"From the general tone and nature of the advertisements it is easily inferred that the society of Quebec soon after the conquest was gay and luxurious. We are not surprised when we find that a theatrical company found it worth their while to take up their abode there. Among the pieces played we find Home's 'Douglas' and Otway's 'Venice Preserved.' The doors were opened at five o'clock and the entertainment began at half-past six! The frequenters of the 'Thespian Theatre' were a select and privileged class, and only subscribers were admitted. Private theatricals were much in vogue; and, indeed, there was every variety of amusement which climate could allow or suggest, or the lovers of frolic devise. Nor were bards wanting to celebrate these festivities, witness the following extract from a 'carioling song:' "'Not all the fragrance of the spring, Nor all the tuneful birds that sing, Can to the _Plains_ the ladies bring, So soon as carioling. "'Nor Venus with the winged Loves, Drawn by her sparrows or her doves, So gracefully or swiftly moves, As ladies carioling," "Another poet, whose mind was evidently less healthily braced by out- door exercise, gives us a very different picture of the recreations of the period. It occurs in the course of an essay in versification called 'Evening.' "'Now minuets o'er, the country dance is formed See every little female passion rise, By jealousy, by pride, by envy warmed, See Adam's child the child of Eve despise. "'With turned-up nose Belinda Chloe eyes, Chloe Myrtilla with contempt surveys, "What! with that creature dance!" Cleora cries, "That vulgar wretch! I faint--unlace my stays. * * * * * "'Now meet in groups the philosophic band, Not in the porch, like those of ancient Greece, But where the best Madeira is at hand From thought the younger students to release "'For Hoyle's disciples hold it as a rule That youth for knowledge should full dearly pay, Wherefore to make young cubs the fitter tool Presuming sense by Lethean drafts they slay. * * * * * "'With all the fury of a tempest torn, With execrations horrible to hear, By all the wrath of disappointment borne, The cards, their garments, hair, the losers tear.' "The winner's unfeeling composure is described in another verse, and "'Now dissipation reigns in varied forms Now riot in the bowl the senses steeps, Whilst nature's child, secure from passion's storms, With tranquil mind in sweet oblivion sleeps.'