These, It Will Be Remembered, Had Remained Unsold,
But Among The Sold There Must Have Been Copies Of The Same.
"It is, according to our notions of to-day, a meagre collection, but,
no doubt, many families possessed good libraries, brought with them
from over the sea, and the bookseller may not have kept a large stock
at one time.
It was the custom for merchants to sell off all their
overlying goods before they went or sent to Europe for a
reinforcement.
"The following books were advertised as 'missing:' - Langhorn's
Plutarch, 1st vol., Thomson's Works, 4th vol., Gordon's 'Universal
Accountant,' 1st vol.; and Gray's Hudibras, 2nd vol. For each one of
them there is offered a reward of two dollars! Reading was expensive
recreation in those times.
"The reader, perhaps, has seen, or, it may be, possesses one of those
old libraries, of which the general public occasionally have a glimpse
at auction rooms, composed of standard authors, and beautifully and
solidly bound, which had adorned the studies of the fathers of our
country. They contain all that was best in the French and English
literature of the last century - history, poetry, divinity, belles
lettres, science and art. From these may be gathered what were the
tastes, the culture and the thought of the Canadians of the last
century.
"Music and painting were cultivated - the former being, as now, a
necessary part of female education. Of a festival given by the young
ladies of a place called La Cote, near Quebec, in 1764, it is
promised in the programme that "the orchestra and symphony will be
composed of instruments of all kinds." It may interest some ladies to
know that among the dances at the same entertainment are mentioned
'l'Harlequinade,' 'La Chinoise,' and 'La Matelote Hollandaise' - some
relation, perhaps, to the 'Sailor's Hornpipe.'
"The settlement in Canada of the United Empire Loyalists, after the
peace of September, 1783, by which the independence of the revolted
colonies was recognized, must have had a considerable influence on
Canadian society, and more than atoned for sufferings inflicted on the
colony during the progress of the war.
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