The Englishwoman in America

I >> Isabella Lucy Bird >> The Englishwoman in America

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Mr. and Mrs. Alderson and myself left this gay scene, and the constant
toll of Romish bells, for St. Roch. They had lived peacefully in a rural
part of Devonshire, and more recently in one of the prettiest and most
thriving of the American cities; and when they first breathed the polluted
air, they were desirous to return from what promised to be so peculiarly
unpleasant, but kindly yielded to my desire to see something of the shady
as well as the sunny side of Quebec.

No Sabbath-day with its hallowed accompaniments seemed to have dawned upon
the inhabitants of St. Roch. We saw women with tangled hair standing in
the streets, and men with pallid countenances and bloodshot eyes were
reeling about, or sitting with their heads resting on their hands, looking
out from windows stuffed with rags. There were children too, children in
nothing but the name and stature--infancy without innocence, learning to
take God's name in vain with its first lisping accents, preparing for a
maturity of suffering and shame. I looked at these hideous houses, and
hideous men and women too, and at their still more repulsive progeny, with
sallow faces, dwarfed forms, and countenances precocious in the
intelligence of villany; and contrasted them with the blue-eyed, rosy-
cheeked infants of my English home, who chase butterflies and weave May
garlands, and gather cowslips and buttercups; or the sallow children of a
Highland shantie, who devour instruction in mud-floored huts, and con
their tasks on the heathery sides of hills.

Yet, when you breathe the poisoned air, laden with everything noxious to
health, and have the physical and moral senses alike met with everything
that can disgust and offend, it ceases to be a matter of wonder that the
fair tender plant of beautiful childhood refuses to grow in such a
vitiated atmosphere. Here all distinctions between good and evil are
speedily lost, if they were ever known; and men, women, and children
become unnatural in vice, in irreligion, in manners and appearance. Such
spots as these act like cankers, yearly spreading further and further
their vitiating influences, preparing for all those fearful retributions
in the shape of fever and pestilence which continually come down. Yet,
lamentable as the state of such a population is, considered merely with
regard to this world, it becomes fearful when we recollect that the wheels
of Time are ceaselessly rolling on, bearing how few, alas! to heaven--what
myriads to hell; and that, when "this trembling consciousness of being,
which clings enamoured to its anguish," not because life is sweet, but
because death is bitter, is over, there remains, for those who have known
nothing on earth but misery and vice, "a fearful looking for of judgment
and fiery indignation," when they that have done evil "shall rise to the
resurrection of damnation."

It was not that the miserable degraded appearance of St. Roch was anything
new to me; unfortunately the same state of things exists in a far greater
degree in our large towns at home; what did surprise me was, to find it in
the New World, and that such a gigantic evil should have required only two
hundred years for its growth. It seemed to me also that at Quebec the gulf
which separates the two worlds is greater even than that which lies
between Belgravia and Bethnal Green or St. Giles's. The people who live in
the lower town are principally employed on the wharfs, and in the lumber
trade. But my readers will, not thank me for detaining them in a
pestiferous atmosphere, among such unpleasing scenes; we will therefore
ascend into the High-street of the city, resplendent with gorgeous
mercers' stores, and articles of luxury of every description. This street
and several others were at this period impassable for carriages, the
roadways being tunnelled, and heaped, and barricaded; which curious and
highly disagreeable state of things was stated to arise from the laying
down of water-pipes. At night, when fires were lighted in the narrow
streets, and groups of roughly dressed Frenchmen were standing round them,
Quebec presented the appearance of the Faubourg St. Antoine after a
revolution.

Quebec is a most picturesque city externally and internally. From the
citadel, which stands on a rock more than three hundred feet high, down to
the crowded water-side, bustling with merchants, porters, and lumbermen,
all is novel and original. Massive fortifications, with guns grinning from
the embrasures, form a very prominent feature; a broad glacis looks
peaceful in its greenness; ramparts line the Plains of Abraham; guards and
sentries appear in all directions; nightfall brings with it the challenge
--"_Who goes there?_" and narrow gateways form inconvenient entrances to
streets so steep that I wondered how mortal horses could ever toil up
them. The streets are ever thronged with vehicles, particularly with rude
carts drawn by rough horses, driven by French peasants, who move stolidly
along, indifferent to the continual cry "_Place aux dames_." The stores
generally have French designations above them, the shop men often speak
very imperfect English; the names of the streets are French; Romish
churches and convents abound, and Sisters of Charity, unwearied in their
benevolence, are to be seen visiting the afflicted.

Notices and cautions are posted up both in French and English; the light
vivacious tones of the French Canadians are everywhere heard, and from the
pillar sacred to the memory of Wolfe upon the Plains of Abraham, down to
the red-coated sentry who challenges you upon the ramparts, everything
tells of a conquered province, and of the time, not so very far distant
either, when the lilies of France occupied the place from which the flag
of England now so proudly waves.

I spent a few days at Russell's Hotel, which was very full, in spite of
the rats. In Canadian hotels people are very sociable, and, as many during
the season make Russell's their abode, the conversation was tolerably
general at dinner. Many of the members of parliament lived there, and they
used to tell very racy and amusing stories against each other. I heard one
which was considered a proof of the truth of the saying, that "the tailor
makes the gentleman." A gentleman called on a Mr. M----, who had been
appointed to a place in the government, and in due time he went to return
the visit. Meeting an Irishman in the street, he asked, "Where does Mr.
'Smith' live?"--"It's no use your going there." "I want to know where he
lives, do you know?"--"Faith, I do; but it's no use your going there." Mr.
M----, now getting angry, said, "I don't ask you for your advice, I simply
want to know where Mr. 'Smith' lives."--"Well, spalpeen, he lives down
that court; but I tell ye it's no use your going there, for I've just been
there myself, and _he's got a man_." It is said that the discomfited
senator returned home and bought a _new hat!_

Passing out by the citadel, the Plains of Abraham, now a race-course, are
entered upon; the battle-field being denoted by a simple monument bearing
the inscription "_Here died Wolfe victorious_." Beyond this, three miles
from the city, is Spencer-Wood, the residence of the Governor-General. It
is beautifully situated, though the house is not spacious, and is rather
old-fashioned. The ball-room, however, built by Lord Elgin, is a beautiful
room, very large, admirably proportioned, and chastely decorated. Here a
kind of vice-regal court is held; and during the latter months of Lord
Elgin's tenure of office, Spencer-Wood was the scene of a continued round
of gaiety and hospitality. Lord Elgin was considered extremely popular;
the Reciprocity Treaty, supposed to confer great benefits on the country,
was passed during his administration, and the resources of Canada were
prodigiously developed, and its revenue greatly increased. Of his
popularity at Quebec there could be no question. He was attached to the
Canadians, with whom he mixed with the greatest kindness and affability.
Far from his presence being considered a restraint at an evening party,
the entrance of the Governor and his suite was always the signal for
increased animation and liveliness.

The stiffness which was said to pervade in former times the parties at
Spencer-Wood was entirely removed by him; and in addition to large balls
and dinner-parties, at the time I was at Quebec he gave evening parties to
eighty or a hundred persons twice a-week, when the greatest sociability
prevailed; and in addition to dancing, which was kept up on these
occasions till two or three in the morning, games such as French
blindman's-buff were introduced, to the great delight of both old and
young. The pleasure with which this innovation was received by the lively
and mirth-loving Canadians showed the difference in character between
themselves and the American ladies. I was afterwards at a party at New
York, where a gentleman who had been at Spencer-Wood attempted to
introduce one of these games, but it was received with gravity, and proved
a signal failure. Lord Elgin certainly attained that end which is too
frequently lost sight of in society--making people enjoy themselves.
Personally, I may speak with much gratitude of his kindness during a short
but very severe illness with which I was attacked while at Spencer-Wood.
Glittering epaulettes, scarlet uniforms, and muslin dresses whirled before
my dizzy eyes--I lost for a moment the power to articulate--a deathly
chill came over me--I shivered, staggered, and would have fallen had I not
been supported. I was carried upstairs, feeling sure that the terrible
pestilence which I had so carefully avoided had at length seized me. The
medical man arrived at two in the morning, and ordered the remedies which
were usually employed at Quebec, a complete envelope of mustard plasters,
a profusion of blankets, and as much ice as I could possibly eat. The
physician told me that cholera had again appeared in St. Roch, where I,
strangely enough, had been on two successive afternoons. So great was the
panic caused by the cholera, that, wherever it was necessary to account
for my disappearance, Lord Elgin did so by saying that I was attacked with
ague. The means used were blessed by a kind Providence to the removal of
the malady, and in two or three days I was able to go about again, though
I suffered severely for several subsequent weeks.

From Spencer-Wood I went to the house of the Hon. John Ross, from whom and
from Mrs. Ross I received the greatest kindness--kindness which should
make my recollections of Quebec lastingly agreeable. Mr. Ross's public
situation as President of the Legislative Council gave me an opportunity
of seeing many persons whose acquaintance I should not have made under
other circumstances; and as parties were given every evening but one while
I was at Quebec, to which I was invited with my hosts, I saw as much of
its society as under ordinary circumstances I should have seen in a year.
No position is pleasanter than that of an English stranger in Canada, with
good introductions.

I received much kindness also from Dr. Mountain, the venerable Protestant
Bishop of Quebec. He is well known as having, when Bishop of Montreal,
undertaken an adventurous journey to the Red River settlements, for the
purposes of ordination and confirmation. He performed the journey in an
open canoe managed by French _voyageurs_ and Indians. They went up the
Ottawa, then by wild lakes and rivers into Lake Huron, through the
labyrinth of islands in the Georgian Bay, and by the Sault Sainte Marie
into Lake Superior, then an almost untraversed sheet of deep, dreary
water. Thence they went up the Rainy River, and by almost unknown streams
and lakes to their journey's end. They generally rested at night, lighting
large fires by their tents, and were tormented by venomous insects. At the
Mission settlements on the Red River the Bishop was received with great
delight by the Christianized Indians, who, in neat clothing and with books
in their hands, assembled at the little church. The number of persons
confirmed was 846, and there were likewise two ordinations. The stay of
the Bishop at the Red River was only three weeks, and he accomplished his
enterprising journey of two thousand miles in six weeks. He is one of the
most unostentatious persons possible; it was not until he presented me
with a volume containing an account of his visitation that I was aware
that he was the prelate with the account of whose zeal and Christian
devotedness I had long been familiar. He is now an aged man, and his
countenance tells of the "love which looks kindly, and the wisdom which
looks soberly, on all things."

CHAPTER XIII.

The House of Commons--Canadian gallantry--The constitution--Mr. Hincks--
The ex-rebel--Parties and leaders--A street-row--Repeated disappointments
--The "habitans"--Their houses and their virtues--A stationary people--
Progress and its effects--Montmorenci--The natural staircase--The Indian
summer--Lorette--The old people--Beauties of Quebec--The _John Munn_--Fear
and its consequences--A gloomy journey.

One of the sights of Quebec--to me decidedly the most interesting one--was
the House of Assembly. The Legislature were burned out of their house at
Montreal, and more recently out of a very handsome one at Quebec--it is to
be hoped this august body will be more fortunate at Toronto, the present
place of meeting. The temporary place of sitting at Quebec seemed to me
perfectly adapted for the purposes of hearing, seeing, and speaking.

It is a spacious apartment, with deep galleries, which hold about five
hundred, round it, which were to Quebec what the Opera and the club-houses
are to London. In fact, these galleries were crowded every night; and
certainly, when I was there, fully one half of their occupants were
ladies, who could see and be seen. The presence of ladies may have an
effect in preventing the use of very intemperate language; and though it
is maliciously said that some of the younger members speak more for the
galleries than the house, and though some gallant individual may
occasionally step up stairs to restore a truant handkerchief or boa to the
fair owner, the distractions caused by their presence are very
inconsiderable, and the arrangements for their comfort are a great
reflection upon the miserable latticed hole to which lady listeners are
condemned in the English House of Commons. I must remark, also, that the
house was well warmed and ventilated, without the aid of alternating
siroccos and north winds. The Speaker's chair, on a dais and covered with
a canopy, was facing us, in which reclined the Speaker in his robes. In
front of him was a table, at which sat two black-robed clerks, and on
which a huge mace reposed; and behind him was the reporters' gallery,
where the gentlemen of the press seemed to be most comfortably
accommodated. There was a large open space in front of this table,
extending to the bar, at which were seated the messengers of the house,
and the Sergeant-at-arms with his sword. On either side of this open space
were four rows of handsome desks, and morocco seats, to accommodate two
members each, who sat as most amiable Gemini. The floor was richly
carpeted, and the desks covered with crimson cloth, and, with the well-
managed flood of light, the room was very complete.

The Canadian Constitution is as nearly a transcript of our own as anything
colonial can be. The Governor can do no wrong--he must have a responsible
cabinet taken from the members of the Legislature--his administration must
have a working majority, as in England--and he must bow to public opinion
by changing his advisers, when the representatives of the people lose
confidence in the Government. The Legislative Council represents our House
of Peers, and the Legislative Assembly, or Provincial Parliament, our
House of Commons. The Upper House is appointed by the Crown, under the
advice of the ministry of the day; but as a clamour has been raised
against it as yielding too readily to the demands of the Lower House, a
measure has been brought in for making its members elective for a term of
years. If this change were carried, coupled with others on which it would
not interest the English reader to dwell, it would bring about an
approximation of the Canadian Constitution to that of the United States.

On one night on which I had the pleasure of attending the House, the
subject under discussion was the Romish holidays, as connected with
certain mercantile transactions. It sounds dry enough, but, as the debate
was turned into an extremely interesting religious discussion, it was well
worth hearing, and the crowded galleries remained in a state of
quiescence.

Mr. Hincks, the late Premier, was speaking when we went in. He is by no
means eloquent, but very pointed in his observations, and there is an
amount of logical sequence in his speaking which is worthy of imitation
elsewhere. He is a remarkable man, and will probably play a prominent part
in the future political history of Canada. [Footnote: This prognostication
is not likely to be realised, as the late Sir W. Molesworth has appointed
Mr. Hincks to the governorship of Barbadoes. If the new governor possesses
_ principle_ as well as _talent_, this acknowledgement of colonial merit
is a step in the right direction.] He is the son of a Presbyterian
minister at Cork, and emigrated to Toronto in 1832. During Lord Durham's
administration he became editor of the _Examiner_ newspaper, and entered
the Parliament of the United Provinces in 1841. He afterwards filled the
important position of Inspector-General of Finances, and finally became
Prime Minister. His administration was, however, overturned early in 1854,
and sundry grave charges were brought against him. He spoke in favour of
the abolition of the privileges conceded to Romish holidays, and was
followed by several French Canadians, two of them of the Rouge party, who
spoke against the measure, one of them so eloquently as to remind me of
the historical days of the Girondists.

Mr. Lyon Mackenzie, who led the rebellion which was so happily checked at
Toronto, and narrowly escaped condign punishment, followed, and diverged
from the question of promissory notes to the Russian war and other
subjects; and when loud cries of "Question, question, order, order!"
arose, he tore up his notes, and sat down abruptly in a most theatrical
manner, amid bursts of laughter from both floor and galleries; for he
appears to be the privileged buffoon of the House.

The appearance of the House is rather imposing; the members behave with
extraordinary decorum; and to people accustomed to the noises and unseemly
interruptions which characterise the British House of Commons, the silence
and order of the Canadian House are very agreeable. [Footnote: In justice
to the Canadian Parliament, I must insert the following extract from the
'_Toronto Globe_,' from which it will appear that there are very
disgraceful exceptions to this ordinarily decorous conduct:--

"Mr. Mackenzie attempted to speak, and held the floor for two or three
minutes, although his voice was inaudible from the kicking of desks,
caterwaulings, and snatches of songs from various parts of the house."]
The members seemed to give full attention to the debate; very few were
writing, and none were reading anything except Parliamentary papers, and
no speaker was interrupted except on one occasion. There was extremely
little walking about; but I observed one gentleman, a notorious exquisite,
cross the floor several times, apparently with no other object than that
of displaying his fine person in bowing profoundly to the Speaker. The
gentlemanly appearance of the members, taken altogether, did not escape my
notice.

Sir Allan M'Nab, the present Premier, is the head of a coalition ministry;
fortunately, it is not necessary to offer any remarks upon its policy; and
Canada, following the example of the mother-country, submits quietly to a
coalition. The opposition, which is formed of the Liberal party, is seated
opposite the Government, fronted by Mr. Lyon Mackenzie, who gives a
wavering adherence to every party in succession, and is often indignantly
disavowed by all. The Liberals of Upper Canada are ably led by Mr. George
Brown, who excels in a highly lucid, powerful, and perspicuous course of
reasoning, which cannot fail to produce an effect.

Then there is the Rouge party, led by the member for Montreal, which is
principally composed of very versatile and enthusiastic Frenchmen of
rather indefinite opinions and aims, professing a creed which appears a
curious compound of Republicanism and Rationalism. The word
Latitudinarianism defines it best. There are 130 members, divided into
numerous "ists" and "ites." Most of the members for Lower Canada are
French, and, consequently, the Romish party is a very powerful one in the
House. Taken as a whole, the members are loyal, and have proved their
attachment to England by a vote of 20,000_l._ for the Patriotic Fund.

I think that all who are in the habit of reading the debates will allow
that the speaking in the House will bear comparison with that in our House
of Commons; and if some of the younger members in attempting the sublime
occasionally attain the ridiculous, and mistake extravagance of expression
for greatness of thought, these are faults which time and criticism will
remedy. Canada is a great and prosperous country, and its Legislative
Assembly is very creditable to so young a community. Bribery, corruption,
and place-hunting are alleged against this body; but as these vices are
largely developed in England, it would be bad taste to remark upon them,
particularly as the most ardent correctors of abuses now reluctantly allow
that they are inseparable from popular assemblies. It is needless to speak
of the Upper House, which, as has been sarcastically remarked of our House
of Peers, is merely a "_High Court of Registry_"--it remains to be seen
whether an elective chamber would possess greater vitality and
independence.

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a Frenchman, and French and
English are used indiscriminately in debate. Parliamentary notices and
papers are also printed in both languages.

It was a cold, gloomy October morning, a cold east wind rustled the russet
leaves, and a heavy, dry fog enveloped Point Diamond, when I left the
bustle of Quebec for a quiet drive to Montmorenci in a light waggon with a
very spirited little horse, a young lady acting as charioteer. The little
animal was very impetuous, and rattled down the steep, crowded streets of
Quebec at a pace which threatened to entangle our wheels with those of
numerous carts driven by apathetic _habitans_, who were perfectly
indifferent to the admonitions "_Prenez garde_" and "_Place aux dames_,"
delivered in beseeching tones. We passed down a steep street, and through
Palace-gate, into the district of St. Roch, teeming with Irish and dirt,
for I fear it is a fact that, wherever you have the first, you invariably
have the last. Beyond this there was a space covered with mud and sawdust,
where two _habitans_ were furiously quarrelling. One sprang upon the other
like a hyena, knocked him down, and then attempted to bite and strangle
him, amid the applause of numerous spectators.

Leaving Quebec behind, we drove for seven miles along a road in sight of
the lesser branch of the St. Lawrence, which has on the other side the
green and fertile island of Orleans. The houses along this road are so
numerous as to present the appearance of a village the whole way.
Frenchmen who arrive here in summer can scarcely believe that they are not
in their own sunny land; the external characteristics of the country are
so exactly similar. These dwellings are large, whitewashed, and many-
windowed, and are always surrounded with balconies. The doors are reached
by flights of steps, in order that they may be above the level of the snow
in winter. The rooms are clean, but large and desolate-looking, and are
generally ornamented with caricatures of the Virgin and uncouth
representations of miracles. The women dress in the French style, and wear
large straw hats out of doors, which were the source of constant
disappointments to me, for I always expected to see a young, if not a
pretty, face under a broad brim, and these females were remarkably ill-
favoured; their complexions hardened, wrinkled, and bronzed, from the
effects of hard toil, and the extremes of heat and cold. I heard the hum
of spinning-wheels from many of the houses, for these industrious women
spin their household linen, and the gray homespun in which the men are
clothed. The furniture is antique, and made of oak, and looks as if it had
been handed down from generation to generation. The men, largely assisted
by the females, cultivate small plots of ground, and totally disregard all
modern improvements. These French towns and villages improve but little.
Popery, that great antidote to social progress, is the creed universally
professed, and generally the only building of any pretensions is a large
Romish church with two lofty spires of polished tin. Education is not much
prized; the desires of the simple _habitans_ are limited to the attainment
of a competence for life, and this their rudely-tilled farms supply them
with. Few emigrants make this part of Canada even a temporary resting-
place; the severity of the climate, the language, the religion, and the
laws, are all against them; hence, though a professor of a purer faith may
well blush to confess it, the vices which emigrants bring with them are
unknown. These peasants are among the most harmless people under the sun;
they are moral, sober, and contented, and zealous in the observances of
their erroneous creed. Their children divide the land, and, as each
prefers a piece of soil adjoining the road or river, strips of soil may
occasionally be seen only a few yards in width. They strive after
happiness rather than advancement, and who shall say that they are
unsuccessful in their aim? As their fathers lived, so they live; each
generation has the simplicity and superstition of the preceding one. In
the autumn they gather in their scanty harvest, and in the long winter
they spin and dance round their stove-sides. On Sundays and saints' days
they assemble in crowds in their churches, dressed in the style of a
hundred years since. Their wants and wishes are few, their manners are
courteous and unsuspicious, they hold their faith with a blind and
implicit credulity, and on summer evenings sing the songs of France as
their fathers sang them in bygone days on the smiling banks of the rushing
Rhone.

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