The
Ruins Of The Hospital And The Convent Were Razed About Fifty Years Ago,
And In Demolishing Them Several Objects Were Discovered, Some Of Which
Must Have Belonged To The Good Ladies, The Hospitalieres Nuns.
For the benefit of those who might feel inclined to explore the remaining
vestiges of M. Sillery's foundation, I shall furnish some details on the
locality.
About the centre of Sillery Cove can be seen a cape, not very
high, but with its sides perpendicular. The position of surrounding
objects point it out as the spot on which stood the fort intended to
protect the village; there also, in a dry soil, stood the cemetery, from
which several bodies were exhumed in the course of last summer (1854) At
the foot of the cape, on your left, is the missionaries' house now
converted into a residence for the clerks of Messrs. E. R. Dobell & Co.
This building has been kept in repair, and is still in a good state of
preservation. In a line with it, and nearest the St. Lawrence, can be
discovered the foundation of the church. This edifice stood north-east and
south-west.
Near the wall closest to the river ran a spring of water, perfectly clear,
and, no doubt, used for the wants of the church and of the presbytery.
Several other streams of excellent water run down the hill and intersect
the grounds in all directions. No misconception can exist as to where the
chapel stood, as there are still (in 1855) living several persons who saw
the walls standing, and can point out the foundations which have since
been identified and enclosed by stone pillars and chains. To the right of
the small cape, and on a line with the chapel, stood the hospital, now
deserted for more than two centuries. Over its foundation an elm has
grown, - 'tis now a handsome and large tree; six feet from the ground its
circumference measures two fathoms (12 feet), which makes its diameter
about three and a half. Heriot thus describes the locality in 1806: -
"From hence to Cap Rouge the scenery, on account of its beauty and
variety, attracts the attention of the passenger. At Sillery, a league
from Quebec, on the north shore, are the ruins of an establishment which
was begun in 1637, intended as a religious institution for the conversion
and instruction of natives of the country; it was at one time inhabited by
twelve French families. The buildings are placed upon level ground,
sheltered by steep banks, and close by the borders of the river; they now
only consist of two old stone houses, fallen to decay, and of the remains
of a small chapel (the chapel has of late been repaired and fitted up for
a malt house, and some of the other buildings have been converted into a
brewery). [192] In this vicinity the Algonquins once had a village;
several of their tumuli, or burying places, are still discoverable in the
woods, and hieroglyphics cut on the trees remain, in some situations, yet
unaffected." [193]
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