Chapter 10

_MODERN QUEBEC_.

"I can re-people with the Past; and of The Present there is still, for eye and thought And meditation, chasten'd down, enough." --(CHILDE HAROLD.)

Quebec, with the limitations set forth elsewhere, under the English regime, was governed by Justices of the Peace, who sat in special sessions, under authority of Acts of the Provincial Legislature, until 1833. In 1832 the city was incorporated (1 William IV., chap. 52,), Its first Mayor, elected in 1833, was a barrister of note, Elzéar Bédard, Esq., subsequently Mr. Justice Elzéar J.S.C. The amended Act of Incorporation of the City of Quebec, the 29th Vic., cap. 57, sanctioned on the 18th September, 1865, thus defines the limits of the city, the number and limits of the wards:--"The City of Quebec, for all municipal purposes, comprises the whole extent of land within the limits assigned to the said city by a certain proclamation of His Excellency Sir Alured Clarke, bearing date the 7th May, 1792, and in addition all land extending to low water mark of the River St. Lawrence, in front of the said city, including the shore of the River St Charles, opposite the city, as limited by high water mark on the north side of the said river, from, the prolongation of the west line of St. Ours street to the west line of the farm of the Nuns of the Hôtel Dieu; thence running southwards along the said line, about 550 feet, to the southern extremity of a pier erected on the said farm, at low water mark; thence running due east, about 800 feet, to the intersection of the line limiting the beach grants of the Seigniory of Notre Dame des Anges, at low water; and finally, thence along the said beach line, running north 40 degrees east, to the intersection of the prolongation of the line of the Commissioners for the Harbour of Quebec, and thence following the said Commissioners' line to the westerly line of the city. The said city also comprises all wharves, piers and other erections made or to be made in the said River St. Lawrence, opposite to or adjoining the said city, though extending beyond the low water mark of the said river, and being within the said Commissioners' line, and even beyond the same, should it be hereafter extended or reduced.

_BOUNDARIES OF THE WARDS._

"The said city is divided into eight wards, to wit: St. Louis Ward, Palace Ward, St. Peter's Ward, Champlain Ward, St. Roch's Ward, Jacques Cartier Ward, St. John's Ward and Montcalm Ward.

1st. St. Louis Ward comprises all that part of the Upper Town within the fortifications, and south of a line drawn from Prescott Gate to St John's Gate, along the middle of Mountain street, Buade street, Fabrique street, and St. John street.

2nd. Palace Ward comprises all that part of the Upper Town within the fortifications, and not included in St. Louis Ward. 3rd. St. Peter's Ward comprises all that part of the Lower Town bounded on the south by a line drawn in the middle of Sous-le-Fort street, and prolonged in the same direction to low water mark in the River St. Lawrence at the one end, and to the cliff below the Castle of St. Louis at the other, and on the west by the eastern limits of the Parish of St. Roch, together with all the wharves, piers and other erections, opposite to this part of the Lower Town, although built beyond low water mark in the said river.

4th. Champlain Ward comprises all that part of the Lower Town lying between St. Peter's Ward and the limits of the said city, together with all wharves, piers and other erections, opposite thereto, although built beyond the low water mark in the said river.

5th. St. Roch's Ward comprises all that part of the Parish of St. Roch which lies within the limits of the said City of Quebec, on the north-west side of a line drawn in the middle of St. Joseph street, from one end to the other.

6th. Jacques Cartier Ward comprises all that part of the Parish of St. Roch which lies within the limits of the said City of Quebec, not comprised in St. Roch's Ward.

7th. St John's Ward comprises all that space bounded by Jacques Cartier Ward, the fortifications, the limits of the said city on the west, and a line drawn in the middle of St. John street from St. John's Gate to the western limits of the city.

8th. Montcalm Ward comprises all that space bounded by the fortifications on the east, and on the west by the city limits, on the north by St John's Ward, and on the south by the _cime du cap_ of the St. Lawrence.

The city is administered by a Mayor, holding office for two years, at a salary of not more than $1,200, nor less than $600, per annum; and by eight Aldermen and sixteen Councillors, returned by the eight wards,-- elected to serve gratuitously three years by the duly qualified electors of each ward: no one is eligible as Mayor, Aldermen or Councillor unless he be a British subject, by birth or naturalization, and of the full age of twenty-one years, and owning within the city limits real estate, free from encumbrance, of the value of $2,000. Quebec contains ten small _Fiefs_ or Domaines. The _Fief_ Sault-au-Matelot belongs to the Seminary. The Ursuline Nuns, the R. C. Church (_La Fabrique_), the Heirs LaRue, the Hôtel-Dieu Nuns, the Récollet Friars, each had his _Fief_. The _Fief de la Miséricorde_ (Mercy) belongs to the Hôtel-Dieu. The Heirs LaRue own the _Fief de Bécancour_ and that of _de Villeraie_; there is also the _Fief Tasseville_. The _Fief_ of the Récollets--or Franciscan Friars--the order being extinct, reverted to the Crown.

_WAR DEPARTMENT PROPERTY IN QUEBEC CITY AND DISTRICT._

_As per Schedule, Consolidated Statutes of Canada (22 Vict.) Cap. 36._

_LOCAL NAME OF THE PROPERTY AND ORIGIN OF THE TITLE._

Exercising Ground, Plains of Abraham--Leasehold from the Ursuline Nuns, 99 years from 1st May, 1802.

No. 3 Tower Field, N. W. of the Grande Allée, Plains of Abraham-- Leasehold from the Nuns of the Hôtel-Dieu, 99 years from 1st May, 1790; space covered by the tower is freehold.

No. 4 Tower Field, N. W. of St. John's Road--Leasehold from the Nuns of the Hôtel-Dieu; 99 years from 1st May, 1790; including a freehold strip of 0_a_. 1_r_. 0-1/2_p_.

Land surrounding Nos. 1 and 2, Towers, S. E. side of the Grande Allée Plains of Abraham--Acquired by purchase from the Ursuline Nuns, 15th June, 1811, Joseph Plante, N. P., Quebec.

Land S. E. of the Grande Allée to the Cime du Cap and between Nos. 1 and 2, Towers property, and counterscarp of the Citadel and works adjacent--The greater part acquired by purchase from individuals, and partly by conquest, of the old French Works, &c., an annual ground rent of £1 17s. 0d., is payable on part of this land to the Fief de Villeray.

The Esplanade, Town Works--Glacis, Cricket Field, ditches, ravelin, &c., in front, lying between St. Louis and St. John's Gates--Acquired partly by conquest and partly by purchase from various individuals (Cricket Field, 5_a_. 3_r_. 22_p_.)

Citadel--Glacis and Town Works, as far as St. Louis Gate, Engineer Yard, &c.--Chiefly by right of conquest and military appropriation.

Town Works, Artillery Barracks, Glacis, &c., between St. John's Gate, Palace Gate and St. Valier street--Chiefly by conquest and military appropriation. Lots in St. Vallier street, purchased in 1846-7.

Mount Carmel, a commanding eminence, and site of the Windmill Redoubt or Cavalier, formerly a portion of the defenses of Quebec.--Acquired by purchase, 25th Nov, 1780. J. Plinguet, N.P.

Officers' Barracks, Garrison Hospital, &c., fronting on St. Louis street, and in rear by St. Geneviève street.--Acquired by purchase, 5th April, 1811.

Commissariat Premises, opposite old Court House, on St. Louis street, and in rear by Mount Carmel street.--Acquired by purchase, 11th August, 1815.

Jesuit Barracks, with other buildings and land attached, fronting on St. Anne street and Upper Town market square.--By right of conquest and military appropriation, occupied as Infantry Barracks, &c.

The Town Works, along the top of the Cape (Cime du Cap), between the King's Bastion of the Citadel and Prescott Gate, Mountain Hill, including site of old Fort St. Louis, Government Garden, &c.--Part of the Crown Domain by conquest and military appropriation, with small portions at either end acquired by purchase in 1781, and about 1827- 29.

Near Grand Battery, East end of St. George street. Magazine F., and Ordnance stores, &c.--By right of conquest and military appropriation.

Magazine E., Hôtel Dieu, on Rampart street, between Palace and Hope Gates.--Acquired by purchase, 17th June, 1809.

The Defences along the Ramparts between Prescott Gate, Grand Battery, Hope Gate and Palace Gate (Upper Town).--By right of conquest and military appropriation (including Rampart street and cliff underneath).

Inclined Plane Wharf and land to the Cime du Cap (top of the cliff) on Champlain street, S. E. of the Citadel.--Acquired by purchase, 24th Sept., 1781, afterwards used in connection with the Citadel.

Queen's Wharf premises, and small lot opposite, on Cul-de-Sac street-- Formerly a part of the defences of Quebec, site of a battery.-- Acquired by right of conquest, &c.

Land at the foot of the cliff in La Canoterie and St. Charles streets, as a Glacis in front of the Town Works.--Acquired by purchase in 1846- 7, to prevent buildings against the defences.

Commissariat Fuel Yard, &c., on Palace Harbor, St. Roch's.--Part of the Intendant's Palace property, held by conquest.

_SEIGNIORY OF NEUVILLE COUNTY OF PORTNEUF._

(_Site of Fort Jacques-Cartier._)

A strong defensive position, on the right bank of the River Jacques Cartier, about 30 miles above Quebec.--Acquired by purchase from the Seignior, 26th June, 1818.

THE ENVIRONS OF QUEBEC.

_INTRODUCTION._

"Oh give me a home where the maple and pine Around the wild heights so majestically twine; Oh give me a home where the blue wave rolls free From thy bosom, Superior, down to the sea."

"Could you not write the history of 'Our Parish,' and also sketch briefly our country seats, marking out the spots connected with historical events?" Thus discoursed one day to us, in her blandest tones, a fair denizen of Sillery. There was a poser for a _galant homme_; a crusher for the first _littérateur_ of ... the parish. In vain did we allege we were not a "Christopher North," but a mere retiring "antiquaire"--a lover of books, birds, flowers, &c. The innate civility of a Frenchman elicited from us an unreflective affirmative reply. Thus, compassionate reader, was entrapped, caught and committed the first _littérateur_ of Sillery--irrevocably handed over to the tender mercies of all the critics, present and future, in and out of the parish. Oh, my friends, what a crunching up of literary bones in store! what an ample repast was thus prepared for all the reviewers--the Jeffreys and LaHarpes--in and out of the parish, should the luckless _littérateur_ fail to assign fairy scenery--important historical events--great battles, not only to each renowned spot, but even to the merest potato-patch, turnip-ground or cabbage-garden within our corporate limits? Yes, tremble for him.

Joking apart, is there not a formidable difficulty besetting our path--the insipidity and monotony inseparable from the necessity which will devolve on us of having constantly to discover new beauties in spots identical in their main features; and should we, in order to vary the theme, mix up the humorous with the rural, the historical, or the antiquarian style, may not fun and humour be mistaken for satire--a complimentary notice for flattery, above all others, a thing abhorrent to our nature? But 'tis vain to argue. That fatal "yes" has been uttered, and no true knight goes back from his plighted word. There being no help, we devoutly commend our case to St. Columba, St. Joseph, and the archangel St. Michel, the patrons of our parish, and set to our task, determined to assume a wide margin, draw heavily on history, and season the whole with short anecdotes and glimpses of domestic life, calculated to light up the past and present.

O critic, who would fain seek in "Our Parish"--in our homes--great architectural excellence, we beseech you to pause! for the majority of them no such pretension is set up. Nowhere, indeed, on our soil are to be found ivied ruins, dating back to doomsday book, moated castle, or mediaeval tower. We have no Blenheims, no Walton Halls, nor Chatsworths, nor Woburn abbeys, nor Arundel castles, to illustrate every style of architectural beauty, rural embellishment, and landscape. A Dainpierre, a Rochecotte, a LaGaudinière, may suit old France: they would be lost in New France. Canadian cottages, the best of them, are not the stately country homes of

"Old pheasant-lords, ... Partridge-breeders of a thousand years,"

typifying the accumulated wealth of centuries or patrician pride; nor are they the gay _châteaux_ of _La Belle France_. In the Canada of the past, we could--in many instances we had to--do without the architect's skill; nature having been lavish to us in her decorations, art could be dispensed with. Our country dwellings possess attractions of a higher class, yea, of a nobler order, than brick and mortar moulded by the genius of man can impart. A kind Providence has surrounded them in spring, summer and autumn with scenery often denied to the turreted castle of the proudest nobleman in Old England. Those around Quebec are more particularly hallowed by associations destined to remain ever memorable amongst the inhabitants of the soil.

Some of our larger estates, like Belmont (comprising 450 acres,) date back more than two centuries, whilst others, though less ancient, retrace vividly events glorious in the same degree to the two races, who, after having fought stoutly for the mastery, at last hung out the olive branch and united long since, willing partners, in the bonds of a common nationality, neither English nor French, though participating largely of both, and have linked their destinies together as Canadians. Every traveller in Canada, from Baron La Hontan, who "preferred the forests of Canada to the Pyrénées of France," to the Hon. Amelia Murray, Charlevoix, LaGalissonière, Peter Kalm, Isaac Weld, John Lambert, Heriot, Silliman, Dickens, Lever, Ampère, Marmier, Rameau, Augustus Sala, have united in pronouncing our Quebec landscape so wild, so majestic, and withal so captivating, as to vie in beauty with the most picturesque portions of the Old or the New World.

Let us first sketch "Our Parish," the home of our forefathers--the home of our children.

_SILLERY._

Henry IV. of France had for his chancellor, in 1607, Nicholas Brulart de Sillery, a worthy and distinguished magistrate, who, as state councillor, ever enjoyed the confidence of his sovereign until death closed his useful career in 1627, at the ripe age of 80. He was the eldest brother: his father had also for years basked in the smiles of good King Henry IV. for his unwavering adherence to his fortunes. To this eminent lawyer and statesman was born a patriarchal family of sons and daughters. The youngest of his sons, Noël Brulart de Sillery, [169] having brilliantly completed his studies at Paris in the classics, entered, at the age of 18, the military order of the Knights of Malta, and resided twelve years in that island as a knight; his martial bearing and ability, modesty, and uniform good conduct soon paved the way for him to the highest dignities in this celebrated Order. Soon the Grand Master appointed him "Commandeur de Troyes"; this preferment yielded him 40,000 livres per annum.

On his return to Paris in 1607, the favour of the court and the protection of Marie de Medicis were the means of having him nominated Knight of Honour. His talents, birth, deportment and position soon procured him the appointment of French Ambassador to the Court of Spain in 1614, which high position he left for that of Ambassador at Rome in 1622, where he replaced the Marquis of Coeuvres. He spent two years in the Eternal City, and subsequently acknowledged that it was there that he conceived the idea first of embracing Holy Orders; Cardinal de LaValette replacing him at the Roman Court as French _Chargé d'Affaires_. From what can be gleaned in history, this distinguished personage led a princely life, his enormous rent-roll furnishing the means for a most lordly establishment of retainers, liveries and domains. [170] His fancy for display, great though it was, never, however, made him lose sight of the poor, nor turn a deaf ear to the voice of the needy.

In 1626, the Pope (Barberini), Urban the VIII., having proclaimed a jubilee, the ex-ambassador, as if a new light had dawned on him, and under the guidance of a man famous for his pious and ascetic life, Vincent de Paul, determined to reform his house and whole life. Thus, a few years after, viz., in 1632, the Commandeur de Sillery sold to Cardinal Richelieu his sumptuous and princely hôtel in Paris, called Sillery, entered Holy Orders in 1634, and devoted all the energy of his mind and his immense wealth to the propagation of the faith amongst the aborigines of Canada, having been induced to do so by the Commandeur de Razili, who had previously solicited him to join the company des "Cents Associés," or Hundred Partners, of which Razili was a member.

The Commandeur de Sillery inaugurated his benevolent purpose by placing 12,000 livres in the hands of Father Charles Lalemant, a zealous Jesuit; this was the beginning of the mission which, through gratitude to its founder, was called Sillery--it was distant about four miles and a half from Quebec, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence; date of the foundation, July, 1637. [171] History has preserved a letter addressed from Paris by the Commandeur de Sillery to the Chevalier de Montmagny, governor of the colony, in which the benevolent man asked the Governor to ratify a grant of "twelve arpents" made to him in the city itself by the company of the Hundred Partners, and also to ratify a promised grant of other lands to open a seminary or school to educate Algonquin and Montagnais children, although, at the request of the Indians, the settlement became, in 1638, more extensive, and comprised also the residence of the christianized Indians. Negabamat and Nenasesenat were the first to establish their families there. On the last day of June, 1665, we will find the eloquent Negabamat, then a resident of Quebec, sent by his tribe to harangue and compliment the great Marquis of Tracy on his arrival at Quebec. (_Relations_, 1665, _p_. 4.) Father LeJeune, a learned Jesuit, had charge and control over the workmen who were sent out from France at the expense of the Commandeur de Sillery; and on the 22nd February, 1639, a permanent bequest was authentically recorded in favor of the mission by the Commandeur placing at interest, secured on the Hôtel-de-Ville at Paris, a sum of 20,000 livres tournois. Palisades had been used originally to protect the settlement; in 1651, the Governor of Quebec, Jean de Lauzon, strengthened the palisades and added redoubts. [172] In 1647 the church of the mission had been placed under the invocation of St. Michael the Archangel; hence Sillery Cove, once called St. Joseph's, was, in 1647, named St Michael's Cove.

The Commandeur de Sillery extended his munificence to several other missionary establishments in Canada and other places. What with the building of churches, monasteries and hospitals in Champagne, France; at Annecy, Savoy; at Paris, and elsewhere, he must, indeed, have been for those days a veritable Rothschild in worldly wealth.

This worthy ecclesiastic died in Paris on the 26th September, 1640, at the age of sixty-three years, bequeathing his immense wealth to the Hôtel-Dieu of that city. Such was, in a few words, the noble career of one of the large-minded pioneers of civilization in primitive Canada, le Commandeur Noël Brulart de Sillery--such the origin of the name of "Our Parish," our sweet Canadian Windermere.

One of the first incidents, two years after the opening of the mission, was the visit paid to it by Madame de la Peltrie, the benevolent founder of the Ursuline Convent at Quebec. This took place on the 2nd August, 1639, the day after her arrival from Dieppe and stately reception by the Governor, M. deMontmagny, who had asked her to dinner the day previous. This same year the nuns called _Hospitalières_ (Hôtel-Dieu) opened a temporary hospital at Sillery, as the inmates and resident Indians suffered fearfully from the ravages of small-pox. In attempting a sketch of the Sillery of ancient days, we cannot follow a truer nor pleasanter guide than the old historian of Canada in the interesting notes he published on this locality in 1855, after having minutely examined every inch of ground. "A year after their arrival at Quebec," says Abbé Ferland, "in August, 1640, the _Hospitalières_ nuns, desirous of being closer to the Sillery mission, where they were having their convent built according to the wishes of the Duchess D'Aiguillon, left Quebec and located themselves in the house of M. de Puiseaux. They removed from this house at the beginning of the year 1641 to take possession of their convent, a mile distant. During that winter no other French inhabitants resided near them except the missionaries, and they suffered much from cold and want. But the following year they had the happiness to have in the neighbourhood a good number of their countrymen. M. de Maisonneuve, Mlle. Mance, the soldiers and farmers recently arrived from France, took up their abode at M. de Puiseaux.... They spent the winter there, and paid us frequent visits, to our mutual satisfaction." [173]

The mission of St. Joseph at Sillery being constantly threatened by the Five Nations, the _Hospitalières_ ladies were compelled to leave their convent and seek refuge in Quebec on the 29th May, 1644, having thus spent about three years and a half amongst the savages. [174] The locality where they then resided still goes under the name of "Convent Cove."

"Monsieur Pierre Puiseaux, Sieur de l'habitation de Sainte Foye, after whom was, called _Pointe-à-Pizeau_, at Sillery, seems to have been a personage of no mean importance in his day. Having realized a large fortune in the West Indies, he had followed Champlain to Canada, bent on devoting his wealth to the conversion of the aboriginal tribes. His manor stood, according to the Abbé Ferland, on that spot in St Michael's Cove on which the St. Michael's Hotel [175]--long kept by Mr. W. Scott--was subsequently built, to judge from the heavy foundation walls there. Such was the magnificence of the structure that it was reckoned "the gem of Canada'--"_Une maison regardée dans le temps comme le bijou du Canada_," says the old chronicler. Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve having arrived, in 1641, with colonists for Montreal, the laird of Ste. Foye [176] generously tendered him the use of his manor. Under the hospitable roof of this venerable old gentleman, M. de Maisonneuve, Mlle. Mance, the founder of the Hôtel Dieu Hospital at Montreal, and Mdme. de la Peltrie spent the winter of 1641-2, whilst the intended colonists [177] for Ville-Marie were located close by in the Sillery settlement. During the winter, dissensions took place between the future Governor of Montreal, M. de Maisonneuve, and the then present Governor of Quebec, Chevalier de Montmagny. It appears that on a certain festival a small cannon and also fifteen musket shots had been fired without authority; His Excellency Governor Montmagny, in high dudgeon at such a breach of military discipline, ordered Jean Gorry, the person who had fired the shots, to be put in irons; Mlle. Mance had furnished the powder for this military display The future Governor of Montreal, Monsieur de Maisonneuve, is said to have, on this occasion, publicly exclaimed: "Jehan Gorry, you have been put in irons for my sake and I affronted! I raise your wages of ten half crowns (dix écus), let us only reach Montreal; no one there will prevent us from firing." [178] Bravo! M. de Maisonneuve! Peace, however, was restored, and His Excellency Governor Montmagny headed in person the expedition which, on the 8th May following, sailed from St Michael's Cove, Sillery, to found at Montreal the new colony. Monsieur Puiseaux accompanied M. de Maisonneuve, to take part also in the auspicious event, but his age and infirmities compelled Him soon after to return to France, where he died a few years subsequently, and by his last will, executed at LaRochelle on the 21st June, 1647, he bequeathed his Ste. Foye property to the support of the future bishops of Quebec. "The walls of the Sillery Chapel," says the historian of Canada previously quoted, "were still standing about thirty years ago, and the foundations of this edifice, of the hospital and of the missionary residency are still perceptible to the eye on the spot now occupied by the offices and stores of Hy. LeMesurier, Esq., at the foot of the hill, and opposite the residence of the Honourable Mr. Justice Caron."

"Amongst the French gentlemen of note who then owned lands at Sillery may be mentioned. François de Chavigny, _sieur de Berchéreau qui_," adds Abbé Ferland, "_occupait un rang élevé dans le colonie. En quelques occasions, il fut chargé de remplacer le Gouverneur, lors que celui-ci s'absentait de Québec_." Now, dear reader, let it be known to you that you are to look with every species of respect on this worthy old denizen of Sillery, he being, as the Abbé has elsewhere established beyond the shadow of a doubt, not only the ancestor of several old families, such as the Lagorgendières, the Rigaud de Vaudreuils and Tachereaus, but also one of the ancestors of your humble servant the writer of these lines.

"The Sillery settlement contained during the winter of 1646-7, of Indians only, about two hundred souls. Two roads led from Quebec to the settlement, one the Grande Allée or St. Louis Road, the other the Cove Road, skirting the beach. Two grist mills stood in the neighbourhood: one on the St. Denis streamlet which crosses the Grande Allée road (from Thornhill to Spencer Wood)--the dam seems to have been on the Spencer Wood property. 'This mill, and the _fief_ on which it was built, belonged to M. Juchereau,' one of the ancestors of the Duchesnays. 'Another mill existed on the Bell Borne brook,' which crosses the main road, the boundary between Spencer Grange and Woodfield. Any one visiting these two streamlets during the August droughts will be struck with their diminutiveness, compared to the time when they turned the two grist mills two hundred years back: the clearing of the adjoining forests, whence they take their source, may account for the metamorphosis."

The perusal of the Rev. Mr. Ferland's work brings us to another occurrence, which, although foreign to the object of this sketch, deserves notice:--

"The first horse [179] seen in Canada was landed from a French vessel about the 20th June, 1647, and presented as a gift to His Excellency Governor Montmagny." Another incident deserving of mention occurs under date of 20th August, 1653. The Iroquois [180] surprised at Cap Rouge Rev. Father J. Antoine Poncet and a peasant named Mathurin Tranchelot, and carried them off to their country. For three days the rev. missionary was subjected to every kind of indignity from the Indian children and every one else. A child cut off one of the captive's fingers. He was afterwards, with his companion, tied up during two nights, half suspended in the air; this made both suffer horribly; burning coals were applied to their flesh. Finally, the missionary was handed over to an old squaw; he shortly after became free, and returned to Quebec on the 5th of November, 1653, to the joy of everybody.

His comrade, Tranchelot, after having had his fingers burnt, was finally consumed by fire on the 8th September, 1653. Such were some of the thrilling incidents of daily occurrence at Sillery two centuries ago.

What with breaches of military etiquette by M. de Maisonneuve's colonists, the ferocity of skulking Iroquois, and the scrapes their own neophytes occasionally got into, the reverend fathers in charge of the Sillery mission must now and again have had lively times, and needed, we would imagine, the patience of Job, with the devotion of martyrs, to carry out their benevolent views.

We read in history [181] how, on one Sunday morning in 1652, the Sillery Indians being all at mass, a beaver skin was stolen from one of the wig- wams, on which a council of the chiefs being called, it was decided that the robbery had been committed by a Frenchman, [182] enough to justify the young men to rush out and seize two Frenchmen then accidentally passing by, and in no wise connected--as the Indians even admitted--with the theft. The Indian youths were for instantly stripping the prisoners, in order to compel the Governor of the colony to repair the injury suffered by the loss of the peltry. One of them, more thoughtful than the rest, suggested to refer the matter to the missionary father, informing him at the same time that in cases of robbery it was the Indian custom to lay hold of the first individual they met belonging to the family or nation of the suspected robber, strip him of his property, and retain it until the family or nation repaired the wrong. The father succeeded, by appealing to them as Christians, to release the prisoners. Fortunately, the real thief, who was not a Frenchman, became alarmed, and had the beaver skin restored.

Old writers of that day occasionally let us into quaint glimpses of a churchman's tribulations in those primitive times. The historian Faillon tells some strange things about Bishop Laval and Governor D'Argenson: their squabble about holy bread. (_Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada_, vol. ii., p. 467.) At page 470, is an account of a country girl, ordered to be brought to town by Bishop Laval and shut up in the Hôtel-Dieu, she being considered under a spell, cast on her by a miller whom she had rejected when he popped the question: the diabolical suitor was jailed as a punishment. Champlain relates how a pugnacious parson was dealt with by a pugnacious clergyman of a different persuasion respecting some knotty controversial points. The arguments, however irresistible they may have been, Champlain observes, were not edifying either to the savages or to the French: "J'ay veu le ministre et nostre curé s'entre battre è coup de poing sur le différend de la religion. Je ne scay pas qui estait le plus vaillant et qui donnait le meilleur coup; mais je scay tres bien que le ministre se plaignoit quelque fois au Sieur de Mons (Calviniste, directeur de la compagnie) d'avoir ésté battu et vuoidoient en ceste faccon les poincts de controverse. Je vois laisse à penser si cela éstait beau à voir; les sauvages éstoient tantôt d'un côté, tantôt de l'autre, et les François meslez selon leur diverse croyance, disaient pis que pendre de l'une et de l'autre religion." The fighting parson had evidently caught a tartar. However, this controversial sparring did _not_ take place at Sillery.

The winter of 1666 was marked by a novel incident in the annals of the settlement. On the 9th of January, [183] 1666, the Governor of the colony, M. de Courcelles, with M. du Gas as second in command, and M. de Salampar, a volunteer, together with two hundred colonists who had volunteered, and three hundred soldiers of the dashing regiment of Carignan, [184] which the viceroy, the proud Marquis de Tracy, had brought over from Europe, after their return from their campaign in Hungary, sallied forth from the capital on snow-shoes. A century and a half later one might have met, with his gaudy state carriage and outriders, on that same road, another viceroy--this time an English one, as proud, as fond of display, as the Marquis de Tracy--with the Queen's Household Troops, the British Grenadiers, and Coldstream Guards--the Earl of Durham, one of our ablest, if not one of the most popular of our administrators. Let us now follow the French Governor of 1666, heading his light-hearted soldiers along the St. Louis road, all on snow-shoes, each man, His Excellency included, carrying on his back from 25 to 30 lbs. of biscuit, &c. The little army is bound towards the frontiers of New Holland (the State of New York) on a 900 miles' tramp (no railroads in those days), in the severest season of the year, to chastise some hostile Indian tribes, after incorporating in its ranks, during its march, the Three Rivers and Montreal reinforcements. History tells of the intense suffering [185] experienced during the expedition by these brave men, some of them more accustomed to Paris _salons_ than to Canadian forest warfare on snow-shoes, with spruce boughs and snow-drifts for beds. But let us not anticipate. We must be content to accompany them on that day to the Sillery settlement, a march quite sufficient for us degenerate Canadians of the nineteenth century.

Picture to yourself, our worthy friend, the hurry and scurry at the Missionary residence on that day--with what zest the chilled warriors crowd round the fires of the Indian wigwams, the number of pipes of peace they smoked with the chiefs, the fierce love the gallant Frenchmen swore to the blackeyed Montagnais and Algonquin houris of Sillery, whilst probably His Excellency and staff were seated in the residency close by, resorting to cordials and all those creature comforts to be found in monasteries, not forgetting _Grande Chartreuse_, to restore circulation through their benumbed frames!--How the reverend fathers showered down the blessings of St. Michael, the patron saint of the parish, on the youth and chivalry of France!--How the Sillery duennas, the _Capitainesses_, closely watched the gallant sons of Mars lest some of them [186] should attempt to induce their guileless neophytes to seek again the forest wilds, and roam at large--the willing wives of white men!

We shall clip a page from Father Barthélémy Vimont's _Journal of the Sillery Mission_, (Relations des Jesuits, 1643, pp. 12, 13, 14) an authentic record, illustrative of the mode of living there; it will, we are sure, gladden the heart even of an anchorite:--

"In 1643, the St. Joseph or Sillery settlement was composed of between thirty-five and forty Indian families, who lived there the whole year round except during the hunting season; other nomadic savages occasionally tarried at the settlement to procure food, or to receive religious instruction. That year there were yet but four houses built in the European fashion; the Algonquins were located in that part of the village close to the French residences; the Montagnais, on the opposite side; the houses accommodate chiefs only, their followers reside in bark huts until we can furnish proper dwellings for them all. In this manner was spent the winter season of 1642-3, the French ships left the St Lawrence for France on the 7th October, 1642; a period of profound quiet followed. Our Indians continued to catch eels, (this catch begins in September)--a providential means of subsistence during winter. The French settlers salt their eels, the Indians smoke theirs to preserve them. The fishing having ended about the beginning of November, they removed their provisions to their houses, when thirteen canoes of Atichamegues Indians arrived, the crews requesting permission to winter there and be instructed in the Christian religion. They camped in the neighborhood of the Montagnais, near to Jean Baptiste, the chief or captain of these savages, and placed themselves under the charge of Father Buteux, who undertook to christianize both, whilst Father Dequen superintended the religious welfare of the Algonquins. Each day all the Indians attended regularly to mass, prayers, and religious instruction. Catechism is taught to the children, and the smartest amongst them receive slight presents to encourage them, such as knives, bread, beads, hats, sometimes a hatchet for the biggest boys. Every evening Father Dequen calls at every hut and summons the inmates to evening prayers at the chapel. The _Hospitalières_ nuns also perform their part in the pious work; Father Buteux discharged similar duties amongst the Montagnais and Atichamegues neophytes. The Atichamegues have located themselves on a small height back of Sillery. 'When the Reverend Father visits them each evening, during the prevalence of snow storms, he picks his way in the forest, lantern in hand, but sometimes losing his footing, he rolls down the hill.' Thus passed for the Sillery Indians, the early portion of the winter. In the middle of January they all came and located themselves about a quarter of a league from Quebec, to make tobogins and began the first hunt, which lasted about three weeks. Each day they travelled a quarter of a league to Quebec to attend mass, generally at the chapel of the Ursuline Convent, where Father Buteux and also the nuns instructed them. In February they sought the deep woods to hunt the moose." "On my return to Sillery," adds Father Vimont, "twelve or thirteen infirm old Indians, women and children, who had been left behind, followed me to the Hospital, where we had to provide for them until the return, at Easter, of the hunting party."

Whilst the savage hordes were being thus reclaimed from barbarism at Sillery, a civilized community a few hundred miles to the east of it were descending to the level of savages. We read in Hutchinson's _History of Massachusetts Bay_, of our Puritan brethren of Boston, occasionally roasting defenceless women for witchcraft; thus perished, in 1645, Margaret Jones; and a few years after, in 1656, Mrs. Ann Hibbens, the lady of a respectable Boston merchant. Christians cutting one another's throats for the love of God. O, civilization, where is thy boast!

During the winter of 1656-7, Sillery contained, of Indians alone, about two hundred souls.

Let us now sum up the characteristics of the Sillery of ancient days in a few happy words, borrowed from the _Notes_ [187] published in 1855 on that locality, by the learned Abbé Ferland.

"A map of Quebec by Champlain exhibits, about a league above the youthful city, a point jutting out into the St. Lawrence, and which is covered with Indian wigwams. Later on this point received the name of Puiseaux, from the first owner of the Fief St. Michael, bounded by it to the southwest. [188] On this very point at present stands the handsome St. Columba church, surrounded by a village." [189]

"Opposite to it is the Lauzon shore, with its river _Bruyante_ [190] (the 'Etchemin'), its shipyards, its numerous shipping, the terminus of the Grand Trunk Railway; the villages and churches of Notre Dame de Lévis, St. Jean Chrysostôme and Saint Romuald. To your right and to your left the St. Lawrence is visible for some twelve or fifteen miles, covered with inward and outward bound ships. Towards the east the landscape is closed by Cap Tourment, twelve leagues distant, and by the cultivated heights of the _Petite Montagne_ of St. Féréol, exhibiting in succession the _Côte de Beaupré_, (Beauport), (L'Ange Gardien, &c.) the green slopes of the Island of Orleans, Cape Diamond, crowned with its citadel, and having at its feet a forest of masts, Abraham's Plains, the Coves and their humming, busy noises, St. Michael's Coves forming a graceful curve from Wolfe's cove to Pointe à Puiseaux. Within this area thrilling events once took place, and round these diverse objects historical souvenirs cluster, recalling some of the most important occurrences in North America; the contest of two powerful nations for the sovereignty of the New World; an important episode of the revolution which gave birth to the adjoining Republic. Such were some of the events of which these localities were the theatre. Each square inch of land, in fact, was measured by the footsteps of some of the most remarkable men in the history of America: Jacques Cartier, Champlain, Frontenac, Laval, Phipps, d'Iberville, Wolfe, Montcalm, Arnold, Montgomery, have each of them, at some time or other, trod over this expanse.

"Close by, in St. Michael's Cove, M. de Maisonneuve and Mademoiselle Mance passed their first Canadian winter, with the colonists intended to found Montreal. Turn your eyes towards the west, and although the panorama is less extensive, still it awakens some glorious memories. At Cap Rouge, Jacques Cartier established his quarters, close to the river's edge, the second winter he spent in Canada, and was succeeded in that spot by Roberval, at the head of his ephemeral colony. Near the entrance of the Chaudière river stood the tents of the Abnoquiois, the Etchemins and the Souriquois Indians, when they came from the shores of New England to smoke the calumet of peace with their brethren the French; the river Chaudière in those days was the highway which connected their country with Canada. Closer to Pointe à Puiseaux is Sillery Cove where the Jesuit Fathers were wont to assemble and instruct the Algonquin and Montagnais Indians, who were desirous of becoming Christians. It was from that spot that the neophytes used to carry the faith to the depths of the forest; it was here that those early apostles of Christianity congregated before starting with the joyous message for the country of the Hurons, for the shores of the Mississippi, or for the frozen regions of Hudson's Bay. From thence went Father P. Druilletes, the bearer of words of peace on behalf of the Christians of Sillery, to the Abnoquiois of Kennebeki, and to the puritans of Boston. Near this same mission of Sillery, Friar Liégeois was massacred by the Iroquois, whilst Father Poncet was carried away a captive by these barbarous tribes.

"Monsieur de Sillery devoted large sums to erect the necessary edifices for the mission, such as a chapel, a missionary residence, an hospital, a fort, houses for the new converts, together with the habitations for the French. The D'Auteuil family had their country seat on the hill back of Pointe à Puiseaux; and the venerable Madame de Monceau, the mother-in-law of the Attorney-General Ruette D'Auteuil, was in the habit of residing there from time to time, in a house she had constructed near the chapel."

In 1643, Father Bressani having been taken prisoner by the Iroquois, and having heard them discuss a plan to seize on the white maidens of Sillery (such were the names the Nuns went by); wrote it on some bark, which a Huron Indian having found, took it to Governor Montmagny. The Governor then organized a guard of six soldiers, who each day relieved one another at Sillery, to watch over the village--the incursions of the savages increasing, the soldiers refused to remain any longer, and Governor Montmagny gave the Hospitalières the use of a small house on the beach of the river in the lower town. (Hist. de l'Hôtel-Dieu, p. 50.)

Francis Parkman furnishes interesting details of the arrival of Piesharit, a famous Indian chief, at Sillery in 1645, and of a grand council held by deMontmagny, in the Jesuits House, which exists to this day, probably the oldest structure of the kind in Canada, dating from 1637.

"As the successful warriors approached the little mission settlement of Sillery, immediately above Quebec, they raised their song of triumph and beat time with their paddles on the edges of their canoes; while, from eleven poles raised aloft, eleven fresh scalps fluttered in the wind. The Father Jesuit and all his flock were gathered on the strand to welcome them. The Indians fired three guns, and screeched in jubilation; one Jean Baptiste, a Christian chief of Sillery, made a speech from the shore; Pisharet repeated, standing upright in his canoe, and to crown the occasion, a squad of soldiers, marching in haste from Quebec, fired a salute of musketry, to the boundless delight of the Indians. Much to the surprise of the two captives, there was no running of the gauntlet, no gnawing off of finger-nails or cutting off of fingers; but the scalps were hung, like little flags, over the entrance of the lodges, and all Sillery betook itself to feasting and rejoicing. One old woman, indeed, came to the Jesuit with a pathetic appeal. "Oh, my father! let me caress these prisoners a little: they have killed, burned, and eaten my father, my husband and my children." But the missionary answered with a lecture on the duty of forgiveness.

On the next day, Montmagny came to Sillery and there was a grand council in the house of the Jesuits. Pisharet, in a solemn harangue, delivered his captives to the Governor, who replied with a speech of compliment and an ample gift. The two Iroquois, were present, seated with a seeming imperturbability, but great anxiety of heart; and when at length they comprehended that their lives were safe, one of them, a man of great size and symmetry, rose and addressed Montmagny." [191]

It would be indeed a pleasant and easy task to recall all the remarkable events which occurred in this neighborhood. One thing is certain, the cool retreats studding the shores of the St. Lawrence were equally sought for by the wealthy in those days as they have been since by all those who wish to breathe pure air and enjoy the scenery.

The Sillery settlement commenced to be deserted about the beginning of the last century. After the cession of Canada the care of the buildings was neglected, and they soon fell to ruins; but the residence of the missionary fathers was preserved, and the ruins of the other structures remained standing long enough to be susceptible of identification with certainty. Several of the old inhabitants recollect having seen the church walls demolished, and they were of great solidity. Abbé Ferland himself, twenty years ago, saw a portion of those walls standing above ground. The ruins of the hospital and the convent were razed about fifty years ago, and in demolishing them several objects were discovered, some of which must have belonged to the good ladies, the _Hospitalières_ nuns.

For the benefit of those who might feel inclined to explore the remaining vestiges of M. Sillery's foundation, I shall furnish some details on the locality. About the centre of Sillery Cove can be seen a cape, not very high, but with its sides perpendicular. The position of surrounding objects point it out as the spot on which stood the fort intended to protect the village; there also, in a dry soil, stood the cemetery, from which several bodies were exhumed in the course of last summer (1854) At the foot of the cape, on your left, is the missionaries' house now converted into a residence for the clerks of Messrs. E. R. Dobell & Co. This building has been kept in repair, and is still in a good state of preservation. In a line with it, and nearest the St. Lawrence, can be discovered the foundation of the church. This edifice stood north-east and south-west.

Near the wall closest to the river ran a spring of water, perfectly clear, and, no doubt, used for the wants of the church and of the presbytery. Several other streams of excellent water run down the hill and intersect the grounds in all directions. No misconception can exist as to where the chapel stood, as there are still (in 1855) living several persons who saw the walls standing, and can point out the foundations which have since been identified and enclosed by stone pillars and chains. To the right of the small cape, and on a line with the chapel, stood the hospital, now deserted for more than two centuries. Over its foundation an elm has grown,--'tis now a handsome and large tree; six feet from the ground its circumference measures two fathoms (12 feet), which makes its diameter about three and a half. Heriot thus describes the locality in 1806:--

"From hence to Cap Rouge the scenery, on account of its beauty and variety, attracts the attention of the passenger. At Sillery, a league from Quebec, on the north shore, are the ruins of an establishment which was begun in 1637, intended as a religious institution for the conversion and instruction of natives of the country; it was at one time inhabited by twelve French families. The buildings are placed upon level ground, sheltered by steep banks, and close by the borders of the river; they now only consist of two old stone houses, fallen to decay, and of the remains of a small chapel (the chapel has of late been repaired and fitted up for a malt house, and some of the other buildings have been converted into a brewery). [192] In this vicinity the Algonquins once had a village; several of their tumuli, or burying places, are still discoverable in the woods, and hieroglyphics cut on the trees remain, in some situations, yet unaffected." [193]

On the 6th June, 1865, we determined to afford ourselves a long-promised treat, and go and survey, with Abbé Ferland's _Notes on Sillery_ open before us, and also the help of that eminently respected authority in every parish, the "oldest inhabitant," the traces of the Sillery settlement of 1637. Nor had we long to wait before obtaining ocular demonstration of the minute exactitude with which our old friend, the Abbé, had investigated and measured every stone, every crumbling remain of brick and mortar. The first and most noticeable relic pointed out was the veritable house of the missionaries, facing the St. Lawrence, on the north side of the road, on Sillery Cove; it was the property of the late Henry Le Mesurier, Esquire, of Beauvoir. Were it in the range of possible events that the good fathers could revisit the scene of their past apostolical labours and view their former earthly tenement, hard would be the task to identify it. The heavy three-feet-thick wall is there yet, as perfect, as massive, as defiant as ever; the pointed gable and steep roof, in spite of alterations, still stands--the true index of an old French structure in Canada. Our forefathers seemed as if they never could make the roof of a dwelling steep enough, doubtless to prevent the accumulation of snow. But here ends all analogy with the past; so jaunty, so cosy, so modern does the front and interior of Sillery "Manor House" look--thus styled for many years past. Paint, paper and furniture have made it quite a snug abode. Nor was it without a certain peculiar feeling of reverence we, for the first time, crossed that threshold, and entered beneath those fortress- like walls, where for years had resounded the orisons of the Jesuit Fathers, the men from whose ranks were largely recruited our heroic band of early martyrs--some of whose dust, unburied, but not unhonoured, has mingled for two centuries with its parent earth on the green banks of Lake Simcoe, on the borders of the Ohio, in the environs of Kingston, Montreal, Three Rivers, Quebec--a fruitful seed of christianity scattered bountifully through the length and breadth of our land; others, whose lifeless clay still rests in yon sunny hillock in the rear, to the west of the "Manor House"--the little cemetery described by Abbé Ferland. Between the "Manor House" and the river, about forty feet from the house, inclining towards the south, are the remains of the foundation walls of the Jesuit's church or chapel, dating back to 1640. On the 13th June, 1657, fire made dreadful havoc in the residence of the Jesuits (_Relations_, for 1657, p. 26); they stand north-east and south-west, and are at present flush with the greensward; a large portion of them were still visible about thirty-five years ago, as, attested by many living witnesses; they were converted into ballast for ships built at this spot, and into materials for repairing the main road by some Vandal who will remain nameless. From the Manor House you notice the little cape to the south-west mentioned in Abbé Ferland's _Notes_, though growing smaller and smaller every year from the quantities of soil and stone taken from it, also to repair the road. The large elm pointed out by the Abbé as having grown over the spot where the hospital stood is there yet, a majestic tree. The selection of a site for the little cemetery is most judicious, several little streams from the heights in the rear filter through the ground, producing a moisture calculated to prevent decomposition and explanatory of the singular appearance of the bodies disinterred there in 1855. Every visitor will be struck with the beauty, healthiness and shelter which this sequestered nook at Sillery presents for a settlement, and with its adaptability for the purposes for which it was chosen, being quite protected against our two prevailing winds, the north-east and south-west, with a warm southern exposure.

Many years after the opening of the Algonquin and Montagnais school at Sillery, the Huron Indians, after being relentlessly tracked by their inveterate foes, the Five Nations, divided into five detachments; one of these hid on the Great Manitoulin Island, others elsewhere; a portion came down to Quebec on the 26th July, 1650, [194] under the direction of Father Ragueneau, and, on the 28th July, 1650, settled first on the Jesuits land at Beauport; in March, 1651, they went to _Ance du Fort_, on the lands of Mademoiselle de Grandmaison, on the Island of Orleans. But the Iroquois having scented their prey in their new abode, made a raid on the island, butchered seventy-one of them, and carried away some prisoners. The unfortunate redskins soon left the Island in dismay, and for protection, encamped in the city of Quebec itself, under the cannon of the fort, constructed by Governor d'Aillebout to receive them, near the Jesuits College (at Cote de St. Michel); in 1667, they settled on the northerly frontier of Sillery, [195] in Notre Dame de Foy [now St. Foye]; restless and scared, they again shifted they quarters on the 29th December, 1693, and pitched their erratic tents at Ancienne Lorette, which place they also abandoned many years afterwards to go and settle at _Jeune_ or Indian Lorette, where the remnants of this once warlike race [196] (the _nobles_ amongst Indian tribes) exist, now crossed with their Caucasian brethren, and vegetate in obscurity--exotic trees transplanted far from their native wilds.

Shall we venture to assert that Sillery equals in size some of the German principalities, and that, important though it be, like European dynasties, it has had its periods of splendor succeeded by eras of medieval obscurity. From 1700 down to the time of the conquest, we appeal in vain to the records of the past for any historical event connected with it; everywhere reigns supreme a Cimmerian darkness. But if the page of history is silent, the chronicles of the _ton_ furnish some tit-bits of drawing- room chit-chat. Thus, as stated in Hawkins' celebrated _Historical Picture of Quebec_, [197] the northern portion of the parish skirting the St. Foye road "was the favorite drive of the Canadian belle." In these few words, of Hawkins is involved an intricate question for the salons, a problem to solve, more abstruse than the one which agitated the Grecian cities respecting the birth of Homer. Who then was the Canadian Belle of former days? The Nestors of the present generation still speak with admiration of a fascinating stranger who, close to the end of the last century, used to drive on the St. Foye road, when a royal duke lived in the city, in what is now styled "The Kent House," on St. Louis street. The name of this distinguished traveller, a lady of European birth, was Madame St. Laurent; but, kind reader, have patience. The Canadian belle who thus enjoyed her drives in the environs of Quebec was not Madame St. Laurent, as it is distinctly stated at page 170 of Hawkins that this occurred before the conquest, viz., 1759. Might it have been that vision of female loveliness, that spotless and beautiful Mrs. De Léry, whose presentation at court, with her handsome husband, shortly after the conquest, elicited from His Majesty George III. the expression which history has preserved, "If such are all my new Canadian subjects, I have indeed made a conquest;" or must we picture to ourselves as the Canadian belle that peerless beauty, that witty and aspiring Madame Hughes Pean, Intendant Bigot's fair charmer, mysteriously hinted at, in all the old Quebec guide books, as "Mrs. P----." Madame Hughes Pean, [198] whose husband was Town Major of Quebec, owned a seigniory in the vicinity of the city--some say at St. Vallier, where Mons Pean used to load with corn the vessels he dispatched elsewhere; she also was one of the gay revellers at the romantic Hermitage, Bigot's shooting lodge at Charlesbourg. Old memoirs seem to favour this version. Be this as it may the St. Foy road was a favorite drive even a century before the present day; so says Hawkins' historical work on Quebec--no mean authority, considering that the materials thereof were furnished by that accomplished scholar and eminent barrister, the late Andrew Stuart, father of the present Judge Stuart, and compiled by the late Dr. John Charlton Fisher, one of the able joint editors of the New York _Albion_, and father of Mrs. Ed. Burstall, late of Sillery. Who was the reigning belle in 1759, we confess that all our antiquarian lore has failed to satisfactorily unravel. The battles of 1759 and 1760 have rendered Sillery, St. Foye, and the Plains of Abraham classic ground. The details of these events, having appeared elsewhere, [199] the reader is referred to them.

Those of the present day desirous to ascertain the exact spot in the environs of Quebec where past events have taken place, ought to be careful not to be misled by subsequent territorial divisions for municipal or canonical purposes. Many may not be aware that our forefathers included under the denomination of Abraham's Heights that plateau of comparatively level ground extending in a south-easterly direction from the _Coteau Ste. Geneviève_ towards the lofty banks which line the River St. Lawrence, covering the greatest part of the land on which subsequently have been built the St. Lewis and St. John's suburbs, the hilly portion towards the city and river, where stands the Asile Champêtre; thence south-east, being then called Buttes à Nepveu; the land close by, between the Plains and Pointe à Puiseaux, as Côte St. Michael; the ascent from the valley of the St. Charles towards this plateau was through the hill known as Côte d'Abraham. The locality afterwards known as Woodfield and Spencer Wood, in the fief of St. Michael, was designated as the wood of Sames, thus called after a celebrated French ecclesiastic of Quebec, Bishop Dosquet, who owned there a country seat in 1753--then known as Sames-- later on, as Woodfield. To the west lay the Gomin Wood--which had taken its name from a French botanist, Dr. Gomin, who had located himself on land on which it is said, Coulonge Cottage was subsequently built in order to study the Flora of Sillery, which is very varied and rich.

The old Sillery settlement, which lay within the limits of the parish of Ste. Foye, was, in 1855, placed under the distinguished tutelage of a Saint, dear to those who hail from the Emerald Isle, and called St. Columba of Sillery. Thus the realms heretofore sacred to the Archangel, St. Michael and to St. Joseph, have peaceably passed under the gentle sway of St. Columba, despite the law of prescription. The British residents of Sillery--and this ought to console sticklers for English precedents and the sacredness of vested rights--did not permit the glory of the Archangel to depart, and soon after the erection of St. Columbia into a parish, the handsome temple of worship called St. Michael's church, came into existence. [200]

_OUR COUNTRY SEATS._

In the preceding paper a general sketch has been attempted of that portion of the St. Lawrence highlands adjoining Quebec to the west--a locality remarkable for the numerous residences it contains of "the nobility of commerce," as a contemporary facetiously styles our merchants. We shall, in the following go over a great portion of the same ground, delineating, first the land area west of Quebec proper, where was fought the battle of the 13th Sept., 1759, _the Plains or Abraham_, and next detail, specifically, the most attractive of these country residences, enlarging our canvass, however, so as to comprise also descriptions of rural homes beyond the limits of Sillery. Many other abodes we would also desire to take in these pages, but space precludes it. It is hoped we won't be misunderstood in our literary project: far is it from our intention to write a panegyric of individuals or a paean to success, although sketches of men or domestic recollections may frequently find their place in the description of their abodes. No other desire prompted us but that of attempting to place prominently before the public the spots with which history or nature has more specially enriched Quebec. Quebecers ought to be proud of their scenery and of the historical ivy which clings to the old walls of Stadacona. Neighbouring cities may grow vast with brick and mortar; their commerce may advance with the stride of a young giant; their citizens may sit in high places among the sons of men, but can they ever compare with our own fortress for historical memories or beautiful scenery? We shall assign the first place to the mansion which still crowns the Montmorenci Falls, once the abode of the father of our Sovereign; we shall then view the residences on the St. Lewis road in succession, then those along the St. Foy road, and finally close this paper with the description of other remarkable spots in the neighborhood of Quebec.-- Lorette, Château Bigot, Montmorency Falls, Chaudière Falls.

_THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM._

"Aux plaines d'Abraham, rendez-vous des batailles, revenez voir ces lieux, oh! revenez encore, officiers du _Grand Roi_, revenez tous aussi, La Barre, Frontenac, Denonville, Tracy! alignez vous, soldats, Carignan et Guienne, appuyez, Languedoc et Béarn et la Reine."-- _Alp. de Puibusque_.

"Among modern Battle-fields," says Col. (now Lt. General) Beatson, "none surpass in romantic interest the Plains or Heights of Abraham."

No Quebecer would have the hardihood to challenge the assertion of this able engineer officer, stationed here from 1849 to 1854, and who spared neither time nor pains, with the assistance of our historians and antiquarians, Ferland, Faribault and McGuire, to collect authentic information on this subject. Col. Beatson compiled a volume of historical notes, which he published in 1858, when stationed at Gibraltar. [201]

The Plains of Abraham will ever be famous, as having witnessed, more than one century back, the deadly encounter of the then two leading nations of Europe--England and France--to decide the fate of Canada--one might say (by the series of events it led to) the destinies of North America.

Of this mighty duel, which crimsoned with human gore these fields one murky September morning, in 1759--Smollett, Carlyle, Bancroft, Hawkins, Smith, Garneau, Ferland, Miles and other historians have vied with one another to furnish a graphic account. Of the origin of the name, none until lately could tell.

"Notwithstanding," adds Col. Beatson, "the world-like celebrity of these Plains, it was not until very recently that the derivation of their name was discovered; and as it is comparatively unknown, even in Canada, the following explanation of its origin will doubtless possess attractions for such as are fond of tracing to their sources the names of celebrated localities, and who may be surprised to learn that upwards of a century previous to the final conquest of Canada by the British arms, the scene of the decisive struggle for national supremacy in the northern division of the New World had derived its name from one who, if not a Scotchman by birth, would seem to have been of Scottish lineage. This apparently improbable fact will, however, appear less extraordinary when it is known that he was a sea- faring man; and when it is considered how close was the alliance and how frequent the intercourse which, for centuries before that period, had subsisted between France and Scotland.

"This individual, whose name was Abraham Martin, is described in a legal document, dated the 15th August, 1646, and preserved among the archives of the Bishop's Palace, at Quebec, as (the King's) Pilot of the St. Lawrence; an appointment which probably conferred on its possessor considerable official rank; for we find that Jacques Quartier, or Cartier, the enterprising discoverer and explorer of the St. Lawrence, when about to proceed in 1540, on his third voyage to Canada, was appointed by Francis I, Captain General and Master Pilot of the expedition which consisted of four vessels.

"That Martin was a person of considerable importance in the then infant colony of New France may also be inferred from the fact that, in the journal of the Jesuits and in the parish register of Quebec, he is usually designated by his Christian name only, Maître Abraham; as well as from the circumstance of Champlain, the distinguished founder of Quebec and father of New France, having been god-father to one of Abraham's daughters (Hélène) and of Charles de St. Etienne, Sieur de la Tour, of Acadian celebrity, having stood in the same relation to Martin's youngest son, Charles Amador.

"The earliest mention of Martin's name occurs in the first entry of the parish register of Quebec, viz., on, the 24th of October, 1621; when his son Eustache, who died shortly afterwards, was baptized by father Denis, a Franciscan Friar. The second baptism therein recorded is that of his daughter Marguerite, which took place in 1624; and it is stated in the register that these children were born of the legitimate marriage of Abraham Martin surnamed or usually known as _the Scot_ ("dict l'Ecossois.") Their family was numerous; besides Anne and other children previously to the opening of the register in 1621, the baptism of the following are therein recorded:--

Eustache,................ \ / 1621. Marguerite,.............. | | 1624. Marie,................... | | 1627. Adrien,.................. | Born in | 1635. Madelaine,............... | | 1640. Barbe (Barbara),......... | | 1643. Charles Amador,.......... / \ 1648.

who was the second Canadian raised to the priesthood, and became a canon at the erection of the chapter of Quebec."

As the reader will observe there is nothing to connect the Plains with that of the patriarch of Genesis. Nay, though our Scotch friend owned a family patriarchal in extent, on referring to The Jesuits' Journal we find, we regret to way, at page 120 an Entry, according to which the "Ancient Mariner" seems to have been very summarily dealt with; in fact committed to prison for a delinquency involving the grossest immorality. The appellation of Plains of Abraham was formerly given by our historians to that extensive plateau stretching from the city walls to the Sillery Wood, bounded to the north by the heights of land overhanging the valley of the St. Charles, and to the south by the _coin du cap_ overlooking the St. Lawrence, whose many indentures form coves or timber berths, for storing square timber, &c., studded with deep water wharves.

The hill in St. John suburbs or ascent leading up from the valley of the St. Charles, where St. Roch has since been built to the table-land above, was from time immemorial known as COTE D'ABRAHAM, Abraham's Hill. Why did it bear that name?

On referring to the Parish Register of Quebec, from 1621 to 1700, one individual seems to have borne the name of Abraham, and that person is Abraham Martin, to whom under the appellation of _Maître_ Abraham, repeated reference is made both in the Register and the Jesuits' Journal.

Abraham Martin, according to the documents quoted by Col. Beatson, owned in two separate lots--one of twenty and the other of twelve _arpents_--thirty-two _arpents_ of land, covering, as appears by the subjoined Plan or Diagram copied from his work, a great portion of the site on which St. John and St. Louis Suburbs have since been erected. Abraham's property occupied, it would seem, a portion of the area--the northern section--which, for a long period, also went under the name of Abraham's Plains. It adjoined other land of the Ursuline Ladies then owned on _Côteau St. Louis_, closer to the city, when 1667, [202] it was purchased by them; at that time, the whole tract, according to Col. Beatson, went under the general name of Plains of Abraham. Such appear to be the results of recent researches on this once very obscure question.

_THE BATTLE FIELD._

Two highways, lined with country seats, forest trees or cornfields run parallel, at a distance varying from one to half a mile, leading into Quebec: the _Grande Allée_, or St. Louis and the Ste. Foye road. They intersect from east to west the expanse, nine miles in length, from _Cap Rouge_ to the city. These well known chief arteries of travel were solidly macadamized in 1841. At the western point, looms out the oak and pine clad cliffs of a lofty cape--_Cap Rouge_ or _Redclyffe_. Here wintered, in 1541-2, the discoverer of Canada, Cartier and his followers, here, in 1543-4, his celebrated follower, Roberval, seems also to have sojourned during the dreary months of winter.

A small stream, at the foot of the cape, meanders in a north westerly direction through St. Augustin and neighbouring parishes, forming a deep valley all around the cape. The conformation of the land has led geologists to infer that, at some remote period, the plateau, extending to Quebec, must have been surrounded on all sides by water, the _Cap Rouge_ stream and St. Charles being the outlets on the west, north and east. This area increases in altitude until it reaches the lofty summit of Cape Diamond, its eastern boundary. Nature itself seems to have placed these rugged heights as an insurmountable barrier to invasion from the St. Lawrence. With the walls, bastion and heavy city guns; with artillery in position on the _Cap Rouge_ promontory; cavalry patrolling the Sillery heights; a numerous army on the only accessible portion of the coast-- Beauport, Quebec, if succoured in time, was tolerably safe; so thought some of the French engineers, though not Montcalm.

"The two engagements," says Chauveau, "that of the 15th September, 1759, and that of the 28th of April, 1760, occupied nearly all the plateau hereinbefore described. The first, however, it would seem, was fought chiefly on the St. Louis road, whilst the second took place on the Ste. Foye road. Each locality has its monument, one erected in the honour of Wolfe, on the identical spot where he fell; the other in 1855, to commemorate the glorious fate of the combatants of 1760, where the carnage was the thickest, viz: on the site where stood Dumont's mill (a few yards to the east of the dwelling of J. W. Dunscomb, Esq.)

"The victory of 1759 was a fitting reward of Wolfe's valour, punished the infamies of the Bigot _régime_ and withdrew Canada from the focus of the terrible chastisement which awaited France soon after--in the Reign of Terror--for her impiety and immorality. The victory of April, 1760, was a comforting incident--a species of compensation to a handful of brave and faithful colonists, for the crushing disaster which had befallen their cause, the preceding September. It was the crowning--though bootless victory--to the recent brilliant, but useless success of the French arms at Carillon, Monongahela, Fort George, Ticonderoga, Beauport Flats. It was, moreover, the last title, added to numerous others, to the esteem and respect of their conquerors."

Of the second battle of the Plains, that of 28th April 1760, called by some writers "The battle of Ste. Foye," by others "The battle of Sillery Wood," so bloody in its results, so protracted in its duration, we have in _Garneau's History_ the first complete account, the historian Smith having glossed over with striking levity this "French victory." The loss of the rival Generals, at the battle of the Plains, of September, 1759, though an unusual incident in warfare, was not without precedent Generals Braddock and DeBeaujeu in 1755, had both sealed on the battlefield their devotion to their country with their blood on the shores of the Monongahela, in Ohio; in this case as in that of Wolfe and Montcalm, he whose arms were to prevail, falling first.

In 1759, everything conspired to transform this conflict into an important historical event. Even after the lapse of a century, one sometimes is fain to believe, it sums up all which Europe recollects of primitive Canada. The fall of Quebec did not merely bring to a close the fierce rivalry of France and England in America. It lent an immense prestige to Great Britain, by consolidating her maritime supremacy over France--a supremacy she then so highly prized. The event, after the discouraging news which had prevailed, was heralded all over England by the ringing of the bells, and public thanksgiving. Bonfires blazed through the length and breadth of the land, it was a national victory which King, Peers and Commons could not sufficiently extol, and still what has been the ultimate result? By removing the French power from Canada--the only counterpoise to keep down the restless and thriving New England colonies, New England, from being strong got to be defiant. The surrender of Canada hastened the American Revolution. The rule of Britain soon ceased to exist in the New England Provinces; and later on, in 1810, by the abrogation of the right of search on the high seas, her maritime supremacy became a dead letter. As Mr. Chauveau has remarked, "if the independence of America meant the lessening of the British prestige, it remains yet to be proved that France has benefitted thereby."

How much of these momentous changes can be traced to the incidents (perhaps the treason of Bigot), [203] which made the scale of victory incline to British valour on the 13th of September, 1759!

Those desirous of obtaining a full account of the two battles of the Plains are referred among other works, to "Quebec Past and Present." I shall merely borrow from Col. Beatson's very rare volume details not to be found in the ordinary histories.

"It has," says Col Beatson, "been alleged that Montcalm in hastening to meet the British on an open plain, and thereby to decide in a single battle, the fate of a fertile Province nearly equal in extent to one-half of Europe, was not only forgetful of his usual caution, but acted with culpable temerity."

Such action, however, proceeded from no sudden impulse, but from a noble resolve deliberately formed after the most mature consideration and recorded some time previously.

Painfully convinced how little security the weak defences of the city could afford against the determined assault of well disciplined and ably led troops, he believed that however great the risk of meeting his daring adversary in the open field, this course was the only one that seemed to promise him any chance of success. Besides, he had a force numerically [204] superior to that of the English General, could he have concentrated them at one spot. Bougainville with the flower of the French army, the grenadiers and volunteers, 3,000 strong, according to professor Dussieux, was at Cap Rouge, six miles from the battlefield and took no part in the fight, having arrived there more than one hour after the fate of Canada was decided. 1,500 men had been left at the Beauport camp to repel the feint by Admiral Saunders' ships, on the morning of the 13 Sept., 1759. The Charlesbourg, Lorette and Beauport militia had been granted leave to return home that week, to look after their harvest: a curious coincidence.

The French army was as follows, viz: Left | The Royal Roussillon Regiment, a battalion Regulars. Militia. Wing | of the marines, or colony troops, and | Canadian militia........................... 1,300 2,300 Centre.--The Regiments of Béarn and militia. ...... 720 1,200 Right | The Regiments of La Sarre and Languedoc, Wing | a battalion of the marine, and militia..... 1,600 400 ----- ----- 3,620 3,900

Wolfe's _field-state_ on the morning of the 13th September, showed only 4,828 men of all ranks, from the General downwards; but of these every man was a trained soldier.

And within little more than an hour's march from the Plains, he could not honourably have remained inactive while believing that only a part of the enemy's force was in possession of such vantage ground; and neither the dictates of prudence [205] nor his own chivalrous spirit and loyal regard for the national honour, would permit him to betray a consciousness of weakness by declining the combat, on finding himself unexpectedly confronted by the whole of Wolfe's army. Relying, doubtless, on the prestige of his victories during the campaign of the proceeding year (1758) in which he had been uniformly successful, and in which at Ticonderoga, with four thousand men he had defeated General Abercromby at the head of nearly four times that number--he endeavoured by a confident bearing and encouraging expressions [206] to animate his troops with hopes which he himself could scarcely entertain; and though almost despairing of success, boldly resolved to attempt, by a sudden and vigorous onset, to dislodge his rival before the latter could intrench himself in his commanding position, and it is surely no blot on his fame that the superior discipline and unflinching steadiness of his opponents, the close and destructive volley [207] by which the spirited but disorderly advance of his battalions was checked, and the irresistible [208] charge which completed their confusion, rendered unavailing his gallant effort to save the colony; for (to borrow the words of the eloquent historian of the _Peninsular War_), "the vicissitudes of war are so many that disappointment will sometimes attend the wisest combinations; and a ruinous defeat, the work of chance close the career of the boldest and most sagacious of Generals, so that to judge a commander's conduct by the event alone is equally unjust and unphilosophical."

In the remarkable letter said to have been addressed to his cousin, M. de Molé, _Président au Parlement de Paris_, and dated _from the camp before Quebec, 22nd August_, 1759,"--a fortnight before the battle-- MONTCALM thus pathetically describes how hopeless would be the situation in the event of WOLFE effecting a landing near the city; and, with a firm heart, foretold his own fate,

"Here I am, my dear cousin, after the lapse of more than three months still contending with Mr. WOLFE, who has incessantly bombarded Quebec with a fury unexampled in the attack of any place, which the besieger has wished to retain after his capture.

"Nearly all the whole of Lower Town has been destroyed by his batteries and of the Upper Town a great part is likewise in ruins. But even if he leaves not one stone upon another, he will never obtain possession of the capital of the colony whilst his operations continue to be confined to the opposite side of the river.

"Notwithstanding all his efforts during these three months, be has hitherto made no progress towards the accomplishment of his object. He is ruining us, but without advantage to himself. The campaign can scarcely last another month, in consequence of the approach of the autumnal gales, which are so severe and so disastrous to shipping.

"It may seem that, after so favourable a prelude, the safety of the colony can scarcely be doubtful. Such, however, is not the case, as the capture of Quebec depends on a _coup-de-main_. The English have entire command of the river, and have only to effect a landing on this side, where the city without defences is situated. Imagine them in a position to offer me battle! _which I could no longer decline, and which I ought not to gain_.

"Indeed, if M. WOLFE understands his business he has only to receive my first fire, give a volley in return, and then charge; when my Canadians--undisciplined, deaf to the sound of the drum, and thrown into confusion by his onset--would be incapable of resuming their ranks. Moreover, as they have no bayonets with which to oppose those of the enemy, nothing would remain for them but flight; and then-- behold me beaten without resource.

"Conceive my situation! a most painful one for a General-in-Chief, and which causes me many distressing moments.

"Hitherto, I have been enabled to act successfully on the defensive; but will a continuance in that course prove ultimately successful? that is the question which events must decide! Of this, however, you may rest assured, that I shall probably not survive the loss of the colony. There are circumstances which leave to a General no choice but that of dying with honour; such may soon be my fate; and I trust that in this respect posterity will have no cause to reproach my memory." [209]

MONTCALM, conspicuous in front of the left wing of his line, and WOLFE, at the head of the 28th Regiment, and the Louisbourg Grenadiers, towards the right of the British line, must have been nearly opposite to each other at the commencement of the battle, which was most severe in that part of the field; and, by a singular coincidence each of these heroic leaders had been twice wounded during the brief conflict before he received his last and fatal wound.

But the valiant Frenchman, regardless of pain, relaxed not his efforts to rally his broken battalions in their hurried retreat towards the city, until he was shot through the loins, when within a few yards of the St. Louis Gate. And so invincible was his fortitude that not even the severity of this mortal stroke could abate his gallant spirit or alter his intrepid bearing. Supported by two grenadiers--one at each side of his horse--he re-entered the city; and in reply to some woman who, on seeing blood flow from his wounds as he rode down St. Louis street, on his way to the château, [210] exclaimed, _Oh, mon Dieu! mon Dieu! le marquis est tué!_ courteously assured them that he was not seriously hurt, and beg them not to distress themselves on his account. _Ce n'est rien! Ce n'est rien! Ne vous affligez pas pour moi, mes bonnes amies._ The last words of WOLFE--imperishably enshrined in history--excite, after the lapse of a century, the liveliest admiration and sympathy, and similar interest may, perhaps be awakened by the narrative of the closing scene in the eventful career of his great opponent.

On the 24th of March, 1761, the French troops who had served in Canada under Montcalm, through M de Bougainville, applied to the British Government for leave to raise a monument to the illustrious dead hero. The British Government, through Mr. Pitt, sent back to Paris on the 10th April, 1761, a graceful letter of acquiescence. The inscription had been prepared by the _Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres_. Unfortunately the marble on which the inscription was engraved by some cause or other never reached Canada. However, in 1831, Lord Aylmer erected over the tomb of the marquis, in the Ursuline Convent, a simple mural tablet of white marble, having the following concise and beautiful epitaph from his Excellency's own pen--

HONNEUR à MONTCALM Le Destin en lui dérobant la Victoire L'a récompensé par une mort glorieuse.

In the course of the following year (1832), there was also erected by his Lordship a small monument on the battle-field to indicate the spot where WOLFE expired, which structure, having become injured, has since given place to a pedestal and column about thirty-five feet high, surmounted by a Roman helmet wreathed with a laurel, and sword; both in bronze.

On two sides of the pedestal are inserted bronze panels, with inscriptions cast in bold relief; one of which thus briefly records the place, circumstances, and date of the conquering hero's death:

Here Died WOLFE Victorious September the 13th, 1759.

The other is as follows:

"This pillar was erected By the British Army in Canada, A.D. 1849; His Excellency Lieut.-General Sir Benjamin d'Urban, G.C.B.; K.C.H.; K.C.T.S., &c., Commander of the Forces, To replace that erected by Governor-General Lord Aylmer, G.C.B., Which was broken and defaced, and is deposited underneath.

From the foregoing, all admit that the Plains of Abraham must recall memories equally sacred to both nationalities inhabiting Quebec.

The 13th September, 1759, and the 28th April, 1760, are two red-letter days in our annals; the undying names of Wolfe and Montcalm claim the first, the illustrious names of Levis and Murray, the second.

In the September engagement Montcalm's right wing rested on the Ste. Foye road; his left on the St. Louis road, near the Buttes-à-Nepveu (Perrault's Hill.)

In the April encounter, Murray's hardy warriors occupied the greatest portion of the north-western section of the plateau. His right wing rested on Coteau Ste. Genevieve, St. John Suburbs, and his left reached to the edge of the cliff, overhanging the St Lawrence, near Marchmont. On the 13th September, the French began the fight; on the 28th April it was the British who fired first. Fifteen years later, in 1775, the Heights of Abraham became the camping ground of other foes. This time the British of New England were pitted against the British of New France; we all know with what result.

_BATTLEFIELD PARK._

The departure from our shores of England's red coated legions, in 1871, amongst other voids, left waste, untenanted, and unoccupied, the historic area, for close on one century reserved as their parade and exercising grounds on review days--The Plains of Abraham. This famous battle-field does not, we opine, belong to Quebec alone; it is the common property of all Canada. The military authorities always so careful in keeping its fences in repair handed it over to the Dominion, which made no provision for this purpose. On the 9th March, 1875, the Dominion Government leased it to the Corporation of the city of Quebec, for ten years of the lease under which it was held from the Religious Ladies of the Ursulines of Quebec, provided the Corporation assumed the conditions of the lease, involving an annual rental of two hundred dollars.

The extensive conflagration of June 1876, which laid waste one-half of St. Louis Suburbs, and the consequent impoverished state of the municipal finances prevented the City authorities from voting any money to maintain in proper order the fences of the Plains. Decay, ruin and disorder were fast settling on this sacred ground, once moistened by the blood of heroes, when the citizens of Quebec spontaneously came to the rescue. No plan suggested to raise the necessary funds obtained more favour than that of planting it with some shade-trees, and converting it into a Driving Park. This idea well carried out would, in a measure, associate it with the everyday life of all citizens of all denominations. Its souvenir, its wondrous river-views alone would attract thousands. It would be open _gratis_ to all well-behaved pedestrians. The fatigued tradesman, the weary labourer, may at any time saunter round and walk to the brink of the giddy heights facing Levi; feast their eyes on the striking panorama unrolled at their feet; watch the white winged argosies of commerce float swan-like on the bosom of the mighty flood, whilst the wealthy citizen, in his panelled carriage, would take his afternoon drive round the Park _en payant_. The student, the scholar, the traveller might each in turn find here amusement, and fresh air and shade, and with sketch book and map in hand, come and study or copy the formation of the battle-field and its monument; whilst the city _belle_ on her palfrey, or the youthful equestrian, fresh from college, might enjoy a canter round the undulating course in September on all days, except that Autumn week sacred to the turf, ever since 1789, selected by the sporting fraternity.

In November, 1876, an association was formed, composed as follows: His Honour the Lieut.-Governor, His Worship the Mayor, Chief Justice Meredith, Hon. Judge Tessier, Hon. E. Chinic, Hon. D. E. Price, Chs. E. Levey, Hon. P. Garneau, Col. Rhodes, John Gilmour, John Burstall, Hon. C. C. DeLéry, J. Bte. Renaud, Jos. Hamel, J. M. LeMoine, Hon. Thos. McGreevy, Hon. C. Alleyn, C. F. Smith, A. P. Caron, Thos. Beckett, James Gibb, R. R. Dobell, with E. J. Meredith, Secretary. Hon. E. Chinic, and Messrs. C. F. Smith, and R. R. Dobell were named Trustees to accept for the nominal sum of $1, the lease held by the City Corporation, the Corporation continuing liable for the annual rent of $200. Though the late period of the season prevented the association from doing anything, beyond having the future Park suitably fenced in, the praiseworthy object in contemplation has not been lost sight of, and active measures in furtherance of the same will yet be taken.

It would be unjust to close this hasty sketch without awarding a word of praise and encouragement to one of the most active promoters of the scheme, R. R. Dobell, Esq., of Beauvoir, Sillery. (These lines penned in 1876, we recall this day, with regret, the excellent idea of Battlefield Park having fallen through, on the promoters discovery that the 99 years lease, granted by the Ursuline Nuns would expire in a very few years, when the Nuns would resume the site).

_THE DUKE OF KENT'S LODGE,--MONTMORENCI._

"Oh! give me a home where the cataract's foam Is admired by the poor and the rich, as they roam By thy banks, Montmorenci, so placid and fair, Oh! what would I give, could I find a home there."

The Montmorenci heights and beaches have become famous on account of the successful defence made there during the whole summer of 1759, by Montcalm, against the attacks of Wolfe's veterans. Finally, the French lines having been deemed impregnable on the Beauport side, a fort and barracks [211] were repeatedly talked of at Isle aux Coudres, to winter the troops. Wolfe was, however, overruled in his councils, and a spot near Sillery pointed out for a descent, possibly by a French renegade, Denis de Vitré, [212] probably by Major Stobo, who, being allowed a good deal of freedom during his captivity, knew the locality well. Stobo had been all winter a prisoner of war in the city, having been sent down from Fort Necessity, on its surrender, to Quebec, in 1754, by the French, from whom he escaped in the beginning of May, 1759, and joined Durell and Saunders' fleet long before it reached Point Levi. These same heights, celebrated for their scenery, were destined, later on, to acquire additional interest from the sojourn thereat of a personage of no mean rank--the future father of our august Sovereign.

Facing the roaring cataract of Montmorenci stands the "Mansion House," built by Sir Frederic Haldimand, C.B., [213] when Governor of the Province--here Sir Frederic entertained, in 1782, the Baronness Redesdale, the wife of the Brunswick General, who had come over with Burgoyne to fight the continentals in 1775,--a plain-looking lodge, still existing, to which, some years back, wings have been added, making it considerably larger. This was the favourite summer abode of an English Prince. His Royal Highness Edward Augustus, Colonel of the Royal Fusileers, subsequently Field Marshal the Duke of Kent, "had landed here," says the _Quebec Gazette_ of the 18th August, 1791, from H. M. ships _Ulysses_ and _Resistance_, [214] in seven weeks from Gibraltar, with the 7th or Royal Regiment of Fusileers." The Prince had evidently a strong fancy for country life, as may be inferred by the fact that, during his prolonged stay in Halifax, as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, he owned also, seven miles out of the city, a similar rustic lodge, of which Haliburton has given a charming description. 'Twas on the 11th of August the youthful colonel, with his fine regiment, landed in the Lower Town; on the 12th was held in his honour, at the Château St. Louis, a levée, whereat attended the authorities, civil, military and clerical, together with the gentry. In the afternoon "the ladies were presented to the Prince in the Château." Who, then, attended this levée? Did he dance? If so, who were his partners? No register of names; no list of Edward's partners, such as we have of the Prince of Wales. [215] No _Court Journal_! Merely an entry of the names of the signers of the address in the _Quebec Gazette_ of the 18th August, 1791. Can we not, then, re-people the little world of Quebec of 1791?--bring back some of the principal actors of those stormy political, but frolicsome times? Let us walk in with the "nobility and gentry," and make our best bow to the scion of royalty. There, in fall uniform, you will recognize His Excellency Lord Dorchester, the Governor- General, one of our most popular administrators; next to him, that tall, athletic military man, is the Deputy Governor-General, Sir Alured Clark. He looks eager to grasp the reins of office from his superior, who will set sail for _home_ in a few days. See how thoughtful the Deputy Governor appears; in order to stand higher with his royal English master he chuckles before-hand over the policy which gives to many old French territorial divisions, right English names--Durham, Suffolk, Prince Edward, York, Granville, Buckinghamshire, Herefordshire, Kent. The western section of Canada will rejoice in the new names of Hesse, Luneberg, Nassau, Mecklenburg. That Deputy Governor will yet live to win a _baton_ [216] of Field Marshal under a Hanoverian sovereign. He is now in close conversation with Chief Justice William Smith, senior. Round there are a bevy of Judges, Legislative Councillors, Members of Parliament, all done up to kill, _à l'ancienne mode_, by Monsigneur Jean Laforme, [217] court hair-dresser, with powdered periwigs, ruffles and formidable pigtails. Here is Judge Mabane, Secretary Pownall, Honorable Messrs. Finlay, [218] Dunn, Harrison, Holland, Collins, Caldwell, Fraser, Lymburner; Messrs. Lester, Young, Smith junior. Mingled with them you also recognize the bearers of old historic names--Messrs. de Longueuil, Baby, de Bonne, Duchesnay, Dunière, Guéroult, de Lotbinière, Roc de St. Ours, Dambourgès, de Rocheblave, de Rouville, de Boucherville, Le Compte, Dupré, Bellestre, Taschereau, de Tonnancour, Panet, de Salaberry, and a host of others. Were these gentlemen all present? Probably not, they were likely to be. Dear reader, you want to know also what royal Edward did--said--was thought of --amongst the Belgravians of old Stadacona, during the three summers he spent in Quebec.

"How he looked when he danced, when he sat at his ease, When his Highness had sneezed, or was going to sneeze."

Bear in mind then, that we have to deal with a dashing Colonel of Fusileers--age twenty-five--status, a prince of the blood; add that he was ardent, generous, impulsive, gallant; a tall, athletic fellow; in fact, one of George III.'s big, burly boys--dignified in manner--a bit of a statesman; witness his happy and successful speech [219] at the hustings of the Charlesbourg election, and the biting rebuke it contained in anticipation--for Sir Edmund Head's unlucky post-prandial joke about the _superior_ race. Would you prefer to know him after he had left our shores and become Field Marshal the Duke of Kent? Take up his biography by the Rev. Erskine Neale, and read therein that royal Edward was a truthful, Christian gentleman--a chivalrous soldier, though a stern disciplinarian-- an excellent husband--a persecuted and injured brother--a neglected son-- the munificent patron of literary, educational and charitable institutions--a patriotic Prince--in short, a model of a man and a paragon of every virtue. But was he all that? we hear you say. No doubt of it. Have you not a clergyman's word for it--his biographer's? The Rev. Erskine Neale will tell you what His Royal Highness did at Kensington Palace, or Castlebar Hill. Such his task; ours, merely to show you the gallant young colonel, emerging bright and early from his Montmorenci Lodge, thundering with his spirited pair of Norman horses over the Beauport and Canardière road; one day, "sitting down to whist and partridges for supper," at the hospitable board of a fine old scholar and gentleman, M. de Salaberry, then M.P.P. for the county of Quebec, the father of the hero of Châteauguay, and who resided near the Beauport church. The old de Salaberry mansion has since been united by purchase to Savnoc, Col. B. C. A. Gugy's estate. Another day you may see him dash past Belmont or Holland House or Powell Place, occasionally dropping in with the _bonhommie_ of a good, kind Prince, as he was--especially when the ladies were young and pretty. You surely did not expect to find an anchorite in a slashing Colonel of Fusileers--in perfect health, age, twenty-five. Not a grain of asceticism ever entered, you know, in the composition of "Farmer George's" big sons; York and Clarence, they were no saints; neither were they suspected of asceticism; not they, they knew better. And should royal Edward, within your sight, ever kiss his hand to any fair daughter of Eve, inside or outside of the city, do not, my Christian friend, upturn to heaven the whites of your eyes in pious horror; princes are men, nay, they require at times to be more than men to escape the snares, smiles, seductions, which beset them at every step in this wicked, wicked, world. How was Montmorenci Lodge furnished? Is it true that the Prince's remittances, from Carlton House never exceeded £5,000 per annum during his stay here?--Had he really as many bells to summon his attendants in his Beauport Lodge as his Halifax residence contained--as he had at Kensington or Castlebar Hill? Is it a fact that he was such a punctual and early riser, that to ensure punctuality on this point, on of his servants was commanded to sleep during the day in order to be sure to be awake at day- break to ring the bell?--Did he really threaten to court-martial the 7th Fusileers, majors, captains, subs and privates, who might refuse to sport their pig-tails in the streets of Quebec, as well as at Gibraltar?

Really, dear reader, your inquisitiveness has got beyond all bounds; and were Prince Edward to revisit those shores, we venture to say, that you would in a frenzy of curiosity or loyalty even do what was charged by De Cordova, when Edward's grandson, Albert of Wales, visited, in 1860, Canada and the American Union:--

"They have stolen his gloves and purloined his cravat— Even scraped a souvenir from the nap of his hat."

Be thankful if we satisfy even one or two of your queries. He had indeed to live here on the niggardly allowance of £5,000 per annum. The story [220] about censuring an officer for cutting off his pig-tail refers not to his stay in Canada, but to another period of his life. He lived rather retired; a select few only were admitted to his intimacy; his habits were here, as elsewhere, regular; his punctuality, proverbial; his stay amongst us, marked by several acts of kindness, of which we find traces in the addresses presented on several occasions, thanking him for his own personal exertions and the assistance rendered by his gallant men at several fires which had occurred. [221] He left behind some warm admirers, with whom he corresponded regularly. We have now before us a package of his letters dated "Kensington Palace." Here is one out of twenty; but no, the records of private friendship must remain inviolate.

The main portion of the "Mansion House," at Montmorenci, is just as he left it. The room in which he used to write is yet shown; a table and chair--part of his furniture--are to this day religiously preserved. The lodge is now the residence of the heirs of the late G. B Hall, Esquire, the proprietors of the extensive saw mills at the foot of the falls.

_THE DUKE OF KENT, THE QUEEN'S FATHER, AT QUEBEC, 1791-4._

Of the numerous sons of King George III., none, perhaps, were born with more generous impulses, none certainly more manly--none more true in their attachments, and still none more maligned neglected--traduced than he, who, as a jolly Colonel of Fusileers spent some pleasant years of his life at Quebec from 1791 to '94, Edward Augustus, father of our virtuous and beloved Sovereign.

We wish to be understood at the outset. It is not our intention here to write a panegyric on a royal Duke; like his brothers, York and Clarence--the pleasure-loving, he, too, had his foibles; he was not an anchorite by any means. His stern, Spartan idea of discipline may have been overstretched, and blind adherence to routine in his daily habits may have justly invited the lash of ridicule. What is pretended here, and that, without fear of contradiction, is that his faults, which were those of a man, were loudly proclaimed, while his spirit of justice, of benevolence and generosity was unknown, unrecognized, except by a few. No stronger record can be opposed to the traducers of the memory of Edward, Duke of Kent, than his voluminous correspondence with Col. DeSalaberry and brothers, from 1791 to 1815--recently, through the kindness of the DeSalaberry family, laid before the public by the late Dr. W. J. Anderson, of Quebec.

The Duke had not been lucky in the way of biographers. The Rev. Erskine Neale, who wrote his life, is less a biographer than a panegyrist, and his book, if, instead of much fulsome praise, it contained a fuller account--especially of the early career of his hero--of the Duke's sayings and doings in Gibraltar, Quebec and Halifax, it would certainly prove more valuable, much more complete.

Singularly enough, Neale, disposes in about three lines, of the years the Duke spent in Quebec, though, as proved by his correspondence, those years were anything but barren. Quebec, we contend, as exhibited in the Duke's letters, ever retained a green spot in his souvenirs, in after life.

The Old Château balls, the Kent House in St. Lewis street, had for him their joyful sunshine, when, as a stalwart, dashing Colonel of Fusileers, aged 25, he had his _entrées_ in the fashionable drawing- rooms of 1791-4 Holland House, Powell Place (Spencer Wood, as it is now called), old Hale's receptions, Lymburner's soirees in his old mansion on Sault au Matelot street, then the fashionable quarter for wealthy merchants. The Duke's cottage _orné_ at the Montmorenci Falls had also its joyous memories, but these were possibly too tender to be expatiated on in detail.

The Prince, it appears, was also present on an occasion of no ordinary moment to the colony that is when the King, his father, "granted a Lower Chamber to the two provinces in 1791."

The only original source now available for inditing that portion of the Duke's life spent in Quebec, is Neilson's old _Quebec Gazette_, supplemented with divers old traditions, not always reliable.

Dr. Anderson's compilation will certainly go far to dispel the atmosphere of misrepresentation floating around the character of Prince Edward, as he was familiarly styled when here during the past century. The character of the most humble individual, when casually mentioned in history, ought to be free from misrepresentation. Why this rule should not apply to the manly soldier who, in the streets of old Quebec in 1791, headed his gallant men wherever a riot, a fire, or a public calamity required their presence, is difficult to understand. No man was more popular in the city from the services he rendered when called on. One class, however, found in him an unrelenting disciplinarian--the refractory soldier attempting mutiny or desertion from the corps.

We are invited to these reflections from the fact that new light is now promised to us on this traduced commander, in the shape of what will no doubt be an attractive biography of Duke Edward from the pen of a London _littérateur_ of note, whose name we are not justified in giving at present. The following extract from a London letter, received this last mail by a gentleman of this city, who has succeeded in gathering together valuable materials for Canadian history, will prove what we now assert. It is addressed to Mr. LeMoine, late President of the Literary and Historical Society, whose sketch of the Prince's career in 1791, as contained in the _Maple Leaves_ for 1865, seems to have obtained the full approbation of the distinguished _littérateur_ now engaged in writing the life of the Duke:

"SOUTH KENSINGTON, London, May 30, 1874.

DEAR SIR,--If my note on Miss Nevill's incident [222] clears up any point hitherto obscure of Canadian life, use it by all means for your Canadian sketches. During my searches consequent to elucidate the Duke's sojourn in Canada, many curious stories came under my eye, which have never, as I am aware, been yet published in Canadian histories, when the Prince was stationed at Quebec. The London pens were m the habit of publishing from time to time incidents of considerable interest bearing on forgotten periods of the early British Constitutional History of Canada--parliamentary. My intention is to note them in the life of H.R.H., as he was present when the King granted a lower Chamber to the two provinces in 1791. From this circumstance he based his firm adherence to a constitutional Government as the safest mode to ensure freedom to all parties interested therein. My work on the Duke of Kent would have been published ere this, but I am awaiting the correspondence promised me by Lord B---- addressed to Lord L----, and that also to Sir H---- Douglas, formerly Lieutenant-Governor of ----. Your suggestion will not be lost sight of. _Maple Leaves_ have been fully culled for information concerning the Prince. Holland Farm and the Duke at Montmorenci give a correct picture of life in Quebec in 1791-- information unknown to Rev. Mr. Neale in 1850.

If not too much trouble, could you let me know whether these works, of which I enclose a list, mention the Duke in Canada, for the British Museum does not possess these publications, which obliges me to seek information from such a person as yourself, who is versed in Canadian affairs. I am anxious to give a correct account of the Duke in Canada. This period of his life has escaped all the biographers of the Prince, Philippart and Neale, &c. If I should meet any striking incident relative to Canadian affairs, I shall forward it to your address."-- _From Quebec Morning Chronicle_.

_L'ASYLE CHAMPÊTRE._

Founded by Joseph Francois Perrault, the pioneer of lay education in the Province of Quebec.

"In these days of ambitious, showy villas and grand mansions, whose lofty and imposing proportions, elaborate architectural ornaments, conspicuous verandahs and prominent sites are all designed, not only to gratify the taste and pride of their owners, but to impress with wonder and admiration the ordinary observer, it may be interesting to give a description of Mr. Perrault's residence, a fair specimen of a comfortable and well ordered dwelling of the olden time. My object, in describing it, is to convey to the present generation some idea of the taste and domestic architecture of our ancestors, especially to those who, in culture and social influence, might truly be regarded as representative men. For a similar purpose, I have thought of presenting such social pictures of the good old times, of his habits and practices, as marked his connection with his relatives and neighbors, and in this way an instructive lesson may be learned.

Mr. Perrault's abode was a building of one storey, with attics in front and two in rear, in the style of the eighteenth century, on the north side of the St. Louis Road, on the spot known to historians as les buttes à nepveu, to-day, as Perrault's Hill, upon which the residence of Mr. Henry Dinning now stands. As all students are aware, this is classic ground; here was fought the main struggles of the battles of the Plains of Abraham and of St. Foy; Murray's troops having entrenched themselves here on the eve of the engagement with de Levis. A stone wall with an elegant railing divided the property from the main road, near which was a graceful little nestled summer house, overgrown with creepers and vines; through an avenue with flowery borders, between lines of lofty vases, filled with blooming plants, the visitor reached the house, which occupied the centre of a garden of four acres. Above the door, at the summit of a flight of steps, was inscribed in gilt letters, _Asyle Champêtre_. It was a double house with a conservatory at each end, the first erected in Canada, filled with exotic and native plants, at some distance on either side were miniature Norman turrets. Mr. Perrault had selected this favourable site for his residence, carefully noting all its advantages. The rays of the rising sun flashed through the front windows, cheering him in his morning labours, while as the day wore on, a flood of mellow light suffused the western portion of his chamber. From such vantage ground, Mr. Perrault, of an evening, could observe the movements of the heavenly bodies, the position of the planets and the various phenomena of the firmament; the study of which had great attractions for him, and created in his mind a gratitude to the great architect for all His vast works and beneficent care. On entering the visitor found himself in the reception room, of about twenty-four feet square, with a large bay window towards the north, and used as a drawing room and study. In whatever direction one looked, the view was attractive; to the south, the commanding heights of Point Levi, with the chasm between, where rolled by the great St. Lawrence; to the east, the picturesque island of Orleans, dividing the river into two channels, and the imposing old Citadel, or martial crown of the city on Cape Diamond; to the north, the meandering river in the beautiful valley of St. Charles, the heights of Charlesbourg and Lorette, the shore of Beauport, the faint trace of the _embouchure_ of the Montmorenci, and the grand Laurentian mountain range in the distance; and to the west, the battle fields of 1759 and 60, memorable for their heroic deeds and momentous results--views most charming, exquisite and impressive.

The front grounds were utilized as a model garden and orchard, in which every improvement in horticulture had been adopted and were laid out in plots and gravelled walks. In rear of the house was a miniature pond, enlivened by waterfowl and turtles, and whose banks were adorned with water plants and ferns, and receding thence were plateaux, covered with flowers of every description.

In addition to the picturesque appearance and commanding position of Mr. Perrault's house, the internal arrangements of the apartments deserve notice, particularly as in them often met the leading men of Quebec, where they discussed the fluctuations of the public mind, benevolent enterprises and matters of general interest. The parlor in the _Asyle Champêtre_ was well known to the élite and leaders of society of that day; elegantly, but not luxuriously, furnished; the carpet was made of flax, sown and grown on the grounds adjoining his schools, and woven by the pupils; the walls were hung with valuable paintings and ornamented by objects of _virtû_ artistically arranged. From the centre descended a lustre of six candles; at the rear angles were large circular mirrors, one concave and the other convex, with lights on each side, reflecting every object in movement in the apartment. Two bronze statues, or candelabra, with lights, guarded either side of the hall door, in keeping with the surroundings; the hangings and furniture were in the style of Louis XIV., in which the colours harmoniously blended. On the left hand of this apartment was Mr. Perrault's library, in which was a choice collection of Greek, Latin, English, French and Spanish works, on philosophy, history and _les belles lettres_. No one had a higher respect for the classics than he; the odes of Horace, the poems of Virgil and the orations of Cicero were as familiar to him as the best sermons of Bossuet or the tragedies of Racine. On the right was another room, with a piano and organ, to which the family devoted much attention, and lovers of music were certain of hearing there excellent performances and well-cultivated voices.

Those who bad the privilege of enjoying his hospitality on ordinary occasions, could never forget the hearty welcome of their whole-souled entertainer; and on two particular days, the first of January and the _fête de St. Joseph_, his patron saint, they had still better reason for its remembrance. These social gatherings were for months looked forward to as the events of the season, and for many a day subsequently they recalled most agreeable recollections. As was then the custom, the guests arrived early in the afternoon and took their departure at the unfashionable hour of nine, and in the interval engaged themselves in dancing, in games, in listening to brilliant executions on different musical instruments and the rich melody of well-trained voices, in ballad and song, clever repartees and intellectual conversation, while the supper table, laden with all the delicacies procurable, was a continual feast from the opening to the close of the entertainment. The guests were escorted down the avenue by their host and his family, and as he bade them good night, the shouts and merry laughter of the younger ones rang joyfully in the night air, startling the passers by with their frolicsome happiness.

Mr. Perrault's table had a wide reputation, and although he never issued general invitations, it was rarely without two, or more, guests, for those who happened to be at the _Asyle_ at meal time were cordially invited to join in the family repast. From taste and habit, his board ever presented a tempting display; but, as regards himself, he was most abstemious, partaking sparingly and of but few dishes, while to his guests his hospitality was unbounded. His old cook sometimes found her task hard, or pretended to; and on one occasion, returning from confession, she remarked that she had said to M. le Curé, when he counselled patience and submission, "_je voudrais bien vous y voir_," (I would like to see you in my place). Even in those days cooks were testy, for, when Mr. Perrault found fault with her, she would answer as impertinently as one could in these days: "_voulez-vous que je vous dise la vérité? Vous commencez à être dégoûté de ma cuisine_," (Do you want me to tell you the truth? You are getting tired of my cooking). To the tried and impatient, the above incidents will cause them to ask themselves if there be any truth in the old saying: "God sent us food and the devil sent us cooks."

A custom illustrative of the habits of that period, was the visit of relations on New Year's morning. Old and young presented themselves at five o'clock and repaired in a file to Mr. Perrault's bedroom to receive his blessing. He afterwards rose, dressed and made all happy by giving them suitable presents and paying graceful compliments. Later in the day was witnessed a still more interesting scene, when his pupils, of both sexes, and doubtless to their fullest number, arrived at his hospitable mansion to offer him their grateful acknowledgements of his kindness. A table, close by where he sat, in a large arm chair, was covered with piles of "horns of plenty," filled with sweetmeats, and to each he presented one, with a small piece of silver; and these children, who needed more substantial gifts, had but to make their wants known and they were rarely refused.

On that day he also made calls immediately after Grand Mass, in the extremity of his politeness carrying his hat under his arm, regardless of the weather, with the _queue_ of his wig blown to and fro by the wind. His arrival, as a matter of coarse, caused a social stir, often recalled with pleasure by many afterwards.

_MARCHMONT._

"Oh! give me a home on that bold classic height, Where in sweet contemplation in age's dark night, I may tread o'er the plain where as histories tell Britain's stout-hearted Wolfe in his victory fell."

Adjoining the expanse of table land, now known as the Plains of Abraham, and divided from it to the east by a high fence, lies with a southern exposure a level and well-cultivated farm--Marchmont-- tastefully laid out some sixty summers ago by Sir John Harvey, next occupied for several years by Sir Thomas Noel Hill, subsequently owned by Hon. John Stewart, and for more than twenty years the residence of John Gilmour, Esquire, of the well-known Glasgow house of Pollock, Gilmour & Co. [223] To the west, Marchmont farm is bounded by Wolfesfield; to the south by the river heights, having a valuable timber cove (Wolfe's cove) attached to it. The dwelling, a cheerful and sunny residence, decks a sloping lawn, not far from the high bank, embedded as it were in a clump of fir, ash, maple and pine trees, which conceal it from St. Lewis road, and afford, on the opposite side, a variety of charming glimpses of our noble estuary, the main artery of western commerce. A spacious and richly-stocked conservatory opens on the drawing-room to the west of the house. The embellishment was erected by the late John Gilmour, who also added a vinery.

In the summer months, visitors travelling past Marchmont cannot fail to notice the magnificent hawthorn hedge, interspersed here and there with young maple, which encloses it on the St. Lewis road.

Marchmont, even shorn of its historical memories, would much interest an observer who had an eye to agricultural pursuits carried to a high state of perfection. The outlines and arrangements for raising cattle, poultry, &c., are on a truly comprehensive scale.

Connected with Marchmont, there are incidents of the past, which will ever impress it on the mind of the visitor. A century back, over this same locality, the tide of battle surged for several hours when Wolfe's army had ascended the cliff. No later than 1860, the crumbling bones of fallen warriors were discovered whilst laying the foundation of the flag-staff to the east of the house. They were buried again carefully under the same flagstaff--erected to salute the Prince of Wales when passing Marchmont. Let us hear one of the actors on that eventful September morning of 1759--Capt. John King:--

"Before day break," says he, "this morning we made a descent upon the north shore, about half a mile to the eastward of Sillery; and the light troops were fortunately, by the rapidity of the current, carried lower down, between us and Cape Diamond. We had in this detachment thirty flat-bottomed boats, containing about 1600 men. This was a great surprise on the enemy, who, from the natural strength of the place, did not suspect, and consequently were not prepared against, so bold an attempt. The chain of sentries which they had posted along the summit of the heights, galled us a little and picked off several men (in the boat where I was one man was killed; one seaman, with four soldiers, were slightly, and two mortally wounded, and some officers), before our light infantry got up to dislodge them. This grand enterprise was conducted and executed with great good order and discretion; as fast as we landed the boats were put off for reinforcements, and the troops formed with much regularity; the General, with Brigadiers Monckton and Murray, were ashore with the first division. We lost no time, but clambered up one of the steepest precipices that can be conceived, being almost a perpendicular and of an incredible length; as soon as we gained the summit all was quiet, and not a shot was heard, owing to the excellent conduct of the infantry under Colonel Howe. It was by this time clear day-light. Here we formed again, the river and the south country in our rear, our right extending to the town, our left to Sillery, and halted a few moments. The general then detached the light troops to our left to rout the enemy from their battery, and to disable their guns, except they should be rendered serviceable to the party who were to remain there; and this service was soon performed. We then faced to the right and marched towards the town by files, till we came to the Plains of Abraham, an even piece of ground which Wolfe had made choice of, while we stood forming upon the hill. Weather showery; about six o'clock the enemy first made their appearance upon the heights, between us and the town; whereupon we halted and wheeled to the right, forming the line of battle."

For some time past Marchmont has been occupied by Col. Ferdinand Turnbull, of the Q. O. Canadian Hussars.

_ANECDOTE OF WOLFE'S ARMY._

"After the conquest of Quebec, the troops had to make shift for quarters wherever they could find a habitable place; I myself made choice of a small house in the lane leading to the Esplanade, where Ginger the Gardner now lives (1828), and which had belonged to Paquet the schoolmaster--although it was scarcely habitable from the number of our shells that had fallen through it. However, as I had a small party of the company, I continued to get a number of little jobs done towards making it passably comfortable for the men, and for my own part I got Hector Munro, who was a joiner by trade, to knock up a kind of "cabinet" (as the Canadians called it) in one corner of the house for myself. We had a stove, but our Highlanders, who know no better, would not suffer the door to be closed, as they thought if they could not naturally _see_ the fire, it was impossible that they could _feel_ it. In this way they passed the whole of the winter; three or four would sit close up to the door of the stove, and when these were a little warmed, three or four others would relieve them, and so on. Some days they were almost frozen to death, or suffocated by the smoke, and to mend the matter they had nothing better than green wood!

I contrived somehow or other to procure six blankets, so that notwithstanding that I was almost frozen during the day, being the whole winter out on duty, superintending the party of our Highlanders, making fascines in the woods, still I passed the nights pretty comfortably. 'Twas funny enough to see, every morning, the whole surface of the blankets covered with ice, from the heat of my breath and body. We wore our kilts the whole of this time, but there was no accident, as we were sheltered by the woods. I bought myself a pair of leather breeches, but I could not walk in them, so I laid them aside.

When the spring came round, the French again made their appearance on high ground between the town and Abraham's Plains, and General Murray must needs march us out to fight them. At this time scarcely a man in the garrison but was afflicted with colds or coughs. The day fixed on orders was the 28th April, 1760, at seven in the morning, and cold and raw enough it was! Before the sortie I took a biscuit and, spread a bit of butter over it, and I set about 'cranching' it, and said to Hector Munro, for whom I had a great attachment: "You had better do as I am doing, for you cannot know when you may be able to get your next meal." Hector answered, "I will not touch anything; I have already taken my last meal, for something tells me that I shall never require another meal in this world." "Hout! man," said I, "you are talking nonsense; take a biscuit, I tell you." But no, Hector would have none! Well, the hour came for parading, and we were soon afterwards marched out of the garrison. It was my lot to act as covering sergeant to Lieutenant Fraser of our Grenadiers, who had already been wounded at the affair of the Falls, through the belly and out at his back, without his scarcely having felt it. (This Lieutenant Fraser was nephew to my friend Captain Baillie, who was the first man killed at the landing at Louisbourg, and who, had he lived, would have been the means of securing to me my commission, as had been the understanding between him and Colonel Fraser, when I volunteered in Scotland for service in America). Early in the action with the French, Lieut. Fraser received a shot in the temple, which felled him to the very spot on which he then stood, and as not an inch of ground was to be lost, I had to move up into line, which I could not have done without my resting one foot upon his body! The affair went altogether against us, and we had to retreat back into the town. When I got back to my quarters, I there found poor Hector Munro, who not being able to walk, had been carried in, owning to a wound he had received in the lower part of the belly, through which his bowels were coming out! He had his senses about him, and reminded me of our conversation just before the battle. He was taken to the Hôtel Dieu, where he died the next morning, in great agony. When I first saw the French soldiers I thought them a dirty, ragged set--their clothing was originally white. Many of them, particularly in the 'Regiment de la Reine,' had a bit of blue ribbon to the buttonhole of their coat, with a little white shell fixed to it, which they called 'Papa,' and this, it seems, was a mark of honour for having distinguished themselves on some former occasion. I, at first, mistook them for Freemasons! After the battle of the Plains of Abraham, on the 13th September, fifty- nine, when a great many of the French lay killed and wounded on the field (we killed seventy-two officers alone) it was horrid to see the effect of blood and dust on their white coats! They lay there as thick as a flock of sheep, and just as they had fallen, for the main body had been completely routed off the ground, and had not an opportunity of carrying away their dead and wounded men. I recollect to have lost a regimental coat by their means. There was no place about the town to put the wounded in, and they had to be carried down the bank to Wolfe's cove, and from thence put into boats and taken across to the lower ferry-place at Point Levis, for the purpose of their being placed under the care of our surgeons at the church (St Joseph's), which was converted into a temporary hospital. Our men had nothing better to carry them on than a handbarrow with canvass laid across it. By this means it required two of our men to carry one of them to the top of the hill at Point Levis.

The business going on very slowly, I at last got out of patience looking at them, so I set to work and took up a wounded man to my own share, and did not let him down at the top of the hill but landed him safe at the temporary hospital. By the time that we had done with them I was fatigued enough, and 'afaith, I spoiled my red coat into the bargain!

The poor fellows would cry out lustily when they were in an uneasy position, but we could not understand a word of what they said. One of them had one of his cheeks lying flat down upon his shoulder, which he got by attempting to run away, though he had a Highlander at his heels. When the French gave themselves up quietly they had no harm done them, but faith! if they tried to outrun a Heelandman they stood but a bad chance, for whash went the broadsword!"--(_Related in August, 1828, as stated in the Diary of Volunteer Sergt. Jas. Thompson._)

_WOLFESFIELD_

"The hill they climb'd, and halted at its top, of more than mortal size."

"The horror of the night, the precipice scaled by Wolfe the empire he with a handful of men added to England, and the glorious catastrophe of contentedly terminating life where his fame began... Ancient story may be ransacked, and ostentatious philosophy thrown into the account, before an episode can be found to rank with Wolfe's."--(_William Pitt._)

The successful landing at this spot of the English forces, who, in 1759, invaded Quebec, no less than its scenery, lends to Wolfesfield peculiar interest. Major, afterwards General, John Hale, later on conspicuous for gallantry during the long and trying siege of Quebec, in 1775-6, was one of the first men who, in 1759, put his foot on the heights in front of the locality where now stands the dwelling, having climbed up the hill by the _ruisseau St. Denis_, heading the flank Company of the Lascelles or 47th Regiment. General Wolfe made the main body of the army march up, Indian file, by a pathway which then existed where the high road is at present. At the head of this path may yet be seen the remains of the French entrenchments, occupied on that day by a militia guard of 100 men, chiefly Lorette militiamen, a portion of whom had that very night obtained leave to go and work on their farms, [224.] who fired at Major Hale's party, and then, says an old manuscript, thinking they had to deal with the whole English army, they surrendered, with their officer, Capt. De Vergor, who, being wounded, could not escape, and exclaimed, "Sauvez vous." This was shortly after midnight, and Wolfe, notwithstanding the grievous indisposition he was then labouring under, organized a plan to get up supplies and ammunition from the _bateaux_, this he had accomplished by four in the morning, when he drew up his men on Marchmont field. The sailors of the _bateaux_ were the men employed in carrying up the provisions and ammunition. Wolfe had grog served out to them as they reached, tired and panting, the top of the hill with their loads, using to each kind and encouraging words. The crowning success which followed is lengthily described elsewhere. The first house built at Wolfesfield was by Captain Kenelm Chandler, [225] David Munro, Esquire, was the next proprietor. The occupant for forty years was an old and respected Quebec merchant, well known as the "King of the Saguenay," on account of the extensive mills he owned in that region--William Price, Esq., the respected father of a patriarchal family of sons and daughters. Mr. Price added much to the beauty of the place, which enjoys a most picturesque river view. In front of the dwelling there is a fine lawn, shaded by some old thorn and oak trees, with comfortable rustic seats close by the ravine St. Denis. This ravine is a favourite locality for botanizing excursionists. Wolfesfield, without being as extensive as some of the surrounding estates, is one of the most charming rural homes Quebec can boast of.

As these pages are going through the press, we clip from a Quebec journal the following tribute to the worth of our late excellent neighbour, Wm. Price, Esq., a son of the Laird of Wolfesfield:

_MONUMENT TO THE LATE WILLIAM PRICE, ESQ._

"A large and costly monument in granite is now in course of erection at Chicoutimi to the memory of the late Wm. Price. The people of Chicoutimi are erecting the monument as a token of their respect and admiration for the memory of their late representative in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. The column will be fifty feet in height, and will, it is expected, be completed by the month of September next. Being placed upon an elevated site, it will be visible for many miles up and down the Saguenay river."

_THE CAPTURE OF QUEBEC._

The following dramatic account of the capture of Quebec is taken from the fifth volume of Mr. Carlyle's _Biography of Frederick the Great_:

"Above Quebec, night of September 12-13th, in profound silence, on the stream of the St. Lawrence, far away, a notable adventure is going on. Wolfe, from two points well above Quebec ('as a last shift, we will try that way'), with about five thousand men, is silently descending in rafts, with purpose to climb the heights somewhere on this side of the city, and be in upon it, if Fate will. An enterprise of almost sublime nature; very great, if it can succeed. The cliffs all beset to his left hand; Montcalm, in person, guarding Quebec with his main strength.

Wolfe silently descends; mind made up; thoughts hushed quiet into one great thought; in the ripple of the perpetual waters, under the grim cliffs and the eternal stars. Conversing, with his people, he was heard to recite some passages of Gray's _Elegy_, lately come out to those parts; of which, says an ear-witness, he expressed his admiration in an enthusiastic degree: 'Ah, these are tones of the Eternal Melodies, are not they? A man might thank heaven had he such a gift; almost as we might for succeeding here, gentlemen!'

Next morning (Thursday, 13th September, 1759), Wolfe, with his 5.000, is found to have scrambled up some woody neck in the height, which was not quite precipitous; has trailed one cannon with him, the seamen busy bringing up another; and by ten of the clock, stands ranked (just somewhat in the Frederick way, though on a small scale); ready at all points for Montcalm, but refusing to be over-ready. Montcalm on first hearing of him, had made haste: _Oui, je les vois où ils ne doivent pas être; je vais les écraser_ (to smash them)!" said he, by way of keeping his people in heart. And he marches up beautifully skilful, neglecting none of his advantages. His numerous Canadian sharpshooters, preliminary Indians in the bushes, with a provoking fire. 'Steady!' orders Wolfe; 'from you, not one shot till they are within thirty yards!' And Montcalm, volleying and advancing, can get no response, more than from Druidic stones; till at thirty yards, the stones become vocal--and continued so at a dreadful rate; and in a space of seventeen minutes, have blown Montcalm's regulars, and their second in command, and their third into ruin and destruction. In about seven minutes more the army was done 'English falling on with bayonet, Highlanders with claymore'; fierce pursuit, rout total--and Quebec and Canada as good as finished. The thing is yet well known to every Englishman; and how Wolfe himself died in it, his beautiful death."

_ELM GROVE._

Elm Grove, until recently owned, though not inhabited, by the Marquise de Bassano, will be familiar to many, from having been the residence during the summer of 1878, of His Holiness the Pope's Apostolic Ablegate--Bishop Conroy.

This eminent prelate, prematurely struck down by death at Newfoundland, in the midst of his mission of peace and good will to all men spent many busy, let us hope pleasant, hours in this cool retreat.

The plantation of elms from which this seat takes its name, together with other trees, conceals the dwelling so entirely from the road, that unless by entering the grounds no idea can be formed of their beauty and extent; amidst the group of trees there is one of lordly dimensions, in the centre of the garden. The new dwelling at Elm Grove is a stately, substantial structure; its internal arrangement and heating apparatus, indicate comfort and that _bien-être_ for which Quebec homes are proverbial. A winding, well-wooded approach leads up to the house from the porter's lodge and main road. From the upper windows an extensive view of Charlesbourg, Lorette, Beauport, Point Levi and surrounding parishes may be obtained.

Elm Grove, owned for many years by John Saxton Campbell, Esq., was purchased in 1856 by J. K. Boswell, Esq., who resided there for nearly twenty years. John Burstall, Esquire, late of Kirk Ella, has within a few months acquired it from Madame la Marquise de Bassano, and it bids fair ere long to take its place among the first and best kept country seats in the environs of the city.

_THORNHILL._

".....let us pierce into the midnight depth Of yonder grove, of wildest, largest growth, That, forming high in air a woodland quire, Nods o'er the mount beneath"

There is a peculiar feature noticeable about Quebec country seats which speaks volumes for their attractiveness as healthy and pleasant retreats; not only have they been at all times sought after by wealthy and permanent residents, Canadian born, but also by men of European birth, holding for the time being the highest position in the country, both under the French and under the English monarchs. Thus the celebrated Intendant Talon was the first owner of Belmont; Intendant Bigot had his luxurious château at Charlesbourg; Attorney General Ruette D'Auteuil used, near two centuries back, to spend his summer months at Sillery, where, later on, Bishop Dosquet, a French ecclesiastic, had his pretty villa at Samos (Woodfield). Vaudreuil was also a Canadian land-owner. Later on Governor Murray purchased extensively on the St. Foy road, amongst others, Belmont and the "Sans Bruit" farm, Governor Haldimand must have his lodge at Montmorenci Falls, subsequently occupied by the father of our august Queen; Hector Theophilus Cramahé (afterwards Lieut.-Governor), in 1762, had his estate-- some 500 acres of cornfield and meadows--at Cap Rouge, now Meadowbank, owned by Lt.-Col. Chs. Andrew Shears. The Prime Minister of Canada, in 1854, and a late Governor of British Guiana, Sir Francis Hincks, following in the footsteps of Sir Dominick Daly, must needs locate himself on the St. Lewis road, and in order to be close to his chief, the late Earl of Elgin, then residing at Spencer Wood, the Premier selected and purchased Thornhill, across the road, one of the most picturesque country seats in the neighbourhood. You barely, as you pass, catch a glimpse of its outlines as it rests under tall, cone-like firs on the summit of a hillock, to which access is had through a handsomely laid out circuitous approach between two hills. An extensive fruit and vegetable garden lies to the east of the house; a hawthorn hedge dotted here and there with some graceful young maple and birch trees, fringes the roadside; a thorn shrubbery of luxuriant growth encircles the plantation of evergreens along the side of the mound which slopes down to the road, furnishing a splendid croquet lawn. One of the chief beauties of the landscape is the occasional glimpses of the Grande Allée and Spencer Wood, obtained from the house. The dwelling was erected many years ago by Alexander Simpson, Esq., then Manager of the Bank of Montreal, at Quebec. Forming a portion of it to the west, and looking towards Charlesbourg, there is a snug English-looking little nest, "Woodside," with the prettiest of thorn and willow hedges. Thornhill has exchanged hands, and been for many years the seat of Archibald Campbell, Esq., P.S.C., at Quebec.

_SPENCER WOOD._

On the South side of the St. Louis road, past Wolfe and Montcalm's famed battle-field, two miles from the city walls, lies, embowered in verdure, the most picturesque domain of Sillery--one might say of Canada--Spencer Wood. [226]

This Celebrated Vice-Regal Lodge was (1780-96) known as Powell Place, when owned by General Henry Watson Powell. It took its name of Spencer Wood from the Right Honorable Spencer Perceval, [227] the illustrious relative of the Hon. Henry Michael Perceval, whose family possessed it from 1815 to 1833, when it was sold to the late Henry Atkinson, Esquire, an eminent and wealthy Quebec merchant. Hon. Mr. Perceval, member of the Executive and Legislative Council, had been H. M.'s Collector of Customs at Quebec for many years, and until his death which took place at sea, 12th October, 1829. The Percevals lived for many years in affluence in this sylvan retreat. Of their elegant receptions Quebecers still cherish pleasant reminiscences. Like several villas of England and France, Spencer Wood had its periods of splendor alternated by days of loneliness and neglect, short though they were. Spencer Wood, until 1849, comprised the adjoining property of Spencer Grange. Mr. Atkinson that year sold the largest half of his country seat--Spencer Wood--to the Government, as a gubernatorial residence for the hospitable and genial Earl of Elgin, reserving the smaller half (now owned by the writer), on which he built conservatories, vineries, a pinery, orchid house, &c., far more extensive than those of Spencer Wood proper. Though the place was renowned for its magnificence and princely hospitality in the days of Lord Elgin, there are amongst the living plenty to testify to the fact that the lawns, walks, gardens, and conservatories were never kept up with the same intelligent taste and lavish expenditure as they were during the sixteen years (1833-1849) when this country seat owned for its master Mr. Atkinson.

_THE LATE HONORABLE MRS. M. H. PERCEVAL. FORMERLY OF SPENCER WOOD, QUEBEC._

Through the kindness of Mrs. Peter Sheppard, of Quebec, we are enabled to furnish some further particulars touching the estimable and accomplished lady who, during the protracted sojourn of her family at Spencer Wood, seems to have won the hearts of all those admitted to her charmed circle some fifty years ago. Mrs. Sheppard [228] not only renders to the worth of her lamented friend a merited tribute, she also furnishes a curious page of Quebec history, Quebec festivities in the olden times, which may interest our readers. "The Honorable Michael H. Perceval was closely connected with the Earl of Egmont's family, who were Percevals. The "Spencer" was borrowed from the Earl's eldest son "Spencer;" the name was given to their beautiful domain purchased from old LeHoullier about 1815, as well as to their eldest son, Col. (now Major General) Spencer Perceval, who was here in garrison in 1840, in the Coldstream Guards, as well as his uncle, Col. Perceval, also serving in the Guards. When a girl in my teens, many happy days did I spend in the Perceval family, who were as passionately fond of music, as I then was. They had "at homes" every Monday, one week for dancing, the next for music, (the latter I never missed attending, to play on the harp,) they had also grand dinners _de cérémonie_. Amongst the _habitués_ I can yet recall some names; Hon. Mathew Bell and lady; (Mrs. B. was a Miss McKenzie, of Three Rivers,) Miss Bell (Mrs. Walker,) Sir John Pownal, the Montizamberts, Judge Kerr and Misses Kerr, Miss Uniacke, the Duchesnays, the Vanfelsons, De Gaspés, Babys and others. (I may be wrong in quoting some names after half a century.)

Mr. Perceval, was a member of the Legislative Council, as well as Collector of Customs, an imperial appointment which yielded him £8000 in fees per annum. English and French society were equally welcome under his hospitable roof. His beautiful and accomplished wife, was the eldest daughter of Sir Charles Flower, Lord Mayor of London, in 1809--had filled the position of Lady Mayoress, when 18 years of age, her father being a widower; she brought her husband £40,000 and subsequently inherited £100,000. She was eminently fitted to grace Spencer Wood--her beauty, her refined and cordial manners made her receptions eminently attractive. Her education was perfect, she was mistress of four languages, English, French, Italian and Latin, which studies she took great trouble in keeping up and which she herself taught to her children, ten in number, besides teaching them the piano, the harp and drawing. Instead of fancy work the young ladies were taught to repair their clothes and do plain sewing; this did not prevent them from making most brilliant matches. The family left Spencer Wood in 1828, to spend a year in Italy, at Florence, intending to return, but the Hon. M. H. Perceval, died at sea on the 12th Oct., 1829, and the family never returned.

The daughters married as follows: the eldest, Eliza, was wedded to Sir George Denys, Bart.; the second, Caroline, to Col. Alexander Houstoun, of Clerkington; the third, Isabella, to a wealthy French nobleman, Baron de Veauce; the fourth, Mary Jane, to Sir James Matheson, Bart.; the fifth died at the age of 18. The eldest son [229] "Spencer" is a General officer. There were several other sons; George Ramsay, who entered the army, Michael Henry and Col. Charles Perceval.

I can recall the time also when Lady Dalhousie and Mrs. Sheppard, of Woodfield, would come to Spencer Wood, in their botanizing excursions. Spencer Wood, later on, was also a favorite resort of Lady Aylmer, in 1832, whilst at an earlier period, the Duke of Richmond's family, in 1818, used to come and ramble about the grounds, lunching there with all the junior folks.

This charming and beloved lady, my old friend, Ann Perceval, died at Lewes Castle, Stornaway. Scotland, the seat of her son in law, Sir James Matheson, on the 23rd Nov., 1876, most deservedly regretted, at the very advanced age of eighty-seven years."--24 January, 1877.

Spencer Wood garden is described in London's _Encyclopedia of Gardening_, page 341, and also in the _Gardener's Magazine_ for 1837, at page 467. Its ornate style of culture, which made it a show-place for all strangers visiting Quebec, was mainly due to the scientific and tasty arrangements of an eminent landscape gardener, M. P. Lowe, [230] now in charge of the Cataraqui conservatories.

Well can we recall the time when this lordly demesne extended from Wolfefield, adjoining Marchmont, to the meandering Belle-Borne brook, which glides past the porter's lodge at Woodfield, due west, the historic stream _Ruisseau Saint Denis_, up which clambered the British hero, Wolfe, to conquer or die, intersecting it at Thornhill. It was then a splendid old seat of more than one hundred acres, a fit residence for the proudest nobleman England might send us as Viceroy--enclosed east and west between two streamlets, hidden from the highway by a dense growth of oak, maple, dark pines and firs--the forest primeval--letting in here and there the light of heaven on its labyrinthine avenues; a most striking landscape, blending the sombre verdure of its hoary trees with the soft tints of its velvety sloping lawn, fit for a ducal palace. An elfish plot of a flower garden, alas! how much dwarfed, then stood in rear of the dwelling to the north, it once enjoyed the privilege of attracting many eyes. It had also an extensive and well-kept fruit and vegetable garden, enlivened with flower beds, the centre of which was adorned with the loveliest possible circular fount in white marble, supplied with the crystal element from the Belle-Borne rill by a hidden aqueduct; conservatories, graperies, peach and forcing houses, pavilions picturesquely hung over the yawning precipice on two headlands, one looking towards Sillery, the other towards the Island of Orleans, the scene of many a cosy tea-party; bowers, rustic chairs _perdues_ among the groves, a superb bowling green and archery grounds. The mansion itself contained an exquisite collection of paintings from old masters, a well- selected library of rare and standard works, illuminated Roman missals, rich portfolios with curious etchings, marble busts, quaint statuettes, medals and medallions, _objets de vertu_ purchased by the millionaire proprietor during a four years' residence in Italy, France and Germany. Such we remember Spencer Wood in its palmiest days, when it was the ornate home of a man of taste, the late Henry Atkinson, Esquire, the President of the Horticultural Society of Quebec.

May I be pardoned, for lingering lovingly on this old spot, recalling "childhood scenes" of one dear to me and mine!

The following, written by a valued old friend of Mr. Atkinson, is dated Brighton, England:

On a sketch of Spencer Wood sent to the writer (Miss A.), with her album, Oct. 18, 1848.

Dear Spencer Wood! What a group of pleasing remembrances are clustered around me as I gaze upon this visible image and type of thee. Thy classic lawn, with its antiquated oaks and solemn pines; thy wood- crowned cliffs and promontories, with the sparkling sunlight reflected on a thousand sheaves from the broad surface of Jacques Cartier's river, hundreds of feet below. And then the quiet repose of thy ample mansion, with its stores of art and models of taste within and without; thy forest shades, thy gardens, thy flowers and thy fruit. But most of all, thy gay and happy inmates, their glad and joyous hearts beating with generous emotions, and their countenances brightened with the welcome smile. Ah! how I seem to hear, as in time past I have heard, their lively prattle, or their merry laugh echoing across the lawn, or through the flower garden, or along the winding paths down the steep slope to the pavilion.

And can it be that I shall never again realize these happy scenes! I would fain hope otherwise; but life is a changeful drama, and time fleeting; this world is _not_ our home.

Adieu, then, dear friends. May God's blessing ever rest upon you; and should it be His providence that we meet not again here, may we all so use His dealings with us in this disciplinary state that we may be sure to meet.

Brighton, Dec. 20th. In memory of some pleasant moments.

E. E. DOUGLASS.

In the beginning of the century Spencer Wood, as previously stated, was known as Powell Place. His Excellency Sir James Henry Craig spent there the summers of 1808-9-10. Even the healthy air of Powell Place failed to cure him of gout and dropsy. A curious letter from Sir James to his secretary and _chargé d'affaires_ in London, H. W. Ryland, Esquire, dated "Powell Place, 6th August, 1810," has been, among others, preserved by the historian Robert Christie. It alludes in rather unparliamentary language to the _coup d'état_ which had on the 19th March, 1810, consigned to a Quebec dungeon three of the most prominent members of the Legislature, Messrs. Bédard, Taschereau and Blanchet, together with Mr. Lefrançois, the printer of the _Canadien_ newspaper, for certain comments in that journal on Sir James' colonial policy. Sir James had spent the greatest part of his life in the army, actively battling against France; a Frenchman for him was a traditional enemy. This unfortunate idea seems more than once to have inspired his colonial policy with regard to the descendants of Frenchmen whom he ruled.

Born at Gibraltar, of Scotch parents, James Henry Craig entered the English service in 1763 at the age of 15, and on many occasions distinguished himself by his courage. During the war of the American revolution he served in Canada, and was present at the unfortunate affair of Saratoga.

_SIR JAMES CRAIG TO MR. RYLAND._

QUEBEC, Powell Place, 6th August, 1810.

My Dear Ryland,--Till I took my pen in my hand I thought I had a great deal to say to you, and now I am mostly at a loss for a subject. * * * We have remained very quiet; whatever is going on is silently. I have no reason to think, however, that any change has taken place in the public mind; _that_ I believe remains in the same state. Bishop Plessis, on the return from his tour, acknowledged to me that he had reason to think that some of his _curés_ had not behaved quite as they ought to have done; he is now finishing the remainder of his visitations.

Blanchette and Taschereau are both released on account of ill-health; the former is gone to Kamouraska to bathe, the latter was only let out a few days ago. He sent to the Chief Justice (Sewell) to ask if he would allow him to call on him, who answered, by all means. The Chief Justice is convinced he is perfectly converted. He assured him that he felt it to be his duty to take any public occasion, by any act whatever that he could point out, to show his contrition and the sense he entertained of his former conduct.

He told the Chief Justice in conversation that Blanchette came and consulted him on the subject of publishing the paper, "Prenez vous par le bout du nez," and that having agreed that it would be very improper that it should appear, they went to Bédard, between whom and Blanchette there were very high words on the occasion. I know not what Panet is about, I have never heard one word of or about him. In short, I really have nothing to tell you, nor do I imagine that I shall have, till I hear from you. You may suppose how anxious I shall be till that takes place. We have fixed the time for about the 10th September; till then I shall not come to any final resolution with respect to the bringing the three delinquents to trial or not. I am, however, inclined to avoid it, so is the B----; the C. J. is rather, I think, inclined to the other side, though aware of the inconvenience that may arise from it. Blanchette and Taschereau have both, in the most unequivocal terms, acknowledged the criminality of their conduct, and it will be hinted that if Bédard will do the same it may be all that will be required of them; at present his language is that he has done nothing wrong, and that he does not care how long he is kept in prison.

We have begun upon the road to the townships (the Craig Road, through the Eastern Townships) * * * We shall get money enough, especially as we hope to finish it at a third of what it would have cost if we would have employed the country people. (It was made by soldiers.)

The scoundrels of the Lower Town have begun their clamour already, and I should scarcely be surprised if the House should ask, when they meet, by what authority I have cut a road without their permission. The road begins at St. Giles and will end at the township of Shipton.

Yours most faithfully,

(Signed,) J. H. CRAIG.

(History of Canada, Christie, vol. VI., p. 128.)

Very different, and we hope more correct, views are now promulgated on colonial matters from Powell Place.

If Sir James, wincing under bodily pain, could write angry letters, there were occasions on which the "rank and fashion" of the city received from him the sweetest epistles imaginable. The 10th of August of each year (his birthday, perhaps) as he informs us in another letter, was sacred to rustic enjoyment, conviviality and the exchange of usual courtesies, which none knew better how to dispense than the sturdy old soldier.

The English traveller, John Lambert, thus notices it in his interesting narrative in 1808:--"Sir James Craig resided in summer at a country house about four or five miles from Quebec, and went to town every morning to transact business. This residence is called Powell Place, and is delightfully situated in a neat plantation on the border of the bank which overlooks the St. Lawrence, not far from the spot where General Wolfe landed and ascended to the heights of Abraham. Sir James gave a splendid breakfast _al fresco_ at this place in 1809 to all the principal inhabitants of Quebec, and the following day he allowed his servants and their acquaintances to partake of a similar entertainment at his expense."--(Lambert's Travels, 1808, p. 310.)

Spencer Wood has ever been a favourite resort for our Governors--Sir James Craig--Lord Elgin--Sir Edmund Walker Head--Lord Monk--Lord Lisgar, and Lord Dufferin on his arrival in 1872, none prized it so highly, none rendered it more attractive than the Earl of Elgin. Of his _fêtes champêtres_, _recherchés_ dinners, _château_ balls, a pleasant remembrance still lingers in the memory of many Quebecers and others. Several circumstances added to the charms and comfort of Spencer Wood in his day. On one side of St. Louis Road stood the gubernatorial residence, on the opposite side at Thornhill, dwelt the Prime Minister, Sir Francis Hincks. Over the vice-regal "walnuts and wine," how many knotty state questions have been discussed, how many despatches settled, how many political points adjusted in the stormy days which saw the abolition of the Seignioral Tenure and Clergy Reserves. At one of his brilliant postprandial speeches,--Lord Elgin was much happier at this style of oratory than his successor, Sir Edmund Head,--the noble Earl is reported to have said, alluding to Spencer Wood, "Not only would I spend here the rest of my life, but after my death, I should like my bones to rest in this beautiful spot;" and still China and India had other scenes, other triumphs, and his Sovereign, other rewards for the successful statesman.

Sir Edmund Head's sojourn at Spencer Wood was marked by a grievous family bereavement; his only son, a promising youth of nineteen summers, was, in 1858, accidentally drowned in the St. Maurice, at Three Rivers, while bathing. This domestic affliction threw a pall over the remainder of the existence of His Excellency, already darkened by bodily disease. Seclusion and quiet were desirable to him.

A small private gate still exists at Spencer Grange, which at the request of the sorrowful father was opened through the adjoining property with the permission of the proprietor. Each week His Excellency, with his amiable lady, stealing a few moments from the burthen of affairs of State, would thus walk through unobserved to drop a silent tear on the green grave at Mount Hermon, in which were entombed all the hopes of a noble house. On the 12th March, 1860, on a wintry evening, whilst the castle was a blaze of light and powdered footmen hurried through its sounding corridors, to relieve of their fur coats and mufflers His Excellency's guests asked at a state dinner that night--Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Geo. E. Cartier, Mr. Pennefather and others--the alarm of fire was sounded, and in a couple of hours, of the magnificent pile a few charred ruins only remained. There was no State dinner that night.

One of the last acts of the Ministry in retiring in 1861, was the signing of the contract to rebuild Spencer Wood. The appropriation was a very niggardly one, in view of the size of the structure required as a vice- regal residence. All meretricious ornaments in the design were of course left out. A square building, two hundred feet by fifty, was erected with the main entrance, in rear, on the site of the former lovely flower garden. The location of the entrance and consequent sacrifice of the flower garden for a court, left the river front of the dwelling for the private use of the inmates of the _Château_ by excluding the public. Lord Monk, the new Governor-General, took possession of the new mansion and had a plantation of fir and other trees added to conceal the east end from public gaze. Many happy days were spent at Spencer Wood by His Lordship and family, whose private secretary, Denis Godley, Esq., occupied the picturesque cottage "Bagatelle," facing the Holland Road, on the Spencer Grange property. If illustrious names on the Spencer Wood Visitor's Register could enhance the interest the place may possess, foremost, one might point to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, visiting in 1860 the site probably more than once surveyed and admired, in 1791-4, by his grand-father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, in his drives round Quebec, with the fascinating Baroness de St. Laurent. Conspicuous among all those familiar with the portals of Spencer Wood, may be mentioned other Royal Princes--the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Arthur, Princess Louise, Prince Leopold; with Dukes and Earls--the Duke of Newcastle, Manchester, Buckingham, Argyll, Athol. Sutherland, Prince Napoleon, Generals Grant, Sherman, &c.

Since Confederation, Spencer Wood has been successively tenanted by Sir. N. F. Belleau, Lieutenant-Governor Caron, Lieutenant-Governor Letellier de St. Just, and Lieutenant-Governor Robitaille, the present occupant of the seat.

To the late Lieut.-Governor Letellier is due the initiation of the _soirées littéraires_, which united under his hospitable roof the literary talent of the Ancient Capital, and his successor, Lieut.-Governor Robitaille, not only followed this enlightened course, but also added _soirées musicales_ and _artistiques_.

Spencer Wood was not included in the schedule and division of property handed over by the Dominion Government to the Province of Quebec--it was, however, about that time presented as a gift to our province, solely as a gubernatorial residence--as such to be held, and consequently cannot be sold by the Government of the Province of Quebec.

HENRY WATSON POWELL was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 46th Foot, March 10th, 1753. He was promoted to a captaincy in the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Foot, September 2nd, 1756, but upon that battalion's being detached from the 11th and renumbered in 1758, his regimental number became the 64th. He served in the expedition against the French West India Islands in 1759, and went with his regiment to America in 1768. June 2nd, 1770, he became Major of the 38th Foot, and July 23rd, 1771, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 53rd Foot, which was then stationed at Minorca. He accompanied his corps to Canada in the spring of 1776, and on June 10th of that year, a few days after his arrival, Sir Guy Carleton appointed him a Brigadier General and assigned him to the 2nd Brigade, which consisted of the 34th, 53rd and 20th Regiments. When Gen. Gordon's brigade was broken up on the death of that officer, August 1st, 1776, the 62nd was added to Powell's brigade, and in November of that year, upon General Nesbit's death, Gen. Powell was transferred to the command of the 1st Brigade, consisting of the 9th, 47th, 31st and 21st Regiments, save that the 53rd was substituted for the 21st. Gen. Powell served under Gen. Carleton in 1776, and the next year accompanied Burgoyne. In organizing the troops for Burgoyne's expedition in 1777, Gen. Powell was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, consisting of the 20th, 21st and 62nd Regiments. The 62nd was left at Ticonderoga, however with Prince Frederick's (German) Regiment and a portion of Captain Borthwick's company of the Royal Artillery July 5th when the Americans evacuated that fort, and August 10th Gen. Powell was sent back to assume command of that post, his regiment, the 53rd, being also ordered to relieve the 62nd. Though he successfully repelled the American Col. Brown's attack on Ticonderoga and for four days maintained a gallant defence, the enemy retreating September 22nd, yet inasmuch as a considerable part of four companies of the 53rd were surprised in the old French lines and at the outposts by the American advance, and a number of American Prisoners were recaptured, the affair was not one of unmixed satisfaction to either side.

When the toils of adversity began to tighten round Burgoyne in October Gen. Powell was sorely puzzled as to his duty for though he was out of Sir Guy Carleton's military jurisdiction yet that officer was accessible while Burgoyne, his own proper commander was not. The following letter, there fore, written by Sir Guy to Gen. Powell, after Burgoyne's surrender, though in ignorance of that event, throws some light upon the awkwardness of Powell's situation. The letter reads as follows:--

QUEBEC, the 20th October, 1777.

SIR,--I have this moment received your letter of the 19th instant, wherein you demand orders from me for your guidance in your present emergency. It is impossible that I should give orders to you, not alone because the post you are in has been taken out of my command, but the distance is too great for my being able to judge of the situation of Gen Burgoyne or of the exigencies of the place you are at which must depend upon the other, as if you were subject to my commands ignorant as I am of the strength or weakness of your post, I should under all the other circumstances think it best for His Majesty's service to suffer you to act by your own judgment, so you will there fore easily see the greater necessity there is as matters are for my leaving you to pursue such steps, as shall be suggested to you by your own prudence and reason. I can only recommend to you not to balance between two opposite measures, whereby you may be disabled from following the one or the other with advantage but that either you prepare, with vigour to put to place in such a situation as to be able to make the longest and most resolute defence or that you prepare in time to abandon it with all the stores while your retreat may be certain. Your own sense will tell you that this latter would be a most pernicious measure if there be still hopes of General Burgoyne coming to your post.

I am, sir, &c.

Though Sir Guy did not feel at liberty to issue orders to Gen. Powell yet he immediately despatched Gen. Maclean with the 31st regiment, the Royal Highland Emigrants and a detachment of artillery with four guns to take post and entrench at Chimney Point, near Crown Point, in order to keep up communication with Ticonderoga. Two or three weeks later Gen. Powell abandoned Ticonderoga and withdrew to Canada. After a short tarry at St. John's he was posted at Montreal, where he commanded during the winter of 1777-8. Then he was stationed at St John's and in the autumn of 1780, after Lieut.-Colonel Bolton's unfortunate loss on Lake Ontario, we find him in command of the upper posts with his headquarters at Niagara. By Gen. Haldimand's order of October 21st, 1782, Brig.-Gen. Maclean was assigned to the command of the upper posts, and Gen. Powell was appointed commandant of Quebec. How long he remained at Quebec has not been ascertained, but in 1780 he bought a fine estate on the St. Lewis Road, about two and a half miles from Quebec to which he gave the name of Powell Place and which he did not dispose of until 1796, when he sold it to Francis Lehoullier. This place was subsequently known as Spencer Wood, but it has since been divided, the larger portion being still known as Spencer Wood, and serving as the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, while the smaller portion consisting of about forty acres and known as Spencer Grange, belongs to and is the property of J. M. LeMoine, President of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec.

Gen. Powell became a Colonel in the army February 19th, 1779; a Major General, November 20th, 1782; Colonel of the 69th Foot, April 16th, 1792; Colonel of the 15th Foot, June 20th, 1794 (not April 20th, as printed in Burgoyne's Orderly Book); A Lieutenant-General, May 3rd, 1796, and a General, January 1st, 1801. He died at an advanced age at Lyme, England, July 14th, 1814.

Army Lists--Gentleman's Magazine, vol. 84, p. 190; Burgoyne's Orderly Book, p. 10; Hadden's Journal; Haldimand Papers; LeMoine's Maple Leaves, 3rd series; J. M. LeMoine's Title Deeds." (_From Gen. Horatio Rogers' Notes on HADDEN'S JOURNAL of Burgoyne's Campaign_, 1776.)

_A FÊTE CHAMPÊTRE AT POWELL PLACE._

(From the French of P. A. DeGaspé.)

"At half-past eight A.M., on a bright August morning (I say a bright one, for such had lighted up this welcome _fête champêtre_ during three consecutive years), the _élite_ of the Quebec _beau monde_ left the city to attend Sir James Craig's kind invitation. Once opposite Powell Place (now Spencer Wood) the guests left their vehicles on the main road, and plunged into a dense forest, following a serpentine avenue which led to a delightful cottage in full view of the majestic St. Lawrence; the river here appears to flow past amidst luxuriant green bowers which line its banks. Small tables for four, for six, for eight guests are laid out facing the cottage, on a platform of planed deals--this will shortly serve as a dancing floor _al fresco_; as the guests successively arrive, they form in parties to partake of a _déjeuner en famille_. I say _en famille_, for an _aide-de-camp_ and a few waiters excepted, no one interferes with the small groups clubbed together to enjoy their early repast, of which cold meat, radishes, bread, tea and coffee form the staples. Those whose appetites are appeased make room for new comers, and amuse themselves strolling under the shade of trees. At ten the cloth is removed; the company are all on the _qui vive_. The cottage, like the enchanted castle in the Opera of Zemira and Azor, only awaits the magic touch of a fairy; a few minutes elapse, and the chief entrance is thrown open; Little King Craig followed by a brilliant staff, enters. Simultaneously an invisible orchestra, located high amidst the dense foliage of large trees, strikes up "God Save the King." All stand uncovered, in solemn silence, in token of respect to the national anthem of Great Britain.

"The magnates press forward to pay their respects to His Excellency Those who do not intend to "trip the light fantastic toe" take seats on the platform where his Excellency sits in state; an A.D.C. calls out, _gentlemen, take your partners_, and the dance begins.

"Close on sixty winters have run by since that day, when I, indefatigable dancer, figured in a country dance of thirty couples. My footsteps, which now seem to me like lead, scarcely then left a trace behind them. All the young hearts who enlivened this gay meeting of other days are mouldering in their tombs, even _she_, the most beautiful of them all, _la belle des belles_--she, the partner of my joys and of my sorrows--she who on that day accepted in the circling dance, for the first time, this hand, which two years after was to lead her to the hymeneal altar--yes, even she has been swept away by the tide of death. [231] May not I also say, with Ossian, 'Why art thou sad, son of Fingal! Why grows the cloud of thy soul! the sons of future years shall pass away, another race shall arise! The people are like the waves of the ocean, like the leaves of woody Morven--they pass away in the rustling blast, and other leaves lift their green heads on high.'

"After all, why, indeed, yield up my soul in sadness? The children of the coming generation will pass rapidly, and a new one will take its place! Men are like the surges of the ocean, they resemble the leaves which hang over the groves of my manor, autumnal storms cause them to fall, but new and equally green ones each spring replace the fallen ones. Why should I sorrow? Eighty-six children, grand-children, and great-grand-children, will mourn the fell of the old oak when the breach of the Almighty shall smite it. Should I have the good fortune to find mercy before the Sovereign Judge: should it be vouchsafed to me to meet again the angel of virtue who cheered the few happy days I passed in this vale of sorrow, we will both pray together for the numerous progeny we left behind us. But let us revert to the merry meeting previously alluded to. It is half-past two in the afternoon, we are gaily going through the figures of a country-dance, 'Speed the plough' perhaps, when the music stops short, everyone is taken aback, and wonders at the cause of interruption. The arrival of two prelates, Bishop Plessis and Bishop Mountain, gave us the solution of the enigma; an aide-de-camp had motioned to the bandmaster to stop on noticing the entrance of the two high dignitaries of the respective churches. The dance was interrupted whilst they were there, and was resumed on their departure. Sir James had introduced this point of etiquette from the respect he entertained for their persons.

"At three the loud sound of a hunters horn is heard in the distance; all follow His Excellency in a path cut through the then virgin forest of Powell Place. Some of the guests from the length of the walk, began to think that Sir James had intended those who had not danced to take a "constitutional" before dinner, when, on rounding an angle a huge table, canopied with green boughs, groaning under the weight of dishes, struck on their view--a grateful oasis in the desert. Monsieur Petit, the _chef de cuisine_, had surpassed himself, like Vatel, I imagine he would have committed suicide had he failed to achieve the triumph by which he intended to elicit our praise. Nothing could exceed in magnificence, in sumptuousness this repast--such was the opinion not only of Canadians, for whom such displays were new, but also of the European guests, though there was a slight drawback to the perfect enjoyment of the dishes--_the materials which composed them we could not recognize_, so great was the artistic skill, so wonderful the manipulations of Monsieur Petit, the French cook.

"The Bishops left about half an hour after dinner, when dancing was resumed with an increasing ardor, but the cruel mammas were getting concerned respecting certain sentimental walks which the daughters were enjoying after sunset. They ordered them home, if not with their menacing attitude with which the goddess Calypso is said to have spoken to her nymphs, at least with frowns; so said the gay young _cavaliers_. By nine o'clock, all had re-entered Quebec."

_SPENCER GRANGE._

"Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books"--_Thomson_

When Spencer Wood became the gubernatorial residence, its owner (the late Hy. Atkinson) reserved the smaller half, Spencer Grange, some forty acres, divided off by a high brick wall and fence, and terminating to the east in a river frontage of one acre. A small latticed bower facing the St. Lawrence overhangs the cliff, close to where the Belle Borne rill--nearly dry during the summer months--rushes down the bank to Spencer Cove, in spring and autumn,--a ribbon of fleecy whiteness. To the south, it is bounded by Woodfield, and reaches to the north at a point opposite the road called Stuart's road which intersects Holland farm, leading from the St. Lewis to the Ste. Foye highway. The English landscape style was adopted in the laying out of the flower garden and grounds; some majestic old trees were left here and there through the lawns; three clumps of maple and red oak in the centre of the meadows to the west of the house grouped for effect; fences, carefully hidden away in the surrounding copses; hedges, buildings, walks and trees brought in here and there to harmonize with the eye and furnish on a few acres a perfect epitome of a woodland scene. The whole place is girt round by a zone of tall pine, beech, maple and red oaks, whose deep green foliage, when lit up by the rays of the setting or rising sun, assume tints of most dazzling brightness,--emerald wreaths dipped into molten gold-overhanging under a leafy arcade, a rustic walk, which zigzags round the property, following to the southwest the many windings of the Belle Borne streamlet. This sylvan region most congenial to the tastes of a naturalist, echoes in spring and summer with the ever-varying and wild minstrelsy of the robin, the veery, the songsparrow, the red-start, the hermit-thrush, the red-eyed flycatcher and other feathered choristers, while the golden-winged woodpecker or rain fowl, heralds at dawn the coming rain of the morrow, and some crows, rendered saucy by protection, strut through the sprouting corn, in their sable cassocks, like worldly clergymen computing their tythes. On the aforesaid walk, once trodden over by the prince of American naturalists, the great Audubon, whilst on a visit to Mr. Atkinson at Spencer Wood, was conferred the name of _Audubon Avenue_, by his Sillery disciple, the author of the _Birds of Canada. The grand river views of Spencer Wood, are replaced by a woodland scenery, sure to please the eye of any man of cultivated taste, accustomed to the park-like appearance of the south of England. In front of the mansion, close to the lawn, stands the noblest elm tree of Sillery (_Ulmus Americanus_), leafy to its very roots. Here, amidst literature and flowers, after leaving Spencer Wood, lived for several years Henry Atkinson, a name in those regions once synonymous with ornamental gardens and flowers. Graperies, conservatories, an orchid house soon sprung up under his hand at this spot, larger than Spencer Wood had ever boasted of in its palmiest days, since 1860, it is the seat of J. M. LeMoine.

The advent in Quebec of the great Audubon is heralded thus in the Quebec _Gazette_ of the 23rd September, 1842:--

"To the Editor of the Quebec _Gazette_"

SIR,--It does not appear to be known to the Quebec public that one of the most distinguished men of the present age is now on a visit to our city--John James Audubon, the author of the magnificent work entitled 'Ornithological Biography; or an Account of the Habits of the Birds of America, etc.' I understand that Mr. Audubon devoted nearly fifty years of his life to this interesting subject, and has placed before the world, at a cost of £27,000 sterling, the whole family of the feathered tribe, giving to each its natural size, and coloured to the very life. Mr. Audubon has brought one copy [232] of his work with him, let as hope it may be secured by our citizens. It is his first visit to Quebec, the splendid scenery of which has induced him to prolong his stay a few days. His present portfolio contains several beautiful specimens of the quadrupeds of America, now in course of publication by him as a companion to the above splendid work, which only requires to be seen to ensure him a numerous list of subscribers in this neighborhood.

"In order to afford Mr. Audubon every facility in the pursuit of his arduous and interesting undertaking, the President of the United States and the Commander-in-Chief, General Winfield Scott, have furnished him the necessary documents to ensure him a cordial reception throughout the Union.

"Mr. Audubon thus speaks of his meeting on the coast of Labrador, a British officer well known to us all in Quebec--"But few days had elapsed, when one morning we saw a vessel making towards our anchorage, with the gallant flag of England waving in the breeze and as she was moored within a cable's length of the _Ripley_, I soon paid my respects to her commander, Captain Bayfield, of the Royal Navy. The politeness of British naval officers is proverbial, and from the truly frank and cordial reception of this gentleman and his brave companions in arms, I felt more than ever assured of the truth of this opinion. On the _Gulnare_ there was an amiable and talented surgeon, who was a proficient in botany. We afterwards met the vessel in several other harbors.'

"The name of John James Audubon, we should hope, is quote sufficient to ensure him a cordial welcome throughout the British dominions in America, and we sincerely hope that his visit to Quebec may hereafter be a source of pleasing remembrance to him.

"H.

"Quebec, Sept. 23, 1842."

(_From the Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal._)

MY VISIT TO SPENCER GRANGE, QUEBEC, IN 1856, THE COUNTRY SEAT OF J. M. LEMOINE.

BY BENJAMIN SULTE, THE HISTORIAN OF "THREE RIVERS."

[Translated from the French.]

One of the greatest attractions for me, says Mr. Sulte, in visiting Spencer Grange, was its museum of Canadian birds, comprising two- thirds of the Feathered tribe of the Dominion, with a fair sprinkling of foreign specimens in the skin, and a collection of birds' eggs. Our friend, long known among Canadian naturalists for his persevering efforts during twenty years to popularize [233] the beautiful and instructive study of ornithology, had evidently met with more than one ally--in fact, many sympathizers. I am inclined to think--in his special branch of natural history., Each class of birds, in this apartment, has its corner; judging by the label, its "habitation,", as well as name.

The thrushes and flycatchers of Canada, from their exquisite bright tints or delicate arrow-shaped markings, are particularly conspicuous.

The cinnamon-backed cuckoo must be a graceful minstrel in our green hedges in July, though I am ashamed to admit I never was lucky enough to meet him. The oriole, blue jay, officer-bird, summer red-bird, indigo-bird and golden-winged woodpecker form a group of striking beauty; a most excellent idea, I would say, to thus place in juxtaposition the most gorgeously habited of our feathered choristers for the sake of contrasts.

A succession of drawers contain the nests and eggs, scientifically labelled, of many Canadian species, and of some of the most melodious songsters of France and England; pre-eminent stands the Italian, French and Devonshire nightingale and its eggs. Our time was much too limited to allow us to treasure up all the anecdotes and theories anent birds, their mysterious spring and autumn migrations, their lively memory of places, so agreeably dealt out to us. We cannot, however, entirely omit noticing some curious objects we saw--the tiny nest of a West Indian humming bird male out of a piece of sponge, and he _cubiculum_ of a redheaded woodpecker, with its eggs still in it, scooped out of the decayed heart of a silver birch tree, with the bird's head still peering from the orifice in the bark. Here, as well as in the library, the presentations were numerous: Col. Rhodes was represented by a glossy Saguenay raven. I listened, expecting each moment to hear it, like Poe's nocturnal visitor, "ghostly, grim and ancient," croak out "nevermore!"

The late Hon. Adam Fergusson Blair, once a familiar of Spencer Grange, was remembered by some fine Scotch grouse, ptarmigan and a pair of capercailzie, in splendid feather, brought from Scotland. A good specimen of the silvery gull, shot at Niagara Falls, was a gift from John William McCallum, Esq., now of Melbourne, E.T.--an early friend of our friend, whilst a very rare foreign bird (a Florida or glossy ibis), shot at Grondines, had been contributed by Paul J. Charlton, Esq., a Quebec sportsman. What had brought it so far from home?

At the bead of the grave, omniscient owls, like the foreman of a grand jury, stood a majestic "grand duc," the largest owl of the Pyrénées, resembling much our Virginian species,--a donation from a French _savant_, Le Frère Ogérien. The owls have ever been to me a deep subject of study, their defiant aspect, thoughtful countenances, in which lurks a _soupçon_ of rapacity, remind me of a mayor and town council bent on imposing new taxes without raising too much of a row.

A gaudy and sleek bird of Paradise had been donated by Miss Caron, of the adjoining _château_. There was also a newly-patented bird- trap, sent by a New York firm, in the days of Boss Tweed, Conolly, Field and other birds of prey I noticed boxes for sparrows to build in, designed by Col W Rhodes. On the floor lay a curious sample of an Old World man-trap, not sent from New York, but direct from England, a terror to poachers and apple stealers, French swords and venomous looking bayonets, of very ancient design, a rusty, long Indian musket barrel together with _tibiae_ and _tarsi_, labelled 1759-60, presents from H. J. Chouinard, Esq., the owner in 1865 of the site of the battlefield at St. Foye, where stands _Le Monument des Braves_. A bristling-fretful porcupine, a ferocious-looking lynx, and several well-mounted specimens of game had been donated by McPherson Le Moyne, Esq., the President of the "Montreal Fish and Game Protection Club," also several other contributions from the same.

Who had sent the colossal St. Bernard dog, like another Maida, talking over the lawn, we had not an opportunity of asking. We patted him, all trembling.

The flower garden is laid out in the modern landscape style. Fences carefully concealed, a deep fringe of hard wood trees on one side, a trim lilac hedge on the other, and a plantation of shrubs, roan, barbary, sumac, lilac and young maple. On the side west of the house was observable, next to a rustic seat, in the fork of a white birch, an archaeological monument made with the key-stone of Prescott and Palace Gates when removed by order of the City Corporation, [234] it stands about ten feet in height.

From this spot, spanned by a little rustic bridge, a walk meanders round the property to the west, canopied by a grove of silver birch, oak, beach, pine and maple. Along the serpentine brook, Belle-Borne, now so diminutive, and which, according to the historian Ferland, two centuries ago turned the wheel of a mill below, is visible a dam, creating a small pond in May, June and July, a favorite bathing place, we are told, for the thrushes, robins and other songsters of the adjoining groves. This tiny runlet is fringed with several varieties of ferns, dog-tooth violets and other algae--(_From L'Opinion Publique._)

_SPENCER OR BAGATELLE COTTAGE._

"We have many little Edens Scattered up and down our dales; We've a hundred pretty hamlets, Nestling in our fruitful vales, Here the sunlight loves to linger, And the summer winds to blow, Here the rosy spring in April, Leapeth laughing from the snow."

On the western corner of the Spencer Grange property, and dependant to it, can be seen from the road, _Bagatelle_--a long, straggling, picturesque cottage, in the Italian style, with trees, rustic seats, walks and a miniature flower-garden round it; a small prospect pavillion opens on the St. Lewis road, furnishing a pretty view of the blue range of mountains to the north; in summer it peeps from under clusters of the green or purple leaves of some luxuriant _Virginian_ creepers--our American ivy--which climb round it. _Bagatelle was generally occupied by an _attaché_ of Spencer Wood, in the days of the Earl of Elgin and Sir Edmund W. Head.

Bagatelle is a quiet little nest, where our Canadian Laureate, Fréchette, might be tempted to pen an invitation to his brother bard of the city, LeMay, somewhat in the manner of the soft warbler of Albion towards his friend the Revd. P. D. Maurice:

"Where, far from smoke or noise of town, I watch the twilight falling brown All round a careless ordered garden, Close to the ridge of a noble down.

You'll have no scandal while you dine, But honest talk and wholesome wine, And only hear the magpie gossip Garrulous under a roof of pine.

For groves of pine on either hand, To break the blast of winter, stand; And further on the hoary channel Tumbles a breaker on chalk and sand."

The poet has sometimes received as well as sent out poetical invitations. Here is one from Water Savage Landor.

"I entreat you, Alfred Tennyson, Come and share my haunch of venison, I have, too, a bin of claret, Good, but better when you share it. Though 'tis only a small bin There's a stock of it within, And, as sure as I'm a rhymer, Half a butt of Rudesheimer, Come, among the sons of men is none Welcomer than Tennyson?"

_THE WOODFIELD OF THE PAST._

"Deambulatio per loca amoena."--_Frascatorius_

"Unquestionably the most ornate and richly laid-out estate around Quebec is Woodfield, formerly the elegant mansion of the Honorable Wm. Sheppard, afterwards of Fairymead, Drummondville. For many years past it has become the permanent residence of the Gibb family. The horticultural department and conservatory are under the immediate charge of Andrew Torrance, Esq., Mrs. Gibb's brother. His taste is too well known to require any praise, and truly may it be said that the lovers of sweet flowers, trim hedges, and fairy scenery, can easily beguile several hours together in exploring the broad acres of Woodfield, equal in extent to Spencer Wood itself. In the year 1646, the company of New France, under M. de Montmagny, conceded this land, a lot of ground, with a frontage of three _arpents_, to Jean Bouvart dit Lafortune. Jean Beauvart resold in 1649 to Barthélémy Gaudin, in 1702 this land was possessed by Guillaume Pagé dit Garey. In 1724, Nicholas de la Nouiller purchased it and sold it in 1731 to Monseigneur Dosquet, Bishop of Samos. In 1762, the seminary, then proprietor of these grounds, conceded to Thomas Ainsley, the portion on which stood the house, built by Bishop Dosquet. Judge Mabane acquired it in 1769, he died in 1792, when his sister Miss. Isabella Mabane purchased it in 1794 and held it until 1805, when the Honorable Matthew Bell purchased it.

Let us hear on this subject one who knows how to describe and embellish a country seat.--

"In the early part of the last century," says the Honorable Wm. Sheppard, "this estate was in the possession of Monseigneur Dosquet, [235] titular Bishop of Samos _in partibus infidelum_, and he gave it that name after his Episcopal title. He built a substantial stone residence near the brow of the hill, overlooking the St. Lawrence--a one story house--with a high peaked roof, long and narrow, after the mode of building in those days, something in the style of the manor house at Beauport. The name of Samos is now superseded by that of Woodfield, yet it is still in use as applied to the high road passing on its western side, commencing at the termination of the road leading from Quebec in that direction, called the Grand Allée, where it forks into the Samos road and the Chemin Gomin at Spencer Wood. It is not known how long Bishop Dosquet occupied his estate.

"Soon after the cession of Canada to the British Crown, this property passed into the hands of Judge Mabane, [236] by purchase, from the reverend proprietors of the seigniory. Mr. Mabane changed the name to Woodfield, and made extensive alterations to the house, adding to it a second story, giving it by other additions a more imposing appearance from the river, and adding two pavillion wings, connected with the house by corridors. In 1775-6 it was converted into an hospital for American soldiers.

"About the year 1807, the late Honorable Matthew Bell purchased Woodfield from Miss Mabane, the Judge's sister. Mr. Bell occupied the house as a summer dwelling only, and it is not known that he improved the estate to any extent, unless it were the garden, which he enlarged and stocked with choice fruit trees. Previous to the purchase of Mr. Bell, Woodfield was occupied as a dwelling during several years (1795-1802) by Bishop Mountain, the first Protestant Bishop of Quebec. During his occupation he removed a bridge which spanned Bell Borne Brook, with the intention of cutting off communication with Powell Place (Spencer Wood), the neighboring estate, for reasons which it is not now necessary to enter into. The bridge was subsequently restored, by the sons of Sir R. S. Milnes, Governor General, and was known by the name of Pont Bonvoisin.

"In 1816 Woodfield passed into the possession of Mr. William Sheppard, by purchase, from Mr. Bell. Mr. Sheppard improved the house and grounds greatly, erecting vineries and a large conservatory, changing the front of the house so as to look upon a rising lawn of good extent, interspersed with venerable oaks and pine, giving the whole a striking and pleasing aspect. The alteration in the house gave it a very picturesque appearance, as viewed from the foot of the old avenue, backed by sombre pines Mr. Sheppard added to the estate about sixty acres of land on its southern side, it being now bounded by the road leading to St. Michael's Cove. During the alterations made in the house, a leaden foundation plate was discovered, stating that the house was built in 1732, by Bishop Dosquet. This plate was deposited for safe keeping in the Museum of the Literary and Historical Society, where (if still extant) it may be consulted.

"In December 1842, the house was unfortunately destroyed by fire, and with it a valuable library of some three thousand volumes, many of them costly illustrated works on Natural History and other sciences. Shortly afterwards a new house was built on a more desirable and commanding site, in the midst of splendid old oaks and pines, looking down upon an extensive lawn, with the St Lawrence in the middle distance, the view terminated by the South Shore, studded with cheerful-looking cottages. To suit the new site Mr. Sheppard laid out a new approach, placing the entrance somewhat nearer Quebec, than the old avenue, following the roundings of Belle Borne Brook, and leaving it with a striking sweep, among groups of trees, to the house. This approach is one of the greatest attractions of the place. He also built a large conservatory in connection with the house.

"Woodfield changed hands in 1847, having been purchased by Thos. Gibb, Esq., who exchanged it with his brother, Jas. Gibb, Esq., a wealthy merchant of Quebec, president of the Quebec Bank, who added much to the beauty of the estate. [237] Woodfield, with the improvements and embellishments made by the preceding proprietor is one of the most imposing and showy places in Canada, well worthy the encomiums passed upon it by J. Jay Smith, Esq., of Philadelphia, editor of the _Horticulturist_, who, with a party of friends, visited it in 1857. He says, in that work, 'James Gibb, Esq., at Woodfield, possesses one of the most charming places on the American continent. Thoroughly English in its appurtenances, and leaving out its views of the St. Lawrence, its lawns, trees, and superb garden are together, a model of what may be accomplished. The whole scene was enchanting. The traveller felt as if he was transported to the best parts of England, our whole party uniting in an exclamation of pleasure and gratification. Here is everything in the way of well-kept lawns, graperies and greenhouses, outhouses for every possible contingency of weather, gardens, redolent of the finest flowers, in which bulbs of the best lilies make a conspicuous figure, and every species of fruit that can be grown. The traveller who does not see Woodfield hah not seen Canada in its best trim.'

"The remains of one redoubt [238] are visible near Belle Borne Brook, just above Pont Bonvoisin, or Bridge of Friendship, no doubt intended to guard the approach to Quebec by the footpath from Pointe à Puiseaux. Another large one was on the west side of Samos road, nearly opposite the entrance gate of the new approach to Woodfield, it commanded the Samos road.

"Woodfield once could boast of a well-stocked aviary. The garden, of large extent, has always been celebrated for its fruit and flowers, for the taste in which it was laid out, and for the beautiful prospect obtained from it of the Citadel of Quebec, of the intervening portion of the St. Lawrence, with the numerous shipping in the harbour busily engaged in taking in their return cargoes of the staple article of exportation."

Since this sketch was published in the _Maple Leaves_ for 1865, death has borne heavily on the estimable Gibb family we then knew at Woodfield; and in 1879, Mr. John Lawson Gibb sold the old homestead as a site for an ornate rural cemetery.

"WOODFIELD CONSERVATORY--On 10th Feby, 1869 we availed ourselves of the opportunity afforded to the public of visiting this celebrated conservatory, and feasting our eyes on the immense mass of floral treasures which it contains. Flora's rarest gifts from every quarter of the globe are here in full bloom. The Indian Azaleas are magnificent beyond description--the one near the entrance called 'Criterion" is exquisitely beautiful, Roi Leopold, purpurea and alba are also very handsome. The Dielytra, or Bleeding Heart, is chaste and beautiful the Joy plant (Chorozema) from the Swan River, struck us as particularly interesting, the colours of the flower are so harmoniously blended, the Golden-leaved Geranium (Cloth of Gold)--well worthy the name, with intense scarlet flowers, is very pretty Numerous Camelias of every shade and colour, these we think may well be called the Queen of winter flowers rivalling in beauty the famous "rose." The Cinerarias and Cape cowslips are very fine, and so are the Acacias Many beautiful and interesting Ferns, the most remarkable being the elks-horn, walking fern, hearts-tongue, maiden-hair and silver- braken."--_Morning Chronicle._

_SOUS LES BOIS._

This country seat, two miles from the city limits, stands in view of Pointe à Puiseaux, at Sillery, exactly fronting the mouth of the Etchemin River Imagine a roomy, substantial, one story cottage equally well protected in winter against the piercing north, east and west winds, surrounded by large oaks and pines to temper the rays of an August sun, and through whose foliage the cool river breeze murmurs in the vernal season, wafting pleasure and health to the inmates Add one of those unrivalled river landscapes, peculiar to Sillery, well cultivated fruit gardens, pastures, meadows, and lawns intersected by a long curving avenue, fringed with single trees at times, at others tastefully concealed in a clump of evergreens, and leading to the house by a circuitous approach, which hides the mansion until you are a few feet of it Place in it a toiling professional man, eager, after a dusty summer day's work in St Peter street, to breathe the coolness and fragrance of his rustic homestead, and enjoy the presence of his household gods, again, add to it the conviction in his heart that country life has increased the span of his existence by twenty years, and you have a faint idea of one of our many Canadian homes, of _Sous les Bois_ the former residence of Errol Boyd Lindsay, Esq., one of the few remaining Quebecers who can recall the festivities of Powell Place, when Sir James Craig flourished there in 1809.

In 1870, _Sous les Bois_ was disposed of for educational purposes. The flourishing Jésus Marie Academy, with its shiny dome and lofty walls, looms out in the very centre of the demesne The Lindsay manor, at present, is the hospitable lodge of the devoted and talented almoner of the Convent, Rev. Abbé Octave Audette.

_SILLERY HOUSE._

This handsome dwelling, is situated at the foot of the Cape, close to the Jesuits' old house, on a line with the river: it stands in the centre of an extensive garden, with here and there some large forest trees interspersed.

The residence was built a few years back by the late John Sharples, Esquire, of the firm of Sharples & Co., whose vast timber coves are in view from Sillery house.

ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, SILLERY

"A rural chapel neatly dress'd, In covert like a little nest; And thither young and old repair This Sabbath day, for praise and prayer." --_The White Doe of Rylstone_.

St. Michael's Church was built by some spirited parishioners, in front of Mount Hermon Cemetery; a not inappropriate monument on their part to the memory of the ancient and worthy patron of the parish. St. Michael's Church was weekly honoured by the attendance of the Sovereign's representative and _suite_ when inhabiting Spencer Wood; and on fine summer days by the rank and fashion of the neighbouring metropolis. It is a handsome cut-stone church, in the Gothic style. The incumbent for many years has been the Rev. Anthony A. Von Iffland.

This neat Gothic structure was erected in 1854, at a cost of $12,400, the proceeds of the munificent donations of several members of its congregation and others. The ground on which it stands was presented, as a gift, by Mrs. Jas. Morrin. Several handsome stained-glass windows, representing scriptural scenes, have been recently added. We read, amongst others, the following names on the list of subscribers to the foundation of the chapel, parsonage and school-house:--

Sir Edmund Head Lord Monck The Lord Bishop Mountain Colonel Rhodes Henry Lemesurier Denis Godley Ed. Burstall Charles E. Levey Jos. B. Forsyth Captain Retallack Captain Pemberton Colonel Boomer J. Walker E. Jackson F. H. Andrews Miss Mountain D. D. Young C. N. Montizambert Miss Cochran Rev. A. Mountain Mrs. Carroll F. Burroughs W. F. Wood Robert Hamilton Wm. Petry Honorable W. Walker Mrs. J. Gibb W. Price Michael Stevenson Major H. W. Campbell T. K. Ramsay Mrs. Helmuth Okill Stuart Lieut.-Colonel Mountain John Jordan Miss Guerout Hon. Henry Black G. B. Symes & Co. J. F. Taylor Mrs. Montizambert C. Coker G. Alford Mrs. Forsyth H. S. Scott. N. H. Bowen G. Hall Mrs. G. R. Mountain Charles Hamilton J. K. Boswell James Gibb Rich Tremain T. G. Penny J. H. Oakes Miss Taylor W. Drum Mrs. Woodbury Dr. Boswell W. Herring Miss George Charles Wilson John Giles Charles O'Neill Preston Copeman Thomas Nelson Society for the Promotion Thomas Beckett Barthy W. Goff of Christian Knowledge

Through the aid and efforts of the late Charles E. Levey, Esq., of Cataracoui, a handsome organ was subscribed for in England, and now graces St. Michael's Chapel.

MOUNT HERMON

A SPOT DEAR TO QUEBECERS

Oh, Hermon! oft I wander o'er, Thy silent records of the past, In fancy, when the storm and roar Of icy winter holds thee fast, But, when the gentle spring-time tells 'Tis time to rove amid the flow'rs, I love to walk amid thy dells, And dream once more of happy hours.

All seems a dream! thy lovely slopes, O'ershadowed with primeval trees, Are rich with many blighted hopes, And ceaseless tears, _He_ only sees What broken hearts, and scatter'd homes, And grief of mourners ne'er since met, One pictures by these solemn tombs, This scene of parting and regret!

Bless'd spot! though long, long years ago That loving one was buried here, My soul still ever seeks to know When once again we shall be near! A day ne'er pass'd in foreign climes, At home, or on the restless sea, But I have sought thee many times, Oh, Hermon! ever dear to me. S. B. F.

In this neighbourhood is situated Mount Hermon Cemetery. It is about three miles from Quebec, on the south side of the St. Lewis road, and slopes irregularly, but beautifully, down the cliff which overhangs the St. Lawrence. It is thirty two acres in extent, and the grounds were tastefully laid out by the late Major Douglas, U. S. Engineers, whose taste and skill had been previously shown in the design of Greenwood Cemetery, near New York. A carriage drive, upwards of two miles in extent, affords access to all parts of the grounds, and has been so arranged as to afford the most perfect view of the scenery. The visitor, after driving over the smooth lawn-like open surface, finds himself suddenly transferred by a turn of the road into a dark avenue of stately forest trees, from which he emerges to see the broad St. Lawrence almost beneath him, with the city of Quebec and the beautiful slopes of Point Levi in the distance.

Many beautiful monuments now adorn the grounds, some of which are from Montreal and some from Scotland; but the great majority are the productions of Mr. Felix Morgan, of Quebec, and do credit to his taste and skill. Many of them are beautiful and costly structures of Italian marble. The Aberdeen and Peterhead granite is much used at present for monuments to the departed.

A neat gothic lodge at the entrance of the grounds contains the office and residence of the superintendent. In the former, a complete plan of the grounds is kept, every separate grave being marked upon it with its appropriate number, so that at any future time, on consulting it, the exact spot of interment can be ascertained, and the Register which is also kept, affords information respecting the places of birth, age, and date of death.

There are few sites round Quebec more attractive to visit, especially during the month of September, than the last abode of the departed, crowning the green banks of the St. Lawrence at Sillery--the Cemetery of Mount Hermon. Apart from possessing some of the most picturesque scenery in America, this spot borrows from the glories of autumn tints of a fairy brightness. In providing for the repose of the dead, the citizens of all denominations seemed to have vied to surpass one another. Scarcely had the skilful designer, Major Douglas, U.S.E., completed the laying out of the Mount Hermon grounds, when a strong desire was manifested in all quarters to do away with _intra mural_ burials. In a very short time, the Roman Catholics had selected as a cemetery the lovely old seat of the late Mr. Justice P. Panet, on the banks of the St. Charles, whilst a few years later the shady groves of Belmont, on the Ste. Foye road, were required for a similar object. The ornamentation of a _necropolis_ must naturally be a work of time, trees do not spring up in one summer, nor do lawns clothe themselves with a soft, green velvety surface in one season, and if the flowers in Mount Hermon are so beautiful and so well attended to, the secret in a measure possibly rests with the landscape gardener located at the entrance, and who professes to furnish flowers for the adornment of cemetery lots, and to plant and keep them fresh during the summer. The St. Charles, St. Patrick and Belmont Cemeteries, which do not enjoy in the same measure these facilities, cannot be expected to possess all the rustic adornments of their elder brother. One may safely predict that ere many summers go by, our public cemeteries, by their natural beauty, are likely to attract crowds of strangers, as Greenwood and Mount Auburn do in the States. Chaste monumental marbles, on which can be detected the chisel of English, Scotch and Canadian artists, are at present noticeable all over the grounds, tastefully laid out and smiling _parterres_ of annuals and perennials throw a grateful fragrance over the tomb where sleeps mayhap a beloved parent, a kind sister, an affectionate brother, a true friend, a faithful lover. How forcibly all this was brought to our minds recently on strolling through the shady walks of Mount Hermon. Under the umbrageous trees, perfumed by roses and lilies, tombs, [239] silent, innumerable tombs on all sides, on marble, the names of friends, kindred, acquaintances, solemn stillness all round us, at our feet the placid course of our majestic flood. There were indeed many friends round us, though invisible, nay, on counting over the slumberers, we found we had more, though not dearer friends, in this abode of peace than within the walls of yonder city. Overpowered by mournful, though soothing thoughts, we walked along pondering over those truthful reflections of Washington Irving:--

"There is a voice from the tomb sweeter than song, there is a recollection of the dead to which we turn ever from the charms of the living Oh, the grave! the grave! It buries every error, covers every defect, extinguishes every resentment. From its peaceful bosom spring none but fond regrets and tender recollections. * * * The grave of those we loved--what a place for meditation. There it is that we call up in long review the whole history of virtue and gentleness, and the thousand endearments lavished upon us almost unheeded in the daily intercourse of intimacy; there it is that we dwell upon the tenderness, the solemn, awful tenderness of the parting scene; the bed of death with all its stifled grief; its noiseless attendants; its mute, watchful assiduities; the last testimonies of expiring love; the feeble, faltering, thrilling (oh, how thrilling!) pressure of the hand; the last fond look of the glazing eye, turning upon us from the threshold of existence; the faint, faltering accents struggling in death to give once more assurance of affection! aye, go to the grave of buried love and meditate! There settle the account with thy conscience for every past benefit unrequited, every past endearment unregarded of that being who can never, never, never return to be soothed by thy contrition. If thou art a child and hast ever added a sorrow to the soul, or a furrow to the silvered brow of an affectionate parent; if thou art a husband and hast ever caused the fond bosom that ventured its whole happiness in thy arms to doubt one moment of thy kindness or thy truth; if thou art a friend and hast ever wronged in thought, word or deed the spirit that generously confided in thee; if thou art a lover and hast ever given one unmerited pang to that true heart that now lies cold and still beneath thy feet, then be sure that every unkind look, every ungracious word, every ungentle action will come thronging back upon thy memory and knocking dolefully at thy soul....

Then weave that chaplet of flowers and strew the beauties of nature about the grave; console thy broken spirit if thou canst with these tender, though futile, tributes of regret; but take warning over the dead, and be more faithful and affectionate in the discharge of thy duties to the living." Reader, allow not pensive September to close in without visiting Mount Hermon, linger under its silent shades, go partake of the joy of grief, and meditate at the grave of a buried love.

"MONUMENT TO LIEUT. BAINES, R.A.--Few of our readers but recollect and cherish the name of Lieut. Baines, who unfortunately lost his life while gallantly endeavoring to arrest the progress of the conflagration which destroyed the greater portion of St. Roch's suburbs in October, 1866. His gallant devotion to duty, and his zeal in one of the most praiseworthy and charitable objects that ever engaged the attention of man, has caused his memory to be cherished with love and respect by every one of our citizens. Last year the ladies of the General Hospital sent a tribute of their gratitude to his widowed mother in England, worked by their own hands. Now the citizens of Quebec have completed their share of the grateful task. We had the mournful pleasure yesterday of viewing one of the most chaste and graceful monuments that adorn Mount Hermon Cemetery, erected by public subscription, and placed over the grave of one whose memory is so dearly cherished by all. The monument is of the Egyptian style of architecture, an obelisk 18 feet in height, with a base of 4 feet 10 inches, designed and modelled by our talented fellow-citizen, Mr. F. Morgan, sculptor, St. John street, so many of whose classic memorials of the dead grace Mount Hermon. It is cut from a solid block of imported sandstone, and in chasteness of design or execution is not excelled on this continent. It bears the following inscription:--

Erected by the citizens of Quebec To preserve the memory and to record their gratitude for the gallant services of Lieut. Henry Edmund Baines, Royal Artillery, whose death was occasioned by his noble efforts to arrest the progress of the calamitous fire which, on the 14th Oct., 1866 destroyed a large portion of the city. Born at Shrewsbury, England, April 4, 1840 Died at Quebec Oct. 27, 1866

Surmounting the epitaph is the coat of arms of the Royal Artillery, chiselled out of the solid block by the hands of a finished artist, with the motto of the regiment in a scroll underneath--"_Quo fas et gloria ducunt_' The erection of this, monument to the memory of the brave but unfortunate young officer is a noble tribute of gratitude on the part of our citizens, and in entrusting its execution to our talented fellow-townsman, Mr. Morgan, the committee has shown a wise, discretion that makes the completion of their task one upon which they may heartily congratulate themselves.

A VOICE FROM MOUNT HERMON

DEDICATED TO MRS. BAINES, BY MRS. A. CAMPBELL

My dust lies sleeping here, Mother dear! In this, far off distant land, Away from your little band, And the touch of loving hand, Your boy lies sleeping here, Mother dear!

The Ocean rolls between Mother dear! You and your own boy's grave, And the distant rush of waves On the pebbly shore to lave, Is the requiem sung between, Mother dear!

Mine is a sweet green spot. Mother dear! And the song of the bird Is ever heard In the trees that gird Us, in this quiet spot Mother dear!

And echo answers here Mother dear! The tinkle of chapel bell, And the murmur of its knell And the mourners "_It is well_,' Echo answers here, Mother dear!

To picture my last home, Mother dear! I am laid me down to rest, Where "Our Father" saw 'twas best, In this quiet little nest, For my last home, Mother dear!

And my spirit is with Him, Mother dear! In the precious home above, Where all is light and love, There rests your own dear dove, Now with Him, Mother dear!

Through Jesus' blood I'm here, Mother dear! In this happy, heavenly land, One of a glorious band, Touched by His healing hand, Through Jesus I am here, Mother dear!

So dry that bitter tear, Mother dear! 'Twill not be very long Ere with Jesus you'll sing the song, Sung by those who to Him belong, And wipe that bitter tear-- Mother dear!

BARDFIELD

THE LATE BISHOP MOUNTAIN'S COUNTRY SEAT.

"Far from me and my friends be that frigid philosophy, which can make us pass unmoved over any scenes which have been consecrated by virtue, by valour, or by wisdom."--JOHNSON.

Pleasant the memories of our rustic homes! 'Tis pleasant, after December's murky nights, or January and February's inexorable chills, to go and bask on the sunny banks of our great river, under the shade of trees, in the balmy spring, and amidst the gifts of a bountiful nature, to inhale fragrance and health and joy. Pleasant, also, to wander during September in our solemn woods, "with footsteps inaudible on the soft yellow floor, composed of the autumnal sheddings of countless years." Yes, soothing to us are these memories of home--of home amusements, home pleasures, and even of home sorrows. Sweeter still, even though tinged with melancholy, the remembrance of the departed friends,--those guardian spirits we once saw moving in some of our Canadian homes in the legitimate pride of hospitality--surrounded by young and loving hearts--enshrined in the respect of their fellow men.

Oft has it been our privilege at that festive season of our year, when a hallowed custom brings Canada's sons and daughters together with words of greeting and good-fellowship, to wend our way to Bardfield, high on the breezy hills of Sillery, and exchange a cordial welcome with the venerable man who had dwelt in our midst for many long years. Seldom has it been our lot to approach one who, as a scholar, a gentleman, a prelate, or what is more than all those titles put together, a truly good man, impressed himself more agreeably on our mind.

Another revolution of the circling year and the good pastor, the courteous gentleman, the learned divine, our literary [240] friend and neighbour, the master of Bardfield, had been snatched from among us and from an admiring public. Where is the Quebecer who has not noticed the neat cottage on the north of the St. Lewis road, where lived and died the Lord Bishop Mountain? As you pass, you see as formerly its lovely river view, gravelled walks, curving avenue, and turfy lawns, luxuriant hedges designed by a hand now cold in death. Bardfield continues to be occupied by Miss Mountain and other members of the late Bishop's family. A school house, in the rural Gothic style, quite an ornament to Sillery, has been erected by His Lordship's family, as a memorial of the sojourn at this spot of this true friend of suffering humanity and patron of education.

Bardfield, founded about forty years ago by an eminent merchant of Quebec, Peter Burnet, Esquire, was recently purchased by Albert Furness, Esquire and by him leased to Charles Earnest Levey, Esquire, until Kirke Ella, the property of Mr. Levy, is rebuilt.

THE FAMILY OF MOUNTAIN

The family of Mountain, which is a very old Norman family, and therefore of French extraction, originally wrote their name "de Montaigne," from the name of their estates at Périgord, near Bordeaux, and as stated in the life of one of its members, the well-known Michael Seigneur de Montaigne, the essayist and philosopher, "This race was noble, but noble without any great lustre till his time, which fortune showed him signal favours, and, together with honorary and titular distinctions, procured for him the collar of the Order of St. Michael, which at that time was the utmost mark of honour of the French _noblesse_, and very rare. He was twice elected mayor of Bordeaux, his father, a man of great honour and equity, having formerly also had the same dignity."

Michael left only a daughter--Leonor or Leonora, who by marrying a distant cousin of the same name, preserved the estates in the family, as they had been for more than a century before they were inherited by her father. These remained in possession of the senior branch until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, when, having espoused the Protestant cause, they were forced to sacrifice them and quit the country in 1685, with what ready money they could hastily get together. With this they purchased an estate in Norwich, England; from which in after generations several of the family went out to Canada, and among them the late Bishop of Quebec.

To him, likewise I have heard attributed the irreverent piece of wit alluded to by the _Witness_; but with equal injustice, as his son, the late Bishop of Quebec assured me. [241]

It is one of those sayings evidently made up for people whose names or position suit for hanging them on.

George Mountain, D.D., Archbishop of York, was a contemporary of Michael de Montaigne, and a scion of the same family, though through a younger branch, which appears to have crossed over from France about the time of the massacre of St. Bartholomew in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and for the same reason that the elder branch did afterwards, namely, because of their religious tenets.

It is not by any means improbable that by this separation from the rest of his family, who were still adherents of the Roman Catholic faith, and the consequent abandonment of worldly prospects for the sake of religious principles, the Archbishop's progenitors may have been reduced in circumstances, but only comparatively with what he had lost before, for history shows that the Archbishop himself was, born at Callwood Castle, educated at Queen's College, Cambridge, chosen a Fellow in 1591, and Junior Proctor of that University in 1600, Dean of Westminster in 1610, Bishop of Lincoln in 1617, Bishop of London in 1621, Bishop of Durham in 1627, and Archbishop of York in 1628.

JACOB J. C. MOUNTAIN,

Formerly of Coteau de Lac, Canada, now Vicar of Bulford, England. BULFORD VICARAGE, Amesbury, Salisbury, May 30, 1877.

BENMORE.

We like to portray to ourselves our energetic neighbour of Benmore House, such as we can recall him in his palmy, sporting days of 1865; we shall quote from the _Maple Leaves_ of that year:

"It will not be one of the least glories of 'Our Parish,' even when the Province will have expanded into an empire, with Sillery as the seat of Vice Royalty, to be able to boast of possessing the Canadian, the adopted home of a British officer of wealth and intelligence, known to the sporting world as the Great Northern Hunter. Who had not heard of the _battues_ of Col. Rhodes on the snow-clad peaks of Cap Tourment, on the Western Prairies, and all along the Laurentian chain of mountains? One man alone through the boundless territory extending from Quebec to the North Pole, can dispute the belt with the Sillery Nimrod, but then, a mighty hunter is he; by name in the St. Joachim settlement, Olivier Cauchon, to Canadian sportsmen known as _Le Roi des Bois_. It is said, but we cannot vouch for the fact--that Cauchon, in order to acquire the scent, swiftness and sagacity of the cariboo, has lived on cariboo milk, with an infusion of moss and bark, ever since his babyhood, but that this very winter (1865) he killed, with slugs, four cariboo at one shot, we can vouch for.

A few weeks since, a _habitant_ with a loaded sleigh passed our gate; on the top of his load was visible a noble pair of antlers. "Qui a tué-- ces cariboo?" we asked. Honest John Baptiste replied, "Le Colonel Rhodes, Monsieur." Then followed a second--then a third. Same question asked, to which for reply--"Le Colonel Rhodes, Monsieur." Then another sleigh load of cariboo, in all twelve Cariboo, two sleighs of hare, grouse and ptarmigan, then a man carrying a dead _carcajou_, then in the distance, the soldier-like phiz of the Nimrod himself, nimbly following on foot the cavalcade. This was too much, we stopped and threatened the Colonel to apply to Parliament for an Act to protect the game of Canada against his unerring rifle. Were we not fully aware of the gratifying fact, that, under recent legislative enactment, the fish and game of Canada have much increased, we might be inclined to fancy that the Colonel will never rest until he has bagged the last moose, the last cariboo in the country.

Benmore nestles cosily in a pine grove on the banks of the great river, the type of an English Country gentleman's homestead. In front of the house, a spacious piazza, from which you can watch the river craft; in the vast surrounding meadows, a goodly array of fat Durhams and Ayrshires, in the farm-yard, short-legged Berkshires squeaking merrily in the distance, rosy-cheeked English boys romping on the lawn, surrounded by pointers and setters: such, the grateful sights which, greeted our eyes one lovely June morning round Benmore House, the residence of the President of the Quebec Game Club, and late member of Parliament for Megantic." (Written in 1865.)

IMPORTATION OF BIRDS.

Sixteen years have elapsed since these lines were penned, and the Colonel has devoted much time, spent a large amount of capital on his vegetable farm and his green houses. Agriculturalists and naturalists will know him as the introducer of the English sparrow and the Messina quail.

_THE SPARROW AND QUAIL._

Information for Mr. Lemoine on the importation of the European house sparrow and on that of the migratory quail. In consequence of great complaints all over the United States of the ravages of insects and particularly of caterpillars, amongst street and park trees and their visible destruction, it was generally recommended to girdle the trees with tin troughs containing oil or some liquid, also to pick the insects off the infected trees. This course had been followed to a very considerable extent, when it struck me the importation of the common house sparrow would meet the difficulty. In 1854 I imported sparrows. I turned loose six birds at Portland, Maine, and brought about as many more to Quebec.

On turning the birds loose at Portland, I wrote a letter to the _Portland Advertiser_, recommending the English sparrow as an insect destroyer, especially in the early spring months when the native birds are away on their migrations. This idea of picking off insects with birds commended itself to the municipal authorities of Boston and other large cities, who made large importations of sparrows, with the result of saving their ornamental trees from destruction.

The first colony of sparrows failed at Quebec. I therefore made two more importations, succeeding at last by wintering over thirteen birds --This occurred about ten years ago, there are now house sparrows all over Canada, our French Canadians say "_C'est un oiseau qui suit la Religion_" frequenting churches, convents and sacred places, and it is considered a privilege to have so good a bird about the house. The sparrow lives readily in Canada, as it feeds on the droppings of the horse and takes shelter down the chimneys or under the roofs of the houses. The enemies of the sparrow are very numerous, notably the great Northern Shrike, the owls, hawks and in summer the swifts and swallows. I have seen the English sparrow from New York to St. Francisco, and from the Saguenay to Florida. In some places the bird is used as an article of food, and there is no doubt this will be the case generally; it will also become an object of sport for young shooters and trappers in America, the same as it has always been in Europe.

THE QUAIL.

I imported this bird in 1880, turning loose over 100 birds between Quebec and the river Saguenay, I cannot say what has been the result; the French population have taken much interest in this importation, because they understand it is a bird well known in France as La Caille, and I have no doubt it will become quite numerous in our French settlements wherever it is established.

Large numbers of migratory quail have been imported for the State of Maine, 2,500 birds were turned loose in 1880, in all about 10,000 quails have been imported for the United States and Canada during the last few years, and as no importations are being made this year we shall see what the migratory instinct does for the North in the spring of the year?

It is very certain the migratory quail leave for parts unknown at an early period in the autumn, but where they go to and whether they return to the north has not been established; whilst they are with us, they are very friendly, frequently mixing with the chickens in the back yards. It is not improbable the feeling which gives hospitality to the house sparrow will extend itself to the Farmer's Quail, and that the latter bird may receive the same treatment from the settler as he gives to ordinary domestic fowl, such as Pigeons, Guinea fowl, and so on.--_W. Rhodes_.

BENMORE, 4th February, 1881.

N.B.--The house sparrow has indeed multiplied amazingly and though an emigrant and not "un enfant du sol" has found a hearty welcome. 'Tis said that he scares away our singing birds, if he should thus interfere with the freedom of action of the _natives_, he will get the cold shoulder, even though he should be an _emigrant_.

The sparrow though a long suffering bird is neither meek nor uncomplaining. A "limb of the law" is, we are told, responsible for the following:

_A HUMBLE APPEAL._

(_To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle_.)

DEAR SIR,--Oft, doubtless, passing through the Ring, Me you have seen in autumn, summer, spring-- Picking, with gleesome chirp, and nimble feet, My scanty living from the public street; Or else devouring in those golden hours, Insects from cabbages and other flowers:-- Ah me! those happy days!--but they are past, And winter with his harsh and biting blast Remind me and my fellow-sparrows bold Of coming snow-storms, ice and sleet and cold; Reminds us, too, of those far-off abodes, Whence we were rudely reft by Col. R----s, On his acclimatizing purpose bent, And moved by scientific sentiment, My heart is anxious, Sir, from what I know Of last years sufferings from cold and snow, Another winter's hardships, will, I fear, Cause us poor colonists to disappear. What shall we do, Dear Sir?--how shall we live, Unless our charitable townsmen give Us aid in food and shelter, otherwise Each of us young and old, and male and female, dies! Could we not make our _friend_ our _Garnishee_, And seize his chattels by a _tiers saisi_? (I tell him, Sir, that living mid the frosts Is harder far than paying _lawyers' costs_) Or do you think, (I write in great anxiety,) We have a claim on the St. George Society? We are compatriots--an exiled band, From the fair pickings of our native land, Cast on this frigid shore by savage Fate, With mouths to fill, and bills to liquidate. Dear Sir, I leave our case now with you, pray To make it public do not long delay, But give it, (I don't mean to be ironical,) A prominent position in the CHRONICLE. My wife and children cry to me for corn With feeble earnestness and chirp forlorn, My eye is dim, my heart within me pines, My claws so numb I scarce can scratch two lines, My head--no more will I your feelings harrow, But sign me, Truly yours, Till death, All Souls' Day. COCKSPARROW.

_CLAREMONT._

THE SEAT OF THOMAS BECKETT, ESQUIRE.

"A house amid the quiet country's shades, With length'ning vistas, ever sunny glades, Beauty and fragrance clustering o'er the wall. A porch inviting, and an ample hall."

Claremont was founded by Lieut.-Governor R. E. Caron, and was his family mansion--ever since he left Spencer Grange which he had temporally leased,--until he was named Lt.-Governor of the Province of Quebec. We find in it, combined the taste and comfort which presides in Canadian homes; and in the fortunes of its founder, an illustration of the fact, that under the sway of Britain, the road to the highest honours has ever been open to colonists, irrespective of creed or nationality.

Claremont stands about one acre from the main road, three miles from Quebec, a handsome, comfortable and substantial villa. The umbrageous grove of trees which encloses it from view, is a plantation laid down by the late occupant about twenty-five years ago; its growth has been truly wonderful. The view from the veranda and rear of the house is magnificent in the extreme. To the west of the dwelling, environed in forest trees well protected against our northern "blizzards," lies the fruit, flower and vegetable garden, laid out originally by Madame Caron; watered by an unfailing spring, its dark rich soil produces most luxuriant vegetables, and Mr. Beckett's phlox, lilies, pansies, roses, generally stand well represented on the prize list of the Quebec Horticultural Society, of which Mr. Beckett is a most active member.

Claremont [242] is indicated by one of the most reliable of our historians, the Abbé Ferland, as the spot where one of the first Sillery missionaries, Frère Liégeois met with his end at the hands of some hostile Indians. This occurred in the spring of 1655. The missionary at the time was helping the colonists to build a small redoubt to protect their maize and wheat fields from the inroads of their enemies. On viewing, at Sillery, in 1881, Claremont the luxurious country seat of a successful merchant, memory reverts to the same locality two centuries back, when every tree of the locality might have concealed a ferocious _Iroquois_ bent on his errand of death.

From the cupola of Claremont, a wondrous vista is revealed. The eye gazing northward, rests on the nodding pinnacles of the spruce, hemlock and surrounding pine. Towards the south-east and west you have before you nearly every object calculated to add effect to the landscape. Far below at your feet, rushes on the mighty St. Lawrence, with its fleet of merchantmen and rafts of timber; the church of St. Romuald, half way up the hill; facing you, the Etchemin stream, its mills, its piers, crowded with deals; to the west, the roaring Chaudière, "La Rivière Bruyante" of early times, in the remote distance, on a bright morning, are also plainly visible, the hills of the White Mountains of Maine.

_THE WILD FLOWERS OF SILLERY._

"Everywhere about us are they glowing, Some like stars, to tell us spring is born; Others, their blue eyes, with tears o'erflowing, Stand like Ruth amid the golden corn."

Are you an admirer of nature, and sweet flowers? Would you, most worthy friend, like to see some of the bright gems which spring, whilst dallying over the sequestered, airy heights and swampy marshes of our woods drops along our path? Follow, then, sketch book and pencil in hand, the fairy footsteps of one of the most amiable women which old England ever sent to our climes, accompany the Countess of Dalhousie on a botanizing tour through Sillery woods; you have her note book, if not herself, to go by. For May, see what an ample store of bright flowers scattered around you; fear not to lose yourself in thickets and underbrush; far from the beaten track a noble lady has ransacked the environs over and over again, sometimes alone, sometimes with an equally enthusiastic and intelligent friend, who hailed from Woodfield; [243] sweet flowers and beautiful ferns attract other noble ladies to this day in that wood. Are you anxious to possess the first-born of spring? Whilst virgin snow still whitens the fields, send a young friend to pluck for you, from the willow, its golden catkins:--

"The first gilt thing Decked with the earliest pearls of spring."

The Gomin Wood will, with the dawn of May, afford you materials for a wreath, rich in perfume and wild in beauty. The quantity of wild flowers, to be found in the environs of Quebec has called forth the following remarks from one of Flora's most fervid votaries, a gentleman well known in this locality:--"A stranger," says he, "landing in this country, is much surprised to find the flowers which he has carefully cultivated in his garden at home, growing wild at his feet. Such as dog-tooth violets, trilliums and columbines. I was much excited when I discovered them for the first time; the _trillium_, for which I had paid three shillings and six-pence when in England, positively growing wild. I could scarcely believe that I had a right to gather them; having paid so much for one, I felt that it was property, valuable property running wild, and no one caring to gather it. No one? Yes! some did, for _we_ carried all that we could find, and if the reader will stroll along the hedges on St. Lewis road he will find them in abundance: dark purple flowers, growing on a stalk naked to near the summit, where there is a whorl of three leaves, its sepals are three, petals three, stamens twice three, and its stigmas three, hence its name of _trillium_. We have a few of the white varieties. After the purple _trillium_ has done flowering, we have the painted trillium of the woods; the _trillium grandiflorum_ is abundant at Grosse Isle. The dog-tooth violet early arrested my attention; the spotted leaves and the bright yellow flowers, fully recurved in the bright sunshine, contrasted beautifully with the fresh green grass on the banks on which they are usually found, the bulbs are deep-seated, and the plant will at once, from the general appearance of the flower, be recognized as belonging to the lily family.

"The marsh marigolds, with the bright yellow buttercup-looking flowers, are now in full luxuriance of bloom in wet places near running water; they may not be esteemed beautiful by all, and yet all God's works, and all his flowers, are good and beautiful. Let any one see them as I have seen them, a large flowerbed of an acre and more, one mass of the brightest yellow, a crystal stream meandering through their midst, the beautiful Falls of Montmorenci across the river rolling their deep strains of Nature's music, the rising tide of the St. Lawrence beating with refreshing waves at their feet, and a cloudless azure sky over head, from which the rosy tints of early morn had hardly disappeared, and if his soul be not ready to overflow with gratitude to the Supreme Being who has made everything so beautiful and good, I do not know what to think of him. I would not be such a man, 'I'd rather be a dog and bay the moon.'"

The whole Gomin bog is studded with Smilacina _Bifolia_, sometimes erroneously called _the white lily of the valley_, also the Smilacina _Trifolia_, the _Dentaria_, the _Streptopus roseus_ or twisted stem, a rose-colored flower, bearing red berries in the fall. There are also in this wood, _trillium_, the May flower, _Hepatica_, and _Symplocarpus_, thickets crowned with _Rhodoras_ in full bloom--a bush a few feet high with superb rose-colored flowers--the general appearance of a cluster of bushes is most magnificent. In the same locality, further in the swamp, may be found the _Kalmia angustifolia_ bearing very pretty compact rose- colored flowers like small cups divided into five lobes, also the beautiful Ladies' Slipper Orchis (_Cypripedum humile_) in thousands on the borders of the swamp,--such is Sillery wood in May. The crowded flora of June is the very carnival of nature, in our climes. "Our Parish" is no exception. The Ladies' Slippers, _Kalmia Smilacina_, etc., may still be gathered in the greatest abundance throughout most of this month. Here is also the bunch of Pigeon berry, in full bloom, the Brooklime Spedwell, the Blue-eyed-grass, the herb Bennet, the Labrador Tea, the _Oxalis Stricta_ and _Oxalis acetosella_, one with yellow, the other with white and purple flowers: the first grows in ploughed fields, the second in the woods. "Our sensitive plant; they shut up their leaves and go to sleep at night, and on the approach of rain. These plants are used in Europe to give an acid flavor to soup." Here also flourishes the Linnea Borealis, roseate bells, hanging like twins from one stalk, downy and aromatic all round. In the middle of June, the Ragwort, a composite flower with yellow heads, and about one-half to two feet high, abounds in wet places by the side of running streams. Also, the Anemone, so famous in English song, principally represented by the Anemone Pennsylvanica, growing on wet banks, bearing large white flowers; add the Corydalis, _Smilacina racemosa_ resembling Solomon's Seal. Here we light on a lovely Tulip bed; no--'tis that strangely beautiful flower, the pitcher plant (_Saracenia Purpurea_). Next we hit on a flower not to be forgotten, the _Myosotis palustris_ or Forget-me-not. Cast a glance as you hurry onwards on the _Oenothera pumila_, a kind of evening primrose, on the false Hellebore--the one-sided Pyrola, the Bladder Campion--_silene inflata_, the sweet-scented yellow Mellilot, the white Yarran, the Prunella with blue labrate flowers the Yellow Rattle, so called from the rattling of the seeds. The perforated St. John's Wort is now coming into flower everywhere, and will continue until late in August; it is an upright plant, from one to two feet high, with clusters of yellow flowers. The Germans have a custom for maidens to gather this herb on the eve of St. John, and from its withering or retaining its freshness to draw an augury of death or marriage in the coming year. This is well told in the following lines:--

"The young maid stole through the cottage door, And blushed as she sought the plant of power; Then silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light, I must gather the mystic St. John's Wort to-night, The wonderful herb whose leaf must decide If the coming year shall make me a bride. And the glow-worm came With its silvery flame, And sparkled and shone Through the night of St. John; While it shone on the plant as it bloomed in its pride, And soon has the young maid her love-knot tied. With noiseless tread To her chamber she sped, Where the spectral moon her white beams shed.

"Bloom here, bloom here, thou plant of power, To deck the young bride in her bridal hour; But it dropped its head, the plant of power, And died the mute death of the voiceless flower And a withered wreath on the ground it lay, And when a year had passed away, All pale on her bier the young maid lay; And the glow-worm came, With its silvery flame, And sparkled and shone Through the night of St. John; And they closed the cold grave o'er the maid's cold clay, On the day that was meant for her bridal day."

Let us see what flowers sultry July has in store for us in her bountiful cornucopia. "In July," says a fervent lover of nature, "bogs and swamps are glorious indeed," so look out for Calopogons, Pogonias, rose-colored and white and purple-fringed Orchises, Ferns, some thirty varieties, of exquisite texture,

"In the cool and quiet nooks, By the side of running brooks; In the forest's green retreat, With the branches overhead, Nestling at the old trees' feet, Choose we there our mossy bed.

On tall cliffs that won the breeze, Where no human footstep presses, And no eye our beauty sees, There we wave our maiden tresses,"

the Willow-herb, the true Partridge-berry, the Chimaphila, Yellow Lily, Mullein, Ghost Flower, Indian Pipe, Lysimacha Stricta, Wild Chamomile. August will bring forth a variety of other plants, amongst others the Spirantes, or Ladies' Tresses, a very sweet-scented Orchis, with white flowers placed as a spiral round the flower stalk, the purple Eupatorium, the Snake's head, and crowds of most beautiful wild flowers, too numerous to be named here. [244] (From _Maple Leaves_, 1865).

_BEAUVOIR._

"The merchant has his snug retreat in the vicinity of the metropolis, where he often displays as much pride and zeal in the cultivation of his flower garden, and the maturing of his fruits, as he does in the conduct of his business, and the success of a commercial enterprise." --_Rural Life in England--Washington Irving_.

Situated on the left bank of the River St. Lawrence, about four miles from the city, on the Sillery heights, and overlooking the river. The site was selected about half a century back by the late Hon. A. N. Cochrane, who acquired the property in September, 1830, and after holding it for nineteen years sold it to the Hon. John Stewart, who built the residence, which was occupied for a number of years by the late Henry LeMesurier, Esq., and was finally destroyed by fire in 1866. It was subsequently rebuilt, and afterwards purchased by the present occupant R. R. Dobell, Esq., who has since added considerably to the building and extended the property by the addition of about twelve acres purchased from the Graddon estate, and about the same quantity purchased from Mr. McHugh, the whole now comprising about thirty-five acres. The grounds are beautifully wooded and descend by a series of natural terraces to the river, on the banks of which are the extensive timber coves and wharves known as Sillery Cove, with the workmen's cottages, offices, &c., fringing the side. There is also telegraphic communication between this cove and the city. Here too is the site of the ancient church of the Récollet Fathers, within the precincts of which lie buried the remains of Rev. Ed. Massé, one of the earliest missionaries sent from France to Canada by the Jesuits, the expense of the mission was chiefly borne by the Chevalier Brulart de Sillery. Here also is the old MANSION HOUSE, and a little higher up the cliff is the ancient burial ground of the Huron Indians, where the remains of many of this tribe can still be found. The property is bounded on the west by the historical stream of St. Michaels brook, so often mentioned in the narratives of the siege of Quebec in 1759. This stream used to be well stocked with trout, and promises to regain its former character in this respect, as the present proprietor intends to re-stock it.

Mr. Dobell has collected here some very fine specimens of Canadian Game, which the art of the taxidermist has rendered very life-like. His oil paintings are deserving of notice and attracted attention at a recent exhibition of art, &c., at the Morrin College, they appear in the printed catalogue as follows:--

A Scene in Wales, (Morning).............. by Marcham. A Scene in Wales, (Evening).............. " Reading the Bible, ...................... " Our Saviour,--an old painting on copper.. Dead Canary,............................. S. M. Martin. Fox and Ducks,........................... " Prairie Hen,............................. " View of Quebec,.......................... Creswell. Egyptian Interior,....................... Kornan. Dead Game,............................... " Two Oil Paintings,....................... after Guido Reni. Girl and Birdcage,--a Dutch painting..... Prisoners,............................... by Jacobi. Flower Piece,............................ Victor Pandora and Casket,--old painting........

The chief charm of Beauvoir is in its beautiful level lawn and deep overhanging woods, recalling vividly to mind the many beautiful homes of merry England. Mr. Dobell the proprietor is largely engaged in mercantile operations, and for many years past has carried on the most extensive business in the lumber trade.

In 1865 we alluded as follows to this bright Canadian Home, which the shadow of death was soon to darken:

"Crowning a sloping lawn, intersected by a small stream, and facing the Etchemin Mills, you notice on the south side of the St. Lewis road, next to Clermont, a neat dwelling hid amongst huge pines and other forest trees; that is one of our oldest English country seats. Family memories of three generations consecrate the spot. Would you like a glimpse of domestic life as enjoyed at Sillery? then follow that bevy of noisy, rosy- cheeked boys in Lennoxville caps, with gun and rod in hand, hurrying down those steep, narrow steps leading from the bank to the Cove below. How they scamper along, eager to walk the deck of that trim little craft, the _Falcon_, anchored in the stream, and sitting like a bird on the bosom of the famed river. Wait a minute and you will see the mainsail flutter in the breeze. Now our rollicking young friends have marched past ruins of "chapel, convent, hospital," &c., on the beach; you surely did not expect them to look glum and melancholy. Of course they knew all about "Monsieur Puiseaux," "le Chevalier de Sillery," "the house where dwelt Emily Montague"; but do not, if you have any respect for that thrice happy age, the halcyon days of jackets and frills, befog their brains with the musty records of departed years. Let the lads enjoy their summer vacation, radiant, happy, heedless of the future. Alas! it may yet overtake them soon enough! What care could contract their brow? Have they not fed for the day their rabbits, their pigeons, their guinea-pigs? Is not that faithful Newfoundland dog "Boatswain," who saved from drowning one of their school-mates, is he not as usual their companion on ship-board or ashore? There, now, they drop down the stream for a long day's cruise round the Island of Orleans. Next week, peradventure, you may hear of the _Falcon_ and its jolly crew having sailed for Portneuf, Murray Bay, the Saguenay or Bersimis, to throw a cast for salmon, sea-trout or mackerel, in some sequestered pool or sheltered bay.

"There we'll drop our lines, and gather Old Ocean's treasures in."

Are they not glorious, handsome, manly fellows, our Sillery boys? No wonder we are all proud of them, of the twins as much as the rest, and more so perhaps. "Our Parish" you must know, is renowned for the proportion in which it contributes to the census: twins--a common occurrence; occasionally, triplets.

Such we knew this Canadian home in the days of the late Henry Lemesurier.

_MONTAGUE COTTAGE._

"I knew by the smoke which so gracefully curled, Above the green wood that a cottage was near." --_Moore's Woodpecker._

Facing Sillery hill, on the north side of "Sans Bruit," formerly the estate of Lieut.-Col. the Hon. Henry Caldwell, Mr. Alfred P. Wheeler, [245] the Tide Surveyor of H. M. Customs, Quebec, built in 1880, a comfortable and pleasing little cottage. He has called it Montague Cottage [246] in memory of Wolfe's brave assistant Quarter Master General Col. Caldwell, of Sans Bruit, the Col. Rivers of "The Novel and the preferred suitor of Emily Montague who addressed her romantic 'Sillery letters to Col. Rivers from a house not far from the Hill of Sillery.

It is stated in all the old Quebec Guide Books that the house in which the 'divine Emily then dwelt stood on the foot of Sillery Hill, close to Mrs. Graddon's property at Kilmarnock, her friend Bella Fermor probably lived near her. Vol. I of the Work, page 61, states; "I am at present at an extremely pretty farm on the banks of the River St. Lawrence, the house stands as the foot of a steep mountain covered with a variety of trees forming a verdant sloping wall, which rises in a kind of regular confusion, shade above shade a woody theatre, and has in front this noble river, on which ships continually passing present to the delighted eye the most charming picture imaginable. I never saw a place so formed to inspire that pleasing lassitude, that divine inclination to saunter, which may not improperly be called the luxurious indolence of the country. I intend to build a temple here to the charming goddess of laziness. A gentleman is coming down the winding path on the side of the hill, whom by his air I take to be your brother. Adieu. I must receive him, my father is in Quebec. Yours,

ARABELLA FERMOR.

_THE HISTORY OF EMILY MONTAGUE._

On the 22nd March 1769, a novelist of some standing Mrs. Frances Brooks an officer's lady, [247] author of _Lady Julia Mandeville_ published in London a work in four volumes, which she dedicated to His Excellency the Governor of Canada, Guy Carleton afterwards Lord Dorchester, under the title of the _History of Emily Montague_ being a series of letters addressed from Sillery by Emily Montague the heroine of the tale, to her lively and witty friend Bella Fermor--to some military admirers in Quebec, Montreal, and New York--to some British noblemen, friends of her father.

This novel, whether it was through the writer's _entourage_ in the world or her _entrée_ to fashionable circles, or whether on account of its own intrinsic literary worth, had an immense success in its day. The racy description it contains of Canadian scenery, and colonial life, mixed with the fashionable gossip of our Belgravians of 1766, seven years after the conquest, caused several English families to emigrate to Canada. Some settled in the neighborhood of Quebec, at Sillery, it is said. Whether they found all things _couleur-de- rose_, as the clever Mrs. Brooke had described them,--whether they enjoyed as much Arcadian bliss as the Letters of _Emily Montague_ had promised--it would be very ungallant for us to gainsay, seeing that Mrs. Brooke is not present to vindicate herself. As to the literary merit of the novel, this much we will venture to assert, that setting aside the charm of association, we doubt that _Emily Montague_ if republished at present, would make the fortune of her publisher. Novel writing, like other things, has considerably changed since 1766, and however much the florid Richardson style may have pleased the great grandfathers of the present generation, it would scarcely chime in with the taste of readers in our sensational times. In Mrs. Brooke's day Quebecers appear to have amused themselves pretty much as they do now, a century later. In the summer, riding, driving boating, pic-nics at Lake St. Charles, the Falls of Montmorenci, &c. In winter tandems, sleigh drives, toboganing at the ice cone, tomycod fishing on the St. Charles, Château balls; the formation of a _pont_ or ice-bridge and its breaking up in the spring--two events of paramount importance. The military, later on, the promoters of conviviality, sport and social amusements; in return obtaining the _entrée_ to the houses of the chief citizens; toying with every English rosebud or Gallic-lily, which might strew their path in spite of paternal and maternal admonitions from the other side of the Atlantic; occasionally leading to the hymeneal altar a Canadian bride, and next introducing her to their horror-stricken London relatives, astounded to find out that our Canadian belles, were neither the colour of copper, nor of ebony; in education and accomplishments, their equals--sometimes their superiors when class is compared to class. Would you like a few extracts from this curious old Sillery novel? Bella Fermor, one of Emily Montague's familiars, and a most ingrained _coquette_, thus writes from Sillery in favour of a military protégé on the 16th September, 1766, to the "divine" Emily, who had just been packed oft to Montreal to recover from a love fit. "Sir George is handsome as an Adonis ... you allow him to be of an amiable character; he is rich, young, well-born, and he loves you..."

All in vain thus to plead Sir. George's cause, a dashing Col. Rivers (meant, we were told, by the Hon. W. Sheppard, to personify Col. Henry Caldwell, of Belmont) had won the heart of Emily, who preferred true love to a coronet. Let us treasure up a few more sentences fallen from Emily's light-hearted confidante. A postscript to a letter runs thus-- "Adieu, Emily, I am going to ramble in the woods and pick berries with a little smiling civil captain [we can just fancy we see some of our fair acquaintances' mouths water at such a prospect], who is enamoured of me. A pretty rural amusement for lovers." Decidedly; all this in the romantic woodlands of Sillery, a sad place it must be confessed, when even boarding school misses, were they to ramble thus, could scarcely escape contracting the _scarlet_ fever. Here goes another extract:--

(BELLA FERMOR TO MISS RIVERS. LONDON)

"Sillery, Sept. 20th, (1766)--10 o'clock.

"Ah! we are vastly to be pitied; no beaux at all at the general's, only about six to one; a pretty proportion, and what I hope always to see. We--the ladies I mean--drink chocolate with the general to- morrow, and he gives us a ball on Thursday; you would not know Quebec again. Nothing but smiling faces now: all gay as never was--the sweetest country in the world. Never expect to see me in England again; one is really somebody here. I have been asked to dance by only twenty-seven. ..."

Ah! who would not forgive the frolicsome Bella all her flirtations? But before we dismiss this pleasant record of other days, yet another extract, and we have done.

(BELLA FERMOR TO LUCY RIVERS)

"Sillery--Eight in the evening.

"Absolutely, Lucy, I will marry a savage and turn squaw (a pretty soft name for an Indian Princess!) Never was anything so delightful as their lives. They talk of French husbands, but commend me to an Indian one, who lets his wife ramble five hundred miles without asking where she is going.

"I was sitting after dinner, with a book, in a thicket of hawthorn near the beach, when a loud laugh called my attention to the river, when I saw a canoe of savages making to the shore. There were six women and two or three children, without one man amongst them. They landed and tied the canoe to the root of a tree, and finding out the most agreeable shady spot amongst the bushes with which the beach was covered, (which happened to be very near me) made a fire, on which they laid some fish to broil, and fetching water from the river, sat down on the grass to their frugal repast. I stole softly to the house, and ordering a servant to bring some wine and cold provisions, returned to my squaws. I asked them in French if they were of Lorette, they shook their heads--I repeated the question in English, when the eldest of the women told me they were not, that their country was on the borders of New England, that their husbands being on a hunting party in the woods, curiosity and the desire to see their brethren, the English, who had conquered Quebec, had brought them up the great river, down which they should return as soon as they had seen Montreal. She courteously asked me to sit down and eat with them, which I complied with and produced my part of the feast. We soon became good company, and brightened the chain of friendship with two bottles of wine, which put them in such spirits that they danced, sung, shook me by the hand, and grew so fond of me that I began to be afraid I should not easily get rid of them.

"Adieu! my father is just come in and has brought some company with him from Quebec to supper.

"Yours ever,

"A. FERMOR."

KIRK ELLA

"This villa, erected in 1850 on the north side of the St. Lewis road, facing Cataracoui, affords a striking exemplification of how soon taste and capital can transform a wilderness into a habitation combining every appliance of modern refinement and rustic adornment. It covers about eighty-two acres, two thirds of which are green meadows, wheat fields, &c., the remainder, plantations, gardens and lawn. The cottage itself is a plain, unpretending structure, made more roomy by the recent addition of a dining room, &c., in rear. On emerging from the leafy avenue, the visitor notices two _parterres_ of wild flowers--kalmias, trilliums, etc.,-- transplanted from the neighboring wood, with the rank, moist soil of the Gomin marsh to derive nourishment from, they appear to thrive. In rear of these _parterres_ a granite rockery, festooned with ferns, wild violets, &c., raises its green gritty, rugged outline. This pretty European embellishment we would much like to see more generally introduced in our Canadian landscape; it is strikingly picturesque. The next object which catches the eye is the conservatory in which are displayed the most extensive collection of exotics in Sillery. In the centre of some fifty large camellia shrubs there is a magnificent specimen of the fimbriata variety--white leaves with a fringed border; it stands twelve feet high with corresponding breadth. When it is loaded with blossoms in the winter the spectacle is exquisitely beautiful. In the rear of the conservatory are a vinery, a peach and apricot house; like the conservatory, all span- roofed and divided off in several compartments, heated by steam-pipes and furnaces, with stop-cocks to retard or accelerate vegetation at will. On the 31st May, when we visited the establishment, we found the black Hamburg grapes the size of cherries; the peaches and apricots correspondingly advanced; the cherries under glass quite over. One of the latest improvements is a second flower garden to the west of the house, in the English landscape style. In rear of this garden to the north, there existed formerly a cedar swamp, which deep subsoil draining with tiles has converted into a grass meadow of great beauty; a belt of pine, spruce, tamarack, and some deciduous trees, thinned towards the south-west, let in a glimpse of the St. Lawrence and the high-wooded Point Levi shores, shutting out the view of the St. Lewis road, and completely overshadowing the porter's lodge; out-houses, stables, root-house, paddocks and barns are all on a correspondingly extensive scale. We have here another instance of the love of country life which our successful Canadian merchant likes to indulge in; and we can fancy, judging from our own case, with what zest Mr. Burstall the portly laird of Kirk Ella, after a toilsome day in his St. Peter street counting-house, hurried home to revel in the rustic beauty which surrounds his dwelling." Such was Kirk Ella in 1865.

Mr. Burstall having withdrawn from business, removed to England and died there a few years back. Kirk Ella has now become the property of Charles Ernest Levey, Esq., only son of the late Charles E. Levey, Esq., formerly of Cataracoui. The dwelling having been destroyed by fire in 1879, the new owner decided on erecting a handsome roomy mansion on the same site. The visitor at Kirk Ella, after paying his devoirs to the youthful Chatelain and Chatelaine, can admire at leisure Mr. Levey's numerous and expensive stud: "Lollypop", "Bismark," "Joker," "Jovial," "Tichborne," "Burgundy," "Catch-him-alivo," a crowd of fleet steeds, racing and trotting stock, surrounded by a yelping and frisky pack of "Peppers," "Mustards," "Carlos," "Guys," "Josephines," "Fidlers;" Mastiffs, French Poodles, Fox Terriers, Bulldogs,--Kirk Ella is a perfect Elysium for that faithful though noisy friend of man, the dog.

_CATARACOUI._

The conflagration of Spencer Wood, on the 12th March, 1860, made it incumbent on the Provincial Government to provide for His Excellency Sir Edmund Head a suitable residence. After examining several places, Cataracoui, the residence of Henry Burstall, Esquire, opposite to Kirk Ella was selected, and additions made, and still greater decorations and improvements ordered when it became known that the First Gentleman in England, our Sovereign's eldest son, was soon to pay a flying visit to Her Majesty's Canadian lieges. Cataracoui can boast of having harbored two princes of the blood royal, the prince of Wales, and his brother Alfred; a circumstance which no doubt much enhanced its prestige in the eyes of its owner. It was laid out about 1836 by Jas. B. Forsyth, Esq., the first proprietor, and reflects credit on his taste.

This seat, without possessing the extensive grounds, vast river frontage, and long shady walks of Spencer Wood, or Woodfield, is an eminently picturesque residence. A new grapery with a lean-to roof, about ninety feet in length, has just been completed: the choicest [248] varieties of the grape vine are here cultivated. Several tasty additions have, also, recently been made to the conservatory, under the superintendence of a Scotch landscape gardener, Mr. P. Lowe, formerly in charge of the Spencer Wood conservatories, &c. We had the pleasure on one occasion to view, on a piercing winter day, from the drawing room of Cataracoui, through the glass door which opens on the conservatory, the rare collections of exotics it contains,--a perfect grove of verdure and blossoms,--the whole lit up by the mellow light of the setting sun, whose rays scintillated in every fantastic form amongst this gorgeous tropical vegetation, whilst the snow-wreathed evergreens, surrounding the conservatory waved their palms to the orb of day in our clear, bracing Canadian atmosphere--summer and winter combined in one landscape; the tropics and their luxuriant magnolias, divided by an inch of glass from the realms of old king frost and his hardy familiars, the pine and the maple. Charming was the contrast, furnishing a fresh proof of the comfort and luxury with which the European merchant, once settled in Canada, surrounds his home. What, indeed, can be more gratifying, during the arctic, though healthy, temperature of our winter, than to step from a cosy drawing-room, with its cheerful grate-fire, into a green, floral bower, and inhale the aroma of the orange and the rose, whilst the eye is charmed by the blossoming camellia of virgin whiteness; the wisteria, spirea, azalea, rhododendron, and odorous daphne, all blending their perfume or exquisite tints. Cataracoui has been recently decorated, we may say, with regal magnificence, and Sillery is justly proud of this fairy abode, for years the country seat of the late Charles B. Levey, Esq., and still occupied by Mrs. Levey and family.

_ROSEWOOD._

"Along their blushing borders, bright with dew, And in yon mingled wilderness of flowers, Fair-handed Spring unbosoms every grace; Throws out the snow-drop and the crocus first; The daisy, primrose, violet darkly blue, And polyanthus of unnumber'd dyes; The yellow wall-flower, stain'd with iron-brown; And lavish stock that scents the garden round; From the soft wing of vernal breezes shed, Anemones; auriculas, enrich'd With shining meal o'er all their velvet leaves; And full ranunculas, of glowing red. Then comes the tulip race, where beauty plays Her idle freaks; from family diffus'd To family, as flies the father dust, The varied colors run; and while they break On the charm'd eye th' exulting florist marks, With sweet pride, the wonders of his hand. No gradual bloom is wanting; from the bud, First-born of spring, to summer's musky tribes Nor hyacinths, of purest virgin white, Low bent, and blushing inward; nor jonquils Of potent fragrance; nor narcissus fair, As o'er the fabled fountain hanging still; Nor broad carnations, nor gay spotted pink; Nor, shower'd from every bush, the damask rose."

A tiny and unostentatious cottage buried among the trees. All around it, first, flowers; secondly, flowers; thirdly, flowers. The garden, a network of walks, and spruce hedges of rare beauty; occasionally you stumble unexpectedly on a rustic bower, tenanted by an Apollo or Greek slave in marble, or else you find yourself on turning an angle on the shady bank of a sequestered pond, in which lively trout disport themselves as merrily as those goldfish you just noticed in the aquarium in the hall hung round with Krieghoff's exquisite "Canadian scenery." You can also, as you pass along, catch the loud notes issuing from the house aviary and blending with the soft, wild melody of the wood warblers and robin; but the prominent feature of the place are flowers, sweet flowers, to charm the eye and perfume the air. Do not wonder at that; this was the summer abode of a gentleman whose name usually stood high on the Montreal and Quebec exhibition prize list, and who was as successful in his commercial ventures as he had been in the culture of carnations, zenias, gladiolus, roses and dahlias. We remember seeing six hundred dahlias in bloom at Rosewood at the same time, the _coup d'oeil_ and contrasts between the varieties were striking in the extreme.

This rustic cottage was the summer residence of the late Jas. Gibb, Esq., of the old firm of Lane, Gibb & Co., a name remembered with gratitude, in several educational and charitable institutions of Quebec for the munificent bequests of its owner.

_RAVENSWOOD._

Near some fair town I'd have a private seat, Built uniform, nor little, nor too great; Better if on a rising ground it stood,-- On this side fields, on that a neighboring wood; A little garden, grateful to the eye, Where a cool rivulet runs murmuring by."

In the year 1848, Mr. Samuel Wright, of Quebec, purchased from John Porter, Esq., that upper portion of Meadowbank (the old estate of Lieutenant Governor Cramahé in 1762), which lies to the north of the Cap Rouge or St. Lewis road, and built a dwelling thereon. In 1846 Mr. Wright's property was put in the market, and Ravenswood acquired by the present owner, William Herring, Esq., of the late firm of Charles E. Levey & Co. No sylvan spot could have been procured, had all the woods around Quebec been ransacked, of wilder beauty. In the centre, a pretty cottage; to the east, trees; to the west, trees; to the north and south, trees-- stately trees all around you. Within a few rods from the hall door a limpid little brook oozes from under an old plantation, and forms, under a thorn tree of extraordinary size and most fantastically shaped limbs, a reservoir of clear water, round which, from a rustic seat, you notice speckled trout roaming fearlessly. Here was, for a man familiar with the park-like scenery of England, a store of materials to work into shape. That dense forest must be thinned; that indispensable adjunct of every Sillery home a velvety lawn, must be had; a peep through the trees, on the surrounding country, obtained; the stream dammed up so as to produce a sheet of water, on which a birch canoe will be launched; more air let in round the house; more of the forest cut away; and some fine beech, birch, maple, and pine trees grouped. The lawn would look better with a graceful and leafy elm in the centre, and a few smaller ones added to the perspective. By dint of care, elms of a goodly size were removed from the mountain brow. The efforts of the proprietor to plant large trees at Ravenswood have been eminently successful, and ought to stimulate others to add such valuable, such permanent elements of beauty, to their country seats. One plantation, by its luxuriance, pleased us more than any other, that which shades both sides of the avenue. Few of our places can boast of possessing a more beautifully-wooded and gracefully-curved approach to the house than Ravenswood. You see nothing of the dwelling until you emerge from this neat plantation of evergreens. We once viewed it under its most fascinating aspect; 'tis pretty in the bright, effulgent radiance of day, but when the queen of night sends forth her soft rays, and allows them to slumber silently on the rustling boughs of the green pines and firs, with the dark, gravelled avenue, visible here and there at every curve, no sounds heard except the distant murmur of the _Chaudière_ river, the effect is striking.

_THE WOODS OF SILLERY._

I know each lane, and every valley green, Dingle, or bushy dell, of this wild wood; And every bosky bourn from side to side, My daily walks and ancient neighborhood. --Comus, _Shakespeare_.

"You, doubtless, imagine you have now seen Sillery under every aspect; there never was a greater mistake, dear reader. Have you ever viewed its woods in all their autumnal glory, when September arrays them in tints of unsurpassed loveliness? We hear you say, no. Let us then, our pensive philosopher, our romantic blushing rose bud of sweet sixteen, our _blasé_-traveller, let us have a canter over Cap Rouge road out by St. Louis gate, and returning by the St. Foy road, nine miles and more, let us select a quiet afternoon, not far distant from the Indian summer, when

The gentle wind a sweet and passionate wooer, Kisses the blushing leaf, and stirs up life Within the solemn woods of ash, deep crimsoned, And Silver beech, and maple yellow-leaved,"

and then you can tell us whether the glowing description below is overdrawn:

"There is something indescribably beautiful in the appearance of Canadian woods at this season of the year, especially when the light of the rising or setting sun falls upon them. Almost every imaginable shade of green, brown, red and yellow, may be found in the foliage of our forest trees, shrubs, and creeping vines, as the autumn advances and it may truly be said that every backwood's home in Canada is surrounded by more gorgeous colourings and richer beauties than the finest mansions of the nobility of England.

"Have our readers ever remarked the peculiarly beautiful appearance of the pines at this season of the year? When other trees manifest symptoms of withering, they appear to put forth a richer and fresher foliage. The interior of the tree, when shaded from the sun, is a deep invisible-green, approaching to black, whilst the outer boughs, basking in the sunlight, show the richest dark-green that can be imagined. A few pine and spruce trees scattered among the more brightly-colored oaks, maple, elms and beeches, which are the chief denizens of our forests, give the whole an exceedingly rich appearance. Among the latter, every here and there, strange sports of nature attract attention. A tree that is still green will have a single branch, covered with red and orange leaves, like a gigantic bouquet of flowers. Another will have one side of a rich maroon, whilst the other side remains green. A third will present a flounce or ruffle of bright buff, or orange leaves round the middle, whilst the branches above and below continue green. Then again some trees which have turned to a rich brown, will be seen intertwined and festooned by the wild vine or red root, still beautifully green; or a tree that is still green will he mantled over by the Canadian ivy, whose leaves have turned to a deep reddish-brown. In fact, every hue that painters love, or almost could imagine, is found standing out boldly or hid away in some recess, in one part or another of a forest scene at this season, and all so delicately mingled and blended that human art must despair of making even a tolerable imitation. And these are beauties which not even the sun can portray; the photographer's art has not yet enabled him to seize and fix them on the mirror which he holds up to nature. He can give the limbs and outward flourishes, but not the soul of such a scene. His representation bears the same relation to the reality that a beautiful corpse does to the flashing eye and glowing cheek of living beauty."--(From "_Maple Leaves_," 1865.)

_LONGWOOD._

THE COUNTRY SEAT OF THE HON. WM. SMITH (1760-1847.)

Here there was laughing of old, there was weeping, Haply of lovers none ever will know, Whose eyes went seaward a hundred sleeping Years ago.

The ghost of a garden fronts the sea, A girdle of brushwood and thorn encloses The -- square slope of the blossomless bed Where the weeds that grew green from the graves of its roses Now lie dead.

The fields fall southward, abrupt and broken, To the low last edge of the long lone land, If a step should sound or a word be spoken Would a ghost not rise at the strange guest's hand? SWINBURNE'S _Forsaken Garden_.

On a grey, cheerless May afternoon, I visited what I might call the ruins of this once bright abode--Longwood--at Cap Rouge. Here the eccentric, influential and scholarly historian of Canada and statesman, the Honorable William Smith, spent the evening of his long and busy life. Whence the name Longwood? Did the Hon. William bestow on his rustic home the name of the residence where sojourned his illustrious contemporary--his admired hero, Napoleon I. (born like himself in 1769), to commemorate his own release from the cares of State? Was Cap Rouge and its quiet and sylvan bowers to him a haven of rest like St. Helena might have been to the _Petit Caporal_?

The locality, at present, can only attract from its woodland views. The house, of one story, is about eighty feet in length by forty in breadth, of wood, with an oval window over the entrance to light up that portion of the large attic. Its roomy lower apartments and attics must have fitted it admirably for a summer retreat. It is painted a dull yellow; the blinds may have been once green. When I saw it, I found it as bleak, as forlorn, as the snows and storms of many winters can well make a tenantless dwelling.

Outside, the "ghost of a garden" had stared at me, and when the key turned and grated in the rusty old lock of this dreary tenement, with its disjointed floors, disintegrated foundations, darkened apartments with shutters all closed, I almost thought I might encounter within the ghost of the departed historian;

All within is dark as night: In the windows is no light; And no murmur at the door, So frequent on its hinge before,

still the time had been when the voice of revelry, the patter of light feet, the meeting of many friends, had awakened gladsome echoes in these now silent halls of Longwood. Traditions told of noted dinner parties, of festive evenings, when Quebec could boast of a well appointed garrison, and stately frigates crowded its port.

How many balls at the Barons' Club? how many annual dinners of the Veterans of 1775, at Menut's? how many _levees_ at the old Château, had the Laird not attended from the first, the historical levee of Dec. 6, 1786, "where the Governor-General, Lord Dorchester, monopolised the kissing," so graphically depicted by William's dignified papa, [249] the Chief Justice, down to the jocund _fêtes champêtres_ of Sir James Craig at Powell Place immortalized by old Mr. DeGaspé--to the gay _soirees_ of the Duke of Richmond--the literary _reunions_ of the scholarly Earl of Dalhousie--the routs and lawn parties at Spencer Wood.

The Honorable William Smith, a son of the learned chief Justice of New York in 1780--of all Canada in 1785, was indeed a prominent figure in Quebec circles for more than half a century; his high, confidential and official duties, his eminent position as member of the Executive Council, to which his powerful protector Earl Bathurst had named him in 1814--his refined and literary tastes, his tireless researches in Canadian annals, at a time when the founts of our history as yet unrevealed by the art of the printer, lay dormant under heaps of decaying--though priceless--M.SS. in the damp vaults of the old Parliament Buildings; these and several other circumstances surround the memory, haunts and times of the Laird of Longwood with peculiar significance.

But for the Honorable William one bleak autumn came, when the trees he had planted ceased to lend him their welcome shade--the roses he had reared, to send perfume to his tottering frame--the garden he had so exquisitely planned, to gladden his aged eyes. He then bid adieu forever to the cherished old spot and retired to his town house, now the residence of Hon. Chas. Alleyn, Sheriff of Quebec, [250] where those he loved received his last farewell on the 7th December, 1847, bequeathing Longwood to his son Charles Webber Smith, who lived some years there as a bachelor, then decked out his rustic home for an English bride and retired to England where he died in 1879. Desolation and silence has reigned in the halls of Longwood for many a long day, and in the not inappropriate words of Swinburne,

Not a flower to be prest of the foot that falls not. As the heart of a dead man the seed plots are dry; From the thickets of thorns whence the nightingale calls not, Could she call, there were never a rose to reply.

Chief Justice Smith [251] concerning house-keeping, house-furnishing château ceremonies, etc, at Quebec in 1786, wrote thus in a letter to his wife:

QUEBEC, 10th Dec., 1786.

_Mrs. Janet Smith, New York._

My dear Janet,

"Not a line from you yet! so that our approach to within 600 miles is less favourable to me hitherto, than when the ocean divided us by three thousand. It is the more vexatious, as we are daily visited by your Eastern neighbors, who, caring nothing for you, know nothing of you, and cannot tell me whether McJoen's or the Sopy Packet is arrived. If the latter is not over, there will be cause for ill boding respecting Mr. Lanaudière, who, I imagine, left the channel with the wind that brought us out.

If the packet is on the way for Falmouth, get my letters into it for Mr. Raphbrigh, it contains a bill for £300 sterling to enable him to pay for what you order. You have no time to spare. A January mail often meets with easterly winds off the English coast, that blows for months, and we shall be mortified if you arrive before the necessary supplies, which, to be in time, must come in the ships that leave England in March or on the beginning of April.

I have found no house yet to my fancy. None large enough to be hired. We shall want a drawing-room, a dining or eating-room, my library, our bedroom, one for the girls, another for Hale and William, and another for your house-keeper and hair-dresser. Moore and another man servant will occupy the eight. And I doubt if there is such a house to be hired in Quebec. To say nothing of quarters for the lower servants who, I think must be negroes from New York as cheapest and least likely to find difficulties. My Thomas's wages are 24 guineas and with your three from England will put us to £100 sterling per annum.

If you bring blacks from New York with you, let them be such as you can depend upon. Our table will always want four attendants of decent appearance. The hurry of the public arrangements prevents me from writing, as I intended, to my friends on the other side of the water, nor even to Janet _upon the great wish of my heart_, tell her so, but she will know what can be done in time, for she cannot leave England till April or May, at any time before August to be here in good season. I have written to Vermont upon the subject of Moore Town and hear nothing to displease me, as yet, if no mischief has been done to our interests in that country, there will be peace, I believe; but of this more when I have their Governor's answer to my letters. They already ask favours and must first do justice.

Our winter is commenced and yet I was never less sensible of the frost. The stoves of Canada, in the passages, temper the air through all the house. I sit ordinarly by a common hearth which gives me the thermometer at 71 or 72, nearly summer heat. The close cariole and fur cap and cloak is a luxury only used on journeys. The cariole alone suffices in town. The Rout of last Thursday demonstrates this: 50 ladies in bright head dresses and not a lappet or frill discomposed. All English in the manner, except the ceremony of kissing which my Lord D. (Dorchester) engrossed all to himself. His aide-de-camp handed them through a room where he and I were posted to receive them. They had given two cheek kisses and were led away to the back rooms of the château, to which we repaired when the rush was over. The gentlemen came in at another door. Tea, cards, etc., that till 10 o'clock and the ceremony ended. I stole away at 9 and left your son to attend the beauty of the evening, a Mrs. Williams, wife to a major Williams and a daughter to Sir John Gibbons of Windford, a lady of genteel manners as well as birth. He did not find his lodging till near midnight. We had a dance that day at the Lt. Governor's. You must know General Hope. He was often at General Robertson's under the name of Col. Harry Hope, nephew to Lord Hopetown in Scotland, to Lord Darlington (by his mother's second marriage) in England. His table is in very genteel fashion. It reminds me that Mrs. Mallet must not forget all those little ornaments of plate, glass, etc., that belong to a dining-room. No water plates, the rooms don't require them, the plates being sufficiently heated by the stoves. But water dishes are necessary for soup and fish _fricassees_ all in the shape of the proper dishes for such articles. Don't forget, among others, the silver gravy cups with double cavities, the larger for hot water. They are small hand ones, not unlike a tea pot. Mrs. Mallet will find these at all the great shops and particularly at Jones, in Cockspur street, near Charing Cross, where I bought my Mary's watch chain. William that understands Latin and French letters better than his native tongue, importunes my ordering a set of classical books, which he is welcome to, if you can purchase at N. Y. a small bill for about £15 sterling and enclose it in my letter to Mr. Ryland. If that is inconvenient to you stop my letter, and I will find other means to gratify his inclination. There is a very good library [252] here, and many private ones at my friends. How wretched your general affairs? if our Yankey informers speak the truth, multitudes are disposed to turn their heads from that draught, which I thought they would not long relish. Lord D. with the generosity and charity he always indulged, bids them welcome, disposed as he says to favour even the independant Whigs of America, above any other nation under heaven, for tho' no longer brethren, they are at least our cousins, branches from the same stock.

I have infinite consolation, in having dissuaded the parties from the steps, that led to all the calamities they have felt and still dread and more cheerfully will grasp at the means to lessen these afflictions, as the surest path to the greatest glory. I am solicited from Cambridge for a gift for pious uses, and find that you have been applied to, and probably will again. My promise shall most certainly be fulfilled. It was to give a lot for a church. But as I told them it was to be a gift to _Christianity_ and not to Sectarianism. Religion and party are two different things. Tell them so that my gift will be to all Protestants, that is to say to the majority of the town being protestants, be the denomination what it may, and that I may not be imposed upon, I shall put my seal to no deed, before they bring me Dr. Rodger's certificate upon the subject. My best respects to him with compliments to Mrs. T., Mr. Ainslie, Mr. and Mrs. Foxcraft and all your friends.

The snapping of my wood fires makes me think of yours. Don't forget them yourself. _Your three hundred acres of shingles_, chills the blood in my veins.... Adieu. The broad hand of Heaven protect you!

I am, my dearest,

Most faithfully yours,

W. S.

_MEADOWBANK._

"THE COUNTRY SEAT OF LIEUT.-COL. ANDREW CHARLES STUART.

Happy, is he who in a country life Shuns more perplexing toil and jarring strife, Who lives upon the natal soil he loves And sits beneath his old ancestral groves." --_Downing_.

Facing Ravenswood, on the road to Cape Rouge, on the breezy banks of the noble river, there lies a magnificent expanse of verdure, with here and there a luxuriant copse of evergreens and sugar maple. It crowns a graceful slope of undulating meadows and cornfields. The dwelling, a plain, straggling white cottage, lies _perdu_ among the green firs and solemn pines. Over the verdant groves, glimpses of the white cottages of Levi and New Liverpool occasionally catch the eye. This rustic landscape, pleasant at all times, becomes strikingly picturesque, at the "fall of the leaf"--when the rainbow-tinted foliage is, lit up by a mellow, autumnal sun. Under this favored aspect it was our happiness to view it in September, 1880.

"Bright yellow, red and orange The leaves came down in hosts; The trees are Indian princes— But soon they'll turn to ghosts."

In 1762, this broad, wild domain was owned by Lt.-Gov. Hector Theophilus Cramahé of Quebec, and according to an entry in the Diary of Judge Henry, he apparently was still the proprietor in 1775, at the time of the blockade of Quebec. In 1785, the land passed by purchase to one of Fraser's Highlanders, Capt. Cameron. It was from 1841 to 1875, the cherished abode of a cultured English gentleman, the late John Porter, the able secretary and treasurer of the Quebec Turnpike Trust. It did one good to see the courteous old bachelor, cosily seated in his ample, well selected library, surrounded by a few congenial friends, the toils of the day over--the dust of St. Peter Street shaken off. Mr. Porter was a fair type of the well-informed English country gentleman, well read in Debrett, with a pedigree reaching as far back as William the Norman. At his demise, he bequeathed this splendid farm to the son of a valued old friend. Andrew Chs. Stuart, Esq., of the law firm of Ross, Stuart & Stuart, Quebec, now Lt.-Col. Andrew Charles Stuart, of the 8th Batt. "Royal Rifles," Quebec.

Col. Stuart, the possessor of ample means, having a taste for agricultural pursuits, has lately become an active member of the Quebec Turf Club, as well as a successful breeder of prize cattle. His stud is renowned all over Canada. Col. Stuart lately took up his residence at Meadowbank, since which time a transformation seems to have come over the land; sprightly parterres of flowers, dainty pavilions, trim hedges, rustic seats, hanging baskets of ferns, are conspicuous, where formerly hay alone flourished. A neighboring rill has been skilfully enlisted to do duty, dammed up, bridged over, gently coaxed to meander, whimple and bubble, like Tennyson's brook, here and there rippling over and rushing into cool trout ponds, under the shade of moss and trees, until it leaps down to the St. Lawrence.

A small race-course has been laid out, south of the house, in a declivity towards the St. Lawrence to exercise the thoroughbreds and keep healthy the pet charger for parade days, as well as ladies' palfreys, which are not forgotten at Meadowbank.

In an enclosure protected by stone pillars and chains, under the shade of a handsome tree, may be read on a board, the following name, recently inscribed,

"ASTREA"

This marks the spot where a favourite saddle-horse, who died prematurely, now rests. All now wanting to perfect this scene of rustic beauty is a cottage _orné_ or a _Chalet Suisse_.

A RAID ON MEADOWBANK IN 1775, AND HOW KING GEORGE'S FRIENDS, THE "QUEBEC TORIES" WERE THEN PLUNDERED.

The following extract from Judge Henry's Diary seems to refer to the country seat, now known as Meadowbank:

Arnold's little army had retreated to Pointe aux Trembles on the 15th Nov. On the 2nd December, 1775, they retraced their steps to Quebec and in the evening arrived at St. Foy. On the 12th of December, Henry [253] says "The officers and men still wore nothing else than the remains of the summer clothing, which being on their back, had escaped destruction in the disaster of the wilderness." At this time the snow lay three feet deep over the whole country. One fine morning a fellow addressed Simpson who was the only officer in quarters and said "that about two miles up the St. Lawrence lay a country seat of Governor Cromie's (Cramahé?) stocked with many things they wanted and he would be our guide. Carioles were immediately procured. The house, a neat box, was romantically situated on the steep bank of the river, not very distant from a chapel. [254] Though in the midst of winter the spot displayed the elegant taste and abundant wealth of the owner. The house was closed; knocking, the hall door was opened to us by an Irishwoman who, of the fair sex, was the largest and most brawny that ever came under my notice. She was the stewardess of the house. Our questions were answered with an apparent affability and frankness. She introduced us into the kitchen, a large apartment, well filled with these articles which good livers think necessary to the happy enjoyment of life. Here we observed five or six Canadian servants huddled into a corner of the kitchen trembling with fear. Our prying eyes soon discovered a trap door leading into the cellar. The men entered it; firken after firken of butter,--lard, tallow, beef, pork, fish and salt, all became a prey. While the men were rummaging below the lieutenant descended to cause more despatch. My duty was to remain at the end of the trap door with my back to the wall, and rifle cocked as a sentry, keeping a strict eye on the servants. My good Irishwoman frequently beckoned to me to descend; her drift was to catch us all in the trap. Luckily she was comprehended. The cellar and kitchen being thoroughly gutted, and the spoil borne to the carriages, the party dispersed into the other apartments. Here was elegancy. The walls and partitions were beautifully papered, and decorated with large engravings, maps, &c., and of the most celebrated artists. A noble view of the City of Philadelphia upon a large scale taken from the neighborhood of Cooper's Ferry drew my attention and raised some compunctive ideas; but war and the sciences always stand at arms length in the contests of mankind. The latter must succumb in the tumult. Our attention was much more attracted by the costly feather beds, counterpanes, and charming rose blankets, which the house afforded. Of these there was a good store and we left not a jot behind us. The nooks and crevices in the carioles were filled with smaller articles; several dozen of admirably finished case knives and forks; even a set of dessert knives obtained the notice of our cupidity. Articles of a lesser moment nor a thousandth part so useful, did not escape the all-grasping hands of the soldiery. In a back apartment there stood a mahogany couch or settee in a highly finished style. The woodwork of the couch was raised on all sides by cushioning, and costly covered by a rich figured silk. This to us was lumber, besides our carioles were full. However, we grabbed the mattrass and pallets all equally elegant as the couch. Having, as we thought, divested his Excellency of all the articles of prime necessity, we departed, ostensibly and even audibly accompanied by the pious blessings of the stewardess for our moderation. No doubt she had her mental reservations; on such business as this we regarded neither. Near the chapel we met a party of Morgan's men coming to do that which we had already done. The officer appeared chagrined when he saw the extent of our plunder. He went on, and finally ransacked the house, and yet a little more the stables. The joy of our men, among whom the plunder was distributed in nearly equal portions was extravagant. Now an operation of the human mind, which often takes place in society, and is every day discernable by persons of observation, became clearly obvious. Let a man once with impunity desert the strict rule of rules, all subsequent aggression is not only increased in atrocity, but is done without a qualm of conscience. Though our company was composed principally of freeholders, or the sons of such, bred at home under the strictures of religion and morality, yet when the reins of decorum were loosed and the honorable feeling weakened, it became impossible to administer restraint. The person of a Tory or his property became fair game, and this at the denunciation of some base domestic villain.

On the morning following December 13, the same audacious scoundrel again returned, and another marauding expedition started under his guidance to a farm "said to belong to Gov. Cromie (Cramahé?) or some other inhabitant of Quebec. It was further than the former scene." The farm-house, though low, being but one story, was capacious and tolerably neat. The barn built of logs, with a thrashing floor in the centre, was from 70 to 80 feet in length. The tenant, his wife and children shuddered upon our approach. Assurances that they should be unharmed relieved their fears. The tenant pointed out to us the horned cattle, pigs and poultry of his landlord. These were shot down without mercy or drove before us to our quarters. Thus we obtained a tolerable load for our caravan, which consisted of five or six carioles. "With this disreputable exploit marauding ceased. A returning sense of decency and order emanating from ourselves produced a sense of contrition. It is a solemn truth that we plundered none but those who were notoriously Tories and then within the walls of Quebec."

_THE HIGHLANDS._

The range of heights extends from Spencer Wood, west, to the black bridge over the stream at Kilmarnock, gradually recedes from the road, leaving at its foot a spacious area interspersed with green pastures, lawns, ploughed fields and plantations. On the most elevated plateau of this range stands "The Highlands," a large substantial fire-brick dwelling, with an ample verandah, erected a few years back by Michael Stevenson, Esquire, merchant, of Quebec. The site is recommended by a fine view of the river St. Lawrence, an airy and healthy position, and the luxuriant foliage of the spruce, pine and maple in the background. The internal arrangements of the dwelling, whether regard be had to ventilation in summer or heating in winter, are on the most modern and improved plan. "The Highlands" lie above St. Michael's Cove teeming with historical recollections, a little to the west thereof, in front of St. Lewis road of historic renown, over which pranced, in 1663, the Marquis of Tracy's gaudy equipage and splendid body-guard wearing, as history tells, the uniform of the _Gardes de la Reine_. In Sept., 1759, [255] the Rochbeaucourt Cavalry, with their "blue uniforms and neat light horses of different colours," scoured the heights in all directions, watching the motions of the English fleet, which may be seen in the plate of the siege operations, lying at anchor at Sillery, ready, the huge black leviathans, to hurl destruction on the devoted city. In 1838, we remember well noticing Lord Durham's showy equipage with outriders, thundering daily over this same road: the Earl being a particular admirer of the Cap Rouge scenery. This seat has passed over, by purchase, to Chas. Temple, Esq., son of our late respected fellow-townsman, Major Temple, who for a series of years served in that 15th regiment, to whose prowess the Plains of Abraham bore witness during the war of the conquest. "The Highlands" are now occupied by J. W. Stockwell, Esquire.

_WINTER FOX HUNTING IN CANADA._

From time immemorial, Merry England has been renowned for her field sports; prominent amongst which may be reckoned her exciting pastime of Fox-hunting, the pride, the glory, _par excellence_ of the roystering English squire. Many may not be aware that we also, in our far-off Canada, have a method of Fox-hunting peculiarly our own--in harmony with the nature of the country--adapted to the rigors of our arctic winter season--the successful prosecution of which calls forth more endurance, a keener sight, a more thorough knowledge of the habits of the animal, a deeper self-control and greater sagacity, than does the English sport; for, as the proverb truly says, "_Pour attraper la bête, faut être plus fin qu'elle._" [256]

A short sketch [257] of a Canadian Fox-hunt may not, therefore, prove uninteresting. At the outset, let the reader bear in mind that Sir Reynard _Canadensis_ is rather a rakish, dissipated gentleman, constantly turning night into day, in the habit of perambulating through the forests, the fields, and homesteads, at most improper hours, to ascertain whether, perchance, some old dame Partlett, some hoary gobbler, some thoughtless mother-goose, allured to wander over the farm-yard by the jocund rays of a returning March sun, may not have been outside of the barn, when the negligent stable-boy closed up for the night; or else, whether some gay Lothario of a hare in yonder thicket may not, by the silent and discreet rays of the moon, be whispering some soft nonsense in the willing ear of some guileless doe, escaped from a parent's vigilant eye. For on such has the midnight marauder set his heart: after such does noiselessly prowl, favoured by darkness--the dissipated rascal--_querens quem devoret_-- determined to make up, on the morrow, by a long meridian _siesta_ on the highest pinacle of a snow-drift, for the loss of his night's-rest. Should fortune refuse the sly prowler the coveted hen, turkey, goose, or hare, warmly clad in his fur coat and leggings, with tail horizontal, he sallies forth over the snow-wreathed fields, on the skirts of woods, in search of ground mice, his ordinary provender. But, you will say, how can he discover them under the snow? By that wonderful instinct with which nature has endowed the brute creation to provide for their sustenance, each according to its nature, to its wants. By his marvellously acute ear, the fox detects the ground mouse under the snow, though he should utter a noise scarcely audible to a human ear. Mr. Fox sets instantly to work, digs down the earth, and in a trice gobbles up _mus_, his wife, and young family. Should nothing occur to disturb his arrangements, he devotes each day in winter, from ten or half-past ten in the forenoon, to repose; selecting the loftiest snow-bank he can find, or else a large rock, or perchance any other eminence from which--

"Monarch of all _he surveys_"--

he can command a good view of the neighborhod, and readily scent approaching danger. Nor does he drop off immediately in a sound sleep, like a turtle-fed alderman; but rather, like a suspicious, blood- thirsty land pirate, as he is, he first snatches hastily "forty winks," then starts up nervously, for several times, scanning all around with his cruel, cunning eye--snuffing the air. Should he be satisfied that no cause of alarm exists, he scrapes himself a bed, if in the snow and, warmly wrapped in his soft fur cloak, he coils himself up, cat-fashion, in the sun, with his brushy tail brought over his head, but careful to keep his nose to the direction from which the wind blows, so as to catch the first notice of and scent the lurking enemy. On a stormy, blustery day, the fox will, however, usually seek the shelter of some bushes or trees, and on such occasion is usually found under the _lee_ of some little wooded point, where, steeped in sweetest sleep, he can at leisure dream of clucking hens, fat turkeys, and tender leverets--sheltered from the storm, and still having an uninterrupted view before him. The hunter, when bent on a fox hunt, is careful to wear garments whose colour blends with the prevailing hue of frosted nature: a white cotton _capot_, and _capuchon_ to match, is slipped over his great coat; pants also white--everything to harmonize with the snow; a pair of snow-shoes and a short gun complete his equipment. Once arrived at the post where he expects to meet reynard, he looks carefully about for signs of tracks, and having discovered fresh ones, he follows them, keeping a very sharp look-out. Should he perceive a fox, and that animal be not asleep, it is then that he has need of all his wits and of all the knowledge of the animal's habits he may possess. As previously stated, the fox depends principally on his scent, to discover danger; but his eye is also good, and to succeed in approaching within gun shot of him in the open country, the gunner must watch every motion most carefully, moving only when the animal's gaze is averted, and stopping instantly the moment he looks towards him, no matter what position the sportman's may be at that time. No matter how uncomfortable he may feel; move he dare not, foot nor limb; the eye of the fox is on him, and the least movement would betray him and alarm his watchful quarry. It will be easily conceived that to succesfully carry out this programme, it requires nerves of steel and a patience _à toute épreuve_. It has been the good luck of one of our friends once to approach thus a fox, within twenty feet, without his detecting him; needless to say, it was done moving against the wind. Some few hunters can so exactly imitate the cry of the ground mouse, as to bring the fox to them, especially if he is very hungry; but it is not always that this plan succeeds. The animal's ear is keen; the slightest defect in the imitation betrays the trap, and away canters alarmed reynard at railroad speed. Some sportsmen prefer to watch the fox, and wait until he falls asleep which they know he will surely do, if not disturbed, and then they can approach him easily enough against the wind. It is not unusual for them to get within fifteen feet of the animal, before the noise of their footsteps causes him to wake.--As may readily be supposed in such cases, his awakening and death are generally simultaneous.

It is a fact worthy of note, that the fox, if undisturbed, will every day return to the same place to sleep, and about the same hour. These animals are not as abundant as they were a few years back.

The extent of country travelled by a fox by moonlight, each night, is very great. Not many years ago, a Quebec hunter [258] who is in the habit of enjoying his daily walk at peep of day, informed the writer that on many occasions he has seen the sly wanderer, on being disturbed from the neighborhood of the tanneries in St. Vallier street, hieing away at a gallop towards the Lorette and Charlesbourg mountains, a distance of nine miles each way.

_CAPE ROUGE COTTAGE._

With its rear facing St. Augustin parish, eight miles from the city a commodious dwelling graces the summit of the lofty cape or promontory, which terminates westward the elevated _plateau_, on the eastern extremity of which, Champlain, in 1608, raised the lily-spangled banner of the Bourbons. Unquestionably the environs of Quebec are rich in scenery, revelling one half of the year in rural loveliness, the other half enjoying that solid comfort, which successful enterprise, taste and free institutions communicate to whatever they touch; but no where, not even at Spencer Wood, or Woodfield, has nature lavished such beautiful landscapes, such enchanting views. Three centuries ago, Europeans had pitched here their tents, until the return of spring, attracted by the charms of the spot; three hundred years after that, a man of taste--to whom we may now without fear, give his due, as he is where neither praise nor censure can be suspected,--an English merchant had selected this site for its rare attractiveness; here he resided for many summers. In 1833 he removed to Spencer Wood. We allude to the late Henry Atkinson, who was succeeded at the Cap Rouge Cottage by William Atkinson, Esq., merchant of London, England. Mr. William Atkinson lived in affluence and happiness at Cap Rouge, several years. There are yet at Quebec those who remember the kind- heartedness and hospitality of this English gentleman of the old school.

Geo. Usborne, Esq., was the next occupant of the cottage. The estate consisted formerly of close on one hundred acres of land, extending north across the king's highway, with a river frontage of about twenty acres, the lot on the south side of the road is laid out, one half in a park, the remainder in two or three fruit and flower gardens, divided by brick walls to trail vines and ripen fruit. It lies quite sheltered with a southerly exposure, bounded by the lofty, perpendicular river banks; the base, some two hundred feet below, skirted by a narrow road, washed by the waves of the St. Lawrence. A magnificent avenue extends along the high bank under ancient, ever-verdant pines, whose far outspreading branches, under the influence of winds, sigh a plaintive but soothing music, blending their soft rustle to the roar of the Etchemin or the Chaudière rivers before easterly gales; how well Pickering has it:--

"The overshadowing pines alone, through which I roam, Their verdure keep, although it darker looks; And hark! as it comes sighing through the grove, The exhausted gale, a spirit there awakes That wild and melancholy music makes."

From the house verandah, the eye plunges westward down the high cape, following the capricious windings of the Cap Rouge stream far to the north, or else scans the green uplands of St. Augustin, its white cottages rising in soft undulations as far as the sight can reach. Over the extreme point of the southwestern cape hangs a fairy pavilion, like an eagle's eyrie amongst alpine crags, just a degree more secure than that pensile old fir tree which you notice at your feet stretching over the chasm; beneath you the majestic flood, Canada's pride, with a hundred merchantmen sleeping on its placid waters, and the orb of day dancing blithely over every ripple. Oh! for a few hours to roam with those we love under these old pines, to listen to the voices of other years, and cull a fragrant wreath of those wild flowers which everywhere strew our path.

Is there not enough of nature's charm around this sunny, truly Canadian home? And how much of the precious metal would many an English duke give to possess, in his own famed isle, a site of such exquisite beauty? We confess, we denizens of Quebec, we do feel proud of our Quebec scenery; not that on comparison we think the less of other localities, but that on looking round we get to think more of our own.

Cap Rouge, from it having been the location of Europeans, early in the sixteenth century, must claim the attention of every man of cultivated mind who takes a pleasure in scrutinizing the past, and in tracing the advent on our shores of the various races of European descent, now identified with this land of the West, yearning for the bright destinies the future has in store.

At the foot of the Cape, on which the Cape Rouge Cottage now stands, Jacques Cartier and Roberval wintered, the first in 1541-2; the second in 1543-4. Recent discoveries have merely added to the interest which these historical incidents awaken. The new _Historical Picture of Quebec_, published in 1834, thus alludes to these circumstances:--

"We now come to another highly interesting portion of local history. It has been stated that the old historians were apparently ignorant of this last voyage of Cartier. Some place the establishment of the fort at Cape Breton, and confound his proceedings with those of Roberval. The exact spot where Cartier passed his second winter in Canada is not mentioned in any publication that we have seen. The following is the description given of the station in Hakluyt: 'After which things the said captain went, with two of his boats, up the river, beyond Canada'--the promontory of Quebec is meant--'and the port of St. Croix, to view a haven and a small river which is about four leagues higher, which he found better and more commodious to ride in, and lay his ships, than the former. * * * The said river is small, not passing fifty paces broad, and ships drawing three fathoms water may enter in at full sea; and at low water there is nothing but a channel of a foot deep or thereabouts. * * * The mouth of the river is towards the south, and it windeth northward like a snake; and at the mouth of it, towards the east, there is a high and steep cliff, where we made a way in manner of a pair of stairs, and aloft we made a fort to keep the nether fort and the ships, and all things that might pass as well by the great as by the small river." Who that reads the above accurate description will doubt that the mouth of the little river Cap Rouge was the station chosen by Jacques Cartier for his second wintering place in Canada? The original description of the grounds and scenery on both sides of the river Cap Rouge is equally faithful with that which we have extracted above. The precise spot on which the upper fort of Jacques Cartier was built, afterwards enlarged by Roberval, has been fixed by an ingenious gentleman of Quebec, at the top of Cap Rouge height, a short distance from the handsome villa and establishment of H. Atkinson (now of James Bowen) There is, at the distance of about an acre to the north of Mr. Atkinson's house, a hillock of artificial construction, upon which are trees indicating great antiquity, and as it does not appear that any fortifications were erected on this spot, either in the war of 1759, or during the attack of Quebec by the Americans in 1775, it is extremely probable that here are to be found the interesting site and remains of the ancient fort in question.

"On his return to the fort of Charlesbourg Royal, the suspicions of Cartier as to the unfriendly disposition of the Indians were confirmed. He was informed that the natives now kept aloof from the fort, and had ceased to bring them fish and provisions as before. He also learned from some of the men who had been at Stadacona, that an unusual number of Indians had assembled there--and associating, as he always seems to have done, the idea of danger with any concourse of the natives, he resolved to take all necessary precautions, causing everything in the fortress to be set in order.

"At this crisis, to the regret of all who feel an interest in the local history of the time the relation of Cartier's third voyage abruptly breaks off. Of the proceedings during the winter which he spent at Cap Rouge, nothing is known. It is probable that it passed over without any collision with the natives, although the position of the French, from their numerical weakness, must have been attended with great anxiety.

"It has been seen that Roberval, notwithstanding his lofty titles, and really enterprising character, did not fulfil his engagement to follow Cartier with supplies sufficient for the settlement of a colony, until the year following. By that time the Lieutenant General had furnished three large vessels chiefly at the King's cost, having on board two hundred persons, several gentlemen of quality, and settlers, both men and women. He sailed from La Rochelle on the 16th of April, 1542, under the direction of an experienced pilot, by name John Alphonse, of Xaintonge. The prevalence of westerly winds prevented their reaching Newfoundland until 7th June. On the 8th they entered the road of St. John, where they found seventeen vessels engaged in the fisheries. During his stay in this road, he was surprised and disappointed by the appearance of Jacques Cartier, on his return from Canada, whither he had been sent the year before with five ships. Cartier had passed the winter in the fortress described above, and gave as a reason for the abandonment of the settlement, 'that he could not with his small company withstand the savages which went about daily to annoy him.' He continued, nevertheless, to speak of the country as very rich and fruitful. Cartier is said, in the relation, of Roberval's voyage in Hakluyt, to have produced some gold ore found in the country, which on being tried in a furnace, proved to be good. He had with him also some _diamonds_, the natural production of the promontory of Quebec, from which the Cape derived its name. The Lieutenant General having brought so strong a reinforcement of men and necessaries for the settlement, was extremely urgent with Cartier to go back again to Cap Rouge, but without success. It is most probable that the French, who had recently passed a winter of hardship in Canada, would not permit their Captain to attach himself to the fortunes and particular views of Roberval. Perhaps, the fond regret of home prevailed over the love of adventure, and like men who conceived that they had performed their part of the contract into which they had entered, they were not disposed to encounter new hardships under a new leader. In order, therefore, to prevent any open disagreement, Cartier weighed anchor in the course of the night without taking leave of Roberval, and made all sail for France. It is impossible not to regret this somewhat inglorious termination of a distinguished career. Had he returned to his fort, with the additional strength of Roberval, guided by his own skill and experience, it is most probable that the colony would have been destined to a permanent existence. Cartier undertook no other voyage to Canada; but he afterwards completed a sea chart, drawn by his own hand, which was extant in the possession of one of his nephews, Jacques Noël, of St. Malo, in 1587, who seems to have taken great interest in the further development of the vast country discovered by his deceased uncle. Two letters of his have been preserved, relating to the maps and writings of Cartier: the first written in 1587, and the others a year or two latter, in which he mentions that his two sons, Michael and John Noël, were then in Canada, and that he was in expectation of their return. Cartier himself died soon after his return to France, having sacrificed his fortune in the case of discovery. As an indemnification for the losses their uncle had sustained, this Jacques Noel and another nephew, De la Launay Chaton, received in 1588, an exclusive privilege to trade to Canada during, twelve years, but this was revoked four months after it was granted.

"Roberval, notwithstanding his mortification at the loss of Cartier's experience and aid in his undertaking, determined to proceed, and sailing from Newfoundland, about the end of June, 1543, he arrived at Cap Rouge, 'four leagues westward of the Isle of Orleans,' towards the end of July. Here the French immediately fortified themselves, 'in a place fit to command the main river, and of strong situation against all manner of enemies.' The position was, no doubt, that chosen by Jacques Cartier the year previous. The following is the description given in Hakluyt of the buildings erected by Roberval: 'The said General on his first arrival built a fair fort, near and somewhat westward above Canada, which is very beautiful to behold, and of great force, situated upon a high mountain, wherein there were two courts of buildings, a great tower, and another of forty or fifty feet long, wherein there were divers chambers, a hall, a kitchen, cellars high and low, and near unto it were an oven and mills, and a stove to warm men in, and a well before the house. And the building was situated upon the great River of Canada called _France-Prime_ by Monsieur Roberval. There was also at the foot of the mountain another lodging, where at the first all our victuals, and whatsoever was brought with us, were sent to be kept, and near unto that tower there is another small river. In these two places above and beneath, all the meaner sort was lodged.' This fort was called _France-Roy_, but of these extensive buildings, erected most probably in a hasty and inartificial manner, no traces now remain, unless we consider as such the mound above mentioned, near the residence of Mr. Atkinson, at Cap Rouge.

"On the 14th September, Roberval sent back to France two of his vessels, with two gentlemen, bearers of letters to the King; who had instructions to return the following year with supplies for the settlement. The natives do not appear, by the relation given, to have evinced any hostility to the new settlers. Unfortunately, the scurvy again made its appearance among the French and carried off no less than sixty during the winter. The morality of this little colony was not very rigid--perhaps they were pressed by hunger, and induced to plunder from each other--at all events the severity of the Viceroy towards his handful of subjects appears not to have been restricted to the male sex. The method adopted by the Governor to secure a quiet life will raise a smile; 'Monsieur Roberval used very good justice, and punished every man according to his offence. One whose name was Michael Gaillon, was hanged for his theft. John of Nantes was laid in irons, and kept prisoner for his offence; and others also were put in irons, and divers whipped, as well men as women, by which means they lived quiet.'

"We have no record extant of the other proceedings of Roberval during the winter of 1543. The ice broke up in the month of April; and on the 5th June, the Lieutenant General departed from the winter quarters on an exploring expedition to the Province of Saguenay, as Cartier had done on a former occasion. Thirty persons were left behind in the fort under the command of an officer, with instructions to return to France, if he had not returned by the 1st of July. There are no particulars of this expedition, on which, however, Roberval employed a considerable time. For we find that on the 14th June, four of the gentlemen belonging to the expedition returned to the fort, having left Roberval on the way to Saguenay; and on the 19th, some others came back, bringing with them some six score weight of Indian corn; and directions for the rest to wait for the return of the Viceroy, until the 22nd July. An incident happened in this expedition, which seems to have escaped the notice of the author of the treaties on the _canon de bronze_ (Amable Barthelot), which we have noticed in a former chapter. It certainly gives an authentic account of a ship wreck having been suffered in the St. Lawrence, to which, perhaps, the finding of the cannon, and the tradition about Jacques Cartier, may with some possibility be referred. The following is the extract in question: 'Eight men and one bark drowned and lost, among whom were Monsieur de Noire Fontaine, and one named La Vasseur of Constance.' The error as to the name might easily arise, Jacques Cartier having been there so short a time before, and his celebrity in the country being so much greater than that of Roberval, or of any of his companions."

Cap Rouge Cottage is now owned by James Bowen, Esq.

_BEAUSÉJOUR._

Flooded in sunny silence sleep the kine, In languid murmurs brooklets float and flow, The quaint farm-gables in rich light shine And round them jasmined honeysuckles twine, And close beside them sun-flowers burn and blow.

About one mile beyond the St. Foye Church, there is a fertile farm of one, hundred acres, lying chiefly on the north side of the road. The dwelling, a roomy, one story cottage, stands about two acres from the highway, from which a copse of trees interrupts the view.

There are at present in this spot, several embellishments--such as trout ponds--which bid fair to render it worthy of the notice of men of taste. It was merely necessary to assist nature in order to obtain here most gratifying results. Between the road fence and the dwelling, a small brook has worn its bed, at the bottom of a deep ravine, sweeping past the house lawn westward, and then changing its course to due north-west the boundary in that direction between that and the adjoining property. The banks of the ravine are enclosed in a belt of every imaginable forest shrub,--wild cherry, mountain ash, raspberry, blueberry, interspersed here and there with superb specimens of oak, spruce, fir and pine. A second avenue has been laid out amongst the trees between the road fence and the brook, to connect with the lawn at the west of the house, by a neat little bridge, resting on two square piers about twenty-five feet high: on either side of the bridge a solid dam being constructed of the boulders and stones removed from the lower portion of the property, intended to form two trout ponds of a couple of acres in length each, a passage in the dam is left for the water-fall, which is in full view of the bridge. On the edge of the bank, overhanging the ravine, nature seems to have pointed out the spot for a pavilion, from which the disciples of Isaac Walton can throw a cast below. The green fringe of the mountain shrubs in bud, blossom or fruit, encircling the farm, materially enhances the beauty of this sylvan landscape,--the eye resting with particular pleasure on the vast expanse of meadow of vivid green, clothed in most luxuriant grass, some 10,000 bundles of hay for the mower, in due time. About two acres from the house, to the west, is placed a rustic seat, under two weather-beaten, though still verdant oaks, which stretch their boughs across the river: closer again to the cottage, the eye meets two pavilions. The new avenue, rustic bridges, ponds and pavilions, are due to the good taste of the present owner, Louis Bilodeau, Esq. This rural home was for several years occupied in summer by Stephen Sewell, Esq., and does not belie its name-- Beauséjour.

_BELMONT._

Owners--Intendant Talon, 1670; General James Murray, 1765; Sir John Caldwell, 1810; J. W. Dunscomb. Esquire, 1854-81.

That genial old joker, Sir Jonas Barrington, in his _Sketches_, has invested the Irish homes and Irish gentry with features certainly very original--at times so singular as to be difficult of acceptance. True, he lived in an age and amongst a people proverbial for generous hospitality, for conviviality carried to its extreme limit. Gargantuan banquets he describes, pending which the bowls of punch and claret imbibed appear to us something fabulous. Irish squires, roystering Irish barristers, toddling home in pairs after having stowed away under their belts as many as twelve bottles of claret a piece, during a prolonged sitting, _i.e._, from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. Such intrepid diners-out were known as "Twelve bottle men;" and verily, if the old Judge is to be credited, they might have been advantageously pitted even against such a Homeric guzzler as history depicts Aurora Konigsmark's sturdy son, Maréchal de Saxe, who, in his youth, 'tis said, tossed off, at one draught and without experiencing any ill-effects, one whole gallon of wine.

The first time our eye scanned the silent and deserted banquetting halls of Belmont, with their lofty ceilings, and recalling the traditional accounts of the hospitable gentlemen, whose joviality had once lit up the scene, visions of social Ireland of Barrington's day floated uppermost in our mind. We could fancy we saw the gay roysterers of times by-gone--first a fête champêtre of lively French officers from Quebec, making merry over their Bordeaux or Burgundy, and celebrating the news of their recent victories at Fontenoy, [259] Lauffeld or Carillon, to the jocund sound of _Vive la France! Vive le Maréchal de Saxe! à la Claire Fontaine_, &c then Governor Murray, surrounded by his veterans, Guy Carleton, Col. Caldwell, Majors Hale, Holland, and some of the new subjects, such as the brave Chs. De Lanaudière, [260] complimenting one another all around over the feats of the respective armies at the two memorable battles of the Plains, and all joining loyally in repeating the favorite toast in Wolfe's fleet, _British colours on every French fort, port and garrison in America_! Later on, at the beginning of the present century, a gathering of those Canadian Barons, so graphically delineated by John Lambert in his _Travels in Canada_, in 1808--one week surrounding the festive board of this jolly Receiver General of Canada at Belmont, the next at Charlesbourg, making the romantic echoes of the Hermitage ring again with old English cheers and loyal toasts to "George the King," or else installing a "Baron" at the Union Hotel, Place d'Armes,--possibly in the very Council-room in which the State secrets of Canada were in 1865 daily canvassed--and flinging down to the landlord as Lambert says, "250 guineas for the entertainement." Where are now the choice spirits of that comparatively modern day, the rank and fashion who used to go and sip claret or eat ice-cream with Sir James Craig, at Powell Place? Where gone the Mures, Paynters, Munros, Matthew Bells, de Lanaudières, Lymburners, Smiths, Finlays, Caldwells, Percevals, Jonathan Sewells? Alas! like the glories of Belmont, departed, or living in the realms of memory only!

This estate, which, until lately, consisted of four hundred and fifty acres, extending from the line of the Grande Allée down to the Bijou wood, was _conceded_ in 1649 by the Jesuit Fathers to M. Godfroy. It passed over, in 1670, to the celebrated Intendant Talon, by deed of sale executed on the 28th of September, 1670, before Romain Becquet, Notaire Royal. Messire Jean Talon is described in that instrument as "Conseiller du roi en ses conseils d'état et premier Intendant de justice, police et finance de la Nouvelle France, Isle de Terreneuve, Acadie et pays de l'Amérique Septentrionale." Shortly after the conquest it was occupied by Chief Justice Wm. Gregory. In 1765 it was sold for £500 by David Alves of Montreal, to General James Murray, who, after the first battle of the Plains, had remained Governor of Quebec, whilst his immediate superior, Brigadier Geo. Townshend, had hurried to England to cull the laurels of victory. In 1775, we find that one of the first operations of the American General Montgomery was to take possession of "General Murray's house, on the St. Foy road." General Murray also, probably, then owned the property subsequently known as Holland's farm, where Montgomery had his headquarters. All through our history the incidents, actors and results of battles are tolerably well indicated, but the domestic history of individuals and exact descriptions of localities are scarcely ever furnished, so that the reader will not be surprised should several _lacunae_ occur in the description of Belmont, one of the most interesting Canadian country seats in the neighbourhood of Quebec. The history of Holland House might also, of itself, furnish quite a small epic; and, doubtless, from the exalted social position of many of the past owners of Belmont, its old walls, could they obtain utterance, might reveal interesting incidents of our past history, which will otherwise ever be buried in oblivion.

In the memory of Quebecers, Belmont must always remain more particularly connected with the name of the Caldwells, three generations of whom occupied its spacious halls. The founder of this old family, who played a conspicuous part in Canadian politics for half a century, was the Hon. Col. Henry Caldwell, for many years Receiver General of the Province, by royal appointment, and member of the Legislative Council. He came first to Canada in 1759, says Knox, [261] as Assistant Quartermaster General to Wolfe, under whom he served. When appointed Receiver General, the salary attached to that high office [262] was £400 per annum, with the understanding that he might _account_ at his convenience, he never accounted at all, probably as it was anything but _convenient_ to do so, having followed the traditional policy of high officials under French rule, and speculated largely in milk, &c. The fault was more the consequences of the system than that of the individual, and had his ventures turned out well, no doubt the high-minded Colonel and Receiver General would have made matters right before dying. In 1801 Col. Caldwell was returned member for Dorchester, where he owned the rich Seigniory of Lauzon, and most extensive mill at the Etchemin river, the same subsequently owned by J. Thomson, Esq., and now by Hy. Atkinson, Esq. The colonel was re-elected by the same constituency in 1805, and again in 1809, lived in splendor at Belmont, as a polished gentleman of that age knew how to live, and died there in 1810. Belmont is situated on the St. Foye road, on its north side, at the end of a long avenue of trees, distant three miles from Quebec. The original mansion, which was burnt down in 1798, was rebuilt by the Colonel in 1800 on plans furnished by an Engineer Officer of the name of Brabazon. It stood in the garden between the present house and main or St. Foye road. The cellar forms the spacious root house, at present in the garden. Col Caldwell's exquisite entertainments soon drew around his table some of the best men of Quebec, of the time, such as the gallant Gen. Brock, John Colt man, William Coltman, the Hales, Foy, Haldimand, Dr. Beeby of Powell Place, J. Lester, John Blackwood. In 1810 Mr. John Caldwell, son of the Colonel, accepted the succession with its liabilities, not then known. He however made the Lauzon manor his residence in summer, and was also appointed Receiver General. In 1817 Belmont was sold to the Hon. J. Irvine, M.P.P., the grandfather of the present member for Megantic, Hon. George J. Irvine. Hon. Mr. Irvine resided there until 1833. The beautiful row of trees which line the house avenue and other embellishments, are due to his good taste. In 1838 the property reverted to the late Sir Henry Caldwell, the son of Sir John Caldwell, who in 1827, had inherited the title by the death of an Irish relative, Sir James Caldwell, the third Baronet (who was made a Count of Milan by the Empress Maria Theresa, descended by his mothers' side from the 20th Lord Kerry). John Caldwell of Lauzon, having become Sir John Caldwell, _menait un grain train_, as the old peasants of Etchemin repeat to this day. His house, stud and amusements were those of a baron of old, and of a hospitable Irish gentleman, spreading money and progress over the length and breadth of the land. At his death, which happened at Boston in 1842, the insignificant Etchemin settlement, through his efforts, had materially increased in wealth, size and population. There was, however, at his demise, an _error_ in his Government balance sheet of £100,000 on the wrong side!

Belmont lines the St. Foye heights, in a most picturesque situation. The view from the east and north-western windows is magnificently grand; probably one might count more than a dozen church spires glittering in the distance--peeping out of every happy village which dots the base of the blue mountains to the north. In 1854 this fine property was purchased by J. W. Dunscomb, Esq., Collector of Customs, Quebec, who resided there several years, and sold the garden for a cemetery to the Roman Catholic Church authorities of Quebec, reserving 400 acres for himself. The old house, within a few years, was purchased by Mr. Wakeham, the late manager of the Beauport Asylum. His successful treatment of diseases of the mind induced him to open, at this healthy and secluded spot, under the name of the "Belmont Retreat," a private _Maison de Santé_, where, wealthy patients are treated with that delicate care which they could not expect in a crowded asylum. The same success has attended Mr. Wakeham's enterprise at Belmont which crowned it at Beauport.

_AN IRISH EDUCATION IN THE OLDEN TIMES._

Among the old stories handed down in Canadian homes

"In the long nights of winter, When the cold north winds blow,"

of the merry gatherings and copious feasts of other days, one is told of a memorable entertainment at Belmont, given a crowd of friends.

Some assert it was the Belmont anniversary dinner of the battle of Waterloo and bring in of course Blucher, Hougomont! Belle-Alliance and what not. It is, however, more generally believed among the aged, judging from the copious libations and kindly toasts drank, that it partook of a more intimate character and was merely a _fête de famille_, to commemorate the safe return of sir John Caldwell's only son from Ireland, where he had just completed his collegiate course at Dublin, be that as it may, it unquestionably was meant to solemnise an important family or national event.

As was wont, in those hospitable times, the "landlord's flowing bowl," alas! had been emptied too often. Some of the "Barons of the round table" were in fact preparing for a timely retreat, before the city gates should be closed, [263] the genial host soon put a stop to such a treasonable practice, exclaiming that the sentry would let them pass at any hour, so they need only follow the Commandant, their fellow guest, who of course had the countersign, closing his well timed remarks, by raising his voice and proclaiming in an authoritative tone "no heel taps here," the stately banquet hall re-echoed with cheers "a bumper, a bumper," resounded on all sides, "to the future Sir Harry, who has just completed his Irish education." The future Sir Harry was soon on his legs, and in a voice mellow with old port, youth and fun, responded "Friends, fellow countrymen, brothers, (this last expression was challenged as he was an only son) I am indeed proud of my Dublin education, we have something, however better before us than a disquisition on the excellence of the various systems of continental courses, to be brief, I now challenge any here present to meet me on the classics, astronomy, the cubic root or glass to glass, you have your choice." "Glass to glass," they one and all replied. Toasts, songs, healths of every member of the Royal family, were gone through with amazing zest as time advanced towards the small hours of the morning, the guests, one by one disappeared from the banqueting room, some, alas! under the mahogany, more with the genial commander of the garrison, whilst the stalwart Irish student, still undaunted and meeting the foe, glass to glass--a veritable giant, fresher as he went on.

Old Sir John, a well seasoned diner-out, at last found himself solitary at his end of the table, whilst his son adorned the other end defiantly.

Looking round in dismay and fearing, if he continued the healths, to be unequal to cope with such an intrepid Dublin student, he the last gave up, flinging himself majestically back in his chair, exclaiming "D----n your Irish education!"

_HOLLAND FARM._

This estate, which formerly comprised two hundred acres of ground, extending from the brow of the St. Foye heights to St Michael's Chapel on the Samoa or St. Lewis road, possesses considerable interest for the student of Canadian history, both under French and English rule. The original dwelling, a long high-peaked French structure, stood on an eminence closer to the St. Foye road than does the present house. It was built about the year 1740, by a rich Lower Town merchant, Monsieur Jean Taché [264] who resided there after his marriage in 1742 with Mademoiselle Marie Anne Jolliet de Mingan, grand-daughter to the celebrated discoverer of the Mississippi, Louis Jolliet. Monsieur Jean Taché was also _Syndic des Marchands_, member of the Supreme Council of Quebec, and ancestor to Sir. E. P. Taché. He at one time owned several vessels, but his floating wealth having, during the war of the conquest, become the prize of English cruisers, the St. Peter street Nabob of 1740, as it has since happened to some of his successors in that _romantic_ neighbourhood, --lost his money. Loss of fortune did not, however, imply loss of honour, as old memoirs of that day describe him, "Homme intègre et d'esprit." He had been selected, in the last year of French rule, to go and lay at the foot of the French Throne the grievances of the Canadians. About this time, the St. Foye road was becoming a fashionable resort, _Hawkin's Picture of Quebec_ calls it "The favorite drive of the Canadian Belle before the conquest." This is an interesting period in colonial life, but imperfectly known,--nor will a passage from Jeffery, an old and valued English writer, illustrative of men, manners and amusements in the Colony, when it passed over to the English monarch, be out of place:--

"The number of inhabitants being considerably increased, they pass their time very agreeably. The Governor General, with his household; several of the _noblesse_ of exceeding good families; the officers of the army, who in France are all gentlemen; the Intendant, with a Supreme Council, and the inferior magistrates; the Commissary of the Marine; the Grand Provost; the Grand Hunter; the Grand Master of the Woods and Forests, who has the most extensive jurisdiction in the world; rich merchants, or such as live as if they were so; the bishops and a numerous Seminary; two colleges of Récollets, as many of Jesuits; with three Nunneries; amongst all those yon are at no loss to find agreeable company and the most entertaining conversation. Add to this the diversions of the place, such as the assemblies at the Lady Governess's and Lady Intendant's; parties at cards, or of pleasure, such as in the winter on the ice, in sledges, or in skating; and in the summer in chaises or canoes; also hunting, which it is impossible not to be fond of in a country abounding with plenty of game of all kinds.

"It is remarked of the Canadians that their conversation is enlivened by an air of freedom which is natural and peculiar to them, and that they speak the French in the greatest purity and without the least false accent. There are few rich people in that Colony, though they all live well, are extremely generous and hospitable, keep very good tables, and love to dress very finely.... The Canadians have carried the love of arms, and glory, so natural to their mother country, along with them.... War is not only welcome to them but coveted with extreme ardor." [265]

During the fall of 1775, the old mansion sheltered Brigadier Richard Montgomery, [266] the leader of the American forlorn hope, who fell on the 31st December of that year, at Près-de-Ville, Champlain street, fighting against those same British whom it had previously been his pride to lead to victory. About the year 1780, we find this residence tenanted by a worthy British officer, who had been a great favourite with the hero of the Plains of Abraham. Major Samuel Holland had fought bravely that day under General Wolfe, and stood, it is said, after the battle, close by the expiring warrior. His dwelling took the name of Holland House: he added to it, a cupola, which served in lieu of a _prospect tower_, wherefrom could be had a most extensive view of the surrounding country. [267] The important appointment of Surveyor General of the Province, which was bestowed on Major Holland, together with his social qualities, abilities and education, soon gathered round him the _élite_ of the English Society in Quebec at that time. Amongst the distinguished guests who frequented Holland House in 1791, we find Edward, afterwards Duke of Kent. The numerous letters still extant addressed by His Royal Highness from Kensington Palace, as late as 1814, to the many warm friends he had left on the banks of the St. Lawrence, contain pleasant reminiscences of his sojourn amongst his royal father's Canadian lieges. Amongst other frequenters of Holland House, may also be noted a handsome stranger, who after attending--the gayest of the gay--the Quebec Château balls, Regimental mess dinners, Barons' Club, tandem drives, as the male friend of one of the young Hollands was, to the amazement of all, convicted at a mess dinner of being a lady [268] in disguise. A _fracas_ of course ensued. The lady-like guest soon vamosed to England, where _he_ became the lawful spouse of the Hon. Mr. C----, the brother to Lord F----d. One remnant of the Hollands long endured; the old fir tree on that portion of the property purchased by James Creighton, farmer. Holland tree was still sacred to the memory of the five slumberers, who have reposed for more than a century beneath its hoary branches. Nor has the recollection of the "fatal duel" faded away. Holland farm, for many years, belonged to Mr. Wilson of the Customs Department, Quebec, in 1843 it passed by purchase to Judge George Okill Stuart, of Québec; Mr. Stuart improved the place, removed the old house and built a handsome new one on a rising ground in rear, which he occupied for several summers. It again became renowned for gaiety and festivity when subsequently owned by Robert Cassels, Esquire, for many years Manager of the Bank of British North America at Quebec. Genl. Danl. Lysons had leased it in 1862, for his residence, when the unexpected vote of the House of Assembly on the Militia Bill broke through his arrangements. Holland House is still the property of Mr. Cassels.

_THE HOLLAND TREE._

(BY THE AUTHOR OF "MAPLE LEAVES")

"Woodman spare that tree."

It has often been noticed that one of the chief glories of Quebec consisted in being surrounded on all sides by smiling country seats, which in the summer season, as it were, encircle the brow of the old city like a chaplet of flowers; those who, on a sunny June morning, have wandered through the shady groves of Spencer Wood, Woodfield, Marchmont, Benmore, Kilmarnock, Kirk Ella, Hamwood, Beauvoir, Clermont, and fifty other old places, rendered vocal by the voices of birds, and with the sparkling waters of the great river or the winding St. Charles at their feet, are not likely to gainsay this statement.

Amongst these beautiful rural retreats few are better known than Holland Farm, in 1780 the family mansion of Surveyor-General Holland, one of Wolfe's favourite engineer officers. During the fall of 1775 it had been the headquarters of Brig. General Montgomery, who chose it as his residence during the siege of Quebec, whilst his colleague, Col. Benedict Arnold, was stationed with his New Englanders at the house southeast of Scott's Bridge, on the Little River road, for many years the homestead of Mr. Langlois. This fine property, running back as far as Mount Hermon Cemetery, and extending from the St. Louis or Grand Allée road, opposite Spencer Wood, down to the St. Foye road, which it crosses, is bounded to the north by the _cime du cap_, or St. Foye heights. For those who may be curious to know its original extent to an eighth of an inch, I shall quote from Major Holland's title-deed, wherein it is stated to comprise "in superficies, French measure, two hundred and six arpents, one perch, seven feet eight inches, and _four eighths of an inch_," from which description one would infer the Major had surveyed his domain with great minuteness, or that he must have been rather a stickler for territorial rights. What would his shades now think could they be made cognizant of the fact that that very château garden, [269] which he possessed and bequeathed to his sons in the year 1800, which had been taken possession of for military purposes by the Imperial authorities, is held by them to this day? Major Samuel Holland had distinguished himself as an officer under General Wolfe, on the Plains of Abraham, lived at Holland House [270] many years, as was customary in those days, in affluence, and at last paid the common debt to nature. He had been employed in Prince Edward Island and Western Canada on public surveys.

The Major, after having provided for his wife, Mary Josette Rolet, bequeathed his property to Frederick Braham, John Frederick, Charlotte, Susan and George Holland, [271] his children. In 1817, Frederick Braham Holland, who at that time was an ordnance storekeeper at Prince Edward Island, sold his share of the farm to the late William Wilson, of the Customs. Ten years later, John Frederick and Charlotte Holland also disposed of their interest in this land to Mr. Wilson, who subsequently, having acquired the rights of another heir, viz., in 1835, remained proprietor of Holland Farm until 1843, when the property by purchase passed over to Judge Geo. Okill Stuart, of this city. Mr. Stuart built on it a handsome mansion now known as Holland House, which he subsequently sold to Rob. Cassells, Esq., of Quebec, late manager of the Bank of British North America.

Holland Farm has been gradually dismembered: Coulonge Cottage, at the outlet of the Gomin Road, [272] is built on Holland farm. A successful gold digger by the name of Sinjohn purchased in the year 1862 a large tract of the farm fronting the St. Louis road with Thornhill as its north eastern and Mr. Stuart's new road as its south-western boundary. His cottage is shaded by the Thornhill Grove, with a garden and lawn and adjoins a level pasturage entirely denuded of shrubs and forest trees. [273] To a person looking from the main gate, at Spencer Wood in the direction of the south gable of Holland House, exactly in a straight line, no object intervenes except a fir tree which detaches itself on the horizon, conspicuous from afar over the plantation which fronts the St. Foye road. That tree is the Holland Tree. Well! what about the Holland Tree? What! you a Quebecer and not to know about the Holland Tree? the duel and the slumberers who have reposed for so many years under its shade!

Oh! but suppose I am not a Quebecer. Tell me about the Holland Tree. Well, walk down from the St. Louis road along Mr. Stuart's new road and we shall see first how the rest of the 'slumberers' has been respected. Hear the words which filial affection dictated to Frederick Braham, John Frederick and Charlotte Holland, when on the 14th July 1827, they executed a deed [274] in favor of Wm. Wilson conveying their interest in their father's estate.

"Provided always and these presents as well as the foregoing deed of sale and conveyance are so made and executed by the said Robert Holland acting as aforesaid (as attorney of the heirs Holland) upon and subject to the _express_ charge and _condition_ that is to say, that the said William Wilson his heirs and assigns shall forever hold sacred and inviolable the small circular space of ground on the said tract or piece of land and premises enclosed with a stone wall and wherein the remains of the late Samuel Holland, Esquire, father of the said vendors and of his son the late Samuel Holland jr., Esq., are interred, and shall and will allow tree ingress and egress at all times to the relatives and friends of the family of the said Samuel Holland for the purpose of viewing the state and condition of the said space of ground and making or causing to be made such repairs to the wall enclosing the same or otherwise providing for the protection of the said remains as they shall see fit."

Not many years back the 'small circular space' which Mr. Wilson bound himself to hold sacred and inviolable and which contained two neat marble slabs with the names of Messrs. Holland, senior and junior, and other members of the family engraved on them, was inclosed within a substantial stone wall to which access was had through an iron gate, the walls were covered with inscriptions and with the initials of those who had visited a spot to which the fatal issue of a deadly encounter lent all the interest of a romance. Nothing now is visible except the foundation, which is still distinct: the monument stones have disappeared, the wall has been razed to the ground, some modern Vandal or a descendant of the Ostrogoths [275] (for amongst all civilized nations, the repose of the dead is sacred) has laid violent hands on them! When Mr. Wilson sold Holland farm in 1843 he made no stipulation about the graves of the Hollands, he took no care that what he had agreed to hold inviolable should continue to be so held.

The tragical occurrence connected with the Holland Tree is much out of the ordinary run of events, it seems very like the plot of a sensation novel--a dark tale redolent with love, jealousy and revenge. Two men stood, some sixty years ago, in mortal combat, not under the Holland Tree, as it has generally been believed but near Windmill Point, Point St Charles, at Montreal, one of them Ensign Samuel Holland, of the 60th Regiment, the other was Capt Shoedde. The encounter, it was expected would be a deadly one in those duelling days blood alone could wipe out an insult. Old Major Holland, on bidding adieu to his son is reported to have said, "Samuel, my boy, here are weapons which my loved friend General Wolfe, presented me on the day of his death. Use them, to keep the old family name without stain." Of this memorable affair W. H. Henderson, Esq., of Hemison, has kindly furnished me with the following details.

'The duel originated from some, it was considered, unjustifiable suspicions on the part of Capt. Shoedde of his (Holland's) intimacy with Mrs. Shoedde so palpably unfounded that young Holland applied to his father as to whether in honour he was bound to take notice of the matter. The Major replied by forwarding by post his pistols. Ensign Holland was mortally wounded at the first shot, but in his agony rose on his knees and levelled his pistol, aiming for Capt. Shoedde's heart, who received the ball in his arm laid over his breast.'

Mr. Holland was conveyed to the Merchants Coffee House, in the small lane, near the river side, called Capital street, where he expired in great pain. The battalion in which this gentleman served was at that time, commanded by Major Patrick Murray, a relative of the British General of Quebec fame, with whom I became very intimate in the years 1808 and 1809. Major Murray's account of the duel agreed with the general report prevalent in 1799 in Montreal. Murray thought that the challenge had been given by young Holland and not by Shoedde. Murray subsequently married sold his commission, and purchased the seignory of Argenteuil. At that time Sir George Prevost was also a Major In the 60th Regiment of 1790, whilst Murray's commission dated of 1784. Sir George gave Murray in 1812 a colonel's commission in the militia, who raised the corps of lawyers in Montreal known, as styled by the humorous old man, "as The Devil s Own."

_A SCANDAL OF THE LAST CENTURY._

One of the young Hollands had also been a party to a _scandalum magnum_, which created much gossip amongst our grandfathers, about the time H.R.H the Duke of Kent was at Quebec.

At a regimental mess dinner a handsome young fellow, having, in these days of hard swearing and hard drinking, exceeded in wine, was convicted of being a lady in disguise, attending as the guest of young Holland, and whose sex was unknown to young Holland.

This lady, whom all Quebec knew as Mr. Nesbitt, turned out to be a Miss Neville, left for England, and was eventually married to Sir J. C---, brother of Lord F----, a British nobleman.

One of the Nestors of the present generation, Col. J. Sewell, has related to me the circumstances as he heard them in his youth from the lips of a man of veracity and honour--Hon. W. Smith, son of Chief Justice Smith.

Here are his own words:--"Hon. Mr. Smith told me that Mr. Nesbitt, _alias_ Miss Neville, was dining at a mess dinner of the 24th Grenadiers at the Jesuits' Barracks, upper Town market place--Having sacrificed too freely to the rosy god, an officer of the 24th, Mr. Broadstreet, I think, helped him to the balcony ... when having to lean on his supporter, Mr. Broadstreet became confident Nesbitt was a girl in disguise. Nesbitt drove out after dinner to Holland House and Broadstreet told the joke all round. Nesbitt hearing of it, sent him, next day, a challenge for originating such a report.

Mr. Broadstreet, not knowing how to act, applied to one of his superior officers--Capt. Doyle (subsequently Genl. Doyle, who married at Quebec, a Miss Smith), for advice, saying: "How can I fight a girl?" to which Capt. Doyle rejoined, "I will act as your second. If Nesbitt is a girl, you shall not fight him, and I engage to prove this fact." He then drove out to Holland House, and found the gay Lothario Nesbitt flirting with the young ladies. He observed him attentively, and having tried an experiment, calculated to throw light on the mysterious foreigner, he went to complain direct to the Governor and Commander in Chief; Lord Dorchester, who, on hearing the perplexity caused by Mr. Nesbitt, sent for Dr. Longmore, the military physician, and ordered him to investigate of what sex Nesbitt might be.

Mr. Nesbitt stormed--refused to submit--vowed he would go direct to England and make a formal complaint of the indignity with which he was threatened.

Hon. Jonathan Sewell,--later on Chief Justice, by persuasion, succeeded in pouring oil on the troubled waters. Nesbitt confessed, and Quebec was minus of a very handsome but beardless youngster, and the English Court journals soon made mention of a fashionable marriage in high life.

_HAMWOOD._

How sweet it is, when mother Fancy rocks The wayward brain, to saunter through a wood An old place, full of many a lovely brood, Tall trees, green arbours, and ground-flowers in flocks And wild rose tiptoe upon hawthorn stocks, --_Wordsworth_.

How many vicissitudes in the destinies of places, men, families, nations! See yonder mansion, its verdant leaves, with the leafy honours of nascent spring encircling it like a garland, exhaling the aroma of countless buds and blossoms, embellished by conservatory, grapery, avenues of fruit and floral trees. Does not every object bespeak comfort, rural felicity, commercial success!

When you enter that snug billiard-room, luxuriously fitted up with fire place, ottomans, &c., or when, on a balmy summer evening, you are seated on the ample verandah, next to the kind host, do you not my legal friend, feel inclined to repeat to yourself "Commerce, commerce is the turnpike to health, to affluence, the path to consideration." But was the scene always so smiling, and redolent of rustic enjoyment.

If so, what means yon stately column, [276] surmounted by its fat, helmetted Bellona, mysteriously looking round as if pregnant with a mighty unfathomable future. Ask history? Open Capt. Knox's _Journal of the Siege of Quebec_, and read therein how, in front of that very spot where you now stand, along that identical road, over which you emerged from the city, war once threw her sorrows, ask this brave British officer to retrace one of those winter scenes he witnessed here more than one hundred years ago: the howling blast of the north sighing through the few remaining gnarled pines and oaks spared by Albion's warriors; add to it tired teams of English troops, laboriously drawing, yoked eight by eight, long sledges of firewood for Murray's depressed, harassed garrison, and you have something like John Knox's _tableau_ of St. Foye Road on the 7th December, 1759.--

"Our garrison, now undergo incredible fatigue, not only within but also without the walls, being obliged to load and sleigh home firewood from the forest of St. Foy, which is near four miles distant, and through snow of a surpassing depth, eight men are allowed to each sleigh, who are yoked to it in couples by a set of regular harness, besides one man who guides it behind with a long stout pole, to keep it clear of ruts and other obstructions. We are told that M. de Lévis is making great preparations for the long-meditated assault on this place (Quebec) with which we are menaced. Christmas is said to be the time fixed for this enterprise, and _Monsieur_ says, 'if he succeed he shall be promoted to be _Maréchal de France_, and if he fail, Canada will be lost, for he will give it up.'" [277]

Do not, dear reader, however fear for the old rock, it is tolerably secure so long as Fraser's Highlanders and British Grenadiers garrison it.

We have here endeavored to contrast the smiling present with the dreary past; peace, progress, wealth, as we find it to-day in this important appendage of the British Crown, ready to expand into an empire, with the dismal appearance of things when it was scantily settled, and in those dark days when war stalked through our land. Hamwood takes its name from that of the paternal estate of the Hamiltons, county of Meath, Ireland, and without pretending to architectural excellence, it is one of the loveliest spots on the St. Foye road. It belongs to Robert Hamilton, Esq., a leading merchant of Quebec.

_BIJOU._

And I have heard the whispers of the trees, And the low laughter of the wandering wind, Mixed with the hum of golden-belted bees, And far away, dim echoes, undefined,-- That yet had power to thrill my listening ear, Like footsteps of the spring that is so near. --(_Wood Voices_, KATE S. McL.)

Shall we confess that we ever had a fancy for historical contrasts? It is our weakness, perhaps our besetting sin; and when, on a balmy June day, at the hour when the king of day it sipping the dew-drops from the flowers, we ride past this unadorned but charming little Canadian home, next to Westfield, on the St. Foye heights, as it were sunning itself amidst emerald fields, fanned by the breath of the fragrant morn, enlivened by the gambols of merry childhood; memory, in spite of us, brings back the ghastly sights, the sickening Indian horrors, witnessed here on the 28th April, 1760. There can be no doubt on this point; the mute, but eloquent witnesses of the past are dug up every day: shot, shell, bullets, old bayonets, decayed military buttons, all in the greatest profusion.

"The savages," says Garneau, "who were nearly all in the woods behind during the fight, spread over the battle-field when the French were pursuing the enemy, and killed many of the wounded British, whose scalps were afterwards found upon neighboring bushes. As soon as De Lévis was apprised of the massacre, he took vigorous measures for putting a stop to it. Within a comparatively narrow space nearly 2,500 men had been struck by bullets. The patches of snow and icy puddles on the ground were so reddened with the blood shed, that the frozen ground refused to absorb, and the wounded survivors of the battle were immersed in pools of gore and filth, ankle deep."

Such _was_ the deadly strife in April, 1760, on the identical spot on which, reader, you and we now stand on the St. Foye heights. Such is _now_ the smiling aspect of things as you see them at Bijou, which crowns the heights over the great Bijou marsh, etc., the dwelling of Andrew Thomson, Esq., (now President of the Union Bank of Quebec.) Some natural springs in the flower garden, in rear of the dwelling, and slopes of the ground, when turned to advantage, in the way of terraces and fountains, bid fair to enhance materially the beauty of this rustic spot.

_ANECDOTE OF WOLFE'S ARMY (1760).--QUEBEC._

By a volunteer (J. T.).

"At the Battle of the Plains of Abraham we had but one Piper, and because he was not provided with Arms and the usual other means of defence, like the rest of the men, he was made to keep aloof for safety:--When our line advanced to the charge, General Townshend observing that the Piper was missing, and knowing well the value of one on such occasions, he sent in all directions for him, and he was heard to say aloud. "Where's the Highland Piper?" and "Five pounds for a Piper;" but devil a bit did the Piper come forward the sooner. However, the charge, by good chance, was pretty well effected without him, as all those that escaped could testify. For this business the Piper was disgraced by the whole of the Regiment, and the men would not speak to him, neither would they suffer his rations to be drawn with theirs, but had them serv'd out by the Commissary separately, and he was obliged to shift for himself as well as he could.

The next spring, in the month of April, when the Garrison of Quebec was so madly march'd out, to meet the French, who had come down again to attack us, and while we were on the retreat back to the Town, the Highlanders, who were a raw undisciplin'd set, were got into great disorder, and had become more like a mob than regular soldiers. On the way I fell in with a captain Moses Hazen, [278] a Jew, who commanded a company of Rangers, and who was so badly wounded, that his servant, who had to carry him away, was obliged to rest him on the grounds at every twenty or thirty yards, owing to the great pain he endured. This intrepid fellow, observing that there was a solid column of the French coming on over that high ground where Commissary General Craigie [279] built his house, and headed by an Officer who was at some distance in advance of the column, he ask'd his servant if his fuzee was stil loaded? (The servant opened the pan, and found it is still prim'd). "Do you see," says Captain Hazen, "that fellow there, waving his sword to encourage those other fellows to come forward?"--Yes, says the servant, I do Sir;--Then, says the Captain again, "just place your back against mine for one moment, 'till I see if I can bring him down." He accordingly stretch'd himself on the ground, and, resting the muzzle of his fuzee on his toes, he let drive at the French Officer. I was standing close behind him, and I thought it perfect madness to attempt it. However, away went the charge after him, and faith down he was in an instant. Both the Captain and myself were watching for some minutes, under an idea that altho' he _had_ laid down, he might perhaps take it into his head to get up again. But no. And the moment that he fell, the whole column that he was leading on, turn'd about and decamp'd off leaving him to follow as well as he might! I could'nt help telling the Captain that he had made a capital shot, and I related to him the affair of the foolish fellow of our grenadiers who shot the savage at the landing at Louisbourg, altho' the distance was great, and the rolling of the boat so much against his taking a steady aim. "Oh! yes, says Captain Hazen, you know that a _chance shot_ will kill the Devil himself."

But, to return to the Highlanders: so soon as the Piper had discovered that his men had scatter'd and were in disorder, he as soon recollected the disgrace that still hung upon him, and he likely bethought to give them a blast of his Pipes. By the Lord Harry! this had the effect of stopping them short, and they allow'd themselves to be formed into a sort of order. For this opportune blast of his chanters, the Piper gain'd back the forgiveness of the Regiment, and was allow'd to take his meals with his old messmates, as if nothing- at-all had happened.

On the 6th May, 1760, which was after we had been driven back to the town by the French, and while they yet lay in their trenches across that high ground where the martello tower now stands, there came a ship of war in sight, and she was for some considerable time tacking across and across between Pointe Lévis and the opposing shore. We were at a loss to know the meaning of all this, when the commanding Officer of Artillery bethought himself to go and acquaint General Murray (who had taken up his Quarters in Saint Louis Street, now (1828) the Officer's Barracks) of the circumstance: He found the General in a meditative mood, sitting before the fire in the chimney place. On the Officer acquainting him that there was a ship of war in sight, the General was quite electrified! He instantly got up, and, in the greatest fury, order'd the Officer to have the colours immediately hoisted on the citadel! Away he went, but dev'l a bit could the halliards be made to go free until at last, a sailor was got hold of, who soon scrambl'd up the flagstaff, and, put all to rights in a jiffy.

All this time the ship of war did not show her own colours, not knowing whether the town was in the hands of the French or the English, but as soon as she perceived our flag, she hoisted English colours, and shaped her course towards the town, and was soon safe at anchor opposite to the King's Wharf. Our men had been all the winter in bad spirits from coughs and colds, and, their having been obliged to retreat from the French, did'nt help much to mend the matter. However, when they heard that an English man-o-war was come, it was astonishing how soon they became stout-hearted; faith, they were like lions, and just as bold! The man-o-war prov'd to be the "Lowestoffe," which had been detached from the main fleet below, with orders to make the best of time through the ice, and take up the earliest intelligence of the approach of the fleet. Her sides were very much torn by the floating ice. Our having hoisted colours for the first time since the conquest, and a ship of war having made her appearance, led the French to imagine that there was something strange going on. Indeed they expected a fleet as well as ourselves, and this arrival brought them out of their trenches, as thick as midges; they appeared to us like so many pigeons upon a roost! whilst they were gaping at us in such an exposed position, they received a salute from the whole line of our guns, extending from Cape Diamond down to the Barrack Bastion, and yet they went off almost like a single volley. It was fearful enough to see how they tumbled down in their intrenchments, like so many sacks of wool! Their seeing soldiers passing ashore from our frigate, they thought that we were about to receive powerful reinforcements, and they scamper'd away, their killed and wounded men along with them. Our men soon were allow'd to go out, and they regaled themselves upon the soup and pork which the French had left cooking on the fires. That single discharge disabled so many of our guns, that we had to get others then in the lower town, and our men were so weak that they could not drag them up, but which was at last done with the help of the sailors just arrived in the Fleet.

In about three days after the arrival of the "Lowestoffe" the remainder of the Fleet came up to Quebec, and finding that the French had some ships lying above Wolfe's Cove, they went up to look after them. As soon as the French had seen them coming on, they slipp'd their cables, and endeavor'd to get out of the way with the help of the flood-tide, but the Commodore's ship got upon a ledge of rocks, and stuck fast, and the crew took to the boats, and got ashore, leaving the ship to take care of itself. There was found, on board of this ship, one Mons. Cugnet and an Englishman call'd Davis, both of whom had their hands tied behind their back, and a rope about their neck, and they were inform'd that they both were to be hang'd at the yard-arm so soon as the ship's company had finish'd their breakfast!

Monsieur Cugnet was the person who, at the Island of Orleans, gave General Wolfe the information where would be the best place to get up the bank above the Town, and Davis, who had been taken prisoner by the French, some years before, had given some other kind of information, and they both were to be punish'd as spies. However, they not only got off with their lives, but were afterwards, well rewarded by our Government. The former was appointed French-Translator to the Government Offices, and something more, which enabled him to live respectably; and Davis, who had been a grenadier-soldier, got a pension of twenty five pounds a year: they both lived a long time in the enjoyment of it."

_MORTON LODGE._

The extensive green pastures which General James Murray owned, in 1768, on the St. Foy road, under the name of _Sans bruit_, [280] form at present several minor estates. One of the handsomest residences of this well wooded region was Morton Lodge, on the south side of the highway, and bounded by the Belvidère road,--about thirty-two acres in extent. It was honored with this name by one of its former owners, the builder of the lodge, some sixty years ago--the late James Black, Esquire. Morton Lodge is built in the cottage style, with a suite of roomy apartments forming a spacious wing in rear; the lawns in front of the house, with a grove of trees, add much to its beauty; a handsome conservatory to the east opens on the drawing room; it is located in the centre of a flower garden. The additional attraction of this residence, when owned by the late David Douglas Young was an extensive collection of paintings, purchased at various times by the owner both in Canada and in Europe: the French, Flemish and Italian schools were well represented, as well as Kreighoff's winter scenery in Canada.

Morton Lodge, for many years was the residence of David Douglass Young, Esquire, once President of the Quebec Bank, and formerly a partner of the late George B. Symes, Esquire. Mr. Young claimed, on the maternal side, as ancestor, Donald Fraser, one of Fraser's (78th) Highlanders, a regiment which distinguished itself at the taking of Quebec, whilst fighting under Wolfe, on these same grounds.

Forming a portion of this estate, to the west, may be noticed a cosy little nest, _Bruce's Cottage_, as it was formerly called--now Bannockburn--surrounded on all sides by trees, lawns and flowers.

_WESTFIELD._

"What, sir, said I," cut down Goldsmith's hawthorn bush, that supplies so beautiful an image in the DESERTED VILLAGE! 'Ma foy,' exclaimed the bishop (of Ardagh,) 'is that the hawthorn bush? then ever let it be saved from the edge of the axe, and evil to him that would cut from it a branch."--_Howitt's Homes and Haunts of British Poets_.

At Mount Pleasant, about one mile from St. John's Gate, a number of agreeable suburban residences have sprung up, as if by enchantment, within a few years. This locality, from the splendid view it affords of the valley of St. Charles, the basin of the St. Lawrence and surrounding country, has ever been appreciated. The most noticeable residence is a commodious cut-stone structure, inside of the toll, erected there a few years back by the late G. H. Simard, Esq., member for Quebec, and later, purchased by the late Fred. Vannovous, Esq., Barrister. Its mate in size and appearance a few acres to the west, on the St. Foye road, is owned by the Hon. Eugene Chinic, Senator. In the vicinity, under the veil of a dense grove of trees, your eyes gather as you drive past, the outlines of a massive, roomy homestead, on the north side of the heights, on a site which falls off considerably; groups of birch, maple, and some mountain ash and chesnut trees, flourish in the garden which surrounds the house; in rear, flower beds slope down in an enclosure, whose surface is ornamented with two tiny reservoirs of crystal water, which gushes from some perennial stream, susceptible of great embellishment at little cost, by adding _Jets d'eau_. The declivities in rear seem as if intended by nature to be laid out into lovely terraces, with flowers or verdure to fringe their summits.

In the eastern section of the domain stands,

"The hawthorne bush, with seats beneath the shade, For talking age and whispering lovers made."

Whether it blossoms on Christmas Day, like the legendary White Thorn of Glastonbury, "which sprang from Joseph of Arimathea's dry staff, stuck by him in the ground when he rested there" deponent sayeth not. This majestic and venerable tree, branching out like a diminutive cedar of Lebanon, is indeed the pride of Westfield. It is evidently of very great age, though each summer as green, as fruitful as ever; the oldest inhabitant cannot recall when it was smaller. If trees could reveal what has passed under their boughs, would not the veteran hawthorn tell of wounded men resting beneath it; of the strange garb and cries of combatants, English, French, Celts, Canadians and Indians, on that luckless 28th April, 1760, when Murray's soldiers, were retreating in hot haste from St. Foye and placing the city walls between them and Levi's victorious legions; of shot, shell and bullets, [281.] whistling through its hoary branches, on that memorable 13th of September, 1759, when the _Sauvages d'Ecosse_, with their reeking claymores, were slashing at, and pursuing the French, flying from the battle field, over the St. Foye heights, to the French Camp on the north bank of the St. Charles, in a line with the Marine Hospital. Various indeed for as are the attractions of stately trees; we can understand why this one is the pride of Westfield. To us, an old denizen of the country, a stately tree has ever been a companionable; in fact, a reverential object. In our eyes 'tis not only rich in its own native beauty; it may perchance also borrow interest from associations and become a part of our home--of ourselves: it may have overshadowed the rustic seat, where, in our infant years, one dear to us and now departed, read the Sunday hymn or taught us with a mother's sanctifying love to become a good citizen, in every respect worthy of our sire. Perchance it may have been planted on the day of our birth; it may also commemorate the natal hour of our first-born, and may it not like ourselves, in our early days, have required the fostering care of a guardian spirit,--the dews from heaven to refresh it and encourage its growth. Yes, like the proprietor of Westfield, we dearly love the old trees of our home.

We were invited to ascend to the loftiest point of this dwelling, and contemplate from the platform on the roof the majestic spectacle at our feet. Far below us waved the nodding pinnacles of countless forest trees; beyond and around us, the site of the old battle-fields of 1759 and 1760, to the east, the white expanse of the St. Lawrence sleeping between the Beauport, Orleans and Point Levi shores; to the northwest, the snake-like course of the St. Charles, stealing through fertile meadows, copses of evergreens--until, by a supreme effort, it veers round the compass at the Marine Hospital; there, at sunset, it appears as if gamboling in the light of the departing luminary, whose rays anon linger in fitful glances on the spires of Lorette, Charlesbourg and St. Sauveur, until they fade away, far away in the cerulean distance, over the sublime crags of _Tsononthouan_,

--"of these our hills the last that parleys with the setting sun."

or else gild in amber tints, the wooded slopes of the lofty ridges to the west.

Westfield, forms part of a larger expanse of land, formerly known as the "Upper Bijou," crowning the heights, overhanging the valley of the St. Charles, where existed the "Lower Bijou," marshy and green meadows, once sacred to snipe, and on which the populous suburb St. Sauveur has recently sprung up. It was granted in free and common soccage, to the late Charles Grey Stewart, Esq., in 18--; he resided there many years.

In 1870, this lovely old homestead, became the property of the Hon. David Alex. Ross, Barrister, M.P.P. for the county of Quebec, its present occupant. Several embellishments have been added to it by this gentleman and his lady; at present, the views, groves, parterres of Westfield during the summer months are more attractive than ever.

_COUCY-LE-CASTEL._

"Sol Canadien, terre chérie Par des braves tu fus peuplé, Ils cherchaient, loin de leur patrie, Une terre de liberté, Qu'elles sont belles, nos campagnes, Au Canada qu'on vit content!

About the year 1830 that portion of the environs of Quebec watered by the River St. Charles, in the vicinity of Scott's bridge, had especially attracted the attention of several of our leading citizens as pleasant and healthy abodes for their families. Two well known gentlemen in particular, the bearers of old and respected names, the late Honorable Mr. Justice Philippe Panet, and his brother the Honorable Louis Panet, "Senator selected two adjoining lots covering close on eighty acres, on the banks of the St. Charles, the Cahire-Coubat of ancient days. The main road to the east intervenes between the Hon. Judge Panet's seat and the mossy old dwelling in which Col. Arnold had his head-quarters during the winter of 1775-76, now the residence of the Langlois family. Judge Panet built there an elegant villa on an Italian design, brought home after returning from the sunny clime of Naples, the rooms are lofty and all are oval. Several hundred sombre old pines surround the house on all sides.

The neighboring villa, to the west, was planted by the Honorable Louis Panet, about 1830; also the grounds tastefully laid out in meadows, plantations and gardens, symmetrically divided off by neat spruce, thorn, and snowball hedges, which improve very much their aspect. One fir hedge, in particular, is of uncommon beauty. To the west an ancient pine, a veritable monarch of the forest, rears his hoary trunk, and amidst most luxuriant foliage looks down proudly on the young plantation beneath him, lending his hospitable shades to a semi-circular rustic seat--a grateful retreat during the heat of a summer's day. Next to this old tree runs a small rill, once dammed up for a fish-pond, but a colony of muskrats having "unduly elected domicile thereat," the finny denizens disappeared as if by magic; and next, the voracious _rodents_ made so many raids into the vegetable garden that the legal gentleman, who was lord of the manor, served on them _a notice to quit_, by removing the dam. The ejected amphibii crossed the river in a body and "elected domicile" in the roots of an elm tree at Poplar Grove, opposite and in full view of the castle, probably by way of a threat. On the high river banks is a twelve- pounder used formerly to crown a miniature fort erected over there. We remember on certain occasions hearing at a distance its loud _boom_. Coucy-le-Castel is surrounded on two sides by a spacious piazza, and stands on an elevated position close to the river bank. From the drawing- room windows is visible the even course of the fairy Cahire-Coubat, hurrying past in dark eddies, under the pendulous foliage of some graceful elms which overhang the bank at Poplar Grove, the mansion of the late L. T. McPherson, Esq. Now and again from the small fort, amidst the murmur of rapids not far distant, you may catch the shrill note of the king-fisher in his hasty flight over the limpid stream, or see a lively trout leap in yonder deep pool; or else, in the midsummer vacation, see a birch canoe lazily floating down from _la mer Pacifique_, impelled by the arm of a pensive law student, dreaming perchance of Pothier or Blackstone,-- perchance of his lady love, whilst paddling to the air:--

"Il y a longtemps que je t'aime Jamais je ne t'oublierai."

The neighborhood of running water; the warbling of the birds; the distant lowing of kine in the green meadows; the variety and beauty of the landscape, especially when the descending orb of day gilds the dark woods to the west, furnish a strikingly rural spectacle at Coucy-le-Castel, thus named from a French estate in Picardy, owned by the Badelarts, ancestors, on the maternal side, of the Panets.

In 1861 Coucy-le-Castel was purchased by Judge Jean Thomas Taschereau, of Quebec, under whose care it is acquiring each year new charms. A plantation of deciduous trees and evergreens has taken the place of the row of poplars which formerly lined the avenue. The Judge's _Château_ stands conspicuous amongst the pretty but less extensive surrounding country seats, such as the old mansion of Fred. Andrews, Esq., Q. C., the neat cottage of Fred. W. Andrews, Esq., Barrister, festooned with wild vines.

_RINGFIELD._

FRANCISCUS PRIMUS, DEI GRATIA, FRANCORUM REX REGNAT. Inscription on cross erected 3d May, 1536, by Jacques Cartier.

We will be pardoned for devoting a larger space than for other country seats, in describing Ringfield, on account of the important events of which it was the theatre.

Close to the Dorchester Bridge to the west, on the Charlesbourg road, there was once an extensive estate known as Smithville--five or six hundred acres of table land owned by the late Charles Smith, Esq., who for many years resided in the substantial large stone dwelling subsequently occupied by A. Laurie, Esq., at present by Owen Murphy, Esq., opposite the Marine Hospital. Some hundred acres, comprising the land on the west of the _ruisseau_ Lairet, known as _Ferme des Anges_, [282] were detached from it and now form Ringfield, whose handsome villa is scarcely visible from the Charlesbourg road in summer on account of the plantation of evergreens and other forest trees which, with white-thorn hedge, line its semicircular avenue on both sides. One might be inclined to regret that this plantation has grown up so luxuriantly, as it interferes with the striking view to be had here of the Island of Orleans, St. Lawrence, and surrounding parishes. Before the trees assume their vernal honours there can be counted, irrespective of the city spires, no less than thirteen steeples of churches in so many parishes. Ringfield takes its name from its circular meadow (Montcalm's hornwork). In rear it is bounded to the west by the little stream called Lairet, with the _ruisseau_ St. Michel in view; to the south, its natural boundary is the meandering Cahire-Coubat. [283]

Ringfield has even more to recommend it than the rural beauty common to the majority of our country seats; here were enacted scenes calculated to awaken the deepest interest in every student of Canadian history. On the banks of the River St. Charles, 1535-36, during his second voyage of discovery, Jacques Cartier, the intrepid navigator of St. Malo, more than three centuries back, it is now generally supposed, wintered. We have Champlain's [284] authority for this historical fact, though, Charlevoix erroneously asserts that the great discoverer wintered on the banks of the River Jacques Cartier, twenty-seven miles higher up than Quebec. A careful examination of _Lescarbot's Journal of Cartier's Second Voyage_, and the investigations of subsequent historians leave little room to doubt Champlain's statement. [285] Jacques Cartier in his journal, written in the quaint old style of that day, furnishes us curious descriptions of the locality where he wintered, and of the adjoining Indian town, _Stadaconé_, the residence of the Chief Donacona. The Abbé Ferland and other contemporary writers have assigned as the probable site of Stadacona that part of Quebec which is now covered by a portion of the suburbs of St. John, and by that part of St. Roch looking towards the St. Charles. How graphically Jacques Cartier writes of that portion of the River St. Lawrence opposite the Lower Town, less than a mile in width, "deep and swift running," and also of the "goodly, fair and delectable bay or creek convenient and fit to harbour ships," the St. Charles (St. Croix or Holy Cross) river! and again of the spot wherein, he says, "we stayed from the 15th of September, 1535, to the 6th May, 1536, and there our ships remained dry." Cartier mentions the area of ground adjoining to where he wintered "as goodly a plot of ground as possible may be seen, and, wherewithal, very fruitful, full of goodly trees even as in France, such as oak, elm, ash, walnut trees, white-thorns and vines that bring forth fruit as big as any damsons, and many other sort of trees; tall hemp as any in France, without any seed or any man's work or labor at all." There are yet some noble specimens of elm, the survivors of a thick clump, that once stood on the edge of the hornwork. The precise spot in the St. Charles where Cartier moored his vessels and where his people built the fort [286] in which they wintered may have been, for aught that could be advanced to the contrary, where the French government in 1759 built the hornwork or earth redoubt, so plainly visible to this day, near the Lairet stream. It may also have been at the mouth of the St. Michel stream which here empties itself into the St. Charles, on the Jesuits' farm. The hornwork or circular meadow, as the peasantry call it, is in a line with the General Hospital, Mount Pleasant, St. Bridget's Asylum and the corporation lots recently acquired by the Quebec Seminary for a botanical garden and seminary, adjoining Abraham's Plains. Jacques Cartier's fort, we know to a certainty, must have been on the north bank of the river, [287] from the fact that the natives coming from Stadacona to visit their French guests had to cross the river, and did so frequently. It does seem strange that Champlain does not appear to have known the exact locality where, seventy years previously, Stadacona had stood; the cause may lie in the exterminating wars carried on between the several savage tribes, leaving, occasionally, no vestige of once powerful nations and villages. Have we not seen in our day a once warlike and princely race--the Hurons-- dwindle down, through successive decay, to what _now_ remains of them?

A drawing exists, copied from an engraving executed at Paris, the subject of which, furnished by G. B. Faribault, Esquire, retraced the departure of the St. Malo mariner for France on the 6th of May, 1536. To the right may be seen, Jacques Cartier's fort, [288] built with stockades, mounted with artillery, and subsequently made stronger still, we are told, with ditches and solid timber, with drawbridge, and fifty men to watch night and day.

Next comes the _Grande Hermine_, his largest vessel, of about one hundred and twenty tons, in which Donacona, the interpreter, and two other Indians of note, treacherously seized, are to be conveyed to France, to be presented to the French monarch, Francis I. Close by, the reader will observe _l'Emerillon_, of about forty tons in size, the third of his ships; and higher up, the hull of a stranded and dismantled vessel, the _Petite Hermine_, of about sixty tons, intended to represent the one whose timbers were dug up at the mouth of the St. Michel in 1843, and created such excitement amongst the antiquaries of that day. On the opposite side of the river, at Hare Point, the reader will notice on the plate, a cross, intended to represent the one erected by Cartier's party on the 3rd May, 1536, in honour of the festival of the Holy Cross; at the foot a number of Indians and some French in the old costume of the time of Francis I. So much for Jacques Cartier and his winter quarters, in 1535- 36.

Two hundred and twenty-three years after this date we find this locality again the arena of memorable events. In the disorderly retreat of the French army on the 13th of September, 1759, from the heights of Abraham, the panic-stricken squadrons came pouring down Côte d'Abraham and Côte à Cotton, hotly pursued by the Highlanders and the 58th Regiment, hurrying towards the bridge of boats and following the shores of the River St. Charles until the fire of the hulks anchored in the river stopped the pursuit. On the north side of the bridge of boats was a _tête de pont_, redoubt or hornwork, a strong work of pentagonal shape, well portrayed in Tiffeny's plan of the Siege Operations before Quebec. This hornwork was-partly wood, defended by palisades, and towards Beauport, an earthwork--covering about twelve acres, the remains (the round or ring field), standing more than fifteen feet above the ground, may be seen to this day surrounded by a ditch, three thousand [289] men at least must have been required to construct, in a few weeks, this extensive entrenchment. In the centre stood a house, visible on a plan of Mr. Parke's, in which, about noon on that memorable day, a pretty lively debate was taking place. Vaudreuil and some of the French officers were at that moment and in this spot debating the surrender of the whole colony. Let us hear an eye-witness, Chevalier Johnstone, General de Lévis' aide- de-camp, one of the Scotchmen fighting in Canada for the French king, against some of his own countrymen under Wolfe, after the disaster of Culloden. It was our good fortune to publish the recently-discovered journal of this Scotch officer for the first time in 1864. Chevalier Johnstone's description will strike every one from its singular accuracy:--

"The French army in flight, scattered and entirely dispersed, rushed towards the town. Few of them entered Quebec; they went down the heights of Abraham opposite the Intendant's Palace (past St. John's gate) directing their course to the hornwork, and following the borders of the River St. Charles. Seeing the impossibility of rallying our troops I determined myself to go down the hill at the windmill near the bake house [290] and from thence across over the meadows to the hornwork resolved not to approach Quebec from my apprehension of being shut up there with a part of our army which might have been the case if the victors had drawn all the advantage they could have reaped from our defeat. It is true the death of the General-in-chief--an event which never fails to create the greatest disorder and confusion in an army--may plead as an excuse for the English neglecting so easy an operation as to take all our army prisoners.

The hornwork had the River St. Charles before it about seventy paces broad which served it better than an artificial ditch; its front facing the river and the heights was composed of strong thick and high palisades planted perpendicularly with gunholes pierced for several pieces of large cannon in it, the river is deep and only fordable at low water at a musket shot before the fort: this made it more difficult to be forced on that side than on its other side of earthworks facing Beauport which had a more formidable appearance and the hornwork certainly on that side was not in the least danger of being taken by the English by an assault from the other side of the river. On the appearance of the English troops on the plain of the lake house Montguet and La Motte, two old captains in the Regiment of Béarn, cried out with vehemence to M. de Vaudreuil, that the hornwork would be taken in an instant, by an assault sword in hand, that we would all be cut to pieces without quarter and nothing else would save us but an immediate and general capitulation of Canada giving it up to the English.

Montreul told them that a fortification such as the hornwork was not to be taken so easily. In short there arose a general cry in the hornwork to cut the bridge of boats. [291] It is worth of remark that not a fourth part of our army had yet arrived at it and the remainder by cutting the bridge would have been left on the other side of the river as victims to the victors. The regiment Royal Roussillon was at that moment at the distance of a musket shot from the hornwork approaching to pass the bridge. As I had already been in such adventures, I did not lose my presence of mind, and having still a shadow remaining of that regard which the army accorded me on account of the esteem and confidence which M. de Lévis and M. de Montcalm had always shewn me publicly, I called to M. Hugon, who commanded, for a pass in the hornwork and begged of him to accompany me to the bridge. We ran there and without asking who had given the order to cut it, we chased away the soldiers with their uplifted axes ready to execute that extravagant and wicked operation.

"M. Vaudreuil was closeted in a house in the inside of the hornwork with the Intendant and some other persons. I suspected they were busy drafting the articles for a general capitulation and I entered the house, where I had only time to see the Intendant with a pen in his hand writing on a sheet of paper, when M. Vaudreuil told me I had no business there. Having answered him that what he said was true, I retired immediately, in wrath to see them intent on giving up so scandalously a dependancy for the preservation of which so much blood and treasure had been expended. On leaving the house, I met M. Dalquier, an old, brave, downright honest man, commander of the regiment of Béarn, with the true character of a good officer--the marks of Mars all over his body. I told him it was being debated within the house to give up Canada to the English by a capitulation, and I hurried him in, to stand up for the King's cause, and advocate the welfare of his country. I then quitted the hornwork to join Poulanes at the Ravine [292] of Beauport, but having met him about three or four hundred paces from the hornwork, on his way to it, I told him what was being discussed there. He answered me, that sooner than consent to a capitulation, he would shed the last drop of his blood. He told me to look on his table and house as my own, advised me to go there directly to repose myself, and clapping spurs to his horse, he flew like lightning to the hornwork."

Want of space precludes us from adding more from this very interesting journal of the Chevalier Johnstone, replete with curious particulars of the disorderly retreat of the French regiments from their Beauport camp, after dark, on that eventful 13th September, how they assembled first at the hornwork, and then filed off by detachments on the Charlesbourg road, then to Ancient Lorette, until they arrived, worn out and disheartened without commanders, at day break at Cap Rouge.

On viewing the memorable scenes witnessed at Ringfield,--the spot where the French discoverer wintered in 1535-36, and also the locality, where it was decided to surrender the colony to England in 1759--are we not justified in considering it as both the _cradle_ and the _tomb_ of French Dominion in the new world?

Ringfield has, for many years, been the family mansion of George Holmes Parke, Esquire.

CASTOR VILLE

"In woods or glens I love to roam, * * * * Or by the woodland pool to rest."

In the deepest recesses of the Lorette woods, amongst the most shady meanders of the sinuous Cahire Coubat, some five miles due north from Castel-Coucy, we know a bank, not precisely where

"The wild thyme grows,"

but where you are sure, in spring and summer, to pluck handfuls of trilliums, wild violets, ferns of rare beauty, columbines, kalmias, ladies' slippers, ladies' tresses (we mean of course the floral subjects). In this beauteous region, sacred to Pan, the Naiades, Dryades, and the daughters of Mnemosyne, you might possibly, dear reader, were you privileged with a pass from one of our most respected friends, be allowed to wander; or perchance in your downward voyage from Lake Charles to the Lorette Falls, in that _vade mecum_ of a forester's existence--a birch canoe--you might, we repeat, possibly be allowed to pitch your camp on one of the mossy headlands of Castor Ville, and enjoy your luncheon, in this sylvan spot, that is, always presuming you were deemed competent to fully appreciate nature's wildest charms, and rejoice, like a true lover, in her coyest and most furtive glances.

Castor Ville, a forest wild, where many generations of beavers, otters, caribou, boars, foxes and hares once roamed, loved and died, covers an area of more than one hundred acres. Through it glides the placid course of the St. Charles--overhung by hoary fir trees--from the parent lake to the pretty Indian Lorette Falls, a distance of about eight miles of fairy scenery, which every man of taste, visiting Lake St. Charles, ought to enjoy at least once in his life. It is all through mantled over by a dense second growth of spruce and fir trees, intersected by a maze of avenues. The lodge sits gracefully, with its verandah and artillery, on a peninsula formed by the _Grand Desert_ and St. Charles streams. You can cross over in a canoe to that portion of the domain beyond the river: along the banks, a number of resting places--tiny bowers of birch bark--dingies and canoes anchored all round--here and there a _portage_--close by, a veritable Indian wigwam--_Oda Sio_ [293] by name. On a bright morning in early spring, you may chance to meet, in one of the paths, or in his canoe, a white-haired hunter, the Master of Castor Ville, returning home after visiting his hare, fox, or otter traps, proudly bearing _Lepus_ in his game bag, next to which you may discover a volume of _Molière_, _Montaigne_ or _Montesquieu_. On selling Castle-Coucy, its loyal-hearted old proprietor, taking with him the guns of the fort, retired to the present wild demesne, in which occasionally he passes, with his family, many pleasant hours, amidst books, friends and rural amusements, far from city noises and city excitement.

Castor Ville belongs to the Hon. Louis Panet, member of the Legislative Council of Canada." (Written in 1865.)

Since this little sketch was penned, sixteen years ago, the unwelcome shadow of years has crept over our old friend, eighty-six winters and then frost has cooled the ardor of the _Chasseur_, Castor Ville for Mr. Panet has lost much of its sunshine.

_THE JOYS OF WINTER._

"Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow, Filling the earth and sky below, Over the house-tops, over the street, Over the heads of the people you meet, Dancing, Flirting, Skimming along, Beautiful snow, it can do no wrong, Flying to kiss a lady's cheek, Clinging to lips in a frolicsome freak, Beautiful snow from the heaven above, Pure as an angel, gentle as love!

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow How the flakes gather and laugh as they go, Whirling about in the maddening fun, It plays in its glee with every one, Chasing, Laughing, Hurrying by, It lights on the face and sparkles the eye! And even the dogs, with a bark and a bound, Snap at the crystals that eddy around, The town is alive, and its heart is aglow! To welcome the coming of the beautiful snow

How the wild crowds go swaying along, Hailing each other with humour and song, How the gay sledges, like meteors, pass by, Bright for the moment, then lost to the eye, Ringing, Swinging, Dashing they go, Over the crust of this beautiful snow, Snow so pure when it falls from the sky, To he trampled and tracked by the crowd rushing by, To be trampled and tracked by the thousands of feet, Till it blends with the filth in the horrible street."

Has it ever been your fortune, kind reader, to enjoy, in the depth of winter, a ramble in a Canadian forest, at the mystic hour when the Queen of Night asserts her silent sway? Have you ever revelled in this feast of soul, fresh from the busy hum of city life--perchance strolling up a mountain path with undulating plains of spotless whiteness behind you, or else canopied by the leafy dome of odorous pines or green hemlock, with no other companion but your trusty rifle, nor other sound but the hoot of the Great Horned Owl, disturbed by the glare of your camp fire--or the rustle of the passing hare, skulking fox, or browsing cariboo? Have you ever been compelled, venturesome hunter as you are, with the lengthening shades of evening, after a twenty miles' run, to abandon the blood-stained trail, reserving for the morrow the slaying of the stricken cariboo? Can you recall the sense of weariness, with which you retraced your heavy steps to the camp--perspiring at every pore,--panting with thirst--famished-- perhaps bewildered with the flakes of the gathering storm--yea, so exhausted, that the crackling of the pine faggots of your mountain hut-- watched over in your absence by your faithful Indian "Gabriel" [294]-- struck on your quickened senses amidst the winter gloom like heavenly music--sounds as soft, as welcome as the first April sunbeam? Have you ever had the hardiness to venture with an Indian guide and toboggin on an angling tour far north in the Laurentian chain, to that _Ultima Thule_ sacred to the disciples of old Isaac. Snow Lake, over chasm, dale, mountain, pending that month dear above all others to King Hiems-- inexorable January? If so, you can indeed boast of having held communion with the grim God of Winter in some of his stern, though captivating, moods. Nor are these the only charms which the capricious monarch has in store.

Never shall I forget, one balmy March morning, sauntering along the green uplands of Sillery, towards the city, while the "sun god" was pouring overhead, waves of soft, purple light. The day previous, one of our annual, equinoctial storms had careered over the country; first, wind and snow; then wind and sleet, the latter dissolving into icy tears, encircling captive Nature in thousands of weird, glossy crystals; every tree of the forest, according to its instinct, its nature, writhing in the conqueror's cold embrace--rigid, creaking, ready to snap in twain rather than bend, as the red oak or sugar maple, or else meekly, submissively curving to the earth its tapering, frosted limbs, like the silver birch-- elegant, though fragile, ornament of the Canadian park, or else, rearing amid air a graceful net-work--waving, transparent sapphire-tinted arabesques, stretched on amber pillars; witness the Golden Willow. Each gleam of sunshine investing this gorgeous tapestry with all the glories of Iris; here, rising above his compeers, a stately lord of the grove, hoary with frost and years, whose outspreading boughs are burnished, as if every twig had been touched by the hand of an enchanter, whilst there, under his shade, bends a mountain ash, smeared with the crimsoned berries of the preceding summer, now ice-coated _bon-bons_ eagerly plucked by troops of roseate grosbeaks resting on the whitened branches. How lovely the contrasts!

Such, the scene in the winsome light of day. But of those objects, viewed by moonlight, who would have dared becomingly depict the wild beauty? The same incomparable landscape, with Diana's silver rays softly sleeping on the virgin snow; on each side, an avenue of oak, spruce and fir trees, the latter with their emerald boughs wreathed in solid ice, and to the earth gracefully bending in festoons--now and again kissed by the night wind; at each wavy motion disclosing their dark trunks, under the frozen foliage, like old Ocean's billows breaking on dark rocks; the burnished gold of the morn changed into silver floss, twinkling with a mild radiance, under the eye of night, like diamond tiaras--a vista fit for Queen Mab! Of such, mayhap dreamed Moorish maid, under the portals of the Alhambra. Were Armida's enchanted forests brighter?

Who can describe all thy witchery? Thy nameless graces, who can compass, serene majesty of Winter in the North? And yet all these glories of frost and moon-lit snows we once did see round our Canadian Home.

Wouldst thou fancy another view of winter less serene; a contrast such as glorious old KIT NORTH would have revelled in? Step forward, my witty, my sarcastic friend of the _Evènement_ newspaper--by name Henri Fabre!

"The true season of Canada is winter; winter with its bright skies by day and its brighter stars by night. Of spring we have none. April is nothing better than a protracted thaw, with scenes of mud and melting snow. May, the month dear to poets, is frequently but an uninterrupted succession of showers to fecundate the earth; its symbol, an array of outspread umbrellas in our streets. As to our summer, it is but the epitome of the lovely summer of France and Italy for the use of new countries. Autumn is a shade better; but anon, the first frost hurries on to blanch and disperse the leaves and dim the hues of mellowed nature. When the fields slumber under ten feet of snow; when human noses freeze before their sneezing owners have time to utter a cry for help, then is the _beau ideal_ of our climate. He who on such an occasion dares to sigh for the boasted shade of trees and the murmur of gushing waters, that man is no true Canadian. The searching wind, the cold, the northern blast, [295] are part and parcel of our country; one is bound to love them. Should they increase in intensity, rub your hands, first to keep yourself warm, nest to denote your patriotic joy!"

But all this won't prevent us from exclaiming with a Canadian son of song:

"Oh! dear is the Northern forest home, Where the great pine shoots on high; And the maple spreads its soft, green leaves In the clear, blue, taintless sky; Though the summer mantle paleth fast Into winter's virgin veil— There is health in the fierce, quick lightning blast, And strength in the icy gale; And life glides on in a quiet calm, Like our own great river's flow; And dear to the hearts of her children all Is our own FAIR LAND OF SNOW!"

SILLERY, near Quebec, 1881.

_THE MANOR HOUSE, BEAUPORT_.

Let us view a remnant of feudal times.

On the Beauport road, four miles from the city and about forty feet from the late Colonel B. C. A. Gugy's habitation, stood until 1879 an antiquated high-gabled French stone dwelling, very substantially put together. About thirty years back there was still existing close to and connected with it, a pavilion or tower, used in early days as a fort to protect the inmates against Indian raids. It contained the boudoir and sleeping apartments of some of the fair _seignieuresses_ [296] of Beauport in the house which Robert Giffard, the first seignor built there more than two centuries ago; it is the oldest seignorial manor in Canada. Robert Giffard's house--or, more properly, his shooting box--is thought to have stood closer to the little stream to the west. The first seignior of Beauport had two daughters who married two brothers, Juchereau, the ancestors of the Duchesnays; and the manor has been in the possession of, and occupied by, the Duchesnays for more than two hundred years.

Robert Giffard had visited Canada, for the first time, in 1627, in the capacity of a surgeon; and being a great sportsman, he built himself a small house on the banks of the Beauport stream, to enjoy to perfection, his favorite amusements--shooting and fishing. No authentic data exist of the capacity of Beauport for game in former days; we merely read in the _Relations des Jésuites_ that in the year 1648. 1200 ptarmigan were shot there, we also know that the quantities of ducks congregating on the adjoining _flats_ caused the place to be called _La Canardière_. There is a curious old record in connection with this manor, exhumed by the Abbé Ferland; it is the exact formula used by one of the tenants or _censitaires_ in rendering _foi et hommage_ to the Lord of the Manor. Guion (Dion?), a tenant, had by sentence of the Governor, Montmagny, been condemned on the 30th July, 1640, to fulfil this feudal custom. The document recites that, after knocking at the door of the chief manorial entrance, and in the absence of the master, addressing the farmer, one Boulle, the said Guion, having knelt down bare headed without his sword or spurs, repeated three times the words,--"_Monsieur de Beauport, Monsieur de Beauport, Monsieur de Beauport, je vous fais et porte la foy et hommage que je suis tenu de vous porter, a cause de mon fief du Buisson,_ [297] _duquel je suis homme de foy relevant de votre seigneurie de Beauport, lequel m'appartient au moyen du contrat que nous avons passe ensemble par devant Roussel à Mortagne, le_ 14 _Mars_, 1634, _vous déclarant que je vous offre payer les droits seigneuriaux et féodaux quand dûs seront, vous réquerant me recevoir à la dite foy et homage._" "Lord of Beauport, Lord of Beauport, Lord of Beauport, I render you the fealty and homage due to you on account of my land du Buisson ... which belongs to me by virtue of the title-deed executed between us in presence of Roussel at Mortagne, the 14th March, 1634, avowing my readiness to acquit the seignorial and feudal rents whenever they shall be due, beseeching you to admit me to the said and homage." This Guion, a mason by trade, observes the Abbé Ferland, was the man of letters and scribe of the parish. There is still extant a marriage contract, drafted by him, for two parishioners; it is one of the earliest on record in Canada, bearing date the 16th July, 1636. It is signed by the worthy Robert Giffard, the seignior, and by Francois Bellanger and Noël Langlois; the other parties affixed their mark. It possesses interest as serving to illustrate the status and education of the early French settlers. In 1628, Robert Giffard had been taken a prisoner of war by the English, on board of Rocmont's fleet. On his return, and in acknowledgement of the services rendered by him to the colonial authorities, he obtained a grant of the seigniory of Beauport, together with a large tract of land, on the River St. Charles. For many long years the ancestral halls of the Duchesnays, at Beauport, rang with the achievements of their warlike seigneurs. One of them, Nicholas Juchereau de St. Denys, so distinguished himself at the siege of Quebec in 1690, that his sovereign granted him "a patent of nobility." ("_Le sieur de St. Denys, seigneur de Beauport, _" says Charlevoix, "_commandait ses habitants, il avait plus de soixante ans et combattait avec beaucoup de valeur, jusqu'a ce qu'il eut un bras casse d'un coup de feu. Le Roi récompensa peu de temps après son zèle en lui accordant des lettres de noblesse._") His son distinguished himself in Louisiana. Two other members of the family won laurels at Châteaugay. A descendant, Lieut.-Col. Théodore Duchesnay, is Deputy Adjutant General of Militia.

The late Col. Gugy, built himself, in 1865, close to the manor, a comfortable dwelling, wherein, amidst rural retirement, he divided his existence between literature, briefs and his stud, noted all over Canada. He had recently added to his domain, by purchase, a large tract of land from the adjoining property, the De Salaberry homestead, where H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, the father of our beloved Queen, in 1791 enjoyed more than one _petit souper_. The broad acres which in 1759 resounded to the tread of Montcalm's heavy squadrons, for years the quiet home of a barrister of note, now bear the name of Darnoc. _Cedant arma togae._

Darnoc, since the death of Col. Gugy, in 1878, is occupied by Mrs. Gugy and Herman Ryland, Esq., who married a daughter of the late proprietor. The ruins of the Duchesnay Manor, more than once have been disturbed by the pick and shovel of the midnight seeker for hidden French piastres: though religiously protected against outrage by Mrs. Gugy's family, and more especially watched over by the _Genius Loci_, the divining rod and a _Petit Albert_ have recently found their way there; however successfully poised and backed by the most orthodox incantations and fumigations, the magic rod has failed so far to bring to the surface either gold or silver coin. This was probably owing to the omission of a very important ceremony: the production on the spot of "a candle [298] made out of the fat of an executed murderer, as the clock strikes twelve at midnight," under suitable planetary influence.

The recent discovery of the corner stone of the old manor, and of an inscription dating back to 1634, have given rise to a spicy newspaper discussion among our antiquarians.

_THE SEIGNIORIAL MANOR OF THE FIRST SEIGNEUR OF BEAUPORT, 1614._

I.H.S. M.I.A. LAN 1634 LE NTE 25 IVILET.IE.ETE-PLA PREMIERE.P.C.GIFART SEIGNEVR.DE CE.LIEV

In March 1881, the _Literary and Historical Society_ of Quebec, received from the widow of the late Col. B. C. A. Gugy, of Darnoc, Beauport, a lead plate, with the above quoted inscription, and a note, stating under what circumstances Col. Gugy's family became possessed of it. This lead plate, affords a written record of the laying of the foundation stone, on the 25th July, 1634, of the historical homestead of the fighting _Seigneurs_ of Beauport: the Gifart, the Juchereau, the Duchesnay.

The massive old pile alleged to have been the headquarters of the Marquis de Montcalm, during the siege of Quebec, in 1759, and in which many generations of Duchesnays and some of Col. Gugy's children were born, became the prey of flames in 1879, 'tis said, by the act of a Vandal. Thus perished the most ancient stronghold of the proud feudal Lairds of Beauport, of the stone manor of Surgeon Robert Giffard; the safe retreat against the Iroquois of the warlike Juchereau Duchesnays, one of whose ancestors, in 1645, had married Marie Gifart, or Giffard, a daughter of the bellicose Esculapius from Perche, France,--Surgeon Robert Gifart. Grim and defiant the antique manor, with its high-peaked gables, stood in front of the dwelling Col. Gugy had erected, at Darnoc, in 1865: it rather intercepted the view to be had from this spot, of Quebec. One of the memorable landmarks of the past, it has furnished a subject for the pencil of Col. Benson J. Lossing, author of the "American Revolution," and "Life of Washington," who, during his visit to Quebec, in July, 1858, sketched it with others, for _Harper's Magazine_, where it appeared, over the heading "Montcalm's Headquarters, Beauport," in the January number, 1859, page 180, from which drawing it was transferred to the columns of the Canadian _Illustrated News_, for May, 1881.

Whilst the deciphering of some of the letters I.H.S.--M.I.A. at the top of the inscription has exercised the ingenuity of our Oldbucks and Monkbarns, the plate itself and its inscription will furnish to the student of history an indefeasible proof of the exact spot, and of the date, when and where stood the oldest of our seigniorial manors,--that of Robert Gifart, on the margin of the _ruisseau de l'ours_, at Beauport, in 1634.

_J. M. LeMoine Esquire, President Literary and Historical Society, Quebec:_

BEAUPORT, 26th March, 1881

"SIR.--The tablet found in the Manor House of Beauport by some workmen, last summer, and only recently restored to the proprietors, is a circular plate of lead or pewter much injured by the fire which consumed the building.

Owing to the unwillingness of the men concerned to give any information, it is difficult to learn much about whereabouts in the building it was found, nor what other articles may have accompanied it, but as far as can be ascertained, this oval plate (about 1/4 of an inch in thickness) was rolled up and contained a few coins and some documents; the first cannot be traced and are spoken of as "quelques sous;" the latter, they say, crumbled into dust at once.

The inscription, as well as can be deciphered, is as follows:--

I.H.S. M.I.A. LAN 1634 LE NTE 25 IVILET.IE.ETE-PLA PREMIERE.P.C.GIFART SEIGNEVR.DE CE.LIEV

This is rudely but deeply cut into the plate, and underneath may be seen in patches, traces of a fainter etching, part of which may be a coat of arms, but this is uncertain; underneath can be seen a heart reversed, with flames springing from it upwards. All these are enclosed in a larger heart, point downwards.

The enclosed rough simile may give an idea of the lettering at the top of the circle, the plate itself being about nine inches in diameter."

(With Mrs. Gugy's compliments.)

Darnoc, 26th March, 1881.

_THE BEAUPORT MANOR INSCRIPTION._

(To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle.)

"Whilst regretting the loss of the coins and document accompanying the inscription of the Beauport Manor, on account of the light it might have thrown on this remote incident of Canadian history, let us examine the case as it stands.

This rude inscription of 25th July, 1634, gives priority as to date to the Beauport Manor over any ancient structure extant in Canada this day. The erection of the manor would seem to have preceded by three years the foundation of the Jesuits' Sillery residence, now owned by Messrs. Dobell and Beckett, which dates of July, 1637. Who prepared the inscription? Who engraved the letters? Who cut on the lead the figure of the "flaming heart?" The stars? Are they heraldic? What did they typify? Did the plate come out, ready prepared from France? Had the _Académie des Inscriptions, etc._, or any other _académie_, any hand in the business? No, for obvious reasons.

The lead-plate was imbedded in solid masonry. It is too rude to be the work of an engraver. Could it have been designed by Surgeon Gifart, the Laird of Beauport and cut on the lead-plate by the scribe and _savant_ of the settlement, Jean Guion (Dion?) whose penmanship in the wording of two marriage contracts, dating from 1636, has been brought to light by an indefatigable searcher of the past--the Abbé Ferland? probably.

But if the lettered Beauport stone mason, who never rose to be a Hugh Miller, whatever were his abilities, did utilize his talents in 1634, to produce a durable record in order to perpetuate the date of foundation of this manor, he subsequently got at loggerheads with his worth _seignieur_, probably owing to the litigious tastes which his native Perche had instilled in him. Perche, we all know, is not very distant from Normandy, the hot-bed of feuds and litigation, and might have caught the infection from this neighborhood:

Governor Montmagny, in the space of eight short years, had been called on to adjudicate on six controversies which had arisen between Gifart and his vassals, touching boundaries and seigniorial rights, though the learned historian Ferland, has failed to particularize, whether among those controverted rights, was included the _Droit de Chapons_ and _Droit de Seigneur_; could the latter unchaste, but cherished right of some Scotch and German feudal lords, by a misapprehension of our law, in the dark days of the colony, have been claimed by such an exacting seignior as M. de Gifart? One hopes not.

Be that as it may, the stone mason and _savant_ Jean Guion had refused to do feudal homage to "Monsieur de Beauport," and on the 30th July, 1640, six years after the date of the inscription, under sentence rendered by Governor de Montmagny, he was made to do so.

Who will decipher the I.H.S.--M.I.A. the letters at the top of the plate? Is there no defendant of the haughty Seignior of Beauport, Rob. Gifart, to give us his biography, and tell us of his sporting days; of the black and grey ducks, brant, widgeon, teal, snipe, and curlew, etc., which infested the marshy banks of the stream--the _Ruisseau de l'Ours_, on which he had located, first his shooting box, and afterwards his little fort or block-house, against Iroquois aggression? Dr. Gifart was a keen sportsman, tradition repeats. Did the locality get the name of _Canardière_ on account of the _Canards_, the ducks, he had bagged in his time? Who will enlighten us on all these points?

ENQUIRER.

Quebec, 8th April, 1881.

QUERY.--Would I. H. S. stand for _Jesus Hominum Salvator_? and M.I.A. for _Maria-Josephus-Anna_?--the Holy Family--asks Dr W. Marsden.

_COUNT D'ORSONNENS LETTER_

_A monsieur J. M. LeMoine, président de la Société Littéraire et Historique de Québec, etc., etc, etc._

CHER MONSIEUR,.--Votre lettre du 1er avril, publiée dans le _Morning Chronicle_, en groupant, autour du premier Manoir canadien, des grands noms canadiens, des faits historiques et des traditions, semble vouloir nous faire regretter encore plus la perte d'un monument dont il ne reste plus qu'une plaque de plomb gravée sans art, avec une inscription sans orthographe. Je suis allé, comme bien d'autres, voir ce morceau de plomb, qui contient, autant que l'imprimerie peut le représenter, l'inscription suivante:

I.H.S. M.I.A. LAN 1634 LE NTE 25 IVILET.IE.ETE-PLA PREMIERE.P.C.GIFART SEIGNEVR.DE CE.LIEV

La première ligne a été, sans doute, gravée avec une pointe, l'incision plus indécise est aussi moins profonde, de même que les lettres NTE ajoutées au-dessus de PLA, pour faire le mot planté, que l'art du graveur ou la largeur du ciseau n'avait pas su contenir dans la troisième ligne.

Les lettres des trois dernières lignes ont été coupées avec un ciseau de un demi-pouce de large, l'incision est nette et bien dessinée; on voit encore les lignes qui ont été tracées dans toute la largeur de la plaque, an moyen d'une pointe pour guider le ciseau du graveur.

Dans le centre de la plaque, on distingue avec peine un écusson. portant un coeur renversé et fiammé; au centre de l'écu, trois étoiles. Impossible de dire si elles sont posées en face ou sur un champ quelconque. Le tout a du être surmonté d'un heaume, car on voit encore de chaque coté de l'écu des lignes courbes multiples, qui doivent nécessairement représenter les lambrequins; sur le côte gauche, un bout de banderolle, mais l'_artiste_ a dû abandonner sa première idée, car le haut de la banderolle se perd dans les lignes du lambrequin.

J'ai lu dans la lettre qui accompagnait l'envoi de Madame Gugy, que les ouvriers, qui avaient travaille aux ruines, disaient avoir trouve la plaque de plomb, _roulée_ avec certains documents qui seraient tombés en poussière au toucher. La chose me paraît impossible. Le dessous de la plaque indique qu'elle a été posée à plat sur un lit de mortier, et la partie gravée, du moins celle où sont gravées les armoiries qu'une pierre pesante a été placée dessus, et c'est par l'enfoncement de sa surface inégale que la plupart des lignes gravées ont été détruites. On voit encore dans le plomb oxidé l'empreinte d'une coquille pétrifiée qui se trouvait agrégée au calcaire.

En roulant le bloc supérieur, les ouvriers ont pu plier le métal; de là l'erreur de croire que la plaque était roulée, elle a dû, comme toutes choses de ce genre, être placée dans une cavité comme fond, où on avait deposé le document tombé en poussière et les "quelques sous" que ces honnêtes ouvriers ont gardés pour eux, sans doute, sans en connaître la valeur.

Peu habitué à lire de telles inscriptions, mais connaissant la piété des premiers colons du Canada, j'essayai de donner un sens courant à l'inscription et je trouvai qu'on pouvait lire ici:

_Iesu Hominum Salvatore, Mariâ Immaculatâ Auspice_

(Sous les auspices ou la protection de Jesus sauveur des hommes et de Marie-Immaculée)

L'an 1634, le 25 juillet--je--été plantée première par (ou pour) C. (chirur.) Gifart, Seigneur de ce lieu.

Jusqu'à présent la chose se lit bien, le sens en est raisonnable et positif. Supposant le chirurgien un homme instruit et lettré, l'inscription latine se complète d'elle-même. Mais, hélas! il y un mais,--la lettre C avant Gifart me trouble un peu. Comme je n'ai sous la main aucun volume, aucune tradition du temps à consulter, je suis obligé de m'en tenir aux correspondances de journaux, et je trouve dans toutes le prénom de _Robert_--ce qui ne commence pas du tout par un C! [299] Mais le C, le malheureux C, ne serait-il pas l'initiale de Cloutier, le charpentier ou l'entrepreneur avec lequel Gifart avait fait un contrat à Mortaigne, le 14 mars 1634, quatre mois à peu près avant la pose de la première pierre? Alors il faudrait lire j'ai été plantée par Cloutier, Gifart étant seigneur de ce lieu.

Je m'arrête, le souvenir de _certaine_ inscription sur certain _pont_ vient troubler toutes ces belles spéculations. A force de vouloir être _savant_, on pourrait faire dire à Robert Gifart des choses qu'il n'a jamais pensées.

Si, après tout, ce Gifart n'était pas _savant_, et qu'il eut voulu dire par I. H. S., Jésus-Christ, et M. I. A., Maria, ce serait trop fort--J'aimerais mieux la théorie de M. le Dr. Marsden, et de M. Bédard, _Maria, Joachim, Anna_. Le 25 juillet étant la fête de saint Jacques, et la vigile de saint Joachim, il serait plus raisonnable de penser qu'on aurait mis la construction du premier Manoir canadien sous la protection et les auspices du saint du jour

Reste a savoir si la Saint Jacques se fêtait le 25 juillet, la Saint Joachim le 26, en l'an de notre Seigneur 1634.

Je laisse à d'autres de mieux trouver.

Quoiqu'il en soit, cette date 1634, est un centenaire mémorable, car c'est en 1534 que Jacques Cartier, visita le golfe Saint-Laurent et c'est en 1535, qu'il remonta notre beau fleuve jusqu'à Hochelaga, cent ans avant la première concession seigneuriale de Beauport.

J'ai l'honneur d'être, Monsieur, votre humble servt., Cte. d'ORSONNENS

L'INSCRIPTION DU MANOIR DE BEAUPORT.

Parmi une masse de vieux documents que je possède, concernant la seigneurie de Beauport et ses seigneurs, j'ai trouve le reçu suivant:

"Je, soussigné, confesse avoir reçu un billet de cent cinquante livres de monsieur de Beauport, pour ce qu'il m'avait promis pour faire sa bâtisse de logis de Beauport.

"faict ce 27ième juillet 1642.

"P. CLUST."

Cela donnerait peut-être une explication des abréviations "P. C." de l'inscription trouvée dans les ruines du vieux manoir.

En effet, il est loisible de supposer que cet architecte a fait ce que ses confrères modernes font encore, et qu'il a gravé ses initiales sur l'inscription commémorative de la pose de la première pierre _plantée dans la bâtisse de Beauport_.

H. J. J. DUCHESNAY.

La Beauce, 14 avril, 1881.

_H. V'S LETTER._

(ABBÉ H. VERREAU?)

_Une relique historique_.

La _Minerve_ a publié l'inscription de la plaque trouvée à Beauport. Le _Journal de Québec_ l'a reproduite aussi; mais avec une certaine différence. Pour l'étude des personnes éloignées et pour l'utilité de la science, il est bien désirable qu'on en prenne de nombreuses impressions sur plâtre. Si madame Gugy accorde la permission nécessaire, elle méritera certainement la reconnaissance de ceux qui étudient notre histoire.

Il paraît que le dernier chiffre de la date se lit avec difficulté. Il est toutefois très important de le déterminer avec toute la précision possible.

A mes yeux, la date du 25 juillet entraîne plusieurs conséquences qui disparaissent avec un autre chiffre.

I. Le 25 juillet est consacré à l'apôtre saint Jacques-le-Majeur. Ne peut-on pas traduire le second groupe trilittère M. J. A. par _Majori Jacobo Apostolo_, Le premier groupe, si connu d'ailleurs, étant latin, il est naturel de supposer que le second l'est aussi.

II. La fête de saint Jacques-le-Majeur, qui tombait un mardi en 1634, était chômée; par conséquent les travaux serviles ont dû être suspendu ce jour-là.

III. Le même jour, 25 juillet 1634, Robert Gifart assistait à un mariage à Québec, ce qui peut expliquer pourquoi il était remplacé à Beauport par son fils Charles.

Mais la pose de la pierre angulaire d'une simple maison, un jour de grande fête, me semble difficile à expliquer, qu'on veuille ou non y faire intervenir les cérémonies de la Religion.

L'expression _Je été plantée_ offre aussi une difficulté. A cette époque on faisait de nombreuses fautes d'orthographe, mais on avait presque toujours le mot propre.

Il est bien vrai qu'en terme d'architecture, on disait _planter un édifice_ pour l'_asseoir sur la maçonnerie de ses fondements_, mais je ne sache pas qu'on ait dit _planter_ les pierres des fondements.

Cette plaque n'aurait-elle pas été destinée à une croix plantée à l'endroit que Giffard voulait défricher?

Il est d'autant plus naturel qu'il ait commencé ses travaux par cet acte de foi qu'il devait songer à faire bâtir une église près de sa demeure. Dans cette supposition, on s'explique facilement que la croix ait été plantée un jour de fête solennelle où tout le monde surtout à cette époque, devait vaquer à ses devoirs religieux. Je vois dans les _Archives_ de Beauport par Mgr. Langevin que la maison de Giffard, d'après M. Ferland, devait être plus près de la petite rivière que le manoir actuel.

C. Giffard, qui est désigné comme seigneur de Beauport, est le fils de Robert. Il était né en France et devait être encore assez jeune. C'est de lui que parle le _Journal_ des Jésuites en disant que le fils de M. Giffard passa en France en 1646, avec d'autres jeunes gens 'tous fripons pour la plupart qui avait fait mille pièces à l'autre voyage et on donnait à tous de grands appointements.'

Ce 28 octobre il était parrain, et il s'embarquait le 31.

Il n'est plus question de lui après cette date, soit qu'il ait renoncé au Canada, soit qu'il ait péri prématurément. Le père repris sa seigneurie de Beauport qu'il fit agrandir le mieux put.

P. S.--En écrivant ce qui précède, j'étais un peu pressé; j'aurais dû remarquer cependant que sous la lettre C, les lecteurs ne pouvaient deviner le prénom du jeune seigneur de Beauport. Il s'appelait _Charles_, et devait être né en France comme sa soeur _Marie_, qui devint Madame de la Ferté.

Dans l'intérêt de vos lecteurs je ferai remarquer que le _Dictionnaire Généalogique_ renferme, à l'article Giffard, certaines erreurs. Ainsi, _Françoise_ qui commence l'article est la même que _Marie Françoise_ qui le termine; elle se fit religieuse à l'Hôtel-Dieu. L'épouse de _Jean Juchereau de la Ferté_ fut _Marie_ née en France, puisque son contrat de mariage en 1645 la dite "âgée de 17 ans environ" ce qui reporte sa naissance vers 1628. Charles assiste et signe un contrat. Ce n'est pas _Robert Giffard_, mais son fils _Joseph_, dont le corps fut transporté à la cathédrale, le 31 décembre 1705.

_MOUNT LILAC, BEAUPORT._

Some thirty years ago, I saw, for the first time, the picturesque old manor of the Rylands at Beauport, this was in its classic days. Later on, I viewed it, mossy and forlorn, in what some might style its "non age". Of this, hereafter.

The _Château_ stood embowered amidst lilac groves and other ornamental shrubs, so far as I can recollect, with a background of elms, white birch, spruce, &c. Its vaulted, lofty and well-proportioned dining-room, with antique, morocco-covered chairs, and carved _buffets_ to store massive plate, its spacious hall and graceful winding staircase, its commanding position on the crest of the Beauport ridge, affording a striking view of Quebec, its well-stocked orchard, umbrageous plantations, and ample stables, from which issued, among other choice bits of blood, in 1842, the celebrated racer "Emigrant": several circumstances, in fact, conspired to impress it favorably on my youthful mind. On that occasion, I found _le milord anglais_ (as a waggish Canadian peasant called him) under his ancestral roof.

Recalling our parish annals of early times, I used then to think that should England ever (which God forbid) hand back to its ancient masters "these fifteen thousand acres of snow," satirized by Voltaire, ridiculed by Madame de Pompadour, cruelly and basely deserted by Louis XV, in their hour of trial, here existed a ready-made manor for the Giffards and Duchesnays of the future, where their descendants could becomingly receive fealty and homage. (_foi et homage_) from their feudal retainers. There was, however, nothing here to remind one of the lordly pageantry of other times--the days of absolutism--of the dark era, the age of _lettres de cachet_, _corvées_, _lods et ventes_, and other feudal burthens, when the flag of the Bourbons floated over the fortress of New France. In 1846, at the time of my visit, in vain would you have sought in the farm yard for a live seigniorial capon (_un chapon vif et en plumes_) though possibly in the larder, at Christmas, you might have discovered some fat, tender turkeys, or a juicy haunch of venison. Of _vin ordinaire_ ne'er a trace, but judging from the samples on the table, perhaps much mellow Madeira, and "London Stout" might have been stored in the cellars. Everywhere, in fact, was apparent English comfort, English cheer. On the walls of the banqueting apartment, or within the antique red-leathered portfolios strewn round, you would have run a greater chance of meeting face to face with the portraits of Lord Dorchester, Genl. Prescott, Sir Robert Shore Milnes, Sir James Craig, the Duke of Richmond, and other English Governors, the cherished friends of the Rylands than with the powdered head of his most sacred Majesty, the Great Louis, or the ruffled bust and sensual countenance of the voluptuous Louis XV.... But let us see more of Mount Lilac and its present belongings.

Facing the glittering cupolas of Quebec, there is a fertile area of meadow and cornfield stretching from Dorchester bridge to the deep ravine and Falls over which the Montmorency, _La Vache_, hangs its milk-white curtain of spray. On the river shore, in 1759, stood Montcalm's earth and field works of defence. Parallel to them and distant about half a mile, the highway, over which H.R.H. Prince Edward's equipage pranced daily, during the summers of 1791-3, now a macadamized road, ascends by a gentle rise, through a double row of whitewashed cottages, about seven miles, to the brow of the roaring cataract spanned over by a substantial bridge, half way, looms out the Roman Catholic temple of worship--a stately edifice, filled to overflowing on Sundays, the parochial charge in 1841 of the Rev. Charles Chiniquy, under whose auspices was built the Temperance Monument on the main road, a little past the Beauport Asylum. This constitutes the parish of Beauport, one of the first settled in the Province. It was conceded by the Company of New France, on the 31st December, 1635, to a French surgeon of some note, "le sieur Robert Giffard." Surgeon Giffard had not only skill as a chirurgeon to recommend him, he could plead services, nay captivity undergone in the colonial cause. An important man in his day was this feudal magnate Giffard, to whom fealty and homage were rendered with becoming pomp, by his _consitaires_, the Bellangers--Guions--Langlois--Parents--Marcoux, of 1635, whose descendents, still bearing the old Perche or Norman name, occupy to this day the white cottages to be seen on all sides.

On the highest site of this limestone ridge, a clever, influential, refined, and wealthy Briton, the Hon. Henry Wistius Ryland, for years Civil Secretary, Clerk of the Executive Council, a member of the Legislative Council, with other appointments, purchased from Col. Johnston, a lot, then a wilderness, for a country seat in 1805. Mr. Ryland had come out to Canada with Lord Dorchester in 1795, as his secretary, at the instance, we believe, of Lord Liverpool, his protector, at the age of 21 he was acting as Paymaster of two army corps, during the War of Independence in America.

For more than thirty years, Mr. Ryland enjoyed the favour, nay the intimacy of every ruler (except Sir George Prevost) which this then mis- ruled colony owed to Downing Street.

Antipathies of race had been on the increase at Quebec, ever since the parliamentary era of 1791; there was the French party, [300] led by fiery and able politicians, and the English oligarchy occupying nearly all the offices, and avenues to power. French armies under Napoleon I. swayed the destinies of continental Europe, their victories occasionally must have awakened here a responsive echo among their down-trodden fellow-countrymen cowardly deserted by France in 1759, whilst Nelson's victories of the Nile, of Trafalgar, of Copenhagen, and finally the field of Waterloo, had buoyed up to an extravagant pitch the spirits of the English minority of Quebec, which a French parliamentary majority had so often trammelled. It was during the major part of that stormy period that Hon. Herman Wistius Ryland, advised by the able Chief Justice Jonathan Sewell,--was in reality entrusted with the helm of state. He was, as Christie the historian observes, considered the "Fountain head of power." This subtle _diplomat_ (for such will be his title in history), however hostile in his attitude he might have appeared towards the French Canadian nationality, succeeded in retaining to the last the respect of the French Canadian peasantry who surrounded him.

Probably never at any time did he wield more power than under the administration of Sir James H. Craig. His views were so much in unison with those of Sir James, that His Excellency deputed him to England with a public mission threefold in its scope, the ostensible object of which was first "to endeavor to get the Imperial Government to amend or suspend the Constitution; secondly, to render the Government independent of the people, by appropriating towards it the revenues accruing from the estates of the Sulpicians [301] of Montreal, and of the Order of the Jesuits; thirdly to seize the patronage exercised by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Quebec,--the _cures_ or church livings in his diocese; contending that no Roman Catholic Bishop really existed in Canada, (but merely a superintendent of _curés_), none having been recognized by the Crown.

It has been stated that he had a fair chance of succeeding on two points, had not the great Lord Chancellor, Eldon, intervened to thwart his scheme. The correspondence exchanged between Mr. Ryland and His Excellency, Sir James H. Craig, preserved in the sixth volume of Christie's _History of Canada_, exhibits Mr. Ryland at his best, and has led some to infer that, had he been cast in a different sphere, where his talents and attainments would have been more properly appreciated and directed, he would have played a very conspicuous part. "We find the Beauport statesman in 1810, in London, [302] consulted on Canadian affairs by the leading English politicians and some of the proudest peers. The honored guest of English noblemen, [303] he appears at no disadvantage, sips their old port unawed, cosily seated at their mahogany. It must be borne in mind that, in 1810, Lord Castlereagh and Lord Liverpool had their hands pretty full with continental politics, perhaps too much so, to heed poor distant Canada.

Shortly after the arrival, at Quebec, of the Earl of Durham, viz., on the 29th July, 1838, the Hon. H. W. Ryland expired at his country seat at Beauport, aged 78 years. He was born in 1760 at Northampton in England, of a very ancient Saxon family, dating back to Edward the Confessor. Wm. Ryland his great grandfather having successfully defended Oxford against Oliver Cromwell, while his sons fought on the other side.

Mount Lilac then reverted to his son, George Herman Ryland, Esq., now Registrar at Montreal, who added much to the charms of the spot. It was offered to Lord Metcalfe subsequently as a country seat, but for reasons which it is unnecessary to enter into, the negotiations fell through. Mr. Ryland occupied it till his removal from the Quebec to the Montreal Registry, Office. Some years back the property was purchased by Mr. James Dinning, Quebec, who reserved for himself the farm, one hundred and five acres in extent, and sold in 1856, the house and twenty-three acres thereunto attached to a wealthy and whimsical old ironfounder of Quebec, Mr. John H. Galbraith. This thrifty tradesman, in order to keep his hand in order, like Thackeray's hero, continued the pursuit of his former occupation, the smelting of ore, even under the perfumed groves of Mount Lilac, and erected there an extensive grapery and conservatory, and a foundry as well; the same furnace blast thus served to produce, under glass, fragrant flowers--exquisite grapes--melting peaches, as well as solid pig iron and first class stove plates.

Mount Lilac owed a divided allegiance to Vulcan and Flora. Which of the home products pleased, the most the worthy Mr. Galbraith? is still an open question. [304]

_A VISIT TO THE INDIAN LORETTE._

Of the many attractive sites in the environs of the city, few contain in a greater degree than the Huron village of Lorette during the leafy months of June, July and September, picturesque scenery, combined with a wealth of historical associations. The nine miles intervening between Quebec and the rustic _auberge_ of the village, thanks to an excellent turnpike, can be spanned in little more than an hour. I shall now attempt to recapitulate some of the sights and incidents of travel which recently befell me, whilst escorting to Lorette an Old World tourist, of very high literary estate.

With a mellow autumnal sun, just sufficient to bronze the sombre tints, lingering at the close of the Indian summer, we left the St. Louis Hotel, the headquarters of tourists, and rapidly drove through _Fabrique_ and Palace streets, towards the unsightly gap in our city walls, of yore yclept Palace Gate, which all Lord Dufferin's _prestige_ failed to protect against vandalism, but which, thanks to his initiative, we expect yet to see _bridged over_ with, graceful turrets and Norman towers.

A turn to the west brought us opposite to the scarcely perceptible ruins of the Palace [305] of the French Intendants, destroyed by the English shells in 1775, to dislodge Arnold and Montgomery's New England soldiery.

The park which intervened formerly between it and the St. Charles was many years back converted into a wood yard to store the fuel for the garrison, a portion now is used as a cattle market, opposite, stands the station and freight sheds of the Q. M. O. & O. Railway, the road skirts the park towards the populous St. Roch suburbs, rebuilt and transformed since the great fire of the 28th May, 1845, which destroyed 1,600 houses, occupying the site of former spacious pasture grounds for the city cows, styled by the early French _La Vacherie_. In a trice we reach Dorchester bridge, the second one, built there in 1822, the first, opened with great pomp by His Excellency Lord Dorchester in 1789, having been constructed a few acres to the west, and called after him. The bridge, as a means of crossing from one shore to the other, is an undoubted improvement on the scow used up to 1789.

One of the first objects on quitting the bridge and diverging westward to the Charlesbourg road, on the river bank, is the stately, solid, antique mansion of the late C. Smith, Esq, who at one time owned nearly all the broad acres intervening between the house and _Gros Pin_. It took for a time the name of Smithville and was inherited by several members of his family, who built cosy houses round it. These green fields, fringed with white birch and spruce plantations, are watered by the St. Charles, the _Kahir-Koubat_ [306] of ancient days. In rear of one of the first villas _Ringfield_, owned by Geo. Holmes Parke, Esq., runs the diminutive stream, the _Lairet_, at the confluence of which Jacques Cartier wintered in 1535- 6, leaving, there one of his ships, the _Petite-Hermine_, of 60 tons, whose decayed oak timbers were exhumed in 1843, by Jos. Hamel, City Surveyor of Quebec. A very remarkable vestige of French domination exists behind the villa of Mr. Parke--a circular field (hence the name Ring- field) covering about twelve acres, surrounded by a ditch, with an earth work about twenty feet high, to the east, to shield its inmates from the shot of Wolfe's fleet lying at the entrance of the St. Charles, before Quebec. A minute description has been given by General Levi's aide-de- camp, the _Chevalier_ Johnstone, [307] of what was going on in this earthwork, where at noon, on the 13th Sept., 1759, were mustered the disorganized French squadrons in full retreat from the Plains of Abraham toward their camp at Beauport. Here, on that fatal day, was debated the surrender of the colony--the close of French rule: here also, close by, in 1535-6, was the cradle of French power, the first settlement and winter quarters of the French pioneers--Jacques Cartier's hardy little band.

From this spot, at eight o'clock that night (13th Sept.), began the French retreat towards the Charlesbourg church; at 4 a.m. next day the army was at Cap Rouge, disordered, panic-stricken! Oh! where was the heroic Levi!

On ascending a hill (Clearihue's) to the north, the eye gathers in the contour of a dense grove, hiding in its drooping folds "Auvergne," the former secluded country seat of Chief Justice Jonathan Sewell, now owned by George Alford, Esq.

A mile to the north, in the deep recesses of Bourg-Royal, rest the fast crumbling and now insignificant ruins of the only rural _Château_ of French origin round Quebec. Was it built by Talon, or by Bigot? an unfathomable mystery. Silence and desertion reign supreme, where of yore Bigot's heartless wassailers used to meet and gamble away King Louis's card money and _piastres_.

"And sunk are the voices that sounded in mirth. And empty the goblets and dreary the hearth!"

The tower or boudoir, where was immured the Algonquin maid Caroline, the beautiful, that too has crumbled to dust.

We are now at Lorette.

_TAHOURENCHE._

"I'm the chieftain of this mountain, Times and seasons found me here, My drink has been the crystal fountain, My fare the wild moose or the deer." (_The_ HURON CHIEF, _by Adam Kidd_).

There exists a faithful portrait of this noble savage, such as drawn by himself and presented, we believe, to the Laval University at Quebec; for glimpses of his origin, home and surroundings, we are indebted to an honorary chief of the tribe, Ahatsistari. [308]

Paul _Tahourenché_ (François Xavier Picard), Great Chief of the Lorette Hurons, was born at Indian Lorette in 1810; he is consequently at present 71 years of age. He is tall, erect, well proportioned, dignified in face and deportment; when habited in his Indian regalia: blue frock coat, with bright buttons and medals, plumed fur cap, leggings of colored cloth, bright sash and armlets, with war axe, he looks the _beau ideal_ of a respectable Huron warrior, shorn of the ferocity of other days. Of the line of Huron chiefs which proceeded him we can furnish but a very meagre history. Adam Kidd, who wrote a poem entitled the _Huron Chief_ in 1829, and who paid that year a visit to the Lorette Indians and saw their oldest chief, _Oui-a-ra-lih-to_, having unfortunately failed to fulfil the promise he then made of publishing the traditions and legends of the tribe furnished him on that occasion, an omission which, we hope, will yet be supplied by an educated Huron; the Revd. Mr. Vincent. Of _Oui-a-ra-lih- to_, we learn from Mr. Kidd: "This venerable patriarch, who is now (in 1829) approaching the precincts of a century, is the grandson of _Tsa-a- ra-lih-to_, head chief of the Hurons during the war of 1759. _Oui-a-ra- lih-to_, with about thirty-five warriors of the Indian village of Lorette in conjunction with the Iroquois and Algonquins, was actually engaged in the army of Burgoyne, a name unworthy to be associated with the noble spirit of Indian heroism. During my visit to this old chief--May, 1829--he willingly furnished me with an account of the distinguished warriors, and the traditions of different tribes, which are still fresh in his memory, and are handed from father to son, with the precision, interest and admiration that the tales and exploits of Ossian and his heroes are circulated in their original purity to this day among the Irish." Mr. Kidd alludes also to another great chief, _Atsistari_, who flourished in 1637, and who may have been the same as the Huron Saul _Ahatsistari_, who lived in 1642.

Of the powerful tribes of the aborigines who, in remote periods, infested the forests, lakes and streams of Canada, none by their prowess in war, wisdom in council, success as tillers of the soil, intelligent and lofty bearing, surpassed the Wyandats, or Hurons. [309] They numbered 15,000 souls, according to the historian Ferland, 40,000 according to Bouchette, and chiefly inhabited the country bordering on Lake Huron and Simcoe; they might, says Sagard, have been styled the "nobles" among savages in contradistinction to that other powerful confederacy, more democratic in their ways, also speaking the Huron language, and known as the Five Nations (Mohawks,[310] Oneydoes, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas), styled by the French the Iroquois, or Hiroquois, from the habit of their orators of closing their orations with the word "Hiro"--_I have said_.

'Tis a curious fact that the aborigines whom Jacques Cartier had found masters of the soil, at Hochelaga (Montreal,) and Stadacona (Quebec,) in 1535, sixty-eight years later on, in 1603, when Champlain visited these Indian towns, had disappeared: a different race had succeeded them. Though it opens a wide field to conjecture, recent investigations seem to indicate that it was the Huron-Iroquois nation who, in 1535, were the _enfants du sol_ at both places, and that in the interim the Algonquins had, after bloody wars, dispersed and expelled the Huron-Iroquois. The savages with whom the early French settlers held intercourse can be comprised under two specific heads--the Algonquins and the Huron-Iroquois --the language of each differing as much, observes the learned Abbé Faillon, as French does from Chinese.

It would take us beyond the limit of this sketch to recapitulate the series of massacres which reduced these warlike savages, the Hurons, from their high estate to that of a dispersed, nomadic tribe, and placed the Iroquois or Mohawks, at one time nearly destroyed by the Hurons, in the ascendant.

Their final overthrow may be said to date back to the great Indian massacres of 1648-9, at their towns, or missions, on the shores of Lakes Simcoe, the first mission being founded in 1615 by the Friar LeCaron, accompanied by twelve soldiers sent by Champlain in advance of his own party. The Jesuit mission was attacked by the Iroquois in 1648; St. Louis, St. Joseph [311], St. Ignace [312], Ste. Marie [313], St. Jean [314], successively fell, or were threatened; all the inmates who escaped sought safety in flight; the protracted sufferings of the missionaries Bréboeuf and Gabriel Lallemant have furnished one of the brightest pages of Christian heroism in New France. Bréboeuf expired on the 16th March and Lallemant on 17th March, 1649. A party of Hurons sought Manitoulin Island, then called Ekaentoton, a few fled to Virginia; others succeeded in obtaining protection on the south shore of Lake Erie, from the Erie tribe, only to share, later on, the dire fate of the nation who had dared to incorporate them in its sparse ranks.

Father P. Ragueneau (the first writer, by the by, who makes mention of Niagara Falls--_Relations de_ 1648,) escorted three or four hundred of these terror-stricken people to Quebec on the 26th July, 1650, and lodged them in the Island of Orleans, at a spot since called _L'Anse du Fort_, where they were joined, in 1651, by a party of Hurons, who in 1649, on hearing of the massacre of their western brethren, had asked to winter at Quebec. For ten years past a group of Algonquins, Montagnais and Hurons, amidst incessant alarms, had been located in the picturesque parish of Sillery; they, too, were in quest of a more secure asylum. Negotiations were soon entered into between them and their persecuted friends of the West; a plan was put forth to combine. On the 29th March, 1651, the Sillery Indians, many of whom were Hurons united with the western brethren, sought a shelter, though a very insecure one, in a fortified nook, adjoining their missionary's house, on the land of Eléonore de Grandmaison, purchased for them at _l'Anse du Fort_, in the Island of Orleans, on the south side of the point opposite Quebec. Here they set to tilling the soil with some success, cultivating chiefly Indian corn, their numbers being occasionally increased during the year 1650, by their fugitive brethren of the West, until they counted above 600 souls. Even under the guns of the picket Fort of Orleans, which had changed its name to Ile St. Marie, in remembrance of their former residency, the tomahawk and scalping-knife reached them; on the 20th May, 1656, eighty-six of their number were carried away captives, and six killed, by the ferocious Iroquois; and on the 4th June, 1656, again they had to fly before their merciless tormentors. The big guns of Fort St. Louis, which then stood at the north-west extremity of the spot on which the Dufferin Terrace has lately been erected, seemed to the Hurons a more effectual protection than the howitzers of _Anse du Fort_, so they begged from Governor d'Aillebout for leave to nestle under them in 1658. 'Twas granted. When the Marquis de Tracy had arranged a truce with the Iroquois in 1665, the Huron refugees prepared to bid adieu to city life and to city dust. Two years later we find them ensconced at Beauport, where others had squatted on land belonging to the Jesuits; they stopped there one year, and suddenly left, in 1669, to pitch their wigwams for a few years at Côte St. Michel, four and a half miles from Quebec, at the Mission of Notre Dame de Foye, now called St. Foye. On the 29th December, 1673, restless and alarmed, the helpless sons of the forest sought the seclusion, leafy shades and green fields _Ancienne Lorette_. [315] Here they dwelled nearly twenty-five years. The youths had grown up to manhood, with the terrible memories of the past still fresh on their minds. One fine day, allured by hopes of more abundant game, they packed up their household gods, and finally, in 1697, they went and settled on the elevated _plateau_, close to the foaming rapids of St. Ambroise, now known as Indian, or _Jeune_, Lorette.

"Tis here we shall now find them, 336 souls all told, [316] living in comparative ease, successful traders, exemplary Christians, but fast decaying Hurons.

"The Hurons," says Ahatsistari, [317] "are divided into four families: that of the _Deer_; of the _Tortoise_; of the _Bear_; of the _Wolf_. Thus, the great Chief François Xavier Picard--Tahourenché--is a _Deer_, and his son Paul is a _Tortoise_, because (Her Highness) Madame _Tahourenché_ is a _Tortoise_; a lithe, handsome woman for all that.

"Each family has its chief, or war captain; he is elected by choice. The four war captains chose two council chiefs, the six united select a grand chief, either from among themselves or from among the honorary chiefs, if they think proper."

We append a letter, from Sister Ste. Helene, descriptive of Indian customs, in 1730. Civilization and Christianity have sensibly modified, some will say, improved the Red Skins since then.

_INDIAN DRESS--LOVE MAKING-FEASTS—BURIALS._

From a MS. Letter of _Soeur Ste. Hélène_, published by Abbé Verrault.

"Would you like to learn how they dress--how they marry--how they are buried? First, you must know that several tribes go completely naked, and wear but the fig-leaf. In Montreal, you meet many stately and well-proportioned savages, walking about in this state of nudity, as proud in their bearing, as if they wore good clothes. Some have on a shirt only; others have a covering negligently thrown over one shoulder. Christianized Indians are differently habited. The Iroquois put their shirt over their wearing apparel, and over the shirt another raiment, which encloses a portion of the head, which is always bare. The men generally wear garments over their shirts; the latter, when new, is generally very white, but is used until it gets perfectly dark and disgustingly greasy. They sometimes shave a portion of their head, or else they comb one half of their hair back, the other half front. They occasionally tie up a tuft of hair very tight on the top of the head, rising towards the skies. At other times some allow a long tress of hair to fall over their face: it interferes with their eating, but it has to be put up with. They smear their ears with a white substance, or their face with blue, vermillion and black. They are more elaborate in their war-toilette than a coquette would be in dressing--in order to conceal the paleness which fear might engender. They are profuse of gold and silver brocade, porcelain necklaces, bracelets of beads--the women, especially in their youth. This is their jewellery, their diamonds, the value whereof sometimes reaches 1,000 francs. The Abenaqis enclose their heads in a small cap embroidered with beads or ornamented with brocade. They wrap their legs in leggings with a fringe three or four inches long. Their shoes consist of socks, with plaits round the toe, covering the foot. All this has its charm in their eyes; they are as vain of dress as any Frenchman. The pagan tribes, whenever love is felt, marry without any ceremonial. The pair will discover whether they love one another in silence, Indian-like. One of the caresses consists in throwing to the loved one a small pebble, or grains of Indian corn, or else some other object which cannot hurt. The swain, on throwing the pebble, is bound to look in the opposite direction, to make believe he did not do it. Should the adored one return it, matters look well, else, the game is up.

"The Christianized Indians are married in face of the church, without any contract of marriage and without stipulations, because an Indian cannot own real estate and cannot bequeath to his children. The wealthiest is the mightiest hunter. This favored individual, in his village, passes for a grand match. Bravery and great warriors they think much of--they constitute the latter their chiefs. Poverty is no disgrace at the council board, and an orator in rags will speak out as boldly, as successfully, as if he were decked out in gold cloth. They come thus poorly habited in the presence of the Governor, indulge in long harangues, and touch his hand fearlessly. When ladies are present at these interviews, they honor them thus--seize their hand and shake it in token of friendship. Before I became a nun I was present at some of these ceremonies, and having won their good opinion, they would extend to me a hand which was disgusting in the extreme, but which I had cheerfully to accept for fear of offending them. They are sometimes asked to dine at the Governor's table. Unlucky are their neighbors, especially when they happen to be ladies, they are so filthy in their persons.--1730."--_Revue Canadienne_, page 108-9.

Such the Montreal Indians in 1730.

The Lorette Chapel dates back, as well as the _Old Mill_, to 1731. In 1862 the Chapel suffered much by fire. The tribe occupies land reserved by Government, under the regulations of the Indian Bureau of Ottawa. "Indian Lorette comprises from forty to fifty cottages, on the _plateau_ of the falls--spread out, without design, over an area of about twenty square acres. In the centre runs the kings highway, the outer half sloping down, towards the St. Charles. The most prominent objects are the church, a grist mill and Mr. Reid's paper mill; close by a wooden fence encloses 'God's acre,' in the centre of which a cross marks the tomb of Chief Nicholas." [318] It is indeed, "a wild spot, covered with the primitive forest and seamed by a deep and tortuous ravine, where the St. Charles foams, white as a snow drift, over the black ledges, and where the sunshine struggles through matted boughs of the pine and the fir, to bask for brief moments on the mossy rocks, or flash on the hurrying waters.... Here, to this day, the tourist finds the remnants of a lost people, harmless weavers of baskets and sewers of mocassins, the Huron blood fast bleaching out of them."

Of "free and independent electors" none here exist, the little Lorette world goes on smoothly without them. "No Huron on the Reserve can vote. No white man is allowed to settle within the sacred precincts of the Huron kingdom, composed, 1st, of the lofty _Plateau_ of the village of Indian Lorette, which the tribe occupy. 2nd. Of the forty square acres, about a mile and a half to the north-west of the village. 3rd. Of the Rocmont settlement, in the adjoining County of Portneuf, in the very heart of the Laurentine Mountains, ceded to the Hurons by Government, as a compensation for the Seigniory of St. Gabriel, of which Government took possession, and to which the Hurons set up a claim.

"In all that which pertains to the occupation, the possession and the administration of these fragments of its ancient extensive territory, the usages and customs of the tribe have force of law. The village is governed by a Council of Sachems; in cases of misunderstandings an appeal lies to the Ottawa Bureau, under the control of the Minister of the Interior (our "Downing street" wisely abstaining from interference except on very urgent occasions). Lands descend by right of inheritance; the Huron Council alone being authorized to issue location tickets; none are granted but to Huron boys, strangers being excluded. Of course, these disabilities affect the denizens of the reserve only; a Huron (and there are some, _Tahourenche_, Vincent and others) owning lands in his own right elsewhere, and paying taxes and tithes, enjoys the rights and immunities of any other British subject."

From the date of the Lorette Indian settlement in 1697, down to the year of the capitulation of Quebec--1759--the annals of the tribe afford but few stirring incidents: an annual bear, beaver, or cariboo hunt; the return of a war party, with its scalps--English, probably--as the tribe had a wholesome terror of the Iroquois; an occasional _pow wow_ as to how many warriors could be spared to assist their trusted and brave allies, the French of Quebec, against the heretical soldiers of Old or New England.

We are in possession of no facts to show that these Christianised Hurons differed much from other Christianised Indians; church services, war councils, feasting, smoking, dancing, scalping, fishing and hunting, filling in, agreeably, socially, or usefully, the daily routine of their existence. Civilization, as understood by christianised or by pagan savages, has never inspired us with unqualified admiration. The various siege narratives we have perused, whilst they bring in the Indian allies, at the close of the battle, to "finish off" the wounded at Montmorency, in July, 1759; at the plains of Abraham, in September 1759; at St. Foye, in April, 1760, generally mention the Abenaquis for this delicate office of _friseurs_. The terror, nay, the horror, which the use of the tomahawk and scalping knife inspired to the British soldiery, was often greater than their fear of the French sabres and French musquetoons.

British rule, in 1759, if it did bring the Hurons less of campaigning and fewer scalps, was the harbinger of domestic peace and stable homes, with very remunerative contracts each fall for several thousands of pairs of snow-shoes, cariboo mocassins and mittens for the English regiments tenanting the Citadel of Quebec, whose wealthy officers every winter scoured the Laurentine range, north of the city, in quest of deer, bear and cariboo, under the experienced guidance of Gros Louis, Sioui, Vincent, and other famous Huron Nimrods.

The chronicles of the settlement proclaim the valour and wisdom of some of their early chiefs, conspicuous appears the renowned Ahatsistari, surnamed the Huron Saul, from his early hostility to missionaries; death closed his career, on the verdant banks of Lake Huron, in 1642, a convert to missionary teachings.

At the departure of the French, in 1759, a new allegiance was forced on the sons of the forest, St. George and his dragon for them took the place of St. Louis and his lilies. The _Deer_, the _Bear_, the _Tortoise_ and the _Wolf_ tribe, however, have managed to live on most friendly terms with the _Dragon_. In 1776, Lorette sent its contingent of painted and plumed warriors to fight General Burgoyne's inglorious campaigns. The services rendered to England by her swarthy allies in the war of 1812-14 were marked, for years a distribution of presents took place from the Quebec Commissariat and Indian Department. Proudly did the Hurons, as well as the Abenaquis, Montagnais, Micmac and Malicite Indians bear the snow- white blankets, scarlet cloth and hunting-knives awarded them by George the King, and by the victors of Waterloo. Each year, at midsummer, the Indians in their canoes, with their live freight of hunters, their copper- coloured squaws and black-eyed papooses, rushed from Labrador, Gaspé, Restigouche, Baie des Chaleurs, and pitched their tents on a strip of land at Lévi, hence called Indian Cove, the city itself being closed to the grim monarchs of the woods, reputed ugly customers when in their cups. A special envoy, however, was sent to the Lorette Indians on similar occasions. The Indians settled on Canadian soil were distinguished for their loyalty to England, who has ever treated them more mercifully than did "Uncle Sam."

The war between England and the United States in 1812 brought the Lorette braves again to the front, and the future hero of Châteauguay, Col. De Salaberry, was sent to enlist them. Col. De Salaberry attended in person on the tribe, at Indian Lorette. A grand pow-wow had been convoked. The sons of the forest eagerly sent in their names and got in readiness when the Colonel returned a few days later to inform them that the Government had decided to retain them as a reserve in the event of Quebec being attacked from the Kennebec.

Notwithstanding this announcement, six Hurons (among whom were Joseph and Stanislas Vincent) claimed with loud cries the right to accompany the Canadian _Voltigeurs_, commanded by the Colonel.

At Châteauguay, where 300 Canadians so gloriously repelled 7,000 invaders, the brothers Vincent swam across the river to capture and make prisoners, the flying Yankees.

These swarthy warriors had but a faint idea of what military discipline meant, and thinking that, the battle being over, they could return to Lorette, left accordingly. This was a flagrant case of desertion. Nothing short of the brave Colonel's earnest entreaties, sufficed to procure a pardon for the redskins. A letter was written to Col. De Salaberry by his father, late M.P. for the county, on this subject; it has been preserved.

The Hurons attended at Beauport at the unveiling of the monument of De Salaberry on the 27th of June, 1880, and subscribed bountifully to the building fund.

What with war medals, clothing, ammunition, fertile lands specially reserved at Lorette, on the Restigouche, at Nouvelle, Isle Verte, Caughnawaga, St. Regis, &c., the "untutored savage," shielded by a beneficent legislation, watched over by zealous missionaries, was at times an object of envy to his white brethren. Age or infirmity, seldom war, tore him away from this vale of sorrow, to join the great Indian "majority" in those happy hunting grounds promised to him by his Sachems.

The Hurons were ever ready to parade their paint, feathers, and tomahawks, at the arrival of every new Governor at Quebec, and to assure Ononthio, [319] of their undying attachment and unswerving loyalty to their great father or august mother "who dwells on the other side of the Great Lake." These traditions have descended even to the time when _Ononthio_ was merely a Lieutenant-Governor under Confederation. We recollect meeting, in 31st March, 1873, a stately deputation, composed of twenty-three Hurons from Lorette, returning from Clermont, the country seat of Lieutenant- Governor Caron, where they had danced the war-dance for the ladies, and harangued, as follows, the respected Laird of Clermont, just then appointed Lieutenant-Governor:--

ONONTHIO:--

Aisten tiothi non8a [320] tisohon dekha hiatanonstati deson8a8en-dio daskemion tesontamai denon8a ation datito8anens tesanonron-h8a nionde, aon8a deson8a8endio de8a desakatade; a8eti desanon-ronk8anion datito8anens chia ta skenrale the kiolaoutou8ison tothi chia hiaha a8eti dechienha totinahiontati desten de sendete ataki atichiai a8eti alatonthara deskemion ichionthe desten tiodeti aisten orachichiai.

Rev. Prosper _Sa8atonen_. The Memory Man. (Rev. Mr. Vincent, a chief's son, then _Vicaire_ at Sillery.) Paul _Tahourenché_, 1st Chief. The Dawn of Day. Maurice _Agnolin_, 2nd Chief. The Bear. Francis _Sassennio_. The Victor of Fire. Gaspard _Ondiaralethe_. The Canoe Bearer. Philippe _Theon8atlasta_. He stands upright. Joseph Gonzague _Odt'o rohann_. He who does not forget. Paul Jr. _Theianontakhen_. Two United Mountains. Honoré _Telanontouohe_. The Sentry. A. N. Montpetit _Ahatsistari_. The Fearless Man.--And others, in all 23 warriors.

[_Translation._]

"The chiefs, the warriors, the women and children of our tribe, greet you. The man of the woods also likes to render homage to merit: he loves to see in his chiefs those precious qualities which constitute the statesman.

"All these gifts of the Great Spirit, wisdom in council, prudence in execution, and that sagacity we exact in the Captains of our nation, you possess them all in an eminent degree.

"We warmly applaud your appointment to the exalted post of Lieutenant- Governor of the Province of Quebec, and feel happy in taking advantage of the occasion to present our congratulations.

"May we also be allowed to renew the assurance of our devotion towards our august Mother, who dwells on the other side of the Great Lake, as well as to the land of our forefathers.

"Accept for you, for Mrs. Caron and your family, our best wishes."

_CHÂTEAU BIGOT._

ITS HISTORY AND ROMANCE.

"Ensconced 'mid trees this château stood— 'Mid flowers each aisle and porch; At eve soft music charmed the ear— High blazed the festive torch.

But, ah! a sad and mournful tale Was hers who so enjoyed The transient bliss of these fair shades— By youth and love decoyed,

Her lord was true--yet he was false, False--false--as sin and hell— To former plights and vows he gave To one that loved him well." _The Hermitage._

From time immemorial an antique and crumbling ruin, standing in solitary loneliness, in the centre of a clearing at the foot of the Charlesbourg mountain, some five miles from Quebec, has been visited by the young and the curious. It was once a two story stone building, with ponderous walls. In length it is fifty-five feet by thirty-five feet broad--pierced for six windows in each story, with a well-proportioned door, in the centre. In 1843, at the date of my first visit, the floor of the second story was yet tolerably strong: I ascended to it by a rickety, old staircase. The ruin was sketched in 1858, by Col. Benj. Lossing, and reproduced in _Harper's Magazine_ for January, 1859. The lofty mountain to the north-west of it is called _La Montagne des Ormes_; for more than a century, the Charlesbourg peasantry designate the ruin as _La Maison de la Montagne_. The English have christened it the _Hermitage_, whilst to the French portion of the population, it is known as Château-Bigot, or Beaumanoir; and truly, were it not on account of the associations which surround the time-worn pile, few would take the trouble to go and look at the dreary object.

The land on which it stands was formerly included in the _Fief de la Trinité_ granted between 1640 and 1650 to Monsieur Denis, a gentleman from La Rochelle, in France, the ancestor of the numerous clans of Denis, Denis de la Ronde, Denis de Vitré, &c. The seigniory was subsequently sold to Monseigneur de Laval, a descendant of the Montmorency's, who founded in 1663 the Seminary of Quebec, and one of the most illustrious prelates in New France, the portion towards the Mountain was dismembered. When the Intendant Talon formed his Baronie Des Islets [321] he annexed to it certain lands of the _Fief de la Trinité_, amongst others that part on which now stands the remains of the old château, of which he seems to have been the builder, but which he subsequently sold. Bigot having acquired it long after, enlarged and improved it very much. He was a luxurious French gentleman, who, more than one hundred years ago, held the exalted post of Intendant or Administrator under the French Crown, in Canada. [322] In those days the forests which skirted the city were abundantly stocked with game: deer, of several varieties, bears, foxes, perhaps even that noble and lordly animal, now extinct in eastern Canada, the Canadian stag, or Wapiti, roamed in herds over the Laurentian chain of mountains, and were shot within a few miles of the Château St. Louis. This may have been one of the chief reasons why the French Lucullus erected the little _château_, which to this day bears his name--a resting place for himself and friends after the chase. The profound seclusion of the spot, combined with its beautiful scenery, would have rendered it attractive during the summer months, even without the sweet repose it had in store for a tired hunter. Tradition ascribes to it other purposes, and amusements less permissible than those of the chase. A tragical occurrence enshrines the old building with a tinge of mystery which the pen of the novelist has woven into a thrilling romance.

François Bigot, thirteenth and last Intendant of the Kings of France in Canada, was born in the Province of Guienne, and descended of a family distinguished by professional eminence at the French bar. His commission bears date "10th June, 1747." The Intendant had the charge of four departments: Justice, Police, Finance and Marine. He had previously filled the post of Intendant in Louisiana, and also at Louisburg. The disaffection and revolt caused by his rapacity in that city, were mainly instrumental in producing its downfall and surrender to the English commander, Pepperell, in 1745. Living at a time when tainted morals and official corruption ruled at court, he seems to have taken his standard of morality from the mother country; his malversations in office, his extensive frauds on the treasury, more than £400,000; his colossal speculations in provisions and commissariat supplies furnished by the French government to the colonists during a famine; his dissolute conduct and final downfall, are fruitful themes wherefrom the historian can draw wholesome lessons for all generations. Whether his Charlesbourg (then called Bourg Royal) castle was used as the receptacle of some of his most valuable booty, or whether it was merely a kind of Lilliputian _Parc au Cerfs_, such as his royal master had, tradition does not say. It would appear, however, that it was kept up by the plunder wrung from sorrowing colonists, and that the large profits he made by paring from the scanty pittance the French government allowed the starving residents, were here lavished in gambling, riot and luxury.

In May, 1757, the population of Quebec was reduced to subsist on four ounces of bread per diem, one lb. of beef, HORSE-FLESH or CODFISH; and in April of the following year, the miserable allowance was reduced to one half. "At this time," remarks our historian, Garneau, "famished men were seen sinking to the earth in the street from exhaustion."

Such were the times during which Louis XV.'s minion would retire to his Sardanapalian retreat, to gorge himself at leisure on the life blood of the Canadian people, whose welfare he had sworn to watch over! Such, the doings in the colony in the days of La Pompadour. The results of this misrule were soon apparent: _the British lion placed his paw on the coveted morsel_. The loss of Canada was viewed, if not by the nation, at least by the French Court, with indifference, to use the terms of one of Her Britannic Majesty's ministers, when its fate and possible loss were canvassed one century later in the British Parliament, "without apprehension or regret." Voltaire gave his friends a banquet at Ferney, in commemoration of the event; the court favourite congratulated His Majesty, that since he had got rid of these "fifteen hundred leagues of frozen country," he had now a chance of sleeping in peace; the minister Choiseul urged Louis XV. to sign the final treaty of 1763, saying that Canada would be _un embarras_ to the English, and that if they were wise they would have nothing to do with it. In the meantime the red cross of St. George was waving over the battlements on which the lily-spangled banner of the Bourbons had proudly sat with but one interruption for one hundred and fifty years, the infamous Bigot was provisionally consigned to a dungeon in the Bastille--subsequently tried and exiled to Bordeaux; his property was confiscated, whilst his confederates and abettors, such as Varin, Bréard, Maurin, Corpron, Martel, Estèbe and others, were also tried and punished by fine, imprisonment and confiscation: one Penisseault, a government clerk (a butcher's son by birth), who had married in the colony, but whose pretty wife accompanied the Chevalier de Lévis on his return to France, seems to have fared better than the rest.

But to revert to the château walls as I saw them on the 4th of June, 1863.

During a ramble with an English friend through the woods, which gave us an opportunity of providing ourselves with wild flowers to strew over the tomb of its fair "Rosamond," [323] such as the marsh marigold, clintonia, uvularia, the star flower, veronica, kalmia, trillium, and Canadian violets, we unexpectedly struck on the old ruin. One of the first things that attracted our notice was the singularly corroding effect the easterly wind has on stone and mortar in Canada; the east gable being indented and much more eaten away than that exposed to the western blast. Of the original structure nothing is left now standing but the two gables and the division walls; they are all three of great thickness; certainly no modern house is built in the manner this seems to have been. It had two stories, with rooms in the attic, and deep cellars; a communication existed from one cellar to the other through the division wall. There is also visible a very small door cut through the cellar wall of the west gable; it leads to a vaulted apartment of some eight feet square; the small mound of masonry which covered it might originally have been effectually hidden from view by a plantation of trees over it. What could this have been built for, asked my romantic friend? Was it intended to secure some of the Intendant's plate or other portion of his ill-gotten treasure? Or else as the Abbé Ferland suggests: [324] "Was it to store the fruity old Port and sparkling Moselle of the club of the Barons, who held their jovial meetings there about the beginning of this century?" Was it his mistresses' secret _boudoir_ when the Intendant's lady visited the château, like the Woodstock tower to which Royal Henry picked his way through "Love's Ladder?" _Quien sabe?_ Who can unravel the mystery? It may have served for the foundation of the tower which existed when Mr. Papineau visited and described the place fifty years ago. The heavy cedar rafters, more than one hundred years old, are to this day sound: one has been broken by the fall, probably of some heavy stones. There are several indentures in the walls for fire-places, which are built of cut masonry; from the angle of one a song sparrow flew out uttering an anxious note. We searched and discovered the bird's nest, with five spotted, dusky eggs in it. How strange! in the midst of ruin and decay, the sweet tokens of hope, love and harmony! What cared the child of song if her innocent offspring were reared amidst these mouldering relics of the past, mayhap a guilty past? Could she not teach them to warble sweetly, even from the roof which echoed the dying sighs of the Algonquin maid? Red alder trees grew rank and vigorous amongst the disjointed masonry, which had crumbled from the walls into the cellar; no trace existed of the wooden staircase mentioned by Mr. Papineau; the timber of the roof had rotted away or been used for camp fires by those who frequent and fish the elfish stream which winds its way over a pebbly ledge towards Beauport. It is well stocked with small trout, which seem to breed in great numbers in the dam near the Château--a stream, did we say?

"A hidden brook, In the leafy mouth of June, That to the sleeping woods all night Singeth a quiet tune"

"Enough! enough! cried my poetic companion. The fate of the fair maid, the song of birds, the rustling of groves, the murmur of yonder brook,--does not all this remind you of the accents of our laurel-crowned poet, he who sang of Claribel?"

Those who wish to visit the Hermitage, are strongly advised to take the cart-road which leads easterly from the Charlesbourg church, turning up. Pedestrians prefer the route through the fields; they may, in this case, leave their vehicle at Gaspard Huot's boarding-house--a little higher than the church at Charlesbourg,--and then walk through the fields, skirting, during the greater part of the road, the trout stream I have previously mentioned; but by all means _let them take a guide_ with them.

Let us now translate and condense, from the interesting narrative of a visit paid to the Hermitage in 1831, by Mr. Amédée Papineau and his talented father, the Hon. Louis Joseph Papineau, the legend which attaches to it:

CAROLINE, OR THE ALGONQUIN MAID.

(BY AMÉDÉE PAPINEAU.)

"We drove, my father and I, with our vehicle to the foot of the mountain, and there, took a foot-path which led us through a dense wood. We encountered and crossed a rivulet, and then ascended a plateau cleared of wood, a most enchanting place; behind us and on our right was a thick forest: on our left the eye rested on boundless green fields, diversified [325] with golden harvests and with the neat white cottages of the peasantry. In the distance was visible the broad and placid waters of the St. Lawrence, at the foot of the citadel of Quebec, and also the shining cupolas and tin roofs of the city houses; in front of us, a confused mass of ruins, crenelated walls embedded in moss and rank grass, together with a tower half destroyed, beams, and the mouldering remains of a roof. After viewing the _tout ensemble_, we attentively examined each portion in detail--every fragment was interesting to us; we with difficulty made our way over the wall, ascending the upper stories by a staircase which creaked and trembled under our weight. With the assistance of a lighted candle we penetrated into the damp and cavernous cellars, carefully exploring every nook and corner, listening to the sound of our own footsteps, and occasionally startled by the rustling of bats which we disturbed in their dismal retreat. I was young, and consequently very impressionable. I had just left college; these extraordinary sounds and objects would at times make me feel very uneasy. I pressed close to my father and dared scarcely breathe; the remembrance of this subterranean exploration will not easily be forgotten. What were my sensations when I saw a tombstone, the reader can imagine? 'Here we are at last,' exclaimed my father and echo repeated his words. Carefully did we view this monument; presently we detected the letter 'C,' nearly obliterated by the action of time; after remaining there a few moments, to my unspeakable delight we made our exit from the chamber of death, and stepping over the ruins, we again alighted on the green sward. Evidently where we stood had formerly been a garden; we could still make out the avenues, the walks and plots, over which plum, lilac and apple trees grew wild.

"I had not yet uttered a word, but my curiosity getting the better of my fear, I demanded an explanation of this mysterious tombstone. My father beckoned me towards a shady old maple; we both sat on the turf, and he then told me as follows:--You have, no doubt, my son, heard of a French Intendant, of the name of Bigot, who had charge of the public funds in Canada somewhere about the year 1757; you have also read how he squandered these moneys and how his Christian Majesty had him sent to the Bastille when he returned to France, and had his property confiscated. All this you know. I shall now tell you what, probably, you do not know. This Intendant attempted to lead in Canada the same dissolute life which the old _noblesse_ led in France before the Revolution had _levelled_ all classes. He it was who built this country seat, of which you now contemplate the ruins. Here he came to seek relaxation from the cares of office; here he prepared entertainments to which the rank and fashion of Quebec, including the Governor General, eagerly flocked; nothing was wanting to complete the _éclat_ of this _little_ Versailles. Hunting was a favorite pastime of our ancestors, and Bigot was a mighty hunter. As active as a chamois, as daring as a lion was this indefatigable Nimrod, in the pursuit of bears and moose.

"On one occasion, when tracking with some sporting friends an old bear whom he had wounded, he was led over mountainous ridges and ravines very far from the castle. Nothing could restrain him; on he went in advance of every one, until the bloody trail brought him on the wounded animal, which he soon dispatched.

"During the chase the sun had gradually sunk over the western hills; the shades of evening were fast descending; how was the lord of the manor to find his way back? he was alone in a thick forest; in this emergency his heart did not fail him,--he hoped by the light of the moon to be able to return to his stray companions. Wearily he walked on, ascending once or twice a lofty tree, in order to see further, but all in vain; soon the unpleasant conviction dawned on him that like others in similar cases, he had been walking round a circle. Worn out and exhausted with fatigue and hunger, he sat down to ponder on what course he should adopt. The Queen of night, at that moment shedding her silvery rays around, only helped to show the hunter how hopeless was his present position. Amidst these mournful reflections, his ear was startled by the sound of footsteps close by; his spirits rose at the prospect of help being at hand; soon he perceived the outlines of a moving white object. Was it a phantom which his disordered imagination had conjured up; terrified he seized his trusty gun and was in the act of firing, when the apparition, rapidly advancing toward him, assumed quite a human form; a little figure stood before him with eyes as black as night, and raven tresses flowing to the night wind; a spotless garment enveloped in its ample folds this airy and graceful spectre. Was it a sylph, the spirit of the wilderness? Was it Diana, the goddess of the chase, favoring one of her most ardent votaries with a glimpse of her form divine? It was neither. It was an Algonquin beauty, one of those ideal types whose white skin betray their hybrid origin--a mixture of European blood with that of the aboriginal races. It was Caroline, a child of love, born on the shores of the great Ottawa river; a French officer was her sire, and the powerful Algonquin tribe of the Beaver claimed her mother.

"The Canadian Nimrod, struck at the sight of such extraordinary beauty, asked her name, and after relating his adventure, he begged of her to shew him the way to the castle in the neighborhood, as she must be familiar with every path in the forest. Such is the story told of the first meeting between the Indian beauty and the Canadian Minister of Finance and Feudal Judge in the year 175--.

"The Intendant was a married man; [326] his lady resided in the capital of Canada. She seldom accompanied her husband on his hunting excursions, but soon it was whispered that something more than the pursuit of wild animals attracted him to his country seat; an intrigue with an Indian beauty was hinted at. These discreditable rumors came to the ears of her ladyship; she made several visits to the castle in hopes of verifying her worst fears; jealousy is a watchful sentinel.

"The Intendant's dormitory was on the ground floor of the building; it is supposed the Indian girl occupied a secret apartment on the flat above; that her boudoir was reached through a long narrow passage, ending with a hidden staircase opening on the large room which overlooked the garden.

"The King, therefore, for his defence Against the furious Queen, At Woodstock builded such a bower, As never yet was seen. Most curiously that bower was built, Of stone and timber strong." (Ballad of Fair Rosamond.)

"Let us now see what took place on this identical spot on the 2nd July, 176--. It is night; the hall clock has just struck eleven; the murmur of the neighboring brook, gently wafted on the night wind, is scarcely audible; the Song Sparrow [327] has nearly finished his evening hymn, while the _Sweet Canada_ [328] bird, from the top of an old pine, merrily peals forth his shrill clarion. Silence the most profound pervades the whole castle; every light is extinguished; the pale rays of the moon slumber softly on the oak floor, reflected as they are through the gothic windows; every inmate is wrapped in sleep, even fair Rosamond who has just retired. Suddenly her door is violently thrust open; a masked person, with one bound rushes to her bed-side, and without saying a word, plunges a dagger to the hilt in her breast. Uttering a piercing shriek, the victim springs in the air and falls heavily on the floor. The Intendant, hearing the noise, hurries up stairs, raises the unhappy girl who has just time to point to the fatal weapon, still in the wound, and then falls back in his arms a lifeless corpse. The whole household are soon on foot; search is made for the murderer, but no clue is discovered. Some of the inmates fancied they had seen the figure of a woman rush down the secret stair and disappear in the woods about the time the murder took place. A variety of stories were circulated, some pretended to trace the crime to the Intendant's wife, whilst others alleged that the avenging mother of the creole was the assassin; some again urged that Caroline's father had attempted to wipe off the stain on the honour of his tribe, by himself despatching his erring child. A profound mystery to this day surrounds the whole transaction. Caroline was buried in the cellar of the castle, and the letter 'C' engraved on her tombstone, which, my son, you have just seen."

Half a century has now elapsed since the period mentioned in this narrative. In vain do we search for several of the leading characteristics on which Mr. Papineau descants so eloquently; time, the great destroyer, has obliterated many traces. Nothing meets one's view but mouldering walls, over which green moss and rank weeds cluster profusely. Unmistakable indications of a former garden there certainly are, such as the outlines of walks over which French cherry, apple and gooseberry trees grow in wild luxuriance. I took home from the ruins a piece of bone; this decayed piece of mortality may have formed part of Caroline's big toe, for aught I can establish to the contrary; Château-Bigot brought back to my mind other remembrances of the past. I recollected reading that pending the panic consequent on the surrender of Quebec in 1759, the non- combatants of the city crowded within its walls; this time not to realized, but to seek concealment until Mars had inscribed another victory on the British flag. Who would be prepared to swear that later, when Arnold and Montgomery had possession of the environs of Quebec, during the greater portion of the winter, of 1775-6, some of those prudent English merchants, (Adam Lymburner at their head), who awaited at Charlesbourg and Beauport the issue of the contest, did not take a quiet drive, to Château- Bigot, were it only to indulge in a philosophical disquisition on the mutability of human events?

We are indebted to Mr. John D. Stewart of Quebec for a copy of the following letter from his grandfather, written in 1776, from the Château.

(Mr. Charles Stewart, father of the late Mr. Charles Grey Stewart, Comptroller of Customs, to his father.)

"HERMITAGE, June 25th, 1776.

"MY DEAR FATHER,--I was overjoyed to hear by a letter from Mr. Gray, that you and my dear mother were in good health. Nothing can give me greater pleasure than to hear so. I was very sorry to hear that my sister had been ill. I hope she is now getting better.

We have been here for this winter in a very dismal situation. The rebels came here and blocked up the town of Quebec, at the end of November. I had been not at all well for two months previous, and at that time had not got better with a pain which obliged me to stay in the country, where I had been all the summer, although greatly against my inclination. I was allowed to remain peaceably by the rebels, until the middle of January, when I was taken and carried with sword and (fixed) bayonets before their general; the reason why, was, that after their attack upon the town on the 31st December, the Yankees were obliged to demand assistance of the country people to join them. I had spoken and done what I could to hinder the people of the village where I resided from going and taking arms with them. This came to light, and I was told at their head-quarters their general, one Arnold, a horse jockey or shipmaster, who then had the command, threatened to send me over to the (New England) colonies. After being detained a ... and two days, Arnold asked me, if he had not seen me before in Quebec. I said he had, and put him in remembrance of having once dined with him; upon which he said, on condition that I gave my word of honour not to meddle in the matter, he would allow me to go away. I told him the inhabitants were a parcel of scoundrels, and beyond a gentleman's notice; upon this I got off, and remained for upwards of two months without molestation, till the tracks of persons going to town from Beauport had been observed; the country people immediately suspected me, and came with drawn cutlasses to take me; luckily I was from home, having gone two days before about fifteen miles to see an acquaintance, and when I got back they had found out who had gone in (to town). The ill-nature of the peasants to me made me very uneasy on account of all the papers I had of Mr. Gray's, and dreading their malice much, I determined to go from them. I found out a place about five miles up amongst the woods, the Hermitage which being vacant I immediately retired to it, and carried all my papers with me. Mr. Peter Stewart had gone from his house in Beauport, down with his family to the Posts, and gave me the charge of it, and having heard that they (the Yankees) were going to put 150 men in it, I sent all his furniture, &c., to the house I had taken, so that I had my house all furnished; this was in the beginning of March; since which I have remained there. The people who left the town in the fall have not been allowed to go back. A Mr. Vi... one of the most considerable merchants, went in immediately after the 6th of May, (the day when the town people made a sally with about 900 men in all, who drove nigh 3000 of the Yankees from their camp, and relieved the town) and was sent to prison and kept several days. Major John Nairn was so obliging as to come out 8 or 9 days after that affair to see me; he asked me why I had not been in town. I told him the reason; I had got no pass. The next day he sent me one; except another, this is the only one which had been granted by the Governor as yet, and it is thought some won't be allowed to go in this summer, why, I cannot say. Every person had liberty to leave or stay by a proclamation for that purpose, but as it is military law, no person dare say it is wrong

I am going now again to remain in town, having now learned a little of the French. I understand every word almost that is said, although I cannot speak it as well; however I could wish that my brother John knew as much of it. I three days ago wrote him they were gone to Halifax, but am told they are to go from there to New York soon....

I am at present studying a little of the French law. If I do not make use it, it will do me no harm. I expect you have had letters from my brother Andrew....

I wish you would send me your vouchers of all your Jamaica debts I could go easily from here to there. If I cannot get money I can get rum, which sells and will sell, at a great price in this place. I can only stay there a few months."

Nor must we forget the jolly pic-nics the barons held there some eighty years ago. [329]

On quitting these silent halls, from which the light of other days had departed, and from whence the voice of revelry seems to have fled forever, I re-crossed the little brook, already mentioned, musing on the past. The solitude which surrounds the dwelling and the tomb of the dark-haired child of the wilderness, involuntarily brought to mind that beautiful passage of Ossian, [330] relating to the daughter of Reuthamir, the "white-bosomed" Moina:--"I have seen the walls of Balclutha, but they were desolate. The fire had resounded in the halls, and the voice of the people is heard no more. The thistle shook there its lonely head; the moss whistled to the wind. The fox looked out of the windows, the rank grass of the wall waved round its head. Desolate is the dwelling of Moina, silence is in the house.... Raise the, song of mourning, O bards! over the land of strangers. They have but fallen before us: for one day, we must fall."

L'INTENDANT BIGOT--ROMANCE CANADIENNE. PAR JOS. MARMETTE.

After perusing the Legend of _Caroline, the Algonquin Maid_, the lover of Canadian story, can find a more artistically woven plot in one of Mr. Marmette's historical novels L'Intendant Bigot. The following passage is from a short critique we recently published thereon:

"It is within the portals of Beaumanoir (Château-Bigot) that several of the most thrilling scenes in Mr. Marmette's novel are supposed to have taken place. A worthy veteran of noble birth, M. de Rochebrune, had died in Quebec through neglect and hunger, on the very steps of Bigot's luxurious palace, then facing the St Charles, leaving an only daughter, as virtuous as she was beautiful. One day, whilst returning through the fields (where St. Rochs has since been built) from visiting a nun in the General Hospital, she was unexpectedly seized by a strong arm and thrown on a swift horse, whose rider never stopped until he had deposited his victim at Bigot's country seat, Charlesbourg. The name of this cold-blooded villain was Soumois. He was a minion of the mighty and unscrupulous Bigot. Mdlle. de Rochebrune had a lover. A dashing young French officer was Raoul de Beaulac. Maddened with love and rage he closely watched Bigot's movements in the city, and determined to repossess his treasure, it mattered not, at what sacrifice. Bigot's was a difficult game to play. He had a _liaison_ with one of the most fascinating and fashionable married ladies of Quebec, and was thus prevented from hastening to see the fair prey awaiting him at Beaumanoir. Raoul played a bold game, and calling jealousy to his help, he went and confided the deed to Madame Pean, Bigot's fair charmer, entreating her immediate interference, and after some hairbreadth escapes, arrived at the Château with her just in time to save Mdlle de Rochebrune from dishonor.

Madame Pean was returning to the city with Mdlle de Rochebrune and Raoul, when on driving past the walls of the Intendant's palace, close to the spot where Desfosses street now begins, her carriage was attacked by a band of armed men--a reconnoitering party from Wolfe's fleet, anchored at Montmorency. A scuffle ensued, shots were fired, and some of the assailants killed; but in the _mêlée_ Mdlle. de Rochebrune was seized and hurried into the English boat commanded by one Capt. Brown. During the remainder of the summer the Canadian maid, treated with every species of respect, remained a prisoner on board the admiral's ship. (It is singular that Admiral Durell, whose beloved young son was at the time a prisoner of war at Three Rivers, did not propose an exchange of prisoners.) In the darkness and confusion which attended the disembarking of Wolfe's army on the night of the 12th of September, 1759, at Sillery, Mdlle. de Rochebrune slipped down the side of the vessel, and getting into one of the smaller boats, drifted ashore with the tide, and landed at Cap Rouge, just as her lover Raoul, who was a Lieutenant in La Roche-Beaucour's Cavalry was patrolling the heights of Sillery. Overpowered with joy, she rode behind him back to the city, and left him on nearing her home; but, to her horror, she spied dodging her footsteps her arch enemy the Intendant, and fell down in a species of fit, which turned out to be catalepsy. This furnishes, of course, a very moving _tableau_. The fair girl---supposed to be dead---was laid out in her shroud, when Raoul, during the confusion of that terrible day for French Rule, the 13th September, calling to see her, finds her a corpse just ready for interment. Fortunately for the heroine, a bombshell forgotten in the yard, all at once and in the nick of time igniting, explodes, shattering the tenement in fragments. The concussion recalls Mdlle. de Rochebrune to life; a happy marriage soon after ensues. The chief character in the novel, the Intendant sails shortly after for France, where he was imprisoned, as history states, in the Bastile, during fifteen months, and his ill-gotten gains confiscated. All this, with the exception of Mdlle. de Rochebrune's career, is strictly historical."

_THE FALLS OF THE CHAUDIÈRE_.

A tourist of a cultured mind and familiar with classic lore, standing on the lofty brow of the _Chaudière_, might, without any peculiar flights of imagination, fancy he beholds around him a solitary dell of that lovely TEMPE immortalized in song:

"Est nemos Haemoniae, praerupta quod undique claudit Silva; vocant Tempe; per quae Peneus ab imo Effusus Pindo, spumosis volvitur undis, Dejectuque gravi tenues agitantia fumos Nubila conducit, sommasque aspergine silvas Impluit, et sonitu plus quam vicina fatigat." _Ovid Met_. I--568.

The Falls of the _Chaudière_, in their chief features, differ entirely from the majestic cascade of Montmorency.

"To a person who desires nothing more than the primary and sudden electric feeling of an overpowering and rapturous surprise, the cascade of Montmorency would certainly be preferable, but to the visitor, whose understanding and sensibilities are animated by an infusion of antiquated romance, the Falls of the _Chaudière_ would be more attractive." [331]

This favourite resort of tourists is accessible by two modes of travel. We would assuredly advise visitors, both on account of the striking objects to be met with, to select the water route, going the land route on their return; a small steamer plies daily, for a 10 cent fare, at stated hours, from the Lower Town market place, touching at Sillery and skirting the dark frowning cliffs of Cape Diamond, amidst the shipping, affording a unique view of the mural-crowned city. After stopping five minutes at the Sillery wharf, the steamer crosses over and lands its passengers nearly opposite the R. C. Church of St. Romuald, which, with its frescoed ceiling and ornate interior is one of the handsomest temples of worship round Quebec. Vehicles are abundant at Levi and at St. Romuald; an hour's drive will land the tourist on the weird and romantic brink of the _Chaudière_, either by following the lower road on the beach, skirting the adjoining highland, or taking the road on the heights.

"Although yielding in grandeur to Niagara and Montmorency, it possesses features more interesting than either. The river, in its course of one hundred miles over a rugged bed, full of rapids and falls, is here narrowed to a width of between three hundred and four hundred feet, and is precipitated over a height of about one hundred and thirty feet, preserving the characteristic features of its _boiling_ waters, till it mingles with the St. Lawrence. Hence it has received the appropriate name of _Chaudière_ or _Caldron_. Instead of descending in one continuous sheet, it is divided by large projecting rocks into three channels or cataracts, which, however, unite before reaching the basin below. A globular figure is imparted to the descending volumes of brilliant white foam, in consequence of the deep excavations of the rocks, and the clouds of spray produce in the sunshine a brilliant variety of prismatic colours. The dark-green foliage of the dense forests that overhang the torrent on both sides, forms a striking contrast with its snow-white foam.

"The wild diversity of rocks, the foliage of the overhanging woods, the rapid motion, the effulgent brightness and the--deeply solemn sound of the cataracts, all combine to present a rich assemblage of objects highly attractive, especially when the visitor, emerging from the wood, is instantaneously surprised by the delightful scene. Below, the view is greatly changed, and the falls produce an additionally strong and vivid impression.

"If strangers view the Falls from one side of the river only, the prospect from the eastern shore is recommended as preferable.

"The Falls of Montmorency are not immediately surrounded by any rugged scenery, calculated to strengthen and perpetuate the peculiar emotion which is excited by the first glimpse of the cascade, but the dreary wildness in the foliage of the encircling forest, the total absence of every vestige of human improvement, and the tumultuous waves and commotion and effulgence that incessantly occupy the mind and rivet the senses of the beholder in the survey of the _Chaudière_, conjoined with the wider expansion and larger quantity of water in the stream, in the opinion of many visitors more than compensate for the greater elevation from which the waters of the Montmorency are precipitated."

On returning to the town of Levi, the tourist, taking the upper road, may visit the Falls of Etchemin, where have existed for close on a century, the extensive saw mills of Sir John Caldwell. They are now owned by Henry Atkinson, Esq.

APPENDIX

[See p. 4.]

_JACQUES CARTIER'S OFFICERS AND CREW._

_Liste de l'Équipage_ de Jacques Cartier, conservée dans les archives de St. Malo, France--revue avec soin sur le _fac-similé_ par C. H. Laverdière, Ptre., Bibliothécaire de l'Université Laval, 22 novembre, 1859.

Jacques Cartier, capne. Thomas Fourmont, Me. de la nef. Guille. Le breton Bastille, capne. et pilote du Galion. Jacq. Maingar, me. du Galion. Marc Jalobert, capne. et pilote du Courlieu. Guille. de Marié, me. de Courlieu. Laurent Boulain. Estienne Nouel. Pierre Esmery dict Talbot. Michel Herué. Estienne Reumevel. Michel Audiepore. Bertrande Samboste. Richard Lebay, Faucamps. Lucas père Sr., ou Lucas Jacq, Sr., Fammys. François Guiteault, Apoticaire. Georges Mabille. Guillme. Sequart, charpentier. Robin Le Fort. Samson Ripault, barbier. Françoys Guillet. Guillme. Esnault, charpentier. Jehan Dabin, charpentier. Jehan Duuert. Julien Golet. Thomas Boulain. Michel Philipot. Jehan Hamel. Jehan Fleury. Guille. Guilbert. Colas Barbe. Laurens Gaillot. Guille. Bochier. Michel Eon. Jean Anthoine. Michel Maingard. Jehan Margen. Bertrand Apuril. Giles Staffin. Geoffrey Olliuier. Guille. de Guernezé Eustache Grossin. Guillme. Allierte. Jehan Ravy. Pierres Marquier, trompet. Guille. Legentilhomme. Raoullet Maingard. Françoys Duault. Herué Henry. Yvon Legal. Anthoine Alierte. Jehan Colas. Jacq Poinsault. Dom Guille. Le Breton. Dom Antoine. Philipe Thomas, charpentier. Jacq. Duboys. Julien Plantiruet. Jehan Go. Jehan Legentilhomme. Michel Douquais, charpentier. Jehan Aismery, charpentier. Pierre Maingart. Lucas Clauier. Goulset Riou. Jehan Jacq. de Morbihan. Pierre Nyel. Legendre Estienne Leblanc. Jehan Pierres. Jehan Commuyres. Anthoine Desgranches. Louys Donayrer. Pierre Coupeaulx. Pierres Jonchée.

_74 signatures; the subsequent seven signatures were added in the answer to the Quebec Prize Historical Questions, submitted in_ 1879.

Jean Gouyon. Charles Gaillot. Claude de Pontbrians. Charles de la Pommeraye. Jean Poullet. Philippe Rougemont. De Goyelle.

"_JACQUES QUARTIER, THE PILOT._"

"Gerald, eleventh Earl of Kildare, was born on the 26th of February, 1525. He was ten years of age at the time of his brother's arrest, and then lying ill with the small-pox at Donore in the County Kildare. He was committed to the care of his tutor, Thomas Leverous, who conveyed him in a large basket into Offaly to his sister, Lady Mary O'Connor. There he remained until he perfectly recovered. The misfortunes of his family had excited great sympathy for the boy over the whole of Ireland. This made the government anxious to have him in their power; and they endeavored accordingly to induce O'Brien to surrender him to them. About the 5th of March, 1540, Lady Eleanor O'Donnel, suspecting that it was the intention of her husband to surrender Gerald to the English Government, resolved to send him away. She engaged a merchant vessel of St. Malo which happened to be in Donegal Bay, to convey a small party to the coast of Brittany.

"Bartholomew Warner, an agent of the English Government, sends the following account of this transaction to Sir John Wallop, the English Ambassador in France:

"'After ther departing from Yrlande they arryved at Murles (Morlaix) wher, as he was well receyvyd of the Captayne, whiche leadde him throughe the towne by the hande, wher he tarryed 3 or 4 days, and strayghtwayes, the captayne sent word to Monsieur de Chattebriande off ther arrivying ther. * * * * And from thens they came in the sayde shippe to Saynt Malo, where he was also well receyvyd of them of the Town, and specially of Jacques Quartier, the pilot, which your Lordship spake off at my being at Rouene.'"--_The Earls of Kildare and their Ancestors, from_ 1057 _to_ 1773, by the Marquis of Kildare. 3rd edition, pp. 179, 196.

_DISCOVERY OF THE REMAINS OF JACQUES CARTIER'S VESSEL, THE "PETITE HERMINE."_

(_Note for pages 429-431-455._)

On the 25th of August, 1843, there was much commotion among the antiquarians of our old city. Mr. Jos. Hamel, the city surveyor, had thought it proper to call the attention of the Literary and Historical Society to the remains of a vessel lying at the brook St. Michel, which falls into the River St. Charles on the north bank about half way between the General Hospital and old Dorchester Bridge. This vessel was supposed to be the _Petite Hermine_, one of Jacques Cartier's vessels left by him at the place where he wintered in 1535-6.

"The existence of this vessel had been known to persons frequenting the place for a great many years. Part of it, the farthest out in the stream, had been carried away for firewood or otherwise, and the forepart of the vessel was covered with clay and earth from the adjoining bank to the depth of six or seven feet. This was in great part removed, leaving the keel and part of the planking and ribs visible. The vessel had been built of large-grained oak, which was mostly in a good state of preservation, although discolored, and the iron spikes and bolts were still strong. The bolts in the keel, contrary to the usual practice, had been placed in from below. This is the spot where Jacques Cartier, is supposed to have wintered. The tide rises in the entrance of the brook, where the vessel lies, about six or seven feet. This entrance forms a semi-circular cove, on each side of which towards the St. Charles, the earth is elevated so as to have the appearance of a breastwork; the bank to the west of the cove is about eighteen feet high, and it was then covered with thick brush which prevented its being fully examined. The distance of the place from town is about one mile; the road is over the Dorchester Bridge and along the north bank of the St. Charles."--(_Quebec Gazette_, August 30, 1843).

(_From the Quebec Gazette, 30th August_, 1843.)

"In the last number (August 25th, inst.,) of _Le Canadien_ there is an article of deep interest to the Canadian antiquarian: The long agitated question as to the _where_ or _whereabouts_ Jacques Cartier, on his second voyage from France to this continent spent the winter of 1535-6; whether at the embouchure of the river bearing his name emptying into the St. Lawrence some ten or eleven leagues above Quebec, or in the little river St. Charles to the north of and at the foot of the promontory on which Quebec is built, is now, it would seem, about to be solved and satisfactorily set at rest by the recent discovery of the remains of a vessel, doubtless of European construction, supposed to be those of _La Petite Hermine_, of about 60 tons burthen, one of the three (_La Grande Hermine_, _La Petite Hermine_, and _L'Emerillon_), with which on the 19th of May, 1535, that intrepid navigator left St. Malo.

The article alluded to, which we believe to be the work of the editor himself (Mr. McDonald) of _Le Canadien_, logically establishes from Jacques Cartier's narrative that the place of his wintering, or Sainte Croix, as he named it, can be none other than the little river St. Charles, as we now call it. "Coasting," says he, "the said island (Orleans) we found at the upper end of it an expanse of water very beautiful and pleasant, at which place there is a little river and bar harbor with two or three fathoms of water, which we found to be a place suitable for putting our vessels in safety. We called it _Ste. Croix_, because on that day, (14th September) we arrived there. Near this place there are natives, whose chief is Donnacona and who lives there, which place is called Stadaconé," (now Quebec). Cartier observes in another part of his narrative that _Sainte Croix_ was situate half a league from _and to the north_ of Quebec. Again, speaking of the residence (Stadacone) of Donnacona, he says, "_under which high land towards the north_ is the river and harbour Sainte Croix, at which place we remained from the 15th of September, to the 16th of May, 1536, where the vessels remained dry."

* * * * *

"We now translate from _Le Canadien_:--'At the invitation of Mr. Jos. Hamel, City Surveyor, Hon. Wm. Sheppard, the President, and (G. B.) Faribault, Vice-President of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, went with him on Saturday, the 19th instant, (1843) to visit the place, and according to the position of the _debris_ of the vessel, the nature of the wood it is composed of, and the character of the stones (ballast) they found at the bottom, they were satisfied that all the probabilities are in favor of Mr. Hamel's hypothesis.

"'On a report of this visit, the Council of the Literary and Historical Society assembled on Monday last, and resolved on laying open the _debris_, leaving it to Mr. Faribault, the Vice-President, to make, with Mr. Hamel, the necessary arrangements for the execution. The members of the Council having no funds at their disposal, that they can legally apply to this purpose, have so far carried it on at their own expense.

"'Some valuable evidences of the ancient existence of this vessel have been gathered. We shall speak of them in giving an account of the exhumation in progress, under the direction of Messrs. Faribault and Hamel. All those who can throw any light on the subject, either of their own knowledge or by what they may have learnt by tradition, are earnestly solicited to impart the same at the Office of _Le Canadien_.'

"Those gentlemen ought not to be allowed to carry on this work at their sole expense. The country, the world, are interested in it. This continent in 1535, from end to end one vast wilderness, the imagination can scarcely figure to itself a more awful solitude than that in which, during the winter of 1535-6 Cartier and his faithful followers, amidst savages in an unknown country, during a Canadian winter, at a thousand leagues from their native land, were buried in the dreary swamp (for it then must have been little better) of _Sainte Croix_ now the beautiful valley of the St. Charles, covered with cheerful cottages and a redundant population. Look to-day from the Citadel of _Stadaconé_ in all directions north, south, east, west, than which under heaven, there is not a more splendid panorama, and think of what it was when Cartier and his comrades first looked upon it. Contrast his landing on the flinty rock at the base of Cape Diamond, the 14th September, 1535, and reception by a few gaping savages, with that of the present Governor-General, Sir Charles Metcalfe; amidst acclaiming thousands, on the 25th (Aug. 1843)--the manner of passing a winter at Stadaconé in 1535-6 and at the same place in 1842-3. What changes have the three centuries wrought! What recollections have they left! And what changes will not the next three hundred years bring about? More wonderful probably than those we admire to-day. But come what may of that which men sometimes call great and glorious, nothing can obliterate or eclipse the honors justly due to the memory of the celebrated navigator and his comrades, who first "coasting the said island (now Orleans) found at the end of it an expanse of water very beautiful and pleasant, and a little bar harbour," ('hable,' as he calls it,) and wintered there at about half a league northward of and under the highland of Stadaconé."

"During the dismal winter Jacques Cartier must have passed in his new quarters at _Ste. Croix_, he lost, by sickness contracted, it is said, from the natives, but more probably from scurvy, twenty-five of his men. This obliged him to abandon one of his three vessels (_La Petite Hermine_ it is believed) which he left in her winter quarters, returning with the two others to France. The _locale_ of the _débris_ or remains, not only corresponds with the description given by Jacques Cartier of Ste. Croix, but also with the attention and particular care that might be expected from a skilful commander, in the selection of a safe spot in an unknown region where never an European had been before him, for wintering his vessels. They lie in the bottom of a small creek or gulley, known as the _ruisseau St. Michel_, into which the tides regularly flow, on the property of Charles Smith, Esq., on the north side of the St. Charles and at about half a mile following the bends of the river above the site of the old Dorchester Bridge.--They are a little up the creek at about an acre from its mouth, and their position (where a sudden or short turn of the creek renders it next to impossible that she should be forced out of it by any rush of water in the spring or efforts of the ice,) evinces at once the precaution and the judgment of the commander in his choice of the spot. But small portions of her remaining timber (oak) are visible through the mud, but they are bitumanised and black as ebony, and after reposing in that spot 307 years, seem, as far as by chopping them with axes or spades, and probing by iron rods or picks, can be ascertained, sound as the day they were brought thither. The merit of the discovery belongs to our fellow townsman, Mr. Joseph Hamel, the City Surveyor."

Quebec, 28th August, 1843.

_"LE CANON DE BRONZE."--THE BRONZE CANNON._

"A few years ago an ancient cannon of peculiar make, and supposed to have been of Spanish construction, was found in the river St. Lawrence, opposite the Parish of Champlain, in the District of Three Rivers. It is now in the Museum of Mr. Chasseur, and will repay the visit of the curious stranger. The ingenious writer of the Treatise upon this piece of ordnance, published in the second volume of the TRANSACTIONS of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, has endeavoured to show that it belonged to Verazzani,--that the latter perished before the second voyage of Jacques Cartier, either by scurvy or shipwreck, on his way up the river towards Hochelaga. He also endeavors, with great stretch of fancy, to explain and account for the pantomime enacted by the Indians in the presence of Jacques Cartier, in order to dissuade him from proceeding to Hochelaga so late in the season, by their recollection and allusion to the death of Verazzani, some nine or ten years before. But if they had really known anything respecting the fate of this navigator--and it must have been fresh in their memory, if we recall to mind how comparatively short a period had elapsed--is it not most likely that they would have found means, through the two interpreters to communicate it to Cartier? Yet it appears that the latter never so much as heard of it, either at Hochelai, now the Richelieu, where he was on friendly terms with the chief of the village--or at Hochelaga, where it must have been known--or when he wintered at Ste. Croix, in the little river St. Charles--nor yet when he passed a second winter at Carouge! The best evidence, however, that the Indian pantomime had no reference to Verazzani, and to disprove at once the truth of the tradition respecting his death in any part of the St. Lawrence, is to show, which we shall do on good authority, that at the very time when Cartier was passing the winter at Ste. Croix, Verazzani was actually alive in Italy. From a letter of Annibal Caro, quoted by Tiraboschi, an author of undoubted reputation, in the Storie della Literature Italiana, Vol. VII. part I. pp. 261, 462, it is proved that Verazzani was living in 1537, a year after the pantomime at Ste. Croix!

While on the subject of the Canon de Bronze it may be noted that Charlevoix mentions also a tradition, that Jacques Cartier himself was shipwrecked at the mouth of the river called by his name, with the loss of one of his vessels. From this it has been supposed that the Canon de Bronze was lost on that occasion; and an erroneous inscription to that effect has been engraved upon it. In the first place the cannon was not found at the mouth of the River Jacques Cartier, but opposite the Parish of Champlain; in the next, no shipwreck was ever suffered by Jacques Cartier, who wintered in fact at the mouth of the little river St. Charles. The tradition as to his shipwreck, and to the loss of one of his vessels, most probably arose from the well known circumstance of his having returned to France with two ships, instead of three, with which he left St. Malo. Having lost so many men by scurvy during his first winter in Canada, he was under the necessity of abandoning one of them, which lay in the harbour of Ste. Croix. The people of Champlain having possessed themselves of the old iron to be found on the vessel, it of course soon fell to pieces, and in process of time arose the tradition that Jacques Cartier had been shipwrecked. The removal of the scene of his supposed disaster from the St. Charles to the River Jacques Cartier. was an error of Charlevoix.

Before we conclude this notice of Verazzani: it may be mentioned, that in the Strozzi Library at Florence, is preserved a manuscript, in which he is said to have given with great minuteness, a description of all the countries which he had visited during his voyage, and from which, says Tiraboschi, we derive the intelligence, that he had formed the design, in common with the other navigators of that era, of attempting a passage through those seas to the East Indies. It is much to be desired, that some Italian Scholar would favor the world with the publication of this manuscript of Verazzani."

[_See pages_ 71-72.]

_THE FRENCH WHO REMAINED IN QUEBEC AFTER ITS CAPITULATION TO THE BRITISH IN 1629._

(_From the Canadian Antiquarian_)

In Canadian annals there is no period veiled deeper in Cimmerian darkness, than the short era of the occupation of Quebec by the English under Louis Kirke, extending from the 14th July 1629, to 13th July, 1632. The absence of diaries, of regular histories, no doubt makes it difficult to reconstruct, in minute details, the nascent city of 1629. Deep researches, however, in the English and French archives have recently brought to the surface many curious incidents. To the Abbé Faillon, who, in addition to the usual sources of information had access to the archives of the Propaganda at Rome, the cause of history is deeply indebted, though one must occasionally regret his partiality towards Montreal which so often obscures his judgment. Another useful source to draw from for our historians, will be found in a very recent work on the conquest of Canada in 1629 by a descendant of Louis Kirke, an Oxford graduate, it is published in England.

Those who fancy reading the present to the past, will be pleased to meet in those two last writers a quaint account of the theological feud agitating the Rock in 1629. Religious controversies were then, as now, the order of the day. But bluff Commander Kirke had a happy way of getting rid of bad theology. His Excellency, whose ancestors hailed from France, was a Huguenot, a staunch believer in John Calvin. Of his trusty garrison of 90 men a goodly portion were calvinists, the rest, however, with the chaplain of the forces, were disciples of Luther. The squabble, from theology, degenerated into disloyalty to the constituted authorities, a conspiracy was hatched to overthrow the Governor's rule and murder Kirke. His Reverence the Lutheran minister was supposed to be in some way accessory to the plot, which Kirke found means to suppress with a high hand, and His Reverence, without the slightest regard to the cut of his coat, was arrested and detained a prisoner for six months in the Jesuit's residence on the banks of the St. Charles, near Hare Point, from which he emerged, let us hope, a wiser, if not a better man. History has failed to disclose the name of the Lutheran minister.

Elsewhere [332] we have furnished a summary of the French families who remained in Quebec in 1629, after the departure of Champlain and capitulation of the place to the British. Students of Canadian history are indebted to Mr. Stanislas Drapeau, of Ottawa, for a still fuller account, which we shall take the liberty to translate.

"Over and above the English garrison of Quebec, numbering 90 men, we can make out that twenty-eight French remained. The inmates of Quebec that winter amounted to 118 persons, as follows:

1. GUILLAUME HOBOU--Marie Rollet, his wife, widow of the late Louis Hébert, Guillaume Hébert son of Louis Hébert.

2. GUILLAUME COUILLARD, son-in-law of the late Louis Hébert.--Guillemette Hébert, his wife, Louise, aged four years, Marguerite, aged three years, Louis, aged two years, their children.

3. ABRAHAM MARTIN.--Marguerite Langlois, his wife; Anne, aged twenty-five years; Marguerite, aged five years; Hélène, aged two years, their children.

4. PIERRE DESPORTES.--Francois Langlois, his wife; Hélène Langlois.

5. NICHOLAS PIVERT.--Marguerite Lesage, his wife; Marguerite Lesage, his little neice; Adrien du Chesne, Surgeon.

NICOLET; FROIDEMOUCHE; LE COQ., carpenter; PIERRE ROY, of Paris, coach- builder; ETIENNE BRUSLÉ, of Champigny, interpreter of the Hurons; NICOLAS MARSOLAIS, of Rouen, interpreter of the Montagnais; GROS JEAN, of Dieppe, interpreter of the Algonquins.

ENGLISH GARRISON.--Louis Kirke, Commandant and Governor;... Minister of Religion; Le Baillif, of Amiens, clerk to Kirke; 88 men, officers, and soldiers."

_THE ARMS OF THE DOMINION._

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES TO THE GOVERNOR GENERAL.

DOWNING STREET, October 14, 1868.

My Lord,--I have the honour to enclose a certified copy of 26th May, Her Majesty's Warrant of Assignment of 1868, Armorial Bearings for the Dominion and Provinces of Canada, which has been duly enrolled in Her Majesty's College of Arms, and I have to request that your Lordship will take such steps as may be necessary for carrying Her Majesty's gracious intentions into effect.

I have, &c,

(Signed) BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS.

TO THE GOVERNOR, THE RIGHT HON. VISC. MONK, &c., &c.

VICTORIA R.

VICTORIA, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, &c.

To our right trusty and well-beloved councillor Edward George Fitzalan Howard, (commonly called Lord Edward George Fitzalan Howard), deputy to our right trusty and right entirely beloved cousin, Henry, Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal, and our Hereditary Marshal of England--Greeting:

Whereas, etc,... We were empowered to declare after a certain day therein appointed, that the Provinces of Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick should form one Dominion under the name of Canada, etc.,... and after the first day of July, 1867, the said Provinces should form and be one Dominion under the name of Canada accordingly.

And forasmuch as it is Our Royal will and pleasure that for the greater honour and distinction of the said Provinces, certain Armorial Ensigns should be assigned to them;

Know Ye, therefore, that We, of Our Princely Grace and special favour have granted and assigned, and by these presents do grant and assign the Armorial Ensigns following, that is to say:

FOR THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

Vert a sprig of three Leaves of Maple slipped, or on a chief Argent the Cross of St. George.

FOR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC

Or on a Fess Gules between two Fluer de Lis in chief Azure, and a sprig of three Leaves of Maple slipped vert in base, a Lion passant guardant or

FOR THE PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA

Or on a Fess Wavy Azure between three Thistles proper, a Salmon Naiant Argent

FOR THE PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK

Or on Waves a Lymphad, or Ancient Galley, with Oars in action, proper on a chief Gules a Lion passant guardant or, as the same are severally depicted in the margin hereof, to be borne for the said respective Provinces on Seals, Shields, Banners, Flags or otherwise, according to the Laws of Arms

And we are further pleased to declare that the said United Province of Canada, being one Dominion under the name of Canada, shall, upon all occasions that may be required, use a common Seal, to be called the "Great Seal of Canada," which said seal shall be composed of the Arms of the said four Provinces quarterly, all of which armorial bearings are set forth in our Royal Warrant

Our Will and Pleasure is that you, Edward George Fitzalan Howard, (commonly called Lord Edward George Fitzalan Howard) Deputy to our said Earl Marshal, to whom the cognizance of matters of this nature doth properly belong, do require and command that this Our Concession and Declaration be recorded in our college of arms, in order that Our Officers of Arms and all other Public Functionaries whom it may concern may take full notice and knowledge thereof in their several and respective departments. And for so doing this shall be your Warrant, given at our Court at St James, this twenty-sixth day of May, in the thirty-first year of Our Reign

By Her Majesty's command,

(Signed) BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS

"SEAL OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA--Messrs J. G. and A. B. Wyon have now on view, at 287 Regent Street, impressions from the seals of the four provinces of Canada and the Great Seal of the Dominion, just completed, with the gold medal that has been struck in commemoration of the union of the provinces. They are all designed and executed in a very high style of art. Of the seals, that for the Dominion is, of coarse, the largest. It represents the Queen seated under a Gothic canopy and holding the ball and sceptre, while the wings of the canopy contain the shields of the Provinces--two on either side--hanging on the stem of an oak. These Gothic canopies occupy nearly the whole of the middle space of the seal, the ground between them and the border is covered with a rich diaper, and a shield bearing the Royal Arms of England fills the space beneath the centre canopy. The border of the seal bears the inscription, "Victoria, Dei Gratia, Britanniae Regina, F. D. In Canada Sigillum." This work would add to the reputation of any other seal engraver, though it can hardly do so to that of the Messrs Wyon, whose productions have long enjoyed a high and deserved celebrity. The seal is well filled, as it should be in a Gothic design, but it is not crowded, the ornaments are all very pure in style, and the whole is in the most perfect keeping. The execution is not less remarkable, the relief is extremely high in parts (although it does not at first appear to be so, owing to the breadth of the composition), but, in spite of this difficulty, the truth, sharpness, and finish of every part have been preserved as well as they could possibly be on a medal, or even on a coin. The smaller seals for the provinces are engraved on one general design. The crown surmounts a central shield bearing the Royal Arms, below which is a smaller shield bearing the arms of the particular province--New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, or Nova Scotia. The Royal motto on a flowing ribbon fills up the space at the sides; a border adapted to the outline of the design runs outside this, and touches the circular border of the seal containing the legend. These seals are no less remarkable for carefulness of execution than the one to which we have referred. The medal which has been struck to commemorate the confederation of the provinces is in solid gold, and is so large and massive that its value in metal alone is £50. On the obverse there is a head of the Queen, for which Her Majesty recently gave Mr. Wyon sittings; the reverse bears an allegorical design--Britannia seated and holding the scroll of confederation, with figures representing the four provinces grouped around her. Ontario holds the sheaf and sickle; Quebec, the paddle; Nova Scotia, the mining spade; and New Brunswick the forest axe. Britannia carries her trident and the lion crouches by her side. The following inscription runs round a raised border: "Juventas et Patrius Vigor Canada Instaurata 1867." The relief on this side is extremely bold, and the composition, modelling and finish are such as to leave little to be desired. The treatment of the head on the obverse is broad and simple; the hair is hidden by a sort of hood of flowing drapery confined by a plain coronet, and the surface is but little broken anywhere. The ornaments are massive rather than rich; there is a plain pendant in the ear, and a miniature of the Prince Consort is attached to a necklace of very chaste design."--_Morning Chronicle, Quebec._

[_See page_ 148.]

_MILITIA UNIFORMS._

Canadian militiamen will be interested in the following letter which appeared in the Toronto _Globe_.

SIR,--I observe in your "Notes from the Capital" a paragraph to the effect that Major-General Luard has taken exception to the gold lace worn by certain arms of the active militia. I am aware that this point has been raised before, and perhaps it is not a very material issue; but there is a feature--an historical one--in connection with the subject that deserves attention, and I remember when the militia was more active than now, in the face of danger to the peace of the country, this historical point was brought into prominence. I simply suggest that a certain warrant signed by the King after the war of 1812 be unearthed. I believe it lies somewhere in the militia archives, having been transferred from the Public Record Office. According to an old officer, now dead, who was familiar with it, this warrant authorises the Canadian militia--a royal force, by the way-- to wear the same uniform as His Majesty's "Royal Regiments." Hence it is that the characteristic features of the royal livery has been assumed by the artillery and the other arms of the service. My informant, who had served in 1812, also stated that it was owing to an accident that silver was assumed in 1862, the contractor in London, who supplied, in great haste, uniforms for the militia at the time of the Trent affair, assuming that "militia" uniforms must be after the style of the English force, which bears silver ornaments. The Canadian militia is, of course, on a different footing, and takes precedence after the regular army. I think, therefore, that for the sake of history and the prominent position of the Canadian militia in a warlike sense, and in view of services rendered, such as no other militia in the British service ever rendered, this point is worthy of revival and investigation. Apart from this there is the fact that a change of dress is a source of expense and embarrassment to officers. I have served in various corps for seventeen years, and I know. L. A. M. L.

[_See page_ 24.]

_HORSES._

"L'un des premiers soins du Monarque fut d'y faire passer (au Canada), à ses frais, des chevaux, tant pour faciliter aux colons les travaux de l'agriculture, que pour leur procurer leur commodité particulière, attendu que jusque-là ils n'avaient pu marcher qu'à l'aide de raquettes pendant l'hiver. Le 16 juillet 1665 on débarqua à Québec douze chevaux, les premiers envoyés de France par le Roi. Il était naturel que les sauvages, à qui ces animaux étaient entièrement inconnus, témoignassent une grande surprise en voyant ces _orignaux de France_: c'est ainsi qu'ils les appelaient, par comparaison avec ces animaux du pays, n'ayant pas de mots dans leur langue pour les désigner. Ce qu'ils admiraient surtout, c'étaient qu'ils fussent si traitables et si dociles sons la main de leurs cavaliers, qui les faisaient marcher à leur fantaisie. [333] Sa Majesté a encore envoyé des chevaux, écrivait en 1667 la mère Marie de l'Incarnation, et on nous a donné pour notre part deux belles juments et un cheval, tant pour la charrue que pour le charroi. [334] "L'année 1670, le Roi envoya pareillement un étalon et douze juments, et les fit distribuer aux gentilshommes du pays, les plus zélés pour la culture des terres: une jument à M. Talon, deux juments à M. de Chambly avec un étalon, une à M. de Sorel, une à M. de Contrecoeur, une à M. de Saint- Ours, une à M. de Varenne, deux juments à M. de Lachesnaye, une à M. de Latouche, une à M. de Repentigny, enfin la douzième à M. Le Ber. Voici les conditions auxquelles le Roi faisaient ces sortes de dons aux particuliers, ils devaient les nourrir pendant trois ans: et si par leur faute, quelqu'un de ces animaux venaient à mourir, celui à qui il avait été donné était obligé de donner au receveur du Roi la somme de deux cents livres. Dans l'autre cas, il pouvait le vendre après les trois ans expirés, ainsi que les poulains qu'il aurait pu avoir; mais avec charge au bout de trois ans, de donner au receveur de Sa Majesté un poulain d'un an pour chaque cheval, ou la somme de cent livres. Il était pareillement ordonné que, lorsque ces poulains que le Roi faisait élever et nourrir seraient parvenus à leur troisième année, on les distribuer ait à d'autres particuliers, et toujours aux mêmes conditions. [335] Comme on le voit, ces conditions ne pouvaient être plus avantageuses aux particuliers, ni au pays en général; aussi Colbert, qui avait tant à coeur de voir fleurir la colonie, écrivait à M. Talon, le 11 février 1671. "Je tiendrai la main à ce qu'il soit envoyé en Canada des cavales et des ânesses, afin de multiplier ces espèces si nécessaires à la commodité des habitants." [336] De tous les animaux domestiques envoyés par le Roi dans la Nouvelle- France, les chevaux furent, en effet, ceux qui s'y multiplièrent le plus, quoique le nombre des autres y augmentât d'une manière étonnante. [337]-- (_L'Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada_, Faillon, Vol. III, p. 222.)

_EXPORTATION OF CANADIAN CATTLE TO EUROPE._

According to the statistics furnished by Mr. McEachran, V.S., and Government Inspector of live stock, the total shipments for 1879 from Montreal and Quebec from toe opening to the close of navigation, as compared with the two previous years, are as follows:--

1879 1878 1877 Cattle... 24,823 18,665 6,940 Sheep.... 78,792 41,250 9,500 Hogs..... 4,745 2,078 430

The great majority of animals shipped from Quebec were forwarded by sail from Montreal, and large as the increased shipments of cattle, sheep and hogs this year are over 1878 and 1877, the exports next year will doubtless show a still large increase as compared with those of 1879-- [Quebec _Mercury_, 18th Nov., 1879.]

Mr. J. A. Couture, veterinary surgeon, the officer in charge of the Point Levi cattle quarantine, furnishes the following figures regarding the Canadian Cattle Trade during the season of 1879. The total number of live stock shipped at Montreal was 17,101 head of cattle, 59,907 sheep, and 3,468 hogs. From this port the shipments were 4,000 head of cattle, 17,274 sheep, and 188 hogs; or a grand total from the two shipping ports of 21,112 head of cattle; 77,181 sheep and 3,656 hogs. The estimated value of this live stock is--cattle, $1,111,200; sheep, $771,810; and hogs, $52,720; or a grand total of $2,935,730. The value of the forage exported with this stock for food, averaging the trip of each steamship at ten days, is placed at $92,690; and the estimated sums paid to the various steamship lines for freight is $583,900.--[Quebec _Mercury_, 24th Nov., 1879.]

[_See page_ 200.]

_SHIP-BUILDING AT QUEBEC UNDER FRENCH DOMINATION._

"La construction des vaisseaux était une autre branche d'industrie que Louis XIV avait à coeur d'introduire en Canada; et dans ce dessin, il eut soin d'y faire passer tous les ouvriers nécessaires, ainsi que d'autres, pour préparer des bois propres à cette construction et les transporter en France. Peu après son arrivée en Canada, M. Talon donna tous ses soins à un objet de si grande importance. "Il faut couper des bois de toute sorte, lit-on dans la Relation de 1667, qui se trouvent par tout le Canada, et qui donnent facilité aux Français et aux autres, qui viennent s'y habituer, de s'y loger dès leur arrivée. Il fait faire des matures, dont il envoie cette année des essais à la Rochelle pour servir à la marine. Il s'est appliqué, de plus, aux bois propres à la construction des vaisseaux, dont l'épreuve a été faite en ce pays par la bâtisse d'une barque, qui se trouve de bon service, et d'un gros vaisseau tout prêt à être mis à l'eau." [338] Dans l'état de la dépense du Roi pour l'année 1671, nous lisons cet article remarquable: "Quarante-mille livres pour être employées à la construction des vaisseaux qui se font en Canada, comme aussi à la coupe et à la façon des bois envoyés de ce pays pour les constructions qui se font dans les ports du royaume." [339] Le premier de ces vaisseaux, auxquels on travaillait l'année 1672, devait être du poids de quatre a cinq cents tonneaux; et, dans le même temps, on se disposait à en construire un autre plus considérable encore, dont tous les matériaux étaient déjà prêts. [340] L'un de ces bâtiments étant enfin achevé, on demanda au Roi qu'il voulût bien le laisser dans la colonie, ce qui pourtant n'eut pas lieu." [341]--_Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada_, Faillon, Vol. III, p. 256.

Extract from "_Mémoires et Relations sur l'Histoire Ancienne du Canada_ d'après des Manuscrits récemment obtenus des Archives et Bureaux Publics, en France."

(Publiés sous la direction de la Société Littéraire et Historique de Québec, 1840. (1748.))--"Il y a une Construction royale établie à Québec; le Roy y entretient un Constructeur-en-chef, et tous les ouvriers nécessaires; mais cette construction est aujourd'hui décriée, et l'on dit que le Roy va la faire cesser pour les raisons suivantes:

En premier lieu, on prétend que les vaisseaux bâtis à Québec coûtent beaucoup plus que ceux bâtis dans les ports de France; mais on n'ajoute pas que ce n'est qu'en apparence, attendu qu'il passe sur le compte de la construction beaucoup de dépenses qui n'y ont aucun rapport.

En second lieu, que ces vaisseaux jusqu'a présent ont été de très-peu de durée; d'où l'on conclut que les bois du Canada ne valent rien.

Pour juger sainement de la qualité de ces bois, il faut entrer dans le détail de ce qui en regarde la coupe, le transport à Québec, et l'employ à la construction.

Premièrement: Ces bois du Canada sont extrêmement droits, ce n'est qu'avec beaucoup de peine qu'on trouve dans leurs racines des bois tords, propres à la construction.

Deuxièmement: Jusqu'à présent on n'a exploité que les Chênières les plus voisines des rivières, et conséquemment situées dans les lieux bas, a cause de la facilité de transport.

Troisièmement: Les bois sont coupés en hiver; on les traîne sur la neige jusques au bord des rivières et des lacs; lorsque la fonte des neiges et des glaces a rendu la navigation libre, on les met en radeaux pour les descendre à Québec, où ils restent longtems dans l'eau, avant d'être tirés à terre, et où ils en contractent une mousse qui les échauffe; encore imbibés d'eau, ils sont exposés dans un chantier à toute l'ardeur du soleil de l'été; l'hiver qui succède les couvre une seconde fois de neige, que le printems fait fondre, et ainsi successivement jusqu'a ce qu'ils soient employés; enfin, ils restent deux ans sur les chantiers, où de nouveau ils essuyent deux fois l'extrémité du froid et du chaud qu'on sent dans ce climat.

Voilà les causes du peu de durée de ces vaisseaux:

Si on coupoit les bois sur les hauteurs; s'ils étoient transportés à Québec dans des barques; si on les garantissoit des injures du tems dans des hangars, et si les vaisseaux ne restoient qu'une année sur les chantiers il est évident qu'ils dureroient plus longtems. Dans la démolition de ceux qui ont été condamnés en France, on a reconnu que les bordages s'etoient bien conservés, et qu'ils étoient aussi bons que ceux qu'on tire de Sède; mais que les membres en étoient pourris. Est-il étonnant que les bois tords pris à la racine d'arbres qui avoient le pied dans l'eau qu'on n'a pas eu attention de faire sécher à couvert, s'échauffent quand ils se trouvent enfermés entre deux bordages?

Je ne vois donc pas que les raisons alléguées centre les vaisseaux de Québec soient suffisantes pour en faire cesser la construction. Je dis plus, que le Roy fait en Canada, celle de la construction me paroit la plus nécessaire, et celle qui peut devenir la plus utile. Tout esprit non prévenu sera forcé de convenir qu'on y fera construire des vaisseaux avec plus d'économie que dans les ports de France, toutes les fois qu'on ne confondra pas d'autres dépenses avec celles de la construction. D'ailleurs, il est important qu'il y ait à Québec un certain nombre de charpentiers et de calfats; il en manque aujourd'hui, malgré ceux que le Roy entretient; et lorsque les particuliers en ont besoin au printems, ils n'en trouvent point; un calfat se paye six francs pour une marée. J'avoue qu'alors tous les travaux de cette espèce sont pressés; mais ordinairement un charpentier gagne trois à quatre francs par jour avec les particuliers. Indépendamment de l'intérêt des particuliers, les vaisseaux qui viennent à Québec, ont quelques fois besoin d'un radoub, et dans le nombre des navires marchands, il y en a toujours quelqu'un qu'il est nécessaire de radouber par des accidents arrivés dans la traversée. Si le Roy faisoit cesser ici la construction de ses vaisseaux, tous les ouvriers qui y sont employés seroient forcés d'aller chercher du travail ailleurs.

Enfin, on a besoin en Canada de petits bâtiments pour les postes de la pêche, pour le commerce de Québec, à Montréal, pour le cabotage de la rivière, pour la traite à Gaspé et à Louisbourg; et cette partie de la construction est si fort négligée ici, que les Anglois de ce continent fournissent une partie des bâtimens pour la navigation dans l'intérieur de notre Colonie. Ce n'est pas que leurs bois sont meilleurs, ou leurs bâtimens mieux construits que les nôtres, mais ils les donnent à meilleur marche. Aussi voyons-nous dans toutes nos places maritimes des navires marchands construits dans la Nouvelle-Angleterre.

Loin donc de prendre le parti d'abandonner la Construction royale, parti préjudiciable à la Colonie, et j'ose dire à l'État, il seroit nécessaire non-seulement que le Roy continuât à faire construire des vaisseaux en Canada, mais encore qu'il encourageât des entrepreneurs pour la construction de bâtimens marchands. La gratification de vingt francs par tonneau, accordée aux particuliers qui feroient passer en France des bâtimens construits en Canada, ne suffroit pas aujourd'huy pour les engager à cet égard dans des entreprises d'un certaine considération; la main d'oeuvre est hors de prix, et les entrepreneurs seraient forcés de faire venir de France les voiles, cordages et autres agrès.

Il faudroit, indépendamment de la gratification, que le Roy fît passer à Québec une partie de ses agrès, et qu'il les donnât aux entrepreneurs à un prix raisonnable: il faudroit en outre qu'il leur procureroit un frêt pour les bâtimens qu'ils envoyeroient en France, et il le leur procureroit en ordonnant qu'on reçut dans ses ports les planches, bordages, merrains, plançons de chêne, mâtures et autres articles de cette espèce, dont ces bâtimens seroient chargés, au même prix qu'il les paye aux fournisseurs qui tirent tous ces articles de l'étranger; en prenant ces mesures, le Canada fourniroit les bâtimens nécessaires pour le commerce intérieur de la Colonie, dispenseroit la France d'avoir recours aux Anglois pour les navires qui manquent à son commerce en Europe, et que les Anglois construisent dans le même continent où nous avons de si vastes possessions; les mâtures du Canada, estimées autant que celles que nous tirons du Nord à grands frais, ne seroient pas pour nous en pure perte; ces exploitations devenant considérables, faciliteroient la culture des terres, en désertant des cantons qui, peut-être, ne le seront jamais; enfin cette construction, établie sur le pied où on le propose, coûteroit sans doute, au Roy; mais cette dépense, sagement économisée, feroit partie de celles que nous avons dit être nécessaires pour la balance du commerce de cette Colonie avec la France."

I have furnished elsewhere, a sketch and a tabular statement showing the gradual progress in ship-building, under French Rule and under English Rule, from 1787 down to 1875.--_Vide_ QUEBEC PAST AND PRESENT, page 434-9.

[_See page 219._]

_THE CONQUEST OF NEW YORK._

"Louis XIV," says Parkman, "commanded that eighteen thousand unoffending persons should be stripped of all they possessed, and cast out to the mercy of the wilderness. The atrocity of the plan is matched by its folly. The King gave explicit orders, but he gave neither ships nor men enough to accomplish them; and the Dutch farmers, goaded to desperation, would have cut his sixteen hundred soldiers to pieces." [342]

"Si parmy les habitans de la Nouvelle-York il se trouve des Catholiques de la fidélité desquels il croye se pouvoir asseurer, il pourra les laisser dans leurs habitations, après leur avoir fait prester serment de fidélité à Sa Majesté.... Il pourra aussi garder, s'il le juge à propos, des artisans et autres gens de service nécessaires pour l'a culture des terres, ou pour travailler aux fortifications, en qualité de prisonniers.... Il faut retenir en prison les officiers et les principaux habitans desquels on pourrat retirer des rançons. A l'esgard de tous les autres estrangers (_ceux que ne sont pas Français_), hommes, femmes et enfans, sa Majesté trouve à propos qu'ils soient mis hors de la Colonie et envoyez a la Nouvelle Angleterre, a la Pennsylvanie ou en d'autres endroits qu il jugera à propos par mer ou par terre, ensemble ou séparément le tout suivant qu il trouvera plus seur pour les dissiper et empescher qu en se réunissant ils ne puissent donner occasion à des entreprises contre cette Colonie. Il envoyera en France les Français fugitifs qu'il y pourra trouver et particulièrement ceux de la Religion Prétendue-Reformée (_Huguenots_)--(New York Col. Docs. IX 422)

_Vide--Le Roy à Denonville, 7 juin 1689 le Ministre à Denonville, même date, le Ministre à Frontenac, même date ordre du Roy à Vaudreuil, même date le Roy au Sieur de la Coffinère; même date, Champagny au Ministre, 16 Nov. 1689_

_COPY OF THE EPITAPH PREPARED BY THE ACADÉMIE DES INSCRIPTIONS AT PARIS FOR THE MARQUIS OF MONTCALM'S TOMB._

Leave was asked by the French Government to have the marble tablet, on which this epitaph was inscribed, sent out to Quebec, and granted by the English Government (_Vide_ William Pitt's Letter, 10th April, 1761). This inscription, from some cause or other, never reached Quebec.

EPITAPH

Hic jacet Utroque in orbe aeternum victurus, LUDOVICUS JOSEPHUS DE MONTCALM GOZON Marchio Sancti Verani, Baro Gabriaci, Ordinis Sancti Ludovici Commendator, Legatus Generalis Exercituum Gallicorum Egregius et Civis et Miles, Nullius rei appetens praeterquam verae laudis Ingenio felici et literis exculto Omnes Militiae gradus per continua decora emensus, Omnium Belli Artium, temporum, discriminum gnarus, In Italia, in Bohemia, in Germania Dux industrius Mandata sibi ita semper gerens ut majoribus par haberetur, Jam clarus periculis Ad tutandam Canadensem Provinciam missu Parva militum manu Hostium copias non semel repulit, Propugnacula cepit viris armisque instructissima Algoris, mediae, vigiliarum, laboris patiens, Suis ucice prospiciens immemor sui, Hostis acer, victor mansuetus Fortunam virtute, virium inopiam peritia et celeritate compensavit, Imminens Coloniae fatum et consilio et manu per quadriennium sustinuit Tandem ingentem Exercitum Duce strenuo et audaci, Classemque omni bellorum mole gravem, Mulitiplici prudentia diu ludificatus Vi pertractus ad dimicandum, In prima acie, in primo conflictu vulneratus, Religioni quam semper coluerat innitens, Magno suoram desiderio, nec sine hostium moerore, Extinctus est Die XIV. Sept, A. D. MDCCLIX. aetat. XLVIII. Mortales optimi ducis exuvias in excavata humo, Quam globus bellicus decidens dissiliensque defoderat, Galli lugentes deposuerunt, Et generosae hostium fidei commendarunt _The Annual Register for 1762._

_THE FRENCH REFUGEES OF OXFORD, MASS._

An elegantly printed volume has just issued from the press of Noyes, Snow and Co., Worcester, Mass, from the pen of George F. Daniels, containing a succinct history of one of the earliest Massachusetts towns--the town of Oxford; we think we cannot introduce it to the reader more appropriately, than in the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose graceful introduction prefaces the volume.

Oliver Wendell Holmes to George F. Daniels:--"Of all my father's historical studies," says the Autocrat of the Breakfast-table, "none ever interested me so much as his 'Memoir of the French Protestants who settled at Oxford, in 1686,'--all the circumstances connected with that second Colony of Pilgrim-Fathers, are such as to invest it with singular attraction for the student of history, the antiquary, the genealogist. It carries us back to the memories of the massacre of Saint Bartholomew, to the generous Edict of Nantes, and the gallant soldier-king, who issued it; to the days of the Grand Monarque, and the cruel act of revocation which drove into exile hundreds of thousands of the best subjects of France-- among them the little band which was planted in our Massachusetts half- tamed wilderness. It leads the explorer who loves to linger around the places consecrated by human enterprise, efforts, trials, triumphs, sufferings, to localities still marked with the fading traces of the strangers who, there found a refuge for a few brief years, and then wandered forth to know their homes no more. It tells the lovers of family history where the un-English names which he is constantly meeting with-- Bowdoin, Faneuil, Sigourney--found their origin, and under what skies were moulded the type of lineaments, unlike those of Anglo-Saxon parentage, which he finds among certain of his acquaintance, and it may be in his own family or himself. And what romance can be fuller of interest than the story of this hunted handful of Protestants leaving, some of them at an hour's warning, all that was dear to them, and voluntarily wrecking themselves, as it were, on this shore, where the savage and the wolf were waiting ready to dispute possession with the feeble intruders. They came with their untrained skill to a region where trees were to be felled, wild beasts to be slain, the soil to be subdued to furnish them bread, the whole fabric of social order to be established under new conditions. They came from the sunny skies of France to the capricious climate where the summers were fierce and the winters terrible with winds and snows. They left the polished amenities of an old civilization, for the homely ways of rude settlers of another race and language. Their lips, which had shaped themselves to the harmonies of a refined language, which had been used to speaking such names as Rochefort and Beauvoir and Angoulême, had to distort themselves into the utterances of words like Manchaug and Wabquasset and Chaubunagungamang. The short and simple annals of this heroic and gentle company of emigrants are full of trials and troubles, and ended with a bloody catastrophe.

'After Plymouth, I do not think there is any locality in New England more interesting. This little band of French families, [343 ] transported from the shore of the Bay of Biscay to the wilds of our New England interior, reminds me of the isolated group of Magnolias which we find surrounded by the ordinary forest trees of our Massachusetts town of Manchester. It is a surprise to meet with them, and we wonder how they came there, but they glorify the scenery with their tropical flowers, and sweeten it with their fragrance. Such a pleasing surprise is the effect of coming upon this small and transitory abiding-place of the men and women who left their beloved and beautiful land for the sake of their religion. The lines of their fort may become obliterated, 'the perfume of the shrubbery may no longer be perceived but the ground they hallowed by their footsteps is sacred and the air around their old Oxford home is sweet with their memory.'

This exclusiveness in the selection of settlers for Canada, ever since the days of the DeCaens, to render the population homogeneous and prevent religious discord, was extended to Frenchmen, whose only disability, was their faith, and who did not belong to the national Church, and though the colony, more than once was at its last gasp, for want of soldiers and colonists to defend it, it was forbidden ground to the 500,000 industrious Frenchman, whom the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1682, drove to England, Holland and Germany, and the English and Dutch colonies in America. This policy of exclusiveness, was vigorously denounced by the leading historian of Canada, F. X. Garneau, in 1845.

"The poorly expressed request, for fifteen hundred colonists to take the place of those who had joined the army, remained unanswered--unattended to. Though at the very time the Huguenots solicited as a favour permission to settle in the New World, where they promised to live peaceably under the shadow of their country's flag--which they could not cease to love--it was just when they were denied a request, which had it been granted would have saved Canada and permanently secured it to France. But Colbert's influence," says Garneau, "at Court had fallen away; he was on his death- bed. So long as he was in power he had protected the Calvinists, who had ceased to disturb France and who then were enriching it. His death which took place in 1684, handed them over to the tender mercy of the Chancellor Le Tellier and of the fierce Louvois. The _dragonnades_ swept over the protestant strongholds, awful heralds of the revocation of the edict of Nantes. The king, said a celebrated writer, exhibited his power by humbling the Pope and by crushing the Huguenots. He wished the unification of the Church and of France--the hobby of the great men of the day, presided over by Bossuet. Madame de Maintenon, a converted Calvinist, and who had secretly become his wife (1685) encouraged him in this design and suggested to him the cruel scheme of tearing away children from their parents, to bring them up in the Roman Catholic faith. The vexatious confiscations, the galleys, the torture of the wheel, the gibbet,--all were successively but unsuccessfully resorted to as a means to convert them. The unhappy Protestants' sole aim was to escape from the band which tortured them, in vain were they prohibited from quitting the kingdom, and those who aided them in their flight sent to the galleys--five hundred thousand escaped to Holland, to Germany, to England, and to the English colonies in America. They carried thither their wealth, their industry, and after such a separation--ill blood and thirst for revenge, which subsequently cost their native country very dear. William III, who more than once charged the French troops at the heads of French regiments, and Roman Catholic and Huguenot regiments, were seen, when recognising one another on the battle-field, to rush on one another with their bayonets, with an onslaught more ferocious than soldiers of different nationalities exhibit to one another. How advantageous would not have been an emigration, strong in numbers and composed of men, wealthy, enlightened, peaceful, laborious, such as the Huguenots were--to people the shores of the St. Lawrence, or the fertile plains of the West? At least, they would not have borne to foreign lands the secret of French manufactures, and taught other nations to produce goods which they were in the habit of going and procuring in the ports of France. A fatal policy sacrificed these advantages to the selfish views of a party--armed by the alliance of the spiritual and temporal power with an authority, which denied the breath of life to conscience as well as to intellect. 'If you and yours are not converted, before such a day, the king's authority will ensure your conversion,' thus wrote Bossuet to the dissenters. We repeat it, had this policy not been resorted to, we should not be reduced, we Canadians, to defend every foot of ground, our language, our laws, and our nationality, against an invading hostile sea. How will pardon be granted to fanaticism, for the anguish and suffering inflicted on a whole people, whose fate has been rendered so painful, so arduous--whose future has been so grievously jeopardized.

"Louis XIV, who had myriads of dragoons to butcher the Protestants, and who by his own fault was losing half a million of his subjects--the monarch who dictated to Europe, could only spare two hundred soldiers to send to Quebec, to protect a country four times larger than France, a country which embraced Hudson's Bay, Acadia, Canada, a large portion of Maine, of Vermont, New York, and the whole Mississippi valley"-- _Garneau's History of Canada_, (Vol. I. p. 492-96--1st edition.)

[See page 107.]

_VENERABLE MOTHER OF THE INCARNATION._

"In one of the many works which the philosopher of Chelsea has given to the world, we find the assertion of a great truth that history is but the biography of leading men. The poet of Cambridge also tells us that the lives of the great are so many models, and that as they have left their footprints on the sands of time, so may we by following their noble example render our lives illustrious. These reflections of the philosopher and poet extend no doubt to those of the fairer sex, in whom exalted virtue was manifested, and whose devotion in the pursuit of noble deeds awakens the spirit of emulation in all hearts. From the earliest period of time heroic women have appeared. The mother of the Maccabees, the mother of the Gracchi, the grand prophetesses whose actions are recorded in that sublimest of books, the Bible--these and many others adorn the pages of history, whether sacred or profane, and afford living, ever-present proofs, that the pathway of glory and honour may be pursued by even the weaker members of the human race.

In Canada, youthful though her record may be, there have appeared actresses on the great stage of humanity, whose virtues appeal for admiration, whose nobility of soul provokes general reverence, and whose impress upon the future destinies of the country is of a more profound nature than may be imagined at first sight.

Foremost among such heroic women, may be regarded the foundress of the Ursuline Convent in Quebec, the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation. Gifted by nature, burning with zeal for the welfare of souls, imbued with the greatest confidence in the mercies of a bountiful Creator, she fully realized the great idea of Blessed Angela de Merici, that the preservation of the world from innumerable evils, largely depended upon the correct training of youth. Born in sunny France, she braved the dangers of the deep, so that on our virgin soil she might plant the pure, untainted flag of Christian education; and, now that the Province of Quebec has emerged from the lowliness of its early condition--now that the settlers by the banks of the St. Lawrence have become a great people, with a literature all their own, rich in its very youthful exuberance, with their language preserved, and the free exercise of their religion guaranteed no less by the faithful adherence to treaty obligations, than by their own hardy devotion, we can calmly review the past, and gratefully acknowledge the blessings bestowed on the country through the instrumentality of that lady who founded that holy sisterhood in our midst, which daily labours to honour the Intelligence of God, by the cultivation of intellectual graces. Few, indeed, are the families in Quebec which have not experienced the value of the Ursuline community in our city. One of the crowns of womanhood is gained in Christian education--an education which falls upon the soil of the soul, like freshening dew, and adorns the heart and mind with the flowers of virtue. Hence the life of the Venerable Mother Mary should be carefully studied and pondered over; hence her deeds should be proclaimed and her saintly legacies preserved, and therefore, it is, that the writer humbly calls attention to a new work, written by a daughter of Erin, written lovingly and sweetly in the quiet precincts of the Ursuline Convent, Blackrock, Cork, and in which may be found the story of the devoted French woman, whose name is now inseparably linked with that of Canada, told in chaste language worthy alike of the virtuous theme, and of the ability which marks the narration. The earlier days of the French Colony are depicted therein; and with an accuracy no less commendable than useful. In fact the book is eminently a readable one, the object of the publication being to extend the knowledge which all of us ought to possess of one whose life glorified God, and whose advent to our shores was a very benediction."

JAMES JOSEPH GAHAN.

Quebec, 27th January, 1881.

We copy the following from the _Quebec Gazette_, 10th October, 1793:--

THE VARIATION OF THE NEEDLE AT QUEBEC.

"For the information of the curious, the particular benefit of Land Surveyors, and safety of seafaring people, please to insert in your _Gazette_, that from critical observation on the variation of the needle at Quebec, it is found to be on the decrease, or in other words to be again returning to the Eastward,--a proof of which is, that in 1785, when the Meridian line on Abraham's Plains was ascertained by me, the variation was found to be 12 degrees, 35 minutes West; whereas at present the variation is no more than 12 degrees, 5 minutes West, having in the space of eight years diminished half a degree.

I am sir,

Your most obedient humble servant.

(Signed,) SAMUEL HOLLAND.

Quebec, 8th October, 1793.

How do matters now stand, Commander Ashe?

"VARIATION OF THE NEEDLE AT QUEBEC."

(_To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle._)

DEAR SIR,--"For the information of the curious, the particular benefit of Land Surveyors, and safety of sea-faring people," I will endeavor to explain how our compass variation stands.

With regard to the reprint from the _Quebec Gazette_ of 1793, in the Chronicle of the 23rd instant, in which Major Samuel Holland observes that he had passed our Maximum Westerly Variation, it is very likely that such was the case, as I find that Major Sabine in 1818, found the Variation for London to be 24° 30' West, and in 1822 to have retrograded to 24° 12': this was not only the case in England, but all over Europe where observations were taken, so that there is no doubt that the same disturbing influence was affecting the needle here in 1793. Whatever that influence is, it must shortly alter. Major Samuel Holland's observations have affected us in the opposite direction, for in 1860 Captain Bayfield found the variation for Quebec to be 15° 45' West, with an annual increase of 5', which would give the present variation as about 17° 0' West. This agrees very closely with observations taken here last November for deviation, which with range of only 7° 30', gave a mean result of 17° 3' 9" West. I am, &c,

E. D. ASHE, Commander R. N.

Observatory, Quebec, Feb. 23rd, 1876.

_OUR CITY BELLS--THEIR NAMES._

1st. Bell, Louise; 2nd, Olivier Geneviève; 3rd, Pierre Marie; 4th, Marie- Joseph-Louise-Marguerite; 5th, Jean-Olivier, &c.

"Now, on the gentle breath of morn, Once more I hear that _chiming_ bell, As onward, slow, each note is borne, Like echo's lingering, last farewell." (_The Evening Bells_, of the General Hospitals: by ADAM KIDD.--1829.)

"Quebec Bells are an institution of the present and of the past:" so says every Tourist. To the weary and drowsy traveller, steeped at dawn in that "sweet restorer, balmy sleep," under the silent eaves of the St. Louis or Stadacona hotel, this is one of the features of our city life, at times unwelcome. We once heard a hardened old tourist savagely exclaim, "Preserve me against the silvery voice of Quebec Evening _Belles_, I rather like your early Morning Bells." Another tourist, however, in one of our periodicals closes a lament over Quebec "Bell Ringing," with the caustic enquiry "Should not Bell Bingers be punished?"

Being more cosmopolitan in our tastes, we like the music of our City Bells in the dewy morn, without fearing the merry tones of our City _Belles_, when the silent shades of evening lends them its witchery. There is certainly as much variety in the names as there is in the chimes of our Quebec Bells.

Though the Bells of the "ancient capital" are famous in history and song, Quebec cannot boast of any such monsters of sound as the "Gros Bourdon" of Montreal--weighing 29,400 lbs., dating from 1847, "the largest bell in America." The R. C. Cathedral in the upper town, raised in 1874, by His Holiness, Pius IX to the high position of _Basilica Minor_, the only one on the continent--owns two bells of antique origin; the Parish Register traces as follows, their birth and christening. "1774--9th October. The Churchwardens return thanks to His Lordship Jean 0. Briand, Bishop, for the present he made of the big bell, which, exclusive of its clapper, weighs 3,255 lbs. Name, LOUISE, by Messieur Montgolfier, _Grand Vicaire_, and Mdlle de Léry, representing its Matron. Blessed by Monsigneur Louis Masriacheau D'Esgley, coadjutor."

"1778. 28th July. Christening of the bells by M. Noel Voyer, on the 22nd July. Blessed by _Sa Grandeur_, Monseigneur Briand; the first weigh 1,625 lbs.--named OLIVIER GENEVIÈVE--Godfather, _Sa Grandeur_, with Madame Chanazard wife of M Berthelot 7 yards of white damask given as a (christening) dress. The second, was called PIERRE MARIE, by M. Panet, Judge of the Court, and his wife Marie Anne Rottot; said bell weighing 1,268 lbs."

A halo of poetry hovers over some of our bells. About 1829, Adam Kidd, a son of song, hailing from Spencer Wood,--a friend of the Laird of the Manor--Hon. H M Percival, wrote some graceful lines on the _Church Bells_ of the General Hospital Convent. This poem was published at the _Herald_ and _New Gazette_ office, in Montreal. In 1830, with the _Huron Chief_, and other poems by Kidd, and by him inscribed to Tom Moore, "the most popular, most powerful and most patriotic poet of the nineteenth century, whose magic numbers have vibrated to the heart of nations," says the Dedication.

A delightful volume has recently been put forth by a Ursuline Nun, entitled "GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY," in which the holy memories of the cloister blend with exquisite bits of word painting; we find in it a glowing sketch of the Convent Bells, and of the objects and scenery, surrounding the "Little World" of the Ursulines. "Marriage Bells" are of course left out.

The writer therein alludes to that short-lived bell of Madame de la Peltrie, melted in the memorable fire of the 31st December, 1650, which the pious lady used to toll, to call "the Neophytes to the waters of baptism, or the newly made Christians to Holy Mass."

(_See page 113._)

(_From "Trifles from my Diary."_)

"_GENERAL WOLFE'S STATUE," CORNER PALACE STREET_

BY THE AUTHOR OF "MAPLE LEAVES."

Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum, Cum faber, incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum Maluit esse Deum. Horace, Sat I. 8.

Henry Ward Beecher begins an amusing sketch of our city with the words, "Queer old Quebec,--of all the cities on the Continent of America, the quaintest." He concludes his humorous picture by expressing the wish that it may remain so without being disturbed by the new-fangled notions of the day. Some one has observed that its walls, streets, public places, churches and old monasteries, with the legends of three centuries clinging to them, give you, when you enter under its massive gates, hoary with age, [344] the idea of an "old curiosity shop," or, as the name Henry Ward Beecher well expresses it, "a picture book, turning over a new leaf at each street." It is not then surprising that the inhabitants should have resorted not only to the pen of the historian to preserve evergreen and fragrant the historical ivy which clings to its battlements, but even to that cheap process, in use in other countries, to immortalize heroes-- signboards and statues--a process recommended by high authority. We read in that curiously interesting book, "History of Signboards--"

"The Greeks honored their great men and successful commanders by erecting statues to them; the Romans rewarded their popular favorites with triumphal entries and ovations; modern nations make the portraits of their celebrities serve as signs for public-houses:

Vernon, the Butcher Cumberland, Wolfe, Hawke, Prince Ferdinand, Granby, Burgoyne, Keppel, Howe, Evil and good have had their tithe of talk, And filled their signpost then, like Wellesley now."

If Wolfe served as a signboard recently in Britain, he has filled the same office now close on a century in Canada, and still continues to do so. He has defied wind and weather ever since the day when the Cholette Brothers affixed to the house at the north-west corner of St. John and Palace streets a rough statue of the gallant young soldier in the year 1771, with one arm extended in the attitude of command, and pointing to the Falls of Montmorency.

Nor has Mr. de Gaspé, the author of the "Canadians of Old," thought it beneath his pen to indite an able disquisition on its origin, brimful of wealth for our antiquaries and a great deal more practical in its bearings than even Jonathan Oldbuck's great Essay on Castrametation. A Three Rivers antiquarian had attempted to establish that it was Ives Cholette who had been the sculptor of the statue in question, but our old friend (through the church registers--and through ancient and irrefutable records) showed it could neither be Ives Cholette, aged, in 1771, 10 years, nor his younger brother Hyacinthe, aged then but 8 years, who had designed this great work of art, but Cholette of another ilk. [345]

In these halycon days of old Quebec, free from municipal taxes, Fenian scares and labor strikes, when the practical joker [346] and _mauvais sujets_, bent on a lark, would occasionally take possession, after night-fall, of some of the chief city thoroughfares, and organize a masquerade, battering unmercifully with their heavy lanterns. Captain Pinguet's _hommes de guêt_,--the night patrol--long before Lord Durham's blue-coated "peelers" were thought of, the historic statue would disappear sometimes for days together; and after having headed a noisy procession, decorated with _bonnet rouge_ and one of those antique camloteen cloaks which our forefathers used to rejoice in, it would be found in the morning grotesquely propped up, either in the centre of the old Upper Town market, or in the old Picote cemetery in Couillard street [347], in that fanciful costume (a three-storied _sombrero_, with eye-glass and _dudeen_) which rendered so _piquant_ some of the former vignettes on the Union Bank notes. I can yet recall as one of the most stirring memories of my childhood, the concern, nay, vexation, of Quebecers generally when the "General" was missing on the 16th July, 1838, from his sacred niche in Palace street, and was subsequently triumphantly replaced by the grateful citizens,--rejuvenated, repainted, revarnished, with the best materials Halifax could furnish, the "General" having been brought there by the youngsters of the "Inconstant" frigate, Captain Pring, from Quebec. It would appear the roystering middies, having sacrificed copiously to the rosy god, after rising from a masonic dinner in the Albion Hotel, in Palace street, had noticed the "General" by the pale moonlight, looking very seedy, and considering that a sea voyage would set him up, had carried him on board. The General was driven down in a calèche by Colvin of St. Louis street--a carter--through Palace Gate, standing erect; the sentry presenting arms, as if he were saluting the officer of the night. He was safely introduced through a port-hole, the seaman of the watch, shaking his head knowingly, saying--"One of our swells pretty tight, I guess." From Halifax "General Wolfe" sailed for Bermuda--thence to Portsmouth, at both of which places he was jauntily set up as a signboard; a short time after he was re-shipped to Halifax, packed in a box, with his extended arm sawn off lying by his side. Fearing, however, the anger of the Quebec authorities, the "General" was painted afresh and returned by the "Unicorn" steamer, "Cape Douglas," which plied between the Lower Ports,--with the "Inconstants'" best regards to their Quebec friends, and best wishes for the General's health and safety.

The following extract from the journal of the venerable Jas. Thompson, the last survivor of Wolfe's army, who expired at the ripe age of 98 years--in 1830, throws light on this matter. This anecdote was reduced to writing, and by request forwarded by him to His Excellency the Earl of Dalhousie, through his A.D.C. and brother Col. Ramsay. "We had a loyal fellow in Quebec, one George Hipps, a butcher, who owned that house at the corner of Palace and John streets, still called 'Wolfe's Corner,' and as it happened to have a niche, probably for the figure of a saint, [348] he was very anxious to fill it up, and he thought he could have nothing better than a statue of General Wolfe; but he did not know how to set about getting one. At last he found out two French sculptors, who were brothers--of the name of Cholette, and asked me if I thought I could direct them how to make a likeness of the General in wood. I said I would, at all events, undertake it, and accordingly the Cholettes tried to imitate several sketches I gave them; but they made but a poor job of it after all; for the front face is no likeness at all, and the profile is all that they could hit upon. The body gives but a poor idea of the General, who was tall and straight as a rush. So that after my best endeavors to describe his person, and I knew it well, for which purpose I attended every day at their workshop which was in that house in St. Louis street where the Misses Napier are now (1828) residing, [349] and which is somewhat retired from the line of the street, the shop itself being on the projecting wing--I say that we made but a poor "General Wolfe" of it. It has been several times--the house being only one storey high--pulled down by mischievous persons and broken, and as often repaired by the several owners of the house; and, much to their credit be it spoken, it still keeps its ground, and I hope it will do so until the monument is finished. [350]

"I suppose that the original parts of the statue must be as rotten as a pear and would be mouldered away if it was not for their being kept so bedaubed with paint."

Note.--Officers of H.B.M. frigate "Inconstant," Capt. Pring: 1st Lieut. Hope; Lieutenants and other officers,--Sinclair, Erskine, Curtis, Connolly, Dunbar, McCreight, Sharpe, Stevens, Hankey, Shore, Barnard, West, Tonge, Prevost, Amphlett, Haggard, Tottenham, Maxfield, Paget, Kerr, Herbert, Jones, Montgomery. Mr. James was purser. L. de Tessier Prevost is now high in command, having distinguished himself in the Indian seas, capturing pirates: West and others are admirals, (1870).

[_See page 197_.]

_2 Sept_, 1796. VENTE D'UNE NEGRESSE PAR FRANCIS BELLET A TH. LEE

Pardevant le Notaire Public en la Province du Bas Canada, résidant à St- Denis sur la rivière et comté Richelieu, soussigné et témoins enfin nommés, fut présent Messire Louis Payet prêtre, Curé de la paroisse de St- Antoine au nord de la rivière Richelieu, lequel a constitué pour son procureur spécial M. François Bellet, capitaine de bâtiment, résidant en la ville de Québec, pour vendre pour et au nom du dit constituant et à son plus grand avantage qu'il pourra faire, une négresse d'environ trente et une années, appelée Rose, appartenant au dit constituant par achat devant M. J. Pierre Gautier, notaire à Montréal, en date du mois mars 1795, dont il s'oblige remettre l'expédition si besoin est à la première Réquisition, pour le prix et somme que le dit procureur en trouvera du reçu donner toute quittance valable et raisonable, approuvant d'avance comme alors, tout ce que ce dit procureur aura fait concernant la dite vente, ce fut ainsi fait et passé à St-Denis, étude du notaire soussigné, l'an mil sept cent quatre-vingt seize le deux de septembre avant midi présence des Srs. Charles Gariépy et Jean-Baptiste Gosselin au dit lieu, témoins à ce appellé, qui ont signé avec Messire Louis Payet et notaire soussigné, ainsi signé Charles Gariépy, Jean-Bte. Gosselin, L. Payet, Chs. Michaud Nre. Pc. à la minute des présentes demeurée en la Garde et possession du dit notaire soussigné.

CHS. MICHAUD. Nre. Pc.

Par devant les notaires publics en la province du Bas Canada résidens à Québec soussignés.

Fut présent M. Francis Bellet demeurant en sa maison, rue sous le Fort, en cette ville, lequel en vertu de la procuration ci-dessus et précédentes pages reconnaît et déclare avoir vendu et vendre à M. Thomas Lee du dit Québec, la nommée Rose, négresse, dénommée et désignée en la dite obligation, pour prix et somme de cinq cents livres de vingt sols et de la lui délivrer incessement le dit Sieur acquéreur déclarant la connaître et l'accepter, et a payé les dites cinq cents livres au dit Sieur vendeur en billet de la dite somme, ordre du dit sieur Bellet, lequel acquitté, la présente vente le sera aussi, Québec, neuvième septembre en l'office de M. Dumas, Notaire, l'an mil sept cent quatre-vingt seize et ont signé, lecture faite avec les dits notaires

FRANCOIS BELLET THOMAS LEE. CHS. VOYER, N. Public. A. DUMAS. Not. Pub.

[_See page_ 200.]

THE ICE-SHOVE. APRIL, 1874

WHOLESALE DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY--A SAD SPECTACLE

"At the very moment of its departure, and when the entire city was rejoicing in the longed-for event--at the very time when the glad news was flashing over the wires to Montreal and the West, that Nature's barrier to the uninterrupted navigation of the St. Lawrence was so slowly floating away--we regret to say that the ice-bridge of 1874 was making itself memorable yesterday to Quebec in a shape more formidable than its perverse tenacity or its injurious effects upon trade. It was rioting in a perfect orgie of destruction, crushing man's handwork in its passage like so much frail glass in the grasp of a giant. At 3.20 p.m., when the glad announcement passed from mouth to mouth that the ice was moving, it began its destructive work. The scene was at Blais Booms and the immediate neighborhood, where the Government steamers _Napoleon III_ and _Druid_, the Gulf Ports steamers _Georgia_, _Miramichi_ and _Hadji_ and a large number of tug steamers and other craft belonging to the St. Lawrence Tow Boat Company and other parties were in winter quarters and have been in the habit of so doing for years on account of the superior facilities and safety offered by the place. Nearly a hundred craft of all kinds, steamers, ships, schooners, and barges, were here congregated, moored in many instances together and extending over a line of nearly 300 yards. The floating ice as it came down, struck the outside craft--a sailing vessel, we believe--driving it against its neighbor, the _Georgia_, and then hurrying both of them against the others, jamming them against each other and against the wharves in inextricable confusion and causing a tremendous amount of damage, if not irreparable loss. Some were stove in, filled with water and sunk, only leaving their bows or masts above water to mark where they had gone down, while others disappeared from view altogether. Fortunately no lives were lost. The loss and damage to property cannot fall far short, we believe, of a million of dollars. The following is a summary of the accident:

Government steamer _Napoleon III_ driven against the Mariner's Chapel wharf had her side completely stove in; full of water and almost keeled over, very badly damaged, and will cost a heavy sum to repair. She had steam up at the time, but could not move out. Broke her cables and lost her anchors.

Gulf Ports steamer _Georgia_--Hole stove in her side; hold, full of water. Damage easily repaired.

Gulf Ports SS. _Hadji_--Singular to say, though the boat was in the very middle of the confused mass, it received no damage worth mentioning.

Gulf Ports SS. _Miramichi_--very slightly damaged. Will be extricated to-day and proceed to her wharf, to sail for below on Tuesday next.

Government steamer "Druid,"--on her beam ends, slightly damaged.

Steamboat "Napoleon,"--keeled over,

Steamboat "Mersey,"--on her side.

Steamboat "Canada,"--sunk.

Steamboat "Beaver,"--sunk, completely disappeared.

Steamboat "Castor"--disappeared.

Steamboat "Rival"--badly damaged.

Steamboat "Shannon,"--badly damaged.

Steamboat "Rescue,"--sunk, lies under the bows of the "Miramichi."

Steamboat "Conqueror No. 1,"--badly damaged.

A schooner, owned by Mr. Kennedy, of Gaspé, laden with provisions, and which was detained here last fall, was also sunk and lies near the "Georgia." In addition two of Mr. H. H. Hall's blocks or piers were completely carried away by the crushing weight of the ice."--(Quebec Budget.)

[_See page 317_.]

_THE PISTOLS AND SASH OF GENERAL WOLFE_, 1759.

(_To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle_.)

DEAR SIR,--Would you allow me to supply in your columns additional information on an incident relating to the siege of Quebec in 1759. By the following documents, which come to me with every guarantee of reliability in the writer, it would appear that the gallant General Wolfe, before expiring on the Plains of Abraham, on the 13th of Sept, 1759, bequeathed his pistols and sash to one of the surgeons who attended him. Dr. Elihu or Edward Tudor was a Welshman, born in 1733. He graduated at Yale College, 1750, joined the English army in 1755, was present at the taking of Quebec, and left the service about 1767, receiving a pension and grant of land from the English Government. These relics are now in the possession of Dr. Tudor's grand daughter, Mrs. Strong, at Monkton, awaiting farther particulars.

I remain, Dear Sir,

Yours, &c.

J. M. LeMoine.

_STATE OF VERMONT_,

SENATE CHAMBER,

MONKTON, April 26th, 1875.

J. M. LeMoine, Esq., Literary and Historical Society, Quebec.

SIR,--Please find enclosed statement of Mrs. Strong relative to the pistols and sash of Gen. Wolfe. You will undoubtedly remember that I wrote to you last winter, and that you answered asking for something more authentic. Consequently I drew up a set of questions, leaving after each question space for answer. Now I return them to you. There is no question in the minds of people here about the facts as stated by Mrs. Strong. The authority of the matter is as established here as that Mr. Harrower is proprietor of Gen. Montgomery's sabre. I should be very happy to receive one of the books that are being prepared of that era in the history of Quebec.

I have the honor, sir, of being at your service, G. E. SMITH.

STRONG AND MIDDLEBROOKE,

VERGENNES, Vt., 1875.

Dr. Elihu or Edward was descended from Owen Tudor, who came from Wales with the Puritans, was born 1733, graduated at Yale College 1750, joined the army 1755, was at the taking of Quebec and the Havana; about 1767; he was discharged and returned to his native place; he received a pension during his life, and also a grant of land from the English Government.

The above statement is made by C. W. Strong, of the above firm.

C. E. SMITH

Will Mrs. Strong please answer the following questions:--

What is your maiden name?--Sarah Tudor.

What was your father's name in full and profession?--Edward Tudor, educated at Philadelphia as Physician, Surgeon and Dentist.

What was your grandfather's name and profession?--Elihu Tudor, Physician and Surgeon,--generally wrote it _Edward_, as he disliked the name of _Elihu_.

When and where was he born?--Feb. 1733, Windsor, Conn.

When and where did he die?--East Windsor, Conn., 1826.

Was he Surgeon on Gen. Wolfe's staff's at Quebec in 1759?--He was.

How do you know that your grandfather Tudor attended upon Gen. Wolfe when he was wounded on the 13th Sept., 1759, at Quebec?--I have often heard my grand father relate the circumstances and other interesting reminiscences of the General.

What is the history or tradition as you have it that Gen. Wolfe gave your grandfather his pistols?--The history he (my grandfather) gave was only, that they were given him at the death of Gen. Wolfe.

Describe them--They are rifle breech-loaders, London maker, Flint Locks, silver mounted, with English coat of arms on butt; the sash was cut up; Dr. Strong has a piece; it is stained.

Have you them in your possession?--My son, Dr. Edward Strong, of Crown Point, N. Y., has them.

Have you the sash worn by Surgeon Tudor at the time the General was killed?--The sash was three yards long, Crimson silk. It was Gen. Wolfe's sash given to my grandfather.

What is said of stains of blood upon it from the wound that caused Wolfe's death?--It was rent with the shot, and stained with his blood.

MRS. SARAH TUDOR STRONG.

_THE POST OFFICE.

"In a recent issue of the _Journal des Trois Rivières_ appeared a somewhat interesting paper on the Canadian postal system. From this paper we learn that on the cession of this country to Great Britain a regular mail courier was established between the cities of Montreal and Quebec. The celebrated Benjamin Franklin was the Deputy Postmaster General for the English colonies from 1750 to 1774. In 1776 this functionary, while giving evidence before a committee of the British Parliament, stated that, as a rule, the mail courier kept the route by the water highways, seldom penetrating into the interior. From his evidence, also, we learn that the mail communication between Quebec and Montreal was not more frequent than once a month. For not having established intermediate post-offices between the two towns, Franklin alleged the great distance between the settlers on the banks of the St. Lawrence, the isolation of the Canadian villages, and the excessive difficulty of intercommunication in his day. The fact is, however, that Benjamin Franklin was a great enemy to Canadian prosperity, and always looked with aversion upon the people of the newly-acquired colony. In 1774, war having broken out between the mother-country and the English colonies, Franklin was deprived of his office, and Mr. Hugh Finlay, a subordinate of the great republican philosopher, was appointed Deputy Postmaster General for Canada. Mr. Finlay had been given great proofs of capacity under the previous _régime_, and being a man of very high character and probity, he was armed with large discretionary powers to put the mail system of Canada on a better footing, and to make its operations more extended and regular. Until 1790, there were added but two intermediate post-offices between Quebec and Montreal; in the year following, offices were opened at Three Rivers and Berthier. Every month, however, a mail messenger was sent by way of Halifax to England. At this date the local mail betwixt Quebec and Halifax was bi-weekly in summer, and once a week in winter; the local mail between Quebec and Montreal had increased to twice a week. In 1800, Mr. Hugh Finlay was succeeded in office by Mr. George Heriot. This gentleman, being also commissioned as Deputy Postmaster General for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, as well as for the two Canadas, had to oversee the service throughout all these provinces and to visit them from time to time. In the four first years of his administration he opened but one new post-office in Lower Canada, and five in the Upper Province. Matters progressed slowly enough until 1816, when Mr. David Sutherland succeeded Mr. Heriot. In 1817 be opened six additional offices of delivery in Lower Canada which made the total number of offices in operation thirteen. Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were placed under the management of independent offices, and in that year the mails were still expedited but weekly to New Brunswick. In 1824, Mr. Sutherland was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Allen Stayner, and it was in this year that New Brunswick was endowed with an independent postal department. Mr. Stayner administered his important office for the space of twenty- seven years, with great zeal and giving entire satisfaction to the public. He greatly increased the number of local offices, and inaugurated many of the reforms which have since developed into that vast and safe system of communication with which our people are so familiar. On the 6th of April, 1851, the Canadian Mail Department was transferred from the Imperial to Provincial control, the first Postmaster General being the Hon. John Morris. Some idea of the progress made from 1760 to 1851, a period of ninety years, may be obtained by contrasting the department under Benjamin Franklin and that over which Mr. Morris was called to preside. The courier, who made monthly journeys on horseback between the military posts of Quebec and Montreal, and whose safe arrival at either of those then distant cities would no doubt cause the utmost satisfaction to the King's lieges, male and female, had been replaced by the steamboat and soon would be by the railway; and the two primitive post offices of Canada had expanded into a network of 601 local offices, transmitting among them letters to the number of 2,132,000 annually. In 1861 these figures had attained to 1775 offices, and the number of letters transmitted to 9,400,000; in addition to a weekly line of ocean mail steamers to Europe, over 1200 miles of railway doing mail service from one end of Canada to the other, and a magnificent network of telegraphic wire supplementing the postal system. What the number of offices and of letters carried may have been for the last year ending July 1867, when the postal systems of the Dominion were again placed under one head, we have not at hand, but we may state that during the official term of Hon. Mr. Langevin, now Secretary of State, the revenue from this source attained almost $900,000.

In the year 1851, the system of cheap postage was tried in Canada, the rate being reduced from an average one of fifteen cents to a uniform rate of five cents for prepaid and seven cents for unpaid letters. In the following year this reform resulted in doubling the number of letters carried, with the reduction of only one-third of the previous revenue; and in a short time the receipts not only increased to the former figure but greatly exceeded it. Under the new system we expect this reform in the charge for postage will be greatly extended."--(_Quebec Mercury_.)

[_See page 263._]

_MONUMENT OF THE VICTIMS OF 1837-'38_

"_L'Ordre_ newspaper announces the completion of the monument in the Côte des Neiges Cemetery to the memory of the victims of 1837-38. It required many efforts and great energy to bring to a completion a work which had unhappily encountered many difficulties. For some months, furnished with sums collected either by a special or general subscription, or the proceeds of concerts and pleasure excursions, the Committee applied themselves to the work, and on Sunday they went to take possession from Mr. T. Fahrland, architect, and Mr. L. Hughes, the constructor of the monument. The inauguration will take place next summer.

Situated on the highest elevation of the Cemetery, this monument commands the vast resting place of the dead. It is of octagonal shape, 55 feet in height, the pyramid reposing on a base of 80 by 90 feet. The architecture, stern and grand, strikes the beholder at a distance, and his admiration will not cease as he approaches. On the four sides of the base white marble tablets are set, having neatly engraved on them these inscriptions (in French):

On the first stone, facing the road, we read:

To the Political Victims of 1837-1838. Religious Souvenir The 92 Resolutions adopted by the Assembly of Lower Canada, March 1st, 1834 Subsidies refused by the Assembly of Lower Canada, Feb 23rd, 1836. Lord Gosford Disposes of the Public Money notwithstanding the refusal to grant it. This religious and historical monument has been erected under the auspices of the _Institut Canadien_ in 1858.

L. HUGHES, T. FAHRLAND, Contractor. Architect

On the second stone:

BATTLES OF ST. DENIS AND ST. CHARLES, 23rd and 25th Nov., 1837.

Charles Ovide Perrault, Advocate, M.P.P.

Charles St. Germain Benjamin Bouthillier Olivier L'Escaut François Dufaux Romain dit Mandeville Joseph Comeau André Mandeville Moïse Pariseau Henri Chaume Eusèbe Phaneuf Pascal Delisle Louis Dauphinais Pierre Minet Marie Anne Martel Gabriel Lusignan Joseph Dudevoir Amable Hébert Toussaint Paquet Antoine Amiot J. Bte. Hébert Marc Jeannotte J. Bte. Patenaude Toussaint Loiselle François Dubuc Cléophas Bourgeois François Dumaine Hypolite Sénécal-Lamoureux Pierre Emery-Coderre, And eleven other victims not identified.

On the third stone, facing the city:

EXECUTED AT MONTREAL; By the order of the Court Martial. The 21st December, 1838, Joseph Narcisse Cardinal, Notary, M. P. P. Joseph Duquet, Student at Law. The 18th January, 1839: François Marie Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Notary. François Nicholas, Teacher, Amable Daunais, Farmer. Pierre Rémi Narbonne, Painter. Charles Hendelang, Soldier.

And on the fourth side we read:

BATTLE OF ST. EUSTACHE, 15th December, 1837:

Jean Olivier Cherrier, M.D. (His ashes repose here.)

Joseph Payette Amable Lauzon Alexis Lachance J. B. L. Lanze Jean Morin Joseph Leduc Nazaire Filion Jean Doré Eustache Lafleur Séraphine Doré Joseph Guitard Augustin Doré François Dubé Pierre Dabeau Pierre Gatien J. Gauthier dit Larouche Joseph Bonviette J. B. Lebrun J. B. Campeau J. B. Toupin Louis Robert dit Faché

Their remains as well as those of several other persons, not identified, rest in the cemeteries of St. Eustache and Ste. Scholastique.

Engagement at Odelltown, _November_, 1838;

To the Number of Victims found: BOYER, LANCTÔT. Of St. Philippe.

It is a holy and salutary thought, to pray for the dead: M. LII, Ch. 12, v. 46.

The fine monument has cost $3,000 to $4,000, and many efforts were required to realize this sum. The execution does great credit to Messrs. Fehrland and Hughes. The names of the committee who contributed to produce this result, are as follows: Dr. Coderre, chairman; Mr. R. Trudeau, treasurer; Mr. C. O. Perrault, secretary; Messrs. L. A. Dessaulles, Henry Lacroix, A. H. Morin, Joseph Doutre, N. Bourbonnière and Gonzalve Doutre."--(_Quebec Mercury_.)

_FINE FOR DUELLING GIVEN TO BUREAU DES PAUVRES._

(Sentence du Conseil Souverain du Samedy, septième avril 1691.)

(Extrait par T. P. Bédard, archiviste provincial--Québec.)

Le Conseil assemblé ou estoient;

Monsieur le gouverneur et Monsieur l'intendant

Maistres Louis Rouer de Villeray, primier conseiller -+ " Mathieu Damours Deschampen | " Nicolas Dupont de Neuville + Conseillers " Jean Baptiste Depeiras | " Charles Denys de Vitray -+

Et François de la Magdeleine Ruette d'Auteil, procureur général du Roy.

Veu par le Conseil le procès criminel extraordinairement fait et instruit à la requête du procureur général du Roy, demandeur et accusateur allencontre de Pierre de Noyan et Guillaume de Lorimier, capitaine dans le détachement de la marine que sa majesté entretient en ce pays, défendeurs et accusés. Information faite contre les dits accusés, les 25, 27 et 28 février dernier, décrets d'ajournement personel allencontre deux donné le cinq mars ensuivant; exploits de signification faite à leur auberge le neuvième ensuivant; autres exploits de signification faite au quartier où est la compagnie du dit de Lorimier le 16 ensuivant, et en la ville des 3 R. au domicile du dit de Noyan quartier de sa compagnie du 15 du mesme mois, arrest du 27 ensuivant rendu sur requête du dit de Lorimier, certificat du chirurgien major du dit détachement sur réquisitoire du dit procureur général, le dit arrest portant que le dit sieur Noyan seroit incessamment interrogé, et ensuite le dit sieur de Lorimier en son domicile où le conseiller commissaire se transportera à cet effet. Interrogatoires des dits de Noyan et de Lorimier du 29 du dit mois, contenant leurs reconnaissances, confessions et dénégations. Conclusions du dit procureur général, ouy le rapport de Mtre. Jean Baptiste Peiras conseiller et tout considéré. Le conseil a déclaré et déclare les dits de Noyan et de Lorimier deument atteints et convaincus de s'estre querellés et battus sur le champ, l'épée à la main, et s'estre entreblessés. Pourquoy les a condamnés et condamne à aumosner chacun la somme de cinquante livres, aplicable moytié à l'Hostel Dieu de cette ville, et l'autre au bureau des pauvres d'icelle, et aux dépens du procès à taxer par le conseiller raporteur; deffenses à eux de récidiver, sous telle peine qu'il apartiendra.

(Signé) Bochart Champigny, Depeiras.

_MEMORABILIA.

Jacques Cartier landed on the banks of the Saint Charles .. Sept. 14, 1535 Quebec founded by Samuel de Champlain ..................... July 3, 1608 Arrival of the Franciscan Friars (Récollets, Denis Jamay, Jean Dolbeau, Joseph LeCaron) at Tadousac, in the ship St. Etienne, Capt. Pontgravé .................................. May 25, 1615 First Mass said in the Lower Town Chapel, by Father Dolbeau. June 26, 1615 Fort St. Louis built at Quebec ............................ 1620-4 Arrival of the First Jesuits .............................. 1625 Quebec surrendered to Admiral Kirk ........................ 1629 Quebec returned to the French ............................. 1633 Death of Champlain the first Governor ..................... Dec. 25, 1635 Settlement formed at Sillery .............................. 1637 A Royal Government formed at Quebec ....................... 1663 Quebec unsuccessfully besieged by Admiral Phipps .......... 1690 Count de Frontenac died ................................... Nov. 28, 1698 Sir Hovenden Walker's armada shipwrecked on Egg Island .... Aug. 23, 1711 Battle of the Plains of Abraham ........................... Sept. 13, 1759 Capitulation of Quebec .................................... Sept. 18, 1759 Battle of Ste. Foye--a French Victory ..................... April 28, 1760 Canada ceded by treaty to England ......................... Feb. 10, 1763 Blockade of Quebec by Generals Montgomery and Arnold ...... Nov. 10, 1775 Death of General Richard Montgomery ....................... Dec. 31, 1775 Retreat of Americans from Quebec .......................... May 6, 1776 Division of Canada into Upper and Lower Canada ............ 1791 First Cholera, (3,500 deaths) ............................. 1832 Second do. 2,500 " ................................. 1834 Destruction by fire of Château St. Louis .................. Jan. 23, 1834 Insurrection in Canada .................................... 1837 Second Insurrection ....................................... 1838 Union of the two Provinces in one ......................... 1841 Great Fire in St. Roch's suburb ........................... May 28, 1845 " " in St. John " ............................. June 28, 1845 Dominion of Canada formed ................................. July 1, 1867 Departure of English troops ............................... 1870-1 Second Centenary of Foundation of Bishopric of Quebec by Monseigneur Laval Oct. 1, 1674, ........................... 1874 Centenary of Repulse of Arnold and Montgomery before Quebec, on 31st Dec., 1775 ................................ Dec. 31, 1875 Dufferin Plans of City embellishment, promulgated Christmas day 1875 Departure of the Earl of Dufferin ......................... Oct. 18, 1878 Arrival of the Marquis of Lorne and Princess Louise ....... June 4, 1879 Dufferin Terrace named by " " ........... July 9, 1879 " City Gates--St. Lewis and Kent founded ........... 1879

_DEATH SENTENCES CARRIED INTO EFFECT AT THE QUEBEC GAOL FROM THE YEAR_ 1814 _to_ 1876, _INCLUSIVE.

a-PRISONER'S NAME AND DESCRIPTION b-COMMITTED WHEN AND HOW, BY WHAT AUTHORITY AND FOR WHAT CAUSE c-RECOMMITTED, WHEN, HOW, BY WHAT AUTHORITY, AND FOR WHAT CAUSE d-REMARKS

1

a-PATRICK MURPHY, an Irishman, in height, 5 feet, 8 inches, fair complexion, sandy hair, and blue eyes, and mark in the head.

b-On the 5th of March, 1814, by warrant from Henry Blackstone, (Coroner Blackstone was a son of the celebrated English Jurist, Sir Wm Blackstone), Coroner for the District of Quebec, for the wilful murder of Marie Anne Dussault, of the Parish of Les Ecuriels, on the 1st of March, 1814.

c-On the 6th of May, 1814 by order of the Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery, being on this day convicted of wilful murder of Marie Anne Dussault, and on 9th of May, 1814, by further order of the Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery, being on this day attained, sentenced to be hanged on Friday, the 20th of May.

d-Executed on Friday, the 20th May, 1814.

2

a-JAMES WELSH, an Irishman, in height, 5 feet, 10 inches, dark complexion, black hair, and brown eyes, and no nose.

b-On the 27th of December, 1814, by virtue of a warrant from Henry Blackstone, Esq., Coroner for the district of Quebec, charged with the wilful murder of Robert Stephens.

c-On the 16th May, 1815, by order of the Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery, held for the District of Quebec, being on this day convicted of murder, and further ordered by the same court attained, sentenced to be executed on the 18th of May.

d-On the 18th of May, 1815, executed, according to his sentence.

3 4

a-GABRIEL MIRON, *CHARLES ALARIE, *THOMAS THOMAS +THOS CHAMBERLAIN, +_JAMES MARTIN_, +JOHN CALLOW.

b-On the 12th day of September, 1818, by John Fletcher, Esq., charged before me with suspicion of having feloniously stolen from on board a vessel in the harbour of Quebec, several chests of Tea of the value of one hundred pounds, sterling, of the goods and chattels of James Owen.

c-*On the 30th of September, 1818, by the Court of Oyer and Terminer, for stealing to the value of forty shillings in a vessel on a navigable river, sentenced to death. Suspended in consequence of former sentence of death.

d-*On the 23rd Oct., 1818, sentence put in execution. +Delivered by the September Court, 1818.

5

a-JOHN MULKAHEY

b-On the 3rd day of July, 1821, by A. Caron, Esq., charged with suspicion of felony and murder.

c-On the 5th of July, by H. Blackstone, Esq., Coroner, charged with the wilful murder of Moses McAllister, at the parish of St. Michel, in the county of Hertford.

c-On the 29th of September, by the Court of King's Bench, convicted of murder. Sentence: That he be taken to the place from whence be came, and that he be taken from thence, on Wednesday, the 26th day of September instant, to the place of execution, and he be then hanged by the neck 'till he be dead; and that his body, when dead, be taken down and dissected and anatomised.

Respited till the 5th Oct, 1821.

The above sentence of the court executed on the 5th October, 1821.

6

a-WILLIAM POUNDER, an Irishman; aged 28, height, 5 feet, 6 inches; sallow complexion.

b-On the 31st of May, 1823, by virtue of a warrant from T. Fletcher, Esq., charged with suspicion of felony and murder.

c-On the 7th of June, 1823, by order of H. Blackstone, Esq., Coroner, and sentenced to be hanged by the neck until he be dead.

d-Executed on the 10th Oct., 1823 Body given to Dr Fargues.

7

a-JOHN HART, a Nova Scotian, aged 34, height 5 feet, 9 inches, dark complexion.

b-On the 7th of October, 1825, by virtue of a warrant from N. D'Estimauville, Esq., charged with suspicion of larceny.

c-March term (1826) Six months' imprisonment, and to be whipt, May 6, between 10 and 12, in the market-place.

d-On the 14th of Jan, 1826, escaped, and was re taken on the 17th, charged with another offence, for which he was condemned and executed 10th November, 1826.

8

a-JOHN BTE MONARQUE, a Canadian, aged [sic]

b-On the 29th of September, 1826, by virtue of a warrant from J. F. Taschereau, Esq., charged with suspicion of burglary.

c-March term Sentenced to be hanged at Pointe Levi, on the 24th April, 1827.

d-Sentence carried into execution on the 24th April, 1827.

9 10

a-BENJAMIN JOHNSON, ROBERT MESSENGER

b-On the 12th of November, 1826, by virtue of a warrant from T. A. Young, Esq., charged with suspicion of burglary.

c-March term. Sentenced to be hanged on the 21st of April, 1827.

d-Sentence executed.

11

a-PIERRE DUCHARME, +MICHAEL MORNEAU, +JOHN DOHARTY, _alias_ John Dougherty

b-On the 15th of September, 1828, by virtue of a warrant from A. G. Chenet and J. G. Boisseau, Esqrs., charged with stealing a quantity of merchandize from Jacques Oliva, of St. Thomas.

c-Sentenced to be hanged by the neck, on the 24th October next ensuing, by the Court of King's Bench, September term, 1828.

+18th of October, 1828, ordered for transportation.

d-24th Oct, 1828, sentence carried into execution.

12

a-J. M. DESJARDINS

b-On the 13th of June, 1829, by virtue of a warrant from R. Christie, Esq., charged with suspicion of burglary.

c-By the Court of King's Bench September term, 1829, sentenced to be executed on the 31st day of October, 1829.

d-Sentence carried into execution.

13

a-FRS. MALOUIN, _dit_ FRS. Marois _dit_ Frs. Lafaye, a Canadian.

b-On the 23rd August, 1829, by virtue of a warrant from R. Harrower, Esq., charged with murder.

c-26th August, François Malouin _dit_ Marios _dit_ Lafaye, recommitted for murder under coroner's inquest.

Court of King's Bench, September term, 1829, sentence of death on 30th September, 1829.

d-Sentence carried into execution.

14

a-WILL SHUTER

b-On the 14th of January, 1824, by virtue of a warrant from J. J. Reny, Esq., charged with inflicting a gunshot wound on Living Lane.

c-By Court of King's Bench, March term, 1834. Sentence, death.

d-4th April, 1834, sentence carried into execution.

15

a-EDWARD DEVELIN, _alias_ Harvicker

b-On the 30th of November, 1835, by virtue of a warrant from the Coroner, charged with murder.

c-By Court of King's Bench, March term, 1836. Sentence, death.

d-8th April, 1836, executed pursuant to sentence.

16

a-JOHN MEEHAN, an Irishman, aged 22

b-On the 12th of Sept., 1863, by virtue of a warrant from C. E. Panet, charged with murder.

c-Convicted January term, 1864, Queen's Bench. Sentenced to be executed on Friday, the 22nd of March, 1864, between the hours of 10 and 11 o'clock A.M.

d-Sentence carried into execution

QUEBEC GAOL, February 7, 1877.

_QUEBEC GOLF CLUB._

The members of this Club had their annual meeting on Saturday last to compete for their "Handicap Medal" over the Cove Field, or Quebec links. The "Ancient game of Golf" having only recently been introduced into the country it may not be uninteresting for the information of the uninitiated to give a general idea of the game. It is played with a ball, weighing 1- 3/4 oz., made of "gutta percha" and a set of clubs of various construction suitable for the different stages of the game; the play is over an extended grass common or "Links." At St. Andrew in Scotland, for instance, the ground "Links" over which the game is played, extends in length about two miles and the circuit "out and home" is about four miles; over this space, circular holes of about four inches in diameter are placed, in all eighteen holes, from a quarter of a mile to one-half or one-third of the distance apart. The game is interspersed with what in golfing language are called "hazards," that is sand bunkers and whins, and all the skill required is to avoid these, reach each hole, and hole the ball in the fewest possible number of strokes. Of course the distance and number of holes varies according to the extent of ground available for play in different localities; at Quebec, for instance, the "round" consists in 14 holes, extending from the racquet court westward to Perrault's Hill, and making a circuit back to the "home hole" or the point from which the game started. The game is played by two persons or by four (two of a side) playing alternately. They commence by each party playing off from a place called a "tee" near the first hole; the ball must afterwards be played from wherever it lies and the hole is won by the party holing in fewest strokes; hereafter the balls are again teed and so on at each hole over the whole course. All golf clubs as a rule have an annual competition for a medal or other trophy; sometimes the rule is that all must compete on equal terms; at others the players are handicapped, that is odds are given according to the player's supposed skill or want of skill, and in awarding the prize the odds thus given are deducted from the aggregate score made by the player--thus, say a player is handicapped or receives the odds of ten strokes and holes the round in 80, his odds being deducted makes him stand 70 in the competition; he therefore wins as against another competitor whose aggregate score is 71, but who received no odds.

LIST OF MEMBERS--QUEBEC GOLF CLUB.

PATRON: His Excellency, the MARQUIS OF LORNE, Governor-General of Canada.

_Captain_: C. Farquharson Smith.

_Committee:_ James Stevenson. H. Stanley Smith. Peter MacNaughton. Herbert M. Price.

_Secretary-Treasurer:_ William P. Sloane.

Beckett, Thos. Macpherson, William M. Campbell, Colin. MacEwen, Peter. Cook, William. MacKay, John. Denistoun, A. Roberts, Jos. Dobell, Richard R. Ruthven, Hon. E. De Winton, Lt.-Col., F. W. Richardson, D. B. C. Foote, John J. Smith, C. Chaloner. Griffith, W. A. Smith, R. H. Gibb, James. Stikeman, H. Gilmour, John D. Scott, T. M. Hale, E. I. Scott, A. P. Irvine, Hon. Geo. Scarth, James L. Irvin, Lt.-Col., D. T., R.A. Sheppard, H. C., A.D.C., Lt.-Gov. Laird, Thomas U. Thomson, Andrew. Lindsay, Crawford. Thomson, Geo. H. Machin, H. T. Taylor, John. Moffat, W., jun. Hussey, George. Meredith, Hon. Chief Justice W. C. Young, G. B. Symes.

We may add that a certain historical interest attaches to the Game of Golf. It was played in early times by two Kings of Scotland, hence the prefix "Royal;" hence also, perhaps, the custom of players wearing red coats while at play. In the "Memorials of Edinburgh in the olden time," by Dr. Daniel Wilson, President of the University College, Toronto, and Professor of History, we read that King Charles I was engaged in the game of Golf on Leith links when, in November, 1641, a letter was handed to him which gave the first news of the Rebellion in Ireland. On reading the letter, he suddenly called for his coach, and leaving a few of his attendants in great agitation, he drove to Holyrood palace, from whence he set out next day for London. This was undoubtedly his last game in Scotland, and probably the last game of Golf he played.

It will he observed that His Excellency the Marquis of Lorne is Patron of the Quebec Club. His Excellency is not on the list as a mere figurehead; he is a golfer, and plays an excellent game, as shewn in the Reports of medal day games.

_QUEBEC SNOW-SHOE CLUB._

Founded In 1876.

Colours: RED and BLACK.

This Club, which counts upwards of 60 members in its ranks, meets weekly during the snow-shoe season; it has three rendezvous, viz., at Hamels on the Cap Rouge Road, at Belleau's, on the St. Foye Road, and at Chamberlain's near Beauport. At these tramps the members amuse themselves with chess, cards, draughts, singing, &c, to 11 P.M., when supper is served. The club is conducted on strictly temperance principles.

The Annual Concert of the Club, usually held in the Music Hall, is looked for by the Quebec public with pleasure In 1881, one of the largest audiences ever collected in the Music Hall, attended the annual concert.

The Hall was decorated with flags, devices, wreaths, snow-shoes most ingeniously arranged. It was a most brilliant and enjoyable _soirée._ The various LaCrosse, the Golf and the Snow-shoe Clubs, tend very much to develop the muscle of our city youths, combining healthy exercise, with pleasure and health.

Subjoined will be found the names of the Q. S. S. C, for 1881

QUEBEC SNOW-SHOE CLUB Ashe, H. Fraser, D. Peters, J. B. Ashe, F. Gingras, J. Peters, A. H. Bell, J. L. Green, J. A. Phillips, C. W. Buchanan, A. H. Holloway, A. Oliver, F. Boswell, V. Holloway, F. Richardson, J. 0. Boswell, J. Holt, C. Roche, J, Jr. Buchanan, N. H. Hurst, H. Rawson, Rev. C. W Brown, J, Jr. Hague, L. Ramsay, W. T. Bruneau, L. Hemming, H. Scott, W. B. Bruneau, J. Harrison, R. M., Jr. Scott, W. Burroughs, W. Irvine, G. H. Scott, A. Campbell, B. Joly, E. Smith, R. H., Jr. Campbell, W. W. Judge, H. E. Scwartz, E. Campbell, W. N. Jones, E., Jr. Sewell, R. L. Colley, A. W. King, Wm. Woods, W. C. Dunn, C. Laird, J., Jr. Woods, H. Dunn, T. Lelièvre, S. Wilson, E. Dunbar, J, Jr. Montizambert, W. Welch, R. C. Doucet, R. E. B. Meredith, F. Whitehead, B. Fry, H., Jr. Mountain. A. H. Wurtele, C. F. Forrest, S. Mountain, H. H. Forrest, H. Myles, P.

OFFICERS R. H. Smith, Jr., President, A. Holloway, Vice-President; H. Woods, Secretary-treasurer.

_Committee_: W. B Scott, A. H. Buchanan, P. Myles.

On the 24th March, 1881, a handsome gold locket and chain was presented to one of the most energetic promoters of the Club, Mr. A. Holloway, with the following address:--

_To Alfred Holloway, Esquire, from the members of the Quebec Snow-shoe Club._

DEAR SIR,--We, your fellow-members of the Quebec Snow-Shoe Club, acknowledging the indefatigable zeal yon have always shewn for the prosperity of the club, beg to offer for your acceptance the accompanying locket and chain as a small token of regard. It is the spontaneous tribute of the members in recognition of your many fine qualities as a companion, and to mark our appreciation of your efforts to make our meetings agreeable.

The success and pleasure of the many winter tramps were in no small measure due to the bright and cheerful manner you always displayed in encouraging and enlivening the journey, and thus your impromptu songs at our place of meeting, on the route, were inimitable, and were, we assure you, thoroughly enjoyed. These pleasant and invigorating snow-shoe rambles and entertainments will ever remain a green spot in our memories.

That the Quebec Snow-Shoe Club may long continue to enjoy the benefit and influence of your agreeable company is the heartfelt desire of us all.

R. HARCOURT SMITH, President. HARRY WOODS, Secretary.

14th March, 1881.

The locket and chain which were presented to Mr. A. Holloway were made by Mr. G. Seifert, the locket having upon it a pair of crossed snow-shoes and tuque with a monogram of the club beautifully raised on the one side, and on the back, were engraved the following words: "Presented to Mr. Holloway by the members of Q. S. S. C., 24th March, 1881." The address was handsomely illuminated by the Nuns of the Good Shepherd Convent, and reflects great credit upon them for the artistic manner in which it is got up.

_FRENCH GOVERNORS OF CANADA_.

(LIST PREPARED BY FRED A. MCCORD)

Date of Commission From To

CHAMPLAIN, Samuel de Oct 15, 1612 Oct 15, 1612 July 20, 1629 CHAMPLAIN, Samuel de (a) ---- --- ---- May 23, 1633 Dec 25, 1635 Châteaufort, Marc Antoine Bras-de-fer (b) ---- --- ---- Dec 25, 1635 June 11, 1636 MONTMAGNY, Charles Huault de ---- --- ---- June 12, 1636 Aug 19, 1648 D'AILLEBOUST de Coulonge, Louis ---- --- ---- Aug 20, 1648 Oct 12, 1651 LAUZON, Jean de Jan 17, 1651 Oct 13, 1651 ---- --- 1656 Lauzon-Charny, Charles de ---- --- ---- ---- --- 1658 Sep 12, 1657 D'Ailleboust de Coulonge, Louis ---- --- ---- Sep 13, 1657 July 10, 1658 D'ARGENSON, Pierre de Voyer, Vicomte Jan 26, 1657 July 11, 1658 Aug 30, 1661 D'AVAUGOUR, Pierre Dubois, Baron ---- --- ---- Aug 31, 1661 July 28, 1663 MEZY, Augustin de Saffray May 1, 1663 Sep 15, 1663 May 5, 1665 COURCELLES, Daniel de Remy de (c) Mar 23, 1665 Sep 12, 1665 ---- --- 1672 FRONTENAC, Louis de Buade, Comte de Palluau et de Apr 7, 1672 Sep --- 1672 ---- --- 1683 LA BARBE, Le Fèbvre de (d) May 1, 1682 Oct 9, 1682 ---- --- 1685 DENONVILLE, Jacques Rene de Brisay, Marquis de Jan 1, 1685 July 30, 1685 Oct 14, 1689 FRONTENAC, Louis de Buade, Comte de Palluau et de May 15, 1689 Oct 15, 1689 Nov 28, 1698 Callières, Louis Hector de ---- --- ---- Nov 29, 1698 Sep 13, 1699 CALLIÈRES, Louis Hector Apr 20, 1699 Sep 14, 1699 May 26, 1703 de (d) Vaudreuil, Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de ---- --- ---- May 27, 1703 Sep 16, 1705 VAUDREUIL, Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de (d) Aug 1, 1703 Sep 17, 1705 Oct 10, 1725 Ramesay, Claude de ---- --- ---- ---- --- 1714 ---- --- 1716 Longueuil, Charles LeMoyne, (1st) Baron de ---- --- ---- ---- --- 1725 ---- --- 1726 BEAUHARNOIS, Charles, Marquis de (d) La Galissonnière, Rolland Jan 11, 1726 Sep 2, 1726 ---- --- 1747 Michel Barrin, Comte de (e) June 10, 1747 Sep 19, 1747 Aug 14, 1749 LA JONQUIÈRE, Jacques Pierre de Taffanel, Marquis de Mar. 15, 1746 Aug 15, 1749 May 17, 1752 Longueuil, Charles LeMoyne, (2nd) Baron de ---- --- ---- May --- 1752 July --- 1752 DUQUESNE-DE MENNEVILLE, Marquis de Mar 1, 1752 July --- 1752 June 24, 1755 VAUDREUIL-CAVAGNAL, Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Jan. 1, 1755 June 25, 1755 Sep. 8, 1760

_ENGLISH GOVERNORS._

From To AMHERST, General Jeffrey (f) Sep. 8, 1760 ---- -- ---- MURRAY, General James Aug. 10, 1764 June 28, 1766 Irving, Paulus Aemilius June 30, 1766 Sep. 23, 1766 Carleton, Lt. Gov. Guy Sep. 24, 1766 Oct. 25, 1768 CARLETON, Guy (g) Oct. 26, 1768 June 26, 1778 Cramahé, Hon. Hector Theophilus Aug. 9, 1770 Oct. 10, 1774 HALDIMAND, Frederick June 27, 1778 Nov. 15, 1784 Hamilton, Lt. Gov. Henry Nov. 16, 1784 Nov. 1, 1785 Hope, Lt. Gov. Henry Nov. 2, 1785 Oct. 22, 1786 DORCHESTER, Baron (h) Oct. 23, 1786 July 11, 1796 Clarke, Lt. Gov. Alured Aug. 17, 1791 Sep. 24, 1793 Prescott, Lt. Gov. Robert July 12, 1796 Apr. 26, 1797 PRESCOTT, Robert Apr. 27, 1797 July 30, 1799 Milnes, Lt. Gov. Robert Shore (i) July 31, 1799 July 30, 1805 Dunn, Hon. Thomas July 31, 1805 Oct. 23, 1807 CRAIG, Sir James Henry Oct. 24, 1807 June 19, 1811 Dunn, Hon. Thomas June 20, 1811 Sep. 13, 1811 Prevost, Sir George Sep. 14, 1811 July 15, 1812 PREVOST, Sir George July 15, 1812 Apr. 4, 1815 ROTTENBURG, Major Gen. Francis de May 12, 1813 June 13, 1813 GLASGOW, Major Gen. George June 14, 1813 Sep. 25, 1813 Drummond, Sir Gordon Apr. 5, 1815 May 21, 1816 Wilson, Major Gen. John May 22, 1816 July 11, 1816 SHERBROOKE, Sir John Coape (j) July 12, 1816 July 29, 1818 RICHMOND, Charles, Duke of July 30, 1818 Aug. 28, 1819 Monk, Hon. James Sep. 20, 1819 Feb. 7, 1820 Maitland, Sir Peregrine (k) Feb. 8, 1820 Feb. 8, 1820 Monk, Hon. James Feb. 9, 1820 Mar. 16, 1820 Maitland, Sir Peregrine Mar. 17, 1820 June 18, 1820 DALHOUSIE, George, Earl of June 19, 1820 Sep. 7, 1828 Burton, Lt. Gov. Sir. Francis Nathaniel June 7, 1824 Sep. 16, 1825 Kempt, Sir James Sep. 8, 1828 Oct. 19, 1830 Aylmer, Matthew Whitworth Aylmer, Baron Oct. 20, 1830 Feb. 3, 1831 AYLMER, Matthew Whitworth Aylmer, Baron Feb. 4, 1831 Aug. 23, 1835 GOSFORD, Archibald Acheson, Earl of Aug. 24, 1835 Feb. 26, 1838 Colborne, Sir John Nov. 1, 1838 Jan. 16, 1839 DURHAM, John George Lambton, Earl of May 29, 1838 Oct. 31, 1838 Colborne, Sir John Nov. 1, 1838 Jan. 16, 1839 COLBORNE, Sir John Jan. 17, 1839 Oct. 18, 1839 SYDENHAM, Chs Ed. Poulett Thomson, Lord (l) Oct. 18, 1839 Sep. 19, 1841 _Clitherowe_, Major Gen. John (m) Sep. 18, 1841 Sep. 18, 1841 Jackson, Sir Richard Downes Sep. 24, 1841 Jan. 11, 1842 BAGOT, Sir Charles Jan. 12, 1842 Mar. 29, 1843 METCALFE, Sir Charles Theophilus (n) Mar. 30, 1843 Nov. 25, 1845 Cathcart, Charles Murray, Earl of Nov. 26, 1845 Apr. 23, 1846 CATHCART, Charles Murray, Earl of Apr. 24, 1846 Jan. 29, 1847 ELGIN, James Bruce, Earl of Jan. 30, 1847 Dec. 18, 1854 _Rowan_, Major Gen. William (m) May 29, 1849 May 30, 1849 Rowan, Lieut. Gen. William Aug. 23, 1853 June 10, 1854 HEAD, Sir Edmund Walker Dec. 19, 1854 Oct. 24, 1861 Eyre, Sir William June 21, 1857 Nov. 2, 1857 Williams, Sir William Fenwick Oct. 12, 1860 Feb. 22, 1861 Monck, Charles Stanley, Viscount Oct. 25, 1861 Nov. 27, 1861 MONCK, Charles Stanley, Viscount (o) Nov. 28, 1861 Nov. 13, 1868 Michel, Sir John Sep. 30, 1865 Feb. 12, 1866 Windham, Sir Charles Ash Nov. 14, 1868 Nov. 30, 1868 Young, Sir John Dec. 1, 1868 Feb. 1, 1869 YOUNG, Sir John (p) Feb. 2, 1869 June 21, 1872 Doyle, Sir Charles Hastings June 22, 1872 June 24, 1872 DUFFERIN, Sir F. T. Blackwood, Earl of June 25, 1872 Oct. 18, 1878 O'Grady Haly, Lieut. Gen. William Oct. 12, 1874 Nov. 2, 1874 O'Grady Haly, Lieut. Gen. William May 15, 1875 Oct. 22, 1875 O'Grady Haly, Sir William Jan. 21, 1878 Feb. 6, 1878 Macdougall, Sir Patrick L. Oct. 19, 1878 Nov. 24, 1878 LORNE. Sir John D. S. Campbell, Marquis of Nov. 25, 1878 ---- -- ----

_NOTES_.

Names indented are those of administrators.

Except in the case of administrators, the date of the arrival at Quebec, wherever I have been able to ascertain it, is that given in the second column in the list of French Governors.

(a) Quebec was held by the English, under Louis Kirke, from July 20, 1629, to July 13, 1632, when it was restored to France. The colony was then governed by Emery de Caen and Duplessis Bochart, until Champlain's return, May 23, 1633.

(b) The date given in the second column is that of Champlain's death. Châteaufort's administration began on the day of the interment, probably the 28th.

(c) The Marquis de Tracy, the King's _Lieutenant-Général_ in America, arrived at Quebec, June 30, 1665, and was virtually the Governor of Canada till his departure, August 28, 1667.

(d) The date here given in the second column is that of the registration of the Governor's commission at Quebec.

(e) La Galissonnière was sent out to administer the Government during the captivity of La Jonquière, who, on his way from France, had been made prisoner by the English.

(f) Although Amherst is usually placed first on the list of English Governors, it is well known that after the capitulation of Montreal be divided the province into three governments or districts, to each of which he appointed a Governor, and that he himself very shortly afterwards left the country and did not return. The Governors of these three districts, during what is commonly called the period of military rule, from Sept. 8, 1760, to Aug. 10, 1764, were as follows:

District of Quebec, Gen. James Murray Sep. 1760 to Aug. 1764.

District of Three Rivers, Col. Ralph Burton Sep. 1760 to May 1762. Col. Fred. Haldimand May 1762 to Mar. 1763. Col. Ralph Burton Mar. 1763 to Oct. 1763. Col. Fred. Haldimand Oct. 1773 to Aug. 1764.

District of Montreal, Gen. Thomas Gage Sep. 1760 to Oct. 1763. Col. Ralph Burton Oct. 1763 to Aug. 1764.

(g) Guy Carleton was made a Knight of the Bath on the 6th of July, 1776.

(h) Sir Guy Carleton was named Lord Dorchester on the 21st of August, 1786.

(i) Created a Baronet on the 14th of February, 1801.

(j) On the 12th of July, 1816, Sir John Sherbrooke took the oaths of office at Quebec, although he had previously, on the 8th of June, been sworn in at Halifax.

(k) Sir Peregrine Maitland, Governor of Upper Canada, was sworn in at Quebec, as Administrator of the Government of Lower Canada, on the 8th of February. He returned to Upper Canada next day; but came back to Quebec in March, and was again sworn in on the 17th.--_Quebec Mercury_.

(l) The Hon. C. Poulett Thomson was created Baron Sydenham and Toronto in 1840. The date given in the first column is that of his assuming the Governorship of Lower Canada, of which province he was the last Governor. He was sworn in as Governor of the Province of Canada, on the 10th of February, 1841, when Upper and Lower Canada were united.

(m) Acted merely as Deputy of the Governor for the prorogation of parliament. The name is retained because it appears on other lists.

(n) Sir Charles Metcalfe was created Baron Metcalfe in January, 1845.

(o) Lord Monck was Governor of the Province of Canada until the first of July, 1867. On that day, the Dominion of Canada was proclaimed, and he was sworn in as the first Governor.

(p) Sir John Young was elevated to the peerage, with the title of Lord Lisgar, on the 8th of October, 1870.

INDEX.

Abenaquis Indians, march with Arnold to Quebec.

Abercrombie, General, defeated by Montcalm.

Abraham, see Plains of.

Agariata, Mohawk chief hanged by De Tracy.

Agricultural society founded, names of members.

Americans, invade Canada; attack Quebec; anniversary celebration of; repulse of; centenary celebration; plan of attack upon Quebec; taken at Detroit and sent to Quebec; defeated at Detroit.

American flag, historical notice of.

Arms of the Dominion described.

Arnold, Benedict, wounded; centenary of defeat of; carried to General Hospital; account of his assault on Quebec; anniversary of his defeat; accompanied by Abenaquis Indians; imprisoned in Récollet Convent; his head quarters near the St. Charles; in possession of environs of Quebec.

Arnoux, A French surgeon, Montcalm carried to his house.

Ashe, Comr. E. D., on variation of Compass at Quebec.

Asylum, Female Orphan; Finlay; St Bridget's.

Audubon, visits Quebec.

Aylmer, Lord, erects monument to Wolfe; his tablet and epitaph to Montcalm.

Baines, Lieut., monument erected to; verses by Mrs. Campbell.

Banks--Merchants'; Montreal; Nationale; Quebec; Union; British North America.

Baron de Longueuil, title recognized by England.

Basilica, the, notice of; oldest church in North America.

Battlefield Park, a project.

Beatson, Lt. Col, cited; details of battle of the Plains.

Beauport, occupied by Americans; entrenchments constructed by Montcalm; first seigneur of; Huron Indians move to; early settlement of; monument at; to DeSalaberry; several Quebecers retire to; in 1775.

Beauport Flats, why called La Canardière.

Beauport Manor, when built; said to have been Montcalm's head quarters; burnt; oldest seignioral manor in Canada; meaning of the inscription discussed.

Bédard, T. P., cited.

Bédard, Mr., imprisoned by Sir Jas. Craig.

Beecher, Henry Ward, description of Quebec.

Bégon, Intendant, arrival of.

Belleau, Sir N. F., Lieut.-Governor.

Bellew, Major Patrick, Lieut. Governor of Quebec, death of.

Bells, of Quebec churches; "Gros Bourdon," of Montreal, largest in America.

Belmont Retreat.

Berthelot, Amable, cited.

Bigot, Intendant, arrival at Quebec; character of; members of his ring; residence at Charlesbourg; acquires and enlarges Château Bigot; notice of; extent of his frauds; confined in the Bastille and exiled; fate of his confederates.

_Bigot, L'Intendant_, a novel, plot of.

Bishop, Roman Catholic, of Quebec, his power threatened.

Blanchet, Mr., imprisoned by Sir Jas. Craig.

Blue House, the, a famous inn.

Books, first printed in Canada.

Bouchette, Joseph, cited.

Bouchette, Captain, conducts Governor Carleton to Quebec.

Bougainville, at Quebec.

Boulle, brother-in law to Champlain,

Bressani, Father, captured by Iroquois,

Brewery, erected by Talon; converted into prison; situate near site of Boswell's brewery; at Sillery.

Bridge, Dorchester, built.

British troops, departure of.

Brown and Gilmore, founders of Quebec Gazette.

_Bruyante_, River, see Etchemin.

Bulmer, J. H., description of Quebec.

Burgoyne, Captain, at Quebec.

Burton, Sir F. N., Lieut.-Governor.

Burying Ground, cholera. Protestant; See Cemetery.

Butler, Captain W. F., description of Quebec

Buttes à Nepveu, scene of French victory; criminals formerly executed there; La Corriveau executed there.

Cadet, one of Bigot's confederates, notice of

Caldwell, Henry, Receiver-General

Caldwell, Sir John, Receiver-General; note, his mills at Etchemin.

Calèches, mentioned in 1761.

Canada, colonization of; Administration of justice in; slavery in; society in the last century; invaded by Americans; Voltaire's allusion to; its loss, how viewed in France; arms of; seal of; dates of events in history of; list of Governors of.

Canadian writers, names of.

_Canadien, Le_ newspaper, its printer imprisoned.

Canardière, La, name given to Beauport Flats.

_Canon de Bronze, Le_.

Cap Blanc.

Cape Diamond, called Mont du Gas; Pointe à Puiseaux, so called by Champlain.

Cap Rouge; Roberval winters at; Jacques Cartier winters at; Cramahé resides at.

Carcy, Pointe à.

Carignan regiment; its service in Hungary.

Carillon, battle of.

Carleton, Governor Guy, returns to Quebec.

Carlyle, Thomas, describes capture of Quebec.

Caron, Lieut.-Governor, receives address from Lorette Indians.

Cartier, Jacques, winters on banks of the St. Charles; names of his ships; met by Donnacona; captures and takes to France, two Indians; passes second winter at Cap Rouge; account of his voyage to Canada; his Journal cited; old print of his departure from Quebec; list of his officers and crew; mentioned; discovery of remains of his vessel, "La Petite Hermine."

Cartier, Sir G. E.

Casgrain, Abbé, cited.

Cathedral, Roman Catholic, destroyed.

Cattle, exportation of, to Europe.

Cavalry, Captain Bell's, troop of; muster roll of; statement of last survivor of.

Cayugas, an Iroquois nation.

Cemetery, old; Cholera; Mount Hermon; St. Charles; Bellmont.

Centenary celebration of Montgomery's defeat.

_Cents Associés_, Company of the.

Chambly, Fort, surrendered to Americans; formerly Fort St. Louis.

Champlain, Samuel de, founder of Quebec; his dwelling; surrenders Quebec; place of interment; plot against; returns to Quebec; place of interment unknown; cited.

Champlain Ward.

Chapel, first which served as parish church.

Chandler, Captain, seigneur of Nicolet.

Charlesbourg, captured by Americans; American prisoners at; French retreat towards; called Bourg Royal; several Quebecers retire to, in 1775.

Charlevoix, cited.

Château Bigot; described; other names of; probably built by Talon; acquired by Bigot; subsequent owners of; present state of ruins; how to reach; Amédée Papineau's account of visit to; its legend; refugees from Quebec at, in 1759; letter written from, during American invasion.

Château St. Louis; described by Kalm; by Kirby; meeting place of Superior Council; described in Hawkins' "Picture of Quebec"; by Bouchette; by Parkman; burnt; too small; foundation of Quebec Agricultural Society in; described by Weld; repaired and enlarged; first meeting of Literary and Historical Society held in; proposed reconstruction.

Châteauguay battle, of.

Chaudière, Falls of the, how reached; described; compared with Montmorency.

Chauveau, P. J. O., description of Quebec; Quebec fifty years ago; the battles of the Plains.

_Chien d' Or, Le_.

Cholera, Asiatic, visits Quebec; burying-ground.

Christie, Robert, cited; his history noticed; his epitaph.

"Chronicle, Quebec Morning," building.

Church, first in Canada built by Récollets.

Churches:--Basilica; French Protestant; Jesuits'; Notre Dame; Notre Dame des Anges; Notre Dame de la Garde; Notre Dame des Victoires; Récollet; St. Andrews; St. Columbia (Sillery); St. John's; St. Mathew's; St. Michael's (Sillery); St. Roch's; Trinity; Ursulines.

Citadel, escape of Theller and Dodge from; proposed capture of.

Clavery, in charge of "La Friponne".

Clubs:--"Beef Steak," first in Quebec; name changed; prominent members of; places of meeting; "Sober"; "Beaver Club," at Montreal.

Coffin, Colonel cited.

Conroy, Bishop, the Pope's Ablegate.

Convent, first in Canada; of Jesus-Marie.

Convent Cove, at Sillery.

Corriveau, La, hanged in iron cage; cage sold to Barnum.

Country seats about Quebec: Auvergne. Bagatelle. Bandon Lodge. Bannockburn. Bardfield. Battlefield Cottage. Beauséjour. Beauvoir. Bellevue. Belmont. Benmore. Bijou. Bleak House. Cap Rouge Cottage. Castor Ville. Cataraqui. Clermont. Coucy le-Castel. Dornald. Elm Grove. Ferguson's House. Hamwood. Highlands, the. Holland House. Kilgraston. Kilmarnock. Kirkella. L'Asyle Champêtre. Longwood. Marchmont. Meadow-bank. Montague Cottage. Morton Lodge. Mount Lilac. Ravenswood. Redclyffe. Ringfield. Rosewood. Sans-Bruit. Sillery House. Sous les Bois. Spencer Grange. Spencer Wood. Thornhill. Westfield. Wolfesfield. Woodfield. Woodside.

Court House burnt; built; temporary.

Craig, Sir James, resides at Spencer Wood; noticed; correspondence with H. W. Ryland; deputes H. W. Ryland to England.

Cramahé, Lieut.-Governor, residence at Cap Rouge; plundered by American troops.

Crown Point, captured by Americans.

_Crucifix outragé_ in Hôtel Dieu; annual service in memory of.

Cugnet, informed Wolfe how to ascend to Plains of Abraham.

Custom House, the old.

D'Aillebout, Governor, builds fort for Indians; protects the Hurons.

D'Argenson, Governor, arrival of; quarrels with Laval.

Dauphin prison, American prisoners in.

D'Auteuil, Attorney-General.

D'Avaugour, Governor, succeeds D'Argenson.

Death sentences carried into effect at Quebec.

DeBerey, Father Felix.

DeBréboeuf, martyrdom of.

DeCaen, Emery.

DeCallières, Governor, buried in Quebec; epitaph; plan for conquest of New York.

DeCourcelles, Governor, commands expedition against the Indians.

DeGaspé, P. A., description of _fête champêtre_; at Spencer Wood.

DeLéry, old residence of seigneurs; presented at Court; saying of George III.

DeMeules, Intendant, builds Intendant's Palace.

Denonville, Governor.

DeRamezay, commander of Quebec; his Château in Montreal.

DeSalaberry, Colonel, in command of Voltigeurs; residence on Beauport road.

DeSalampar, accompanies DeCourcelles against Indians.

Deschambault, French ladies captured by the English at.

Deschenaux, secretary to Bigot, notice of.

DeVergor, Captain, in charge of French post on Plains of Abraham; treason imputed to.

DeVitré, Denis, said to have pointed out Wolfe's landing place; pilots the English fleet to Quebec.

Dickens, Charles, description of Quebec; cited.

Dilke, Sir Charles, description of Quebec.

Dodge, escapes from Citadel.

Dollard Desormeaux and his companions save the colony.

Domagaya, an Indian kidnapped by Jacques Cartier.

Donnacona, Chief of Stadacona, meets Jacques Cartier.

Dorchester Bridge built.

Dorchester, Lord.

Dosquet, Bishop, resides at Samos; notice of.

Drill Shed.

DuCalvet, Pierre, imprisoned in Récollet Church; notice of.

DuCreux, cited.

Duelling, punishment of, under French rule.

Dufferin, Earl of, plans for improving Quebec; lays corner stone of Dufferin Terrace; at Spencer Wood.

Dufferin Terrace, length and height above river; laying corner stone of; inaugurated; comprises former site of Fort St. Louis.

DuGas, accompanies DeCourcelles against Indians.

Dunn, Hon. Thomas, administrator.

DuPeron, Father Francois, death of.

Durham, Earl of, notice of; arrival of.

Durham Terrace, erected by Earl of Durham; enlarged; transferred to Province of Quebec; extended; winter view from; promenade upon.

DuQuen, Father, discovers Lake St. John.

Elevator, description of the.

Elgin, Earl of, at Spencer Wood.

_Emerillon, L'_, one of Cartier's ships.

"Emily Montague, the History of," a novel; extracts from.

Epitaphs:--Dr. Wilkie; Hon. Jonathan Sewell; Frontenac; DeCallières; Vaudreuil; La Jonquière; Thomas Ainslie; Robert Christie; Father Massé; Montcalm; Wolfe; Lieut. Baines; proposed to Montcalm.

Esplanade, described.

Estebe, royal store-keeper at Quebec; punishment of.

Etchemin river, called Rivière Bruyante; falls of.

Exchange, Merchants', established.

Executions; at Buttes à Nepveu; at Quebec; La Corriveau.

Exportation of cattle to Europe.

Fabre, Hector, description of a Canadian winter.

Faillon, Abbé, cited.

Famine in Quebec in 1757.

Faucher de St. Maurice, cited.

Fénélon, Abbé de, trial of.

Ferland, Abbé, cited.

Feudal ceremony of fealty and homage; form of.

Fiefs, several in Quebec; de la Trinité; Sault-au-Matelot.

Fires, in Lower Town; in St. Roch suburbs.

Fireworks in honour of Prince William Henry.

Fisher, Dr. John Charlton, Charles Dickens his guest; compiler of Hawkins' "Picture of Quebec".

Fitzgerald, Lord Edward, his long walk on snowshoes; entertained by Lord Dorchester.

Flag, American, historical notice of.

Flowers, wild.

_Foi et hommage_, how rendered.

Fort St. Louis, where first erected; removal of; disappears after the conquest; armament of, when surrendered by Champlain; described by Parkman; when begun. See Château St. Louis.

Fort William Henry. See Sorel.

Fox-hunting in Canada.

France, condition of, in 1760.

Franciscan Friars. See Récollets.

Franklin, Benjamin, appointed Commissioner to Canada; said to have printed prospectus of Quebec Gazette; Deputy Postmaster-General for the British Colonies.

Fraser, Captain Malcolm, gives the alarm before the American assault on Quebec.

Fréchette, L. H., notice of; account of dinner given to.

French who remained in Quebec in 1629.

French refugees of Oxford, Mass.

French empire in America; victories preceding conquest of Canada.

_Friponne, La_, Bigot's warehouse.

Frontenac, Governor, where interred; his heart sent to his widow; epitaph.

Galt, John, father of Sir A. T. Galt, notice of; cited; founder of several cities.

Gas Company's wharf, a public promenade in 1750.

Garneau, F. X, cited.

Gates of Quebec, formerly closed at gun-fire; Chain; Dalhousie; Hope; Kent; Palace; Prescott; St. John's; St. Louis.

Gazette, the Quebec, founded; prospectus printed by Franklin; first number described; centenary number; extinction of; successive editors; relict of first press used by.

General Hospital, founded; Arnold carried to erection of.

George, James, suggests Harbour improvements.

Giffard, first seigneur of Beauport; first _habitant_; taken prisoner by the English.

Gobert, Francois, remains of General Montgomery laid in his house.

Golf Club.

Gomin road, origin of name.

Gosford wooden railway.

Governors buried in Quebec; list of.

Grand Allée; only road to Sillery.

_Grande Hermine, La_, Cartier's flag-ship.

Graving Dock at Levi, first stone laid; dimensions of.

"Great Eastern" steamship, at Quebec.

Hairdresser, fashionable, in the last century.

Haldimand Castle, corner stone laid; used as a Normal School; improperly styled the Old Château; incident during its construction; first grand reception held in; remains of Duke of Richmond laid in state in; described by Weld; repaired; wing erected; most ancient portion; transferred to Province of Quebec.

Haldimand, Governor, departs for England; residence at Montmorency.

Hale, Major John.

Harbor Works, suggested by James George; by Hon. U. J. Tessier. See Princess Louise Embankment, and Graving Dock.

Hawkins' Picture of Quebec, cited; by whom written.

Head, Sir Edmund, at Spencer Wood; his son drowned.

Hebert, Louis, first resident in Upper Town.

Heights of Abraham. See Plains of Abraham.

Henry, Judge, account of Arnold's assault on Quebec; imprisoned in Récollet Convent; account of plunder of Cramahé's residence.

Heriot, his description of Sillery; Deputy Postmaster-General.

Hincks, Sir Francis, at Thornhill.

Hochelaga, by whom inhabited.

Holland, --, and Miss Nevill; his duel.

Holland Tree.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, cited.

Hope, Lieut.-Governor, buried in Quebec.

Horses, first arrivals of.

Hospital, the General, founded.

Hospitalières Nuns, or Nuns of Hôtel Dieu; at Sillery; removal to Quebec.

Hôtel Dieu, _le crucifix outragé_ preserved in; owns Fief de la Miséricorde; at Montreal, founded.

Howells, W. D., promenade on Durham Terrace; description of Dog Lane.

Howells, W. C., historical notice of American flag.

Hurons, inhabited Stadacona; their fort at Quebec; defeated by Iroquois; dispersion of; elect honorary chiefs; their Chief Tahourenche described; former numbers of; divided into four families; at the battle of Châteauguay; their address to Lieut.-Gov. Caron.

Ice-shove, at Quebec in 1874.

Ile aux Coudres, proposed to fortify.

Incarnation, Mother of the.

"Inconstant," H.M.S., carries off Wolfe's statue; address of Quebec ladies to officers of; reply of officers.

Indians, their fort at Quebec; Expedition of DeCourcelles against; Their customs, dress, etc., in 1730; allies of the French; the part they took in battles; serve under English; receive presents from Government.

Intendant, nature of the office; first named; first to come to Canada. See Begon, Bigot, DeMeules, Robert, Talon.

Intendant's Palace, situation of; destroyed; by whom built; history of; description; occupied by Arnold's soldiers; ruins of; originally a brewery.

Invasion of Canada by Americans.

Iroquois, murder of Jesuits by; incessant incursions of; carry off two Frenchmen; dispute with; capture Fathers Poncet and Bressani; plan the capture of Nuns at Sillery; defeat the Hurons; nations composing; derivation of name.

Irving, Washington, cited.

Island of Orleans, occupied by Americans; Hurons remove to; Hurons massacred at; name changed.

Jacques Cartier Ward.

Jail, the old, built; inscription over door of.

Jeffery, his description of Quebec society before the conquest.

Jesuits, their residence burnt; their chapels; murdered by Iroquois; aided by René de Rohault; receive grant of land; names of; captured by Indians; their mission at Sillery; their house at Sillery, probably oldest in Canada; their missions destroyed by Iroquois; martyrs.

Jesuits' Barracks. See Jesuits' College.

Jesuits' Church, foundation stone laid; noticed by Kalm; site of; used as place of worship for Protestants; heart of Madame de la Peltrie deposited in.

Jesuits' College, built; history of; used as barracks; demolished; discoveries during demolition; warrant for conversion into barracks.

Johnstone, Chevalier, wrote _Journal du Siege de Quebec_; cited; aide-de-camp to General de Lévis.

Jolliet, Louis, discoverer of Mississippi.

Jonquière, Governor de La, buried in Quebec; epitaph.

Kalm, Peter, description of Château St. Louis; mention of Jesuits' Church; mention of Récollet Convent.

Kent, Duke of, at Quebec; arrival from Gibraltar; reception of; exercises prerogative of pardon; his stay in Canada; his lodge at Montmorency; his correspondence with DeSalaberry family; frequent guest at Holland House; at the De Salaberry homestead.

Kent Gate.

Kent House.

Kidd, Adam, his verses on Spencer Wood; visits Lorette.

King's Own Borderers (25th Regt.), farewell to Quebec.

Kirby, William, cited.

Kirke, Louis, takes Quebec; his government; names of French who remained with him.

Kirke, Henry, cited.

Knox, Captain John, describes _Le Chien d'Or_; cited.

LaBarre, De, Governor.

Ladies' Protestant Home.

Laforme, Jean, fashionable hairdresser.

LaHontan, his account of administration of justice in Canada.

Lairet, a small stream near which Jacques Cartier wintered.

Lajus, Dr., brings first news of dispersion of Acadians.

Lake St. John discovered.

Lalemant, Father Charles, receives aid from M. de Sillery; martyrdom of.

Lambert, John, cited.

LaRue, Dr. H., cited.

Lauzon, De, Governor.

Lauzon-Charny, De.

Laval, Bishop, residence of; receives Marquis de Tracy; his description of Quebec; quarrels with D'Argenson; founds Seminary.

Laval University, charter granted to; description of; new building; staff.

LeCaron, Frère, founder of first Huron mission on Lake Simcoe.

Legendre, Napoleon, his description of Quebec streets.

LeJeune, Father, a Jesuit.

Lever, Charles, his description of Quebec.

Levi, in possession of the Americans; La Corriveau hanged in iron cage at.

Levis, Marquis de, defeats General Murray; at Montreal; returns to France.

Library Association founded by Lord Dorchester.

Liégeois, Frère, massacred by Iroquois.

Lisgar, Lord, at Spencer Wood.

Literary and Historical Society, rooms of, in old jail; founded; first meeting held in Château St. Louis; list of names in its charter; rooms successively occupied by.

Literature. See Canadian writers.

Longueuil, Baron de, title recognized by England.

Lorette, _Ancienne_, occupied by Americans; Hurons remove to; French retreat towards; origin of name.

Lorette, Indian, remnants of Huron tribe at; a visit to; also called _Jeune_ Lorette; population; Chapel and Old Mill built; extent of village reserve; how governed.

Lorne, Marquis of, inaugurates Dufferin Terrace.

Lossing, B. J., cited.

Louisbourg, Bigot Intendant, at; surrenders to the English.

Louisiana, Bigot Intendant of.

Lower Town; great fire in; bombarded and destroyed by English.

Loyal League, the; names of subscribers.

Lutheran minister imprisoned by Kirke.

Lymburner, Adam; delegate to England.

Macadamized roads introduced.

Macdonald, Sir John A.

Madocawando, an Indian chief; his daughter married to Baron St. Castin.

Maisonneuve, M. de, arrives with colonists for Montreal; winters at Sillery; difficulties with Montmagny; Governor of Montreal.

Maitland, Sir Peregrine, administrator; son in law of Duke of Richmond; revisits Quebec.

Mance, Mlle., arrives from France; winters at Sillery; founder of Hôtel Dieu at Montreal.

Manitoulin Island, party of Hurons retires to; called Ekaentoton.

Market Hall, Champlain, built; Finlay; Montcalm.

Marmette, Joseph, cited; his novel, _l'Intendant Bigot_.

Marmier, Xavier, description of Quebec; notice of.

Marquette, Father, discovers the Mississippi.

Martello Powers.

Massé, Father Ennemond, dies at Sillery; first missionary in Canada; monument to.

McCarthy, Justin, notice of Lord Durham.

McClintock, Sir Leopold, at Quebec.

McLane, David, tried for high treason.

McQuarters, Hugh, fired the canon which killed Montgomery.

Memorial to the King for site for Presbyterian church; signatures to; some of the signers noticed.

Menut, Alexandre, proprietor of Blue House inn; forced to entertain Montgomery.

Merchants' Exchange established.

Mercury, the Quebec, cited.

Mesy, de, Governor, buried in Quebec.

Miles, Dr. H. H., cited; his statements concerning Miss Simpson referred to.

Militia uniforms.

Milnes, Sir R. S.; note.

Minister imprisoned by Kirke.

Mississippi, discovery of the.

Mohawks, kill Abbé Vignal; murder Chasy; one of their chiefs hanged; an Iroquois nation.

Monk, Lord, residence at Spencer Wood.

Monongahela, battle of the.

"Montague, the History of Emily," a novel; extracts from.

Montcalm, Marquis de, place of death doubtful; death and burial of; defeats Abercrombie; letter said to have been written by, just before his death; application of the French to erect a monument to; mural tablet in Ursuline Chapel; successfully defends Montmorency; entrenched at Beauport; his field works at Montmorency; proposed epitaph to.

Montcalm Ward.

Montgomery, Brigadier General Richard, his remains laid in Gobert's house; killed; his sword; centenary celebration of his defeat; in the English army; anniversary celebration of his defeat; plan of attack upon Quebec; spot where he fell; head-quarters at Holland House; in possession of environs of Quebec.

Montmagny, Governor, builds road from Upper to Lower Town; receives Ursuline Nuns; receives Madame de la Peltrie; holds grand council at Sillery; Indian name given to.

Montmorency, mill built by Peter Paterson at; French victorious at; residence of Governor Haldimand; Montcalm's entrenchments at.

Montmorency Falls, called _La Vache_; compared to Chaudière Falls.

Montpetit, A. N., honorary chief of Lorette Indians.

Montreal, capitulates to Americans; arrival of colonists for; Hôtel Dieu founded; founded by DeMaisonneuve; 'Beaver Hall' Club at; note: has largest bell in America.

Monument to Wolfe and Montcalm, corner stone laid; restored; note: to Father Massé; to Montcalm, application of French to erect; erected where Wolfe fell; _des Braves_, Prince Napoleon Bonaparte presents statue for; when erected; _de la Tempérance_; to victims of rebellion of 1837.

Moodie, Mrs., description of Quebec.

Morrin College.

Morris, John, Postmaster-General.

Mount Carmel.

Mount Hermon Cemetery; monument to Lieut. Baines in.

Mount Lilac, Beauport.

Mountain, first Protestant Bishop of Quebec; the family of.

Mountain Hill, constructed; described.

Murray, General, appropriates Jesuits' College for barracks; warrant issued by, defeated by Lévis; residence at Belmont; served at Fontenoy; Governor of Quebec.

Negro, sale of a.

Neilson, Hon. John, notice of.

Neilson, Samuel.

Nelson, Admiral, in Quebec; admirer of Miss Simpson.

Nelson, John, nephew of Sir T. Temple.

Neptune Inn, its statue of Neptune.

Neuville, Seigniory of.

Neville, Miss.

New York, plan for conquest of.

Newspapers, first in Canada and Nova Scotia.

Niagara Falls, earliest mention of.

Notary, first in Canada.

Observatory, Provincial.

Oneidas, an Iroquois nation.

Onondagas, an Iroquois nation.

Ononthio, meaning of.

_Original, L'_, French ship sunk at Quebec.

Orphan Asylum, Female.

Oxford, Mass., French refugees.

Palace Ward.

Panet, Bishop.

Papineau, Amédée, account of visit to Château Bigot.

Papineau, Hon. L. J., visits Château Bigot.

Parkman, Francis, description of French empire in America; foundation of Quebec; session of Superior Council; hanging of Mohawk Chief; cited; Fort and Château St. Louis; D'Argenson's arrival; Tracy's arrival; DeCallières' plan for conquest of New York.

Parliament Building, burnt; description of the new.

Paterson, Peter, notice of.

Pean, Captain Hugues; to whom married; notice of.

Pean, Madame.

Peltrie, Madame de la, founder of Ursulines Convent; her heart deposited in Jesuits' Church.

Perceval, M. H., Collector of Customs; owner of Spencer Wood.

Perrault, Joseph F., pioneer of lay education; description of his residence.

Perrault's Hill.

_Petite Hermine, La_, one of Cartier's, ships; discovered.

Phipps, Sir William, defeated.

Physicians, first in Canada.

Pieskurit, an Indian chief.

Pillory, on the market place.

Pitt, William, cited.

Place d'Armes.

Plains of Abraham, former extent of; derivation of name; ascent to, said to have been indicated by DeVitré or Stobo; by Cugnet; Wolfe's landing and occupation of.

Plains of Abraham, Battle of the, date of; various estimates of troops engaged; position of forces; anecdotes of; described by Carlyle; flight of the French.

Plessis, Bishop, builds St. Roch's Church.

Poem, first French, issued in Canada.

Pointe à Carcy.

Pointe à Puiseaux, called Cape Diamond by Champlain; after whom named; view from.

Poncet, Father, captured by Iroquois.

Post Office, demolished; history of the Canadian.

Postage, amount of, in 1774.

Powell, Henry W., biographical sketch of.

Powell Place. See Spencer Wood.

"Premier," transport, stranded.

Presbyterian minister, first in Province of Quebec.

Prescott, Governor.

Près-de-Ville, Montgomery killed at; situation of.

Press-gangs in Quebec.

Prince Edward. See Kent, Duke of.

Prince of Wales, ball in honor of.

Prince William Henry, afterwards William IV., visits Canada; name of Sorel changed in his honor; festivities during his stay in Quebec.

Princess Louise embankment and docks, tablet stone laid.

Printing. See Newspapers and Books.

Protestants, use Jesuits' Church.

Punishment of criminals.

Quail, imported from Europe.

Quebec, described by Henry Ward Beecher, --J. T. Bulmer --Captain Butler --P. J. O. Chauveau --Charles Dickens --Sir Charles Dilke --Hawkins --Bishop Laval --Charles Lever --Marmier --Mrs. Moodie --M. Sand --Duke of Saxe-Weimar --Prof. Silliman, --Thoreau --Eliot Warburton; foundation of; society in the last century; old plans of city; surrendered by Champlain; fifty years ago; farewell of King's Own Borderers; population in 1680; inhabitants starved by Bigot's ring; extent at beginning of nineteenth century; shipping and business at that time; early city government under the English; incorporated; first Mayor; limits; municipal divisions; present city government; _fiefs_, contained in; War department property in; capture described by Carlyle; society before the Conquest; arrival of British fleet; French who remained in, in 1629; dates of events in history of.

Quebec Bank, history of site of.

Queen's wharf and stores.

Raffeix, Father, accompanies DeCourcelles against the Indians.

Raftsmen.

Ragueneau, Father, makes first mention of Niagara Falls; accompanies defeated Hurons to Quebec.

Railway, Gosford, wooden.

Razilly, De, influences M. de Sillery.

Reade, John S., description of first number of Quebec Gazette; account of Quebec society in the last century.

Rebellion of 1837, monument to victims of.

Récollets, Father DeBerey, provincial of the; at Quebec; first who arrive; build first church, convent and seminary; their _fief_ reverts to the Crown.

Récollet church, situation of.

Récollet convent, American prisoners in; situation of; burnt; occasionally used as a prison; noted prisoners in.

Red House, the, a famous inn.

_Relations des Jesuites_, cited.

Richmond, Duke of, death of; loss of one of his sons; buried in Quebec.

Robert, first Intendant, never came to Canada.

Roberval, winters at Cap Rouge; account of his voyage to Canada.

Roger, Charles, cited.

Royal visitors to Canada.

Ryland, H. W., secretary to Sir James Craig; correspondence with Sir James Craig; secretary to Lord Dorchester; his mission to England; his death; his manor at Beauport; note.

Sagard, cited.

St. Bridget's Asylum.

St. Castin, Baron, notice of; note.

St. Charles river, Cartier winters on banks of; named by him the St Croix; re-named by the Récollets; former names of; meaning of Indian name of.

St. Foye, occupied by American soldiers; church occupied by British in 1760; Hurons settle at.

St. Foye road, a favorite drive a century ago; See Country Seats.

St Foye, Battle of, date of; an English defeat; various estimates of troops engaged; position of forces; anecdotes of; massacre by Indians; retreat of the English.

St Helen's Island, residence of Baronne de Longueuil.

St John's, surrendered to Americans.

St John's ward.

St Louis hotel.

St Louis road; See Country Seats.

St Louis ward.

St Peter's ward.

St Rochs, existed in 1759; extent of at beginning of nineteenth century; ward; fire of.

St. Sauveur, origin of name.

St. Valier, Bishop founder of General Hospital; builds N. D. des Victoires church; death of.

Samos road.

Sand, Maurice, description of Quebec.

Sault au Matelot, Americans defeated at; situation of barriers.

Saxe Weimar, Duke of, description of Quebec.

Scott, Major Thomas, brother of Sir Walter, where buried.

Scott, General Winfield, a prisoner at Quebec; courageous conduct of.

Seal of Canada.

Seigniory of Neuville.

Seminary, American prisoners in; first in Canada built by Récollets; intended site of new; owns _fief_ Sault au Matelot.

Seminary chapel, temporarily used as parish church.

Senecas, an Iroquois nation.

Sénéchaussée, La.

Sewell, Hon Jonathan founder of Trinity church; his epitaph.

Ship-building under French rule.

Sillery, Noel Brulart de, notice of; founds Sillery mission.

Sillery, occupied by Americans; first mission at; visited by Madame de la Peltrie; hospital founded; first settlement; expedition against Indians starts from; early population; St. Columba church at; Jesuits' House at, probably first building in Canada; grand council held at; settlement abandoned; site of settlement; locality described by Henot; brewery at; visit to site of early settlement; called St. Columba; monument at; woods of.

Sillery Cove, other names of; Jesuits at.

Silliman, Professor Benj., description of Quebec.

Simpson, Mary, admired by Lord Nelson.

Simpson, Saunders, Provost Marshal in Wolfe's army.

Skating Rink.

Slave, sale of a negro.

Slavery in Canada, abolition of.

Smith, Chief Justice, notice of; letter to his wife.

Smith, Hon W., cited; notice of.

Snow shoe club.

Society, in the last century; before the Conquest.

Sorel, name changed to Fort William Henry taken by Americans.

Southey's Life of Nelson, cited.

Sparrows imported from England; appeal in behalf of.

Spencer Wood, Sir James Craig at; Lord Elgin at; formerly called Powell Place; Kidd's verses upon; origin of name; at one time included Spencer Grange; garden and conservatories at; residence of several Governors of Canada; burnt; re-built; illustrious visitors; residence of Lieut. Governors of Quebec; transferred by Dominion to Province; _fête champêtre_ at.

Stadacona, former name of Quebec; inhabited by Hurons; site of.

Stanley, Dean, at Quebec.

"Star" the Quebec.

Statue of General Wolfe, peregrinations of.

Stayner, Thomas Allen, Deputy Postmaster General.

Stewart, Charles, his letter from Château Bigot.

Stobo, Major Robert made prisoner by the French; escapes; selects Wolfe's landing place; advises expedition to Deschambault.

Streets of Quebec, described; oldest Sous le Fort; oldest in St Roch's St. Valier Aylmer; Bagot; Baronne; Bell's lane; Berthelot; Boisseau; Bridge; Buade; Burton; Buteau; Canoterie hill; Carleton; Champlain; Charlevoix; Christie; Côte à Coton; Côte d'Abraham; Couillard; Craig; Crown; Cul de Sac; D'Aiguillon; D'Aillebout; Dalhousie; Dambourgies; D'Artigny; D'Auteuil; DeSalaberry; Desfosses; Des Prairies; Dog lane; Donnacona; Dorchester; Ferland; Fiedmont; Frontenac; Gallows hill; Garneau; Grant; Grey; Haldimand; Hébert; Henderson; Hope hill; Hudon; Iberville, Jérôme; Jupiter; King; Laval; Lee; Longueuil; Massue; Metcalfe; Montmagny; Murray; Palace; Panel; Plessis; Pozer; Prévost; Prince Edward; Queen; Ramsay; Richardson; Richelieu; Richmond; Robitaille; Ryland; St. Ann; St. Famille St. Helen; St. James; St. John; St. Joseph; St. Louis; St. Ours; St. Paul; St. Peter St. Stanislas; St. Ursule; St. Valier; Sault au-Matelot; Scott; Séguin; Smith; Sous le Cap; Sous le Fort; Stewart; Tourangeau; Treasure; Turgeon; Wolfe.

Stuart, Andrew, materials for Hawkins' "Picture of Quebec," furnished by.

Sulpicians, of Montreal.

Suite, Benjamin, description of Spencer Grange.

Superior Council, session of, where held.

Sutherland, David, Deputy Postmaster-General.

"Swiftsure," steamer.

Taché, writer of first French poem issued in Canada.

Taiguragny, Indian kidnapped by Cartier.

Talon, Intendant, arrival at Quebec; builds a brewery; first owner of Belmont; seigniory granted to; probable builder of Château Bigot.

Taschereau, Mr., imprisoned by Sir James Craig.

Terrace. See Dufferin and Durham.

Tessier, Hon U. J., suggests plan for Harbour Works.

Theatre Royal opened.

Theller, escapes from Citadel.

Thompson, James, one of Wolfe's veterans; extracts from his diary; notice of.

Thoreau, description of Quebec.

Three Rivers, taken by Americans.

Ticonderoga, taken by Americans; Montcalm defeats Abercrombie at.

Tracy, Marquis de, Viceroy; hangs a Mohawk chief; lays foundation stone of Jesuits' church; residence; arrival of; brings Carignan regiment to Canada; arranges truce with Iroquois.

Twiss, Captain, builds temporary Citadel.

Uniforms, Militia.

Union hotel.

United Empire Loyalists settle in Canada.

Upper Town; first resident of; partly destroyed by English batteries.

Ursuline church, temporarily used as parish church.

Ursuline convent, old painting in the; founded by Madame de la Peltrie; mural tablet to Montcalm in chapel.

Vacherie, La, extent of; origin of name.

Variation of the compass at Quebec.

Vaudreuil, Governor, buried in Quebec; epitaph; at Beauport after battle of the Plains; prepares to capitulate.

Verazzani.

Vignal, Abbé, killed by the Mohawks.

Vimont, Father, Jesuit missionary; description of life at Sillery.

Voltaire, his remark upon the loss of Canada.

_Voltigeurs Canadiens_, formation of.

Voyageurs.

Walkem, Charles, history of Intendant's palace.

Walker, Admiral, squadron dispersed by storm.

Wapiti, extinct in Eastern Canada.

War Department property.

Warburton, Eliot, description of Quebec.

Wards, boundaries of.

Weld, Isaac, description of Haldimand Castle.

Wild flowers of Sillery.

Wilkie, Dr. Daniel, notice of.

Winter, the Joys of; in Canada.

Witchcraft, executions at Boston for.

Wolfe, General, monument to; statue of; his landing place; monument where he fell; repulsed at Montmorency; proposes wintering at Ile aux Coudres; scales the Heights of Abraham; served at Fontenoy; pistols and sash of.

Wooden railway, Gosford.

Woods of Sillery.

Writers, names of Canadian.

Wyandots. See Hurons.

Young Men's Christian Association, building; history of, in Quebec.

FOOTNOTES