Twenty-second Day’s Instruction
British American Dominions
NOVA SCOTIA,
Is a province bounded on the east by the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the south by the Atlantic, and on the west by the United States. It is somewhat more than two hundred miles long, and one hundred and seventy miles broad. The southern division is a peninsula of triangular form, having an isthmus not more than thirty miles in breadth. Nova Scotia is divided into counties, and subdivided into townships; and, in the whole, contains somewhat more than fifty thousand inhabitants.
The climate is unhealthy. During a considerable part of the year, the maritime and lower districts are enveloped in fog. The cold of winter is intense, and the heat of summer excessive. The soil is various. In many parts it is thin, barren, gravelly, and covered with forests: in others, especially on the borders of the rivers, it is fertile and agreeable. Some of the tracts yield hemp and flax; but the inhabitants have not hitherto made much progress in agriculture. Nova Scotia has many bays and harbours; but much of the coast is bordered with dangerous rocks. Great numbers of cod-fish are caught in some of the bays, and in many parts of the sea adjacent to the coast.
Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, was built about the year 1749. It is now a flourishing town on the sea-coast, and has an excellent harbour, accessible at all seasons of the year, and with depth of water and anchorage sufficient for the largest vessels. The town is about two miles in length, and a quarter of a mile in width; and is laid out in oblong squares, and in streets that run parallel or at right angles to each other. It is defended by forts of timber, and contains about fifteen thousand inhabitants. At its northern extremity is the royal arsenal, which is well built, and amply supplied with naval stores.
CANADA,
Is an extensive but thinly-peopled district, lying between the same parallels of latitude as France and England, but in a climate infinitely more severe. During winter the frost is intense, and the surface of the ground is covered with snow to the depth of several feet. In many parts of the country, however, the summers are hot and pleasant.
The boundaries of Canada are, the United States on the south; the Atlantic Ocean, Labrador, and Hudson’s Bay, on the east and north; and a wild and undescribed region on the west. This country is divided into two provinces of Upper and Lower Canada: the executive power in each province is vested in a governor; and a legislative council and an assembly are appointed for each, having power, with the consent of the governor, to make laws. In the legislative council of Lower Canada, there are fifteen members; and in that of Upper Canada seven; and the appointments are for life. In the assembly of Lower Canada there are fifty members; and in that of Upper Canada sixteen: these are chosen by the freeholders and do not continue in office longer than four years.
Canada was originally discovered by Sebastian Cabot, a navigator sent out by the English about the year 1497; but in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it was colonized by the French, who kept possession of it till the year 1763, when it fell into the hands of the British, to whom it still belongs. The long possession of this country by the French, has occasioned the French language to be chiefly spoken: it has also occasioned the prevailing religion to be Roman Catholic. The British government permits a toleration of all religions; but by far the greatest number of inhabitants are catholics. The clergy of the church of England, in both provinces, are only twelve in number, including the bishop of Quebec; whereas, those of the church of Rome amount to one hundred and twenty, including a bishop, and three vicars-general.
The whole number of inhabitants is considered to be about two hundred thousand, of whom fifty thousand are Indians. “Essentially a Frenchman, (says Mr. Hall,) the Canadian is gay, courteous, and contented. If the rigours of the climate have somewhat chilled the overflowing vivacity derived from his parent stock, he has still a sufficient portion of good spirits and loquacity. To strangers and travellers he is invariably civil; and he seems to value their good word beyond their money. He is considered parsimonious, because all his gains arise from his savings, and he is satisfied with the humblest fare.” The Canadians have a great antipathy to the inhabitants of the United States. At this day, many even of the better informed among them believe that the American government is constantly plotting the ruin of Canada.
Whilst Canada was in the hands of the French, the commerce of the country was chiefly confined to the fisheries and fur-trade: agriculture was neglected, and extensive tracts of fertile soil lay uncultivated. But the English have both peopled and improved a very considerable portion of territory; and the trade is now of much importance. The Canadians export to Britain and to different British establishments, wheat and other grain, biscuit, beef, pork, butter, salmon, oil, timber, hemp, and various other articles. In many parts of both Canadas the soil is well adapted for the production of grain. Tobacco also thrives well in it; and culinary vegetables arrive at great perfection. The forests produce beech-trees, oaks, elms, ash, pine, sycamore, chesnut, and walnut; and a species of maple-tree, from the juice of which sugar is made, abounds throughout the country.
Many extensive tracts in Canada are covered with lakes and marshes; and the country is intersected by numerous rivers, some of which are navigable to considerable distances. Of the lakes, the most important are lake Superior, lake Huron, lake Michigan, lake Ontario, and lake Erie. These are adjacent to the territory of the United States. Lake Winipic is an expanse of water, more than two hundred and fifty miles in length, situated about the 53d degree of north latitude. The largest and noblest river in Canada is the St. Lawrence, which flows from lake Ontario, past the two towns of Montreal and Quebec, and falls into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This river meets the tide four miles from the sea; and to this place it is navigable for large vessels.
A Description of Quebec.
This city, the capital of Canada, stands at the northern extremity of a strip of high land, which follows the course of the river St. Lawrence, as far as the mouth of the Charles. The basis of these heights is a dark slate rock, of which most of the buildings in the town are constructed. Cape Diamond terminates the promontory, with a bold precipice towards the river. This rock derives its name from numerous transparent crystals, which are found upon it; and which are so abundant that, after a shower of rain, the ground glitters with them.
The Lower Town of Quebec is built at the foot of the heights; and the Upper Town occupies their crest. The former, snug and dirty, is the abode of persons engaged in trade, and of most of the lower classes: the latter, lofty and cold, is the seat of government, and the principal residence of the military.
With few exceptions, the houses in Quebec are built of stone. The roofs of the better sort are covered with sheets of iron or tin, and those of an inferior description, with boards. On the roofs ladders are usually placed, near the garret-windows, for the purpose of the chimney-sweepers ascending, on the outside, to clean the chimneys: for, in this country boys do not go up the chimneys, as in England; but two men, one at the top and the other at the bottom, sweep them, by pulling up and down a bundle of twigs or furze, tied to a rope.
The streets of the Lower Town are, for the most part, narrow and irregular. St. Peter’s street is the best paved, and the widest of the whole. It contains several good and substantial houses, which are chiefly occupied by merchants and traders; but, from the colour of the stone of which the houses are constructed, and of the iron roofs, all the streets of Quebec have a heavy and gloomy appearance.
A street, called Mountain Street, which leads to the Upper Town, winds, in a serpentine direction, from the market-place up the hill, and terminates near the Upper Town market-place. This street, in winter, is extremely dangerous. The quantity of snow and ice, which here accumulate in large masses, renders it necessary for the inhabitants to wear outer shoes, that are shod with iron spikes. The boys of Quebec have a favourite amusement, in lying at full length with their breast upon a small kind of sledge, and sliding along the snow, from the top of the hill to the bottom: they glide down with astonishing velocity; yet, with their feet, they can guide or stop themselves, at pleasure.
The shops or stores of the traders in the Lower Town, do not exhibit any of that diversified and pleasing appearance which is so remarkable in London. Here the stranger sees nothing but heavy stone buildings, gloomy casements, and iron-cased shutters, painted red. If any show is made at the window, it is with paltry articles of cooking, earthen and hardware: there is, however, a tolerable display of bear-skins, seal-skins, foxes-tails, and buffalo-robes.
The taverns in Quebec are numerous; yet a stranger is much surprised to find only two houses which deserve that high-sounding appellation. This arises from the vanity that possesses all our trans-Atlantic brethren, to designate their paltry public-houses or spirit-shops, by the more dignified title of “tavern;” for through the whole of America, every dirty hole, where a few glasses of rum, gin, or whisky, are sold, is so called.
Of the public buildings in Quebec, the most important is the government-house, or castle of St. Louis, a large, plain, stone edifice, which forms one side of an open place or square, called the parade. Its front resembles that of a country gentleman’s house in England; and the interior contains comfortable family apartments. The furniture is inherited and paid for by the successive owners. Opposite to the government-house stand the English cathedral church, and the court-house, both handsome buildings of modern construction. The other sides of the parade are formed by the Union Hotel, and a row of buildings which form the commencement of St. Louis Street.
The Upper Town is by far the most agreeable part of Quebec: its streets are not, indeed, remarkable for width, but many of them are well paved. In the Upper Town the heat, during summer, is not so intense as in the Lower Town; nor, in winter, though the cold is much severer, is it, as a residence, so dreary and uncomfortable.
There are, in Quebec, several catholic charitable institutions. Of these, the principal is the “Hotel Dieu,” founded in 1637, for the accommodation and relief of poor sick people: it is under the management of a superior and thirty-six nuns. The “General Hospital,” which stands at a little distance from the town, is a somewhat similar institution; and is governed by a superior and forty-three nuns. In the admission of patients into each of these establishments, no distinction is made, as to catholics or protestants. The Ursuline convent, founded in 1639, for the education of female children, stands within the city, and has a considerable appearance of wealth. Among the ornaments of the chapel are the skull and bones of a missionary, who had been murdered by the Indians for attempting their conversion.
About two miles from the town is a break in the line of cliffs, which forms a little recess, called Wolf’s Cove. A steep pathway leads thence to the heights of the plains of Abram. On these plains are still to be seen, in the turf, traces of field-works, which were thrown up by the British army, in the celebrated siege of Quebec; and a stone is pointed out as that on which General Wolf expired.
The markets of Quebec are well supplied with every thing that the country affords; and, in general, at a very cheap rate. In the autumn, as soon as the river betwixt the town and the island of Orleans, is frozen over, an abundance of provisions is received from that island. The Canadians, at the commencement of winter, kill the greatest part of their stock, and carry it to market in a frozen state. The inhabitants of the towns supply themselves, at this season, with butcher’s meat, poultry, and vegetables, to serve them till spring. These are kept in garrets or cellars; and, so long as they continue frozen, their goodness is preserved. Before they are prepared for the table, they are laid for some hours in cold water, to be thawed. In wintertime, milk is brought to market in large frozen cakes.
Great quantities of maple-sugar are sold, in Quebec, at about half the price of West India sugar. The manufacturing of this article takes place in the spring. The sap or juice, after it has been drawn from the trees, is boiled, and then poured into shallow dishes, where it takes the form of a thick and hard cake. Maple-sugar is very hard; and, when used, is scraped with a knife, as, otherwise, it would be a long time in dissolving.
The fruit of Canada is not remarkable either for excellence or cheapness. Strawberries and raspberries are, however, brought to market in great abundance: they are gathered on the plains, at the back of Quebec, and in the neighbouring woods, where they grow wild, in the utmost luxuriance. Apples and pears are chiefly procured from the vicinity of Montreal. Walnuts and filberts are by no means common; but hickory-nuts and hazel-nuts are to be obtained in all the woods.
The climate of Lower Canada is subject to violent extremes of heat and cold. At Quebec, the thermometer, in summer, is sometimes as high as 103 degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer; and, in winter, is at 36 degrees below 0. The average of summer heat is, in general, from 75 to 80 degrees; and the mean of the cold, in winter, is about 0.
From Christmas to Lady-day the weather is remarkably clear and fine; the sky is of an azure blue colour, and seldom obscured by fogs or clouds; and the frost is not often interrupted by falls of snow or rain. These advantages render a Canadian winter so agreeable, that the inhabitants, from sudden alterations of the weather, are never under the necessity of changing their style of dress, unless it be to discard their greatcoats and fur-caps, which, in consequence of the powerful warmth of the sun, is sometimes necessary. In the early part of the winter there is always much snow.
The spring, summer, and autumn of Canada, are all comprised within the five months of May, June, July, August, and September. The rest of the year may be considered as winter. During the month of October, the weather is sometimes pleasant, but nature has then put on her gloomy mantle; and the chilling blasts, from the north-west, remind the Canadians of the approach of snow and ice. November and April are the two most disagreeable months of the year: in one of these the snow is beginning to fall, and in the other it is going away.
Mr. Hall’s Journey from Quebec to Montreal.
Mr. Hall was in Canada during the summer of 1816; and, on the 28th of July, he left Quebec, on a journey to Montreal. He deviated somewhat from the usual road, that he might pass by the Jacques Cartier bridge, six or seven miles above the ferry. Here the river falls wildly down, betwixt its wooded shores; and, after forming several cascades, foams through a narrow channel, which seems cut out of the solid rock, to receive it. The rock, which constitutes its bed, is formed into regular platforms, descending, by natural steps, to the edge of the torrent. The Jacques Cartier is a river famous for its salmon, which are caught of large size, and in great abundance, below the bridge. At the foot of this bridge stands a little inn, where the angler may have his game cooked for supper, and where he may sleep in the lull of the torrent, below his chamber-window. After quitting this neighbourhood, the scenery of the St. Lawrence becomes flat and uniform. The road follows the direction of the river, sometimes running along the cliff, which once embanked it, and sometimes descending to the water’s edge.
From Quebec to Montreal, the country may be considered as one long village. On each shore there is a stripe of land, seldom exceeding a mile in breadth, which is bounded by forests, and thickly studded with farm-houses, white-washed from top to bottom: to these, log-barns and stables are attached, and commonly a neat plot of garden-ground.
Mr. Hall preferred the travelling in Lower Canada to that in every other part of the American continent. You arrive (he says) at the post-house, (as the words “maison de poste,” scrawled over the door, give you notice;) “Have you horses, Madame?” “Oui, Monsieur, tout de suite.” A loud cry of “Oh! bon homme,” forwards the intelligence to her husband, at work, perhaps, in an adjacent field. “Mais, asseyez vous, Monsieur;” and, if you have patience to do this quietly, for a few minutes, you will see crebillion, papillon, or some other on arrive, at a full canter, from pasture, mounted by honest Jean, in his blue nightcap, with all his habiliments shaking in the wind. The preliminary of splicing and compounding the broken harness having been adjusted, the whip cracks, and you start to the exhilarating cry of “marche donc,” at the rate of six, and often seven miles an hour.
The village of “Trois Rivieres” stands at the three mouths of the River St. Maurice. It contains an Ursuline convent, which marks it for a place of some note, in a catholic country; but it is still more worthy of distinction, as being the residence of the amiable Abbé de la Colonne, brother to the unfortunate French minister of that name.
Having engaged two experienced boatmen, and a bark canoe, Mr. Hall ascended the St. Maurice, to visit the falls of Shawinne Gamme, distant somewhat more than twenty miles. At his return, he left the St. Maurice, and, having been ferried from Berthier to Contrecœur, he proceeded, “en caleche,” with two crebillions, towards St. Ours, in the direction of the Belœil Mountain, which was seen before him in the misty horizon. The meadows were profusely decorated with orange lilies; and the banks and dingles with the crimson cones of the sumac, and a variety of flowering shrubs. Several brigs and merchants’ ships were dropping down with the tide, their crowded sails scarcely swelling in the languid summer breeze.
The Canadian summer, observes Mr. Hall, is hot in proportion to the severity of the winter; and the heat is sufficient to enable the cultivator to raise Indian corn, water-melons, gourds, capsicums, and such vegetables as require a short and intense heat. Hence the country assumes the aspect of a Portuguese summer, by way of appendix to a Russian winter.
Mr. Hall passed through the village of Belœil; again crossed the river, and proceeded towards the mountain, which towered, like an immense wall of rock, above the flat surrounding country. Scattered at its base were a few wretched houses, the inhabitants of which subsisted by the produce of their apple-orchards.
The weather was excessively hot; and volumes of smoke, from the casual, or intentional burning of the woods, every where clouded the horizon, and seemed to give additional heat to the glowing landscape.
The basis of the Montreal Mountain is freestone; the ascent is consequently less steep, and the surface less broken, than that of Belœil: it is thickly wooded, and, from the river, forms an elegant back-ground to the city.
A Description of Montreal.
When approached from the water, the town of Montreal, which is situated on an island in the River St. Lawrence, has a very singular appearance. This is occasioned by the grey stone of the buildings, and their tin-covered roofs; the latter of which emit a strong glare, when the sun shines. The shore is steep, and forms a kind of natural wharf, upon which the vessels discharge their cargoes: hence the shipping which frequent the harbour of Montreal are often anchored close to the shore. Many English vessels visit this place; but the navigation of the St. Lawrence, above Quebec, is so hazardous, that few captains are willing to make the voyage a second time.
The interior of the town of Montreal is extremely gloomy. The streets are regularly built, but the buildings are ponderous masses of stone, erected with little taste, and less judgment. Including the garrets, they have seldom more than two stories above the ground-floor. The doors and window-shutters are covered with large sheets of tin, painted red or lead-colour, and corresponding with the gloomy colour of the stone, with which most of the houses have been built; hence a heavy sameness of appearance pervades all the streets.
The only open places in the town, are the two markets, and a square, called the Place d’Armes, in which, under the French government, the troops of the garrison are accustomed to parade. The French catholic church occupies the whole east side of the square; and, on the south side, is a tavern, called the Montreal Hotel. Every thing, in this tavern, is neat, cleanly, well conducted, and perfectly agreeable to an Englishman’s taste.
Montreal is divided into the Upper and Lower towns, though these have very little difference in elevation. The principal street of the latter, extends, from north to south, through the whole length of the place. This street contains the wholesale and retail stores of the merchants and traders, the lower market-place, the post-office, the Hotel Dieu, a large tavern, and several smaller ones. It is narrow, but it presents a scene of greater bustle than any other part of the town; and is the chief mart of the trade carried on in Montreal.
Most of the streets are well paved; and the improvements which are going on throughout the town, will, in a few years, render it much more commodious and agreeable than it is at present. The four streets or suburbs occupy a considerable space of ground, and the number of inhabitants is computed at twelve thousand. The religious and charitable institutions of this place, are counterparts to those at Quebec. There are a general hospital, and an Hotel Dieu, for the relief of sick poor. The principal catholic church is rich and handsome. The college or seminary, is a capacious stone building, and has lately been repaired and enlarged. It was originally endowed as a branch of the seminary at Paris; but, since the French Revolution, it has afforded an asylum to several members of the latter, whose learning and talents have been employed in its advancement. Among other public edifices must be reckoned the English church, an unfinished building; the old monastery of Franciscan Friars, now converted into barracks; the court-house, and the government-house. The court-house is a neat and spacious building. In front of it, a column has been erected in honour of Lord Nelson, and is crowned with a statue of him. Near the court-house a gaol has been built, upon the site of the old college of Jesuits.
There seems to be a greater spirit of municipal improvement in Montreal than in Quebec. It is also, probably, a richer place; for, being the emporium of the fur-trade, its merchants carry on a considerable traffic with the United States, and particularly with Vermont and New York.
At the back of the town, and behind the court-house, is a parade, where the troops are exercised. The ground, along this part, is considerably elevated, and forms a steep bank, several hundred yards in length. Here the inhabitants walk in an evening, and enjoy a beautiful view of the suburbs of St. Lawrence and St. Antoine; and of numerous gardens, orchards, and plantations, adorned with neat, and, in many instances, even handsome villas. Green fields are interspersed amidst this rich variety of objects, which are concentrated in an extensive valley, that gradually rises towards a lofty mountain, about two miles and a half distant; and covered, towards its upper part, with trees and shrubs. It is from this mountain that the town obtained its name of Montreal, or “Royal Mount.”
All the principal north-west merchants reside in this town; which is the emporium of their trade, and the grand mart of the commerce carried on between Canada and the United States: they live in a splendid style, and keep expensive tables.
The markets of Montreal are plentifully supplied with provisions, which are much cheaper here than in Quebec. Large supplies are brought in, every winter, from the United States; particularly cod-fish, which is packed in ice, and conveyed in sledges from Boston. Two weekly newspapers, called the Gazette and the Canadian Courant, are published here.
At Montreal, the winter is considered to be two months shorter than it is at Quebec; and the heat of summer is more oppressive.