This Rustic Cottage Was The Summer Residence Of The Late Jas.
Gibb, Esq.,
of the old firm of Lane, Gibb & Co., a name remembered with gratitude, in
several educational and charitable institutions of Quebec for the
munificent bequests of its owner.
RAVENSWOOD.
Near some fair town I'd have a private seat,
Built uniform, nor little, nor too great;
Better if on a rising ground it stood, -
On this side fields, on that a neighboring wood;
A little garden, grateful to the eye,
Where a cool rivulet runs murmuring by."
In the year 1848, Mr. Samuel Wright, of Quebec, purchased from John
Porter, Esq., that upper portion of Meadowbank (the old estate of
Lieutenant Governor Cramahe in 1762), which lies to the north of the Cap
Rouge or St. Lewis road, and built a dwelling thereon. In 1846 Mr.
Wright's property was put in the market, and Ravenswood acquired by the
present owner, William Herring, Esq., of the late firm of Charles E. Levey
& Co. No sylvan spot could have been procured, had all the woods around
Quebec been ransacked, of wilder beauty. In the centre, a pretty cottage;
to the east, trees; to the west, trees; to the north and south, trees -
stately trees all around you. Within a few rods from the hall door a
limpid little brook oozes from under an old plantation, and forms, under a
thorn tree of extraordinary size and most fantastically shaped limbs, a
reservoir of clear water, round which, from a rustic seat, you notice
speckled trout roaming fearlessly. Here was, for a man familiar with the
park-like scenery of England, a store of materials to work into shape.
That dense forest must be thinned; that indispensable adjunct of every
Sillery home a velvety lawn, must be had; a peep through the trees, on the
surrounding country, obtained; the stream dammed up so as to produce a
sheet of water, on which a birch canoe will be launched; more air let in
round the house; more of the forest cut away; and some fine beech, birch,
maple, and pine trees grouped. The lawn would look better with a graceful
and leafy elm in the centre, and a few smaller ones added to the
perspective. By dint of care, elms of a goodly size were removed from the
mountain brow. The efforts of the proprietor to plant large trees at
Ravenswood have been eminently successful, and ought to stimulate others
to add such valuable, such permanent elements of beauty, to their country
seats. One plantation, by its luxuriance, pleased us more than any other,
that which shades both sides of the avenue. Few of our places can boast of
possessing a more beautifully-wooded and gracefully-curved approach to the
house than Ravenswood. You see nothing of the dwelling until you emerge
from this neat plantation of evergreens. We once viewed it under its most
fascinating aspect; 'tis pretty in the bright, effulgent radiance of day,
but when the queen of night sends forth her soft rays, and allows them to
slumber silently on the rustling boughs of the green pines and firs, with
the dark, gravelled avenue, visible here and there at every curve, no
sounds heard except the distant murmur of the Chaudiere river, the
effect is striking.
THE WOODS OF SILLERY.
I know each lane, and every valley green,
Dingle, or bushy dell, of this wild wood;
And every bosky bourn from side to side,
My daily walks and ancient neighborhood.
- Comus, Shakespeare.
"You, doubtless, imagine you have now seen Sillery under every aspect;
there never was a greater mistake, dear reader. Have you ever viewed
its woods in all their autumnal glory, when September arrays them in
tints of unsurpassed loveliness? We hear you say, no. Let us then, our
pensive philosopher, our romantic blushing rose bud of sweet sixteen,
our blase-traveller, let us have a canter over Cap Rouge road
out by St. Louis gate, and returning by the St. Foy road, nine miles
and more, let us select a quiet afternoon, not far distant from the
Indian summer, when
The gentle wind a sweet and passionate wooer,
Kisses the blushing leaf, and stirs up life
Within the solemn woods of ash, deep crimsoned,
And Silver beech, and maple yellow-leaved,"
and then you can tell us whether the glowing description below is
overdrawn:
"There is something indescribably beautiful in the appearance of
Canadian woods at this season of the year, especially when the light
of the rising or setting sun falls upon them. Almost every imaginable
shade of green, brown, red and yellow, may be found in the foliage of
our forest trees, shrubs, and creeping vines, as the autumn advances
and it may truly be said that every backwood's home in Canada is
surrounded by more gorgeous colourings and richer beauties than the
finest mansions of the nobility of England.
"Have our readers ever remarked the peculiarly beautiful appearance of
the pines at this season of the year? When other trees manifest
symptoms of withering, they appear to put forth a richer and fresher
foliage. The interior of the tree, when shaded from the sun, is a deep
invisible-green, approaching to black, whilst the outer boughs,
basking in the sunlight, show the richest dark-green that can be
imagined. A few pine and spruce trees scattered among the more
brightly-colored oaks, maple, elms and beeches, which are the chief
denizens of our forests, give the whole an exceedingly rich
appearance. Among the latter, every here and there, strange sports of
nature attract attention. A tree that is still green will have a
single branch, covered with red and orange leaves, like a gigantic
bouquet of flowers. Another will have one side of a rich maroon,
whilst the other side remains green. A third will present a flounce or
ruffle of bright buff, or orange leaves round the middle, whilst the
branches above and below continue green. Then again some trees which
have turned to a rich brown, will be seen intertwined and festooned by
the wild vine or red root, still beautifully green; or a tree that is
still green will he mantled over by the Canadian ivy, whose leaves
have turned to a deep reddish-brown.
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