A custom illustrative of the habits of that period, was the visit of relations on New Year's morning. Old and young presented themselves at five o'clock and repaired in a file to Mr. Perrault's bedroom to receive his blessing. He afterwards rose, dressed and made all happy by giving them suitable presents and paying graceful compliments. Later in the day was witnessed a still more interesting scene, when his pupils, of both sexes, and doubtless to their fullest number, arrived at his hospitable mansion to offer him their grateful acknowledgements of his kindness. A table, close by where he sat, in a large arm chair, was covered with piles of "horns of plenty," filled with sweetmeats, and to each he presented one, with a small piece of silver; and these children, who needed more substantial gifts, had but to make their wants known and they were rarely refused. On that day he also made calls immediately after Grand Mass, in the extremity of his politeness carrying his hat under his arm, regardless of the weather, with the _queue_ of his wig blown to and fro by the wind. His arrival, as a matter of coarse, caused a social stir, often recalled with pleasure by many afterwards. _MARCHMONT._ "Oh! give me a home on that bold classic height, Where in sweet contemplation in age's dark night, I may tread o'er the plain where as histories tell Britain's stout-hearted Wolfe in his victory fell." Adjoining the expanse of table land, now known as the Plains of Abraham, and divided from it to the east by a high fence, lies with a southern exposure a level and well-cultivated farm--Marchmont-- tastefully laid out some sixty summers ago by Sir John Harvey, next occupied for several years by Sir Thomas Noel Hill, subsequently owned by Hon. John Stewart, and for more than twenty years the residence of John Gilmour, Esquire, of the well-known Glasgow house of Pollock, Gilmour & Co. [223] To the west, Marchmont farm is bounded by Wolfesfield; to the south by the river heights, having a valuable timber cove (Wolfe's cove) attached to it. The dwelling, a cheerful and sunny residence, decks a sloping lawn, not far from the high bank, embedded as it were in a clump of fir, ash, maple and pine trees, which conceal it from St. Lewis road, and afford, on the opposite side, a variety of charming glimpses of our noble estuary, the main artery of western commerce. A spacious and richly-stocked conservatory opens on the drawing-room to the west of the house. The embellishment was erected by the late John Gilmour, who also added a vinery. In the summer months, visitors travelling past Marchmont cannot fail to notice the magnificent hawthorn hedge, interspersed here and there with young maple, which encloses it on the St. Lewis road.