The Other Mode Of Penetrating
Into The Lower Town Is Through That Steep And Tortuous Hill - Called
Mountain Hill By The English, Cote De La Montagne By The French.
This is the hill which has re-echoed the tread of so many regiments, on
which so many Governors,
French and English, have, on divers occasions,
heard themselves enthusiastically cheered by eager crowds; the hill which
Viceroys of France and of England, from the ostentatious Marquis de Tracy
to the proud Earl of Durham, ascended on their way to Government House,
surrounded by their brilliant staffs and saluted by cannon and with
warlike flourish of trumpets! In earlier times the military and religious
display was blended with an aroma of literature and elaborate Indian
oratory, combining prose and poetry.
Francis Parkman will tell us of what took place on the arrival, on the
28th July, 1658, of the Viscount D'Argenson, the Governor of the colony: -
"When Argenson arrived to assume the government, a curious greeting had
awaited him. The Jesuits asked him to dine; vespers followed the repast;
and then they conducted him to a hall where the boys of their school -
disguised, one as the Genius of New France, one as the Genius of the
Forest, and others as Indians of various friendly tribes - made him
speeches by turn, in prose and in verse. First, Pierre du Quet, who played
the Genius of New France, presented his Indian retinue to the Governor, in
a complimentary harangue. Then four other boys, personating French
colonists, made him four flattering addresses, in French verse. Charles
Denis, dressed as a Huron, followed, bewailing the ruin of his people, and
appealing to Argenson for aid. Jean Francois Bourdon, in the character of
an Algonquin, next advanced on the platform, boasted his courage, and
declared that he was ashamed to cry like the Huron. The Genius of the
Forest now appeared, with a retinue of wild Indians from the interior,
who, being unable to speak French, addressed the Governor in their native
tongues, which the Genius proceeded to interpret. Two other boys in the
character of prisoners just escaped from the Iroquois, then came forward
imploring aid in piteous accents; and in conclusion the whole troop of
Indians from far and near laid their bows and arrows at the feet of
Argenson, and hailed him as their chief.
Besides these mock Indians, a crowd of genuine savages had gathered at
Quebec to greet the new "Ononthio." On the next day - at his own cost, as
he writes to a friend - he gave them a feast, consisting of seven large
kettlesful of Indian corn, peas, prunes, sturgeon, eels and fat, which
they devoured, he says, after having first sung me a song, after their
fashion."
Probably one of the most gorgeous displays on record was that attending
the arrival of the great Marquis of Tracy, in 1665. He came with a
brilliant staff, a crowd of young nobles; and accompanied by two hundred
soldiers, to be followed by a thousand more of the dashing regiment of
Carignan-Salieres.
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