the topic of the day, the restoration and embellishment of our oft- besieged, city, gracefully attributing honour where it was due, first and foremost to His Excellency the Governor-General, Earl of Dufferin, at whose instigation the plans had been prepared; secondly, to His Worship the Mayor, Owen Murphy, Esq., (who was present), for his untiring exertions and valuable assistance in developing, maturing and preparing the way for an early completion of said designs, which are to make Quebec a splendid architectural example of the deformed, transformed; thirdly, to the hearty co-operation of the public, aided in their views by the enterprise of the proprietor of the _Morning Chronicle_, who had prepared the splendid illustrations of these improvements, thereby reflecting infinite credit upon himself. After a few other remarks the ladies and gentlemen were invited to inspect the library, which for the rest of the evening was the centre of attraction. The _coup d'oeil_, when once one had fairly entered into this beautifully designed, permanent focus of intellectual wealth, around whose walls were ranged the imperishable memorials of nearly all of man's genius that has been thought worthy of preservation, was striking and memorable. As in the lecture room, those emblems, which are our symbolical as well as actual rallying points in all times of trouble or war, draped and covered the book shelves which contain the essence of almost all that human intelligence, human thought, human wit, man's invention and ingenuity has as yet brought to light. Here, historian and poet, geographer and engineer, humorist and preacher, dramatist and theologian, are congregated, serving in the one great cause of public instruction and the expansion of the limitless ramifications which exist in the ever growing tree of knowledge. The student and litérateur, the bibliophile and dilletante novel reader, the most frequent visitors here last night were replaced by groups of fair women and patriotic men assembled to commemorate an event which had a marked effect upon the history of this continent in this nineteenth century, which will expire a few hours after these lines meet the reader's eyes. In lieu of study and thought, the attention of the throng was attracted to the splendid stand of arms reaching from floor to ceiling, and which was as it were defended by the Dominion standard that fell in long festoons behind. In the centre of a diamond-shaped figure, made up of scores of sabres pointing inwards, was a large glittering star of silvery steel bayonets. In chronological order were pink and gilt tablets, containing each one the names of the Lieutenant-Governors of Canada, commencing with Carleton, in 1775, and proceeding through the noble list, which includes Haldimand, Dorchester, Dalhousie, Gosford,