"You are both wrong. You, Bois-vert," to the plaintiff, "you bring me one load of hay; and you, Crély," to the defendant, "you bring me one load of wood; and now the matter is settled." It does not appear that any exceptions were taken to this verdict.
This anecdote led to another, the scene of which was Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi.
There was a Frenchman, a justice of the peace, who was universally known by the name of "Col. Boilvin."[27] His office was just without the walls of the fort, and it was much the fashion among the officers to lounge in there of a morning, to find sport for an idle hour, and to take a glass of brandy-and-water with the old gentleman, which he called "taking a little _quelque-chose_."
A soldier, named Fry, had been accused of stealing and killing a calf belonging to M. Rolette, and the constable, a bricklayer of the name of Bell, had been dispatched to arrest the culprit and bring him to trial.
While the gentlemen were making their customary morning visit to the justice, a noise was heard in the entry, and a knock at the door.
"Come in," cried the old gentleman, rising and walking toward the door.
_Bell._ Here sir, I have brought Fry to you, as you ordered.
_Justice._ Fry, you great rascal! What for you kill M. Rolette's calf?
_Justice_ (shaking his fist). You lie, you great rascal! Bell, take him to jail. Come gentlemen, come, _let us take a leetle quelque-chose_.
The Canadian boatmen always sing while rowing, or paddling, and nothing encourages them so much as to hear the "bourgeois"[E] take the lead in the music. If the passengers, more especially those of the fair sex, join in the refrain, the compliment is all the greater.
[Footnote E: Master--or to use the emphatic Yankee term--_boss_.]
Their songs are of a light cheerful character, generally embodying some little satire or witticism, calculated to produce a spirited, sometimes an uproarious chorus.[28]
The song and refrain are carried on somewhat in the following style:
Bourgeois. Par derriere chéz ma tante, Par derriere chéz ma tante, Chorus. Par derriere chéz ma tante, Par derriere chéz ma tante.
Bourgeois. Il-y-a un coq qui chante, Des pommes, des poires, des raves, des choux, Des figues nouvelles, des raisins doux. Chorus. Des pommes, des poires, des raves, des choux, Des figues nouvelles, des raisins doux.