Morning journal and courier., 1890-06-20
ARCHITECTURE IN m mONTREAL.

ARCHaTECTURE IN MONTREAL. How One Is Impressed at First Sight
 -Unattractivo Material Used in the
 Construction of Buildings-How the
 Canadian Regards Annexation to the
 United States - Some or Ills Charac-
 teristies - Pretty French- Canadian Women.
 MONTREAL, June IT. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 It is not fair to form an opinion of per- son or place on short acquaintance. But if impressions be not made at the outset they will not be made subsequently,; and ul- timate expressions will be only reflection of the opinion of another. We may correct impressions but we must have them at the start or there will be none to correct. If one has studied architecture the first im- pression of place will come through the architectural sense. It is perfectly improper | to infer the character of the man from the l character of his abode, his office, his own l ediices and his places of worship. These being given. though in ruins of the third Egyptian dynasty, the man may be built up as the Brontotherion, Marsh, is built up from bits of his fossilized bones. Not only gre the size and artistic pro- portions of edi6ces important, but the material of which they are con. structed is point. Nins-tenths of Montreal are built of very unat.raosive material. Int guide books call it granite. But it is mol granite; that is, 1t is not composed of quartz feldspar and mica. It is more like lime stone In some particulars it resembles tn, so~called Roxbury granite of the Shepaul valley, but it has mono of the attractive qual ities which characterize all the products o that most favored valley. Men, women horses, oows, trees, vegetables, vines, stick and stones from the Shepaug valley are al impressed with the same wondrous beauty
 Even the hop vine throws and intertwines 1t tendrils with graceful discrimination and
 charming abandon unknown elsewhere, ,whil
 the Litch6eld hop itself is prized from tn
 high hills of New Engiands Judah to the fa away sweeps of the everglades of Florids . But let not Litchfield ssductions keep th veredict historian from the theme befor 2 him. The Montreal building msterit tis of very dark, slatey grey. Fo tombs and prisons it would do admirably ]. For houses and for public buildings 1t is to ! dreary. Moreover 1t does not seem 70 nav @ the quality of. .refecting light. The choices 7 baild materials, like marble, seem to r' !, fleet light from little beneath the surfac
 This gives the material a lively brightne
 and makes the ediiee look cheerful an
 home like. The Montreal material has I n more reflection than an ash heap, and tt about as uninteresting to look at. The me ,f who uses such material must be melal ,e choly man; and the Canadian is msla choly man. He is very merry superficial r He has none of the English hauteur which Iy so offensive to Americans. He is quite co ,a dial and hospitable. Receives you at lea ,,, half way; wishes you to feel at home, al 'n talks to you very frankly about his countr 1e When he begins to talk about his count he then he becomes serious and grave. Tn of the melancholy of the man shows itself al | you see that he is in keeping with the sen
 mourning of his edi6ce.
 The Canadian regards annexation to t
 United States as inevitable, but he is mol
 bit enthusiastic on the subject. He kno
 that Canada is not strong enough for ind he pendencs. He knows that the home 0ovel IT. mont is questisniuG tho adyisability of e