In Confirmation Of This
Statement, Only A Halt-Inch Tap Is Used To Supply The Tanks, And The
Manager Informs Us That Frequently For Days Together The Tap Is Not
Turned On Either At Night Or Day."
How our worthy grandfathers would have shrugged their shoulders had such
an innovation been mooted eighty years ago.
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. He sailed up the St. Lawrence, and on the 30th of June,
1665, anchored in the basin of Quebec. The broad, white standard, blazoned
with the arms of France, proclaimed the representative of royalty; and
Point Levi and Cape Diamond and the distant Cape Tourmente roared back the
sound of saluting cannon. All Quebec was on the ramparts or at the landing
place, and all eyes were strained at the two vessels as they slowly
emptied their crowded decks into the boats alongside. The boats at length
drew near, and the Lieutenant-General and his suite landed on the quay
with a pomp such as Quebec had never seen before.
Tracy was a veteran of sixty-two, portly and tall, "one of the largest men
I ever saw," writes Mother Mary (Marie de l'Incarnation), but he was
sallow with disease, for fever had seized him, and it had fared ill with
him on the long voyage. The Chevalier de Chaumont walked at his side, and
young nobles surrounded him, gorgeous in lace and ribbons, and majestic in
leonine wigs. Twenty-four guards in the King's livery led the way,
followed by four pages and six valets; [82] and thus, while the Frenchmen
shouted and the Indians stared, the august procession threaded the streets
of the Lower Town, and climbed the steep pathway that scaled the cliffs
above. Breathing hard, they reached the top, passed on the left the
dilapidated walls of the Fort and the shed of mingled wood and masonry
which then bore the name of the Castle de St. Louis; passed on the right
the old house of Couillard and the site of Laval's new Seminary, and soon
reached the square betwixt the Jesuit College and the Cathedral.
The bells were ringing in a frenzy of welcome. Laval in pontificals,
surrounded by priests and Jesuits, stood waiting to receive the Deputy of
the King, and as he greeted Tracy and offered him the holy water, he
looked with anxious curiosity to see what manner of man he was. The signs
were auspicious. The deportment of the Lieutenant-General left nothing to
desire. A prie-dieu had been placed for him. He declined it. They
offered him a cushion, but he would not have it, and fevered as he was, he
knelt on the bare pavement with a devotion that edified every beholder.
Te Deum was sung and a day of rejoicing followed. [83]
In our day, we can recall but one pageant at all equal: the roar of
cannon, &c., attending the advent of the great Earl of Durham, [84] but
there were noticeable fewer "priests," fewer "Jesuits," and less
"kneeling" in the procession.
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