QUEBEC IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
Quebec in the Seventeenth Century. By James Douglas, LL.D. (The Burrows Publishing Company, Cleveland and London. 102.)--Tha alternative title given to this interesting volume by its author is "Old France in the New World," and it adequately expresses his intention, which is to indicate the character, objects, and successes of the French in Canada, and particularly in Quebec. Mr. Douglas writes carefully, and on the whole moderately, although a certain bias may be gathered from his Use of such a phrase aá: "the un- dignified scramble in which the GI:eat-Powers of the world are now engaged for the possession of Africa and such islands of the sea as are still occupied by their "abtriginal inhabi- tants," and by such a sentence as: "To-day we call conquest
occupation,' and the conquered area with its subjugated people a 'sphere of influence." Such sentiments, however, do not obtrude themselves too violently in a book which—and that is no slight compliment—is one of the best volumes that have in recent years been published on Quebec. Mr. Douglas' writes an easy flowing style, which is seen to very great advantage in the chapters that deal with the early expeditions of Cartier; the work done by Champlain—Mr. Douglas's portrait of this remark- able man is most admirably executed—and other ambitious French pioneers ; the associations between religion represented by such a Bishop as Laval and trade on the one hand, and political ambition on the other; the Iroquois War, and other leading incidents in the history both of New France and of New England. Some of Mr. Douglas's historical comparisons and characterisations are very skilful. Thus he notes that the charters of modern trading companies resemble strangely in their essential features those of France in the seventeenth century, in so far as they are endowed with political functions while organised as money-making corpora- tions. Mr. Douglas, looking back over three centuries, comes to the conclusion that primitive Roman Catholicism has retained its influence over the French of Lower Canada more effectually than Puritanism in its primitive form has maintained its hold on the people of New England. This book is indeed delightful reading.
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