of gas; and he prances over the pavement like a bear over hot iron—­a great awkward hulk of a feller, (for they aint to be compared to the French in manners) a smirkin at you, as much as to say, ’look here, Jonathan, here’s an Englishman; here’s a boy that’s got blood as pure as a Norman pirate, and lots of the blunt of both kinds, a pocket full of one, and a mouthfull of tother; beant he lovely?’ and then he looks as fierce as a tiger, as much as to say, ‘say boo to A goose, if you dare.’  No, I believe we may stump the Univarse; we improve on every thing, and we have improved on our own species.  You’ll sarch one while, I tell you, afore you’ll find a man that, take him by and large, is equal to one of our free and enlightened citizens.  He’s the chap that has both speed, wind and bottom; he’s clear grit—­ginger to the back bone, you may depend.  Its generally allowed there aint the beat of them to be found any where.  Spry as a fox, supple as an eel, and cute as a weasel.  Though I say it that should’nt say it, they fairly take the shine off creation—­they are actilly equal to cash.

He looked like a man who felt that he had expressed himself so aptly and so well, that any thing additional would only weaken its effect; he therefore changed the conversation immediately, by pointing to a tree at some little distance from the house, and remarking that it was the rock maple or sugar tree.  Its a pretty tree, said he, and a profitable one too to raise.  It will bear tapping for many years, tho’ it gets exhausted at last.  This Province is like that are tree, it is tapped till it begins to die at the top, and if they dont drive in a spile and stop the everlastin flow of the sap, it will perish altogether.  All the money that’s made here, all the interest that’s paid in it, and a pretty considerable portion of rent too, all goes abroad for investment, and the rest is sent to us to buy bread.  Its drained like a bog, it has opened and covered trenches all through it, and then there’s others to the foot of the upland to cut off the springs.  Now you may make even a bog too dry; you may take the moisture out to that degree, that the very sile becomes dust and blows away.  The English funds, and our banks, rail roads, and canals, are all absorbing your capital like a spunge, and will lick it up as fast as you can make it.  That very Bridge we heerd of at Windsor, is owned in New Brunswick, and will pay tole to that province.  The capitalists of Nova Scotia treat it like a hired house, they wont keep it in repair; they neither paint it to preserve the boards, nor stop a leak to keep the frame from rottin; but let it go to wrack sooner than drive a nail or put in a pane of glass.  It will sarve our turn out they say.  There’s neither spirit, enterprise, nor patriotism here; but the whole country is as inactive as a bear in winter, that does nothin but scroutch up in his den, a thinkin to himself, “well if I ant an unfortunate divil, it’s