, 1873-02-02

o. dIeat btltaln from ltto 70 1oUu, the mouse OF
the Chen q Or vent under the name Of Il Free
masons Hail. In 1852, Miles Prentice, men,
| bor OF tho mystic craft, and who had been q
Sergeant in Wolfe's army, kept there
4 CELEBRATED COFFEE HOUSE,
much frequented By the swel1s Of the period:
This il the same Miles Prentice who, as Provost
Marshal, was charged with arresting that daunt-
less Huguenot, the agitator Hugh du Calvet,
who claimed for his fellow-citizcns the whole Of
tho privileges Of British subjects. Du Ca1yet,
after his arrest, was confined in cell Of the Re-
collet Convent, then used al prison for poit-
stood partly where the Anglican Cathedral, built
in 1904, now stands. This Miles
Prentice had either daughter OF . niece OF
wond5eus beantg Young spEghtly, AGO Accom- n,
attraction In the home Of Prentice. Hither, in
1882, came the
n1NoRTAL uoRAT1o NELSON,
then the youthful commander OF the lbemarle,
q frigate Of 26 guns, which had. conveyed: some
'morchantmen to Quebec. He, with the military
hatiftte OF Miles Prentice's coffee-house, and he
fell in lore, furioasly and madly, with Made
moise]le. So infatuated WAS he that he
OFFERED HER MARRIAGE,
and firmly declared that he would leave the
service, rather than be separated from
the story very pithlly. The Automatic was
about to leave the station; her Captain had
to the river to tho place Of anchorage, when,
next morning, Mr. Davidson-a person with
whom Captain Nelson had become acquainted
to his surprise saw Nelson coming back in his
boat. Upon inquiring the cause Of his re-
appearance, Nelson took his arm, and told him
Quebec without again seeing the woman whose
society had contributed 30 muck to his happiness
there, and Offering her his hand: If Jou do,
yonr ruin must follow, " said his friend ;'Ihen
do it." I" And I" said Davidson, INN resolved
that you shall not"
On this occasion, Nelson was lessresolute than
his FRIEND aud suffered himself to be led back to
lowed. with 3 retirement from the navy, how
very different might
THE WORLDS HISTORY
after this period be written. Would his destiny
have beon the same? Wouldhe have immortal
lied himself at Aboukir, and saved England at
prene On sea as on land3 Little things bring
about great results.
Later, in 1880 and onward, We read with what
zeal the man who were :he forefathers Of Que
the volunteer and militia officers OF
1775,-tho men who had stood against
aud repulsed Arnold the traitor and Montgom-
cry the unfortunate, ut sault gu Matelot
91st Of December, ITS, the anniversary Of the
combined attack and rcpnlse. They styled them
selves the Veterans, and here they hold their
meetings.
In this venerable hotel,
MOST SINGULAR SUICIDE
took place. l. merchant OF Three Rivers, OF the
name Of Dadeau, spending b few days in the
city, had put up at the Chen d Or. Whether It
was during those gloomy November days so de-
structiye to EuSlishmen, or whether love had
stepped in the way, cannot say. One morning
the Trif1uvian was found stone-dead, hanging
by the neck to q large nail in the Wall. Like
Ben. Battle:
And there he hung till he was dead
As any mil In town
For, though distress had cut him up,
It could not cut him down.
Subsequently the old house was occupied az
an auction-roo1n, and as printing ~ofice for the
Mercury, and the Quebec Proyident and Savings
Bank. 1t had formed part Of the Pozer estate,
and the old millionaire,
JACOB PozER,
resolved not to comply with the new N" 'icipal
regulations and remove the stone steps, stood
protracted litigation on this point. More, he
stood on tho same encroaching steps, with q pair
of horse-pisto1s in his hands, and dared any
bobby Of the new civic force to remove them.
In 1858, the Government purchased the build
ing for E4 600, for
for Quebec; and, nfter serving this purpose till
1870. the e1igeucies Of circumstances required
that more commodious buildings be procured,
and 30 the Chen d Or should como down. But
on the front Of the new building VIC still sec the
mysterious dog crunching his bone, jus! over
the bust OF the founder OF the city, Samuel dc
Champlain. The busy tide Of life fowB daily
past the time-honoEed spot, pairing little heed to
its traditions, but, to the thoughtful the emblem
attic dog will present just such rnaterial for in
vestigation as to Captain John Knox when he saw
it on the 18th Of September, 1759, when Do
Ramesay's capitulation opened the gates to the
arms OF Great Britain. LESTER