The habitans marry young; sometimes twenty couple are joined in wedlock at one time in the same church. They hate being alone. The world is nothing to them unless a number have the opportunity of being together. How very different from the Americans; among whom, a man and his wife will leave a populous settlement in which they were born, and all their friends and relations, without apparent regret, and plant themselves, regardless of all the human race, amidst the solitary gloom of the darkest forest! A dance and feast always attend a wedding. The Canadian dances with all his heart, and eats with all his vigour. On the day of a marriage, several calashes or, if in winter, carioles, filled with friends and acquaintances, form a cortége of imposing appearance. On these occasions the gayest colours, the best dresses, the most spirited horses and finest calashes or carioles are brought into full display, and often continued for several days. The priests by their admonitions restrain, to a certain degree, and more effectually than sumptuary laws ever could, the dress of the habitans. In winter the men are clothed in long full-skirted dark grey coats (capots), buttoned close to the body, with a hood attached, to draw over the head, and with a many coloured sash, frequently ornamented with beads, round the middle; and in pantaloons, bonnet rouge, or bonnet bleu, and mocassins, and never without a pipe in their mouths. In summer, light short jackets and straw-hats are worn in place of the long coats and bonnet rouge. The dress of the women is old-fashioned, even when they wear gowns. Petticoats and short jackets or bedgowns, long waists, neat white caps, and, in summer, straw bonnets, form the prevailing dress. In the towns the girls dress in the English fashions; and I must observe that the simplicity which delights us when travelling among the country parishes, does not exist generally either at Quebec or Montreal. Not that in these towns much of what Raynal and Professor Kalm observed of the Canadians, as they were a century ago, joined to loose habits, prevails at this day.* * The Abbé Raynal gives a much less favourable account of the Canadians before the conquest than he does of the Acadians. He observes, " that those whom rural labour fixed in the country allowed only a few moments to the care of their flocks and to other indispensable occupations during winter. The rest of the time was passed in idleness, at public houses, or in running along the snow and ice in sledges, in imitation of the most distinguished citizens. When the return of spring called them out to the necessary labours of the field, they ploughed the ground superficially, without ever manuring it, sowed it carelessly, and then returned to their former indolent manner of life till harvest time. "This amazing negligence might be owing to several causes. They contracted such a habit of idleness during the continuance of the severe weather, that labour appeared insupportable to them, even in the finest weather. The numerous festivals prescribed by their religion, which owed its increase to their establishment, prevented the first exertion, as well as interrupted the progress of industry. Men are ready enough to comply with that species of devotion that flatters their indolence. Lastly, a passion for war, which had been purposely encouraged among these bold and courageous men, made them averse from the labours of husbandry. Their minds were so entirely captivated with military glory that they thought only of war, though they engaged in it without pay. "The inhabitants of the towns, especially of the capital, spent the winter as well as the summer in a constant scene of dissipation. They were alike insensible of the beauties of nature or of the pleasures of the imagination. They had no taste for arts or science, for reading or instruction. Their only passion was amusement. This manner of life considerably increased the influence of the women, who were possessed of every charm except those soft The cultivation of the soil, building their houses, attending to their live stock, providing fuel, and emotions of the soul which alone constitute the merit and the charm of beauty. Lively, gay, and addicted to coquetry and gallantry, they were more fond of inspiring than feeling the tender passions. "There appeared in both sexes a greater degree of devotion than virtue, more religion than probity, a higher sense of honour than real honesty. Superstition took place of morality, which will always be the case, whenever men are taught to believe that ceremonies will compensate for good works, and that crimes are expiated by prayers." Professor Kalm remarks (in 1757), "a girl of eighteen is reckoned to be poorly off if she cannot enumerate at least twenty lovers. These young ladies, especially those of a higher rank, get up at seven and dress till nine, drinking their coffee at the same time. When a young fellow comes in, whether they be acquainted with him or not, they immediately lay aside their work, sit down by him, and begin to chat, laugh, joke, and invent double entendres, and this is reckoned being very witty. One of the first questions they propose to a stranger is, whether he is married; the next, how he likes the ladies of the country; and the third, whether he will take one home with him." If these descriptions be correct, the Canadian ladies of that time were very different from those of the present day; for I believe them to be as modest and as industrious as those of any country. They are, it is true, more affable, and have more freedom of manners than the English. The superior intelligence of the women in the country parishes of Lower Canada is by all acknowledged. It is worthy, however, of remark, that, until within the last few years, scarcely any measure for promoting education in the country was carried into operation by the Government; and the instruction of boys was consequently much neglected, as they could not well afford to attend seminaries at a distance from home. In respect to girls, in the country, the case was very different. The convent of the Sisters of the Congregation, established by Madame de Bourgeois, has for a long time provided schoolmistresses for from fifteen to twenty schools, in various parts of the province. In these schools, reading, writing, a little arithmetic, religious instruction, needle making implements of agriculture and articles of convenience, form the leading occupation of the men. Fishing is rather an amusement than a laborious pursuit. Spear fishing with torch light in calm summer nights, along the shores of the rivers, conveys something peculiarly striking to the observer. The light canoes that bear the torches and the spearmen over the surface of the smooth limpid waters follow in succession, each exhibiting a beautiful bright light. The Americans who navigate the Durham boats are very different beings from the Canadian boatmen who man the bateaux. The former are generally tall, lank fellows, seldom without an immense quid of tobacco in their mouths; grave-tempered schemers, yet vulgar, and seldom cheerful; "grinning horribly" when they venture an attempt to laugh. " Le The Canadian boatman, or voyageur, is naturally polite, and always cheerful; fond enough of money when he once possesses it, but altogether unacquainted with overreaching; and if he attempts to cheat, he knows not how. He sings, smokes, and enjoys whatever comes in his way, thanking bon Dieu, la Vierge, et les Saints" for every thing. The voyageurs know every channel, rapid, rock, and shoal, in the rivers they navigate; and, never pretending to question their leader or bourgeois, fearlessly expose themselves to the greatest hardships and the most frightful dangers. When singing their work, and such other knowledge as rendered the girls eminently useful in domestic management were taught. The Canadian women, therefore, owe their superior intelligence to the good Sisters of the Congregation. celebrated boat-songs, two usually begin, two others response, and then all join in full chorus. These songs make them forget their labour, and enliven their long and perilous voyages. Nothing can be more imposing than a fleet of canoes, and the voyageurs all singing "cheerily," while paddling over the bosom of a lake, or along the sylvan shores of the St. Lawrence or Ottawa. The inhabitants of Normandy, - from which part of France, and from Picardy, the ancestry of the Canadian habitans chiefly emigrated, - are those whom the latter resemble most in their morals, customs, and dwellings. But the peasantry of Normandy and Picardy have changed many of their habits and customs, while the Canadians have retained them. Crimes are very rare among the habitans. Honesty, chastity, piety, and superstition, -the latter not more common, however, than in Scotland and Ireland, - are prominent in the Canadian character. Perhaps no population on earth possess more happiness in their circumstances, joined to so much virtue in their lives. |