The white wooden houses on the hill-sides, and the
broad fields of yellow grain, set off the dark wood; and the river - its
bay, fronting the point of land on which the city is placed, covered
with sails and glistening in the sun - mellows the landscape most
exquisitely.
Quebec, as seen from the river, too, has a fine commanding
aspect. The Citadel crowning the height does not give so great an
appearance of extent or strength as it possesses. In reality, Gibraltar
preeminent over all, it is one of the most impregnable strongholds in
the world; and its underground works, I am told, are so extensive that
5,000 men may be garrisoned and hidden within the bowels of the earth
beneath it. Visitors are not allowed to walk on the west ramparts; and
on complaining of this to a distinguished military officer, I was
assured that the workmen, who are still employed in the excavations
below, are taken in blindfold - that the engineer officer alone knows
the form and shape of the works in progress, and that the plan of the
remainder is kept sealed up in the hands of the commandant, to be
opened only in case of actual need. This is mystery with a vengeance,
and but for the authority from whence I received the statement, I
should doubt the fact - most decidedly.
"The lower town of Quebec stands upon the river bank, beneath the
almost perpendicular face of rock, surmounted by the Citadel. It is
old, and the houses are principally of wood, and ultra-French in
appearance. The streets are narrow and not over clean. To reach the
upper town you drive up a very precipitous road, or walk up a long
flight of timber steps, which shorten the steepest portion of the way.
The upper town is built on the acclivity and on the slopes of the hill-
side, which slide down to the river St. Charles, to the north. The fire
of 1845 improved the town, by clearing out miserable old wooden
dwellings; and the buildings erected on the site are of good brick or
stone. Since these fires, too, it has been forbidden to build houses of
wood, within the walls; and the use of shingles for roofing has been
prohibited. The roofs are mostly covered with tin, which shines and
glares in the sun at mid-day, but reflects the morning light very
pleasantly.
"The Protestant and Catholic Cathedrals are fine buildings, as are the
new Catholic church outside the suburbs, the Catholic seminary, and
many other edifices. But the narrow streets, steep ascents, and ancient
buildings, take away all beauty from the town itself, delightful as is
its situation, and beautiful as are the vistas and views from various
parts of it.
"A pilgrimage to the Plains of Abraham, about a mile from the Citadel,
which consist of the high tableland between the St. Lawrence and the
St. Foix road and St. Charles river, was to me a traveller's duty.
"It was on the night of the 12th of September, 1759, that Wolfe,
checked by the French, at Montmorenci, two months before, dropped down
the St. Lawrence with his army in boats, and succeeded in landing at a
little bend of the river, still half hidden by trees, where the high
and precipitous shores are most accessible, though yet most difficult
of ascent. The troops scaled the heights, meeting little opposition,
formed into line across the plains, and waited the attack of the
French, who had marched that morning from Beauport, near to which the
battle of Montmorenci had been fought. The French came on gallantly,
and the English stood their fire until they approached within forty
yards, and then delivered theirs. The French wavered, and Wolfe charged
at the head of his men, Montcalm heading his. A desperate fight took
place, and Wolfe fell, struck by the third ball, just as the French
line broke in confusion, and the English cheer of victory burst from
his conquering army. Montcalm was mortally wounded immediately
afterwards.
"On the spot where Wolfe fell, on the extreme right of his line, a
plain unpretending pillar is placed, bearing the simple inscription, -
"'HERE DIED WOLFE, VICTORIOUS, SEPT. 13, 1759.'
Near the Citadel, and in the town, another monument has been erected,
which bears the name of Wolfe on one side and that of Montcalm on the
other.
"To see the country, I had a drive of twenty-five miles along the St.
Charles river, through the Indian village of Lorette, and back through
the fine open district to the westward of the town. Our road was good
for a few miles, but then became such a collection of deep pits and
heaps of mud, that, but for a rude fence and wheel-marks, it would
hardly have been distinguished from the fields. The course of the St.
Charles, however, at this point, is between precipitous and sometimes
rocky banks, covered with trees and jungle: and in enjoyment of the
scenery, the fresh pure air, cooled by the previous night's rain, and
the sweet scents thrown out by the trees and wild-flowers, the slow
progress of the vehicle and the bumping of one's sides, were forgotten.
"Lorette was originally a colony of Christianized Huron Indians, to
whom lands were granted by the French. The village is now principally
inhabited by whites and half-breeds, though there are some of the pure
race left - the men wearing European dresses, the women adhering to the
ancient costume. Their cottages are generally neat and clean. Andre
Romain, the chief, resides in the centre of the village, a high pole
denoting his residence and rank. I found him bending over his simple
dinner of milk and coarse bread. He was dressed in old, and somewhat
ragged, garments. He seemed so extremely old, that I did not trouble
him with more than a very short conversation, in French.
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