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Versailles ; 'tis so, at Quebec. Lust, selfishness, rapine, 

 public plunder every where — except among the small 

 party of the Honnetes Gens : (1) a carnival of pleasure, 

 to be followed by the voice of wailing and by the roll 

 of the muffled drum. 



In 1748, the evil genius of New France, " La Pom- 

 padour's proUgd " Francois Bigot, thirteenth and last 

 Intendant, had landed at Quebec. 



Born in Guyenne, of a fainilly distinguished at the 

 bar, Bigot, prior to coming to Canada had occupied the 

 high post of Intendant in Louisiana. In stature, he was 

 small, but well formed ;- — active, full of pluck, fond 

 of display and pleasure — an inveterate gambler. Had 

 he confined his operations merely to trading, his com- 

 mercial ventures would have excited little blame, tra- 

 ding having been a practice indulged in by several other 

 high colonial officials. His salary was totally inadequate 

 to the importance of his office, and quite insufficient to 

 meet the expenditure his exalted position led him into. 

 His speculations, his venality, the extortions practised 

 on the community by his heartless minions : this is 

 what has surrounded his memory with eternal infamy 

 and made is name a by- word for scorn. 



There existed, at Quebec, a ring composed of the 

 Intendant's secretary, Deschenaux ; of the Commissary 

 General of Supplies, Cadet; of the Town-Major, Hugues 

 Pean ; of the Treasurer-General, Imbert. Pean was the 

 Chief and Bigot the Great Chief of this nefarious asso- 

 ciation. Between Bigot and Pean, another link existed. 

 Pean's favor at Court lay in the charms of his wife. 

 Madame Pean, n6e, Angelique De Meloises, was young, 

 pretty, witty and fetching ; a fluent and agreeable 

 speaker, in fact so captivating that Francois Bigot was 

 entirely ruled by her during all his stay at Quebec. At 



(1) Montcalm, de Vaudreuil, de Longueuil, de Bougain 

 ville, LaCorne, de Beaujeu, Tache, de Lery, de St. Ours and 

 others constituted this party of honorable men. 



