The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1908-08-06

to st. Ann. who was the mother OF the
Virgin Mary, that if she could or would
get them saved and to land they would
build her a shrine: she somehow man
aged to encompass that end and they
forthwith built this church It's the
finest church | ever saw. For real splen-
dor it beats ST. Patrick's or any other
cathedral. Here this Saint works mira
cles from day to day. There were just
inside the church that we saw with our
own eyes hundreds of crutches, canes,
trusses, odd shaped shoes and other ap-
pliances for the afflicted, that were no
longer needed after this good Saint had
spoken the word and healed the afflicted
bodies
O! it was a pathetic sight. The skep-
teal justrhad to pause and see such
great faith-not hitherto found in our
Israel People were coming in all the
time, praying, bowling. crossing them
selves, kneeling, saying prayers loOO,OoO
a year go there, it is said) and candles
of various sizes were burning and
masses being said The walls were dec
Grated with statuary OF the Saviour and
the Saints and with innumerable lnscrlp-
lions and entablatures. | saw numerous
marble hands pierced by great nails with
a red wax looking like blood oOzing out.
O! it was an awfully solemn place-where
it did seem to me that God came and
dwelt with men. We could not go and
yet we could not stay.
The place was 20 miles from Quebec,
or anywhere else. No town, Just few
houses on the bank of the river and this
temple but railroad ran there just to
carry people to it and they came and
went continually 1t had deposit vaults
with myriads of precious stones and
gems, given by the great and rich out OF
gratitude for blessings received. AS we
went out at last from that sweet, but
awful, place, almost afraid to walk
without taking our shoes from of our
feet, we met little boy on crutches hob
bling along up towards the altar. o! L
wanted to look back and wait and see
what would come of it; but | was
afraid, and we went on out and we
don't know yet what Ste. Ann did for
him Ste, it seems, is the French abbre-
Walton for female Saint.
The farms along the river below Quebec
are $50 feet wide and two miles long.
Cattle and Irish potatoes We're the prin-
river and the dwellings-nearly all alike
-SllCl dLu HCStU dbliu "ClI ptiliiUCu ~
along the road with their backs to the
river, with the cattle-houses and manure
piles exceedingly near the dwellings,
the shrine, are the falls of Montm orency
The water pours over a dark reddish
cliff $50 feet, nearly 100 feet higher than
Niagara, but the stream is small. about
the size of Tar river, in this county
Quebec was founded by the French,
under Sam de Champlain, July 23. 1908
On Sept. 13, 1859 it changed rulers and
became the property OF the English, who
now keep their provinces in good humor
by not taxing them and allowing them
to make such laws as they wish--far
different from the Boston and EdentOn
tea-party times we had with the mother
country. The Gulf of st. Lawrence eX-
tends inland some 300 miles and then
its 300 miles up the river to Quebec;
thence 200 miles more to Montreal, 200
miles more to Lake Ontario and about
200 miles more to Niagara. The French
priests (Catholic) explored all that
country and then on and on as far as
Pittsburg, Lake Champaign, Detroit,
Chicago, Marquette, Joliet. Duluth and
down the Mississippi to New Orleans:
and these explorers, Jacque Cartier,
Champlain, Duluth, Marquette and Jol-
let, claimed, and it seems the law was.
that whenever they explored or foated
up or down river all the land that
river drained belonged to their king.
Hence England and we, with Washing
ton and Braddock and the aid of a few
friendly Indians, had to take Northern
New York and Western Pennsylvania
from the French and finally to buy the
eight or ten States, beginning at New
Orleans and extending up the Mississippi
and Missouri rivers to Wyoming and
Montana, from Napoleon in 1903.
It's fortunate that he was hard up"
and needed money for his European
wars or we'd have had to fight to get it
and then Jefferson would have had to
defend the policy of imperialism clear
down to Andrew Jackson's dav. But
that's another story.
They picked out the place for Quebec
because, as the histories used to tell us.
twas SO easy to fortify. There's bluff
OF stone on the left bank 600 feet high.
From it one can see into Maine and Yer
mont and over good part of Canada
1t is perpendicular on the waters side
and slopes down landward and down
the river. After descending for 400
yards we came to level place at which
the cliff drops back from the water.
There. on the waters edge, with back
to this cliff, old Quebec stood, and stands
yet for that matter: and. for aught we
could see, will stand
The houses of brick, painted drab, with
sharp roofs, all looking older than our
oldest houses, with sharp tops of gray
tile and brick gables Sun and rain have
but little chance at them as the snow
keeps them warm and dry from Septem-
Der or October to May or June. THE
corroding tooth OF time gets but a poor
chance to gnaw on them. The streets
are very narrow and sidewalks, where
they have any, are of planks and two
people meeting have to turn sidewise or
one steps off. Half mile or so below
the bluff tapers out to level and the
city, in the 800 years, has spread out
around its end and around on the ter
race, and outside the wall and looks like
other cities-for the city has great
thick stone wall 200 feet high extending
from the high bluff where the fortress
and ornaments are, around to the river
below the end of the cliff. There were
gates at the street crossings centuries
ago but now there are beautiful towers
ana stone arches and the walls are of
large heavy dressed stone and will last.
The city is now about the size of Rich
mond, Va. 1t introduced street cars in
1897. Its streets are named for the
Saints, thus: Rue de ST. Jean, Rue de
st. Petrem, Rue de st. Louis. They
seem to depend on the priests and Saints
and their intercession for salvation
wherein they differ from us and from the
old jew who said, Il want no one 'twixt
me and the Great Am"
We saw the cove Just above the citadel
where Wolfe and his army assembled
from the river to the Plains of Abraham.
a large field just above and back of the
the city, where Wolfes army overcame
the French and he and Montcalm died.
On those plains the day we saw them
were 20, 900 soldiers, the entire army of
Canada, with their artillery, cavalry.
| ambulances and the Red Cross wagons.
They marched and marched and dashed