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to do thus? Why!--lack of society, want of current information, the
long and tedious winter, and the labours of spring and of autumn. In
fact, it is "the backwoods," the listlessness of the backwoods, which,
like the opposite extreme, the fatuity and _blase_ life of a great
metropolis, causes men to rush into insane extremes to avoid
reflection. The mind is dulled and blunted.

The following facts, translated from an interesting article in the
"_Melanges Religieux_," a Roman Catholic periodical, published in
Montreal, in the French language, may be relied on, to show how
narrowed the ideas of a man constantly residing in the woods are:--

"There arrived in Montreal, on Wednesday last, a
young man about twenty years of age, who had come
down from Hudson's Bay, without having, during his
long journey, stopped in any town, village, or
civilized settlement; so that he stumbled into
Montreal with as little idea of a town or of
civilization as if he had fallen from the moon, for
he had lived on the northern shores of the bay, and
had but seldom visited the fur-trading
establishments. He had only last spring seen, at
Abbititi, Messieurs Moreau and Durauquet, the Roman
Catholic Missionaries. He was born of Roman
Catholic parents, his father being Scotch, his
mother Irish. But he had never left the woods nor
the life in the wilds, and had never seen a priest
before last spring. How strange must have been the
emotions in the breast of this young man on finding
himself thus suddenly cast into the midst of this
large town, as one would throw a bale of furs! He
expressed his feelings at the time as partaking
more of stupor than of admiration.

"When he had recovered from the confusion of his
ideas consequent upon the novelty of his situation,
he sought the Bishop's residence, according to the
instructions of his father; and at length found
himself more at ease, for, understanding his
singular position, those he there met with assisted
him to collect his scattered thoughts. In answer to
the questions addressed to him (he speaks English,
and can read and write), he replied that he could
not consent to live in such a place; that the noise
dea