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imperative duty devolving on land owners, to beat and 

 shovel their frontage roads and to mark out the various- 

 path, with evergreen boughs, balises, to guide travellers 

 after storms ; elsewhere, he notices the laborious occu- 

 pation of that important official, the Grand Voyer, 

 whose usefulness ceased nearly a century later in 

 1840 (1), when rural municipalities undertook the care 

 of country roads, by act of Parliament. 



The seigniory of Pointe-aux- Trembles de JSTeuville, 

 the projected stopping place, then belonged to M. de 

 Meloises, Madame Plan's father. The vice-regal party 

 next drew rein at the door of a convent of Congregation 

 Nuns, founded there, in 1713, by a Mr. Basset, a native 

 of Lyons, France ; two of the pious sisterhood were then 

 in attendance. The Governor made it his head-quarters, 

 and his followers lodged in the neighboring dwellings. 

 Col. Franquet sought for shelter at the presbyUre of 

 the resident priest, Kevd Messire Chartier de Lotbiniere, 

 the brother-in-law of Madame de Lotbiniere, one of the 

 party. The Governor General came there also and 

 claimed a bed; the chef de cuisine and his staff, 

 were duly installed at the convent, where the unfailing 

 game of cards took place at 5 p. m : supper was served 

 at 10 p. m. ; this dispatched, all retired " to court 

 balmy, " the sweet restorer, sleep. Franquet notices 

 that on the arrival of the Commander-in-chief, the 

 Capitaine de la cote had as usual turned out the mili- 

 tia, 20 to 25 of whom, in a double row, lined the street, 

 through which the General reached his stopping-place 

 from his cariole. This guard stood sentry all night 

 notwithstanding the severity of the weather ; the guard 

 was dismissed after the departure of the Marquis. From 

 which one can infer that the passage of a French 

 Governor, on a cold, blustery, January night, was not 

 always unallowed bliss, to the local militia at least in 

 country parts. 



(1) 4 Vict., Cap. 4, Sect. XLVL 



