prayer, let the weather be ever fo Levere.

The ufual mode of travelling is in these calashes in the front of those which travel poft, a man fits to drive, and who, let your bufinefs be of ever fo great importance, will alight at these croffes, and pay his accustomed homage.

One day, on our march, being fent forward to procure quarters, with our friend Captain Grattan, whofe pleafantry of manners you are well acquainted with, for expedition we went in a poft-calafh. The weather was fo exceffively fevere, that, with the affiftance of fur coverings, we could fcarcely keep ourselves warm. Not above a mile had been beguiled, before we came to one of thefe crofses, when the fellow who drove us ftopped; upon afking him why he did fo, he replied, Ce n'est que pour faire une petite priere; which petite priere he was nearly five minutes in repeating, when he mounted his feat. We complained of being almost perished with cold, when he replied, Alons, allons, je vais me depecher, and after taking two or three whiffs of his pipe, whipped up his horses, and made amends for his ftopping. We.had not gone a mile and a half further, before another crofs made its unwelcome appearance here he must alight, and faire une autre petite priere, which, upon our not consenting to, he begged we would let him just stop, le tems de faire un figne de croix, which he was not long about. We then jogged on again with great chearfulness, as he drove pretty faft; foon after we perceived the village to which we were deftined for quarters, when again he fuddenly stopt, and upon our faying there was no crofs there, he immediately cried out, Mais en voici une la, which, being at fome diftance from the road, we had not observed, requesting us to let him halt but a moment: Il faut que je defcende ici, c'est mon village; we told him he

fhould not, and that he must drive into the village as faft as he could. Upon this he growled inwardly, and complained openly, till he came oppofite to it, where he stopped again: before he could defcend, our friend Grattan laid hold of his long queue, of which I told you they are exceedingly proud, and declared, if he did not immediately drive on, he would inftantly cut it off.-This being afferted with fome degree of warmth, he thought fit to facrifice his religion to his vanity, so just crof fing himfelf, muttered a fhort pray. er, and drove us as fast as he could to the end of our journey, facrant contre the Englifa officers; and I do not doubt, if one could form an idea from his countenance, but he fent us both into purgatory with fuch curfes, that all the maffes which could be offered would not be able to releafe us from it, for having treated his religion and his queue with fo little ceremony.

About half way between Quebec and Montreal, is a town called Trois Rivieres; it takes its name from three rivers, whofe currents join here, and fall into the river St Laurence. Previous to my giving you any defcrip tion of this place, permit me to relate a trifling circumftance that occurred, juft as we entered the town. About half a mile before we came to it, fo fudden and naufeous a fcent affailed our olfactory nerves, as nearly to fuffocate us, which lasted till we arrived at the outskirts.-Upon enquiry, we found it arose from an animal, which the Canadians call the Enfant du Diable, or bete puante; a title which it derives from its ill fcent, occafioned by discharging his urine whenever he is attacked, and which infects the air for a great distance. Laying afide this quality, it is in other refpects a beautiful creature, being about the fize of a cat, with a fine fhining fur, of a dark grey colour, ftreaks of white gliften

hing from the head to the tail, which is bushy, like that of a fox, and turned up as a fquirrel's: this had been purfued by fome dogs which the foldiers had with them, across the road, but when it came near us, its ftench was almost infupportable.

Thefe Enfant du Diable differ from your Enfant du Diable, the London beaux, who have all their prettyisms perhaps, but are eternally exhaling their pefliferous odours, fearful, if they referved them till purfued, they would have no opportunity to *Taint the flying air, and flink in flate."

The country is pleafant, and there are feveral good houfes about the town, but they were greatly damaged by the Americans, upon abandoning it, after their defeat this fummer, when their army was routed, and feveral of their generals, with great numbers of their men, taken prifoners. This place is the winter cantonments of the German troops; who are commanded by General Reidefel; he commands likewife the diftrict between Quebec and Montreal.

This town, by reafon of the three rivers, ufed to be much frequented by the feveral nations of Indians, and was built with a view of encoutaging trade with the northern ones in particular. It had every profpect of being the fecond city in the province, but the fur trade was foon diverted from this market, and carried entirely to Montreal, it being fome leagues nearer to the Indians; and thought we have feveral trading places with them upon the lakes Ontario and Superior, Montreal will always fupport its confequence, as being the nearest and most convenient place for fhipping the furs to England. Trois Rivieres has now loft all its traffic, and is fupported chiefly by the travellers paffing between the two cities. VOL. X. No. 57

X

There are feveral churches, and two convents, the nuns of which are reckoned the most ingenious of any in Canada, in all kinds of fancy ornaments, needle work, and curious toys.

During my stay at Trois Rivieres, there came down from the Illinois; feveral Indians of that nation, with an interpreter, to acquaint us, that they would be down in the fpring, and would take up the hatchet in favour of their good Brother who refided beyond the great waters." Among the groupe, I obferved one who had hanging round his neck the image of the holy Virgin, with our Saviour in her arms, which I thought very fingular, as he was of a nation efteemed extremely ferocious in their manner, and whom the French Miffionaries could not convert; but upon my enquiring of the interpreter if he knew the reafon, he gave me the following account:

In fome skirmish, when the Illinois were at war with the Canadians, this image had fallen into their hands, among it other plunder. Sometime afterwards, as a Millionary, of which the French had great numbers travelling through the interior parts of Canada, to cultivate friendfhip, and establish their religion among the Indians; by chance he met this perfon, and obferving the image, was very much astonished: the manner in which he took notice of it excited the curiofity of the poor favage, to know what it reprefented, when the Miffionary, who no doubt was pleafed to have fuch an oppor tunity of difplaying his religion, told him, that it reprefented the mother of his God, and that the child fhe held in her arms reprefented Coả himfelf, who had made himfelt man for the falvation of the human species; and explaining to him the myftery of our incarnation, affuring him, that in all dangers the Chriftians ad

dreffed

dreffed themfelves to this holy mother, who feldom failed to extricate them. The Indian listened with the utmoft attention to this difcourfe, and went away.

Being out a hunting, foon after this, juft as he had difcharged his piece at a deer, one of the Outagami Indians, whofe nation was at variance with the Illinois, and who was lying in ambush, presented his piece at his head. In this fituation he recollected what had been told him about the mother of God, and invoked her protection. The Outagami endeavoured to discharge his piece, but mifled; he cocked a fecond time, and the fame thing happened five times fucceffively. In the interim the Illinois had loaded his piece, and prefented it to the Outagami, who chofe rather to furrender than be fhot. From that time the Illinois would never ftir from his village without his fafeguard, which he imagines renders him invulnerable. There can remain little doubt but this circumftance was the means of his converfion to Christianity, and the Romish religion: for he has certainly embraced that perfuafion, as I followed him to the great church, where, upon his entrance, after crof fing himself with the holy water, he fell upon his knees, and feemed to worship with as much devotion as the most devout of the Canadians. But to return to my defcription of this place.

The road from Quebec hither is the whole way within fight of the river, being moftly upon its banks, which renders it extremely pleafant to travellers, especially in the fummer, as there is a conftant breeze.

The river from Quebec to Trois Rivieres is very wide, and at that place it forms a very large lake, called St Pierre, where the eye cannot reach across; you can only difcern a large body of water, with feveral iflands, which, with the fmall

veffels failing between them, form a very romantic profpect. The tide comes no farther than this lake, terminating a few leagues beyond Trois Rivieres, when you meet with the river again, where it runs extremely rapid, at the rate of feven or eight miles an hour. At its first appear. ance you can hardly fuppofe it the fame river, for where the tide has effect, it seldom runs more than four miles an hour; it increases in rapidity as you advance to Montreal, and oppofite the city it runs almost ten miles an hour, which renders its navigation extremely difficult, as nothing but a very ftrong and favourable wind, with all the fails full fet, can enable veffels to ftem the current. What with unfavourable winds and light breezes, fhips have been as long in getting up from Trois Rivie res to Montreal, as they were on their paffage from England to Quebec.

The rapidity of the current makes crofling not only difagreeable, but very dangerous, for unless you have a fkilful pilot, the current will carry you a league below where you want to land. And yet it is furprizing, how expert the Canadians are with their wooden canoes; but the Indians far exceed them in working theirs, as their canoes are of a much lighter construction. Both being much ufed in this country, I shaЛ endeavour to defcribe them, that you may be able to form fome idea of what they are.

Thofe which the Canadians ufe, are called wooden ones, being hotlowed out of the red elm, fome of which are fo large as to contain twenty perfons.

Thofe which the Indians ufe, are made of the bark of the birch tree, and diftinguished by the name of birch canoes, the different parts of which they few together with the inner rind of the bark of the tree, and daub them over with a pitch,

or

houses, have felt the effects of this

war.

The city is furrounded by a wall and dry ditch, and at one end there is a citadel. Thefe fortifications were raised many years paft, as a defence against the Indians, and fince the war, great improvements have been made to them; but the city is fo fituated, that no works can be raised to enable it to stand a regular fiege, having many rifing grounds, that command it in more places than

one.

When we gained poffeffion of this province, Montreal was nearly as large as Quebec, but fince that time it has fuffered much by fire; it is greatly to be wondered at, that it has not, one time or other, been totally deftroyed: for in the winter, when the inhabitants go to bed, they make great fires in their ftoves, and leave them burning all night, by which means they are frequently redhot before morning. Imagine how very dangerous they must have been, when their houfes were conftructed of wood; few of thofe are now remaining, except in the outskirts of the city, the greatest part of them being built of stone.

The inhabitants here, as well as thofe of Quebec, having fo many times fuffered by fire, conftruct their buildings in fuch a manner, that they are not only perfectly fecure against that element, but even against houfe-breakers, which being a little fingular, you will have no objection to my defcribing them.

The house confifts of one lofty floor, built with ftone, and the apartments are divided by fuch thick walls, that, fhould a fire happen in one of them, it cannot communicate to any other the top of the house being covered with a strong arch, if the roof which is over it should catch are, it cannot damage the interior part of the house. At Quebec, that city having been fo often befieged,

the inhabitants who are now bu ildə ing at that place make this arch bomb-proof.

Each apartment has a double door, the inner one of wood, and the outer one of iron, which is only fhut when the family retire to reft; the windows have double fhutters of the fame materials, and have not only taken this precaution with the doors that lead out of the house, but added an iron one, which is fixed on the infide.

Thefe doors and shutters are made of plate iron, near half an inch thick, which, perhaps, you will imagine, must give the house a very disagreeable appearance; but it is far otherwife, for being moftly painted green, they afford a pleafing contraft to the whitenefs of the house.

This is the bufy time of the merchants belonging to this place, who are now ufing all poffible expedition in fending home their furs, before the winter fets in. The reafon affigned for deferring it till fo late in the feafon, is on account of the traders, fome of whom are but juft arrived from the upper countries, the merchants generally waiting as long as there is a poffibility of their return, and fometimes fo long in expectation of them, as to lose their markets`entirely.

Thefe traders, in the course of their voyages, are continually encountering hardfhips and difficulties, and their lives are frequently in imminent danger :-nothing can counterbalance the great perils that await them, but the certainty of acquiring an ample fortune in the courfe of three or four voyages.

They fet out in the fpring of the year, in parties of about twenty or thirty perfons, with perhaps eight or ten large birch canoes; they have no fixed courfe to take, but fteer that where it is imagined they can meet with a tribe of Indians; keeping moftly upon the upper lakes, fome