Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-09-20
QUEBEC.
A Quaint old City With Gates and
Bristling Cannon.
Hotels, Newspapers, Converts
Nuns and Sightseeing.

prise, though it would certainly be the
subject Of a vast amount Of admiration,
and the Mecca of countless tourists,
far mere than visit it now. What a
strange thing custom is and how little
a flock of sheep are we inhabitants of
the civilized globel 1t is the fashion
to go to Europe; ergo, to Europe we
20, and rush about and gaze and won
der, and spend time and money like
water. 1t isn't specially the fashion
to 20 to Quebec, and it is only BY. ac-
cident-iust a personal, sudden whim,
that We 90 at all, and when we set
there we wonder what in the world
we have been about all our lives.
There is not a city in all Europe
better worth the seeiDg--.unless, prob
ably Rome and Venice be excepted
than is this ancient-modern, natural
artificial stronghold-this bit out OF
the seventeenth century-which is at
our own doors, less than twenty-four
hours travel from the hub OF the uni.
verse itself. But there-I'm afraid
this sounds like "gush," aud you
know | Dever gush; it wouldn't do for
one Of my-would-b e-profession SO
to come down to the prosaic descrlp-
ton. !,
/ told you in my last OF the good
road aud beautiful country leading
from Montreal to Quebec. Of Que
bees hotels | have nothing praise
worthy to say; in fact it would be
hard to anything very praiseworthy
of them. Ifyou are in luck when you
90 to Quebec, you will get into one OF
the boarding houses, Of which there
are some very desirable ones, both
French and English. As our tempo
rary domicil in Montreal had beer
French, in Quebec we tried All Eng
lish one, and found it as distinctively
exauisitely English as the other wa
French. | could easily have believes
myself in a London house. I'll.
furniture, table, manners, customs
speech, everything was English-nO
American. The meals we're On tn
English plan, with lunch at noon an
/ dinner at six, and at the former mea
6 they gave US such honey as | neye
before tasted out Of Switzerland
while the latter meal was topped o
: with old cheese and butter in tn
e regular English fashion. Such
Z funny idea to eat cheese and butte
=. for the very last thing at dinner
l really begin to believe that | fet
Hike lodging anything in the way Of
4. description of Quebec, for | know
I cannot make you see it by any wor
painting. The whole city is built 0
, the side of a very steep hill, that /
on the inland side of it, for the rive
side is a sharp precipice, an immens
! granite bluff, partly grass grown an
J crowned by the wonderful massiy
granite walls Of the citadel. Onl
the very summit Of the hill is wallel
the streets of the business part of Il
D city being formerly shut of by Il
g great gates. Now only n gate r.
q mains, but the yawning apertures
q the wall show where they once stoo
. The walls, however, are intact, Al
g guns are still mounted all along Il
s way, and everything gives a stranI
IT appearance OF readiness for insta'
'e siege which does seem SO odd in the
i days.
a The business part Of the city is
the side of the hill, but it is still Il
81 upper city. The lower city consists
" a few narrow streets-but al 4
ne streets are narrow in the extreme
lg running around the base Of the hi
lg those on the river side being reclaim
from the water. The French popul
ton controls the lower city, though
d very considerable part Of the inhal
tants Of the upper city seems also
be French. You can get an idea
the relative position Of the two Sc
At tons Of the city, from the fact tn
L. there is actually an elevator viii
in runs up and down the perpendicul
ne cliff, to aid and expedite travel ahO
Is the city.
u Seen from below, either from t
he plain leading to the country, or fro
be the river, the sight is a strange OF
s. From the river the whole effect
lie formidable indeed, though wondrou'
at beautiful, for besides the wall crown
precipice, there are all the roofs a
by steeples, glittering in the sunshi
lie, like q tabled city of the Arab
e. Nights. "All Is not gold that glitter.
in In this case it is nothing but tin, !
mt it is tin that, for some unknown rC
.e- son, does not corrode, and if ever
a. g%orgeously beautiful effect was cheal
gained it was by tin roofing Quebec
st Seen from the inland, the city looks
if it consisted Of nothing but roofs a
he chimneys, for the streets rise o
ms above another, so that 4 very qua
lst piled.up effect results. never s.
"a but one such effect before, and Il
he was a most ancient and apparen
in utterly deserted city somewhere
-er the road between Rome and Napi
which consisted Of multitude ofvt
is tall stone houses clustered thickly
ms overa very high, steep hill. 7
tut streets must have been mere passa
Ib- ways; there was apparently not a W
IN dow sash or a pane Of glass in
Of place-though those strange bla
ice apertures may have been caused
70. easement windows which were
ess open; but there was not one sigr
IRE life about the whole place, and
cars passed it al full speed, both 60
to and returning from Naples, an
&C. have been doubling eVer since Whet
ate | saw it, or dreamed it, or whether
,ed is the veritable enchanted city of
zen fairy story.
led Quebec has but one newspaper;
nd that is 50 good a one that the qua
I'D Of Quebec journalism makes up for
uri lack OF quantity. The Morning Chr
.rt. icle is a very enterprising, bright
hal readable sheet, conducted on the n
of modern principles, though in this
ich cieRt, far away plaee-for | can
uis get it out Of my mind hat Quebe,
Ike far away, though Of course l know
ra- is not.
hi. AT all hours the church bells !
eer toll. The city is full of churches.
he principal Roman Catholic Oathedri
40 a basilica. / don't know what q .
,ad silica" is, but this is one. We atten,
, is service there one Sunday morning.
&c, has some very fine old paintings.
rit Montreal and Quebec, you go j
no churches sightseeing, just as you Dc
H.. oftn.raA.1, aol..- -