has moderated with the clearing of the forests and the
cultivation of the soil, in Canada it remains precisely the same as it
was two and three hundred years since. A comparison of the daily
registers kept at present with those diurnally consigned in the
Relations of the Jesuits, shows--as the historian Ferland tells
us--that, day for day and month for month, the indications of the
thermometer in 1876, for instance, tally with those of 1776. At the
present time, in Canada, although the cold really begins to be felt in
the beginning of November, the winter is not regarded as having finally
set in till the 25th of the month. That is known as St. Catharine's day,
and its peculiar celebration will be described further on, being
connected with one of the episodes of our story. The last month of the
autumn of 1775 may therefore be supposed to have followed the general
rule. Indeed, we know from the records that it was, if any thing, milder
than usual, and that the winter was uncommonly tardy, a vessel having
sailed from Quebec for Europe as late as the 31st December.

As we have said, the weather, on the particular morning on which we
write, was cold but calm. The snow lay crisp and hard upon the level
places; in the hollows and gorges it was piled in light fleecy banks.
The atmosphere was of that quality that, although it had a sting when
first it was faced, so soon as the ears, hands, cheeks, and other
exposed parts got used to it, the whole system felt a pleasureable glow
of buoyancy. It was capital weather to work in, and so a number of
sturdy farmer's wives, residing on the north bank, a little above
Quebec, gathered at the river to do their washing. They had on immense
quilted mob-caps, with large outstanding ears, petticoats of thick blue
or purple woollen, the work of their own hands, heavy stockings to
match, and pattens lined with flannel. A great double handkerchief, of
flowery design, was set upon their broad shoulders, covering their necks
and crossed over their voluminous bosoms; but there was free play left
to the arms, which flushed with rosy color under the influence of work
and weather. A broad board fastened to the bank, jutted out five or six
feet into the water, and was supported there at a proper level by a
solid trestle. A boat was attached to this primitive jetty, and there
was besides a small building of rude timber, which served for the women
to boil their clothes in, or hang them up to dry.

Four w