A TALK TO THE BOYS AT BOSTON FARM SCHOOL.

who do not go to school. There are even some such in Boston, right here in sight of us. Many of the New-York boys not only have no school, but they have no homes; no friends; no comfortable nor decent clothing; nor any thing to eat. I have heard quite lately that, since these hard times came on, there have been boys taken up in New York who had not eaten food for several days. Now how well off would these boys in New-York think themselves, if they could only have food enough, enough even of good bread and fruits like the Greek boys. Then if, in addition to that, they could have good clothes, and good homes, and good school houses and good teachers; or even as good schools and teachers as the Greek boys had.

But above all, what would they say if they could have at once such privileges as you have? Ah, my young friends, you little consider what privileges you enjoy here on this beautiful island! I have lived nearly in sight of it these two years, and never, till to-day, came here before. But I have been well paid for my journey, I assure you.

I have been through your flower garden and seen each boy's plat, and seen how neat he keeps it, and how clean from weeds. I have been round the farm and seen the beets, and the turnips, and the cabbages, and the asparagus, and the potatoes, and the wheat, and the barley, and the thousand other vegetables you raise here. Then I have visited your playground, and your walks, and your

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chambers, and your eating rooms. have seen your neat, clean, good beds, and I now see your good, substantial and clean clothes, and clean hands and faces. And I rejoice at the sight. It is one of the pleasantest days of my whole life.-I rejoice to see more than 100 of you so happy, and to see you under the care of so good a teacher and so excellent a farmer, and all your wants so well attended to.

And now, how much I wish the poor boys in New-York and Boston and other cities, who are not only hungry and ragged and ignorant, but acquiring bad habits in the streets,-habits of idleness, or slovenness, or using bad language, or pilfering, or sabbath breaking, or all of these and many more united--how much I wish these boys could come to the Farm School and enjoy the privileges which you enjoy.

Why, you live here as happy as young princes. Besides, you are preparing to be good for something hereafter. The boys in the streets are fitting to be good for nothing, or worse than good for nothing when they come to be men; but you are fitting, we may hope, to be good men and good citizens. O, learn to prize the privileges you enjoy! Love your teacher and your other friends and benefactors who have been the means of placing you here; and be thankful to them for their kindness; and try to obey and please them. Above all, learn to be grateful to your Heavenly Father for putting it into the hearts of people to establish the school, and place you in it, and thus fit you to be useful and happy.

NOTES OF A RAMBLER.-NIAGARA FALLS.

WE set out from Lockport on the morning of June 8, for Niagara Falls. The distance was about 20 miles; and was performed by means of a rail-road lately built. The cars were drawn by horses. For the greater part of the way, especially the first half of it, the country was new and chiefly uncultivated, but the soil excellent, and where cultivated, produces wheat and fruits in the richest abundance. The timber, consisting of beech, maple, bass, ash, &c. is very large and tall. The country is unusually level.

In going from Lockport to Niagara, we passed through only two townships, Cambria and Lewiston; and we did not go through the centre of either of these. Pekin, a village of Cambria, is newly built, and seems indeed like a little village in the woods; trees and stumps standing all around among the houses. A few miles farther on, within the township of Lewiston, we went through the residence of the Tuscarora Indians. They have a small church, near which a missionary resides. They have also a school-house. We saw many of the children, as we passed, but

VOL. V. 10* 1837.

not many adults. Those whom we saw appeared rather stupid and uninteresting. There was one, however, who got into the cars, and went on with us, who appeared to be a very active, intelligent and respectable man.

A few miles further on, we came to the road which leads up to the falls from Lewiston. Here were a few passengers who came up in a coach, from Lewiston, and were waiting, with their baggage, to go with us. Perhaps we were now not more than two miles from Lewiston. A rail-road from Lewiston to the falls is probably finished before now.

Among the passengers, who came up from Lewiston, was a son of Louis Bonaparte-a nephew, of course, of Napoleon-who had just arrived in this country. There was nothing very remarkable in his appearance. We saw him afterwards at the Falls, and at Buffalo.

But here, on our right, is the Niagara. How steep its banks, and how black it looks! I expected to see it wider. It is scarcely a quarter of a mile wide. And how it foams! We shall soon be in sight of the Falls. We can see the

spray already. Ah; there they are! There, in full view, are the famous Niagara Falls!

We passed nearly through the village to its southern border, losing sight of the Falls, and stopped at the "Cataract Hotel." Having had a room assigned us, and deposited our baggage in it, we has tened to see the Falls. It was now nearly noon.

Following the track of other travellers who were going in the same direction, we crossed a narrow bridge over the rapids, say sixty yards above the verge of the falls, to Bath Island. Here is a bathing house, and a small shop where are kept for sale curiosities, refreshments, &c. On this little island is also a paper mill. At the shop, each visitor to the falls is required to enter his name and pay twenty-five cents.

Leaving this island, around which is a cluster of other small islands, not bigger, some of them, than the floors of a dwelling house; we crossed another little bridge to Goat Island. This is a most beautiful island covered with tall trees, with some wild flowers in the shade underneath them, and a small garden near the south-east part of it. Foot-walks run in almost every direction across this beautiful island. It is larger, somewhat, than Boston Common, containing about 75 acres, and is quite level. Goat Island divides the Niagara river, which is here a mile wide and runs almost westward, into two streams. The eastern of these, the one which we

crossed, is much the narrowest. This eastern sheet of water pitches down on the American side and is called the American, or sometimes the Schlosser Fall. This is also subdivided, just as it pitches off, by a small island called Luna Island; and the part of it between the latter and Goat Island is called the Central Fall. The remainder or principal division of the river, lying between Goat Island and the Canada shore, is called the Crescent or Horse-shoe Fall.

The first view we here took of the Falls was from the very north part of Goat Island. Here, by carefully following a winding foot path to the very edge of the precipice, we could see nearly the whole of the American Falls, and almost under our feet the little Central Fall. There is a bridge across this, only a few yards above the place where it pitches off, to Luna Island, from which you have a view of the American Fall which is still more favourable than the former. But it is almost enough to make one giddy to look off at either place.

We went next to the western point of the island, to the edge of the Horse-shoe Fall. Here you descend a steep bank, and cross a small part of the edge of the Fall, on a bridge called Terrapin Bridge, which brings you to a part of the precipice from which you have a noble view of the whole Horse-shoe Fall, of the Canada shore, and of the river above and below. Near this point is a tower erected 45 feet high, from the top of which you have a view still finer.

The scene here is indeed sublime. future day to be a great manufacturing

Above is the main branch of the Niagara river, three quarters of a mile wide, tumbling and foaming, as if in wrath, and pitching in a most prodigious sheet down a curved precipice, 158 feet, into a deep foaming gulf below. On each side of this gulf are high perpendicular banks, and behind the banks, on the Canada side, is a fine, fertile, well settled country. The bank of the Horse-shoe Fall, on the east side is, of course, the precipitous margin of Goat Island.

We were fatigued enough, by this time, to return to the hotel. On our return, in crossing the bridge between Bath Island and the American shore, where the water comes foaming and tumbling along down the rapids, as it does on the Horse-shoe side, only in not so large a sheet, I could not deny myself the pleasure of throwing some large stones, almost as big as I could lift, off from the bridge, to see how the violence of the water would carry them along; and strange as it may seem to you they would not sink fairly out of sight, in passing a rod or more. These rapids above the Falls are a very great curiosity. In the course of three quarters of a mile above the verge of the Great Fall, the river descends more than fifty feet.

In the afternoon we repeated our visit to Goat Island. Saw nothing new, but the Biddle stair-case, which however we did not attempt to descend this day. Took a view of the Niagara Falls village. It is probably destined at some

village; but at present it is rather mean looking. There are many fine buildings, and pleasant situations; but more mean ones. There are two churches; one for Presbyterians, and the other for Methodists and Baptists. There may be 40 or 50 houses in the whole village, and two taverns; one of the latter, however, is scarcely occupied.

On the morning of June 9, we went, the third time, to Goat Island. Visited the Terrapin Bridge and Tower once more, and saw, in the spray, a beautiful rainbow. Along the edge of Goat Island about half way from the Horse-shoe to the Central Fall, is a place to descend the steep precipice of the island. It consists of spiral stairs, not unlike those in our steeples. The stairs were built and covered at considerable expense by Nicholas Biddle of Philadelphia, and hence the whole is called the Biddle stair-case.

You first descend along a flight of common stairs, about 40 feet. Then you come to the perpendicular Biddle staircase, by which you descend above 65 feet more. Having arrived at the foot of the stair-case, you find yourself in a curious situation. Above you is the arched precipice, jutting out over you and extending along each way, like a vast arch, to the falls; in front of you, down a side hill, consisting of rocky masses, is the river, 80 feet below you; across it is Canada and the table rock (of which I shall say something hereafter); at your left hand, in full view and