SOCIAL LIFE IN CANADA OF OLD. 



Many quaint and interesting vistas of primitive 

 Canada are disclosed in a recent, elaborate work : His- 

 tory of Canada, by William Kingsford, F. R. S. G. 

 Mr. Kingsford seems to have availed himself with great 

 felicity, of the new and ever-growing materials for his- 

 tory, so industriously garnered at home and abroad, in 

 our Public Record Office, Ottawa, by our untiring 

 archivist Douglas Brymner. 



A curious account of the mode of winter travel has 

 thus been handed down to us, being the personal expe- 

 rience of a witty French Royal Engineer, M. Franquet, 

 who visited Quebec and Montreal, in 1752. 



To this agreeable summary of Mr. Franquet's journal 

 which appears at pages 574-5-6 of Kingsford's III 

 volume, the author has appended, by way of contrast 

 and illustration, the narrative of a more recent partie 

 de campagne, at Chateau-Richer, P. Q. Franquet's 

 memoirs, add one more proof to many others, that 

 social life in and round Quebec in the palmy, early days 

 of the Bigot regime, was a round of pleasure, heedless 

 of the future. Hear what the light-hearted Frenchman 

 Franquet has to say : " In the morning (8th February, 

 1752) the Governor started, attended by Duchesnay, 

 the captain of the guard, his secretary and servants. 

 Some carioles were sent before him to break the way. 

 The Intendant proposed that the other members of the 

 party should pass the day where they were. The invi- 

 tation was accepted. There was dinner, supper and 

 heavy play. The following day, the Intendant's party 

 returned to Quebec. 



