primeval grandeur, lovely landscapes, sunrise, noonday and sunset—­each has attracted the keen poetic gaze.  Though not the theme of poet or pen—­who that looks upon our autumn sunset can deny its charms?  The western horizon, a mass of living gold, flitting in incessant array and mingling with the different layers of purple, violet, pink, crimson, and tempting hues of indescribable beauty; at intervals forming regular and successive strata of deep blue and red, deepening into bright red.  Suddenly as with magic wand a golden cloud shoots through and transforms the whole with dazzling splendour.  The bewildering reflection upon the trees as they raise their heads in lofty appreciation, forms a pleasing background, while Heaven’s ethereal blue lies calmly floating above.  The gently sloping hills lend variety to the scene, stretching in undulations of soft and rich verdure; luxuriant meadow and cultivated fields lie in alternate range.  The sons of toil are returning from labour; the birds have sought shelter in their nests; the nimble squirrel hides beneath the leafy boughs, or finds refuge in the sheltering grass, until the next day’s wants shall urge a repeated attack upon the goodly spoils of harvest.  Soon the golden sheen is departing, casting backward glances upon the hill tops with studied coyness, as lingering to caress the deepening charms of nature’s unlimited and priceless wardrobe.

Amid such glowing beauty could the mind hold revel on a glorious September sunset in Fredericton, 1824.  To any one possessed with the least perception of the beautiful, is there not full scope in this direction?  Is not one fully rewarded by a daily stroll in the suburban districts of Fredericton, more especially the one now faintly described?  If any one asks why the present site was chosen for Government House in preference to the lower part of the city, there would be no presumption in the inference—­selected no doubt with due appreciation of its view both from river and hills on western side.  Truly its striking beauty might give rise to the well established title of “Celestial City.”  Though unadorned by lofty monuments of imposing stateliness, costly public buildings, or princely residences, Fredericton lays claim to a higher and more primitive order of architecture than that of Hellenic ages.  The Universal Architect lingered lovingly in studying the effect of successive design.  Trees of grace and beauty arose on every side in exquisite drapery, while softly curved outlines added harmony to the whole, teaching the wondrous and creative skill of the Divine.  The picturesque river flows gently on, calm, placid, and unruffled save by an occasional splash of oars of the pleasure seekers, whose small white boats dotted the silvery surface and were reflected in the calm depths below.