Note 214 — Chapter XLII
Reading edition
The phrase "a few arpents of ice" had been used by Voltaire in a letter dated March 27, 1757. Later, in 1759, in his "Romance Candide," he wrote: "You know that these two nations (France and England) are at war for 'some arpents of snow' towards Canada and that they expend for this fine war more than the whole of Canada is worth."