The
Outskirts Of Toronto Abound In Villa Residences, Standing In Gardens Or
Shrubberies.
The people do not run "hurry skurry" along the streets, but
there are no idlers to be observed.
Hirsute eccentricities have also
disappeared; the beard is rarely seen, and the moustache is not considered
a necessary ornament. The faded careworn look of the American ladies has
given place to the bright complexion, the dimpled smile, and the active
elastic tread, so peculiarly English. Indeed, in walking along the
streets, there is nothing to tell that one is not in England; and if
anything were needed to complete the illusion, those sure tokens of
British civilisation, a jail and a lunatic asylum, are not wanting.
Toronto possesses in a remarkable degree the appearances of stability and
progress. No town on the Western Continent has progressed more rapidly;
certainly none more surely. I conversed with an old gentleman who
remembered its site when it was covered with a forest, when the smoke of
Indian wigwams ascended through the trees, and when wild fowl crowded the
waters of the harbour. The place then bore the name of Toronto - the Place
of Council. The name was changed by the first settlers to Little York, but
in 1814 its euphonious name of Toronto was again bestowed upon it. Its
population in 1801 was 336; it is now nearly 50,000.
Toronto is not the fungus growth, staring and wooden, of a temporary
necessity; it is the result of persevering industry, well-applied capital,
and healthy and progressive commercial prosperity.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 188 of 478
Words from 51184 to 51440
of 129941
