The  suggestion  of  Norway  is  unmistakable,  even  to
those  who  have  not  visited  that  realm  of  Titans  and
Jotuns.  After  four  hours  of  such  delightsome  navi-
gation, Mt.  Eboulements  appeared,  looming  2,457
feet  above  the  river.  Along  the  shore  cottages  are
scattered,  suggesting  a  straggling  procession  of  peni-
tents making  pilgrimage  to  the  far-away  church  of
Notre  Dame  de  Bonsecours  on  top  of  the  mountain.
As  this  mountain  does  not  stand  out  from  the  range
like  those  at  Bay  St.  Paul  the  height  is  not  so  ap-
parent, and  may  be  at  first  sight  disappointing.  The
singularly-shaped  peaks,  back  of  the  village  on  the
heights  resemble  the  rounded  summits  —  called  "  bal-
lons  " —  of  that  part  of  France  whence  these  earliest
settlers  came.  Two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  the
river  is  a  stretch  of  tolerably  level  farm-land,  with
picturesque  houses,  and  bams  built  of  logs,  with
thatched  roofs  to  delight  an  artist,  while  far  above,
apparently  among  the  clouds,  stands  the  village
proper.  The  sides  of  the  mountain  are  scored  with
deep  ravines,  through  whose  dark,  dank  clefts  beau-
tiful cascades  rush  down  to  the  great  river.  The
beautiful  Reine  des  Neiges  allures  one  to  her  mys-


"  LAZY  BOOLMONG  "  201

terious  seclusion,  although  there  is  no  path,  and  a
rough  and  tough  scramble  and  slide  must  be  essayed
by  the  prospector.
At  the  long  wharf  Monsieur  awaited  the  summer-
ing company  with  charette  and  qtuitre-roua:,  by
means  of  which  vehicles  his  guests  were  conveyed  to
an  admirably  located  house  commanding  a  superb
view — ^  Isle-aux-Coudres,  Cap  Corbeau  jutting  out
beyond,  Mont  St.  Antoine  and  his  fellows  trending  off
to  the  southwest,  "  up  river,"  gradually  diminishing
in  size  and  fading  in  hue  till  their  tints  blended  with
those  of  the  sky.
