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CHURCHES. CANADA METHODIST CHURCH, FARMERSVILLE. This church is a substantial stone structure, erected in 1863, by Mr. George Nash, who was an active pro56x38 feet, with a tower 14 feet square and 52 feet in height, surmounted bya fine spire. The auditorium is well fitted up with comfortable sittings, the basement being used as a lecture room. The congregation is large and the membership about one hundred. M. E. CHURCH, FARMERSVILLE. This church was erected in 1842 ; it is constructed of blue limestone, is 4ox50 feet in area, and is situated on part of Lot 13, the 8th Concession of Yonge. The contract was given to the late Joshua Bates, who completed the building to the satisfaction of the original Trustees, viz :—Jabez Bullis, Sterling Deming, Reuben Mott, Palmer Lee, Simeon Alguire, John Brown and Comfort M..Wiltse. the following Committee :—Harmonius Alguire, John Wiltse, M. R. Bates, Sala Blancher and William T. Howe. The church has recently been thoroughly repaired, CHARLESTON LAKE. DUFFIELD’s HOTEL. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever,’ and well may this trite saying be applied to Charleston Lake, a beautiful sheet of water situated nineteen miles from Brockville, and five miles from the Village of Farmersville. Leeds County boasts many inland lakes, but Charleston is pre-eminently queen of all. At a very early date its beauty was recognized, and in 1816, we find the Rev. William Smart writing a glowing description of the scenery, now so well known and thoroughly appreciated. At that time, bears and wolves, while the borders of the lake numbers. The wolves have been exterminated, Bruin is but seldom met with, the deer have been driven into the interior, but the lake remains in all its pristine beauty, fresh as from the hand of the Creator. Studded with islands, clothed with the primeval forest, it sits laughing in the sunshine, with varying mood, but always beautiful. Blue Mountain crowns the scene, looking down with solemn grandeur, upon the sparkling waves that lave its feet, In all Canada, it challenges an equal. Its picturesque shores, its broken islets, its cool, refreshing bays, its high rocks and natural caverns —all must be seen, to be appreciated. The crystal waters are the home of the finny tribe, affording the best sport for the angler in Central Canada. Salmon, white fish, bass (black, rock, and Oswego), moonfish, and the other varieties of fish found in Canadian lakes, are taken in great quantities. At Charleston, on the margin of the lake, Mr. Edward Duffield keeps a comfortable hotel, where visitors are provided for in a kind and hospitable manner, Boats, fishermen, and all the requisites for a day’s sport, can always be secured from Mr. Duffield. Through the enterprise of Joshua Bates, Esq., Farmersville was rapidly changed from a country four corners to a thriving village, the building of Bates’ Mills accelerating the progress. Wellington Landon, Esq., while a citizen of the Municipality, also contributed in a material manner to the advancement of the village. It is claimed that Ezra Bates, born on Lot No. ro, in the 7th Concession of Yonge, was the first’ white child born in that portion of the Township. For many years past, Mrs. Barnes, better known as " Mother Barnes,” has attracted many visitors to her residence, near Lake Loyada. Her fame asa “fortune teller” has spread beyond the confines of the Province to the Lower Provinces and the United States. From the examination of a few grounds of tea, she professes to be able to read the past, reveal the present and forecast the future. Unlike many modern soothsayers, she possesses a local reputation which time has not diminished. It isno exaggeration when we state that thousands upon thousands have visited the Sybil, some departing with the word “humbug” upon their lips, others half-doubting and many firm in the faith that only a knowledge superhuman could have unfolded the secret history of their lives. As the central figure for another “ Strange Story,’ Mrs. Barnes would be pre-eminently qualified to play the part of clairvoyant, mind reader, or sorceress. Those best acquainted with the answers given to the many anxious questions propounded by visitors, have long since concluded that High Priestess of the Modern Delphic Oracle would be the most appropriate designation. That she has chosen the borders of a beautiful lake, instead of the foot of Parnassus, as her place of residence, will not shake the faith of those who, in every age and clime, have been consumed with a curiosity that would at least attempt to lift the veil which shrouds the future. A vein of superstition lingers in the minds even of modern philosophers, and with the populace it can have no more harmless outlet than in consulting the well known “Fortune Teller of Plum Hollow.”
