— 68 — 



upon as an ordinary matter. Until the days of railways, 

 in modern times it was not unusual to drive twenty- 

 five or thirty miles to a ball, and the appearance of the 

 party from Montreal need create little astonishment. 



Madame Marin was suffering from headache, and 

 was laying down. It was thought by her compagnes 

 that the presence of her husband would restore her to 

 health. This was not the case, and she was absent 

 from the supper and faro. Whatever the cause, the 

 party retired at nine. 



On the following day they drove to Pointe-aux- 

 Trembles, forty-five miles from Berthier. The journey 

 was broken at Saint Sulpice, twenty-nine miles distant, 

 where they made a halt of two hours and took break- 

 fast. From Berthier, Duquesne took possession of 

 Madame Marin, and Franquet was left alone (1). They 

 selected a house for supper, but as there was no room 

 large enough for the party to meet, some partitions 

 were removed. Faro followed the supper, and as it 

 was the last night they were to be together, they played 

 later than usual. 



The next morning, having only ten miles to reach 

 Montreal, they did not leave until two. They arrived 

 at Montreal early, and with the exception of Madame 

 Marin, they were all received at the Intendance. On 

 this evening the supper was given by Duquesne. 



The journey reads as if it had been a more serious 

 matter than it really was. There was no distress in the 

 colony ; it took place before war broke out, when pro- 

 visions were cheap and plentiful. Most of the officers 

 were proceeding on duty to Montreal, and it was by no 

 means the last occasion in Canada when an official tour 

 had been made one of pleasure. The objectionable 

 feature is, that the additional expense was at the king's 

 cost. It is included in this history from the light it 



(1) " Le general m'avoit amene la malade," p. 206. 



