_THE "ANCIENT CAPITAL."_
_QUEBEC--ITS HIGHWAYS AND BY-WAYS, EDIFICES, MONUMENTS, CITIZENS,
LEGENDS, CHRONICLES, AND ANTIQUITIES._
"I pray you, let us satisfy our eyes
With the memorials and the things of fame
That do renown this city."--(_Shakespeare_.)
What a field here for investigation? Has not each thoroughfare its
distinctive feature--its saintly, heathenish, courtly, national, heroic,
perhaps burlesque, name? Its peculiar origin? traceable sometimes to a
dim--a forgotten past; sometimes to the utilitarian present time. What
curious vistas are unfolded in the birth of its edifices--public and
private--alive with the memories of their clerical, bellicose,
agricultural or mercantile founders? How much mysterious glamour does not
relentless time shed over them in its unceasing march? How many
vicissitudes do they undergo before giving way to modern progress, the
exigencies of commerce, the wants or whims of new masters? The edifices,
did we say? Their origin, their progress, their decay, nay, their
demolition by the modern iconoclast--have they no teachings? How many
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--from our primitive legislative
meeting-house to our stately Parliament Buildings on the Grande Allée?
The streets and by-ways of famous old world cities have found chroniclers,
in some instances of rare ability: Timbs, Howitt, Augustus Sala,
Longfellow, &c. Why should not those of our own land obtain a passing
notice?
Is there on American soul a single city intersected by such quaint,
tortuous, legend-loving streets as old Quebec? Is there a town retaining
more unmistakable vestiges of its rude beginnings--of its pristine,
narrow, Indian-haunted, forest paths?
Our streets and lanes bear witness to our dual origin: Champlain,
Richelieu, Buade streets, by their names proclaim the veneration our
fathers had for the memory of men who had watched over the infancy of the
colony, whilst the mystic, saintly nomenclature of others exhibited the
attachment of the early dwellers in Quebec to the hallowed old Roman faith
which presided at their natal hour.
One also finds here and there, in the names of certain thoroughfares,
traces of the sojourn within our walls of popular Governors, famous
Viceroys, long since gathered to their fathers, some of whose ashes mingle
in our cemeteries with the dust of our forefathers--[8] Champlain,
Frontenac, Mesy, De Callières, De Vaudreuil, De la Jonquière, Ramsay,
Carleton, Hope, Dalhousie, Richmond and Aylmer.
A student of history, in the signboards affixed to street corners, loves
to light on the names of men whose memories are fragrant for deeds of
heroism, devotedness, patriotism or learning. Bréboeuf, Champlain,
Dollard, Ferland, Garneau, Christie, Turgeon, Plessis, and many others of
blameless and exemplary life--each has his street. We know of a worthy and
learned old antiquary whose lore and advice has been more than once placed
at our disposal in unravelling the tangled skein on which we are engaged,
who rejoices that his native city, unlike some of the proud capitals of
Europe, is free from vulgar names, such as "Tire-Boudin," "P--t--au
D----le," in gay Paris, and "Crutched Friars," "Pall-Mall," and "Mary-le-
bone," in great London.
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?
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 overweening love of old memories--become indifferent,
and deadened to the feelings and requirements of the present? This does
not necessarily 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 and
impulses, good or bad, of their inmates.
Active, cultured, bustling, progressive citizens, we would fain connect
with streets and localities partaking of that character, just as we
associate cheerful abodes with sunshine, and repulsive dwellings with
dank, perennial shadows.
Mr. N. Legendre, in a small work intituled "_Les Échos de Quebec_," has
graphically delineated the leading features of several of our
thoroughfares:--
"In a large city each street has its peculiar feature. Such a street
is sacred to commerce--a private residence in it would appear out of
place. Such another is devoted to unpretending dwellings: the modest
grocery shop of the corner looks conscious of being there on
sufferance only. Here resides the well-to-do--the successful merchant;
further, much further on, dwell the lowly--the poor. Between both
points there exists a kind of neutral territory, uniting the
habitations of both classes. Some of the inmates, when calling, wear
kid gloves, whilst others go visiting in their shirt sleeves. The same
individual will even indulge in a cigar or light an ordinary clay
pipe, according as his course is east or west. All this is so marked,
so apparent, that it suffices to settle in your mind the street or
ward to which an individual belongs. The ways of each street vary.
Here, in front of a well-polished door, stands a showy, emblazoned
carriage, drawn by thoroughbreds; mark how subdued the tints of the
livery are. There is, however, something _distingué_ about it, and
people hurrying past assume a respectful bearing.
"In the next street, the carriage standing at the door is just as
rich, but its panelling is more gaudy--more striking in colour are the
horses--more glitter--more profusion about the silver harness
mountings. Though the livery has more _éclat_, there seems to be
less distance between the social status of the groom and that of his
master.
"Walk on further--the private carriage has merged into the public
conveyance; still further, and you find but the plain _calèche_.
"Finally, every kind of vehicle having disappeared, the house-doors
are left ajar; the inmates like to fraternise in the street. On fine
evenings the footpath gets strewed with chairs and benches, occupied
by men smoking--women chatting _al fresco_ unreservedly--laughing
that loud laugh which says, "I don't care who hears me." Passers-by
exchange a remark, children play at foot-ball, while the house-dog,
exulting in the enjoyment of sweet liberty, gambols in the very midst
of the happy crowd. These are good streets. One travels over them
cheerfully and gaily. An atmosphere of rowdyism, theft, wantonness,
hovers over some thoroughfares. Dread and disgust accompany him who
saunters over them. Their gates and doorways seem dark--full of pit-
falls. Iron shutters, thick doors with deep gashes, indicate the
turbulent nature of their inhabitants. Rude men on the sidepaths stare
you out of countenance, or make strange signs--a kind of occult
telegraphy, which makes your flesh creep. To guard against an unseen
foe, you take to the centre of the street--nasty and muddy though it
should be,--for there you fancy yourself safe from the blow of a
skull-cracker, hurled by an unseen hand on watch under a gateway. The
police make themselves conspicuous here by their absence; 'tis a fit
spot for midnight murder and robbery--unprovoked, unpunished. Honest
tradesmen may reside here, but not from choice; they are bound to
ignore street rows; lending a helping hand to a victim would cause
them to receive, on the morrow, a notice to quit.
"Be on your guard, if necessity brings you, after nightfall, to this
unhallowed ground. Danger hovers over, under, round your footsteps. If
an urchin plays a trick on you at a street corner, heed him not. Try
and catch him, he will disappear to return with a reinforcement of
roughs, prepared to avenge his pretended wrongs by violence to your
person and injury to your purse.
"Should a drunken man hustle you as he passes, do not mind him: it may
end in a scuffle, out of which you will emerge bruised and with rifled
pockets.
"We dare not tell you to yield to fear, but be prudent. Though
prudence may be akin to fear, you never more required all your wits
about you. It is very unlikely you will ever select this road again,
though it should be a short cut. Such are some of the dangerous
streets in their main features. There are thoroughfares, on the other
hand, to which fancy lends imaginary charms; the street in which you
live, for instance. You think it better, more agreeable. Each object
it contains becomes familiar, nay cherished by you--the houses, their
doors, their gables. The very air seems more genial. A fellowship
springs up between you and your threshold--your land. You get to
believe they know you as you know them--softening influences--sweet
emanations of 'Home.'"--_Translation._
_THE UPPER TOWN._
The Upper Town in 1608, with its grand oaks, its walnut trees, its
majestic elms, when it formed part of the primeval forest, must have been
a locality abounding in game. If Champlain, his brother-in-law, Boullé, as
well as his other friends of the Lower Town, [9] had been less eager in
hunting other inhabitants of the forest infinitely more dreaded (the
Iroquois), instead of simply making mention of the foxes which prowled
about the residency (_l'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 Coteau Sainte Geneviève, more
especially when scurvy or the dearth of provisions rendered indispensable
the use of fresh meats. We should have heard of grouse, woodcock, hares,
beavers, foxes, caribou, bears, &c., at that period, as the probable
denizens of the mounts and valleys of ancient Stadacona.
In 1617 the chase had doubtless to give way to tillage of the soil, when
the first resident of the Upper Town, the apothecary Louis Hébert,
established his hearth and home there.
"He presently," (1617) says Abbé 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 St. Famille Street up to the Hôtel-Dieu. He
constructed a house and a mill near that part of St. Joseph Street
where it received St. François and St. Xavier Streets. These edifices
appear to have been the first which were erected in the locality now
occupied 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 were levelled and widened. Champlain and Sir
David Kirtk bothered themselves very little with improving highways.
Overseers of roads and _Grand-Voyers_ were not then dreamed of in _La
Nouvelle France_: those blessed institutions, macadamized [10] roads, date
for us from 1841.
One of the first projects of Governor de 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. Had he further
extended this useful reform, our Municipal Council to-day would have been
spared a great amount of vexation, and the public in general much
annoyance. On the 17th November, 1623, a roadway or ascent leading to the
upper town had been effected, less dangerous than that which had
previously existed.
"As late as 1682, as appears by an authentic record (_procès-verbal_)
of the conflagration, this steep road was but fourteen feet wide. It
was built of branches, covered with earth. Having been rendered
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. Bédard.)
In the summer season, our forefathers 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? We have been
unable to discover.
The first horse presented by the inhabitants to the Governor of the colony
arrived from France on the 25th June, 1647. [11] 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 present, with the compliments of the season, the
usual New Year's gifts, was he driven in a _cariole_, and in the summer
season in a _calèche_? Here, again, is a nut to crack for commentators.
[12]
Although there were horned cattle at Quebec in 1623, oxen for the purpose
of ploughing the land were first used on the 27th April, 1628.
"Some animals--cows, sheep, swine, &c.--had been imported as early as
1608. In 1623, it is recorded that two thousand bundles of fodder were
brought from the pasture grounds at _Cap Tourmente_ to Quebec for
winter use."--(Miles.)
On the 16th of July, 1665, [13] a French ship brought twelve horses. These
were doubtless the "mounts" of the brilliant staff of the Marquis de
Tracy, Viceroy. These dashing military followers of Colonel de Salières,
this _jeunesse dorée_ of the Marquis de Tracy, mounted on these twelve
French chargers, which the aborigines named "the moose-deer (_orignaux_)
of Europe," doubtless cut a great figure at Quebec. Did there exist
_Tandems_, driving clubs, in 1665? _Quien sabe?_ A garrison life in 1665-7
and its amusements must have been much what it was one century later, when
the "divine" Emily Montague [14] was corresponding with her dear "Colonel
Rivers," from her Sillery abode in 1766; she then, amongst the vehicles in
use, mentions, _calèches_. [15]
They were not all saints such as Paul Dupuy, [16] the patriarchal seigneur
of _Ile-aux-Oies_, these military swells of Colonel de Salières! Major
Lafradière, for instance, might have vied with the most outrageous rake in
the _Guards_ of Queen Victoria who served in the colony two centuries
later.
If there were at Quebec twelve horses for the use of gentlemen, they were
doubtless not suffered to remain idle in their stables. The rugged paths
of the upper town were levelled and widened; the public highway ceased to
be reserved for pedestrians only. This is what we wanted to arrive at.
In reality, the streets of Quebec grew rapidly into importance in 1665.
Improvements effected during the administration of the Chevalier de
Montmagny had been highly appreciated. The early French had their _Saint
Louis (Grande Allée), Saint Anne, Richelieu, D'Aiguillon, Saint John,
streets_, to do honour to their Master, Louis XIII.; his Queen the
beautiful Anne of Austria; his astute Premier the Cardinal of Richelieu;
his pious niece la Duchesse D'Aiguillon; his land surveyor and engineer
Jehan or Jean Bourdon. This last functionary had landed at Quebec on the
8th August, 1634, with a Norman priest, the Abbé Jean LeSueur de Saint-
Sauveur, who left his surname (St. Sauveur) to the populous municipality
adjoining St. Roch suburbs. [17]
In the last and in the present century, St. Louis Street was inhabited by
many eminent persons. Chief Justice Sewell resided in the stately old
mansion, up to June 1881 occupied as the Lieutenant-Governor's offices;
this eminent jurist died in 1839. "One bright, frosty evening of January
1832," says Mr. Chauveau, "at the close of a numerously attended public
meeting held at the Ottawa Hotel, to protest against the arrest of Messrs.
Tracy, editor of the _Vindicator_, and Duvernay, editor of the _Minerve_,
the good citizens of Quebec, usually so pacific, rushed in a noisy
procession, led by a dozen students wearing tri-coloured ribbons in their
button-holes, and sang the _Marseillaise_ and the _Parisienne_ under the
windows of the Chief Justice, whose ear was little accustomed to such a
concert." The ermined sage, 'tis said, was so startled, that he made sure
a revolution was breaking out.
"Among the 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, and knighted by H. R. H. the Prince of Wales in
person, he would one day, as Lieutenant-Governor, enter in state this same
former residence of Chief Justice Sewell, whilst the cannon of Britain
would roar a welcome, the flag of England stream over his head, and a
British regiment present arms to him." Such, however, has been the fate of
Sir Narcissus Fortunatus Belleau.
The mansion of M. de Lotbinière, in St. Louis street, was the residence of
Madame Pean, the _chère amie_ of M. Bigot the Intendant. The late
Judge Elmsley resided there about the year 1813; Government subsequently
purchased it to serve as an officers' barracks. Nearly opposite the old
Court-House (burned in 1872), stands the "Kent House," in which His Royal
Highness the late Duke of Kent resided in summer, 1791-3. [18] No. 42 St.
Louis Street is the house [19] which belonged to the cooper, François
Gobert; it now has become historical. In it were deposited the remains of
General Montgomery on the 31st December, 1775. This summer it is leased by
Louis Gonzague Baillargé, Esq., the proprietor, to Widow Pigott, whose
late husband was in the "B" Battery.
In the street sacred to Louis XIII., St. Louis street, Messrs. Brown [20]
& Gilmor established, in 1764, [21] their printing office for the _Quebec
Gazette_, "two doors higher up than the Secretary's Office," wherever this
latter may have stood. The _Gazette_ 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 was, with many others, removed in 1850 to widen Mountain Street.
According to a tradition published in the _Gazette_ of the 2nd May, 1848,
the prospectus of this paper had, it would appear, been printed in the
printing office of Benjamin Franklin.
This venerable sheet, which had existed one hundred and ten years, when it
was merged, in 1874, by purchase of the copyright, into the _Morning
Chronicle_, in its early days, was nearly the sole exponent of the wants--
of the gossip (in prose and in verse)--and of the daily events of Quebec.
As such, though, from the standard of to-day, it may seem quaint and puny,
still it does not appear an untruthful mirror of social life in the
ancient capital. Its centenary number of June, 1864, with the fyles of
the _Gazette_ for 1783, have furnished the scholarly author of the
"Prophecy of Merlin," John S. Reade, with material for an excellent sketch
of this pioneer of Canadian journalism, of which our space will permit us
to give but some short extracts:--
"The first number of the _Quebec Gazette_, judged by the _fac-simile_
before me, was a very unpretending production. It consists of four
folio pages, two columns to each page, with the exception of the
'Printer's Address to the Public,' which takes up the full width of
the page, and is written in French and English, the matter in both
languages being the same, with the exception of a Masonic
advertisement, which is in English only. In the address, accuracy,
freedom and impartiality are promised in the conduct of the paper. The
design of the publishers includes 'a view of foreign affairs and
political transactions from which a judgment may be formed of the
interests and connections of the several powers of Europe'; and care
is to be taken 'to collect the transactions and occurrences of our
mother-country, and to introduce every remarkable event, uncommon
debates, extraordinary performance and interesting turn of affairs
that shall be thought to merit the notice of the reader as matter of
entertainment, or that can be of service to the publick as inhabitants
of an English colony.' Attention is also to be given to the affairs of
the American colonies and West India Islands; and, in the absence of
foreign intelligence, the reader is to be presented with 'such
originals, in prose and verse, as will please the fancy and instruct
the judgment. And,' the address continues, 'here we beg leave to
observe that we shall have nothing so much at heart as the support of
virtue and morality and the noble cause of liberty. The refined
amusements of literature and the pleasing veins of well-pointed wit
shall also be considered as necessary to the collection; interspersed
with other chosen pieces and curious essays extracted from the most
celebrated authors; so that, blending philosophy with politicks,
history, &c., the youth of both sexes will be improved, and persons of
all ranks agreeably and usefully entertained.'
"As an inducement to advertisers, it is held out that the circulation
of the _Gazette_ will extend, not only through the British colonies,
but also through the West India Islands and the trading ports of Great
Britain and Ireland. The address very sensibly concludes with the
following remarks, which, however, cast a shade over the rather
tedious prolegomena: 'Our intention to please the whole, without
offence to any individual, will be better evinced by our practice than
by writing volumes on this subject. This one thing we beg may be
believed, that party prejudice or private scandal will never find a
place in this paper.'
"With this large promise began the first Canadian newspaper on the
21st of June, 1764.
"The news in the first number is all foreign. There are despatches
from Riga, St. Petersburg, Rome, Hermanstadt, Dantzic, Vienna,
Florence and Utrecht, the dates ranging from the 8th of March to the
11th of April. There are also items of news from New York, bearing
date the 3rd, and from Philadelphia the 7th of May. News-collecting
was then a slow process, by land as well as by sea.
"Of the despatches, the following is of historical importance:
'London, March 10th. It is said that a scheme of taxation of our
American colonies has for some time been in agitation, that it had
been previously debated in the Parliament whether they had power to
lay a tax on colonies which had no representative in Parliament and
determined in the affirmative,' etc. The occasional insertion of a
dash instead of a name, or the wary mention of a 'certain great
leader' or 'a certain great personage' tell a simple tale of the
jealousy with which the press was then regarded both in England and on
the continent. The prosecution of Smollett, Cave, Wilkes and others
were still fresh in the minds of printers and writers.
"Another despatch informs the readers of the _Gazette_ of an _arrêt_
lately issued for the banishment of the Jesuits from France, and
another of a deputation of journeymen silk weavers who waited on the
King at St. James with a petition setting forth their grievances from
the clandestine importation of French silk, to which His Majesty
graciously replied, promising to have the matter properly laid before
Parliament.
"An extract from a letter from Virginia gives an account of some
Indian outrages, and there is some other intelligence of a similar
nature. The other news is of a like temporary interest.
"I have already mentioned a masonic advertisement. I now give it in
full:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN,
That on _Sunday_, the 24th, being the Festival of _St. Jhon_ (sic),
such strange BRETHREN who may have a desire of joining the Merchants
Lodge, No. 1, _Quebec_, may obtain Liberty, by applying to _Miles
Prenties_, at the Sun, in _St. John Street_, who has Tickets, Price
_Five Shillings_, for that Day.
"One thing is evident, that a printing establishment of 1764 had to be
supplied with abundance of italics and capitals to meet the exigencies
of the typographic fashion of the time.
"Of the two remaining advertisements, one is an order of the Collector
of Customs for the prevention of composition for duties and the other
gives a list of 'an assortment of goods,' 'just imported from London,
and to be sold at the lowest prices by John Baird, in the upper part
of Mr. Henry Morin's house at the entry of the Cul de Sac'--an
assortment which is very comprehensive, ranging from leather breeches
to frying-pans. From this and subsequent trade advertisements we are
able to gather some not unimportant information as to the manner of
living of the citizens of Quebec in those days." [22]
William Brown was succeeded in the editorship and proprietorship of this
venerable sheet by his nephew, Samuel Neilson, the elder brother of John
Neilson, who for years was the trusted member for the County of Quebec; as
widely known as a journalist--a legislator--in 1822 our worthy ambassador
to England--as he was respected as a patriot.
Samuel Neilson had died in 1793;--his young brother and _protégé_, John,
born at Dornald, in Scotland, in 1776, being, in 1793, a minor, the
_Gazette_ was conducted by the late Rev. Dr. Alex. Sparks, his guardian,
until 1796. When John Neilson became of full age, he assumed the direction
of the paper for more than half a century, either in his own name or in
that of his son Samuel. Hon. John Neilson closed his long and spotless
career, at his country seat (Dornald), at Cap Rouge, on the 1st February,
1848, aged 71 years. Who has not heard of the Nestor of the Canadian
Press, honest John Neilson? May his memory ever remain bright and
fragrant--a beacon to guide those treading the intricate paths of
Journalism--a shining light to generations yet unborn!
In a pretty rustic cemetery, the site of which was presented by himself to
the Presbyterian Church of Valcartier, near Quebec, were laid, on the 4th
February, 1848, the remains of this patriotic man--escorted by citizens of
every origin, after an eloquent address had been delivered by the Rev. Dr.
John Cook, the present pastor of St Andrew's Church.
The Literary and Historical Society of Quebec is indebted to his son John
Neilson, of Dornald, for a precious relic, the iron lever of the first
Press used at Quebec in 1764--precious, indeed, as a souvenir of Canadian
Journalism.
There are indeed many Scotch names associated with the Quebec Press. Space
precludes us from enlarging more on this subject. In alluding to notable
Quebec Journalists we are bound to name Daniel Wilkie, LL.D., the editor
of the Quebec _Star_,--a literary gazette--in 1818--still better
remembered as the esteemed instructor of Quebec youth for forty years.
Dr. Wilkie was born at Tollcross, in Scotland, in 1777, one year later
than John Neilson: he settled in Quebec in 1803, and died here on the 10th
May, 1851. His pupils had the following truthful words inscribed on the
monument they erected to their patron in Mount Hermon cemetery:
"He was a learned scholar
And indefatigable student of philosophy and letters,
An able and successful instructor of youth,
Of genuine uprightness and guileless simplicity
A devout, benevolent and public spirited man."
The Abbé Vignal resided at the corner of St. Louis and Parloir street,
previous to joining the _Sulpiciens_. In October, 1661, he was roasted
alive and partly eaten by the Mohawks at Isle à la Pierre, _la Prairie de
la Magdeleine_, near Montreal. In our day, the judicial and parliamentary
heads, and the Bar have monopolized the street. In it have resided at
various times, Sir N. F. Belleau, Chief Justice Duval, the Judges
Taschereau, Tessier, Bossé, Caron, Routhier; Hon. H. L. Langevin, P.
Pelletier, M.P.; Messrs. Bossé, Baby, Alleyn, Languedoc, Tessier,
Chouinard, Hamel, Gauthier, Bradley, Dunbar, _cum multis aliis_, some
of whose rustic clients are as early birds as those in the days of Horace,
and scruple not to wake up their trusted advisers, "_sub galli cantum_."
[23]
St. Louis street legal luminaries are careful not to endanger their hard-
earned reputations by delivering their consultations with the oracular,
Solon-like gravity of the barristers who flourished in the palmy days of
Hortensius or Justinian. 'Twould be an anachronism. The traditional fee,
however, is rarely omitted. A busy day, indeed, in this neighborhood,
watched over by the shades of Louis XIII., St. Louis street, is, in each
year, the 1st of September, when the close of the sultry midsummer
vacation brings round "the first day of term," then
"Grave gownsmen, full of thought, to 'chambers hie,
From court to court, perplexed, attorneys fly;
... each! Quick scouring to and thro',
And wishing he could cut himself in two
That he two places at a time might reach,
So he could charge his six and eightpence each."
--(_The Bar, a Poem_, 1825.)
Matters judicial, legal, financial, etc., have much changed--we are
inclined to say improved--in Canada, especially for the Judges. "I will
not say," writes the satirical La Hontan, "that justice is more chaste and
disinterested here than in France; but, at least, if she is sold, she is
sold cheaper. We do not pass through the clutches of advocates, the talons
of attorneys and the claws of clerks. These vermin do not infest Canada
yet. Everybody pleads his own cause. Our Themis is prompt, and she does
not bristle with fees, costs and charges. The judges have only four
hundred francs a year--a great temptation to look for law in the bottom of
the suitor's purse. Four hundred francs! Not enough to buy a cap and gown,
so these gentry never wear them." [24] Justice is not now sold, either in
Quebec or elsewhere, but judges, on the other hand, viz., in Ottawa,
receive, not "four hundred francs," but thirty-five thousand francs
($7,000) a year, and have "enough to buy a cap and a gown," yea, and a
brilliant red one, to boot. _Voilà un progrès._
On an old plan, in our possession, of the Cape and Mount Carmel, showing
the whereabouts of lots and the names of their proprietors, drawn by Le
Maître Lamorille, a royal surveyor, bearing date 20th May, 1756, and duly
sanctioned by the French Intendant Bigot on the 23rd January, 1759, can be
seen at Mont Carmel, St. Louis street, a lot marked "No. 16, M. Pean."
[25]
M. Pean, Town Major of Quebec, a trusted confederate of the Intendant
Bigot, the proprietor of this land, was the husband of the beautiful
Angélique de Meloises, the _inamorata_ of the voluptuous and munificent
Intendant. In her youth she had been a pupil of the Ursuline nuns. In his
_Reminiscences of Quebec_, 2nd edition republished in 1859, Col. Cockburn
thus alludes to this St. Louis street house (now Dominion property and
occupied by Lt.-Col. Forest and Lt.-Col. D'Orsonnes). "It sometimes happened
in those days, when a gentleman possessed a very handsome wife, that the
husband was sent to take charge of a distant post, where he was sure to
make his fortune. Bigot's _chère amie_ was Madame P---- in consequence of
which as a matter of course, Mr. P---- became prodigiously wealthy. Bigot
had a house that stood where the officers barracks in St Louis street, now
(1851) stands. One New Year's Day he presented this house to Madame P----
as a New Year's gift."
Mr. Kirby, in his "_Chien d'Or_," a historical novel of rare Merit,
thus recalls this house--"The family mansion of the des Meloises was a
tall and rather pretentious edifice overlooking the fashionable rue St
Louis where it still stands, old and melancholy as if mourning over its
departed splendors. Few eyes look up now-a-days to its broad façade. It
was otherwise when the beautiful Angélique de Meloises sat of summer
evenings on the balcony, surrounded by a bevy of Quebec's fairest
daughters, who loved to haunt her windows where they could see and be seen
to the best advantage exchanging salutations, smiles and repartees with
the gay young officers and gallants who rode or walked along its lively
thoroughfare."
The novelist has selected this historic house for the meeting of the
lovers, on Christmas Eve 1748. Here Le Gardeur de Repentigny, the loyal
and devoted cavalier was to meet the fascinating, but luckless Cleopatra
of St Louis street a century ago and more.
"As Le Gardeur spoke, adds Mr. Kirby; a strain of heavenly harmony
arose from the chapel of the Convent of the Ursulines, where they were
celebrating midnight service for the safety of New France. Amid the
sweet voices that floated up on the notes of the pealing organ was
clearly distinguished that of Mère St. Borgia, the aunt of Angélique,
who led the choir of nuns. In trills and cadences of divine melody,
the voice of Mère St. Borgia rose higher and higher, like a spirit
mounting the skies. The words were indistinct, but Angélique knew them
by heart. She had visited her aunt in the convent, and had learned the
new hymn composed by her for the solemn occasion. As they listened
with quiet awe to the supplicating strain, Angélique repeated to Le
Gardeur the words of the hymn as it was sung by the choir of nuns:--
Soutenez, grande Reine,
Notre pauvre pays!
Il est votre domaine,
Faites fleurir nos lis!
L'Anglais sur nos frontières,
Porte ses étandards
Exaucez nos prières
Protégez nos remparts!"
"The hymn ceased. Both stood mute until the watchman cried the hour in
the silent street."
We shall not follow further the beautiful but heartless Cleopatra through
her deadly schemes of conquest, or in her flight after the Intendant.
Sixteen years after the departure of the Court beauty, on a dark, stormy
winter morning, the 31st December, 1775, a loud note of alarm awoke at
dawn from their slumbers the demure denizens of St. Louis street. It was
the captain of the guard, Captain Malcolm Fraser, [26] formerly of
Fraser's Highlanders (78th), but now of the 84th Royal Emigrants, Col.
Allan McLean--who, on going his rounds between 4 and 5 in the morning, had
passed the guard at St. Louis gate, and had noticed flashes like lightning
on the heights without the works. Convinced it was for an attack, he sent
notice to all the guards, and ran down St. Louis street, calling "Turn
out" as loud and as often as he could. The alarm soon caught the quick ear
of the General (Guy Carleton) and the picquet at the Récollets Convent was
instantly turned out. Captain Fraser's alarm was timely. Before eight
o'clock on that memorable December morning, Benedict Arnold had been
wounded, routed at the Sault au Matelot barricade, and 427 of his daring
men taken prisoners of war, whilst the Commander-in-Chief, Brigadier-
General Richard Montgomery and thirteen followers were lying dead in their
snowy shrouds at Près-de-Ville. The rest had taken flight.
The saddest sight ever witnessed in St. Louis street was that which
heralded to its awe-struck denizens the issue of the momentous conflict on
the adjoining heights in Sept. 1759.
In the paper read by the writer before the Literary and Historical Society
of Quebec, on the 3rd of December, 1879, the mournful appearance of the
French hero, Montcalm, is thus described:--
"The morning of the 13th September, 1759, has dawned; an astounding
rumour fills the air; the citizens of Quebec repeat with bated breath:
_Wolfe's army is at the gates of the city._
"Hark! What means this deafening roar of artillery--this hissing of
shot and shell--these rolling, murderous volleys of musketry in the
direction of the heights of Abraham?
"Hark! to these loud cheers--British cheers mixed with the discordant
yells of those savage warriors, Fraser's Highlanders! The fate of a
continent has just been decided. The genius of William Pitt has
triumphed, though victory was bought at a dear price.
"Here comes from St. Louis gate [27] on his way to the Château, pale,
but dauntless--on a black charger--supported by two grenadiers, one on
each side of his horse, a General officer wearing the uniform which
won at Fontenoy, won at Laufeldt, as well as at the Monongahela [28]
and at Carillon. [29] A bloody trail crimsons the _Grande Allée_,
St. Louis street, on that gloomy September day. My friends, 'tis the
life-blood of a hero. Drop in reverential silence, on the moistened
earth, a sympathetic tear; France's chivalrous leader, the victor of
many battle-fields, has returned from his last campaign.
"_Oh! mon Dieu! mon Dieu! Le Marquis est tué,_" is repeated by female
voices as the death-stricken but intrepid general glides past, to
which he courteously replies, trying to quiet their fears, 'that he
was not seriously hurt, and not to distress themselves on his
account.' '_Ce n'est rien! ce n'est rien! ne vous affligez pas pour
moi, mes bonnes amies._'
"You have all heard the account of the death-bed scene--of his tender
solicitude for the good name of France--of his dying injunctions to de
Ramesay, the King's lieutenant in charge of the Quebec Garrison, and
to the Colonel of the Roussillon Regiment. '_Gentlemen, to your
keeping I commend the honour of France. Endeavour to secure the
retreat of my army to-night beyond Cape Rouge. As for myself, I shall
pass the night with God, and prepare for death._'
"At nine o'clock in the evening of that 14th of September, 1759, a
funeral cortege, issuing from the castle, winds its way through the
dark and obstructed streets to the little church of the Ursulines.
With the heavy tread of the coffin-bearers keeps time the measured
footsteps of the military escort. De Ramesay and the other officers of
the garrison following to their resting-place the lifeless remains of
their illustrious commander-in-chief. No martial pomp was displayed
around that humble bier, but the hero who had afforded at his dying
hour the sublime spectacle of a Christian yielding up his soul to God
in the most admirable sentiments of faith and resignation, was not
laid in unconsecrated ground. No burial rite could be more solemn than
that hurried evening service performed by torchlight under the
dilapidated roof of a sacred asylum, where the soil had been first
laid bare by one of the rude engines of war--a bombshell. The grave
tones of the priests murmuring the _Libera me, Domine_ were responded
to by the sighs and tears of consecrated virgins, henceforth the
guardians of the precious deposit, which, but for inevitable fate,
would have been reserved to honour some proud mausoleum. With gloomy
forebodings and bitter thoughts de Ramesay and his companions in arms
withdrew in silence.
"A few citizens had gathered in, and among the rest one led by the
hand his little daughter, who, looking into the grave, saw and
remembered, more than three fourths of a century later, the rough
wooden box, which was all the ruined city could afford to enclose the
remains of her defender.
"The skull of the Marquis of Montcalm, exhumed in the presence of the
Rev. Abbé Maguire, almoner, in 1833, many here present, I am sure,
have seen in a casket, reverently exposed in the room of the present
almoner of the Ursuline Convent."
SOCIETY UNDER EARLY ENGLISH RULE.
Under the sway of the English Government, Canada soon recovered her wonted
gaiety, and the social condition of the country, following on so large an
admixture of a different nationality, is a subject stimulating inquiry. We
cannot do better than have recourse again to Mr. Reade's graphic pen in an
article on "British Canada in the Last Century," contributed to the New
Dominion Monthly, and suggested by the _Quebec Gazette_ of 1783, the St.
Louis Street journal above quoted:--
"If there were nothing left to the enquirer but the single
advertisement of John Baird, which appeared in the first number of the
Quebec _Gazette_, as the basis of information, he might, with a
moderate power of inductiveness, construct a very fair account of the
mode of living pursued at Quebec a hundred years ago. But the fact is
he is overwhelmed with _data_, and his chief difficulty is to
choose with discrimination. There is certainly ample evidence to show
that the inhabitants of the ancient capital did not stint themselves
in the luxuries of their day and generation. The amount of wine which
they consumed was something enormous, nor are we wanting in proof that
it was used among the better classes to an extent which public opinion
would not allow at the present day. A correspondent, more inclined to
sobriety than his fellow citizens, after complimenting Quebec society
for its politeness and hospitality--in which qualities it still
excels--finds fault with the social custom by which 'men are excited
and provoked by healths and rounds of toasts to fuddle themselves in
as indecent a manner as if they were in a tavern or in the most
unpolished company.' In connection with this state of affairs it may
be interesting to give the prices of different wines at that period:
Fine Old Red Port was sold at 17 shillings a dozen, Claret at 12s.,
Priniac at 17s.; Muscat at 24s., Modena at 27s., Malaga at 17s.;
Lisbon at 17s.; Fyall at 15s.
"Mr. Simon Fraser, perhaps one of those converted Jacobites who scaled
the height of Quebec, in 1759, turned civilian, gives us the price of
tea: Single Green tea is 13s. a pound, Best Hyson, 25s; Bohea, 6/6d.
Pity that tea was so dear and wine so cheap! Bread was very cheap, and
large quantities of wheat were exported--whereas now Lower Canada has
to import the most of its cereals. Great attention was paid to dress,
and though no sumptuary laws were in force, the principle on which
they were founded was still remembered, and attire bespoke the
position of the wearer. The articles and styles advertised by drapers
and tailors are, of course, in accordance with the manufacture and
fashion of the time. The lists of dry goods and fancy goods are very
full, but to those engaged in the business now the antique
nomenclature might be puzzling. Irish linen was sold at from 1/6 to
7/0 per yard, and Irish sheeting at from 1/6 to 2/6. We are not told
the prices of tammies or durants, romals or molletons, cades or
shalloons, but we are always carefully informed that they may be had
at the lowest prices. Pains are also taken, in many instances, to
indicate the previous experience of the advertisers. Thus tailors and
mantua-makers generally 'hail from' London. Mr. Hanna, the watch-
maker, whose time-keepers still tick attestation to his industry and
popularity, is proud to have learned his trade by the banks of the
Liffey. Mr. Bennie, tailor and habit-maker, from Edinburgh, 'begs
leave to inform the public that all gentlemen and ladies who will be
so good as to favour him with their custom may depend upon being
faithfully served on the shortest notice and in the newest fashion for
ready money or short credit, on the most reasonable terms.' There were
peruke-makers in those days and they seem to have thriven well in
Quebec, if we may judge by their advertised sales of real estate.
Jewellers also seem to have had plenty to do, as they advertise
occasionally for assistants instead of customers. Furriers, hatters,
_couturières_ and shoemakers also present their claims to public
favour, so that there was no lack of provision for the wants of the
outer man.
"From the general tone and nature of the advertisements it is easily
inferred that the society of Quebec soon after the conquest was gay
and luxurious. We are not surprised when we find that a theatrical
company found it worth their while to take up their abode there. Among
the pieces played we find Home's 'Douglas' and Otway's 'Venice
Preserved.' The doors were opened at five o'clock and the
entertainment began at half-past six! The frequenters of the 'Thespian
Theatre' were a select and privileged class, and only subscribers were
admitted. Private theatricals were much in vogue; and, indeed, there
was every variety of amusement which climate could allow or suggest,
or the lovers of frolic devise. Nor were bards wanting to celebrate
these festivities, witness the following extract from a 'carioling
song:'
"'Not all the fragrance of the spring,
Nor all the tuneful birds that sing,
Can to the _Plains_ the ladies bring,
So soon as carioling.
"'Nor Venus with the winged Loves,
Drawn by her sparrows or her doves,
So gracefully or swiftly moves,
As ladies carioling,"
"Another poet, whose mind was evidently less healthily braced by out-
door exercise, gives us a very different picture of the recreations of
the period. It occurs in the course of an essay in versification
called 'Evening.'
"'Now minuets o'er, the country dance is formed
See every little female passion rise,
By jealousy, by pride, by envy warmed,
See Adam's child the child of Eve despise.
"'With turned-up nose Belinda Chloe eyes,
Chloe Myrtilla with contempt surveys,
"What! with that creature dance!" Cleora cries,
"That vulgar wretch! I faint--unlace my stays.
* * * * *
"'Now meet in groups the philosophic band,
Not in the porch, like those of ancient Greece,
But where the best Madeira is at hand
From thought the younger students to release
"'For Hoyle's disciples hold it as a rule
That youth for knowledge should full dearly pay,
Wherefore to make young cubs the fitter tool
Presuming sense by Lethean drafts they slay.
* * * * *
"'With all the fury of a tempest torn,
With execrations horrible to hear,
By all the wrath of disappointment borne,
The cards, their garments, hair, the losers tear.'
"The winner's unfeeling composure is described in another verse, and
"'Now dissipation reigns in varied forms
Now riot in the bowl the senses steeps,
Whilst nature's child, secure from passion's storms,
With tranquil mind in sweet oblivion sleeps.'
"It is to be hoped, for the honour of the ladies and gentlemen of old
Quebec, that 'Asmodeus' was under the malign influence of envy, hatred
and all uncharitableness when he wrote those cynical verses. If he
wrote the truth we cannot be too thankful that the Chloes and Cleoras
are dead and buried.
"Who was Miss Hannah MacCulloch? She _was_ a young lady once; and, if
we may believe her panegyrist, was a beauty in her day. The acrostic
in her honor is anonymous, and occasion is taken in the course of it
to almost mention some other young ladies by the way of making a
climax of her charms. The poet seems to have been inspired by
indignation at the insinuations of 'Asmodeus,' for he begins thus.
"'Muses, how oft does Satire's vengeful gall
Invoke your powers to aid its bitter sting,'
and then he prefers his own claims to the favor of the Nine
"'Sure you will rather listen to my call,
Since beauty and Quebec's fair nymphs I sing'
"It seems his petition was heard, for he forthwith begins his
laudation:
"'Henceforth Diana in Miss S--ps--n see,
As noble and majestic is her air,
Nor can fair Venus, W--lc--s, vie with thee,
Nor all her heavenly charms with thine compare.
"'Around the B--ch--rs Juno's glory plays,
Her power and charms in them attract our praise
Minerva, who with beauty's queen did vie
And patronized all the finer arts,
Crowned the McN--ls with her divinity,
Crowned them the queens of beauty and of hearts.
"'Unto fair F--m--n now I turn my song,
Lovely in all she says, in all she does,
Lo! to her toilet see each goddess throng,
One cannot all, but each a charm bestows
Could all these beauties in one female be,
_Her_ whom I sing would be the lovely she.'
"This effusion provoked more criticism than many a book of poetry is
subjected to nowadays, and the censors were in their turn criticized
by others. Montreal even took part in this literary tournament. But we
are left in the dark as to its effect on the spirits, tempers or
destinies of Miss MacCulloch and her sister belles.
"It would seem that the author was a young clerk or merchant of
Quebec, as one of the critics spitefully tells him not to desert his
shop. The ladies themselves do not escape, one writer suggesting that
they are coquettish enough already without making them more so. The
Montreal correspondent is warned off as an intruder, and told that he
had better have saved his ninepence of postage money. Just imagine
this silly acrostic furnishing gossip for Quebec and matter for the
_Gazette_ for two months!
"As another note of the state of society at that time may be mentioned
occasional advertisements for the sale of negro lads and wenches, or
of rewards for the recovery and restoration of missing ones. Slavery
was not abolished in Lower Canada till 1803. In Upper Canada, as a
separate province, it hardly ever existed. Did the manumitted blacks
remain in Canada after their liberation, or did they seek a more
congenial climate?
"For education there does not seem to have been any public provision,
but private schools for both sexes were numerous. These were probably
expensive, so that the poorer classes were virtually debarred from the
advantages of learning. The instruction of Catholic children was in
the hands of the clergy, and it may be that in some of the conventual
schools a certain number were admitted free of expense or at reduced
rates. It would appear that some of the young ladies were sent to
English boarding-schools, if we may judge by advertisements in which
the advantages of these institutions are set forth.
"A Miss or Mrs. Agnes Galbraith not only taught school, but also
carried on the millinery business, to which she informs the public
that she had served a regular apprenticeship, besides having been 'a
governess for several years to a genteel boarding-school.'
"The principal of a boys' school who resided at Three Rivers
'respectfully begs leave to remark that he means to presume no further
than he is perfectly able to perform, and build his hope of
encouragement on no other foundation than his assiduity to merit it.'
His 'course' is nevertheless a pretty full one, including English,
French, Latin, Greek, writing in a natural and easy style after the
best precedents; arithmetic, vulgar and decimal; geography, with use
of the globes; geometry, navigation with all the _late modern_
improvements; algebra, and every other useful and ornamental branch of
mathematical learning. Some of the other male teachers write in a
similar strain of their qualifications."
"It may be inferred, then, that the wealthier classes of Canada in
those days had much the same advantages of culture as their friends in
England. Intercourse with the mother country was much more general and
frequent than might be imagined, and, no doubt, many young gentlemen,
after a preliminary training at a colonial academy, were sent home to
enter some of the English public schools or universities. From the
higher ranks downwards education varied till it reached the 'masses,'
with whom its index was a cipher. There is no reason to suppose,
however, that the population of Canada, taken as a whole, was less
cultivated during the last forty years of the eighteenth century than
that of any European nation during the same period. From the
consideration of education, one naturally passes to that of crime.
Thefts were frequent, and sometimes committed on a large scale. The
punishment was whipping at a cart-tail through the streets of the
city--the culprits themselves being whipped and whipsters in turn.
Assault, stealing in private houses, and highway robbery were punished
with death. The expiation for manslaughter was being branded in the
hand which did the deed. Desertion was very frequent, especially among
the Hessians and Brunswickers then stationed in Canada. In some cases
they were promised pardon if they returned to their regiments, but woe
to them if they returned against their will! Towards the end of the
year 1783 'Gustavus Leight, a German doctor, confined for felony,
broke out of His Majesty's jail at Quebec.' He was '25 years of age,
about 5 feet high.' We are not told whether or not he was captured as
the advertisement is continued to the end of the year, but if he did
not change his dress he could not have succeeded in baffling very long
the keen eye of a detective, for "he had on, when he made his escape,
a brown coat, red plush waistcoat, white stockings and cock'd hat.' If
such a gentleman made his appearance in the streets of any Canadian
city to-day, he would certainly be requested to 'move on,' or asked to
'explain his motives.' One thing is certain, that prisoners for felony
in the year 1783 had not to submit to any arbitrary sumptuary
arrangement--at least in the Quebec _gaol_ (as it is always spelled in
the _Gazette_, perhaps because it is the goal of evildoers).
"The general state of society in Montreal, as well as in Three Rivers,
St. Johns, L'Assomption, Terrebonne, Sorel and the other towns and
villages in existence at the period which we are considering was, in
all probability, very like that of Quebec--the last-mentioned place
having, of course, a certain prestige as the capital.
"It would be futile to attempt to give an accurate picture of the
appearance of Montreal or Quebec at that distant date, and a
description pretending to accuracy would not be possible without the
collation of more ancient records than are easily obtainable by one
person. The names of some of the streets, as Notre Dame, St. Paul and
St. Antoine in Montreal, and St. John's, Fabrique, St. Peter and
others in Quebec, are still unchanged. Villages near these towns, such
as Ste. Foye, Beauport, Charlesbourg, Sault aux Récollets, St. Denis,
Ste. Thérèse, etc., are also frequently mentioned in the old
_Gazettes_. Detroit and Niagara were places of considerable
importance, and St. Johns, Chambly, Berthier, L'Assomption, L'Acadie
and other places were much more influential communities in comparison
with the population of the country than they are to-day. The
authorities at Quebec and Montreal were not wanting in endeavors to
keep these cities clean, to judge, at least, by the published
'regulations for the police.' Every householder was obliged to put the
Scotch proverbs in force, and keep clean and 'free from filth, mud,
dirt, rubbish straw or hay' one-half of the street opposite his own
house The 'cleanings' were to be deposited on the beach, as they still
are in portions of Montreal and Quebec which border on the river.
Treasure-trove in the shape of stray hogs could be kept by the finder
twenty-four hours after the event, if no claim had been made in the
meantime, and if the owner declared himself in person or through the
bellman, he had to pay 10s. before he could have his pork restored.
Five shillings was the penalty for a stray horse. The regulations for
vehicles, slaughter-houses, sidewalks, markets, etc., were equally
strict. Among other duties, the carters had to keep the markets clean.
The keepers of taverns, inns and coffee-houses had to light the
streets. Every one entering the town in a sleigh had to carry a shovel
with him for the purpose of levelling _cahots_ which interrupted
his progress, 'at any distance within three leagues of the town.' The
rates of cabs and ferry-boats are fixed with much precision. No carter
was allowed to plead a prior engagement, but was to go 'with the
person who first demanded him, under a penalty of twenty shillings.'
The rate of speed was also regulated, and boys were not allowed to
drive.
"Constant reference is made to the walls and gates of Montreal as well
as Quebec, and there is reason to believe the smaller towns were
similarly fortified. Beyond the walls, however, there was a
considerable population, and many of the military officers, Government
officials and merchants had villas without the city. The area in
Montreal which lies between Craig, St. Antoine and Sherbrooke streets
was studded with country-houses with large gardens and orchards
attached. The seigneurs and other gentry had also fine, capacious
stone-built residences, which much enhanced the charm of the rural
scenery. Some of the estates of those days were of almost immense
extent. The Kings of France thought nothing of granting a whole
province, and, even in British times, there were gentlemen whose acres
would have superimposed an English county. The extraordinary donation
of James I. of a large portion of North America to Sir William
Alexander was not long since brought before the public by the claims
of his descendants. Large tracts of land were given away by Louis
XIII., Louis XIV. and other French kings, by Oliver Cromwell and the
Stuarts, and the same extravagant system of entailing unmanageable
wealth on companies and individuals was continued after the conquest.
"It would be interesting to know what was the kind of literary fare on
which the intellect of Canada subsisted in those days. It cannot be
supposed that the people spent all their time in business and social
pleasure. There must have been readers as well as cariolers and
dancers, and the literature of England and France was by no means
scanty. Great writers on every subject have flourished since that
time, but some of the greatest that ever lived, some of those whose
productions are still read with the highest pleasure, were the
offspring of the two centuries which preceded the conquest. No one
will be surprised to find, then, that in the year 1783, a circulating
library in Quebec numbered nearly 2,000 volumes. Nor is the enquirer
left in the dark as to its probable contents. In the Quebec
_Gazette_ of the 4th of December, a list of books is given which
'remained unsold at M. Jacques Perrault's, very elegantly bound'--and
books were bound substantially as well as elegantly in those days. In
this list are found 'Johnson's Dictionary,' then regarded as one of
the wonders of the literary world, 'Chesterfield's Letters,' long the
_vade-mecum_ of every young gentleman beginning life, and which,
even in our own days (and perhaps still), were frequently bound along
with spelling and reading books, the 'Pilgrim's Progress', which it is
not necessary to characterize, Young's 'Night Thoughts,' the
'Spectator and 'Guardian,' Rapin's 'English History,' 'Cook's
Voyages,' Rousseau's 'Eloise,' 'Télémaque,' 'Histoire Chinoise,'
'Esprit des Croissades,' 'Lettres de Fernand Cortes,' 'Histoire
Ancienne' par Rollin, 'Grammaire Anglaise et Française,'
'Dictionnaire par l'Académie,' 'Dictionnaire de Commerce,' 'Dictionary
of the Arts and Sciences,' 'Smith's Housewife,' 'The Devil on Sticks,'
'Voltaire's Essay on Universal History,' 'Dictionnaire de Cuisine' and
several others on various subjects, 'Oeuvres de Rabelais,' 'American
Gazetteer,' etc. These, it will be remembered, had remained unsold,
but among the sold there must have been copies of the same.
"It is, according to our notions of to-day, a meagre collection, but,
no doubt, many families possessed good libraries, brought with them
from over the sea, and the bookseller may not have kept a large stock
at one time. It was the custom for merchants to sell off all their
overlying goods before they went or sent to Europe for a
reinforcement.
"The following books were advertised as 'missing:'--Langhorn's
Plutarch, 1st vol., Thomson's Works, 4th vol., Gordon's 'Universal
Accountant,' 1st vol.; and Gray's Hudibras, 2nd vol. For each one of
them there is offered a reward of _two dollars_! Reading was expensive
recreation in those times.
"The reader, perhaps, has seen, or, it may be, possesses one of those
old libraries, of which the general public occasionally have a glimpse
at auction rooms, composed of standard authors, and beautifully and
solidly bound, which had adorned the studies of the fathers of our
country. They contain all that was best in the French and English
literature of the last century--history, poetry, divinity, _belles
lettres_, science and art. From these may be gathered what were the
tastes, the culture and the thought of the Canadians of the last
century.
"Music and painting were cultivated--the former being, as now, a
necessary part of female education. Of a festival given by the young
ladies of a place called _La Côte_, near Quebec, in 1764, it is
promised in the programme that "the orchestra and symphony will be
composed of instruments of all kinds." It may interest some ladies to
know that among the dances at the same entertainment are mentioned
'l'Harlequinade,' 'La Chinoise,' and 'La Matelote Hollandaise'--some
relation, perhaps, to the 'Sailor's Hornpipe.'
"The settlement in Canada of the United Empire Loyalists, after the
peace of September, 1783, by which the independence of the revolted
colonies was recognized, must have had a considerable influence on
Canadian society, and more than atoned for sufferings inflicted on the
colony during the progress of the war. Repeated efforts had been made
by the Americans to engage the affections of the Canadians. Among
those whom Congress had appointed commissioners to treat with the
Canadian people on this subject was the renowned Dr. Benjamin
Franklin, whose visit to this country was not the most successful
portion of his career. Although in some instances there was a
manifestation of disaffection to the British Government, the great
bulk of the population remained unmistakably loyal. In the Quebec
_Gazette_ of October 23rd, 1783, is found the Act of Parliament
passed in favour of the Loyalists, in which the 25th day of March,
1784, is fixed as the limit of the period during which claims for
relief or compensation for the loss of property should be received.
How many availed themselves of the provisions of this act it is not
easy to say, but the whole number of persons dispossessed of their
estates and forced to seek another home in consequence of their
continued allegiance, is set down at from 25,000 to 30,000. Of these,
the great majority took up their abodes in the Canadas, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia, while a few went to the West Indies, and others
returned to England. The biographies of some of these Loyalist
settlers in British North America would be full of interest and
instruction. But records of family movements and vicissitudes are very
rarely kept--most rarely in those cases in which adventures are most
frequent and the course of events most changeful. I have, however,
seen accounts of the early settlements in the Eastern Townships, P.
Q., and in different portions of Ontario, which were full of the
romance of faith, of courage, and of perseverance."
THE ST. LOUIS HOTEL
A sketch of this fashionable thoroughfare--St. Louis street--the
headquarters of the judiciary, barristers, politicians, etc., would be
incomplete without a mention of the chief trysting-place of travellers and
tourists for the last thirty years--the leading hostelry of Quebec. St.
Louis Hotel is made up of two or more private dwellings joined together.
That on the corner of Haldimand and St. Louis streets formerly was owned
as a residence by the late Edward Burroughs, Esq., P. S. C. Next to it
stood, in 1837, Schluep's Hotel--the Globe Hotel--kept by a German, and
where the military swells in 1837-8-9 and our jolly curlers used to have
_recherché_ dinners or their frugal "beef and greens" and fixings. In
1848, Mr. Burroughs' house was rented to one Robert Bambrick, who
subsequently opened a second-class hotel at the corner of Ste. Anne and
Garden streets, on the spot on which the Queen's printer, the late Mr.
George Desbarats, built a stately office for the printing of the _Canada
Gazette_--subsequently sold on the removal of the Government to Ottawa
--now the Russell House. The _Globe_ Hotel belonged to the late B. C.
A. Gugy, Esq. It was purchased by the late Messrs Lelièvre & Angers,
barristers, connected with two or three adjacent tenements, and rented,
about 1852, to Messrs. Azro and Willis Russell (represented now by the
Russell Hotel Company) for the St. Louis Hotel. Connected by a door
through the wall with the Music Hall, it is a notable landmark in St.
Louis street and an object of considerable interest to city cabmen as
well, during the season of tourists. Its dining saloon, on the second
flow, has witnessed many bountiful repasts, to celebrate social, military,
political or literary events, none better remembered than that of the 17th
of November, 1880, when the _élite_ of Quebec crowded in unusual numbers--
about one hundred and eighty citizens, English and French--to do honour,
by a public banquet, to the laureate of the French Academy, M. Louis
Honoré Fréchette, [30] to celebrate his receiving in August last, in
Paris, from the _Académie Française_, the unprecedented distinction, for a
colonist, of the _Grand Prix Monthyon_ (2,000 livres) for the excellence
of his poetry.
Subjoined will be found the names of some of those present, also, extracts
from a few of the addresses delivered. We regret much that want of space
precludes us from adding more of the eloquent speeches delivered, because
they throw light for English readers on the high degree of culture French
literature has attained at Quebec. All, we are sure, will rejoice with us
that, for the cause of letters, M. Fréchette was timely rescued from the
quagmire of political warfare and hustings promises.
_THE FRÉCHETTE DINNER, NOVEMBER 17, 1880._
"Mr. L. H. Fréchette, the laureate of the French Academy, was last
night the recipient of marks of honor and esteem, in the shape of a
magnificent banquet given him at the St. Louis Hotel, by the citizens
of Quebec and vicinity. The tables were laid in the large dining hall
of the St. Louis Hotel, which was handsomely decorated for the
occasion. The walls were partially covered with French and English
flags, and wreaths of evergreen surrounded all the windows. Behind the
Chairman, on a bracket, was an excellent bust of the Canadian poet,
having on either side paintings of scenes in Mr. Fréchette's drama,
'Papineau,' by Mr. E. W. Sewell, Levis.
"Over 125 gentlemen sat down to the banquet, amongs-whom we noticed--
The Honorable Judge Henri T. Taschereau, M. Lefaivre, Consul of
France, Count de Premio-Real, Consul-General of Spain, the Baron
Bols, Consul-General of Belgium, Major Wasson, Consul of the United
States, M. Thors, Hon. W. Laurier, Hon. I. Thibaudeau, Hon. C. A. P.
Pelletier, C.M.G. Hon. D. A. Ross, M.P.P., Achille Larue, N.P.,
Charles Langelier, M.P.P., Hon. H. G. Joly, M.P.P., Hon. F. Langelier,
M.P.P., Hon. Arthur Turcotte, Speaker of the Assembly, Dr. Rinfret,
M.P.P, P. B. Casgrain, N.P., James Dunbar, Esq., Q.C., Nazaire
Turcotte, Dr. Colin Sewell, Oscar Dunn, C. Antil, B. Bédard, G. T.
Davie, G. Paré, Henri Delagrave, W. E. Brunet, E. W Sewell, F. X.
Lemieux, Faucher de St. Maurice, F. M. Dechêne, G. E. T. Rinfret, O.
L. Richardson, Louis Bilodeau, Oscar Lanctôt, N. Levasseur, George
Stewart, jr., Edward Thomas, D. Chambers, F. G. Gautier, Paul de
Cazes, R. J. Bradley, D. J. Montambault, T. Godfroy Papineau, N.P.,
Montreal, De La Broquerie Taché, C. Massiah, James M. LeMoine,
President Literary and Historical Society, W. J. Wyatt, Alphonse
Pouliot, Dr. L. LaRue, Colonel Rhodes, Dr. Pourtier, C. Duquet, V.
Bélanger, Charles Langlois, W. C. Languedoc, Alfred White, Peter
McEwan, George Henry Powell, A. P. Beaulieu, Alfred Lemieux, Elie
Lachance, Richard L. Suffur, Lieut.-Col. Turnbull, H. M. Price, R. St.
B. Young, G. R. White, Captain Gzowski, J. U. Laird, Chariot,
Fitzpatrick, E. Swindell, E. J. Hale, Cecil Fraser, Aug. Stuart, C. V.
M. Temple, Timolaus Beaulieu, C. S. Beaulieu, N. Laforce, George
Bouchard, L. N. Carrier, J. B. Michaud, Dr. Lamontagne. Dr. Collet,
Arthur Lavigne, P. Boutin, M.P.P., F. Fortier, G. Bresse, J. S. C.
Wurtele, M.P.P., P. E. Godbout, Paul Dumas, Lieutenant Drury, Captain
Wilson, H. G. Sheppard, J. B. Charleson, Dr. Hubert LaRue, H. J. J. B.
Chouinard, Président de l'Institut Canadien, H. J. Beemer, J. L.
Renaud, E. W. Méthot, E. C. E. Gauthier, O. Leger, J. E. Pouliot, D.
R. Barry, L. P. Lemay, Jacques Auger, Ernest Pacaud, J. Allaire, M.P.,
T. G. Tremblay, M.P., J. J. Gahan, Joseph Blondeau, Thomas Potvin, J.
B. Z. Dubeau, Frs. Bertrand, J. C. Hamel, Emile Jacot, John Buchanan,
Antoine Carrier, William Breakey.
"The Chair was occupied by Hon. Judge H. T. Taschereau, having on his
right the guest of the evening, L. H. Fréchette, the Count Premio-
Real, Hon. C. A. P. Pelletier, Mr. Wasson, Hon. F. Langelier, M. Thors
of Paris, &c., and on his left the Consul-General for France, Hon. Mr.
Laurier, Mr. Bols, Hon. D. Ross, &c.
"The banquet was given in the well-known excellent style of the
Russell Hotel Company, which never leaves anything to be desired.
After full justice had been done the good things provided for the
occasion, silence was obtained, when the following resolution,
presented to Mr. Fréchette by the Literary and Historical Society of
Quebec, was read by the Secretary, Mr. Delagrave:--
"At a monthly general meeting of the Literary and Historical Society,
held on the 13th October last:
"It was proposed by Commander Ashe, R.N., seconded by R. McLeod, Esq.,
"That the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec has witnessed with
the highest satisfaction the literary honours conferred in August
last, by the _Académie Française_, on Monsieur Louis Honoré Fréchette,
for the poetical excellence of his two poems, 'Les Fleurs Boréales'
and 'Les Oiseaux de Neige.'
"That the Academical crown, encircling the brow of a Canadian poet,
ought to be as much prised by Canada as it must be dear to its gifted
son, the Laureate of the French Academy.
"That such a signal distinction conferred by the highest literary
tribunal, whilst it exhibits in such a favourable light the
intellectual vigour of the Province of Quebec, cannot be otherwise
than a subject of legitimate pride to the Dominion of Canada.
"That the President and Secretary of this Society be charged with the
pleasant duty of conveying to Monsieur L. H. Fréchette the expression
of the sentiments of admiration with which it views his literary
success.
(Signed,) J. M. LEMOINE, President
ALEX. ROBERTSON, Secretary
_Quebec_, 13th October, 1880.
"The usual loyal toasts--the Queen and Governor-General--were given
by the Chairman, and enthusiastically honoured.
"The Chairman then proposed "France," the toast being received with
the usual honours and responded to by M. Lefaivre, the Consul-General
for France.
"M. Lefaivre made an interesting speech, alluding to the past and
present of France, to the communication between the France of the Old
World and the _Nouvelle France_ of this Western hemisphere, dwelling
upon the honours achieved by the guest of the evening in Paris, and
contending that literature was the soul of a nation.
"The Chairman, Hon. Mr. Justice H. Taschereau, then rose to propose
the toast of the evening, being received with loud and prolonged
cheering. He said,--
"GENTLEMEN,--I have now the honour to propose the toast of the
evening--the health of our distinguished fellow-countryman, our guest,
Louis Honoré Fréchette, the poet of Canada, crowned by the Academy of
France. You have heard, gentlemen, the loud hurrah of all Canada in
honour of one of her children, and here, perhaps, I might cease
speaking. Nothing that I might say could increase the glad strength of
the general voice of the country, when the news arrived here that the
grand arena of literature, the French Academy, an institution whose
life is counted by centuries, and which is without equal in the world,
that great interpreter and infallible judge of the difficulties, the
beauties and the genius of the French language, had given one of its
annual prizes, and perhaps the finest of all--the prize of poetry--to
one of our countrymen. I could never fittingly express or depict the
sentiments of pride and joy felt by all lovers of literature in this
country--I may add of all good Canadians--when the news came from
beyond the ocean, from that sacred France, mother of civilization;
from fairy Paris, capital of the Muses, that Mr. Fréchette had been
crowned! But, as Chairman of this happy reunion, at the risk of but
faintly re-echoing the general sentiment, I must at least try to
express my feelings in proposing this toast. The emotions which I feel
are of a dual nature, that of friendship and of patriotism, and, as
friendship is nearer to the heart, so I gave that feeling the first
place. The speaker here referred to his collegiate days in the
Seminary of Quebec, where he met Mr. Fréchette, and in preparing
himself for the battle of life, had won the friendship of the Canadian
poet. He alluded to Mr. Fréchette's first efforts in verse, and had
judged his early attempts, and in referring to his (the Judge's) own
literary works at the time, the speaker said that the line of Boileau
might be applied to him,
"'Pour lui, Phoebus est sourd et Pégase est rétif.'
"At that time, Mr. Fréchette had not reached the heights of Helicon,
nor attained the regions wherein the 'Boreal Flowers' are gathered and
the 'Snow Birds' fly, but the little flowers he gathered in more
modest fields had around them the perfume of genuine poetry, and the
emerald, ruby and topaz of art already shone in the dainty plumage of
his summer birds. Mr. Fréchette published in a small journal in
manuscript, called _L'Echo_, of which Judge Taschereau was then
editor in the Seminary, the first efforts of his muse. This souvenir
of the past is now very precious to me, said the speaker, because it
enables me to state that I was the first editor of our poet's works.
Judge Taschereau further alluded to the time when, with Mr. Fréchette,
he studied law, that dry study, and though the poet was thus devoted
to the goddess Themis, he nevertheless found time to worship at the
shrine of song. How could the poet do otherwise? His fame had already
gone abroad. The journals of the country were already publishing his
sonnets, odes and songs. His acrostics were sought after to grace the
albums of fair ladies. Even the volunteers of Canada asked him for
war-songs, which are happily more frequently heard in drawing-rooms
than in camps. The young student did not possess himself. He was
already the property of the country, and the Institutes of Justinian
were put aside for the more pleasing task of framing idyllic pictures
of poetic genius. In fact, Crémazie was almost forgotten, and the name
of Fréchette was on every tongue. Mr. Taschereau tried to reclaim the
poet to his legal duties, and give him the place of Mr. Faucher de St.
Maurice in his office. Mr. Fréchette accepted the sinecure, but no
sooner had he done so than Mr. Faucher returned, anxious, no doubt,
for good and congenial company. Judge of my happiness, with Fréchette
and Faucher in my office, and I their humble patron. I thought I would
succeed in converting my friends, but in this I failed, for they led
me on their own paths until I myself began to versify, and, instead of
reading Pothier, read 'proofs' of verses. As it is, Mr. Fréchette did
become a lawyer; but Mr. Faucher abandoned the pursuit--he retired
from my office, lost forever to Themis, but safe to the cause of
literature. The departure of my young friends saved me. I could never
expect to win the applause of the French Academy, and thus, as I am
enabled to preside at this banquet, I may be permitted to offer our
guest a bouquet of friendship's flowers, gathered during twenty-five
years, and I feel that its perfume will be agreeable to my
distinguished friend. The life of Mr. Fréchette is written in the
poetry and literature of this country. He has marched steadily onward
from the day on which he wrote his _Loisirs_, until the grand
moment when he stood the crowned victor in the Academy of France. We
have known our guest as a lawyer, journalist and member of Parliament,
and have always admired his wonderful faculties, ever ready as he was
to promote the welfare of his friends. His large heart contributed to
pave the way to success, for, undoubted though his talents are, his
winning manners won for him an ever-growing popularity, and we may
affirm that, if he had traducers, he had, on the other hand, a host of
friends. Traducers always follow the wake of a literary man, and they
resemble the creeping things which we suffer in our gardens, because
their existence can lead to no effectual harm. I may have occupied
your time at too great length in treating of Mr. Fréchette as a
friend. Allow me now, however, for a few moments, to speak of his
success from a patriotic point of view. As French-Canadians, we are
proud of our Laureate, and happy to see him in our midst this evening.
In crowning our distinguished poet, the French Academy has given a
splendid recognition to Canadian literature in the great Republic of
Letters. Our Laureate is a French-Canadian, but our fellow-citizens of
British origin have joined with us in this manifestation of our joy,
and through their press, as at such gatherings as this, they have
spontaneously recognized his talent, thus showing their spirit of
justice and their enlightened patriotism. Party politics have ceased
their discordant cries to join unanimously in honoring our Laureate,
and this is a spectacle of consolation to the country. No commentary
is required on this expression of our joy. It is, in itself, the most
eloquent of proofs that the citizens of Quebec, as well as those of
Montreal, in giving this festival to Mr. Fréchette, have invited all
Canadians, in the largest acceptation of the word, to do him honour.
In concluding, as I know you are anxious to hear him address you this
evening, permit me to make a comparison. One of the most distinguished
of modern poets, Alfred de Musset, said in a moment of despair:--
"J'ai perdu ma force, et ma vie,
Et mes amis, et ma gaîté:
J'ai perdu jusqu'à la fierté
Qui faisait croire à mon génie."
"'I have lost my strength and my life, my friends and my gayety,
almost my very pride, which made me believe in my genius.' We may say
to Mr. Fréchette, as an offset to this cry of despair from one of his
elder poetic brethren: 'Courage! You have strength and life! More
friends than ever! An enthusiasm of gayety which is fathomless! March
on and sing! We are proud of you, and we believe in your genius,
crowned, as it is, by the highest literary tribunal in the world--that
of the Forty Immortals!' (Cheers.)
"The utmost enthusiasm pervaded those present, and when the poet
laureate rose to reply, he was greeted with loud applause, which
continued for several minutes. Mr. Fréchette said:--
"MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN,--For some time past I have abstained from
public speaking, and there are those amongst my best friends who tell
me that I have done well. To-day Montreal [31] and Quebec seem to have
conspired against me, to oblige me to make two speeches on the same
subject. This, though flattering to me, is hardly fair. If, having
pleaded in one sense, I were asked to take the opposite ground, it
might appear that such would not embarrass a lawyer, and one who has
also been a politician, but in my present position I am called upon to
treat the same question twice, and absolutely in the same sense. How
can I discover something new to advance. Naturally, I felt embarrassed
at the outset, but, at any risk, my duty is to respond to your
flattering call, and thus to best avenge myself upon this conspiracy
of my friends. It will not be surprising if I affirm that the occasion
of this reunion has for me a character of especial solemnity. Seated
at this festive board, I see the representatives of different nations,
who, in private capacities also, have won general respect. I see,
also, my fellow-citizens of Quebec and of Levis, my native town--the
schoolmates of my earliest days--_confrères_ in professional
life and in the walks of literature--comrades of past political
struggles--friends, ever indulgent and generous--political leaders of
whom I have always been proud, and gentlemen of various origins,
divergent opinions and different religious beliefs, all tendering me
their warmest congratulations upon the success I have achieved in the
literary world. No words of mine are adequate to express my feelings,
not can I sufficiently thank you all for this spontaneous and
sympathetic demonstration in honour of one who regrets that he is not
more worthy of your favour. I can only accept your evidences of
friendship with cordial emotion, thank you from the depth of my heart
and bear with me from this hall a proud memory which will unite with
the remembrances of my youth, all of which are so intimately
identified with the hospitable people of Quebec, and, in so declaring,
I am but assuring you that this remembrance will ever attend upon me.
The past vouches for this; for when my tent of exile shook in the
winds from off the great Western lakes, or slept on the bowery shores
of Louisianian streams; when my traveller's skiff was rocked on the
waters of the Southern gulfs, or was reflected on the blue waves of
the Loire; when I had before me the wild majesty of Niagara, the
immensity of the ocean, or when, filled with admiration, I paused to
gaze upon the stupendous monuments of the Old World, my thoughts ever
instinctively flew back to the good old city of Champlain,
unparalleled in the world for the picturesque splendor of its site,
and the poetry which no less issues from the very stones of its
fortress, than it lingers upon every page of its history. Yes! Old
Quebec! In all places I have cherished with devotion every memory of
you, for within your walls my heart first opened to the noble teaching
of intellect! It is your lofty embrasures--your flag, bravely floating
in the skies--your abrupt rock, your stretches of ramparts, your
brilliant steeples, reflecting their beauty on the bosom of the St.
Lawrence, mingled with the sails of your cosmopolitan navies; which,
for the first time, awoke the poetic enthusiasm in my breast. Long ago
I first saw these scenes from the window of an humble cottage of
Levis, half-hidden in a screen of foliage; and in my youngest days,
ere I knew the method or formation of a verse, I felt the fluttering
against the cage of my heart of that golden bird, whose sonorous voice
is styled Poetry. In fact, gentlemen, I was carried towards a literary
career from the very outset, and in this connection you will permit me
to relate a little anecdote. You will pardon me if I appear
egotistical, but your cordial reception warrants me in looking for
your indulgence. I had learned to read in a book full of reveries and
sentiment, entitled 'Letters or the poet Gilbert to his sister.' Of
course I understood but little of it, yet it made a deep impression on
my imagination. One day my father, an honest man and good citizen, if
there were ever any such, but who had nothing in common with the
Muses, asked my brother and I what professions we would adopt when we
grew big. 'For me,' replied my happy-hearted brother Edmond, 'I will
be a carter,' and 'I will be a poet,' I immediately added. I still
remember my father's smile of affectionate pity when he heard these
unexpected declarations from the hopes of his declining years. "My
poor children," said he, with a resigned air, "these two occupations
will never lead you to wealth and fortune." Later I understood the
wise reflection of my father, but no one carves out his own destiny
and he must submit to fate. I have vainly tried other careers but
finally was obliged to return to this dream of my infancy. As the poet
says,
"Drive away the natural, and it returns at full speed."
Yes, dear old City of Quebec, so old and so glorious, so beautiful in
your _ensemble_ and so characteristic in your details, so cordial
and so hospitable, in presence of your noblest children assembled here
to welcome me, within your old walls, let me give this testimony, that
if I have had the happiness of causing the Canadian name to be heard
in the immortal shrine of French literature it is to you I owe it, and
to you is my gratitude offered. For I must tell you, gentlemen, that I
loved Quebec too much, at the distance, not to hasten across the
river, when the bird felt that his wings were strong enough to fly. At
that time the greatest of the poets of Quebec, Octave Crémazie, sang
the glories of our ancestors and the brave deeds of old France. His
energetic and inspired voice excited youthful emulation. A group of
budding writers surrounded him, but each one felt timid and hesitated
to tune his notes amongst the loud echoes of his vigorous patriotism.
Alas! the star fled from our skies, another generation of enthusiastic
poets and writers disputed the honour of seizing the lyre, so heavy
for their fingers, which had been left on the rock of Quebec, by the
author of the Flag of Carillon. O! my old comrades, do you think as
frequently as do I, of those old days, when with hearts full of poetic
illusions, we united our talents, our hopes and I might add our
poverty, to establish that spiritual association in which the
beautiful was idolized, seekers as we were after the ideal, dealers in
mental _bijouterie_, despised at first by some, but which
succeeded more than once in directing the attention of literary France
to our shores? Do you, at times, remember our joyful meetings, our
interminable readings, our long hours of continued study and waking
reveries in common--do you yet remember the bewildering evenings in
which the glass of Henri Murger mingled its sonorous tinklings, bright
and merry, to the love-song of our flowery youth? We were all rivals,
but
"Our hearts, as our lute, vibrated as one,"
and God knows that this rivalry never severed the bonds of affection
which united us, and so was founded what has since been styled the
Mutual Admiration Society. Mutual Admiration Society! If we were to
consider the number of books, dress-coats, gloves and other articles
of more intimate character that were exchanged between us, it might
more safely have been called the Society for Mutual Support. At all
events, from the spectacle before me this evening I gather that this
Society of Mutual Admiration, if admiration it must be termed, has
taken a singular development since I had the honour of assisting so
frequently at its meetings, and there is nothing surprising in this,
since one of the most distinguished of the founders of this society,
Mr. Faucher de St. Maurice, informed me the other day that the society
in question was about to annex the French Academy. (Laughter.) But to
be serious, allow me to recount another anecdote. There was a time,
gentlemen, when our Mutual Admiration was far from being so ambitious
as to dream of having a _succursale_ under the rotunda of the
French Institute. But if our productions were meagre, our revenues
were still more so, and famine often reigned in the chests of the
confraternity. However we had our own days of abundance when there was
corn in Egypt. The first Quebecer who understood that poetry, unlike
perpetual motion, could not feed itself, was a brewer, whose memory is
now legendary and who was known by the harmonious name of McCallum.
Arthur Casgrain, who in a couple of years afterwards we sorrowfully
bore to the cemetery, had thought of composing an Epic on the Grand
Trunk. This was called "La grande Tronciade!" Well in one of the
twelve parts of this production, so very original, there were three
remarkable lines.
"Buvons, buvons, amis, de ce bon maccallome,
Venant directement du brasseur qu'il dénome!
C'est ça qui vous retape et vous refait un homme?"
The effect was magical. The heart of the brewer was touched. A long
waggon on which we could read the eloquent words "pale ale and porter"
stopped next day before our door. For twenty minutes a man with
burthened step climbed the Jacob's ladder which led to the poet's
attic, and one hundred and forty-four bottles of inviting appearance
ranged themselves around the chamber. I cannot picture the joy of the
happy recipient. In his enthusiasm he offered me a community in his
good fortune--of course under a pledge of inviolable secrecy. But as I
felt the imperious necessity of communicating my emotions I was as
wanting in discretion as he had been, and that evening all the
Bohemians, students and literary friends even to the remotest degree
followed in the wake of McCallum's bottles, and invaded the attic
chamber of poor Arthur (your good-natured cousin, Mr. President.)
There we had French, English, Latin and Greek speeches in prose and in
verse. Arsène Michaud has even prepared a story for the occasion. In
brief, the hecatomb was made; the libation was Olympic, the twelve
dozen disappeared and on the morrow poor Casgrain showed me with a sad
face the Homeric remains of his one day's wealth, and in a lamentable
tone of despair he exclaimed: "I will have to write another poem."
Gentlemen, that was the first time in Canada that poetry made a return
to its author, and in tasting these delicate viands which the
hospitable city of Quebec now offers to one of those early Bohemians
in recognition of his literary success, I could not fail to recollect
with emotion this amusing circumstance now enveloped, with other
scenes of youth, sometimes glad--sometimes sorrowful, in the shadowy
robe of past recollections. Another story just suggests itself to my
mind. Lusignan and I occupied the attic of an old house in Palace
street. Our room was heated by a stove-pipe, which reached from the
lower apartments. One day I had published in _Le Canadien_--_Tempora
Mutantur_--a little poem in which was the following line:
"Shivering in my attic poor."
The next day a surprise awaited us. A dumb stove had replaced the mere
stove-pipe, and while holding our sides from laughter we heard this
speech: "Gentlemen, we are very indulgent, considering your noisy
meetings--we are not very particular when rent-day arrives--and if you
_so shivered_ in your room, it would have been better to have
said so privately, than to have complained of it in the newspapers."
(Laughter.) Poor Mrs. Tessier, our landlady--she was not well
acquainted with figures of speech, but she has been the Providence of
many of the destitute, and more than one who hears me now can say as I
do, that no better or more obliging heart ever beat in a more pitiful
bosom towards purseless youth. And who knows, it is perhaps due to
this sympathetic feeling of its population towards literary men and
writers that this city of Quebec has seen such an array of talent
within her bosom, such a succession of Pleiades of distinguished
litterateurs, who have glorified her name and that of their country.
For the last fifty years, men eminent in all branches of literature
have made a gorgeous and resplendent aureole around the city of
Quebec. In the generation immediately preceding us, we see Petitclerc,
Parent, Soulard, Chauveau, Garneau, L'Ecuyer, Ferland, Barthe and Réal
Angers, these grand pioneers of intellect, who in history, poetry,
drama and romance, made such a wide opening for the generation which
followed them. Then we have l'Abbé Laverdière, l'Abbé Casgrain,
LeMoine, Fiset, Taché, Plamondon, LaRue, and the first among all
Octave Crémazie, who coming at different times bravely and constantly
continued the labours of their predecessors, until we reach the
brilliant phalanx of contemporary writers, Lemay, Fabre, l'Abbé Begin,
Routhier, Oscar Dunn, Faucher de St. Maurice, Buies, Marmette and
Legendre, all charged with the glorious task of preserving for Quebec
her legitimate title of the Athens of Canada. And how could it be
otherwise? Is not Quebec the cradle of our nationality--the spot
whereon is engraved the most illustrious pages of our history--heroic
annals, touching souvenirs, all combining with the marvels of nature
to speak here the soul of the historian and of the poet. What a
flourishing field for the historian and poet is not the tale of that
handful of Breton heroes, who, three centuries ago, planted on the
rock of Quebec the flag of Christianity and civilization! What
innumerable sources of inspiration can we not find in our majestic
river, our gigantic lakes, our grand cascades, our lofty mountains,
our impenetrable forests and in all that grand and wild nature, which
will ever be the characteristic feature of our dear Canada. Oh! our
history, gentlemen! Oh, the picturesque beauties of our country! Two
marvellous veins--two mines of precious material open at our feet. The
European writers are ever striving to discover something fresh. Having
exhausted all kinds of themes, they are now stooping to the dust to
find an originality which seems to fly from them. Well, this
freshness, this originality, so courted and so rare now-a-days, may be
found within our grasp,--it is there in our historical archives--in
our patriarchal customs--in the many characters of a people young and
thirsting for independence--a robust and healthy poetry, floats on our
breezes--breathes in our popular songs--sings in the echoes of our
wild forests, and opens graceful and proud her white wings to the
winds of the free aspirations of the new world. To us this virgin
field belongs, gentlemen! Take from Europe her form and experience,
but leave to her, her old Muses. Let us be true to ourselves! Be
Canadians and the future is ours. "That which strikes us most in your
poems" said a member of the French Academy to me, "is that the modern
style, the Parisian style of your verses is united to something
strange, so particular and singular--it seems an exotic, disengaged
from the entire." This perfume of originality which this writer
discovered in my writings was then unknown to myself. What was it? It
was the secret of their nationality,--the certificate of their origin,
their Canadian stamp! And it is important for us, gentlemen, never to
allow this character to disappear. Let our young writers stamp it
broadly on their pages and then advance to their task, they need no
longer fear the thorns on the way. The path is wide open and millions
of readers await their efforts. To the work then; France offers us her
hand, and now that we have renewed the bonds between us and our
illustrious and well-beloved mother country--bonds broken by the
vicissitudes which occur in the life of peoples, we shall be enabled
once more to prove the great truth enunciated by Bulwer Lytton in
"_Richelieu_," that
"The pen is mightier than the sword."
The Chairman called upon Hon. Wilfred Laurier to propose the next
toast.
Hon. Mr. Laurier, on being called on to propose the toast of the
Academy of France, was loudly cheered on rising, and the enthusiasm
became the greater as he advanced, showing the many claims the great
French tribunal of letters had upon the attention of the learned word.
He spoke of the old ties which bound France and Canada, and alluded to
the argument of Doucet, the French Academician, in favour of the
admission of Fréchette to the French _concours_, viz., that when
France was in the throes of agony, the voice of French Canada spoke
out its loud attachment to the cause of the ancient mother country. In
such action was the forgotten daughter restored to its sorrowing
mother. The hon. gentleman then in language of forcible eloquence
referred to the pleasure shown by English-Canadians at the success of
Mr. Fréchette, and concluded a highly intellectual and eloquent
speech, amidst the reiterated cheers of the whole assemblage.
The Chairman then proposed the toast of English and French literature.
Mr. George Stewart, jr., who on rising was greeted with cheers,
said:--