4 travels through lower Canada : 
any place detained much beyond the quarter 
of an hour prescribed, notwithstanding; that 
the people had frequently to send for their 
horses, more than a mile, to the fields where 
they were employed. When the horses hap¬ 
pened to be at a distance, they were always 
brought home in a full gallop, in order to 
avoid complaints; they were yoked in an in¬ 
stant, and the driver set off at the rate of nine 
or ten miles an hour; a little money, indeed, 
generally induces them to exceed the establish¬ 
ed rate; this, however, does not always an¬ 
swer, but play upon their vanity and you may 
make them go on at what rate you please, for 
they are the vainest people, perhaps, in the 
world. Commend their great dexterity in 
driving, and the excellence of the Canadian 
horses, and it seldom fails to quicken your 
pace at least two or three miles an hour; but 
if you wish to go in a gallop, you need only 
observe to your companion, so as to be over¬ 
heard by the driver, the Canadian calashes 
are the vilest carriages on earth, and so heavy 
that you believe the people are afraid the 
horses would fall down and break their necks 
if they attempted to make them go as fast as 
in other countries; above all, praise the car¬ 
riages and drivers of the United States. A few 
remarks of this sort at once discompose the 
