CHAPTER VII

A FRENCH CANADIAN VILLAGE

Life at Murray Bay after Captain Nairne's death.--Letters from Europe.--Death of Malcolm Fraser.--Death of Colonel Nairne's widow and children.--His grandson John Nairne, seigneur.--Village Life.--The Church's Influence.--The Habitant's tenacity.--His cottage.--His labours.--His amusements.--The Church's missionary work in the Village.--The powers of the bishop.--His visitations.--The organization of the Parish.--The powers of the _fabrique_.--Lay control of Church finance.--The curés' tithe.--The best intellects enter the Church.--A native Canadian clergy.--The curé's social life.--The Church and Temperance Reform.--The diligence of the curés.--The habitant's taste for the supernatural.--The belief in goblins.--Prayer in the family.--The habitant as voter.--The office of Churchwarden.--The Church's influence in elections.--The seigneur's position.--The habitant's obligations to him.--Rent day and New Year's Day.--The seigneur's social rank.--The growth of discontent in the villages.--The evils of Seigniorial Tenure.--Agitation against the system.--Its abolition in 1854.--The last of the Nairnes.--The Nairne tomb in Quebec. 168