THE HALCYON IN CANADA 191 



The first peculiarity one notices about the farms 

 in this northern country is the close proximity of 

 the house and barn, in most cases the two buildings 

 touching at some point, an arrangement doubtless 

 prompted by the deep snows and severe cold of this 

 latitude. The typical Canadian dwellinghouse is 

 also presently met with on entering the Dominion, 

 a low, modest structure of hewn spruce logs, with 

 a steep roof (containing two or more dormer win- 

 dows) that ends in a smart curve, a hint taken from 

 the Chinese pagoda. Even in the more costly brick 

 or stone houses in the towns and vicinity this style 

 is adhered to. It is so universal that one wonders 

 if the reason of it also be not in the climate, the 

 outward curve of the roof shooting the sliding snow 

 farther away from the dwelling. It affords a wide 

 projection, in many cases covering a veranda, and in 

 all cases protecting the doors and windows without 

 interfering with the light. In the better class of 

 clapboarded houses the finish beneath the project- 

 ing eaves is also a sweeping curve, opposing and 

 bracing that of the roof. A two-story country 

 house, or a Mansard roof, I do not remember to 

 have seen in Canada; but in places they have be- 

 come so enamored of the white of the snow that they 

 even whitewash the roofs of their buildings, giving a 

 cluster of them the impression, at a distance, of an 

 encampment of great tents. 



As we neared Point Levi, opposite Quebec, we 

 got our first view of the St. Lawrence. "Iliad of 

 rivers ! " exclaimed my friend. " Yet unsung ! " 



