_MODERN QUEBEC_.
"I can re-people with the Past; and of
The Present there is still, for eye and thought
And meditation, chasten'd down, enough."
--(CHILDE HAROLD.)
Quebec, with the limitations set forth elsewhere, under the English
regime, was governed by Justices of the Peace, who sat in special
sessions, under authority of Acts of the Provincial Legislature, until
1833. In 1832 the city was incorporated (1 William IV., chap. 52,), Its
first Mayor, elected in 1833, was a barrister of note, Elzéar Bédard,
Esq., subsequently Mr. Justice Elzéar J.S.C. The amended Act of
Incorporation of the City of Quebec, the 29th Vic., cap. 57, sanctioned on
the 18th September, 1865, thus defines the limits of the city, the number
and limits of the wards:--"The City of Quebec, for all municipal purposes,
comprises the whole extent of land within the limits assigned to the said
city by a certain proclamation of His Excellency Sir Alured Clarke,
bearing date the 7th May, 1792, and in addition all land extending to low
water mark of the River St. Lawrence, in front of the said city, including
the shore of the River St Charles, opposite the city, as limited by high
water mark on the north side of the said river, from, the prolongation of
the west line of St. Ours street to the west line of the farm of the Nuns
of the Hôtel Dieu; thence running southwards along the said line, about
550 feet, to the southern extremity of a pier erected on the said farm, at
low water mark; thence running due east, about 800 feet, to the
intersection of the line limiting the beach grants of the Seigniory of
Notre Dame des Anges, at low water; and finally, thence along the said
beach line, running north 40 degrees east, to the intersection of the
prolongation of the line of the Commissioners for the Harbour of Quebec,
and thence following the said Commissioners' line to the westerly line of
the city. The said city also comprises all wharves, piers and other
erections made or to be made in the said River St. Lawrence, opposite to
or adjoining the said city, though extending beyond the low water mark of
the said river, and being within the said Commissioners' line, and even
beyond the same, should it be hereafter extended or reduced.
_BOUNDARIES OF THE WARDS._
"The said city is divided into eight wards, to wit: St. Louis Ward, Palace
Ward, St. Peter's Ward, Champlain Ward, St. Roch's Ward, Jacques Cartier
Ward, St. John's Ward and Montcalm Ward.
1st. St. Louis Ward comprises all that part of the Upper Town within the
fortifications, and south of a line drawn from Prescott Gate to St John's
Gate, along the middle of Mountain street, Buade street, Fabrique street,
and St. John street.
2nd. Palace Ward comprises all that part of the Upper Town within the
fortifications, and not included in St. Louis Ward. 3rd. St. Peter's Ward
comprises all that part of the Lower Town bounded on the south by a line
drawn in the middle of Sous-le-Fort street, and prolonged in the same
direction to low water mark in the River St. Lawrence at the one end, and
to the cliff below the Castle of St. Louis at the other, and on the west
by the eastern limits of the Parish of St. Roch, together with all the
wharves, piers and other erections, opposite to this part of the Lower
Town, although built beyond low water mark in the said river.
4th. Champlain Ward comprises all that part of the Lower Town lying
between St. Peter's Ward and the limits of the said city, together with
all wharves, piers and other erections, opposite thereto, although built
beyond the low water mark in the said river.
5th. St. Roch's Ward comprises all that part of the Parish of St. Roch
which lies within the limits of the said City of Quebec, on the north-west
side of a line drawn in the middle of St. Joseph street, from one end to
the other.
6th. Jacques Cartier Ward comprises all that part of the Parish of St.
Roch which lies within the limits of the said City of Quebec, not
comprised in St. Roch's Ward.
7th. St John's Ward comprises all that space bounded by Jacques Cartier
Ward, the fortifications, the limits of the said city on the west, and a
line drawn in the middle of St. John street from St. John's Gate to the
western limits of the city.
8th. Montcalm Ward comprises all that space bounded by the fortifications
on the east, and on the west by the city limits, on the north by St John's
Ward, and on the south by the _cime du cap_ of the St. Lawrence.
The city is administered by a Mayor, holding office for two years, at a
salary of not more than $1,200, nor less than $600, per annum; and by
eight Aldermen and sixteen Councillors, returned by the eight wards,--
elected to serve gratuitously three years by the duly qualified electors
of each ward: no one is eligible as Mayor, Aldermen or Councillor unless
he be a British subject, by birth or naturalization, and of the full age
of twenty-one years, and owning within the city limits real estate, free
from encumbrance, of the value of $2,000. Quebec contains ten small
_Fiefs_ or Domaines. The _Fief_ Sault-au-Matelot belongs to the Seminary.
The Ursuline Nuns, the R. C. Church (_La Fabrique_), the Heirs LaRue, the
Hôtel-Dieu Nuns, the Récollet Friars, each had his _Fief_. The _Fief de la
Miséricorde_ (Mercy) belongs to the Hôtel-Dieu. The Heirs LaRue own the
_Fief de Bécancour_ and that of _de Villeraie_; there is also the _Fief
Tasseville_. The _Fief_ of the Récollets--or Franciscan Friars--the order
being extinct, reverted to the Crown.
_WAR DEPARTMENT PROPERTY IN QUEBEC CITY AND DISTRICT._
_As per Schedule, Consolidated Statutes of Canada (22 Vict.) Cap. 36._
_LOCAL NAME OF THE PROPERTY AND ORIGIN OF THE TITLE._
Exercising Ground, Plains of Abraham--Leasehold from the Ursuline
Nuns, 99 years from 1st May, 1802.
No. 3 Tower Field, N. W. of the Grande Allée, Plains of Abraham--
Leasehold from the Nuns of the Hôtel-Dieu, 99 years from 1st May, 1790;
space covered by the tower is freehold.
No. 4 Tower Field, N. W. of St. John's Road--Leasehold from the Nuns
of the Hôtel-Dieu; 99 years from 1st May, 1790; including a freehold
strip of 0_a_. 1_r_. 0-1/2_p_.
Land surrounding Nos. 1 and 2, Towers, S. E. side of the Grande Allée
Plains of Abraham--Acquired by purchase from the Ursuline Nuns, 15th
June, 1811, Joseph Plante, N. P., Quebec.
Land S. E. of the Grande Allée to the Cime du Cap and between Nos. 1
and 2, Towers property, and counterscarp of the Citadel and works
adjacent--The greater part acquired by purchase from individuals, and
partly by conquest, of the old French Works, &c., an annual ground
rent of £1 17s. 0d., is payable on part of this land to the Fief de
Villeray.
The Esplanade, Town Works--Glacis, Cricket Field, ditches, ravelin,
&c., in front, lying between St. Louis and St. John's Gates--Acquired
partly by conquest and partly by purchase from various individuals
(Cricket Field, 5_a_. 3_r_. 22_p_.)
Citadel--Glacis and Town Works, as far as St. Louis Gate, Engineer
Yard, &c.--Chiefly by right of conquest and military appropriation.
Town Works, Artillery Barracks, Glacis, &c., between St. John's Gate,
Palace Gate and St. Valier street--Chiefly by conquest and military
appropriation. Lots in St. Vallier street, purchased in 1846-7.
Mount Carmel, a commanding eminence, and site of the Windmill Redoubt
or Cavalier, formerly a portion of the defenses of Quebec.--Acquired
by purchase, 25th Nov, 1780. J. Plinguet, N.P.
Officers' Barracks, Garrison Hospital, &c., fronting on St. Louis
street, and in rear by St. Geneviève street.--Acquired by purchase,
5th April, 1811.
Commissariat Premises, opposite old Court House, on St. Louis street,
and in rear by Mount Carmel street.--Acquired by purchase, 11th
August, 1815.
Jesuit Barracks, with other buildings and land attached, fronting on
St. Anne street and Upper Town market square.--By right of conquest
and military appropriation, occupied as Infantry Barracks, &c.
The Town Works, along the top of the Cape (Cime du Cap), between the
King's Bastion of the Citadel and Prescott Gate, Mountain Hill,
including site of old Fort St. Louis, Government Garden, &c.--Part of
the Crown Domain by conquest and military appropriation, with small
portions at either end acquired by purchase in 1781, and about 1827-
29.
Near Grand Battery, East end of St. George street. Magazine F., and
Ordnance stores, &c.--By right of conquest and military appropriation.
Magazine E., Hôtel Dieu, on Rampart street, between Palace and Hope
Gates.--Acquired by purchase, 17th June, 1809.
The Defences along the Ramparts between Prescott Gate, Grand Battery,
Hope Gate and Palace Gate (Upper Town).--By right of conquest and
military appropriation (including Rampart street and cliff
underneath).
Inclined Plane Wharf and land to the Cime du Cap (top of the cliff) on
Champlain street, S. E. of the Citadel.--Acquired by purchase, 24th
Sept., 1781, afterwards used in connection with the Citadel.
Queen's Wharf premises, and small lot opposite, on Cul-de-Sac street--
Formerly a part of the defences of Quebec, site of a battery.--
Acquired by right of conquest, &c.
Land at the foot of the cliff in La Canoterie and St. Charles streets,
as a Glacis in front of the Town Works.--Acquired by purchase in 1846-
7, to prevent buildings against the defences.
Commissariat Fuel Yard, &c., on Palace Harbor, St. Roch's.--Part of
the Intendant's Palace property, held by conquest.
_SEIGNIORY OF NEUVILLE COUNTY OF PORTNEUF._
(_Site of Fort Jacques-Cartier._)
A strong defensive position, on the right bank of the River Jacques
Cartier, about 30 miles above Quebec.--Acquired by purchase from the
Seignior, 26th June, 1818.
THE ENVIRONS OF QUEBEC.
_INTRODUCTION._
"Oh give me a home where the maple and pine
Around the wild heights so majestically twine;
Oh give me a home where the blue wave rolls free
From thy bosom, Superior, down to the sea."
"Could you not write the history of 'Our Parish,' and also sketch briefly
our country seats, marking out the spots connected with historical
events?" Thus discoursed one day to us, in her blandest tones, a fair
denizen of Sillery. There was a poser for a _galant homme_; a crusher
for the first _littérateur_ of ... the parish. In vain did we allege
we were not a "Christopher North," but a mere retiring "antiquaire"--a
lover of books, birds, flowers, &c. The innate civility of a Frenchman
elicited from us an unreflective affirmative reply. Thus, compassionate
reader, was entrapped, caught and committed the first _littérateur_
of Sillery--irrevocably handed over to the tender mercies of all the
critics, present and future, in and out of the parish. Oh, my friends,
what a crunching up of literary bones in store! what an ample repast was
thus prepared for all the reviewers--the Jeffreys and LaHarpes--in and out
of the parish, should the luckless _littérateur_ fail to assign fairy
scenery--important historical events--great battles, not only to each
renowned spot, but even to the merest potato-patch, turnip-ground or
cabbage-garden within our corporate limits? Yes, tremble for him.
Joking apart, is there not a formidable difficulty besetting our path--the
insipidity and monotony inseparable from the necessity which will devolve
on us of having constantly to discover new beauties in spots identical in
their main features; and should we, in order to vary the theme, mix up the
humorous with the rural, the historical, or the antiquarian style, may not
fun and humour be mistaken for satire--a complimentary notice for
flattery, above all others, a thing abhorrent to our nature? But 'tis vain
to argue. That fatal "yes" has been uttered, and no true knight goes back
from his plighted word. There being no help, we devoutly commend our case
to St. Columba, St. Joseph, and the archangel St. Michel, the patrons of
our parish, and set to our task, determined to assume a wide margin, draw
heavily on history, and season the whole with short anecdotes and glimpses
of domestic life, calculated to light up the past and present.
O critic, who would fain seek in "Our Parish"--in our homes--great
architectural excellence, we beseech you to pause! for the majority of
them no such pretension is set up. Nowhere, indeed, on our soil are to be
found ivied ruins, dating back to doomsday book, moated castle, or
mediaeval tower. We have no Blenheims, no Walton Halls, nor Chatsworths,
nor Woburn abbeys, nor Arundel castles, to illustrate every style of
architectural beauty, rural embellishment, and landscape. A Dainpierre, a
Rochecotte, a LaGaudinière, may suit old France: they would be lost in New
France. Canadian cottages, the best of them, are not the stately country
homes of
"Old pheasant-lords,
... Partridge-breeders of a thousand years,"
typifying the accumulated wealth of centuries or patrician pride; nor are
they the gay _châteaux_ of _La Belle France_. In the Canada of the past,
we could--in many instances we had to--do without the architect's skill;
nature having been lavish to us in her decorations, art could be dispensed
with. Our country dwellings possess attractions of a higher class, yea, of
a nobler order, than brick and mortar moulded by the genius of man can
impart. A kind Providence has surrounded them in spring, summer and autumn
with scenery often denied to the turreted castle of the proudest nobleman
in Old England. Those around Quebec are more particularly hallowed by
associations destined to remain ever memorable amongst the inhabitants of
the soil.
Some of our larger estates, like Belmont (comprising 450 acres,) date back
more than two centuries, whilst others, though less ancient, retrace
vividly events glorious in the same degree to the two races, who, after
having fought stoutly for the mastery, at last hung out the olive branch
and united long since, willing partners, in the bonds of a common
nationality, neither English nor French, though participating largely of
both, and have linked their destinies together as Canadians. Every
traveller in Canada, from Baron La Hontan, who "preferred the forests of
Canada to the Pyrénées of France," to the Hon. Amelia Murray, Charlevoix,
LaGalissonière, Peter Kalm, Isaac Weld, John Lambert, Heriot, Silliman,
Dickens, Lever, Ampère, Marmier, Rameau, Augustus Sala, have united in
pronouncing our Quebec landscape so wild, so majestic, and withal so
captivating, as to vie in beauty with the most picturesque portions of the
Old or the New World.
Let us first sketch "Our Parish," the home of our forefathers--the home of
our children.
_SILLERY._
Henry IV. of France had for his chancellor, in 1607, Nicholas Brulart de
Sillery, a worthy and distinguished magistrate, who, as state councillor,
ever enjoyed the confidence of his sovereign until death closed his useful
career in 1627, at the ripe age of 80. He was the eldest brother: his
father had also for years basked in the smiles of good King Henry IV. for
his unwavering adherence to his fortunes. To this eminent lawyer and
statesman was born a patriarchal family of sons and daughters. The
youngest of his sons, Noël Brulart de Sillery, [169] having brilliantly
completed his studies at Paris in the classics, entered, at the age of 18,
the military order of the Knights of Malta, and resided twelve years in
that island as a knight; his martial bearing and ability, modesty, and
uniform good conduct soon paved the way for him to the highest dignities
in this celebrated Order. Soon the Grand Master appointed him "Commandeur
de Troyes"; this preferment yielded him 40,000 livres per annum.
On his return to Paris in 1607, the favour of the court and the protection
of Marie de Medicis were the means of having him nominated Knight of
Honour. His talents, birth, deportment and position soon procured him the
appointment of French Ambassador to the Court of Spain in 1614, which high
position he left for that of Ambassador at Rome in 1622, where he replaced
the Marquis of Coeuvres. He spent two years in the Eternal City, and
subsequently acknowledged that it was there that he conceived the idea
first of embracing Holy Orders; Cardinal de LaValette replacing him at the
Roman Court as French _Chargé d'Affaires_. From what can be gleaned
in history, this distinguished personage led a princely life, his enormous
rent-roll furnishing the means for a most lordly establishment of
retainers, liveries and domains. [170] His fancy for display, great though
it was, never, however, made him lose sight of the poor, nor turn a deaf
ear to the voice of the needy.
In 1626, the Pope (Barberini), Urban the VIII., having proclaimed a
jubilee, the ex-ambassador, as if a new light had dawned on him, and under
the guidance of a man famous for his pious and ascetic life, Vincent de
Paul, determined to reform his house and whole life. Thus, a few years
after, viz., in 1632, the Commandeur de Sillery sold to Cardinal Richelieu
his sumptuous and princely hôtel in Paris, called Sillery, entered Holy
Orders in 1634, and devoted all the energy of his mind and his immense
wealth to the propagation of the faith amongst the aborigines of Canada,
having been induced to do so by the Commandeur de Razili, who had
previously solicited him to join the company des "Cents Associés," or
Hundred Partners, of which Razili was a member.
The Commandeur de Sillery inaugurated his benevolent purpose by placing
12,000 livres in the hands of Father Charles Lalemant, a zealous Jesuit;
this was the beginning of the mission which, through gratitude to its
founder, was called Sillery--it was distant about four miles and a half
from Quebec, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence; date of the
foundation, July, 1637. [171] History has preserved a letter addressed
from Paris by the Commandeur de Sillery to the Chevalier de Montmagny,
governor of the colony, in which the benevolent man asked the Governor to
ratify a grant of "twelve arpents" made to him in the city itself by the
company of the Hundred Partners, and also to ratify a promised grant of
other lands to open a seminary or school to educate Algonquin and
Montagnais children, although, at the request of the Indians, the
settlement became, in 1638, more extensive, and comprised also the
residence of the christianized Indians. Negabamat and Nenasesenat were the
first to establish their families there. On the last day of June, 1665, we
will find the eloquent Negabamat, then a resident of Quebec, sent by his
tribe to harangue and compliment the great Marquis of Tracy on his arrival
at Quebec. (_Relations_, 1665, _p_. 4.) Father LeJeune, a learned Jesuit,
had charge and control over the workmen who were sent out from France at
the expense of the Commandeur de Sillery; and on the 22nd February, 1639,
a permanent bequest was authentically recorded in favor of the mission by
the Commandeur placing at interest, secured on the Hôtel-de-Ville at
Paris, a sum of 20,000 livres tournois. Palisades had been used originally
to protect the settlement; in 1651, the Governor of Quebec, Jean de
Lauzon, strengthened the palisades and added redoubts. [172] In 1647 the
church of the mission had been placed under the invocation of St. Michael
the Archangel; hence Sillery Cove, once called St. Joseph's, was, in 1647,
named St Michael's Cove.
The Commandeur de Sillery extended his munificence to several other
missionary establishments in Canada and other places. What with the
building of churches, monasteries and hospitals in Champagne, France; at
Annecy, Savoy; at Paris, and elsewhere, he must, indeed, have been for
those days a veritable Rothschild in worldly wealth.
This worthy ecclesiastic died in Paris on the 26th September, 1640, at the
age of sixty-three years, bequeathing his immense wealth to the Hôtel-Dieu
of that city. Such was, in a few words, the noble career of one of the
large-minded pioneers of civilization in primitive Canada, le Commandeur
Noël Brulart de Sillery--such the origin of the name of "Our Parish," our
sweet Canadian Windermere.
One of the first incidents, two years after the opening of the mission,
was the visit paid to it by Madame de la Peltrie, the benevolent founder
of the Ursuline Convent at Quebec. This took place on the 2nd August,
1639, the day after her arrival from Dieppe and stately reception by the
Governor, M. deMontmagny, who had asked her to dinner the day previous.
This same year the nuns called _Hospitalières_ (Hôtel-Dieu) opened a
temporary hospital at Sillery, as the inmates and resident Indians
suffered fearfully from the ravages of small-pox. In attempting a sketch
of the Sillery of ancient days, we cannot follow a truer nor pleasanter
guide than the old historian of Canada in the interesting notes he
published on this locality in 1855, after having minutely examined every
inch of ground. "A year after their arrival at Quebec," says Abbé Ferland,
"in August, 1640, the _Hospitalières_ nuns, desirous of being closer
to the Sillery mission, where they were having their convent built
according to the wishes of the Duchess D'Aiguillon, left Quebec and
located themselves in the house of M. de Puiseaux. They removed from this
house at the beginning of the year 1641 to take possession of their
convent, a mile distant. During that winter no other French inhabitants
resided near them except the missionaries, and they suffered much from
cold and want. But the following year they had the happiness to have in
the neighbourhood a good number of their countrymen. M. de Maisonneuve,
Mlle. Mance, the soldiers and farmers recently arrived from France, took
up their abode at M. de Puiseaux.... They spent the winter there, and paid
us frequent visits, to our mutual satisfaction." [173]
The mission of St. Joseph at Sillery being constantly threatened by the
Five Nations, the _Hospitalières_ ladies were compelled to leave their
convent and seek refuge in Quebec on the 29th May, 1644, having thus
spent about three years and a half amongst the savages. [174] The locality
where they then resided still goes under the name of "Convent Cove."
"Monsieur Pierre Puiseaux, Sieur de l'habitation de Sainte Foye, after
whom was, called _Pointe-à-Pizeau_, at Sillery, seems to have been a
personage of no mean importance in his day. Having realized a large
fortune in the West Indies, he had followed Champlain to Canada, bent on
devoting his wealth to the conversion of the aboriginal tribes. His manor
stood, according to the Abbé Ferland, on that spot in St Michael's Cove on
which the St. Michael's Hotel [175]--long kept by Mr. W. Scott--was
subsequently built, to judge from the heavy foundation walls there. Such
was the magnificence of the structure that it was reckoned "the gem of
Canada'--"_Une maison regardée dans le temps comme le bijou du Canada_,"
says the old chronicler. Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve having arrived,
in 1641, with colonists for Montreal, the laird of Ste. Foye [176]
generously tendered him the use of his manor. Under the hospitable roof of
this venerable old gentleman, M. de Maisonneuve, Mlle. Mance, the founder
of the Hôtel Dieu Hospital at Montreal, and Mdme. de la Peltrie spent the
winter of 1641-2, whilst the intended colonists [177] for Ville-Marie were
located close by in the Sillery settlement. During the winter, dissensions
took place between the future Governor of Montreal, M. de Maisonneuve, and
the then present Governor of Quebec, Chevalier de Montmagny. It appears
that on a certain festival a small cannon and also fifteen musket shots
had been fired without authority; His Excellency Governor Montmagny, in
high dudgeon at such a breach of military discipline, ordered Jean Gorry,
the person who had fired the shots, to be put in irons; Mlle. Mance had
furnished the powder for this military display The future Governor of
Montreal, Monsieur de Maisonneuve, is said to have, on this occasion,
publicly exclaimed: "Jehan Gorry, you have been put in irons for my sake
and I affronted! I raise your wages of ten half crowns (dix écus), let us
only reach Montreal; no one there will prevent us from firing." [178]
Bravo! M. de Maisonneuve! Peace, however, was restored, and His Excellency
Governor Montmagny headed in person the expedition which, on the 8th May
following, sailed from St Michael's Cove, Sillery, to found at Montreal
the new colony. Monsieur Puiseaux accompanied M. de Maisonneuve, to take
part also in the auspicious event, but his age and infirmities compelled
Him soon after to return to France, where he died a few years
subsequently, and by his last will, executed at LaRochelle on the 21st
June, 1647, he bequeathed his Ste. Foye property to the support of the
future bishops of Quebec. "The walls of the Sillery Chapel," says the
historian of Canada previously quoted, "were still standing about thirty
years ago, and the foundations of this edifice, of the hospital and of the
missionary residency are still perceptible to the eye on the spot now
occupied by the offices and stores of Hy. LeMesurier, Esq., at the foot of
the hill, and opposite the residence of the Honourable Mr. Justice Caron."
"Amongst the French gentlemen of note who then owned lands at Sillery may
be mentioned. François de Chavigny, _sieur de Berchéreau qui_," adds
Abbé Ferland, "_occupait un rang élevé dans le colonie. En quelques
occasions, il fut chargé de remplacer le Gouverneur, lors que celui-ci
s'absentait de Québec_." Now, dear reader, let it be known to you that
you are to look with every species of respect on this worthy old denizen
of Sillery, he being, as the Abbé has elsewhere established beyond the
shadow of a doubt, not only the ancestor of several old families, such as
the Lagorgendières, the Rigaud de Vaudreuils and Tachereaus, but also one
of the ancestors of your humble servant the writer of these lines.
"The Sillery settlement contained during the winter of 1646-7, of Indians
only, about two hundred souls. Two roads led from Quebec to the
settlement, one the Grande Allée or St. Louis Road, the other the Cove
Road, skirting the beach. Two grist mills stood in the neighbourhood: one
on the St. Denis streamlet which crosses the Grande Allée road (from
Thornhill to Spencer Wood)--the dam seems to have been on the Spencer Wood
property. 'This mill, and the _fief_ on which it was built, belonged
to M. Juchereau,' one of the ancestors of the Duchesnays. 'Another mill
existed on the Bell Borne brook,' which crosses the main road, the
boundary between Spencer Grange and Woodfield. Any one visiting these two
streamlets during the August droughts will be struck with their
diminutiveness, compared to the time when they turned the two grist mills
two hundred years back: the clearing of the adjoining forests, whence they
take their source, may account for the metamorphosis."
The perusal of the Rev. Mr. Ferland's work brings us to another
occurrence, which, although foreign to the object of this sketch, deserves
notice:--
"The first horse [179] seen in Canada was landed from a French vessel
about the 20th June, 1647, and presented as a gift to His Excellency
Governor Montmagny." Another incident deserving of mention occurs under
date of 20th August, 1653. The Iroquois [180] surprised at Cap Rouge Rev.
Father J. Antoine Poncet and a peasant named Mathurin Tranchelot, and
carried them off to their country. For three days the rev. missionary was
subjected to every kind of indignity from the Indian children and every
one else. A child cut off one of the captive's fingers. He was afterwards,
with his companion, tied up during two nights, half suspended in the air;
this made both suffer horribly; burning coals were applied to their flesh.
Finally, the missionary was handed over to an old squaw; he shortly after
became free, and returned to Quebec on the 5th of November, 1653, to the
joy of everybody.
His comrade, Tranchelot, after having had his fingers burnt, was finally
consumed by fire on the 8th September, 1653. Such were some of the
thrilling incidents of daily occurrence at Sillery two centuries ago.
What with breaches of military etiquette by M. de Maisonneuve's colonists,
the ferocity of skulking Iroquois, and the scrapes their own neophytes
occasionally got into, the reverend fathers in charge of the Sillery
mission must now and again have had lively times, and needed, we would
imagine, the patience of Job, with the devotion of martyrs, to carry out
their benevolent views.
We read in history [181] how, on one Sunday morning in 1652, the Sillery
Indians being all at mass, a beaver skin was stolen from one of the wig-
wams, on which a council of the chiefs being called, it was decided that
the robbery had been committed by a Frenchman, [182] enough to justify the
young men to rush out and seize two Frenchmen then accidentally passing
by, and in no wise connected--as the Indians even admitted--with the
theft. The Indian youths were for instantly stripping the prisoners, in
order to compel the Governor of the colony to repair the injury suffered
by the loss of the peltry. One of them, more thoughtful than the rest,
suggested to refer the matter to the missionary father, informing him at
the same time that in cases of robbery it was the Indian custom to lay
hold of the first individual they met belonging to the family or nation of
the suspected robber, strip him of his property, and retain it until the
family or nation repaired the wrong. The father succeeded, by appealing to
them as Christians, to release the prisoners. Fortunately, the real thief,
who was not a Frenchman, became alarmed, and had the beaver skin restored.
Old writers of that day occasionally let us into quaint glimpses of a
churchman's tribulations in those primitive times. The historian Faillon
tells some strange things about Bishop Laval and Governor D'Argenson:
their squabble about holy bread. (_Histoire de la Colonie Française en
Canada_, vol. ii., p. 467.) At page 470, is an account of a country
girl, ordered to be brought to town by Bishop Laval and shut up in the
Hôtel-Dieu, she being considered under a spell, cast on her by a miller
whom she had rejected when he popped the question: the diabolical suitor
was jailed as a punishment. Champlain relates how a pugnacious parson was
dealt with by a pugnacious clergyman of a different persuasion respecting
some knotty controversial points. The arguments, however irresistible they
may have been, Champlain observes, were not edifying either to the savages
or to the French: "J'ay veu le ministre et nostre curé s'entre battre è
coup de poing sur le différend de la religion. Je ne scay pas qui estait
le plus vaillant et qui donnait le meilleur coup; mais je scay tres bien
que le ministre se plaignoit quelque fois au Sieur de Mons (Calviniste,
directeur de la compagnie) d'avoir ésté battu et vuoidoient en ceste
faccon les poincts de controverse. Je vois laisse à penser si cela éstait
beau à voir; les sauvages éstoient tantôt d'un côté, tantôt de l'autre, et
les François meslez selon leur diverse croyance, disaient pis que pendre
de l'une et de l'autre religion." The fighting parson had evidently caught
a tartar. However, this controversial sparring did _not_ take place at
Sillery.
The winter of 1666 was marked by a novel incident in the annals of the
settlement. On the 9th of January, [183] 1666, the Governor of the colony,
M. de Courcelles, with M. du Gas as second in command, and M. de Salampar,
a volunteer, together with two hundred colonists who had volunteered, and
three hundred soldiers of the dashing regiment of Carignan, [184] which
the viceroy, the proud Marquis de Tracy, had brought over from Europe,
after their return from their campaign in Hungary, sallied forth from the
capital on snow-shoes. A century and a half later one might have met, with
his gaudy state carriage and outriders, on that same road, another
viceroy--this time an English one, as proud, as fond of display, as the
Marquis de Tracy--with the Queen's Household Troops, the British
Grenadiers, and Coldstream Guards--the Earl of Durham, one of our ablest,
if not one of the most popular of our administrators. Let us now follow
the French Governor of 1666, heading his light-hearted soldiers along the
St. Louis road, all on snow-shoes, each man, His Excellency included,
carrying on his back from 25 to 30 lbs. of biscuit, &c. The little army is
bound towards the frontiers of New Holland (the State of New York) on a
900 miles' tramp (no railroads in those days), in the severest season of
the year, to chastise some hostile Indian tribes, after incorporating in
its ranks, during its march, the Three Rivers and Montreal reinforcements.
History tells of the intense suffering [185] experienced during the
expedition by these brave men, some of them more accustomed to Paris
_salons_ than to Canadian forest warfare on snow-shoes, with spruce
boughs and snow-drifts for beds. But let us not anticipate. We must be
content to accompany them on that day to the Sillery settlement, a march
quite sufficient for us degenerate Canadians of the nineteenth century.
Picture to yourself, our worthy friend, the hurry and scurry at the
Missionary residence on that day--with what zest the chilled warriors
crowd round the fires of the Indian wigwams, the number of pipes of peace
they smoked with the chiefs, the fierce love the gallant Frenchmen swore
to the blackeyed Montagnais and Algonquin houris of Sillery, whilst
probably His Excellency and staff were seated in the residency close by,
resorting to cordials and all those creature comforts to be found in
monasteries, not forgetting _Grande Chartreuse_, to restore circulation
through their benumbed frames!--How the reverend fathers showered down the
blessings of St. Michael, the patron saint of the parish, on the youth and
chivalry of France!--How the Sillery duennas, the _Capitainesses_, closely
watched the gallant sons of Mars lest some of them [186] should attempt to
induce their guileless neophytes to seek again the forest wilds, and roam
at large--the willing wives of white men!
We shall clip a page from Father Barthélémy Vimont's _Journal of the
Sillery Mission_, (Relations des Jesuits, 1643, pp. 12, 13, 14) an
authentic record, illustrative of the mode of living there; it will, we
are sure, gladden the heart even of an anchorite:--
"In 1643, the St. Joseph or Sillery settlement was composed of between
thirty-five and forty Indian families, who lived there the whole year
round except during the hunting season; other nomadic savages occasionally
tarried at the settlement to procure food, or to receive religious
instruction. That year there were yet but four houses built in the
European fashion; the Algonquins were located in that part of the village
close to the French residences; the Montagnais, on the opposite side; the
houses accommodate chiefs only, their followers reside in bark huts until
we can furnish proper dwellings for them all. In this manner was spent the
winter season of 1642-3, the French ships left the St Lawrence for France
on the 7th October, 1642; a period of profound quiet followed. Our Indians
continued to catch eels, (this catch begins in September)--a providential
means of subsistence during winter. The French settlers salt their eels,
the Indians smoke theirs to preserve them. The fishing having ended about
the beginning of November, they removed their provisions to their houses,
when thirteen canoes of Atichamegues Indians arrived, the crews requesting
permission to winter there and be instructed in the Christian religion.
They camped in the neighborhood of the Montagnais, near to Jean Baptiste,
the chief or captain of these savages, and placed themselves under the
charge of Father Buteux, who undertook to christianize both, whilst Father
Dequen superintended the religious welfare of the Algonquins. Each day all
the Indians attended regularly to mass, prayers, and religious
instruction. Catechism is taught to the children, and the smartest amongst
them receive slight presents to encourage them, such as knives, bread,
beads, hats, sometimes a hatchet for the biggest boys. Every evening
Father Dequen calls at every hut and summons the inmates to evening
prayers at the chapel. The _Hospitalières_ nuns also perform their
part in the pious work; Father Buteux discharged similar duties amongst
the Montagnais and Atichamegues neophytes. The Atichamegues have located
themselves on a small height back of Sillery. 'When the Reverend Father
visits them each evening, during the prevalence of snow storms, he picks
his way in the forest, lantern in hand, but sometimes losing his footing,
he rolls down the hill.' Thus passed for the Sillery Indians, the early
portion of the winter. In the middle of January they all came and located
themselves about a quarter of a league from Quebec, to make tobogins and
began the first hunt, which lasted about three weeks. Each day they
travelled a quarter of a league to Quebec to attend mass, generally at the
chapel of the Ursuline Convent, where Father Buteux and also the nuns
instructed them. In February they sought the deep woods to hunt the
moose." "On my return to Sillery," adds Father Vimont, "twelve or thirteen
infirm old Indians, women and children, who had been left behind, followed
me to the Hospital, where we had to provide for them until the return, at
Easter, of the hunting party."
Whilst the savage hordes were being thus reclaimed from barbarism at
Sillery, a civilized community a few hundred miles to the east of it were
descending to the level of savages. We read in Hutchinson's _History of
Massachusetts Bay_, of our Puritan brethren of Boston, occasionally
roasting defenceless women for witchcraft; thus perished, in 1645,
Margaret Jones; and a few years after, in 1656, Mrs. Ann Hibbens, the lady
of a respectable Boston merchant. Christians cutting one another's throats
for the love of God. O, civilization, where is thy boast!
During the winter of 1656-7, Sillery contained, of Indians alone, about
two hundred souls.
Let us now sum up the characteristics of the Sillery of ancient days in a
few happy words, borrowed from the _Notes_ [187] published in 1855 on
that locality, by the learned Abbé Ferland.
"A map of Quebec by Champlain exhibits, about a league above the youthful
city, a point jutting out into the St. Lawrence, and which is covered with
Indian wigwams. Later on this point received the name of Puiseaux, from
the first owner of the Fief St. Michael, bounded by it to the southwest.
[188] On this very point at present stands the handsome St. Columba
church, surrounded by a village." [189]
"Opposite to it is the Lauzon shore, with its river _Bruyante_ [190]
(the 'Etchemin'), its shipyards, its numerous shipping, the terminus of
the Grand Trunk Railway; the villages and churches of Notre Dame de Lévis,
St. Jean Chrysostôme and Saint Romuald. To your right and to your left the
St. Lawrence is visible for some twelve or fifteen miles, covered with
inward and outward bound ships. Towards the east the landscape is closed
by Cap Tourment, twelve leagues distant, and by the cultivated heights of
the _Petite Montagne_ of St. Féréol, exhibiting in succession the
_Côte de Beaupré_, (Beauport), (L'Ange Gardien, &c.) the green slopes
of the Island of Orleans, Cape Diamond, crowned with its citadel, and
having at its feet a forest of masts, Abraham's Plains, the Coves and
their humming, busy noises, St. Michael's Coves forming a graceful curve
from Wolfe's cove to Pointe à Puiseaux. Within this area thrilling events
once took place, and round these diverse objects historical souvenirs
cluster, recalling some of the most important occurrences in North
America; the contest of two powerful nations for the sovereignty of the
New World; an important episode of the revolution which gave birth to the
adjoining Republic. Such were some of the events of which these localities
were the theatre. Each square inch of land, in fact, was measured by the
footsteps of some of the most remarkable men in the history of America:
Jacques Cartier, Champlain, Frontenac, Laval, Phipps, d'Iberville, Wolfe,
Montcalm, Arnold, Montgomery, have each of them, at some time or other,
trod over this expanse.
"Close by, in St. Michael's Cove, M. de Maisonneuve and Mademoiselle Mance
passed their first Canadian winter, with the colonists intended to found
Montreal. Turn your eyes towards the west, and although the panorama is
less extensive, still it awakens some glorious memories. At Cap Rouge,
Jacques Cartier established his quarters, close to the river's edge, the
second winter he spent in Canada, and was succeeded in that spot by
Roberval, at the head of his ephemeral colony. Near the entrance of the
Chaudière river stood the tents of the Abnoquiois, the Etchemins and the
Souriquois Indians, when they came from the shores of New England to smoke
the calumet of peace with their brethren the French; the river Chaudière
in those days was the highway which connected their country with Canada.
Closer to Pointe à Puiseaux is Sillery Cove where the Jesuit Fathers were
wont to assemble and instruct the Algonquin and Montagnais Indians, who
were desirous of becoming Christians. It was from that spot that the
neophytes used to carry the faith to the depths of the forest; it was here
that those early apostles of Christianity congregated before starting with
the joyous message for the country of the Hurons, for the shores of the
Mississippi, or for the frozen regions of Hudson's Bay. From thence went
Father P. Druilletes, the bearer of words of peace on behalf of the
Christians of Sillery, to the Abnoquiois of Kennebeki, and to the puritans
of Boston. Near this same mission of Sillery, Friar Liégeois was massacred
by the Iroquois, whilst Father Poncet was carried away a captive by these
barbarous tribes.
"Monsieur de Sillery devoted large sums to erect the necessary edifices
for the mission, such as a chapel, a missionary residence, an hospital, a
fort, houses for the new converts, together with the habitations for the
French. The D'Auteuil family had their country seat on the hill back of
Pointe à Puiseaux; and the venerable Madame de Monceau, the mother-in-law
of the Attorney-General Ruette D'Auteuil, was in the habit of residing
there from time to time, in a house she had constructed near the chapel."
In 1643, Father Bressani having been taken prisoner by the Iroquois, and
having heard them discuss a plan to seize on the white maidens of Sillery
(such were the names the Nuns went by); wrote it on some bark, which a
Huron Indian having found, took it to Governor Montmagny. The Governor
then organized a guard of six soldiers, who each day relieved one another
at Sillery, to watch over the village--the incursions of the savages
increasing, the soldiers refused to remain any longer, and Governor
Montmagny gave the Hospitalières the use of a small house on the beach of
the river in the lower town. (Hist. de l'Hôtel-Dieu, p. 50.)
Francis Parkman furnishes interesting details of the arrival of Piesharit,
a famous Indian chief, at Sillery in 1645, and of a grand council held by
deMontmagny, in the Jesuits House, which exists to this day, probably the
oldest structure of the kind in Canada, dating from 1637.
"As the successful warriors approached the little mission settlement of
Sillery, immediately above Quebec, they raised their song of triumph and
beat time with their paddles on the edges of their canoes; while, from
eleven poles raised aloft, eleven fresh scalps fluttered in the wind. The
Father Jesuit and all his flock were gathered on the strand to welcome
them. The Indians fired three guns, and screeched in jubilation; one Jean
Baptiste, a Christian chief of Sillery, made a speech from the shore;
Pisharet repeated, standing upright in his canoe, and to crown the
occasion, a squad of soldiers, marching in haste from Quebec, fired a
salute of musketry, to the boundless delight of the Indians. Much to the
surprise of the two captives, there was no running of the gauntlet, no
gnawing off of finger-nails or cutting off of fingers; but the scalps were
hung, like little flags, over the entrance of the lodges, and all Sillery
betook itself to feasting and rejoicing. One old woman, indeed, came to
the Jesuit with a pathetic appeal. "Oh, my father! let me caress these
prisoners a little: they have killed, burned, and eaten my father, my
husband and my children." But the missionary answered with a lecture on
the duty of forgiveness.
On the next day, Montmagny came to Sillery and there was a grand council
in the house of the Jesuits. Pisharet, in a solemn harangue, delivered his
captives to the Governor, who replied with a speech of compliment and an
ample gift. The two Iroquois, were present, seated with a seeming
imperturbability, but great anxiety of heart; and when at length they
comprehended that their lives were safe, one of them, a man of great size
and symmetry, rose and addressed Montmagny." [191]
It would be indeed a pleasant and easy task to recall all the remarkable
events which occurred in this neighborhood. One thing is certain, the cool
retreats studding the shores of the St. Lawrence were equally sought for
by the wealthy in those days as they have been since by all those who wish
to breathe pure air and enjoy the scenery.
The Sillery settlement commenced to be deserted about the beginning of the
last century. After the cession of Canada the care of the buildings was
neglected, and they soon fell to ruins; but the residence of the
missionary fathers was preserved, and the ruins of the other structures
remained standing long enough to be susceptible of identification with
certainty. Several of the old inhabitants recollect having seen the church
walls demolished, and they were of great solidity. Abbé Ferland himself,
twenty years ago, saw a portion of those walls standing above ground. The
ruins of the hospital and the convent were razed about fifty years ago,
and in demolishing them several objects were discovered, some of which
must have belonged to the good ladies, the _Hospitalières_ nuns.
For the benefit of those who might feel inclined to explore the remaining
vestiges of M. Sillery's foundation, I shall furnish some details on the
locality. About the centre of Sillery Cove can be seen a cape, not very
high, but with its sides perpendicular. The position of surrounding
objects point it out as the spot on which stood the fort intended to
protect the village; there also, in a dry soil, stood the cemetery, from
which several bodies were exhumed in the course of last summer (1854) At
the foot of the cape, on your left, is the missionaries' house now
converted into a residence for the clerks of Messrs. E. R. Dobell & Co.
This building has been kept in repair, and is still in a good state of
preservation. In a line with it, and nearest the St. Lawrence, can be
discovered the foundation of the church. This edifice stood north-east and
south-west.
Near the wall closest to the river ran a spring of water, perfectly clear,
and, no doubt, used for the wants of the church and of the presbytery.
Several other streams of excellent water run down the hill and intersect
the grounds in all directions. No misconception can exist as to where the
chapel stood, as there are still (in 1855) living several persons who saw
the walls standing, and can point out the foundations which have since
been identified and enclosed by stone pillars and chains. To the right of
the small cape, and on a line with the chapel, stood the hospital, now
deserted for more than two centuries. Over its foundation an elm has
grown,--'tis now a handsome and large tree; six feet from the ground its
circumference measures two fathoms (12 feet), which makes its diameter
about three and a half. Heriot thus describes the locality in 1806:--
"From hence to Cap Rouge the scenery, on account of its beauty and
variety, attracts the attention of the passenger. At Sillery, a league
from Quebec, on the north shore, are the ruins of an establishment which
was begun in 1637, intended as a religious institution for the conversion
and instruction of natives of the country; it was at one time inhabited by
twelve French families. The buildings are placed upon level ground,
sheltered by steep banks, and close by the borders of the river; they now
only consist of two old stone houses, fallen to decay, and of the remains
of a small chapel (the chapel has of late been repaired and fitted up for
a malt house, and some of the other buildings have been converted into a
brewery). [192] In this vicinity the Algonquins once had a village;
several of their tumuli, or burying places, are still discoverable in the
woods, and hieroglyphics cut on the trees remain, in some situations, yet
unaffected." [193]
On the 6th June, 1865, we determined to afford ourselves a long-promised
treat, and go and survey, with Abbé Ferland's _Notes on Sillery_ open
before us, and also the help of that eminently respected authority in
every parish, the "oldest inhabitant," the traces of the Sillery
settlement of 1637. Nor had we long to wait before obtaining ocular
demonstration of the minute exactitude with which our old friend, the
Abbé, had investigated and measured every stone, every crumbling remain of
brick and mortar. The first and most noticeable relic pointed out was the
veritable house of the missionaries, facing the St. Lawrence, on the north
side of the road, on Sillery Cove; it was the property of the late Henry
Le Mesurier, Esquire, of Beauvoir. Were it in the range of possible events
that the good fathers could revisit the scene of their past apostolical
labours and view their former earthly tenement, hard would be the task to
identify it. The heavy three-feet-thick wall is there yet, as perfect, as
massive, as defiant as ever; the pointed gable and steep roof, in spite of
alterations, still stands--the true index of an old French structure in
Canada. Our forefathers seemed as if they never could make the roof of a
dwelling steep enough, doubtless to prevent the accumulation of snow. But
here ends all analogy with the past; so jaunty, so cosy, so modern does
the front and interior of Sillery "Manor House" look--thus styled for many
years past. Paint, paper and furniture have made it quite a snug abode.
Nor was it without a certain peculiar feeling of reverence we, for the
first time, crossed that threshold, and entered beneath those fortress-
like walls, where for years had resounded the orisons of the Jesuit
Fathers, the men from whose ranks were largely recruited our heroic band
of early martyrs--some of whose dust, unburied, but not unhonoured, has
mingled for two centuries with its parent earth on the green banks of Lake
Simcoe, on the borders of the Ohio, in the environs of Kingston, Montreal,
Three Rivers, Quebec--a fruitful seed of christianity scattered
bountifully through the length and breadth of our land; others, whose
lifeless clay still rests in yon sunny hillock in the rear, to the west of
the "Manor House"--the little cemetery described by Abbé Ferland. Between
the "Manor House" and the river, about forty feet from the house,
inclining towards the south, are the remains of the foundation walls of
the Jesuit's church or chapel, dating back to 1640. On the 13th June,
1657, fire made dreadful havoc in the residence of the Jesuits
(_Relations_, for 1657, p. 26); they stand north-east and south-west,
and are at present flush with the greensward; a large portion of them were
still visible about thirty-five years ago, as, attested by many living
witnesses; they were converted into ballast for ships built at this spot,
and into materials for repairing the main road by some Vandal who will
remain nameless. From the Manor House you notice the little cape to the
south-west mentioned in Abbé Ferland's _Notes_, though growing smaller and
smaller every year from the quantities of soil and stone taken from it,
also to repair the road. The large elm pointed out by the Abbé as having
grown over the spot where the hospital stood is there yet, a majestic
tree. The selection of a site for the little cemetery is most judicious,
several little streams from the heights in the rear filter through the
ground, producing a moisture calculated to prevent decomposition and
explanatory of the singular appearance of the bodies disinterred there in
1855. Every visitor will be struck with the beauty, healthiness and
shelter which this sequestered nook at Sillery presents for a settlement,
and with its adaptability for the purposes for which it was chosen, being
quite protected against our two prevailing winds, the north-east and
south-west, with a warm southern exposure.
Many years after the opening of the Algonquin and Montagnais school at
Sillery, the Huron Indians, after being relentlessly tracked by their
inveterate foes, the Five Nations, divided into five detachments; one of
these hid on the Great Manitoulin Island, others elsewhere; a portion came
down to Quebec on the 26th July, 1650, [194] under the direction of Father
Ragueneau, and, on the 28th July, 1650, settled first on the Jesuits land
at Beauport; in March, 1651, they went to _Ance du Fort_, on the lands of
Mademoiselle de Grandmaison, on the Island of Orleans. But the Iroquois
having scented their prey in their new abode, made a raid on the island,
butchered seventy-one of them, and carried away some prisoners. The
unfortunate redskins soon left the Island in dismay, and for protection,
encamped in the city of Quebec itself, under the cannon of the fort,
constructed by Governor d'Aillebout to receive them, near the Jesuits
College (at Cote de St. Michel); in 1667, they settled on the northerly
frontier of Sillery, [195] in Notre Dame de Foy [now St. Foye]; restless
and scared, they again shifted they quarters on the 29th December, 1693,
and pitched their erratic tents at Ancienne Lorette, which place they also
abandoned many years afterwards to go and settle at _Jeune_ or Indian
Lorette, where the remnants of this once warlike race [196] (the _nobles_
amongst Indian tribes) exist, now crossed with their Caucasian brethren,
and vegetate in obscurity--exotic trees transplanted far from their native
wilds.
Shall we venture to assert that Sillery equals in size some of the German
principalities, and that, important though it be, like European dynasties,
it has had its periods of splendor succeeded by eras of medieval
obscurity. From 1700 down to the time of the conquest, we appeal in vain
to the records of the past for any historical event connected with it;
everywhere reigns supreme a Cimmerian darkness. But if the page of history
is silent, the chronicles of the _ton_ furnish some tit-bits of drawing-
room chit-chat. Thus, as stated in Hawkins' celebrated _Historical Picture
of Quebec_, [197] the northern portion of the parish skirting the St. Foye
road "was the favorite drive of the Canadian belle." In these few words,
of Hawkins is involved an intricate question for the salons, a problem to
solve, more abstruse than the one which agitated the Grecian cities
respecting the birth of Homer. Who then was the Canadian Belle of former
days? The Nestors of the present generation still speak with admiration of
a fascinating stranger who, close to the end of the last century, used to
drive on the St. Foye road, when a royal duke lived in the city, in what
is now styled "The Kent House," on St. Louis street. The name of this
distinguished traveller, a lady of European birth, was Madame St. Laurent;
but, kind reader, have patience. The Canadian belle who thus enjoyed her
drives in the environs of Quebec was not Madame St. Laurent, as it is
distinctly stated at page 170 of Hawkins that this occurred before the
conquest, viz., 1759. Might it have been that vision of female loveliness,
that spotless and beautiful Mrs. De Léry, whose presentation at court,
with her handsome husband, shortly after the conquest, elicited from His
Majesty George III. the expression which history has preserved, "If such
are all my new Canadian subjects, I have indeed made a conquest;" or must
we picture to ourselves as the Canadian belle that peerless beauty, that
witty and aspiring Madame Hughes Pean, Intendant Bigot's fair charmer,
mysteriously hinted at, in all the old Quebec guide books, as "Mrs.
P----." Madame Hughes Pean, [198] whose husband was Town Major of Quebec,
owned a seigniory in the vicinity of the city--some say at St. Vallier,
where Mons Pean used to load with corn the vessels he dispatched
elsewhere; she also was one of the gay revellers at the romantic
Hermitage, Bigot's shooting lodge at Charlesbourg. Old memoirs seem to
favour this version. Be this as it may the St. Foy road was a favorite
drive even a century before the present day; so says Hawkins' historical
work on Quebec--no mean authority, considering that the materials thereof
were furnished by that accomplished scholar and eminent barrister, the
late Andrew Stuart, father of the present Judge Stuart, and compiled by
the late Dr. John Charlton Fisher, one of the able joint editors of the
New York _Albion_, and father of Mrs. Ed. Burstall, late of Sillery. Who
was the reigning belle in 1759, we confess that all our antiquarian lore
has failed to satisfactorily unravel. The battles of 1759 and 1760 have
rendered Sillery, St. Foye, and the Plains of Abraham classic ground. The
details of these events, having appeared elsewhere, [199] the reader is
referred to them.
Those of the present day desirous to ascertain the exact spot in the
environs of Quebec where past events have taken place, ought to be careful
not to be misled by subsequent territorial divisions for municipal or
canonical purposes. Many may not be aware that our forefathers included
under the denomination of Abraham's Heights that plateau of comparatively
level ground extending in a south-easterly direction from the _Coteau
Ste. Geneviève_ towards the lofty banks which line the River St.
Lawrence, covering the greatest part of the land on which subsequently
have been built the St. Lewis and St. John's suburbs, the hilly portion
towards the city and river, where stands the Asile Champêtre; thence
south-east, being then called Buttes à Nepveu; the land close by, between
the Plains and Pointe à Puiseaux, as Côte St. Michael; the ascent from the
valley of the St. Charles towards this plateau was through the hill known
as Côte d'Abraham. The locality afterwards known as Woodfield and Spencer
Wood, in the fief of St. Michael, was designated as the wood of Sames,
thus called after a celebrated French ecclesiastic of Quebec, Bishop
Dosquet, who owned there a country seat in 1753--then known as Sames--
later on, as Woodfield. To the west lay the Gomin Wood--which had taken
its name from a French botanist, Dr. Gomin, who had located himself on
land on which it is said, Coulonge Cottage was subsequently built in order
to study the Flora of Sillery, which is very varied and rich.
The old Sillery settlement, which lay within the limits of the parish of
Ste. Foye, was, in 1855, placed under the distinguished tutelage of a
Saint, dear to those who hail from the Emerald Isle, and called St.
Columba of Sillery. Thus the realms heretofore sacred to the Archangel,
St. Michael and to St. Joseph, have peaceably passed under the gentle sway
of St. Columba, despite the law of prescription. The British residents of
Sillery--and this ought to console sticklers for English precedents and
the sacredness of vested rights--did not permit the glory of the Archangel
to depart, and soon after the erection of St. Columbia into a parish, the
handsome temple of worship called St. Michael's church, came into
existence. [200]
_OUR COUNTRY SEATS._
In the preceding paper a general sketch has been attempted of that portion
of the St. Lawrence highlands adjoining Quebec to the west--a locality
remarkable for the numerous residences it contains of "the nobility of
commerce," as a contemporary facetiously styles our merchants. We shall,
in the following go over a great portion of the same ground, delineating,
first the land area west of Quebec proper, where was fought the battle of
the 13th Sept., 1759, _the Plains or Abraham_, and next detail,
specifically, the most attractive of these country residences, enlarging
our canvass, however, so as to comprise also descriptions of rural homes
beyond the limits of Sillery. Many other abodes we would also desire to
take in these pages, but space precludes it. It is hoped we won't be
misunderstood in our literary project: far is it from our intention to
write a panegyric of individuals or a paean to success, although sketches
of men or domestic recollections may frequently find their place in the
description of their abodes. No other desire prompted us but that of
attempting to place prominently before the public the spots with which
history or nature has more specially enriched Quebec. Quebecers ought to
be proud of their scenery and of the historical ivy which clings to the
old walls of Stadacona. Neighbouring cities may grow vast with brick and
mortar; their commerce may advance with the stride of a young giant; their
citizens may sit in high places among the sons of men, but can they ever
compare with our own fortress for historical memories or beautiful
scenery? We shall assign the first place to the mansion which still crowns
the Montmorenci Falls, once the abode of the father of our Sovereign; we
shall then view the residences on the St. Lewis road in succession, then
those along the St. Foy road, and finally close this paper with the
description of other remarkable spots in the neighborhood of Quebec.--
Lorette, Château Bigot, Montmorency Falls, Chaudière Falls.
_THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM._
"Aux plaines d'Abraham, rendez-vous des batailles, revenez voir ces
lieux, oh! revenez encore, officiers du _Grand Roi_, revenez tous
aussi, La Barre, Frontenac, Denonville, Tracy! alignez vous, soldats,
Carignan et Guienne, appuyez, Languedoc et Béarn et la Reine."--
_Alp. de Puibusque_.
"Among modern Battle-fields," says Col. (now Lt. General) Beatson,
"none surpass in romantic interest the Plains or Heights of Abraham."
No Quebecer would have the hardihood to challenge the assertion of this
able engineer officer, stationed here from 1849 to 1854, and who spared
neither time nor pains, with the assistance of our historians and
antiquarians, Ferland, Faribault and McGuire, to collect authentic
information on this subject. Col. Beatson compiled a volume of historical
notes, which he published in 1858, when stationed at Gibraltar. [201]
The Plains of Abraham will ever be famous, as having witnessed, more than
one century back, the deadly encounter of the then two leading nations of
Europe--England and France--to decide the fate of Canada--one might say
(by the series of events it led to) the destinies of North America.
Of this mighty duel, which crimsoned with human gore these fields one
murky September morning, in 1759--Smollett, Carlyle, Bancroft, Hawkins,
Smith, Garneau, Ferland, Miles and other historians have vied with one
another to furnish a graphic account. Of the origin of the name, none
until lately could tell.
"Notwithstanding," adds Col. Beatson, "the world-like celebrity of
these Plains, it was not until very recently that the derivation of
their name was discovered; and as it is comparatively unknown, even in
Canada, the following explanation of its origin will doubtless possess
attractions for such as are fond of tracing to their sources the names
of celebrated localities, and who may be surprised to learn that
upwards of a century previous to the final conquest of Canada by the
British arms, the scene of the decisive struggle for national
supremacy in the northern division of the New World had derived its
name from one who, if not a Scotchman by birth, would seem to have
been of Scottish lineage. This apparently improbable fact will,
however, appear less extraordinary when it is known that he was a sea-
faring man; and when it is considered how close was the alliance and
how frequent the intercourse which, for centuries before that period,
had subsisted between France and Scotland.
"This individual, whose name was Abraham Martin, is described in a
legal document, dated the 15th August, 1646, and preserved among the
archives of the Bishop's Palace, at Quebec, as (the King's) Pilot of
the St. Lawrence; an appointment which probably conferred on its
possessor considerable official rank; for we find that Jacques
Quartier, or Cartier, the enterprising discoverer and explorer of the
St. Lawrence, when about to proceed in 1540, on his third voyage to
Canada, was appointed by Francis I, Captain General and Master Pilot
of the expedition which consisted of four vessels.
"That Martin was a person of considerable importance in the then
infant colony of New France may also be inferred from the fact that,
in the journal of the Jesuits and in the parish register of Quebec, he
is usually designated by his Christian name only, Maître Abraham; as
well as from the circumstance of Champlain, the distinguished founder
of Quebec and father of New France, having been god-father to one of
Abraham's daughters (Hélène) and of Charles de St. Etienne, Sieur de
la Tour, of Acadian celebrity, having stood in the same relation to
Martin's youngest son, Charles Amador.
"The earliest mention of Martin's name occurs in the first entry of
the parish register of Quebec, viz., on, the 24th of October, 1621;
when his son Eustache, who died shortly afterwards, was baptized by
father Denis, a Franciscan Friar. The second baptism therein recorded
is that of his daughter Marguerite, which took place in 1624; and it
is stated in the register that these children were born of the
legitimate marriage of Abraham Martin surnamed or usually known as
_the Scot_ ("dict l'Ecossois.") Their family was numerous; besides
Anne and other children previously to the opening of the register in
1621, the baptism of the following are therein recorded:--
Eustache,................ \ / 1621.
Marguerite,.............. | | 1624.
Marie,................... | | 1627.
Adrien,.................. | Born in | 1635.
Madelaine,............... | | 1640.
Barbe (Barbara),......... | | 1643.
Charles Amador,.......... / \ 1648.
who was the second Canadian raised to the priesthood, and became a
canon at the erection of the chapter of Quebec."
As the reader will observe there is nothing to connect the Plains with
that of the patriarch of Genesis. Nay, though our Scotch friend owned a
family patriarchal in extent, on referring to The Jesuits' Journal we
find, we regret to way, at page 120 an Entry, according to which the
"Ancient Mariner" seems to have been very summarily dealt with; in fact
committed to prison for a delinquency involving the grossest immorality.
The appellation of Plains of Abraham was formerly given by our historians
to that extensive plateau stretching from the city walls to the Sillery
Wood, bounded to the north by the heights of land overhanging the valley
of the St. Charles, and to the south by the _coin du cap_ overlooking
the St. Lawrence, whose many indentures form coves or timber berths, for
storing square timber, &c., studded with deep water wharves.
The hill in St. John suburbs or ascent leading up from the valley of the
St. Charles, where St. Roch has since been built to the table-land above,
was from time immemorial known as COTE D'ABRAHAM, Abraham's Hill. Why did
it bear that name?
On referring to the Parish Register of Quebec, from 1621 to 1700, one
individual seems to have borne the name of Abraham, and that person is
Abraham Martin, to whom under the appellation of _Maître_ Abraham,
repeated reference is made both in the Register and the Jesuits' Journal.
Abraham Martin, according to the documents quoted by Col. Beatson, owned
in two separate lots--one of twenty and the other of twelve
_arpents_--thirty-two _arpents_ of land, covering, as appears by the
subjoined Plan or Diagram copied from his work, a great portion of the
site on which St. John and St. Louis Suburbs have since been erected.
Abraham's property occupied, it would seem, a portion of the area--the
northern section--which, for a long period, also went under the name of
Abraham's Plains. It adjoined other land of the Ursuline Ladies then owned
on _Côteau St. Louis_, closer to the city, when 1667, [202] it was
purchased by them; at that time, the whole tract, according to Col.
Beatson, went under the general name of Plains of Abraham. Such appear to
be the results of recent researches on this once very obscure question.
_THE BATTLE FIELD._
Two highways, lined with country seats, forest trees or cornfields run
parallel, at a distance varying from one to half a mile, leading into
Quebec: the _Grande Allée_, or St. Louis and the Ste. Foye road. They
intersect from east to west the expanse, nine miles in length, from _Cap
Rouge_ to the city. These well known chief arteries of travel were solidly
macadamized in 1841. At the western point, looms out the oak and pine clad
cliffs of a lofty cape--_Cap Rouge_ or _Redclyffe_. Here wintered, in
1541-2, the discoverer of Canada, Cartier and his followers, here, in
1543-4, his celebrated follower, Roberval, seems also to have sojourned
during the dreary months of winter.
A small stream, at the foot of the cape, meanders in a north westerly
direction through St. Augustin and neighbouring parishes, forming a deep
valley all around the cape. The conformation of the land has led
geologists to infer that, at some remote period, the plateau, extending to
Quebec, must have been surrounded on all sides by water, the _Cap Rouge_
stream and St. Charles being the outlets on the west, north and east. This
area increases in altitude until it reaches the lofty summit of Cape
Diamond, its eastern boundary. Nature itself seems to have placed these
rugged heights as an insurmountable barrier to invasion from the St.
Lawrence. With the walls, bastion and heavy city guns; with artillery in
position on the _Cap Rouge_ promontory; cavalry patrolling the Sillery
heights; a numerous army on the only accessible portion of the coast--
Beauport, Quebec, if succoured in time, was tolerably safe; so thought
some of the French engineers, though not Montcalm.
"The two engagements," says Chauveau, "that of the 15th September,
1759, and that of the 28th of April, 1760, occupied nearly all the
plateau hereinbefore described. The first, however, it would seem, was
fought chiefly on the St. Louis road, whilst the second took place on
the Ste. Foye road. Each locality has its monument, one erected in the
honour of Wolfe, on the identical spot where he fell; the other in
1855, to commemorate the glorious fate of the combatants of 1760,
where the carnage was the thickest, viz: on the site where stood
Dumont's mill (a few yards to the east of the dwelling of J. W.
Dunscomb, Esq.)
"The victory of 1759 was a fitting reward of Wolfe's valour, punished
the infamies of the Bigot _régime_ and withdrew Canada from the
focus of the terrible chastisement which awaited France soon after--in
the Reign of Terror--for her impiety and immorality. The victory of
April, 1760, was a comforting incident--a species of compensation to a
handful of brave and faithful colonists, for the crushing disaster
which had befallen their cause, the preceding September. It was the
crowning--though bootless victory--to the recent brilliant, but
useless success of the French arms at Carillon, Monongahela, Fort
George, Ticonderoga, Beauport Flats. It was, moreover, the last title,
added to numerous others, to the esteem and respect of their
conquerors."
Of the second battle of the Plains, that of 28th April 1760, called by
some writers "The battle of Ste. Foye," by others "The battle of Sillery
Wood," so bloody in its results, so protracted in its duration, we have in
_Garneau's History_ the first complete account, the historian Smith
having glossed over with striking levity this "French victory." The loss
of the rival Generals, at the battle of the Plains, of September, 1759,
though an unusual incident in warfare, was not without precedent Generals
Braddock and DeBeaujeu in 1755, had both sealed on the battlefield their
devotion to their country with their blood on the shores of the
Monongahela, in Ohio; in this case as in that of Wolfe and Montcalm, he
whose arms were to prevail, falling first.
In 1759, everything conspired to transform this conflict into an important
historical event. Even after the lapse of a century, one sometimes is fain
to believe, it sums up all which Europe recollects of primitive Canada.
The fall of Quebec did not merely bring to a close the fierce rivalry of
France and England in America. It lent an immense prestige to Great
Britain, by consolidating her maritime supremacy over France--a supremacy
she then so highly prized. The event, after the discouraging news which
had prevailed, was heralded all over England by the ringing of the bells,
and public thanksgiving. Bonfires blazed through the length and breadth of
the land, it was a national victory which King, Peers and Commons could
not sufficiently extol, and still what has been the ultimate result? By
removing the French power from Canada--the only counterpoise to keep down
the restless and thriving New England colonies, New England, from being
strong got to be defiant. The surrender of Canada hastened the American
Revolution. The rule of Britain soon ceased to exist in the New England
Provinces; and later on, in 1810, by the abrogation of the right of search
on the high seas, her maritime supremacy became a dead letter. As Mr.
Chauveau has remarked, "if the independence of America meant the lessening
of the British prestige, it remains yet to be proved that France has
benefitted thereby."
How much of these momentous changes can be traced to the incidents
(perhaps the treason of Bigot), [203] which made the scale of victory
incline to British valour on the 13th of September, 1759!
Those desirous of obtaining a full account of the two battles of the
Plains are referred among other works, to "Quebec Past and Present." I
shall merely borrow from Col. Beatson's very rare volume details not to be
found in the ordinary histories.
"It has," says Col Beatson, "been alleged that Montcalm in hastening
to meet the British on an open plain, and thereby to decide in a
single battle, the fate of a fertile Province nearly equal in extent
to one-half of Europe, was not only forgetful of his usual caution,
but acted with culpable temerity."
Such action, however, proceeded from no sudden impulse, but from a
noble resolve deliberately formed after the most mature consideration
and recorded some time previously.
Painfully convinced how little security the weak defences of the city
could afford against the determined assault of well disciplined and
ably led troops, he believed that however great the risk of meeting
his daring adversary in the open field, this course was the only one
that seemed to promise him any chance of success. Besides, he had a
force numerically [204] superior to that of the English General, could
he have concentrated them at one spot. Bougainville with the flower of
the French army, the grenadiers and volunteers, 3,000 strong,
according to professor Dussieux, was at Cap Rouge, six miles from the
battlefield and took no part in the fight, having arrived there more
than one hour after the fate of Canada was decided. 1,500 men had been
left at the Beauport camp to repel the feint by Admiral Saunders'
ships, on the morning of the 13 Sept., 1759. The Charlesbourg, Lorette
and Beauport militia had been granted leave to return home that week,
to look after their harvest: a curious coincidence.
The French army was as follows, viz:
Left | The Royal Roussillon Regiment, a battalion Regulars. Militia.
Wing | of the marines, or colony troops, and
| Canadian militia........................... 1,300 2,300
Centre.--The Regiments of Béarn and militia. ...... 720 1,200
Right | The Regiments of La Sarre and Languedoc,
Wing | a battalion of the marine, and militia..... 1,600 400
----- -----
3,620 3,900
Wolfe's _field-state_ on the morning of the 13th September, showed
only 4,828 men of all ranks, from the General downwards; but of these
every man was a trained soldier.
And within little more than an hour's march from the Plains, he could
not honourably have remained inactive while believing that only a part
of the enemy's force was in possession of such vantage ground; and
neither the dictates of prudence [205] nor his own chivalrous spirit
and loyal regard for the national honour, would permit him to betray a
consciousness of weakness by declining the combat, on finding himself
unexpectedly confronted by the whole of Wolfe's army. Relying,
doubtless, on the prestige of his victories during the campaign of the
proceeding year (1758) in which he had been uniformly successful, and
in which at Ticonderoga, with four thousand men he had defeated
General Abercromby at the head of nearly four times that number--he
endeavoured by a confident bearing and encouraging expressions [206]
to animate his troops with hopes which he himself could scarcely
entertain; and though almost despairing of success, boldly resolved to
attempt, by a sudden and vigorous onset, to dislodge his rival before
the latter could intrench himself in his commanding position, and it
is surely no blot on his fame that the superior discipline and
unflinching steadiness of his opponents, the close and destructive
volley [207] by which the spirited but disorderly advance of his
battalions was checked, and the irresistible [208] charge which
completed their confusion, rendered unavailing his gallant effort to
save the colony; for (to borrow the words of the eloquent historian of
the _Peninsular War_), "the vicissitudes of war are so many that
disappointment will sometimes attend the wisest combinations; and a
ruinous defeat, the work of chance close the career of the boldest and
most sagacious of Generals, so that to judge a commander's conduct by
the event alone is equally unjust and unphilosophical."
In the remarkable letter said to have been addressed to his cousin, M.
de Molé, _Président au Parlement de Paris_, and dated _from the camp
before Quebec, 22nd August_, 1759,"--a fortnight before the battle--
MONTCALM thus pathetically describes how hopeless would be the
situation in the event of WOLFE effecting a landing near the city;
and, with a firm heart, foretold his own fate,
"Here I am, my dear cousin, after the lapse of more than three months
still contending with Mr. WOLFE, who has incessantly bombarded Quebec
with a fury unexampled in the attack of any place, which the besieger
has wished to retain after his capture.
"Nearly all the whole of Lower Town has been destroyed by his
batteries and of the Upper Town a great part is likewise in ruins. But
even if he leaves not one stone upon another, he will never obtain
possession of the capital of the colony whilst his operations continue
to be confined to the opposite side of the river.
"Notwithstanding all his efforts during these three months, be has
hitherto made no progress towards the accomplishment of his object. He
is ruining us, but without advantage to himself. The campaign can
scarcely last another month, in consequence of the approach of the
autumnal gales, which are so severe and so disastrous to shipping.
"It may seem that, after so favourable a prelude, the safety of the
colony can scarcely be doubtful. Such, however, is not the case, as
the capture of Quebec depends on a _coup-de-main_. The English have
entire command of the river, and have only to effect a landing on this
side, where the city without defences is situated. Imagine them in a
position to offer me battle! _which I could no longer decline, and
which I ought not to gain_.
"Indeed, if M. WOLFE understands his business he has only to receive
my first fire, give a volley in return, and then charge; when my
Canadians--undisciplined, deaf to the sound of the drum, and thrown
into confusion by his onset--would be incapable of resuming their
ranks. Moreover, as they have no bayonets with which to oppose those
of the enemy, nothing would remain for them but flight; and then--
behold me beaten without resource.
"Conceive my situation! a most painful one for a General-in-Chief, and
which causes me many distressing moments.
"Hitherto, I have been enabled to act successfully on the defensive;
but will a continuance in that course prove ultimately successful?
that is the question which events must decide! Of this, however, you
may rest assured, that I shall probably not survive the loss of the
colony. There are circumstances which leave to a General no choice but
that of dying with honour; such may soon be my fate; and I trust that
in this respect posterity will have no cause to reproach my memory."
[209]
MONTCALM, conspicuous in front of the left wing of his line, and
WOLFE, at the head of the 28th Regiment, and the Louisbourg
Grenadiers, towards the right of the British line, must have been
nearly opposite to each other at the commencement of the battle, which
was most severe in that part of the field; and, by a singular
coincidence each of these heroic leaders had been twice wounded during
the brief conflict before he received his last and fatal wound.
But the valiant Frenchman, regardless of pain, relaxed not his efforts
to rally his broken battalions in their hurried retreat towards the
city, until he was shot through the loins, when within a few yards of
the St. Louis Gate. And so invincible was his fortitude that not even
the severity of this mortal stroke could abate his gallant spirit or
alter his intrepid bearing. Supported by two grenadiers--one at each
side of his horse--he re-entered the city; and in reply to some woman
who, on seeing blood flow from his wounds as he rode down St. Louis
street, on his way to the château, [210] exclaimed, _Oh, mon Dieu!
mon Dieu! le marquis est tué!_ courteously assured them that he was
not seriously hurt, and beg them not to distress themselves on his
account. _Ce n'est rien! Ce n'est rien! Ne vous affligez pas pour
moi, mes bonnes amies._ The last words of WOLFE--imperishably
enshrined in history--excite, after the lapse of a century, the
liveliest admiration and sympathy, and similar interest may, perhaps
be awakened by the narrative of the closing scene in the eventful
career of his great opponent.
On the 24th of March, 1761, the French troops who had served in Canada
under Montcalm, through M de Bougainville, applied to the British
Government for leave to raise a monument to the illustrious dead hero.
The British Government, through Mr. Pitt, sent back to Paris on the
10th April, 1761, a graceful letter of acquiescence. The inscription
had been prepared by the _Académie des Inscriptions et Belles
Lettres_. Unfortunately the marble on which the inscription was
engraved by some cause or other never reached Canada. However, in
1831, Lord Aylmer erected over the tomb of the marquis, in the
Ursuline Convent, a simple mural tablet of white marble, having the
following concise and beautiful epitaph from his Excellency's own
pen--
HONNEUR
à
MONTCALM
Le Destin en lui dérobant la Victoire
L'a récompensé par une mort glorieuse.
In the course of the following year (1832), there was also erected by
his Lordship a small monument on the battle-field to indicate the spot
where WOLFE expired, which structure, having become injured, has since
given place to a pedestal and column about thirty-five feet high,
surmounted by a Roman helmet wreathed with a laurel, and sword; both
in bronze.
On two sides of the pedestal are inserted bronze panels, with
inscriptions cast in bold relief; one of which thus briefly records
the place, circumstances, and date of the conquering hero's death:
Here Died
WOLFE
Victorious
September the 13th, 1759.
The other is as follows:
"This pillar was erected
By the British Army in Canada, A.D. 1849;
His Excellency Lieut.-General Sir Benjamin
d'Urban,
G.C.B.; K.C.H.; K.C.T.S., &c.,
Commander of the Forces,
To replace that erected by Governor-General
Lord Aylmer, G.C.B.,
Which was broken and defaced, and is deposited
underneath.
From the foregoing, all admit that the Plains of Abraham must recall
memories equally sacred to both nationalities inhabiting Quebec.
The 13th September, 1759, and the 28th April, 1760, are two red-letter
days in our annals; the undying names of Wolfe and Montcalm claim the
first, the illustrious names of Levis and Murray, the second.
In the September engagement Montcalm's right wing rested on the Ste.
Foye road; his left on the St. Louis road, near the Buttes-à-Nepveu
(Perrault's Hill.)
In the April encounter, Murray's hardy warriors occupied the greatest
portion of the north-western section of the plateau. His right wing
rested on Coteau Ste. Genevieve, St. John Suburbs, and his left
reached to the edge of the cliff, overhanging the St Lawrence, near
Marchmont. On the 13th September, the French began the fight; on the
28th April it was the British who fired first. Fifteen years later, in
1775, the Heights of Abraham became the camping ground of other foes.
This time the British of New England were pitted against the British
of New France; we all know with what result.
_BATTLEFIELD PARK._
The departure from our shores of England's red coated legions, in
1871, amongst other voids, left waste, untenanted, and unoccupied, the
historic area, for close on one century reserved as their parade and
exercising grounds on review days--The Plains of Abraham. This famous
battle-field does not, we opine, belong to Quebec alone; it is the
common property of all Canada. The military authorities always so
careful in keeping its fences in repair handed it over to the
Dominion, which made no provision for this purpose. On the 9th March,
1875, the Dominion Government leased it to the Corporation of the city
of Quebec, for ten years of the lease under which it was held from the
Religious Ladies of the Ursulines of Quebec, provided the Corporation
assumed the conditions of the lease, involving an annual rental of two
hundred dollars.
The extensive conflagration of June 1876, which laid waste one-half of
St. Louis Suburbs, and the consequent impoverished state of the
municipal finances prevented the City authorities from voting any
money to maintain in proper order the fences of the Plains. Decay,
ruin and disorder were fast settling on this sacred ground, once
moistened by the blood of heroes, when the citizens of Quebec
spontaneously came to the rescue. No plan suggested to raise the
necessary funds obtained more favour than that of planting it with
some shade-trees, and converting it into a Driving Park. This idea
well carried out would, in a measure, associate it with the everyday
life of all citizens of all denominations. Its souvenir, its wondrous
river-views alone would attract thousands. It would be open
_gratis_ to all well-behaved pedestrians. The fatigued tradesman,
the weary labourer, may at any time saunter round and walk to the
brink of the giddy heights facing Levi; feast their eyes on the
striking panorama unrolled at their feet; watch the white winged
argosies of commerce float swan-like on the bosom of the mighty flood,
whilst the wealthy citizen, in his panelled carriage, would take his
afternoon drive round the Park _en payant_. The student, the
scholar, the traveller might each in turn find here amusement, and
fresh air and shade, and with sketch book and map in hand, come and
study or copy the formation of the battle-field and its monument;
whilst the city _belle_ on her palfrey, or the youthful equestrian,
fresh from college, might enjoy a canter round the undulating course
in September on all days, except that Autumn week sacred to the turf,
ever since 1789, selected by the sporting fraternity.
In November, 1876, an association was formed, composed as follows: His
Honour the Lieut.-Governor, His Worship the Mayor, Chief Justice
Meredith, Hon. Judge Tessier, Hon. E. Chinic, Hon. D. E. Price, Chs.
E. Levey, Hon. P. Garneau, Col. Rhodes, John Gilmour, John Burstall,
Hon. C. C. DeLéry, J. Bte. Renaud, Jos. Hamel, J. M. LeMoine, Hon.
Thos. McGreevy, Hon. C. Alleyn, C. F. Smith, A. P. Caron, Thos.
Beckett, James Gibb, R. R. Dobell, with E. J. Meredith, Secretary.
Hon. E. Chinic, and Messrs. C. F. Smith, and R. R. Dobell were named
Trustees to accept for the nominal sum of $1, the lease held by the
City Corporation, the Corporation continuing liable for the annual
rent of $200. Though the late period of the season prevented the
association from doing anything, beyond having the future Park
suitably fenced in, the praiseworthy object in contemplation has not
been lost sight of, and active measures in furtherance of the same
will yet be taken.
It would be unjust to close this hasty sketch without awarding a word
of praise and encouragement to one of the most active promoters of the
scheme, R. R. Dobell, Esq., of Beauvoir, Sillery. (These lines penned
in 1876, we recall this day, with regret, the excellent idea of
Battlefield Park having fallen through, on the promoters discovery
that the 99 years lease, granted by the Ursuline Nuns would expire in
a very few years, when the Nuns would resume the site).
_THE DUKE OF KENT'S LODGE,--MONTMORENCI._
"Oh! give me a home where the cataract's foam
Is admired by the poor and the rich, as they roam
By thy banks, Montmorenci, so placid and fair,
Oh! what would I give, could I find a home there."
The Montmorenci heights and beaches have become famous on account of the
successful defence made there during the whole summer of 1759, by
Montcalm, against the attacks of Wolfe's veterans. Finally, the French
lines having been deemed impregnable on the Beauport side, a fort and
barracks [211] were repeatedly talked of at Isle aux Coudres, to winter
the troops. Wolfe was, however, overruled in his councils, and a spot near
Sillery pointed out for a descent, possibly by a French renegade, Denis de
Vitré, [212] probably by Major Stobo, who, being allowed a good deal of
freedom during his captivity, knew the locality well. Stobo had been all
winter a prisoner of war in the city, having been sent down from Fort
Necessity, on its surrender, to Quebec, in 1754, by the French, from whom
he escaped in the beginning of May, 1759, and joined Durell and Saunders'
fleet long before it reached Point Levi. These same heights, celebrated
for their scenery, were destined, later on, to acquire additional interest
from the sojourn thereat of a personage of no mean rank--the future father
of our august Sovereign.
Facing the roaring cataract of Montmorenci stands the "Mansion House,"
built by Sir Frederic Haldimand, C.B., [213] when Governor of the
Province--here Sir Frederic entertained, in 1782, the Baronness Redesdale,
the wife of the Brunswick General, who had come over with Burgoyne to
fight the continentals in 1775,--a plain-looking lodge, still existing, to
which, some years back, wings have been added, making it considerably
larger. This was the favourite summer abode of an English Prince. His
Royal Highness Edward Augustus, Colonel of the Royal Fusileers,
subsequently Field Marshal the Duke of Kent, "had landed here," says the
_Quebec Gazette_ of the 18th August, 1791, from H. M. ships _Ulysses_ and
_Resistance_, [214] in seven weeks from Gibraltar, with the 7th or Royal
Regiment of Fusileers." The Prince had evidently a strong fancy for
country life, as may be inferred by the fact that, during his prolonged
stay in Halifax, as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, he owned also, seven
miles out of the city, a similar rustic lodge, of which Haliburton has
given a charming description. 'Twas on the 11th of August the youthful
colonel, with his fine regiment, landed in the Lower Town; on the 12th was
held in his honour, at the Château St. Louis, a levée, whereat attended
the authorities, civil, military and clerical, together with the gentry.
In the afternoon "the ladies were presented to the Prince in the Château."
Who, then, attended this levée? Did he dance? If so, who were his
partners? No register of names; no list of Edward's partners, such as we
have of the Prince of Wales. [215] No _Court Journal_! Merely an entry of
the names of the signers of the address in the _Quebec Gazette_ of the
18th August, 1791. Can we not, then, re-people the little world of Quebec
of 1791?--bring back some of the principal actors of those stormy
political, but frolicsome times? Let us walk in with the "nobility and
gentry," and make our best bow to the scion of royalty. There, in fall
uniform, you will recognize His Excellency Lord Dorchester, the Governor-
General, one of our most popular administrators; next to him, that tall,
athletic military man, is the Deputy Governor-General, Sir Alured Clark.
He looks eager to grasp the reins of office from his superior, who will
set sail for _home_ in a few days. See how thoughtful the Deputy Governor
appears; in order to stand higher with his royal English master he
chuckles before-hand over the policy which gives to many old French
territorial divisions, right English names--Durham, Suffolk, Prince
Edward, York, Granville, Buckinghamshire, Herefordshire, Kent. The western
section of Canada will rejoice in the new names of Hesse, Luneberg,
Nassau, Mecklenburg. That Deputy Governor will yet live to win a _baton_
[216] of Field Marshal under a Hanoverian sovereign. He is now in close
conversation with Chief Justice William Smith, senior. Round there are a
bevy of Judges, Legislative Councillors, Members of Parliament, all done
up to kill, _à l'ancienne mode_, by Monsigneur Jean Laforme, [217] court
hair-dresser, with powdered periwigs, ruffles and formidable pigtails.
Here is Judge Mabane, Secretary Pownall, Honorable Messrs. Finlay, [218]
Dunn, Harrison, Holland, Collins, Caldwell, Fraser, Lymburner; Messrs.
Lester, Young, Smith junior. Mingled with them you also recognize the
bearers of old historic names--Messrs. de Longueuil, Baby, de Bonne,
Duchesnay, Dunière, Guéroult, de Lotbinière, Roc de St. Ours, Dambourgès,
de Rocheblave, de Rouville, de Boucherville, Le Compte, Dupré, Bellestre,
Taschereau, de Tonnancour, Panet, de Salaberry, and a host of others. Were
these gentlemen all present? Probably not, they were likely to be. Dear
reader, you want to know also what royal Edward did--said--was thought of
--amongst the Belgravians of old Stadacona, during the three summers he
spent in Quebec.
"How he looked when he danced, when he sat at his ease,
When his Highness had sneezed, or was going to sneeze."
Bear in mind then, that we have to deal with a dashing Colonel of
Fusileers--age twenty-five--status, a prince of the blood; add that he was
ardent, generous, impulsive, gallant; a tall, athletic fellow; in fact,
one of George III.'s big, burly boys--dignified in manner--a bit of a
statesman; witness his happy and successful speech [219] at the hustings
of the Charlesbourg election, and the biting rebuke it contained in
anticipation--for Sir Edmund Head's unlucky post-prandial joke about the
_superior_ race. Would you prefer to know him after he had left our
shores and become Field Marshal the Duke of Kent? Take up his biography by
the Rev. Erskine Neale, and read therein that royal Edward was a truthful,
Christian gentleman--a chivalrous soldier, though a stern disciplinarian--
an excellent husband--a persecuted and injured brother--a neglected son--
the munificent patron of literary, educational and charitable
institutions--a patriotic Prince--in short, a model of a man and a paragon
of every virtue. But was he all that? we hear you say. No doubt of it.
Have you not a clergyman's word for it--his biographer's? The Rev. Erskine
Neale will tell you what His Royal Highness did at Kensington Palace, or
Castlebar Hill. Such his task; ours, merely to show you the gallant young
colonel, emerging bright and early from his Montmorenci Lodge, thundering
with his spirited pair of Norman horses over the Beauport and Canardière
road; one day, "sitting down to whist and partridges for supper," at the
hospitable board of a fine old scholar and gentleman, M. de Salaberry,
then M.P.P. for the county of Quebec, the father of the hero of
Châteauguay, and who resided near the Beauport church. The old de
Salaberry mansion has since been united by purchase to Savnoc, Col. B. C.
A. Gugy's estate. Another day you may see him dash past Belmont or Holland
House or Powell Place, occasionally dropping in with the _bonhommie_
of a good, kind Prince, as he was--especially when the ladies were young
and pretty. You surely did not expect to find an anchorite in a slashing
Colonel of Fusileers--in perfect health, age, twenty-five. Not a grain of
asceticism ever entered, you know, in the composition of "Farmer George's"
big sons; York and Clarence, they were no saints; neither were they
suspected of asceticism; not they, they knew better. And should royal
Edward, within your sight, ever kiss his hand to any fair daughter of Eve,
inside or outside of the city, do not, my Christian friend, upturn to
heaven the whites of your eyes in pious horror; princes are men, nay, they
require at times to be more than men to escape the snares, smiles,
seductions, which beset them at every step in this wicked, wicked, world.
How was Montmorenci Lodge furnished? Is it true that the Prince's
remittances, from Carlton House never exceeded £5,000 per annum during his
stay here?--Had he really as many bells to summon his attendants in his
Beauport Lodge as his Halifax residence contained--as he had at Kensington
or Castlebar Hill? Is it a fact that he was such a punctual and early
riser, that to ensure punctuality on this point, on of his servants was
commanded to sleep during the day in order to be sure to be awake at day-
break to ring the bell?--Did he really threaten to court-martial the 7th
Fusileers, majors, captains, subs and privates, who might refuse to sport
their pig-tails in the streets of Quebec, as well as at Gibraltar?
Really, dear reader, your inquisitiveness has got beyond all bounds; and
were Prince Edward to revisit those shores, we venture to say, that you
would in a frenzy of curiosity or loyalty even do what was charged by De
Cordova, when Edward's grandson, Albert of Wales, visited, in 1860, Canada
and the American Union:--
"They have stolen his gloves and purloined his cravat
Even scraped a souvenir from the nap of his hat."
Be thankful if we satisfy even one or two of your queries. He had indeed
to live here on the niggardly allowance of £5,000 per annum. The story
[220] about censuring an officer for cutting off his pig-tail refers not
to his stay in Canada, but to another period of his life. He lived rather
retired; a select few only were admitted to his intimacy; his habits were
here, as elsewhere, regular; his punctuality, proverbial; his stay amongst
us, marked by several acts of kindness, of which we find traces in the
addresses presented on several occasions, thanking him for his own
personal exertions and the assistance rendered by his gallant men at
several fires which had occurred. [221] He left behind some warm admirers,
with whom he corresponded regularly. We have now before us a package of
his letters dated "Kensington Palace." Here is one out of twenty; but no,
the records of private friendship must remain inviolate.
The main portion of the "Mansion House," at Montmorenci, is just as he
left it. The room in which he used to write is yet shown; a table and
chair--part of his furniture--are to this day religiously preserved. The
lodge is now the residence of the heirs of the late G. B Hall, Esquire,
the proprietors of the extensive saw mills at the foot of the falls.
_THE DUKE OF KENT, THE QUEEN'S FATHER, AT QUEBEC, 1791-4._
Of the numerous sons of King George III., none, perhaps, were born
with more generous impulses, none certainly more manly--none more true
in their attachments, and still none more maligned neglected--traduced
than he, who, as a jolly Colonel of Fusileers spent some pleasant
years of his life at Quebec from 1791 to '94, Edward Augustus, father
of our virtuous and beloved Sovereign.
We wish to be understood at the outset. It is not our intention here
to write a panegyric on a royal Duke; like his brothers, York and
Clarence--the pleasure-loving, he, too, had his foibles; he was not an
anchorite by any means. His stern, Spartan idea of discipline may have
been overstretched, and blind adherence to routine in his daily habits
may have justly invited the lash of ridicule. What is pretended here,
and that, without fear of contradiction, is that his faults, which
were those of a man, were loudly proclaimed, while his spirit of
justice, of benevolence and generosity was unknown, unrecognized,
except by a few. No stronger record can be opposed to the traducers of
the memory of Edward, Duke of Kent, than his voluminous correspondence
with Col. DeSalaberry and brothers, from 1791 to 1815--recently,
through the kindness of the DeSalaberry family, laid before the public
by the late Dr. W. J. Anderson, of Quebec.
The Duke had not been lucky in the way of biographers. The Rev.
Erskine Neale, who wrote his life, is less a biographer than a
panegyrist, and his book, if, instead of much fulsome praise, it
contained a fuller account--especially of the early career of his
hero--of the Duke's sayings and doings in Gibraltar, Quebec and
Halifax, it would certainly prove more valuable, much more complete.
Singularly enough, Neale, disposes in about three lines, of the years
the Duke spent in Quebec, though, as proved by his correspondence,
those years were anything but barren. Quebec, we contend, as exhibited
in the Duke's letters, ever retained a green spot in his souvenirs, in
after life.
The Old Château balls, the Kent House in St. Lewis street, had for him
their joyful sunshine, when, as a stalwart, dashing Colonel of
Fusileers, aged 25, he had his _entrées_ in the fashionable drawing-
rooms of 1791-4 Holland House, Powell Place (Spencer Wood, as it is
now called), old Hale's receptions, Lymburner's soirees in his old
mansion on Sault au Matelot street, then the fashionable quarter for
wealthy merchants. The Duke's cottage _orné_ at the Montmorenci Falls
had also its joyous memories, but these were possibly too tender to be
expatiated on in detail.
The Prince, it appears, was also present on an occasion of no ordinary
moment to the colony that is when the King, his father, "granted a
Lower Chamber to the two provinces in 1791."
The only original source now available for inditing that portion of
the Duke's life spent in Quebec, is Neilson's old _Quebec Gazette_,
supplemented with divers old traditions, not always reliable.
Dr. Anderson's compilation will certainly go far to dispel the
atmosphere of misrepresentation floating around the character of
Prince Edward, as he was familiarly styled when here during the past
century. The character of the most humble individual, when casually
mentioned in history, ought to be free from misrepresentation. Why
this rule should not apply to the manly soldier who, in the streets of
old Quebec in 1791, headed his gallant men wherever a riot, a fire, or
a public calamity required their presence, is difficult to understand.
No man was more popular in the city from the services he rendered when
called on. One class, however, found in him an unrelenting
disciplinarian--the refractory soldier attempting mutiny or desertion
from the corps.
We are invited to these reflections from the fact that new light is
now promised to us on this traduced commander, in the shape of what
will no doubt be an attractive biography of Duke Edward from the pen
of a London _littérateur_ of note, whose name we are not justified in
giving at present. The following extract from a London letter,
received this last mail by a gentleman of this city, who has succeeded
in gathering together valuable materials for Canadian history, will
prove what we now assert. It is addressed to Mr. LeMoine, late
President of the Literary and Historical Society, whose sketch of the
Prince's career in 1791, as contained in the _Maple Leaves_ for 1865,
seems to have obtained the full approbation of the distinguished
_littérateur_ now engaged in writing the life of the Duke:
"SOUTH KENSINGTON, London, May 30, 1874.
DEAR SIR,--If my note on Miss Nevill's incident [222] clears up any
point hitherto obscure of Canadian life, use it by all means for your
Canadian sketches. During my searches consequent to elucidate the
Duke's sojourn in Canada, many curious stories came under my eye,
which have never, as I am aware, been yet published in Canadian
histories, when the Prince was stationed at Quebec. The London pens
were m the habit of publishing from time to time incidents of
considerable interest bearing on forgotten periods of the early
British Constitutional History of Canada--parliamentary. My intention
is to note them in the life of H.R.H., as he was present when the
King granted a lower Chamber to the two provinces in 1791. From this
circumstance he based his firm adherence to a constitutional
Government as the safest mode to ensure freedom to all parties
interested therein. My work on the Duke of Kent would have been
published ere this, but I am awaiting the correspondence promised me
by Lord B---- addressed to Lord L----, and that also to Sir H----
Douglas, formerly Lieutenant-Governor of ----. Your suggestion will
not be lost sight of. _Maple Leaves_ have been fully culled for
information concerning the Prince. Holland Farm and the Duke at
Montmorenci give a correct picture of life in Quebec in 1791--
information unknown to Rev. Mr. Neale in 1850.
If not too much trouble, could you let me know whether these works, of
which I enclose a list, mention the Duke in Canada, for the British
Museum does not possess these publications, which obliges me to seek
information from such a person as yourself, who is versed in Canadian
affairs. I am anxious to give a correct account of the Duke in Canada.
This period of his life has escaped all the biographers of the Prince,
Philippart and Neale, &c. If I should meet any striking incident
relative to Canadian affairs, I shall forward it to your address."--
_From Quebec Morning Chronicle_.
_L'ASYLE CHAMPÊTRE._
Founded by Joseph Francois Perrault, the pioneer of lay education in the
Province of Quebec.
"In these days of ambitious, showy villas and grand mansions, whose lofty
and imposing proportions, elaborate architectural ornaments, conspicuous
verandahs and prominent sites are all designed, not only to gratify the
taste and pride of their owners, but to impress with wonder and admiration
the ordinary observer, it may be interesting to give a description of Mr.
Perrault's residence, a fair specimen of a comfortable and well ordered
dwelling of the olden time. My object, in describing it, is to convey to
the present generation some idea of the taste and domestic architecture of
our ancestors, especially to those who, in culture and social influence,
might truly be regarded as representative men. For a similar purpose, I
have thought of presenting such social pictures of the good old times, of
his habits and practices, as marked his connection with his relatives and
neighbors, and in this way an instructive lesson may be learned.
Mr. Perrault's abode was a building of one storey, with attics in front
and two in rear, in the style of the eighteenth century, on the north side
of the St. Louis Road, on the spot known to historians as les buttes à
nepveu, to-day, as Perrault's Hill, upon which the residence of Mr. Henry
Dinning now stands. As all students are aware, this is classic ground;
here was fought the main struggles of the battles of the Plains of Abraham
and of St. Foy; Murray's troops having entrenched themselves here on the
eve of the engagement with de Levis. A stone wall with an elegant railing
divided the property from the main road, near which was a graceful little
nestled summer house, overgrown with creepers and vines; through an avenue
with flowery borders, between lines of lofty vases, filled with blooming
plants, the visitor reached the house, which occupied the centre of a
garden of four acres. Above the door, at the summit of a flight of steps,
was inscribed in gilt letters, _Asyle Champêtre_. It was a double
house with a conservatory at each end, the first erected in Canada, filled
with exotic and native plants, at some distance on either side were
miniature Norman turrets. Mr. Perrault had selected this favourable site
for his residence, carefully noting all its advantages. The rays of the
rising sun flashed through the front windows, cheering him in his morning
labours, while as the day wore on, a flood of mellow light suffused the
western portion of his chamber. From such vantage ground, Mr. Perrault, of
an evening, could observe the movements of the heavenly bodies, the
position of the planets and the various phenomena of the firmament; the
study of which had great attractions for him, and created in his mind a
gratitude to the great architect for all His vast works and beneficent
care. On entering the visitor found himself in the reception room, of
about twenty-four feet square, with a large bay window towards the north,
and used as a drawing room and study. In whatever direction one looked,
the view was attractive; to the south, the commanding heights of Point
Levi, with the chasm between, where rolled by the great St. Lawrence; to
the east, the picturesque island of Orleans, dividing the river into two
channels, and the imposing old Citadel, or martial crown of the city on
Cape Diamond; to the north, the meandering river in the beautiful valley
of St. Charles, the heights of Charlesbourg and Lorette, the shore of
Beauport, the faint trace of the _embouchure_ of the Montmorenci, and
the grand Laurentian mountain range in the distance; and to the west, the
battle fields of 1759 and 60, memorable for their heroic deeds and
momentous results--views most charming, exquisite and impressive.
The front grounds were utilized as a model garden and orchard, in which
every improvement in horticulture had been adopted and were laid out in
plots and gravelled walks. In rear of the house was a miniature pond,
enlivened by waterfowl and turtles, and whose banks were adorned with
water plants and ferns, and receding thence were plateaux, covered with
flowers of every description.
In addition to the picturesque appearance and commanding position of Mr.
Perrault's house, the internal arrangements of the apartments deserve
notice, particularly as in them often met the leading men of Quebec, where
they discussed the fluctuations of the public mind, benevolent enterprises
and matters of general interest. The parlor in the _Asyle Champêtre_
was well known to the élite and leaders of society of that day; elegantly,
but not luxuriously, furnished; the carpet was made of flax, sown and
grown on the grounds adjoining his schools, and woven by the pupils; the
walls were hung with valuable paintings and ornamented by objects of
_virtû_ artistically arranged. From the centre descended a lustre of
six candles; at the rear angles were large circular mirrors, one concave
and the other convex, with lights on each side, reflecting every object in
movement in the apartment. Two bronze statues, or candelabra, with lights,
guarded either side of the hall door, in keeping with the surroundings;
the hangings and furniture were in the style of Louis XIV., in which the
colours harmoniously blended. On the left hand of this apartment was Mr.
Perrault's library, in which was a choice collection of Greek, Latin,
English, French and Spanish works, on philosophy, history and _les
belles lettres_. No one had a higher respect for the classics than he;
the odes of Horace, the poems of Virgil and the orations of Cicero were as
familiar to him as the best sermons of Bossuet or the tragedies of Racine.
On the right was another room, with a piano and organ, to which the family
devoted much attention, and lovers of music were certain of hearing there
excellent performances and well-cultivated voices.
Those who bad the privilege of enjoying his hospitality on ordinary
occasions, could never forget the hearty welcome of their whole-souled
entertainer; and on two particular days, the first of January and the
_fête de St. Joseph_, his patron saint, they had still better reason
for its remembrance. These social gatherings were for months looked
forward to as the events of the season, and for many a day subsequently
they recalled most agreeable recollections. As was then the custom, the
guests arrived early in the afternoon and took their departure at the
unfashionable hour of nine, and in the interval engaged themselves in
dancing, in games, in listening to brilliant executions on different
musical instruments and the rich melody of well-trained voices, in ballad
and song, clever repartees and intellectual conversation, while the supper
table, laden with all the delicacies procurable, was a continual feast
from the opening to the close of the entertainment. The guests were
escorted down the avenue by their host and his family, and as he bade them
good night, the shouts and merry laughter of the younger ones rang
joyfully in the night air, startling the passers by with their frolicsome
happiness.
Mr. Perrault's table had a wide reputation, and although he never issued
general invitations, it was rarely without two, or more, guests, for those
who happened to be at the _Asyle_ at meal time were cordially invited
to join in the family repast. From taste and habit, his board ever
presented a tempting display; but, as regards himself, he was most
abstemious, partaking sparingly and of but few dishes, while to his guests
his hospitality was unbounded. His old cook sometimes found her task
hard, or pretended to; and on one occasion, returning from confession, she
remarked that she had said to M. le Curé, when he counselled patience and
submission, "_je voudrais bien vous y voir_," (I would like to see you in
my place). Even in those days cooks were testy, for, when Mr. Perrault
found fault with her, she would answer as impertinently as one could in
these days: "_voulez-vous que je vous dise la vérité? Vous commencez à
être dégoûté de ma cuisine_," (Do you want me to tell you the truth? You
are getting tired of my cooking). To the tried and impatient, the above
incidents will cause them to ask themselves if there be any truth in the
old saying: "God sent us food and the devil sent us cooks."
A custom illustrative of the habits of that period, was the visit of
relations on New Year's morning. Old and young presented themselves at
five o'clock and repaired in a file to Mr. Perrault's bedroom to receive
his blessing. He afterwards rose, dressed and made all happy by giving
them suitable presents and paying graceful compliments. Later in the day
was witnessed a still more interesting scene, when his pupils, of both
sexes, and doubtless to their fullest number, arrived at his hospitable
mansion to offer him their grateful acknowledgements of his kindness. A
table, close by where he sat, in a large arm chair, was covered with piles
of "horns of plenty," filled with sweetmeats, and to each he presented
one, with a small piece of silver; and these children, who needed more
substantial gifts, had but to make their wants known and they were rarely
refused.
On that day he also made calls immediately after Grand Mass, in the
extremity of his politeness carrying his hat under his arm, regardless of
the weather, with the _queue_ of his wig blown to and fro by the
wind. His arrival, as a matter of coarse, caused a social stir, often
recalled with pleasure by many afterwards.
_MARCHMONT._
"Oh! give me a home on that bold classic height,
Where in sweet contemplation in age's dark night,
I may tread o'er the plain where as histories tell
Britain's stout-hearted Wolfe in his victory fell."
Adjoining the expanse of table land, now known as the Plains of
Abraham, and divided from it to the east by a high fence, lies with a
southern exposure a level and well-cultivated farm--Marchmont--
tastefully laid out some sixty summers ago by Sir John Harvey, next
occupied for several years by Sir Thomas Noel Hill, subsequently owned
by Hon. John Stewart, and for more than twenty years the residence of
John Gilmour, Esquire, of the well-known Glasgow house of Pollock,
Gilmour & Co. [223] To the west, Marchmont farm is bounded by
Wolfesfield; to the south by the river heights, having a valuable
timber cove (Wolfe's cove) attached to it. The dwelling, a cheerful
and sunny residence, decks a sloping lawn, not far from the high bank,
embedded as it were in a clump of fir, ash, maple and pine trees,
which conceal it from St. Lewis road, and afford, on the opposite
side, a variety of charming glimpses of our noble estuary, the main
artery of western commerce. A spacious and richly-stocked conservatory
opens on the drawing-room to the west of the house. The embellishment
was erected by the late John Gilmour, who also added a vinery.
In the summer months, visitors travelling past Marchmont cannot fail
to notice the magnificent hawthorn hedge, interspersed here and there
with young maple, which encloses it on the St. Lewis road.
Marchmont, even shorn of its historical memories, would much interest
an observer who had an eye to agricultural pursuits carried to a high
state of perfection. The outlines and arrangements for raising cattle,
poultry, &c., are on a truly comprehensive scale.
Connected with Marchmont, there are incidents of the past, which will
ever impress it on the mind of the visitor. A century back, over this
same locality, the tide of battle surged for several hours when
Wolfe's army had ascended the cliff. No later than 1860, the crumbling
bones of fallen warriors were discovered whilst laying the foundation
of the flag-staff to the east of the house. They were buried again
carefully under the same flagstaff--erected to salute the Prince of
Wales when passing Marchmont. Let us hear one of the actors on that
eventful September morning of 1759--Capt. John King:--
"Before day break," says he, "this morning we made a descent upon the
north shore, about half a mile to the eastward of Sillery; and the
light troops were fortunately, by the rapidity of the current, carried
lower down, between us and Cape Diamond. We had in this detachment
thirty flat-bottomed boats, containing about 1600 men. This was a
great surprise on the enemy, who, from the natural strength of the
place, did not suspect, and consequently were not prepared against, so
bold an attempt. The chain of sentries which they had posted along the
summit of the heights, galled us a little and picked off several men
(in the boat where I was one man was killed; one seaman, with four
soldiers, were slightly, and two mortally wounded, and some officers),
before our light infantry got up to dislodge them. This grand
enterprise was conducted and executed with great good order and
discretion; as fast as we landed the boats were put off for
reinforcements, and the troops formed with much regularity; the
General, with Brigadiers Monckton and Murray, were ashore with the
first division. We lost no time, but clambered up one of the steepest
precipices that can be conceived, being almost a perpendicular and of
an incredible length; as soon as we gained the summit all was quiet,
and not a shot was heard, owing to the excellent conduct of the
infantry under Colonel Howe. It was by this time clear day-light. Here
we formed again, the river and the south country in our rear, our
right extending to the town, our left to Sillery, and halted a few
moments. The general then detached the light troops to our left to
rout the enemy from their battery, and to disable their guns, except
they should be rendered serviceable to the party who were to remain
there; and this service was soon performed. We then faced to the right
and marched towards the town by files, till we came to the Plains of
Abraham, an even piece of ground which Wolfe had made choice of, while
we stood forming upon the hill. Weather showery; about six o'clock the
enemy first made their appearance upon the heights, between us and the
town; whereupon we halted and wheeled to the right, forming the line
of battle."
For some time past Marchmont has been occupied by Col. Ferdinand
Turnbull, of the Q. O. Canadian Hussars.
_ANECDOTE OF WOLFE'S ARMY._
"After the conquest of Quebec, the troops had to make shift for
quarters wherever they could find a habitable place; I myself made
choice of a small house in the lane leading to the Esplanade,
where Ginger the Gardner now lives (1828), and which had belonged
to Paquet the schoolmaster--although it was scarcely habitable
from the number of our shells that had fallen through it. However,
as I had a small party of the company, I continued to get a number
of little jobs done towards making it passably comfortable for the
men, and for my own part I got Hector Munro, who was a joiner by
trade, to knock up a kind of "cabinet" (as the Canadians called
it) in one corner of the house for myself. We had a stove, but our
Highlanders, who know no better, would not suffer the door to be
closed, as they thought if they could not naturally _see_ the
fire, it was impossible that they could _feel_ it. In this
way they passed the whole of the winter; three or four would sit
close up to the door of the stove, and when these were a little
warmed, three or four others would relieve them, and so on. Some
days they were almost frozen to death, or suffocated by the smoke,
and to mend the matter they had nothing better than green wood!
I contrived somehow or other to procure six blankets, so that
notwithstanding that I was almost frozen during the day, being the
whole winter out on duty, superintending the party of our
Highlanders, making fascines in the woods, still I passed the
nights pretty comfortably. 'Twas funny enough to see, every
morning, the whole surface of the blankets covered with ice, from
the heat of my breath and body. We wore our kilts the whole of
this time, but there was no accident, as we were sheltered by the
woods. I bought myself a pair of leather breeches, but I could not
walk in them, so I laid them aside.
When the spring came round, the French again made their appearance
on high ground between the town and Abraham's Plains, and General
Murray must needs march us out to fight them. At this time
scarcely a man in the garrison but was afflicted with colds or
coughs. The day fixed on orders was the 28th April, 1760, at seven
in the morning, and cold and raw enough it was! Before the sortie
I took a biscuit and, spread a bit of butter over it, and I set
about 'cranching' it, and said to Hector Munro, for whom I had a
great attachment: "You had better do as I am doing, for you cannot
know when you may be able to get your next meal." Hector answered,
"I will not touch anything; I have already taken my last meal, for
something tells me that I shall never require another meal in this
world." "Hout! man," said I, "you are talking nonsense; take a
biscuit, I tell you." But no, Hector would have none! Well, the
hour came for parading, and we were soon afterwards marched out of
the garrison. It was my lot to act as covering sergeant to
Lieutenant Fraser of our Grenadiers, who had already been wounded
at the affair of the Falls, through the belly and out at his back,
without his scarcely having felt it. (This Lieutenant Fraser was
nephew to my friend Captain Baillie, who was the first man killed
at the landing at Louisbourg, and who, had he lived, would have
been the means of securing to me my commission, as had been the
understanding between him and Colonel Fraser, when I volunteered
in Scotland for service in America). Early in the action with the
French, Lieut. Fraser received a shot in the temple, which felled
him to the very spot on which he then stood, and as not an inch of
ground was to be lost, I had to move up into line, which I could
not have done without my resting one foot upon his body! The
affair went altogether against us, and we had to retreat back into
the town. When I got back to my quarters, I there found poor
Hector Munro, who not being able to walk, had been carried in,
owning to a wound he had received in the lower part of the belly,
through which his bowels were coming out! He had his senses about
him, and reminded me of our conversation just before the battle.
He was taken to the Hôtel Dieu, where he died the next morning, in
great agony. When I first saw the French soldiers I thought them a
dirty, ragged set--their clothing was originally white. Many of
them, particularly in the 'Regiment de la Reine,' had a bit of
blue ribbon to the buttonhole of their coat, with a little white
shell fixed to it, which they called 'Papa,' and this, it seems,
was a mark of honour for having distinguished themselves on some
former occasion. I, at first, mistook them for Freemasons! After
the battle of the Plains of Abraham, on the 13th September, fifty-
nine, when a great many of the French lay killed and wounded on
the field (we killed seventy-two officers alone) it was horrid to
see the effect of blood and dust on their white coats! They lay
there as thick as a flock of sheep, and just as they had fallen,
for the main body had been completely routed off the ground, and
had not an opportunity of carrying away their dead and wounded
men. I recollect to have lost a regimental coat by their means.
There was no place about the town to put the wounded in, and they
had to be carried down the bank to Wolfe's cove, and from thence
put into boats and taken across to the lower ferry-place at Point
Levis, for the purpose of their being placed under the care of our
surgeons at the church (St Joseph's), which was converted into a
temporary hospital. Our men had nothing better to carry them on
than a handbarrow with canvass laid across it. By this means it
required two of our men to carry one of them to the top of the
hill at Point Levis.
The business going on very slowly, I at last got out of patience
looking at them, so I set to work and took up a wounded man to my
own share, and did not let him down at the top of the hill but
landed him safe at the temporary hospital. By the time that we had
done with them I was fatigued enough, and 'afaith, I spoiled my
red coat into the bargain!
The poor fellows would cry out lustily when they were in an uneasy
position, but we could not understand a word of what they said.
One of them had one of his cheeks lying flat down upon his
shoulder, which he got by attempting to run away, though he had a
Highlander at his heels. When the French gave themselves up
quietly they had no harm done them, but faith! if they tried to
outrun a Heelandman they stood but a bad chance, for whash went
the broadsword!"--(_Related in August, 1828, as stated in the
Diary of Volunteer Sergt. Jas. Thompson._)
_WOLFESFIELD_
"The hill they climb'd, and halted at its top, of more than mortal
size."
"The horror of the night, the precipice scaled by Wolfe the empire he
with a handful of men added to England, and the glorious catastrophe
of contentedly terminating life where his fame began... Ancient story
may be ransacked, and ostentatious philosophy thrown into the account,
before an episode can be found to rank with Wolfe's."--(_William
Pitt._)
The successful landing at this spot of the English forces, who, in 1759,
invaded Quebec, no less than its scenery, lends to Wolfesfield peculiar
interest. Major, afterwards General, John Hale, later on conspicuous for
gallantry during the long and trying siege of Quebec, in 1775-6, was one
of the first men who, in 1759, put his foot on the heights in front of the
locality where now stands the dwelling, having climbed up the hill by the
_ruisseau St. Denis_, heading the flank Company of the Lascelles or
47th Regiment. General Wolfe made the main body of the army march up,
Indian file, by a pathway which then existed where the high road is at
present. At the head of this path may yet be seen the remains of the
French entrenchments, occupied on that day by a militia guard of 100 men,
chiefly Lorette militiamen, a portion of whom had that very night obtained
leave to go and work on their farms, [224.] who fired at Major Hale's
party, and then, says an old manuscript, thinking they had to deal with
the whole English army, they surrendered, with their officer, Capt. De
Vergor, who, being wounded, could not escape, and exclaimed, "Sauvez
vous." This was shortly after midnight, and Wolfe, notwithstanding the
grievous indisposition he was then labouring under, organized a plan to
get up supplies and ammunition from the _bateaux_, this he had
accomplished by four in the morning, when he drew up his men on Marchmont
field. The sailors of the _bateaux_ were the men employed in carrying
up the provisions and ammunition. Wolfe had grog served out to them as
they reached, tired and panting, the top of the hill with their loads,
using to each kind and encouraging words. The crowning success which
followed is lengthily described elsewhere. The first house built at
Wolfesfield was by Captain Kenelm Chandler, [225] David Munro, Esquire,
was the next proprietor. The occupant for forty years was an old and
respected Quebec merchant, well known as the "King of the Saguenay," on
account of the extensive mills he owned in that region--William Price,
Esq., the respected father of a patriarchal family of sons and daughters.
Mr. Price added much to the beauty of the place, which enjoys a most
picturesque river view. In front of the dwelling there is a fine lawn,
shaded by some old thorn and oak trees, with comfortable rustic seats
close by the ravine St. Denis. This ravine is a favourite locality for
botanizing excursionists. Wolfesfield, without being as extensive as some
of the surrounding estates, is one of the most charming rural homes Quebec
can boast of.
As these pages are going through the press, we clip from a Quebec journal
the following tribute to the worth of our late excellent neighbour, Wm.
Price, Esq., a son of the Laird of Wolfesfield:
_MONUMENT TO THE LATE WILLIAM PRICE, ESQ._
"A large and costly monument in granite is now in course of erection
at Chicoutimi to the memory of the late Wm. Price. The people of
Chicoutimi are erecting the monument as a token of their respect and
admiration for the memory of their late representative in the
Legislative Assembly of Quebec. The column will be fifty feet in
height, and will, it is expected, be completed by the month of
September next. Being placed upon an elevated site, it will be visible
for many miles up and down the Saguenay river."
_THE CAPTURE OF QUEBEC._
The following dramatic account of the capture of Quebec is taken from
the fifth volume of Mr. Carlyle's _Biography of Frederick the Great_:
"Above Quebec, night of September 12-13th, in profound silence, on the
stream of the St. Lawrence, far away, a notable adventure is going on.
Wolfe, from two points well above Quebec ('as a last shift, we will
try that way'), with about five thousand men, is silently descending
in rafts, with purpose to climb the heights somewhere on this side of
the city, and be in upon it, if Fate will. An enterprise of almost
sublime nature; very great, if it can succeed. The cliffs all beset to
his left hand; Montcalm, in person, guarding Quebec with his main
strength.
Wolfe silently descends; mind made up; thoughts hushed quiet into one
great thought; in the ripple of the perpetual waters, under the grim
cliffs and the eternal stars. Conversing, with his people, he was
heard to recite some passages of Gray's _Elegy_, lately come out
to those parts; of which, says an ear-witness, he expressed his
admiration in an enthusiastic degree: 'Ah, these are tones of the
Eternal Melodies, are not they? A man might thank heaven had he such a
gift; almost as we might for succeeding here, gentlemen!'
Next morning (Thursday, 13th September, 1759), Wolfe, with his 5.000,
is found to have scrambled up some woody neck in the height, which was
not quite precipitous; has trailed one cannon with him, the seamen
busy bringing up another; and by ten of the clock, stands ranked (just
somewhat in the Frederick way, though on a small scale); ready at all
points for Montcalm, but refusing to be over-ready. Montcalm on first
hearing of him, had made haste: _Oui, je les vois où ils ne doivent
pas être; je vais les écraser_ (to smash them)!" said he, by way of
keeping his people in heart. And he marches up beautifully skilful,
neglecting none of his advantages. His numerous Canadian
sharpshooters, preliminary Indians in the bushes, with a provoking
fire. 'Steady!' orders Wolfe; 'from you, not one shot till they are
within thirty yards!' And Montcalm, volleying and advancing, can get
no response, more than from Druidic stones; till at thirty yards, the
stones become vocal--and continued so at a dreadful rate; and in a
space of seventeen minutes, have blown Montcalm's regulars, and their
second in command, and their third into ruin and destruction. In about
seven minutes more the army was done 'English falling on with bayonet,
Highlanders with claymore'; fierce pursuit, rout total--and Quebec and
Canada as good as finished. The thing is yet well known to every
Englishman; and how Wolfe himself died in it, his beautiful death."
_ELM GROVE._
Elm Grove, until recently owned, though not inhabited, by the Marquise de
Bassano, will be familiar to many, from having been the residence during
the summer of 1878, of His Holiness the Pope's Apostolic Ablegate--Bishop
Conroy.
This eminent prelate, prematurely struck down by death at Newfoundland, in
the midst of his mission of peace and good will to all men spent many
busy, let us hope pleasant, hours in this cool retreat.
The plantation of elms from which this seat takes its name, together with
other trees, conceals the dwelling so entirely from the road, that unless
by entering the grounds no idea can be formed of their beauty and extent;
amidst the group of trees there is one of lordly dimensions, in the centre
of the garden. The new dwelling at Elm Grove is a stately, substantial
structure; its internal arrangement and heating apparatus, indicate
comfort and that _bien-être_ for which Quebec homes are proverbial. A
winding, well-wooded approach leads up to the house from the porter's
lodge and main road. From the upper windows an extensive view of
Charlesbourg, Lorette, Beauport, Point Levi and surrounding parishes may
be obtained.