In the afternoon we saw a small peninsula towards the west, called Prince Edward's Island, and passed between a cluster of small islands, called the Ducks. About nine o'clock in the evening we reached Kingston, the British harbour on Lake Ontario. We cast anchor close by the town. I spent the night on board, and in the morning, as I awoke, I found one of the companies of the thirty-seventh regiment, who are here in garrison, marching along the quay, near the vessel, as a guard of honour, accompanied by a band of music. I dismissed them of course immediately, and after having received the visits of a few officers, we rode over the bay to the dock-yard, which lies opposite to Kingston, surrounded by a high wall and protected by a strong guard. By the navy-list I ascertained that there are ten ships here, with three hundred and six guns, in ordinary. It appeared to me, however, that the number of guns was greater, for the St. Lawrence, one of these vessels, carried one hundred and twenty guns, and two which are yet on the stocks, the Montreal and Wolf, have three decks, and ports for one hundred and thirty guns each. According to the stipulation of the treaty of Ghent, they are not permitted to build any ships here during time of peace; so that the soldiers at the arsenal consisted merely of the necessary officers, besides twelve carpenters, who had scarcely any thing to do, but to work at an elegant little schooner, which was shortly to be launched to serve as a yacht. The large vessels on the stocks were uncovered, and appeared to have suffered much from the weather. The St. Lawrence was the largest vessel in the river, and is said also to be in a state of decay; her bottom especially has suffered from the effects of the fresh water and worms. The wharves of the dock-yard are built of wood, and bear marks of the haste in which they were erected; they were in a bad condition. Within a few years they have erected a magazine, three stories high and one hundred and ninety-two feet long, with iron doors and shutters, for the preservation of the sails and cordage. The partitions in the inside are made of wood. Immediately on our entrance into the magazine the large iron door was locked and kept so, inasmuch as they greatly mistrust the Americans. Beneath the building is a cellar, which is also occupied as a magazine, and the floor of which consists of limestone, which serves for the foundation of the whole building. The stairs are of stone, and are built into a tower; they intend also at some future period, to make the different floors fire-proof, like the magazine at Plymouth, by covering them with iron. In a distinct massy building are the forges, and in a third the offices. By the side of the offices is a large room, which contains the different articles used in ship-building. Opposite to the dock-yard, on a neck of land, is Fort Frederick, which I had not time to visit. Behind the dock-yard, upon a small height, stood a number of tents. We were informed that about four hundred Irish emigrants had encamped there, who had been sent to this country at the expense of the English government, to settle a piece of land on the north-western bank of Lake Ontario, whither they were soon to go. The town of Kingston contains about two thousand inhabitants, and is built in the usual style.