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taken of a tall young officer of the name of Boishebert, 

 from Acadia ; no favourite of Montcalm, he seems 

 to have divided with him the sunshine of Madame de 

 Beaubassin's smile. This juvenile rival, he advises Levis 

 to send back to his Dative Acadians. Of course, when 

 the gorgeously-attired, ruffled, scented, redhaired, mag- 

 nificent Intendant Bigot, dropped in at Parloir Street 

 for a chat, ordinary callers were momentarily hushed 

 to silence, amidst the profuse attentions showered by 

 laquais on the wealthy patron, who, frequently, was 

 accompanied by Major and Madame Pean. The Abbe 

 notices among other habitues, " the Longueuils, St. 

 Ours, de la Naudiere, Yilliers, Dr Arnoux and his wife 

 and several officers of the land forces ; Bourlamaque, 

 grave and reserved, Bougainville, a Jansenist in opinions 

 and caustic in his remarks, occasionnally unpleasant ; 

 Boquemaure, full of whims." 



In short, adds the Abbe, the higher circles of Canadian 

 society at Quebec presented a sorry spectacle ; the 

 example set by arrivals from France, demoralized 

 society; the disorders of war and the license of the 

 soldiery in a great measure helped to consumate its 

 ruin. 



" One witnessed a state of things that could not last : 

 disorder from the top to the bottom of the social ladder. 

 The end evidently was not far-off ; a dreadful storm was 

 brewing overhead. Would it engulf everything ? None 

 could tell. People averted their faces ; dared not look 

 into the future; tried to drown care in dissipation. 

 'Twas a mad race for pleasure. Society, blinded, was 

 revelling on a volcano." 



Let us turn to less sombre vistas. Montcalm had one 

 true and able friend in Levis, the most level head in 

 the colony. More than once, as revealed in the corres- 

 pondence, Levis acted as peacemaker between the 

 impetuous Montcalm and the weak, vacillating, but 

 obstinate, de Vaudreuil, the Governor-General of Canada 

 and commander-in-chief of the forces. This duality of 



