change of Quebec: there were promulgated, by the brazen
lungs of the city crier, royal proclamations of the Governor, edicts
of the Intendant, orders of the Court of Justice, vendues public and
private,--in short, the life and stir of the city of Quebec seemed to
flow about the door of St. Marie as the blood through the heart of a
healthy man.

A few old trees, relics of the primeval forest, had been left for shade
and ornament in the great Market Place. A little rivulet of clear water
ran sparkling down the slope of the square, where every day the shadow
of the cross of the tall steeple lay over it like a benediction.

A couple of young men, fashionably dressed, loitered this afternoon near
the great door of the Convent in the narrow Street that runs into the
great square of the market. They walked about with short, impatient
turns, occasionally glancing at the clock of the Recollets, visible
through the tall elms that bounded the garden of the Gray Friars.
Presently the door of the Convent opened. Half a dozen gaily-attired
young ladies, internes or pupils of the Convent, sallied out. They had
exchanged their conventual dress for their usual outside attire, and got
leave to go out into the world on some errand, real or pretended, for
one hour and no more.

They tripped lightly down the broad steps, and were instantly joined
by the young men who had been waiting for them. After a hasty, merry
hand-shaking, the whole party proceeded in great glee towards the Market
Place, where the shops of the mercers and confectioners offered the
attractions they sought. They went on purchasing bonbons and ribbons
from one shop to another until they reached the Cathedral, when a common
impulse seized them to see who was there. They flew up the steps and
disappeared in the church.

In the midst of their devotions, as they knelt upon the floor, the
sharp eyes of the young ladies were caught by gesticulations of the
well-gloved hand of the Chevalier des Meloises, as he saluted them
across the aisle.

The hurried recitation of an Ave or two had quite satisfied the
devotion of the Chevalier, and he looked round the church with an air of
condescension, criticizing the music and peering into the faces of such
of the ladies as looked up, and many did so, to return his scrutiny.

The young ladies encountered him in the aisle as they left the church
before the service was finished. It had long since been finished for
him, and was finishe