i 9 o MY LIFE 



Montcalm. Then up to the ramparts of the citadel, from 

 which there is a grand view of the river and the country 

 round, and where the strength of the position can be well 

 seen. For dinner they gave me beef-steak pie, quite English, 

 the first real homely pie I have met with on the American 

 continent. I then strolled into the town and bought a few 

 trifles in the shops. Everywhere they were talking French. 

 The terraces and gardens with electric lights were very pretty. 



Next morning I went out at 7 a. m., called on the Irish 

 gardener again, and asked the way to the best part of the 

 town. He offered to show me: went along St. Louis Street 

 and the Grande Allee by the new Parliamentary Buildings, 

 which are very large and handsome; a new Drill Hall, fan- 

 tastic Moorish ; then to the open down and the Plains of 

 Abraham. The gardener said there were many Irish and 

 Scotch in Quebec, but more French than all the others. He 

 thought they could not become independent, because they 

 could not pay their share of the Canadian Debt. I suggested 

 that perhaps France would help pay it in order to get back 

 their old colony. Yes, he thought they might some day ; but 

 he did not think the French people wanted that. He told 

 me he had been in Quebec forty-six years, and the winters 

 were not near so cold as they used to be. He is sure of it. 

 Noses and ears were often frozen and lost then ; now one 

 never hears of such a thing. 



I got back to breakfast soon after eight, and then descended 

 to the lower town by the elevator, and to the wharf, where a 

 tender took us on board in a drizzling rain and very cold 

 wind; and at 10 A. m. we started down the St. Lawrence. 

 Fortunately I had a cabin to myself, as I was very unwell 

 during the whole voyage, with chest oppression, and asthma 

 for the first time in my life. 



Having now left North America, I may say just a few 

 words of my general impressions as to the country and the 

 people. In my journal I find this note : " During more than 

 ten months in America, taking every opportunity of exploring 

 woods and forests, plains and mountains, deserts and gardens, 



