Picturesque Quebec : a sequel to Quebec past and presentLe Moine, J. M. (James MacPherson), Sir
History
Picturesque Quebec : a sequel to Quebec past and present
Le Moine, J. M. (James MacPherson), Sir
Québec (Québec) -- Description and travel; Québec (Québec) -- Suburbs
Three Rivers, Quebec--a fruitful seed of christianity scattered
bountifully through the length and breadth of our land; others, whose
lifeless clay still rests in yon sunny hillock in the rear, to the west of
the "Manor House"--the little cemetery described by Abbé Ferland. Between
the "Manor House" and the river, about forty feet from the house,
inclining towards the south, are the remains of the foundation walls of
the Jesuit's church or chapel, dating back to 1640. On the 13th June,
1657, fire made dreadful havoc in the residence of the Jesuits
(_Relations_, for 1657, p. 26); they stand north-east and south-west,
and are at present flush with the greensward; a large portion of them were
still visible about thirty-five years ago, as, attested by many living
witnesses; they were converted into ballast for ships built at this spot,
and into materials for repairing the main road by some Vandal who will
remain nameless. From the Manor House you notice the little cape to the
south-west mentioned in Abbé Ferland's _Notes_, though growing smaller and
smaller every year from the quantities of soil and stone taken from it,
also to repair the road. The large elm pointed out by the Abbé as having
grown over the spot where the hospital stood is there yet, a majestic
tree. The selection of a site for the little cemetery is most judicious,
several little streams from the heights in the rear filter through the
ground, producing a moisture calculated to prevent decomposition and
explanatory of the singular appearance of the bodies disinterred there in
1855. Every visitor will be struck with the beauty, healthiness and
shelter which this sequestered nook at Sillery presents for a settlement,
and with its adaptability for the purposes for which it was chosen, being
quite protected against our two prevailing winds, the north-east and
south-west, with a warm southern exposure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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