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mmrm^^tftff^mim 
 
 Vol. IX. 
 
 No. xvni. 
 
 THE 
 
 SCOTTISH REVIEW. 
 
 APRIL, 1887. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. THE APOCRI.HAL CHARACTER OF THE MOABU'E 
 STONE. With an Illustration. By the Rbv. A. Lowv, 
 Secretary to the Anglo-Jewish Asaociation.^,^,;;;^^^ 
 II. FRENCH CANADA. By J. G. BouRiNOT/TCLirk to the 
 Dominion House of XJommons. 
 
 III. THE SUBJECTS OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE. Br D. 
 
 BiKELAS. 
 
 IV. THE GAS INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. By 
 
 Thos. NEWBiaaiNO, O.E. 
 
 V. THOMAS OF ERCELDOUNE. 
 VI. RECENT ARCHEOLOGY IN EUBOIA. 
 VII. PROFESSOR LE NOIRE'S NEW THEORY OF REASON. 
 
 By T. B. Saunders. 
 VIII. EGYPT UNDER THE ENGLISH INVASION. 
 IX. CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE. 
 X. SUMMARIES OF FOREIGN REVIEWS. 
 
 IT 
 
 ALEXANDER GARDNER, 
 
 PAISLEY, AND 12 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 
 
 Paris : J. O. Fothebinoham, 
 C. Klincksikck, and 
 
 LiBHAIKIE OaLIGNANi. 
 
 Bekun : Messrs. A. Ashkk & Co. 
 Lkipziq : A. Twietmeyer. 
 Calcutta : Thacker, Spink, k Co. 
 
 Amrrioan Continent : Leonard Scott 
 Publishing Compy., Philadllphia. 
 Mklbournb: Samuel Mullens. 
 Sydney and Brisbane : Edwards, 
 
 DUNLOP, & Co. 
 Cape Town : J. 0. Jdta. 
 
 PRICE FOUR SHILLINQS. 
 
OUPHANT, ANDERSOIUJ^ LIST. 
 
 In Extra Crown 8vo, Cloth, Price S». Second Edition. 
 
 THB GATES OF EDEN : A Story of Endeavour. 
 
 By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 ' The Bubjeet of Misa Swan's ' 'cUa qf Eden is one which demands, and receiver from her hand- 
 a skilfol treatment John Bethune rears his motherless boys in accordance with a preconceived 
 plan. The elder is to be a minister, the younger is to follow the plough. Circumstances seem to 
 favour h*s scheme ; for the future minister has, it appears, the advantage in appearance, in 
 manners, and in ability. But the real truth U different. The de^tb of character and the best 
 mental gifts really belong to the latter. How the young man, conscious of his power, yet stead- 
 fastly walks.along the appointed path, till Ite is mo to choose, and how, once free, he enters on 
 his own way and overcomes all it» difficulties, is very well told in these pages. We have not often 
 seen a better portraiture than is that of the two brothers. Miss Swan is too skilful to make the 
 weaker of the two a mere foil to the stronger. He, too, with all his faults, has virtues of his own, 
 and the reader is glad to see them reaching their true development before the story is finished. 
 The episode of the recovery of Willie Lorraine, a repentant prodigal, is full of pathos ; as is also 
 the love-story of Mary Cfampbell. The Gates of Eden is a worthy successor to the author's 
 Aldersyde.' — Spectator. 
 
 LIST OF POPULAR SHILLING SERIES. 
 
 1. AeroBS Her Path. By Aknib S. Swan. 
 
 2. A Divided House. By Annie S. Swak. 
 
 3. Fickle Fortune. By Robina F. Habdt. 
 
 4. Sundered Hearts. By Annix 8. Swan. 
 
 6. Jock Hallidur. By Robina F. Hardt. lUnstrated. 
 
 6. Katie: vi Edmbursh Lassie. By Robina F. Habdt. 
 
 7. Ben EbUUOn. By Jessib M. K Saxby. Illustrated. 
 
 8. Tom Telfer's Shadow. By Robina F. Habdt. Illustrated. 
 
 9. By still Waters. By Edwabd Oabbktt. 
 
 10. A Door of Hope. By Janb T. Stoddabt. Frontiapieoe. 
 
 11. BohertMartilTs Lesson. By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 12. Mistaken, and Harion Forsyth. By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 13. Shadowed Lives. By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 14. Blawearie ; o r, Mini^ Life in the Lothians. By Pb,tbb M'Niill. 
 
 16. Juvenile mt and Hnmonr; or, Wise, Witty, and Waggish Sayinga of Young 
 
 People. By Dr. Shearer. 
 
 17. Strathaxran; or. The Crofters' Revolt. By Bowbb Wattbn. 
 
 'Alike distinguished by tasteful binding, admirable printing, and interesting contents.'— 
 PMiehert' OiretUar. 
 
 POPULAR FLORIN SERIES. 
 
 Crottm 8vo, Richly Coloured Paper Boards. 
 
 1. Aldersyde. By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 2. At any Ckwt. By Edward Oa<'%ktt. 
 
 3. Oarldwrie. By a.nnib S. Swa... 
 
 4. The Lily of itammennoor. 
 
 Popular half-Crown series. 
 
 In Crown 8vo, Cloth. Neatly and Strongly Bound. 
 ' Books which exalt all that is best and most lovable in the life of the land we never cease to love,' 
 
 15. Aldersyde. By Annu S. Swan. 
 
 16. At Any Oost. By Edwabd Garrxtt. 
 
 17. Bits firom Blinkhonny. By John Stbathksk. 
 
 18. O&rlowrie : or, AmongLothian Folk. By Anhib S. Swan. 
 
 19. Ghrtrude ISUerslie : A Story of Two Yean. By Mrs. Mbldrum. 
 21 Glenairlie : or, Tlie Last of the Grnmes. By Robina F. Hardt. 
 
 21. The Laird's Secrst By Janb H. Jamixson. 
 
 22. More Bits firom Blinkb0niur. By John Stbathisx. 
 
 2:i. Prestm Tower ; or. Will HeNo' Come Back Again r By JBssn M. E. Saxbt. 
 
 24. Nell Wilknc : A story of Edinburgh in Days of Queen Marie. By Jessie M'Larbn. 
 
 25. Mond^ Mists. By Mrs. Mkldbuh, 
 
 IBuHrated Bditiont of tU above, formerly PuUiihed at SSj are now ready at St Sd, 
 
 •i 
 
 
 EDINBURGH: OLIPHANT, ANOEBSON, & FEBBIER. 
 
French Canada. 
 
 245 
 
 adherents to historic truth will coucur in the verdict, that the 
 stone of Moab, notAvithstauding its world-wide glorification, 
 is nothing but 'a stone of stumbling,' and must be consigned 
 to ^^he limbo of marvellous impositions. 
 
 Albert Lowy. 
 
 € 
 
 Art. H.— FRENcil CANADA. 
 
 1. The Old Re(jime in Canada. By Francis Parkman. Boston: 
 
 1884. / 
 
 2. Ilistoire du Canada depuis sa decouverte. Par F. X. Garxeau. 
 
 4 volumes. Montreal : 1882. 
 
 3. Le Canada sons l' Union, 1841-1867. Par LOUIS TURCOTTE. 
 
 Quebec: 1881. 
 
 4. Ilistoire des Canadiens-Fi'angats, 1608-1880, 8 volumes. Par 
 Benjamin Sulte. Montreal: 1882-84. 
 
 5. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, 1882-1886. 
 
 Section I. — 1. Litterature Fran^aise, Ilistoire, etc. Montreal. 
 
 6. Census of Canada, 1881. 
 
 7. Songs of Old Canada. Translated by W. M'Lennan. Mon- 
 
 treal : 1886. 
 
 8. Chansons Popidaires du Canada, Recueillies et puhliees, par 
 - ^ Ernest Gaqnon, Qupbeg; 1880. ; 
 
 ABOUT a century an^ a quarter has passed since the Treaty 
 of Paris was signed, and France formally ceded Canada 
 to Great Britain. Of all the vast domain she once possessed 
 in North America, there remain to her only some rocky islets 
 on the southern coast of Newfoundland, to which she has 
 always clung as a nursery for her seamen, and as a headquarters 
 for the fishing fleet that has resorted to the waters of the Gulf 
 of St. Lawrence for several centuries. Of all the formidable 
 fortresses which she erected to environ the old English colonies, 
 in pursuance of her ambitious designs in the valleys of the St. 
 Lawrence and Mississippi, only one i« now standing to recall her 
 former glory in America. FortNiagara is no more than a memory, 
 and were it not for a few mounds of earth and stone, we could 
 
246 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 hardly tell the situation of Ticoiuloroga, where Montcalm once 
 repulsed the JJritisb army under Aborcromby. The site of 
 Fort Duquesuo, at the forks of the Ohio, is covered by the iron 
 mills of the ' smoky city ' of Pittsburg, so named in honour of 
 the illustrious Chatham, whose genius gave the final blow to 
 the magnificent scheme conceived by Richelieu of founding a 
 French Transatlantic Empire/- Louisbourg, on the eastern 
 coast of Canada, and her nearest port to Europe, was at one 
 time the strongest fortified town in America, with the excep- 
 tion of Quebec, but of its walls and fortifications hardly a stone 
 remains. Sheep pasture above the graves of the French gar- 
 rison, and fishermen hang their nets on the grass covered 
 mounds which indicate the position of the fortress to which the 
 eminent Vauban devoted all his skill. The picturesque walls 
 
 . which crown the heights of Quebec are the only memorials of 
 those piles of masonry which were so long a menace to the 
 
 j_JEnglish possessions in many places throughout North America. 
 
 [^, Though the fortifications of Louisbourg and Ticonderoga, of 
 Niagara and other historic places which recall the days of the 
 French regime in America, have been razed to the ground, and 
 the French flag is never seen except on some holiday in com- 
 pany with other national colours, nevertheless on the continent 
 Avhere she once thought to reign supreme France has been able 
 to leave a permanent impress. But this impress is not in the 
 valley of the Mississippi. It is true that a number of French 
 still live on the banks of that great river, that many a little 
 village where a French patois is spoken, lies hidden in the 
 sequestered bayous of the South, and that no part of the old 
 city of New Orleans possesses so much interest for the European 
 stranger as the French or Creole quarter, with its quaint bal- 
 conied houses and luxuriant gardens ; but despite all this, it is 
 generally admitted that the time is not far distant when the 
 French language will disappear from Louisiana, and few 
 evidences will be found of the days of the French occupancy 
 of that beautiful State of the Union. In the valley of the St. 
 Lawrence, however, France has left behind her what seem 
 likely to be more permanent memorials of her occupation. 
 Wherever we go in tae Dominion of Canada we see the names 
 
French Canada. 
 
 247 
 
 of her kings and statesiuon, of her priests and saints, of her 
 Koldiers and sailors, ehnging to many a bay and river. The 
 picturesque bunks of the St. Lawreuce, from the Atlantic to 
 tlie great lakes of the West, are the home of a large population 
 whose language and customs are so many memorials of the 
 ^Id regime. 
 [_ Since the conquest of Canada in 1759-60, the seventy 
 thousand j^eople who then inhabited the country, have 
 increased lo a million and a quarter of souls, without taking 
 into account the many thousands who have made their homes 
 in the United States during the last thirty or forty years. 
 This people still speak the French language, profess the 
 Roman Catholic religion, and adhere with remarkable tenacity 
 to the civil law and other institutions of tiie land of their 
 origin. The history of the growth of this French Canadian 
 population is exceedingly instructive. It proves very clearly 
 the beneficial operation of the liberal system of government 
 which Canada has now enjoyed for many years. . About three 
 centuries have elapsed since Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence 
 and gave to France the control of an immense tenitory on the 
 northern half (jf America. During the French regime, which 
 lasted until 1760, the Canadians were constantly at war with 
 the Indians or the English Colonists. At no time did they 
 possess even a semblance of the representative institutions 
 always enjoyed by the colonies of Great Britain in America. 
 The rule of the king was as arbitrary in Canada as in France. 
 Even a toAvn meeting for ordinary municipal purposes was 
 forbidden as at entire variance with the principles of govern- 
 ment laid down by the King and his ministers. Trade 
 slumbered in the absence of capital and enterprise, and the 
 only signs of comfort or wealth were found in the towns of 
 Montreal and Quebec, or in a few manor houses of the 
 Seigniors who inherited small fortunes from Old France, or 
 managed their large possessions with some skill and energy. 
 The educational facilities of the people were such as would 
 be given by the institutions controlled by the priests and 
 sisters of the associations, who have always devoted themselves 
 with great assiduity and faithfulness to the mental and 
 
 VOL. IX. R 
 
 
 \ 
 
248 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 spiritual improvement of thu people; but despite the labours 
 ot" these, the mass of the iuhiibitaiits Aveve in a cojulitiou of 
 deep ignorance. Agricultural development was necessarily 
 very slow in a country so constantly harassed by war and 
 destitute of facilities for selling the produce of the farm. 
 
 The French Canadian youth found in the adventiu-ous fur- 
 trade au excitement which carried them away too often from 
 the monotonous Avork of the farm. As Ave revicAV the history 
 of the French Canadian, Ave cannot fail to admire his love ot 
 adventure, his spirit of endurance, his courage under very 
 discouraging circumstances, but all these qualities availed him 
 little as long as his country Avas badly governed by the king 
 and his ministers, so often deeply absorbed iu their ambitious 
 schemes on the contiiient of Europe. 
 
 When the fenr de Its a* last gave place to the Red Cross of 
 England on the citadel of Quebec, the French Canadians for a 
 Avliilo deeply mourned the Immiliatiou of the country they had 
 loved so Avell. Many of the Avefdthiest and best-born of the 
 people sailed aAvay to France and never returned to the 
 colony for which they had struggled for so many years. 
 Though they kncAv it not at the tune, the fall of Quebec was 
 in reality the happiest event that could possibl}^ have happened 
 for the French Ca ''i.ans. The Articles of Capitulation, Avhich 
 Avere signed by the Marquis de Vaudreuil iu September, 1 7()0, 
 Avere very generous to the conquered people. They Avere 
 guaranteed the free exercise of their religion as Avell as 
 undisturbed possessiou of their property. By the Quebec Act 
 of 1774, Avheu Parliament intervened for the first time in the 
 affairs of Canada, and made important constitutional changes 
 in the coiintry, the French Canadians obtained most A-aluable 
 concessions, Avhich are practically the basis of their present 
 influence and power as a distinct nationality in British North 
 America. Roman Catholics were no longer obliged to take 
 the Test Oath, but only the Oath of Allegiance. They Avere 
 permitted to observe their religion Avith perfect freedom, and 
 their clergy Avere to enjoy ' their accustomed dues and rights,' 
 — that is, the tithe system which still exists — Avith respect to 
 such persons as professed that creed. It Avas also enacted that 
 
 n 
 a 
 a I 
 hf 
 fr 
 
French Canada. 
 
 249 
 
 
 nip- 
 
 ill all nuitters of controversy, reliitivc to property and ei^'il 
 
 rights, recourse shoiiUl be Imtl to the French civil proceilure, 
 
 whilst the Criminal Law of England should obtain to the 
 
 exclusion of every other criminal code which might have 
 
 prevailed before 1774. Tiie (Quebec Act was passed at a time 
 
 when the old English Colonies Avere on the eve of revolution, 
 
 and there was consequently a strong desire on the part of the 
 
 Eiighsh (lovernment to gain the sympathies of the French 
 
 Canadians. The historian Garneau, who represents French 
 
 Canadian views in his able work, in fact acknowledges that 
 
 'the la\v of 1774 tended to reconcile the Canadians to British 
 
 rule.' ' From the coming into eflfect of the Quebec Act up to 
 
 the present time, there has been a steady improvement in the 
 
 social, poHtical, and material condition of the people. French 
 
 Canada now occupies a high position among the communities f/^^ , . 
 
 of the Continent, and many of her sons have been able to win /, ^f.'^ '^ JjJ^ 
 
 for themselves a conspicucms place in the administratiou of / t-\ ^ Vt 
 
 public affairs, in education, in literature, and in other pursuits 
 
 of life. 
 
 It is the intention of the writer to give a brief review of 
 the leading features of the progress of the community which 
 dwells by the St. Lawrence and its tributary rivers. In the 
 old times of Canada, before the federal union of the provinces, 
 the large section of British North America inhabited by the 
 French-speaking people was known as Lower Canada, but now 
 it is distinguished by the historic name of Quebec, in honour of 
 the interesting old city founded by Chajnplain, the pioneer of 
 French settlement in New France. / The tourist who travels 
 through tli$s province sees im all sides the evidence that he is 
 passing through a country of French origin. Here and there 
 in Quebec or Montreal, or in some quiet village sequestered in 
 a valley or elevated on the Laurentiau hills, he sees hoiises 
 and churches which remind him of many a hamlet or town he 
 has visited in Brittany or Normandy. The language is French 
 from th i Saguenay to the Ottawa, and in many remote com- 
 nmnities English is never spoken, and is understood only by 
 the cure or the notary. Nor is the language so impure and 
 degenerated as many persons may naturally suppose. On the 
 
250 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 contrary, it is spoken by tliu educated classes with a ptuity 
 not excelled in Franco itself. The better class of Frencli 
 Canadians take pride in studying- tlie lanj^uago of the country 
 of their ancestors, and are rarely guilty of Anglicisms, though 
 these have necessarily crept into mixed conununities, wh^-ro^ 
 people are forced to speak both '^''roncli and English. IiTtise 
 rural districts, isolated from I' ge towns, the people retain the 
 language as it was spoken two centuries ago — even the old, 
 forgotten pronunciation — and consequently many Avords and 
 phrases which are rarely if ever heard in France, still exist 
 among the peasantry of French Canada, just as we find in 
 New England many expressions which are not pure Ameri- 
 canisms but really memorials of old English times. In French 
 Canada the Anglicisms are such as Avould occur under the 
 natural conditions of things. The native of Old Franco has 
 no Avords for ' clearing ' the forest, making maple sugar, 
 ' blazing ' a way through the woods or over the ice and snow 
 of the rivers and lakes, and consequently the vocabulary of the 
 French Canadian has been considerably enlarged by local 
 circumstances. 
 
 The people of Quebec are very tenacious of their language, 
 and endeavour to keep it intact from the encroaching influence 
 of the Engli.sh-speaking communities, now largely in the 
 majority throughout the Dominion. Ever since the conquest, 
 the language and religion of France have been carefully 
 guarded, first by the Treaty of 17(53, and again by the charters 
 and constitutions granted by England to Canada from time to 
 time as the country increased in wealth and population. Notre 
 lanijue, notre foi, et nos lois has been the key-note of French 
 Canadian politics for over a century. No part of the constitu- 
 tion of 1840, which reunited Upper and Lower Canada 
 after the rebellion of 1837-8, gave greater offence to the 
 French Canadians than the clause which practically elimi- 
 nated their language from legislative records and pro- 
 ceedings, for it was generally regarded by them as conclusive 
 evidence of the policy of the British Government to obliterate 
 them as a distinct race, and make them in the course of time 
 English in language, thought, and institutions. But the French 
 
French Canada. 
 
 251 
 
 tonf^'io nnrl ciistorriR were found too deeply rooted by that time 
 in (lanada to l)o disturbed by any le^iHlative enactments. The 
 iiithiunce of tlio Frtiich Canadian was actually increased by the 
 more liberal system of ji^ovcrnment that commenced in 1840, 
 and one of the first proofs of his j^rowing power was the repeal 
 of the obnoxious clause Avitli respect to the use of his language. 
 At the present time the records and statutes as well as official 
 ro])ort8 of the debiites are always given in the two languages 
 in the Parliament of the Dominion. All the blue books are 
 translated into French, and circidated in that language in the 
 province of Quebec. Every motion is put by the Speaker 
 
 ,1 the two languages, or Avhen he speaks no French by a 
 c. " at the table. Though the reports of the debates appear 
 daily in French, English prevails in the House of Commons and 
 in the Senate. The French Canadians are forced to speak the 
 language of the majority, and it is some evidence of the culture 
 of tlieir leading public men, that many among them are able 
 to express themselves in English witli a freedom and elegance 
 which no English-speaking member can pretend to equal in 
 French. In the Legislature of the province of Quebec, French. 
 has almost excluded English, though the records are given in 
 the two languages. In the Supreme Court of the Dominion 
 the arguments may be in French, and the two Quebec judges 
 give their decisions in their own tongue. When the constitu- 
 tion of I\Ianitoba Avas formed some yeai'S ago, it was expressly 
 enacted that tlie legislative proceedings should be given in the 
 two languiigos, with the view of guarding the special interests 
 of the half-breed population of the North-^Vest. 
 
 /_The people of French Canada are exceedingly devoted 
 Roman Catholics. Were his Ilohness the Pope able to visit 
 the province, he would find himself in a congenial atmosphere. 
 
 Though he would miss the many monuments of ancient and 
 medifoval art that now surround him, he would nevertheless 
 recognise in the numerous churches, colleges, and convents of 
 the country the power and wealth of the Church, and the 
 desire of the French (^anadians to glorify and perpetuate it by 
 every means in their power. Many of the churches, especially 
 in Montreal, are handsome structures, and there is at present 
 
252 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 in ccurse of construction in that city a noble building which is 
 intended even to imitate maL>y of the features of St. Peter's, 
 and to surpass the finest cathedrals in America. Massive stone 
 churches are to bo seen in ahnost every village, even where 
 the forest has hardly been subdued. Only a short time since 
 the writer had occasion to visit a settlement a hundred miles 
 to the north of the political capital of Canada, on the very con- 
 fines of the wilderness which stretches to the solitary shores of 
 Hudson's Bay. As he emerged from the forest, where many a 
 blackened stuinp showed the ravages of fire, the first object 
 that met his eye was a large stone church with a tower standing 
 conspicuously on a hill that commands the surrounding country, 
 Crowning the tower, was an image of Notre Dame du Desert, 
 the holy patroness of the parish. Tliis building had been 
 erected chiefly for the Indian population of that Avild region, 
 and is one of the many evidences that French Canada gives of 
 the energy of the priests. Chtu-ches and convents, indeed, 
 meet the eye wherever you travel in the province, and the 
 poorest village attests the power and riches of the Church. 
 The whole land is practically parcelled out among the Saints, 
 as far as the nomenclature of the settlements and villages is 
 concerned. The favourite Saint appears to be Ste. Anne, whose 
 name appears constantly on the banks of the St. Lawrence. 
 Wo have Ste. Anne de la Perade, Ste. Anno de la Pocatiere, and 
 many others. We all remember the verse of Moore's boat 
 song : — 
 
 ' Faintly as tolls the evening chime, 
 Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time. 
 Soon as the woods on shore look dim, 
 We'll sing at St. Anne's our parting hymn.' 
 
 This village, situated at the confluence of the St. Lawrence 
 and Ottawa rivers, is generally known as Ste. Anne de Bellevue, 
 and still retains the characteristics of a French Canadian 
 village, notwithstanding its close neighbourhood to the 
 English-speaking settlements of Ontario. 
 
 / From the earlier times in the history of Canada the ' Black 
 Robe' has always been a prominent figure in politics as well 
 as in religion. Jesuits, Franciscans, and KecoUets have done 
 
French Canada. 
 
 258 
 
 much to mould tlio thought and control the political destiny 
 of the peo})lo luuler their spiritual care. The universities, 
 colleges and schools are mainly directed by the religious 
 orders. The priests, it nmst be admitted, have been very 
 active workers. No Protestant clergymen have been able 1o 
 conjpete with them in exercising a powerful influence over the 
 Indian population. The early annals of Canada prove that 
 they have endured famine, privation, and death for the sake of 
 the rehgion they have laboured to establish. Tender women, 
 highly educated and nurtiu'ed in noble families, Avere the 
 founders of the female educational institutions which have 
 spread throughout Canada, in the English as well as French 
 _Q,ities and towns. 
 
 j^ Canada, too, has her Notre Dame de Lourdes, to whose 
 shrine the faithful flock by thousands. Some twenty miles 
 east of Quebec, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, is the Church 
 of Ste. Anne de Beaupre, or as the Saint is more popularly 
 known, la bonne Ste. Anne, who has won fame in Canada for 
 miraculous cures for two centuries at least. It is a very 
 picturesque scene when the pilgrims assemble by thousands at 
 the slmne. If an European stranger wishes to make himself 
 familiar with the ni.ost striking phases of Canadian life, he 
 should not fail to impend a few hours at this celebrated resort, 
 Avhere the religious phenomena of the Old World are fully re- 
 produced amoi]g a devout peasantry of the New. 
 
 It is difficult to say whether the trip by land or that 
 by water affords the greater pleasure. Each has a charm 
 of its own, though that by water has probably the more 
 varied. As we leave the wharf at Quebec at an early 
 hour in the morning, the river presents a most interesting 
 panorama of changing scenes peculiar tt) this part of the St. 
 Lawrence. The mural-crowned heights of the ancient capi- 
 tal, up which straggle the quaint stone buildings, stand out 
 prominently from every point of view. Steam-tugs move up 
 and down the stream with great r!q)idity, and lend their 
 assistance to heavily laden craft. Stately passenger steamei's 
 pass slowly through the large fleet of shipping anchored in 
 the river. Rafts of timber are propelled by bronzed lumber- 
 
 _tt 
 
254 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 men to the coves where they are shipped for Europe. Just 
 to the right we can catch a glimpse of the silvery fall of 
 Montmorenci sparkhng in its purple hollow, and to the 
 left, the fertile meadows, the white cottages, and tinned spires 
 of the island of Orleans, where still grows luxuriantly the 
 wild grape which gave this lovely spot, three centuries ago, 
 when the French first saw it, the classic name of the Island of 
 Bacchus. Away to the northward, beyond the meadows and 
 villages that lie close to the river, stretch the sombre 
 hills of the Laurentides. We soon come within sight 
 of the historic village of Ste. Anne, nestling under the 
 shelter of a lofty mountain, on a little plateau which 
 has given it the name of the ' beautiful meadow.' The 
 village itself consists of a straggling street of wooden houses, 
 with steep roofs and projecting eaves, nearly all devoted to 
 the entertainment of the large assemblage that annually 
 resorts to this Canadian Mecca, probably some 30,000 in the 
 coiu'se of a summer. A new church of grey stone has taken 
 the place of the old building, erected two hundred years ago. 
 Here you will see on the fete of Ste. Anne, and at other fixed 
 times, a mass of people in every variety of costume, jMecmacs, 
 Hurons, and Iroquois — representative of the old Indian tribes 
 of Canada — French Canadians, men, women, and children, 
 from the valleys of the Ottawa, and the St. Maurice, and all 
 parts of Quebec, as well as curious tourists from the United 
 States. It is soon very easy to separate the merely curious 
 strangerfrom the anxious, hopeful pilgrinispresentingthemselves 
 inthe confidence that Bonne Ste. Annewillgive them reHef. The 
 church itself attests the faith of the thousands that have offered 
 their supplications at the shrine for centuries. Piles of crutches 
 of every description, of oak, of ash, of pine, are deposited 
 in every available corner as so many votive offerings 
 from the countless cripples that claim to have been 
 relieved or cured. From morning to evening a steady 
 stream of the blind and halt, of paralytic and rheumatic 
 sufferers, passes up to the altar, and amid the groans and 
 supplications now and then is heard an exclamation of joy 
 from some poor creature, almost always a woman, who believes 
 
French Canada. 
 
 255 
 
 that the Saint has heard her prayer. It is extraordinary how 
 inany remarkable cixres are claimed for tlie shrine, and many 
 French Canadians firmly believe in its efficacy. The relic 
 through which all these wonderful cures are effected, con- 
 sists of a part of the finger bone of Ste. Anne, which was 
 sent in 1G68 by the Chapter of Carcasonne to Monseigneur 
 de Laval, who made for himself an imperishable name in the 
 political and ecclesiastical annals of Canada. The Church also 
 possesses several pictures of merit, one of them by Le Bruu. 
 
 The situation of many of tlie Frencli Can idian villages is 
 exceedingly picturesque, when they nestle in some quiet nook by 
 the side of a river or bay, or overlook from some prominent hill 
 a noble panorama of land and wati.'r. The spire of the stone 
 church rises generally from the midst of tlie houses, and the 
 priest's residence is always the most comfortable in size and 
 appearance. The houses are for tlie most part built of wood, 
 except where there is a plentiful supply of dark grey stone in 
 the neighbourhood. Tlie roofs are frequently curved, with 
 projecting eaves, which afford a sort of verandah under which the 
 family sit on summer evenings. Some of the most pretentious 
 structures, especially the inns, have balconies running directly 
 across the upper storey. Many of the barns and oul-houscs have 
 thatched roofs, wliich are never seen in any other part of 
 Canada. The interiors of the French Canadian huiiies are \ ery 
 plainly furnished, in many cases with chairs and tables of na'ive 
 manufacture. A high iron stove is the most i.nportant feature 
 of every dwelling in a country where tlie cold of winter is so 
 extreme. Whitewash is freely used inside and outside, and there 
 is on the whole an air of cleanliness and comfort in the humblest 
 
 cottage. 
 
 The loom is still kept busy in the villii^i s, and a coarse 
 warm homespun is made for every day use. ')'he habitant :ilso 
 wears moccassins and a togm itleue, or woollen cf.p, in which he is 
 always depicted by the painfer of Ca.iadian scenes, liut v/ith 
 the gi'owth of towns and the development of tl e railway svsiem 
 a steady change is ocrurring year by year in the dress of the 
 inhabitants, and it is only in the very remote settlements that we 
 can find the homely stuffs of old times. As a rule, however, the 
 
256 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 I 
 
 
 people live very economically, and extravagance in dress is rather 
 the exception. On gala days the young wear many ribbons and 
 colours, though arranged with little of the taste characteristic of 
 the French people. Both old and young are very sociable in 
 their habits, and love music and dancing. The violin is 
 constantly played in the smallest village, and the young peoj)le 
 dance cotillons or clauses rondes. The priests, however, do not 
 encourage reckless gaieties or extravagance in dress. Now and 
 then the Bishop issues a pastoral in which the waltz and other 
 fast dances, and certain fashionable modes of dress, are expressly 
 forbidden, and though his mandates are no doubt soon forgotten 
 in the cities and towns, they are on the whole religiously observed 
 in the rui'al commu'.ities. The feasts of the Church are kept 
 with great zeal, and consequently the French Canadian has 
 holidays without number. ,\t is an interesting scene to witness 
 * a first communion ' in a viUage ; the young girls are 
 invariably dressed in white garments and veils, and the 
 humblest, poorest family would think it very hard if they 
 could not make a show on this occasion. 
 
 Ko class of the population of Canada is more orderly or less 
 disposed to crime than the French Canadian. Indeed, if we 
 compare the statistics of crime in the province of (Quebec with 
 those in the large province of Ontario, the comparison is in 
 favour of the former. On referring to a Blue Book issued a 
 year or two ago by the Government of Canada, we find that in 
 1SS2, there were about 1^000 persons convicted of vai'ious 
 crimes and offences in tlie latter province out of a total population 
 of 2,000,000 souls, while in Quebec the number did not exceed 
 (5000 out of a population of 1,400,000; and when we come to 
 analyse the returns we see that the aggregate of crime was in 
 the cities of ^lontreal and Quebec, where there is a criminal class 
 made up of all nationalities. As a rule the people are temperate 
 in their habits, and in corroboration of this statement I may again 
 refer to the authority just cited, fi'oin which it appears that in 
 1^2 the cases of drunkenness in the Ontario courts were nearly 
 9000 as against 3000^ in (Quebec, and of the latter Quebec and 
 ^[ontreal absorbed nearly 2i00. The temperate habits of the 
 French Canadian make ihem necessarily valuable employees in 
 
 be 
 
■ 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 257 
 
 mills and manufactories of all kinds. Indeed, they prefer this 
 life to that of the farm, and until very recently there was a steady 
 exodus of this class to the manufacturing towns of Lowell, Ilolyoke, 
 and other places in New England. A large proportion of the 
 men employed in the lumbering industry of Canada is drawn 
 from the province of Quebec. The 'shanties' (corrupted from 
 chantiers) or rude log-huts built for temporary occupation 
 in the forests of pine, are full of this cheery class, who in this 
 employment satisfy tlieir love for adventure and sociability. As 
 their forefathers were coiireiirs de hois in the days of the French 
 regime, and hunted the beaver in the wilderness, fix en venturing 
 into the illimitable North- West region, so in these modern times 
 the French Canadians seek the vast pine woods which, despite 
 axe and fire, still stretch over a large area watered by the Ottawa 
 and other rivers. 
 
 / As agriculturists, however, the French Canadians cannot 
 compare with the English population of Ontario. In early 
 times they held their land on a feudal tenure which had 
 its advantages, since in the infancy of settlement it gave them 
 the protection and assistance cf the seigniors or lords of the estate. 
 Tke burdens entailed by this tenure were by no means onerous. 
 To grind his grain at the seignior's mill, bakr liis bread in the 
 seignior's oven, work for him one or two days, in the year, and 
 give him one fish for every eleven for the pri\iie.re of fishing in 
 the river before his farm, these were the most important condi- 
 tions to which the censitaire or habitant was subject. The tenure 
 dated back to the early days of the colony — to the da\s of 
 Richelieu — when with the avowed object of creating a Canadian 
 noblesse, and at the same time settling the public domain, the whole 
 country was parcelled out into seigniories. Th > system had some 
 decided advantages since it forced both seignior and habitant to 
 clear the land and li\ e on it. But as Canada incn asod in populatior. 
 and wealth the system was found altogetlier un; uitable to agricul- 
 tural development. In the course of time the enactions of some of 
 the seigniors became so annoying and even so onerous, that all 
 classes recognised the necessity of abolishing a tenure which was 
 quite antagonistic to the new condition of things. Some years 
 before the federal union of tlie British American provinces, the 
 
258 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 seigniorial tcnuro — the great land question of Canada for }xars — 
 was abolished with the consent of the proprietors, who received 
 a largo sum of money from the Government for the extinction of 
 their riglits. Tlie ability and energy with which the public men 
 of Canada grappled with this land difficulty is one of the many 
 evidences the history of the country gives us of their practical 
 sagacity in carrying on the administration of affairs. The diffi- 
 culty was settled with a due regard to al' ted riglits, and the 
 results have been most satisfactory i;» the r districts of French 
 Canada. The province of Quebec is less favoured than the pro- 
 vince of Ontario with respect to climate and soil. The French 
 system of sub-dividing farms among the members of a family has 
 tended to cut up the laud unjirofitably, and it is a curious sight 
 to see the number of extremely narrow lots throughout the 
 French settlements. It must be admitted too that the French 
 population has less enterprise, and less disposition to adopt new 
 machines and improved agricultural implements, tlian the people 
 of the other provinces. As a rule, the habitant lives contentedly 
 on very little. Give him a pipe of native tobacco, a chance of 
 discussing politics, a gossip with his fellows at the church door 
 after service, a visit now and then to the county town, and he will 
 be happy. It does not take much to amuse him, while he is quite 
 satisfied that his spiritual safety is secured as long as he is within 
 sound uf the cliurch bells, goes reguhirly to confession, and ob- 
 serves all the fetes "obliijdtion. If be or one of his family can 
 only get a little office in the municipality, or in the ' government,' 
 then his happiness is nearly perfect. Indeed if he were not a 
 bureaucrat, he would very much belie his French origin. Take 
 him all in all, however, Jean-Buptiste, as he i,j familiarly known 
 from the patron saint of French Canada, has many excellent 
 qualities. lie is naturally ])olite, steady in his habits, and conser- 
 vative in his instincts. He is excitable and troublesome only 
 when his political passions are thoroughly aroused, or his religious 
 principles are at stake ; and then it is impossible to say to what 
 extremes he will go. 
 
 I In his conservatism and love for tradition the educated French 
 Canadian has little love for innovations of any kind. lie is too 
 ready to continue in the old well beaten paths, and too slow to 
 
French Canada. 
 
 259 
 
 adopt new iileas. The scieuliHc progress of the clay is sonietiiiies 
 too rapid for him to follow, since he has little inclination for 
 change of any kind. Tyndall and lluxley are to liiin strange 
 names, and Darwin is never seen on the tables of the French 
 Canadian. Tiie new philosophies of France are studied only 
 in secret by a few zcidous incpiiiers after knowledge. Tlie 
 Church supervises with a zealous care the mental food that 
 is offered for the nourishment of the people in the rural districts, 
 whevj it exercises the greatest influence. Agnosticism is a word 
 practically unknown in the vocabulary of the PVench Canadian, 
 who is quite ready to adhere without wavering to the old belief 
 which his forefathers professed, lielics and miracles are still 
 the subjects of his belief and veneration; and though the young 
 have their doubts, they are too sensible to say what may mar 
 their social or political prospects. Whilst the French Cana- 
 dians doubtless lose little by refusing to listen to the teachings 
 which would destroy all old established and venerable institutions, 
 and lead them into an unknown country of useless speculation, 
 they perhaps carry their dislike for free discussion at times to 
 extremes, and do not allow their minds sufficient scope and 
 expansion. , 
 
 Neai'ly half a century ago, a distinguished English statesman,' 
 the Earl of Durham, wrote in his report on the state of Canada i 
 that the French Canadians ' are a people without a history and ■ 
 a literature.' It is a great mistake, however, to suppose that 
 the province of Quebec does not possess a history replete with 
 interest. It is only necessary to read the works of that brilliant 
 American historian, Francis Parknian, to be satisfied that the 
 annals of New France are in some respects as attractive as the 
 pages of a Froissart or a Prescott. Where in history can be 
 found a chapter of more absorbing' interest than that which 
 describes the courage and daring of the adventurous La Sale in 
 his journey down the Mississippi, which he followed from its 
 headquarters to the Clulf of Mexico. The discoveries of this 
 explorer have had a more momentous effect on the world's history 
 than the exploits of a Bayard or a Du Guesclin, to whom so 
 many eloquent pages of history and romance have been devoted. 
 Everywhere in Canada do we find some evidence of his famous 
 
260 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 adventures. Only a few miles from the commorcial capital of 
 Can.ula, the substantial, picturesque city of Montreal, we come 
 to a beautiful expanse of water, called Lachine ; for here it wis 
 La Sale dreamed tiiat he was to find in the great West a short 
 road to tiie riches of the East. 
 
 Indeed, where\er Ave go on the American Continent we find 
 the impi'ess of the fame of those coureurs de hois and gentleman- 
 adventurers who were the first to ^.dsh their way into the great 
 unknown West, and give a name to many a lake and I'iver, on 
 whose banks and shores have grown up communities enjoying an 
 amount of prospei'ity which could never have presented itself even 
 to^ their most sanguine imagination. 
 
 Ill the days oi the French regime thei'e was necessarily no 
 native literature, and little general culture except in small select 
 circles at (Quebec and Montreal. But during the past half 
 century, with the increase of wealth, the dissemination of liberal 
 education, and tha development of self-government, the French 
 Canadians have created for themselves a literature which shows 
 that they inherit much of the spirituality and brilliancy of their 
 race. Their histories and poems have attracted much attention 
 in literary circles in France, and one poet, M. Louis Frechette, 
 has (juite recently won the highest prize of the French Institute 
 for the best poem of the year. In history we have the names of 
 Garnean, Ferland, Suite, Tasse, Casgrain, Tanguay, Verreau ; 
 in poetry, Frechette, Suite, Le May ; in science, Hamel, Laflamme, 
 Bail large, besides many others famed as savants and litterateurs. 
 Science has not made so much progress as Belles Letlres, though 
 Laval University — the principal educational institution of the 
 highest cliiss — In-s among its professors men who have done 
 much creditable v;ork in mathematics, geology and physics. In 
 Romance, howe\er, very little has been done, although the history 
 of old Canada offers a fruitful field, while the customs and pecu- 
 liarities of the French Canadian miuht afford much material to 
 the realistic novelist. 
 
 The French Canadians have a natural love for poetry and 
 niusic. Indeed it is a French Canadian by birth and early 
 education — ^ladame Albani — who has of late years won a high 
 distinction on the operatic stage. No writer of this nationality, 
 
French Canada. 
 
 261 
 
 however, lias produced nn opera era drama wliicli lias won fame for 
 its author. The priesthood, indee(' has been a persistent enemy 
 of the theatre, which consxnuently ha>i never attained a success- 
 ful foothokl in French Canada. Sacred nmsic, however, so 
 essential a feature of u lloman Catholic service, has been always 
 cultivated with success. 
 
 It was not lon^ since many persons in Great Britain never 
 thought of Canada except \\ hen it was brou<;ht to tlieir iiotice by 
 hearing Tom Moore's boat song, for years a favourite in drawing- 
 rooms. The old village of Ste. Anne, where Moore gathered 
 inspiration for his poem, still possesses many features of 
 picturesque interest. The banks of the Ottawa and St. 
 Lawrence, as you near the village, are covered by many farm- 
 houses and pretty villas wliere the people of Montreal live in the 
 summer months. Orcliard and meadows come down to the 
 water's edge. The village itself possesses the customary stone 
 church with tapering spire, and an imiige of Our Lady in a 
 niche in the fat^'ade. The houses are of the usual type, and 
 contrast strikingly with the cottages of the sunnner residents 
 who have been attracted by the natural beauties of the place. 
 Here it was that the cheery Irishman wrote his song to an air 
 which was sung by his boatmen. In the preface to an edition of 
 his works, he tells xis that the voyageurs had good voices and 
 sang perfectly in tune. The words appeared to him a long 
 incoherent story of which he could understand little from the 
 strange pronunciation of the Canadians. 
 
 ' Without that cli.uiii,' he goos on to say, ' which association gives to 
 every little nimiorial of scenes and feelinys that are past, the melody may, 
 perhaps, be thought couniion and triHing ; but I remember when we have 
 entered at sunset, upon one of those beautiful lakes, into which the St. 
 Lawrence so grandly and unexpectedly opens, I have heard this simple 
 ail' with a pleasure which the finest compositions of the first masters have 
 never given me ; and now there is not a note of it which does not recall to 
 my memory the dip of our oars in the St. Lawrence, the flight of our boat 
 down the rapids, and all those new and fanciful impressions to which my 
 heart was alive during the whole of this very interesting voyage.' 
 
 / The Chansons populaires, which have been so long in vogue 
 among the people of all classes in the province of Quebec, are 
 characteristic of a race extremelv conservative of old customs 
 
2H2 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 I \ 
 
 and traditions. These songs are the same in spirit, and very 
 freijuently in words, as those which their ancestors bronght over 
 with tliem from lirittany, Normandy and Franche-Comtu. 
 Some have been adapted to {^anadian scenery and associations, 
 but the most of them are essentially European in allusion and 
 style. The peojile of the North of France have always been 
 fauious for their ballads, and the French Canadian preserves the 
 poetic instincts of his natiomlity. The Canadian lumberer 
 among the pines of the Ottawa and its tributaries, the Metis or 
 half-breeds of vhat was once the great Lone Land, still sing 
 snaj^hes of the songs which the couveun* de hou, who followed 
 Du '^\\\\t and other French explorei's, were wont to sing as they 
 paddled over the rivers of the West or camped beneath the pines 
 and the maples of the great forests, and which can even now be 
 heard at many a Breton and Norman festival. There is a 
 sprightliness in the air of these songs which is peculiar to the 
 chansons of Ok' France. It is impossible to set the music of all 
 of them to the music of the drawing-room, where they seem 
 tame and meaningless, but when they mingle with ' the solemn 
 sough of the forest,' or with the roar of rushing waters, the air 
 seems imbued with the spirit of the surroundings. It has been 
 well observed by Mr. Gagnon, a French Canadian, to whom we 
 are indebted fo:' the only good collection Canada possesses of 
 those songs, thai ' many of them have no beauty oxcep". on the 
 lips of the pes santry.' Whoever has heard these songs in 
 Canadian home:i will admit that there is much truth in his 
 remark, 'There is something sad and soft in the voices which 
 imparts a peculiar charm to these monotonous airs, in which 
 their whole existence seems to be reflected. It is with the voices 
 as with the eyes of the peasantry. These accustomed to wide 
 horizons and a uniform scenery, reflect a quiet, a calm, a 
 monotony if you like, which is not to be found among the 
 iijhabitants of cities.' 
 
 It may be interesting to the readers of this paper to quote the 
 rfiost popular and poetical of all the Canadian ballads, and at the 
 same time to give a translation from the collection of a Canadian 
 writer, to-whieh we refer at the head of this article i }j 
 
 
 <u$(^A. |'CUi,f-A> . yrpjA,4^-*^' -^'^ h 'A »^ii^w' 
 
French Canada. 
 
 2fi3 
 
 A LA CLAIRE FONTAINE. 
 
 '' A la claire fontaiue 
 
 M'on allant promoner, 
 J'ai trouv6 I'eau si bollo 
 (Juo je ni'y suis baigue, 
 Ji)' loiii/ti'inju ijHi' }<• t'aime, 
 Jamais je tie Voublierai. 
 
 J'ai troiiv(i I'cau si belle 
 (Jiio je in'y suis baignc, 
 
 Et c'est au pied trim chcno 
 Que je m' suis repose. 
 
 Et c'est ,au pied d'un chcne 
 Que je m' suis repose ; 
 
 Sur la plus haute branche 
 Le rossignol chantait. 
 
 Sur la plus baute brancho 
 Le rossignol chantait ; 
 
 Chante, rossij^iiol, chanto, 
 Toi qui as le cojur gai. 
 
 Chante, rossignol, chante, 
 Toi qui as le c(eur gai ; 
 
 Tu as le canir a rire, 
 Moi je I'ai-t- a pleurer. 
 
 Tu as le caur k riro, 
 Moi je I'ai-t- i\ pleurer ; 
 
 J'ai perdu nia niaitresse 
 Sans pouvoir la trouver. 
 
 J'ai perdu ma maitresse 
 Sans pouvoir la trouver ; 
 
 Pour un bouquet de roses 
 Que je lui refusal. 
 
 Pour nn bouquet de roses 
 
 Que je lui refusal ; 
 Je voudrais que la rose 
 
 Fiit eucore au rosier. 
 
 Je voudrais que la rose 
 Put encore au rosier, 
 Et que li rosier meniu 
 Flit dans la nier jete. 
 Ji/ longlcmps queje t'aime, 
 Jamais je ne Voublierai. 
 
 All the French Canadian 
 
 VOL. IX. 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 Down to the crystal streamlet 
 
 1 strayed .it close of day ; 
 Into its limpid waters 
 I plunijed without delay. 
 I've laved thee long and dearly, 
 I'll love thee, mveet, for aye. 
 
 Into its limpid waters 
 I plunged without delay ; 
 
 Then 'mid the Howers springing 
 At the oak-tree's foot 1 lay. 
 
 Then 'mid the flowers springing 
 At the oak-tree's foot I lay ; 
 
 Sweet the nightingale was singing 
 High on the tojimost spray. 
 
 Sweet the nightingale was singing 
 High on the topmost spray ; 
 
 Sweet bird ! keep ever singing 
 Thy song with heart so gay. 
 
 Sweet bird ! keep ever singing 
 Thy song with heart so gay ; 
 
 Thy heart was made for laughter. 
 My heart's in tears to-day. 
 
 Thy heart was made for laughter. 
 My heart's in tears to-day — 
 
 Tears for a fickle mistress, 
 Flown from its love away. 
 
 Tears for a fickle mistress. 
 Flown from its love away. 
 
 All for these faded roses 
 Which I refused in play. 
 
 All for these faded roses 
 Which I refused in play — 
 
 Would that each rose were growing 
 Still on the rose-tree gay. 
 
 Would that each rose were growing 
 
 Still on the rose-tree gay, 
 And that the fatal rose-tree 
 Deep in the ocean lay. 
 
 I've loved the long and dearly, 
 I'll love thee, sweet for aye. 
 
 songs show clearly their French 
 
 s 
 
204 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 I i 
 
 origin, though it is not possible in all cases to trace them to a 
 particular province or district. ' A la Claire Fontaine ' has been 
 claimed for Franche-Comte, Brittany, and Normandy, l)ut the 
 hest authorities have come to the conclusion, from a comparison 
 of the different versions, that it is Norman. In ' Malbrouck 
 s'en va-t-en guerre,' we have a song which was sung in the time 
 of the Grand Monarque. Mr. M'Lonnan, from whose interest- 
 ing little volume we have already (juoted, tells us that it can 
 be traced back ic a burlesque elegy on the Duke of Guise, 
 while Father Prout, in his Keliques, gives tlie popular tradition 
 tliat it was composed by Arme. do Sevign(5 as a cradle song for 
 the Dauphin. Of its popularity with t,he French Canadians, we 
 have an example in General Stranges*' reply to the ()5th, a 
 French Canadian regiment, during the recent NorthyVVest re- 
 bellion. One morning, after weeks of tedious and toilsome 
 marching, just as the men were about to fall in, the General 
 overheard the remark — ' Ah I when will we go home ? ' * ah, raes 
 gar9ons,' laughed the General — 
 
 ' Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre 
 Maia quand rcviendra-t-il ] ' 
 
 ' Malbrouck has gone a-fighting, 
 But when will he return ? ' 
 
 and with their characteristic liyht-heartedness the men caught 
 up the famous old air and the march was resumed without a 
 murmur. 
 
 It is noteworthy that these old songs continue to be the favourites 
 with all classes, almost to the exclusion of the modern and essen- 
 tially Canadian ballads, written by native poets, and adapted to 
 the custom and scenery of the country. This fact is indicative 
 of the long life of a popular ballad, when it has once taken a 
 deep hold of the sympathies and affection of a peasantry. No 
 caprice of fashion can force a popular air from the heart of a 
 people. We see this strikingly illustrated by the fact that some 
 years ago ' A la Claire Fontaine ' was sung with immense success 
 on the French stage. It came back to Canada with Parisian 
 variations, which had a little popularity for a while in fashionable 
 circles, but now those variations are forgotten, and the old air and 
 words are only heard in the homes of the people. 
 
French Canada. 
 
 265 
 
 ( I liave dwelt at sonic length on those chansont populaires of 
 Canada, becanse they afford some evidence of the tenacity with 
 wliicli the people cling to the customs, traditions, ai.d associations 
 of the land of their origin. Indeed, their love for Old France 
 still lies deep in the hearts of the people, and both young and old 
 study her best literature, and find their greatest pride in her recog- 
 nition of their poets and writers. It is the ambition of every edu- 
 cated French Canadian to spend some time in France, tliough very 
 few of them ever leave Canada permanently. Some of the young 
 French Canadians are imbued with French ideas, and would like 
 to see French capital and enterj)rise introduced into tlie Dominion. 
 But so far there has been no immigration from France, and the 
 efforts to bring in capital irom the same country have not been 
 successful to any extent. It is (juite evident tliat wlule there ex- 
 ists among the more influential and cultured class a sentimental 
 attachment to Old France, there is a still deeper feeling, 
 strengthened by the political freedom and material progress of 
 the past forty years, that the connection with the British Emi)ire 
 gives the best guarantee for the preservation of their liber- 
 ties and rights. No doubt the influence of the Roman Catholic 
 priesthood has had much to do with perpetuating the connection 
 with England. They feel that it is not by a connection with 
 France or the United States that their religious and civil institu- 
 tions are best conserved. Uesides, the sympathies of the great 
 mass of the people of the province are not republican but monar- 
 chical, and they view with disfavour the levelling tendencies of 
 the ruling powers in France. i 
 
 ^'_If we come to inquire into the causes of the content and pros- 
 perity which, on the whole, have for many years characterized the 
 French Canadian population, we find that they are the natural 
 outcome of the stability and freedom of the political system under 
 which they live. So far there are three'eras in tlie political his- 
 tory of French Canada. First, there was the French regime, 
 when the colony was poor and struggling against many diflicul- 
 ties, and never enjoyed even a semblance of self-government 
 either in their municipal or provincial affairs. 
 
 ' The institutions of France,' says Lord Durham in his remarkably able 
 report, ' during the period of the colonization of Canada, were, perhaps, 
 
T 
 
 206 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 more than those of any other Europ.an nation, calculated to repress the 
 intelligence and freedom of the great i.iass of the people. These institu- 
 tions followed the Canadian colonist aci osa the water. The same central 
 ill- organized, unimproving and repressive despotis; i extended over him. 
 Not merely was ho allowed no voice !■; the government of his province, or 
 the choice of his ruler, hut ho was not even permitted to associate with his 
 neighbours for the regulation of those municipal aft'airs, which the central 
 authority neglected under the pretext of managing.' 
 
 Then came the second era, which lasted from 1763 to 1840, 
 during which the French Canadian had a legisUit are, and learned 
 to understanc^ and value the advantages of self-goverament. 
 The discontent which culminated in the rebellion of 1837-8 was 
 caused by the unwillingness of the British Government to 
 concede to the people their legitimate influence in the administra- 
 tion of provincial affairs. Representative government was for 
 years a mere mockery, while the province was ruled by Downing 
 Street officials, and by frequently ill-chosen governors, advised by 
 a council over whom the people's representatives in the Assembly 
 could exercise no dii'ect influence. ' To suppose that such a 
 system would work well in Lower France,' said Lord Durham. 
 ' implies a belief that the French Canadians have enjoyed 
 representative institutions for half a century without acquiring 
 any of the characteristics of a free people.' 
 
 Then followed the union of the two provinces of Upper and 
 Lower Canada, which was intended to weaken the influence of 
 the French Canadian section in the government, but had the 
 very contrary effect of giving it greater weight in the adminis- 
 tration of public affairs. It was, in fact, the battle cry of years 
 of a large political party that Upper Canada was ruled by the ma- 
 jority of the French Province. The union of 1840 enlarged the 
 political liberties of the Cauadas, but it too became inadequate 
 to the circumstances of the country as the population of Upper 
 Canada largely increased, and its representatives demanded a 
 representation in the Legislature larger than that of the French 
 province. For years the French Canadi ins contended vigorously 
 for the equality of representation laid down in the Union Act, 
 but at last the conflict became so great between the two sections 
 that it was necessary to seek a solution of the political difficulty 
 in a federation of the provinces. In 1867 commenced the new 
 
French Canada. 
 
 267 
 
 oi'ii, uuder which the influence of the French Canadians became 
 stronger than ever. It is a well known fact that many of 
 the ablest pul)lic men who brought about the confederation of 
 the provinces were favourable to ii legislative union, but it was 
 stroiuiously resisted by tlie French Canadians, who naturally pre- 
 ferred a sysL^m which enables them to have entire control of 
 their provincial affairs and at the same time gives them great 
 power in the central government. Under the federal constitution 
 they have a Provincial Government, composed of a Lieutenant- 
 Governor, appointed by the Governor-General in Council, and 
 advised by an Executive Council, who hold office in accordance 
 v'ith the principles of responsible government. The Legislature 
 consists of two Houses, a Legislative Council of twenty-four 
 members appointed by the Crown, and a Legislative Assembly 
 of sixty-five membei's elected by the people — the number in each 
 House beino- the same as in the Senate and House of Commons 
 of the Dominion Parliament. This local government has the 
 control of education, of the management and sale of public lands 
 and the thnber thereon, of hospitals, asylums, and charities, of 
 municipal institutions, of local works and undertakings, of the 
 solemnization of marriage in the province, of property 
 and civil rights, of the administration of justice including 
 the constitution, maintenance and organization of provin- 
 cial courts, both of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and 
 generally of all matters of a merely local or private nature. 
 With respect to education the constitution expressly provides for 
 the preservation of the rights of the dissentient Protestant schools 
 in the province, and any laws made by the province cannot 'pre- 
 judicially affect any right or privilege with respect to denomina- 
 tional schools ' which any class of persons had by law in the 
 province at the time of the Union. In the Parliament of the 
 Dominion the interests of the French Canadians are carefully 
 watched by the large and influential body of representatives they 
 have in the Senate and House of Commons, which have jurisdic- 
 tion on all matters of general or national import, such as trade 
 and commerce, postal communications, inter-provincial or inter- 
 national railways, militia or defence. In both the Parliament of 
 the Dominion and the Legislature of Quebec, the representatives 
 
268 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 
 ! I 
 
 of the province are very persistent in asserting provincial rights, 
 feeling that it is only by a strict adherence to the constitution 
 they can preserve their provincial autonomy. So far, though 
 questions of jurisdiction are constantly arising between the 
 general and the local government, they are being solved satisfac- 
 torily in the courts, and vy^hatever differences of opinion maj^ arise 
 
 ifjJ^'' on these matters of constitutional law there is none a^to the 
 T : f.^^ necessity of preserving the Federal System in its entirety, since it 
 
 i. ensures better than any other system of government the rights and 
 
 interests of the French Canadian population in all those matters 
 most deeply affecting a people speaking a language, professing a 
 religion, and retaining certain institutions, different from those of 
 the majority of the people of the Dominion. Happily for the 
 interests of Quebec, the public men of that province are as a rule 
 men of high attainments, who would grace any legislative body 
 in the world. Thoroughly appreciating the advantages of repre- 
 sentative institutions, and of the connection with Great Britain, 
 the best minds among them constitute a bulwark of strength to 
 the Confederation. Wo see this fact strikingly exemplified in 
 the career of one of the most liberal minded and patriotic states- 
 men French Canada has produced, the late Sir George Etienne 
 Cartier, who always understood the importance of confederation 
 from a national as well as provincial standpoint, and devoted the 
 closing years of his life to the perfection of that great measure. 
 It was a fitting tribute to tlie services of that eminent man that 
 Canada should have erected a statue to his memory in tlie noble 
 square on which stands her Parliament House, where now annually 
 assemble more than two hundred representatives of a people whose 
 limits extend over a territory larger than that of any other 
 country in the world except the RussiiUi Empire. 
 /The question may now suggest itself to my readers. Will the 
 French Canadian nationality continue to work in harmony with 
 the English-speaking people, or is there danger at some future 
 time of a strong antagonism between these two elements, which 
 may tend to destroy the unity of the confederation ? Professor 
 Seeley, in his very suggestive work on the ' Expansion of the 
 Empire,' says that ethnological unity is * of great importance 
 when we would form an opinion about the stability or chance of 
 
French Canada. 
 
 269 
 
 duration of an empire.' In his opinion 'the chief forces which 
 hold a community together, and cause it to constitute one state, 
 are three, — common nationaUty, common religion, and common inte- 
 rest' Two of these three forces are certainly wanting in Canada. 
 The people of one large province speak the French language, 
 cling to the civil law and other institutions of France, and profess 
 the lloman Catholic religion. It is true that this nationality is 
 as yet in a minority ; but thei'e is conclusive evidence that it is 
 a powerful minority, which does not show any sign of deteriorat- 
 ing strength, but rather of expansion. The province of Quebec 
 is more thoroughly French Canadian than it has been for half a 
 century and more. The French element has in a great measure 
 crowded out the English-speaking people in places like Quebec, 
 and it is only the superior energy and business capacity of the 
 latter that enable them to hold their own even in Montreal, whose 
 natural situation at the head of ocean navigation, and natural re- 
 lations to tlie Great Lakes and the West must always make it an 
 important commercial emporium, attracting the enterprise 
 and capacity of all nationalities , certain towns and districts 
 wliere the English were dominant a few years ago, the 
 French Canadians are now in the majority. The Eastern town- 
 ships were until recently exclusively English and Protestant, but 
 the tide of French population has already flowed into these 
 districts. We see a similar expansion in the direction of the 
 province of Ontario. A large proportion of the city of Ottawa 
 is French Canadian, and it was only the other day that the 
 Dominion Government acknowledged the claims of the growing 
 French population of Ontario to representation in the Senate. 
 Tiiere is not at present that steady flow of French Canadians into 
 the manufacturing towns of the United States which for years 
 relieved Canada of tlie surplus of a population whose natural 
 increase is very great. The efforts of the leaders of public 
 opinion in Quebec arc now l)eing directed towards keeping their 
 people at home, and offering inducements to their expatriated 
 compatriots to return. As a matter of fact, then, the French 
 Canadian people are actually increasing in numbers, and should 
 they overcome their natural indisposition to settle in a new 
 country, they would soon over-run the North- West, where there 
 
270 
 
 French Canada. 
 
 )il 
 
 still exists a remnant of half-breeds allied to them by ties of a 
 common descent and common reli|Tion. But so far they do not 
 show any desire to settle the new territories where, from all 
 appearances, the British speaking people will entirely prevail. 
 Taking then all these facts into consideration, the intense spirit 
 of nationalism that animates the mass of French Canadians, the 
 rigidity with which they cling to their language and institutions, 
 their indisposition to take up English customs, their tendency to 
 keep themselves distinct in society, and their increasing numbers, 
 we cannot fail to see tlie importance of the influence they must 
 exercise for a long time to come over the destinies of Canada. 
 It would be idle to say that there is not now and then evidence 
 of antagonism betwen the two races. From time to time attempts 
 are made to stii^iulate this antagonism to a perilous degree. 
 Attacks are even made upon the tithe system and other institu- 
 tions of French Canada which rest on the foundation of solemn 
 treaties and instruments granted to the province in the course of 
 a century and a quarter. Such an agitation must be unwise, 
 inasmuch as it is not for the English-speaking people in other 
 provinces to attack institutions wliich do not affect themselves, 
 and from which the Frencli Canadian, who are directly intei'ested, 
 do not show any desire to be released. 
 
 The future unity and stability of the Canadian Confederation 
 depends on the fact that tliere is one great force whicli is ever 
 operating among all nationalities to preserve the body politic, and 
 that is, as Professor Seeley points out, common interest. Whilst 
 Lower Canada holds the portals of the great avenue of conmiuni- 
 cation between the Old World and the West, she is indispensable 
 to the Union, and no other province can afford to treat her with 
 injustice. Were the French province to-morrow to leave the 
 Confederation, it would at once be dissolved, and the result would 
 be fatal to the aspirations of those who are working to build up a 
 new nationality to the north of the United States, in close con- 
 uectinn with the parent State. One province after the other 
 would find itself in the ranks of the American States, and Quebec 
 itself would eventually be absorbed — a result fatal to the perpetu- 
 ation of the language and institutions to whicli its people have 
 always clung with such tenacity. It would indeed be an unhappy 
 
 A . , 
 
French Canada. 
 
 271 
 
 day for Canada were she to return to the old condition of things 
 which existed previous to the rebellion of 1837-8, when, as Lord 
 Dui'ham said, he ' found two nations roaring in the bosom of a 
 single state ; a struggle not of principles but of races.' Happily 
 that condition of things no longer exists. The history of the 
 fifty years that have elapsed since the ' dark days ' of Canada 
 goes to show that the governing classes of the English and French 
 nationalities have ceased to feel towards each other that intense 
 spirit of jealousy which was likely at one time to develop itself 
 into a dangerous hatred. The spirit of conciliation and justice, 
 which has happily influenced the action of leading English and 
 French Canadian statesmen in the administration of public affairs, 
 togetherwith the conservative influence of the priests in Quebec,has 
 been so far successful in repressing the spirit of passion and dema- 
 gogism which has exhibited itself at certain political crises, and in 
 eventually bringing tlie two nationalities into harmony with each 
 other. Without compromise and conciliation Canada with its 
 distinct nationalities can never be successfully governed. As long 
 as there are in her midst two distinct national elements face to 
 face, — the one in the minority animated by a determination to 
 adhere strictly to its language and customs, the other in the 
 majority equally believing in the superiority of its own insti- 
 tutions, — it is inevitable that there should be always a latent 
 spirit of antagonism in the country which might at any moment 
 develop itself in a very dangerous form. Should one press 
 nationalism beyond the limits of justice or prudence in a moment 
 of passion, or should the other, with the arrogance sometimes 
 characteristic of a majority, attempt to violate solemn obligations 
 and overturn the institutions to which the minority are wedded, 
 the result would be a political revolution wliich would end 
 in bloodshed and ruin. But all this is perhaps mere idle 
 speculation. Every reason exists to make us believe that as 
 long as the same wise counsels continue to prevail in Canada 
 that have heretofore governed her, and carried her snccessfidly 
 through critical periods, the integrity of the C(mfederation is 
 assured, and the two races will ever work harmoniously together, 
 united bv the ties of a common interest, and a common alleeiance 
 to the Empire to whose fostering care they already owe so much. 
 
272 
 
 y-H ■ f 
 
 The Subjects of the Byzantine Empire. / 
 
 
 Although the lines of the two nationalities that now occupy 
 Canada may at times appear to diverge from each other and to 
 seek different channels, yet let us hope that as the years pass by, 
 they will be brought more closely together, until at last their 
 fortunes become indissolubly united, just as we see two great 
 rivers which have kept apart for many hundreds of miles, coming 
 at last to mingle their waters and form one mighty stream 
 flowing grandly and uninterruptedly towards the ocean. / 
 
 Jno. Geo. Bourinot. 
 
 Art. III.— the SUBJECTS OF THE BYZANTINE EM- 
 PIRE. 
 
 THE durability shown by the Byzantine Empire could not 
 bo entirely accounted for if we did not take into con- 
 sideration the material prosperity enjoyed by its subjects. The 
 State could not have lasted so long without the defence af- 
 forded by armies and navies, and the cost of equipping and 
 snppoi'ting these armies and navies was defrayed out of the 
 Avealth gained by industry and commerce. Of what this wealth 
 was, we may gain some idea from the impression which it 
 produced upon foreigners, even after the decUue of the Empire 
 had begun. In the year 1170, for instance, the Jewish travel- 
 ler, Benjamin of Tudela, after passing through France, Italy, 
 and many of the cities of Greece, visited Constantinople. It 
 may be assumed that he was a competent judge of the value 
 of the things which he saw. And here is what he says : — ' The 
 immense treasures which pour into Constantinople from every 
 province, town and city, surpass anything which can be ima- 
 gined or which exists anywhere else. In the midst * of the 
 
 * He probably refers to the number of columns of the precious metals 
 belonging to the Bema, and which was certainly too great to be at once 
 realized by the eye, without counting. The eikonostasion was of silver, 
 and had at least twelve, but, more probably, twenty-four columns of that