Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-10-08
Belmaut 0Jhrouiele.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE OHIO.
THURSDAY MORNING. Oct. s, 1874,
@ q E B e G..
[From our own Correspondent

DCGh 4ShaND, mug -, 1O'1 Il
Here on Deer Island, thirty miles
from the main land of the coast o
Maine, amid new and enchanting
scenes, seat myself to give an account
of our sojourn in the charmed city o
Quebec. When on our way down the
st. Lawrence-''the great sad river o.
the silent NORTH" we resolved to give
two days to Quebec; we thought the
time ample to take casual glance al
the place-such glance as our hurried
trip only allowed US. But the "gray
Lady Of the North" cast her spell upon
US, and we fingered unconscious of the
hours until a week passed. L cannot
( hope in short letter to give more than
brief outline of what passed under our
observation. The city is situated on
the north shore of the st. Lawrence, in
lat. 46 degs. 4S minis. north and Ii degs.
Is minis. west from Greenwich. 1t was
founded by Champlain in 1908, on the
site of the Indian village of Stadacona.
1t is the second city of the Dominion,
and has population of about 1900.
The form OF the city is nearly that of a
triangle, the Plains of Abraham form
| ing the base, and theSt. Lawrence and
st. Charles rivers the sides. 1t is divi-
ded into two parts-the Upper and the
Lower town. The Upper town is en-
compassed by high stone wall, and
includes within its limits the citadel of
Cape Diamond-said to be the most for
midable fortress in America. The Low
er town is built upon narrow strip of
land which lies at the base of the Cape
and the high grounds of the Upper
town. The suburbs of st. Roch's and
st. Johns extend along the river st.
Charles to the Plains of Abraham.
Quebec was taken by the British and
colonial forces in 1929, but was restored
to France in 1882. 1t was finally cap
tured by Wolfe in 1859, and together
with all the French possessions in
North America, was ceded to Great
Britain by the treaty of 1868. The fore
going is cold outline of the geogra-
ply and history of the city, which a
traveller may learn before he enters the
gates, and to the casual stroller, with
little imagination, it presents no very
striking alluremente. Once within its
| walls, however, you breathe the air of
enchantment. At the ferry landing
the odd looking waugons and calashes,
and the French dialect of the drivers,
gave decidedly foreign aspect to the
place. AS we drove up the steep, crook
ed, narrow street, through Prescott
Gate. between high-roofed houses, with
dormer windows filled with house
plants; we said we never entered city
that promised so much of interest to
the traveller. We stopped at the Hotol
st. Louis, whittier we would direct all
our friends Ofepicurean tastes. Its out
ward appearance is not inviting, but
the shades of Soyer and Savarin GER
tainly attend the Cuisine. In all our
travels by land and sea, we do not re-
member of anything 80 rich, 80 rare,
and so delicate of their kind, as the vi
ands with which we were RECALLED at the
Hotel st. Louis.
Above the Clerks desk at the hotel
we saw card announcing that the U.
S. Consul's Office and residence were
removed 10 No. Lorne Terrace, Ham,
ell Street, whittier we turned our steps
in the evening; not finding any one in,
left our cards, and continued our walk
along a portion of the old wall. The
old guns are still in position at inter-
walls, and command wide stretch of
river and low lands. The tide was out, |
and huge ships, with leaning masts, lay
like huge turtles in the almost dry bed |
of the river st. Charles. Quebec, al |
though 730 miles from the Atlantic |
Ocean, has fifteen feet of tide; yet the
water is fresh, and does not become |
brackish, or salt, until at Murray Bay,
go or 80 miles below. We walked
round by the grand Battery, where we
counted forty or fifty big guns and
mortars, that look more formidable
than, I suppose, they really are, and
then up by the Parliament House,
through the Place d'armes, and out to
Durham Terrace. Here the habitaas
were taking their evening promenade.
The Terrace is a wooden platform built
on the site of an old fort, and on the
edge ofa precipitous rock overlooking
the st. Lawrence river and a portion of
the Lower town. There is stout
railing on the side next the river, over
which we looked, and saw, 255 feet be-
low, the lights begin to glimmer in the
narrow streets and through the dor
mer windows of the steep-roofed hous-
es. Later the throng of promenaders
increased, the lights were multiplied
in the town below, and glowed with
double radiance on the shipping in the
river. Point Lewis, on the farther
shore, was duplicated in the downward
glancing CLEANS, and brilliant aurora
borealis cast its pale splendor over the
novel scene. Above the hubbub of
voices We heard the softened notes of a
brass band playing in The Esplanade,
some squares away. My pen dwells
with rapture over this first evening in
the city, for the subsequent time, al
though realizing all the delights we
anticipated, scarcely can be said to yield
an added charm. 1t was but contin-
uation of the first days enjoyment.
We went back to the hotel at nine
O'Clock, and found our friend the Hon.
w. C., HOWells. now the II. s. Consul