The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-23 00:00:00

LITERATURE.
7'BE PROGRESS OE .A.J:ER ICA,
DISCOVERY BY COL CI-11"J Tj
YEAR 1846. By John Macgregor.
The present M.P. for Glasgow and the late Secre-
tary of the Board of Trade, has undertaken, and has
performed,:and performed too in a manner thAt leaves
nothing to be desired, the Threulean labour of
tracing the progress Europeans in America, from
the discovery of that hemisphere by Columbus in
1492, down to the present time. The application and
labour necessary to produce such a work must have
been, as Mr. Macgregor himself states, " long and
severe ;" but he has the satisfaction of knowing that
!3e has executed a work which embraces more sub-
jects than any other work of the same description
extant, a work, the accuracy of which is unimpeach-
able, and which must henceforth be the manual of
the philosopher, the historian, the merchant, the na-
vigator and the statesman. Mr. Macgregor will be
hailed by future generations of the Anglo-American
race as the father of their history. The first book
gives us the history of the discovery of America by
Columbus., of the conquest of Mexico and Peru, and the
settlement of those countries by the Spaniards, and
of the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese,
Dutch, and French. In the account of the French
discoveries Mr. Macgregor gives us an interesting
description of the French Canadians, and to those
Who have for'years past indulged in misrepresenting
the sentiments of some of the most loyal subjects of
the British crown, we would commend the following
account of the manners and customs of this simple
and virtuous race :

(}6l Ti

" There is not, probably, in the world a more happy
people than the habitans or peasantry of Lower Canada.
They are, with few exceptions, in easy circumstances;
and in all the villages the church forms the point around
Which the inhabitants, born in the parish, delight to
live; and in no dwelling further from it than they can
hear the ringing of its bell, can any of them feel happy.
They are not anxious to become rich, but they possess
the necessary comforts, and many of the luxries of life.
" They are frugal, but not enterprising, and will sel-
dom buy what they can make themselves. Their lands
yield them grain and vegetables, and food for their
horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry, as well as hemp
flax, and tobacco.
" They make coarse linen and woollen cloths, straw
hats, worsted bonnets or caps, soap, candles, sugar,* and
implements of husbandry. What they manufacture is
seldom for sale, but for consumption. They have, in
fact, every article of real utility—every necessary re-
source within themselves, no penury, no uneasiness, no
distress is visible. Their mode of agriculture is clumsy
and tardy; yet the soil, with the most negligent culture,
Yields abundance for domestic consumption, and some-
thing over seignorial dues and the tithes, to sell, for the
Purchase of articles of convenience and luxury. Their
farms are generally small, and often subdivided among
a family. The agricultural societies may gradually im-
prove husbandry among the habitans; but hitherto
neither example,
,nor the prospect of interest, has been
sufficient to induce many to adopt the more approved
nodes of husbandry, or any of the methods of shorten-
ing labour, discovered during the last or present century.
They have gardens attached to their houses, but the
tettess and order which lend such charms to every
English cottage is not to be found in the Canadian
Parishes. The women generally do all the garden work,
and, like of those of Normandy and Picardy, greatly
assist in field labour. The cecupatious of the Canadians
are neither severe nor incessant; us moderate industry
secures all necessaries. They, however, plough a great
Portion of their lands in autumn, and there is little
doubt but they wi:l gradually change their mode of cul-
ture. 'We discover a:nctig the Canadians the customs
and manners that prevailed among the peasantry of
France during the age of Louis XIV.; and to this day
the
most rigid adherence to national customs is main-
seatced among them. Centented to tread the path beaten
Lee their forefatheis, they, in the same manner, till the
ground; commit, in the like way, the same kind of seeds
,to the earth; and in a similar mode do they gather their
harvest, feed their cattle, and prepare and cook their
svituals. They rise, eat, and sleep at the same hours;
ex
under the instruction of their pastors, and the
Trample of their elders, observe the same spirit in their
devotions, with as ample a portion of all the forms of
the '
Catholic religion, as their ancestors.
They are fond of soups, which are seldom, even in
Le They
of meagre quality. Bread, butter, cheese, with
ees, tea, poultry, fish, and flesh, constitute nearly all
e other artieles'of their food. They have their jours
Ins, or feasting days, before and after Lent, on which
."5Y gormandise vast quantities of animal food, and
-e
lgein drinking; but on other occasions they are
ciP erate.
The amusements of former times are also common
deieng them, espcially at their weddings, feasts. and
entirely
Even the noisy, tumultuous charivarie is not
-14releforgotten.
They delight in driving 'about in caleches and ea-
el°les• To the harness of their horses they hang nume-
Alle bells. and on passing each other always, as in
once, take the contrary side of the road to that which
are accustomed to in England. Dancing, fiddling,
Ottlidesieging, are among their amusements after vespers
ounday, considering it no sin but a harmless recrea-
-I°C, never attended with dissipatiun or vice. Sunday
ee indeed, the happiest day in a Canadian's week. The
p4rish churcli collects all acquaintances. The young
in d old, men and women, drive thither in their caleches
tb
tueetner, and in their well-furred carioles in winter;
re !hey meet for devotion. pesure and love Even
en their little matters of business they, consider. it inno-
cent to converse after dinner.
" Sunday is, therefore, truly a day of happiness in a
TVadian parish. Their devotion is to them a pleasure.
wheer habigan is sincerely pious; and let him be taken
e he may, if deprived of joining in the observances
I,Celigion, he is unhappy, superstitious, and fearful.
1a,15 ,Powerful feeling prevents him from going forth,
e tee American with his family to settle, apart from
ell ethers, in the Wilds.
tPolitenes.s seems natural to the Canadians. Habit,
untation, and temperament have made them a courteous
People; and the first thing a child learns is to say his
nalors, to speak decorously and respectfully to every-
ee-e,Y, and to bow or courtesy to its elders and to all
eengers. The habitans never meet one another with-
Cat putting a hand to the hat or bonnet, or moving the
/fen and women are civil to all, not for mere
thesuy
aoe appearence, but from a sense of propriety; and
fere 'whet; treat their superiors and parents with de-
h eace• Parents and children live frequently in one
rooollsee to the third generation. They are exceedingly
posits!itthe women from the natural delicacy and dis-
on of their sex, the men from custom and a full
6ense of decency ; the latter, in the country parishes,
tinehiveeer bathe in the rivers, nor even in the most private
well s, without being partially covered. The men are
te proportioned, about, but something smaller, than
seloex middle size, and very rarely corpulent. From ex-
! ure to the climate their complexions are dark; the
sun
(sees, and
and the snow in winter, bronze their
.;s, and the general use of close iron stoves may also
eaucteet their colour. The features of their faces are cha•
The nose is usually prominent, and often
liqulitio; the eyes clerk, rather small, and remarkably
et!elY; the lips thin, chin sharp and projecting, and the
'leeks inclining to lankness.
wi;_litany of the girls are pretty oval-faced brunettes,
eneof e eyes, good teeth, and glossy locks. They
ee affectionate wives and tender mothers. Their
feelingsare are keen and their attachments ardent. They
ee, generally more intelligent than the men; and a
eeeettan rarely enters upon matters of any importance
L'Without saving, J'en parleria ma feral-nee and on
_usulting Isis wife, but not before, will he conclude a
.4rgain. On entering the house of a Canadian, his. wife
seems to anticipate our very wishes. If they have not
en. the time what we want, the landlady regrets it with
wall such good grace that we cannot fail to be delighted
with what she gives us.
" The habitans marry young; sometimes twenty
couple are joined in wedlock at one time in the same
church. They hate being alone. The world is nothing
to them unless a number of families have the opportu-
nity of assembling together. How very different from
the Americans, among whom a man and his wife will
leave a populous settlement, in which they were born,
and all their friends and relations without apparent re-
gret, and plant themselves, regardless of all the human
race, amidst the solitary gloom of the darkest forest!
" A dance and feast always attends a wedding. The
Canadian dances with all his heart; and eats with all his
vigour. On the day of a marriage, several ca!tclies, or,
if in winter, carioles, filled with friends and acquaint-
ances, form a cortege of imposing appearance. On these
occasions, the gayest colours, the best dresses, the most
spirited horses, and most fanciful caleches, or carioles,
are brought into full display, and often continued for
several days.
`"rhe priests, by their admonitions, restrain, to a cer-
tain. degree, and more effectually than sumptuary laws
ever could, the dress of the habitans.
" In winter, the men are clothed in long full skirted
"ak grey coats (capots) buttoned close to the body,
with a hood attached, to draw over the head, and with a
mans-coloured sash, frequently ornamented with beads
round the middle; and in pantaloons, bonnet rouge, or
bonnet Lieu, and moeassins, and never without a pipe in
Bheir mouths. In summer, light short jackets and straw
seltSt are worn in lace of the lone- coats and bonnet rouge.
'lle dress of the epeimen is old fas'hioned, even when they
rear gowns. Petticoats and short jackets, or bed-gowns,
°rig waists, neat white caps, and, in summer, straw
bonnets form the prevailing dress. In towns, the mo-
dern English or French fashions prevail.
" The Canadian gentry all over the province, con-
'haling chiefly of the descendants of the old noblesse and
ach elltree retain the courteous urbanity of the French
e
of the last century. After the conquest, tho
sileety of the French families of education and respecta-
who remained, was eminently courteous and polite;
;aid they were anxious to secure the good feeling of the
heeailY English settlers, by inviting them to share in_the
_esPitality, pleasures, and amusements of their houses
Vof thoir society. (' Une societe dans laquelle reg.-
bait, On6ralement tine politesse et une brillante ur-
-41111&') Canadian families of education speak French
T_.Bcorrectly as it is spoken in Paris. Many of them,
so, converse fluently. in English; and although their
ui position has been and is, kind, and their manners
agreeable their society has not been sufficiently appre-
ciated by 'the English,
7tt_
.ee The cultivation of the soil, building their houses,
!cling to their live stock, providing fuel, and making
t.o7lements of agriculture, and articles of convenience,
ee.sen the leading Occupation of the rural Canadians.
ping is rather an amusement than a laborious pur-
suit. Spear fishing, with torch light, in calm summer
upcnights'tie, along the shores of the rivers, conveys something
that early striking to the observer. The light canoes
of
thbeesamrotohteht,olnapn
richesiand the spearmen over the surface
waters, follow in stteeession, each
e_
znibi ing %beautiful bright light.