On The Fine,
Frosty, Moonlight Nights, When The Sleigh-Bells Ring Merrily And The Crisp
Snow Crackles Under The Horse's
Feet, the gentlemen call to take their
"muffins" to meetings of the sleighing-clubs, or to snow-shoe picnics, or
To champagne-suppers on the ice, from which they do not return till two in
the morning; yet, with all this apparent freedom of manner, the Canadian
ladies are perfectly modest, feminine, and ladylike; their simplicity of
manners is great, and probably there is no country in the world where
there is a larger amount of domestic felicity.
The beauty of the young ladies of Canada is celebrated, and, though on
going into a large party one may not see more than two or three who are
strikingly or regularly beautiful, the tout ensemble is most attractive;
the eyes are invariably large and lustrous, dark and pensive, or blue and
sparkling with vivacity. Their manners and movements are unaffected and
elegant; they dress in exquisite taste; and with a grace peculiarly their
own, their manners have a fascination and witchery which is perfectly
irresistible. They generally receive their education at the convents, and
go into society at a very early age, very frequently before they have seen
sixteen summers, and after this time the whirl of amusement precludes them
from giving much time to literary employments. They are by no means deeply
read, and few of them play anything more than modern dance music. They
dance beautifully, and so great is their passion for this amusement,
probably derived from their French ancestors, that married ladies
frequently attend the same dancing classes with their children, in order
to keep themselves in constant practice.
At the time of my visit to Quebec there were large parties every night,
most of which were honoured with the presence of Lord Elgin and his suite.
One of his aides-de-camp was Lord Bury, Lord Albemarle's son, who, on a
tour through North America, became enamoured of Quebec. Lord Elgin's
secretary was Mr. Oliphant, the talented author of the 'Russian Shores of
the Black Sea,' who had also yielded to the fascinations of this northern
capital. And no wonder! for there is not a friendlier place in the whole
world. I went armed with but two letters of introduction, and received
hospitality and kindness for which I can never be sufficiently grateful.
The cholera, which in America assumes nearly the fatality and rapidity of
the plague, had during the summer ravaged Quebec. It had entered and
desolated happy homes, and, not confining itself to the abodes of the poor
and miserable, had attacked the rich, the gifted, and the beautiful. For
long the Destroying Angel hovered over the devoted city - neither age nor
infancy was spared, and numbers were daily hurried from the vigour of
living manhood into the silence and oblivion of the grave. Vigorous
people, walking along the streets, were suddenly seized with shiverings
and cramp, and sank down on the pavement to rise no more, sometimes
actually expiring on the cold, hard stones.
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