He Stated
That He Thought It Especially Meet And Proper That The Literary And
Historical Society Here Should Have Taken Up The Matter And Dealt With
It In This Way.
He alluded in eulogistic terms to the capability of
the gentlemen about to address them and, after regretting the
unavoidable absence of Lt-Col.
Coffin, a lineal descendant of an
officer present, formally introduced the first speaker, Lieutenant-
Colonel Strange, commandant of Quebec Garrison, and Dominion Inspector
of Artillery. This gallant officer, who on rising was received with
loud and hearty cheering by the audience, plunged with characteristic
military brevity in medias res, simply remarking, at the outset,
that he, in such a position, was but a rear rank man, while Colonel
Coffin would have been a front-ranker; but his soldierly duty was
to fill that position in the absence of him to whom the task would
have been officially assigned. The subject which formed a distinct
section of the major topic of the evening was then taken up. Inasmuch
as it is our intention, and we believe that of the Society, to
reproduce faithfully in pamphlet form the graphic, interesting and
detailed word-pictures of the ever memorable events of the 31st
December, 1775, as given by the learned and competent gentlemen who
addressed the meeting, it suffices to say in the present brief notice
of the proceedings that Colonel Strange exhaustively treated that
portion which referred to the attack and defence at Pres-de-Ville - the
place in the vicinity of which now stands the extensive wharves of the
Allan Company. Many incidents of the siege, utterly unknown to
ordinary readers of history were recalled last night, and many things
that have hitherto been dubious, or apparently unaccountable explained
away. The story of the finding of the snow-covered and hard-frozen
corpse of the unfortunate General and his Aide-de-Camp, was told with
much pathos, as were details of his burial. The references to
descendants of then existing families still residents in Quebec, were
extremely interesting, because many were among the audience. At the
conclusion of Colonel Strange's admirable resume, and some further
pointed remarks from the Chairman, Mr. J. M. LeMoine, who is par
excellence and par assiduite our Quebec historian, whose life has
been mainly devoted to compilation of antiquarian data touching the
walls, the streets, the relics, the families, the very Flora, and
Fauna of our cherished Stadacona - commenced his erudite and amusing
sketches of the day, taken from the stand point of the enemy's
headquarters, and the fray in the Sault-au-Matelot. Interspersing in
his own well digested statement of events, he chose the best
authenticated accounts from contemporaneous participants, British,
French Canadian and American, proving that the record as presented by
Col. Strange and himself last night, was a "plain unvarnished truthful
tale," a reliable mirror in which was faithfully reflected all that
was historically interesting as affecting Quebec in the Campaign of
1775-6. When Mr. LeMoine had terminated his address, which was of
considerable length, Mr. Stevenson concluded this portion of the
proceedings with a most eulogistic and deserved recognition of the
devotion which the two gentlemen who had read during the evening had
shewn in preparing their respective papers, and a vote of thanks to
them was heartily and unanimously accorded. He also made reference to
the topic of the day, the restoration and embellishment of our oft-
besieged, city, gracefully attributing honour where it was due, first
and foremost to His Excellency the Governor-General, Earl of Dufferin,
at whose instigation the plans had been prepared; secondly, to His
Worship the Mayor, Owen Murphy, Esq., (who was present), for his
untiring exertions and valuable assistance in developing, maturing and
preparing the way for an early completion of said designs, which are
to make Quebec a splendid architectural example of the deformed,
transformed; thirdly, to the hearty co-operation of the public, aided
in their views by the enterprise of the proprietor of the Morning
Chronicle, who had prepared the splendid illustrations of these
improvements, thereby reflecting infinite credit upon himself. After a
few other remarks the ladies and gentlemen were invited to inspect the
library, which for the rest of the evening was the centre of
attraction. The coup d'oeil, when once one had fairly entered
into this beautifully designed, permanent focus of intellectual
wealth, around whose walls were ranged the imperishable memorials of
nearly all of man's genius that has been thought worthy of
preservation, was striking and memorable. As in the lecture room,
those emblems, which are our symbolical as well as actual rallying
points in all times of trouble or war, draped and covered the book
shelves which contain the essence of almost all that human
intelligence, human thought, human wit, man's invention and ingenuity
has as yet brought to light. Here, historian and poet, geographer and
engineer, humorist and preacher, dramatist and theologian, are
congregated, serving in the one great cause of public instruction and
the expansion of the limitless ramifications which exist in the ever
growing tree of knowledge. The student and literateur, the bibliophile
and dilletante novel reader, the most frequent visitors here last
night were replaced by groups of fair women and patriotic men
assembled to commemorate an event which had a marked effect upon the
history of this continent in this nineteenth century, which will
expire a few hours after these lines meet the reader's eyes. In lieu
of study and thought, the attention of the throng was attracted to the
splendid stand of arms reaching from floor to ceiling, and which was
as it were defended by the Dominion standard that fell in long
festoons behind. In the centre of a diamond-shaped figure, made up of
scores of sabres pointing inwards, was a large glittering star of
silvery steel bayonets. In chronological order were pink and gilt
tablets, containing each one the names of the Lieutenant-Governors of
Canada, commencing with Carleton, in 1775, and proceeding through the
noble list, which includes Haldimand, Dorchester, Dalhousie, Gosford,
Colborne, Durham, Sydenham, Bagot, Cathcart, Elgin, Head, Monk,
Lisgar, down to the present glorious epoch, when this prosperous
country is vice-regally and right royally presided over by Lord
Dufferin, in the year of grace, 1875 - on the opposite side of the
room, under a similar spiky coronet of bristling steel, was hung the
sword of the dead and vanquished, but honoured and revered hero, the
trusty blade which only left Montgomery's hands, when in his death-
throes he 'like a soldier fell,' and the pitiless snow became his
winding-sheet.
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