Picturesque Quebec : a sequel to Quebec past and present Part 37

"ASTREA"

This marks the spot where a favourite saddle-horse, who died prematurely, now rests. All now wanting to perfect this scene of rustic beauty is a cottage _orne_ or a _Chalet Suisse_.

A RAID ON MEADOWBANK IN 1775, AND HOW KING GEORGE'S FRIENDS, THE "QUEBEC TORIES" WERE THEN PLUNDERED.

The following extract from Judge Henry's Diary seems to refer to the country seat, now known as Meadowbank:

Arnold's little army had retreated to Pointe aux Trembles on the 15th Nov. On the 2nd December, 1775, they retraced their steps to Quebec and in the evening arrived at St. Foy. On the 12th of December, Henry [253] says "The officers and men still wore nothing else than the remains of the summer clothing, which being on their back, had escaped destruction in the disaster of the wilderness." At this time the snow lay three feet deep over the whole country. One fine morning a fellow addressed Simpson who was the only officer in quarters and said "that about two miles up the St. Lawrence lay a country seat of Governor Cromie's (Cramahe?) stocked with many things they wanted and he would be our guide. Carioles were immediately procured. The house, a neat box, was romantically situated on the steep bank of the river, not very distant from a chapel. [254] Though in the midst of winter the spot displayed the elegant taste and abundant wealth of the owner. The house was closed; knocking, the hall door was opened to us by an Irishwoman who, of the fair s.e.x, was the largest and most brawny that ever came under my notice. She was the stewardess of the house. Our questions were answered with an apparent affability and frankness. She introduced us into the kitchen, a large apartment, well filled with these articles which good livers think necessary to the happy enjoyment of life. Here we observed five or six Canadian servants huddled into a corner of the kitchen trembling with fear. Our prying eyes soon discovered a trap door leading into the cellar. The men entered it; firken after firken of b.u.t.ter,--lard, tallow, beef, pork, fish and salt, all became a prey. While the men were rummaging below the lieutenant descended to cause more despatch. My duty was to remain at the end of the trap door with my back to the wall, and rifle c.o.c.ked as a sentry, keeping a strict eye on the servants. My good Irishwoman frequently beckoned to me to descend; her drift was to catch us all in the trap. Luckily she was comprehended. The cellar and kitchen being thoroughly gutted, and the spoil borne to the carriages, the party dispersed into the other apartments. Here was elegancy. The walls and part.i.tions were beautifully papered, and decorated with large engravings, maps, &c., and of the most celebrated artists. A n.o.ble view of the City of Philadelphia upon a large scale taken from the neighborhood of Cooper's Ferry drew my attention and raised some compunctive ideas; but war and the sciences always stand at arms length in the contests of mankind. The latter must succ.u.mb in the tumult. Our attention was much more attracted by the costly feather beds, counterpanes, and charming rose blankets, which the house afforded. Of these there was a good store and we left not a jot behind us. The nooks and crevices in the carioles were filled with smaller articles; several dozen of admirably finished case knives and forks; even a set of dessert knives obtained the notice of our cupidity.

Articles of a lesser moment nor a thousandth part so useful, did not escape the all-grasping hands of the soldiery. In a back apartment there stood a mahogany couch or settee in a highly finished style. The woodwork of the couch was raised on all sides by cushioning, and costly covered by a rich figured silk. This to us was lumber, besides our carioles were full. However, we grabbed the mattra.s.s and pallets all equally elegant as the couch. Having, as we thought, divested his Excellency of all the articles of prime necessity, we departed, ostensibly and even audibly accompanied by the pious blessings of the stewardess for our moderation. No doubt she had her mental reservations; on such business as this we regarded neither. Near the chapel we met a party of Morgan's men coming to do that which we had already done. The officer appeared chagrined when he saw the extent of our plunder. He went on, and finally ransacked the house, and yet a little more the stables. The joy of our men, among whom the plunder was distributed in nearly equal portions was extravagant. Now an operation of the human mind, which often takes place in society, and is every day discernable by persons of observation, became clearly obvious. Let a man once with impunity desert the strict rule of rules, all subsequent aggression is not only increased in atrocity, but is done without a qualm of conscience. Though our company was composed princ.i.p.ally of freeholders, or the sons of such, bred at home under the strictures of religion and morality, yet when the reins of decorum were loosed and the honorable feeling weakened, it became impossible to administer restraint. The person of a Tory or his property became fair game, and this at the denunciation of some base domestic villain.

On the morning following December 13, the same audacious scoundrel again returned, and another marauding expedition started under his guidance to a farm "said to belong to Gov. Cromie (Cramahe?) or some other inhabitant of Quebec. It was further than the former scene." The farm-house, though low, being but one story, was capacious and tolerably neat. The barn built of logs, with a thrashing floor in the centre, was from 70 to 80 feet in length. The tenant, his wife and children shuddered upon our approach. a.s.surances that they should be unharmed relieved their fears. The tenant pointed out to us the horned cattle, pigs and poultry of his landlord. These were shot down without mercy or drove before us to our quarters. Thus we obtained a tolerable load for our caravan, which consisted of five or six carioles. "With this disreputable exploit marauding ceased. A returning sense of decency and order emanating from ourselves produced a sense of contrition. It is a solemn truth that we plundered none but those who were notoriously Tories and then within the walls of Quebec."

_THE HIGHLANDS._

The range of heights extends from Spencer Wood, west, to the black bridge over the stream at Kilmarnock, gradually recedes from the road, leaving at its foot a s.p.a.cious area interspersed with green pastures, lawns, ploughed fields and plantations. On the most elevated plateau of this range stands "The Highlands," a large substantial fire-brick dwelling, with an ample verandah, erected a few years back by Michael Stevenson, Esquire, merchant, of Quebec. The site is recommended by a fine view of the river St. Lawrence, an airy and healthy position, and the luxuriant foliage of the spruce, pine and maple in the background. The internal arrangements of the dwelling, whether regard be had to ventilation in summer or heating in winter, are on the most modern and improved plan. "The Highlands" lie above St. Michael's Cove teeming with historical recollections, a little to the west thereof, in front of St. Lewis road of historic renown, over which pranced, in 1663, the Marquis of Tracy's gaudy equipage and splendid body-guard wearing, as history tells, the uniform of the _Gardes de la Reine_. In Sept., 1759, [255] the Rochbeaucourt Cavalry, with their "blue uniforms and neat light horses of different colours," scoured the heights in all directions, watching the motions of the English fleet, which may be seen in the plate of the siege operations, lying at anchor at Sillery, ready, the huge black leviathans, to hurl destruction on the devoted city. In 1838, we remember well noticing Lord Durham's showy equipage with outriders, thundering daily over this same road: the Earl being a particular admirer of the Cap Rouge scenery. This seat has pa.s.sed over, by purchase, to Chas. Temple, Esq., son of our late respected fellow-townsman, Major Temple, who for a series of years served in that 15th regiment, to whose prowess the Plains of Abraham bore witness during the war of the conquest. "The Highlands" are now occupied by J. W.

Stockwell, Esquire.

_WINTER FOX HUNTING IN CANADA._

From time immemorial, Merry England has been renowned for her field sports; prominent amongst which may be reckoned her exciting pastime of Fox-hunting, the pride, the glory, _par excellence_ of the roystering English squire. Many may not be aware that we also, in our far-off Canada, have a method of Fox-hunting peculiarly our own--in harmony with the nature of the country--adapted to the rigors of our arctic winter season--the successful prosecution of which calls forth more endurance, a keener sight, a more thorough knowledge of the habits of the animal, a deeper self-control and greater sagacity, than does the English sport; for, as the proverb truly says, "_Pour attraper la bete, faut etre plus fin qu'elle._" [256]

A short sketch [257] of a Canadian Fox-hunt may not, therefore, prove uninteresting. At the outset, let the reader bear in mind that Sir Reynard _Canadensis_ is rather a rakish, dissipated gentleman, constantly turning night into day, in the habit of perambulating through the forests, the fields, and homesteads, at most improper hours, to ascertain whether, perchance, some old dame Partlett, some h.o.a.ry gobbler, some thoughtless mother-goose, allured to wander over the farm-yard by the jocund rays of a returning March sun, may not have been outside of the barn, when the negligent stable-boy closed up for the night; or else, whether some gay Lothario of a hare in yonder thicket may not, by the silent and discreet rays of the moon, be whispering some soft nonsense in the willing ear of some guileless doe, escaped from a parent's vigilant eye. For on such has the midnight marauder set his heart: after such does noiselessly prowl, favoured by darkness--the dissipated rascal--_querens quem devoret_-- determined to make up, on the morrow, by a long meridian _siesta_ on the highest pinacle of a snow-drift, for the loss of his night's-rest.

Should fortune refuse the sly prowler the coveted hen, turkey, goose, or hare, warmly clad in his fur coat and leggings, with tail horizontal, he sallies forth over the snow-wreathed fields, on the skirts of woods, in search of ground mice, his ordinary provender.

But, you will say, how can he discover them under the snow? By that wonderful instinct with which nature has endowed the brute creation to provide for their sustenance, each according to its nature, to its wants. By his marvellously acute ear, the fox detects the ground mouse under the snow, though he should utter a noise scarcely audible to a human ear. Mr. Fox sets instantly to work, digs down the earth, and in a trice gobbles up _mus_, his wife, and young family. Should nothing occur to disturb his arrangements, he devotes each day in winter, from ten or half-past ten in the forenoon, to repose; selecting the loftiest snow-bank he can find, or else a large rock, or perchance any other eminence from which--

"Monarch of all _he surveys_"--

he can command a good view of the neighborhod, and readily scent approaching danger. Nor does he drop off immediately in a sound sleep, like a turtle-fed alderman; but rather, like a suspicious, blood- thirsty land pirate, as he is, he first s.n.a.t.c.hes hastily "forty winks," then starts up nervously, for several times, scanning all around with his cruel, cunning eye--snuffing the air. Should he be satisfied that no cause of alarm exists, he sc.r.a.pes himself a bed, if in the snow and, warmly wrapped in his soft fur cloak, he coils himself up, cat-fashion, in the sun, with his brushy tail brought over his head, but careful to keep his nose to the direction from which the wind blows, so as to catch the first notice of and scent the lurking enemy. On a stormy, bl.u.s.tery day, the fox will, however, usually seek the shelter of some bushes or trees, and on such occasion is usually found under the _lee_ of some little wooded point, where, steeped in sweetest sleep, he can at leisure dream of clucking hens, fat turkeys, and tender leverets--sheltered from the storm, and still having an uninterrupted view before him. The hunter, when bent on a fox hunt, is careful to wear garments whose colour blends with the prevailing hue of frosted nature: a white cotton _capot_, and _capuchon_ to match, is slipped over his great coat; pants also white--everything to harmonize with the snow; a pair of snow-shoes and a short gun complete his equipment. Once arrived at the post where he expects to meet reynard, he looks carefully about for signs of tracks, and having discovered fresh ones, he follows them, keeping a very sharp look-out. Should he perceive a fox, and that animal be not asleep, it is then that he has need of all his wits and of all the knowledge of the animal's habits he may possess. As previously stated, the fox depends princ.i.p.ally on his scent, to discover danger; but his eye is also good, and to succeed in approaching within gun shot of him in the open country, the gunner must watch every motion most carefully, moving only when the animal's gaze is averted, and stopping instantly the moment he looks towards him, no matter what position the sportman's may be at that time. No matter how uncomfortable he may feel; move he dare not, foot nor limb; the eye of the fox is on him, and the least movement would betray him and alarm his watchful quarry.

It will be easily conceived that to succesfully carry out this programme, it requires nerves of steel and a patience _a toute epreuve_. It has been the good luck of one of our friends once to approach thus a fox, within twenty feet, without his detecting him; needless to say, it was done moving against the wind. Some few hunters can so exactly imitate the cry of the ground mouse, as to bring the fox to them, especially if he is very hungry; but it is not always that this plan succeeds. The animal's ear is keen; the slightest defect in the imitation betrays the trap, and away canters alarmed reynard at railroad speed. Some sportsmen prefer to watch the fox, and wait until he falls asleep which they know he will surely do, if not disturbed, and then they can approach him easily enough against the wind. It is not unusual for them to get within fifteen feet of the animal, before the noise of their footsteps causes him to wake.--As may readily be supposed in such cases, his awakening and death are generally simultaneous.

It is a fact worthy of note, that the fox, if undisturbed, will every day return to the same place to sleep, and about the same hour. These animals are not as abundant as they were a few years back.

The extent of country travelled by a fox by moonlight, each night, is very great. Not many years ago, a Quebec hunter [258] who is in the habit of enjoying his daily walk at peep of day, informed the writer that on many occasions he has seen the sly wanderer, on being disturbed from the neighborhood of the tanneries in St. Vallier street, hieing away at a gallop towards the Lorette and Charlesbourg mountains, a distance of nine miles each way.

_CAPE ROUGE COTTAGE._

With its rear facing St. Augustin parish, eight miles from the city a commodious dwelling graces the summit of the lofty cape or promontory, which terminates westward the elevated _plateau_, on the eastern extremity of which, Champlain, in 1608, raised the lily-spangled banner of the Bourbons. Unquestionably the environs of Quebec are rich in scenery, revelling one half of the year in rural loveliness, the other half enjoying that solid comfort, which successful enterprise, taste and free inst.i.tutions communicate to whatever they touch; but no where, not even at Spencer Wood, or Woodfield, has nature lavished such beautiful landscapes, such enchanting views. Three centuries ago, Europeans had pitched here their tents, until the return of spring, attracted by the charms of the spot; three hundred years after that, a man of taste--to whom we may now without fear, give his due, as he is where neither praise nor censure can be suspected,--an English merchant had selected this site for its rare attractiveness; here he resided for many summers. In 1833 he removed to Spencer Wood. We allude to the late Henry Atkinson, who was succeeded at the Cap Rouge Cottage by William Atkinson, Esq., merchant of London, England. Mr. William Atkinson lived in affluence and happiness at Cap Rouge, several years. There are yet at Quebec those who remember the kind- heartedness and hospitality of this English gentleman of the old school.

Geo. Usborne, Esq., was the next occupant of the cottage. The estate consisted formerly of close on one hundred acres of land, extending north across the king's highway, with a river frontage of about twenty acres, the lot on the south side of the road is laid out, one half in a park, the remainder in two or three fruit and flower gardens, divided by brick walls to trail vines and ripen fruit. It lies quite sheltered with a southerly exposure, bounded by the lofty, perpendicular river banks; the base, some two hundred feet below, skirted by a narrow road, washed by the waves of the St. Lawrence. A magnificent avenue extends along the high bank under ancient, ever-verdant pines, whose far outspreading branches, under the influence of winds, sigh a plaintive but soothing music, blending their soft rustle to the roar of the Etchemin or the Chaudiere rivers before easterly gales; how well Pickering has it:--

"The overshadowing pines alone, through which I roam, Their verdure keep, although it darker looks; And hark! as it comes sighing through the grove, The exhausted gale, a spirit there awakes That wild and melancholy music makes."

From the house verandah, the eye plunges westward down the high cape, following the capricious windings of the Cap Rouge stream far to the north, or else scans the green uplands of St. Augustin, its white cottages rising in soft undulations as far as the sight can reach. Over the extreme point of the southwestern cape hangs a fairy pavilion, like an eagle's eyrie amongst alpine crags, just a degree more secure than that pensile old fir tree which you notice at your feet stretching over the chasm; beneath you the majestic flood, Canada's pride, with a hundred merchantmen sleeping on its placid waters, and the orb of day dancing blithely over every ripple. Oh! for a few hours to roam with those we love under these old pines, to listen to the voices of other years, and cull a fragrant wreath of those wild flowers which everywhere strew our path.

Is there not enough of nature's charm around this sunny, truly Canadian home? And how much of the precious metal would many an English duke give to possess, in his own famed isle, a site of such exquisite beauty? We confess, we denizens of Quebec, we do feel proud of our Quebec scenery; not that on comparison we think the less of other localities, but that on looking round we get to think more of our own.

Cap Rouge, from it having been the location of Europeans, early in the sixteenth century, must claim the attention of every man of cultivated mind who takes a pleasure in scrutinizing the past, and in tracing the advent on our sh.o.r.es of the various races of European descent, now identified with this land of the West, yearning for the bright destinies the future has in store.

At the foot of the Cape, on which the Cape Rouge Cottage now stands, Jacques Cartier and Roberval wintered, the first in 1541-2; the second in 1543-4. Recent discoveries have merely added to the interest which these historical incidents awaken. The new _Historical Picture of Quebec_, published in 1834, thus alludes to these circ.u.mstances:--

"We now come to another highly interesting portion of local history. It has been stated that the old historians were apparently ignorant of this last voyage of Cartier. Some place the establishment of the fort at Cape Breton, and confound his proceedings with those of Roberval. The exact spot where Cartier pa.s.sed his second winter in Canada is not mentioned in any publication that we have seen. The following is the description given of the station in Hakluyt: 'After which things the said captain went, with two of his boats, up the river, beyond Canada'--the promontory of Quebec is meant--'and the port of St. Croix, to view a haven and a small river which is about four leagues higher, which he found better and more commodious to ride in, and lay his ships, than the former. * * * The said river is small, not pa.s.sing fifty paces broad, and ships drawing three fathoms water may enter in at full sea; and at low water there is nothing but a channel of a foot deep or thereabouts. * * * The mouth of the river is towards the south, and it windeth northward like a snake; and at the mouth of it, towards the east, there is a high and steep cliff, where we made a way in manner of a pair of stairs, and aloft we made a fort to keep the nether fort and the ships, and all things that might pa.s.s as well by the great as by the small river." Who that reads the above accurate description will doubt that the mouth of the little river Cap Rouge was the station chosen by Jacques Cartier for his second wintering place in Canada? The original description of the grounds and scenery on both sides of the river Cap Rouge is equally faithful with that which we have extracted above. The precise spot on which the upper fort of Jacques Cartier was built, afterwards enlarged by Roberval, has been fixed by an ingenious gentleman of Quebec, at the top of Cap Rouge height, a short distance from the handsome villa and establishment of H. Atkinson (now of James Bowen) There is, at the distance of about an acre to the north of Mr. Atkinson's house, a hillock of artificial construction, upon which are trees indicating great antiquity, and as it does not appear that any fortifications were erected on this spot, either in the war of 1759, or during the attack of Quebec by the Americans in 1775, it is extremely probable that here are to be found the interesting site and remains of the ancient fort in question.

"On his return to the fort of Charlesbourg Royal, the suspicions of Cartier as to the unfriendly disposition of the Indians were confirmed. He was informed that the natives now kept aloof from the fort, and had ceased to bring them fish and provisions as before. He also learned from some of the men who had been at Stadacona, that an unusual number of Indians had a.s.sembled there--and a.s.sociating, as he always seems to have done, the idea of danger with any concourse of the natives, he resolved to take all necessary precautions, causing everything in the fortress to be set in order.

"At this crisis, to the regret of all who feel an interest in the local history of the time the relation of Cartier's third voyage abruptly breaks off. Of the proceedings during the winter which he spent at Cap Rouge, nothing is known. It is probable that it pa.s.sed over without any collision with the natives, although the position of the French, from their numerical weakness, must have been attended with great anxiety.

"It has been seen that Roberval, notwithstanding his lofty t.i.tles, and really enterprising character, did not fulfil his engagement to follow Cartier with supplies sufficient for the settlement of a colony, until the year following. By that time the Lieutenant General had furnished three large vessels chiefly at the King's cost, having on board two hundred persons, several gentlemen of quality, and settlers, both men and women.

He sailed from La Roch.e.l.le on the 16th of April, 1542, under the direction of an experienced pilot, by name John Alphonse, of Xaintonge. The prevalence of westerly winds prevented their reaching Newfoundland until 7th June. On the 8th they entered the road of St. John, where they found seventeen vessels engaged in the fisheries. During his stay in this road, he was surprised and disappointed by the appearance of Jacques Cartier, on his return from Canada, whither he had been sent the year before with five ships. Cartier had pa.s.sed the winter in the fortress described above, and gave as a reason for the abandonment of the settlement, 'that he could not with his small company withstand the savages which went about daily to annoy him.' He continued, nevertheless, to speak of the country as very rich and fruitful. Cartier is said, in the relation, of Roberval's voyage in Hakluyt, to have produced some gold ore found in the country, which on being tried in a furnace, proved to be good. He had with him also some _diamonds_, the natural production of the promontory of Quebec, from which the Cape derived its name. The Lieutenant General having brought so strong a reinforcement of men and necessaries for the settlement, was extremely urgent with Cartier to go back again to Cap Rouge, but without success. It is most probable that the French, who had recently pa.s.sed a winter of hardship in Canada, would not permit their Captain to attach himself to the fortunes and particular views of Roberval. Perhaps, the fond regret of home prevailed over the love of adventure, and like men who conceived that they had performed their part of the contract into which they had entered, they were not disposed to encounter new hardships under a new leader. In order, therefore, to prevent any open disagreement, Cartier weighed anchor in the course of the night without taking leave of Roberval, and made all sail for France. It is impossible not to regret this somewhat inglorious termination of a distinguished career. Had he returned to his fort, with the additional strength of Roberval, guided by his own skill and experience, it is most probable that the colony would have been destined to a permanent existence. Cartier undertook no other voyage to Canada; but he afterwards completed a sea chart, drawn by his own hand, which was extant in the possession of one of his nephews, Jacques Noel, of St. Malo, in 1587, who seems to have taken great interest in the further development of the vast country discovered by his deceased uncle. Two letters of his have been preserved, relating to the maps and writings of Cartier: the first written in 1587, and the others a year or two latter, in which he mentions that his two sons, Michael and John Noel, were then in Canada, and that he was in expectation of their return.

Cartier himself died soon after his return to France, having sacrificed his fortune in the case of discovery. As an indemnification for the losses their uncle had sustained, this Jacques Noel and another nephew, De la Launay Chaton, received in 1588, an exclusive privilege to trade to Canada during, twelve years, but this was revoked four months after it was granted.

"Roberval, notwithstanding his mortification at the loss of Cartier's experience and aid in his undertaking, determined to proceed, and sailing from Newfoundland, about the end of June, 1543, he arrived at Cap Rouge, 'four leagues westward of the Isle of Orleans,' towards the end of July.

Here the French immediately fortified themselves, 'in a place fit to command the main river, and of strong situation against all manner of enemies.' The position was, no doubt, that chosen by Jacques Cartier the year previous. The following is the description given in Hakluyt of the buildings erected by Roberval: 'The said General on his first arrival built a fair fort, near and somewhat westward above Canada, which is very beautiful to behold, and of great force, situated upon a high mountain, wherein there were two courts of buildings, a great tower, and another of forty or fifty feet long, wherein there were divers chambers, a hall, a kitchen, cellars high and low, and near unto it were an oven and mills, and a stove to warm men in, and a well before the house. And the building was situated upon the great River of Canada called _France-Prime_ by Monsieur Roberval. There was also at the foot of the mountain another lodging, where at the first all our victuals, and whatsoever was brought with us, were sent to be kept, and near unto that tower there is another small river. In these two places above and beneath, all the meaner sort was lodged.' This fort was called _France-Roy_, but of these extensive buildings, erected most probably in a hasty and inartificial manner, no traces now remain, unless we consider as such the mound above mentioned, near the residence of Mr. Atkinson, at Cap Rouge.

"On the 14th September, Roberval sent back to France two of his vessels, with two gentlemen, bearers of letters to the King; who had instructions to return the following year with supplies for the settlement. The natives do not appear, by the relation given, to have evinced any hostility to the new settlers. Unfortunately, the scurvy again made its appearance among the French and carried off no less than sixty during the winter. The morality of this little colony was not very rigid--perhaps they were pressed by hunger, and induced to plunder from each other--at all events the severity of the Viceroy towards his handful of subjects appears not to have been restricted to the male s.e.x. The method adopted by the Governor to secure a quiet life will raise a smile; 'Monsieur Roberval used very good justice, and punished every man according to his offence. One whose name was Michael Gaillon, was hanged for his theft. John of Nantes was laid in irons, and kept prisoner for his offence; and others also were put in irons, and divers whipped, as well men as women, by which means they lived quiet.'

"We have no record extant of the other proceedings of Roberval during the winter of 1543. The ice broke up in the month of April; and on the 5th June, the Lieutenant General departed from the winter quarters on an exploring expedition to the Province of Saguenay, as Cartier had done on a former occasion. Thirty persons were left behind in the fort under the command of an officer, with instructions to return to France, if he had not returned by the 1st of July. There are no particulars of this expedition, on which, however, Roberval employed a considerable time. For we find that on the 14th June, four of the gentlemen belonging to the expedition returned to the fort, having left Roberval on the way to Saguenay; and on the 19th, some others came back, bringing with them some six score weight of Indian corn; and directions for the rest to wait for the return of the Viceroy, until the 22nd July. An incident happened in this expedition, which seems to have escaped the notice of the author of the treaties on the _canon de bronze_ (Amable Barthelot), which we have noticed in a former chapter. It certainly gives an authentic account of a ship wreck having been suffered in the St. Lawrence, to which, perhaps, the finding of the cannon, and the tradition about Jacques Cartier, may with some possibility be referred. The following is the extract in question: 'Eight men and one bark drowned and lost, among whom were Monsieur de Noire Fontaine, and one named La Va.s.seur of Constance.'

The error as to the name might easily arise, Jacques Cartier having been there so short a time before, and his celebrity in the country being so much greater than that of Roberval, or of any of his companions."

Cap Rouge Cottage is now owned by James Bowen, Esq.

_BEAUSeJOUR._

Flooded in sunny silence sleep the kine, In languid murmurs brooklets float and flow, The quaint farm-gables in rich light shine And round them jasmined honeysuckles twine, And close beside them sun-flowers burn and blow.

About one mile beyond the St. Foye Church, there is a fertile farm of one, hundred acres, lying chiefly on the north side of the road. The dwelling, a roomy, one story cottage, stands about two acres from the highway, from which a copse of trees interrupts the view.

There are at present in this spot, several embellishments--such as trout ponds--which bid fair to render it worthy of the notice of men of taste.

It was merely necessary to a.s.sist nature in order to obtain here most gratifying results. Between the road fence and the dwelling, a small brook has worn its bed, at the bottom of a deep ravine, sweeping past the house lawn westward, and then changing its course to due north-west the boundary in that direction between that and the adjoining property. The banks of the ravine are enclosed in a belt of every imaginable forest shrub,--wild cherry, mountain ash, raspberry, blueberry, interspersed here and there with superb specimens of oak, spruce, fir and pine. A second avenue has been laid out amongst the trees between the road fence and the brook, to connect with the lawn at the west of the house, by a neat little bridge, resting on two square piers about twenty-five feet high: on either side of the bridge a solid dam being constructed of the boulders and stones removed from the lower portion of the property, intended to form two trout ponds of a couple of acres in length each, a pa.s.sage in the dam is left for the water-fall, which is in full view of the bridge. On the edge of the bank, overhanging the ravine, nature seems to have pointed out the spot for a pavilion, from which the disciples of Isaac Walton can throw a cast below. The green fringe of the mountain shrubs in bud, blossom or fruit, encircling the farm, materially enhances the beauty of this sylvan landscape,--the eye resting with particular pleasure on the vast expanse of meadow of vivid green, clothed in most luxuriant gra.s.s, some 10,000 bundles of hay for the mower, in due time. About two acres from the house, to the west, is placed a rustic seat, under two weather-beaten, though still verdant oaks, which stretch their boughs across the river: closer again to the cottage, the eye meets two pavilions. The new avenue, rustic bridges, ponds and pavilions, are due to the good taste of the present owner, Louis Bilodeau, Esq. This rural home was for several years occupied in summer by Stephen Sewell, Esq., and does not belie its name-- Beausejour.

_BELMONT._

Owners--Intendant Talon, 1670; General James Murray, 1765; Sir John Caldwell, 1810; J. W. Duns...o...b.. Esquire, 1854-81.

That genial old joker, Sir Jonas Barrington, in his _Sketches_, has invested the Irish homes and Irish gentry with features certainly very original--at times so singular as to be difficult of acceptance. True, he lived in an age and amongst a people proverbial for generous hospitality, for conviviality carried to its extreme limit. Gargantuan banquets he describes, pending which the bowls of punch and claret imbibed appear to us something fabulous. Irish squires, roystering Irish barristers, toddling home in pairs after having stowed away under their belts as many as twelve bottles of claret a piece, during a prolonged sitting, _i.e._, from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. Such intrepid diners-out were known as "Twelve bottle men;" and verily, if the old Judge is to be credited, they might have been advantageously pitted even against such a Homeric guzzler as history depicts Aurora Konigsmark's st.u.r.dy son, Marechal de Saxe, who, in his youth, 'tis said, tossed off, at one draught and without experiencing any ill-effects, one whole gallon of wine.

The first time our eye scanned the silent and deserted banquetting halls of Belmont, with their lofty ceilings, and recalling the traditional accounts of the hospitable gentlemen, whose joviality had once lit up the scene, visions of social Ireland of Barrington's day floated uppermost in our mind. We could fancy we saw the gay roysterers of times by-gone--first a fete champetre of lively French officers from Quebec, making merry over their Bordeaux or Burgundy, and celebrating the news of their recent victories at Fontenoy, [259] Lauffeld or Carillon, to the jocund sound of _Vive la France! Vive le Marechal de Saxe! a la Claire Fontaine_, &c then Governor Murray, surrounded by his veterans, Guy Carleton, Col.

Caldwell, Majors Hale, Holland, and some of the new subjects, such as the brave Chs. De Lanaudiere, [260] complimenting one another all around over the feats of the respective armies at the two memorable battles of the Plains, and all joining loyally in repeating the favorite toast in Wolfe's fleet, _British colours on every French fort, port and garrison in America_! Later on, at the beginning of the present century, a gathering of those Canadian Barons, so graphically delineated by John Lambert in his _Travels in Canada_, in 1808--one week surrounding the festive board of this jolly Receiver General of Canada at Belmont, the next at Charlesbourg, making the romantic echoes of the Hermitage ring again with old English cheers and loyal toasts to "George the King," or else installing a "Baron" at the Union Hotel, Place d'Armes,--possibly in the very Council-room in which the State secrets of Canada were in 1865 daily canva.s.sed--and flinging down to the landlord as Lambert says, "250 guineas for the entertainement." Where are now the choice spirits of that comparatively modern day, the rank and fashion who used to go and sip claret or eat ice-cream with Sir James Craig, at Powell Place? Where gone the Mures, Paynters, Munros, Matthew Bells, de Lanaudieres, Lymburners, Smiths, Finlays, Caldwells, Percevals, Jonathan Sewells? Alas! like the glories of Belmont, departed, or living in the realms of memory only!

This estate, which, until lately, consisted of four hundred and fifty acres, extending from the line of the Grande Allee down to the Bijou wood, was _conceded_ in 1649 by the Jesuit Fathers to M. G.o.dfroy. It pa.s.sed over, in 1670, to the celebrated Intendant Talon, by deed of sale executed on the 28th of September, 1670, before Romain Becquet, Notaire Royal.

Messire Jean Talon is described in that instrument as "Conseiller du roi en ses conseils d'etat et premier Intendant de justice, police et finance de la Nouvelle France, Isle de Terreneuve, Acadie et pays de l'Amerique Septentrionale." Shortly after the conquest it was occupied by Chief Justice Wm. Gregory. In 1765 it was sold for 500 by David Alves of Montreal, to General James Murray, who, after the first battle of the Plains, had remained Governor of Quebec, whilst his immediate superior, Brigadier Geo. Townshend, had hurried to England to cull the laurels of victory. In 1775, we find that one of the first operations of the American General Montgomery was to take possession of "General Murray's house, on the St. Foy road." General Murray also, probably, then owned the property subsequently known as Holland's farm, where Montgomery had his headquarters. All through our history the incidents, actors and results of battles are tolerably well indicated, but the domestic history of individuals and exact descriptions of localities are scarcely ever furnished, so that the reader will not be surprised should several _lacunae_ occur in the description of Belmont, one of the most interesting Canadian country seats in the neighbourhood of Quebec. The history of Holland House might also, of itself, furnish quite a small epic; and, doubtless, from the exalted social position of many of the past owners of Belmont, its old walls, could they obtain utterance, might reveal interesting incidents of our past history, which will otherwise ever be buried in oblivion.

In the memory of Quebecers, Belmont must always remain more particularly connected with the name of the Caldwells, three generations of whom occupied its s.p.a.cious halls. The founder of this old family, who played a conspicuous part in Canadian politics for half a century, was the Hon.