Our Little Quebec CousinSaxe, Mary S. (Mary Sollace)
General
Our Little Quebec Cousin
Saxe, Mary S. (Mary Sollace)
Children -- Québec (Province) -- Juvenile literature
One beautiful June morning, Miss Anstruther, the governess for the
Dudley children, decided that she would like to take her pupils on a
sight-seeing tour about the city of Montreal, so that their study of
local history might become something more than dry facts and dates to
be memorized.
When they boarded the "around the mountain" car, they were delighted
to find Oisette Mary sitting beside her mother in one of the front
seats. Her hair was braided extra tight and her cheeks shone with soap;
otherwise she was her placid little self.
The Dudley children were in high spirits and they raced through the car
to get seats near their chum. "We are to study with our eyes and ears
to-day and not from books. Can't you come along with us?"
Finally Madame Tremblent was appealed to. She was on her way for a
morning's shopping and she always went to The Bon Marche, kept by The
Dupuis Freres, where all the clerks were French, and all the signs read
in that language; she was armed with a long list of necessities for her
growing family, and as Oisette was sadly in need of a hat she had been
commanded to escort her parent thither.
When they reached the Mount Royal station, where every one must
transfer east or west, Miss Anstruther, gathering from the look of
appeal in the little French girl's eyes that she really would like to
join the sight-seers, said to the mother, in her soft French accent,
"If Madame would trust her little girl to me, I would select the hat
at Goodwears Departmental, as we have a message there to change some
boots for George; and I recently purchased these sailor hats the
children are now wearing in their millinery department. She could wear
the new hat home and I would have the heavy one sent out on the noon
delivery." Oisette was wearing a purple felt hat adorned with a green
bow and the day was warm.
Now, Madame Tremblent had herself longed to shop just once in the
English part of the city, but the thought of going alone, lest she
should not find persons who talked French, had prevented her from doing
so. It came to her that if she let Oisette go just once in such good
company, why, in a week or so the child could be her mother's guide
and she would see for herself all the wonderful things she had heard
her neighbors discuss as they walked home from mass each Sunday. So
she drew from her petticoat pocket a huge wallet and thrusting a bill
in Miss Anstruther's hand burst into a volley of French directed to
her offspring to be attentive, to take care and not to be too late in
returning home. Just then the tram for the east end appeared around the
curve, and Madame was gone before the surprised governess could make
any reply. The children tried to say it all over again--"Soyez exact
chez moi," "Prenez garde and bon jour."
"Prenez garde means safety first," explained Miss Anstruther, "so I beg
you all to keep with me, for Madame's advice was good, and here comes
our car for the west end."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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