as good provision for his comfort as in any place I know. There is one American boat, the vessel which carried us on Lake Champlain, from St John's to Whitehall, which I praise very highly; but no more than it deserves, when I say that it is superior even to that in which we went from Queenstown to Toronto, or to that in which we travelled from the latter place to Kingstown, or, I have no doubt I may add, to any other in the world. This steamboat, which is called the Burlington, is a perfectly exquisite achievement of neatness, elegance, and order. The decks are drawing-rooms; the cabins are boudoirs, choicely furnished and adorned with prints, pictures, and musical instruments;-every nook and corner in the vessel is a perfect curiosity of graceful comfort and beautiful contrivance. Captain Sherman, her commander, to whose ingenuity and excellent taste these results are wholly attributable, has bravely and worthily distinguished himself on more than one trying occasion: not least among them in having the moral courage to carry British troops, at a time (during the Canadian rebellion) when no other conveyance was open to them. He and his vessel are held in universal respect, both by his own countrymen and ours; and no man ever enjoyed the popular esteem, who, in his sphere of action, wore it better than this gentleman. By means of this floating palace we were soon in the United States again, and called that evening at Burlington, a pretty town, where we lay an hour or We reached Whitehall, where we were to dis SO. L embark at six next morning; and might have done so earlier, but that these steamboats lie by for some hours in the night, in consequence of the lake becoming very narrow at that part of the journey, and difficult of navigation in the dark. Its width is so contracted at one point, indeed, that they are obliged to warp round by means of a rope. SUMMARY.-Charles Dickens, in his "American Notes," describes his voyage in a steamboat from Kingston to Montreal. He speaks of the beauty of the river St Lawrence, especially when it winds its way among the thousand islands. He describes a gigantic raft which he saw floating down the river; then a journey by a stage-coach; and the dress of the peasantry. He speaks also of his visits to Montreal and Quebec, and the historical recollections connected with the latter. He then describes his impressions of Canada in general, and his voyage back to the United States. QUESTIONS. Describe the appearance of the thousand islands in the St Lawrence. What renders the navigation in some instances dangerous? Describe the rafts which bring timber down the St Lawrence. Describe the situation of Montreal. To what place in Europe may Quebec be compared? What great general was killed at the siege of Quebec? Describe the impression made upon Mr Dickens by Canada in general. Is travelling in Canada convenient and comfortable ? THE HOUSE OF HANOVER (7). Accession, Agriculture, Constitution, Absolute, Absolute go GEORGE IV., 1820-1830. DERIVATION. Lat., accessio, an addition or Lat., ager, a field or ground; Lat., committo, to send out; Fr., constitution. Lat., con- Lat., absolutus, perfect, con- MEANING. Increased by something added, as accession of wealth. Coming to an office or dignity, as accession to the throne. The cultivation of the ground. Distress among the proprietors or cultivators of the land. Persons elected or appointed, to whom any matter of business is committed or referred. The established form of government in a state, kingdom, or country; a system of rules, principles, and ordinances for the government of a state. Free from control; independent. A government with unlimited power. A faction in favour of absolute government. Lat., factio, a faction, a party, A political party acting vernment. Absolutist fac tion. Faction, a side. together; usually applied to a minority. The act of setting free; deliverance from bondage or restrictions of any kind. 1. GEORGE IV. had been regent for ten years before he became king on his father's death in 1820. His character was altogether selfish and base; he was intent on pleasure, dress, and fashion. He had been for some time separated from his wife, CAROLINE OF BRUNSWICK; and soon after his accession he caused a bill to be brought into Parliament against her. But whatever her conduct had been, his own had been so much worse that there was much sympathy felt for her. On the coronation day she came to the doors of Westminster Hall and of the Abbey, and was refused admission at both. Soon afterwards she died brokenhearted. 2. The personal character of the King was only one amongst many causes of complaint and uneasiness existing. The long pressure of the terrible European war, and the enormous increase of taxation, had severely distressed the people; the harvests had been often bad, and bread was dear; nor could it be cheapened as now by the free importation of foreign corn, as there was a tax on all brought in from abroad. The subject of agricultural distress was pressed on both Houses of Parliament during the session of 1820; and a committee was appointed to inquire into the subject. In 1821, the forts on the western coast of Africa, which had belonged to the African Company, were taken by the English Government into its own hands, and Sir Charles M'Carthy was appointed governor. When he landed at Cape Coast Castle in 1822, he found that fort blockaded by a strong Ashautee force. The Ashantees are a powerful nation of Western Africa, and had been frequently at war with the Fantees, a nation occupying the tract along the coast under European protection. In 1823, active hostilities were commenced by the English against the Ashantees. In August of that year, the Ashantees were defeated in the Fantee territory by a force partly of Europeans and partly of native soldiers. Encouraged by this victory, Sir Charles M'Carthy advanced into the interior with a small body of troops, and was attacked by 10,000 of the enemy near the River Prah. He was totally defeated. War continued at intervals for nearly three years, and was brought to a close by a severe action fought near Accra, on the 7th August 1826, in which the Ashantees were completely defeated. Soon after this, the King submitted to pay 600 ounces of gold, and to send one of his sons and a nephew to be educated at the Castle, as the conditions for peace. In December 1826, a body of troops was sent to Portugal to support the Princess Regent and the constitution established by Don Pedro against the hostile attempts of the Spanish government and of the absolutist faction organized by that power. The British force speedily put down the rebellion and restored tranquillity. The question which had been so long agitated, of allowing Roman Catholics, if elected, to sit in Parlia ment, was brought to a decision by the election for Clare of Mr O'Connell, a Dublin lawyer. He had long been the leader of the agitation. He gives the following account of his labours in the cause :-He says, "For more than twenty years before the passing of the Emancipation Bill, the burden of the cause was thrown upon me. I had to arrange the meetings, to prepare resolutions, to furnish replies to the correspondence, to rouse the torpid, to animate the luke |