It was now past five o’clock, and the umbrage of the forest added a deeper tint to the shadows of evening.  The air was piercingly cold, and his majesty had been engaged in the sport from six in the morning, without intermission.  Untired, however, in the work, the king determined to continue the sport, and accordingly, with his suite, he returned to the enclosed space.  In the enclosure his majesty did not long remain.  Three separate bevies of deer were let loose—­again I heard the fearful shots, and the number was soon filled up.  The king again came among the crowd; and, after having given directions about the game, entered his carriage with a hasty step, and at a rapid pace drove off for Fontainbleau.

Monthly Magazine.

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THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER.

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LAKE ERIE.

Lake Erie has few of the fascinations of scenery to boast of, apart from the large mass of waters it exhibits—­in tranquillity, or in motion, sometimes most vehement.  It is only at its west end that it is adorned by islands.  The Morasses, earthy scaurs, or gentle uplands of its coasts, are only remarkable for their large walnut and buttonwood trees, which, in a dense umbrageous belt, shut out all view of the interior from the traveller on the lake, except at the partial clearances.  Neither is the vicinity of this lake agreeable as a residence, in the western half, at least in the summer.  The heat then, although not thermometrically extreme, is peculiarly oppressive, relaxing, and long continued.  The steaming swamps, which are almost universal, are full of putrifying substances, occasioning the bilious remittents there so prevalent.  The water in common use is heated, and ill-tasted.  Moskitoes, sand, and black flies abound, and, extending their attacks to the domestic animals, aided by a fly nearly an inch long, almost drive them distracted.  There are circumstances also, in social life, which render this region a disagreeable residence, but which are gradually disappearing.  Its extreme fertility, the moderate sum of its annual heat, and its facilities of communication with other countries, will, in progress of time, render it the seat of a dense population, and a principal granary of the western continent.  Wheat, maize, and tobacco, are cultivated with equal success.  The returns of the agriculturist are large, secure, and of excellent quality.  The last-named article has been grown in considerable quantity about the river Detroit, near the head of the lake, and favoured, in a small remission of duty, by the British government, is sent to England, after having undergone an inland carriage, to Quebec, of 814 miles.  Salt springs exist in almost every township, accompanied, in one or two cases, by large beds of gypsum.  Bog iron ore is common on the north-east side of the lake, and is worked.  The water communications