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
Abraham, an even piece of ground which Wolfe had made choice of, while
we stood forming upon the hill. Weather showery; about six o'clock the
enemy first made their appearance upon the heights, between us and the
town; whereupon we halted and wheeled to the right, forming the line
of battle."
For some time past Marchmont has been occupied by Col. Ferdinand
Turnbull, of the Q. O. Canadian Hussars.
_ANECDOTE OF WOLFE'S ARMY._
"After the conquest of Quebec, the troops had to make shift for
quarters wherever they could find a habitable place; I myself made
choice of a small house in the lane leading to the Esplanade,
where Ginger the Gardner now lives (1828), and which had belonged
to Paquet the schoolmaster--although it was scarcely habitable
from the number of our shells that had fallen through it. However,
as I had a small party of the company, I continued to get a number
of little jobs done towards making it passably comfortable for the
men, and for my own part I got Hector Munro, who was a joiner by
trade, to knock up a kind of "cabinet" (as the Canadians called
it) in one corner of the house for myself. We had a stove, but our
Highlanders, who know no better, would not suffer the door to be
closed, as they thought if they could not naturally _see_ the
fire, it was impossible that they could _feel_ it. In this
way they passed the whole of the winter; three or four would sit
close up to the door of the stove, and when these were a little
warmed, three or four others would relieve them, and so on. Some
days they were almost frozen to death, or suffocated by the smoke,
and to mend the matter they had nothing better than green wood!
I contrived somehow or other to procure six blankets, so that
notwithstanding that I was almost frozen during the day, being the
whole winter out on duty, superintending the party of our
Highlanders, making fascines in the woods, still I passed the
nights pretty comfortably. 'Twas funny enough to see, every
morning, the whole surface of the blankets covered with ice, from
the heat of my breath and body. We wore our kilts the whole of
this time, but there was no accident, as we were sheltered by the
woods. I bought myself a pair of leather breeches, but I could not
walk in them, so I laid them aside.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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