There is something very cheering about the interior of a French Canadian domicile. First of all, there is usually much clean paint, either yellow paint like the clearest sunlight or bright blue paint like a summer sky. Then the window panes sparkle with cleanness, and the window-sills are filled with flowering geraniums and fuchsias, the latter plant being a great favorite in the French Canadian home. These flowers are usually growing in tin cans, but the tin is always very bright and shining. Then the wall papers are never dull or dark in color. Often they are either designs of bright flowers or gold stars. The pictures on the walls are always of interest. First and foremost there is always a picture of the Pope. Then a picture of the Christ, and very often indeed one finds a picture of Madame Albani in all her diamonds and tiara as she appeared when she sung for Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. Albani, indeed, was a little Quebec cousin who became world famous. She was born at Chambly, near Montreal, in 1852, within sound of the roaring rapids of the River Richelieu, and in sight of the old historical fort. She was the oldest daughter of one Joseph Lajeunesse, who was a musician of sorts, playing the piano, the fiddle, the harp and the organ. Indeed, he played the church organ at Chambly for many years, and he taught singing in the Sacred Heart Convent at Back River. When little Emma Lajeunesse was twelve years of age, the family moved to Albany, New York, and she went to a convent school there, where her voice was discovered when she sang in the cathedral. It was the citizens of that city who made up a purse and sent her over to Italy to study music. And so out of gratitude she called herself Madame Albani. But when she became famous she returned to Montreal many, many times on concert tours, and was much loved by her own people there, who secured her picture to ornament their homes, and always speak of her as "The lady who sings better than the birds." Dr. Drummond, who lived in the Province of Quebec, once wrote some delightful verses in the broken English of the _Habitant_ farmer, which lines describe hearing Madame Albani sing: "Dat song I will never forget me, 'Twas song of de leetle bird, When he's fly from its nes' on de tree top, 'Fore rest of de worl' get stirred. Madame she was tole us about it, den start off so quiet an' low, And sing lak de bird on de morning, de poor little small oiseau." Then the last stanza goes like this-- "We're not de beeg place on our canton, mebbe cole on de winter too, But de heart's 'Canayen' on our body an' dat's warm enough for true! An w'en All-ba-nee was got lonesome for travel all roun' de worl' I hope she'll come home lak de bluebird an' again be de Chambly girl!" That, you see, is why the photograph of Madame Albani is given a place of honor in our little Quebec cousin's home.