years of warfare - Dollard and Vercheres; that of daring adventure in the pathless wilds-Joliet and Lasalle; that of apostleship and martyrdom-Brebœuf, Lallemant and Jogues; that of diplomacy and administration-Talon, the great disciple of Colbert; that of military glory-Tracy and the lion-heart Frontenac; that of debauchery and corruption -Bigot and Penan; that of downfall and doom-Montcalm and Levis. Candians ought to be proud of such a history, and it is no wonder that their romancers should take pleasure in describing its varied scenes. The venerable DeGaspé may be said to have led the van in this department with "Les Anciens Canadiens," a work of absorbing interest, in spite of its occasional diffuseness. He was followed by Marmette, who has published three or four historical novels of more than ordinary merit, "L'Intendant Bigot" being particularly worthy of mention. "Une de Perdue, Deux de Trouvées" by DeBoucherville deals, in its second part, with the events of 1837, and gives a graphic picture of the battle of St. Denis. The destruction of L'Acadie, "Home of the happy," and the banishment of its faithful inhabitants form the subject of Bourassa's "Jacques et Marie," a work which I have always regarded as altogether superior in its class, notwithstanding frequent traces of hurried composition. It contains pages of admirable coloring, and such richness of style as to induce regret that this gifted man should have had his mind diverted to other branches of art.

In other and lighter forms of romance I have two or three names to signalize. Chauveau's "Charles Guérin " is a sweet picture of habitant life, which has retained its charm of freshness, although dating back some thirty years. Another masterpiece that is destined to live is the "Jean Rivard" of the late Gérin-Lajoie, a description of pioneer life in the Eastern Townships or Bois Francs, of renewed interest in our time when the tide of French colonization is rolling to the fertile plains between the Ottawa and the foot of the Laurentian Mountains. I may mention, too, a series of short domestic stories by Charles Leclere, a young writer full of promise, who was cut off in his prime.

V.

ESSAYISTS AND CHRONIQUEURS.

A favorite species of composition, drawn from the practice of old France, is the Chronique. This is a slight form of the essay in which topics of current interest are touched off in an airy, jaunty style. Many of our writers have distinguished themselves therein; this being specially true of Casgrain, Routhier, Legendre and Montpetit. Routhier has produced much of late in other departments, and, if he continues, will establish a most enviable reputation. Both Montpetit and Legendre wield a graceful pen that writes the French language to perfection. But the prince of chroniqueurs is Fabre, a true Parisian in temperament, possessed of that subtle electrical esprit, which is suposed to impregnate the atmosphere of the boulevards. Here is a man who has not done justice to himself, inasmuch as he does not produce half enough. Buies, belonging to the same school, is another writer of exceptionally brilliant talent, now caustic in satire, then rollicking in humour, and at times tenderly pathetic. In a somewhat different vein, because rather inclined to melancholy, is Faucher de St. Maurice, unquestionably one of the chief glories of French-Canadian literature. Faucher is a careful, conscientious writer, and every work of his is worth attentive perusal. His sketches of travel-and he has travelled much

are full of entertainment, while his volume of sketches entitled "A La Brunante" has some ravishing bits. M. Faucher enjoys the distinction of having been elected an honorary member La Société des gens de lettres de France. Among essayists of a more serious cast, the lead is taken by Oscar Dunn, whose "Dix Années de Journalisme" contain a number of important studies on moral and philosophical subjects, written in a fine judicial spirit and the purest French. This purism is further manifested in the "Glossaire Franco-Canadien," a little book in which the author catalogues and accounts for terms that are exclusively French-Canadian. The world of Canadian literature lately suffered a great loss by the death of Larue, one of the most dashing and captivating writers of Quebec, and it is to be regretted that Dr. Taché has not continued to put forth such legends, sketches and studies as rendered his earlier career so brilliant. A number of the best essayists may be found among the clergy, such as Messrs. Desaulniers, Raymond, Desmazures and Lacasse. I shall not trespass on your time by enumerating the large class of miscellaneous writers, but content myself with naming the well-written dissertations of Siméon Lesage on agricultural matters, the useful volume of Paul de Cazes on the resources of the Province and Dominion, the admirable work of Ernest Gagnon, on the "Chants Populaires du Canada," the memoirs of Meilleur and Chauveau on the progress of education in French Canada, and the descriptive studies of Le Moine, eclipsed, as they are, however, by his numerous works in English.

VI.
JOURNALISTS.

It is well known that in France journalism is a training school of literature, through which most of the cief writers have passed at some epoch of their career. It is the same in Canada. Our French countrymen are certainly not very general readers, yet the number of their newspapers is greater than is usually supposed, while in some branches of higher journalism they are somewhat ahead of ourselves. There are four French dailies. in Montreal, four in Quebec, which is quite up to the Toronto scale. There are three papers in Three Rivers, two in St. Hyacinthe, two in St. Johns, on the Richelieu, and one in every little town of the Province. Furthermore, they have one monthly literary review, which is more than we can boast of, one illustrated weekly, three or four literary weeklies, and such popular periodicals as the Soirées Canadiennes where authors deposit their fugitive pieces. It will be allowed that this is not at all a bad showing. What detracts considerably from the character of many of these journals in their intensely personal style of polemics, but that appears to be in the habits of the people and they seem to enjoy it. On the other hand, it must be said that some of the writers on the French press rank among the best in the country. DeCelles wields a vigorous pen and is master of a broad style. He has many of the qualities of Veuillot. Provencher is possessed of a grim humour and is a powerful writer withal. Dansereau left a profound trace during his career in journalism. Then there are Trudel, Bienvenu, Gélinas, Beaugrand, Demers and Tremblay in Montreal; Tarte, Desjardins, Tardivel, Langelier, Levasseur, Bouchard, Huot and one or two others in Quebec.

The French population may be set down, in round numbers, at a million. Of this number, taking the usual average of ten per cent., not more than 100,000 can be said to

be educated, and of the latter-according to another estimate-only a fourth, or 25,000, form what is called the reading public. In view of these figures, the literary vitality of our French writers is a very noticeable fact, and deserves all the attention that we have endeavored to give it.

VII.
WANTS.

In this necessarily rapid review, and going over so many names, I have naturally chosen the best, and, as naturally, my opinion is cast in the mould of praise. It does not follow, however, that I am insensible to certain deficiencies of French-Canadian education and literature. Of course I have no time even to touch upon these, but I may say generally that, if the present harvest is destined to be continued, a through cultivation of the soil will be necessary. A strong classical education will have to be insisted upon. A smattering of Latin and an utter ignorance of Greek, together with a mere elementary knowledge of the exact sciences, are not conducive to the evolution of solid intellectuality. Literature is a flower. There are single flowers and double flowers. The former are the offshoots of nature; the latter are the creation of science allied to æsthetic tastes. I naturally have no mission to touch on the vexed question of the Laval University, but I am safe not to be gainsaid when I affirm that one real universitas, in the good old scholastic sense, is quite ample for the needs of a million people. The other colleges should be merely affiliations, not rivals, and they should ground their pupils throughly in the humanities. The intermediate or grammar schools should be much stronger than they are, supplying a need for that large class which circumstances debar from an university curriculum. I am happy to know that these views are concurred in by the best educators in the Province, and that a combined effort is being made by the Catholic Board of Public Instruction to bring about this consummation. If such should prove the case to the extent that I anticipate, the future of the literature of French Canada will be brighter than is its present, and what is now a promising child may grow into a benign and exuberant giant.

VIII.

SOURCES OF LITERARY INSPIRATION.

The field, indeed, has been only partially cultivated. The primeval wood is just beginning to be cleared. The possibilities are immense and the sources of inspiration extraordinary. I have already alluded to the background of history-of daring, devotion and heroism such as few countries can boast of. Then there is our grand, our magnificent nature-the unpruned forests, the surging mountains, the roaring floods, the thunderous cataracts and the sublime sweep of billowy prairies rolling to the setting sun. The St. Lawrence has been and will be an unfailing source of inspiration to Canadians. There is no nobler river-girdling one-half of a continent. Rising in the great lakes, tumbling in foam at Niagara, murmuring around the cradles of the Thousand Islands, bearing the fleets of the world from the old Pointe à Callières at Montreal, throbbing with conscious pride at the base of Cape Diamond, it preserves its wonderful identity amid infinite variety, till it dashes into the sea at the breakwater of Anticosti.

There is another mine of inspiration in the domestic and social life of the people. The habitant is a type in himself. The French village is like nothing else on this continent. If you take the male chracter, you have a range from the coureur des bois and the raftsman, to the village notary and the omnipotently beneficent curé. If you take the female model, you have the incipient maiden, with the white veil of the first communion flowing from her blond hair, to the joyous factory girl decked out as a Dolly Varden, and the rustic Evangeline homeward from church returning with God's benediction upon her.

The climate of French Canada is hard; the winters are long, but there is literary inspiration even there. Indeed, winter must and does enter largely into the framework of French-Canadian romance and song. We may take this picture as including all the elements. A hunter is out in pursuit of the wily moose; he tramps over miles of untrodden snow, from the first streak of dawn till the last gleam of sunlight lingers in the western sky. The beast is weary; he is weary. But the weaker yields to the stronger— la raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure-and the broad antlers are bowed in the submission of death. Dragging his trophy behind him, in a last effort of exhausted nature, the hunter turns his face homeward. The way is long and the snow is deep, but the faint heart buoys itself in the hope of a reward from wife and children. A turn in the road, and from afar the squares of yellow light beam from the well-known window panes. The slender bridge is crossed, the pathway to the familiar threshold is traversed, the welcome door is opened and-all is over. Here is my Canadian picture—a hard day's work in the cold, cold world and, at night, rest in the arms of love, beside the warm fireside of Home.

A Problem in Visual Perception.

By THE REV. J. CLARK MURRAY, LL.D.

(Read May 23, 1883.)

The psychology of vision has received invaluable assistance from the recorded cases of of persons born blind, who have been cured by the resources of modern surgery. In the present paper I propose to notice merely one fact, which has been almost universally overlooked, in the mental experience of the patients in some of these cases. The most important of these cases-certainly those most accessible to an English reader-are reported in the Philosophical Transactions. I shall quote from the first and the last cases, as these bring out most definitely the phenomenon in question.

The first case, and the one most frequently cited, is that of a boy born with a cataract of unusually opaque quality. He was about fourteen years of age when the cataract was removed by Cheselden first from one eye, and afterwards from the other. The report of the case is given in the Philosophical Transactions for 1728; and the following is the passage to which special reference will be made :-" At first he could bear but very little light, and the things he saw he thought extremely large; but upon seeing things larger, those first seen he conceived less...... And now lately couched of his other eye, he says that objects at first appeared large to this eye, but not so large as they did at first to the other; and looking upon the same object with both eyes, he thought it looked about twice as large as with the first couched eye only, but not double that we could any ways discover."

The other case to be cited is also that of a young man, four years older than Cheselden's patient at the time of his cure. The surgeon in this case was Dr. Franz, of Leipsic, who reports his observations and experiments in the Philosophical Transactions for 1841. The passage, describing the apparent magnification of visible objects at first is shorter than in the previous report, but is equally explicit. "He saw everything much larger than he had supposed from the idea obtained by the sense of touch. Moving, and especially living objects, such as men, horses, &c., appeared to him very large." *

Here, then, is an illusory appearance of magnitude, which, like many another apparently abnormal phenomenon, may throw light on the normal processes of intelligence. From the superior accuracy, which generally pervades Dr. Franz's report, we may fairly take it as conveying the most exact description of the illusion experienced on the restoration of sight. Now, that description contrasts the idea of magnitude formed by the newly recovered sense with that already obtained from the sense of touch. We are therefore referred to the conceptions of magnitude which this sense imparts for an explanation of

* One can scarcely avoid recalling a well-known trait in the narrative of Mark's Gospel (VIII. 24) :—“ I behold men, for I see (them) walking as trees." Whatever may be made of the narrative by modern criticism, it undoubtedly implies the belief that newly restored sight would give but imperfect ideas of size.

Sec. II., 1883. 12.