On a retrospect of my tra-
vels in this continent, I could not avoid
recalling
to mind the beauty and grandeur of the surround-
ing scenery,
which I have so often admired; whe-
ther in looking down from the Allegany
Mountains
upon vast forests, extending, on every hand, as far
as the
eye can reach; or in wandering along the
banks of those extensive lakes in
the Genessee
Country, and Upper Canada, in the midst of
which, the
stupendous cataract of Niagara stuns
the ear. Equally impressive was the
scene in
sailing on those majestic rivers, the Delaware,
the Hudson,
the Patowmack, or the Susquehanna,
whose ever-varying banks open prospects
extremely
wild and beautiful; or in traversing those almost
boundless
forests which still remain in an unculti-
vated state, where I often beheld
the native Indian
families rambling in search of game. In all these
changing scenes, however striking and impressive,
the recollection of my
near connexions at home
was almost ever with me; and the remembrance
of these tender ties induced a short address to my
wife and family, which
led me to exhibit the ef-
fects of divine love in a few additional
stanzas.
Though they may have little to recommend them,
I insert the
lines in this place:--
Tho far divided, still I feel thee near,
And oft, on thee,
remembrance loves to dwell,
As on a friend well tried, and doubly
dear,
Whose worth my heart can better feel than tell.