e panorama of land and water. The spire of the
stone church rises generally from the midst of the houses, and the
priest's residence or presbytere is always the most comfortable in size
and appearance. The houses are for the most part built of wood. The
roofs are frequently curved, with projecting eaves, which afford a sort
of verandah under which the family sit in summer evenings. Some of the
most pretentious structures, especially the inns, have balconies
running directly across the upper story. Many of the barns and
outhouses have thatched roofs, which are never seen in any other part
of Canada. The interiors are very plainly furnished, in many cases
with chairs and tables of native manufacture. A high iron stove is the
most important feature of every dwelling in a country where the cold of
winter is so extreme. Whitewash is freely used inside and outside, and
there is on the whole an air of cleanliness and comfort in the humblest
cottage.

The loom is still kept busy in some villages, and a coarse, warm
homespun is even yet made for everyday use. The _habitant_ also wears
in winter moccasins and a _tuque bleue_, or woollen cap, in which he is
always depicted by the painter of Canadian scenes. But with the growth
of towns and the development of the railway system a steady change is
occurring year by year in the dress of the inhabitants, and it is only
in the very remote settlements that we can find the homely stuffs of
former times. Old dresses {444} and old customs are gradually
disappearing with the old-fashioned caleche, in which tourists once
struggled to admire French Canadian scenes. As a rule, however, the
people live very economically, and extravagance in dress is rather the
exception. On gala days the young wear many ribbons and colours,
though arranged with little of the taste characteristic of the French
people. Both old and young are very sociable in their habits, and love
music and dancing. The violin is constantly played in the smallest
village, and the young people dance old-fashioned cotillons or _danses
rondos_. The priests, however, do not encourage reckless gaieties or
extravagance in dress. Now and then the bishop issues a Pastoral in
which the waltz and other fast dances, and certain fashionable modes of
dress, are expressly forbidden, and though his mandates are no doubt
soon forgotten in the cities and towns, they are, on the whole,
religiously observed in the rural communities