Chapter V: Modern Quebec (2)

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.