Vancouver.

Fraser Canon, Near North Bend.

Vancouver And Harbor.

Memorable, indeed, are the sensations of the traveler, as he arrives in the youthful city of Vancouver, after a journey of four thousand miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and takes a mental retrospect of the interesting cities and all the splendid scenery of rivers, prairies, lakes, and mountains, which in bewildering succession have greeted him in traversing the great Dominion. Alighting from the comfortable car, which, like the Moslem's magic carpet, has transported him through many leagues of space, he finds himself in an active, prosperous city, which in the spring of 1886 had no existence. At that time an extensive forest of huge Douglas firs covered the site which is to-day the abode of twenty-five thousand people, who drive through miles of asphalt streets, live in substantial, and often beautiful, residences, transact their business in fine shops and warehouses, and turn night into day by means of gas and electricity. The secret of this rapid growth lies in the facts, -first, that it is the terminus of the Canadian Pacific railway; and, secondly, that it possesses one of the best harbors in the world. Already steamers of the highest order go forth from it to Japan, China, Honolulu, New Zealand, Australia, and the Fiji Islands; while regular steamship service is maintained with Victoria, San F r a n-cisco, Alaska, and cities located on the shores of Puget Sound. Eighty-five miles distant from this promising seaport, across the beautiful Georgian archipelago, already mentioned, lies, at the southern extremity of Vancouver Island, the capital of British Columbia, Victoria. This charming city, whose name commemorates her Majesty, the late Queen, as that of the island reminds us of the brave explorer of these waters, Captain George Vancouver, is one of the most favored spots in the world, alike in beauty of situation, equability of climate, and magnificent scenery.

Great Cedar Tree, Vancouver.

Across the Georgian Strait, studded with lovely islands, the snow-capped Cascade and Olympian ranges are distinctly visible, the crowning glory of the scene being Mount Baker, in the United States, which lifts its dazzling cone in solitary splendor to a height of eleven thousand feet. In the immediate vicinity of Victoria, also, rise the mountains of Vancouver Island, varying in altitude from two thousand to more than seven thousand feet. This island, it should be said in passing, is no insignificant bit of territory, but is two hundred and ninety miles in length, and averages sixty in breadth, corresponding pretty nearly in size to Nova Scotia at the other end of the Dominion. Victoria is not distinctively commercial like Vancouver, and is, perhaps, on that account a more agreeable place of residence for those not actively engaged in business. It certainly is a paradise for lovers of flowers, as well as a health resort of almost unsurpassed advantages. The influence of the Kuro Siwo, whose power on the mainland we have already noted, renders the winter at Victoria as mild as spring in Maryland. Nor is there any sweltering, debilitating heat in summer. The maximum temperature ever reached here is eighty-four degrees, the minimum twenty-two degrees, Fahrenheit. Geraniums and roses may be gathered freely in the open air at Christmas, and flowers are blooming here the whole year round. In May and June Victoria is especially enchanting, for then its flora is in wonderful profusion. Roses and honeysuckles twine galore around the doors and porticos of pretty dwellings set in gardens; the well-made roads in the vicinity are often lined with fragrant hedges bright with bloom; while in the stately groves of conifers the air is positively delicious with the pungent perfume of the pine. One feels that such a land of noble trees, floral exuberance, luscious fruits, equable climate, and pure, exhilarating air from mountains and from sea must soon be recognized as one of the finest natural sanatoriums of the world.

Victoria, From Parliament Buildings.