"The dress of the _Habitants_," says an observer of a much later date than Saint-Simon or Montcalm,[26] "is simple and homely; it consists of a long-skirted cloth or frock, of a dark grey colour, with a hood attached to it, which in winter time or wet weather he puts over his head. His coat is tied round the waist by a worsted sash of various colours, ornamented with beads. His waistcoat and trousers are of the same cloth. A pair of moccasins, or swamp boots, complete the lower part of his dress. His hair is tied in a thick long _queue_ behind, with an eelskin; and on each side of his face a few straight locks hang down like what are vulgarly called 'rat's tails.' Upon his head is a _bonnet rouge_, or in other words, a red night-cap. The _tout ensemble_ of his figure is completed by a short pipe, which he has in his mouth from morning till night. A Dutchman is not a greater smoker than a French Canadian. "The visage of the _Habitant_ is long and thin, his complexion sunburnt and swarthy, and not unfrequently of a darker hue than that of the Indian. His eyes, though rather small, are dark and lively; his nose prominent, and inclined to the aquiline or Roman form; his cheeks lank and meagre; his lips small and thin; his chin sharp and projecting." [Footnote 26: Lambert, _Travels_, vol i. p. 158.] In winter, rich and poor alike were wrapped in homespun blanket _paletots_, whose vivid colours made a charming picture, as the wayfarers trudged over the deep white snow-fields on their buoyant snow-shoes, or coasted through the clear and bracing air on swift toboggans. In the evening they flocked to a chosen _rendezvous_, where a home-bred violinist tuned them through gay quadrilles; and anon the lonely violin would be drowned in the lusty voices of the dancers, who suited a folk-song to their steps-- "Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre, Mironton, mironton, mirontaine; Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre, Ne sait quand reviendra. Il reviendra z-à Pâques Ou à la Trinité. La Trinité se passe, Malbrouck ne revient pas."