You come to see us and we come to see you." And he
responded graciously, but I heard after
That he was a French-Canadian
and R. C., and they are not fond of England, but cling very much to
French ways and customs and are entirely in the hands of their priests.
They are a quiet, moral people, marry very young and have very large
families. It is quite common to hare ten children, and they live at what
we should call a starvation rate; yet they will not go to service,
contribute hardly anything to the revenue, and so the English, who are
the only active and money-making section of the population, are heavily
taxed; of course _I_ speak of the poor and working classes. The
province of Quebec is, therefore, not a favourite one with enterprising
spirits from our shores or from other parts of Canada.
After these visitors were gone, Mr. Price drove me and E - -, and the
rest walked, to the "Natural Steps." It was a beautiful spot, the clear
torrent of the river Montmerenci falling in cascades over a curious
formation of layers of stone and steps on either side, with the bright
green _arbor vitae_, which they call cedar, growing above and in
every niche it can find a bit of soil; wild raspberries and strawberries
too, which, alas, were over. We met several of our fellow-passengers,
and we greet one another like long-lost friends.
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