, 1873-02-02
CHEN DOR.
The Romance Of Early Cana
: =, dian History.
The Dark Days Of French DOM
ination i'll Canada.
4 Reminisence Of the Hero Of Trafalgar.

/
4 Reminisence Of the Hero Of Trafalgar.
Special Correspondence cf TIE Chicago tribune.
| QuEnEo, Canada, Jan q, 1877
! The American tourist, on his arrival in Que
bee, generally consigns himself to tho care Of a
hncll-driver, and upon his Jellu he depends for
information concerning the Legendary lore Of
t1lB quaintest Of cities OF the New World. His
| first introduction to the relics OF departed days
will be at tho head Of Mountain Hill, and there
will Jar7ey tell him an. extraordinary story
| about. 6,
a.: THE CHEN p'on,
| or the famous Golden Dog Of Philibert. But
Jarycy is, as rule, very inaccurate desct1ber :;
go I have taken the trouble to w1ito the history
| OF the most celebrated house in Quebec, for the
| information end amusement OF your readers.
At the present day, Quebec is undergoing
| transformations. The hand OF progress is
! widening the old streets, which, in the days Of
Begot, wero not thought narrow; the silent
| though open-mouthed gates, gun-defended, are
| disappearing; here and there the .forbidding
! walls are tumbling into ruin, and no ono heeda
| the process OF decay. The old historic houses
! are being removed to make room for tho palaces
Of commerce; old things are passing away, and
| all things are being made new The old
house OF
"N1co1As JAoUE1, DIT PH1IIBER,"
has also disappeared, and on its site rises q
epIendidly-massiveg structure Of granite, the new
Post Oifco of Quebec
The old house had not the remotest resen-
blanco to palace. 1t would hare made q capi-
tai haunted house, to figure in ghost-story;
long, low, graspinS the ground Of its foundation,
! and stretching back to the battlement Of. tho
fortiications. The legendary ivy which had
clustered around it from it's birth with the lapse
Of years had o'er-shadowed its walls with moat
1uxuriant growth The hoariness Of years gives
to such structures an impressive appearance !;
there is cast about them the rich halo Of mystery
the echoes Of forgotten past. The House Of
the Golden Dog WAS
ONE or THE SsosT REMARKABLE
Of the oldhistoric houses of Quebec. The dlssimf-
larity of the period it recalled, the events which
had marked t. now distant cru of French domi-
nation, as well as the dark aud painful mera-
cries surviving Of one OF the mother-coun-
tries Of Canada, all contributed to lend to the
legend of the Chen DOR certain picturesque
grace. It's very sito Was historical long befo4o
Philibcrt laid its first stone. It stood on the
northern portion of the Grande Place or Es-
planade du Fort, the southwestern portion Of
which now constitutes tho present Place ddrn7es.
Buade street, which it fronted upon, took its
namo from Louis do Buade, tho sturdy old Count
de Ffontenac, who, in 1890, inhabited the ad-
joining Castle of st. bonis, whose foundation
now serves as the Durham Terrace. !.
On the Gra,,dc Place,
TIE HC.TED HUnoSs,
flying. from their bloodthirsty and implncab1e
~ Tmon ,,oso rrtf Tfa 1r+
Of the tribe who had escaped tho dreadful
butchery Of 1C49 on Lake Simcoe, had asked
and obtained from the French Commander leave
to enca7np uuder the walls Of the fort, 30 that
they might have protection from their cruel ene-
mics. Then came
DEED o.. BLOOD
Of much later date. The assassination Of Phili-
bert by de Repeuugny carries us, also, back to
the days when Canada lourished under the lily
spanglcd banner Of the Bourbons; when the
legendary lore OF the country .ook its rise;
when the romantic incidents Of a romantic age
found their chroniclera in corpu1ont and well
cared-for Abbes, whose only fear WAS, that tho
growing power OF their neighbors, the colonists
OF tho New England plantations. would some
day drive them from their possessions.
1t appears by the cornerstone recently found
in demoHshing the Chen q Or, that it WAS Nico-
las Joaquin Philibort who caused this house to bo
erected, in August, 1895.
TUE CORNERSTONE
is singular relic. Under tho date 1735 are the
letters and H,-tho space between being taken
up with q Greek or ST. Andrews cross.
This Cross is engraved in tho stone. and colored
in red. On the stone was found Il loalen plate,
with al inscription,
There were traces Of the Impressions OF coins
on the lead, but these coins have not been found.
But to the Chen dor: On the front Of the
old building was
TIE FIGURE OF DOG,
couchant, gnawing bone, with the legend un-
darneath /;
Jc svts yn CHEN Qvi Rouge ho
ell 10 rongeant te prend mon Repos
yn tcms viendra qvi nest pas yenv
qve 10 morderoy qgt ma vTa-mordv-
frhe dog am who gnawa tho bone;
Iu gnawiug the bone I take my rest
The time is coming, but not get como,
When I'll bite him who has bitten me).
Nicolas Jaquin Philibert was wealthy mer-
chant Of Quebec. the Capital of New France,-a
man high in public estimation. Ho was at one
timo engaged in supplying the Government
with provisions for the troops, and out OF those
GREW THE QUARREL
with Degon, the Intendant, which led to tho
Golden Dog business. Philbert was building his
house. Begon, who had formerly been neF-
chant in Bordeaux, was 1ntendant OF New
Philibcrt had made against the Government, and
the claimant failed to make good hlg demands.
The quarrel was hot, but in those days it vaa
not easy to bring department up to the paying
point, so Philibert had to take his claim ont N
satiric revenge. But Begon, though he conll
not reach the merchant himself, knew q plan IS
good. Those were tho days when the military
wore bi1letted upon the people. On the 21sS St 9!
January, 1749, q military order was given, billet
stun DE nEpEs11oSY,
upon Phiibert. PhiGbert, choler1c, and OPP
posed to imposition, quarrelled with de Repen-
tigny, and a duel ensued upon bot words and |
biows. De Repentigny wounded bis adversary