MONTREAL. 313 
The burying grounds are all without the walls 
at present. 
There are in Montreal four convents, one of 
which is of the order of St. Francis; the number 
of the friars, however, is reduced now to two 
or three, and as by the laws of the province 
men can no longer enter into any religious 
order, it will of course in a few years dwindle 
entirely away. On the female orders there is 
no restriction, and they are still well filled. The 
Hotel Bieu, founded as early as 1644, for the 
relief of the sick poor, and which is the oldest 
of the convents, contains thirty religieuses,” 
nuns; La Congregation de Notre Dame, in¬ 
stituted for the instruction of young girls, con¬ 
tains fifty-seven sceurs, another sort of nuns; 
and L’Hospital Generate, for the accommo¬ 
dation of the infirm poor, contains eighteen 
seeurs. 
The barracks are agreeably situated near the 
river, at the lower end of the town ; they are 
surrounded by a lofty wall, and calculated to 
contain about three hundred men. 
The walls round the town are mouldering 
away very fast, and in some places are totally 
in ruins ,* the gates however remain quite , 
perfect. The walls were built principally as 
a defence against the Indians, by whom the 
country was thickly inhabited when Montreal 
was founded, and they were found necessary. 
s 
