Something of the unique and exceptional character of the great Cardinal Richelieu, whose tomb in the Pantheon in Paris is an object of continual pilgrimage by the visitors in the French capital, seems to invest Quebec, the city of which he was the real founder. The convent and hospital of the Hotel Dieu were due to the solicitude and enterprise of his niece, the Duchesse d'Aiguillion, whose interest centred in the promulgation of religion and charities, and these institutions are still preserved as memorial monuments to her fervour. Quebec is pre-eminently a city of churches and the old French Cathedral dates back to 1647. The interior is enriched with several paintings of especial value, among them Van Dyck's "Crucifixion," which was painted in 1630, and which, in the Revolution of 1793, was purchased in Paris by the Abbé des Jardins of Quebec, and presented to the cathedral. In the sacristy are two large vaults filled with sacred relics. The vestments belonging to this cathedral are superb. An interesting church is the Anglican Cathedral, standing in the centre of the city, to which the late King Edward VII. presented an exquisite Communion service. For the celebration of the tercentenary of Quebec, Cy Warman, that genial poet (who has set so much {58} of Canada to music), wrote an ode in the dialect of the habitant, of which two stanzas run: "How you kip yourself so young, Ol' Quebec? Dat's w'ats ax by all de tongue, Ol' Quebec; Many years ees pass away, Plaintee hair been turn to gray, You're more yo'gker ev'ry day, Ol' Quebec. Som' brav' men hees fight for you, Ol' Quebec; Dat's w'en Canada she's new, Ol' Quebec; De brav' Wolfe, de great Montcalm, Bote was fight for you, Madame, Now we're mak' de grande salaam, Ol' Quebec." The traveller with an impassioned devotion to what he fondly calls "the quaint" may be signally gratified in Quebec. In the business section there will be found one street only four feet in width, quite rivalling the famous _via d'Aura_ in Genoa, the "Street of jewellers," where one can stand in a shop on one side and almost reach his hand into the shop opposite. The Legislative Buildings are as delightful as those in the other capitals of the Provinces of Canada; and on the brow of the high bluffs are a group of notable buildings of architectural beauty--the splendid Château Frontenac, with its view of thirty miles up and down the St. Lawrence valley; flanked by monasteries, churches, and public {59} structures. The citadel that crowns the height is extremely picturesque to visitors who have all the enjoyment, while the Canadian Government has the doubtful felicity of keeping in due repair this enormous fortification. It was begun two hundred and fifty years ago, and reconstructed in 1823, on plans approved by the Duke of Wellington, at a cost of twenty-five million.