Ottawa was, in 1858, selected by Queen Victoria as the seat of the Canadian Government. When, in 1867, the British North American Possessions were reconstructed into the Dominion of Canada, Ottawa continued to be the Capital city. It was originally called Bytown, after Colonel By, of the Royal Engineers, who was, in 1827, commissioned to construct the Rideau Canal, and who laid out the town. In 1854 it was incorporated as a city, and its name changed to Ottawa, from the river upon which it stands. Since that time it has increased rapidly in population and importance, and has at the present time not far from twenty-five thousand inhabitants. It is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River, at the mouth of the Rideau, one hundred and twenty-six miles above Montreal. The scenery around it is most magnificent, and is scarcely surpassed by any in Canada. At the west end of the city the Ottawa rushes, in a magnificent cataract, over a ragged ledge, two hundred feet wide and forty feet high, in what is known as the ChaudiÈre Falls. ChaudiÈre signifies caldron, and in the seething caldron of waters at the base of the falls a sounding line three hundred feet in length has not touched bottom. Immediately below the falls is a suspension bridge, from which a most satisfactory view can be obtained. At the northeast end of the city the Rideau tumbles, in two cataracts, into the Ottawa. These cataracts are very picturesque, but are exceeded in grandeur by the ChaudiÈre. The Des ChÊnes Rapids, having a fall of nine feet, are found about eight miles above Ottawa.

The Ottawa River is, next to the St. Lawrence, the largest stream in Canada. Rising in the range of mountains which forms the watershed between Hudson Bay and the great lakes, it runs in a southeasterly direction for about six hundred miles before it empties into the St. Lawrence. It has two mouths, which form the island upon which Montreal is situated. The entire region drained by it and its tributaries measures eighty thousand square miles. These tributaries and the Ottawa itself form highways for, probably, the largest lumber trade in the world. The clearing of great tracts of country by the lumbermen has opened the way for agriculturists; and numerous thriving settlements are found upon and near their banks, all of which look to Ottawa as their business centre. As these settlements increase in number and size, the prosperity of Ottawa will multiply in proportion. The navigation of the river has been much improved by engineering, especially for the transportation of lumber, dams and slides having been constructed for its passage over rapids and falls.

This immense supply of lumber is, much of it, arrested at Ottawa, where the almost unequaled water power is utilized in saw-mills, which furnish the city its principal employment, and from which issue yearly almost incredible quantities of sawed lumber. There are also flour mills, and manufactories of iron castings, mill machinery, and agricultural implements, which give it commercial importance, and a sound basis of prosperity.

Ottawa is connected by steamer with Montreal, and by the Rideau Canal with Lake Ontario at Kingston, while the Grand Trunk Railway sends a branch line from Prescott. The Ottawa River is navigable for one hundred and eighty-eight miles above the city, by steamers of the Union Navigation Company, but there are numerous portages around falls and rapids. The last stopping place of the steamer is Mattawa, a remote port of the Hudson Bay Company. Beyond that outpost of civilization there is nothing but unexplored and unbroken wilderness. Moore's Canadian boat song makes mention of the Ottawa River:—

Ottawa is divided into Upper and Lower Town by the Rideau Canal, which contains eight massive locks within the city limits, and is crossed by two bridges, one of stone and iron, and the other of stone alone. The streets of the city are wide and regular. Sparks street is the fashionable promenade, containing the principal retail stores. Sussex is also a prominent business street. The principal hotels are the Russell House, near the Parliament Buildings; Windsor House, in the Upper Town; and the Albion, on Court House Square.

The most prominent church edifice in the city is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame, which is of stone, with double spires two hundred feet in height. The interior is very fine, and contains as an altar piece Murillo's "Flight into Egypt." St. Patrick's, Roman Catholic, and St. Andrew's, Presbyterian, are also striking churches. At the corner of Bolton and Sussex streets is the imposing stone building of the Grey Nunnery, while the group of buildings belonging to the Black Nunnery is to the eastward of Cartier Square. There are, besides, in the city, two convents, two hospitals, three orphan asylums, and a Magdalen asylum, all under the control of the Roman Catholics. The Ottawa University is also a Roman Catholic institution, and has a large building in Wilbrod street. The Ladies' College, in Albert street, is a Protestant school.

But all these structures sink into insignificance when compared to the Government Buildings, which constitute the most prominent feature of the city of Ottawa. They are situated on an eminence known as Barrack Hill, which rises one hundred and fifty feet above the river, and were erected at a cost of about four millions of dollars. They form three sides of a vast quadrangle, which occupies nearly four acres. The Parliament House is on the south side or front of the quadrangle, and is four hundred and seventy-two feet long, and the same number of feet deep, from the front of the main tower, to the rear of the library. The Departmental Buildings run north from this main structure, forming the east and west sides of the quadrangle. The eastern side is five hundred and eighteen feet long, by two hundred and fifty-three feet deep, and the western side is two hundred and eleven feet long, by two hundred and seventy-seven feet deep. These latter buildings contain the various government bureaus, in the west block being also found the model room of the Patent Office, and the Post Office. The entire structure is of cream-colored sandstone, with arches and doors of red Potsdam sandstone, and the external ornamental work of this sandstone. Its architecture is in the Italian-Gothic style. Green and purple slates cover the roof, and the pinnacles are ornamented with elaborate iron trellis work. The columns and arches of the legislative chambers are of marble. These chambers are capacious and richly finished, and have stained glass windows. The Chamber of Commons is reached by an entrance to the left of the main entrance, under the central tower, and the marble of its columns and arches is beautiful. The Senate Hall, which is entered from the right of the main entrance, contains the vice-regal canopy and throne, and a portrait of Queen Victoria. There are also full-length portraits, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, of George III, and Queen Charlotte. The Library is a circular structure, on the north front of the Parliament House, with a dome ninety feet high, and contains about forty thousand volumes. A massive stone wall incloses the fourth side of the quadrangle, and the inclosure is laid out with tree-shaded walks.

Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General, is in New Edinburgh, a suburban town on the opposite side of the Rideau River, connected with Ottawa by a bridge. Rideau Hall has been for several years past the home of the Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of the Dominion of Canada, and the Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. The love which the Canadians bear their Queen was most loyally manifested on the arrival of the Governor General and the Princess, his wife. Every honor was shown the Marquis which was due his official and hereditary rank; but the most extravagant marks of affection and veneration were lavished upon the Princess, who was regarded as a representative of her mother. Whenever she proceeded through the Dominion, her progress was a triumphal procession. The people crowded to catch but a glimpse of her face, or to hear the tones of her voice. She is described as an extremely affable lady, the beauty of Her Majesty's family, caring less for the traditions and observances of royalty than her imperial mother, with great native shrewdness and marked ability as an artist. She has traveled extensively throughout the dominion of Canada, having reached its extreme western limit, and crossed the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is said she does not greatly admire Canada, and proposes to spend as little time at Ottawa as possible, regarding the somewhat primitive society there as almost semi-barbaric. But when she returns permanently to the island of her birth she will go with greatly enlarged views, and a knowledge of the world, and especially of the people of the new world, which ought to constitute her an efficient counsellor in affairs of state.

The Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of Canada, is described as an extremely handsome gentleman of the Scotch type, with large literary attainments, and with a desire to conciliate the people over whom he has been sent to rule. For many generations to come it will undoubtedly be Ottawa's highest boast that it has numbered among its citizens the son of one of the proudest nobles of the British realm, and a princess of the blood.

CHAPTER XXIV.