/AT OBXQZN OF THE FSSTZ7AL OF ^ Q aint-Tean-Raptiste. QUEBEC, ITS GATES AND ENVIRONS, WITH illustrations', &o. »« •^ • ''^ • ^***. ■ ''^v - "T- ./~v ^^ -»"•• 1" ^ ^ - >> * Somellii afioiit tie Streets, Laiies aiiJ Early History of tie ANOiENT Capital. By J. M. LeMoine. QUEBEC : PRINTED AT THE " MOUMNd CHRONICLE " OFFICE 1680. LIKUTENAXT-OOVERNOU ROIIITAIM.K. LI KUTKN ANT-GO VKHNoa llOlilTAlLLK. Jlis HoiiDi', llic ll()iini-alil(! Tlicodoi'i^ Hohitaillp, whose [tor- trait iVoiii a lato i)liotoj,M'ai>h wo piililish on tlic! opposite i)age, is tlio (lin'ct desceiidaut of a lou{,' lino of famous ancestors. Ho belon^'s to one of tlio oldest French families in Canada. Ono of his grand-uncles was duqilain to the activo militia force of liOwor Canada at the timo of the war of 1812. This was Messiro RobitaiUe — a staunch loyalist and a man of hi;^li chai-acler and l»i'esli^('. Other members of the family were almost etpially distinguished, either as clergymen, legislators, oi- in theii- capa- city as private gentlemen. The subject of this sketch is tin.' son of tho latt; Lonis Adolplie Robilaille, Estp, N. 1*. lie was Ixn-n at Varonnes, Province of Quebec, on tho "i'.lth of January, I8:{i. Ho was educated at tlu; modi3l school of Varonnes, at a school in tho United States, at the Seminary of Ste. Therose, the Laval Univ(>rsity, and at the University of McGill's College, Montreal. At the latter seat of learning In^ obtained his d(>greo of M.l). in May. lsr)iS. In \ovem!)er, 18G7, he married Miss Marie .losephint; Charlotte Kmma Quesnel, a most accomplished and charming lady, and one w<'ll calculated to adorn tho highest circles of society. Dr. Robitaillo was oloctod a representative from Houa- venturo County, to the Canadian llousf; of Assembly, at tiio gen(»ral elections in 1801. Ho sat for this constiluencv until Conle(bM-ation, when he was i-eturned for tho Hous(! of Conuuons. In I87"2 he was n.'-olected at the general election, and on his ai)i)oinfment to the portfolio of Roc(>iver General, on the ;}(Mli January, I87;{, h(» was el(;clod Ity a show of bauds. On the -jlb November, 1873, he resigned his oilico in tho Privy Council, with his chief, Sir John A. Macdonald. In 1874 he was again elected to Parliament, and Ihoeh'ctions of 17th September, 1878, sent him again to his old post. In July, I87i), ho was ap[ioiuled to the olfice of LioutcMianl-Governor of Qnoboc, when ho resign- ed his s(\'it in tho Commons. He also reiiresentod Ilonaveutiirt; in the (»)uebec House of Assembly from 1871 until .lauuaiy, 1874, when ho riMired, in order that his attention might be con- fined solely to his duties in tho Commons. ORIGIN OF THE Saint-Jean-Baptiste Festival, (Fhom Tin: FnKNcH OF Mil. Benj. Sulte.) Thoro nlways roinain 8omo portioDsof history upon whioh light must bo thrown. At the prasont roomont, throe of us aro busy in examining and Roarching for the surroundings of the festivals uf St. Juan Uaptisto and of St. Joseph. A f;uod half- dozon of writers would wear out thoir flngor-tips in turning over the Boole of the past, which we aro endeavoring to open. M. rAbb6 Vorroau and Dr. Ilubort Laruo have taken the initiative ; I do but follow in thoir footsteps, as is proper. Others, let us hope, will come to our assistanco. If we may bcliovo Racine in his Plaidauri, we must go back to the Deluge to explain any fact of modern times. We must therefore show that the festival of St. John the Baptist is more ancient than St. John the Baptist himself. This will not be a difficult task. Tho custom of celebrating the summer solstice, Ih as old as tho world itself. It dates back to the time of Adam, when the human race fed itself upon acorns. We know that tho Persians, amongst others, adorod the Supreme Being under the imago of fire. Aa long as man was ignorant of Christianity, ho remained faith- ful to this superstition, which, after ail, was but reasonable, since it was homage to the unknown Creator. Fire being supposed to produce overy thing, it was adored. The Gauls, our ancestors, liko all tho nations of antiquity, hold public rejoicings at which large fires wore lighted on the highlands, the mountains and the shores of the sea. The inhabitants of Wales, of tho family of the Bat - B retoni [ihay still speak the same language) have preserved this custom of lighting bon-fires on the 24th of June. Christianity, with prudence and wisdom, did not directly oppose popular customs; it contented itself with giving them a roliglouj meaning. For instance, it placed under the patronage of St. John tho Baptist, the ancient custom of lighting bon-fires at the summer solstice. Later on, in tho middle ages, when the serfs were deprived of thoir liberty, it multiplied the religious festivals, which compelled the feudal lords to suspend manual labor. These days of rest, against which so much opposition was raised at a future period, wore all for the benefit of our forefathers, the Qauls, who wore trodden down under the yoke of tho Franks. If we have lost the recolleo- tion of those favors, it is but just that we should remind ourselves of them at the proper time. Those who placed the Gallio cock upon the spires of onr churches were not indifferent to the wants of the peopla. We little think, an n rulo, hnw tonaoious aro popular rimtomn and tradUloni. The oimo wo aro ooniidoring ii a roiiiarkiihlo inotanc" ol' it. In Franco we hoo, in the old authoM, that as noon ati nome ono hrou^jiif ;(lad tidingH, tho cry at onco aroxe, " Let U8 light llrcB fur it I " which mount, ' Lot ui rojolco, lot us kindio tho feitol Aroi." Tho M'lijiiziii Piiiitrftf - ontainH iin on^^raving Hliowinff IVcton pca.'ni(U«t ((iiiillaunio Tronfjuct bin Hocrctary) to know if wo wouM go and soi* it. I'cro Viniont and wyHulf (/V/e JeiiiHf! Lnlimmit) wont to Join him in thu fort. Wo wont togothur towardi the flro, tho Oiivomor apidiol tlio toririi and whilo ho w:n doing .in I tdiantud tho Hi qiifuitt /-ij/x and till) prayer. M. ilo Saint Sauvour was nut thero, wo luuct invito him anotiior timo. Fivu cannon .shots wuro flrud and two or three Halroos of musketry. We returned botwoen nine and ten o'clock." — Joiinuil det Jetniltii. M. do St. Sauveur wa^" a [irie.it. the siuno whose nanio was given to a suburb of liuuboc. 1(517.— 'No bon-tiio was lighted as was u.sual on tho eve of St. Joseph's day, I (I'Sie .It.fiiii- L ile:niii,i) w.is partly th i cau.so of this a.s I had no taste for thii RUieniony wliicii had no dov(jlii)n in it and it sueineil to nio that a bonediution {Sulut) in honor of the saint was butter, sul-Ii iw was colebratud tho day before at the parish churuhandon thoday itself at tho Ursuliiics, whore tho hymn Hir vir deiipiviKH» was sung to inu.sic. On this s.'iinu ovo, a cannon was fired at midnight and four or firo more at tlio morning mi'jfdoi." — {.fm run/ den Jf^niion.) 1017. — ' The St. John's lire was lighted like but year. I was not present. M. do St. Sauveur ofliciated." — (Jnnnml dix Ji'miitex.) Thoso two toxts .•'how pretty clearly that Peru J(5r6mo Lalomant did not appre- ciate the popular view of tho festivals which wo are considering. And why? booauso ho ilid not think it [iroper to oncouragj tlie practice ; ho said so distinctly this year and in 10 i'.) he suceuodod in separating thu " worldly from thu spiritual," as wo shall sue. 1018. — " On tho 2?>Vk\ of Juno, the lire was ligiitod, as usual, I was present as woro also 1'. LoJouno and P. (Jroslon. Tho (ilovernor caino at about half-pa.st eight o'clock to got mo (I'ero J<5r<3mo Lalomant.) Wo wont for a walk in his gardens, and at about a (juarter-ijast nine we wont to the lire. Tho (Jovornor (M. reached at tho parish Church in the afternoon and at the same time in the Ursuline Chapel ; solemn Benediction was afterwards celebrated by M. do Bernifiros, and the following were chanted while tho Blessed Sacrament was exposed. Wo comnienccil by tiie Pang* Lingua, after which tho nuns sang a short motet in honor of the Sacrament, then the hte GonfcsHor after which tho nuns sang a motet for tho saint, and then tho Domine Salvum fuc ri, &c. lie banded tlio torch of white wax to M. de Tracy who returned it to him and insisted on hin being the first to light the fire." — {Fire LoMercier.) The splendour of the ceremony was no doubt enhanced by the presence of the soldiers of the Riijlmcnt de Carifjnnn, which had coiuo out the previous year. The origin of the feasts of St. Joseph and of St. Jean-BaptXHte, is therefore clearly traced. The former has preserved its religious, the other its popular charac- ter, without separating itself from the religious features ; it united the two quali- ties required to make it our national festival, when M. Ludger Duvernay endowed it with a constitution. M. de Qasp6 has devoted the greater part of a ciiaptor in his Ancienn OuuinUfnn to the celebration of the festival of St. Jinn-Iinpiintp, in the parishes along the Lower St. Lawrence, in the last century. I beg to refer my renders to tliis curious book, also to chapter IIL of his Meiiioirm, where ho returns to the subject. Dr. IL LaRue tells us how this feast was celebrated on the Island of Orleans, at the begin- ning of this century. I have nothing so stately to say witli respect to the parishes above Quebec, but at St. Jean d'Echaillons, and Three Rivers, these customs were still in existence in my childhood. Fires lighted on the liighlands, Hashed, from hill to hill, the signal of public rejoicings. The first bathe in the river was taken on the 2;5rd of June, amidst the sound of songs and general mirth. At Nicolet College fifty or sixty years ago, a general holiday was given on which picnics and excursions on the river were indulged in. As now constituted the St. .Jean-Baptiste Society boars fir its emblem a licaver surrounded with a garland of maple leaves. Its motto is '• Our institutions, our language, and our laws." {Nhh instifiitious, uotre lanijiteet iion Ivin.) Let us see to what date these may bo traced. M. I'abbfi II. A. B. Vcrreau points out as far Imek as 1()7.'5, the first mention of the beaver as the emblem of Canada or of the Canadian element, which, as wo know, was always quite distinct from the "French element." At the above date the GovernmentofM.de Frontenac advised the Minister of the King to place a beaver in the arms of the city of Quebec. A beaver appears on the medal struck in 1690 to commemorate the defence of Quebec. In 1736, also says M. Verreau, New France and the other French colonies in America bore on their arms three y?tHr«c/e lys d'or, without any beaver. The Histoire dc la NouvcUe France of P?rc de Charlevoix, printed in 1741, has upon its title-page a vignette representing a beehive and two beavers under branches of trees. According to the Antiquarian, published in Montreal, (III. -190) a banking Insti- tution called the Canada Bank existed in 1792. Upon one of its notes which has been preserved, wo see a beaver gnawing at the stump of a tree. The beaver appears decidedly to have graced our coat-of-arms for a long period. The flag question (jinestion dii drapcnn) occupied the attention of our fore- fathers in 1807. On the one hand, wishes were expressed for a Canadian flag, while, on the other, it was contended that the flag of England should be sulhcient for us just as that of the mother-country had suflicod under the French rSjime. A poet, who was also a Militia-man, wrote : '' A notre brave milice — Quoiqu'il mauqut de» drapeaux — On rtndra bonne ju$- lice — En admirant it» travnux — Yankii, Autrogothi, Vandallet, — 111 braveront ton* vo» traits / — Vout tentirex, cannibalet — Si la mart a de» attraitt'" The poem concludes by these two prophetic versea : " Ohi, Jierg Anglain, n'cn doute» paM ; Pour vaincre vous aurez not brat .'" It Was a prophecy of what happened at Cbateauguay six years afterwards. It was not a bad attempt for a poet who was but cutting his teeth. About 1815 M. Ic Commandeur Vigor had caused a boavor to bo drawn upon a fancy coat of arms. Before 1830 ho had it inserted in the arms of the City of Montreal. I am not aware, adds Mr. Verroau, whether Quebec ever had any special arms, under the French Government. In any case, the beaver which Frontenao wished to give it, is cow in those of Montreal. In the Cinadtcn of tho 29th November, ISOC, we find an indication of the selec- tion which the Canadians had already made of the maple as their national tree. It was in reference to the franco-phobist attacks of the Mercury : " L'iraUe dit nn joitr d la ronre rampante : Au.c pasHdntn pourquoi t'accrochtr ? Quel projit, pauvre sot, en coniptca-tu tircr .' Aucun, liii repartit la plante : Je ne veu.r que les dechircr." The maple, which is a scarce tree in other countries, must have produced an agreeable impression upon strangori-', from the earliest discovery of Canada. We may suppose that tho French colonists paid particular attention to it and accustomed themselves to look upon it as tho tree of Canada ^jar excellence. At the first banquet of the St. Jean-Baptiste Society, held at Montreal, on the 24th June, 18.34, amongst the other decorations in the room, a bunch of maple branches loaded with leave? was noticeable. When, in 1830, it was officially proposed that the Society should adopt the maple-leaf as the national emblem, Mr. I). B. Vigor expressed himself as follows : " This tree, which grows in our forests, upon our rocks, at first young and storm-beaten, languishes while it draws its nourishment, with difficulty, from the soil which produces it ; but it soon shoots up, and having become tall and robust, it defies the storm and triumphs over the gale. The maplo is the king of our forests. It is the emblem of the Canadian nation." In the same year, M. Etienne Parent wrote as follows ; — " The maple-leaf has been, as we know, adopted as the emblem of Lower Canada." la 1829, Mr. Etienne Parent re-established the Ganadien; ho gave it for a motto the following words ; " Non institutions, noire langue et nos loi»," thus resuming all the political principles which he had adopted. " This was," he often said, "my guiding star, or, if you prefer it, my bed of Procrustes ; everything which did not fit this measure, was thrown out or I combated- it." The requirements of the period, while inspiring this watch-word, completed the' banner of the St. Jean-Baptiste Society. 2 8 In 1880, the entire Confederation olaimi the bearer and maple-leaf I hare leen Englishmen who think they ditoorered and adapted these emblema. Then why do not all} accept the motto " Nok initituthnu, notre langue et no* loii," our institutions, our languago and our laws. Without that one cannot be a Canadian, and now all (he English wish to bo Canadians. A pretty study might be made of all our public festirals in general. Wo are not French for nothing. Demonstrations and appeals to gay rejoicings are always welcome with us. In former days we used to hare our parish festivals, which only differed from the St. Jaan-Iiapiiite by tho numorou" risita which the country neighbors paid each other. It was a general rejoicing, in which tho whole country-side joined. There was much feasting, and in some cases veritable saturnalia. So much so, that Monseigneur de Pontbriand undertook to effect a reform. He also attacked the festivals of trado associations, such as tho Saint-Eloi, of the black- smiths, and the iSnint-Thibauli, of the charcoal-burners. This was in 1755. Later on (1804), when Monseigneur Donaut suppressed tho Boauport festival, we all know what a hubbub it caused. A regular insurrection took place in a part of the parish and justice bad to interfere. It was quite a serious afl'air. Whenever the occasion presented itself, our bishops abolished these festivities. It was Monseigneur Sinui who dealt tho doath-blow, about 1834, at the period when Mr. Duvernay was organizing tho St. Jcan-BapiiHtt. I do not know whether, under the French Government, any attempts wore made to impose tho feast of St. Louis on us. I have found no trace of it anywhere. The feast oi St. Lonxa must have been observed by the French nobility who came out to Canada, and even by tho Canadian nobility whose parchments kept them at- tached to the French Court; but our people, who were above all Bretons and Nor- mans, never placed tho ISth of August on a par with their day of days, tho St. Jean-lhxpliate. About 1825, some citizens of Quebeo, who felt tho necessity of endowing us with a national festival, tried to introduce the 8t. Louli ; but after about ton years of exist- ence, this novelty disappeared, at about tho time when Mr. Duvernay founded the St. Jean-Jiajjtiaie. The members of the St. Louit society who, at first, were recruited from amongst the commercial class, professed a political and national faith which was hostile to England or, at least, to its method of governing us. The workmen and contractors of St. Roch's suburbs joined them in great numbers. In tho county of Terrebonne the St. Lotni gave rise to an important horse-fair, which is still continued. Formerly, in ";food yearn," it was the occasion of a series of rejoicings, which lasted three or four days. As we have just seen, the element necessary for the institution of a national fes- tiral existed in our midst, from the very beginning of the century. Until then, our race had been almost alone in its possession of Canada, but this state of things was destined soon to change. Tho English brought with them St. George's day ; the Scotch, St. Andrew's day ; tho Irish, St. Patrick's day. The latter had even been celebrated at Three Rivers, in 1776, by the troops of the Philadelphia Congress. Something analogous became necessary for the Canadians. Our political men were seeking for something of tho kind. We saw an example of it in the attempts to found St. Louit' day. A common standard, a rallying cry was necessary for our 9 fatrioU. Everything was ripe for it. \7e only awaited some one to gire the signal, n order to describe adequately this decisive moment, I might lay, something lilie Boileau : '• Enfin Malhtrbe vint !" Enfin, Ditvernay vint ! Son iritd'nrt admirnhlt Rcunit la Saint-Jenn loiii la fenille d'iritble. L'iiidwitrifux enntiir tre«»nillit dant let 6oi"». J)« clorher en clucher chimin le eoq ynuloit : No» inttitutiont, notre laugiie at nv$ loit ! To mo, the thing seems quite cloiir : lilce the citizens of Quebec, Mr. Duvernay was endeavoring to give us a national fustival. lie was more fortunate in his selec- tion of the St. Jean-ltuptxnte, which already formed a part of our customs, than the St. Louit, or any other patronage. He did the same with respect to the emblems and the motto, the use of which custom had already sanctioned. An anecdote is related as being apparently what inspired Mr. Duvernay with the idea of adopting St. John the Baptist iis the patron of the country. I do not myself believe it, since the above written notes provo a much more important fact. This is the anecdote: During the war of 1S12, several militia men, bearing the cognomen of Jean-Uiiptiitie, wore answering to the roll-call. The English oflicor jiresent was very much strucic with this and exclaimed " By jove 1 they are all ./^nH-//.ipri«fe»." The name "Jean-Hnpthtt" was given by military men to the French-Canadians. It might also be considered as a "civil" name, since in the Spcctatfur, published in Montreal, in 1813, wo road several letters from & patriate signed " Jean-Baptiste." Everything was ready. The St. Jenii-Iiaptitti; had a two-fold secular existence on the banks (if tho Siiint-Lnwrenco. Instead of creating, innovating, or improvis- ing, it was suQlcieut to put into practice and to embody ideas already existing. " Happy." snys Sainto-Beuvc, " are those who belong to a country, a province, who bear its marli upon them, who have retained its accent, who form a portion of its character." Tho words "/etc St. Jcan-Bitplintr " called up powerful memories in Canadians. It was one of tho lincst days which our ancestors loved to celebrate. In selecting it, Mr. Duvernay acted from instinct and with perfect tact, and thus secured a long ex- istence for what he founded. Two years afterwards, the Oauutlicn (IS.*!!)) adopted for its emblouis tho beaver and maple-leaf, which, from that moment, spread throughout all our parishes. Wo only require now a national song, but it is almost impossible to find one. Fortunately we hiivo enough songs stamped with our efligy to enable us for a long time to do without a hymn fit lej/le. For my part I prefer La Cl'iire Fontaine or Vive la Cunadicnne to all tho Marseillaise*. They are less brutal and none the less poetical. The praises of Mr. Duvernay have been often sung. I will simply say that in his youth { 1815 to 1825), at Three Rivers, ho constantly displayed tho qualities of an organizer above tho general run. When in charge of the streets of tho town, he transformed, levelled and drained them, had new ones opened and displayed rare energy combined with a talent for innovation which gave bright promises for tho future. Lucal traditions tell us very blithely how he used to get, for his firemen, the prizes offered as rewards for their activity, for he was also captain of a fire-company. Tradition also tells us how he replaced the old market by a new one, and how he managed to keep his papers in existence. The latter died sometimes, but they arose from their ashes more vigorous than ever ; it was tuo talk of tho country I When he went to Montreal to found the Mincrve (1826), many people had confi- dence in his star of destiny. When he was imprisoned (1832) for naving defended popular rights, his name became dear to the patriotet. Soon afterwards (1834) he gained still further credit by founding the St. Jean-Baptiste. BENJAMIN SULTE. THE GATES OF QUEBEC. Of all the historic mcnnments connecting modern Quebec with its eventful and heroic past, none have deservedly held a higher place in the estimation of the antiquarian, the scholar and the curious stranger than the gates of the renowned fortress. These relics of a by-gone age, with their massive proportions and grim, mediirval architecture, no longer exist, however, to carry the mind back to the days which invest the oldest city in North America with its peculiar interest and attraction. Indeed, nothing now remains to show where they once raised their formidable barriers to the foe, or opened their hospitable portals to friends, but a single substitute of modern construction and a number of yawning apertures in the line of circumvalla- tion that represants the later defences of the place erected under British rule. Of the three gates — St. Louis, St. John and Palace — which originally pierced the fortifications of Quebec under French dominion, the last ve&tige disappear- ed many years ago, and the structures with which they were replaced, together with the two additional and similarly guarded openings — Hope and Prescott gates — provided for the public convenience or military require- ments by the British Government since the Conquest, have experienced the same fate within the last decade to gratify what are known as modern ideas of progress and improve- ment — vandalism would, perhaps, be the better term. No desecrating hand, however, can rob those hallowed links, in the chain of recollection, of the glorious memories which cluster around them so thickly. Time and obliteration itself have wrought no diminution of the world's regard for their cherished associations. To each one of them, an un- dying history attaches and even their vacant sites appeal with mute, but surpassing eloquence to the sympathy, the u intorost and tho veneration of visitors, to \vhom Quebec will be ever dear, not for what it is, but for what it has been. To the cjuick comprehension of Lord DnfTerin, it remained to note tho inestimable value of such heirlooms to the world at large ; to his happy tact we owe tho revival of even a local concern for their religious preservation ; and to his fertile mind and irsthetic taste, we are indebted for the conception of tho noblo scheme of restoration, embel- lishment and addition in harmony with local requirements and modern notions of i^rogress, which is now being real- ized to keep their memories intact for succeeding genera- tions and retain for the cradle of New France its unique reputation as the famous walled city of the New World. LOUIS GATE. It has more than once been remarked by tourists that, in their peculiar fondness for a religious nomenclature, tho early French settlers of Quebec must have exhausted tho saintly calendar in adapting names to their public high- w^ays, places and institutions. To this pardonable trait in their character, we must unquestionably ascribe the names given to two of the three original gates in their primitivo 12 lines of defence — St. Louis and St. John's gates — names which they were dlowed to retain when the Gallic lilies paled before the victorious flag of Britain. The erection of the original St. Louis gate undoubtedly dates back as far as 1694. Authentic records prove this fact beyond ques- tion ; but it is not quite so clear what part this gate played in subsequent history down to the time of the Conquest, though it may be fairly presumed that it rendered important services in connection especially with the many harassing attacks of the Iroquois tribes in the constant wars which were waged in the early days of the infant colony with those formidable and savage foes of the French. One thing is certain, however, that it was one of the gates by which a great portion of Montcalm's army, after its defeat on the Plains of Abraham, passed into the city on its way back, I'm Palace gate and the bridge of boats over the St. Charles, to the Beauport camp. In 1791, after Quebec had fallen into British hands, St. Louis gate was Reported to bo in a ruinous condition, and it became necessary to raze it to the ground and rebuild it. Between this date and 1823, it appears to have undergone several changes; but, in the latter year, as part of the plan of defence, including the Citadel, adopted by the Duke of Wellington, and carried out at an enormous cost by England, it was replaced by the structure, retaining the same name, which forms the subject of one of the accompanying illustrations. About this time seem to have been also constructed the singularly tortuous outward approaches to this opening in the western wall of the city, which were eventually so inconvenient to traffic in peaceful days, of whatever value they might have been from a military stand-point in trying hours half-a- century ago. These were also removed with the gate itself in 1871. On the vacant site of the latter, in accord- ance with Lord DufFerin's improvement project, a magni- ficent memorial gate, a sketch of which is shown, and which the citizens had unanimously agreed to call " The Dufferin gate," is now i^ course of erection and will prob- 18 ably be completed before the close of the prosciit season. The intention of namiiii? it •' The DuHerin gate," however, has been abandoned, II. li. II. tlio Princess Louise, in de- ference to its traditions and with a j^raceful appreciation of the feelings of the French element of the population, hav- ing recently expressed the desire tliat it should be allowed PI o in O ►:! CQ w w to retain its original appellation. Beibre their departure from Canada, Lord and Lady DufTerin had the pleasure of assisting at the ceremony of laying the corner stone of this new gate, as well as of the new Terrace, which bears their name, and of fairly starting those important works on the high road to realization. u ST. JOHN'S OATB. As an intorostinnf link bvhvoen the present and the past, St. John'.s g'att} liolils an equally prominent rank and claims an equal antirpiity with St. Louis i^-ate. Its erection as one oi' the orii^-inal gates of the French fortress dates from tht5 same year and its history is very much the same. Through it another portion of Montcalm's defeated forces found their way behind the shelter of the defences after the fatal day of the Plains of Abraham. Like St. Louis gate, too, it was pulled down on account of its ruinous condition ■wjT ^g f— »■ — '• OLD ST. JOHN'S GATE (inside) 1864. in 1701 and subsequently rebuilt by the British Government in the formshown in the illustration — a form in which it endured until 18G5, when it was demolished and replaced, at an expense of some $10,000 to the city, by its present more ornate and convenient substitute, to meet the increased re- quirements (ji traffic over the great artery of the upper levels — St. John street. St. John's gate was one of the objective points included in the American plan of assault upon Quebec on the memorable 31st December, 1775 ; Col. Livingston, with a regiment of insurgent Canadians, and Major Brown, with part of a regiment from Boston, having in boon dotailod to make a fulso attack upon i\\o walls to tho south of it and to set liro to tho gato itsell' vith combus- tibles prepared ibr that purpose — a scheme in ^^ hich tho assailants were foiled by the depth of snow and other ob- stacles. This gate, })cing of (juife recent construction and of massive, as well as passably handsome, appearance, is not included in the general scheme of improvcuient. The erection of a life-size statue of Samuel Champlain, the founder of Quebec, upon its summit, is, however, talke«l of PALACE GATE. Palace or tho Palais gate is the third and last of the old French portals of the city, and derives its title from the fact that the highway which passed through it led to the palace or residence of the Intendants of New France, which has also given its name to the present quarter of the city lying beneath the cliff on tho northern face of the fortress, where its crumbling ruins are still visible in the immediate neigh- borhood of the passenger terminus of the North Shore Railway. Erected under French rule, during which it is 10 bolievocl to havo l)Ooii llio ttiomI fashiona])lc and tho most used, it bado a iiiial rarowoll to tho last of its gallant, but iinfortunato French dolonders, and to that imperial power which, for more than ono hundred and lifty years, had swayed tho colonial dcstinios of tho Canadas and contested inch by inch with Enc:land, the supremacy of the New World, when a portion of Montcalm's defeated troops passed out beneatli its darkening shadows on tho fatal 131h September, 1751). After the capitulation of Quebec, General ARTILLERY STORE— (Palace Qate.) Murray devoted himself at once to the work of strengthen- ing the defences of the stronghold, and the attention in this respect paid to Palace gate appears to have stood him in good stead during the following year's campaign, when the British invaders, defeated in the battle of St. Foye, were compelled to take shelter behind the walls of the town and sustain a short siege at the hands of the victorious French under do Levis. In 1791, the old French structure, 17 now a docfiyod ruin, was razi'd l)y llio Eiicjlish, hut, iu tho moainvliilo, durinEf 177.), it had gallantly with- stood tho afisaults iiud si»\L;vof tho AmtM-icaii invaderH under Montgoraory and IJtMU'diet Arnold. Tho somowhat ornate Kuhstitutc, by which it was replaced and which is shown in tho enj^raving, is said to have resembled ono of tho gates of Pompeii, and seems to have boon erected as lato as tho year 1830 or 1831, as, in tho course of its demolition in 1874, an inscription was laid bare, attesting tho fact that at HOPE GATE. least the timbers and planking had been put up by local workmen in 1831. It is not intended to rebuild this gate under tho Duflerin plan on account of the great volumo of traffic, more especially since the completion of the North Shore Eailway, to whose terminus tho roadway which leads over its site is tho most direct route. To mark that memorable spot, however, it is intended to flank it on either side with picturesque Norman turrets rising above the line of the fortificatiou wall, as represented in the illustration. 3 18 IIopo Gato, also on tlio northern faco of tho ramparts, was tho first of tho two purely British gates of Quebec, and was erected in 1780 by Colonel Henry Hope, Commandant of tho Forces and Administrator of the Province, from whom it takes its name. It was demolished in 1874 for no especial reason, this gate being no obstacle whatever to the growing requirements of traffic, as will be readily understood from its situation and the style of its construc- tion as illustrated herewith. Like Palace gate, too, it is HOPE I-IILL. not to bo rebuilt— its approaches being easily commanded and its position on tho rugged, lofty cliff being naturally very strong. Its site, however, will be marked in the carrying out of the Dufferin Improvements by flanking Norman turrets, as shown in the accompanying engraving. The last of the city gates proper, wholly of British origin, but the first that grimly confronted in by-gone days the • 19 visitor approaching the city from the water-side and entering the fortress, is or rather was Prescott gate, which commanded the steep approach known as Mountain Hill. This gate, which was more commonly known as the Lower Town gate, because it led to that part — the oldest — of the city known by that name, was erected in 1797, (to replace a rough structure of pickets which existed at this x^oint from the time of the siege by the Americaiis in 1775) by General Robert Prescott, who served in America during the revolutionary war, and, after further service in the '•("AiiiUii PRESCOTT GATE. West Indies, succeeded Lord Dorchester as the British Governor-General in Lower Canada in 179G, dying in 1815, at the age of 89 years, and giving his name to this memento of his administration, as well as to Prescott, Ontario. Old Prescott gate, an illustration of which is also given, was unquestionably a great public nuisance in times of peace, its demolition in 1871 consequently provoked the least regret of all in connection with the obliteration of those curious relics of Quebec's historic past. For reasons, which 20 are obvious, it would bo impossible to replace Prescott gate with any structure of a like character, without impeding seriously the flow of traflic ])y way of such a leading artery as Mountain Hill, it will, however, be replaced by a light and handsome iron bridg-e of a single Q »-» O < Eh tD O span over iho roadway with flanking Norman turrets as shown in the engraA'ing. Our illu:strations will be found to also include the repre- sentation of another gate marked "Kent gate.' For 21 the information of onr visitors and strangers generally, we may explain that a few years since the western fortification wall between St. John's gato and the milit.-iry exercising ground in past years, known as the Esplanade, was cut through to form a roadway communicating between the ai^'-iii^liMiiiiiiii'i . ' . iiiIm 'ft higher levels of the Upper Tovrn and the St. Louis suburbs, now styled Montcalm Ward. It consequently became necessary, in keeping with the aesthetic spirit of the whole Dufferin scheme, to fill up in some way this unsightly gap without interfering with the traffic. It was finally decided to erect here one of the proposed memorial gates, which is 2^ altogether therefore an addition to the number of th^ existing gates or their intended substitutes. This edifice, which has been commenced and will probably also bo finished this season, has been designed to do homage to the memory of Edward, Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria. This gate will be the most imposing of all in the entire circuit of the lortiGcations, while it has had the signal honor of further being reserved for a handsome subscription towards its cost from Her Majesty's privy purse and dedication at the hands of H. R. H. the Princess, who laid its corner stone with appropriate ceremonial during the month of June, 1879. THE CITADEL GATES. Besides the foregoing, however, the fortress possesses in reality two other gates of much interest to the stranger. AVhen the famous Citadel, commanding the entire harbour and surrounding country, was constructed on Cape Diamond, the number of existing gates was increased from live to seven ])y the erection of the Chain and Dalhousie or Citadel gates, leading to that great fortilice of British power, which may be aptly styled the summiim opus of the magni- ficent but costly system of strategic works that has earned for Quebec its title of the Gibraltar of America. But, as these belong rather to the Citadel, which is an independent stronghold of itself, rather than to the defensive works of the city i)roper, it suffices to mention that they were erected under the administration of the Earl of Dalhousie, in 1827, and that they are well worthy of a visit of insi)ection — the one being a handsome and formidable barrier of its class and the other of very massive construction and considerable depth. Our closing illustration is intended to show the proposed Ch&teau St. Louis or Castle of St. Louis, which must be regarded as the crowning feature of the Dufferin scheme of embellishment and was designed by the late Governor 28 General to servo ae a vice-regal residence during the sojourn of the representative of the Crown in Quebec, as well as to revive the historic splendors of the ancient pile of that name, which formed the abode of the early Governors of New France. Of course, this noble structure only exists u o m O H < as yet on paper ; but, should it ever be erected, it will be a striking object from any point whence the Citadel is visible as it will rise to a considerable height above its highest battle- ments, standing out in bold relief to the east of the building known as the Officers' Quarters, with'a frontage of 200 feet 24 and ail elevation pirtly of GO and partly of 100 foet, with a basement, two main storeys, and mansard roof and two towers of diflerent heiq-hts, but of equally charming design — the style of arcliitecture of the whole being an agreeable melange of the pictLiresf|ue Norman and Elizabethan. Some of the Places of Interest IN AND AEOUT QUEBEC. Durham and IJulicriii Terrace.-, 1400 feet long, and 200 fock above and facing the St. Lawrence. Citadel. Governor's Gavdou. Grand Battery. French Cathedral. English Cathedral. Seminary Chapel (Paintings by Champagne, &:c.) Where Montgomery fell. Plains of Abraham, and Mo- nument where Wolfe fell at the taking of Quebec, in 1750. Drive out St. Louis and in through St. Foy's Road. Falls of St. Ann's. Ivills of Montmorenci. Indian Village of Lorette and Falls. Chaudiero Falls. Lakes St. Charles and Beau- port abound with Trout and are within two hours' drive of the city. New Fortifications, Le\i. OLD AND MODERN QUEBEC. Its Streets— Edifices— Monuments— Chronicles- Antiquities, &c. Bv J. M. LeMoine. *^»^.''*rf"\.^»^»\*/»i^**^«*»'*-/*^\,i^»w'V^»**'«W"»**X-'" On more occasions than one, it has been our pleasant office to escort literary friends round our streets — our ramparts — our battle-fields, occasionally, illustrious visitors ; our accepted task, sometimes an arduous one, consisted in ministering to the craving for historical lore which invariably besets outsiders, once drawn within the magic circle of the associations evoked by the Gibraltar of British America. It has occurred t| us that a mode, as effectual as it seems pleasant, of imparting information would be a survey, minute and methoflcal, of the locale^ by us so oft travelled over, jotting down what each street offered worthy of note ; in fine, to treat our valued friends to an antiquarian ramble round the " Old Curiosity Shop." What a field for investi- gation. Has not each thoroughfare its distinctive feature — its saintly, heathenish, courtly, national, heroic, or burlesque name ? Its peculiar origin ? traceable sometimes to a shadowy — a remote past, sometimes to the utilitarian present. "What curious vistas are unfolded in the birth of its edifices — public and private — alive with the mem- ories of their clerical, bellicose, agricultural or mercantile founders ? How much mysterious glamour, is necessarily shed over them by the relentless march of time — by the vicissitudes inherent to human affairs ? The edifices, did 4 26 We say ? Their origin — their progress, their decay, mayhap their demoHtion by the modern iconocUist — have they no teachings ? IIow mony phases in the art of the builder and engineer, from the high-peaked Norman cottage to the ponderous, drowsy Mansard roof— from Champlain's picket fort to the modern citadel of Quebec ? The streets and by-ways of famous old-world cities have found chroniclers — in some instances, of rare ability: Timbs, Ilovvitt, Augustus Sala, Longfellow, &c., why should not those of our own land obtain a passing notice ? Show us on American soil, a single city intersected by such quaint, tortuous, legend-loving streets as old Quebec ? Name a town, retaining more unmistakable vestiges of its rude beginnings — of its pristine, narrow, Indian-haunted, forest paths ? In fact, does not history meet you at every turn ? Every nook, every lane, every square, nay even the stones and rocks, have a story to tell — a record to unfold — a tale to whisper of savage or civilized warfare — a memento to thrill the patriot — a legend of romance or of death — war, famine, fires, earthquakes, land and snow^ slides, riot, &c. ? Is it not to be apprehended that in time, the inmates of such a city, might become saturated with the overpowering atmosphere of this romantic past — fall a prey to an over- weening love of old memories — become indifferent, dead- like — to the feelings and requirements of the present? This does not naturally follow. We are, nevertheless, inclined to believe that outward objects may act powerfully on one's inner nature : that the haunts and homes of men, are not entirely foreign to the thoughts, pursuits, impulses, good or bad, of their inmates. Active — cultured — bustling — progressive citizens, we would fain connect with streets and localities partaking of o>- that cliaractor, just as wo associate choerfiil abodes with sunshine, and repulsive dwellings with dunk, perennial shadows. CHAP. I. The Upper Town, in 1G08, with its grand oaka, its wahiut trees, its majestic elms, when it formed part of the primeval forest, must have been a locality abounding in game. If Charaplain, his brother-in-law, Boulle, as well as his other friends of the Lower Town,=^ had been less eager in hunting other inhabitants of the forest in- linitely more dreaded (the Iroquois,) instead of simply making mention of the foxes, which prowled about the residency, {C Abitation) they would have noted down some of the hunting raids which were probably made on the wooded declivities of Cape Diamond and in the thickets of the Coleau Sainle-Genevieve, more especially when scurvy or the dearth of provisions rendered indispensable, the use of fresh meats. "VVe should have heard of grouse, woodcock, hares, beavers, foxes, carribotix, bears, &c,, at that period, as the probable denizens of the mounts and vallies of ancient Stadacona. In 1G17, the chase had doubtless to give way to tillage of the soil, when the first resident of the Upper Town, the apothecary Louis Hebert, established there his hearth and home. In that year, " he presently," says Abbe Ferland, *' commenced to grub up and clear the ground, on the "site on which the Roman Catholic cathedral and the " Seminary adjoining now stand, and that portion of the " Upper Town which extends from Ste. Famille Street, up " to the Hdtel-Dieu. He constructed a house and a mill " near that part of St. Joseph street, where it received St. " Franfois and St. Xavier streets. These edifices appear " to have been the first which were erected in the locality, • Up to 1C17 and later, Champlain's residence was in the Lower Town an4 stood nearly on tiie site of the Church Notre-Vame des Yictoircs. 28 " now occnpiod by the Upper Town." At that period, there could have existed none other than narrow paths, irregular avenues following the sinuosities of the forest. In the course of time, these narrow paths became levelled and widened. Champlain and tSir David Kirtk bothered themselves very little with improving highways. Over- seers of roads and G rand-Voyers were not then dreamed of in La Nouvelle France : those blessings, macadamised roads, date from 1841. One of the first projects of Governor do Montmagny, after having fortified the place, was to prepare a plan for a city, to lay out, widen and straighten the streets, assuredly not without need. ]Iad he further extended this useful re- form, our Municipal Council to-day, would have been spared a great amount of vexation, and the i)ublic in gene- ral, much annoyance. On the 17th November 1G23, a road- way, or ascent leading to the Upper Town, had been effect- ed, less dangerous than that which had previously existed. •'As late as 1G82, as appears by an authentic record (proces- verbal) of the conflagration, this hill was but fourteen feet w^ide. It was built of branches, covered with earth ; ren- dered unserviceable by the fire, the inhabitants had it widened six feet, as they had to travel three miles, after the conflagration, to enter the Upper Town by another hill."— (T. B. Bedard.) In the summer season, our foreUvthcrs journeyed by water, generally, in birch-bark canoes. In winter, they had recourse to snow shoes. To what year can we fix the advent of wheeled vehicles ? Wo have been unable to discover. The first horse consigned to the Governor of the colony, arrived from France, in 1648. Did His Excellency use him as a saddle horse only ? or, on the occasion of a New Year's day, when he went to pay his respects to the Jesuit Fathers, and to the good ladies of the Ursulines to 20 present with the complimonts of tho season, the usual Now Year's gifts t was ho driven in a Curiole and in a Caliche, in tho summer season ? Here again, is a nut to crack for commentators. Although there wore horned cattle at Quebec, in 1G23, oxen for tho purpose of ploughing the land, were first u«ed on tho 27th April, 1G28. On tho 16th of July, 1GG5, (t) a French ship brought twelve horses. These were doubtless tho mountings of the brilliant stalF of tho great Marquis de Tracy, Viceroy. Theso dashing military followers of Colonel do Salieres, thisyeMnesi'e dorde of the Marquis do Tracy, mount- ed on theso twelve French chargers, which tho aborigines named "the moose-deer {oris;naux) of Europe,'' doubtless cut a great figure at Quebec. Did there exist Tandem!^, driving clubs in 1GG5 ? Quien sabc ? A garrison life in 1665-7, and its amusements must have been much what it was one century later, when the "divine" Emily Montague § was corresponding with her dear " Colonel Rivers," from her Sillery abode, in 17 07 ; she then, amongst the vehicles in use, mentions CaUchcs. They were not all saints such as Paul Dupuy, (||) theso military swells of Colonel de Salieres ! Major Lafradiere, for instance, might have vied with the most outrageous rake which the Guards of Queen Victoria may have numbered in the Colony, two centuries later. If there were, at Quebec, twelve horses for the use of gentlemen, they were doubtless not suflered to remain idle in their stable ; tho rugged paths of the Upper Town t Those gifts conf^isted of wino (Spanish), meat pies (^towtiires) y capons, books of devotion, etc. — (See Jesuits' Journal.) t Histoire de la Colonic Fran'/aiae en Canada. Vol. III., p. 3S1. § History of Emilj' Montague, 4 Vols., 1767 — London. IlHiatoirc de I'llotel-Dieu de Quebec, (Mere Juchercau, 511.) 80 woro lovolloil aifd \vi(l«Miod; tho pulilin highway ceased hc'iiij^ ri'sorvod for pedestrians only. This is what wo wanted to arrive at. Ill reality, tlio slreots of Qaoboc j^rew rapidly into iinporfauco in 1(1(55. Improvements oflecled during tho iidministration of the Chevalier do Montmai^ny, had heon much appreciated. Tho illustrious Chevalier had his Saini Louis, Saint Anne, Rirhelicu, D'Ai^uillon, Si. John slrrcb, to do honor to his Master, Louis XIII, his Queen, tho heautiful Anno of Austria ; tho Cardinal of Richelieu; his niece, la Duchesse U'Aiguillon ; the good j)riest, St. Sauveur, In the last and in the present century, St. Louis street was inha])ited ])y many eminent persons. Chief Justice Sevvell resided in the stately old mansion, now occupied as the Lieutenant-Governor's ollices; this eminent jurist died in 1831). "Ono bright, frosty evening of January, 1832," says Mr. Chauveau, "at tho close of a numerously attended public meeting held at tho Ottawa Hotel, to pro- test against tho arrest of Messrs. Tracy, Editor of tho Vindicator, and Duvernay, Editor of the Minerve, tho good citizens of Quebec, usually so pacific, rushed, in a noisy procession, led by a dozen students wearing tri-color ribbons, in their button-holes, and sang tho Mnrseillaise and the Parisienne, under the windows of the Chief Justice, whose ear was little accustomed to such a concert." Tho ermined sage, 'tis said, was so startled, that he made sure a revolution was breakinix out. 'o " Among tho fiery, youthful leaders, the loudest in their patriotic outburst, there was one, who would then have been much surprised had any one predicted that after being President of the Legislative Council — Prime Minister of the Canadas — Knighted by H, R. IL tho Prince of "Wales in person, he would one day, as Lieutenant-Governor, enter in state this same former residence of Chief Justice Sewell, 81 wlulst Iho cannon of Britain would roar awclcomo— tlio flapf of Englajul slrpum over his head and a British roj-imcnt present arms to him." Such, however, has been the lateol' Sir Narcissus Forlunalus Belleau. The mansion of Mr. do Lothiniuro, in St. Louis street, was tho rosidonno of tho chere amie of M. Bi-^ot, (tlie Intendanl)^ Madame Tean ; tho late Judge Eimsley residi'd there about the year 1813 ; Government su])se- quently purchased it to serve as an OlUcers' Barracks. Nearly opposite tho old Court House, (])urned in 1872), stands tho " Kent House," in which His Hoyal Highness, tho late Duke of Kent resided in summer, 171)1-3. (§) No. 42 St. Louis street, is tho housef which belonged to tlie cooper, Francois Gobcrt ; it now has become historical. In it were deposited the remains of General Montgomery, on the 81st December, 1775. This summer it is leased by Louis Gonzaguc Buillarge, Esq., tho proprietor, to Widow Pigott, whose late husband was in the "B" Battery. In the street sacred to Louis XIII, St. Louis street, Messrs. Brown=*^ & Gilmor, established in 1704,:f their printing office for the Quebec Gazelle, " two doors higher up than tho Secretary's Office," wherever this latter may have stood. The Gazelle office was subsequently removed to Parloir Street, and eventually settled down for many a long year, at the corner of Mountain Hill, half way up, facing Break Neck steps — the house wa.s, with many others removed in 1850, to widen Mountain Street. According (\) '* To lift. — Tliiit c'lc^i^ant hon-^o, No (J Port Louis St., Iiitrly 0('cni)i(Ml liv II. R. II. Prince Eilwanl :uiil iit prosuiit l>y tlu' Lonl IJisliopof Qiu'lirr. F'or particular.-', apply to Miss Maliane, or to Munro & Bfll, (iiiielicc. — Itii March, 179-1. (Quebec Gazette— il'H.) t Montjromery'.s House is now a much frequentCvl staml for the .-'.ile of Cigar-s, Candies, 5l'ew.spaj)ers, Ac, to tourists. • William Brown, uncle to the Nelsons, was a Sootolnuau fnvii Philadelphia, who had heeu induced to print a journal in (^lehec from t!ie representations and information he liad collected from William Laing, a Quebec Merchant-Tailor, whom he had met in Scotland. X Twenty-four ycar.^ in advance of the London Times, founded in 1783. 82 to a tradition published in the Gazette of 2nd May, 1848, the prospectus of this journal had, it would appear, been printed, in Benjamin Franklin's printing office. The Abbe Vignal resided at the corner of this and Parloir street, previous to joining the Sulpiciens ; in 1661, he was roasted alive and eaten by the Indians at Prairie de la Magdeleine, near Montreal. In our day, the judicial and parliamentary heads, and the Bar have monopolized it. In it, we find Sir N. F. Belleau, Chief Justice Duval, the Judges Taschereau, Tessier, Bos86, Caron, Routhier ; Hon. L. H. Langevin, P. Pelletier, M. P. ; Messrs. Bosse, Baby, AUeyn, Languedoc, Tessier, Chouinard, Hamel, Gauthier, Bradley, Dunbar, cum multis aliiSy many of whose clients are as early birds as those in the days of Horace. "SubcantuGalli." •' On ascending," says Abbe Faillon, " from the Lower to the Upper Town by a tortuous road, contrived betwixt the rocks, and on the right hand side, we reach the Cemetery.'* This road, which terminated at the Parish Church, divided itself into two, — on one side it led to the Jesuits (Jesuits' College) and to the Hospital (Hotel Dieu,) — and on the other, to the Indian Fort (^) and to the Castle of Saint Louis. The Castle and King's Fort, guarded by soldiers night and day, under the orders of the G-overnor, was of an irregular shape, flanked by bastioi's, fortified by pieces of artillery and contained in its interior several suites of apart- ments separated one from the other. At the distance of about forty toises (240 feet,) from the Castle was seen, on the south side, a small garden fenced-in, for the use of the Governor, and in front, towards the west, was the Place d'ArmeSt (now the Ring,) in the form of a trapezium. • Opposite to Mr. Narciase Turcotte, Jeweller, on Mountain Hill. ^ The Indian Fort {Fort des Hurons) was built to protect the unfortunate Hurons who, after tlje butchery of 1G48-49, had sought refuge at Quebec. It is conspicuous on an old plan of Quebec of 16G4, republiHhcd oy Abbe Faillon. It stooa on the northern sloi^e of Dulforin Terrace, on the site to the east of the preeeut Post-Office. - 83 Professor Kalm's description of the public edifices, in 1749, is worthy of note. . . , ,. *' The Palace (Chateau Saint Louis) is situated on the west or steepest side of the mountain, just above the lower city. It is not properly a palace, but a large building of stone, two stories high, extending north aad south. On the west side of it is a court-yard, surrounded partly with a wall, and partly with houses. On the east side, or towards the river, is a gallery as long as the whole building, and about two fathoms broad, paved with smooth flags, and included on the outside by iron rails, from whence the city and the river exhibit a charming prospect. This gallery serves as a very agreeable walk after dinner, and those who come to speak with the governor-general wait here till he is at leisure. The palace is the lodging of the governor- general of Canada, and a number of soldiers mount the guard before it, both at the gate and in the court-yard ; and when the governor, or the bishop, comes in or goes out, they must all appear in arms and beat the drum. The governor-general has his own chapel where he hears prayers ; however, he often goes to Mass at the church of the Ricollets, which is very near the palace." The Castle St. Lewis, built by Champlain, in 1624, was much improved and enlarged by the wing still existing, erected in 1784 by G-overnor Haldimand. The old Chdleau was destroyed by fire on 23rd January, 1884. On its lofty site and far beyond, is perched our incomparable, world- renowned Boulevard : the Dufierin Terrace. " The Jesuits' Church is built in the form of a cross, and has a round steeple. This is the only church that has a clock " This little church, of which the corner stone was laid by the Governor General, the Marquis de Tracy, on 81st May, 1666, existed iiutil 1807. The oldest inhabitant can 5 84 yet recall, from memory, the spot where it stood, oven if we had not the excellent drawing made of it with a dozen of other Quebec views — by an officer in "Wolfe's fleet, Captain Richard Short. It stood on the site recently occupied by the shambles, in the Upper Town, facing the Clarendon Hotel. Captain Short's pencil bears again testimony to the exactitude, even in minute things, of Kalm's descriptions : his Quebec horses, harnessed one before the other to carts. You see in front of the church, in Captain Short's sketch, three good sized horses drawing a heavily laden two wheeled cart, harnessed one before the other. The church was also used until 1807 as a place of worship for Protestants. Be careful not to confound the Jesuits' Church with the small chapel in the interior of their college (the old Jesuit Barracks) contiguous thereto. This latter chapel had been commenced on the 11th July, 1G50, The Seminary Chapel, and TJrsulines Church, after the destruction by shot and shell, in 1759, of the large R. C. Cathedral, were used for a time as parish churches. From beneath the chief altar of the Jesuits' Church was removed, on the 14th May, 1807, the small leaden box containing the heart of the founder of the TJrsulines' Convent, Madame de la Peltrie, previously deposited there in accordance with the terms of her Last Will. You can see, that the pick-axe and mattock of the •' bande noire " who robbed our city walls of their stones, and demolished the Jesuits' College and city gates, were busily employed long before 1871. There are few, we will venture to say,' who, in their daily walk up or down Fabrique Street, do not miss this hoary and familiar land mark, the Jesuits' College. "When its removal was recently decreed, for a long time it resisted the united assaults of hammer and pick-axe, and yielded, finally, to the teriific power of dynamite alone. The Jesuits' College, older than Harvard College, at Boston, takes one back to the dawn of Canadian history. 35 Though a considerable eum had beoii granted to foster Jesuit establishments at Quebec, by a young French noble- man, Rene de Rohault, son of the Marquis de Gamache, as early as 1626, it was on the 18th March, 1637, only, that the ground to build on, " twelve arpents of land, in the vici- nity of Fort St. Louis : " were granted to the Jesuit Fathers. In the early times, we find this famous seat of learning playing a prominent part in all public pageants ; its annual examinations and distribution of prizes called together tho elite of Quebec society. The leading pupils had, in poetry and in verse, congratulated Governor d'Argenson on his arrival in 1658. On the second July, 1666, a public examina- tion on logic brought out with great advantage two most promising youths, the famous Louis Jolliet, who later on joined Father Marquette in his discovery of the Mississippi, and a Three Rivers youth, Pierre de Francheville, who intended to enter Holy Orders. The learned Intendant Talon was an examiner ; he was remarked for the erudition his latin questions displayed. Memory reverts to the times when the illustrious Bossuet was undergoing his latin ex- aminations at Navarre, with the Great Conde as his exam- iner ; France's first sacred orator confronted by her most illustrious general. How many thrilling memories were recalled by this grim old structure ? Under its venerable roof, oft' had met, the pioneer missionaries of New France, the band of martyrs, the geographers, discoverers, savants and historians of this learned order : Dolbeau, de Quon, Druil- lettes, Daniel, de la Brosse, de Crepieul, de Carheil, Brebcouf, Lallemant, Jogues, de None, Raimbeaidt, Albanel, Chau- monot, Dablon, Menard, LeJeune, Masse, Viraont, Ragueneau, Charlevoix, * and crowds of others. Here, they assembled to receive their orders, to compare notes, mayhap, to discuss the news of the death or of the success * Faucher dc Saiut Maurice. 86 of somo of their indefatigable explorers of the great "West ; how the "good word" had been fearlessly carried to the distant shores of lake Huron, to the bayous and perfumed groves of Florida, or to the trackless and frozen regions of Hudson's Bay. Later on, when France had suppressed the order of the Jesuits, and when her lily banner had disappeared from our midst, the college and its grounds were appropriated to other uses — alas ! less congenial. The roll of the English drum and the sharp "word of command" of a British adjutant or of his drill sergeant, for a century or more, resounded in the halls, in which latin orisons were formerly sung ; and in the classic grounds, and grassy court, ^ canopied by those stately oaks and elms, which our sires yet remember — to which the good Fathers retreated in sweet seclusion, to "say" their Breviaries and tell their beads, might have been heard the coarse joke of the guard room and coarser oath of the trooper. It had been claimed as a " magazine for the army con- tractor's provisions on 14th November, 1760." On the 4th June, 1765, His Excellency General James Murray had it surveyed and appropriated for quarters and barracks for the troops, all excepted some apartments ; the court and garden was used as a drill and parade ground until the departure of Albion's soldiers. How singular, how sad to think that this loved, this glorious relic of the French regime, entire even to the Jesuit College arms, carved in stone over its chief entrance, should have remained sacred and intact during the century of occupation by English soldiery — and that its destruction should have been decreed so soon as the British legions, by • A memorable Indian Council was lielJ in the court of the Jesuits' Col- lege, on 3l8t August, 1CG6. 37 their dcparturo, in 1871, had virtually handed it over to the French Province of Quebec ? The discovery on the 28th August, 1878, of human remains beneath the floor of this building — presumed to bo those of some of the early missionaries — induced the au- thorities to institute a careful search during its demolition. These bones and others exhumed on the 31st August, and on the 1st and 9th September, 1878, were pronounced by two members of the faculty, Drs. Hubert Larue and Chs. E. Lemieux, both Professors of the Laval University, (who signed a certificate to that effect) to be the remains of three=* persons of the male sex and of three f persons of the female sex. Some silver and copper coins were also found, which with these mouldering remains of humanity, were deposited •Mr. Faucher da Saint Maurice having boon, in 1878, charged by the Premior. Hon. Mr. Joly, to watch the oxcuviitions and note the discoveries, in a luininou.s report, sums up the whole case. From this document, among other things, wo glean that the remains of tho three persons of male sex are those of : 1' Pbie Franfois du Pdron, who died at Fort St. Louys, (Chambly) 10th November, 1665, and was convoyed to Quebec for burial. 2" Pere Jean do Quen, the discoverer of Lake Saint John, who died at Quebec, on 8th October, 1669, from the effects of a fever contracted in attending on some of tho pasrengers brought hero that summer by tho French ship Saiut Andre. 3" Frcre Jean Liegeois, scalped 29th May, 1655, by tho Agniers at Sillory — (the historian Fcrland assigns as tho probable spot, the land on which tho late Lieutenant Governor Caron built his Mansion "Clermont," now occupied by Thomas Beckett, Esquire.) Tho remains of this missionary, when excavated, wore headless— which exactly agrees with the entry in the Jesuits' Journal, Muy, 1655, which states that Jean Liegeois was scalped — his head cut off and left at Sillery, while his mutilated body, discovered tho next day by tho Algonquins, tho allies of the French, was brought to Sillery, (probably to tho Jesuits' residence, the same solid old structure close to the foundations of the Jesuits' chapel and monument at the foot of tho Sillery Hill, which many here have seen), from whence it was conveyed to the Lower Town in a boat and escorted to the Jesuits' College, with tho ceremonies of the R. C. Church. t Three Nuns of tho Ildtcl-Dieu Convent, according to authorities quoted by Mr. Faucher, were buried in the vault (caucoii) of tho Jesuits' Chapel. The sisterhood had been allowed the use of a wing of the Jesuits' College, where they removed after the conflagration of tho 7th June, 1755, which destroyed their hospital. 4" Hire Marie Marthe Desroches do Saint-Franfois-Xavier, a young woman of 28 years, who succumbed to small pox on tho 10th August, 1755. 5* Hire de I'Eufant-Jdsus, who expired on tho 12th May, 1756. 6° Mire do Sainte-Moniquo, who died in July, 1756, the victim of her devotion in ministering to the decimated crew of tho ship Lfopard sunk in the port by order of Government to arrest tho spread of ihe pestilential disease which had raged on tho passage out. Mr. Faucher closes his able report with a suggestion that a monument ought t« be raised, t« commemorate tho labors and devotion of the Jesuits, on the denuded area on which stood their venerable College. Relation de ec qui »'e»t paiti lors det Fouillea faite* par ordre du Ootivernement done une partie de» fondationt du College des JfisuiTES de Qutbee, precldfe de cer- tainet o6«eri'o<(on« 2'"'* i''^ucuEE DE Sai-VT Maurice. Quibee. C. Darveau—lS79. 88 under lock and koy in a wooden box ; and in Seplorober, 1878, the whole was placed in a small but substantial stono structure, in the court of the Jesuit Barracks, known as the "Regimental ^Magazine.'* pending their delivery for per- manent disposal to Rev. Pere Sachez, Superior of the Jesuits Order in Quebec. In May, 1879, on opening this magazine, it was found that the venerable bones, box and all had disappeared, the staple of the padlock on the door having been forced. By whom and for what purpose, the robbery ? Let us walk on, and view with the Professor's eyes the adjoining public edilice, which stood here in 1749, the lit'collet Convent " a spacioiTs building," says Kalm, "two story high, with a large orchard and kitchen garden." Its Church or Chapel was, on 6th September, 1796, de- stroyed by fire ; two eye-witnesses of the conflagration, Philippe Aubert DeGaspe and Deputy-Commissary-G-eneral James Thompson, the first in his 3Iemoires, the second in his unpublished Diary, have vividly portrayed the accident. The Church faced the Ring and the old Chateau ; it formed part of the Recollet Convent, "a vast quadrangular building, with a court and well stocked orchard" on Garden street ; it was occasionlly used as a state prison. The Huguenot and agitater, Pierre DuCalvet, spent some dreary days in its cells in 1781-84 ; and during the summer of 1776, a young volunteer under Benedict Arnold, John Joseph Henry, (who lived to become a distinguished Pennsylvania Judge) was immured in this monastery, after his arrest by the British, at the unsuccessful attack in the Lower Town, in Sault-au- Matelot street, on 31st December, 1775, as he graphically relates in his Memoirs. It was a monastery of the order of Saint Francis. The Provincial, in 1793, a well known, w^itty, jovial and eccentric personage, Father Felix DeBerrey, had more than once dined and wined His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, the father of our Gracious Sovereign, 30 when stationed in onr garrison in 1791-4, with his regiment the 7th Fusileers. The Recollet Church was also a sacred and last resting place for the illustrious dead. Of the six French Governors who expired at Quebec, four slept within its silent vaults, until the translation, in '^G, of their ashes to the vaults of the Basilica, viz: (1) Froi. enac, (2) de Callieres, (3) Vau- drouil, (4) de la Jonquiere. Governor deMesy had been buried in the H6tel-Dieu Chapel, and the first Governor, de Champlain, 'tis generally believed, was interred noivr the Chilteau Saint Louis, in a "sepulchre particulier," near the spot now surmounted by his bust, beneath the soil, on which, in 1871, was erected the new Post Office. On the south-west side of the Chateau, could be seen a building devoted to the administration of Justice, La Sene- chaussee,t (Seneschal's Jurisdiction,) and which bore the name of " The Palace." It was doubtless there that, in 1664, the Supreme Council held its sessions. In 1665 it was assigned to the Marquis de Tracy, for a residence whilst in the colony. From the Place D'Armes, the higher road {Grande Alice) took its departure and led to Cap Rouge, On the right and left of this road, were several small lots of land given to certain persons for the purpose of being built upon. The Indian Fort was that entrenchment of The following inscription was on the coflin plato : (1) Count Frontenac — "Cy gyt le Ilaut ct Puissant Seigneur, Louis clc Eu,uli\ Comttt de Frontenac, Qouverncur-Qun(?ral de la Nouvclle-Franco. Mort .1 (iu(5bce, lo 28 novombre 1698,"— (£^t'»^ of Canada, Smith, Vol. J. P. l.*?,),) (2) Qov. deCalli&res. — "Cy gyst Ilaut ot Puissant Seigneur, Hector deCalliorcs, Chevalier do Saint-Louis, Gouvernour ot Lioutonant-Q6n6ral do la NouvcUe-France, d6ced<> le 26 mai 1703."— (/6trf., P. 148.) (3) Qov. de Vaudreuil.— "Cy gist Haut et Puissant Seigneur, Messiro Philippe Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, Grande Croix do I'Ordro Militairo do Saint-Loiii.x, Qouvemeur et Lieutenant-Q(5n6ral do toute la Nouvelle-France, d^'c6dd le dixiemo octobre 1725,"— (/6.d., P. 190.) (4) M, do la Jonquifire, — "Cy repose le corps de Mcgsiro Jacqucs-Picrro do Taffanell, Marquis de la Jonquiiiro, Uaron do Castelnau, Seigneur de Ilardarsinagnjts ot autres lieux, Commandcur do I'Ordro Boyal et Militairo de Saint-Louis, Chef dEscadre des Armies Navales, Qouverneur ot Lioutenant-Gdn^ral pour lo Hoy en toute la Nouvelle-France, torres ct passes do la Louisiane. DdcedC- i Quebec, le 17 mai 1752, ^ six heures-et-dcmie du soir, &%€ de 67 aos." — (,Ilrid„ P. 222.) fit appears to have stood at the cast end of St. Louia street— where the residence uud otlice of Jas. Dunbar, Esaw, Thomaa Vlacc et David Monro, '»??tbujuH Urbi?, quorum Williaiii Jlolines Anu'i'^ov M D fiiit summus Ma-zister Doputatus, adjuvantibusjbunc jirimum Lapidem pj3uit, dei XIV. Men.-i.s Sextilis, Anno Salutis MUCCCV. Nummi quo(iue Regis Reiruaiitis (iEORGHin. " Suppositi sunt, Videlicet. Nummns Aureus Anglice Guinea, anveiuw ctiam Dimiilium ejus etTrien«: ; Nummus argenteus Holidos quinque Anglicos valans, solidus diniidiunj soliiji, et quarta pars ; nummus -Uranus denarios duos Anglicos valcns ; denarii^.s obolus ; et quadrans. Edward Gannon, Architcctus, a 42 Oil tho conJipicuous sito whoro stands tho unpretending brick structure known as our present House of Parliament, (which succeeded tho handsono cutstono edifice burnt, in 1854,) one might, in IGGO, have seen the dwelling ot'a man of note, Kuotto d'Auteuil. D'Auteuil became subsequently Attorney General and had lively times with that sturdy old ruler. Count de Frontenac, lluette d'Auteuil had sold the lot lor i^GOO (3,000 livres do 20 sols) to Major Provost, who resold it with the two story stone house thereon erected, for $3,000, to Bishop St. Vallier. Tho latter having bequeathed it to his ecclesiastical successor, Bishop Plessis ceded it to the Imperial Government for an annual ground rent of .i;i,000 — this rent is continued to the Archbishop by tho Provincial Government of Quebec : no one now cares to enquire why Bishop Plessis made such an excellent bargain, though a cause is assigned. Palace Street was thus denominated from its leading direct from the Vpper Town to tho Intcndant's Palace — latterly tho King's woodyard.* In earlier days it went by tho name of Rue des Pauin'cs, (Street of the Poor,) from its intersecting the domain of the Hdtel Diev^ whoso revenues were devoted to the maintenance of tho poor, sheltered behind its massive old walls. Close by, on Saint John street, Bishop St. Yallier had found- ed le Bureau des Fauvres, where tho beggars of Quebec (a thriving class to this day) received alms, in order to deter thorn from begging in the country round the city. Tho success which crowned this humble retreat of the mendicant led the philantrophic bishop to found the General Hospital at St. Koch. At the western corner of Palace and St. John streets, has stood since 1771, a well known land mark : a wooden statue of General Wolfe, sculptured by the Brothers Cholette, * On a portion of it, a cattle market has boon built — under French rule, it formed a beautiful park fur the niag'uficcut Intcndaiit?. 48 at Iho request of Creorgo Ilipps, a loyal butcher. Tlio peregrinations of this historic relic, in 1838, iVom Quebec to ]Ialifax — from Halifax to Bermuda, hence to Portsmouth, and linally to its old niche at Wolfe's corner St. John Street, whilst they alibrded much sport to the middies of II. M. Ship Incomtant, who visited our port that summer and carried away the General, were the sub- ject of several newspaper paragraphs in prose and in verse. Finally, the safe return of the •• General " with a bran new coat of paint and varnish in a deal box, consigned to His Worship, the Mayor (Thomas Pope) of Quebec, sent by unknown hands, was made an occasion for rejoicing to every friend of the British hero, whom Quebec contained and they were not few. Some of the actors of this practical joke, staunch upholders of Britannia's sovereignty of the sea, now pace their quarter deck, t'is said, proud and stern admirals ! The street and hill leading down from the parochial Church, (whose title was Cathedral of the Immaculate Con- ception of the Blessed Virgin Mary,) to the outlet, where Hope Gate was built in 1786, was called Ste. Familie street — from its vicinity to the Cathedral. On the cast side, half way up the hill still exists the old homestead of the deLery — in 1854, occupied by Sir E. P. Tache, since, sold to the Quebec Seminary. On the opposite side a little higher up, also survives the old house of M. Jean Langevin, father of the Bishop of Eimouski, Hon. H. L. Langevin and others. Here in the closing days of French Dominion- lived the first Acadian, who brought to Quebec the news of the dispersion of his compatriots, so eloquently sung by Longfellow : Dr. Lajus, of French extraction, who settled at Quebec, and married a sister of Bishop Hubert ; on the northern angle of this old tenement vou now read " Ste. Familte street." 44 That dear old slroot, — St. Oooriro stroot, ibrmorly,— now called al'tor the lirst inhabilant of llu^ Upper Town in 1017, Louis Hubert, by the eroctionortho lolly Medical Collon^onnd Laval University, lor us has been shorn of its nanio — its sunshine — its glory, since the homo * of our youth, at the cast end, has passed in foreign hands. It is now Ilcbert street. Laval, Altornoy-Oeneral D'Auteuil, Louis do IJuade, Ste» IJel<}ne, (t) soem to como back to life in the ancient streets of tho same name, whilst Frontenac, Iberville, Fied* mont, are broui^ht to one's recollection, in the modern thoroughfares. The old Scotch pilot, Abraham Martin, (who, according to the Jesuits' Journal, was a ])it of a scamp, though he does not appear to have been tried for his pecca- diloes,) owned a domain of thirty-two acres of land in St. John's subur})s, which were bounded, towards the north, by the hill which now bears his name {La Cdte d' Abraham.) Mythology has exacted a tribute on a strip of ground in the St. Louis suburbs. Tho chief priest of the pagan Olympus boasts of his lane, "Jupiter street " called after a celebrated inn, Jupiter's Inn, on account of a full sized statue of the master of Olympus which stood formerly over the main entrance. In tho beginning of the century, a mineral spring of wondrous efficacy attracted to this neigh- borhood, those of our fashionables whose liver was out of order ; alas ! like that of some other famous sj^riugs, its efficacy is a thing of the past ! Modern astronomy is represented in Arago street, i * The olil hoiuosteail siiooessivoly owiiod Wy MesHns. Tiiiiotliy II. DminniKl Joseph Slu'liyn, M.P.P., uas erected for Ciij)t. lienjuiiiiii LeMuiue, Caiwul. Volt., tho writer's father, in 1812. t LoMoinc tie Ste Helone. It is al.-^o n^sertcd this street (Ste. Heli^nc,) wa^ nameil after the Reverend Mother Ste. Ilelouej Siipjriureisri of the Hotel-i)ieu- (DUe Hegnard dii Plesais). t We read in the Municipal Registrar, " Alfred street extends from Co- lombo street to Arago street, in the Fief Notre-Danie des Ani'es. This street as well as those which run parallel with it, Alexandre, Nelson, Tiirgeon, Jerome and St. Ours, and the transecting streets, Ar.ago and Colombo, were laid out in 1845, thirty feet in width (St. Ours street, only liaving forty feet in width,) by tlie Inspector of Roads, M. Joseph Ilamel, pursuant to the instructions, and with the consent of the Religious Ladied (uuns) of the General Hospital." 45 Parloir street It'acls to tho parhir\ of iho Ursuliiios. Here resided the late Judi^o do lioiiue, at the. dawn of tho present century ; the UrsulinoM have named, after their patron Saint, ►Ste. Ursule, tho lirst street to the west, which intersects at right angles, St, Louis and Ste. Anno streets. Ste. Ursule and yte. Anne streets and environs, seem to have been specially appropriated l>y th;5 disciples of Hippocrates Physicians and Surgeons there assuredly do congregat*', viz. : Dr. James Sewell, his son, Dr. Collin Sewell, Drs. Landry, Lemieux, Boswell, IJelleau, Russell, Ilussell, Jr., Galo, Ro.ss, Baillargeon, Uoy, Fortier, LaRue, Parke, Rowand, llenchey, Vallce, Marsden, Jackson, distinguished physicians all. Notwithstanding that it is the abode of so many eminent members of the Faculty, tho locality is healthy ; nay, conducive to longevity. The streets Craig, Carleton, Ilaldiraand, Dalhousie, Hope, Richmond, PreVost, Aylmor, perpetuate tho memory of eight English Governors. Many of the luxurious dwel- lings on the Cape date back to 1840 or so ; this now aristocratic neigh])orhood, after the conquest and until 1830, was occupied by carters, old French market garden- ers and descendants of French artisans, &c , — -such were the early tenants of Des Carridres, Mont Carmel, Ste. Gene- vieve, St. Denis, Des Orisons streets. — Mais nons avons changed tout cela. A few years since, tho Town Council, on motion of Councillor Ernest Gagnon, whose name is identified with our popular songs,§ disturbed the nomenclature of that part of D'Aiguillon Street, extramuros, by substituting the name of " Charlevoix." To that section of St. Joseph street, intra muros, was conferred the name of our respected historian, F. X. Garneau. To St. Fran9ois street, the name of the historian, Ferland, was awarded ; the historian, Rob. Christie, has also his street; this met with general approval. t Tiie Varloir is tho name of tlie room in which tlie young hjilie^ .sjieuk to their relatives uml i'rientls vi.siting them. § Chansons popuhiires dn Canada, &Q-, par Ernct Gftguou, 18C5. 46 Our thoroug'hfares, our promenades, oven in those dreary months, when the northern blast howls over the Canadian landscape, have some blithsome gleams of sunshine. Never shall wo forget one bright, frosty January afternoon, about four o'clock, in the year 1872, when solitary, though not sad, standing on Durham Terrace, was unveiled to us " a most magnillcent picture, a scene of glorified nature painted by the hand of the Creator. The setting sun had charged the skies with all its gorgeous heraldry of purple and crimson and gold, and the tints were diffused and reflected through fleecy clouds, becoming softer and richer through expansion. The mountain tops, wood-crowned, where the light and shadow appeared to be struggling for mastery, stood out in relief from the white plain, and stretching away in indistinct, dreamy distances finally seemed to blend with the painted skies. The ice-covered bay was lit up with glowing shades, in contrast with the deep blue of the clear water beyond ; from which the island rose, and into which the point jutted with grand i^ictures- queness ; the light played through the frost glistening, but still sombre pines, and spreading out" over deserted fields. Levis and the South Shore received not so much of the illumination, and the grimness of the citadel served as a contrast and a relief to the eye bewildered with the unaccustomed grandeur. But as the sun sank deeper behind the eternal hills, shadows began to fall, and the bright colors toned down to the grey of dusk ; stars shone out, the gray was chased away, and the azure, diamond dotted skies told ]iot of the glory of sunset which had so shortly before suffused them." — {Morning Chronicle.) We have just seen described the incomparable pano- rama which a winter sunset disclosed from the lofty promenade, to which the Earl of DufFerin^ has bequeathed * One of the boons conferral tlirougli (!;o jjifted nobleman on Quebec, and we take pleasure in procluiniing it, i,s (he auperbj workl-'renowned Tvirrace, now bearing his name, " Diitleriu Ti'iTace." 47 his name. Let us now accompany one of our g-enial summer butter^ies, fluttering through the mazes of old Stadacona escorting a bride ; let us listen to II. AV. D. Howells in the AVeddino Jouuney. " Nothing, I think, more enforces tho illusion of Southern Europe in Quebec than the Sunday-night promenading on the Durham (now Dufferin) Terrace. This is the ample span on the brow of the cliff to the left of the citadel, the noblest and most commanding position in the whole city, which was formerly occupied by the old Castle of St. Louis, where dwelt the brave Count Frontenac and his splendid successors of the French regime. The castle went the way of Quebec by lire some forty years ago, (23rd January, 1834), and Lord Durham level- led the site and made it a public promenade. A stately arcade of solid masonry supports it on the brink of the rock, and an iron parapet incloses it; there are a few seats to lounge upon, and some idle old guns for the children to clamber over and play with. A soft twilight had followed the day, and there was just enough obscurity to hide from a willing eye the Northern and New World facts of the scene, and to leaving into more romantic relief the citadel dark against the mellow evening, and the people gossiping from window to window across the naiTOw streets of the Lower Town. Tho Terrace itself was densely thronged, and there was a constant coming and going of the promenaders, and each formally paced back and forth upon the planking for a certain time, and then went (juietly home giving place to new arrivals. They were nearly all French, and they were not generally, it seemed, of the iirst fashion, but rather of middling condition in lilc ; the English being represented only by a few young fellows, and now and then a red faced old gentleman with an Lidian scarf trailing from his hat. There were some fair American costumes and faces in the crowd, but it was essentially Quebecian. The young girls walked in pairs, or with their lovers, had the true touch of provincial unstylishness, the young men the 48 iuoIU'cUial excess of the second-rate Latin dandy, the elder tlie rude inelegance of a bourgeoisie in them ; but a few })etter'Iigured avom's or notaircs (their profession was as unmistakable as if they had carried their well-polished doorplutos upon their breasts), walked and gravely talked with each other. The non-American character of the scene was not less vividly marked in the fact, that each person dressed according to his own taste and frankly indulged private shapes and colours. One of the promenaders was in Avhite, even to his canvas shoes ; another, with yet bolder individuality, appeared in perfect purple. It had a strangC; almost portentous effect when these two startling iigures met as friends and joined with each other in the proraeutide with united arms ; but the evening was nearly beginning to darken round them, and presently the purple comrade was merely a sombre shadow beside the glim- mering white. The valleys and the heights now vanished ; but the river defined itself by the varicolored light of the ships and steamers that lay, dark motionless hulks upon its broad breast ; the lights of Point Levis swarmed upon the other shore ; the Lower Town, two hundred feet below them, stretched an alluring mystery of clustering roofs and lamp- lit windows, and dark and shining streets around the mighty rock, mural-crowned. Suddenly a spectacle peculiarly Northern and characteristic of Quebec revealed itself; a long arch brightened over the northern horizon ; the tremulous flames of the aurora, pallid violet or faintly tinged -with crimson, shot upward from it, and played with a vivid apparition and evanescence to the zenith. "While the stranger looked, a gun boomed from the citadel, and the wild sweet notes of the bugle sprang out upon the silence." 49 CHAP. II. Prince Edward street, St. Roch, and "Donnacona" street, near the Ursulines, bring up the memory of two important personages of the past, Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent — an English Prince, and Donnacona, a swarthy- chief of primitive Canada. The vanquisher of Montcalm, Gronoral "Wolfe, is honored not only by a statue, at the corner of Palace and St. John's streets, (1) but again by the street which bears his name, Wolfe street. In like manner, his illustrious rival Montcalm , claims an entire section of the city "Montcalm Ward." Can it be that the susceptible young Captain of the "Albemarle," Horatio Nelson, carried on his flirtation with the captivating Miss Mary Simpson, in 1782, in the street which now rejoices in his name ? Several streets in the St. Louis, St. John, and St. Roch suburbs, bear the names of eminent citizens who have, at different periods, made a free gift of the sites or, who, by their public spirit, have left behind them a cherished memory among the people : Messrs. Bertholot, D'Artigny, Grey Stewart, T. C. Lee, Buteau, Hudon, Smith, Salaberry, Scott, Tourangeau, Pozer, Panet, Bell, Kobitaille, Ryland, St. Ours. The width of the greater number of the streets of the city vary from thirty to forty feet ; the broadest is Crown street. "Well do the proprietors deserve our congratulations for the beautiful shade trees which they have caused to be there planted. Quebec comprises about ten small Fief& or Domaines. The JP/e/Sault-au-Matelot (the sailor's leap) belongs to the Seminary. The Ursulines, the Church {Fabrique), the (1) St. John street is thirty-six feet in width, intra miiros, ami forty-six in width, extra rntiros, in consequence of a jjift of ten feet of ground, by the proprietor!:;, after the great lire of lb45. 7 b Heirs LaEue, the IIotel-Dieu, the RUcoUels Friars, each had its Fief. The Church possesses a domaine besides that of Cape' Diamond. The Fief '■^de hi Mis&ricordc,^^ (Mercy), belongs to the Hotel-Dieu. The Heirs LaRue possess the Fief de B6cancour, and that of De ViUeraie ; there is also the Fief Sasscville. The ''Fief of the Rccollcls'' now belongs to the Crown. St. Roch owes a debt of gratitude to Monseigneur de Saint-Valier, whose name is identified with the street which he so often perambulated in his visits to the Gene- ral Hospital, where he terminated his useful career. His Lordship seems to have entertained a particular attachmont for the locality where he had founded this hospital, where he resided, in order to rent his Mountain Hill Palace to Intendant Talon, and thus save the expense of a Chaplain. The General Hospital was the third Asylum for the infirm, which the Bishop had founded. Subsequently, came the Intendant de Meulles who, towards 1G84, endowed the eastern portion of the quarter with an edifice (the Inten- dant's Palace) remarkable for its dimensions, its magni- ficence and its ornate gardens. "Where Talon (a former Intendant) had left a brewery in a state of ruin and about seventeen acres of land unoccupied, Louis XIV., by the advice of his Intendant de Meulles, lavished vast sums of money in the erection of a sumx:)tuous palace in which French justice was administered and in which, at a later period, under Bigot, it was purchasable. Our illustrious ancestors, for that matter, were not the kind of men to weep over such trifles, imbued as they were from infancy with the feudal system and all its irksome duties, without forgetting the forced labour (corvees) and those admirable "Royal Secret- w^arrants," {leilres de cachet). "What did the institutions of a free people, the text of Magna Charta signify to them ? On this spot stood tho noLorious warohouso, wlicro Bigot, Cadet and their confederates retailed, at enormous prohts, the provisions and supplies which King Louis XV". doled out in 1758, to the starving inhabitants of Quebec. Tho people christened the house "La Friponnc,'" (The Knavery ! !) Near the site of Talon's old brewery (which had been con- verted into a prison in 1G3 1, ])y Frontcnar, and whicli held fast until his trial the Abbe dc Fcnelun, (2) novV stands the "Anchor Lrewery." (Bosvv'eH's.) Doubtless to tho oyoa of tho " Free and Independent Electors " of La Vacherie in 1750, the Intendaut's Palace siiemcd a species of " Eighth "Wonder. ' Tho Eighth "Wonder lost much of its tclat, however, by the inaugu- ration of English rule, in 1759, but a total eclipse came over this imposing and majestic luminary, when G-uy Carleton's guns fiom the ramparts of Quebec, began, in 1775, to thunder on its cupola and roof, which offered a shelter to Arnold's soldiery : the rabble of " shoe-makers, hatters, blacksmiths and inn-ke ,'pers," (says Colonel Henry Caldwell), bent on providing Canada with the blessings of republicanism. "Wo have ju^^t mentioned "La Vacherie,'^ this consisted of the extensive) and moist pastures at the foot of Coleaii Samte-Gcnevicve, towards the GtMieral Hospital where the city cows were grozed ; on this site and gracing the handsome slivets "Crown," "Craig"' and " Desfosses," can now be seen elegant dry-goods stores vying with tho largest in tho "Upper Town. Had St. Peter street, in 1775, been provided with a regular way of communication with St, Roch ; had St. Paul street then existed, the sun of progress would have shone there nearly a century earlier. (2) Tim Abhc dc Fcndlon wafi tlio liulf brother of the illustrious Arch- liishop of Cambrai, the author of "Teleniachus," He was tried by Frontenuc and tiie Suiirenic Council for having, at the preceding Easter, preached a violent .«erniou against the corcdes (enforced labour) to bulla up Fort Frontcnac, &c. He refused to acknowledge the competency of the tribunal to try him, appeared before it with his hat on, &c. Frontenac had liim comniitted for contempt. Altogether, it was a curious squabble, the decisioa of which was ultimately left to the French King. 52 " For a considerable time past, sovoral plans of ameliora- tion of the City of Quebec," says the Abbe Ferland, " were proposed to the ministry by M. dc Meulles. The absolute necessity of obtaining a desirable locality for the residence of the Intcndant, and for the holding of the sessions of the Council, the Chdteau Saint Louis being hardly sufiicient to alFord suitable quarters for the Governor and the persons ^vho formed his household. M. de Meulles proposed purchasing, o large stone building which M. Talon had caused to bo erected for the purpose of a brewery and which, for several years, had remained unoccupied. Placed in a very commodious position on the bank of the river St. Charles, and not many steps from the Upper Town, this edifice wath suitable repairs and additions, might furnish not alone a desirable residence for the Iniendanl^ but also, halls and offices for the Supreme Council and the Courts of Justice, as likewise, vaults for the archives, and a prison for the criminals." Adjacent to the old Brewery, M. Talon owmed an extent of land of about seventeen superficial acres of which no use was made in M. de Meulles' plan ; a certain i^ortion of this land could be reser\ed for the gardens and dependencies of the Intendant's Palace, w^hilst the remainder might be portioned off into building lots [emplacememfi) and thus convert it into a second lower towni and which might some day, be extended to the foot of the Cape. He believed that if this plan w^ere adopted the new buildings of Quebec would extend in that direction and not on the heights almost exclusively occupied by the Religious Communities." (1) CHAP. III. "We perceive, according to Mr, Panet's Journal, that Saint Roch existed in 1759 ; that the w^omen and children, residents of that quarter, were not wholly indiiferent to the fate of their distressed country, "the same day, (31st (1) Cours cVEistoire du Canada, Vol. 2, p. IJO. n a July, 1759)," says raiict, " wo hoard a groat uproar in tho St. Roch qnartor, tho womon and children woro shouting, ' Long live tho King- !, " (2) "I ascended tho height (on tho Coteau Sle. Genevieve) and there beheld tho first frigate all in a blaze, very shortly afterwards, a black smoke issuing from the second which blew up and afterwards took on lire," On tho 4th August, several l)omb-shells of 80, fell on Saint Koch. AVe road, that on the 31st August, two soldiers woro hanged at three o'clock in tho afternoon for having stolon a cask of brandy from tho house of one Charland, in the Saint Koch quarter. In those times tho General (or the Recorder,) did not do things by halves. Who was this Charland of 1759 ^ Could he bo tho same who, sixteen years afterwards, lought so stoutly together with Dambourgcs at tho Sault-au-Matelot engagement ? Since the inauguration of tho English domination, Saint Koch became peopled in a most rapid manner; we now see there a net-work of streets embracino: in extent several leagues. '3 The most ancient highway of the quarter (St, Koch,) is probably St. Yalier street. " Desfosses" street most likely derives its name from tho ditches {fosses) which served to drain the green pastures of La Vacheric. The old Bridge street dates from tho end of tho last century (1789). "Dorchester" street recalls tho esteemed and popular administrator Lord Dorchester, who, under the name of G-uy Carleton, led on to victory the militia of Quebec in 1775. " Craig" street received its name from Sir James Craig, a gouty, testy, but trusted old soldier, wlio administered tho Government in 1807 ; it was enlarged and widened ten foot, after tho great firo of 1815. The site of St. Taufs Market was acquired from tho Royal Ordinance, on 31st July, 1831. (2) Louis XV. 54 "Dorchester" Briili>'i3 was construcUHl in 1822, and took the place oi" the Ibrraer })rid'jo (Vioux rout) on the slroctto tho wost, built by Asa Porter in 1.781), and called after Lord Dorchester, the " Saviour oi'Queboc." Siiint Joseph sireet, St. Roch, which, at one period, had a width oi'only twenty- livo feet, was widened to tho extent oi' forty, through the liberality of certain persons. From this circumstance, the corporation was induced to continue it beyond the city limits up to the road which leads to Lorette, thereby renderinj^ it the most useful and one of the handsomest streets of Saint lioch. At what period did tho most spacious highway of the ward, (" Crown" street, sixty feet iji width), receive its baptismal name ? Most assuredly, it was previous to 1837, the democratic era of Papineau. "King" street, no doul)t, recalls the reign of George III. So also does "Queen" street, recall his Consort. Towards tho year 1815, the late Honorable John Richardson, of Montreal, cojiferred his name on tho street which intersects tho grounds whi'jh tho Crown had thou conceded to him, for the heirs of tho late William Grant, lato Receiver General who, likewise, ])equeathod his name to a street adjacent. A Mr. Henderson (1) about tho commencement of the present century, possessed grounds in tho vicinity of the present Gas works, hence we have "Henderson" street. Tho Gas Comimny's AVharf is built on tho site of the old jetty of which we have scon mention made, about 1720. This long pier was composed of largo boulders heaped one upon tho other, and served tho purpose of sheltering tho landing place at tho Palais harbour, from tho northeast winds. In 1815, Colonel Bouchette, says it was a promenade pretty well frequented. (1) Tliis gentleman (Mr. William Henderson), wuh for many years Secretary of the Quebec Fire Assurance Company. 1 lielieve he i.s still living and that he resides at Frauinton, iii the Cuiinly uf Durche,'iterj P. Q. (C. A.) 65 til llio pi'csGiii (lay, the prolonf^aiion of tho wharf has left no trace of it ; tho Station of tho North Shore Kailvvay coA'crs a portion of this area. '•Chiircli" street (hi rue do TEglise), doubtless o\V(\s its name to the erection of tho beautiful Saint Uoch Churol), towards 1812, the site of which was given by tho late Honorable John !Mure, who died in Scotland in 182]. Saint Koch, like tho Upper Town, comprises several Fiefs, proceedini^ from the Fief of the Seminary and reach- ing as far as the Gas wharf; the beaches with the right of iishing, belonged originally to the Ildtel-Dieu ])y a conces- sion dated tho 21st March, 1G48, but they have been conceded to others. The Crown possesses an important reserve towards tho west of this grant ; then comes the grant made, in 1814 or 1815, to the heir« William Grant, now occupied by several ship-yards. Jacques Cartier, who, in 1535-G, wintered in the vicinity of Saint Roch, left his name to an entire municipal division of this rich suburb as well as to a spacious market hall. (The Jacques Cartier Market Hall.) CHAP. IV. Let us descend thai ancient and tortuous Lower Town Hill which has re-echoed the tread of so many regiments, in which so many Governors, French and English have, on divers occasions, heard themselves enthusiastically cheered by admiring crowds, tho hill which viceroys of Franco and of England, from the ostentatious Marquis do Tracy to the proud Earl of Durham, ascended on their way to tho Chateau Saint Louis, surrounded by their brilliant staff and saluted by cannon and with warlike flourish of trumpets ! In earlier times, the military and religious display was blended with an aroma of literature and elaborate Indian oratory, combining prose and poetry. 60 Francis Parkman -will loll iis of what took place on the arrival, on the 28th July, 1G58, of the Viscount D'Argenson, the Governor of the colony : — " When Argenson arrived to assume the government, a curious greeting had awaited him. The Jesuits asked him to dine ; vespers followed the repast ; and then they conducted him into a hall where the hoys of their school — disguised, one as the Genius of New France, one as the Genius of the Forest, and others as Indians of various friendly tribes — made him speeches by tiirn, in prose and in verse. First, Pierre du Quet, who played the Genius of New France, presented his Indian retinue to the Governor, in a complimentary harangue. Then four other boys, personating French colonists, made him four iluttering addresses, in French verse. Charles Denis, dre.^sed as a Huron, followed, bewailing the ruin of liis people, and np'pealing to Argenson for aid. Jean Franfois Bourdon, in the character of an Algonquin, next advanced on the platform, boasted his cournge, and declared that he was ashamed to cry like the Huron. The Genius of the Forest now appeared, with a retinue of wild Indians from the interior, who being unable to speak French, ad- dressed the Governor in their native tongues, which the Genius proceeded to interpret. Two other boys in the character of prisoners just escaped from the Iroquois, then came forward imploring aid in piteous accents ; and in conclusion the whole trooj) of Indians from far and near laid their bows and arrows at the feet of Argenson, and hailed him as their chief. Besides these mock Indians, a crowd of genuine savages had gathered at Quebec to greet the new " Ononthio." On the next day — at his own cost, as he writes to a friend — he gave them a feast, consisting of seven large kettlesful of Indian corn, peas, prunes, sturgeon, eels and fat, v/hich they devoured, he says, after having first sung mo a song, after their fashion." 67 Probably ono of the mnsi uori^eoiis .displays on rocord, was that altoiuliiit;' th»^ arrival of the i^roat Manjuis of Tracy, in 101)5. He camo ^villl a brilliant stall', a crowd of youn^ iioblos ; and accompaniod by two hundred soldiers, to be followed by a thonsand more of the dashiniy rejriment of Carig'nan-Salieres. " He sailed uj) the St. Lawrence, and on the thirtieth of Juno, lOOf), anchored in the bashi of Quebec. The broad, white standard, })lazoned with the arms of France, proclaimed the representative of royalty; and Point Levi and Capo Diamond and the distant Cape Tourment(! roanul back the sound of the salutin*^ cannon. All Quebec- was on the ramparts or at the landing place, and all eyes were strained at the two vessels as they slowly emptied their crowded decks into the boats alonj^side. The boats at length drew near, and the lieutenant-y-eneral and his suite landed on the quay with a [)()mp such as Quebec had never seen before. Tracy was a veteran of sixty-two, portly and tall, "one of the lari>est men I ever saw," writes Motiier Mary ; but he w^as sallow with disease, for fever had seized him, and it had fared ill with him on the long- voyai^e. The Che- valier de Chaumont walked at his side, and younu;- nobles surrounded him, gorgeous in lace and ribbons, and majes- tic in leonine wigs. Twenty- four guards in the King's livery led the way, folU)wed })y four pages and six valets^ ; and thus, while the Frenchmen shouted and the Indians stared, the august procession threaded the streets of the Lower Town, and climbed the steep i)athway that scaled the cliffs above. Breathing hard, they reached the top, passed on the left the dilai)idat.ed walls of the fort and the shed of mingled wood and masonry which then bore the name of the Castle of St, Louis ; passed on the right the old house of Couillard and the site of Laval's new seminary, and soon reached the square betwixt th(>, Jesuit college and the Cathedral. * '* Ilis oonstaut attondauue wlieii he wont iibroud," aays Mitc Juchureau. 8 58 Tho hells wore riiij^in^ in ii phreiisy of wolromo. Laval in poiitilicals, HurroimdiMl by j)riesis jind Jt'suits, Htood waitiiii;' lo receive the deputy of the Kiiit*", and as ho greeted Tracy and oli'ered liiin tlie holy water, he looked with anxious curiosity to see what manner of man he was. Th<^ signs wero auspicious. The (h-portuicnt of the lieu- teiumt-gein'ral h'ft nothing- lo desire. A prie-divK had been placed for him. lie declined it. They ollcred him a cushion, but lu; \v- the cause of th(^ colony before the metropolitan authorities, llis Kpeech on the occasion is rej)orted in the CnnmKuu lieview, published at Montreal, in 182(1. Colonel Ily. Caldwell states that, in 1775, Governor Guy Carleton had orden-d a cannon to be pointed from the wharf on which stood iiymburners house, with the intention to open lire upon the HosioNtiis, should they attempt a surprise on the Saull-dit-Matelot «[uarter. Massive and strongly built stone vaults (prol)ably of French oripj-in,) are still extant beneath the house adjoining, to the south of this last, belonging to the heirs Atkinson. On the site of the oflices of Mr. McGie, stood in 1759, the warehouse of M. Perrault ; from a great number of of letti'rs and invoice-bills found in the garret, and which a friend (8) has placed at our disposal, it would seem that M. Perrault had extensive commertdal relations both in Canada and in Franco. ed liy tlic Kiiii:, tin' l.-'t Murch, ITi.sa. Tin- 2,')tli Aiiltusi, 17')n, Mesxire Chri^tiifihc J)e Lalfinr, IHn'cffiir dii Sriiiinriirc ilcs Mi.s.^ions Etrani/h-rs rl Vnris, iiiiulc !i conccssiiiii of it tn .Mi>ii<. Nidioliis Ili'iK' lii'Vii^-ciii', Iniji'itieur, Fonncrly cliirf't'diitiiictnrcif tilt' sliips (it "His Mc-t (Jiiristian Miijcsty.'' Un (lie 24tli .lime, 17(10, a ik'cil ot'siilo oftiiis .-nine in'nln'i'ty, to Joseph liras.-ard Desolu'iu'uux, coiisistiii)^ of ii two story house mid a wharf (arte h-n jicinlurcs aii-df'ssiis lie !u jxirlc.) On the Stli Sf| item her, I7(! 1, a deed of sale to AlcxaiidiT McKciizic, |iiirolias(' money, $'),.S()(). On the I'Jth April, 17l'(S, .Joseph Deseheneaiix as,-i;:iied his in(jrt,ira;j:e to Mr. .John liyiiilmrner. On the lUh Aiij!;nst, 1781, a deed of concessiou of the heaeh in the rear, to low water mark, hy the Seminary to Adam Lyinhurner. The .')t]i November, 1790, a deed of sale hy the attorney ofAdatn Lymhurner. .Siihseqiiently, Aiif^UH Shaw, heeame the pro])rietor in consideration ol$4,l00. On the 17th October, 1825, a judicial sale, to the lute Henry Atkinson, Escj. (3) lion. D. A. RoSH. 60 St. Peter street has become the general head-quarters of the most important commerce, life insurance and fire assurance offices. The financial institutions, are there, proudly enthroned : the Bank of Montreal, Bank of Quebec, the Union Bank, the Banque NaliotiaJe^ the Stadacona Bank, the Bank of British North America, the Merchants' Bank. In this street resided, in 1774, the Captain Bouchette who in the following year, in his little craft " Le Gaspe," brought us back our brave Grovernor, Guy Carleton; M. Bouchard, merchant ; M. Panet, N.P., (the father of His Lord- ship, Bishop B, C Panet), as also M. Boucher, harbor master of Quebec, " (who was appointed to that post by the Governor Sir R. S. Milnes, on the recommendation of the Duke of Kent)." Boucher had piloted the vessel, (having on board the 7th Regiment, the Duke's,) from Quebec to Halifax. The ofiice in which the Quebec Morning' Chronicle has been published since 1847, belonged in 1759 to M. Jean Tache, " President of the Mercantile Body," " an honest and sensible man " as appears by Memoires sur le Canada, (1749-60). One of our first poets, he composed a poem " On the Sea." He is the ancestor of the late Sir E. P. Tache, and of the novelist, Jos. Marmette, and others. He possessed, moreover, at that period, extensive buildings on the Napoleon wharf, which were destroyed by fire in 1845, and a house in the country, on the Ste. Foye road, afterwards called " Holland House," after Major Samuel Holland. The Chronicle building, during nearly half a century, was a coffee house, much frequented by sea-faring men known as the " Old Neptune " Inn. The effigy of the Sea-god, armed with his formidable Trident, placed over the main entrance, seemed to threaten the passers-by. "We can remember, as yesterday, his colossal proportions. "Old Neptune"=^ has disappeared about thirty years back. * See Hisioire de la Gazette de Quebec — Geriu, p. 24. 61 Parallel with St. Peter street, runs NotrerDame street, which leads us to the little Church of the Lower Town, named Notre-Dame de la Victoire, in remembrance of the victory achieved in 1690, on the then besieger, Sir "W"m. Phipps. This Church was, at a later period, called " Noire- Dame des Victoires,'' in commemoration of the dispersion by a storm of Admiral Walker's squadron, in 1711. The corner of these streets (St. Peter and Sous-le-Fort streets) is probably the site of the walks and garden plots where Champlain cultivated roses and carnations about the year 1615. Fronting the Church of " Notre-Dame des Vicloires " and on the site now occupied as Blanchard's Hotel, the Ladies of the Ursidines, in 1639, found a refuge in an humble residence, a sort of shop or store, owned at that period by the Sieur Juchereau des C/iatelets, at the foot of the path (sentier), leading up to tlie mountain (foot of Mountain street), and where the then Governor, M. de Montmagny, as is related, sent them their first Quebec meal. The locality possessed other traditions of agreeable memory ; the good, the youthful, the beautiful Madame de Champlain, about the year 1620, here catechised and instruct- ed, under the shadow of the trees, the young Huron Indians in the principles of Christianity. History relates their surprise and joy on seeing their features reflected in the small mirror which their benefactress w^ore suspended at her side, accordhig to the then prevailing custom. In 1682, a conflagration l)roke out in the Lower Town which, besides the numerous vaults and stores, reduced into ashes a considerable portion of the buildings. At a later period " Notre-Dame de la Victoire'' (Church) was built on part of the ruins. Let us open the second volume of the " Cours d'Histoire du Canada,'' by the Abbe Ferland, and let us read " Other ruins existed (in 1684) in the commercial centre of the Lower Town ; these ruins con- 62 «isted of blackened and delapidated walls. Champlain's old warehouse which, from the hands of the Company (" Compagnie de la Nouvelle Prance''), had passed in those of the King (Louis XIV), had remained in the same state as when left after the great fire which, some years previously, had devastated the Lower Town." In 1684, Monseigneur de Lavul ol)tainod this site or emplacement from M. de la Barre for the purpose of erecting a supplementary chapel for the use of the inhabitants in the Lower Town, This gift, however, was ratified only later, in favor of M. de St. Valier, in the month of September, 1685. Messieurs de Denonville and de Meulles caused a clear and plain title or patent of this locality to be issued for the purpose of erecting a church which, in the course of time, was built by the worthy Bishop and named " Notre-Dame de la Victoire.'" The landing for small craft, in the vicinity of the old market (now the Finlay (1) Market), was called " La Place du Dcbarquementy It is in this vicinity, (a little to the west,) under the silent shade of a wood near the garden which Champlain had laid out, that the historical interview, in 1608, which saved the colony, took place. The secret was of the greatest importance;^ — it is not to be wondered at if Champlain's trasty pilot. Captain Testu, deemed it proper to conduct the founder of Quebec and privily draw him aside, into the neighbouring wood and make known to him the villanous plot which one of the accomplices, Antoine Natel, locksmith, had first disclosed to him under the greatest secrecy. The chief of the conspiracy was one Jean du Val, who had come to the country with Champlain. (1) William Finlay, an oniinont nuTcliant of Qudn'c, and one of its chief benefactors, made several bequests which the City autliorities invested in the {)urcha8e of this market. Mr. Finlay dieil at the Ishind of Maderia, whether: le had gone for his heiilth, about the year 1831. 63 In the early days of the colony, the diminutive market space, facing the front of Notre-Dame chiirch, Lower Town, as well as the Upper Town Market, was used for the infliction of corj^oral punishment or the pillory, on culprits. On the area facing- the Lower Town church on Notre- Dame street, the Plan of the City, drawn by the Engineer, Jean Bourdon, in 1661, shows a bust of Louis XIV, long since removed ; this market, which dates from the earliest times of the colony, as well as the vacant area (formerly the Upper Town market, facing the Basilica,) was used as a place for corporal pimishment, and for the exhibition in the pillory of public malefactors. The Quebec Gazette of 19th June, 1766, mentions the whipping, on the Upper and Lower Town markets, of Catherine Berthrand and Janette Blaize, by the hand of the executioner, for having " borrowed " (a pretty way of describing petty larceny) a silver spoon from a gentleman of the town, without leave or without intention of returning it." For male reprobates, such as Jean May and Louis Bruseau, whose punishment for petty larceny is noted in the Gazette of 11th August, 1766, the whipping was supplemented with a walk — tied at the cart's tail — from the Court House door to St. Roch and back to ;he Court House. May had to whip Bruseau and Bruseau had to whip May the day following, at ten in the morning. Let us revert to Captain Testu's doings. The plot was to strangle Champlain, pillage the ware- house and afterwards betake themselves to the Spanish and Basques vessels, lying at Tadousac. As, at that period, no Court of Appeals existed in '7a Nouvelle France'" — far less was a "Supreme Court" thought of — the trial of the chief of the conspiracy was soon despatched, says Champlain, and the Sieur Jean du Val was '■'■presto well and duly hanged " and strangled at Quebec aforesaid, and his head affixed to ^ 64 " the top of a pike-stafF planted on the highest eminence of '• the Fort." The ghastly head of this traitor, on the end of a pike-stafT, near Notre-Dame street, must certainly have had a picturesque effect at tsvilight. But the brave Captain Testu, saviour of Champlain and of Quebec, — what became of him 1 — Champlain has done him the honor of naming him ; here the matter ended. Neither monument, nor poem, nor page of history in his honor ; nothing was done in the way of commemorating his devotion. As in the instance of the illustrious man, whose life he had saved, his grave is unknown. According to the Abbe Tanguay, none of his posterity exist at this day. During the siege ot 1759, we notice in PaneCs Journal, " that the Lower Town was a complete mass of smoking ruins ; on the 8th August, it was a burning heap {brasier). Wolfe and Saunder's bombshells had found their way even to the under-ground vaults. This epoch became disastrous to many Quebecers." The English threw bombs {pots dfeu) on the Lower Town, of which, says Mr. Panet, "one fell on my house, one on the houses in the Market-Place, and the last in Champlain street. The fire burst out simultaneously, in three different directions ; it was in vahi to attempt to cut off or extinguish the fire at my residence ; a gale was blowing from the north-east and the Lower Town was soon nothing less than a blazing mass. Beginning at my house, that of M. Descry, that of M. Maillou, SauU-au-Matelot street, the whole of the Lower Town and all the quarter Cul'de-Sac up to the property of Sieur VoT/er, which was spared, in short up to the house of the said Voyer, the whole was devastated by the fire. Seven vaults ^ had been • The most sspaciou?^, tjie most remarkal)le of those suli:«taiitial vaults of French construction, are those which now belong to the Estate Poston on the north wide of Notre-Danie street, nearly opposite tlie church Notre-Dan)e des Victoires. It is elaimed that these vaults were so cunstructed as not only to be fire-proof Init \vater-i)roof likewise ai the seasons of high water, iu spring and autumn. This vault is now occupied by Mes8rs. Thompson, Cfodvnie & Co. 65 rent to pieces or burned : that of M. Ptn'raiilt the younger, that of M. TachO.of M. Benjamin dela Mordic, of.Tehaune, of Maranda. You may judge of the consternation which reigned; 167 he uses had been burnt." One hundred and sixty-seven burnt houses would create many gaps. ^ e know the locality on which stood the warehouse of M. Perrault, junior, also that of M. Tache (the Chronicle Bureau), but who can point out to us where stood the houses of Descry, Maillou, Voyer, de Voisy, and the vaults of Messieurs Turpin, de la Mordic, .Tehaune, Maranda ? It is on record that Champlain, after his return to Quebec in 1633, "had taken care to refit a battery which he had planted on a level with the river near the warehouse, the guns of which commanded the passage between Quebec and the opposite shore." (1) Now, in 1683, "this cannon battery, erected in the Lower Town, almost surrounded on all sides by houses, stood at some distance from the edge of the river and caused some inconvenience to the public ; the then Governor, Lefebvre de la Barre (2) having sought out a much more advantageous locality towards ihe Point of Rocks [poinie des Roches) w^est of the Cul-de-Sac, and on the margin of the said river at high-water mark, which would more elficiently command and sweep the harbour, and which would cause far less inconvenience to the houses in the said Lower Town," considered it fit to remove the said battery, and the Reverend Jesuit Fathers having proposed to contribute towards the expenses which would be incurred in so doing, he made them a grant " of a portion of the lot of ground [emplacement) situated in front of the site on which is now planted the said cannon battery, =^^=^=^ between the street or highroad for wheeled (1) "Conrs iVUistoirc du Canada," Fcrland, Vol. l,2>- 280. (2) Concession dc La Barre anx Jdsuites, IG Sejyi. 1G83. 9 66 vehicles coming from the harbour (3) and the so called Saint Peter street.*' Here then we have the origin of the Napoleon wharf and a very distinct mention of Saint Peter street. The building erected near this site was sold on the 22nd October* 1763, to William Grant, esquire, who, on the 19th Decem- ber, 1763, also purchased the remainder of the ground down to low-water mark, from Thomas Mills, esquire, Town Major, who had shortly before obtained a grant or patent of it, the 7th December, 1763, from Governor Murray, in recognition, as is stated in the preamble of the patent, of his military services. This property which, at a later period, belonged to the late William Burns, was by him conveyed, the 16th October, 1806, to the late J. M. Woolsey. The Napoleon wharf, purchased in 1842 by the late M. Julien Chouinard from the late M. Frs. X, Buteau, forms at present part of the Estate Chouinard ; in reality, it is composed of two wharves joined into one ; the western portion is named "The Queen's Wharf," The highway which leads from the Cape towards this wharf is named '^Sous-le-Fort'' street, which sufficiently denotes its position ; this street, the oldest, probably, dates from the year 1620, when the foundations of Fort St. Louis were laid; we may presume that, in 1663, the street terminated at "/« Pointe ties Roches." In the last century, "■Sous-k-ForC street was graced by the residences, among others, of Fleury de la Jauniere, brother of Fleury de la Gorgendiere, brother-in-law of the Governor de Yaudreuil. In this street also stood the house of M. George Allsop the head of the opposition in Governor Cramahe's Council, (8) M. de Laval, iu IGGl, described tlie city as follows : "Quebecum vulgo in superioremdividitur et inferioreni urhom. In infcviore Bunt portus, vadosa naviuni ora, mercatorujn apotic;c ubi et morces servantar, comnicrcium qnodlibet peragiiur publicum et mognu^ civiiun nunierus conimoratur." 67 &c. His neighbor was M. D'Amours des Plaiuos, Coun- cillor of the Superior Council ; further on, stood the residence of M. Cuvillier, the father of the Honorable Austin Cuvillier, in 184-1, speaker of the House of Assembly. In this street also, existed the warehouse of M. Cugnet, the lessee of the Domaine of Labrador. We must not confound the Napoleon Wharf with the Queen's Wharf, the property of the late J. W. Woolsey. From the King's Wharf to the King's forges (the ruins of which were discovered at the beginning of the century, a little further up than the King's store), there are but a few steps. G. Bellet, M.P., resided on the property of Mr. Julien Chouinard, at the corner of St. Peter and ld, near Quebec, (who died in 18G7), from whom we obtained this incident. Mr. Sheppard, who had frequently been a guest at the most select drawing-rooms of tho ancient capital, was himself a contemporary of the generous and jovial Prince Edward. Tho SauU-au-Matelot quarter, Saint Tetor street, Saint James' street, down to the year 1832, contained the habitations of a great number of persons in easy circumstances ; many of our best families had their residences there. Evi- dences of the luxuriousness of their dwelling-rooms are visible to this day, in the panuelling of some doors and in decorated ceilings. Drainage, according to the modern system, was, at that period, almost unknown to our good City. The Asiatic scourge, in 1832, decimated the population ; 3,500 corpses, in the course of a few weeks, had gone to their last resting place. This terrible epidemic was the occasion, so to speak, of a social revolution at Quebec ; the land on the St. Louis and Ste.Foye roads, became much enhanced in value ; the wealthy quitted the Lower Town. Commercial aflairs, however, still continued to be transacted there, but the residences ofmer- 10 74 chants were selected in the Upper Town, or in the country parts adjacent. The Fief Sault-au-Matelot, which at present belongs to the Seminary, was granted to Guillaume Hebert, on the 4th February, 1623, the title of which was ratified by the Duke de Yentadour on the last day of February, 1632. On the ground reclaimed from the river, about 1815, Messrs. Munro and Bell, eminent merchants, built wharves and some large warehouses, to which lead " Bell's-lane " (so named after the Honorable Matthew Bell,) (1) the streets " Saint James," " Arthur,"' " Dalhousie " and others. Mr. Bell, at a later period, one of the lessees of the Saint Maurice Forges, resided in the tenement — St. Lawrence Chambers — s'^aate at the corner of St. James and St. Peter streets, now belonging to Mr. John Greaves Clapham, N. P. Hon. Matthew Bell commanded a troop of cavalry, which was much admired by those warlike gentlemen of 1812 — our respected fathers. He left a numerous family, and w^as related by marriage to the families Montizambert, Bowen, ^tc. Dalhousie street, in the Lower Town, probably dates i om the time of the Earl of Dalhousie (1827), when the " Quebec Exchange " was built by a Company of Merchants. The extreme point of the Lower Town, tow^ards the north-east, constitutes " La Pointe a Carey T In the offing, is situated the wharf alongside of which, the stately frigate " Aurora," Captain De Horsey, passed the winter of 1866-7. The wharves of the Quebec Docks now mark the spot. The expansion of commerce at the commencement of the present century, and increase of population rendered it very desirable that means of communication should be established between the I^ower Town and St. Eoch, less rugged and inconvenient than the tunnel — Dog's Lane — and the sandy beach of the river St. Charles (1) Opened by him in 1831. 75 at low wator. Towards 1816, the northern extremity of St. Peter street was finished ; it was previously bounded by a red bridge, well remembered by our very old citizens. The Apostle St. Paul was honored with a street, as was his colleague, St. Peter. Messrs. Benj. Tremaine, Budden, Morrisson, Parent, AUard and others, acquired portions of ground, on the north side of this (St. Paul) street, upon which they have erected wharves, offices and large ware- houses. Renaud's new block now occupies a portion of the site. The construction of the North Shore Railway will have the effect, at an early date, of augmenting, in a marked degree, the value of these properties, the greater portion of which now belong to our fellow citizen, M. J. Bte. Renaud, who has adorned this portion of the Lower Town with first class buildings. Let us hope that this quarter may flourish and that our enterprising fellow citizen may not suffer in consequence. (1) CHAP. V. On emerging from St. Louis G-ate, several handsome cut stone modern dwellings are noticeable ; the second, Hon. Frs. Langelier's — close to Mr. Shehyn's. The Hamel Terrace is quite a credit to the new town. The New town outside of the walls, like that of New Edinburgh, in beauty and design will very soon cast the historical old town within the walls in the shade. The next object which attracts the eye is the (1) We borrow from the " Directory for the City ami Suburbs of Quebec," for 1791, by Hugh McKay, printed at the office v>"t''" Quebec Herald, tlic following paragraph, "lines Ecart6es" (out of tlie way streets.) "La " Canoterie (Canoe Landings) follows tlie street Hanll-au-Mdielot, commencing " at the house of Cadet (where Mr. 01. Aylwin resides) anil continues up to " Mr. Grant's distillery ; St. Charles street commences there and terminates " belov/ Palace Gate; St. Nicholas street extends from Palace Gate to the " water's edge, passing in front of the residence of the widow La Vallee; the " old ship yard opposite to tlie boat yard ;'^Cape Diamond street commences " at the wharf owned by Mr. 7\.ntrobus and terminates at tlie outer extremity " of that of Mons. Duniere underneath Cape Diamond ; the streets Carri^e, " Mont-Carmel, Ste. Genevieve, St. Denis, Des Orisons, arc all situated above '• St. Louis street." (Mr. Louis Duniere was M. P. in 1828.) 76 spacious structure of the Skating Rink, the only charge we can make against it, is that it is too close to St. Louis Gate. 'Tis the right thing in the wrong place. Adjoining stood the old home of the Prentices, in 1791, — Bandon Lodge,^ once the abode of Sandy Simpson,! whose cat-o'nine-tails must have left lively memories in Wolfe's army. Did the beauteous damsel about whom Horatio, Lord Nelson, rave in 1782, ^vhen, as Commander of H. M.'s frigate Albemarle, he was philandering in Quebec, ever live here ?$ This is more than I can say. On the north side of the Grande Allee, the lofty structure — the new^ Parliament Buildings — occupies a whole square. Opposite looms out the long tea- caddy-looking building, built by the Sandlield Macdonald government in 1862, — the Volunteer Drill Shed. Its length, if not its beauty, attracts notice. '* Ferguson's house," next it, noted by Professor Silliman in his " Tour between Hart- ford and Quebec in 1819," is now difficult to recognize ; its present owner, A. Joseph, Esq., has added so much to its size. This antiquated dwelling certainly does not belong to the new dispensation. Another land-mark of the past deserves notice — the ex-Commander § of the Forces' lofty quarters ; from their angular eaves and forlorn aspect, they generally w^ent by the name of " Bleak House." I cannot say whether the place ever was haunted, but it ought to have been.^ On the summit of the plateau, formerly known as BuUes a Nepveu, and facing Mr, John Roche's stately mansion, Hon. P. Garneau has constructed another hand- some terrace of cut stone dwellings. "We are now in the • The rosidonco of Jos. Sholiyn, Esq., M.P.P., occupies now this historic site. t Saukders Simpson. — He was Prevost Marshall in Wolfe's army, at the affairs of Louisbourg, Quebec and Montreal, and cousin of ray father's. Ho resided in that house, the nearest to St. Louis Gate, outside, which has not undergone any external alteration since I was a boy." — From unpubliihed Diary of Deputy Commissary General Jae. Thompson. X Recent evidence extracted by Dr. H. H. Miles out of Jas. Thompson's papers and letters, lead to strengthen tho theory previously propounded, and to indicate Miss Mary Simpson, daughter of Saunders Simpson, as the famed Quebec beauty of 1782. § Col. Durnford, Galway and others. * Paint and extensive repairs have very much improved tho historical house — this year tenanted by George Stewart, jr., Esq., author of Lord Dufferin't Rule in Canada," >' The Great St. John's Firt, 1877," etc. 77 Grande AlUe — the forest aveniTe, which two hundred years ago led to Sillery Wood. On turning and looking back as you approach Bleak House, you have an excellent view of the Citadel, and of the old French works which extend beyond it, to the extremity of the Cape, overlooking VAnse des Meres. A little beyond the Bleak House, at the top of what is generally known as Perrault's Hill, stands the Per- raultt homestead, dating back to 1820, VAsyle Champ^tre, — now tastefully renovated and owned by Henry Dinning, Esf[. The adjoining range of heights, occupied by the Mar- tello Towers, the Garneau Terrace, &c., are known as the Buttes d Nepveu, " It was here that Murray took his stand on the morning of April 28th, 17G0, to resist the advance of Levis, and here commenced the hardest-fought — the bloodiest action of the war, which terminated in the defeat of Murray, and his retreat within the city. The Martello Towers are bomb-proof, they are four in number, and form a chain of forts extending along the ridge from the St. Lawrence to the River St. Charles, The fact that this ridge commanded the city, unfortunately induced Murray to leave it and attempt to fortify the heights, in which he was only partially successful, owing to the frost being still in the ground. The British Grovernment were made aware of the fact, and seeing that from the improved artillery, the city was nov/ fully commanded from the heights, which are about seven hundred yards distant, decided to build the 'T'owers. Arrangements were accordingly made by Col. Brock, then commanding the troops in Canada. Li 1806, the necessary materials were collected, and in the following year their construction commenced. They were not, however com- pleted till 1812. The original estimate for the four was X8,000, but before completion the Imperial government had expended nearly .£12,000. They are not all of the same t Major Perrault and Iiij cFteoinocl father, the Prothonotarj, a warm friend to education, both lived there many years. 78 size, but like all Martello Towers, they are circular and bomb-proof. The exposed sides are thirteen feet thick and gradually diminish like the horns of the crescent moon, to seven feet in the centre of the side next the city walls. The first or lower story contains tanks, storerooms and magazine ; the second has cells for the garrison, with port-holes for two guns. On the top there used to be one 68-pounder carronade, two 24, and two 9-pounders." A i>arty of Arnold's soldiers ascended those heights in November, 1775, and advanced quite close to the city walls, shouting defiance at the little garrison. A few shots soon dispersed the invaders, who retraced their steps to Wolfe's Cove. On the Buites-d-Nepveu^ the great criminals were formerly executed. Here, La Corriveau, the St. Valier La- farge, met her deserved fate, in 1763, after being tried by one of Governor Murray's Court Marshalls for murdering her husband. After death she was hung in chains, or rather in a solid iron cage, at the fork of four roads, at Levi, close to the spot where the Temperance monument has since been built. The loathsome form of the murderess caused more than one shudder amongst the peaceable pea- santry of Levi, until some brave young men, one dark night, cut down the horrid cage, and hid it deep under ground, next to the cemetery at Levi, where close to a century after- wards, it was dug up and sold to Barnum's agent for his museum. Sergeant Jas. Thompson describes in his diary, under date 18th Nov., 1782, another memorable execution : " This day two fellows were executed for the murder and robbery of Capt. Stead, commander of one of the Trea- sury Brigs, on the evening of the 31st Dec, 1779, between the Upper and Lower Town. The criminals went through Port St. Louis, about 11 o'clock, at a slow and doleful pace, to the place where justice had allotted them to suffer the most ignominious death. It is astonishing to see what a 79 crowd of people followed the tragic scene. Even our peo* pie on the works (Cape Diamond) prayed Capt. Twiss for leave to follow the hard-hearted crowd," It was this Capt. Twiss who subseqnently furnished the i)lan and built a temporary citadel in 1793. In 1793, we have also recorded in history, another doleful procession of red coats, the Quebec Garrison, accompanying to the same place of execution a mess- mate (Draper), a soldier of the Fusileers, then com- manded by the young Duke of Kent, who, after pronounc- ing the sentence of death, as commander, over the trembling culprit, kneeling on his coihn, as son and representative of the Sovereign, exercised the royal perogative of mercy and pardoned poor Draper. Look down Perrault's hill towards the south. There stands, with a few shrubs and trees in the foreground, the Military Home, — where infirm soldiers, their widows and children, could find a refuge. It has recently been pur- chased and converted into the " Female Orphan Asylum." It forms the eastern boundary of a large expanse of verdure and trees, reaching the summit of the lot originally intend- ed by the Seminary of Quebec for a Botanical Garden; subsequently it was contemplated to build their new semi- nary there to aiFord the boys abundance of fresh air. Alas I other counsels prevailed. Its western boundary is a road leading to the new District Jail, — a stone structure of great strength, surmounted with a diminutive tower, admirably adapted, one would imagine, for astronomical pursuits. From its glistening cupola, Commander Ashe's Provincial Observatory is visable to the east. I was forgetting to notice the substantial building, dating from 1855 — the Ladies' Home. The Protestant Ladies of Quebec have here, at no small expense and trouble, raised a 80 Useful asylum, where the aged and infirm may find shelter. This, and the building opposite, St. Bridget's Asylum, with its growing fringe of trees and green plots, are de- cided ornaments to the Grande Allee. The old burying ground of 1832, with all its ghastly memories of the Asiatic scourge, has assumed quite an ornate, nay a respectable aspect. Close to the toll-bar on the Grande AlUe, may yet be seen one of the meredian stones which serve to mark the western boundary of the city, beyond the Messrs. Lampson's Mansion. On the adjoin- ing domain, well named "Battlefield Cottage," formerly the property of Col. Charles Campbell, now owned by Michael Connolly, Esq., was the historic well out of which a cup of water was obtained to moisten the parched lips of the dying- hero, James Wolfe, on the 13th Sept., 1751'. The well was filled in a few years ago, but not before it was nigh proving fatal to Col. Campbell's then young son, — (Arch. Campbell, Esq., of Thornhill.) Its site is close to the western boundary fence, in the garden behind " Battlefield Cottage." Here we are at those immortal plains — the Hastings and Runny- meade of the two races once arrayed in battle against one another at Quebec. The western boundary of the Plains is a high fence enclosing Marchmont for years, the cherished family seat of John Gilmour, Esq., now occupied by Col. Fred. TurnbuU, of the Canadian Hussars. On the north-east corner of the Belvidere Road, may be seen a range of glass houses, put up by J. Doig, formerly gardener at Benmore. A few minutes more brings the tourist to M. Price's villa, Wolfe-field, where may be seen the precipitous path up the St. Denis burn, by which the Highlanders and British soldiers gained a footing above, on the IStli September, 1759, and met in battle array to win a victory destined to revolutionize the New World. The British were piloted in their ascent of the river by a French 81 prisoner brought with them from England — Denis do Vitre, formerly a Quebecor of distinction. Thoir landing place at Sillery was selected by Major Robert Stobo, who had, in May, 1759, escaped from a French prison in Quebec, and joined his countrymen, the English, at Louisbourg, from whence he took ship again to meet Admiral Saunders' fleet at Quebec. The tourist next drives past Thornhill, for years owned by Arch. Campbell, Esq., P. S. 0., Sir Francis Hinck's old home, when Premier to Lord Elgin: opposite appear the leafy glades of Spencer Wood, so grateful a sum- mer retreat, that my Lord used to say, " There he not only loved to live, but would like to rest his bones." Next comes Spencer Grange, the seat of J. M. LeMoine, Esq. ; then Woodfield, the homestead of the lion. Wm. Sheppard=^ in 1847, later on of Messrs. John Lawson and Jas. Gibb.f Facing the Woodfield property, on the Gomin Eoad, are visible the extensive Vineries and Peach Houses of Hon. Geo. Okill Stuart, Judge of the Vice- Admiralty Court. The eye next dwells on the rustic Church of St. M.ichael, embowered in evergreens ; south of which looms out, at Sous les Bois, the stately convent of Jesus-Marie ; on the edge of the bank, to the south-east, at Poinie-d-Pizeau, stands the R. C. Church of St. Colomb do Sillery, in a most com- manding position ; on the Sillery heights, north-west of the Church of St. Michael, the late Bishop George J. Mountain owned a delightful summer retreat, recently sold to Albert H. Furniss, Esq. ; then you meet with villas innumerable — one of the most conspicuous is Benmore, Col. Rhodes' country seat. Benmore is well worthy of a call, were it only to procure a bouquet. This is not merely the Eden of roses ; Col. Rhodes has combined the farm with the garden. His underground rhubarb and mushroom cellars, his * My old friend died in 1867— regretted as a scholar, an antiqurian and tlva type of the old English gentleman. f This realm of fairy land, so rich in nature's graces, so profusely embellished by the late James Gibb, Esq., President of the Quebec Bank, was recently sold for a rural cemetery. 11 82 boundless asparagus beds and strawberry plantations, aro a credit to Quebec. Next come Clermont,$ Beauvoir,|| Kilmarnock§, Catara- qui,=i^=^ Kilgraston, Kirk-EUa.ft Meadow Banket Havens- wood, |||| Dornald,t until, after, a nine miles' drive, Kedclyffe closes the rural landscape — RedclyfFe,^§ on the top of Cap RoH{^e promontory. There, many indications yet mark the spot where Roberval's ephemeral colony wintered as far back as 1542. You can now, if you like, return to the city by the same route, or select the St, Foye Road, skirting the classic heights where G eneral Murray, six months after the lirst battle of the Plains, lost the second, on the 2oth April, 1760; the St. Foye Church was then occupied by the British soldiers. Beausiyour is a beautiful demesne, where M. Ls. Bilodeau has several reservoirs, for the propagation of trout. Your gaze next rests on Holland House, Montgomery's headquarters in 1775, behind which is Hol- land Tree, overshadowing, as of yore, tho grave of the Hollands. =»^ The view, from the St. Foye road, of the gracefully mean- dering St. Charles below, especially during the high tides, is something to be remembered. The tourist shortly after detects the iron pillar, surmounted by a bronze statue of Bellona, presented in 1855 by Prince Napoleon Bonaparte — intended to commemorate the fierce struggle at this spot X Tho stately homo of Thomas Beckett, Esq. II The picturesque villa of R. R. Dobell, Esq. § A mossy old hall founded by Mr. McNider in tho beginning of tho century y now occupied by the ttraddon family. •• The gorgeous mansion of Chas. E. Levey, Esq. tt Tho highly cultivated farm and summer rcsidonco of Andrew Stuart, Esq. \\ Tho property of John Burstall, Esq. nil Tho beautiful homo of W. Herring, Esq. t The rustic abode of tho lato Hon. John Neilson, now owned by his son. §§ Recently acquired by James Bowen, Esq., founded by the lato W. Atkinson, Esq., in 1820. • For account of tho duel, which laid low ono of tho Hollands, seo Maple Leave* for 1S63. Tho tree, however, has lately been destroyed by a storm. 88 on the 28th April, 17G0. In close vicinity, appear the bright parterres or umbrageous groves of Bellevue,f Ilamwood, t Bijou,|l AVestUcl(l,§ SanS'Bruit, and the narrow gothic arches of Finlay Asylum ; soon you re-enter by Hi. John's Suburbs, with the broad basin of the St. Charles and the pretty Island of Orleans staring you in the face. The principal objects to be noted in this street are : on the north side, St. John's Church, built in 18 18— a large but not very elegant temple of R. C. worship, capable of seating 2,000 persons ; on the south side, St. Matthew's Church, (Church of England,) a handsome structure, whose begin- nings, in 1828, were associated with the late Bishop G. J. Mountain's ministrations and munificence. The exertions of the liev. Chs. Hamilton and the generous bequests of his brother, Robert Hamilton, and other members of the family, have been mainly instrumental in enlarging and decorating this building. Close by, is the new French Protestant Church. We shall close this short sketch with a mention of the " Quebec Protestant Burying Ground," originally bought by the Government of the Province of Quebec, from the heirs St. Simon, partly on the 9th December, 1771, and partly on the 22nd August, 1778. In the year 1823, Lord Dalhousie made a grant of this ground to the " Trustees of the Protestant Burying Ground," in whose hands it has remained until the 19th May, 1860, when the cemetery was declared closed by the 23rd Vict., chap. 70. Major Thomas Scott, Pay-master of the 70th Regiment, a brother to Sir Walter, was buried here in 1823. Major Thomas Scott was at one time charged with having written " Rob Roy." And next to St. John's Gate, looms out the handsome new building of the Y. M. C. Association, facing the new Montcalm Market. t A stately Convent of Congregational Nuns. t The ornate country seat of Robt. Hamilton, Esq. II The cosy dwelling of And. Thompson, President Union Bank. § The homestead of Hon. D. A. Ross, lato Atty.-Genl., Prorlnco of Quebec. SPENCER WOOD (Bv J. M. LiiMoiNK.) Tlirouji;h thy Krooii groves and deep receding bowers, Ijoved SpoiuMT Wood! how ol'U'ii have 1 ntrayed, Or mused iiwiiy tlie culm, urdtioketi hourn, lieiieath kojuc broud oak'n cuol, refreshing nlmde. — Akam FCidd.* On tho 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. • Wo give Iiere the wliole of jhe poetical trihulo |>iiid by Adam Kidd to a Hpot where lie ap))earM to have fjient many happy hours, as a guest of the rercevalH, together with his notes to the poem:— SPKNCER WOOD. Tliroufih tliy greon grorcs and deep receding bowers, Loved Spencer Wood 1 how often hiivo I strayed, Or mused away tlio calm, unbroken hours, Beneath some broud oak's cool, refreshing shade. There, not a sound disturbed the tranquil scene, Save welcome hunimings •!' the roving bee, That quickly ilittod over the tufted greon, Or where iho squirrel played from tree to tree. And I have paused beside that dimpling stream. Which slowly winds thy beauteous groves among, Till from its breast retired the sun's lust beam, And every bird had coasod its vesper song. The blushing arbors of those classic days. Through which the breathings of the slender reed, First softly echoed with Arcadia's praise. Might well bo pictured in this sheltered mead. And blest wore those who found a happy home In thy loved shades, without one throb of care — No muimurs heard, savo from the distant foam That rolled in columns o'er tho great ChaudiSro. (1) And I have watched tho moon in grandeur rise Above the tinted maple's leafy breast. And take her brilliant pathway through tho skies, Till half tho world seemed lulled in peaceful rest. (1) " The Falls of tho Chauditiro are about nino miles from Quebec, on the south shore of tho St. Lawronco, and for beauty and romantic acenery, perhaps not surpassed in all America. Thoy are not so magnificent as Niagara, but certainly far more picturesque." 85 This celebrated Vico-Kogal Lodge was (1780-90) known as Powell Place, when owned by General Henry Watson Pow^ell ; it took its name of Spencer Wood IVom the Right Honorable Spencer Perceval, =* the illustrious relative of the Hon. Michael Henry Perceval, whose family possessed it from 1815 to 1833, when it w^as sold to the late Henry Atkinson, Esquire, an eminent and wealthy Quebec mer- chant. 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 Octo})or, 1820. The Percevals lived for many years in allluenco in this sylvan retreat. Of their elegant receptions Quebeccrs still cherish pleasant remini- scences.! Like several royal villas of England and France. Spencer Wood had its periods of splendor alternated by Oh I thcso woro hours whoso soft enchanting spell Came o'or the ]ieurt, in thy jjrovo's Ucop rocoss, Whoro o'on j)oor Shonstono niiglit havo loved to dwclli Enjoying tho puro balm of hiippinoss t But soon, how soon, a difToront scone I trace, Whero I liavo wandered, or oft musing dtood ; And those wiioso chooring look.-) enhanced tho pinco. No more shall iimilo on thoo, luno Spencer Wood 1 (2) (2) " This is one of the most beautiful spots in Lower Canada, and tho property (1830) of tho lato Hon. Michael Henry I'orceval, who resided there witli his accomplished family, whose highly cultivated minds rendered my visits to Spenoor Wood doubly interesting. The grounds and grand walks are tastefully laid out, interspersed with groat variety of trees, j)lanted by tho hand of nature. Tho scenery is altogether magnificent, and particularly towards tho cast, where tho great Ereoipices overhang Wolfe's Cove. This latter place has derived its name from that ero, who, with his British troops, nobly ascended its frowning clitl's on the llith September, 1751), and took possession uf tho Plains of Abraham." — Adam Kidd, 1830. (The Huron Chikf and other Poems — Adam Kidd.) • Tho illustrious Chancellor of tho Exchequer, Spencer Perceval, assassinated by Bellingham on tho 11th May, 1812, probably took tlio name of Spencer from tho Barls of Egmout and Northampton, connected with tho Percevals. t A Quebec lady writes to tho Q. Monxixo CjiRnNiCLK: — "Tho onco beautiful and accomplished Mrs. M. H. Perceval is no more! he died on tho 23rd November, 1876, at Lews Castle, Stornoway, Scotland, at me residence of her son-in-iaw, Sir James Mathioson, deeply regretted by a largo circle of friends, aged 86. At the ago of 18 sho was Acting Lady Mayoress of Loudon, as her father, Sir Charles Flower, Lord Mnyor, was a widower. At 19, sho married the Hon. M. H. Perceval, who was appointed Collector of Customs in Quebec. They bought Powell Place, and gave it the name of Spencer Wood, after Earl Spencer, brother of Mr. Perceval. Their eldest son, Colonel of tho Coldstream Guards, is also called Sponcer; the Earl Spencer was his godfather. Few now remain to remember tho splendid receptions given by tho lovely and graceful Mrs. Perceval at Spencer Wood." — (Moa.vixo Cbbomcle, 30th Deoembcr, 1876.) 88 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 ho built conservatories, vineries, a pinery and orchid house, &c., far more extensive than those of Spencer Wood proper. Though the place was renowned for its magnilicence 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 Henry Atkinson. Spencer Wood garden is described in Loudon's EncyclO' peclia of Gardening, page 341, and also in the Gardener's Magazine for 1837, at page 4G7. Its ornate style of culture, which made it a show-place for all strangers visiting Quebec, was mainly due to the scientific and tasty arrange- ments of an eminent landscape gardener, M. P. Lowe, now in charge of the Cataraqui conservatories. Well can we recall the time when this lordly demense 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 Vice-Roy — 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, blend- 8t ing the sombre verdure of its hoary trees with the Boft 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 year's residence in Italy, France, and Grermany ; 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. In the beginning of the century Spencer Wood, as pre- viously stated, was known as Powell Place. His Excel- lency 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 charge d'affaires in London, H. W. Hyland, Esquire, dated " Powell Place, 6th August, 1810," has been, among others, preserved by the historian Robert Christie. It alludes in rather unparliamentary lan- guage to the coup d'etat which had on the 19th March, 1810, 88 consigned to a Quebec dungeon three of the most prominent members of the Legislature, Messrs. Bedard, Taschereau and Blanchet, together with Mr. Lefran9ois, 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 descen- dants 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 CRAia TO MR. RYLAND. Qi-EBEO, Powell Place, 6th August, 1810. My Dear Rylarnl, — Till I took my pen in niv hand I thought I had a great (leal to say to you, and now I am mostly at a Iohs 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 1 believe remuins in the same state. Bishop Plessis, on the return from his tour, acknowledged i^^ me that he had reason to think that some of his cnr6s 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 tliat Blanchette came and con- sulted 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 Bedard, 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 tiiat 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 89 terms, acknowlofl^ed tlic crimiimlily of their conduct, t\nd it will be hinted that if Bedard will do the same it inav be all that will bo required of them j at present his language is that he has done nothing wrong, and that lie does not care how long he is kept in prison. We have begun upon the roau to the townships (the Craig Road, throueh the Eastern Townships.) • • • We shall ^et 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, fit was made by soUliers.) The scoundrels of the Lower Town have begun their clamor already, ami I shall scarcely be surprised if the Houec 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. II. 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 August of each year, (his birth-day 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 alfresco 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 entertain- ment at his expense." — (Lambert's Travels, 1808, p. 310.) la 90 Our late octogenarian friend, P. A. De Gaspe, esquire, an eye-witness, describes one of these annual gatherings with all the fervor of a youthful lover * * A f4te champ^tre AT powell place in 1809. (Prom the French of P. A. DoOaspC.) " Sir William Vivian, all a summor'g day Oave bis broad lawns until the set of sun Up to the people " (TuE Prixckss, Teunywn.) " At half-past eight A. M., on a bright August morning, (I say a bright one, for such had lighted up this welcome /e/c champetrc during throe consecutive years) the ilite of the Quebec hean mondc loft the city to attend Sir James Craig's kind invitation. Once opposite Powol Place (now Spencer Wood) the guests loft 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 Saint Lawrence ; the river hero 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 o{ 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 dejeuner en famille. I say enfamille for an aidz-de-camp and a few waiters excepted, no on« 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 appetite is appeased make room for new comers, and amuse tnomselvos 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 magio 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 largo trees, strikes up God save the King. All stand uncovered, in solemn silence, in token of respect to the national anthem of Groat Britain. " The magnates press forward to pay their respects to His Excellency. Those who do not intend to " trip the light fantastio toe " take seats on the platform whore His Excellency sits in state ; an A.D.C. calls out, gentlemen, takeyonr partner$, 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 load, 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 ihe the most beautiful of them all, la belle dei belles— sho, the partner of my joys and of my sorrows — sho, 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.J May not I also say. with Ossian, " ' Why art thou sad, son of F ngal 1 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.' " X Mr. DeGaspC married in 1811, Susanna, daughter of Thos. Allison, Esq., a captain of the 6th Regiment, infantry, and of Therese Baby ; the latter's two brother officers. Captain Ross Lewin and Bellingham, afterwards Lord Bellingham, married at Detroit, then forming part of Up;^er Canada, two sisters, daughters of the Hon. Jacques Duperon Baby. 91 Spencer Wood has ever been a favorite 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 f4tes champStres, recherch^s dinners, chdteau 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 Minis- ter, Sir Francis Hincks. Over the vice-regal" walnuts and wine," how many knotty state questions have been discus- " After all, why. indeed, yield up my soul to sadness? The children of the coming generation will pass rapidly, and a now one will take its place. Men are like tho 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 tho fallen ones. Why should I sorrow ? Eighty-six children, grand- cniUlren and great-grand-children, will mourn tho fall of the old oak, when the breath of tho Almighty shall smite it. Should I have the good fortune to find mercy from tho sovereign judge ; should it bo vouchsafed to mo to meet again tho angel of virtue, who cheered tho few happy days I passed in this valo of sorrow, wo will both pray together for tho uumerous progeny wo left behind us. But lot us revert to the merry meeting provioutily alluded to. It is half-past two in the afternoon ; wo are gaily going through the figures of a country dance "speed tho plough" perhaps, when the music stops short ; every ono 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 mentioned to the band- master to stop, on noticing tho entrance of the two high dignitaries of tho respective churches. The dance was interrupted whilst tbey were there, and was resumed on their departure. Sir James had introduced this point of etiquette, from tho respect he entertained for their persons. •' At three, the loud sound of a hunter's horn is heard in the distance ; — all follow Ilis Excellency, in a path cut through the then virgin forest of Powel Place. Some of the guests, from the longth of tho walk, began to think that Sir James had intended thoso who had not danced to take a "constitutional" boforo 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 tho desert. Monsieur Petit, tho che/de cuisine has surpassed himself; like Vatol, I imagine he would have committed suicide had he failed to achieve the triumph, by which he intesded to elicit our praise. Nothing could exceed in magnificence, in sumptousness this repast — such was the opinion not only of the Canadians, for whom such displays were new, but also of the European guests, though there was a slight draw back to the perfect enjoyment of the dishes — the materiali which composed them tee could not recognize; so great was the artistic skill, so wonderful tho 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 tho cruel mammas were getting concerned respecting certain sentimental walks which their daughters wero enjoying after sunset. They ordered them home, if not with that menaoing attitude with which the goddess Calypso is said to have spoken to her nymphs, at least with frowns, so said tho gay yottng cavaliert. By nine o'clock, all had re-ontered Quebec." !»2 sed, how many despatches settled, how many political points adjusted in the stormy days which saw the aboli- tion of the Seigniorial 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 will- ingly spend here the rest of my life, but after my death, 1 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, acci- dentally 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 permision of the proprietor. Each week His Excellency, with his amiable lady, stealing a f-^w moments from the burthen of aflfairs of State, would thus walk thrc 'igh 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 din- ner that night — Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Greo. E. Car- tier, Mr. Pennifather and others — the alarm of fire was sounded, and in a couple of hours, of 4he 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 Chdteau 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 Godly, Esq., occupied the picturesque cottage " Bagatelle," =^ facing the Holland road, on the Spencer Grange property. If illus- trious 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 admi- red, in 1791-4, by his grand-father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, in his drives round Quebec, with the fascinati7\g Baroness de St. Laurent. Conspicuous amongst all those familiar with the portals of Spencer Wood, may be men- tion two other Royal Princes — the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Arthur, Princess Louise ; with Dukes and Earls — the Duke of Newcastle, Manchester, Buckingham, 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. * Now occupied by Hon. Chs. Hoare Ruthvcn, brother to Lord Ruthren *nd Capt. of the crack Sillery Corps, the 3rd Co. Quebec Qarrison Artillery. 04 Jacques Cartier landed on t)ie banks of the Suint Cliarlcs Sept. 14, 1535 Quebec founded by Samuel de Champluin July 3, 1608 Fort St. Louis built at Quebec 1G20 Quebec surrendered to Admiral Kirk 1C29 Quebec returned to the French 1C32 Death of Champlain, the first Governor Dec. 25, 1G35 Settlement formed at Sillery 1G37 A Royal Government formed at Quebec 1663 Quebec unsuccesBfully besieged by Admiral Phipps 1G90 Count de Frontenac died Nov. 28, 1698 Battle of the Plains of Abraham Sept. 13, 1759 Capitulation of Quebec Sept. 18, 1759 Battle of St. Foye— a French victory April 28, 17G0 Canada ceded by treaty to England 1763 Blockade of Quebec by Generals Montgomery and Arnold Nov. 10, 1775 Death of Montgomery 31st Dec, 1775 Retreat of Americans from Quebec May 6, 1776 Division of Canada into Upper and Lower Canada 1791 Insurrection in Canada < 1837 Second Insurrection 1838 Unioa of the two Provinces in one 1840 Dominion of Canada formed July 1, 18G7 Departure of English troops 1870 Second Centenary of Foundation of Bishopric of Quebec by Monseigneur Laval ■ Oct. Ist, 1674, 1874 Centenary of Repulse of Arnold and Montgomery before Quebec on 3l8t Dec, 1775 3l8t Dec, 1875 DufFerin Plans of City embellishment, Christmas day 1875 Departure of the Earl of Dufferin 18th Oct., 1878 Arrival of the Marquis of Lome and Princess Louise ........ 4th June, 1879 ERRATA AND ADDENDA. Foot note, pagii 70, instead of "debit" read "dedit." Foot note, page 70, instead oi" "Creuzius" read "Creuxius." Page 75, line 22, add "Pavilly," name of his ancestral homo, near Havre, France. Page 7G, line 25, add Mille-FLeurs, the new residence of 0. Roy, Esq., gay with llowers. Foot note, page 70, add "Bleak House" was purchased from J. J. Foote, Esq., by James Grreen, Esq., H. M. Surveyor of Customs, and partly occupied by him. Page 82, 3rd line, add " The Highlands," built by Michael Stevenson, Esq., now owned by Charles V. Temple, Esq. Page 82, 3rd line, add "Edge Hill Cottage," where was born Miss Mary Nowlan, the late belovjd wife of Hon. Jos. Cauchon, Lieut. -Governor of Manitoba. Page 89, 27th line, strike out "in 1880." Add — Sergeant P. Pidgeon, a well-known old Sergeant of 71st, has also for many years occupied the Lodge of the Plains of Abraham.