citadel, promenaded on Dufferin Ter- race, quenched our thirst at the Fron- tenac, climbed the glacis, walked the parapets, \‘iC\\‘CCl the majestic scene from the King’s Bastion, sauntered over the Plains of Abraham, and circled the city until every spot is known; then, and not until then, shall we drink in enough of the atmosphere, and be in a condition to take an intel~ ligent view of all that surrounds us, awaiting the keen examination that cannot be made in a hasty or superficial manner.

Of the general appearance of Quebec it will be enough to quote from the words of three of its famous visitors. Thoreau wrote: “I rubbed my eyes to be sure I was in the nineteenth century.” Dickens recorded: ”The impression made upon the visitor by this Gibraltar of America, its giddy heights, its citadel suspended, as it were, in the air; its picturesque, steep streets and frowning gate- ways; and the splendid views which burst upon the eye at every turn, is at once unique and lasting," while Henry \\'ard Beecher set down these as his impressions: “Curious, old Quebec! ...... of all the cities on the continent of America, the quaintest ...... \vVe rode about as if we were in a picture book, turning over a new leaf at each street I"

A brief survey of the history of New France, or Eastern Canada, is a necessary preliminary for the full enjoyment of all those things for which Quebec is famed.

Commissioned by Henry VII. of England, (,‘abot sailed west in search of a route to (‘hina and India, and discovered America. This new land he set down as the coast of China. The discovery was not immediately followed up by further exploration or settlement, and not until the year 1534 did Jacques Cartier, the St. Malo navi- gator. make a voyage of discovery for the French sovereign Francis I. The intrepid sailor succeeded in reaching the western continent, or New France, and landed at Gaspé, where he erected a cross with an inscription on it claiming the country for the King of France.

Winter approaching, he made his way home again. Before leaving he had entrapped two natives, and these he took with him as evidence of his success.

In the year 1535 Cartier made a second western voyage, and this time he sailed up the great river which he named the St. Law- rence. At that time the fish were so plentiful that the progress of

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