Picturesque Quebec : a sequel to Quebec past and present Part 23

Quarters, with a frontage of 200 feet, and an elevation partly of 60 and partly of 100 feet, with a bas.e.m.e.nt, two main stories, and mansard roof and two towers of different heights, but of equally charming design--the style of architecture of the whole being an agreeable _melange_ of the picturesque Norman and Elizabethan.

_Th.e.l.lER AND DODGE'S ESCAPE FROM THE CITADEL._

The Citadel has been described in detail elsewhere; [144] it is, therefore, unnecessary to allude to it further than recording here a startling episode in which it played a conspicuous part in those days of foes and alarm, during the Insurrection of 1838:--

"After the affair of St. Denis," says Roger, [145] "the murder of Lieutenant Weir, the matter of St. Charles, the storm and capture of the Church of St. Eustache, and the battle of Toronto, there were filibustering attempts to invade Canada, neither recognized by the Government of the United States nor by the bulk of the people, but indulged in by a party, sentimental with regard to liberty, and by others to whom plunder and excitement were congenial. In one of these filibustering expeditions, 'General'

Sutherland, 'Brigadier General' Th.e.l.ler, Colonel Dodge, Messrs.

Brophy, Thayer and other residents, if not citizens, of the United States, sailed from Detroit in the schooner _Anne_ for Bois Blanc, which having been seized, an attack was made on Fort Maiden on the 8th of January, 1838, terminating in the capture of Th.e.l.ler, Dodge, Brophy and some others; General Sutherland having been afterwards captured on the ice, at the mouth of the River Detroit, by Colonel John Prince, of the Canadian Militia. The prisoners, after having been for a time in gaol at Toronto, were transferred, some to Fort Henry, at Kingston, and others, among whom were Sutherland, Th.e.l.ler and Dodge, to the Citadel of Quebec, which was then occupied by a battalion of the Guards, and there imprisoned, but treated with consideration and courtesy. It was not, however, unnatural that they should endeavor to escape. They were taken out of their prison-house daily for an airing, in charge of a guard, and, as it would appear, were not altogether denied the opportunity of conversing with persons who were friendly to them. Th.e.l.ler, in an account of the Rebellion in Canada, edited, it is said, by General Roberts, of Detroit, himself minutely details the nature and manner of his intercourse with a Mr. P. S. Grace, while under the charge of the military in Cape Diamond; how he succeeded in bribing soldiers' wives, and in cultivating the friendship of officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the Guards, much of which is exaggerated, and some of which is untrue. Some of the sergeants, for small presents, Th.e.l.ler a.s.serts, did whatever he required in the way of bringing books and newspapers from town and articles of food and drink from the canteen, which is undoubtedly true, but no man in the regiment, either directly or indirectly, connived at the escape.

It was the result of clever management on the part of Th.e.l.ler, Dodge and his companions, and of unsuspecting stupidity on the part of the sentry who guarded the door of the prison, and, indeed, of all who seemed to have had intercourse with the prisoners. The escape was thus effected:--On a dark, rainy night, late in October, 1838, an iron bar having been previously cut through with a file given them from without, the sawing having been effected during performances on the shrill fife of one of the fifers of the garrison, which a prisoner had borrowed for the purpose of pa.s.sing away the time and keeping up the spirits of his companions in misfortune, some of whom were despondent, Th.e.l.ler's conversation seduced a sentry into conversation, next to smoke a pipe, then to drink a tumbler of London porter, drugged with rathermore than 'three times sixty drops' of laudanum. The sentry struggled hard to prevent the drowsiness that was stealing over him; he spoke thick, and muttered that he had never before drank anything so good or so strong. He walked about in the rain to keep himself awake, and staggered a little. * * * It resulted in the escape of Dodge, Thayer, Th.e.l.ler and Partridge, who, after several hair-breadth escapes and hazardous incidents, found themselves outside of their old quarters." "The escaping party," adds Roger, "moved cautiously forward, at respectable distances from each other, along the canteen, and then got out into the middle of the great square to elude the sentry at the magazine. While there a sergeant came rushing from the guard-room towards the officers'

quarters, the red, or as they appeared dark, stripes being visible on a white undress jacket. It seemed to be an alarm. There were only three sentinels between the escaping party and the flagstaff, where the descent was intended. Abreast was one whose duty was to guard the back part of the magazine and a pile of firewood which was there corded up, and also to prevent soldiers from going to the canteen. Another stood opposite the door of the officers'

mess-room. There was room enough in the darkness to pa.s.s these sentinels, and Th.e.l.ler and his companions no longer crawled, but walked upright, one by one, quietly, but pa.s.sing along as quickly as possible. Parker, however, after the sergeant pa.s.sed, became much excited and terrified, and lost his way. He made some noise, and a sentry challenged, but without answering, the rest hurried towards the half-moon battery where the flagstaff is. Pa.s.sing round the old telegraph post on one side, near the stabling attached to the officers' quarters, a sentinel there with side- arms only, or, as he is technically termed 'a flying d.i.c.k,'

challenged, and Th.e.l.ler a.s.serts he promptly answered, 'Officer of the guard,' when the countersign being demanded, he muttered, 'teen,' having learned during the confinement that the countersign of the Guards ordinarily ended so--seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, or such like--and the sentry, fancying from the cap with a gold lace band on it, which, having undone his cloak, Th.e.l.ler placed upon his head, that he was one of the officers, suffered him to pa.s.s. Parker had got among the firewood, and was making a noise.

Dodge was running about on the top of the wall, making signals for Grace and other friends who were to be outside, but could see no one there. The haulyards of the flagstaff were then partially cut down with a penknife. An alarm was now given by an officer of the garrison who accidentally came upon Culver, one of the escaping party, and in a moment the drums beat and the guard turned out.

The officers rushed out of the mess-room. An artilleryman detected Parker, and the cry arose that the American prisoners were loose and escaping. Some immediately ran towards the prison, whilst others dragged Parker to the guard-room, and yet others began to search about for the 'General,' Colonel Dodge, Culver and Hall, whom Parker intimated, in reply to a question put to him by an officer, had not come out. There was no alternative but to jump from the wall to the flat part of the precipice below, on which the wall is built, what Th.e.l.ler first did. For an instant he hung by his hands, then dropped, and alighted on his feet on the solid rock, falling back on his head. He was stunned, and lay a minute or two unconscious. When he came to himself, he heard Dodge inquiring if he was hurt, and replied in the negative, telling him to throw down the bundle of cloaks and leap upon them. Th.e.l.ler had broken the outer bone of his leg and dislocated his right ankle joint, but had been so stunned that he scarcely felt any pain.

Culver descended next, and was stunned, the blood gushing from his nose and mouth; he had, it is said, also fractured his leg. Culver was more fortunate, as he alighted on a pile of cloaks, and was little, if at all, hurt. Dodge then, throwing down the piece of rope which he had cut from the haulyards to be used in the next descent, also slipped down the wall upon the pile of cloaks, and was unhurt. The second descent was made with the aid of the rope, the end of which was held by two of the party, while Th.e.l.ler with his wounded leg slipped down over a piece of cedar post which had been accidentally placed against the wall of the ditch. Culver followed, then Hall held the rope alone for Dodge, and afterwards descended himself as all had done on the first leap, caught as he came to the ground, however, by the rest of the party. Dodge, in saving Hall from falling after or as he leaped, sprained his wrist. The whole party, however, managed to crawl up the outer wall of the ditch, which was faced with dry stone, by inserting their hands in the interstices and using their feet as well as they could. They rested on the summit of the glacis for a moment, and saw the search that was being made for them inside by lights that were flashing about into every nook and cranny."

It would take us too far to describe the subsequent incidents of this clever plan of escape. The patriots of St. Roch, Dr. Rousseau, Grace, Hunter and others, provided means of escape for the "sympathisers"

which baffled all the ingenuity of the Commandant of the Quebec garrison, an old Waterloo hero, Sir James Macdonald, who certainly spared neither time, men nor trouble to recover the Citadel prisoners, but in vain.

We must find room here for another singular incident in connection with the Citadel and the Insurrection of 1837-8:--

_"THE MEN OF '37."_

_THE SECRET SOCIETY OF THE "CHa.s.sEURS"--RECOLLECTIONS OF A VETERAN--PROPOSED CAPTURE OF QUEBEC._

"A representative of the Montreal _Witness_, in a conversation with Mr. Rouillard, Inspector of Buildings, ascertained that he had taken a somewhat prominent part in the stirring scenes of the Rebellion of 1837. The old gentleman's eyes lit up with the fire of youthful enthusiasm when recounting the deeds of the "Sons of Liberty," and the secret society of the "Cha.s.seurs."

"I was vigorous and strong in those days, and from my mother inherited an ardent love for the country in which I was born. Her letters in those days so magnetized me with patriotism that I could willingly lay down my life for the cause. I can only, however, give you a mere sketch to-day of some of the incidents and adventures through which I pa.s.sed. The 'Sons of Liberty,' in Quebec and Montreal, numbered over 20,000 men, but within this body there was a secret society called 'Les Cha.s.seurs,' all picked and trustworthy men. They formed a secret society and had their signs and pa.s.swords. It is singular that, though many of those men were placed in perilous positions when the revelations of our secrets would have saved them, not one traitor was found to betray the cause, and even to this day the secrets of the fraternity are unknown. Not very long ago I had occasion to go to Quebec, and was introduced to one of the Provincial ministers. I gave the sign of the 'Cha.s.seurs' of forty-three years ago. He looked up surprised and returned the countersign. We had not met since the memorable _emeute_ in the stable yard on St. James street.

We used to meet for drill and pistol practice in the upper story of the house still standing on the corner of Dorchester and Sanguinet streets.

There I remember one of our leaders harangued us. He is still alive, and Montreal's citizens know him well. He urged us to be brave and show no mercy in sweeping every obstacle from oar path, and when we gained our liberty we would have 'ample time for-- tears, repentance and regret.' There used to be a loyal a.s.sociation called 'The Doric Club,' which met on Great St. James street near our rendezvous. Our men and the members of this club used to have many _rencontres_, until it culminated in a challenge from the 'Cha.s.seurs' who sent a _cartel_ to the sixty members of the Doric Club, offering to meet them with thirty of their picked men. The President of the Doric Club sent back a cold formal reply to the effect that they wished to have nothing to do with traitors and rebels.

"Our secret society had formed the daring design of seizing the citadel of Quebec on the same plan as Wolfe's Highlanders. We had our rendezvous within a short march of Quebec and on the eventful night numbered about 1,500 men, two hundred of whom had come from Montreal and the rest from St. Jerome, Three Rivers and other places. Each man was armed with a pair of pistols and a bowie- knife, and carried on his shoulders a bundle of straw.

They had thirty ladders which were to be used in scaling the narrow glacis which led to the citadel. The object was to make a regular roadway of these ladders, almost like a trellis work bridge, up which the patriots might easily pa.s.s. The night was dark and stormy. We had been waiting in the cold in our white blanket coats and white tuques, to a.s.similate to the color of the snow, when the order arrived to prepare to march. The second signal came at half-past eleven, and everything was in readiness for the attack. At a quarter to twelve the chief came in as pale as death and gave the order to disband, as the storm had suddenly ceased and the moon shone bright and clear, much to the discomfiture of the patriots, who looked forward to an easy victory. That chief, who still lives, said it was providential that the storm had cleared off before the attack had been made, for if it had continued and only cleared when the patriots were placing their scaling ladders in the glacis, not a man would have survived, as the British troops could have trained several guns on this particular spot and swept every living thing into destruction."

Mr. Rouillard said the Roman Catholic clergy were much opposed to their society, because it was secret, and had done all in their power to break it up, and England is indebted for her supremacy in North America to-day to the exertions and a.s.sistance given her in that troublous period by the Roman Catholic clergy." (_Montreal Witness, 29th November_ 1880.)

CHAPTER IV

_SUBURBS OF QUEBEC._

_ST. LOUIS ROAD--CAP ROUGE--STE. FOYE ROAD--THE ROUND DRIVE._

On emerging from St. Louis Gate, several handsome terraces and cut stone dwellings are noticeable. We may mention Hon. Frs. Langelier's, Mr.

Shehyn's, and the Hamel Terrace--quite a credit to the new town. The new town outside of the walls, like that of New Edinburgh, in beauty and design will very soon cast the historical old town within the walls in the shade. The next object which attracts the eye is the s.p.a.cious structure of the Skating Rink, the only charge we can make against it, is that it is too close to St. Louis Gate. 'Tis the right thing in the wrong place.

Adjoining stood the old home of the Prentices, in 1791,--Bandon Lodge, [146] once the abode of Sandy Simpson, [147] whose cat-o'nine-tails must have left lively memories in Wolfe's army. Did the beauteous damsel about whom Horatio, Lord Nelson, raved in 1782, when, as Commander of H. M.'s frigate _Albemarle_, he was philandering in Quebec, ever live here? [148]

This is more than I can say. On the north side of the _Grande Allee_, the lofty structure--the new Parliament Buildings--occupies a whole square.

THE PARLIAMENTARY AND DEPARTMENTAL BUILDINGS.

When completed, the Parliament and Public Buildings of the Province of Quebec, erected on the _Grande Allee_, outside of St. Louis Gate, will form a square, each side of which externally will measure 300 feet and will enclose a court l98 x l95 feet. Three facades are now completed; they are tenanted by the various Public Departments of the Civil Service--the Halls of the Legislative a.s.sembly alone remain to be built and the foundations are now in process of construction in consequence of the vote of Parliament in 1881. The main facade, now in process of construction, will look towards the city walls and face on St. Eustache street, or rather on the splendid new area to const.i.tute Dufferin Avenue, should St. Eustache street be closed; this street being altogether too narrow and in too close proximity to the buildings. The Lieut.-Governor will occupy a handsome suite of rooms on the second story in the portion of the edifice which lies parallel with and faces towards St. Louis Road. The northern facade faces on St. Augustin street and the fourth or western facade looks towards St.

Julia street.

The style of architecture is that which was used in French edifices of the XVII. century. Pointe Levi greenish sandstone was used for the bas.e.m.e.nt.

The second and third story are divided by a continuous band, supported by an Ionic entablature of Deschambault cut stone.

Embossed pilasters in _rustic work_, rising from the bas.e.m.e.nt up to the cornice, close the salient angles of each projection. Hard Murray Bay sandstone has been used in constructing the interior revetment wall of the court, but Deschambault limestone forms the masonry of the bas.e.m.e.nt, the bands, cornices, mantle-pieces, and lintels.

The roof of the building, a handsome one, is of galvanized sheeting, the ornaments of zinc; some cast, some wrought and hammered. The height of the body of the edifice from the ground to the great cornice is 60 feet English measure, and 72 feet to the top of the cornice above the attics.

Each angle of the square has a pavilion and contains a stone sculptured dormer window provided with a costly clock constructed by Duquet.

Access is had to the inner court by two pa.s.sages in the centre pavilion, which faces St. Julia street.

A heraldic _Lion pa.s.sant_, between two fleur de lys and three maple leaves, display the arms of the Province of Quebec. On the piers of the first story are cut in relief the escutcheons of the two first Lieut.-Governors of the Province of Quebec, sculptured on the central window of the second story, is visible from afar, the "year" when the structure was commenced, "1878," and on the side windows are inscribed the monograms of the Governor-General and Lieutenant-Governor, under whose administration the edifice was built.

The frieze of the main entablature shows the cypher of the reigning Sovereign V. R. wreathed in oak leaves.

There are at present three main central entrances, the pavilions of the angle also contain one each with Ionic pillars.

The main facade, only just commenced, differs from the others; instead of a pavilion in the centre, it will have a tower or campanile 160 feet high, flanked by two projections. The ground floor of this tower will show a stately entrance to the halls of a.s.sembly of both branches of the Legislature, accessible through two semicircular inclined planes.

The inequalities in the level of the soil at that spot will be concealed by terraces on three sides of the stately pile. At the foot of the tower the design shows a basin 115x42 feet embraced within the walls of the inclined plane, to receive the water of a fountain in a portico of Tuscan order of architecture. Four Ionic columns with entablatures will deck the main entrance.

Niches on different points of the edifice will exhibit statues of Jacques Cartier, the discoverer of Canada; of Champlain, the founder of Quebec; of deMaisonneuve, the founder of Montreal.

On the lantern of the tower will stand forth prominently the Royal arms of England, supported by winged genii and wreathed in oak leaves.

The tower on four sides will contain four huge clocks lit up by electric light.

Lofty, roomy halls with ceilings arched and decorated with stucco panelling; devices and symbols of the quarterings of the Provincial arms, lead to the interior of the buildings, which though simple, seems well adapted for public offices. Broad, well lighted corridors, divide in two each wing and afford ready access to the various departments located on both sides.

Each flat communicates with the adjoining one by broad, splendid black walnut staircases decked with arabesques in gilt carving.

The design, elevation and general plan of the edifices, were prepared and drafted by Mr. Eugene Tache, the a.s.sistant-Commissioner of Crown Lands. The internal divisions and specifications were laid out under the direction of Mr. P. Gauvreau, the Engineer of Public Works; the contractor was F. X. Cimon, M.P.

Messrs. Beaucage & Chaliauvert, undertook the cut stone work, which was carried out by their foreman, Mr. Bourgeaud.

Messrs. Cerat & Vincent, of Montreal, are contractors for the sculpture in stone, and the galvanized iron roof and ornamentation in the same material and in zinc was executed by Messrs. De Blois & Bernier, of Montreal, whilst Mitch.e.l.l & Co. contracted for the heating apparatus.

The whole building when completed is expected to cost about $800,000.