singing, and much uneasiness on the part of the elders lest we should be too late for a large dinnerparty to which we were engaged for that evening; so we broke up our lively encampment, and drove home.

Over the snowy plain of the river, the bold headland of Quebec stood out magnificently. The metal spires and domes of the town shone in the red light of the setting sun; the sharp, distinct lines of the fortifications on the summit, with the flag of dear Old England over all; and, through her wide dominion, that flag waves over no lovelier land.

The hour of dinner, and the arrangements of the table, are the same as in England. Some of the official people and the wealthy merchants, entertain very handsomely; the cuisine and wines are good, and the markets supply a fair extent of luxuries. Formal dinners are seldom graced by the presence of the younger ladies; they generally defer their appearance till tea-time, in the drawingroom; where, joined by a few of the dancing gentlemen and some young officers, they get up a quadrille or a waltz; music is not much cultivated, except as an assistant to the dancing. The French Canadians are very fond of cards; round games

are often introduced at their evening parties, and some even of the younger ladies can play a capital rubber of whist. Small plays, as in England, are also frequently introduced, to vary the

amusements.

The young people often form large parties for snow-shoeing excursions; they walk eight or ten miles without fatigue, and the awkwardness and tumbles of those not accustomed to the exercise are a constant source of mirth. A man's snow shoe is about a yard long, by a little more than a foot wide in the centre; to the front, rather of an oval shape, behind, narrowing to a point. The frame is a thin piece of ash, bent into this shape, and strung with light strips of moose-skin, in the manner of a racquet or battledoor, but of so close a net, that when pressed upon the softest snow it sinks but little into the surface. The foot is covered with a slipper or moccasin of moose leather, attached by the point to the snow shoe with straps of the same material, leaving the heel free to rise or fall with the motion of walking. The exercise is fatiguing to those who are not accustomed to it, but the elastic spring of the snow shoe lifts you along at a more rapid pace than the usual one of walking. The ladies' snow shoes are made much

lighter and smaller than those for men, and usually gaily ornamented with tassels of coloured worsted. Their moccasins are made to fit very smartly, and are decked with elaborate embroidery of stained moose-hair and beads, the handy-work of the Indian squaws.

The party takes a straight line across country, up and down hill, through bush and brake, stepping, without effort, over the tops of tall fences scarcely seen above the deep drifts. Many of the ladies walk with great ease and more grace than would be thought possible with such appendages, their light weight scarcely making an impression on the smooth surface of the snow; they slide gallantly down the steep hills, and run nimbly up them again, often faster than their unpractised cavaliers can follow them.

Some years ago, three English ladies, with their husbands, officers of the garrison, walked off into the "bush" on snow shoes, made a caban in the snow, encamped, passed two nights in complete Indian style, and were highly delighted with their excursion. A worthy, matter-of-fact old gentleman, who lived near the place where they encamped, was greatly distressed afterwards to hear of the hardships they had gone through, and hastened to

tell them that, had he known that they were there, he could have given them all beds in his house.

When the ice 'takes' on the St. Lawrence, opposite to Quebec, forming a bridge across, there is always a grand jubilee; thousands of people are seen sleighing, sliding, and skating about in all directions. This bridge forms about once in five years, generally two years in succession, not necessarily in the severest winters, but if at low or high tide the weather be very calm and the frost intense for that brief period, it takes across in glare ice, and usually remains solid till the beginning of May. Ice-boats come into play on these occasions: the boats are fixed on a triangular frame, with runners, like those of skates, at each corner; they are propelled by sails, sometimes at the rate of twenty miles an hour; they can sail very close on a wind, and tack with great facility; a pole, with a spike at the end, being made to act as a rudder.

The canoe-men employed during the winter at the ferry, use their utmost endeavours to break up the ice when there is an appearance of its forming a bridge, as by it they are deprived of their occupation. In common winters, the river is full of huge fields of floating ice in the main channel, carried

rapidly backwards and forwards with the ebb and flow of the tide; sometimes these are hundreds of acres in extent, and strong enough to support a city, crashing against each other, as they move, with a roar like thunder. Crossing the river at this time appears very perilous, but is rarely or never attended with danger; the passenger, wrapped up in buffalo robes, lies down in one end of a long canoe, formed of a solid piece of timber, worked with broad paddles by five or six men; they push boldly out into the stream, twisting and turning through the labyrinth of ice till they reach a piece too large to circumnavigate; they run against this, jump out on it, and start along, hauling the canoe after them over the floating bridge; when it is passed, the canoe is launched again, and so on till they reach the opposite shore. They are occasionally carried a long distance up or down the river with the tide, when the ice-fields are very numerous, and are two or three hours in crossing.

From the great dryness of the climate, very little inconvenience is felt from any degree of cold when unaccompanied with wind; but this-which, however, very rarely happens, is almost intolerable. One Sunday during this winter, when the