Chapter III: The "ancient Capital." (10)

The gigantic quays and the feeding lines of rail stretching inwards
unbroken to the prairies must, in all human probability, in the
future, ensure to the ancient capital a place among the most
flourishing cities of the continent. Even without the aid which
science is now bringing to her support look at the strides which have
been made in her prosperity within the last century. Old pictures will
show you the hillside above us bare of all but the houses necessary
for the garrison of a fortress, whose hard fate it had been to be the
place of contention of rival armies, while beneath the ramparts or
within their walls were to be seen only a few of the buildings now
devoted in far greater numbers to the purposes of religion and of
charity. The banks of the St. Charles possessed then only a few store-
houses such as would not now be thought sufficient for one of our
fifth-rate towns. Now the whole of the slope is covered by the homes
of a thriving, increasing and industrious population, while, over the
extending limits under the rule of the municipality, learning looks
down from the stately walls of Laval, and the members elected by your
free and noble province will pass the laws, whose validity is
guaranteed by our federal constitution, in a palace reminding one of
the stately fabric which holds the art treasures of France. None can
observe the contrast without seeing that your progress, although it
has partaken of no magic or mushroom-like growth, has been most marked
and promising.

If commerce seeks for her abode the head of navigation, there are many
instances to show that she loves also to keep her ships to their
native tides. An instance well known to us may be cited in the case of
Glasgow and of Greenock, cities which have risen to their present
prosperity so quickly that they rival in that respect many in America
and in Canada. Greenock has not been killed by the enormous rise in
the importance of the commercial capital of Scotland. Assuredly we may
believe that Quebec, with a far greater country at its back, may be
enabled, with the aid of proper communications, to pour forth every
summer from her lap much of our wealth, of which Europe is so eager to
partake.

These are the aspirations we share with you, and we wish to give
effect to them by drawing the attention of those beyond the seas to
the practical invitation you extend to them by the facilities afforded
by your docks and wharves, and we now join with you in the trust that
ample repayment will be yours for the energy and engineering skill you
have lavished on the public works, which are comparable to any
designed for a similar purpose.
LORNE.

The drapery by which it had been concealed having been removed, the
tablet stone was discovered suspended over the place it was intended
to occupy in the wall. The attendant masons having performed their
part, a silver trowel was handed to the Princess. This was a handsome
piece of workmanship, beautifully chased and set in a rosewood handle,
and bore the following inscription:--"To H.R.H. Princess Louise, this
trowel was presented by the contractors of the Quebec Harbour Works,
on the occasion of her laying the tablet stone of the Princess Louise
Embankment and Docks, River St. Charles, Quebec July 29, 1880." Her
Royal Highness, with this splendid implement, dug right lustily into
the cement, and having prepared the bed, drew back to allow the
ponderous stone to be lowered thereinto. This done, a beautiful mallet
of polished oak having been presented, the mass received two or three
blows, and was then declared to be well and truly laid. The Vice-Regal
party almost immediately afterwards regained the _Druid_, which
swiftly conveyed the members thereof to _terra firma_, the police
yacht _Dolphin_ being in attendance. Of the other steamers, the
_Clyde_ and _North_, after a short sail round the harbour, landed
their passengers at the Grand Trunk Railway wharf; the _Brothers_ went
down to St. Joseph, and gave to those on board an opportunity of
noticing the progress made upon the new Graving Dock there. The troops
and privileged guests having been conveyed to and from the scene by
the Montreal Harbour Commissioners' boat _John Young_.

_HARBOUR AND DOCK WORKS._

Before describing these vast and important structures, calculated to afford such boundless facilities to ocean shipping frequenting our port, it may not be without interest to note the efforts made at various times for their construction. In his excellent work, "_British Dominions in North America_," Vol. 1., p. 263-264, Col. Bouchette thus deals with the subject in 1832--the far-seeing but misunderstood Mr. James George, however, as early as 1822, had conceived in his teeming brain the whole scheme.

"The construction of a pier across the estuary of the St. Charles is a measure of the greatest practicability, and of pronounced importance in every aspect, and a subject that was brought under the notice of the Legislature in 1829, when it received the most serious consideration of the committee, and was very favourably reported upon; but no bill has yet (1832) been introduced tending to encourage so momentous an undertaking. The most judicious position contemplated for the erection of such a pier is decidedly between the New Exchange and the Beauport Distillery and Mills, [141] a direct distance of 4,300 yards, which, with the exception merely of the channels of the St. Charles (that are neither very broad nor deep nor numerous), is dry at low water, and affords every advantage calculated to facilitate the construction of a work of that nature. It appears that, anterior to the conquest, the French Government had entertained some views in relation to so great an amelioration; but the subject seems to have never been properly taken up until 1822, when the project was submitted to the Governor-in-Chief of the Province by James George, Esq., a Quebec merchant, conspicuous for his zeal and activity, as well in promoting this particular object as in forwarding the views of the St. Lawrence Company, an association formed avowedly for the improvement of the navigation of the St. Lawrence.

Of the benefits to be derived from thus docking the St. Charles no one can doubt, whether the undertaking be considered in a local, municipal or commercial point of view. As a means of extending the boundaries of the Lower Town, and bringing under more immediate improvement the extensive branches of the St. Charles, it is of the greatest consequence.

Commercially considered, this pier (which would at first form a _tide- dock_, that might eventually be converted into a _wet-dock_) would be of incalculable advantage from the great facilities it would offer to the general trade of the place, and especially the timber trade, which has frequently involved its members in much perplexity, owing to the deficiency that exists of some secure dock or other similar reservoir where that staple article of the colony might be safely kept, and where ships might take in their cargoes without being exposed to the numerous difficulties and momentous losses often sustained in loading at moorings in the coves or in harbour. By building the outward face of the pier in deep water, or projecting wharves from it, an important advantage would also be gained, affording increased conveniences in the unloading and loading of vessels. In fact, it would be impossible, in summarily noticing the beneficial tendency of this great work, to particularize its manifold advantages; they are too weighty to be overlooked, either by the Legislature or the community at large, and will doubtless dictate the expediency of bringing them into effectual operation. The different modes suggested of raising the capital required for the undertaking are: 1st. From the Provincial revenue by the annual rate of a loan; 2nd. By an Act vesting it in the City of Quebec, by way of loan to the city, to be refunded by the receipts of rents and dock dues arising from the work; 3rd. By an Act of Incorporation, the Province taking a share in the stock, and appointing commissioners; 4th. By an Act of Incorporation only."

The Wet-Dock quay wall was to have been completed by the 1st of October, 1880, but delays have taken place, and the much-desired Tide Harbor of 20 acres, entering from the St. Lawrence, with a depth of 24 feet at low water, together with a Dock of 40 acres, having a permanent depth of 27 feet, will require another year before it is finally completed.

_GRAVING DOCK, LEVIS._

An important portion of our Harbour improvements are located on the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence at Levis, and the sums voted by the Parliament of Canada (38 Vic., chap. 56), or granted by the Imperial Government to construct a graving dock in the Harbour of Quebec, were used in this structure, located by Order-in-Council, dated May, 1877, at St. Joseph de Lévis.

"The dimensions of the dock are:
Length............................. 500 feet
Extreme width...................... 100 "
Depth.............................. 25.5 "
Width of entrance.................. 62 "

"The designs and specifications were prepared by Messrs. Kinnipple &
Morris, Engineers, Westminster and Greenock.

"The Graving Dock of St. Joseph de Lévis, Parish of Lauzon, Quebec,
was commenced by the Quebec Harbour Commissioners, under the Resident
Engineer, Woodford Pilkington, M.I., C.E. in November, 1877, and was
carried on previous to tenders being invited for the present contract,
to the month of March, 1878, during which time the sum of $6,298.20
was expended in excavation on the site of the Dock, which work was
afterwards taken over by Messrs. Larkin, Connolly & Co., as an
executed part of their contract, signed August 17th, 1878, and the
above sum deducted from the contract amount of their tender for the
excavations given in the bills of quantities under this head; the
Harbour Commissioners being afterwards re-credited with this amount of
expenditure under the first certificate.

The work of excavating for and building this Graving Dock was taken in
hand under contract with the Quebec Harbour Commissioners, by Messrs.
Larkin, Connolly & Co., on the 17th August, 1878, for the lump sum of
$330,953.89. The works to be delivered over to the Quebec Harbour
Commissioners, finished complete, on the 1st day of June, 1882. [142]

_THE GATES OF QUEBEC._

It seems superfluous to furnish a detailed description of the fortifications and citadel of Quebec. After the lengthy account given in "Quebec, Past and Present," pages 348-60, the following sketch, which we borrow, written previous to the erection of the new St. Louis and Kent Gates, [143] corrected to date, throws additional light on this part of the subject.

"Of all the historic monuments connecting modern Quebec with its
eventful and heroic past, none have deservedly held a higher place in
the estimation of the antiquarian, the scholar and the curious
stranger than the former gates of the renowned fortress. These relics
of a by-gone age, with their massive proportions and grim, medieval
architecture, no longer exist, however, to carry the mind back to the
days which invest the oldest city in North America with its peculiar
interest and attraction. Nothing now remains to show where they once
raised their formidable barriers to the foe or opened their hospitable
portals to friends, but graceful substitutes of modern construction or
yawning apertures in the line of circumvallation, where until 1871
stood Prescott and Hope Gates which represented the later defences of
the place erected under British rule. Of the three gates--St. Louis,
St. John and Palace--which originally pierced the fortifications of
Quebec under French dominion, the last vestige disappeared many years
ago. The structures with which they were replaced, together with the
two additional and similarly guarded openings--Hope and Prescott
gates--provided for the public convenience or military requirements by
the British Government since the Conquest, have experienced the same
fate within the last decade to gratify what are known as modern ideas
of progress and improvement--vandalism would, perhaps, be the better
term. No desecrating hand, however, can rob those hallowed links, in
the chain of recollection, of the glorious memories which cluster
around them so thickly. Time and obliteration itself have wrought no
diminution of regard for their cherished associations.

To each one of them an undying history attaches, and even their vacant
sites appeal with mute, but surpassing eloquence to the sympathy, the
interest and the veneration of visitors, to whom Quebec will be ever
dear, not for what it is, but for what it has been. To the quick
comprehension of Lord Dufferin, it remained to note the inestimable
value of such heirlooms to the world at large. To his happy tact we
owe the revival of even a local concern for their preservation; and to
his fertile mind and aesthetic taste, we are indebted for the
conception of the noble scheme of restoration, embellishment and
addition in harmony with local requirements and modern notions of
progress, which is now being realized to keep their memories intact
for succeeding generations and retain for the cradle of New France its
unique reputation as the famous walled city of the New World. It has
more than once been remarked by tourists that, in their peculiar
fondness for a religious nomenclature, the early French settlers of
Quebec must have exhausted the saintly calendar in adapting names to
their public highways, places and institutions. To this pardonable
trait in their character, we must unquestionably ascribe the names
given to two of the three original gates in their primitive lines of
defence--St. Louis and St. John's gates--names which they were allowed
to retain when the Gallic lilies drooped before the victorious flag of
Britain. The erection of the original St. Louis gate undoubtedly dates
back as far as 1694. Authentic records prove this fact beyond
question; but it is not quite so clear what part this gate played in
subsequent history down to the time of the conquest, thought it may be
fairly presumed that it rendered important services in connection
especially with the many harassing attacks of the Iroquois tribes in
the constant wars which were waged in the early days of the infant
colony with those formidable and savage foes of the French. One thing
is certain, however, that it was one of the gates by which a portion
of Montcalm's army, after its defeat on the Plains of Abraham, passed
into the city on its way back, _via_ Palace gate and the bridge
of boats over the St. Charles, to the Beauport camp. In 1791, after
Quebec had fallen into British hands, St. Louis gate was reported to
be in a ruinous condition, and it became necessary to raze it to the
ground and rebuild it. Between this date and 1823, it appears to have
undergone several changes; but, in the latter year, as part of the
plan of defence, including the Citadel, adopted by the Duke of
Wellington, and carried out at an enormous cost by England, it was
replaced by another structure, retaining the same name. About this
time seem to have been also constructed the singularly tortuous
outward approaches to this opening in the western wall of the city,
which were eventually so inconvenient to traffic in peaceful days, of
whatever value they might have been from a military stand-point in
trying hours half-a-century ago. These were also removed with the gate
itself in 1871. On the vacant site of the latter, in accordance with
Lord Dufferin's improvment project, a magnificent memorial gate, which
the citizens had unanimously agreed to call "The Dufferin gate," is
now (1880) erected.

The intention of naming it "The Dufferin gate," however, was
abandoned. H.R.H. the Princess Louise, in deference to its traditions
and with a graceful appreciation of the feelings of the French element
of the population, having recently expressed the desire that it should
be allowed to retain its original appellation.

Before their departure from Canada, Lord and Lady Dufferin had the
pleasure of assisting at the ceremony of laying the corner stone of
this new gate, as well as of the new terrace, which bears their name,
and of fairly starting those important works on the high road to
realization.

As an interesting link between the present and the past, St. John's
gate holds an equally prominent rank and claims an equal antiquity
with St. Louis gate. Its erection as one of the original gates of the
French fortress dates from the same year and its history is very much
the same. Through it another portion of Montcalm's defeated forces
found their way behind the shelter of the defences after the fatal day
of the Plains of Abraham. Like St. Louis gate, too, it was pulled down
on account of its ruinous condition in 1791 and subsequently rebuilt
by the British Government in the form in which it endured until 1865,
when it was demolished and replaced, at an expense of some $40,000 to
the city, by its present more ornate and convenient substitute, to
meet the increased requirements of traffic over the great artery of
the upper levels--St. John street. St. John's gate was one of the
objective points included in the American plan of assault upon Quebec
on the memorable 31st December, 1775; Col. Livingston, with a regiment
of insurgent Canadians, and Major Brown, with part of a regiment from
Boston, having been detailed to make a false attack upon the walls to
the south of it and to set fire to the gate itself with combustibles
prepared for that purpose--a scheme in which the assailants were
foiled by the depth of snow and other obstacles. This gate, being of
quite recent construction and of massive, as well as passably
handsome, appearance, is not included in the general scheme of
improvement. The erection of a life-size statue of Samuel Champlain,
the founder of Quebec, upon its summit, is, however, talked of.

Palace or the Palais gate is the third and last of the old French
portals of the city, and derives its title from the fact that the
highway which passed through it led to the palace or residence of the
Intendants of New France, which has also given its name to the present
quarter of the city lying beneath the cliff on the northern face of
the fortress, where its crumbling ruins are still visible in the
immediate neighborhood of the passenger terminus of the North Shore
Railway. Erected under French rule, during which it is believed to
have been the most fashionable and the most used, it bade a final
farewell to the last of its gallant, but unfortunate French defenders,
and to that imperial power which, for more than one hundred and fifty
years, had swayed the colonial destinies of the Canadas and contested
inch by inch with England, the supremacy of the New World, when a
portion of Montcalm's defeated troops passed out beneath its darkening
shadows on the fatal 13th September, 1759. After the capitulation of
Quebec, General Murray devoted himself at once to the work of
strengthening the defences of the city, and the attention in this
respect paid to Palace gate appears to have stood him in good stead
during the following year's campaign, when the British invaders,
defeated in the battle of St. Foye, were compelled to take shelter
behind the walls of the town and sustain a short siege at the Hands of
the victorious French under deLévis. In 1791, the old French
structure, now a decayed ruin, was razed by the English, but, in the
meanwhile, during 1775, it had gallantly withstood the assaults and
siege of the American invaders under Montgomery and Benedict Arnold.
The somewhat ornate substitute, by which it was replaced is said to
have resembled one of the gates of Pompeii, and seems to have been
erected as late as the year 1830 or 1831, as, in the course of its
demolition, in 1874, an inscription was laid bare, attesting the fact
that at least the timbers and planking had been put up by local
workmen in 1831. It is not intended to rebuild this gate under the
Dufferin plan, on account of the great volume of traffic, more
especially since the completion of the North Shore Railway, to whose
terminus the roadway which leads over its site is the most direct
route. To mark that memorable spot, however, it is intended to flank
it on either side with picturesque Norman turrets rising above the
line of the fortification wall.

Hope Gate, also on the northern face of the ramparts, was the first of
the two purely British gates of Quebec, and was erected in 1786 by
Colonel Henry Hope, Commandant of the Forces and Administrator of the
Province, from whom it takes its name. It was demolished in 1874 for
no especial reason, this gate being no obstacle whatever to the
growing requirements of traffic, as will be readily understood from
its situation. Like Palace Gate, too, it is not to be rebuilt--its
approaches being easily commanded and its position on the rugged,
lofty cliff being naturally very strong.

Its site, however, will be marked in the carrying out of the Dufferin
Improvements by flanking Norman turrets.

The last of the city gates proper, wholly of British origin, but the
first that grimly confronted in by-gone days the visitor approaching
the city from the water-side and entering the fortress, is, or rather
was, Prescott Gate, which commanded the steep approach known as
Mountain Hill. This gate, which was more commonly known as the Lower
Town gate, because it led to that part--the oldest--of the city known
by that name, was erected in 1797, (to replace a rough structure of
pickets which existed at this point from the time of the siege by the
Americans in 1775) by General Robert Prescott, who served in America
during the revolutionary war, and, after further service in the West
Indies, succeeded Lord Dorchester as the British Governor-General in
Lower Canada in 1796, dying in 1815, at the age of 89 years, and
giving his name to this memento of his administration, as well as to
Prescott, Ontario. Old Prescott Gate was unquestionably a great public
nuisance in times of peace, its demolition, in 1871, consequently
provoked the least regret of all in connection with the obliteration
of those curious relics of Quebec's historic past. For reasons, which
are obvious, it would be impossible to replace Prescott Gate with any
structure of a like character, without impeding seriously the flow of
traffic by way of such a leading artery as Mountain Hill. It will,
however, be replaced by a light and handsome iron bridge of a single
span over the roadway with flanking Norman turrets.

_KENT GATE._

For the information of our visitors and strangers generally, we may
explain that, a few years since, the western fortification wall
between St. John's gate and the military exercising ground in past
years, known as the Esplanade, was cut through to form a roadway
communicating between the higher levels of the Upper Town and the St.
Louis suburbs, now styled Montcalm Ward.

It consequently became necessary, in keeping with the aesthetic spirit
of the whole Dufferin scheme, to fill up in some way this unsightly
gap without interfering with the traffic. It was finally decided to
erect here one of the proposed memorial gates, which is altogether
therefore an addition to the number of the existing gates or their
intended substitutes. This edifice, has been designed to do homage to
the memory of Edward, Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria. This
gate will be the most imposing of all in the entire circuit of the
fortifications, while it has had the signal honour of further being
reserved for a handsome subscription towards its cost from Her
Majesty's privy purse and dedication at the hands of H. R. H. the
Princess, who laid its corner stone with appropriate ceremonial during
the month of June, 1879.

_THE CITADEL GATES._

Besides the foregoing, however, the fortress possesses in reality two
other gates of much interest to the stranger. When the famous Citadel,
commanding the entire harbour and surrounding country, was constructed
on Cape Diamond, the number of existing gates was increased from five
to seven by the erection of the Chain and Dalhousie, or Citadel gates,
leading to that great fortalice of British power, which may be aptly
styled the _summum opus_ of the magnificent but costly system of
strategic works that has earned for Quebec its title of the Gibraltar
of America. But, as these belong to the Citadel, which is an
independent stronghold of itself, rather than to the defensive works
of the city proper, it suffices to mention that they were erected
under the administration of the Earl of Dalhousie, in 1827, and that
they are well worthy of a visit of inspection--the one being a
handsome and formidable barrier of its class and the other of very
massive construction and considerable depth.

The proposed Château St. Louis or Castle of St. Louis, must be
regarded as the crowning feature of the Dufferin scheme of
embellishment and was designed by the late Governor General to serve
as a vice-regal residence during the sojourn of the representative of
the Crown in Quebec, as well as to revive the historic splendors of
the ancient pile of that name, which formed the abode of the early
Governors of New France. Of course, this noble structure only exists
as yet on paper; but, should it ever be erected, it will be a striking
object from any point whence the Citadel is visible as it will rise to
a considerable height above its highest battlements, standing out in
bold relief to the east of the building known as the Officers'
Quarters, with a frontage of 200 feet, and an elevation partly of 60
and partly of 100 feet, with a basement, two main stories, and mansard
roof and two towers of different heights, but of equally charming
design--the style of architecture of the whole being an agreeable
_mélange_ of the picturesque Norman and Elizabethan.

_THELLER AND DODGE'S ESCAPE FROM THE CITADEL._

The Citadel has been described in detail elsewhere; [144] it is,
therefore, unnecessary to allude to it further than recording here a
startling episode in which it played a conspicuous part in those days
of foes and alarm, during the Insurrection of 1838:--

"After the affair of St. Denis," says Roger, [145] "the murder of
Lieutenant Weir, the matter of St. Charles, the storm and capture
of the Church of St. Eustache, and the battle of Toronto, there
were filibustering attempts to invade Canada, neither recognized
by the Government of the United States nor by the bulk of the
people, but indulged in by a party, sentimental with regard to
liberty, and by others to whom plunder and excitement were
congenial. In one of these filibustering expeditions, 'General'
Sutherland, 'Brigadier General' Theller, Colonel Dodge, Messrs.
Brophy, Thayer and other residents, if not citizens, of the United
States, sailed from Detroit in the schooner _Anne_ for Bois
Blanc, which having been seized, an attack was made on Fort Maiden
on the 8th of January, 1838, terminating in the capture of
Theller, Dodge, Brophy and some others; General Sutherland having
been afterwards captured on the ice, at the mouth of the River
Detroit, by Colonel John Prince, of the Canadian Militia. The
prisoners, after having been for a time in gaol at Toronto, were
transferred, some to Fort Henry, at Kingston, and others, among
whom were Sutherland, Theller and Dodge, to the Citadel of Quebec,
which was then occupied by a battalion of the Guards, and there
imprisoned, but treated with consideration and courtesy. It was
not, however, unnatural that they should endeavor to escape. They
were taken out of their prison-house daily for an airing, in
charge of a guard, and, as it would appear, were not altogether
denied the opportunity of conversing with persons who were
friendly to them. Theller, in an account of the Rebellion in
Canada, edited, it is said, by General Roberts, of Detroit,
himself minutely details the nature and manner of his intercourse
with a Mr. P. S. Grace, while under the charge of the military in
Cape Diamond; how he succeeded in bribing soldiers' wives, and in
cultivating the friendship of officers, non-commissioned officers
and men of the Guards, much of which is exaggerated, and some of
which is untrue. Some of the sergeants, for small presents,
Theller asserts, did whatever he required in the way of bringing
books and newspapers from town and articles of food and drink from
the canteen, which is undoubtedly true, but no man in the
regiment, either directly or indirectly, connived at the escape.
It was the result of clever management on the part of Theller,
Dodge and his companions, and of unsuspecting stupidity on the
part of the sentry who guarded the door of the prison, and,
indeed, of all who seemed to have had intercourse with the
prisoners. The escape was thus effected:--On a dark, rainy night,
late in October, 1838, an iron bar having been previously cut
through with a file given them from without, the sawing having
been effected during performances on the shrill fife of one of the
fifers of the garrison, which a prisoner had borrowed for the
purpose of passing away the time and keeping up the spirits of his
companions in misfortune, some of whom were despondent, Theller's
conversation seduced a sentry into conversation, next to smoke a
pipe, then to drink a tumbler of London porter, drugged with
rathermore than 'three times sixty drops' of laudanum. The sentry
struggled hard to prevent the drowsiness that was stealing over
him; he spoke thick, and muttered that he had never before drank
anything so good or so strong. He walked about in the rain to keep
himself awake, and staggered a little. * * * It resulted in the
escape of Dodge, Thayer, Theller and Partridge, who, after several
hair-breadth escapes and hazardous incidents, found themselves
outside of their old quarters." "The escaping party," adds Roger,
"moved cautiously forward, at respectable distances from each
other, along the canteen, and then got out into the middle of the
great square to elude the sentry at the magazine. While there a
sergeant came rushing from the guard-room towards the officers'
quarters, the red, or as they appeared dark, stripes being visible
on a white undress jacket. It seemed to be an alarm. There were
only three sentinels between the escaping party and the flagstaff,
where the descent was intended. Abreast was one whose duty was to
guard the back part of the magazine and a pile of firewood which
was there corded up, and also to prevent soldiers from going to
the canteen. Another stood opposite the door of the officers'
mess-room. There was room enough in the darkness to pass these
sentinels, and Theller and his companions no longer crawled, but
walked upright, one by one, quietly, but passing along as quickly
as possible. Parker, however, after the sergeant passed, became
much excited and terrified, and lost his way. He made some noise,
and a sentry challenged, but without answering, the rest hurried
towards the half-moon battery where the flagstaff is. Passing
round the old telegraph post on one side, near the stabling
attached to the officers' quarters, a sentinel there with side-
arms only, or, as he is technically termed 'a flying Dick,'
challenged, and Theller asserts he promptly answered, 'Officer of
the guard,' when the countersign being demanded, he muttered,
'teen,' having learned during the confinement that the countersign
of the Guards ordinarily ended so--seventeen, eighteen, nineteen,
or such like--and the sentry, fancying from the cap with a gold
lace band on it, which, having undone his cloak, Theller placed
upon his head, that he was one of the officers, suffered him to
pass. Parker had got among the firewood, and was making a noise.
Dodge was running about on the top of the wall, making signals for
Grace and other friends who were to be outside, but could see no
one there. The haulyards of the flagstaff were then partially cut
down with a penknife. An alarm was now given by an officer of the
garrison who accidentally came upon Culver, one of the escaping
party, and in a moment the drums beat and the guard turned out.
The officers rushed out of the mess-room. An artilleryman detected
Parker, and the cry arose that the American prisoners were loose
and escaping. Some immediately ran towards the prison, whilst
others dragged Parker to the guard-room, and yet others began to
search about for the 'General,' Colonel Dodge, Culver and Hall,
whom Parker intimated, in reply to a question put to him by an
officer, had not come out. There was no alternative but to jump
from the wall to the flat part of the precipice below, on which
the wall is built, what Theller first did. For an instant he hung
by his hands, then dropped, and alighted on his feet on the solid
rock, falling back on his head. He was stunned, and lay a minute
or two unconscious. When he came to himself, he heard Dodge
inquiring if he was hurt, and replied in the negative, telling him
to throw down the bundle of cloaks and leap upon them. Theller had
broken the outer bone of his leg and dislocated his right ankle
joint, but had been so stunned that he scarcely felt any pain.
Culver descended next, and was stunned, the blood gushing from his
nose and mouth; he had, it is said, also fractured his leg. Culver
was more fortunate, as he alighted on a pile of cloaks, and was
little, if at all, hurt. Dodge then, throwing down the piece of
rope which he had cut from the haulyards to be used in the next
descent, also slipped down the wall upon the pile of cloaks, and
was unhurt. The second descent was made with the aid of the rope,
the end of which was held by two of the party, while Theller with
his wounded leg slipped down over a piece of cedar post which had
been accidentally placed against the wall of the ditch. Culver
followed, then Hall held the rope alone for Dodge, and afterwards
descended himself as all had done on the first leap, caught as he
came to the ground, however, by the rest of the party. Dodge, in
saving Hall from falling after or as he leaped, sprained his
wrist. The whole party, however, managed to crawl up the outer
wall of the ditch, which was faced with dry stone, by inserting
their hands in the interstices and using their feet as well as
they could. They rested on the summit of the glacis for a moment,
and saw the search that was being made for them inside by lights
that were flashing about into every nook and cranny."

It would take us too far to describe the subsequent incidents of this
clever plan of escape. The patriots of St. Roch, Dr. Rousseau, Grace,
Hunter and others, provided means of escape for the "sympathisers"
which baffled all the ingenuity of the Commandant of the Quebec
garrison, an old Waterloo hero, Sir James Macdonald, who certainly
spared neither time, men nor trouble to recover the Citadel prisoners,
but in vain.

We must find room here for another singular incident in connection
with the Citadel and the Insurrection of 1837-8:--

_"THE MEN OF '37."_

_THE SECRET SOCIETY OF THE "CHASSEURS"--RECOLLECTIONS OF A
VETERAN--PROPOSED CAPTURE OF QUEBEC._

"A representative of the Montreal _Witness_, in a conversation
with Mr. Rouillard, Inspector of Buildings, ascertained that he
had taken a somewhat prominent part in the stirring scenes of the
Rebellion of 1837. The old gentleman's eyes lit up with the fire
of youthful enthusiasm when recounting the deeds of the "Sons of
Liberty," and the secret society of the "Chasseurs."

"I was vigorous and strong in those days, and from my mother
inherited an ardent love for the country in which I was born. Her
letters in those days so magnetized me with patriotism that I
could willingly lay down my life for the cause. I can only,
however, give you a mere sketch to-day of some of the incidents
and adventures through which I passed. The 'Sons of Liberty,' in
Quebec and Montreal, numbered over 20,000 men, but within this
body there was a secret society called 'Les Chasseurs,' all picked
and trustworthy men. They formed a secret society and had their
signs and passwords. It is singular that, though many of those men
were placed in perilous positions when the revelations of our
secrets would have saved them, not one traitor was found to betray
the cause, and even to this day the secrets of the fraternity are
unknown. Not very long ago I had occasion to go to Quebec, and was
introduced to one of the Provincial ministers. I gave the sign of
the 'Chasseurs' of forty-three years ago. He looked up surprised
and returned the countersign. We had not met since the memorable
_émeute_ in the stable yard on St. James street.

We used to meet for drill and pistol practice in the upper story
of the house still standing on the corner of Dorchester and
Sanguinet streets.

There I remember one of our leaders harangued us. He is still
alive, and Montreal's citizens know him well. He urged us to be
brave and show no mercy in sweeping every obstacle from oar path,
and when we gained our liberty we would have 'ample time for--
tears, repentance and regret.' There used to be a loyal
association called 'The Doric Club,' which met on Great St. James
street near our rendezvous. Our men and the members of this club
used to have many _rencontres_, until it culminated in a challenge
from the 'Chasseurs' who sent a _cartel_ to the sixty members of
the Doric Club, offering to meet them with thirty of their picked
men. The President of the Doric Club sent back a cold formal reply
to the effect that they wished to have nothing to do with traitors
and rebels.

"Our secret society had formed the daring design of seizing the
citadel of Quebec on the same plan as Wolfe's Highlanders. We had
our rendezvous within a short march of Quebec and on the eventful
night numbered about 1,500 men, two hundred of whom had come from
Montreal and the rest from St. Jerome, Three Rivers and other
places. Each man was armed with a pair of pistols and a bowie-
knife, and carried on his shoulders a bundle of straw.

They had thirty ladders which were to be used in scaling the
narrow glacis which led to the citadel. The object was to make a
regular roadway of these ladders, almost like a trellis work
bridge, up which the patriots might easily pass. The night was
dark and stormy. We had been waiting in the cold in our white
blanket coats and white tuques, to assimilate to the color of the
snow, when the order arrived to prepare to march. The second
signal came at half-past eleven, and everything was in readiness
for the attack. At a quarter to twelve the chief came in as pale
as death and gave the order to disband, as the storm had suddenly
ceased and the moon shone bright and clear, much to the
discomfiture of the patriots, who looked forward to an easy
victory. That chief, who still lives, said it was providential
that the storm had cleared off before the attack had been made,
for if it had continued and only cleared when the patriots were
placing their scaling ladders in the glacis, not a man would have
survived, as the British troops could have trained several guns on
this particular spot and swept every living thing into
destruction."

Mr. Rouillard said the Roman Catholic clergy were much opposed to
their society, because it was secret, and had done all in their
power to break it up, and England is indebted for her supremacy in
North America to-day to the exertions and assistance given her in
that troublous period by the Roman Catholic clergy." (_Montreal
Witness, 29th November_ 1880.)