Chapter III: The "ancient Capital." (6)

"But to return to the interments in the Jesuits' Chapel. The next
which took place was that of Father de Quen, who died on the 8th
October, 1659, of contagious fever brought into the colony by vessels
from beyond the seas. It was he, who, in 1647, discovered Lake St.
John, and, in 1653, celebrated the Mass at the Hôtel Dieu, when the
Sister Marie de L'Incarnation embraced the religious profession.
Father de Quen was buried on the morning of the 9th _praesente
corpore, dictae duae missae privatae, in summo altari, dum diceretur
officium_. He was 59 years of age. The _Journal des Jésuites_
does not say that he was interred in the chapel, but it is easy to
infer the fact from the _two private_ masses said in presence of
the body, and also because the entry of his burial does not appear in
the parish register. Moreover, it is also the opinion of Rev. Messrs.
Laverdière and Casgrain, as published in the _Journal des Jésuites_.
On the 15th November, 1665, arrived at Quebec, coming from the
Richelieu River, a vessel bringing the body of Father François du
Peron, who died on the 10th at Fort St. Louis (Chambly). The body was
exposed in the Chapel of the Congregation, and 'on the 16th, after the
service at which the Marquis de Tracy assisted, it was interred in the
vault of the chapel towards the confessional on the side of the
street,' and Father le Mercier, who wrote the foregoing, adds that
'there remains room only for another body.'

"From the preceding, it appears that three interments took place in
the Jesuits' Chapel (the only ones mentioned in the _Journal des
Jésuites_), and it is probable that the place remaining for only
one more body was never filled. The remains of three bodies having
been found, it seems to me therefore reasonable to conclude that they
are those of Brother Liégeois and Fathers de Quen and du Peron. It is
true only two skulls have been recovered, but it must be remembered
that Brother Liégeois had his head chopped off and left upon the spot,
as remarks the text, so that it is easy to conjecture that the
Iroquois dragged his body further off, when it was found in a headless
condition and thus buried. With respect to the site of the chapel, the
text already cited relative to Father du Peron indicates sufficiently
that it was alongside the street; and a reference to the map of Quebec
in 1660 shows in fact the street skirting the Jesuits' property as it
does to-day. Further, the excavations which, at the request of Père
Sachez, Dr. Larue and others, Hon. Mr. Joly, with a good will which
cannot be too highly praised, has ordered to be made, have already
laid bare the foundations of a well outlined building upon the very
site where tradition locates the chapel and where the bones have been
found.

"As it was stated at the time of the finding of the skeletons that one
of them was supposed to be that of a nun of the Hôtel Dieu, Mr. Bédard
applied to the authorities of that institution for information on the
subject and received an answer from the records which conclusively
proves that the nun in question was buried in the vault of the
Jesuits' Church and not in their Chapel."

Though a considerable sum had been granted to foster Jesuit establishments at Quebec by a young French nobleman, René de Rohault, son of the Marquis de Gamache, as early as 1626, it was on the 18th March, 1637, only, that the ground to build on, "twelve arpents of land, in the vicinity of Fort St. Louis" were granted to the Jesuit Fathers. In the early times, we find this famous seat of learning playing a prominent part in all public pageants; its annual examinations and distribution of prizes called together the _élite_ of Quebec society. The leading pupils had, in poetry and in verse, congratulated Governor d'Argenson on his arrival in 1658. On the 2nd July, 1666, a public examination on logic brought out, with great advantage, two most promising youths, the famous Louis Jolliet, who later on joined Father Marquette in his discovery of the Mississippi, and a Three Rivers youth, Pierre de Francheville, who intended to enter Holy Orders. The learned Intendant Talon was an examiner; he was remarked for the erudition his Latin questions displayed. Memory likes to revert to the times when the illustrious Bossuet was undergoing his Latin examinations at Navarre, with the Great Condé as his examiner; France's first sacred orator confronted by her most illustrious general.

How many thrilling memories were recalled by this grim old structure? "Under its venerable roof, oft had met the pioneer missionaries of New France, the band of martyrs, the geographers, discoverers, _savants_ and historians of this learned order: Dolbeau, de Quen, Druilletes, Daniel, de la Brosse, de Crepieul, de Carheil, Bréboeuf, Lallemant, Jogues, de Noue, Raimbeault, Albanel, Chaumonot, Dablon, Ménard, LeJeune, Massé, Vimont, Ragueneau, Charlevoix, [58] and crowds of others." Here they assembled to receive from the General of the Jesuits their orders, to compare notes, mayhap to discuss the news of the death or of the success of some of their indefatigable explorers of the great West; how the "good word" had been fearlessly carried to the distant shores of Lake Huron, to the _bayous_ and perfumed groves of Florida, or to the trackless and frozen regions of Hudson's Bay.

Later on, when France had suppressed the order of the Jesuits, and when her lily banner had disappeared from our midst, the College and its grounds were appropriated to other uses--alas! less congenial.

The roll of the English drum and the sharp "word of command" of a British adjutant or of his drill sergeant, for a century or more, resounded in the halls, in which Latin orisons were formerly sung; and in the classic grounds and grassy court, [59] canopied by those stately oaks and elms, which our sires yet remember, to which the good Fathers retreated in sweet seclusion, to "say" their _Breviaries_ and tell their beads, might have been heard the coarse joke of the guard room and coarser oath of the trooper.

It had been claimed as a "magazine for the army contractor's provisions on 14th November, 1760." On the 4th June, 1765, His Excellency General James Murray had it surveyed and appropriated for quarters and barracks for the troops, excepting some apartments. The court and garden was used as a drill and parade ground until the departure of Albion's soldiers. Here was read on the 14th November, 1843, by Major-General Sir Jas. Hope's direction, the order of the day, at the morning parade, congratulating Major Bennet and the brave men of the 1st Royals, whom he was escorting to England in the ill-fated transport "Premier," on the discipline and good conduct manifested by them during the incredible perils they had escaped at Cape Chatte when the Premier was stranded.

How singular, how sad to think that this loved, this glorious relic of the French _régime_, entire even to the Jesuit College arms, carved in stone over its chief entrance, should have remained sacred and intact during the century of occupation by English soldiery--and that its destruction should have been decreed so soon as the British legions, by their departure, in 1871, had virtually handed it over to the French Province of Quebec?

The discovery of the 28th August, 1878, of human remains beneath the floor of this building--presumed to be those of some of the early missionaries-- induced the authorities to institute a careful search during its demolition. These bones and others exhumed on the 31st August, and on the 1st and 9th September, 1878, were pronounced by two members of the Faculty, Drs. Hubert Larue and Chas. E. Lemieux, both Professors of the Laval University, (who signed a certificate to that effect) to be the remains of three [60] persons of the male sex and of three [61] persons of the female sex. Some silver and copper coins were also found, which with these mouldering remains of humanity, were deposited under lock and key in a wooden box; and in September, 1878, the whole was placed in a small but substantial stone structure, in the court of the Jesuit Barracks, known as the "Regimental Magazine," pending their delivery for permanent disposal to Rev. Père Sachez, Superior of the Jesuits Order in Quebec.

In May, 1879, on opening this magazine, it was found that the venerable bones, box and all had disappeared, the staple of the padlock on the door having been forced. By whom and for what purpose, the robbery?

_THE RÉCOLLET CONVENT._

Let us walk on, and view with the Professor's eyes the adjoining public edifice in 1749, the Récollet Convent, "a spacious building," says Kalm, "two story high, with a large orchard and kitchen garden." It stood apparently on the south-eastern extremity of the area, on which the Anglican Cathedral was built in 1804, across what is now the southern prolongation of Treasury Street; it is said its eastern end occupied a portion of the site now occupied by the old _Place d'Armes_--now the Ring.

Its church or chapel was, on 6th September, 1796, destroyed by fire; two eye-witnesses of the conflagration, Philippe Aubert DeGaspé and Deputy- Commissary-General James Thompson, the first in his _Mémoires_, the second in his unpublished _Diary_, have vividly portrayed the accident.

"At the date of the conflagration of the Récollets Church, 6th
September, 1796, the bodies of those who had been interred there were
taken up. The remains of persons of note, those among others of Count
de Frontenac, were re-interred in the Cathedral (now the Basilica), it
is said, under the floor of the Chapel N. D. of Pity. The leaden
coffins, which, it appears, had been placed on iron bars in the
Récollets Church, had been partially melted by the fire. In Count de
Frontenac's coffin was found a small leaden box, which contained the
heart of that Governor. According to a tradition, handed down by Frère
Louis, the heart of Count de Frontenac was, after his death, sent to
his widow in France. But the haughty Countess refused to receive it,
saying that 'she did not want a dead heart, which when beating did not
belong to her.' The casket containing the heart was sent back to
Canada and replaced in the Count's coffin, where it was found after
the fire." (_Abbé H. R. Casgrain_.)

The Church faced the Ring and the old Château; it formed part of the Récollet Convent, "a vast quadrangular building, with a court and well stocked orchard" on Garden Street; it was occasionally used as a state prison. The Huguenot and agitator, Pierre DuCalvet, [62] spent some dreary days in its cells in 1781-84; and during the summer of 1776, a young volunteer under Benedict Arnold, John Joseph Henry, (who lived to become a distinguished Pennsylvania Judge), was immured in this monastery, after his capture by the British, at the unsuccessful attack in Sault-au-Matelot Street, on the 31st December, 1775, as he graphically relates in his _Memoirs_. It was a monastery of the Order of Saint Francis. The Provincial, in 1793, a well-known, witty, jovial and eccentric personage, Father Félix DeBerey, had more than once dined and wined His Royal Highness Prince Edward, the father of our gracious Sovereign, when stationed in our garrison in 1791-4, with his regiment, the 7th Fusiliers.

The Récollet Church was also a sacred and last resting place for the illustrious dead. Of the six French Governors who expired at Quebec, four slept within its silent vaults, until the translation, in 1796, of their ashes to the vaults of the Basilica, viz: (1) Frontenac, (2) de Callières, (3) Vaudreuil, (4) de la Jonquière. [63] Governor de Mesy had been buried in the Hôtel-Dieu Cemetery, and the first Governor, de Champlain, it is generally believed, was interred near the Château Saint Louis, in a "sépulchre particulier," near the spot now surmounted by his bust, on which, in 1871, was erected the new Post Office.

On the south-west side of the Château, on the site where stands M. A. Berthelot's old dwelling on St. Louis Street, now owned by James Dunbar, Esq., Q.C., could be seen a building devoted to the administration of Justice, _La Sénéchaussée_ (Séneschal's Jurisdiction), and which bore the name of "The Palace." It was doubtless there that, in 1664, the Supreme Council held its sessions. In 1665 it was assigned to the Marquis de Tracy, for a residence whilst in the colony. From the _Place d'Armes_, the higher road (_Grande Allée_) took its departure and led to Cap Rouge. On the right and left of this road, were several small lots of land given to certain persons for the purpose of being built upon. The Indian Fort was that entrenchment of which we have spoken, which served as a last hiding place to the sad remains of the once powerful Huron nation, forming in all eighty four souls, in the year 1665. It had continued to be occupied by them up to the peace with the Iroquois. After the arrival of the troops, they took their departure in order to devote themselves to the cultivation of the lands.

Besides the buildings of the Reverend Jesuit Fathers, those of the Ursulines (nuns), and those of the Hospital (Hôtel Dieu), in the Upper Town, could be seen in a house situated behind the altar part of the Parish Church, where dwelt Monseigneur de Laval. It was, probably, what he called his Seminary, and where he caused some young men to be educated, destined afterwards for the priesthood.

It was at the Seminary the worthy prelate resided with his priests, to the number of eight, which, at that period, comprised all the secular clergy of Quebec. There, also, was the Church of Notre Dame, in the form of a Latin cross. [64]

Couillard Street calls up one of the most important personages of the era of Champlain, Guillaume Couillard, the ancestor of Madame Alexandre de Léry _née_ Couillard. It would fill a volume to retrace the historical incidents which attach themselves to "La Grande Place du Fort," which in the early part of the century was known as the "Grand Parade" before the Castle, and is now called the _Ring_. We have pointed out a goodly number in the first pages (10-16) of the "Album du Touriste." To what we have already said we shall add the following details:

_THE UNION HOTEL._

It would appear that the site upon which the Union Hotel was built [65] (1805), and where previously stood the dwelling of Dr. Longmore, Staff Medical Officer, now occupied by the offices of the _Journal de Quebec, &c._, was owned by Governor D'Ailleboust, about the year 1650. He had reserved to himself, on the 10th January, 1649, the strip of ground comprised between Fort and Treasury Streets on the one side, and the streets Buade and Ste. Anne on the other side. At the corner of Treasury and Buade Streets, on the west, Jean Côté possessed a piece of ground (_emplacement_) which he presented as a dowry in 1649, to his daughter Simonne, who married Pierre Soumandre.

The grounds of the Archbishop's Palace formed part of the field possessed by Couillard, whose house stood in the now existing garden of the Seminary, opposite the gate which faces the principal alley, the foundations of which were discovered and brought to light by the Abbé Laverdière in 1866. The Union Hotel was for years the meeting place of our festive ancestors, when the assembly balls brought together the Saxon and the Gaul; it also recalls warlike memories of 1812.

_THE AMERICAN PRISONERS._

In looking over old fyles of our city journals, we find in the _Quebec Mercury_ of 15th September, 1812, the following item:

"On Friday, arrived here the detained prisoners taken with Gen. Hull,
at Detroit. The non-commissioned officers and privates immediately
embarked on board of transports in the harbour, which are to serve as
their prison. The commissioned officers were liberated on their
parole. They passed Saturday morning at the Union Hotel, where they
were the gazing-stock of the multitude, whilst they, no way abashed,
presented a bold front to the public stare, puffed the smoke of their
cigars into the faces of such as approached too near. About two
o'clock they set off in a stage, with four horses, for Charlesbourg,
the destined place of their residence."

The Union Hotel here mentioned is the identical building erected for a hotel by a company in 1805, and now owned by the _Journal de Quebec_, facing the ring.

Were these prisoners located at Charlesbourg proper, or at that locality facing Quebec, in Beauport, called _Le Canardière_, in Judge de Bonne's former stately old mansion, on which the eastern and detached wing of the Beauport Lunatic Asylum now stands?

Tradition has ever pointed to this building as that which sheltered the disconsolate American warriors in 1812, with the adjoining rivulet, _Ruisseau de l'Ours_, as the boundary to the east which their parole precluded their crossing.

The result of the American defeat at Detroit had been important--"one general officer (Wadsworth), two lieutenant-colonels, five majors, a multitude of captains and subalterns, with nine hundred men, one field- piece and a stand of colors, were the fruits of the victory, the enemy having lost in killed, wounded, missing and prisoners, upwards of fifteen hundred." (Christie's History.)

Amongst the American prisoners sent down to Quebec was the celebrated General Winfield Scott, who lived to cull laurels in the Mexican war. He was then Col. Scott, and there is yet (1878) living in Quebec an old resident, R. Urquhart, who well remembers, when a boy, seeing the "tall and stern American Colonel." He was six feet five inches in height. (Lossing, p. 408.)

Of these prisoners taken at Detroit, twenty-three had been recognized as British born and deserters from the English army. they were sent to England for trial. It is yet possible that some of the veterans of 1812, by their diaries or other sources of information, may tell us who were the Charlesbourg or Beauport captives in 1812. They had not been under restraint much more than a week, when, by the following advertisement in the _Quebec Mercury_, dated 29th September, we find the British Government attending to their comforts with a truly maternal foresight:--

Commissary General's Office,

QUEBEC, 28th Sept., 1812

"Wanted for the American prisoners of war, comfortable warm clothing,
consisting of the following articles:

Jackets,
Shirts,
Trowsers,
Stockings,
Moccassins or Shoes.
Also 2000 pounds of soap."

From which it is clear John Bull intended his American cousins should not only be kept warm, but suitably scrubbed as well. Two thousand lbs. of soap foreshadowed a fabulous amount of scrubbing. Colonel Scott and friends were evidently "well off for soap."

Colonel Coffin, of Ottawa, the annalist of the War of 1812, in reply to a query of mine, writes me:

"Scott remained in Canada from the date of his surrender, 23d October,
1812, to the period of his departure from Quebec, say May, 1813. But
he was on parole the whole time, and from Quebec, as given in his life
by Mansfield, p. 55, he went in a cartel to Boston, and soon after was
exchanged. Under these circumstances, I do not think it likely that he
would have been escorted militarily in custody anywhere. Winder may
have been also taken to Quebec, or he may have been exchanged on the
Western frontier. Armstrong's 'War of 1812' will probably give the
details."

The _Quebec Mercury_, of 27th October, 1812, contains the following:

"The prisoners taken at Detroit and brought down to Quebec are on the
point of embarking for Boston for the purpose of being exchanged. Five
cannon are now lying in the _Château_ Court taken at Detroit."

In retaliation for the twenty-three American prisoners sent for trial to England, as deserters from the British army, the American Government had ordered that forty-six British prisoners of war should be detained in close confinement.

"In consequence of this," says Christie, "the Governor ordered all the
American officers, prisoners of war, without exception of rank, to be
immediately placed into close confinement as hostages, until the
number of forty-six were completed over and above those already in
confinement. In pursuance of this order, Generals Winder, Chandler and
Winchester were conveyed from their quarters in the country at
Beauport to a private house in Quebec, where their confinement was
rendered as little inconvenient as their situation could admit of."

They were exchanged in April, 1814, against British officers,
prisoners of war in the States.

In connection with General Scott's captivity at Quebec, Lossing relates a little incident, which redounds to his credit:--

"When the prisoners were about to sail from Quebec, a party came on
board the vessel, mustered the captives and commenced separating from
the rest those who, by their accent, were found to be Irishmen. These
they intended to send to England for trial as traitors in a frigate
lying near, in accordance with the doctrine that a British subject
cannot expatriate himself. Scott, who was below, hearing a tumult on
deck, went up. He was soon informed of the cause, and at once entered
a vehement protest against the proceedings. He commanded his soldiers
to be absolutely silent, that their accent might not betray them. He
was repeatedly ordered to go below, and as repeatedly refused. The
soldiers obeyed him. Twenty-three had been already detected as
Irishmen, but not another one became a victim. The twenty-three were
taken on board the frigate in irons. Scott boldly assured them that if
the British Government dared to injure a hair of their head, his own
Government would fully avenge the outrage. He at the same time as
boldly defied the menacing officers, and comforted the manacled
prisoners in every way. Scott was exchanged in January, 1813, and at
once sent a full report of this affair to the Secretary of War. He
hastened to Washington in person, and pressed the subject upon the
attention of Congress. Fortunately, the President never had occasion
to exercise this retaliation, the British Government having abstained
from carrying out in practice, in the case of the American prisoners,
its cherished doctrine of perpetual allegiance.

"The final result of Scott's humane and courageous conduct in this
matter was very gratifying to himself. Almost three years after the
event at Quebec, he was greeted by loud huzzahs as he was passing a
wharf on the East River side of New York city. It came from a group of
Irishmen, who had just landed from an emigrant ship. There were
twenty-one out of the twenty-three prisoners for whom he had cared so
tenderly. They had just returned from a long confinement in English
prisons. They recognized their benefactor, and, says Scott's
biographer, "nearly crushed him by their warm-hearted embraces."
(Lossing's Field Book, p. 409.)

Some years back a discussion took place in the columns of the
_Morning Chronicle_, of Quebec, as to the names of the volunteers
of Bell's Cavalry who had escorted the U. S. prisoners of war in
1812 from Beauport to Quebec. The following extract from our diary
throws some light on this subject:

_THE LAST SURVIVORS OF BELL'S CAVALRY IN 1812._

"Among more than one strange meeting, which that welcome haven of
the wearied wayfarer, the way-side inn, has brought me, in course
of many peregrinations through the length and breadth of the
Province of Quebec, none can I recall less anticipated, than the
one which happened to me this 22nd March, 1881. I reached that
night at 10.30, direct from the Kennebec Railway, the parlor of
Monsieur Lessard's Temperance Hotel at St. Joseph, Beauce. (Such
the euphonious name the Licence Act awards to these fallacious
emblems of comfort or good cheer). After a lengthy interview, I
next day parted, possibly for ever, from an old and withered
_sabreur_ of 1812, the last survivor, I think, of that dashing
volunteer cavalry corps, raised by Capt. the Hon. Matthew Bell at
Quebec in 1812.

I had the rare luck of having from the very lips of this
octogenarian, an account of the share he had in conducting as one
of the cavalry detachment detailed to escort Colonel Winfield
Scott and brother officers from Beauport, where they were confined
as prisoners on _parole_, to the district prison in St. Stanislas
street (the Morrin College) from whence the "big" Colonel and his
comrades were taken and lodged in Colonel Coffin's house in St.
Louis street.

How different the careers! Scott in time became the hero of the
war with Mexico, and the dashing cavalry corporal who escorted
him, aged now 89, after 30 years tenure of office, still holds the
position of village Postmaster, in the township of Broughton,
Beauce. Among the incidents of which my ancient acquaintance seems
proud, is that of his having played at cards with General Scott
and his captive comrades.

"Charles Hy. J. Hall," (such his clear and well written autograph
authenticating the memorandum I drew up for him) a roystering
_militaire_ and _bon vivant_, in our good city, seventy years ago,
presents in his person a rare instance of mental and physical
faculties well preserved until the end--memory, sight, mind,
appetite, all unimpaired.

I was so interested when he informed me that he had been one of
Col. Bell's cavalry, (I felt convinced that, of all the members of
this dashing corps, he was the last survivor,) that I questioned
him very closely, and cross-examined him on such matters of
detail, which an eye-witness alone could know. Mr. Hall, the son
of the late Wm. Hall, of Fabrique street, Quebec, is connected
with several of our most noted families. His father came to Canada
about 1783, from the adjoining provinces,--a United Empire
Loyalist, and became wealthy. Subjoined will be found a short
statement taken down as it fell from the lips of my new
acquaintance, and authenticated by his signature. Mr. Chas. Hall
is Postmaster of Broughton, County of Beauce."--(_Diary of J. M.
LeMoine_.)

* * * * *

"I am now 89 years of age. My father, the late Wm. Hall, a well-
to-do Quebecer, whose partner in business I subsequently was,
lived at what I should call No. 1 Fabrique street (the house
lately vacated by Behan Bros). I was born in a house in St. John
street. I loved to roam--have travelled the world over and
received some hard knocks in my day. As to that part of my career,
which seems particularly to interest you--the war of 1812--I
regret I cannot tell you as much as you wish to know. In 1812 I
joined Capt. the Hon. Matthew Bell's Volunteer Cavalry; we
numbered between 90 to 100 men. Our uniform was blue coat, red
collar,--silver braid; arms, a sabre and holster pistols. As
volunteers every man furnished his own horse, suits, etc. My
horse, which cost me thirty guineas, I refused sixty for from Col.
McNeil; our mounts were of Canadian, American, and English
pedigree.

We were commanded by Col. Bell; Hon Wm. Sheppard (late of
Woodfield), was our Major, Mr. Hale, our Captain, Wm. Henderson,
our Lieutenant. I cannot say, in reply to your question, whether
the late Hammond Gowan was our Cornet. Our house stood next to
that where General Brock had lived, in Fabrique street. I was, in
1812, one of the escort who took General Winfield Scott, Col.
Winder,----from Beauport; I remember well the big Col. Scott, as I
played cards with the American officers who were, on their parole,
quartered in Judge DeBonne's house, on the site of which the east
wing of the Lunatic Asylum has since been erected. I formed part
of the escort who conducted the American officers to the Quebec
jail, in St. Stanislas street, previous to their being located in
a St. Louis street house. During the war, under Sir George
Prevost, I formed, in March, part of the detachment of cavalry,
sent with a company of the 103rd, to the parish of St. Joseph,
Beauce, to arrest some militia men who had refused to enlist. The
ice-bridge before Quebec, started a few minutes after our last
horse had crossed.

CHAS. HY. J. HALL

St. Joseph, Beauce, 23rd March, 1881.

N B.--I can read yet without glasses; I reckon I am the last
survivor of Bell's Cavalry.--_Morning Chronicle_, 28th _April_,
1881.

QUEBEC TROOP OF LIGHT CAVALRY.

_Extract from a Troop Order Book of Captain Bell's Troop, dated
Quebec, 1st March, 1813._

NOTES RESPECTING THE FORMATION OF THE TROOP.

[Furnished by Lt.-Col. Turnbull, Q.O.C.H.]

This Troop was first formed by Capt. Bell, under an order of H. E.
Sir G. Prevost, dated 22nd April, 1812, as a part of 3rd
Battalion, Quebec Militia.

22nd May, 1812.--William Sheppard and Hammond Gowan are appointed
Sergeants. Mr. Hale attached to the Troop as Cornet.

27th June.--Intelligence of the declaration of war reached Quebec.
The gentlemen composing the Troop, to the number of 34,
volunteered their services, to act when and where the Government
thought proper.

27th July.--The Troop declared independent of the 3rd Battalion,
Quebec Militia. In case of alarm, to assemble on their private
parade, in front of the Castle, by order of General Glasgow.

October.--Mr. Hale appointed Lieutenant, and Mr. Sheppard, Cornet,
dated 24th April last.

19th December.--The Troop to be held in readiness to march on
active service early in the spring.

15th February, 1813.--Orders received to add 25 dismounted men to
the Troop.

MUSTER ROLL.

QUEBEC LIGHT CAVALRY, BELL'S TROOP.

1st March, 1813.

_Officers._
Captain (Commandant) Matthew Bell.
Lieutenant Edward Hale,
Cornet W. G Sheppard,
Quarter-Master Benjamin Racy, (from the Ste. Marie, Nouvelle
Beauce Battalion), attached to the Troop.

_N.C. Officers_
Sergeant Hammond Gowan, Corporal Charles Hall,
" Wm. Henderson, " Wm. Sheppard,
" Alex. Gowan, Acting " G. Wilson,
" James Heath, Acting Trumpeter Thos. Pearson.

_Privates_
On the full establishment, furnishing horse, clothing, &c.:--
*William Turner, John Stansfield, *James Capper,
*Wm. Thomas, James McCallum, Robert Page,
*John Patterson, John Connolly, John White,
William Price, Peter Burnet, William Hoogs,
John Dempster, *James Dick, J. G. Clapham,
*John Campbell, James Henderson, George Chapman,
Andrew Moire, George Cossar, *James Black,
James Oliver, *John McQuay, William Henderson,
John Racy, Archibald Campbell, *Amos Priest,
William Moore, James George, James McCallum,
*David Robertson, Webb Robinson, John McCallum,
James Whyte, Daniel Buckley, Frank Bell.

_Dismounted Party._
Age. Ft. In.
James Winton . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 5 10
*Frederick Petry . . . . . . . . . . 19 5 10
*George Burns . . . . . . . . . . . 19 5 10
Henry Connolly . . . . . . . . . . . 16 5 10
*Francis Martineau . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Daniel Baker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
James Stewart . . . . . . . . . . . 19 5 9
Frederick Wyse . . . . . . . . . . . 27 5 9
John Menzies . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 5 9
David Flynn . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 5 8-1/2
*William Graves . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5 8
*Richard Burns. . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5 8
*James Loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 5 7-1/2
Alexander Russell . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..
*William Parker . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..
*Charles Gethings . . . . . . . . . . 19 5 7
*Thomas Burney. . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5 7
John Chillas . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 5 7
George C. Ross. . . . . . . . . . . . 17 5 8
*Godfroi Langlois . . . . . . . . . . 20 5 10
George Patterson. . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..
Peter Legget. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..
J. Dion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..
David Denny . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..
Wm. Hobb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..

[Note: * Reside in Upper Town.]

Troop Order, 1st March.--Foot drills on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays in the Riding House at 12 o'clock till further orders.

8th March.--The Captain commanding desires that the following
articles be provided as soon as possible by each person in the
Troop, to enable him to comply with the General Orders of the
Commander-in-Chief, dated 19th December last, viz: Helmet; blue
cloth forage cap; black silk handkerchief or stock; dress jacket,
undress jacket (plain), plain linen jacket (stable); a pair of
brown linen trowsers; a pair of grey cloth overalls; a pair of
grey cloth or stockinett pantaloons; a pair of half boots and
spurs; two flannel shirts; two pair flannel drawers; three pairs
of stockings; one pair of shoes; one razor; one knife; one brush;
one curriecomb, brush and mane comb; one linen haversack; one
linen nose-bag; one linen bag for necessaries.

The dismounted men may make their undress jacket of strong brown
linen if they prefer it.

Quarter-Master Racy will shew patterns and give any information
that may be required. The Captain wishes the different articles to
be good and strong, but not of an expensive kind.

28th March.--A detachment was ordered on service to Ste. Marie
Nouvelle Beauce and St. Joseph, returning on the 31st under the
command of Lieutenant Hale, consisting of two officers, two
sergeants, one corporal, 18 privates; total, 23.

At right angles from Buade Street, opposite the wall [66] which surrounds St. Joseph Cemetery, enclosed between the Basilica and the street, there exists, since the earliest times, a short, narrow street--more properly a lane--_Treasury Street_. The French know it as _Rue du Trésor_, because under French rule, the Government Office, where public monies were paid out, stood in the vicinity. Until the departure of the English garrison and removal of the Commissariat Staff, in 1871, Treasury Street was one of the avenues which led contractors and others to the Royal Commissariat Department, at the east end of St. Louis Street. Here, for years, were dealt out lavishly either the old French or Spanish piastres during the war of 1812-14, the proceeds of the army bills, and later on, English sovereigns, guineas and doubloons, &c. The Commissariat office was situate facing the Ring, and after the departure of the British troops, about 1871, was used as the office and dwelling of the Deputy Adjutant General of Militia. The lot, which, with the garden in rear, reaches to Mount Carmel Street, had been bought by the Ordnance from Mr. Peter Bréhault in the early part of the century.

Prince Edward had brought to Quebec from Gibraltar, in 1791, as his Secretary, Capt. John Hale, 2nd Queen's Regiment. Capt. Hale was the eldest son of Brevet Major John Hale, [67] of the 47th, who served under General Wolfe at Quebec. Major J. Hale subsequently became General Hale. Capt. John Hale, after stopping at Quebec with the Prince, subsequently returned to Halifax with him. He was afterwards appointed by the Imperial authorities Deputy Paymaster General to the Forces in Canada. He, it was, who owned the lot on which the Commissary-General's office stood. This occurred previous to 1812. He sold the property to Peter Bréhault, who had come out to Canada as an employé to John Muire, Esq. Mr. Bréhault resold it to the Imperial Government, the Paymaster's Office being merged into the Commissariat Office. The Ursuline nuns have named, after their patron Saint, Ste. Ursule, the first street to the west, which intersects at right angles, St. Louis and Ste. Anne streets. Ste. Ursule and Ste. Anne streets and environs seem to have been specially appropriated by the disciples of Hippocrates. Physicians [68] and surgeons there assuredly do congregate, viz.: Dr. James Sewell, his son, Dr. Colin Sewell, Drs. Landry, Lemieux, Simard, Belleau, Russell, Russell, Jr., Gale, Ross, Baillargeon, Roy, Fortier, LaRue, Parke, Rowand, Henchey, Vallée, Marsden, Jackson--distinguished physicians. Notwithstanding that it is the abode of so many eminent members of the Faculty, the locality is healthy; nay, conducive to longevity.

The streets Aylmer, Burton, Bagot, Craig, Carleton, Dorchester, Dalhousie, Haldimand, Hope, Metcalf, Murray, Prevost, Richmond, perpetuate the memory of thirteen English Governors, while four French Governors have left their names on as many thoroughfares--Buade, Champlain, d'Aillebout, Montmagny. Many of the luxurious dwellings on the Cape date back to 1840 or so; this now aristocratic neighborhood, after the conquest and until 1830, was occupied by carters, old French market gardeners and descendants of French artisans, &c.--such were the early tenants of Des Carrières, Mont Carmel, Ste. Geneviève, St. Denis, Des Grissons streets.--"_Mais nous avons changé tout cela._"

A few years since, the Town Council, on motion of Councillor Ernest Gagnon, whose name is identified with our popular songs, [69] disturbed the nomenclature of that part of D'Aiguillon street, _extra muros_, by substituting the name of "Charlevoix." To that section of St. Joseph street, _intra muros_, was conferred the name of our respected historian, F. X Garneau. [70] To St. François street, the name of the historian, Ferland, was awarded; the historian, Robert Christie, [71] has also his street. This met with general approval.

"On ascending," says Abbé Faillon, "from the Lower to the Upper Town by a tortuous road, contrived betwixt the rocks, and on the right hand side, we reach the Cemetery. [72] This road, which terminated at the Parish Church, [73] divided itself into two,--on one side it led to the Jesuits (Jesuits' College) and to the Hospital (Hôtel Dieu); and on the other, to the Indian Fort [74] and to the Castle of Saint Louis. The Castle and King's Fort, guarded by soldiers night and day, under the orders of the Governor, was of an irregular shape, flanked by bastions, fortified by pieces of artillery, and contained in its interior several _suites_ of apartments separated one from the other. At the distance of about forty toises (240 feet) from the Castle was seen, on the south side, a small garden, fenced in, for the use of the Governor, and in front, towards the west, was the _Place d'Armes_ (now the _Ring_), in the form of a trapezium."

St. John street, for years without a rival as chief commercial thoroughfare for retail trade in dry goods, sees its former busy aspect daily fleeting since the invasion of that bitter foe to wheeled vehicles-- the street railway. Its glory is departing: the mercer's showy counter and shelves are gradually replaced by vegetable and fruit stores. Stately shops on Desfosses, Crown and Craig streets are rapidly diverting the _Pactolus_ of the city custom northwards. In the dark ages of the Ancient Capital, when this lengthy, narrow lane was studded with one-story wooden or stone tenements, Old Sol occasionally loved to look down and gladden with his rays its miry footpaths. To our worthy grandfathers 'twas a favorite _rendezvous_--the _via sacra_--the Regent street--the _Boulevard des Italiens_--where the _beau monde_ congregated at 4 P.M., sharp; where the merry jingle of the tandem _grelots_ invaded the frosty air in January; where the freshest toilettes, the daintiest bonnets--those "ducks of bonnets" invented fifty years ago by Mrs. T--d--ensnared admirers; where marten or "silver fox" muffs of portentous size--all the rage then--kept warm and coursing the stream of life in tiny, taper hands, cold, alas! now in Death's pitiless grasp; where the old millionaire, George Pozer, chinked his English guineas or piled up in his desk his army bills. Alas! Jean Bourdon, the pioneer of our land surveyors, you, who, more than two centuries ago, left your name to this vaunted locality--your street as well as your name are getting to be things of the past! Shall we bid adieu to this oft travelled over thoroughfare without deigning a parting glance, as we saunter on, at that low old-fashioned house, No. 84, on the north side of the street, where, for a quarter of a century and more, Monsieur Charles Hamel's book and church ornament emporium held its own against all the other book stores? It is now occupied as a dwelling and a notarial office by an ex-Mayor and late member for the city, P. A. Tourangeau, Esq., N.P. Vividly, indeed, can we recall the busy aspect of its former counter, studded with gilt madonnas, rosaries, some in brass mountings, variegated Job beads for the million; others set in ebony and silver for rich _dévotes_, flanked with wax tapers, sparkling church ornaments, bronze crucifixes--backed with shelves of books bearing, some, the _visa_ of Monseigneur de Tours--the latter for the faithful; others in an inner room, without the _visa_--these for city _littérateurs_; whilst in a shady corner-cupboard, imported to order--sometimes without order-- stood a row of short-necked but robust bottles, labelled "_Grande Chartreuse_" and "_Bénédictine_," for the especial delectation of a few Quebec Brillat-Savarins--the _gourmets_!

Monsieur Hamel, a sly, courteous, devout old bachelor, had a honied word, a holy, upturned glance, a jaunty welcome for all and every one of his numerous "dévotes" or fashionable _pratiques_. A small fortune was the result of the attention to business, thrift and correct calculations of this pink of French politeness. Monsieur Chas. Hamel, honoured by his familiars with the sobriquet "Lily Hamel," possibly because his urbanity was more than masculine, in fact, quite lady-like--the _crème de la crème_ of commercial suavity. This stand, frequented by the Quebec gentry from 1840 to 1865, had gradually become a favourite stopping place, a kind of half-way house, where many aged valetudinarians tarried a few minutes to gossip with friends equally aged, homeward bound, on bright winter afternoons, direct from their daily "constitutional" walk, as far as the turnpike on St. John's road. Professor Hubert Larue [75] will introduce us to some of the _habitués_ of this little club, which he styles _Le Club des Anciens_, a venerable brotherhood uniting choice spirits among city _littérateurs_, antiquarians, superannuated Militia officers, retired merchants: Messrs. Henry Forsyth, Long John Fraser, Lieut.-Colonel Benjamin LeMoine, F. X. Garneau, G. B. Faribault, P. A. De Gaspé, Commissary-General Jas. Thompson, Major Lafleur, Chs. Pinguet, the valiant Captain of the City Watch in 1837. The junior members counted from fifty to sixty summers; their seniors had braved some sixty or seventy winters. After discussing the news of the day, local antiquities and improvements, there were certain topics, which possessed the secret of being to them eternally young, irresistibly attractive: the thrilling era of Colonel De Salaberry and General Sir Isaac Brock; the Canadian _Voltigeurs_, [76] the American War of 1812-14, where a few of these veterans had clanked their sabres and sported their epaulettes, &c. With the exception of an esteemed and aged Quebec merchant, Long John Fraser, all now sleep the long sleep, under the green sward and leafy shades of Mount Hermon or Belmont cemeteries, or in the moist vaults of some city monastery.

On revisiting lately these once famous haunts of our forefathers, the new proprietor, ex-Mayor Tourangeau, courteously exhibited to us the _antiques_ of this heavy walled tenement, dating back possibly to the French _régime_, perhaps the second oldest house in St. John street. In a freshly painted room, on the first story, in the east end, hung two ancient oil paintings, executed years ago by a well-remembered artist, Jos. Legaré, for the owners, two octogenarian inmates--his friends, Messrs. Michel and Charles Jourdain, architects and builders. They were charged some seventy years ago with the construction of the District Court House (burnt in 1872) and City Jail (now the Morrin College.) Messrs. Jourdain had emigrated to Canada after the French Revolution of 1789. They had a holy horror of the guillotine, though, like others of the _literati_ of Quebec in former days, they were well acquainted with the doctrines and works of Voltaire, Diderot, and d'Alembert. One of the Jourdains, judging from his portrait, must have been a shrewd, observant man. Later on, the old tenement had sheltered the librarian of the Legislative Council, Monsieur Jourdain--a son--quite a _savant_ in his way, and whose remains were escorted to their last resting place by the _élite_ of the Canadian population. It is a mistake to think that culture and education were unknown in those early times; in some instances the love of books prevailed to that degree that, in several French- Canadian families, manuscript copies then made at Quebec exist to this day, of the Latin and French classics from the difficulty of procuring books; there being little intercourse then with Paris book-stores, in fact, no importations of books. Among many quaint relics of the distant days of the Messrs. Jourdain and of their successor, Monsieur Audiverti _dit_ Romain, we saw a most curiously inlaid _Marqueterie_ table, dating, we might be tempted to assert, from the prehistoric era!

Innumerable are the quaint, pious or historical souvenirs, mantling like green and graceful ivy, the lofty, fortified area, which comprises the Upper Town of this "walled city of the North". An incident of our early times--the outraged Crucifix of the Hôtel Dieu Convent, [77] and the Military Warrant, appropriating to urgent military wants, the revered seat of learning, the Jesuits' College, naturally claim a place in these pages. The _Morning Chronicle_ will furnish us condensed accounts, which we will try and complete:--

_LE CRUCIFIX OUTRAGÉ._

"An interesting episode in the history of Canada during the last
century attaches to a relic in the possession of the Reverend Ladies
of the Hôtel Dieu, or, more properly, "the Hospital of the Most
Precious Blood of Jesus Christ," of which the following is a synopsis
taken from l'Abbé H. G. Casgrain's history of the institution:--

"On the 5th October, 1742, it was made known that a soldier in the
garrison in Montreal, named Havard de Beaufort, professed to be a
sorcerer, and, in furtherance of his wicked pretensions, had profaned
sacred objects. He had taken a crucifix, and having besmeared it with
some inflammable substance--traces of which are still to be seen upon
it--had exposed it to the flames, whilst he at the same time recited
certain passages of the Holy Scripture. The sacrilege had taken place
in the house of one Charles Robidoux, at Montreal. Public indignation
at this profanation of the sacred symbol and of the Scripture was
intense; the culprit was arrested, tried and convicted, and sentenced
to make a public reparation, after which he was to serve three years
in the galleys. To this end he was led by the public executioner, with
a cord around his neck, bareheaded and barefooted, wearing only a long
shirt, and having a placard on his breast and back on which was
inscribed the legend "Desecrator of holy things" (_Profanateur des
choses saintes_), in front of the parish church in Montreal, and
being placed on his knees, he made the _amende honorable_ to God,
to the King and to Justice, and declared in a loud and intelligible
voice that he had rashly and wickedly desecrated the sacred image of
Jesus Christ, and had profaned the words of Holy Scripture. He was
then brought to all the cross-roads of the town, where he was scourged
by the public executioner, and afterwards lodged in prison to await
the sailing of the vessel which was to convey him to France, where he
was to undergo the remainder of his sentence. The Bishop of Quebec,
(whose vast diocese then included all of North America) immediately
wrote a letter to Montreal, inviting the people to make reparation by
penances and public prayers for the outrage committed, and ordering a
public procession from the parish church to that of Notre Dame de
Bonsecours, where the veneration of the cross took place. He then
obtained the crucifix from the magistrates, and forwarded it to the
reverend ladies of the Hôtel Dieu in Quebec, accompanied by a letter
in which he directed that it should be placed in their chapel, and
that on a certain day the veneration of it should be made in
reparation of the insult offered the Saviour of the world in his
sacred image on the cross. The nuns placed it in a reliquary, and to
this day it occupies a prominent position on the high altar. In virtue
of a brief of His Holiness the Pope, dated the 15th December, 1782, a
plenary indulgence was granted to any one who, having fulfilled the
usual conditions, should visit the Hôtel Dieu chapel on the first
Friday in March of each year. By an indult of the Supreme Pontiff,
dated 21st March, 1802, this indulgence was transferred to the first
Friday of October, when the veneration of the relic takes place
annually.

The cross is of some sort of dark wood, about five or six inches long,
bearing a brass figure of our Saviour, with the inscription I. N. R.
I. (_Jesus Nazarene Rex Judaeorum_) overhead and the skull and
cross-bones beneath. Attached to it is the certificate of authenticity
and the seal of the Bishop, Monseigneur de Pontbriand. In accordance
with this arrangement, public service was held in the chapel of the
hospital yesterday. The crucifix, enclosed in a gorgeous reliquary and
surrounded with a number of lighted tapers, flowers and other
ornaments, was placed on one of the lateral altars. Solemn mass was
sung at eight o'clock by the Rev. Mr. Rhéaume, of the Seminary, the
musical portion being rendered in a most impressive manner by the
reverend mothers, to organ accompaniment. In the afternoon, at two
o'clock, solemn vespers were chanted by the community, after which an
eloquent and impressive sermon was preached by Rev. Father Lepinto,
S.J., followed by the benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, which was
given, by Rev. Mr. Fraser, of the Seminary, who had previously read a
solemn form of "Reparation" in the name of all present, and in which
all joined. The _Tantum Ergo_ and other hymns were sung by the
nuns, and after the chanting of the CXVI. Psalm, the relic was
venerated, each one devoutly kissing it, during which the choir of
nuns sang the _Crux fidelis_. Altogether the ceremony was a very
impressive one, as was evidenced by the solemn, subdued manner of the
large congregation assembled."--(_Morning Chronicle_, _2nd Oct._,
1880.)

_THE JESUITS' BARRACKS._

"At the present moment, in 1871, when, it is said, the Jesuits'
Barrack is on the eve of being returned to the Quebec authorities, our
readers will no doubt be pleased to learn how and when this valuable
property came into the possession of the Military Government. We are
indebted to J. M. LeMoine, Esq., President of the Literary and
Historical Society, for a copy of the ukase of Governor Murray
converting the old College of the Jesuits, on the Upper Town Market
Place, into a barrack, which it has remained ever since. It is
extracted from some rare old manuscripts belonging to that
institution. The orthographical mistakes exist in the original, and we
have allowed them to reappear:--

By His Excellency the Hon. James Murray, Esq., Capt. General and
Governor-in-Chief of the Province of Quebec and the territories
thereupon depending in America, Vice-Admiral of the same, Major-
General of His Majesty's Forces, and Colonel Commandant of the 2nd
Battalion of the Royal American Regiment of Foot, &c., &c., &c.

To Captain James Mitchelson, Captain William Martin, Lieut. Smith,
Messieurs Amiot, Boisseau and Moore:

Whereas it appears to me that proper Quarters and Barracks are much
wanted for the officers and troops in this garrison, and it being
apprehended that the Jesuits' College may be fitted up for that
purpose--You are hereby authorized and impowered to survey the same,
calling to your assistance such number of tradesmen as you may judge
necessary, in which survey, regard is to be had to a sufficient number
of Fire Places and Chimneys, to ascertain with precision the number of
officers and private soldiers the said College will contain, and to
make an estimate of the expense that will attend the repairs thereof.
And whereas the Contractors' provisions are at present lodged in the
said college, other magazines should be found to lodge the same. You
are therefore further impowered to inspect and survey that building
known by the name of the Intendant's Palace, and to ascertain also the
charges that will attend the fitting up the same to contain the
quantity of six thousand barrels, reporting to me on the back hereof
your proceedings upon the warrant, which shall be to you and every of
you sufficient authority.

Given under my hand and seal at Quebec, this 4th day of June, 1765.
(sd) JAS. MURRAY. By His Excellency's command.
(Counters'd,) J. GOLDFRAP, D. Sectry.