through the dim old woods, I determined to descend from the ridge of
Beauport, and proceed over the snow-covered surface of the bay, in a
bird's-eye line, to our point of destination. Winding down the almost
perpendicular declivity, sometimes sliding down on our snow-shoes, with
the _tobaugan_ running before us, "on its own hook," at a fearful pace,
and sometimes obliged to descend, hand under hand, by the tangled roots
and shrubs, we soon found ourselves on the great white winter-prairie of
the grand St. Lawrence, upon which I strode forward with renewed energy,
steering my course, like the primitive steeple-chasers of my boyhood's
home, upon the highest church-tower looming up from the heterogeneous
huddle of motley houses that just showed their gable-tops over the low
ring of mist which mingled with the smoke of the Lower Town.

After a progress of about five miles, I found I had very materially
widened the distance between myself and Zach, who, encumbered by the
baggage, and by the spring snow which each moment accumulated in wet heavy
cakes upon his snow-shoes, was now a good mile in my rear. This I was
surprised at, as he generally outwalked me, even when carrying on his back
a heavy load, with perhaps a canoe on his head, cocked-hat fashion, as he
was often obliged to do in our fishing-excursions to the northern lakes.
It now occurred to me, however, that I had incautiously left the brandy-
flask in his charge, and when he came up with me I gathered from his fishy
eye, and the thick dribblings of his macaronic gibberish,--which was
compounded of sundry Indian dialects and French-Canadian _patois_,
coarsely ground up with bits of broken English,--that the modern Circe,
who changes men into beasts, had wrought her spells upon him; a
circumstance at which I was terribly annoyed, as foreboding an ignominious
entry into the city by back-lane and sally-port, instead of my long-
anticipated triumphal progress up St. Louis Street, bearded in splendor,
bristling with knife and rifle, and followed by my wild Indian _coureur-