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Marie Gourdon:

A ROMANCE OF THE LOWER ST. LAWRENCE.

BY MAUD OGILVY.

Montreal:
PUBLISHED BY JOHN LOVELL & SON.
1890

TO MY FRIEND
Lady Helen Munro-Ferguson of Raith,
THIS LITTLE STORY IS DEDICATED
IN REMEMBRANCE OF
Many happy days spent on the banks of the Lower St. Lawrence.

INTRODUCTION

This little story is founded on an episode in Canadian history whichI found an interesting study, namely, the disbanding of a regiment ofScottish soldiers in the neighborhood of Rimouski and the districtabout Father Point. Many of these stalwart sons of old Scotia who werethus left adrift strangers in a strange land accepted the situationphilosophically, intermarried amongst the French families already inthat part of the country, and settled down as farmers in a small way.A visit to that part of the country will show what their industry haseffected.

Before having been in the district, I had always thought that the coastsof Lower St. Lawrence were almost incapable of any degree of cultivation,and practically of no agricultural value; but when at Father Point, somethree summers ago, I was delighted to see all along the sandy road-sideslong ridges of ploughed land, with potatoes, cabbages and beans growingin abundance. Back of these ridges, extending for many miles, are largetracts of most luxuriant pasture land on which browse cattle in veryexcellent condition.

The manners of the people of this district, who, "far from the maddingcrowd's ignoble strife," live in Utopian simplicity, are most gentle andcourteous, and would put to shame those of the dwellers of many a morecivilized spot.

It is very curious to trace the Scottish names of these people, handeddown as they have been from generation to generation, though theirpronunciation is much altered, and in most instances given a French turn,as, for example, Gourdon for Gordon, Noël for Nowell, and many others.However, in a few cases the names are such as even the most ingeniousFrench tongue finds impossible to alter, and they remain in theiroriginal form, for example, Burns, Fraser and McAllister. It is strangeto hear these names spoken by people who know no language but the French,and I was much struck by the incongruity.

M. O.

Montreal, June, 1890.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I.—
"Wae's me for Prince Chairlie"

CHAPTER II.—
"Oh! Canada! mon pays, terre adorée,
Sol si cher à mes amours."

CHAPTER III.—
"Il y a longtemps que je t'aime,
Jamais je ne t'oublierai."