The only insinuation intended to be conveyed by the terms 'no kindred spirit,' was, that the general who succeeded Sir Isaac Brock was inferior to him in talents, and was so considered by Tecumseh. This is mere matter of opinion; but such as the author conceives every man is free to deliver, with respect to the conduct of an individual employed in a public capacity; nor, however he may be unfortunate enough to differ in it from his correspondent, does he believe it would, by any means, be considered a singular opinion by the officers who, at that time, served in Upper Canada.

"With regard to the application of the passages quoted from Tecumseh's speech, the author conceives he cannot do better than make his readers the judges of it, by printing an entire copy of the speech, with which his correspondent has been kind enough to furnish him.

"His correspondent denies that Tecumseh ever used the expressions, "Tell the dog,' &c.; upon which the author cannot forbear observing, that, as he has stated no particular occasion on which they were used, it seems scarcely possible his correspondent, unless he was never from Tecumseh's side, can have the means of proving they were never uttered at all. The author conceives his authority on this point to be such, as fully to warrant

him in believing his statement to be correct; at the same time, he would be understood as drawing no conclusion from it to the disparagement of the officer in question: he quoted it merely to show the nature of the Indian chieftain's feelings, and the light in which he regarded measures, on the propriety of which the author wishes to be considered as stirring no controversy."

NOTE: The officer alluded to in the preceding preface was not MajorGeneral Sheaffe, the successor of Sir Isaac Brock, but the officer commanding at Detroit, Amherstburgh, &c. The passages and speech will be given in the notice of Tecumseh.-Vide Post.-ED.

No. 10.

Extracts from Howison's Sketches of Upper Canada.—London, 1821.

"The village of Queenston is beautifully situated at the foot of a hill, and upon the side of the Niagara river, the bank of which is high and precipitous. The imagination is agreeably struck with the first view of the place. On one side of the village is a mountain covered with shrubbery and verdure ;-behind, a rich and cultivated plain extends backwards, which is bounded in every direction by luxuriant woods, while in front, the Niagara river glides in majestic stillness, and may be traced, with all its windings, till its waters are swallowed up in the vast expanse of Lake Ontario. The soil around Queenston consists chiefly of a red clay, the bright colour of which, upon the roads and declivities where it is exposed, forms a singular contrast, during summer, with the pure green of the trees and fields in the vicinity.

"The narrowness of the river here, and its suitableness for a ferry, renders this one of the principal channels of communication between Upper Canada and the United States; consequently, there is a continual interchange of waggons, cattle, passengers, &c. which makes Queenston rather more lively than it would otherwise be. However, all its external attractiveness depends upon the fineness of its situation. The buildings are irregular and inelegant; and an air of depression and inactivity pervades the whole place, to a degree I never saw equalled in any village of the same extent.

"Queenston must infallibly acquire magnitude and importance when the province becomes populous and flourishing, for it is situated at the commencement of a portage, which never can be evaded by any improvement in the navigation, it being rendered necessary by the falls of Niagara; therefore, all vessels containing goods and stores destined for the western parts of Upper Canada,

K

must unload and leave their cargoes at Queenston, that they may be conveyed overland to Chippewa, where the Niagara river again becomes navigable. Even now, a good deal of this carrying business goes on during the summer months. The north-west company forward a considerable quantity of stores to the Indian territories by this route, and the country merchants receive annual supplies of goods from Montreal, and send down pork, flour, staves, and potash, in return.

"The environs of Queenston are beautifully picturesque and romantic, and nothing can be finer than the prospect up the Niagara river. Immediately above the village its channel narrows very much, and the banks rise to the height of three hundred feet perpendicular, while at the same time they become wild and rocky, and are thickly covered with trees of various kinds. In some places they partly over-arch the river, and throw an appalling gloom upon its waters, now dashed into turbulence and impetuosity by the ruggedness of their sloping bed. It was night when I first viewed this scene, and as the moon gradually rose, she threw a broken light successively upon different portions of the stream, and sometimes brought to view the foamy bosom of a rapid, at other times unveiled the struggling and heaving waters of a whirlpool, while the mingled roar, on all sides, excited a shuddering curiosity about those parts of the river that rolled along in darkness.

"Over the precipice, on the summit of which I stood while I contemplated this scene, many of the American soldiers had rushed at the close of the battle of Queenston heights. They were so warmly pressed by our troops and the Indians, and had so little prospect of obtaining quarter from the latter, that a great number wildly flung themselves over the steep, and tried to save their lives by catching hold of the trees that grew upon it; but many were frightfully dashed to pieces by the rocks, and others who reached the river perished in their attempts to swim across it. Several, who had dropped among the cliffs without receiving any injury, were afterwards transfixed and killed by falling upon their own bayonets, while in the act of leaping from one spot to another. I almost imagined I saw these unfortunate men writhing in all the agonies of a protracted death, and gazing with envy at their companions, who were convulsively catching for breath among the sullen waters below. Were the Canadians inclined to be superstitious, they could not select a more suitable place than this for the haunt and appearance of unearthly beings. The wildness of the scenery, the