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her house in St. Louis street, he spent his evenings ; 

 there, he was sought and found in May, 1759, by Col. 

 de Bougainville returning from Paris, the bearer of the 

 despatches, announcing the coming struggle. 



Would you like some of the pen-photographs which 

 a clever French contemporary (1) has left of the corrupt 

 entourage of the magnificent intendant : here are a 

 few : 



" Brassard Deschenaux, the son of a poor cobbler, 

 was born at Quebec. A notary who boarded with 

 Deschenaux, senior, had taught his son to read. Natu- 

 rally quick and intelligent, young Deschenaux made 

 rapid progress and had soon something to do in the 

 office of Intendant Hocquart where Bigot found him 

 and succeeded in having him appointed clerk in the 

 Colonial Office at Quebec. Industrious, but at heart a 

 sycophant, by dint of cringing he won the good graces 

 of Bigot, who soon put unlimited trust in him, to that 

 degree as to do nothing without Deschenaux's aid; but 

 Deschenaux was vain, ambitious, haughty and over- 

 bearing and of such inordinate greed, that he was in 

 the habit of boasting ' that to get rich, he would even 

 rob a church.' 



" Cadet was the son of- a butcher; in his youth he 

 was employed to mind the cattle of a Charlesbourg 

 peasant ; he next set up as a butcher and made money. 

 His savings, he invested into trade ; his intriguing 

 spirit brought him to the notice of the Intendant 

 Hocquart, who gave him contracts to supply meat for 

 the army. Deschenaux soon discovered that Cadet 

 could be useful to him ; he made him his friend and 

 lost no opportunity to recommend him to the Intendant. 

 He was accordingly often employed to buy the supplies 

 for the subsistance of the troops. In verity, there were 

 few men more active, more industrious, more competent 



(1) Memoires sur les affaires du Canada, 1749-60. 



