from the neighbouring state of New York, by their presence and conduct, proved how highly the Americans revere the memory of our lamented chief.  Of the thousands present not one had cause to feel so deeply as I, and I felt as if alone, although surrounded by the multitude.  He had been more than a father to me in that regiment which he ruled like a father, and I alone of his old friends in that regiment was present to embalm with a tear his last honored retreat.  What I witnessed on this day would have fully confirmed me in the opinion, had confirmation been wanting, that the public feeling in this province has been permanently improved and elevated by Sir Isaac Brock’s conduct and actions while governing its inhabitants.  These, together with his dying in their defence, have done more towards cementing our union with the mother country than any event or circumstance since the existence of the province.  Of this our leading men are aware, and are careful to seize every opportunity of preserving recollections so productive of good effects.”  The height of the column,[115] which commanded a view of the surrounding country for about fifty miles, was from the base to the summit 135 feet, and from the level of the Niagara river, which runs nearly under it, 485 feet.  The following inscription was engraven on this splendid tribute to the unfading remembrance of a grateful people:[116]

    UPPER CANADA
    HAS DEDICATED THIS MONUMENT
    TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE
    MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK, K.B. 
    PROVISIONAL LIEUT.-GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER OF THE FORCES
    IN THIS PROVINCE,
    WHOSE REMAINS ARE DEPOSITED IN THE VAULT BENEATH. 
    OPPOSING THE INVADING ENEMY,
    HE FELL IN ACTION NEAR THESE HEIGHTS,
    ON THE 13th OCTOBER, 1812,
    IN THE 43rd YEAR OF HIS AGE,
    REVERED AND LAMENTED
    BY THE PEOPLE WHOM HE GOVERNED,
    AND DEPLORED BY THE SOVEREIGN
    TO WHOSE SERVICE HIS LIFE HAD BEEN DEVOTED.

The cataract of Niagara is supposed to have commenced on the heights of Queenstown, and to have gradually receded, or worn its way backwards to its present site, seven miles above, near Chippewa, the banks of the river on both sides between the two spots being perpendicular, 2 to 300 feet in height, chiefly of solid rock, and of the same level as the fall.

“The village of Queenstown is beautifully situated at the foot of a hill, and upon the side of the Niagara river, the bank of which is high and precipitous.  The imagination is agreeably struck with the first view of the place.  On one side of the village is a mountain covered with shrubbery and verdure;—­behind, a rich and cultivated plain extends backwards, which is bounded in every direction by luxuriant woods; while in front, the Niagara river glides in majestic stillness, and may be traced, with all its windings, till its waters are swallowed up in the vast expanse of Lake Ontario.  The soil around Queenstown consists chiefly of a red clay, the bright colour of which, upon the roads and declivities where it is exposed, forms a singular contrast, during summer, with the pure green of the trees and fields in the vicinity.