The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-04 00:00:00

fleet ahead seemed as though they were in some
tremendous naval engagement, and as much of the

scene as could be distinguished had thus rather a

fine effect. Whether those on board the Hero, only
the very top of the mainmast of which was visible,
thought as well of the display is more than doubt-

ful, for nearly every one there seemed somehow

;o regard it as a most intolerable nuisance. All
:he little houses and villages on the banks of the

river were decked with flags, and the sputtering,
irregular fire of guns and small arms never ceased
along the route for an instant, so that what with
the smoke of the guns, steamers, and squadron, the

St. Lawrence seemed on fire from one end to the

other.

Just before three o'clock the squadron came in
sight of Point Levi, and then slowly on the other
side of the river, the steep rugged heights of Abra-
ham and lofty outlines of Quebec—the Gibraltar of
North America, rose gradually into view. The ap-
pearance of this quaint old city from the bay is

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always imposing. Its old historical associations are

well borne out by the rough gray tiers of houses
rising one above the other with their bright tin
gable roofs contrasting with the antique fashion of
the buildings themselves, amid which in huge heavy

outlines the walls of the fortress wind up and down

with all the engineering eccentricities of salient and
re-entering angles. It is such a combination of

the old and the new, of a peaceful, prosperous town
built in and out of a tremendous citadel—a melange
of modern " stores," guns, bastions, crenelated
walls, suburban residences, and houses of tin and

pine wood—as makes it resemble no other place
under the sun. Take a large part of Malta, mix it
up with St. Peter's at Guernsey, and a few of the

old houses at Abbeville, strew it here and there with

log houses, roof it all over with tin, pave roads and
paths with wooden logs, put an immense citadel at
the top, cover all the streets profusely with dirt,
and stick the whole on one of the hills over Milford
Haven, with an English Government and a French
population, and then you have Quebec. Every-
thing here is in an anomalous state—the footpaths
are ladders and the roads are slides. There is a
Parliament building, which is not to be used as
there is no Parliament with which to fill it. There
are good squares, which are always empty, and nar-
row, difficult flights of streets, which are always
full. With the English the name of Quebec is in-
dissolubly associated with the fame of Wolfe.
Among the Quebecians Montcalm is revered. In a
strategical point of view I should say the shops of
Quebec are the keys of the position, for batteries
loom over the roofs of chymists and haberdashers,
and you can walk in few places without finding your
movements inspected by huge open-mouthed guns
which lurk in ambush at every corner, behind
trees, in gardens, or half concealed by roofs and
stacks of chimneys. Of its kind I should say
Quebec must be unique, and I am glad to think it
is, for it seems to have got old without becoming
venerable, and prosperous without either activity
or cleanliness. But from the water, as I have said,
and before the Prince landed, it looked grand, as
all lofty places from the water somehow do. All
the chief buildings were decorated with flags, the
houses, wharfs, and terraces were thronged with
thousands, and up the steep streets the points of
triumphal arches could be seen with their bright
decorations still flaunting, though rather dulled of
their splendour by the rain and wind. As the
Hero came up opposite the town the forts began to
salute from the citadel, the terrace, and the bat-
teries over Wolfe's Cove, where the rugged path
up which the ardent young General struggled with
his men is still to be seen. The effect of this re-
peated cannonade, as it wreathed over the whole
place in dense masses of smoke, through which the
tin steeples dimly shone, was very fine, and seemed
to bring its old character for war and glory more
strongly out than ever. The Prince landed at four
o'clock, all the vessels of war in the harbour salut-
ing with manned yards, and giving three grand
cheers for his Royal Highness as his barge swept
past to the shore. At the spot selected for the
disembarkation a handsome pavilioned canopy had
been erected, under which stood all the officers of
State and chief dignitaries of the city in full uni-
form. In the background a spacious balcony of
seats had been raised for the accommodation of
non-official visitors, and as this was amply crowded
the whole scene was striking enough to impress the
Prince, and all who saw it from the river, most fa-
vourably. under the canopy the Mayor read an
address, to which the Prince replied as follows,
with a clear distinctness and proper emphasis that
made every word as audible as though he spoke in
a room to half-a-dozen listeners :
" Gentlemen,—lt is with no ordinary feelings of gratifi-
cation and of interest in all around me that I find myself
for the first time on the shores of Canada, and within the
precincts of this, its most ancient city.
" I am deeply touched by the cordiality with which I
have been welcomed by the inhabitants.
" For the address which you have just presented to me I
beg you to accept the hearty thanks which, in the name of
the Queen, I offer to you.
" Be assured that her Majesty will receive with no little
satisfaction the account of my reception among you, proving,
as it does, that her feelings towards the people are met on
their part by the most devoted and loyal attachment to her-
self, her throne, and her family. Still more will she rejoice
to learn, from your own lips, that all differences of origin,
language, and religion are lost in one universal spirit of
patriotism, and that all classes are knit to each other and to
the mother country by the common ties of equal liberty and
free institutions.
" For myself, I will only add that I shall ever take a deep
concern in all that tends to promote the prosperity of this
beautiful and interesting city."
The address over, three cheers were called for,
and to a certain extent given, but it, must in truth
be said that cheering is a weak point in the Cana-
dian social system, A procession, partly of car-
riages and partly on foot, was then formed and
moved up through the town. All the streets were
beautifully decorated, trees were set in the ground
at the edge of all the footpaths, houses were screened
in with deep ornamental balconies of evergreens
and transparencies, and lofty arches crowded all the
main thoroughfares. As at St. John's, the indivi-
dual arches were better than those at Halifax, but
for number and the universality of the demonstra-
tion the first reception in Nova Scotia has not yet
been surpassed. Unless Montreal makes a great
effort in this respect, the honours of the tour will
undoubtedly belong to Halifax.
His Royal Highness passed through the city for
the greater part of its entire length, issuing out
under the St. Louis gate, on his way to Cataraqui,
the residence of Sir Edmund Head, the Governor-
General of Canada. In the evening Quebec illu-
minated, and a more effective or more general dis-
play of this kind I have seldom seen. It was not quite
equal to that at St. John's, but almost as good,
and the effect, owing to the natural advantages of
the city, was infinitely greater. To see Point Levi
on one side of the St. Lawrence, and Quebec on
the other, from the water that night was really
a charming spectacle. Every house had lights in
its windows, all the chief buildings were lit up, and
the tiers of streets, rising one above another in rich
gradations of light and colour, all of which were
vividly reflected back by the river, made a kind of
quadruple display which one can neither easily de-
scribe nor forget. All night, as a matter of course,
streets were crowded, and the light-fingered pro-
fessors, who are here from New York in consider-
able numbers, must have made a splendid harvest,
if all the complaints I hear be true. Their presence
however, would be less annoying if they made the
streets the only places for the exercise of their skil-
ful vocation. Unfortunately, they have penetrated
the hotels, and the proceeds of their enterprises in
this direction are certainly not likely to deter
others from following the example. In the best
hotel in this city some gentlemen's bedrooms were
skilfully opened the other night, and a clean sweep
made of all money and watches. Among the suf-
ferers is the artist of the Illustrated London News,
who lost £lO3, while on the same night in the same
hotel the correspondent of the New l'orZ; Tribune
lost a valuable gold watch and chain and £3l.
On Sunday, the 19th, the Prince rested, and at-
tended Divine service in the cathedral. Even here,
however, the same gang of daring thieves must
have been present, for I am told that money and
watches to the value of more than £6OO were stolen
from various members of the congregation, who of
course attended on this occasion in most pious and
considerable numbers.
The Parliament House has been superbly fitted