Twenty-five miles west of Peterborough, another town has sprung up within a few years—sprung out of the forest, as if by enchantment; and of this town a majority of its inhabitants are the descendants of those who left Cork in 1825, and of their friends or relatives who followed them in a few years after. There is not in Canada a prettier town than Lindsay, in which may be seen a curious structure, rather out of place in the midst of brick and stone. Carefully fenced round, and kept in a state of preservation, is an old log shanty, which is regarded by a considerable portion of the inhabitants with affectionate veneration. This was the temple in which they worshipped God when the soil on which the prosperous town of Lindsay now stands was covered with juniper and pine. Near this 'old church' is seen its successor—a splendid brick edifice of Gothic architecture, erected at a cost of $20,000. And not a gun-shot's distance from the old church is a fine block of shops, equal in style to any buildings in Montreal, which cost their owner some hundred thousand dollars. Twenty-five years ago he was a poor lad, not worth sixpence in the world; but he possessed what rarely fails in the long run—industry, honesty, intelligence, and steadiness.
To finish the history of these Irish immigrants, it may be mentioned that the discovery of gold in their neighbourhood has amazingly enhanced the value of real estate; so that those who desire, in the true American spirit, to push on, and seek a more extended field for their operations, may part with their property at prices which would enable them to purchase whole tracts of land in other places.
Proceeding farther West, we may behold the first hard struggle of people and pastor, to reclaim the soil from the sterility of nature, and maintain the faith in the midst of the wilderness.
