June 28.—I am once again under the jurisdiction of the British government and laws, and therefore feel myself no longer an alien.  Though the Americans, in general, are civil and friendly, still an Englishman, himself as a stranger amongst them, is annoyed and disgusted by their vaunted prowess in the late puny war, and superiority over all other nations.  They assume it as a self-evident fact, that "the Americans surpass all others in virtue, wisdom, valour, liberty, government, and every other excellence!"  Yet much as the Americans deserve ridicule for this foible, still I admire the energy and enterprise every where exhibited, and regret the apathy of the British government with regard to the improvement of this province.  A single glance down the banks of the Niagara tells on which side the most efficient government has resided.  On the United States' side large towns springing up; the numerous shipping, with piers to protect them in harbour, coaches rattling along the road, and trade evidenced by waggons, carts and horses, and people on foot, in various directions.  On the Canadian side, although in the immediate vicinity, an older settlement, and apparently better land, there are only two or three stores, a tavern or two, a natural harbour without piers, but few vessels, and two temporary landing places.  Farm houses there are all over the district, nearly one on each farm, and probably the farmers, &c. doing very well.  A town cannot be built as government retain the land for fortifications.  Trade, there cannot be much, till the upper part of the province is more settled.  Inquired of two Englishmen, who had considerable farms, if they wanted a person to superintend them, or knew of any person who did; but no, every person looks after his own business in this country.  The land is a stiffish black earth, on a rock several feet under the surface: it is excellent for wheat, clover, and grass, and is chiefly settled and owned by Dutch from the States.  Left my trunks, and travelled down the level banks of the wide Niagara river; the roaring sound of the Great Falls broke on my ear at twelve or fourteen miles' distance.  This wonder of the world, although it does not come up to the idea I had formed of it by reading travellers' descriptions, is yet truly grand; the immense body of water which accumulates in the Great Lakes above, from a thousand creeks and rivers, is here concentrated.  From Chippawa it rushes down a sharp rapid, dashing over huge stones and broken rock (which, for a moment, appear to arrest its impetuous course), near a mile before it comes to the precipice, where it is converged to a comparatively narrow space, when it pours down over the rock in a sheet, with great force and noise, amongst the masses of broken rock in the gulph below, forcing up the spray to a great height, at a distance looking like steam rising from an enormous boiling cauldron fixed in the bowels of the earth; sometimes, in clear weather it condenses into a thick cloud, and is seen more than sixty miles.  The sun shining on the misty spray, forms beautiful rainbows.  The water, on rolling from the abyss below, down the comparatively narrow but deep chasm it has formed, is white with air bubbles, similar to the effervescence of soda water.  There is a smaller Fall on the American side, running round a piece of land called Goat Island.  There are occasional instances of people in boats crossing the river above the rapids, venturing too near them; and, unable to stem the rapidity of the current, are consequently forced over the Falls.  There are three large and elegant hotels, one on the American and two on the Canada side; the latter standing on a small rise of ground, on the bank of the river, 150 or 200 feet above the top of the falls, commanding a fine view of the rapids and river above.  Met some Indians today on horseback; saw numbers of them at Buffaloe yesterday, some in almost every store, and sitting and loitering about the doors; numbers of them wear large earrings.  Saw one with a wooden leg, and another with one arm: many of them at a little distance have the appearance of gipsies; their colour and hair being nearly the same, but features and dress different.  The features of the Indians rather more broad, and have stronger expression, more grave in their manner, and less fire in their eyes; both equally straight in their persons and active, which arises probably through intermitting exertions and absence of hard labour.  Walked on towards Lake Ontario, along a nearly level country, for seven miles, through two small villages, and came to the edge of a mountain three or four hundred feet high, overlooking a considerable extent of country on both sides the river, and the Lake Ontario.  The village of Queenston is situated at the foot of this mountain or ridge, where the Falls evidently have been, seven miles from the present one; the river here is amazingly deep at the foot of the mountain.  This village is situated at the head of the Ontario navigation, and though small has been a very thriving place, but now in a state of decay; the town of Niagara, seven miles below, at the mouth of the Niagara river, having engrossed all the trade, excepting the forwarding of merchandise up, and produce down from the upper part of the province.  Queenston is in a pleasant and very healthy situation, and the country pretty well cleared back; the houses are in a state of dilapidation.  There is the small but neat and healthy village of St. David's, two miles back of hence.  A steamboat lay at the wharf, which runs to various parts of Lake Ontario.

June 30.—Returned again through Chippawa to the Ferry.  People busy getting up their hay; crops are light, through the unusual drought: great plenty of cherries along the road side, in the orchards, of which every passerby takes what he can eat without let or hindrance, or its being thought a trespass.  Two or three stages run between the Falls and the Ferry, during the summer months.

July 1.—Stopping with a farmer, a native of Canada, till I can look about for a situation.  Cherries are abundant this year, as also fine large red currants, some of which they preserve, and dry others.  Wild gooseberries and currants near the woods, but not very tempting.  Wild raspberries plenty, and tolerably good.  Plenty of grapes also, but not yet ripe.  Saw a number of dead fish along the beach, one upwards of twenty pounds weight, killed against the rocks by the violence of the waves in a storm.  Also a few of the only species of a duck that breeds here, called shell-duck; they live on fish, and are not very good eating; one of them had thirty-five young ones.

July 4.—Fine and warm, or rather hot.  The Americans celebrating their independence by firing guns, cannon, &c.  Grass rather a light crop, through the uncommon dryness of the season, not having been any rain of consequence for seven or eight weeks; still the pastures are not burnt up, nor is the ground one quarter so much cracked as it would have been in England with the same drought.  The dryness of the ground causes the atmosphere to be more heated than usual, yet there has been only two or three days I thought too hot, and in these I was helping the farmer and his son get up some hay without being much inconvenienced, as there is often a fine cool breeze from the lake in hot weather."