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sive designs which have been recently executed in England by superior artists, in honour of the courage, the wisdom, or the virtues of "the great and good deceased." The benefit of this admission, however, must not be claimed in behalf of the French colonists, who were then resident in Quebec, and who, not having had time for proving the advantages of the British laws and administration, could not be expected to be hasty in affording public tokens of their approbation on their change of masters: But this is an argument in favour of the British conquerors themselves, without whose sanction at least, the paltry statue could not have been formed and erected. The men at that period in official stations, and all those respectable persons connected with the government of the conquered Province, were natives of Great Britain; to them alone, and not to the subjugated Canadians, the consequent honour or reproach of this erection attaches. If it be objected, "that this frail monument is generally represented as a proof of the gratitude of the French Colonists to their British liberators and benefactors;" a sufficient answer will be found in the fact, that this will not be the first instance on record of conquerors themselves erecting commemorative trophies, and afterwards pointing them out as grateful demonstrations of the people's affections. Palmam qui meruit ferat. But whichever party may be considered most blame-worthy, the memory of Wolfe

deserves a more appropriate statue, and one better in accordance with the approved taste of the times, on the very scene of his death and triumph.

The castle of St Louis, which is the residence of the Governor, occupies a very lofty and commanding situation. It is built on the brink of an almost inaccessible precipice; and is supported by counterforts and strong mason-work raised to nearly half its height. Some of the apartments of the castle are occupied by the various civil and military officers, acting under the immediate direction of the Governor. This edifice has nothing to recommend it, except its extent and situation; fór its exterior is plain and unassuming, yet constructed with great neatness and simplicity.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral is a good-sized stone building, with a steeple disproportionately low, and whimsically placed on one side of it. The interior of this Church, like others belonging to this denomination, contains several rich and costly ornaments. A variety of fine scriptural representations, executed by the hand of a master, are placed against the walls; and the altar is a grand yet fanciful piece of workmanship. The roof and steeple are covered with tin, according to the fashion observed in nearly all the churches throughout the province.

The Protestant Episcopal Church is only of recent erection. It has been constructed with some regard to the rules of architecture, and is, upon the whole, a very neat and respectable edifice.

There are also a Methodist Chapel, called "the Wesleyan Meeting House," and a Presbyterian Kirk, both of which are very neat and substantial buildings.

The Court-House is by no means an inferior or contemptible building; and its internal arrangements are said to be well-adapted to the purposes for which they were intended.-The Jesuits' College, the Seminary, the Hotel Dieu, the Convent of the Ursulines, the Bishop's Palace, and the Barracks, are the only other buildings of note in the city; and their external appearance is little calculated to attract particular attention.

The Convent of the Ursulines was founded by Madame de la Peltree, in the year 1639, and is at present occupied by a Superior and thirty-six nuns, whose principal employment is the instruction of young females professing the Roman Catholic religion.

The Hotel Dieu was founded in 1637, by the Duchess D'Anguillion, sister of Cardinal Richelieu, and intended for the reception of the poor, and the cure of the sick; the establishment consists of a Superior and thirty-six nuns.

What was formerly the Bishop's Palace, is now converted into a House of Assembly for the Provincial Parliament.

The relative situation of the upper and lower town renders Quebec a most unpleasant residence to all persons whose business requires their attend

ance in various parts of the city. They are obliged to ascend from one part to the other, by long flights of wooden steps; which, in the burning heat of summer, is a task of no easy or agreeable perform

ancé.

The Mercantile houses of Quebec exhibit none of that taste and neatness which are so conspicuous in repositories of the same description in England. Their doors and windows are exactly similar to those of private houses; and, in addition to their mean appearance, they are always dirty, and destitute of any display of goods, except such trumpery as would more readily convey the idea of a brandy-shop or barrack, than that of an extensive warehouse. There is a great variety of taverns, so called, in the city; but, I believe, the Union Hotel is almost the only one at which respectable and comfortable accommodations can be procured. That vanity, which, as Mr. Lambert justly observes, "is a particular trait in the character of all our Trans-atlantic brethren, from the confines of Florida to the shores of Labrador," has induced the inhabitants of Quebec, as well as all other people in America, to designate every filthy brandy-shop and beer-house by the name of TAVErn. As you travel through the country, you may constantly observe houses thus nick-named; but scarcely once a week will you meet with one, whose appearance or accommodations give it any claim to the high-sounding appellation.

The origin of the word QUEBEC is uncertain. Some say, that it was derived from the Algonquin word quebeco or quebec, which signifies contracted; because the St. Lawrence becomes contracted to little more than three quarters of a mile in breadth, immediately opposite the city. Others assert, that it is derived from the Norman language, and that one of the persons who accompanied M. De Champlain, in his expedition up the river, exclaimed, on arriving at that part where the city now stands, "Quel bec, What a point!" A third party are of opinion, that it was derived from the Abenaquis word quelibec, signifying "shut up." The Indians of this nation, who resided at Claudiere, about nine miles from the city, when coming thence, could see nothing of the two channels formed by the Island of Orleans, and therefore concluded, that the river was completely shut up by that island.

The origin of the word CANADA is equally involved in uncertainty. It is said, that the Spaniards visited this country before the French; but, finding it barren, and without gold-the grand object of their pursuit, in tones of disappointment they frequently exclaimed, on the eve of their departure and in the presence of the Indians, " Aca nada,-Here is nothing!" The Indians, on the arrival of the French, supposed them to be Spaniards, and, wishing to get rid of them, continually cried out, "Aca nada!," which the French,

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