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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE SUSAN A. E. MORSE
AND
WILLIAM INGLIS MORSE
FUND
For the purchase of
Canadiana

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OLD AND NEW CANADA.
1 753-1844.
HISTORIC SCENES AND SOCIAL PICTURES,
OR
THE LIFE OF
JOSEPH-FRANCOIS PERRAULT.

He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest,
Acts the best. —P.J. Bailey.

Lou'5 P. BENDER, M.D.,
Author of "Literary Sheaves, or La Litterature au Canada Frangais."

DAWSON BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
1882.

Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year 18S2, by
P. Bender, M.D., Quebec, in the office of the Minister of Agri
culture.

TO THE MEMORY

WHO, WHILE OUR LIVES RAN TOGETHER, WAS EVER AN
ABLE TEACHER, A WISE COUNSELLOR, AND A
DELIGHTFUL COMPANION, THESE PAGES
ARE GRATEFULLY AND
AFFECTIONATELY

MnmiUA.

PREFACE.

The present is a hasty and, it is feared, an imperfect
work, designed to carry out a cherished object of the
author, although its production, in the first instance, was
decided upon wholly for the gratification of the relatives
and friends of the late Mr. Perrault. They had frequently
expressed their high regard for his character and their
admiration of his worthy life, and regretted that no literary
memorial existed of a nature to make both better known
to the present generation. In mitigation of any defects
or shortcomings, may fairly be pleaded the writer's limited
leisure, from the call of exacting daily and nightly pro
fessional duties, and the paucity of his materials, greatly
lessened by the wear and tear and accidents of time. Des
pite these disadvantages, he has endeavored to throw all
available light on the character, talents and philanthropic ,
labors of the subject of this memoir, making use of such
published and manuscript matter as could be procured
for the purpose. The author strongly feels, as do
many others, that all means of perpetuating the memory

VI. PREFACE.
of public benefactors, and of recording their important
and honorable actions, should be taken, not only in justice
to them, but also as an example to their successors, who
enjoy the benefits of their labors and sacrifices., Another
object of the biographer has been the presentation of facts of
Canadian history and experiences of pioneer life and travel
in North America, from 1753 to 1844, through a more
interesting medium to the general reader than that of for
mal and elaborate histories. The writer has carefully
verified the dates and statements connected with the
narrative, in introducing such information as may enable
Canadians of to-day to form a more correct and vivid
picture of the periods treated of in this memoir. Should
he even moderately succeed in these and kindred
objects, which need not be here explained, he will deem
the time and effort devoted to this work not a wholly
fruitless outlay.
P. BENDER, M.D.
Quebec, January 20, 1882. '

CONTENTS.

PAGE.
Introductory  xiii.
CHAPTER I.
The Cession of Canada  i
CHAPTER II.
Mr. Perrault's autobiography — Family History  9
CHAPTER III.
Three Rivers — Quebec and environs in 1763 — Social Life 14
CHAPTER IV.
Sailing in the St. Lawrence in 1772 : its perils — Mission
ary Life — Coureurs de bois — Shipwreck at San Do
mingo — Life in the West Indies — Slavery — Dangers
of Cape Florida — New Orleans  20
CHAPTER V.
Travelling by the Mississippi — Scenery — Indian and
other dangers — St. Louis  30
CHAPTER VI.
Mr. Perrault sets out for Virginia — The Ohio — Capture
by Indians — Running the gauntlet twice — Wilderness
Wanderings — Hardships and Perils — Escape to
Detroit  39
CHAPTER VII.
Hon. M. Dupferon Baby — Heroism of Madame Baby —
Detroit — Loyalty of the French Canadians  53

Vlll. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII. PAGE.
Picture of Ville-Marie (Montreal) : its Social Life  58
CHAPTER IX.
Quebec Act of 1774 — Its results  63
CHAPTER X.
The American Revolution of 1775  69
CHAPTER XL
American Invasion : Allen, Arnold and Montgomery —
Attitude of the French-Canadians  73
CHAPTER XII.
Official duties in Quebec — Parliamentary Life — Profes
sional and Literary Labors in Montreal — Broad,
Liberal Views  80
CHAPTER Xin.
Woman: Her Mission — Conjugal Life — Bereavement... 85
CHAPTER XIV.
The Constitutional Act of 1791 — Opinions Respecting it. 89
CHAPTER XV.
Early journalism in Canada — Social Amenities of Old
Rivals — ^Mr. Perrault one of the Founders of the
Literary and Historical Society of Quebec — Great
utility of such societies — Incidents of Life in Quebec. 92
CHAPTER XVI. I
Social reunions in the Capital — Ffetes Champ^tres at
Spencer Wood — Travelling between Quebec and
Montreal in 1818 — Visit of the Micmac Indians to
Quebec towards the end of last century  loi
CHAPTER XVII.
The War of 1812 — Loyalty and Patriotism of the People —
Gen. Brock — Lieut. Col. de Salaberry  111

CONTENTS. ix.
CHAPTER XVIII. PAGE.
Grateful and Affectionate Recollections  I2i
CHAPTER XIX.
Personal appearance of Mr. Perrault— His habits  126
CHAPTER XX.
Anecdotes— Characteristic Traits  130
CHAPTER XXI.
Chateau Bigot : its Souvenirs and Associations  13S
CHAPTER XXII.
Popular Education — Mr. Perrault's Sacrifices and Enter
prise — Hon. James McGill and Dr. Morrin : Pro
moters of Intellectual Education  ; . . 148
CHAPTER XXIIL
Mr. Perrault's Educational experiments — Establishment of
his Free Schools — Opinipns respecting them, of com
petent authorities  ,  154
CHAPTER XXIV.
Statistics of the state of Educationin Ontario and Quebec 162
CHAPTER XXV.
Mr. Perrault's Projects of Law in 1841 — Free Elementary
Education ; Franchise to the educated ; Trades to be
taught in school ; Compulsory attendance ; Industrial
and Agricultural Education combined with Scholas
tic Institutions ; Civil Service Examinations ; Agri
cultural Colleges and Model-Farms ; Houses of
Industry — Abolition of Mendicancy  168
CHAPTER XXVI.
Education for the Dominion — Zeal of the Hon. G6d6on
Ouimet — Valuable services of his ex-deputy, Dr.
Miles — A recent aad useful friend to education, Hon.
W. W. Lynch  178

X. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVII. page.
Mr. Perrault's Home, Asyle Champfitre, and Family
Circle — His Hospitality and Liberality — New- Year's
Customs  185
CHAPTER XXVIII.
View of Quebec environs from Chateau St. Louis — De
scription of St. Louis and Ste. Foye Roads, Falls of
Montmorency, and " Natural Steps." 193
CHAPTER XXIX.
First Visit of the Cholera to Canada — General Suffering —
Great Mortality — Remedial and Benevolent Measures
— Dr. Perrault, son of Mr. Perrault, one of the Victims 203
CHAPTER XXX.
The Troubles of 1837 — Constitutional Reforms  209
CHAPTER XXXI.
Lakes Beauport and Berryman — Their Enchanting
Scenery  219
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Union of the Provinces — Its Results — Confederation
— Sir George Cartier — Sir Etienne Tachfe  225
CHAPTER XXXin.
Mile. Reine Perrault — Hon. Louis Panet's Residence —
Coucy le Castel — F^tes Champfitres — Genuine Hos
pitality — Characteristic Scene  231
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Advantages and Importance of Immigration to Canada
recognized and urged by Mr. Perrault — Natural
Wealth and Prospects of the Province  238
CHAPTER XXXV.
Little River Road — Route Misfere — Lorette Falls —
Chateau d'Eau  247

CONTENTS. Xl,
CHAPTER XXXVI. page.
¦Quebec, its progress, embellishments and future pros
pects — Earl of Dufferin's artistic and systematic
scheme of improvements— Railway and other enter
prises — Provincial Agriculture  256
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Mr. Perrault's Habits of Life and Domestic System—
His death — Family Necrology  265
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Tributes to the Works and Character of Mr. Perrault  270
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Conclusion  281
Appendix  286

ERRATA.
At p. S, 13th line, after " de," read " St. Veran and de L^vis," instead ot
" de Livis & St. V^ran."
At p. 6, 3rd line, "Prince Edward Island" is a misprint.
At p. 14, in title of chapter read '• 1763 " for " 1673."
At p. 29, 6th line, after '* founded in," read " 1717 by a Canadian, de
Bienville." LeMoine d'Iberville founded the colony of Louisiana in 1699.
At p. p. 36, 39, 40, *' Kaskaskia " is wrongly spelled.
At p. 160, 20th line, read " 1828 " instead of " 1820."
At p. 259, i6th line, after " Quebep Central," read " Ldvis and Kennebec
Railway."

INTRODUCTORY.

Men, usually styled great, write their own history in
making a permanent impression upon the men and transac
tions of their time, which prevents the possibility of their
importance being overlooked, or their actions forgotten.
With good men it is otherwise. The virtue of humility
enters largely into their character, and the merit of
much of what they accomplish consists in the privacy
of their designs, efforts and sacrifices. They " do good
by stealth, and blush to find it fame." But the historian,
who is desirous of rendering justice to the most meri
torious spirits of the community, to the living and dead,
feels compelled, however retiring they may have been, to
bring their characters and careers honestly within the full
full view of the public, on moral grounds affecting both
present and future interests. For such reasons, as well
as with the desire to throw all possible light upon the early
history of the ancient province of Lower Canada and its
political, social and educational systems, the writer pur
poses to give a sketch, however brief and imperfect, of the
life of the late Joseph-Frangois Perrault, whose name to
the older inhabitants of the capital and province, can not

xiv. INTRODUCTORY.
fail to recall grateful recollections and patriotic impressions.
Citizens, who remember him, will readily admit that his
benevolent labors and aspirations have not received that
justice from the annalist and historian which is due to
his services, and that his memory has not been cherished
by the public with adequate affection. Philanthropists
deserve the highest praise and honor, as well for their
projects and hopes as for their actual achievements. In
fact, no spectacle can be more touching to any sympathetic
mind than worthy schemes but partially realized; not
through any want of ability or zeal on the part of their
authors, but from a lack of those means, which alone after
all, can move and maintain in effective operation the great
social machinery of our age. It was thus that some of the
most deserving and promising schemes of the subject of
this biography failed wholly, or in part, to realize his ex
pectations, and those of his most hopeful well-wishers. But
on other grounds the life of this eminently patriotic
citizen commands the attention of the present generation.
He was a link between the old and new rigime, between
the past and present century — a man born and brought
up during the most eventful years of the age gone by,
when the fate of this continent was decided for all time, — -
when the old European systems of government, with their
political relations, tottered and fell before the mighty forces
of modern revolution and Anglo-Saxon enterprise. None
can doubt that the most important and striking events, not
only from a social but a national point of view, which
constitute part of the history of this contest, marked the
latter half of the last century. Notwithstanding that the ,
hardy French Canadian trappers and pioneers had made
their way, by the most daring and patient efforts, to

INTRODUCTORY. XV.
the base of the Rocky Mountains, had penetrated to the
head-waters of the Mississippi, Ohio and Illinois, and
descended to their outlets ; had explored the wilderness
and the prairies to the utmost limit of the great Hudson
Bay regions, north and west; had with inimitable
daring and heroism planted the J?eur de lis of France
at every important strategical point, along those great
water-ways of North America, from Quebec to New
Orleans, thus evincing a vitality and courage, inspired
by a laudable religious and material enterprise, worthy of
any race or any age — still, in 1753, French rule in North
America, with its military pageantry and its peculiar social
and mediaeval ideas, usages and establishments, was
crumbling to the dust, and the French political systems
in their oldest seats no less than at this historical
capital, Quebec, were undermined and paralyzed by
such vices, corruption and incompetence as stained the
reputation of that Intendant Bigot, whose administration
will enjoy an immortality of infamy, from the society
which it demoralized and the country which it ruined.

OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER L
The Cession op Canada.
Although the plan of this work does not embrace an
elaborate description of the period at which Mr. Perrault
first saw the light, or anything like a full record of the
historical events, contemporaneous with his early years,
it will be the endeavor of the author to give a sketch,
however short, to afford some idea of the impressions
which they were calculated to produce on the mind of
even a youth of that day and to illustrate the condition of
the country. All living in Canada, between the decline
of the French and the succession of the English regime,
could not fail to be powerfully affected by the mighty
events of those eras, which were of a nature to leave per
manent traces upon the characters of even the most
indifferent. Shortly before the great French and English armies,
whose collision was to decide the fate of this continent,
were marshalling their forces for the grand encounter on
the Plains of Abraham, M. Louis Perrault, the father of
the subject of this work, removed with his family to
Three Rivers. He, with keen prescience, formed such
an estimate of the character of the coming struggle as to
deem it wise to take this course, in order to exempt his
household from the dangers and hardships of a siege, to
1

a OLD AND NEW CANADA.
which the citizens of the chief stronghold of France in
the New World were doomed to be subjected. Events
speedily proved the wisdom of this determination. Mean
time, for a considerable period before the actual outbreak
of hostilities, everything portended the early beginning of
that war, which was finally to decide the old and momen
tous question, as to whether the French or English sys
tem of government should prevail on this Northern conti
nent. It is impossible, at this period of the nineteenth
century, to realize the feelings with which the Enghsh
or French of 1755 regarded the coming struggle. Its
causes were numerous, potent and not a few of them
ancient, and it is not strange that both they and the stirring
events to which they led have afforded an abundance
of interesting material to the historian, poet, novelist
and philosopher. Among the principal incentives to
the contest may be mentioned that long-standing national
rivalry and antipathy, which for centuries had marked
and marred the relations of the two leading states of
Europe, which might have accomplished so much more
for the welfare of their peoples and the cause of civiliza
tion, throughout the world, by such a policy of mutual
respect and friendship,' as they have happily pursued dur
ing the last thirty years. French and English, in the first
part of the eighteenth century, intrigued, plotted and
fought against each other with as much energy and bitter
ness as in the prime of Le Grand Monarque; their chief
ambition being the destruction of one another by the inflic
tion of the severest disasters by sea and land. Their
armies deluged central Europe with blood, while their
fleets shattered and destroyed each other on every sea.
Each in turn rejoiced over victories and writhed under

OLD AND NEW CANADA. , 3
defeats ; both as certainly succeeding in adding enormously
to their debts and the sufferings of their populations.
In the East and West Indies, England had wrested from
France some of her fairest colonies and gained important
naval victories ; almost to the destruction of the latter's
marine, before the great death wrestle for the supremacy
in North America, in which Canada was more particularly
concerned, commenced. The attention of the English
and French colonists had long been firmly and sternly
fixed upon each other in connection with the absorbing,
pohtical and mihtary problems, as to which race should
rule this continent; which should possess the free and
unmolested use of its great rivers, lakes and other com
mercial routes to the north, west and south ; which should
have the benefit of the future settlement of the virgin forests
and prairies and the development of their vast resources.
..Even at that early day, the importance of building up a
great colonial empire in North America, with French, or
EngUsh connections, was clearly appreciated by all, in
both the Old and New World. The two races then girded
themselves for the contest with a gallantry and determin
ation worthy of their past and of the magnificent prize
for which they had long striven. The eyes of the French
and Enghsh colonists were eagerly turned to their mother-
countries for that sympathy and practical aid so necessary
to success. The conditions of the belligerents were
peculiar and their chances strikingly unequal. Both col
onies were founded under circumstances which developed
the vigorous and martial qualities of the transplanted races,
and stimulated their self-relianee and energies to the
utmost. They had each greatly gained, physically and
morally, by the stem discipline of life in the wilderness

4 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
and upon the great rivers and lakes, where, amidst toils
and perils innumerable, their ingenuity and endurance
were constantly put to the severest strain. But the Brit
ish colonists entered upon the war with every advantage,
apparently, in their favor ; although the American militia
were often justly censured for apathy in these colonial
contests, and for unfairly throwing upon the British
soldier, the chief burden of the war. Their superiority
and ultimate success were, howewer, largely due to that
sympathy and assistance, in men and money, granted by
Great Britain, which far exceeded any aid given the
Canadians by Old France, and enabled their enemies to
overcome them, considerably earlier than would no doubt
otherwise have been possible. Besides, the whole Cana
dian colony did not, in 1755, exceed 80,000 souls; their
rivals to the south numbered about 3,000,000, and pos
sessed a naturally richer country and greater resources '
and powers of aggression. The illustrious war minister,
Pitt, the elder, proved the mighty ally of the Anglo-Saxon
colonists, arousing in Great Britain the warmest zeal in
their cause, and promptly sending them well-equipped
armies and supplies. And England resolved to subdue
the Canadians, feeble in means and number, harassed and
impoverished by profligate and dishonest administrations,
and disheartened by the miserable neglect of the ignorant,
corrupt and incompetent government of Louis XV. As
some offset, however, to these disadvantages, the French
colonists had the good fortune to possess abler and more
daring commanders than the British, in the earUer years
of the war, and a more powerful force of Indian allies. With
these means at hand, existed a method of marshalling or
"making soldiers" in a prompt and effective manner.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. &
which enabled them, notwithstanding the numerical ani
other advantages of their enemies, to gain material suc
cesses, with only the result, however, of embittering and^
prolonging the strife, which, in the nature of things, could.
not but end in the way finally witnessed.
The " seven years'" war formally began in 1756, when
France, Austria and Russia entered the lists against.
England and Prussia. Among the greatest advantages
which the latter powers possessed at the time, were the-
guiding spirit of Pitt, and the military genius of Frederick
the Great. The campaign of 1756, in Canada terminated-
in favor of the French, who were ably led by Montcalm,.
de Levis and St. Veran. They had no opponent worthy
of their splendid abilities and dash in the feeble Aber-
combie and his colleagues, on the British and American
side. Montcalm opened the contest by a clever feint and
rapid march on Oswego, from whose bastions the British
commanded Lake Ontario. Abercrombie, then at the head
of a considerable force, remained inactive at Albany,
and in a short time, Montcalm captured Oswego, more
than 1600 men, a number of vessels and valuable war
material and stores. The struggle, with varying results,
continued to 1757, the French gaining the principal suc
cesses, including the capture of Fort William Henry, oni
Lake George, so well known in romance and border
story. Notwithstanding these successes it was very evi
dent to all observant on-lookers that a crisis was impending,,
for the French were reduced to the greatest straits from
short crops and neglect of all trade ; cases of starvation
were numerous and the consequent scenes heart-rending.
Various operations marked the campaign of 1758. At
the outset a gleam of success flashed upon the British

b OLD AND NEW CANADA.
arms at Louisbourg, the capture of which fortress gave
them complete possession of Cape Breton and Isle Royale
(Prince Edward Island) ; but Abercrombie' s wretched
failure to take Carillon (Ticonderoga), shortly afterwards,
¦owing to the superior generalship of Montcalm and the
Itravery of his soldiers, was a source of great humiliation
to England.
While France was neglecting the most earnest appeals
•of her colonists for assistance, and at a time when hundreds
were dying of starvation in Quebec, England was making
lierculean exertions to excite the courage and energies of
hers for a grand and decisive blow. In a short time the
French were driven to act upon the defensive, on the
lakes and elsewhere the British were advancing and obtain
ing substantial successes. Forts Frontenac (Kingston)
and Niagara, which commanded the inland waters, were
captured. Fort Duquesne (Pitt) was abandoned by the
French, owing to a rapid and skilful march on the part of
Colonel Washington, who planted the British flag on its
ramparts. Carillon and Crown Point soon became English
prizes, but these minor operations at the different gateways
to Canada were destined only to direct attention to the
grand citadel and centre of French dominion, Quebec.
Montcalm was enjoined by his government to resist the
enemy, and preserve, at all hazards, at least a foothold in
Canada. His reply was that he would " save the country
or die in the attempt," — a promise he literally carried
out. Tn the spring of 1759, the English fleet, sailed up
the St. Lawrence and anchored before Quebec. The
battle of Beauport took place on the 31st July, when the
English were signally repulsed. For nearly six weeks
Quebec was besieged, but the assailants gained no advan-

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 7
tage, for the military foresight of Montcalm seems to have
forestalled every movement. But the genius of Major-
General Wolfe, who commanded the English forces,
suggested to him a bold scheme, apparently impossible
of realization, but which was successfully carried out
— the scaling of the heights at the cove, since called
Wolfe's Cove — on the 13th September. By daylight, the
English were in possession of the Plains of Abraham,
threatening the only weak point in the defence of the city
with an army of 4,828 men, eager, for an encounter with
their traditional enemy. Montcalm, without hesitation,
tbok up the gauntlet thrown down by his rival and met
him on the field with a force of 7,520 men, many of whorri,
however, were half famished and imperfectly armed. The
operations of each army were equally honorable to its
commander and its soldiers ; the most heroic deeds on
the British side being offset by the gallantry of the French.
Wolfe was killed on the battle field and Montcalm suc
cumbed to his wounds the following day. The dying
words of both, which evidenced deep patriotic love of
country, are known to all and need not be repeated here.
Montcalm's appeal on his death-bed to Gen. Townshend,
the successor of Wolfe, to befriend the French-Canadians,
is touching and worthy of his generous heart. The loss
of two such heroes were national misfortunes, but the
great struggle in which they passed away ended the long
and stubborn rivalry for the possession of North America.
In the following spring, de L^vis, at the head of nearly
7,000 men, attempted to surprise Quebec, but the Enghsh
had been informed of his intention, by an unfortunate
gimner, who had escaped accidental drowning by climb
ing a hummock of ice, which floated him past the city.

8 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
After his rescue, in his delirium before death, he divulged
the secret of the intended attack. Murray, at the head
of over three thousand men, left the city on the 28th
of April to meet the coming enemy, and was defeated
after a hard fought battle. The French then invested the
city ; but on the 15 th of May, when both armies were daily
expecting reinforcements, vessels bearing the English flag
were seen rounding Pointe Levy. The French general
hastily retreated to Montreal, leaving behind him his
camp equipage and munitions of war. The last days of
the French rigime were fast closing ; three Enghsh armies
surrounded Montreal, and when it capitulated on the Sth
of September, 1760, Mr. Perrault was seven years of age.

OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER II.
Mr. Perrault's Autobiography — Family History.
It has often been remarked by the biographer and phil
osopher that, through some strange fate, or regrettable
series of accidents, the most interesting materials of his
tory and biography have been lost, only barren dates and
unsuggestive landmarks remaining with regard to events
and personages, the most trifling circumstances in relation
to whom are now regarded with the deepest concern. It
is desirable that all should know more of such facts and
of the illustrious men who have passed away. Nothing
could give greater proof of the hold men take upon their
fellows than that absorbing interest, which will not be sat
isfied with anything short of the amplest information. The
great of both ancient and modem times have afforded the
spectacle of admirers endeavoring, from the slightest shreds
of biographical knowledge and the merest hints of char
acter, thrown out by their writings and actions, to portray
likenesses, which do faint justice to the originals, but at
any rate, create the desire for more intimate acquaintance
ship with characters who have won the highest place in
the esteem of mankind.
These well known facts are recalled by the experience
of the author in regard to Mr. Perrault, who, while his
sincerest admirers do not claim for him more than his actual
merits, cannot help/egretting the difficulty in his case, also
with respect to the scantiness of material for the biog
raphy, at different important periods of his life. Not-

10 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
withstanding that many of his friends, for years before he
died, showed great concern in the incidents of his boy
hood and manhood, he abstained from giving the requi
site data, supplying only the barest skeleton of an autobiog
raphy to meet the urgent requests preferred on the subject.
Unfortunately the present writer has at his disposal only
such scraps of information and fragments of reminiscences
as were thus left, with some contributions from relations
and friends, who failed not to accompany them with the
assurance that they could not fully illustrate his character
and talents.
Although his name, at one time, was as familiar as a
household word, to the older generation, fast disappear
ing, many pleasing anecdotes, which centered around his
personaHty, have been unfortunately lost. From the few
which have been rescued from obhvion, however, there
are many indications of a peculiar originality and force Of
character on the part of Mr. Perrault, which attracted
notice in his lifetime, often excited no little amuse
ment and furnished the theme of general and friendly
remark. With even these details a fair picture may be
presented to this generation of a man, who undoubtedly
should not be overlooked or forgotten by any impartial
historian or thoughtful citizen of Quebec.
Mr. Perrault's autobiography, written in the French
language, deserves a careful perusal, not only bn account
of the pleasing character of its story, but of the style of
its writer, which is marked by a quaintness and idiomatic
force and a candor, which rivet the attention of the reader
from the beginning to the end. One is no less charmed
by its conciseness than its vigor ; some of the expressions
and turns of thought reminding us of the style in vogue

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 11
in the days of Louis XIV, and being amusing from their
naivete and quiet humor. These merits are the more
remarkable, inasmuch as this autobiography was written
at the patriarchal age of eighty-one, and " without spec
tacles," as the writer ingenuously says, on the title page ;
an age when the faculties of the majority of men are hope
lessly weakened and thoroughly incapable of any sustained,
clear and vigorous effort. It is also but fair to mention,
that his object in writing this sketch was not any vulgar
desire of self-laudation, but a polite and loyal wish to
gratify his friend. Lord Aylmer, the Governor-General,
who manifested a great interest in his life and labors.
There is reason to believe its publication was desired by
Lord Aylmer, not only to appreciate well-meant and suc
cessful efforts, but to create a spirit of emulation in others,
who had equal and even greater means of benefitting
their fellow-citizens, and upon whom they, as far as duty
was concerned, had even stronger claims. As a specimen
of Mr. Perrault's hterary style, and in illustration of his
feelings and motives, an extract from the first page is here
inserted :
" A son Excellence le ires honorable Matthew Lord
Aylmer, Gouverneur en chef du Bas et du Haut
Canada, etc., etc., etc.
My Lord, —
II ne peut y avoir que le desir de vous plaire qui ait pu
m' engager a vous detailler la vie d'un sujet aussi mince
que moi; tout le merite qu'aura cette narration sera d'etre
vraie dans toutes ses parties ; les Svenements de ma vie
n'otit rien d 'extraordinaire si ce n'est sa longueur, la jouis-
sance pleine et entiere de mes facultes intellectuelles et cor-
porelles a un age ou presque tous les hommes en sont

12 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
dSpourvus; ce que je dois a la lecture, dans ma jeunesse,
d'un traite sur la longiviti dans lequel I'auteur avangait
deux propositions qui me sont restees prof ondement gravies
dans r esprit, ' que la temp ir ance et la sobriiti itaient le
fondement de la longevite, et procuraient deux avan-
tages de la derniere importance, celui du Salut et de la
Sant*:.'
"y^ puis dire avec veriti que je n'ai jamais perdu de
vue ces deux grands moyens et que j'ai constamment
travaille depuis I 'age de vingt ans a devenir vieux. fai
bien riussi, j' en atteste tous ceux qui me connaissent et ils
conviendront qu'il n'y a pas d 'homme de mon age qui soil
plus dispos, plus laborieux, plus actif et plus gai que moi,
a I' age de quatre-vingts ans que je parcoure depuis le
premier Juin, i"] ^7,, jour de ma tiaissance."
Thus with the good taste and modesty, pecuhar to Mr.
Perrault, he dedicates his work to Lord Aylmer and
apologizes that his life presented no record of extraordin
ary events ; its most remarkable features being its length,
the historic importance of the period it covers and the
enjoyment of his intellectual and bodily powers at an age
when most 'men are deprived of them. He attributes
these advantages to the observance of a principle set
forth in a treatise, by an Englishman named Thomas
Parr, better known as " old Parr," (who died at the ad
vanced age of nearly one hundred and fifty-three years),
which he had read in early life, namely, that " temperance
and sobriety were the foundation of longevity, and tended
to one's moral and spiritual advantage."
As stated in the above extract, Mr. Perrault was bom
on the ist of June, 1753 ; he was educated at the Quebec

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 13
Seminary. His grand-father, Francois Perrault, was a
French foreign merchant, son of Dr. Joseph-Franpois
Perrault, who practised surgery in the city of Cosne, sur
Loire, Diocese d'Osaire. He came to Canada at the
beginning of the last century, where he married Mile.
Carey, daughter of Mr. Page Carey, a burgess of
Canada, on the 22nd November, 1715. The issue was
five boys and two girls ; four of the former followed com
mercial pursuits and the fifth entered holy orders. One of
the daughters married and the other died a spinster at an
advanced age. The subject of this sketch says he knew
them all well ; that the eldest son lived in Quebec, and
with his father did a large peltry business, and owned
real estate in the Lower Town.* Another son settled
in Three Rivers ; the priest became a canon in the .
Quebec Cathedral and Vicar-General of the diocese ; one,
a maritime merchant, commanded a trading vessel, but
was ruined by its capture by the English and became an
overseer of a plantation at Cap Francois, San Domingo,
then a French colony, where he amassed a large fortune,
and afterwards settled in New Orleans.
*Their stores occupied the locality upon Tvhich now stands the building
where are the offices of Messrs. McGee and others. Mr. J. M. LeMoine, the
author of many interesting^ works on Canada, has in his possession several
important letters bearings upon colonial and French, matters, written imme
diately after the cession and addressed to M. Perrault, Vaini.

14 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER III.
Three Rivers — Quebec and Environs in 1673 — Social
Life.
Whilst Mr. Perrault, senior, was at Three Rivers, he
had the misfortune, in 1759, of losing his wife, Marie-
Josephte Baby, daughter of Mr. Raymond Baby and
Th^rese le Comte Dupre, the mother of Mr. Perrault, who,
with all the other members of the family, felt her loss
greatly. Thus an important domestic link was gone, and
the children were more liable to disperse in pursuit of the
usual objects of life ; nor was it to be wondered at that,
ere many years, thousands of miles of sea and land,
separated the different members of this family.
At this period. Three Rivers was by no means a large
settlement, but its situation was attractive and its scenery in
the neighborhood picturesque. It was a trading post of
some consequence between Quebec and Montreal and the
different stations on the inland waters, and was a halting
place for the voyageurs and fur traders who there exchanged
the fruits of their expeditions. Religious institutions and
business estabhshments suitable to the wants of the early
inhabitants were numerous at this point. "Its important
iron mines, discovered in 1737, afforded then an encour
aging prospect to the inhabitants.*
*"TheiVo?i Tvorks, which is the only one in this country, lies three miles to
the west of Trots-Rivieres. Here are two great forges, besides two lesser
ones to each of the great ones, and under the same roof with them." (Travels
into North America, by Peter Kalm in 1749).

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 15
After the Treaty of Paris, 1763, when order and tran
quility had been restored, Mr. Perrault's father returned
to Quebec with his family.
Although the military supremacy of France had disap
peared in North America, the social and religious sys
tems set up in the days of Champlain and Monseigneur
de Laval took firmer root than ever and continued to
spread and strengthen with the growth of the population.
The colony was, however, still struggling with the diffi
culties resulting from the recent change in masters
and political bouleversement, and Mr. Perrault met many
examples of the natural preference for old French insti
tutions and for a sovereign and national connection more
in harmony with the feelings and religion of the population.
Many, like Mr. Perrault's father, looked to France for
guidance in matters political, social and philosophical ; but
the habitants were beginning to feel the benefits of the
change. At the time of the cession they had become
weary of wars, which compelled them to leave their fields
untilled to do miUtary duty, often at great distances. Now
they frequented the city, bringing thither their produce,
which they disposed of at their own prices, instead of at
the rates fixed by the Intendants. They also enjoyed
reasonable protection and were not molested by the
soldiery. The political disabilities, under which the Canadian
noblesse who remained in the country suffered, were a
source of discontent, but when the kindly disposition of
George III towards them became known, they determined
to give the new regime a fair trial, and to return the good
intentions of the British government with at least a hearty
and loyal tmst.

16 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
Quebec at this time was a city, interesting not only
from the historical events of which it had been the theatre,
but from the social character of its inhabitants. The
people often met together at " the festive board," or for
an evening's enjoyment, co-operating for the public wel
fare, and working for the advancement of the interests of
the city. The ancient capital presented but few remark
able pubhc buildings, elegant mansions or imposing relig
ious edifices, and the ruins of some of its substantial and
unpretending structures gave striking evidence of the
destructive effects of the cannonade, to which it had been
exposed during the late military operations. The Chateau
St. Louis, as all who take an interest in the ancient features
of Quebec are aware, commanded the city from the position
now occupied by Durham Terrace, and at the head
of Mountain Hill stood the imposing edifice of the
Bishop's Palace. There were then no Champlain nor St.
Paul Streets,* no suburbs of St. Roch nor St. Sauveur,
and houses were thinly scattered about the rocky and
uneven slopes and plateaux of the Upper Town ; patches
of field, garden and shrubbery being conspicuously
numerous. The features of the Lower Town mainly con
sisted of a collection of old-fashioned, high-roofed, solid
shops and dwelling houses, clustering under the rock
in front of Mountain Hill, and along St. Peter Street,
east and west, facing the river, extending for some distance
on Sault-au-Matelot Street, in the direction of the Palais ;
and thence north-west along Prince Edward and adjoining
streets, nearest the river. Facing the Lower Town mar
ket-place was the little chapel oi Notre Dames des Victoires,
but seriously damaged by the bombardment from Pointe
* The tide reached almost to the base of the rock.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 17
L^vy, and at the foot of Palais Hill, the Intendant' s
Palace, one of the finest buildings in the city.*
The little rocky lanes and alley^, connecting the Lower
with the Upper Town, had been but sparsely built upon,
but the localities in the vicinity of Hope, Palace, St. John
and St. Louis Gates had already been fairly covered with
houses of different dimensions and pretentions to archi
tecture. On the higher ground, in the vicinity of the old
market-place, opposite the Basilica, were the church and
convent of the Ricollets, the Jesuits' College, lately demol
ished, the Ursuline Convent and Chapel, and Seminary,
and spreading in different directions a good number of
houses ; and the outlines of streets now well known for
comfortable domiciles were already marked out. Then,
as now, a few successful merchants and men of means •
had selected the quieter and more commanding sites of
the Cape ; but the taste for what some have called domes
tic isolation, and others showy display, had not developed
to even the modest proportions afterwards observed.
Men then and for many subsequent years, comfortable
in circumstances and enterprising, contented themselves
with modest abodes above, or in the immediate vicinity of
their shops and offices, in the Lower Town.f For the
most part, St. Roch and St. Sauveur, now thickly studded
with houses and lined with busy thoroughfares, presented
aspects of thickets and verdant swamps, the resort of
game of different kinds, and served to offset the city as it
* ... This is a large pavillion, the two extremities of which pro
ject some feet; and to which you ascend by a double flight of stairs. The
garden front which faces the Little River, which is very nearly on a level
with it, is much more agreeable than that by which you enter, etc., etc. —
Charlevoix. f The aristocratic portion of the city was in the Lower Town.
2

18 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
comoactly stood in its present central section, encircled by
the ramparts, all of which that remain are now objects of
deep interest to the tourist and antiquarian.
The year that followed the estabhshment of the Eng
lish government, witnessed vigorous efforts by the troops
and municipal authorities to repair the damages of the
war, and improve the conveniences and aspects of the
city, as well as secure its safety. The ancient rains were
removed, new streets opened up, useful buildings for the
civil and military authorities erected and requisite addi
tions to the fortifications to increase their strength. As
might be expected, the contingency of a fresh struggle,
at no distant day, for the possession of this commanding
point on the St. Lawrence, was not absent from the minds
of the leading men of that time.
Outside the ancient city itself, but little had been done
by the hand of man to change the original aspects of
nature. Whether the traveller proceeded to the lofty up
lands of the St. Louis road, commanding the much ad
mired and striking view of the St. Lawrence, and the
Pointe Levy Heights on the one side, or to the Ste.
Foye road, affording a prospect of the picturesque and
far-sweeping valley of the St. Charles, Lorette Hills, and
the Montmorency Falls on the other, with their noble setting
of green and blue mountains, there was everything to ex
cite the feelings of the lover of nature. Though these
localities had been so recently trodden by hostile armies,
they showed no great change from fheir ordinary state.
The elevations on the northern side of the city en
abled the beholder to trace for miles the St. Charles,
with the Hopital Giniral on its southern bank, (the
most imposing building outside the city limits), winding

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 19
gracefully to its outlet, and to admire the thick belts of
forest in the valley and on the dark hills, here and there
varied by slight openings and clearances, effected by the
earlier and hardier pioneers. A few scores of cabins
dotted at long distances the great sweep of valley, hill
and upland, perceptible from the higher localities beyond
the city, while the great river seemed even more majestic
in its primitive loneliness, as it flowed aroi;nd the imposing
point of Cape Diamond to the bold southern shore of
Levy, and thence onward to the beautiful Island of
Orleans, even at that time famed for its natural charms
and fertility, as well as for its valuable contributions ter
the vital resources of the colony. The general effect of
the panoramic scenery visible from the capital and its
rural suburbs, was impressive in the highest sense.
Omamentation, accessories of art and the attractive
elements of civilization were absent from the picture,-
but only to bring out with more exciting and ravishing
effect the real grandeur of its principal features, its
world-renowned mountains and valleys, its graceful hills
and grand river, forming as regards every combination
and contrast pictures of unrivalled beauty and magnifi
cence.

l20 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER IV.
"Sailing in the St. Lawrence in 1772 ; Its Perils-t-
MissioNARY Life — Coureurs de bois — Shipwreck at
San Domingo — Life in the West Indies — Slavery —
Dangers of Cape Florida — New Orleans.
Travelling in the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Ocean in
the latter part of the last century was wholly different from
that of the present age of fast steamships and comfortable
and well fitted-out merchantmen. However stout and
stanch were the vessels of those earlier times, they were
but minnows in comparison with the huge leviathans of
our days, built with every regard to health and comfort,
to strength and speed ; and their difficulties and dangers
were infinitely more numerous, not only by reason of their
smaller size and less effective equipments, but on account
of the total absence of those guides and monitors of danger,
which the admirable charts and lighthouses of the present
day furnish. In the old times everything was rade,
" rough and ready," the lack of proper means and appli
ances having to be made up by the resources and skill
and hardihood of the ill-paid and often badly treated sea
men. The experience of the traveller, therefore, contrasted
sharply with that of our time, as do the life and profes
sional abiUty of the seamen of the two periods respectively.
Voyages that now take days, then consumed as many
weeks, while the waste of time and ennui of the passengers,
were rendered still more vexatious by the indifferent accom
modation and wretched fare.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 21
A few years after his return to Quebec from Three.
Rivers, Mr. Perrault, senior, was, like many other business
men, called to France, by the demands of trade, whence-
he shortly afterwards proceeded with the same object to-
New Orleans. So successful were his operations in the
latter city, that in 1772 he requested his family to join
him there.
The vessel, in which Mr. Perrault, jun., with his brothers
and sisters, sailed from Quebec, was one of those stanch
traders, used to battling the tempests and ice-ber^s of the
lower St. Lawrence and the storms of the Atlantic and
Mexican gulf. Instead of the continuous line of peaceful
settlements and pleasant farm-steads and modest churches,
which, on both sides of the St. Lawrence, now attract the
attention of the tourist, the country was almost a wilder
ness. After passing Isle Verte, an occasional settler's log
cabin or a cluster of unattractive shanties, around some
unpretentious village church, were the only objects which
relieved the monotony of the solitude, and formed a con
trast with the wild and imposing scenes of nature.
Islands and shores, now ahve with hardy, enterprising,
fishing populations, whose fast-sailing boats, incessantly
thread the mazes and cross the wide channels of the great
river, impressed the beholder only with a sense of loneli
ness and desolation. Nature in all her grandeur and
variety, attracted the eye and charmed the spirit, but man, •
art and civiUzation had not yet penetrated the sohtary
regions, known only to the zealous missionary, bent upon
propagating the truths of Christianity, or the indefatigable
coureur de bois, in search of peltries and adventure.
But for the religious zeal and self-devotion, not unmixed
with a spirit of patriotism, which animated the missionaries

22 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
of old France, even the slight and occasional evidences of
civihzation which early in the last century challenged the
notice of the traveller, in the most remote and dangerous
regions, could not have been possible. Religious fervor
nerved their hearts and inspired their labors, stimulating
them to disregard all thoughts of personal discomfort,
danger, or mishaps, in contrast with the noble objects that
exalted their lives. In a very able work, " The Con
spiracy of Pontiac," by F. Parkman, containing graphic
and eloquent pictures of the many acts of self-devotion
of these zealous pioneers of Christianity, and important
details in connection with the most striking events of
last century, is found a passage in which it is truly said :
" The path of the missionary was a thorny and bloody
one ; and a life of weary apostleship was often crowned
with a frightful martyrdom."
The character and life of the coureur de bois were also
among the principal features of those old half-savage times;
his hardihood, love of adventure, restlessness and valuable
services in exploring distant forests and lonely water
courses, constituted an important factor in the early
discovery of the physical characteristics and material
resources of the vast, mysterious region stretching from
the St. Lawrence to the Rocky Mountains on the one side
and the delta of the Mississippi on the other. Ever in con
tact with the wild influences of nature, on the alert for
game, or adventure, and commingling with the savage
tribes of the wilderness, his character became wholly
changed, from that of the contented, industrious settler of
either New England or the St. Lawrence. Neither white
man nor Indian, in the strict sense of the word, he rapidly
acquired the sterner and wilder traits of both races;

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 23
gradually, however, in many respects more closely approach
ing the nature and habits of the aborigines, into one of
whose tribes he not seldom finally merged by marriage,
adoption, or some of the various usages of that peculiar
race. Life on board ship, scenery in all its original and varied
aspects, perils by sea and dangers by land, the incidents
and experiences of such an age and such a region were
wholly different from anything familiar in our days. And
it is not surprising that in the early part of Mr. Perrault's
life, when his mind was so impressible, that the events
of this voyage, with its new and strange sensations
were never forgotten, and that in after-life when exposed
to still stranger and more stirring incidents, they recurred
to him again and again, like a passing dream, in all their
melodramatic features. The vessel and its Hving freight
having safely passed the manifold dangers of the gulf,
headed for its destination. After several days of unevent
ful sailing, at an early hour one afternoon, the watchful
eye of the master detected, a little above the eastern
horizon, the peculiar form of a cloud, which always, in
those latitudes, foretells approaching dangers. This tell
tale monitor quickly enlarged; hands were immediately
ordered to take in sail, leaving but close-reefed top-sails.
Hardly were these precautions taken, when suddenly
there was " a stiffening of the wind," which rapidly in
creased to a hurricane; the sky became obscured, the
lightnings flashed, and the thunders rolled. Soon the vessel
was the hapless victim of the full fury of the storm ; wholly
at its mercy, with every timber strained to the utmost, she
was hurled wherever winds and waves in their wild conflict
and frenzy Usted. The luckless crew and passengers.

24 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
the former zealously obeying the orders of the captain, and
the latter in their cabins fervently appealing to Heaven,
awaited the result. Through storm and darkness, the
weary barque was thus driven, none knowing what might be
their fate, and all patiently resigned to the worst. After
many hours of such a terrible ordeal, the vessel was cast
upon the shore of a bay, on the east coast of the island of
San Domingo, a wreck ; the passengers, however, safely
escaping with the loss of their effects though this loss was
forgotten in that supreme moment of relief and thankful
ness, when they landed. The next day, Mr. Perrault and
his brothers and sisters took passage by another vessel
for Cap Francois, in the northern part of the island,
where they were warmly received by their uncle.
The exposure and other hardships during the storm
and wreck occasioned an illness from which Mr. Perrault
did not recover for two months. During his, convales
cence he had an opportunity of roaming about the Cape,
inspecting the country and admiring the scenery, which
is of a character to excite the greatest interest. In
addition to the charms and novelty of a tropical climate,
his attention was constantly attracted by the luxuriant
vegetation of the island, with its magnificent wealth of
fruits, flowers and plants. The/a««« and flora, insects,
animals, and birds of varied and brilliant plumage, its
splendid palm trees, cacti, orange and lemon groves,
unknown to northern climes, were ever to him an increasing
wonder ; and the grand, natural features of the island,
its lofty mountains, commanding magnificent views of
land and sea, its dense forests of tropical trees, valuable
for the most precious woods known to commerce and art,
all these gave occupation and excited reflection in a mind

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 25-
SO observing and contemplative as that of the young
traveller. Mr. Perrault experienced a serious shock when he heard
of the dreadful earthquake of May 8, 1842, which shat
tered this island to its very foundations, burying in its
ruins over four thousand souls. Other parts of the
' island were visited in a similarly disastrous manner.
San Domingo, named by Columbus Hispaniola, is one
of the oldest European settlements of America ; and at
this time the eastern portion was in possession of the
Spaniards, and the western of the French. The port of
Cap Franfois, known now as Cape Haytian, was then as
at present, difficult of access, but the harbor offered ample
and safe anchorage. It was one of the most important
French commercial ports. of the last century, and exported
large quantities of sugar, coffee and timber. But this
island was shortly to be shaken to its foundations
by that great revolutionary struggle with France, which
entailed upon both countries such heavy loss, and ended
in the ruin of the colony and the treacherous capture,
imprisonment, sufferings and death of Toussaint L'Ouver-
ture, the able and heroic leader of the blacks, whose
fate will ever cast an ineffaceable blot upon the memory
of Napoleon I. It is gratifying to think, however, that
despite the defeat and disappointments of these freedom-
loving islanders, due to the grasping ambition and tyran
nical spirit of Napoleon Buonaparte, these hardy negroes
at length obtained their independence, at the beginning of
this century, amid the applause of nations to whom liberty
was more than an empty name. After his convalescence
Mr. Perrault left the Cape in a schooner for New Orleans,
but was again overtaken by misfortune. It appears that

26 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
at first the winds were favorable, but the captain, through
laziness and intemperance, did not take advantage of
them. Soon a furious south-east wind struck the vessel
and carried away sails, deck fittings and furniture, thus
crippling her at a dangerous moment. The storm was so
violent and the schooner so badly strained, as within a
short space of time, to cause several leaks ; the rigging
being old and much worn, the mizzen mast went by the
board, and the vessel herself, through the loss of radderand
sails, became unmanageable and was driven toward the reefs
of Florida. The situation of the crew and passengers
at this stage was most pitiable — almost hopeless ; no
assistance appeared in sight, the provisions were nearly
exhausted, and the water supply limited in quantity, so
that all had to be placed on short rations, barely suffi
cient to maintain life. For over a week ten persons had
to exist on one chicken a day, with half a bottle of water to
each. The depression of spirits, bodily suffering and
mental agony endured, produced life-long effects upon the
victims. Mr. Perrault states that the recollection of these
experiences was sufficient at any time to cause him to shud
der. At four o'clock one morning the vessel struck the
rocks with a terrible shock. All believed that she would
immediately go to pieces, but suddenly the storm
abated, and, with great difficulty and labor, she was at
length got off. The indispensable repairs being made,
she was headed for Havana, as the nearest and most ac
cessible place. They fortunately obtained provisions
from passing vessels ; and the ill-fated schooner soon
reached the latter port, much to the rehef and delight of
all on board.
The same natural features and characteristics of life in

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 27
the West Indies, which had excited Mr. Perrault's interest
in San Domingo, also attracted his attention oh this
island, then, as now, an important territory under
Spanish rule. Although kindly treated, yet owing to the
absence of relations, difference of language and other
circumstances needless to dwell upon, he felt here less
at home. He however found the climate delightful and
healthy, for at that season yellow fever did not prevail.
One was struck with the deserted appearance of the city
during the day, and the crowds sauntering in the cool of
the evening. The city itself, which was built on a
declivity, when viewed from the harbor appeared very
picturesque. The sugar, coffee, tobacco and relative trades were
the chief businesses of the island, which received more
attention than its commercial importance entitled it to,
from the frequent hostile operations of the great fleets of
England, France and Spain, in its immediate neighborhood
and in the waters of the Gulf.
The slave trade in its most repulsive form was carried
on here and at San Domingo, and Mr. Perrault had fre
quent opportunities of seeing shiploads of Africans, in
every state of mental and physical wretchedness, landed
at these islands, for the vile and mercenary objects of
selfish planters and heartless men-stealers. These sights
in after hfe formed subjects of frequent thought, which
evidenced itself in sympathy with the poor oppressed
bondsmen. It was only on the 13th February, 1880, that the abo
lition of slavery was decreed in Cuba, by an Act of the
Spanish Cortes. The method of gradual emancipation
adopted, is said to work effectively and harmoniously, to

28 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
the satisfaction alike of the slaves and their owners. It is
a matter of regret, however, that the Spanish Government
has not dealt in a more liberal spirit towards the Cubans,
who are to-day in a worse position than the " Thirteen
Colonies " before the war of Independence, and compelled
to submit to grievous taxation without representation.
The islanders are helpless at present, but they are sure,
ere long, to gain their independence by force of arms,
imless Spain in the meantime adopt a more enlightened
policy. Mr. Perrault and his relatives remained for three months
at Havana while the vessel was being repaired, and then
sailed for New Orleans, which place they finally reached
without further accident. But here they were destined to
receive a fresh shock of disappointment in the absence of
their father, who had gone to St. Louis, on the Mississippi.
New Orleans was then a French city, connected by com
mercial relations and military posts along the highways of
the great rivers and lakes, with Canada ; Quebec and New
Orleans lately formed the northern and southem capitals
of the French possessions in America. Both points were
regarded as of the greatest strategical and commercial
importance. The southern city had a population of over
ten thousand, and even at that time possessed a cosmo-
pohtan character, men of all nationalities being met in its
streets. It was protected from river floods by a levie, or
embankment, of over fifty miles in length, and from the
attacks of Indians by a system of palisades of a formidable
description. The streets were regularly laid out, 'and the
houses, generally of brick, were of one story. Mr. Per
rault could reflect with pleasure upon the pioneer enterprise
and adventures of the old French travellers and explorers

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 29
— pere Marquette and Robert Cavalier de Lasalle, — who
had heroically followed and traced the majestic course of
the great Mississippi and its giant tributaries, from their
sources to their outlets, carrying civilization to the remotest
wilds ; and also upon the fact that the city of New
Orleans itself was founded in 1699 by a Canadian, Le-
Moyne d'Iberville. Mr. Perrault did not dream then, any
more than his compatriots, of the early severance of those
relations with France, which, while serving the selfish
objects of Napoleon Buonaparte, ultimately destroyed
French influence on this continent.

30 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER V.
Travelling by the Mississippi — Scenery — Indian and
other Dangers — St. Louis.
At that early day the great river, happily styled by the
innumerable Indian tribes along its banks, " The Father of
Waters,'' was a great highway of commerce, for the remote
settlements of the French, dotting the great lakes in the
north and east as far as the St. Lawrence, as well as for that
population, which, with the adventurous spirit of the age,
had planted itself along the course of the western river, to
the waters of the gulf It would have been useless at the
time to attempt voyages, either of trade or exploration
through the dense, primeval forests, which shrouded in
darkness the greater portion of the continent. The mys
terious and impressive feeling, evoked by a contemplation
of the wondrous extent and strange character of these
gloomy forests, with their unknown rivers, lakes, mountains,
and valleys, was heightened by the knowledge of the dan
gers which lurked within their untrodden depths, including
innumerable savage beasts and fierce roaming Indians.
For thousands of miles between Quebec and New Or
leans, only the borders of the great American wilderness,
fronting the natural waterways, had witnessed the suc
cessful attempts of white men at trade and colonization ;
but even the use of that narrow margin of civilization
afforded them extensive intercourse with the Indian tribes
of the interior, for purposes of war, business, or curiosity.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 31
By the middle of the last century, the growth of the
French settlements and trading posts along the St. Law
rence, the lakes and the Mississippi had fostered an im
portant commerce in furs, provisions and war materials,
the great channels of which were those waters and the Ohio,
well known to thousands of hardy pioneers and voyagers.
The citizens of Quebec, Three Rivers, Ville Marie and
New Orleans, who prudently and quietly remained at
home, winter and summer, had their curiosity often stirred
by the marvelous reports with regard to the great western
and south-western regions, periodically visited by their
more adventurous fellow-countrymen. Around no subject
clustered so many romantic tales of adventure, dangers and
Indian experiences as the Mississippi, which excited the
sentiment of the practical and poetical ahke. The stories
of perilous navigation, of accidents of every sort, of thrill
ing encounters with the savages along its banks, of hair
breadth escapes from arrow, or tomahawk, of wonderfully
fertile regions, unencumbered by tree or boulder — all
served to stimulate the imagination of the people in the
towns, and excite the ambition of their rulers, French or
Canadian, to establish, as firmly as possible, the founda
tions of a commercial and military system that should
retain for Canada and the mother country the natural
wealth and advantages of the territories, embraced between
the Gulfs of St. Lawrence and Mexico.
Mr. Perrault describes the Mississippi River as one
along whose eastern bank, for hundreds of miles, dense
forests were visible, affording, amid their tangled recesses,
sustenance for innumerable wild animals and Indians. The
western shore constituted a somewhat monotonous pro
spect of low, flat stretches of rich, alluvial soil, reaching

32 , OLD AND NEW CANADA.
out to the prairies, whose western boundaries were the
Rocky Mountains. Nothing could present a more com
plete contrast to the wooded and generally varied region
from which these Canadians had come. They would
wonder at the astonishing fertihty and amazing ex
tent of the prairie region, whose richness, at that early
day, marked it as a land of abundance for the millions
who were, within the short period of a century, to spring
up as if by magic, upon its teeming bosom. The bison
and the deer, in countless numbers, were the chief occu
pants of those green and flowery plains (the extent of
which, at that day, no one realized), unmolested in their
wanderings, but soon, through the cupidity of the while
man, to be almost annihilated. Localities now the
sites of thriving towns and flourishing cities were then
but camping grounds for roving Indians, or battle
fields of contending tribes, the memory of which has
already almost passed away. With the quick and observ
ant eye of explorers, the old travellers spoke of the great
streams which poured their waters into the Mississippi, to
swell its already abundant flood, and of its varying char
acter, through influences such as these and the different
formations of the banks at different points. Even then
men were impressed with the natural facihties which
should, one day, make it the principal channel of trade
and commerce for half a continent.
The navigation of the Mississippi has ever been beset
by many dangers, but a century ago they were still
more numerous and fatal than in our days of steam
dredges, hghthouses and general scientific appliances for
the improvement of navigation. But, as regards this
great river, it has always severely taxed the means and

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 33
ingenuity of the wealthy and enterprising communities
along its shores to render it a safe avenue for its enorm
ous trade. Nature is too strong for man, particularly
when in the savage mood, her powerful forces of rushing
rivers and maddened gales combine to sweep away the
petty contrivances and defences which seek to confine
the bed, or control the course of such mighty streams.
But, in Mr. Perrault's time, men more readily confessed
impotence in the presence of such forces of nature, and
exercised their patience and suited their plans and move
ments to nature's own rough or pleasant moods. In
addition to the violence of the current at many points,
always a trying difficulty, and particularly increased at
certain seasons, by the overwhelming rush of the waters
of the great tributaries, which sweep away, in their fren
zied course, whole forests of gigantic trees, augmenting
the dangers of navigation ; there were also what are
known as snags,, trees which had fallen into the river,
by the undermining of the banks on which they had
grown, with their tops projecting into the stream, as if to
destroy the passing unsuspicious batteau or canoe. • The
plunging of these trees into the water would cause a
thundering noise, often drowning the cries of the helpless
boatmen crushed by their fall. Those unseen impedi
ments were not only a dangerous obstacle in themselves,
but the nuclei of others, inasmuch as they caught and
detained the debris of the forest — roots and branches,
with their earthy and vegetable attachments — which barred
the progress of navigation, and sometimes hopelessly
entangled the helpless vessels. Valuable freights,
precious time, and not seldom life, were lost in the
efforts to regain clear water, in the vain struggles with such

34 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
obstructions. Among the other dangers of the river
were trees fixed in its bed, as firmly as rocks, with their
tops alone visible, whose continual swinging with the
current earned them the appellation of scieurs de long.
Mr. Perrault and other travellers often spoke of the
carrefours, or culs de sac, created by the wearing and
undermining operations of the waters, which had cut
false channels through the low banks, misleading travellers,
and sometimes causing days to be lost in pitiable efforts
to extricate themselves. On one occasion, he nearly per
ished amid the mazes of those false channels.
In sketching the characteristics of the long, toilsome
and dangerous journeys on the Mississippi, he describes
the operations of the Indians, and states that they were
constantly at war among themselves, and continually
plundering passengers passing up or down the river. It
is well known that dangers of this kind have long since
ceased, the savages having almost exterminated them
selves, either through their internecine wars or conflicts
with the United States forces, and that the survivors are
now banished to far distant territories. Persons familiar
with the early history of North America will readily recall
many instances of their murder and robbery of individuals,
companies of travellers and settlers on the old westem
frontiers. Those, who ventured any distance from the
shores of the great lakes, or the rivers passing through
the settlements in the different territories, were obliged to
maintain a constant vigilance from fear of being, at any
moment, suddenly assailed by bands of cruel and treacher
ous savages. No doubt, fast as trade and colonization
advanced, they would have made still more rapid pro
gress, but for the presence of these serious drawbacks.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 35
The governments of both the English and French colonies
experienced no little trouble in mitigating this harassing
condition of affairs ; and, its subsequent removal proved
only a matter of time, at a great expenditure of life and
treasure. This system of border warfare and depredation
has continued even to our own days, though on fields
much more remote — for the settlements of civilized men,
are now larger and more wide spread — as is evidenced by
the Black Hills troubles and the various precautions of
the United States and Canadian governments with regard
to the protection of the settlements in the vicinity of the
Rocky Mountains.
Another source of difficulty the traveller had to encoun
ter was the doubtful and imreliable temper of the crews,
who were generally men of all nations and colors. Irri
tated by fatjguing labor and hardships, they often became
excited, even to mutiny, were the commanders not vigor
ous and determined men.
In the spring of 1773 Mr. Perrault ascended the Mis
sissippi in the company of M. Rocheblave, a wealthy
trader, whose business transactions extended all over the
west, and who was afterwards (1792) a member of the
parhament of Lower Canada. After three months of
dangerous travelling, they reached St. Louis, where Mr.
Perrault was delighted to meet his father, then largely en
gaged in the peltry trade. He remained in this city
seven years, and at certain seasons enjoyed much leisure
time, which he occupied in mastering the Spanish lan
guage, in which he became so proficient that he acted as
interpreter and private secretary, for three years, to the
governor of Illinois, who was also a partner of his
father.

36 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
France, by the Treaty of Paris, in 1763, handed over
to England the territories east of the Mississippi. The
French-Canadian colonists, settled along that side of the
river, emigrated almost en masse to the opposite bank and
to New Orleans, which had been ceded to Spain at about
the same time. Among them was an intrepid voyageur
named Pierre Laclede. He selected for his future abode
a beautiful spot above Cahokia, on the opposite side of
the Mississippi, which he called St. Louis. At this time
this village had already become a trading post of import
ance, frequented by those engaged in the traffic of furs.
But the St. Louis of to-day offers very little resemblance
to that of the time now treated of. It is now a pros
perous and imposing city, and the capital of the State
of Missouri, with a population of 350,522.
During his residence at St. Louis, Mr. Perrault had
occasion to visit New Orleans on three occasions to
dispose of stock. The journey down the river occupied
three weeks and the return three months, a striking differ
ence as compared with the speed of our day. The travel
ler of that time would fail to recognize the same region,
from the vast changes which have followed the march
of civilization. After one, had left the settlements along
Pointe Coupee, on the eastern side, ninety miles above
New Orleans, there were but three wretched houses, to
the mouth of the Arkansas river, and not even one
thence till he reached the village of Ste. Genevieve, sixty
miles below St. Louis, on the left bank of the river ;
then came two villages on the opposite shore, and beyond,
the villages of Kaskashia and Cahokia, which were small
settlements, inhabited by French-Canadian traders.
A.round Fort Chartres there were some few settlers. But

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 37
the mind would be deeply impressed by the vast extent
of river and the grand solitude of primeval nature, un
disturbed by the unending series of thriving villages and
cities on its fertile banks, and the innumerable fleets of
vessels of every description, which incessantly plough its
muddy waters to-day.
It is characteristic of the old French colonists and ex
plorers, that, in the early days of North American colon
ization, despite the distractions and cares connected with
their hard struggles in the wilderness, in their efforts to
find a home, or in search of adventure, they did not for
get the religious and moral lessons of their childhood, or
the practices of their ancestors. While engaged in un
dertakings, however arduous or absorbing, " by flood or
field," they found time, or made opportunities, for the
observance of the religious festivals and ordinances en
joined by the Roman Cathohc Church, from which they
received a spiritual satisfaction and encouragement greatly
needed in the midst of their toils and hardships. Mr.
Perrault illustrates this fact in his notes of a voyage, made
in the year 1778, to New Orleans. He left St. Louis in
a boat, laden with six hundred packages of peltries, with
a crew of eight men. On that occasion, he was joined
by a party of friends, accompanying him in two boats
with crews of their own, who had the same commercial
objects in view. " As it was the custom of my father,"
says Mr. Perrault, " to observe the fast days ordered by
the rules of the Roman Cathohc Church, I expected my
crew to do likewise, and I gave instructions to that effect.
My friends scenting the odor of the fish, matelotte, in course
of preparation, desired me to invite them to dine, which
I did with pleasure, and took the opportunity of advising

38 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
them to follow my example in future, pointing out the
advantage of a similar variation of diet." This was
doubtless done by Mr. Perrault with the double object of
benefitting both the souls and bodies of his guests.
When he and his friends arrived at New Orleans, they
found the prices of furs very low, which induced him to
adopt a shrewd plan, akin to what is now called " cor
nering the market;" he quietly purchased all the peltries
owned by his friends, and then, by " some lucky chance "
the notion got abroad that he might perhaps find it more
remunerative to dispose of his goods in Europe. The
merchants with whom he usually dealt suddenly became
alarmed, and offered him better prices, thus paying a com
pliment both to the value of his goods and to his ingen
uity. He thereby reahzed a handsome profit, but unfor
tunately accepted a draft of $6,000 in payment, which
was not honored. He was then obliged to undertake a
journey to Virginia, to collect this amount from Colonel
Clarke, which proved long and disastrous.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 39

CHAPTER VI.
Sets out for Virginia — The Ohio — Capture by Indians
— Running the Gauntlet — Wilderness Wanderings
— Hardships and Perils — Escape to Detroit.
Nothing can afford a more striking idea of the great
difference between life in North America, one hundred
years ago, and today, than Mr. Perrault's account of his
efforts to collect the debt just mentioned. A perfect re
volution has since been effected in everything connected
with the facilities of business. Not only has trade increas
ed a thousandfold, but all the means of conducting and
extending it have been multiplied and improved, as if a
different world and race of beings had sprung into exist
ence. Instead of a creditor collecting his money by
draft, or telegraph, and having it safely and speedily
transmitted to his hands, he had to undertake distant
expeditions, encompassed with hardships and dangers,
resembling those which beset the pilgrims of the olden
time on their way to far-off shrines, through unknown
and savage regions. On this occasion, Mr. Perrault
braced himself to a serious task and, after negotiation,
associated himself, in the beginning of October, 1779,
with a Colonel Rogers, of Virginia, and his party, who
were at Kaskakias, and about to return by way of La
Belle Riviere, the Ohio of to-day. It was necessary, as
in the Middle Ages and long afterwards, and in eastem
countries even to this day, for travellers to associate in

40 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
bands for mutual entertainment and protection ; other
wise it would have been almost impossible to make the
many journeys, undertaken for the purposes of trade and
friendship, of which we read, and which contributed
effectually to the opening up and settlement of the new
western regions. Notwithstanding the advantages of thus
travelhng in bands, the adventurous voyageurs and mer
chants were often overpowered, robbed and killed by
roving war-parties of cruel and rapacious savages, who
beset their paths and often followed them for hundreds of
miles, till an opportunity of murder and rapine presented
itself. This journey to be taken was fully seven hundred
miles each way, traversing portions of Missouri, Illinois,
Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia, over innumerable
rivers, swamps, mountains and valleys ; but he faced the
prospect manfully, although the natural difficulties and
hazards, serious as they were, were mere trifles in com
parison with the dangers from prowling savages, hungry
for the white man's plunder and thirsty for his blood.
Notre Dame de Kaskakias,* on the Mississippi, not
far from the present city of St. Louis, where Mr. Perrault
went to meet Colonel Rogers, had in 1764, according to
the census of that year, a population of only 903. Charle
voix states that the Jesuits had a college there at the
time of his visit in 1720. In August, 1769, the famous
Indian warrior Pontiac, met his death at this place.
The Ohio valley, as is well known to readers of Am
erican history, early acquired a celebrity from the vigor
ous contests between the Enghsh and French forces for
* Founded by a Canadian named Joseph Baugy.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 41
its possession ; and later on, between the English and
American troops, before the acknowledgment of the inde
pendence of the United States had settled the irritating
question of boundary. All three nations had rightly esti
mated the importance of that great region, not only on
account of the facilities offered by the river to internal
traffic and commerce, but of the wonderful fertility of its
soil, its wealth of timber, and the convenience of that
highway to the rich prairies beyond. The fierce strug
gles which took place involved to a large extent all the
neighboring Indian tribes ; and their incidents have fur
nished abundance of interesting material to chroniclers
and romancers of the United States, of France, and of
England — notably Cooper, Gustave Aimard, and Mayne
Reid. Travelling up the Ohio was at that time particularly
dangerous from the attacks and ambuscades of wander
ing tribes, especially the Delawares and Shawanoes.
The expedition of which Mr. Perrault formed a part
consisted of three barges, whose crews numbered twenty-
four men. Nothing of any consequence happened to
them on the journey up the Ohio until nearing the Oua-
bache (Wabash), where Mr. Perrault says, " We met a
party of five men in a canoe, four ' of whom had been
wounded in an attack by the Indians. One was suffer
ing from a frightful wound in the abdomen, from which he
died that day; another had been shot in the hand; a
third had a broken arm; and the fourth was wounded
in the chest, from which the blood flowed freely. Colonel
Rogers took the unfortunate party on board and had
their wounds carefully dressed. I felt a great interest in
the poor man who was wounded in the abdomen. I
comforted him during his last moments as best I could."

42 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
The colonel cut up their canoe to make a breast-work on
his barges, to protect the crews from the Indian fire, con
sidering it very probable that we might faU in with the
same party in the course of the journey. During the
following night he posted sentries, but the little fleet was
left undisturbed. On the next day the journey was con
tinued, and a fort, which the Americans had built at the
Falls, near .Louisville (Kentucky), was reached without
further adventure. Our party rested here a week, though
for most of the time confined to the fort, whose occu
pants momentarily apprehended an attack from the
Indians. The garrison consisted of thirty men and one
officer, who dared not leave the fort, even to gather the
ripe corn on the adjacent fields. Having obtained a sup
ply of provisions, we proceeded, leaving behind three of
our wounded and taking in exchange three English pris
oners, whom we were to conduct to Fort Pitt. This fort,
before the French abandoned it in 1758, was known as
Fort Duquesne. Upon its ruins, the following year, the
Enghsh built Fort Pitt. It was situated upon a peninsula,
formed by the confluence of the Alleghany and Monon
gahela rivers, and was one of the strongest outposts in
the wildemess. It was abandoned by the English in
1772, and its possession was held, later, in dispute by the
States of Virginia and Pennsylvania, the first claiming it
by a grant of James I, and the latter by one of Charles I.
To-day all trace of it has disappeared, and around its site
flourishes the important commercial and manufacturing
town of Pittsburgh.
" Nothing eventful transpired," continues Mr. Perrault,
" until we reached a point about one hundred and fifty
miles above the Falls, when one morning, far from sus-

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 43
pecting any untoward event, and while breakfasting, on a
long, sandy beach, we were startled by the report of a
musket, which drew our attention to the opposite bank,
whence the shot proceeded. A moment afterwards we
saw floating out a little raft, on which the Indians are in
the habit of placing their guns and clothing when cross
ing rivers, a fact known to both the colonel and myself,
so that he considered it prudent not to pass the upper
point of the beach, without assuring himself that there
was no danger in approaching the shore. The colonel
left me with six men to guard the barges, and took with
him the remaining eighteen, for scouting purposes. As
the sand bank, or beach, on which I stood, was very long
and broad; I was more than half an hour without hearing
or seeing anything. At length, five or six gun-shots broke
the stillness, and soon after about twenty more, which
were followed by such a continuous volley that I was
convinced our party was opposed by a considerable
band. My apprehensions increased, for the firing was
almost incessant, and I soon saw running towards me
three of our men, pursued by about fifteen Indians ; one
of the fugitives who appeared to be wounded in the leg,
for he limped, finding himself hard pressed, turned and
discharged his musket at the Indian nearest him, but the
latter was so close that hs seized the gun and diverted
the aim — the discharge only setting fire to his shirt — and
then knocked him down with a blow on the head, with
his club, and scalped him, at fifty paces from where I
stood. The other Indians seeing us around the barge,
halted, about a hundred yards off, thus giving the two
fugitives time to reach us. None of the party had the
courage to fire at the enemy; some threw themselves

44 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
into the river, and others took shelter behind the barges
and pushed them into mid-stream. I ordered my men
to fire, but in vain; nobody would obey me, and I
had no opportunity of discharging my gun, although I
several times took aim ; the man I covered dodged too
actively for me. Finally one of the barges above mine,
in which were the three English prisoners we were taking
to Fort Pitt, having drifted within reach, I leaped on
board. When the men in the barge were some dis
tance from the shore they began to row across the river,
where we saw three or four young Indians, in charge
of baggage. As soon as the barge touched shore, they
jumped on board, snatched away my gun, seized and
bound me as well as the two Americans who were with
me, but did not molest the English prisoners; whether
they were already, or made themselves known, I can not
tell." Some surprise has been expressed- at the apparent cow
ardice of the American party in the boat, in not making
anything like an attempt at a manly resistance to the
young Indians, who captured them ; but it must be borne
in mind that the whole party was not of accord, one sec
tion being American and the other English ; representing
two nations then at war. The fact of the favor shown the
latter by their captors exhibits the feelings of the red men
towards one of the combatants, at the time, and evidences
how foolish it would have been to make any resistance
to the Indian youths, while numbers of their tribe were
on the opposite side of the river, within a short distance.
Besides, it is plain that the English prisoners could have
had no arms, while it is doubtful whether the Americans
had theirs at hand, when the young braves boarded the

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 45
boat. Under such circumstances it would have been
madness for any two or three men, without ready means of
escape, to draw upon themselves the hostility of a band
of swift-footed and ferocious savages, by a deadly contest
with isolated members of the tribe.
To return to Mr. Perrault's narrative : "On turning
to the side of the river we had left, I saw it covered with
about one hundred warriors, some of whom were unmoor
ing our barges, in order to cross to us, and others were
picking up those of our party hiding about in the river.
When the Indians had reached our side, they stripped
us of all but our trowsers. As it was growing late, they
pitched camp, posting a strong guard around us and
their plunder. I could not sleep all through that night,
considering my life in the greatest danger. Early in the
moming our captors discharged the barges and divided
the spoil, portions of which were packed upon their horses,
and the remainder made into bundles to be carried by
the young braves. I was apportioned the baggage of a
wounded chief, who could not carry it ; but as I made
some objection, they overcame it by an irresistible argu
ment, the menace of a tomahawk, when I at once yielded.
I carried this burthen, which weighed over a hundred
pounds, for more than two hundred and forty miles, through
forests and swamps ; a journey which we commenced the
same day as my capture and continued for ten days, endur
ing the greatest agonies and infinite privations, with the
constant fear, on my part, of receiving, in addition, a good
cudgelling, which I did one moming, upon approaching
the village of Chawenon,* at which place my captors
* On the Scioto River.

46 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
announced their arrival by war-whoops, quickly respoirded
to by those in the fort, who met us armed with all sorts
of offensive weapons.
" When we were within a mile of the fort, the Indians
placed us at equal distances on the road leading to it. I
was the foremost of the captives and surroimded by a
score of warriors, painted black ; a sign of death to their
victims,. They made me a signal to run, but before I had
taken a step, I was struck on the head with the butt of a
gun, so violently, that I fell senseless. Upon regaining
consciousness, I found myself almost suffocated by the
weight of two men, whom the others were endeavoring to
separate. I took advantage of this circumstance to shoot
between the legs of the combatants, and having gained
the open ground, I sprang to my feet and knocked down
two who were in my way, which added to the confusion.
I instantly started to run, and being swift of foot, none of
my pursuers could overtake me ; but an Indian stood at
the gate of the fort, through which I had to pass, ready
to hurl an enormous stone at me. As I was closely
followed and had no other alternative than forcing my
way, and having vainly dodged several times, to avoid the
missile, I was struck on the shoulder and felled, dragging,
however, my assailant with me into a pool of muddy water.
But I rose so promptly to my feet that he had not time to
seize me, and made my way, covered with blood and mud,
and breathless, to a hut in the centre of the village, which
fortunately proved to be the council-lodge, where the
lives of fugitives are considered sacred. Shortly, a
grave personage entered, offered me a porringer or wooden
bowl of water, making a sign to wash myself, which I was
only too glad to do, knowing that that act was a guarantee

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 47
of my life. Half an hour later the Indians who had given
me such a warm reception, entered, dragging with them
the two Americans, one already dead, the other still
breathing, but unconscious. They bound the latter on a
horse and took him to another village,* to console the
relatives of the two men who had perished in the late
skirmish. I therefore concluded that being the least
injured of the prisoners and able to walk, I was reserved
to play a part in some village drama later on. The
wounded chief, whose burthen I carried, and wjio was
the only one who appeared to take an interest in my wel
fare, came in company with several others to claim pos
session of and lead me to his quarters. There was great
revelling that night; tom-toms were beaten, war-songs
howled and every description of din created and main
tained in the council-hall, on which our wigwam abutted.
" I was informed later on, that the quarrel among my
captors over my prostrate and unconscious body, after being
clubbed, and which gave me the lucky chance of escape,
was caused by the awkwardness of the Indians nearest
me, accidentally administering blows intended for me,
upon the noses of those behind.
" Two days after, I set out from the village with the
wounded chief, carrying his bundle as before, and accom
panied by warriors of his village. On leaving the fort, I
was compeUed to pass over the body of the American,
whose head and hmbs had been cut off and were fixed
on pickets ; a horrifying sight to me and suggestive of
the probability of a similar fate to myself at the village to
which they were conducting me. At the end of two or
* There were 15 small Shawanoe villages on the Scioto and its branches.
— Parlcman.

48 NEW AND OLD CANADA.
three days' march, from the care with which the Indians
dressed and painted themselves, and the death-howls
they uttered at a certain point on the route, I concluded
we were nearing some village. I was so alarmed by their
preparations that I feared my last hour had come ; but
in time, the experience of the past encouraged me to hope
for exemption from a second ordeal of the kind I had
already passed through ; my feelings on this occasion veri'
fying the proverb "hope never abandons us, however
desperate our situation." Sustained by this trust, I could
calmly look upon the Indians with their squaws and
papooses, coming from the village towards us.
" But the customary preparations for an Indian tragedy
were made, a series of grim funereal rites for their un
happy prisoner ; they ordered me to run the gauntlet and
I did not wait for a second notice. I started so promptly
that I escaped the blows of the Indians surroimding me,
and had the good fortune not to be overtaken by those
pursuing. An old squaw had placed herself in my path,
awaiting me with firm footing and armed with a pick-axe.
I rushed upon her, and before she could strike, I gave
her such a violent kick that she fell backwards, making
an exhibition of herself which, with her scanty apparel,
excited general roars of laughter and put an end to the
premeditated tragedy."
One of our authors, the historical French-Canadian
romancer of Canada, Joseph Marmette, gives in one of his
most interesting and excellent works, Le Chevalier de Mor-
nac, a description of a similar trial, to which one of his
heroes is subjected. He writes : "In the twinkling of
an eye, a double line of Indians was formed, extending
to between three or four arpents. * * * T^n Indian

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 49
was placed behind each captive, pushing him towards
these formidable rows of men. * * * Hardly had
Vilarme entered the grim ranks, when blows, from right
and left, rained like hail upon every part of his body.
One could see nothing but sticks, either raised in the air,
falling, tuming or striking, and, between these excited
and howling lines of men, Vilarme ran as he best could.
He fell, tripped by an old woman who had not strength
to raise a cudgel. The unfortunate man was so covered
with bruises that the pain awoke in him a new vigor by
which he was enabled to make his escape."
" After this ludicrous incident," says Mr. Perrault, " I
was taken to the house of an English trader, near the
village, where I found two of the prisoners we were to
convey to Fort Pitt. I remained there three or four days,
when, one fine moming, I saw two young Indians arrive
on horseback, who advised me to follow them if I wished
to escape the wrath of the warriors, caused by the loss of
their relatives. They led me to understand, at the same
time, that they would take me to Detroit.
" I determined to follow them and we travelled the rest
of that day and far on into the night, without halting.
We then made forced marches for five or six days, until
we reached the mouth of the River Maumee at Lake Erie,
which I forded with the assistance of a staff, to prevent my
being carried away by the current."
Mr. Perrault was, as might be expected, almost beside
himself with joy on at length reaching a place where he
was sure of his life and wholly free from gnawing anxiety^
as to savage cruelty. His deliverance seemed like a miracle,
for truly his foes and dangers had been numerous, and at
length he breathed the air of safety and felt once more a
4

50 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
home, amid the sights and sounds of civilization. With
a mind smarting under recent degradation, with a body
scarred and bruised by ill-usage, under apprehensions of
death at any moment, he made a wretched pilgrimage at the
bidding of his cruel masters, weakened and oppressed by
the heavy loads of their plunder he was doomed to bear.
The horrors of captivity and of slavery were superadded
to the terrors of the wilderness. Dense, entangled forests
almost shut out the light of the sun, their myriad obstacles
of fallen trees, commingled branches, intertwined under
brush, concealed boulders, moss-covered pit-falls, man
traps and impediments of every description, fatigued,
harassed and not seldom prostrated the wearied captive, as
he painfully threaded the mazes of the unknown wilder
ness. To aggravate such toils and miseries, he was forced
to endure the threatenings and buffetings of his pitiless op
pressors, which subjected his fast declining strength to the
severest strain. Foot sore, with aching limbs, empty stom
ach, wearied body and wretched mind, after a hard day's
march through the wilderness at a pace to suit the heartless
exactions Of his active and swift-footed captors, he was com
pelled to pass his night on the bare and chilly earth,
tightly bound to prevent his escape in the darkness, so
that the rays of mom, after all, brought only a species of
relief, which, to common experience, would be little better
than death Other painful incidents of this forest journey
were the crossing of gloomy and dangerous swamps, the
fording of innumerable streams and rivulets and the
ascent of rugged hills and difficult mountains. Such trials
were the more terrible that they often led to a death, in
which every resource of savage ingenuity would be strained
to aggravate the victim's final sufferings. It would have

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 51
been singular indeed had such cruelties and apprehensions
not left indelible traces, on the impressionable mind of
Mr. Perrault, and caused his sensitive nature ever after
wards to realize the afflictions of, others with keenness,
prompting the use of every practicable effort within his
means, for the removal or lightening of the load which
pressed upon sufferers about him.
" I was so worn out and emaciated," says Mr. Perrault
in his narrative, " that I now entered the house of a
trader and slept till the following day, although it was
four o'clock in the afternoon when I went to bed, and I
believe I would have continued sleeping for hours, had
they not notified me that a boat was waiting to take me
to Detroit, where I arrived at about nine o'clock in the
evening. I was conducted to the guard-house and handed
over to the sergeant, who gave me some bread, which I
had not seen or tasted since leaving the Illinois region,
and which I eagerly devoured, not having eaten the whole
of that day. I slept tranquilly for the first time since my
captivity ; my bed was a neat pallet, which the sergeant
had spread in a little room off the guard house. I awoke
only in broad daylight, when I requested the sergeant to
send word to M. Jacques Duperon Baby, my maternal
uncle, of my presence, as a prisoner, who almost immedi
ately came. He caUed promptly upon Major Depeyster,
the commandant of the post, and asked his permission
to take me to his house, becoming responsible for my
good conduct. He explained to the major the impossi
bility of presenting me in my then wretched condition,
disfigured by a long beard and clothed in the rejected rags
of the Indians. My uncle was granted his request and
returned joyfully to tell me the news and took me to his

52 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
house, where I was treated with all the tenderness and
care of an affectionate relation. Being somewhat restored,
refreshed by a bath and arrayed in new clothing, I was
introduced by my uncle to the major, who ordered me to
prepare to leave by the first opportunity and report to
Governor-General Haldimand, at Quebec."

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 53

CHAPTER VII.
Hon. M. Duperon Baby — Heroism of Madame Baby —
Detroit — Loyalty of the French Canadians.
The present generation of Canadians would be lackmg"
in a proper national spirit and in those moral qualities
which prompt a due recognition of eminent services, did
they not appreciate the character and deeds of such men '
as this uncle Mr. Perrault so affectionately speaks of. Few,
perhaps, were more deserving of notice than M. Baby,
who carried on a large fur business throughout the west,
with different Indian nations, including the tribes rendered
immortal by the fascinating romances of Cooper — the
Mohicans and Shawanoes. M. Baby, with his brothers,
distinguished himself in the wars between the English and
French for the possession of the northern part of this con
tinent, and gained the highest commendations of the
Governor, Marquis de Vaudreuil, and also secured the
respect and confidence of the British authorities, after the
country had passed into their hands, by abilities and
quahties which could not fail in winning friends.* He
rendered signal services to them too, at Detroit, during the
war of Independence. A similar course was followed by
many of his compatriots, who after the cession wisely de
termined to remain in the country and loyally .serve the
*// avait assists en quality d'oficier de la milice canadienne aux iatailles
dela Monongahela, d' Abraham et Ste. Foye....et ce fut en recompense de
ses services qu'il y fut nomme juge en V-^par Lord Dorchester. Memotres
de Philippe Auhert de Gasps.

54 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
British Government, and honestly make the best of the new
rigime. Their object was not merely personal advantage,
but to benefit their humbler fellow-citizens. M. Baby's
property was confiscated by the Americans on account of
his Enghsh sympathies ; he died, honored and respected
by all, at Sandwich, in 1789.
Madame Baby, nie Susanne de la Croix Reaume, the wife
of the above patriot, whose intelligence was equalled only
by her firmness, enjoyed a high reputation among the
Canadians and British. Some idea of her heroism may
be formed from the fact that in troublous times when the
men in the Fort (Detroit), where she resided, were engaged
in field work, she did not hesitate to act as sentinel with
musket in hand, ready to fight or give warning, as occasion
might demand.
Detroit was the most important central point in the
extended chain of communications between the eastern
and south-western extremities of la Nouvelle France,
Quebec and New Orleans. The post of Detroit was
estabhshed in 1685, although the town was not founded
till 1701, by M. Lamotte Cadillac. As every student of
early American history well knows, Detroit presented,
at the time of Mr. Perrault's visit, a picture the very
opposite of that of to-day. There was then visible only
a plain substantial fort, of twelve hundred yards in circum
ference, protected by ramparts and palisades, twenty-five
feet in height, with a bastion at each corner and a block
house over the gate-ways.* At the time of Mr. Perrault's
visit the city was garrisoned by about two hundred Enghsh
soldiers ; there were, within the enclosure, nigh one htm-
* During nearly 15 months, this place was beseiged by Pontiac and his
allies — an unparalleled featln the annals of Indian warfare (In 1764 and '65.)

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 55
dred log-houses, roofed with bark or turf. The little
chapel called Ste. Anne, the first built in Detroit, stood on
a spot now within the great thoroughfare known as Jeffer
son avenue, opposite which was a parade ground or
garden, and a house, near the edge of the river, where mili
tary matters were discussed and the interviews between
the officers and Indians held. The population on both
banks of the river was less than three thousand souls,
showing an increase on the census of 1768 of nearly
twenty-five hundred. The settlers were then still consi
dered beyond the limits of civilization, and although on
good terms with the surrounding Indian tribes, they had
at times to cultivate their lands with the spade and musket
in close proximity, prepared for any emergency. It is diffi
cult of belief that a post of such insignificance could
have developed, in so short a time, into the splendid city
of Detroit, with such buildings and flourishing institutions
of learning and religion, its great business warehouses, its
handsome streets, its parks and gardens, affording accom
modation and pleasure to one of the most enterprising
communities in America. The population, according
to the last census (1880), is 116,342, and its commer
cial prospects, with the rapid settlement of the North-
West, in our days, are of the most promising description.
In the old town above sketched, Mr. Perrault says, " I
was sick all the following winter ; the blue and yellow
marks and scars, caused by the weight of the bundle I
carried for so many weary days and over such diflScult
ground, were visible for nearly two months afterwards,
and an eruption, which broke out all over me took the
same time to disappear ; I also suffered from ague chills
for many years afterwards."

56 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
" I wished to return to my father at St. Louis, but I
could not thus be gratified, for the commandant obliged
me to embark in the spring of 1780, for Quebec, under
the charge and responsibility of a friend of my uncle's —
a Mr. McComb. When I reached that city, I was pre
sented to General Haldimand, by my uncle, the honor
able Frangois Baby, who, when informed of the object of
my journey to Virginia with Colonel Rogers, gave me a
safe conduct to enable me to join my father, whom he had
known in Three Rivers, when in command of that place
in 1760. They had on several occasions gone together
after woodcock, in the vicinity of that town."
" I took advantage of the first opportunity to retum to
Detroit, hoping to continue on to Illinois, but I was de
tained at the former place, waiting for a passage, which I
finally secured with a band of traders, who were proceed
ing to the Post of Vincennes, by way of the Riviere des
Mis (Maumee River), whence I could ride on horseback
across the prairies."
A journey to Detroit then was as serious an undertaking
as one to the antipodes to-day. Though the medium was
water, it was all up hill work, toiling against the stream in
frail canoes, which after hundreds of miles, passed in
paddling, had to be carried around the various rapids of
the St. Lawrence and the falls, called portages, occasioning
great delay and hard labor. Even had there been no such
obstacles as those mentioned, including cataracts, rocks
and submerged trees, the greatness of the distance would
have consumed a good part of the open season, with all
the possible speed of canoes. Frequent stoppages had
to be made for provisions and other supplies required by
men spending many weeks, night and day in the open

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 57
air. The result was that trips between Quebec and the
furthest trading posts on the lakes, were important expe
ditions as to time and expense, not to speak of the hard
ships and dangers of the route.
Mr. Perrault continues his narrative : " The day after
our departure from Detroit in the evening,*a canoe arrived
with a young man named Rheil, whom I knew, and who
informed us that the road leading to Vincennes was in
fested by war parties, that he himself had been inade a
prisoner and that the best thing I could do was to aban
don the idea of proceeding on my journey, as, he ' would bet
a hundred to one,' that the trip would prove fatal to me.
The traders, upon hearing the news, became alarmed and
determined to return to Detroit, and I was obliged to
accompany them.''
" I passed a second winter with my uncle, and diverted
my mind and enlightened the hours by teaching his
chUdren, by general study and in thoroughly mastering
book-keeping. Upon his advice, I left for Montreal in the
foUowing year and estabhshed myself there.- I was to act
as his agent in selling furs and he lent me ;^75o to start
business on my own account ; I opened a store near la
porte des Recollets where I did a prosperous business."

58 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER VIII.
Picture of Ville-Marie ; Its Social Life.
There can be no exaggeration in saying that the visitor
to Montreal, a hundred years ago, would, if aUve to-day,
fail to recognize the present Montreal. Unlike Quebec,
whose peculiar natural features and situation have tended
to preserve many of its old historic landmarks, with its
medieval architecture, Montreal has, thanks to the new
world energy of its inhabitants and their far-reaching
schemes of enterprise, almost obliterated every feature
and relic of the past ; building up within even a half cen
tury, what may truthfully be called, one of the handsomest
and most progressive cities of the continent. At the time
of Mr. Perrault's arrival, he saw little in its architecture,
population, trade and general social circumstances to dis
tinguish it from its more ancient rival further down the
river. Though possessing many topographical advan
tages over Quebec as regards facUities for building, easy
locomotion and regular street construction, it still exhi
bited many marks and characteristics of its old French
foundation. The site of the old Ville-Marie resembled
a parallelogram, whose front line was formed by the
river or St. Paul street and its rear by the present Craig
street. The western end or boundary line extended from
about the foot of McGiU to Craig street ; the eastern
would nearly correspond with a hne drawn from the old
Quebec barracks to the latter street. The extent and

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 59
form of this old site would, no doubt, be mainly deter
mined by the fortifications, only within which the inhabi
tants could be sure of safety from Indians and other
enemies. At the eastern and westem ends of the fortifi
cations, there were dry ditches, about eight feet deep ;
the parapet of the town wall consisted of masonry of about
four feet thick. There were the usual number of mihtary
gates, sally-ports, angles and other features of construc
tions of this kind, for the accommodation of the citizens
and soldiery. In the year of the capture of Quebec
(1759), the principal buildings of the town included the
Palace of the Governor-General, M. de Vaudreuil, near
the foot of Jacques Cartier Square, and the house of M.
de Longueuil, further east, nearly on the line of St.
Paul street, about the western end of Mary street. The
area of the city within the fortifications did not much
exceed one hundred acres. Long after the beginning of
this century, the old fortifications and other'memorials of
French colonization and government were regarded with
no little affection by the lovers of the ancient rigime, and
with much interest by not only antiquarians, but by intel
ligent citizens of whatever nationality. In this respect
Montreal then presented points of resemblance to modem
Quebec, which, to many foreigners, particularly, is more
attractive on account of her history and interesting relics
of the past, peaceful and warlike.
A strong tide of immigration set towards Canada
shortly after the estabhshment of Enghsh rule, by which
Montreal, in a few years, largely increased her population,
receiving substantial benefits from the enterprise and
energy of her new citizens. The chief buildings and ware
houses of the town clustered about the river bank ; St.

60 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
Paul Street became the main business emporium receiving
affluents of trade through Jacques Cartier Square and
other thoroughfares, leading from Notre Dame and Great
St. James streets. The districts extending from Craig
street to the foot of the mountain, and to the east and west
including portions of St. Lawrence, St. Mary's and St.
Antoine wards, were green fields, varied by swamps,
woods and underbrush. A brook meandered through
Craig street, and received rivulets from the higher por
tions of the town ; while, along St. Catherine street,
marshes abounded, some of which are remembered even
by the present generation, under the names of Cotes-a-
Barron and Crystal Palace. The Quebec suburbs and
Griffintown presented the same primitive and desolate
appearance. Small trading vessels, such as now are em
ployed only in our inland waters, made annual voyages
to Montreal from European ports for furs, timber and other
Canadian products. The grain and other important trades
of our days had not yet put forth even buds of promise.
The chief institutions of that time were imder the con
trol of the Roman Catholics, whose old Seminary of Saint
Sulpice, its church and associated buildings, formed the
headquarters of the clergy and one of the principal features
of the town.
The chapel and convent of the Sisters of the Congre
gation, corner of St. Paul and St. Joseph streets,^ was also
a religious nucleus of no ordinary importance ; but to the
recent settler in Montreal the very sight of that old estab
lishment is merely a matter of report, as within the last
twenty years its site has been covered by a magnificent
range of cut-stone warehouses, which were occupied as
barracks by the FusUier and Grenadier guards during the

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 61
American civil war. The Foundling Hospital of the
Grey Nuns, at the foot of McGill street, was also one of
the weU known institutions of the city, which could boast
of httle in the way of architecture beyond such old solid
stone walls and high-pitched dormer-windowed roofs,
as to this day may be seen in the oldest parts of
Quebec and Montreal. There were no Protestant
churches or schools at that time ; those professing that
belief followed their forms of worship, and instructed their
children in small and unpretending buildings, such as
stores, or dwellings.
The citizens of Montreal of that time were famed for
their social and hospitable character. French and English
merchants worked strenuously in the busy season, made
money and spent it freely ; and in the winter, when com
merce was at a standstill, balls and parties enlivened the
long evenings, and created and maintained a friendly
feeling among the different elements of the population.
Every fall the Hudson Bay Company, which had exten
sive business relations with this city at that time, engaged
a large number of young men for the purposes of the
chase in the far North-West. Months were occupied in
ascending the St. Lawrence and the great lakes, in fleets
of canoes ; the dangers of the waters and the toUs of the
portages up to Lake Superior and beyond, through the
smaller lakes and rivers, stretching thence to the Red
River, on the line of the present Pacific Railway route,
testing to the utmost the strength and endurance of these
hardy hunters and voyagers. The men, strong and
cheerful, liked the work and embraced it in a sort of holi
day spirit, and returned tb their old homes on the St.
Lawrence full of vigor and love of adventure ; joyfully

62 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
spending their hard-eamed wages among thfeir relations
and friends.
In a^ community like this, Mr. Perrault, as a representa
tive of the educated and traveUed class, engaged also in
business, could not fail to take a leading part. He soon
acquired a knowledge of the world and a commercial ex
perience, which proved valuable to him in his early man
hood and later years. He compared the people at home
with those he had met in the far West and South and the
advance in civiUzation they had respectively made ; he
was thus enabled to note the deficiencies of his country
men on the St. Lawrence, as well as any advantages or
superiority they could boast. His practical and benevo
lent disposition, to judge from his subsequent efforts for
the improvement of his fellow-citizens, created a longing
desire to use ah the means, in any way within his power,
of elevating their social condition.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 63

CHAPTER IX.
Quebec Act of 1774 — Its Results.
As might naturaUy be expected, a man of the intelli
gence of Mr. Perrault, so strongly in favor of just laws
and free institutions, would ever feel a deep interest in
public controversies and political events affecting the
rights of any portion of the community, its peace and
prosperity. It was, therefore, with no ordinary satisfac
tion that he and the majority of his compatriots, interested
in the progress of public affairs, received the news of the
passage of the Quebec Act in 1774.
The English Government desired to meet the wishes and
interests of its " new subjects," and secure their unflinch
ing loyalty. Great Britain had for a long time abundant
opportunity of witnessing the chivalrous loyalty of this
race to the French Crown, and the effective account to
which that feeling could be turned.
In order to better understand the reasons advanced in
behalf of this measure, which may be described as both of
a sentimental and practical a character, it may be well to
give a short risume of the political position of the two
provinces at that time. The following clear and in the
main reliable picture of the period is found in a history of
Canada from the pen of William H. Withrow, of Toronto,
which is not only worthy of the notice of aU who feel an
interest in Canadian history, upon which too much light

64 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
cannot be thrown. This author at page 105 of his
smaUer history thus writes : —
" After the Peace of Paris, Canada was finally annexed
to the British possessions by Royal proclamation. British
subjects were invited to settle in the Province of Quebec,
by the promise of the protection of British laws, and of
the establishment, as soon as the circumstances of the
country would admit, of representative institutions.
Several land grants were also made to military settlers.
A civil government, consisting of Governor and Council,
was formed, and courts were established for the adminis
tration of justice, in accordance with the laws of England.
" The ' new subjects,' as the French were called, soon
found themselves placed at a disadvantage as compared
with the British settlers or ' old subjects.' The latter,
although as regards numbers, an insignificant minority —
less than five hundred in all, chiefly half-pay officers,
disbanded soldiers and merchants — assumed all the pre
rogatives of a dominant race, engrossing the public offices
to the exclusion of the sons of the soil. The terms of the
proclamation were interpreted, like the law of England
for sixty-five years later, as excluding Roman Catholics
from all offices in the gift of the state. The French were
wiUing to take the oath of allegiance to King George, but
even for the sake of pubhc employment would not for
swear their religion.
" The -British privilege of trial by jury, that safeguard
of popular liberty, was httle appreciated, accompanied as
it was by increased expense and by the inconvenience of
being conducted in an unknown language. The simple
habitants preferred the direct decision of the judge in
accordance with the ancient customs. General Murray,

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 65
by his conciliatory and equitable treatment of the con
quered race, as far as possible within thejimits just
indicated, evoked the jealousy and complaint of the
Enghsh place hunters, many of whom were thoroughly
mercenary and corrupt. His policy was approved, how
ever, by the Home Govemment, and was adopted by his
successor in office — Sir Guy Carleton. As to legal
matters, a compromise was effected. In criminal cases,
trial by jury and Enghsh forms were observed. In civil
cases — those affecting property and inheritance — the old
French laws and proceedures were aUowed to prevail.
The English settlers, however, objected strenuously to
several features of the land laws. The feudal tenure was
especially obnoxious. This was a heavy tax on aU im
provements. The French also opposed the registration
of deeds either from ignorant apathy, or on account of
the, as they conceived, needless expense. Consequently
British land purchasers, or mortgagees, sometimes found
themselves defrauded by previous mortgages, to which
the French law permitted a sworn secrecy. Notwith
standing these and other anomilies, the country entered
on a career of prosperity, and began to increase in popu
lation, agricultural and commercial.
" At length, after long delay, in 1774, the Quebec Act
was passed by the British Parliament. It extended the
bounds of the province, from Labrador to the Mississippi,
from the Ohio to the watershed of Hudson's Bay. It
established the right of the French to the observance of
the Roman Catholic religion, without civU disabUity and
confirmed the titles to the clergy, exempting, however,
Protestants from their payment. It restored the French
Civil Code, and established the English administration of

66 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
law in criminal cases. Supreme authority was vested in
the Governor and Council — the latter being nominated
by the Crown, and consisting for the most part of persons
of British birth.
" The English speaking minority felt that their rights
were sacrificed. They were denied the promised Elective
Assembly, deprived of the protection of the Habeas
Corpus Act, and, in certain cases, of trial by jury, and
were subjected to the civil code of a foreign country. The
Act was received with delight by the French population,
and continued for seventeen years the rule of government."
It was in every way fortunate that a kindly and, for that
day, a liberal spirit guided the British authorities in their
treatment of Canada and of the French and Indian popu
lations. Although that policy was not marked by perfect
wisdom, in aU respects, the fact of its animating principle
being justice to the vanquished, served to reconcile the
French to a strange system and to a new sovereign, who,
to his honor be it said, ever manifested a kindly feeling
towards his adopted subjects and a desire to protect them
in the full enjoyment of their national and treaty rights.
It is agreeable to observe in our time the disappearance
of such prejudices, to an extent which renders thinking
men, of any creed, or race, ready to acknowledge the
liberahty and impartiality of people of other beliefs
and nationahties. By no section of our community has
this spirit been more creditably manifested than by some
of our French-Canadian writers, of whose works the
author has lately endeavored to give the English public
an inteUigible description in a work entitled " Literary
Sheaves, or La littirature au Canada Franfais." The
effect of such a spirit in social, political and historical

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 67
discussions cannot but prove salutary in removing pre
judices, and in exciting a laudable emulation in the dis
covery and manly assertion of truth, for its own sake,
however distasteful to early prepossessions and bigoted
theories. Liberal aud judicious as the policy of England towards
her Canadian subjects appeared at the time, and in com
parison with the policy pursued in dealing with her Ame
rican colonies a few years earlier, it is but truth to point
out that it fell short of the full rights of those subjects,
and was defective and unwise, when judged by the stand
ard of our more liberal and enlightened times. Mr.
Samuel J. Watson, in his " Constitutional History of
Canada," gives the following clear and severely just ana
lysis of the Act in question, the repeal of which, so early
as 1 79 1, proves the correctness of his judgment upon it :
" The spirit of the Act may be thus portrayed : It con
firmed to the French-Canadian Roman Catholics the
fullest religious liberty ; this was most praiseworthy. It
restored the old civil laws of the province : this was
liberal. But it extended these laws over the British in
Canada, and over five immense territories inhabited by
twenty thousand people of British blood : this was unjust.
It deprived all these people of trial by jury in civil cases :
this was harsh. In their faces it shut the doors of local
parliaments : this was unconstitutional. But worst of all,
the Act robbed the British colonist of Canada, his French-
Canadian feUow-citizen and the men of the five incor
porated territories, of the sovereign right of Habeas Cot-
pus : and this was rank tyranny."
It is interesting to look at a subject of this kind from
different points of view, and to give the opinions of men of

68 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
different races and creeds, speaking calmly and candidly
in regard to it. In our days, as in Mr. Perrault's, various
conclusions have been arrived at, with the advantage to
us of the absence from our constitution of all such defects
and evils as have been pointed out in the Act of 1774.
M. Oscar Dunn, a clever young French-Canadian writer,
in a work entitled, "Lecture pour 7li«.f,"thus expresses his
views in regard to that statute, and no doubt faithfully
reflects the opinion of not a few of his countrymen,
French and English : —
" The home authorities understood things more gene
rously, more justly, and the Quebec Act (1774) sanctioned
what the treaties had guaranteed to us. This bill was an
epoch in our history. Furthermore, it was an honest in
terpretation of the Treaty of Paris, and the only one
which could be ; to be convinced of this, it is sufficient
to recall the circumstances under which England obtained
possession of this country."

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 69

CHAPTER X.
The American Revolution of 1775.
In sketching the life of a gentleman who witnessed the
end of the old and the commencement and establishment
of the new pohtical rigime in North America, it would be
an omission unpardonable on principles of art, no less
than on grounds of justice to the subject, were the writer
to omit some mention of an event so deeply interesting
to Canadians at that time, and so momentous in its results,
as the serious dispute that arose between England and
her American provinces, with regard to the question of
her pretended right to impose upon them taxation and
other restrictions at pleasure. Those sturdy colonists had
long enjoyed a measure of self-government and had been
brought up with broad ideas of their rights as Britons ;
their leaders cherishing the principles of Eliot, Hampden
and Cromwell, while contending against the despotic as
sumptions and deeds of Strafford and Charles I. Jeal
ous of their privileges as freemen, though colonists, and
conscious of their strength and briUiant prospects, and as
vigorous and rapidly growing communities, they exhibited
a temper marked by sensitiveness and vigilance, which
was full of warning to those anxious for the maintenance
of the connection between them and the Mother Country.
Franklin, Washington and other patriots, both by
speech and action, evinced apprehension of the results
of the policy of the King's government, if persisted in,
as did also Lord Camden, Pitt, Burke and other able

70 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
Statesmen, then leaders in the Imperial parliament. Faults,
unseemly temper and obstinacy on both sides gradually
prepared the way for a stUl more prolonged and deadly
struggle between the late victorious enemies of Old and
New France.
Hardly had the echoes of the cannon of EngUsh and
French armies died away among the Laurentian hills,
when the rumblings of the coming thunder began to be
heard. Although some of those rapidly growing " thirteen
provinces " had loyally and vigorously co-operated with
England in the war, which ended in the cession of Can
ada, and were still anxious to maintain the connection
with Great Britain, the majority of their inhabitants were
imbued with a democratic spirit, and a love of free repre
sentative institutions which boded ill for any attempts
against their liberties, restrictions of their pohtical rights
or interference with their commercial progress. In fact,
from the foundation of the settlements around Massachu
setts Bay in the time of Charles I. and Cromwell, the re
publican or democratic spirit had ever existed, manifesting
itself, though not always conspicuously, in the political
f)pinions and actions of the settlers, as well as in their
tastes and social habits. The love of freedom, which
had originally inspired the first emigration and settlement,
had grown stronger in the distant forests of the New
World, while a character of self-reliance, enterprise and
courage was vigorously developed by the arduous labors
of the wildemess, the struggles with a rigorous climate,
and the stUl more harassing and perilous contests with
savage foes, waging war either by themselves, or fighting
and ravaging along the frontier in alliance with hardy and
daring French and Canadian enemies. The character of

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 71
the population of the colonies sprung from such a stock,
and developed under such peculiar circumstances, should
have taught EngUsh statesmen that they would not long
submit to any violence to their feelings, much less to an
infringement of what they deemed their inalienable rights
as British subjects. Having reached, as regards numbers
and material wealth, a respectable condition of strength,
and become fully conscious of these advantages in the
late war with Canada, they were the less likely to tolerate
despotic acts and assumptions. In that struggle the col
onies claimed to have contributed twenty-five thousand
men to the English army, besides submitting to large
pecuniary sacrifices during the war. Many in England
maintained that the colonists had more greatly benefitted
than the Mother Country from the destruction of French
rale, and that the provinces should be taxed to contribute
a portion of the cost of the war, which was in round
numbers ;^ioo,ooo,ooo, and as Mr. Grenville expressed
it, " to form a fund towards defraying the necessary ex
penses of defending, protecting and securing the British
colonies and plantations in America." A long period of
agitation in the colonies and controversy with the Mother
Country now ensued ; the majority in each clinging with
tenacity to its own opinions and resisting aU counsels of
moderation and concession. The obnoxious Stamp Act
was passed, notwithstanding vigorous and repeated pro
tests of the colonists, and then repealed; other objection
able taxes were also removed in the hope of terminating
the strife. The " Quebec Act " also proved a great source
of annoyance. But the British Ministry, supported and
stimulated in their opposition to the pretentions of the
colonists by the violent prejudices and arbitrary opinion

72 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
of George IIL, would not relinquish the assumption that
Great Britain had not only a right to monopolize the
ocean trade and fetter the internal commerce of the col
onies, but also to tax them at wiU, even against their
consent. For the practical assertion of this principle, the
tea-duty was enforced, though it was estimated that it
would yield no more than _;^x 2,000 a year ; and this, de
spite the reiterated and almost unanimous protests of the
Americans, that they should not be taxed when not repre
sented in the Imperial parliament. After fraitless conten
tions, and without any appearance of a concession of
principle on either side, both parties prepared for an ap
peal to arms. The resistance to the landing of a cargo
of tea in the harbor of Boston, and its destruction, in
flamed the British parliament and by its orders the port
of Boston was closed. The conflicts at Concord and
Lexington — April 19, 1775 — and the battle of Bunker
HUl, June 17 th, of the same year, were the first sanguin
ary acts in the great drama, which ended in the loss to
the Empie of the " thirteen colonies " and the estabhsh
ment of the Great Republic of the United States.

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 73

CHAPTER XI.
American Invasion — Allen, Arnold and Montgomery —
Attitude of the French-Canadians.
It is creditable to the sagacity of the founders of the
American Republic that, at the very beginning of the
struggle with Great Britain, they fuUy realized the import
ance of Quebec in both a military and national point of
view. Commanding the great natural highway of the
northern and north-western regions of this continent, it was
promptly perceived by Washington and his military and
political colleagues, that whichever combatant retained the
ancient capital of Canada would possess most important
advantages in the strife about to commence, as also in
the worthier and more valuable work of opening up this
vast region to the healing and productive influences of
civihzation, when the contest should have ended. Remote
as were the French settlements from the western border
of New England, small as then was the population and
uninviting the climate of Canada, the American insurgents
set a high estimate upon its geographical position, vast
extent and great natural resources, imperfectly even as
they were then known. Had the soil of Canada been
less fertile and its forests possessed but a tithe of their
actual value, the far-seeing leaders of the revolt of the
"thirteen colonies," most of them acquainted with this
country by personal service in it against the French,
would no doubt have striven to capture and hold it for
strategical purposes in war time and material objects in

74 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
peace. The Americans were as anxious to employ their
energies profitably on the great inland seas and rivers of
this continent and also on the ocean beyond, as in the
work of transforming the wildemess into productive and
happy settlements for the fast-growing populations of the
Atlantic seaboard, and the fresh miUions all expected ere
long from natural increase and immigration. The solid
advantages, moreover, of obtaining the assistance of the
hardy and warlike inhabitants of New France, at a time
when they felt their weakness and isolation most painfully,
was duly appreciated by many among the insurgents,
who had had good reason, particularly during the " seven
years war " to form an impressive estimate of the courage
and power of Great Britain. In I775 no sign of any
coming alliance with France could be discovered, much
as such an advantage was hoped for, while England was
wealthy and vigorous, enjoying still the prestige acquired
in the last war with that nation. Besides, the New England
colonists were comparatively weak in numbers and in
financial resources, without a regular trained army, and
anxious and uncertain with regard to the result of the
gigantic. enterprise of a war with the leading military and
naval power of the world. At such a crisis, even the
sympathy of the hundred thousand distant Canadians
would have proved a valuable encouragement to the Con
gress at Philadelphia, warranting hopes of exemption
from formidable hostility on the north and west, and of
help from those regions in the course of the conflict, with
the probabUity of their future annexation. Not only were
the revolting colonists fully alive to the importance of
Canada, as a field for future colonization and commercial
enterprise, but they perfectly understood the invaluable

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 75
services which its inhabitants could render to any cause
they might espouse, either in time of war or peace. This
lesson had been painfully learned in many a toilsome
offensive and defensive wildemess expedition, and in
fierce border forays, the terrible defeats inflicted upon
Enghsh arms from Fort Pitt in the west to Lakes
George and Champlain on the east, in the early part of
the " seven years " contest, impressing it upon the
memory with ineffaceable distinctness. It is not strange,
therefore, that, influenced by such weighty considerations,
the Americans should have placed great importance upon
the early acquisition of the commanding points of the pro
vince of Quebec, and made such prompt and wonderfully
vigorous efforts to seize them. Of the above enterprises
Mr, Perrault heard not a little, and later on, when he took
up his residence in Montreal, he gathered much from the
hps of many of the participants, several of whom were
his relatives.
The Anierican commissioners in Montreal that winter
made innumerable appeals to the French and British-
Canadians, with the object of gaining them over to
their cause, but failed, although the wounds inflicted
by the late Anglo-French war could hardly as- yet have
been thoroughly healed. The description of imaginary
colonial grievances, the predictions of British tyran
nical policy, the professions of friendship for the Cana
dians of both origins and the tempting promises of sub
stantial benefits, in return for their alliance and co-opera
tion in the movements against England, all fell flat upon
the Canadians and failed to rouse any sympathy, or evoke
any practical assistance. In some districts the French-
Canadians were almost equally indifferent to the appeals

76 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
of Govemor Guy Carleton for material aid in his efforts to
resist the American invaders ; but in others he obtained
substantial help. The new subjects had, after a long
period of harassing and destructive warfare with both
the Enghsh and the Americans, enjoyed a comparatively
lengthy interval of much-needed peace and tranquillity
since the cession, and felt averse to again plunging into
the horrors of exhausting war with which they had been so
famUiar, and whose disastrous effects had long retarded
the growth and prosperity of the colony. It is, therefore,
no great wonder that after but fifteen years of the bless
ings of peace under British rule, fair-minded, honorable
and friendly though Guy Carleton had proved, and how
ever much they respected his character and motives, they,
at first, would not respond to his appeal to arms. It must
also be considered that the majority of the Canadians,
scattered thinly along both shores of the St. Lawrence
and the Richelieu — a mere handful at any particular point
— knew little of the merits of the question in dispute
between Great Britain and her angry provinces. The
clergy and some of the seigniors and other influential men,
however, did much to oppose the schemes of the Ame
ricans with the people, both then and at the beginning of
the war ; and during its progress, aided the British autho
rities, the first with their sympathy and counsel, and the
latter with their valor and means.
Many authors have paid a warm tribute to the loyalty
of the French-Canadian leaders, who nullified the efforts
of American revolutionists to attract to their side the
peasantry of the country ; a course of conduct which
could not be too highly appreciated by the home govem
ment. These chiefs had no easy task at times, and were

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 77
not free from anxiety, when counteracting the strong in
ducements' held out to French-Canadians to throw off the
English yoke and accept American liberty. A powerful
factor, however, on the side of the British interest, which
aU faithful historians must take into account, was the na
tional prejudice against the Anglo-Saxon colonists of the
New England States, who had for generations, with and
without Indian aUies, carried on a bitter warfare against
the old French colonists ; also the knowledge that Eng
land herself had shown an honorable desire to conform to
the conditions of the treaty and respect the religion,
rights and language of their conquered subjects ;
although it must be admitted that, even at that early day,
a certain clique, or party of Enghshmen attempted, in
many ways, to trample upon the rights of their French
feUow-citizens. But whatever sympathy some Canadians may have felt
with the rebels at the outset of the campaign, it disap
peared with the depredations committed by them,
when many volunteered for active service to punish the
invaders. The marvellous enterprise and courage which marked
the diplomacy of the Americans at the courts of Paris
and London, as well as 'their successes at Lexington
and Bunker HUl, at the outset of the struggle with
England, also characterized their movements in Canada.
The moment that fighting was determined upon, they
directed all their energies towards campaigns in this
country. Ethan Allen, in a personal expedition, accom
panied by a band of New England revolutionists, advanced
upon Montreal, no doubt desirous of distinguishing him
self and gaining honor and rank in the new rebel army.

78 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
Accordingly, on the 25th November, 1775, he approached
within a short distance of that town, when he- was met
by a force of militia and a few regulars, under General
Carleton, defeated and taken prisoner, with nearly forty
of his party. But Montreal was not destined to escape
all the troubles of the war between the American colonies
and the Mother Country.
Not long after General Schuyler's failure to capture
St. John, on the Richelieu, and the defeat of Allen, as
recorded. Colonel Montgomery was appointed to the
former's command. He forced the surrender of the forts
St. John and Chambly within a short period, after which
he marched rapidly upon and took possession of Montreal ;
there being only a handful of British troops to oppose
him. The Governor-General (Carleton) had, after his
unsuccessful attempt to raise any considerable force
of Canadians at Montreal, retired to Quebec, which he
reached in a small boat, piloted by the skiU of Captain
Bouchette. He resolved to make that city his head
quarters, and put forth every exertion for its defence
against American assaults, such as that of Colonel
Arnold's forces, which, despite their losses from the hard
ships encountered on their astonishing march by the Ken
nebec and the Chaudiere in the "depth of a severe winter,
with scant supphes, pluckily approached the city with
barely more than seven hundred men. After the latter's
faUure to -surprise the town, before which he suddenly
appeared, by Wolfe's path, he was compelled to retire with
his wearied and suffering forces to Pointe-aux-Trembles, in
order to make a junction with Montgomery, expected
down from Montreal, In the early days of December,
1775, the combined armies of Arnold and Montgomery

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 79
approached Quebec, which they hoped to carry by assault,
or a short siege.
All that manly courage and endurance could, was
attempted, but the besiegers faUed in their object, and
mainly through the vigilance and heroic resistance of
General Carleton, his gallant miUtiamen and soldiers,
including a body of Canadians, under Colonel le Comte
Dupre, forming in all only eighteen hundred men.
¦ A month's experience of the labors, hardships and losses
of a siege convinced the Americans that their only hope
of success lay in an attempt to capture the city by storm.
The result was a double assault from the east and west
sides, by both Montgomery and Arnold, which ended in
their defeat — the death of Montgomery at Pres de
Ville and the wounding of Arnold near the Palais. A
considerable number of the assailants lost their lives ;
their bodies being found the next morning covered with
snow. Notwithstanding his defeat and losses, Arnold
maintained a species of blockade all winter, but in the
spring was compelled to break up his camp and retreat
to Montreal, with the loss of many men and stores, and
with Governor Carleton in vigorous pursuit. In May,
1776, the rebel troops were forced by the troops of Car
leton and the reinforcements from England, under General
Burgoyne, to abandon the city and Island of Montreal.
Canada was not afterwards disturbed by the Americans
during the remainder of that war ; and this was the last
hostile army seen from the ramparts of Quebec, and it
is to be hoped that nevermore shall another approach its
historic walls.

80 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

chapt;er xii.
Official Duties in Quebec — Parliamentary Life —
Professional and Literary Labors in Montreal
— Broad, Liberal Views.
Mr. Perrault's first business venture was not a success ;
he afterwards opened another store near what was then
called the Lower Town, in proximity to the river. The
first year he succeeded ; but, meeting with competition
in the second, he decided upon choosing some other
means of livelihood, and there being at that time but four
members of the bar in Montreal, he entered upon the
study of the law. In the meantime, during his course of
study, and in ord^r to support his family, he practised in
the King's Bench, using the name of a friendly attorney,
and succeeded in buUding up a good clie?itele. His
leisure hours were devoted to the teaching of book
keeping by single and double entry, and to the prepara
tion and pubhcation of factums in important cases, which
soon caused him to be well known. His work was
hard, but he performed it resolutely and faithfully, winning
thereby golden opinions. Occupied as was his time, he
translated the chapters of Burns' Justice, required by
magistrates, juries and constables in this province. He
was thus enabled to keep his family upon a respectable
footing. The commercial capital of Canada being of such
importance to this country, and for generations closely
connected with the city of Quebec by the strongest social.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 81
religious and commercial ties, and having been for years
the home of Mr. Perrault, it is not surprising that he
spoke of it in admiring and friendly terms, as also of
the near relations he had long maintained with many of
its inhabitants. No citizen more closely watched its
"wonderful growth and development in the early part of
this century, and none was more prone to compare its
improved condition, in this respect, with its feeble, dis
tracted and impoverished state for many years after the
cession. The death of Mr, Perrault's father, in 1783, was a
great blow to him ; the attachment between them having
been of no ordinary kind. For many years their relations
had been of such an intimate, confiding and affectionate
character as almost to obliterate the sense of difference in
age, or inequality of any kind, on either side. They more
resembled the relations existing between brothers, whose
interests and hopes were identical. His death and fune
ral took place at New Orleans, rendering the bereavement
still more painful, owing to his son's inability to be present
and to console the last hours of so beloved a parent.
In 1.795, ^ft^r some years of dUigent practice at the
bar, he was appointed Clerk of the Peace in the Court
of Queen's Bench, by Lord Dorchester, in the place of M.
Pierre Panet, called to the Montreal Bench, and took up
his residence in Quebec. In this capacity Mr. Perrault
was most useful to the profession and to the public by
re-arranging the system then prevaUing, clearing off arrears
of work and introducing a methodical set of rules and
procedure, many of which have been foUowed to the pre
sent day, and found promotive of pubUc business, by con
ducing to its more rapid despatch. In 1 797 he was named

S2 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and in 1802
Prothonotary, In this latter position he greatly benefitted
practitioners by originating a completely new system for
the prompt and efficient discharge of the duties of the
office, by which the public derived important advantages.
The services Mr, Perrault rendered the public in his
official capacity were publicly recognized at the time and
at his death, as evidenced by the subjoined short ex
tract from a flattering notice of the deceased :— " He
fulfilled the important position so long occupied by him
with an ardor and ability highly commendable and
invaluable to the country. , , In strict truth, it may be
said that no archives in the whole province were better
kept or more promotive of the true interests of the pubUc."
During his leisure time, for years after his induction
in office he employed himseff in considering amendments
to the law and legal procedure then in force, which were
set forth in pamphlets and other publications. One, en
titled '¦^Moyens de conserver nos Institutions, notre Langue
et nos Lois," pubhshed in 1832, gives his mature reflections
upon a number of such proposed reforms and various
subjects connected with good government and the wise
administration of the laws.
In the "Magasin du Bas Canada," of 1832, a journal
devoted to literary and scientific subjects, a review of new
publications appears, in which Mr. Perrault's " Traite
d' Agriculture'' is spoken of as follows: — " I have read
with unabated interest the treatise on Agriculture
by Mr, Perrault, of Quebec. The useful information
which this inestimable gentleman gives is the more im
portant, inasmuch as it is the result of valuable experience
of many years, during which he has carefully studied the

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 83
nature and properties of soU, I have also read the work
on education by the same author ; the plan which he has
adopted provides means of elementary education, which
may be easily applied. They will inspire in the young a
love of study and create a more lasting impression, since
they are derived from principles within easy reach of their
intellects, " We have been assured that this esteemed gentleman,
whose cultivated mind preserves all the lucidity and
activity of youth, writes unceasingly, which leads us to
hope for yet richer fruit from his fertile mind, to the
advantage of the country,"
Questions concerning French-Canadian nationality and
interests were fuUy discussed by him, through the medium
of the press. The following paragraph in the above
pamphlet, shows the character of his opinion upon the
subject of the reciprocal duties of the French and
English elements of the population, and his disposition
towards his fellow-subjects and the King. Having ex
pressed a strong conviction in favor of the smoothing
down of national prejudices and the mutual approach of
the divergent and semi-hostUe elements of our community,
he thus concluded : —
" Happy, thrice Happy shall be the day when Cana
dians and English of aU denominations shall unitedly
form but one and the same family, have the same institu
tions, speak the same language, obey the same laws and
have no other ambition than of bearing the name of
Canadians and combining their efforts to maintain the
glory of the British Empire and the prosperity of the
colony of Lower Canada."
Mr. Perrault represented the county of Huntingdon in

84 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada during the
five sessions of the third parhament. While a meqiber
of the House, he introduced a bill to estabUsh parochial
schools, and another for the erection of a House of
Industry, which did not then meet the concurrence of the
Legislature,- as the country was not sufficiently advanced
to understand the great value and urgency of such
measures. On that occasion the government presented an educa
tional bill which superseded that of Mr. Perrault. The
author of the "Histoire de 50 Ans " (T. P. Bedard), which
in regaird to historical facts is reliable, says : — " Rien,
de plus absurde que la loique le gouvernement prisenta et
qui fut neanmoins adoptie par une majoriti complai-
sante." He was too short a time in parliament to make
any legislative reputation, or gain any prominent position
as a parliamentary speaker, particularly as there were no
questions before the public at the time to excite men's
minds, or call forth any briUiant display of forensic
talent ; but he vigorously applied himself to the ordinary
work of legislation, including the discussion of biUs in
committee, the study of questions before the House, and
the careful discharge of the duties of his position.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 85

CHAPTER XIII,
Woman; Her Mission — Conjugal Life — Bereavement,
One of the most important events of a man's life is his
selection of a partner " to share his joys and sorrows ; "
much has been and will ever be said with regard to the
influence of woman. Gratitude and affection have ever
prompted the warmest and happiest expression of man's
sense of the domestic virtues and of the valuable assistance
of woman in the varied concerns of Ufe, whether trivial, or
important, pleasant or disastrous. At every mUestone on
our path, with every fresh experience, whether fortune
smile or frown, she stands by man to lighten his labor,
cheer his spirit, and, by her hearty sympathy, fill to the
brim the cup of happiness. Her influence is by no means
bounded by the range of his physical enjoyments. It is in
matters affecting his higher nature, that she wields her
greatest power and exerts her most potent charm for good.
It is when a man's moral and spiritual character is most
sorely tried, when perplexity and temptation, within and
without, leave him .the unhappy prey of doubt, indecision
and evU influence, that the inspiriting and guiding light
of her pure mind and affectionate soul brightens his path.
The calmer spirit, the cooler intellect, the loving heart of
woman, away from the turmoil of life and the whirlpool of
passion, can offer to the stronger sex the wisest restraint,
the most soothing care, and devise the most prudent
counsel. The term " ministering angel," applied to
woman, gives emphatic expression to the old and univer-

86 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
sal conviction of her priceless value to man in his straits
and misfortunes. But it is not simply at the trying, or
turning points of life that the worth of her sympathy and
willing aid is experienced ; it is in the thousand and one
experiences of life, from its dawn ' till its decline that
these precious benefits are happily enjoyed. Every
age and country supplies innumerable examples of the
great value of woman's assistance in every sphere, en
gaging the attention of father, brother and husband, to
their advantage and the welfare of the community. Nu
merous examples of this truth could be instanced, as not
a few of the ablest leaders of society of to-day, as weU as
writers and statesmen both in the old and new world,
have frequently expressed, with the heartiest appreciation,
their great indebtedness to their consorts for such success
as has attended their efforts in life and in constituting the
happiness of home. Every instinct, social or sentimental,
tends to excite a man's admiration of feminine merits and
raise his opinion of feminine usefulness. Some men, and
particularly persons of culture and refinement, like the
subject of this memoir, feel their lives incomplete without
the companionship of woman, her sympathy and aid in
trouble and sickness and her clear judgment and affec
tionate co-operation in perplexity. No race has esta
blished a higher reputation for their admiration of the
fair sex and in testifying and gratifying it than that to
which Mr. Perrault belonged ; and it is certain that this
intuitive and traditional feeling but deepened and expand
ed with the trials of life ; affording many opportunities
for the display of every virtue and loving attribute pos
sessed by woman, in a manner to prove most gratifying
and helpful to their husbands and those surrounding them.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 8T
Experiencing such feelings and acquaintedwith such facts,
it was natural that this gentleman, after careful selection
of a companion for Ufe, should anticipate from his choice
all the domestic joys and comforts within the range of
woman's powers.
The lady selected by Mr. Perrault was Ursule McCarthy,
daughter- of Major Richard McCarthy, who had married
Mr. Perrault's cousin, Ursule Benoit, a distinguished
American patriot. He was married in the city of Mon
treal, on the loth January, 1783, The fruits of this mar
riage were two boys and three girls. Not only in the
rearing of these children, but in his domestic concerns
and in his private and philanthropic undertakings, he
found his wife a most zealous, efficient and loving help
mate. In addition to personal charms and refined
feelings, she possessed considerable abUity which was
often turned to useful account in the transactions of life.
With such a manager, ever proud of her husband's
schemes and zealous of their furtherance, many difficulties
disappeared from his path, which might otherwise have
entailed upon him much sacrifice of time and effort.
Their lives flowed on in one happy stream, the influence
of which was most agreeably and beneficially felt by a
¦wide circle of relations and friends.
When Mr, Perrault was not much beyond middle age
— in 1799 — his household was visited by the hand of
death, which deprived him of its chief omament and ter
minated that life of close union, domestic happiness and
affection, which he had hitherto enjoyed. The death of
Mrs. Perrault occurred suddenly and under painful circum
stances. She was returning from the city one evening in
company with her husband, when they were met by a

88 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
crowd of intoxicated, riotous soldiers, and being then in a
delicate condition she was so terrified that she rushed
towards her residence, not stopping till she fell fainting on
the door-steps. She died the following moming without
having recovered consciousness. It was inevitable that
he shovUd keenly feel and long grieve over this sad be
reavement, which for the first time since early mtahood,
when he had lost his father, deeply affected him with a
sense of utter loneliness. In years long after the trying
separation, he would often fall into a train of sorrowful
reflection upon the loss of .one who had been to him such
a source of great happiness. The contemplation of her
excellent quaUties and of the pleasures he owed to them,
was hqwev;er,'at such times, always the truest solace, help
ing, with religious emotions, to reconcUe him to his weary
solitude and deep affliction. It also led him to fix his
mind upon that higher life, the aim of the true and good.

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 89

CHAPTER XIV.
' The Constitutional Act of 1791 — Opinions Respect
ing IT,
During Mr, Perrault's residence in Montreal, towards
the close of the last century, he had ample opportunity
of observing the forces at work which succeeded in se
curing the new constitution of 1791, He daily heard the
discussions, respecting the need of constitutional reform,
and witnessed the social and political friction produced by
the Quebec Act of 1774. AU intelligent on-lookers could
then perceive that the growing importance of the colony
demanded a modern and advanced system of government,
analogous to that of Great Britain. That of 1791 divided
Canada into two provinces, the Upper and Lower, estab
lished in the westem, British law, civil and criminal, and
freehold land tenure ; in Lower Canada the French civil
and English criminal law and the seigniorial tenure were
maintained. Each province received a govemment, consist
ing of a Governor, a Legislative Council and a Legislative
Assembly, the latter only being elected by the people ;
the Executive and Upper House being appointed by the
Crown. In the English House of Commons, the bill
was subjected to severe criticism by the Opposition,
Fox's characteristic sagacity and love of liberty, denounc
ed the appointment of the council by the Crown, as an
invasion of the rights of the people, which could only be
properly respected by election, Burke and other mem
bers of the government, of course, defended the principle

90

OLD AND NEW CANADA.

of appointment, which unfortunately for the future peace
and prosperity of the province, was retained in the bUl.
The working of the new constitution, ere many years, fuUy
justified the views of Fox and other opponents, by fostering
a system of irresponsible government, which was turned
wholly to the advantage of the bureaucratic class in Can
ada, who inevitably pursued their own selfish interests,
regardless of the rights, feelings and well being of the
people. This evil became more aggravating with the
rapid growth of the provinces, whose increasing wealth
and importance afforded its irresponsible masters greater
means of gratifying their own egotistical ambition, and
resisting the legitimate wishes of the people, including
their demand for responsible government and other
reforms. The evil continued, deepening its roots and
expanding its proportions tiU the troubles of '37 rendered
necessary the radical remedy, at last admitted to be indis-
pensible, by the British government. Mr, S. Watson in his
" Constitutional History of Canada," at page 140, gives a
graphic sketch of the character and fruits of this Act of
1 791, in the foUowing language : "The constitutional Act
was framed with an honest intention. Pitt never contem
plated that his measure should be prostituted to the pur
poses of oppressing the people of Canada. But to these
purposes it was debased Wielding the Act for nearly
half a century, a bulwark of oligarchy, made up of the
driftwood of the army and manned by the buccaneers of
the law, beat back the people of Upper Canada from the
object of their dearest wishes, the prize and native right
of self government. In Lower Canada, a British oligar
chy opposed itself to the interests and wishes of the
French-Canadians and to those of many of its own people.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 91
In that province, furthermore, the malignant element
of race antipathies, drawing sustenance from both popu
lations, intensified and embittered the struggle to a degree
unknown in Upper Canada. In the two provinces the
governors sent out from time to time were, for the most
part, fascinated by the official anacondas, fell into their
folds and became their prey. The governors were the
puppets and servants of the oligarchies ; they were min
isters to the latter, the latter were not minisjers to them,
" The great principle at stake for nearly half a century,
the principle which comprised all the others, was this —
which was to rule ? the Legislative Assemblies ¦ elected
by the Commons, or the Legislative and Executive Coun
cils appointed by the governors ? In all cases these two
auxiharies of the constitution set themselves, with politi
cal malice aforethought, to thwart the efforts of the
assemblies to obtain control of the provincial revenues,"
Thus from the cession, the leading minds of the empire
had struggled with the problem of the proper government
for Canada ; various expedients had been tried, from the
mUitary system under the first governor, to the practi
cally autocratic one of 1791, With each new attempt
sanguine hopes had been excited in the minds of the peo
ple, many of which were doomed to an early ignominious
failure. But a long and toilsome march of the people,
through the perUous wildemess of. constitutional change
and political experiment ended at last in their reaching
the promised land of perfect freedom, rejoicing in the
full blessings of the British constitution.

92 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER XV.
Early Journalism in Canada — Social Amenities
OF Old Rivals — Mr. Perrault one of the
Founders of the Literary and Historical Society
OF Quebec — Great Utility of Such Societies —
Incidents of Life in Quebec,
Araong the incidents of the American invasion which
deserves more than a passing notice and which
attracted much attention, was the effort to establish liter
ary and political communications between the Insurgent
Congress and the French-Canadians, through its com
missioners, sent for that purpose to Montreal, and who
brought with them a French-Canadian printer, Fleury
Mesplet. This scheme evinced foresight and enterprise on
the part of the American leaders, and under more favor
able circumstances might have conduced much more to
their benefit. Its drawbacks were the ignorance and
apathy of most of the peasantry and the old-time dislike
of the puritan New Englanders. A few of the seigniors
and other leaders of the people made capital use of the
fact that the Americans had shown dissatisfaction at the
tolerant treatment of Catholicism in the province of
Quebec by the government of George III, One of the
means resorted to by the commissioners to seduce the
Canadians from their new aUegiance and attach them to
the " thirteen colonies " was the establishment of a news
paper " to be conducted by a friend of Congress ; " but
when the failure of their mUitary and pohtical operations

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 93
occurred, they quitted Montreal, The proceedings of the
congressional printer, Mesplet, have received notice at
the hands of antiquarians and others, who have felt a
pleasure in tracing the rise of the printer's art and the
commencement of journalism in Canada, at a time when
its whole population was. not equal to the number of
subscribers of many of the principal papers of this
present day. Notwithstanding the failure of Mesplet's
efforts, he seems, however, to have taken a liking to
Canadian society and to have had his professional ambi
tion excited by his unusual opportunities, for he did not
retum with the commissioners to Philadelphia ; he sub
sequently published the " Montreal Gazette."* Benjamin
Suite, an indefatigable French-Canadian littirateur, gives
interesting information on this point, and readers, fond of
such subjects, may refer to the "Canadian Antiquarian."
The " Quebec Gazette " was founded some years pre
viously (1764), being edited in French and English, and
the first newspaper issued in Canada. It rendered good
service to British and Canadian interests at many impor
tant periods, and did much to foster an interest in public
affairs, and develop a literary taste on the part of the
people of both races, in times when the masses every
where were ignorant and neglected. It was not without
a feeling of regret that Quebecers, who were well aware
of the great age and usefulness of this the pioneer
journal of Canada, learned some seven years ago that its
last issue had appeared. The city and pro-vince of
Quebec are at present supphed with a number of well
edited and enterprising English and French journals, the
* He also printed the first book that appeared in Canada, 1776, entitled,
I^ Cantique de Marseille.

94 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
columns of which faithTuUy reflect the various opinions
and inteUigently manifest the advancing condition of the
citizens. It was with the greatest possible interest Mr, Perrault
regularly received and read these journals during his
residence at St, Louis.
The city of Quebec, to which he returned in 1795, gave
even then ample promise of its future greatness, but
presented a less promising picture of literary, social and
commercial, condition as is witnessed in our own days.
It was the chief port of Canada,, a valued naval and mih
tary station and a useful and fast-growing commercial
centre. Under the wise and concUiatory policy of its
first Governor, General Carleton, afterwards Lord Dor
chester, its population had become reconciled to British
rule, loyal citizens of the King, and willing co-operators
with their English fellow-citizens in enterprises calculated
to advance the growth and well-being of the community.
To reliable authorities like the " Canadian Antiquarian,"
the " Quebec Gazette " and the works of M.M. de Gaspe,
J, M. LeMoine and Hubert Larue are the public indebted
for much valuable information on this and kindred sub
jects in connection with the early experiences of the
population of both origins.
It is pleasing to look back upon the honorable and
patriotic efforts made by the early English and French-
Canadian statesmen to allay old race animosities, and
unite all classes and elements in the work of repairing the
ravages of former wars, and building up a harmonious and
vigorous state, in which aU races might find happy homes.
The leading citizens of Quebec and Montreal, despite
certain political differences, naturally exaggerated at cer-

OI^p AND NEW CANADA. 95
tain periods, particularly during elections by hot-headed
political aspirants, often met for objects of common
utility and benevolence, and were not indifferent to those
social duties and amenities, the observance of which is
one of the surest proofs of a refined community. Mr.
Perrault was wont to sketch pleasing pictures of dinners
and other riunions, at which French and English joined
to celebrate their glorious defence of Quebec against the
American assailants, and to allude to other matters of a
patriotic and local character.* He truthfully contended
that these occasions ministered to more friendly feelings
and to strengthen the bonds of a common loyalty to the
British throne. Those who had been enemies during tiie
" seven years war," and had afterwards toiled together in
repairing its evUs and adding to those fortifications,
which their united valor resolutely held against the
hardiest soldiers of New England, would thus often
mingle around the festive board, recall their glorious
experiences and wish each other continued happiness
and prosperity. Comrades in arms in times of gloom,
hardship and peril, they loved to strengthen the ties of
fellowship and the relations of good citizenship on all
occasions. No policy could have been wiser to heal the
ancient wounds of war, and procure the strength necessary
to the rapid and harmonious development of such a new
composite state as Quebec represented towards the end
of the last century.
One of the important and significant enterprises of the
ancient capital, in 1799, was the establishment of a public
 „  _
* The Baton's Cluh, composed of the different elements of Quebec society
began to meet as early as iSoS, in the Union Building, opposite the Place
d'Armes.

96 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
library, which continued till 1869, when its books, num
bering more than 6,000, became the property by purchase
of its worthy competitor and successor " The Literary
and Historical Society of Quebec," one of the most
ancient and excellent organizations in the Dominion. This
first library, formed less than twenty years after the
wreck of the capital and its capture, was honorable to the
inteUigence and philanthropic spirit of its founders, as
weU as productive of much lasting good.
Mr. Perrault was one of the founders, in 1824, of this
society, whose objects could not -fail of recommending
themselves to a man of his heart and intellect. Among its
members, from the earliest times, may be found the names
not only of the most cultivated scholars of the city and
province, but even of those of world-wide reputation. In
1 83 1 this society offered thirty- two sUver medals as prizes
for the best treatises on historical, literary and educational
subjects and for the promotion of fine arts, botany, agri
culture, pisciculture, &c. Mr. Perrault was awarded one,
with a suitable inscription, for the best thesis on a
" Digested plan of general and permanent education,
calculated to promote the prosperity of Canada under
its present circumstances." It never paid a tribute more
highly deserved or appreciated by the many friends of the
veteran educationist. The heavy loss which it incurred
through the two fires of 1854 and 1862 deprived it of many
valuable books and manuscripts, but in its present con
dition the city of Quebec may justly be proud of this
institution, which contains the intellectual works of our
littirateurs ofjDOth races. The valuable literary treasures
of this society are ever avaUable, a centre of attraction
and a mine of helpful information. The most highly

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 97
cultivated intellects of Quebec have acknowledged their
indebtedness to this valuable collection and by voice
and pen have lauded its utUity and influence ; and the
journahst, antiquarian, orator and historian, local and
foreign, have long resorted to this precious storehouse
for facts and inspiration in literary enterprises of the most
varied kinds. The community, provided by the thoughtful
kindness and generosity of some of its members with such
advantages, is greatly served. It is by such institutions
that an elevated taste for literature is cultivated, humble
students encouraged, and the minds of citizens, generally
immersed in business, occasionally diverted from their
corrodiug cares to pursuits tending to tranquUUze and
refine. There is no denying that by such means precious light
has been shed upon the early history of Canada, as well
as upon the character and transactions of its leading per
sonages. Partly from the example and influence of such
societies, Quebec has never been without observant and
thoughtful citizens like Mr. Perrault and other writers
well known to our literature, who have correctly noted
and usefully commented upon the various remarkable
incidents of their time. Mr, J, M, LeMoine dfeserves
mention for this praiseworthy habit, no less than for the
pains he has taken in collecting and publishing traditions
and old occurrences of Canadian life, the remembrance
of which might otherwise have been lost, as " beneath the
dignity of history."
To this indefatigable writer is owing the publication
in pleasing form of romantic stories current in Quebec
at the end of the last and the beginning of the present
century. In " Quebec Past and Present " will be found

98 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
interesting narratives of Nelson's love episode with a
Quebec beUe in 1782 ; of the visit of the Duke of Kent
in 1791 ; of the gathering of the Micmac Indians in
Quebec, in full war-paint and costume ; of the destruction
by fire of the convent and church of the Freres Recollets,
in 1796; of the execution of David McLane ; of the
operations of the press gangs ; of the abolition of slavery
in 1803 ; of the suppression of Le Canadien in 1810, for
the publication of libellous articles on the policy of Sir
James Craig ; of the arrest of MM, Bedard, Taschereau
and Blanchet, for sedition ; of the confinement of General
Winfield Scott, later of Mexican fame, in this city, during
the War of 181 2 ; of the erection in 1827 of a monument
to the rnemory of Wolfe and Montcalm in the Governor's
Garden, and of the heart rending scenes during the epi
demics of 1832 and 1834, many of which events were
witnessed by Mr, Perrault and often referred to in his
conversations. The author beheving that additional details concerning
some of the events above alluded to might prove interesting
to many readers, subjoins extracts relating to them.
Mr, LeMoine thus refers to Admiral Nelson's love
escapade .-
"In 1782, the city belles had been much exercised as to
the marriageable prospects of a young naval officer com
manding H, M. sloop Albemarle, 28 guns, then in port.
What was more distressing to some of them was that, from
the ardor displayed by the susceptible son of Neptune,
there seemed no prospect whatever of seducing his
aUegiance from his fair inamorata, a sweet creature who
hailed from Free Masons' HaU, on Mountain Hill, the
niece of the landlord. The youthful heroine was a damsel

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 99
of wondrous beauty, and the gallant no less a personage
than Lady Hamilton's future lover, the hero of the Nile,
of Aboukir, of Trafalgar — Horatio Lord Nelson, Nelson,
says Lamartine, spent a few months at Quebec. Smitten
with a violent passion for a fair Canadian, inferior to him
by birth, he did not hesitate to sacrifice his ambition to
his love, and was prepared to quit the service to marry
the adored one, as the fleet was ready to sail for Europe.
His brother officers, cognizant of his folly, came ashore,
and tore him by force from his idol and used violence to
remove him on shipboard. This youthful amour of Nelson,
which nearly lost him forever to glory, is well authenticated
by his biographers, Southey, Lamartine and others."
The Great Revolution in France, in 1793, which ended
in the overthrow of that Bourbon dynasty to which Can
ada had been so long devotedly attached, engaged the
attention of such men of the old rigime as the subject of
this memoir, including venerable seigniors, soldiers, clergy
men and statesmen, as the harrowing tale of social and
revolutionary horrors was graduaUy unfolded. The new
subjects of the King experienced not only the profoundest
pity for the victims, and disgust at the progress of the
revolution, but the deepest gratitude for the change of
rule, which had exempted them from the fierce pas
sions and the terrible tyranny and craelty of the Marats,
Robespierres and Saint Justs. This fact, as well as the
horrible crimes-daUy perpetrated on so.many of the clergy,
drew from the venerable prelate Rev. M. Plessis, after
wards Bishop of Quebec, an expression of thankfulness
that he and his co-religionists lived under a different
rigime. Mr. LeMoine makes the following remarks anent
the subject :

100 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
" The upheavings in France were not, however, without
their effect at Quebec. As early as the 28th November,
1793, Lord Dorchester had thought proper to issue a
proclamation against emissaries from France, busily
propagating revolutionary principles in the province of
Quebec. These suspicions we find actuating the policy
of several governors for years afterwards, so long as war
continued between both powers. This horror of French
institutions was more than once used, in later days, by
the entourage of the governors, to worry and oppress
England's new subjects, the descendants of the French."
This persecution was certainly unjust, for the French
Canadian leaders of public opinion, as has been above
shown, did not at any time sympathize with the revolution
in France. Although a short time only under the British
system, they had learned to appreciate its advantages, and
resolved to retain them as long as possible. They felt a
natural antipathy to violent change or sudden political
experiments, and a hatred of cruelty and such atrocities as
marked every stage of the revolutionary movement,*
proclaiming, in the most practical manner, their loyalty
and attachment to Great Britain and the new rigime.
One of the ways in which they gave evidence of these
feelings, was the formation of a " war-fund," to assist
England in her prosecution of the war against the Re
publicans, and to which, indeed, both nations subscribed,
the Roman Catholic clergy also making important
contributions, t
*Mimoires of M. de Gaspi, p. 86.
^^ueiec Gazette, 4th July and 29th August, 1799.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 1 01

CHAPTER XVI,
Social reunions in the Capital — Fetes Champetres
AT Spencer-Wood — Travelling between Quebec
AND Montreal, in i8i8 — Visit of the Micmac
Indians to Quebec towards the end op last
century.
Quebec, as early as the beginning of the present
century, was a social and fashionable centre, to which
beauty, elegance and refinement naturally resorted. Ofli-
cers of the army and navy were conspicuous in society
and favorites with the fair sex, and many matrimonial
connections between them and the city belles were the
result. At this time the merchants of Quebec formed an
important body, and numerous were the houses in which
generous hospitality was dispensed, ahke by sociable
citizens and the military. Such reunions were highly
esteemed by the old liberal residents who took part in
them, serving as they did to foster mutual good feeling
and enhance the enjoyments of society in a country of
meagre population and long and rigorous winters, almost
forbidding communication with the outside world. In the
absence of railroads, rapid steamers and telegraphs,
foreign news only occasionally reached Canada. The
most startling intelligence, such as the outbreak of war
between England and France, arrived in but the briefest
form, and that many weeks after the event. The citizens
of the province, therefore, were naturally disposed, trae
to the Gallic instincts of the majority, to make the utmost
use of every occasion of diversion and social enjoyment.

102 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
The visits of distinguished personages afforded the hap
piest opportunities for such gratifications. The adven
tures of the beaux and belles of the day at the various
parties, mihtary or civUian, the faux pas, the prospects
of this, or that individual, the successes, or failures wit
nessed, all furnished abundant material for conversation,
jest or banter, for many a winter night. French and
British manners appeared in lively contrast and a spirit of
good nature and forbearance was generally prevalent.
The combined loyalty and politeness of the Canadians
always insured the military of Great Britain, or any
distinguished personage the heartiest welcome.
The charming /if/^j champetres given by His Excellency
Sir James Henry Craig, Governor-General of Canada, at
Spencer Wood, during the early part of this century, were
important social events, which came off with great iclat.
A description of one of them cannot be out of place in a
chapter like the present, particularly as many of them
were attended by Mr. Perrault. In the Mimoires of M.
de Gaspe, is foimd the subjoined account, which the
author translates as foUows :
"As early as half-past eight in the moming, on a
beautiful day in the month of July, as lovely as on three
previous occasions, when a glorious sun enlivened sinular
delightful /if /«, the ilite of Quebec society left the city to
accept the invitation of Sir James. Upon their arrival at
his residence at Powell-place (as it was then called), the
guests, leaving their vehicles on the King's highway,
wended their way through the forest, following a path,
which after many picturesque windings, led to a charming
cottage, from which the visitor obtained an entrancing
view of the magnificent St, Lawrence, which seemed as if

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 103
suddenly to arise from ornamental groves. Tables with
four, six or eight covers, were placed on the parterre
before the cottage, on an immense platform of waxed deal
boards, which subsequently answered as an open-air baU-
floor. As the guests arrived, they formed a happy break
fast family party — a family party, I say, for, apart from the
aide-de-camp who attended to the principal guests, and
the servants, nought interfered with the little groups of
intimate friends, who partook together of this first repast
of cold meats, butter, radishes, tea and coffee. Those
who had satisfied their appetites withdrew and indulged
in a stroll in the adjoining gardens and groves. At
ten o'clock the tables were removed and the guests
were all expectancy. In truth, the cottage, like the
castle in the opera of Zimire et Azor, seemed as if await
ing the wave of a fairy's wand to give it life. After a
few minutes' delay the principal door opened and ' the
little King Craig ' (a sobriquet of Sir James^ entered, fol
lowed by a brilliant suite. At the same moment an
invisible orchestra in the branches of high poplar trees
played ' God save the King ; ' all present uncovering and
listening in silence to the imposing tones of the national
anthem of Great Britain.
" The most [distinguished guests hastened to present
their respects to the govemor; while others who did
not take part in the dance, sat on the verandas, where
was placed the gubernatorial throne, and an aide-de-camp
called out ' choose your partners,' and the ball com
menced. " . , , It was half-past two and we were in the
midst of the excitement of a contra-dance, of a most
enlivening measure, when the music abruptly ceased ; the

104 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
suddenness of the interruption found some of the dancers
with their arms extended and others in the act of hopping,
in which position they remained several moments before
they reahzed its cause. An aide-de-camp, on seeing the
approach of two grand dignitaries of their respective
churches, their Lordships, Bishops Plessis and Mountain,
had, by a sign silenced the band. Dancing was not
resumed until after the departure of these two Clericals, for
Sir James, out of respect to their exalted position, had
established this, rule ol itiquette.
"At three o'clock the sound of a bugle was heard from
a distance, when all followed the govemor, who led the
way by a convenient pathway through the then virgin
forest of Powell-place. This promenade was so prolonged
that many thought that Sir James wished to give those
who had not indulged in dancing, an appetite for dinner,
when in a tuming of the footpath an immense table, over
spread by a leafy canopy, became visible — a grateful
oasis. Indeed M, Petit, His Excellency's chief cook,
surpassed himself on this occasion, and, like Vatel, would
have stabbed himself to the heart, had he not gained the
highest praise for his management of the festival, with
which his generous patron had entrasted him,
" Nothing could have been finer, nothing grander than
this repast, not only to les enfants du sol, then little accus
tomed to such feasts, but also to the European guests. So
great were the culinary abUities of this distinguished
French artist, that few present were acquainted with the
dehcious dishes served them,
" When the Bishops had left, which was shortly after
dinner, dancing was resumed and continued with unceas
ing ardor until prudent mothers became anxious in regard

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 105
to certain loiterings of their daughters between the dances,
after the disappearance of Phoebus. To summon these
young nymphs they did not resort to threats, nor to the
arms of the goddess Calypso, but to caUs in tone
sufficiently austere to excite the discontent of the young
cavaliers. At nine o'clock all had returned within the
waUs of Quebec."
Those who find fault with the delinquencies of our
present post office administration would have had much
more cause of complaint in Mr, Perrault's days, when M,
de Gasp6 wrote :
"As there was at that time no postal service estabhshed
between Quebec and Three Rivers, matters were arranged
by those living in the country, in something like the fol
lowing way : ' Do not forget,' would say my uncle de Lau-
nadiere, seignior de Sainte Anne de la Parade, ' to have
supper prepared for S6guin,'
"This M. Seguin generally arrived at night at the
Manor House, the doors of which were generally open,
quietly took his supper and produced from his pockets the
letters and papers, when he had any, and placed them on
the table, and then continued his journey."
In reference to traveUing in those days and the difficul
ties attending it, the same writer says :
" Let me refer to the rarity of travellers at that time.
Could they not resort to boats during the summer ? Oh !
yes ; if the adverse -wind was not too violent they could
even come down from Montreal to Quebec in three or
four days, but the main diflficulty was in ascending the
rapids, A trip by schooner, if the wind was favorable,
generally took fifteen days, but oftener a month or
more.

106 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
" This reminds me of a first voyage from Quebec to
Montreal by steamer. It was in October of 1818 at eleven
o'clock in the evening, when the Caledonia, in which I
had taken passage, left the Queen's wharf. Between
seven and eight o'clock on the following morning my
¦companion, the late Robert Christie, opened the windows
of his stateroom and called out ' We are going famously.'
We were really progressing well for we were opposite
Pointe-aux-Trembles ; aided by a strong wind we had
made seven leagues in nine hours. We arrived at the
foot of the current below Montreal on the third day, con
gratulating ourselves on the rapidity of steamer trips, nor
did we feel humiliated in the absence of favorable winds,
which did not last more than twenty-four hours, to have
recourse to the united strength of forty-two oxen to assist
us in ascending the current, I acknowledge that the
Caledonia deserved to be ranked as a first-class steamer
of that time, and it was with regret that we bade adieu to
it, after the pleasant time we had on board."
A very strange sight indeed, if not terrif)dng to the
timorous, must have been the visit of the Micmac Indians
to Quebec towards the end of last century, and whose
encampment was at Indian Point, now known as St,
Joseph de Levy. The foUowing graphic account of this
incident is given in Les Anciens Canadiens, by the author
of the above extracts :
(Translation.)
" About one o'clock in the afternoon a number of
Indians crossed from Point L6vy and began rushing
through the streets in such crowds as to cause uneasiness
to the commandant, who immediately doubled the guards

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 107
at the city gates and barracks. There was, however,
nothing hostUe in their appearance ; the men, in fact, had
on only their shirts and trowsers and for weapons their
tomahawks, which they never allowed out of their posses
sion. Human scalps, suspended from the belts of the older
Indians, were evidence of the active part which these
warriors had taken in the last war between the English
and Americans.
"These were true aborigines whom I saw on that
occasion, with their ferocious appearance, their faces
painted black and red, their tattoed bodies, their heads
shaven with the exception of a single tuft, which they
allowed to grow on the top of their head, as a defiance to
their enemies and their ears split like Canadian croqui-
gnoles, reaching in some instances to their shoulders,
whfle others, who had preserved theirs intact, in spite of
many drunken brawls, defiantly shook them with their
appendages, silver rings of four inches in diameter.
Everything about them showed the barbarous and fierce
warriors, ready to quaff human blood from his enemy's
skuH and subject him to the most cruel tortures.
" I never knew why they gathered in such large num
bers on that Sunday in the city of Quebec. Had they
received their presents from the govemment the evening
before, or was it a particular feast of their tribe ? At any
rate I never saw either before or since, so many within
the walls. A remarkable peculiarity was the absence of
aU their squaws on that day.
" The Indians, after promenading the different streets
of the city in crowds of from thirty to forty, danced in
front of the houses of the principal citizens, who threw
money to them from the windows, either as a reward for

108 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
their performance, or to get rid of them ; they then wound
up by reassembhng on the market-place in the Upper
Town, at the close of vespers in the Roman Catholic
cathedral, I saw them there to the number of four or
five hundred warriors, singing and dancing the 'war-
dance,' as practised by the Indians of North America.
" It was easy to understand the pantomime ; they
appeared first to hold a council-of-war ; then after some
short harangues from their warriors, they followed in file
their great chief, imitating, with their tomahawks, in
cadence, the strokes of paddles' on the water. For a long
time they walked round in a circle, chanting a monotonous
and sinister air : this was the departure by canoe on the
war-path. The refrain'of this song, which I stiU remem
ber, often having sung it afterwards when dancing with
the gamins of Quebec, was, without being certain of the
¦orthography : ' Sahontesi sahontesi sahontesf oniakirin
ouatchi-chicono-ouatche.' " At last, at a signal from their chief, all became sUent
when they began to examine the horizon and frequently
sniffed the air, as if scenting an enemy, and judging from
the expression of their faces they had discovered the
neighborhood of one. After traversing the circle for some
minutes, crawling serpent-like on their stomachs and
apparently using the utmost precaution, so as not to
apprise the enemy of their presence, the chief suddenly
uttered a horrible yell, which was immediately repeated
by the others, and rushing amid the spectators, brandishing
his tomahawk, pounced upon a young lad, stupidly gaping
at them, threw him over his shoulder, re-entered the circle,
which immediately closed around him, pitched him face-
downwards on the ground, pressed his knee on the pros-

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 109
trate boy's back and made pretence of scalping him.
Then, tuming him over quickly, he motioned as if cutting
open his breast and collecting in his hand the blood
flowing from the wound and drinking it, uttering at the
same time terrible howls of satisfaction,
"^The spectators from afar thought that a tragedy had
been enacted, when the Indian jumping to his feet cried
out triumphantly, at the same time brandishing above his
head a real human scalp, colored as if with vermUion, which
he had adroitly taken from his belt, while those nearest
during this drama, shouted with laughter, ' Save yourself my
little Pitre (Pierre), the canaouas will skin you like an eel.'
" Little Pitre did not require to be twice told this ; he
rushed away among the crowd which allowed him to pass,
and ran as fast as he could along Fabrique street, amid
the amused cries of the people, who kept shouting, ' Save
yourself little Pitre,'
" The Indians having danced for some time, uttering
yeUs of delight, which sounded to us like the bowlings of
so many fiends, which Satan, in an ' infernal ' humor, had
that day let loose, finished by dispersing ; and by evening
the city had resumed its usual cairn. Those of the abor
igines, who were not too intoxicated, returned to Point
L^-vy, while those who had succumbed to the influence of
lorn (rum), slept peacefully on the bosom of mother-earth,
in all available comers ot the Upper and Lower Town of
Quebec," There are many other interesting incidents that the
author might give, but he fears to trespass too much upon
the patience of his readers.
The materials for a proper account of Mr. Perrault's
life, from the early part of this century up to 1828, are

110 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
rather scant, but, it was not an eventful period, either as
regards public affairs, or his individual experiences. He
continued to devote himself to the duties of his office in
the moming, while his afternoons and evenings were
spent in literary pursuits, o^ benevolent actions. It
will be seen by a reference t6 the appendix that during
that time, as well as later, he published a number of useful
and important works on several subjects. He was not
only a zealous student and industrious recorder of
facts, but contemplated -with satisfaction many hterary
schemes, which were not all, unfortunately, destined to be
carried out. In this, as in others matters, he would have
said : "L' homme propose, mais Dieu dispose"

OLD AND NEW CANADA. Ill

CHAPTER XVII.
The War of 1812 ; Loyalty and Patriotism of the
People — Gen. Brock — Lieut.-Col. de Salaberry.
At the important era of 181 2, the attitude of Mr.
Perrault was loyal and satisfactory to his friends and the
authorities. Though the democratic party of the United
States, which precipitated the war with England, counted
upon the disloyalty of the Canadians and their wUhngness
to join the Republic, they were doomed to the severest
disappointment. Despite grandiloquent proclamations,
threats and overtures on the part of American generals,
Canadians, of all races, assisted by the U. E, Loyalists,
cordially united with the British troops in repeUing the
invaders and maintaining the connection with England.
The Americans themselves were not unanimous in enter
ing upon this war ; the Republican party, comprising the
majority of the people of New England, stoutly oppos
ing and denouncing, as strongly as Enghshmen could,
the aUiance with Napoleon Bonoparte. The loyalty of
the Canadians at this epoch and their gaUant conduct
on every battle field were subjects of just pride to Great
Britain and the cause of greater regard for the colony ever
afterwards. Party differences in the two provinces became hushed
and a spirit of unity speedUy dawned upon the poli
tical horizon. Although the French-Canadians were
fully aware of the increased strength of the RepubUc
since the war of Independence, which enabled it to place

112 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
larger forces in the field than the provinces could muster,
even with the aid of England, and, notwithstanding the
certainty that Canada would be the principal battle
ground, they nobly faced the dangers of the situation.
The legislature of each province voted liberal grants for
the expenses of the war and raised, comparatively to their
populations, large bodies of militia, who cheerfully bore
the labors and hardships of the campaigns in the wilder
ness and on the great rivers and lakes of the west. For
over two years the Canadian and American borders were
ravaged by the fierce strife ; enormous amounts of pro
perty, military and civU, were destroyed, as well as
thousands of gallant lives. Throughout, though nearly
always outnumbered and not seldom by two to one, the
Canadian mUitia, led by British officers and backed by a
handful of regulars, nobly maintained their country's
honor, inflicting far greater injury on the enemy than
received at his hands. The several American invasions
ended in disaster, as in the hard-won victories of Queens-
ton Heights and Lundy's Lane, both particularly glorious
to British and Canadian arms in the west, as were the
• contests of Chateauguay and Chrysler's Farm in the
east. The brilliant naval victories of the Americans on
the lakes and elsewhere were, however, some offset to
these reverses by land. Lower Canada was fortunate in
being the scene of only a few of the assaults of • the enemy,
the Upper Province being chiefly the object of his attack,
in which the war raged with the utmost violence from the
beginning to the end. It was with a feeling of unspeak
able rehef and joy that the Canadians witnessed the ter
mination of this contest, which had resulted in but great
mutual injury.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 113
The attitude of the Roman Catholic hierarchy aU
through the contest was most patriotic and praise
worthy. No better illustration of it could be found than
the pastoral letter of Vicar-General Jean-Henri-Auguste
Roux, of the Diocese of Quebec, addressed to the parish
of Montreal, and which, while deploring the horrors of
war, appealed to the patriotism and martial ardor of the
people, pouited out their duties as citizens and called
upon them to use their utmost endeavors to resist the
American aggressors. Such appeals and the appreciation
of the just and free govemment they had enjoyed since the
cession produced a powerful effect upon the Canadians,
who, by their heroic sacrifices and exertions showed their
high estimate of the political benefits they were receiving.
It is well know^n that George HI,, in his declining days,
often most gratefully acknowledged his indebtedness to the
French-Canadians, and predicted for the British flag a long
and glorious career on this continent, so long as his " new
subjects " were honorably dealt with and their affection to
the crown of England retained. This trust long after
wards continued to produce good effects, as evinced in
the loyalty so frequently manifested by them throughout
this war.
At a time when the military forces of the country were
sadly inadequate, Mr, PeYrault, both by personal example
and opinions, did what he could to encourage the old
Canadian militia. He held the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel in the Sedentary Militia, and served among the
defenders of the city during this war. He considered it
his duty, while discountenancing a spirit of bravado or
playing at soldiers, to maintain the view .that the rights and
privileges of citizenship, in a free state, merit sacrifices on
8

114 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
the part of the beneficiaries, and that every man, rich and
poor, should contribute his services, no matter how
humble or important, to the state which protected him.
In this belief he was not at all singular ; but yet too many
considered that they should take all the advantages the
state could confer and render nothing, or as httle as
possible, in retum. He was also one of the men who
correctly believed that the best defence against anarchy
at home, or hostile projects from abroad, was a state of
efficient preparation ; and there is no doubt that the
knowledge of Canadian patriotism and loyalty to the Em
pire, very materially influenced the course of affairs, on more
than one important occasion, on both sides of the Atlantic,
Mr, Perrault frequently spoke of the intense excitement
throughout the province at that time, and of the deter
mination of French and Enghsh-Canadians alike, to defend
their country and British connection with their last
breath. The strain of this crisis was most cheerfuUy and
gallantly sustained by all races and classes, and the utmost
pride expressed in Canadian achievements. The vastly
different experiences of the Americans in this, as compared
with the former war, and the want of even the little sympathy
which they had previously received, was a frequent subject
of comment in the social circles of Quebec and Montreal ;
nor was the remark disputed, that the incidents and
results of the strife served but to widen the gulf of ill-
feeling which previously yawned between the British
provinces and the Republic. The news of the different
victories in the two provinces was received with the
greatest enthusiasm in Quebec, and the annoimcement of
each victory was heralded with salvoes of artillery from
its citadel and batteries.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 115'
In Quebec Past and Present, Mr. LeMoine gives more
ample details in reference to the effect upon the citizens of
Quebec, and the stirring incidents of that time :
" Exciting they were, those warlike days of 1812.
Some of the veterans of that period, stUl moving among
us, tell with kindling eye, of the demonstrative joy on
every face one, would meet, when the citadel or grand
battery guns roared out a salute in honor of the victories
of Chateauguay 
" The war of 1812, which extended over three years —
1812-13-14, furnishes a glorious record for the diverse
races who inhabit this soil. As Colonel Coffin truthfuUy
observes, ' its souvenir quickens the pulse, vibrates through
the frame, summoning from the pregnant past memories
of suffering and endurance, and of honorable exertion.'
The people of Canada, at large, are proud of the men, of
the deeds and of the recollections of those days. Quebec
is equally proud of her worthies.
" War had been declared against Great Britain by Con
gress, on the Sth Jime, 181 2, and on the 24tb the event
was known at Quebec. A notification was immediately
made by the pohce, that all American citizens must leave
the city of Quebec by the 1st of July, and be out of the
limits of that district by the 3rd of the same month. On
the last day of June, the period was extended by the
governor's proclamation; fourteen days were allowed to
Americans who were in the province, as they were
principally persons who had entered it in good faith and
in the prosecution of commercial pursuits. On the same
day, proclamations were issued imposing an embargo upon
the shipping in the port and convoking the legislature for
the 1 6th July. A curious episode of this war was the

116 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
removal to Quebec of the captive American General
Winfield Scott, who was escorted by some of the officers
of our Quebec Cavalry (Messrs. Sheppard, H. Gowen and
John Musson) to the buUding then owned at Beauport by
Judge De Bonne, now forming part of the site of the
Lunatic Asylum, He was released when peace was pro- ,
claimed and lived to cull laurels in the war .of the United
States with Mexico, in 1847."
The old citizens of Quebec manifested great interest in
the events and heroes of this war, and avaUed themselves
of every opportunity to honor those who had, in any way^
distinguished themselves during that straggle.
The return of one of the heroes to Quebec was the
occasion of a demonstration in which Mr. Perrault took
a leading part — the presentation of a sword by the
admirers and friends of Lieut, Frederic Rolette, of the
provincial navy, in recognition of his undaunted courage
and many deeds of heroism on Lakes Erie and Huron,
Mr, Perrault opened the subscription Ust, and in every
way promoted this patriotic enterprise. In L' Observateur
of March 26, 1831, the glorious deeds of the Lieutenant
are recorded ;¦ they are reproduced here from the fact that
he was a young friend of Mr. Perrault, and that the memory
of so many acts of bravery should be perpetuated :
" M. Rolette took part in nearly all the naval and
military exploits which occurred on the Upper Lakes, or
in their vicinity, during the war with oi^r neighbors of the
United States, It was he, who, in a barge with six
men, boarded and captured the ' Conjuga Packet ', an
American schooner, of five officers and forty men, besides
the crew, and which was laden with provisions of war for
General HuU's Army. At Riviere au Raisin, M, Rolette

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 1 17
served in the artillery and was in charge of several field-
pieces. He was then dangerously wounded in the head
by a musket bullet, and received in the left side nine
buckshots. In the important and murderous conflict of
the 13th September, 1813, between the English fleet and
a superior American squadron on Lake Erie, M. Rolette
acted as first lieutenant of the 'Lady Prevost'; when all
but Great Britain's honor was lost and, after Captain
Buchan had been taken to his cabin mortally wounded,
the command of the vessel devolved on M. Rolette, who
continued the combat with heroic bravery until he had
been dangerously injured in the right side and seriously
burned by a gunpowder explosion, which killed and
maimed several of his men. He surrendered his vessel
to the enemy, only when she was totally dismantled and
in a sinking condition, M, Rolette, during the war, took
eighteen prizes of different kinds and value. He was a
Canadian and his country may be proud of having given
him birth ; his services have been recorded in the pages
of the history of Canada, and form no little part of the
glory achieved during the struggles of 181 2-13 and 14,"
The achievements of Lieut, Rolette have not been
sufficiently noticed by the historian; the same remark
might justly be made with reference to another Canadian
whose name should ever be held in grateful remembrance
by the British Govemment — Lieut,-Col, Dambourges. His
bravery secured the termination of the conflict at Sault-
au-Matelot street, on the occasion of Arnold's attack
upon the city of Quebec in 1775.
The Colonel, with the aid of a single follower named
Charland, entered one of the houses through an attic win
dow, intimidated and captured thirty of the American

118 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
assailants. His gallantry encouraged and inspired his
fellow-soldiers, one of whom. Major Nairn, performed a
somewhat similar act of courage in another building. The
effect of such exploits as these was important and speedy,'
and very soon the same spirit was witnessed throughout
the whole force.* The Colonel was also a friend of
Mr. Perrault, and they frequently met in the city of
Montreal. Both these patriots. Colonel Dambourges and Lieut,
Rolette, were Canadians, of whom any country might
boast, and Mr, Perrault always treated them with every
respect, regarding their lives and characters as a precious
possession to their countrymen, calculated to honorably
influence them for all time.
The splendid miUtary feats of Brigadier General Isaac
Brock were a subject of frequent eulogy in Quebec, where
he had been stationed some years with his regiment, the
49th.f His various movements and achievements were
followed with the deepest interest by his old friends in the
city, and in no part of the world was his early, but
glorious death at the b&tttle of Queenston, more sadly
moumed ; but events nearer home, the following year,
powerfully attracted the attention of the inhabitants of
this province.
One of the principal objects of the enemy was the cap
ture of Montreal, for which purpose they despatched an

*The Abb^ E. D. Bois has written an interesting sketch of the life and
deeds of tliis brave and excellent soldier. For a resunii of this work, vide
Literary Sheaves, or La Littirature au Canada, by the author.
fHe resided for a while in an old-fashioned building, corner of Garden
and Parloir streets, demolislied some years ago, and subsequently in tlie
house now occupied by Messrs. Fisher & Blouin, Fabrique street.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 119
,^ army under Gen. Hampton, and another under Gen.
Wilkinson. The first force marched towards Chateauguay
where a battle took place which frustrated its project and
shed eternal honor on French-Canadian valor. Lieut.-Col,
de Salaberry (a Quebec officer) making use of feUed trees,
standing timber and every natural advantage, lay in am
bush, with a force of three hundred men, voltigeurs, and
Indians, and so occupied and harassed the enemy for
.several hours as to effect his complete demoralization and
render a retreat necessary, after suffering serious loss.
The Colonel, to mislead and intimidate the enemy, 5,000
in number, distributed a handful of Indians and some
trumpeters in different parts of the forest, and at a given
signal these were ordered to raise their war-whoops, sotmd
the alarm and attack, and thus create an impression that
an immense force was all around. In such ways, aided
by the pluck and daring of his voltigeurs, the enemy was
overawed and ultimately compelled to abandon the con
test. No more creditable exploit was performed during
this war, and the descendants of the gallant Colonel, as
well as his countrymen generally, have every right to hold
his memory in grateful recollection. He is properly
regarded by men of aU races, acquainted with the circum-
¦stances and history of the country, as a representative
Canadian, possessing the chivalric quaUties of the old
French pioneers, who built up this country and extended
its fame to the shores of the gulf of Mexico. The Colonel
•was a man with whom loyalty was a binding and absorb
ing duty, and he considered no risks or sacrifices too great
for the maintenance of Canadian honor. It is gratifying
to know that the Duke of Kent was one of his personal
admirers; and that the friendship was mutual and sincere

120 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
to the end of their lives. But with regard to the termina
tion of the struggle, it is admitted that that heavy disaster
to American arms, coupled with the check at Chrysler's
farm, when Gen. WUkinson was defeated, saved the
province from the cruel experiences of Upper Canada,
and struck terror into the heart of the RepubUcan invader.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 121

CHAPTER XVIII.
Grateful and Affectionate Recollections.
Shortly after conceiving the idea of writing this brief
account of Mr. Perrault's life, undertaken mainly in obe
dience to the wishes of his friends and beneficiaries in the
first 'instance, and with no desire for the gratification of
literary vanity, the author wrote to Mr, Albert Bender, of
St. Thomas, Montmagny, a grandson of Mr. Perrault, who
lived with him for twenty-two years, enjoying his con
fidence and thoroughly understanding his uoble character
and lofty motives, for any reliable information on the
subject. The biographer acknowledges himself indebted
for many important detaUs to this gentleman, who, how
ever, from motives of delicacy, withheld certain facts and
circumstances in every way honorable and worthy of
mention, which he did not wish to make public, To this
letter was received the foUowing reply, which is published
on accoimt of the devotion it manifests in the writer to
his grandfather, and the graceful and feeling manner in
which he expresses himself.

[Translation.)
Montmagny,^ 2 ist November, 1880,
My Dear Prosper, — I am delighted with your reso
lution to write the life of the excellent old grandfather,
now no more. Justice has not by any means been ren-

122 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
dered to a memory which the country should ever hold
in the highest esteem, and particularly those who were
benefitted by his liberality and kindness, but who have
proved themselves wanting in that generous appreciation,
so honorable to humanity. For my part, I have deeply
regretted my inability to fittingly describe a character
whose most prominent feature was benevolence, and
whose chief principle in life was personal effort and
sacrifice for the securing of the well-being of his less
fortunate fellow-creatures. It is to his honor that ingra
titude did not chill this Christian sentiment, or paralyze
the efforts to which conscience and duty urged him to
render the community, to some extent, better than he
found it. Hitherto, in Canada, few examples of such self-
denying generosity had been afforded. His life was that
of a true and consistent Christian, not only in theory, but
in practice ; striving to foUow to the utmost the Divine
precepts, none of which was more prominent with him
than benevolence. To me his memory is a religion which
I cannot recall but with tears, and the contemplation of
his virtues and sacrifices, in his ardent attachment to the
human race, excites emotions in my mind which overcome
me. At this day even, were I able to do anything to
please him, as of old, it is impossible for me to express
the happiness it would afford me, however trifling in
itself the act might be.
I will send you what I possess of his writings and anec
dotes, and I regret they are not sufficiently ample to give
a just idea of this philanthropist, who has had few equals,
in this country, at least, and to whom many besides myself
are eternally indebted. He adopted as his motto, in one
of his legal works, " amor justitiae comedit me;" but he

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 123
might have said with equal truth, that " the love of his
fellow-beings consumed him."
If my capacity but equalled my good-will, I would write
a life of him, I so dearly esteemed, in such terms as
would render every reference to his honored name sympa
thetic and inspiring. You wiU, I hope, be fully sensible
of my appreciation of your intention, and I pray that
Providence may grant you every aid and supply every
want, and that your work wUl edify the reader and excite
. a desire in him to emulate the life of the worthy and esti
mable man whose history you record. Yours devotedly,
A. Bender.

The subjoined Jtribute is also deserving of being re
corded in these pages :
{Translation.) Varennes, 9th May, 1881,
My Dear Doctor, — I am charmed that you have
¦ decided to write the biography of grandfather, and I
heartily congratulate you, for his was a noble and striking
character. He was deeply religious and a conscientious
Christian — a rarity in those days — and a most patriotic
• citizen. But it was in the bosom of his famUy, surrounded
by his friends, by his children and grandchUdren that his
"virtues particularly shone forth. There he was loved and
venerated ; there he was ever accessible to the poor, ever
profuse of his bounty. His nature was so confiding that
he trusted every one and was the last to beUeve that he
had been duped ; and, when convinced that his confidence
had been misplaced, even in the veriest trifle, he was
; sorely grieved.

124 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
I left the Asyle Champetre at too young an age to fully
appreciate so noble a disposition; but yet I remember
many of his traits, and wUl certainly never forget my
great indebtedness to him, for he cared for my sister
and me for many years after the death of my father. I
fear I cannot give you much information beyond what you
doubtless already possess ; but should you question me I
would gladly communicate any details in my possession.
If dear Mrs, T, , , , were only living, she, so bright and
clever and with so excellent a memory could have given you
innumerable facts and anecdotes which, I beheve, would
enhance the charm and interest of your forthcoming
memoir. What impressed me most in grandfather were
his exactitude and punctuality. There was no devia
tion from these, and everything was marked out before
hand and faithfully executed. He, so good and so kind,
was inflexible on these points, to a degree hardly credible.
I remember that a pubUsher, having undertaken to print a
book by a certain time, failed to keep his promise, and
grandfather, who was a friend of this gentleman, to give
him a lesson, sued him. If he invited any one to dinner
and the guest failed to arrive at the appointed time,
he sat down to his meal, and when the late comer
arrived J he would say : "I warned you that I dined at
twelve." Immediately afterwards, as if nothing had
happened, the conversation would flow in a tone of gayety,
often interspersed with original emd interesting remarks.
His hospitality was given with a charm and fascination
diflGlcult to describe, and which made all afterwards
anxious to renew this social treat. Under his roof
all were happy, guests and inmates ; if they were not, it
was not the fault of the host. Interesting pages could be

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 125
furnished by my cousin at St, Thomas, for his retentive
memory must preserve many pictures of those days,
when special rejoicings occurred. Forgive, my dear
doctor, the length of this letter, but on the subject of the
olden time, I ever love to dweU. With the kindest regards
to yourself and family. Believe me,. Yours faithfully,
C, DE M,

126 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER XIX.
Personal Appearance of Mr. Perrault ; His Habits..
The biographer having reached a stage of his narrative,
at which it may be assumed Mr. Perrault was in his intel-
• lectual prime, a more specific description of his personal
appearance and character may be expected by the reader.
He was somewhat below the middle height, robust and
muscular, possessing a constitution well fitted to bear the
trials and struggles of his early life. He took, as he him
self has already stated, every possible care of his health,
as a duty to himself and his fellow-creatures, who occu
pied such a large place in his benevolent disposition.
His head was of average size, his forehead high and fuU ;
his nose prominent and of the Roman type; his black
hair was usually covered by a powdered wig, in accord
ance with the prevailing fashion ; and those who knew
him frequently spoke of the brUliancy and power of his
eyes and the expressiveness of his features. The costume
generally worn by him was that of the time of Louis XIV, a
cut away coat with a stiff and embroidered collar, knee-
breeches of black cloth, frills and ruffles on his shirt-
bosom, and cuffs, black sUk stockings and shoes with
silver buckles, and the indispensable jewelled snuff-box.
In manner, he was grave and dignified, at times even
austere ; but with friends, and at his own fireside, he was
ever gentle, kind and affectionate. Gifted with a good

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 127
command of language and keen intellect, his opponents
often winced under his spicy repartees and biting sarcasms.
He expressed his opinions candidly but without arrogance.
His life was an example of unostentatious, practical Christi
anity, a lesson of religion, pure and undefiled ; its govem-
ing principle was Christian duty. His private hfe was
adorned by all the graces of such a character and refined
by those domestic influences which are ever attractive
and improving.
He was essentially practical, not indulging in senti
mental dreams, or -visionary projects ; his schemes had
all a promise of utihty and success. He ever interested
his large circle of acquaintances in his various and
benevolent undertakings. He was generally economical
of words and more especiaUy so during his later years.
As a rule he confined himself to giving form to some
absorbing thought, or communicating useful information,
flie fruit of his own long experience, or diligent study. In
the fullest sense he knew the value of time, and urged
upon the young the importance of making the best use
of present opportunities. He did not often descend to
banter, or trivial conversation, as was too much the habit,
in those days, nor egotistically dwell upon his private
affairs, — a common faUing in men of advanced age. Occa
sionally, he displayed quaint humor, and without effort
would interest his hearers.
Mr. Perrault, being naturally a retiring, modest man,
avoided all occasion of public display, and resisted
efforts made by his warmest friends to put him prom
inently forward. At the same time, *it was well known
that any hterary, or social enterprise, in the least degree
promising salutary results, was sure to receive his patton-

128 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
age and aid. By counsel and in more substantial ways,
he assisted those desirous of improving themselves ; he
ever strove to perform all that a cultivated mind and
a benevolent heart could suggest for the amelioration
of his fellow-beings. It is well known that he adopted
and provided for fifteen destitute chUdren, who after
wards became useful and worthy citizens. The number
included a judge of the Superior Court, one of the first
writers of the country, four lawyers, one doctor and a
merchant. He was very proud] of his mother-tongue. In con
versation and in writing he endeavored to display the
wealth of that language, which, by Common consent all
over the world, has been emphatically called the lan
guage of society and diplomacy. He may not have
been a faultless writer, but his ideas were always lucidly
developed. His religious faith was real and his piety sincere.
When travelling in the country and passing the crosses
erected on the road side, he never failed to uncover, observ
ing, " One should always bare his head before the sign of
our redemption, and perform an act of penitence." "To
day," added my informant, in a characteristic spirit, " as I
grow old, I more than ever understand how good and true
a Christian he was."
His life was a model of regularity, the same hours, daily,
witnessing the same acts, unless some extraordinary
circumstances intervened. He invariably retired at nine
o'clock in the evening, and should any visitors be then
present, he would excuse himself and withdraw. He
was, moreover, greatly imbued with a proper sense
of the value of method in all the transactions of life.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 129
Nothing better showed his strict habits, and painstaking
disposition than the management of his papers and
memoranda as evinced by their orderly state after his
death. His last will was a direct proof of this strictness
and regularity, as well as of his Christian faith, justice
and liberality.

130 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER XX.
Anecdotes — Characteristic Traits.
Mr. Perrault's official duties required periodical tours of
inspection throughout the different rural districts, and he
would occasionally delight his grandsons by promising to
take them with him. Like all chUdren, they would some
times express fears of disappointment from bad weather or
other obstacles, only to elicit the reply, " We will go,
should it rain cats and dogs."
Being invited to a baU in the city, given by one of the
most distinguished members of the Bench, he made his
appearance punctually at the time specified, seven o'clock.
The servants were astonished at his arrival and no one was
prepared to receive him. The judge at last appeared in
unfinished toUet, when Mr. Perrault treated him to a lecture
on the propriety of receiving his guests punctuaUy, in
justice to their feelings and the requirements of etiquette.
As the hour of half-past eight struck, he concluded his
reproof by hoping that the judge would in future practice
more politeness to his guests, and then bade him
^ood-night. On one occasion when he went to St. Joachim to attend
coiurt, the judge failed to appear at the hour fixed. With
his watch before him, he waited several minutes, stroking
his chin, a frequent habit of his, when he rose and left
the court-house. Driving homewards he met the judge.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 131
who enquired of him where he was going? "Home,"
replied Mr. Perrault, " you may go on if you wish, but I
am finished."
On another occasion at St. Valier, when the roll had
been exhausted, he proclaimed, " If any one has a cause
let him appear, the court is about to close." The judge
interfered and said, " But, Mr. Perrault, the law states
we must sit to-morrow," Tuming to the public he
announced : " The judge says he will sit to-morrow, but
the prothonotary will not be here." And the old gentle
man left ; and in those good, old, easy-going times such
eccentricities would be overlooked in a man of his virtues
and abilities.
He was temperate in eating and drinking ; in fact his
description of his ordinary dinner could not fail to raise a
smile. He says in his autobiography that apart from
what little he drank at dinner, he never partook of stimu
lants, nor did he eat freely, which abstemiousness was not
due to any want of appetite or faulty digestion. His
friends used to say that he merely tasted the dishes before
him. He had from his youth practised self-denial and
moderation, in order to attain a ripe old age ; and with
what success the reader shall know.
Every moming at precisely the same hour he left for
his office, about a quarter of a mile from his residence ;
in fine weather on foot ; when it rained, in his carriage ;
he would return home punctually at half past eleven,
continuing this practice up to his ninety -first year,* His
was a large yellow carriage on low wheels and entered
by the sides, unique in appearance ; its handsome gray
?Previous to the building of the Court House on St, Louis street, in 1804,
this office was in the Jesuit barracks.

132 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
ponies were as well known to every one as its patri
archal occupant. On many occasions, poor and infirm
traveUers on the road would be given a seat by Mr.
Perrault's side.
After dinner he enjoyed the traditional " forty winks,"
and then took exercise and diverted himself in the garden ;
subsequently visiting his schools and attending to such
private matters as he deemed important. He ever strove
to economize and make the best of his time. At eight
o'clock, one moming of each week, he met and settled
with his creditors, and at no other time could one venture
to caU upon him for such a purpose.
Those who knew him at home and in his office found,
as it were, two different men. At his own fireside he was
gentle, affectionate and patient, whilst at the court, were
he needlessly interrapted, he was irritable. If business
people, and those who understood the value of time, ex
perienced satisfaction in their relations with him, on the
other hand, the frivolous and stupid dreaded to accost him.
To this day members of the Bar teU many anecdotes of
the old gentleman, only a few more of which, as speci
mens, shaU be presented, A farmer once asked him, at
his office : " Can you let me have my deed of donation,
Mr, Perrault ? " " What is the name of the donor ? "
enquired Mr. Perrault. " Jean S^rien." (Sounding hke,
in French, I don't know; ) " Nor do I," said Mr. Perrault;
" when you do, come back." The man sheepishly stand
ing by for some time, Mr, Perrault put the question,
" What are you waiting for ? When you know the name
of the donor, come back," " But, Mr, Perrault," he
replied, "I have told you, Jean S^rien dit Langlais,"
which reply threw all into a fit of laughter.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 133
His long connection with the courts brought him to
regard the lawyers and officials as his children, and they
looked upon him with the greatest respect, and generally
took in good part any rebuke he chose to administer.
On one occasion the presiding judge asked him to refer
to " Pigeau,'-' on the question under discussion. Mr.
Perrault gave his opinion, but the judge reiterated his
wishes, when the former said : " I do not need to refer to
Pigeau : Perrault is worth Pigeau any day." His memory
was sound, and he was certain of what he affirmed.
A judge once maintaining that he had not rendered a
certain judgment, Mr. Perrault asserted that he had, and
afterwards procured and handed him his notes of the de
cision, adding : " One should think before speaking,"
He often assisted young lawyers by giving counsel as
to questions of procedure and other matters. Once
having done so to a beginner, the advocate on the opposite
side asked instructions of Mr. Perrault, in an undertone,
when the first counsel appealed to the court to prevent
the clerk giving such assistance. Mr. Perrault reproved
this gentleman in that caustic manner so characteristic of
him, by means of an epigram : " Frottez les bottes dun
vilain et il jurera que vous les lui brulez." The youth
ful advocate long remembered the retort : nor did his
friends allow him to forget it.
Though loyal to the core, or, as is said, "jusqu'au bout
des angles," he was controlled by his judgment. When
the volunteers were being caUed out in 1837, a grandson,
like many other youths, (iazzled by the brilliant side ,of
military life, and anxious to display a gorgeous uniform,
asked him to procure a commissicfn for him^ never, dream
ing of all.,thg: bjttemess. which the recollection of bis.

134 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
having enrolled himself with the adversaries of many of
his countrymen would afterwards cause him. But Mr.
Perrault wisely replied : " Let us wait until we are called
upon, and we wUl go together."
His remarks usually contained thought for the heedless.
A member of his household, returning from church, com
mented upon the sermon, alluding to some contradiction
in it, when Mr. Perrault said : " What matters to us the
preacher's logic ? it is enough to know thdt the teachings
of the Church lead to our happiness both in this hfe and
in the next."
One of the old school in regard to politeness, Mr.
Perrault was wont to feel much annoyed by any one
entering his office with his hat on. Then, as now, many
people did not deem it necessary to uncover in public
offices. One day an old, gray-haired lawyer, who from
his birth had borne the title of honorable, entered Mr.
Perrault's office without taking off his hat, and addressed
him > " Mr. Perrault, would you be kind enough to
explain the meaning of the words in the French law,
"Donner du dicouvert a son voisin ? " " With pleasure,
sir," replied the prothonotary, " first ; dicouvert, means
take off your hat. I am sorry to remind one of your age
that it is only in stables people keep on their hats. I will
now give you the other meaning of the phrase." These
gentlemen afterwards became the best imaginable friends.
A distinguished politician, also, once entered Mr. Per
rault's oflSce with his hat on and without knocking. Being-
addressed several times, Mr. Perrault, without answer
ing, rose and conducted him to the door, informing him
that when he knew how to properly enter an office, he
would reply to his question. Shortly afterwards a knock

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 135
was heard and Mr. Perrault, seeing his former visitor
¦entering uncovered, rose and affably requested him to be
seated and treated him with the utmost couirtesy, as if
nothing had happened.
Another day, while in his office, Mr. Perrault had fre
quent occasion to refer to records at the other end of the
room, and whUe away, an absent-minded lawyer had thrice
placed bis fur cap upon his papers. Mr. Perrault then
told him he would throw it into the stove if he found it
there again. Finding it a fourth time on his papers, he
¦carried out his threat. The hat being missed, the pro
thonotary quietly informed its owner that he would doubt
less find what was left of it in the stove.
Seeing so many advocates received during his profes
sional life, he could not help exclaiming : " So many men
forced to steal in order to live ! I shall yet certainly see
some of them hanged." When afterwards, during the
troubles of 1837, three judges were suspended, he said
to them : " I have often predicted that I should see some
•of you hanged {pendu) ; there are now three of you sus
pended (juspendu), which is nearly the same thing."
It is related of Buffon that when he wrote he attired
himself in his best costume, with frills and ruffles ; Mr.
Perrault, on his part, delighted while writing to have
children gamboUing and romping about himl Though
their screams and noise might be deafening to others,
they seemed only to agreeably excite his brain. If they
'Stumbled against his table, which was in the centre of the
room, he would simply cry out " Take care ; " and when
a lull occurred he would exclaim : "What are you about ?
Is there no life in you ? " Should they leave the room, he
would go in search of them and aslt if they could not

136 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
amuse themselves where he was, and then would suggest
new games.
A well-known lawyer of this city relates the foUowing :
On a certain occasion a gentleman thrust his head into
Mr. Perrault's oflice, and, after looking round the room and
seeing no one else present, thoughtlessly inquired, " Is
Mr. So and So, in ? " Mr. Perrault, doubtiess amused
at so absurd a question, gazed round the room, then
opened the stove door and looked in, and quietly replied
" he is not here."
As an instance of his gentleness and patience, the bio
grapher may relate the following incident : One day,
whilst driving with one of his grandsons, the latter
thoughtiessly began to whistle, when Mr. Perrault quietly
checked him, saying it was not poUte. The heedless
youth shortly afterwards again began to whistle, to be once
more reproved. This offence against politeness was
repeated even a third time, and yet Mr. Perrault did not
raise his voice above the ordinary tone, when he reminded
him that he had already twice corrected him.
A few years before the death of Mr. Perrault, the custom
of leaving cards on New Year's day, instead of visiting
in person, began. At that time the Govemor-General
called at Mr. Perrault's and sent in his card by the foot
man. Mr. Perrault, happening then to be near the door
and not at all relishing the new custom, recaUed the
servant and handed him one of his own cards, remarking
that this was his acknowledgment of his master's favor.
As a ¦ characteristic trait it may be mentioned that
when a subscription hst was opened to constract
the 'Archiepiscopal palace in this city, he entered the
name of each member of his family and prot6g6s--on

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 137
the hst, for $io each, thus endeavoring to incite their
pride and sense of duty. Beneath their names he ap
pended his own, for a similar amount, so that no invidi
ous comparison could be made between his and their
contributions. There are many other anecdotes characteristic of his
cadstic wit and humor, impatience of stupidity and con
tempt of humbug, which are yet in circulation and fre
quently repeated by members of the Bar; but the author's
space forbids their being recorded.

138 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER XXI.
Chateau Bigot; its Souvenirs and Associations.
To men of the old rigime and lovers of the antique
and picturesque, no spot in the vicinity of Quebec has
ever presented a stronger interest than that containing
the rains of Chateau Bigot, in the forest of Beaumanoir.
It was occasionally the resort of the members of Mr.
Perrault's family, who were bom and brought up amid
the retiring shadows of that old French rifle, with which
the name of the last intendant will ever be associated.
On one of the delightful slopes of the Laurentides,
.about six miles north of the city, is the site of this cha
teau, the melancholy ruins of which are all that remain
to recall the old chivalric times of French sovereignty,
with the chequered and miserable events of its decline
and overthrow. It was built by Intendant Talon, in
1668, and called Ch&teau Beaumanoir. Its early fame
connects it with the name of JoUiet, Pere Marquette, de
la Salle and others, honorable in old colonial story, who
passed many pleasant days under its plain, substantial
and hospitable roof, and amid its charming gardens and
jomantic woods. With the name of Bigot was stamped
upon its records that impress of infamy, which no friction
of change, or time can ever erase.
In the midst of the solemn silence of a mountain forest,
stand the shattered and crumbling reipains of this structiure,
.an emblem of the system and dynasty to which it belonged^

old' and NEW CANADA, 139
as weU as a sad commentary upon the miserable results
of base selfishness and wickedness. All, who now gaze
upon the mournful memorial of the glory and shame
of other days, can not but recall from the dust and gloom
of the distant past the varied scenes of which the cha
teau was the theatre ; the frugal, honorable and industri
ous lives of the earlier governors, with their mingled
schemes of business enterprise and hostility to the Eng
lish, and the selfishness, dissipation, and rapacity of the
later rulers. Bigot especiaUy, which helped to precipitate
the events of 1759.
Many experience great enjoyment in such tours, their
minds actively reviewing its past history ; while the prin
cipal points of scenery by the way are ever a source
of the greatest pleasure. The castle and grounds are
reached by an agreeable drive through varied and
attractive views, from Charlesbourg church, a few mUes
to the northward. Following the heights of Charles
bourg, one enjoys a full view of Quebec, which remains
in sight as the road ascends the mountain, till the wooded
descent is reached, where the trees shut out aU distant ob
jects with their many-hued foliage and commingled boughs.
The road soon narrows to a cool and leafy forest path,
the carriage having at points to force its way through the
tangled shrabbery. Emerging at last from the gathering
gloom of the forest and crossing a limpid, gurgling stream,
by a rough-hewn bridge, the visitor is startled with a
picture of ruined art and past civUization, amid the still
ness, seclusion and prolific wildness ol nature. The
mountain soUtude is impressive, and the mind intuitively
reverts to the far-off time, when the woods arotmd formed
the brilliant, or glowing background of charming pictures,

140 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
when the decaying ruins were gorgeous halls and brilliant
salons, with smiUng lawns and rich gardens, for the enter
tainment of the greatest men of the old colonial era.
From the mountain summit, in front, overlooking the
chateau may be obtained views, which, for beauty and mag
nificence, are almost unsurpassable. To the distant south,
as the day sets, appears Quebec, " the rock-built city,"
bathed in the roseate and golden hues of the declining sun,
the silvery spires and shining roofs, varying and enhancing
the glory of the spectacle. The lofty heights of L6vy
further east, crowned by its picturesque town and vil
lages, form a similar picture, softened only by distance,
whUe, like an azure band between, rolls the deep, calm
St. Lawrence in its ocean course, on its bosom bearing
fleets of vessels. Following the river to the east, is
the Island of Orleans, a scenic gem, and the long
glittering line of vUlages of Beauport with its double
spired church. Painter and poet in vain might attempt
to do justice to these grand scenes 1 Downward the eye
alights upon the ancient edifice of Chateau Bigot, of which
remain but two weather-beaten gables and a centre division
wall, on whose rugged and plastered surface are scrolled
the names of -visitors, ambitious of paying a tribute to the
remains of departed greatness, or of shining in borrowed
light. The, basement is fiUed with fallen stones and debris,
from which numerous shrubs, red alder trees and haw
thorns sprout, emblematic of the wild passions which once
reveUed in this fair domain ; while the flowers of the lUac
and the blossoms of the apple tree and the thorn strive to
conceal from vulgar gaze those pitiful relics of by-gone days.
The fame of the .chateau has led to the desecration of its
precincts by {he hunters .of treasures,,, whosp deep pits, in

OLD AND NEW CANADA. ^ 141
all directions evidence their energy and the strength of
popular tradition. In relation to the locaUty, it may be
•observed that no traces exist of the unfortunate Caroline,
whose sad story forms a romance in connection with
Bigot, which has been artisticaUy treated by M. Mar-
¦mette, in his work entitled L' Intendant Bigot. The
romantic attachment of the intendant, and the tragic end
¦of his fair inamorata form a most entertaining narrative.
The tourist, reclining upon the soft verdure in the
shadow of trees and of the gable ruins, inhaling the per
fumed air of the vaUey, as he feasts his eyes upon the
beauties of the scene, and taking in every change of Ught,
.every freak of cloud, can not but reflect that this must
have been one of the most delightful places in the days
'When vice-regal taste and wealth exhausted all their re-
-sources to enhance its natural charms, when wits, gallants
¦iand frail beauties lent their presence to its animating
¦influences. His imagination leading him on, he can fancy
•he hears the joyous shouts and the merry rippling laughter
-of those careless loiterers, breaking the silence of the
-¦peaceful woods.
Among the approaches to this historical locality, in Mr.
¦Perrault's day, were winding paths through flowery shrub
bery and fragrant pines, overshadowing the wUd straw-
1 berry, cornel berries, marsh marigold, sUver anemonies,
I tufts of lady's slipper and groups of graceful fems, while
' the branches^ of the birch and maple were animate with
'the cheery, melodious notes of the thrush and linnet,
'the warbling of the rossignol and the whistle of the robin.
The chateau was two stories in height, with attics ; six
windows, and a door in the centre, on the basement floor,
.-and seven windows on the second flat. The cellar door

142 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
and a portion of the tower at the west end of the house,
mentioned by M. Amedee Papineau, in 1831, existed
until some years ago, but the memorial stone, with the
initial C engraved upon it, has long disappeared. Dur
ing the siege of 1775, several Quebec families sought a
safe asylum within these walls, where they waited with
dread the result of the threatened attacks upon the city.
By the habitants in the neighborhood, the place is
believed to be haunted, and after dark it is impossible to
get any of them to approach it,
M. Arti^dee Papineau, son of the late Hon-. Louis-
Joseph Papineau, relates his visit to this locahty in Le
Repertoire National, which the author translates, leaving
out a few detaUs :
" There being here no road for vehicles, we were obliged
to leave ours and entered the bush, when, after a short
walk, we reached the foot of the mountains. Soon we
came to a little stream which we crossed and then found
ourselves on a well-cleared although deserted plateau.
One could not look upon a lovelier spot ; to our right and
behind us was a dense wood ; to our left we saw in the
distance a smiling country, rich pastures and white cot
tages ; towards the horizon, on an elevated promontory, the
city and citadel of Quebec ; and before us a pile of rains,
crumbling walls, overgrown with moss and i-vy, a half
dUapidated tower, a few rafters and the remains of a roof.
After rambling over the homestead, we inspected the
chateau, and it was with the greatest interest that we
examined each vestige attached to these old ruins. We
climbed the walls, ascended the second story, the stair
ways of which trembled and creaked beneath our weight,
and with torches in hand we descended into the dark and

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 143
damp ceUars and penetrated each recess, startled at every
instant by the reverberation of our footsteps and the
rushing of bats, which were frightened by so unusual a
visit in their dark and silent abode.
" I -was young and timid, the least sound alarmed me,
I kept close to my father and hardly dared to breathe.
Oh ! never shaU I forget that subterranean journey. But
my alarm was increased tenfold when I saw before me a
sepulchral stone, -which we stumbled over. Upon it we
deciphered the half obhterated letter C, and after a moum-
ful sUence we gladly quitted this realm of death. Leaving
the ruins, we found ourselves once more on the green
sward, which evidently, from the pecuhar laying out of
the grounds, with its pathways, along which were lilacs,
plum and apple trees now grown wild, was formerly a
garden. " TiU then I had not dared utter a single word, but at
last my curiosity got the better of me andT asked for an
explanation of the mysteries surrounding this tomb-stone.
We seated ourselves at the foot of an old and flourishing
maple tree and my father's friend began his story as
foUows :
" 'You have doubtless heard of the Intendant Bigot,
who governed Canada during last century ; you are also
aware of his defalcation and his thefts from the public
treasury ; you know that his misdeeds caused him to be
hanged in effigy by order of His Most Christian Majesty ;
but what you may not know is the fact that this intendant,
like all the favorites of the ancient regime, wished to lead
the same life of dissipation and luxury as that in old Gaul,
The revolution had not yet levelled classes, you see. He
had himself buUt this country house, the ruins of which

144 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
you now behold. '" Here he came to enjoy himself after
the performance of his official duties and gave those
sumptuous entertainments, to which flocked all the ilite
of the capital, without distinction, not even excepting the
Govemor. Nothing was wanting to make these fetes
¦enjoyable, and a visit to this new Versailles was enchant
ing. Hunting, the noble pastime of our ancestors, was
not the least in the list of amusements of the intendant.
There were few more skilful or intrepid sportsmen than
he  One day, when chasing an elk, he lost his
way as night was approaching. In vain he endeavored to
retrace his steps to his residence. In this sad plight,
wom out by fatigue and entirely prostate, he lay do-wn to
rest at the foot of a tree. Soon the moon rose, brilliantly
and resplendently shining, and, thanks to its gracious
beams, the unfortunate sporstman could -distinguish the
objects about him. Lost in thought, pondering over his
awkward position, he suddenly heard a footstep and per
ceived among the bushes a white object coming towards
him. His excited imagination led him to believe he saw
a phantom of the night, a manitou of the desert, or one of
those genii, who delight in inflaming the ardent and crea
tive spirit of the Indian. The alarmed intendant arose,
¦seized his gun and took aim, but before he could fire
a human being, such as poets love to dream of, one of
those nymphs, fairy inhabitants of the forest, stood
tremblingly before him. It was the Sylphide of Chateau
briand ! It was Malx / It was Vellida t A charming
figure with beautiful large brown eyes, a briUiantly fair
complexion, long black hair flowing in ringlets down
* In the beginning of this chapter the reader must have seen that Intend
ant Talon had the chateau built and not Bigot.— The Author.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 145
her shoulders, which were whiter than snow, the light
breath of the zephyr air wa-ving them around her, and a
long white dress, negligently thrown over this maid of the
forest, completed a typical and attractive picture. One
could imagine Diana, or some Arcadian beauty ! She
was Caroline a child of love, bom on the banks of the
Ottawa ; her father was a French officer of high rank,
and her mother, a 'squaw of the powerful tribe of the
Castors, of the Algonquin nation.
" ' The intendant, not a little excited, requested her to
be seated. Impressed by her beauty, he began questioning
her, told his adventures and finally requested her to
guide him out of the forest. The beautiful Creole grace
fully consented and conducted him to his home, when he
made himself known and induced her to remain at the
chateau. " ' At this stage of my story, you must be told that the
intendant was married, but that his wife seldom -visited
this domain of pleasure. * However it soon became
generally kno-wn that he had a mistress at Beaumanoir
(the other name for Chateau Bigot). This news reached
the ears of his wife, which to her solved the mystery of
his frequent visits to the country. But jealousy will lead
to terrible events as wUl be shown.
" ' The intendant'slept on the ground floor, in a tower
at the north-west of the chateau ; in the storey above was
a chamber occupied by his beautiful protegie. A long
corridor led from this latter room to a large hall and also
to a little secret stairway by which the gardens were
reached, * This is a mistake as the intendant was not a married man, .The Author.
10

146 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
" ' On the 2nd of July 17..,, the following tragedy
occurred : It was evening, eleven o'clock ; the most pro
found silence reigned throughout the chateau; all lights
were extinguished; the moon shed her pale rays through
the gothic windows, and aU the inmates of the domain
were wrapped in slumber : Caroline alone was awake.
" ' She had just retired to rest, when suddenly the door
was opened and a masked figurfe, disguised, approached
her bed, and made a sign ' as if to speak to her. She'
attempted to cry out but was instantly stabbed to the
heart. The intendant awakened by the noise rushed to
her chamber and found her bathed in blood, with a dagger
plunged in het body. He endeavored to recaU her to
life ; she opened her eyes, related what had happened,
and, casting upon him a last loving glance, closed them
forever. The intendant, horror-stricken, raved through
the chateau, uttering heart rending cries ; and the inmates,
now aroused, searched everywhere for the assassin, but he
had escaped,
" ' Rumors of all kinds were rife as to the perpetrators
of this crime, but it was never ascertained who the guilty
party was. Some stated they had seen descending the
secret stairway a woman, who immediately fled to the
woods ; and they believed her to be the intendant's wife.
According to others, the mother of the unfortunate -victim
was the assassin. Whatever may be said, a veU of mystery,
even to this day, hangs over this dreadful murder." ' *
" It Was the intendant's wish that Caroline should be
* Mr. -yVm. Kirby has also weaved a most interesting story of romance in
connection ¦with the events at Chdteau Bigot, the different episodes in the
life of Intendant Bigot, and the fate of Caroline, in a work entitled Ckielt
d'Or. He ascribes fhe death of Caroline to La Corriveau, who committed
the act at the instigation of Angelique des Meloise. — The Author.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 141
buried in the vaults of the chateau, beneath the tower
where she had been assassinated, and the stone which we
saw he placed above her tomb."
This delightful retreat was occasionally frequented by
pleasure seekers and lovers of nature, and also by
the members of the Club des Bons Vivants,* when
bent upon a merry time. Here some of the inmates of
L' Asyle Champetre would wander over the grounds stiU
bearing signs of cultivation, and roam through the halls
and salons of the deserted mansion, probably dreaming
as we do now of past glory and shame. ¦
*The Ahhi Ferland says : " I visited Chdteau Bigot during the summer
of 1834. It was in the state described by M. Papineau. In the interior the
walls were still partly papered. It must not be forgotten tliat about the be
ginning of this century a club of Bon vivants used to meet frequently in the
Chdteau." Mr. -W-. Henderson states that " three celebrated clubs flourished
here (Canada) long before the Stadacona and St. James' clubs were thought
of. The first was formed in Quebec about the beginning of this century."
"It was originally called," says Lambert, "The Beefsteak Club, which
name it soon changed for that of the Baron's Club. It counted twenty-one
members who were chiefly the principal merchants in the colony, and
were styled barons. As the numbers drop off their places are supplied by
knights elect, who are not installed as barons until there is a sufficient num
ber to pay for the entertainment which is given on that occasion."

148 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER XXII.
Popular Education — Mr. Perrault's Sacrifices and
Enterprise — Hon. James McGill and Dr. Morrin —
Promoters op Intellectual Education,
From an early period of this century, Mr, Perrault was
greatly impressed with the importance of the education of
his fellow countrymen on every ground, religious, moral
and material. He was one of those thoughtful members
of the community who -wisely set a high value on the edu
cation of the people. Having liberally quaffed at the
fountain of learning himself, and largely benefitted by the
refreshing and stimulating draughts, none valued it more
highly, both for its own pure sake and its potent aid in
the accomplishment of the most useful and praiseworthy
objects. The extension of education among the people
by every suitable and efficient means, old or new, early
took possession of his mind, as a duty to be performed
with all the powers at his command. Whatever other
projects might be cherished at times, and occasionally
laid aside for one reason or another, the mission of
promoting popular education, and that by the easiest and
most attractive methods, and of increasing the resources
of the poorer classes by as much practical instruction and
industrial training as they could be made to receive, was
one that ever stood foremost in his estimation to the
last day of his active Ufe, No other cares could cool Mr,

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 149
Perrault's ardor in regard to the formation and establish
ment of a proper school system for the country, more
efficient than the old, and not simply up with, but rather
ahead of the most advanced opinions on the subject at
home and abroad.
Intelligent and benevolent men, feehng an interest in
education, are wont to recaU to their minds its effects in
the various countries in which it has made any progress,
and to contrast the social improvements springing from it
¦with the social deficiencies and evils inseparable from a
condition of general ignorance. All capable of reflection
upon this subject unite in admitting the inipossibility of
rapid, or material improvement in any community, un-
pro-vided with an efficient educational system. A review
of the state of the different nations at present, or within
the last two centuries, in regard to this important
matter would be pregnant with interesting information.
No one could fail to remark the advantages derived
by any country from a good school system, in the more
intelligent, moral, enterprising condition of its people,
or be struck with the degraded, immoral and stagnant
condition of any people left in the depths of ignorance.
All lands /urnish striking evidence of the trath of these
remarks. It is only necessary to instance Prassia, Great
Britain, France, the United States and our own country
to convince the most sceptical, if candid, of the immense
value of education in elevating and civiUzing the masses,
and in enormously increasing the national powers of
development, wherever it exists in anything like vigor.
Understanding the social circumstances of the people
of his native province, for whose education over half a
century ago but scant provision had been made, and

150 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
that under systems neither modern nor weU devised, Mr.
Perrault keenly felt that a great public want in this respect
remained to be supplied, and that it was not only his duty,
but that of all, who possessed means and inteUigence, to
endeavor at the eariiest moment to improve its educa
tional facilities.*
It is trae that the middle and upper classes, if they
may be so distinguished, had sufficient opportunities for
classical and superior education in the seminaries and
institutions under control of the clergy, but the great want
deeply felt, and which has unhappily left serious traces to
our own days, was an efficient system of popular educa
tion. In the country districts particularly it was rare to
find a good common school, and a few weeks instraction
in winter would, in many cases, be all that was considered
necessary for the inteUectual training of the people ; and
the slight improvement gained would be too rapidly
effaced by neglect and indifference during the remaining
portion of the year.
In this frame of mind he carefully scanned the progress
of education in Europe, the United States and other
countries, noting every change or experiment promising
the slightest improvement upon the ancient methods.
Long and patient study of this broad subject in aU its
bearings, together with frequent comparisons of methods,
old and new, graduaUy led him to, certainly for that time,
novel no less than practical conclusions, the Value of
which each year's experience could not but confirm.

* In another field and only a short time afterwards, in 1829, another phi
lanthropist, M. Francois Labelle,did effective service in the same direction.
His important deeds and numerous sacrifices are eloquently and ably
detailed by A. Dansereau, in Annales Historiques du Collige de VAsr
somption.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 151
The result was the modelling of a system of education
mainly designed for the elevation of the poorer classes,
and their efficient assistance in the task of procuring a
livelihood, which a spirit of good-wiU to the whole
community compelled him to apply on every fitting
opportunity. Nor can all the fruits of such zealous and
Ipng-sustairred exertions be accurately judged by the mere
tapgibie results, or effects remaining in these days. Fifty
or siity years ago the majority of communities, not only
, in pew countries like this, but even in the old leading
nations of Europe, were very indifferent with regard to
the benefits of popular instruction. If the laboring classes
in town and country were mostly provided with employ
ment and sufficient food to maintain life and enjoyed,
besides, the advantages of religious ministrations, the nature
of which they but imperfectly understood, they were con
sidered by the higher orders sufficiently cared for. Their
mental wants and social improvement were objects of but
secondary importance, the belief of many being that
workmen needed little, or no knowledge, beyond that
necessary to the proper- performance of their manual
tasks, "Popular rights," " popular , instruction " and
" popular franchise " were phrases rarely or never heard
in an age of aristocratic jealousy and exclusiveness ; me
diaeval routine^, and pjejj^^gg ^gre stiU supreme, whUe
natiqcj^ gbj^cte, centred in dyn^id^wars an^schemes of
I. s^l^flB9pK^^^'^|R''-t Qear-giahted and philanthropic jnen,
jJike uI^casteB ..ia;nd^ie.^suCTeQfr. 5£ajai^ biograt)hy, were
Wr %^t 111 li^'.'sr V «<|fW"^*W' ¦.itlW'T'" ,? ¦'%(¦' -tMr
by'b«ii|pi|pq!igr#«pr4^af^gg^n[j6^Tig the9sst^^\^qse
,jjpr0j^1fj^were»-tnti,'%id, t8;a i;^(^e^jifi4 not too^^pensiye
;%ri|jL. ji^-.ii^ r.eg^difo which t^^ ni&M be ^o hea^ or
^iwterial outiay. The^ sai'd'simiiai'- pioneers of true, reform

152 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
had the satisfaction, however, of witnessing substantial
results of their labors and sacrifices, even in their own
lives, with abundant indication of stiU greater gains ere
many years after their death.
Mr. Perrault systematically applied his means and
abUities to the task of interesting his fellow-citizens in the
education of the people, in the best and most attractive
methods. Though he had not the satisfaction of creating
as great an interest in this question as that which animated
himself, he succeeded in enlisting some of his more culti
vated neighbors in his schemes, and attracting atten
tion which otherwise would have been devoted to less
worthy and beneficial objects. It was, however, a source
of regret to him that he could not inspire as many as he
wished with his own zeal in this noble cause, and that his
means feU far short of the operations he would gladly
have set on foot. It was regarded, at the time, and has
often since been asserted by old citizens acquainted with
his efforts in the noble work of public instruction, that his
labors and sacrifices imparted a stimulus to education in
lay circles. Had there been less political excitement,
less rivalry between the different nationalities, less class
prejudice and a warmer interest felt in the condition of
the lower orders, the greatest success would have attended
his efforts. But he was not denied the satisfaction of
partial reward, and of witnessing good fruit from the
trials he made of the system which he had carefully devised
and affectionately tested. It was a great pleasure fo him,
limited as necessarily were his means, to see so many
chUdren of the poor carefully taught and trained in right
principles, and their mental as weU as religious wants
receiving every possible care. There can be no doubt

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 153
that the success of Mr, Perrault's schools, to be elsewhere
more particularly noticed, did much good in various ways ;
not the least being the example they afforded of worthy
labor and sacrifice, and of the educational benefits
obtainable from even the brief maintenance of an intelligent
and practical system of instruction. In reviewing this
part of his life, it cannot but be regretted that he could
not find many coadjutors in hjs well-meant work, which,
if it had been carried on, on an extensive scale, must have
greatly improved the condition of the people. However,
in Montreal, an eminent Scotch merchant, the Hon.
James McGill, had estabhshed for himself a permanent
claim to the gratitude of its citizens by his noble endow
ment of an educational institution named after him. His
example was subsequently followed in Quebec by the late
Dr. Morrin, who promoted higher inteUectual cultivation
by founding the college, which now bears his name and
is affiliated with McGUl University, Names such as these
deserve ever to be held in the highest esteem by the
friends of enlightenment and social progress.

154 OLD and new CANADA.

CHAPTER XXIII.
Mr. Perrault's Educational experiment — Establish
ment OF HIS Free Schools — Opinions respecting
THEM, OF COMPETElSTT AUTHORITIES,
In 1828 Mr, Perrault erected, at his own expense, two
schools, one for boys, in ArtiUery street, and one for
girls, in St, Michel street, in St, Louis suburbs, at which,
in the moming they were instructed in reading, writing and
arithmetic. In the summer afternoons, the boys were
taiight gardening, and in the winter, the manufacture of
agricultural implements ; and the girls to knit, spin,
weave, and make and mend clothing. The boys' school
was provided with joiners', carriage-makers' and other
tools ; and the girls' with implements necessary for the
arts above mentioned, including carding and spinning
wheels, looms, &c. In a report published by a citizen of
Quebec in 1834, on the elementary schools in the district
of Quebec, a description of these two is given, the substance
of which the author translates from the French : " Having
arrived at the boys' school, whose outward appearance is
graceful, our attention was drawn, on entering the school
grounds in front, to a Uttle yard surrounded by a waU,
crowned by a veianda, to protect the children from the
heat of the sun and the rain, should the doors not be open
on their arrival. The front door is surmounted by a
capital, bearing in gilt letters, Ecoles Elimentaires de
M. Perrault, and, above the windows to the right.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 155
Hautes Classes ; above those to the left. Basses Classes.
" I found one hundred Uttle boys seated on forms in the
best of order and engaged, some in reading and others in
writing. The master, assistant, monitors and scholars
continued their ordinary exercises, notwithstanding our
presence — a rule enforced by Mr. Perrault. Every
thing in this house attracted attention ; a spacious aisle
from the door leads you to the platform of the mas
ter, above which is a triangle, with the motto in gilt
letters, A la gloire de Dieu seul. In the upper storey
there are two galleries, one at each extremity of the
building : that to the right is used as a workshop, fur
nished with carpenters' and joiners' tools, a tuming lathe
and two benches ; and that to the left as a storeroom,
where are the agricultural implements manufactured in
the year previous by the pupils, such as rakes, harrows,
ploughs, seed-bags, racks, sledges, berlines, barrows
and a grain thrasher, with eight flails ; in fine, everything
representing trades. The ingenious systems adopted in
this school," the particulars of which he detaUs at full
length, " assist the pupils in making astonishing pro
gress in a very short time, in rapidly becoming efficient in
reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic, and also learn
ing history, geography, linear-drawing, &c. They are
thus enabled, when leaving school, to improve themselves
-in the different careers of life they may afterwards choose
to follow ; to compete successfuUy with others, become
useful citizens and bons peres defamille. I wish that our
legislators could appreciate these establishments at their
true value, secure their purchase, or encourage them in
such a way as to ensure the inappreciable advantages
from them, which I foresee.''

156 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
The foUowing day, this gentleman visited the girls'
school ; thereon he found, " above the doorway, inscribed
in gold letters, Ecole de jeunes filles. This building is
thirty feet square ; the first storey is divided by a passage
of eight feet in width, on each side of which are three rows
of benches. In the morning are taught the usual rudi
ments of education, and in the afternoon the useful
domestic arts already mentioned. In the upper storey,
the different articles of wearing, apparel, stockings,
mittens, underclothing, &c., are exhibited. In this
school there is an attendance of forty pupils, and for
their benefit the founder has expended ;^i,ioo in the
purchase of the machines above alluded to. In an .out-
.buUding are a lavatory and fuUing-tub of a new design,
worked by a system of cranks; which greatly facihtates
this labor ; in the upper part was a large stock of flax.
The elementary education, civU and religious, in these
schools is free, and the work performed by the pupUs
is paid for by Mr. Perrault, according to its value, and
money prizes are weekly awarded to the deserving. The
teachers also receive their remuneration from him, the
pay-list often amounting to ;^i5 a week. The text
books," and he enumerates them, " were composed and
arranged by the founder himself, and are considered
greatly superior to the ordinary school-books of the day,
both as to matter and classification of lessons, and the
hints for instruction and other things interesting and
useful, equally to teacher and pupil ; all of which were
published at the sole expense of Mr. Perrault,"
The author of the report, from which the above extracts
are taken, adds, "these schools are worthy of admiration,
from their suitableness to our wants ; also as the best

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 157
regulated, the most economical and the most useful for
an agricultural population like ours. He who first con
ceived the idea of adding industrial branches to civil and
religious elementary education- was a benefactor of his
race," The writer of the above description also pays a very
warm tribute to Mr. Perrault, which any one who impartially
estimates his object cannot fail to acknowledge as his due.
Besides English, French and Latin grammars, vocabu
laries, abecidaires and manuals for the use of teachers,
then not known and which formed the foundation of
many of the best text-books now in use, treatises on La
Grande et Petite Culture, which were works dealing with
agriculture, horticulture and arboriculture, and disserta
tions on veterinary medicine, also came from his pen
expounding the latest ideas and methods of the best writers
on these subjects to the student, in a practical form.
His chief object was the removal of every possible
obsta.cle from the pupil's path and the practice of the
simplest and most useful system of instruction. For the
purpose of imparting useful information in agriculture,
the chief occupation of our people, he established a
model farm at Lorette, under the direction .of a Mr.
Girod, from Switzerland, who subsequently shot himself
to avoid capture during the rebellion of 1837; but this
enterprise shortly failed, through want of means and en
couragement on the part of the public.
FaUure could not but prove very painful to a mind
so sensitive as Mr, Perrault's, but fortunately he could
offset this disappointment with the gratifying success of
two other agricultural schools, cheering him to still
greater efforts and enhghtening him as to the best course
to adopt for the achievement of the great object he had

158 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
at heart. He remarks with characteristic candor in a part
of his autobiography, "If I have felt the pain of witness
ing the failure of an establishment I considered a very
important one, I have beenVcompensated therefor by the
success of two others, which are prospering to my entire
satisfaction, and which I perceive wiU likely serve, in
course of time, as models for the country."
As the writer of the previous quotations states, consider
able sums of money were expended in these educational
experiments, and also in kindred charitable objects, such
as the providing of clothing for children whose parents
were unable to do so ; and he mentions that on one model
farm alone was spent more than ;^i,5oo. His zeal in this
respect was evinced by his often binding himself, by no
tarial deeds, to furnish needy pupils with garments on
¦condition of their being sent to his schools. His manner
of proceeding was the following : if the parents pretended
they could not send their chUdren to school for the want
¦of wearing apparel, he would offer to supply them with it
and would impose the condition that if the children were
not sent, he wonld exact a penalty, imless it could be
proved that their absence was due alone to illness. Of
course his confidence was often abused, and he finally
determinejd to make an example of some. He sued and
levied the penalty in two or three instances, which, as
might be expected, gave rise to a hue and cry among these
people. In a report submitted to the Legislative Assem
bly of Canada some years before the Union, by a committee
appointed to investigate the then existing state of educa
tion in the country, a witness, who had heard something
in reference to these suits, ignorantly stated that Mr.
Perrault had sued parents for failing to pay for the educa-

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 159
tion of their children, whereas it was well known in
the city that his schools were free. In fact, his generosity
Was such that an impression prevailed among the recipients
of his bounties that he was merely the agent of the govem
ment, whose money he was disbursing.
In his autobiography he barely mentions, and that
with the greatest modesty,, these useful acts. His friends
remonstrated with him on the omission, in this pub
lication, of many kind and generous deeds which he could
not be induced to notice, although their recital could not
have failed in strengthening, if possible, the regard enter
tained for him by all, even those but partiaUy acquainted
with his worthy character.
In the Quebec Gazette of October, 1829, Mr. Per
rault's valuable services are recognized in unmistakable
terms : — " This gentleman is an enthusiastic friend of
education. His school-house could not have cost him
less than ;^4oo, which he built at his own expense. This
is not the only sacrifice which Mr. Perrault has made in
the same cause ; * * * he has liberally subscribed to
charity schools, over which he has often actively presided.
He has himself presented several biUs on education to the
Asseinbly and had others submitted. Although some
difference of opinion may exist as to the different systems
of education, such actions must ever be meritorious and
place Mr. Perrault in the Ust of the public benefactors
of this city."
Le Canadien of May, 1831 thus refers to the opening
of one of Mr. Perrault's schools : — " This gentleman is
widely known for his educational zeal, not only for the
part he has', taken in estabUshing several elementary edu
cational institutions. Which are now in ar state of pros-

160 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
perity, but also for the establishment, at his own cost, of a
new school-house' for girls in St. Louis suburb. The
buUding was consecrated on Tuesday last in the presence
of a large number of people, and can accommodate 216
to 250 children. That suburb may congratulate itself
on possessing so indefatigable a citizen in regard to edu
cation. It must be remembered that Mr. Perrault does
not content himself solely with erecting schools, but that
he is the author of several elementary works of great
merit, and that he has recently compUed an abridged
history of Canada for the use of schools."
It may be askedjby some readers, why did these schools,
estabhshed by Mr. Perrault, entirely disappear from the
roll of our educational system ? The answer is not difii
cult to find. He had reached a patriarchal age before
his circumstances enabled him to carry out this most
cherished object of his life, and he was unable to give
all that personal attention required for their efficient
management. He kept his schools open, however, ftom 1820 to
1837, when the modest govemment grant was withdrawn,
partly in consequence of the political troubles and
financial and mUitary measures and precautions of that
year. This annual grant was but six hundred dollars,
yet it was a useful help which could not weU be dis
pensed with at the .time, owing to the fact that his income
had materially diminished during the two preceding years.
Furthermore, truth compels the writer to state that Mr,
Perrault's means were largely absorbed by these outlays,
and that when he died he left little or nothing to his family.
It would-be unjust to his memory to overlook the fact,
that in various unknown and imobtrusive ways and by

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 161
numerous benevolent and modest methods, by which a
man's store, however moderate, may be made to meet the
many demands and necessities of friends, relations and
the needy generally, Mr. PerraiUt's fortune played a use
ful and meritorious part in the good work of charity,
unrecognized but by its recipients, and in the more public
service of the community in connection with his schools.
Not only by substantial contributions to education and
liberal assistance to numerous connections and acquain
tances, in providing them with education and the means
of a livelihood, did he endeavor to make the best use of
his money and opportunities, but his influence and re
commendations were never withheld when an occasion
offered for the advancement of any one having the least
claim to merit.

IX

162 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTERXXIV.
Statistics or the state of Education in Ontario
AND Quebec.
In view of the great importance of education and the
general desire among the population to benefit by its
advantages, the author would wish to give a sketch of the
commencement and growth of education from the founda
tion of the colony, but the plan of this book, no less than
its limited space, prevents anything like a complete his
tory and necessitates brevity. Those desirous of further
information on the subject are referred to the work of the
Hon. P. J, O. Chauveau, L' Instruction. Publique, the
best extant. The following able risumi of the progress
of education, from the time of the cession to the period
when Mr. Perrault's efforts took practical shape, is from a
work of many and varied merits, which has but recently
appeared, " The Intellectual Development of the Canadian
People," by Mr. J. G. Bourinot : " After the conquest the
education of the people made but little progress in Lower
Canada. Education was confined for the most pait to
the Quebec Seminary, and a few other institutions under
the control of rehgious communities, permitted to remain
in the country. Lord Dorchester appointed a commission
in 1787, to enquire into the whole subject, but no practi
cal results foUowed the step. In 1792 the Duke de
Rochefoucauld wrote that ' the Canadian who could read
was regarded as a phenomenon,' The attempt of the
' Royal Institution for the advancement of Learning ' to

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 163
estabhsh schools was comparatively a failure ; for after an
existence of twenty years it had only thirty-seven schools,
attended by one thousand and fifty-eight scholars 
An educational report of 1824 informs us that 'generally
not above one-fourth of the entire population could read,
and not above one-tenth of them could write even im
perfectly,' In the presentment of the grand juries, and in
the petitions on public grievances, so frequently presented
to parliament, the majority of the signers were obliged to
make their marks. During the year 1824, the Fabrique
Act was passed with the view of relieving the pubhc
grievance, but unhappily the pubUc difficulties, that pre
vailed from that time, prevented any effective measures
being carried out for the establishment of public schools
throughout the province. Nor was education in the western
pro-vince in a much better state during the first period of
Parhamentary Government, that is from 1792 to 1840."
The author -will now give the latest statistics on the
state of education in Ontario and Quebec, showing the
vast proportions to which the school systems, in both
provinces, have developed since Mr. Perrault's day.
From the last annual report of the Education De
partment of Ontario, the foUowing facts are obtained :
Every county, district and township, new or old, have
been supplied with schools. Education is free and
attendance enforced, children from seven years and up
wards are required to attend school for four months in
each year ; the failing to do so entaUs the punishment of
their parents.
The system has undergone important changes since
1876, with regard to its superintendence and direction.
It is now under the control of the Executive CouncU,

164 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
presided over by the Minister of Education. There is a
High school in every county, or union of counties, in
which, among other subjects, chemistry, natural history,
Latin, Greek, and French, or German, are taught
The teaching of the classics in the higher institutions
is compulsory. In 1879 there were 104 of these establish
ments, with 298 teachers and 12,136 pupUs; the salaries
of professors paid amounted to $241,097 ; cost of main
tenance, $400,788.
There are normal schools at Ottawa and Toronto, with
a model school attached to each, one for boys and one for
girls. There were 247 pupils at the Toronto school that
year, and 182 at the Ottawa.
The primary schools include the separate schools for the
Roman Catholics and number 5123. The subjects taught
include reading, writing and arithmetic ; and the great
mass of the youthful population attend these schools ;
boys, 259,056 ; girls, 227,956 ; of male teachers there are
3153; of female, 3443; total, 6596. This number in
cludes 789 Roman Catholics, of whom 456 are employed
in the common schools and 338 in the separate. In
the same year there were 191 separate, or Catholic schools,
¦with an attendance of 24,779. The total sum paid out
for the latter schools was $129,092. The whole amount
disbursed for teachers was $2,072,822. The total expendi
ture on the pubhc schools for that year reached the large
sum of $2,833,084,
M. Paul de Cazes states that the average salary for
male teachers in Ontario county schools is $383, and for
females, $249; for male teachers in the town schools,
$616, and for females, $270 ; for males in the city schools,
$,662 and for females, $296.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 1 65
According to the last report (1879-80^ from the super
intendent of Public Instruction for the Province of
Quebec, the educational institutions are divided into five
classes :
1st. Superior schools or Universities, of which there
are three — McGill, to which are affiliated St. Francis and
Morrin Colleges, Laval University and Bishop's College
at LennoxvUle, with 119 professors and 1013 students,
2nd. Secondary schools, comprising classical, or indus
trial colleges and academies, of which there are 239 with
1149 professors and 36,364 students.
3rd., Normal schools, the Laval at Quebec and the
McGiU ^nd Jacques Cartier at Montreal, having 48 profes
sors and 310 students.
4th, Special schools, comprising schools of applied
science and art, asylums for the blind, and the deaf and
dumb, of which there are 18, with 76 professors and
1)783 pupils.
5th, Primary schools, divided into superior and elemen
tary, of which there is a total of 4489 with 5514 teachers
and 196,673 pupils.
This makes a grand total of 4752 educational institu
tions with a staff of teachers of 6906 and an attendance
of 236,143^ giving on the population of Quebec an aver-
rage of i pupil for every 5.34 inhabitants.
The expenditure on the schools of Quebec includes :
govemment grant, $332,524,13, and the sum of $1,981,-
079.62, contributed by the municipalities, making a total
of $2,313,603,75. Of this amount there is employed lor
common schools purposes about $2,135,645,08.
In a spirit of warm appreciation, the author acknow
ledges having perused with great interest the clever work

166 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
of M. Paul de Cazes, Notes sur le Canada, in which are,
besides useful information upon various subjects, impor
tant details on the present vast educational resources of
the Dominion, He says that the teachers in Quebec are
paid on the following scale which falls far below the Ontario
figures. Of the 645 male teachers of the country schools,
332 receive less than $200 a year; of the 4119 school
mistresses, 1999 are paid less than $100 ; only 152 receive
more than $200,
It seems hardly credible that so many men and women
of intelligence and fair education could be found to accept
such paltry sums for their labors and anxieties in con
nection with the instruction and training of the young.
How they can exist, nay, even procure sufficient food
and clothing with such an allowance, seems a mys
tery, cheap as board and lodging may be in country
places. Then a great number of the male and female
teachers receive salaries under $200 a year for teaching
in the more densely populated districts, where the ex
penses of livuig approach city rates. A respectable educa
tion is obtained at many ofthese establishments, requiring
teachers of considerable attainments, necessitating trymg
and conscientious labor on their part. The remuneration
is far below the proper standard, and must entaU untold
suffering upon the teachers, which cannot but injuriously
react upon the scholars. In extenuation of this evU of
insufficient salaries, of course the limited means of the
province may be pleaded, but it would be weU, for the
sake of the rising generation, not to speak of justice
to the important body of our school-teachers, male and
female, to make every effort to increase their remuneration
at the earliest opportunity. Their means of usefulness

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 16t
are very great, their services to the public important, and
upon the efficient discharge of their duties the future
well-being of our people and the prosperity of Quebec
largely depends.*
* The present Secretary of the province, the Honorable Theodore Paquet,
with whom any measure tending- to the amelioration of our educational
laws must originate, might perhaps be prevailed upon to introduce a law-
next session to redress this grievance. He has already manifested good
will towards the extension and encouragement of this, the greatest and
most needed blessing.

168. OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER XXV.
Mr. Perrault's Projects of Law in 1841 — Free Ele
mentary Education ; Compulsory . Attendance —
Franchise to the Educated — ^Trades to be Taught
— Civil Service Examinations — Agricultural
School — Houses of Industry — Abolition of Men
dicancy.
<•
Among the fruits of Mr. Perrault's ripe reflections was
a bill which, in 1841, he intended to submit to parlia
ment, though his friends in public life did not then think
the time opportune.* In the preamble, he states that in
1822 a public meeting was caUed in Quebec to promote
the cause of education, at which resolutions in favor of
adopting the Lancastrian, or Monitorial system were
passed. This system was very much thought of in
England, and very properly so, A working committee,
of which Mr, Perrault was named president, was appointed
to test that method practically. This honor was but one
of many indications of the high opinion of his views on
such subjects entertained by his fellow-citizens. At the
outset, a serious obstacle presented itself — ^there were no
suitable school-books. It became his duty at once, there
fore, to set about the anything but trifling task of
composing or compiling a set of school-books, which he
*This project of law, in the handwriting of Mr, Perrault, is in the
possession of his grandson, at Montmagny.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 16&
had also to get published. He was not a man prone to
exaggeration, yet he stated to his relations and numerous
friends that the results of this experiment exceeded his
most sanguine expectations. He thus gained clear and
practical conclusions with regard to the best means of
supplying the educational necessities of this province.
There were, however, defects in the system, as applied in
Quebec, which his constant study of the subject enabled
him to detect. He earnestly desired to remedy these
defects, but he was trammeUed by the obstinacy of certain
members of the committee, who opposed all innovations.
In 1828, he consequently determined to open schools
at his own expense, and though his experience in school
matters and with respect to the new methods and courses
was in every way valuable, he found them very costly — in
fact, beyond the means of any but the wealthiest, for more
than a brief period, and in 1837 ^^ ^^^ compelled to
close them.
The biU of 18 41 embodied the results of Mr, Perrault's
studies and reflections since 1803, and not a few of its pro
visions have since been adopted by educational reformers.
Some of its proposals may be found in the school sys
tems of Ontario, of Quebec and other countries, whUe
others bid fair to be utUized at no distant period. The
subjoined synopsis of the bUl will fairly exhibit its character,
and the merits of the systems it proposed, and also afford
the means of estimating the advanced views of its author,
and material for speculation as to the probable benefits-
to the country, had it become law and been vigorously
acted upon up to the present time.
Among other things, he proposed free primary instrac
tion to all, enforced school attendance on the part of

170 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
"Children between the ages of six and twelve, in default of
which penalties were to be imposed upon the parents,
A fixed number of years after the passage of the Act,
.all those unable to read and write were to be disqualified
from voting for members of parliament ; and the appoint
ment of two superintendents, one Catholic and one
Protestant. If children displayed any marked talents
.after this course, they were to be sent to seminaries or
universities, and if not, to secondary schools, where trades
would be taught.
In the secondary schools, besides the teaching of
trades, the curriculum included linear drawing, geo
graphy, use of globes, history, sacred, EngUsh and Cana
dian, applied arts and sciences, book-keeping by single
and double entry, and a commercial course in the cities,
with agriculture in the country. The mode of instruction
was to be mutual and simultaneous, either French or
English, according to the nationality of the majority of
.the pupUs.
Qne of the clauses of this bUl was to the effect that
after ten years from its passage no person should be
eligible to any position in the Civil Service who was
¦not competent to pass an examination in these several
branches. Another was, that a certain fee was to be
exacted from the pupUs, to be fixed by the superintendent
.and committee, in proportion to the means of the parents.
And thirdly, he proposed the estabhshment of schools
for agricultural instruction exclusively, of a theoretical and
practical character. Only pupUs who could read and
write were to be admitted.
The question of the establishment of Houses of Indus-
itry had also frequently occupied his thoughts. He was

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 171
convinced that, were the poorer classes provided with
employment, crime would be considerably diminished,
for, as he said, " idleness was the mother of vice," He,
therefore, drafted another project of law to be sub
mitted at the same time as the above, for tlie establish
ment, outside of the city limits, of Houses of Industry,
furnishing plans for the same and submitting detaUs for
their efficient working, wherein the poor and vagabond
would receive in exchange for their work, shelter and just
remuneration.* In connection with these buildings,
shops were to be opened for the sale of the articles manu
factured, and certain privileges granted the enterprise, to
make it profitable. He also wished to have it enacted
that begging should be made a punishable offense— con
finement in this House of Industry, where offenders
should be made to work. There is no reason why these
latter plans might not have been as effectuaUy carried out
here, as they have been in Europe.
Those two foregoing projects of law alone were enough
to preserve from oblivion the name of one whose highest
thoughts and most ardent exertions were, throughout the
greater part of his life, unceasingly devoted to the
amelioration of the condition of his fellow-beings, especi
ally of that portion of them most in need of the philan
thropist's and statesman's care and protection ; and they
most certainly evidence an amount of foresight and judg
ment really remarkable.
Although parhament had passed an act for the establish
ment of free elementary schools in 1801 and another in
1829, and clergymen and leaders of the different sections
*This bill is also in the possession of the same gentleman who holds the
(former.

172 OLD ArtD NEW CANADA,
of our population had manifested some interest in the
cause of popular instraction, there was unfortunately much
apathy with regard to the education of the lower classes,
and that evil Mr, Perrault sought to remedy. He insisted
that at least the rudiments of education should be im
parted to every healthy intelligent child ; and if later they
gave evidence of the possession of talents, they were to be
sent to higher educational establishments, or if not, to
schools where they would be taught trades. Again and
again he would argue that you can not expect to make
sensible and virtuous citizens without teaching them in
childhood, to read and write and learn those elements of
religion and morality, which form the basis of all honest
and useful civic character.
The indifference of the poorer classes to education
caused Mr. Perrault to think of some system by which he
could compel them to send their children to school, and
thus secure for them early and beneficial results. The
idea was looked upon with mingled feelings of surprise
and indignation, many naturally contending that every
man had a right to do as he pleased with the time and
faculties of his offspring. But the broader and wiser view
of obliging all to make the best use of their youth and
talents, at a period when habits of life are most easily
formed, and when its controUing influences are beginning
to appear, did gain the approval of a few of the more
thoughtful in the community, as it has been since recog
nized by the leading minds of every country.
To emphasize the value of education, he also proposed
to make the possession of a certain amount, a condition of
the exercise of the franchise, which he regarded, as it is
now generally considered, both a duty and a right. His

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 173
opinion* was, that no ignorant man should have the privil
ege of pronouncing upon questions affecting the interests
and honor of the state. He contended that a citizen
should only be allowed to vote when he could form some
intelligent judgment with regard to the merits of the
questions proposed for public decision. In this way unwise
verdicts would be avoided, as also serious errors, and the
law-makers of the country would be held to a more strict
account.* In a spirit of fairness and liberality, characteristic of
Mr. Perrault, he proposed that there should be two super
intendents of public instruction, one Catholic and the
other Protestant. He wisely foresaw that the latter ele
ment in our community would shortly acquire such
proportions as to be entitled to a representative ; and a
few years later an educational bUl with this provision was
passed in parliament and became law.
It would be unjust to overlook the value of the proposal
of industrial and agricultural education, in his secondary
schools, which was one of Mr, Perrault's favorite ideas.
In his time when anything like Canadian art and industry
were in their infancy, the opportunity of acquiring useful
trades was but very partially enjoyed by the majority.
There were scarcely any Canadian manufactures, the great
bulk of the people depending on agriculture, which they

*As late as 1863 a celebrated reformer, the late Provost Paradol, urged,
as an original idea, the adoption of a law disfranchising those who could
not read and write, after the expiration of a certain number of years. This,
he believed, would prove the most powerful incentive to education, and be
even more efhcient than enforced school attendance, since all would be
ashamed to make so public an acknowledgement of their ignorance. There
is a similar clause of disfranchisement in the constitution of the State of
Massachusetts, Chapter 6, clause 20.

174 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
but imperfectly understood, and that variety of occupation
and interests upon which well ordered, progressive
societies largely depend was sadly wanting; and Mr.
Perrault thought that that want should be supplied in the
speediest and most effective way possible by a system of
industrial and agricultural training in the public schools.
The scheme of civU service examination might then be
regarded as a novelty. Appointments were mainly de
cided by personal influence, wholly apart from the quali
fications of the individual, and Mr. Perrault thought that
this system was both unjust in itself and injurious to the
public interest. He argued that no. one in the community
had any inherent right to the benefits of oflfice — that public
employment had for its main object the advantage of the
people, and that any man aspiring to the position of an
office-holder should present certain indisputable merits
and quaUfications, The only way in which his fitness
could be properly tested was a public examination ; but
anticipating a very proper objection to the system of strict
action, or decision upon an ordeal of this kind, namely,
that it militates against the timid and the modest man,
Mr, Perrault would have depended largely upon written
answers and such tests of capacity as could be honestly
produced within a reasonably brief period.
The scheme of agricultural education, to meet the
wants of the toilers of country and town, though not
destined to reahzation for over a -quarter of a century, at
length, both in Quebec and Ontario, has been carried out
with more or less fidelity to the original ideal. The
Agricultural College at Guelph, a successful institution,
honoiable to the enterprise and liberality of the great
province of Ontario, makes a remarkably close approxi-

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 175
mation to Mr. Perrault's project. He would have hailed
such a patriotic experiment, as weU as those of a like
character, under our eyes in his native province of Quebec,
with the deepest gratification, and none would have more
earnestly labored to stUl further enhance their efficiency.
But a short time before Mr. Perrault proposed the
formation of Houses of Industry or Work-Houses, Eng
land and every country in Europe, in fact, presented but
too many glaring instances of the evil of indiscriminate
and thoughtless charity. Thousands of the strongest and
healthiest, as regularly as the winter would retum, would
throw themselves upon the sympathy and taxes of their
neighbors, many of them not at aU able to bear such a
burden. In the spring these paupers would resume their
work in the fields, mines, or fisheries, with the settled
policy of falling back upon public support when disap
pointment, bad weather, or Ul-fortune would set in. How
to deal with this crying evU was for long a very serious prob
lem in British politics, but at length, after much thought
and various experiments, the best thinkers in pubhc life,
reached the conclusion that a sharp test of some kind was
wanted to discriminate between the various applicants for
public assistance. It was considered that if men would
demand the help of their neighbors, they should render
some useful service in return. The result was a system
of Work-Houses, which speedily effected a great social
and industrial reformation in Great Britain, It made a
very great difference with thousands, in every part of the
country, when they found that the receipt of pubhc
charity meant systematic, compulsory labor, from the
beginning to the end of the winter. The army of paupers
rapidly diminished and habits of industry and application

176 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
were enforced, where such virtues were unknown before.
Of course in Canada there was no such argument for that
system as existed with respect to England, or other old
countries, but Mr. Perrault saw that, great as were the
resources of his native country and sparse its population,
evils which naturally sprung up in all lands, would, in
time, develop themselves here too, and that among them
none could be more baneful than mendicancy. He thought
then and always, that not only should there be a proper
stigma affixed to the position of pauperism, but that the
recipients of public help should be made to render some
service therefor, and learn trades and habits which would
be helpful to themselves and the community, after their
departure' from these charitable institutions.
No thoughtful man who has followed the course of
public affairs in the leading states of Europe and America,
can faU to be struck with the influence upon public feel
ing and legislative action of the proposals of original and
farsighted men like Mr, Perrault, Ideas, which seemed
philanthropic or Utopian dreams in I822 and I841, have
since, with the enlarged and more varied experience of
the foremost nations, been cautiously tested under the
most diverse circumstances and found to work satis
factorily, being also eagerly foUowed up to their re
motest and most felicitous consequences. With what
benevolent pride might not Mr. Perrault, who was one of
the first, if not the first, to propose for Canada free ele
mentary instruction, compulsory attendance, franchise to
the educated, the appointment of a Catholic and a Protest
ant superintendent, industrial and agricultural education
combined with scholastic institutions, civil service examin
ations, exclusive agricultural schools, formation of Houses

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 177
of Industry and the abolition of mendicancy, regard the
progress of thought and legislative enactments in this
direction, in the Dominion, were it possible for him to
revisit the land he loved so well !
Most of the systems as already stated, which Mr.
Perrault advocated, have been adopted in the leading
countries of Eiurope, the United States and the Dominion,
and they are likely to be taken up by the slower nations,
within a very brief period. At any rate, he submitted
practical, promising theories to the people, elicited dis
cussion in reference , to them, as well as proposals of
various kinds in support or opposition, and in this way
reforms, in, all countries, whatever may be their immediate
fate, are ultimately carried.

12

178 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER XXVI.
Education for the Dominion — Zeal of the Hon.
Gedeon Ouimet and valuable services of his ex-
deputy, Dr. Miles — A recent akd useful friend
to Education — Hon. W. W. Lynch.
The subject of obligatory education is now one of
almost general discussion in Canada, likely before many
years to become a leading question. And this is to be
expected when the evils of ignorance are so conspicuous
in every large community, with great nations, like Ger
many, England and France, and several states of the
Union and Ontario, adopting the principle of compul
sion in their national school systems, A glance at its
benefits, so far, warrants the conclusion that it is a genuine
improvement, and one that promises marvellously bene
ficial results at no distant period. There is room for
difference of opinion as to whether it is as much needed
in some countries as in others ; but few candid observers,
however attached to the principle of individual liberty,
and averse to the idea of state or municipal meddling in
domestic affairs, wUl deny that sufficient inducements,
pressure, or compulsion of some sort should be applied in
order to secure the attendance at school of the great mass
of our youthful population. While no one pretends that
education is a perfect safeguard against crime, or immor
ality, few wUl gainsay that it is one of the most im
portant forces on the side of social improvement and
national prosperity.

old AND NEW CANADA, 179
Opinions vary, in our province, in relation to the above
subject, and the author subjoins an extract from a paper
by an ofiicer of the Public Instruction Department, to
enable the reader to become acquainted with the views
of some of our educationists :
" We can not shut our eyes to the fact that obligatory
education is a problem, which, some day or other, must
necessarily assert itself in every democratic country such
as ours, Happy is the country which anticipates its
necessity, for, to anticipate it, is to partially solve it, and
to prevent in the future much trouble and agitation.
Education is a necessity for a people, who govern them
selves, that is to say, who are frequently called upon to
decide questions regarding their highest interests ; they
are their own masters, no longer children or in pupilage;
they are consulted before their fate is decided, and if their
intelligence is not sufficiently trained, what must become
of them ? The wisdom of a people consists in understand
ing that they must be educated to decide wisely in all
questions in the future which may affect their destiny ; it
would be folly to allow these questions to come up without
being prepared to meet them. Apart from other undesir
able results which may follow, incompetency through
ignorance may provoke the impetuous ones to propose to
render obligatory "elementary education and from that may
arise most dangerous agitations." La Loi Electorate, 1873.
It would certainly be absurd to deny that much
remains to be done in the province of Quebec for the
promotion of education. Too many of our people,
particularly in the country districts, remain in a state of
ignorance injurious to themselves and the community in
general, receiving but the barest rudiments of education.

180 old and NEW CANADA.
which, after school-d^ys speedily disappear from their
minds, when they soon relapse into a condition of
ignorance and apathy, as complete as that of their pre
decessors for generations. Although no guarantee can
be provided for the creation, or maintenance of a literary
spirit, or a taste for improvement in our rural population,
or the working classes generally, after the school period,
yet the duty of the state can be more satisfactorily dis
charged in enforcing such an attendance as wUl secure to
the great mass of our children a knowledge at least of
reading, writing and arithmetic.
Another obstacle to education is the necessarily short
period of attendance in many country places, where farm
and field work and the difficulties of our winter season
compel the closing of the schools for several months of
the year.
It is satisfactory to witness in our day the greater in
terest felt by all elements of our population in the sub
ject of education, and to observe the extent of the
educational undertakings of both pro vm ces. Vast num
bers of schools of all classes, universities, seminaries,
colleges, and normal and special schools attest the
immense strides made within the present generation. The
different races and creeds existing in Quebec have mani
fested a creditable and beneficial rivalry in this noble
crusade against ignorance, each and all making great
sacrifices to provide a useful education for its youth, with
a moral and religious training, designed to promote their
highest welfare. Though the circumstances of our people
prevent as great efforts in this direction as are made in
wealthier communities, much important work has been
effected in the cities and the remotest parts of the

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 181
province ; a plain, common school education being now
within reach of the poorest in any parish, or municipahty
of Quebec,
In 1875 a law was passed by the Provincial Assem
bly, which did away with the portfoho of Minister of
Education, and the Hon, Gedeon Ouimet was appointed
superintendent, on the 30th January of the foUowing
year, which position he has worthUy continued to dccupy
ever since. The difficulties and labors of such an
honorable post require zeal and capacity for the satis
factory fulfilment of its varied duties, especially in a
mixed community like ours. It is very generally
admitted that there has never been greater harmony
among the employes of the department, the members of
the councU, the school inspectors, and the teachers
themselves, than under the present superintendent.
Notwithstanding the numerous and trying duties of his
office, Mr, Ouimet has consolidated the different laws
affecting education, which wiU greatly simplify the solution
of questions relating to it. Too much praise cannot be given
to such faithful and efficient work, and it is to be hoped that
his future efforts will be crowned with still greater success.
" The project of encouraging native literature, inaugur
ated by the Honorable G6d6on Ouimet, in 1873, whilst
Minister of Pubhc Instraction, and continued by him
since his advent to the office of superintendent "of that de
partment, deserves more than passing mention. Abandon
ing the stereotyped method of the importation of foreign
books, for bestowal as prizes to the successful pupUs of our
various schools, that gentleman bethought himself of
encouraging native talent by selecting works marked by
their originaUty and abihty, and already received with

182

OLD AND NEW CANADA,

favor by the public, as premiums for the encouragement
of the pupil's. The object was, in every sense, patriotic,
and the results have justified Mr. Ouimet's motives and
anticipations, Canadian writers, formerly less encouraged
than they should have been, were obliged to wait longer
for that practical success, to which the great majority of
hterary men look forward with concern, manifested their
appreciation ofthese opportunities by closer attention to the
character of their works, by the improvement of previous
editions, and greater ambition, generally, to excel in the
domain of letters than had been hitherto evinced. The
numerous works of fancy, history and criticism, which
have issued from the press, within the last few years, attest
the value of this patriotic stimulus, no less than the ster
ling qualities of the authors. This is a new departure
deserving of all praise, and the good fruits of which, in
great abundance, may be hereafter confidently looked for.
The change wiU never cease, by an appreciative public, to
be associated with the name of a gentleman who, from his
learning, zeal for public instruction, and patriotic ambition,
was the worthy source of so excellent an idea. With re
gard to the practical operation of the new scheme, it may
be stated, that abbreviated editions of the works of writers
of note in the province, of every race, creed and party,
have been purchased and distributed as prizes among the
scholars ; in this way benefitting alike our poorly remun
erated authors and our young folk, by placing in the
possession of the latter these abridgments, which, in many
cases, comprise choice specimens of literature and history.
Last year the department distributed in this way, 14,868
French and 3,790 Enghsh works." *
* Literary Sheaves, or La Littirature au Canada Franqais. p. 5.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 183
The official career of Dr. Miles, who for years acted as
tiie deputy-superintendent, cannot be omitted in this
chapter. This gentleman's functions were more closely
connected with the British and Protestant elements,
whose rights and interests received due attention at his
hands. He enjoyed the reputation of a painstaking and
conscientious officer, who strove to act fairly towards all
parties, and to efficiently discharge his important and
delicate duties. To his credit be it said, he found time,
^art from his oflficial labors, to contribute important
works on history to the literature of this country.
Among the recent friends of education none stand
higher than the Hon. W. W, Lynch, Himself a graduate
of McGiU University and a prominent member of the
Bar, as weU as a cabinet minister, he feels his indebted
ness to a good education, aijd has shown, since his
entrance into pubUc life, a proper sense of its value, as
well as an honorable disposition to bring as many of his
countrymen as possible within the sphere of its benefits.
Both in the Eastern Townships and in the city of Quebec
this gentleman has labored to improve our school
system by the removal of obstacles and the adoption
of ameliorations, wherever practicable. Though but a
comparatively short time in public life, in his speeches
and labors, he has repeatedly manifested the greatest
interest in and desire to do all within his power to further
this noble cause. On school boards, legislative commit
tees, in the Assembly and elsewhere, he has worked with
zeal and intelligence for the promotion of reform in our
school system, and has had the pleasure of awakening the
interest of coUeagues and fellow-citizens in this important
subject, with the result of securing their useful co-operation.

184 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
Not only does the British element in particular appreciate
the gains already obtained by such services, but it looks
forward to stiU greater advantages from future labors of
this kind, should Mr. Lynch continue in pubhc life.
Had Mr, Perrault been fortunate enough to have
secured the aid of such zealous friends of education as the
above gentlemen, his work would have gained a much
earlier and more substantial success. But, it was in a
certain respect with him a fight against the stream, and
men to whom he might have looked for sympathy and
encouiagement unfortunately held aloof He did not
consider the immediate tangible fruits of efforts in this
direction any measure of the value of the cause itself,
setting, however, moral importance upon the example
of disinterested labor for the advantage of fellow citizens.
To labor for its own sake, as well as for its promising
ultimate consequences, was a maxim that he frequently
enforced. He beheved that an idle brain is the workshop
of all evil influences, and he strove, not only for the sake
of healthy intellectual exercise, but for the material bene
fits connected with the reasonable and practical instruc
tion of the people, to throw his energies, with aU the vigor
at his command, into this worthy mission.

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 185

CHAPTER XXVII.
Mr, Perrault's Home, Asyle Champetre, and family
CIRCLE — His Hospitality and Liberality — New
Year's Customs.
In these days of ambitious, showy villas and grand
mansions, whose lofty and imposing proportions, elabor
ate architectural ornaments, conspicuous verandas and
prominent sites are all designed, not only to gratify the
taste and pride of their owners, but to excite the wonder
and admiration of the ordinary observer, it may be interest
ing to give a description of Mr. Perrault's residence ; a fair
specimen of a comfortable and well-ordered dwelling of
the olden time. The author's object in describing it is tO'
convey to the present generation some idea of the taste
and domestic architecture of the past, especially of those
who, in culture and social position, might truly be regarded
as representative men. For a similar purpose he has
thought of presenting such pictures of the good old
times, of its habits and customs, as will convey an in
structive lesson.
Mr, Perrault's abode was a buUding of one storey with
attics in front, and two in rear, in the style of the.
eighteenth century, on the north side of the St, Louis
Road, on the spot known to historians as les buttes. d
Nepveu, to-day as Perrault's hiU, upon which the residence
of Mr, Henry Dinning now stands. As all students are

18fj -OLD AND NEW CANADA.
aware, this is classic ground ; here the main struggles of
the battles of the Plains of Abraham and of Ste, Foye took
place; on the same spot Murray's troops entrenched
themselves on the eve of the engagement with de L6vis,
and the latter occupied the same defences after his victory.
A stone wall with a neat raiUng divided the property from
the main road, near which was a graceful little summer-
house of trestle-work, overgrown with vines and creepers.
Through an avenue with flowery borders, between Unes of
lofty vases, filled with blooming plants, the visitor reached
the house, which occupied the centre of a garden of four
acres. Above the door, at the summit of a flight of steps,
was inscribed in gilt letters, Asyle Champetre. The house
was a double one with a conservatory at each end, the first
erected in Canada, fiUed with exotic and native plants ;
and at some distance on either side were miniature
Norman turrets. Mr. Perrault had selected this favor
able site for his residence, carefully noting all its advan
tages. The rays of the morning sun flashed through the
front windows, cheering him in his early labors, while,
as the day wore on, a flood of mellow light suffused the
westem portion of his chamber. From such vantage
ground, he could of an evening observe the movements
of the heavenly bodies, the positions of the planets and
the various phenomena of our northern skies, the study
of which usually excited in his mind the most devout
sentiment. On entering, the visitor found himself in the reception
room, which was about twenty-four feet square, with a large
bay-window towards the north and used as a drawing-
room and study. In Whatever direction one looked the
view was attractive ; to the south, on the rising ground

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 1 87
approaching the river bank, two Martello towers * stood in
sight, with the heights of Point Levy in the further
distance, and the chasm between filled by the St, Law
rence ; to the east, the imposing old citadel, or martial
crown of the city, on Cape Diamond, and some mUes
further off, the picturesque Island of Orleans, dividing the
great river into two channels ; to the north, the winding
river in the beautiful valley of the St. Charles, the heights
of Charlesbourg, the shore of Beauport, the faint trace of
the embouchure of the Montmorency, and the grand
Laurentian mountain range" in the distance ; and to the
south and west, the battle fields of 1 7 5 9 and 1760, memor
able for their heroic scenes and momentous results — views
at every season most charming and impressive.
The grounds in front of the house were utilized as a
model garden and orchard, in which every improvement
in horticulture had been adopted. They were laid out in
plots, divided by gravel walks. In rear of the house was
a miniature pond, enlivened by water-fowl and turties ;
the banks were adorned with aquatic plants and fems,
and receding thence were plateaux, covered with flowers
of every description.
In addition to the picturesque situation and command
ing position of Mr. Perrault's house, the internal arrange
ment of the apartments deserves notice, particularly as in
them often met the leading men of Quebec, where they
discussed the movements of the public mind, benevolent
enterprises and matters of general interest. The parlor
* There are four Martello towers built on the ridge of land stretching from
the St, Lawrence to the cliff above Saint Sauveur. They are of stone and
about forty feet in height; they are weakest towards the city side, that they
may be easily battered down, in the event of their falling into the hands oj
the enemy.

188 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
in the Asyle Champetre, well known to the elite and
leaders of society of that day, was elegantly, but not luxuri
ously furnished ; the carpet was made of flax sown and
grown on the grounds adjoining his schools, and woven by
his pupUs ; the walls were hung with valuable paintings
and ornamented with objects oi virtu, artistically arranged.
From the centre was suspended a lustre of candles ; at the
two rear angles were large circular mirrors. One concave and
the other convex, with lights on each side, reflecting
every object, or movement in the apartment. Two
bronze statues, or candelabra, with lights, guarded either
side of the hall door, in keeping with the surroundings ;
the hangings and furniture were in the style of Louis
XIV., in which the colors harmoniously blended. On
the left side of this apartment was Mr. Perrault's hbrary,
in which was a choice collection of Greek, Latin, Eng
lish, French and Spanish works, on philosophy, history
and les belles lettres. No one had a higher respect for the
classics than he ; the odes of Horace, the poems of
Virgil and the orations of Cicero were as familiar to him
as the best sermons of Bossuet, or the tragedies of Eacine.
On the right was another room with a piano and organ, to
which the family devoted much attention.
Those who had the privilege of enjoying his hospital
ity on ordinary occasions could not forget the hearty
welcome of their whole-souled entertainer, and on two
particular days, the first of January and the fete de St.
Joseph, his patron saint, they had stUl better reason for
its remembrance. These social gatherings were for months
looked forward to as the events of the season, and for
many a day subsequently they recalled most agreeable
experiences. As was then the custom, the guests arrived

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 189
early in the aftemoon, and took their departure at the un
fashionable hour of nine. In this interval they enjoyed
themselves in dancing, in games, in listening to brilliant
execution on different musical instruments and the rich
melody of well-cultivated voices, in ballad and song, and
in bons-mots, clever repartees and intellectual conversa
tion ; while the supper table, laden with aU the delicacies
procurable, afforded a continual feast. The guests were
escorted down the avenue by their host and his famUy, or
driven hoitie in the family carriage, and, as he bade them
good night, the shouts and merry laughter of the young
would ring joyfully in the night air, attracting the notice of
the wayfarers by their joyous spirits. *
M. M. Bibaud, senior, in L' Encyclopidie Canadienne,
of which he was the editor, writes an account of a visit to
Quebec in the summer of 1842, in which he thus refers to
Mr, Perrault : — " * * * j ^a.s especially charmed
•during my short stay in Quebec, with a visit to M.
Perrault's domicile. On leaving the steamer and after
securing lodgings, I immediately proceeded to his residence
on the St. Louis Road, that classic and historic highway
leading from the city to Ste, Foye, There I saw one
widely known throughout the country by his numerous
writings, deeds and charities. On entering the house,
I remembered the words of a Canadian poet :
'La j'ai vA I'homme heureux qui freche par I'exemple.'
M. Perrault preaches by example, firstly by his virtiies,
then by his industry, excellent domestic and rural economy,
* The Asyle Champetre, which the author has attempted to describe, was
destroyed by fire in 1847. The neat and comfortable cottage, owned and
inhabited by Mr. Henry Dinning, was built a few years subsequently, but
the site of the latter is nearer the main road, and occupies a less command.
ing position than the Asyle did.

190 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
his love of study and work, his public zeal, his benevolence
and beneficent bounty, his patriotism and his faithful citizen
ship ; in fine, by aU that is true and good. With his usual
well-known pohteness, he took me to his library, in which
his pubhshed works and manuscripts filled a large space.
I saw there duodecimos, octavos and even quartos, all
neatly bound. * * * * m. Perrault, who has
reached the age of ninety years, has lost none of his old
love of study ; he still writes and has the good fortune of
not being obliged to use glasses.
" It is needless to say that agriculture and horticulture are
carried out in his place according to all its canons. He was
kind enough to take me to his kitchen and fruit gardens ;
I found them deserving of the highest commendation, and
became convinced that M. Perrault was perfectly quaUfied
to teach his fellow-countrymen on such important subjects.
" The site occupied by his residence is really enchant
ing, and a more lovely spot can hardly be imagined.
The grandeur of the surrounding scenery was the handi
work of Nature, but[the immediate vicinity has been beauti
fied by himself His many deeds of charity entitle him
to be respected and venerated, and his name transmitted
to posterity. On parting from him I felt with Virgil :
^Fortunate senex, certe tua facta manebunt.'"
Mr, Perrault's table had a wide reputation, and, al
though he never issued formal invitations, it was rarely
without two, or more guests, for those who happened to
be at the Asyle at meal time were cordially invited to
share the famUy repast. His board always presented
a tempting display, but as regards himself he was most
abstemious, partaking sparingly of but few dishes, while
to his guests his hospitality was unbounded. His old

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 191
cook sometimes found her labors trying, or pretended
so ; and on one occasion, returning from confession, she
remarked that she had said to M. le Cure, when he
counselled patience and submission to the ills of life,
'¦je voudrais bien vous y voir, vous.'' (I would like to see
you in my place,) Even in those days cooks were testy,
for, when Mr. Perrault found fault with her, she would
answer, as saucily as the old Highland cooks, whose airs
created the impression that they simply tolerated their
masters and served them as a matter of favor : " Voulez-
vous que je vous dise la viriti 2 vous commencez a etre
digouti de ma cuisine." (Do you want me to tell you
the truth ? you are getting tired of my cooking.) To the
sore-tried masters, the conduct of many of the old time
^ooks would often recaU the proverb, no doubt intended
more as a reflection upon bad cooking — that " God sends
meat and the devil sends cooks."
A custom iUustrative of the habits of that period was
the visit of relations on New Year's moming. Old and
yoimg presented themselves at five o'clock and repaired
in file to Mr. Perrault's bedroom to receive his blessing.
He afterwards rose, dressed and made all happy by giving
them suitable presents and paying graceful compliments.
Later in the day was witnessed a still more interesting
scene, when his pupils -of both sexes, and doubtless to
their fullest number, arrived at his hospitable mansion to
offer him their grateful acknowledgments of his kindness.
A table close by where he sat, in a large arm-chair, was
covered with "homs of plenty," filled with sweetmeats, and
to each he presented one with a small piece of silver ; while
those children needing more substantial , gifts had but to
make their wants known to be rarely refused. On that

192 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
day he also made caUs, immediately after Grand Mass, in
the extremity of his pohteness carrying his hat under his
arm, regardless of the weather, with the queue of his wig
blown to and fro by the wintry wind. His arrival, as a
matter of course, would cause a flutter of pleasant excite
ment, often recalled with pleasure by many afterwards.
How many more interesting pages could not the author
give of similar social pictures were he not limited as to
space ! He may, however, revert to this subject in a subse
quent chapter.

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 193

CHAPTER XXVIII.
View of Quebec environs from Chateau St, Louis —
Description of St, Louis and Ste, Foye Roads —
Falls of Montmorency, and " Natural Steps."
On an intensely cold day — the 23d of January, 1834 —
the Chdteau St. Louis, an old historical buUding, dating
as far back as the early days of the settlement of Quebec
by Champlain, was destroyed by fire.* The site is
now known to all as Durham Terrace. In this
castle by the St. Lawrence figured the warriors, the
diplomats, the proud dames, the beaux and belles of the
old and new colonial eras. Here were discussed the last
news from Paris and VersaiUes, the adventures of the
zealous missionaries and bold coureurs des bois with the
fierce and dangerous savages and wild beasts of the
Lake forests, and the last expedition against the hated
and encroaching New England colonists. Here were
*"The length of the modern castle of St. Louis, includingtlie wings, was
more than two hundred feet; and that was the extent of the gallery in front,
commanding one of the most beautiful views in the world. The depth was
about forty feet. Its exterior was plain and unassuming, the interior well
arranged, and apparently well adapted for the purpose for which it was
designed. The apartments on the first floor, in which the Governor-in-
Chief resided, were furnished in an elegant and tasteful manner, ornamented
by valuable paintings, drawings and prints, and various objects of virtu.
Although by no means large, or equal to those found in the private residen
ces of the nobility generally, they presented a very pleasing coup d'oeil^
when thrown open to those who were honored with the entrie. Here were
given the private entertainments of the Governor, to which the gentry of
the city and vicinity were freely invited during the winter, always the season
of hospitality in Canada," Ha-wkins' Picture of Quebec.
13

194 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
social and political intrigues hatched to their ripest de
velopment, and mUitary schemes propounded with scien
tific skill and hardihood. Where are now all these actors ?
How vain were their toUs, plots and sacrifices ! In the
language of Gray's Elegy, the honor of the authorship of
which Wolfe is reported to have valued above the capture
of Quebec, the night before he succeeded in that brilliant
exploit — " The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth ere gave.
Await alike the inevitable hour :
The path of glory leads but to the grave."
The commanding views of the St. Lawrence from the
Chateau and environs have been appreciated ever since
the earhest days. The French and English governors,
however inviting the pleasures of the table, could offer
their guests a more exquisite treat in the contemplation of
the noble panorama visible from that exalted position.
Mr. Perrault had been, on many occasions, a guest,
and was drawn to it by both practical and senti
mental considerations. From its windows he too had often
enjoyed the splendid spectacle, the great mountain fort
ress, the citadel and stronghold of British power in
America, on the right, and the majestic St, Lawrence
stretching with a magnificent sweep between its lofty
banks, on its seaward course. Especially attractive would
be Point L6vy heights, covered by an almost unbroken
forest. Their summits, which even overtop Cape Dia
mond, were occupied by Wolfe and his troops in 1759, and
from them the city was bombarded; and again in 1775
they were held by Arnold with his New England volun
teers. The only semblance of civiUzation was a couple

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 195
of houses, dating further back than the cession, on the
margin of the river beneath ; one at the foot of St, Joseph's
hill (B^gin's) and the other opposite the city (Labadie's) ;
while near the point of St, Joseph could be distinguished
the wigwams of the Micmacs. Looking north, the eye
would be fascinated by the graceful bay formed by
the river to meet the descending waters of the St. Charles,
which here mingle with its ample tide. Directing the
vision to the north-east, a line of white cottages, then as
now, traced the shore to the great Montmorency cataract ;
and beyond, to the vUlages of L'Ange Gardien, Chateau
Richer and Ste, Anne, the dwellings of the more adven
turous settlers might be descried, StiU farther to the
north, forming a remoter background, appeared the moun
tains, their blue tops merging with the deeper azure of the
sky, while on the bosom of the great river proudly re
posed the beautiful Island of Orleans, richly wooded from
its shores to its centre. To all these scenes was attached an
historic interest, created by the records of Indian encoun
ters, of French and English hostilities. The beholder of
this enchanting picture might reflect that he stood at the
gateway of the St. Lawrence, with all the grand possibilities
of Western exploration and settlement before him, and that
the time was fast approaching when Quebec would be
the chief highway of a vast commerce between the old
and new worlds, of enormous advantage to both.
The Count de la Galissoniere declared " Whoever rules
Quebec will sway the destinies of the continent," and
Montcalm was prophetic when he stated that few years
would elapse from the capture of Quebec ere Great
Britain should lose her American colonies ; and he
appeared to derive a species of national satisfaction from

196 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
this conviction. The earth had not long covered his
mortal remains before the musket volleys of Concord and
Lexington announced the beginning of the severe struggle,
which, as he predicted, changed the destiny of North
America. The environs of Quebec were in 1836, as they have
been ever since, the resort, pat excellence, of the lover of
nature. Though tourists were not numerous in those
earlier days, nor did the people as frequently leave the
city, the unrivalled charms of the scenery, combining the
picturesque with interesting and imposing features, ever
proved a powerful source of attraction. Some of the
inmates of L' Asyle Champetre, on many a pleasant
afternoon would be seen leisurely driving along the
Ste, Foye or St. Louis roads, enjoying the beauties of
the landscape and drinking in, as it were, its inspiring
influences. The views of that day proved perhaps more fascinat
ing to some than those of the present, exliibiting
less the traces of art and civUization, Where pleasant
meadows and cultivated fields now arrest the gaze, only
sombre forests were visible, whose stillness would be
broken but by the scream of the wild bird and the murmur
of the brook ; where primeval and impressive scenes
abounded, now appear happy homesteads. The contem
plation of the most striking scenery, from the loftiest
points on those beautiful drives, was a great treat — a
source of the purest gratification. Especially, on reaching
the neighborhood of Ste. Foye church, visitors would halt
to admire the magnificent panorama before them ; in the
foreground the undulating plain of Ste. Foye and the
radiant valley of the St. Charles, rejoicing in rich cornfields

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 197
and meadows, pleasantly varied with gardens and bocages,
with the tree-clad hills and heights of St, Aiigustin,
Lorette, Charlesbourg and Beauport beyond ; and in the far
distance to the west, north and east, the bold mountains of
the Laurentian chain, whose towering summits formed
a grand background to one of the noblest pictures of
nature in America — a magnificent scenic semi-circle of
over forty miles,
AU who, like the author, have visited this point for
the enjoyment of the spectacle, can understand the
delightful impressions of which it is the fruitful source.
The minor and softer features of the picture no less affect
the mind and memory, particularly in the balmy spring,
when the deepening tints of green, overspreading hill and
dale, with nature's reviving thrill — the opening flowers, the
blithesome notes of the feathered songsters, and the grate
ful odors of the violet, columbine and clover combine to
enhance the sense of the beautiful. To the Quebecer,
especially, such pleasures are doubly dear after the
endurance of a prolonged semi-arctic winter, the very
thought of which, even in midsummer, as he passes under
the grateful leafy canopy of the nearer Ste, Foye road,
wiU sometimes send a chill through his frame.
The lover of arborial effects and pleasing rural pros
pects can find everything to gratify his taste in the
prime of summer, along this favorite suburban course,
which one ever quits with regret. At many points on
the way, a keen appreciation of the charms of the scenery
attracts attention to views of the landscape, beyond, which
are truly magnificent.
The drive to the Falls of Montmorency was in Mr,
Perrault's time a favorite trip. His family, not seldom

198 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
gladly set it down on their hohday programme. The
Falls, in the earlier part of the century, had a larger vol
ume of water than at present, and were always an object
of wonder and admiration. The Quebec district, so rich
in natural beauties, can boast of no scene of a bolder or
more awe-inspiring character than the locality now under
description. The dark, wild, romantic river, after a long
descent from the northern hills, between picturesque
and precipitous banks, now rugged and rocky, now soft
and moss-grown, here fringed with graceful shrubbery,
there spangled with odorous wild flowers, gathers up its
flood as the great St. Lawrence comes in sight, for its final
dread plunge into the dim abyss two hundred and fifty
feet below. Every point on either shore opposite this
leap, affords an exciting and impiessive sight. At that
time, at some distance above the falls, a rustic bridge
spanned the wild, tumultuous stream.
The course of the Montmorency, about a mUe above
the great fall, presents many striking features. The dark,
agitated waters are confined on the eastern bank by a grey
lofty, perpendicular wall, whose rugged surface is hidden
by briUiant drapery of clinging plants, which flourish in the
cool shade of the whispering pines crowning the summit.
Opposite, the eye is impressed by the continued series of
rocky beds or layers, which have suggested the idea and
appellation of " Natural Steps." The floods, frosts and
tempests of ages have wrought their savage will with the
steeps of this rocky mountain, leaving many a deep cleft,
rough floor and fantastic form — a fierce impress of awful
power. But the grandeur of the scenery is at points
relieved by the picturesque effects of nature's gentler
aspects. In the crevices of the rocky banks, vegetation

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 199
displays its richest varieties of fems, wild flowers and
shrubbery, a pleasing adjunct to the leafy masses of the
birches, maples and evergreens, which give such grateful
shade to the visitor on this side, enjoying the different
views of the river, eddying here and there, and leaping,
foaming or splashing, yonder, in its frantic rush to the
grand final plunge.
But who could do justice to the Falls, the very beau
ideal of loveUness and sublimity — a glorious curtain of
foam leaping over the dizzy rocks to the yawning chasm
beneath ! The volume of the torrent, the fantastic
freaks of the spray, the sparkle of the descending waters,
the bright hues of its miniature rainbows, the mysterious
disappearance of its waters, set every fancy aflame,
thrilling even the dullest heart.
This whole district is clothed with historic interest and
is rich in stirring associations. It was just above the Falls
that H. R. H. the Duke of Kent, Her Majesty's father,
lived, in the " Mansion House," a site of the most charm
ing description. -"The main portion of the Lodge is
unchanged since the Duke's time, even the table and
chair owned by him, are still there. Both banks of the
river formed the battle-ground of the armies of Wolfe
and Montcalm, before the successful assault of the British
upon the city of Quebec, From the beeches and ever
greens lining the western bank proceeded that rain of
deadly missiles which staggered, and ultimately repelled
the stout battaUons of King George, while the unceasing
thunder of the great Falls aggravated the murderous din
of battle, striving to drown its fiercest clamors. What
a sad and sickening change the contest of the 31st July,
1759, produced ! In a few hours a smiling, peaceful

200 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
scene had its sUence rent by the wild clatter of musketry
and the roar of cannon — the lofty green banks of the
Montmorency and the long grassy slopes of the St.
Lawrence were strewn thick with the mangled bodies of
dead and dying, while the life-blood of England's best
soldiers flowed into the great river below. It is more
pleasant, however, to contemplate the succeeding peaceful,
gratifying scenes for which this locality has long been
famed. Such views prepare one for a due appreciation of the
charms of the return drive to Quebec, the majestic pano
rama formed by the beautiful Island of Orleans, to the
left, cleaving the St. Lawrence into two great streams,
with the precipitous Point Levy heights to the south,
and the verdant valley of the St. Charles in front, over
looked and offset by the lofty and imposing rock-based
capital of Quebec, with its frowning battlements, towering
citadel, sparkling roofs and graceful church spires, crown
ing the river's bank and trending downwards to the
water's edge.
One of the enjoyable trips of Quebecers from the
earliest times, certainly from the early years of the present
century, when Mr. Perrault was still in the prime of life,
was a drive over the ice-bridge of tiie St. Lawrence to the
FaUs. And this is stiU a. favorite excursion, enjoyed by
thousands of the citizens of Quebec and strangers on a
visit to the capital. After a quick, enlivening drive over
the ice-bridge, to the mouth of the Montmorency, they
woifld set about indulging in that amusement for which
the place seems so admirably designed. Especially
pleasing to the sentimental were the excursions by moon
light over the convenient and fantastic formations of

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 201
ice and snow. feature then appears in her stem,.
solemn and imposing aspect, the gigantic features of the
scenery, including the lofty banks, hills, capes and moun
tains of the mighty St. Lawrence, with their snowy robes-
and icy garniture, standing out in the clear moonlight,
grander and more impressive than at any other time.
Nor could the effect fail to be heightened by the sight of
an occasional humble cottage on the banks, almost
smothered in the snow, representing the extreme of
human weakness, loneliness and isolation, in presence of
scenes and forces so wintry and grand.
The splendid display of northern glories, of which the
Falls and the frosty airs are the cunning architects afford
sparkling pictures, suggestive of Arctic regions and
splendors which exert upon the fancy and memory an
indescribable charm. The bright descending mantle of
waters is transformed by the icy, magic breath of winter
into glacial hiUocks and crystalline shapes of fantastic
beauty, which challenge admiration as masterpieces of
nature's cyclopean and decorative workmanship — graceful
folds and handsome fringes of clearest crystal, delicate in
form and exquisite in design, sparkling prisms reflecting
the rainbow tints, bright icicles of most curious shapes,
with the massive, ever-growing cones at the base, and the '
muffled thunder of the cataract stunning the ear — all
dazzle and enchant the beholder. The verglas covering
the trees in the spring also offers a brilliant spectacle as
they scintillate in the rays of the sun and moon.
Nothing could be more exciting and exhUarating than
a slide, on sleigh or toboggan, from the lofty summit of
the ice-mound or cone down to its base, at lightning
speed, and thence along, with a sense of relief, but with.

202 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
blinding velocity for hundreds of yards, on the level,
glassy roadway which hides the St. Lawrence from view.
This is yet and must always continue a delightful pastime
to aU who love feats of daring and vigorous exercise
in the open winter air.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 203

CHAPTER XXIX.
First Visit of the Cholera to Canada — General
Suffering — Great Mortality — Remedial and Be
nevolent Measures — Dr. Perrault, son of Mr.
Perrault, one of the Victims.
In 1832 Quebec was visited by that dreadful disease
known as the Asiatic Cholera, the name of which alone
sends a shudder through most hearts. Starting at the
eastern seaports of the Dominion, its course westwards
was rapid, appalling and deadly, no human means or
appliances seeming capable of even diminishing its pro
gress, or mitigating its violence. Not the least stricken
of its awful paths was the St, Lawrence valley, along
which the graves of its victims could be counted by the
thousand, " Grave " is, in fact, too sacred a name to
assign to the horrible pits at Grosse Isle, twenty-five
mUes below Quebec, and elsewhere, in which the remains
of those victims were cast in haste and dismay. Most
viUages, towns and cities in this province, not to speak of
the regions farther west, were smitten by the pestilence
and paralyzed by its attendant terrors ; and gloom, grief
and anguish pervaded nearly every home. The whole
land lay in mourning ; grim despair resting like a chUling
pall over the stoutest hearts.
In Quebec, especially, the mortality was something
frightful, nearly 3,500 people succumbing during that epi-

204 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
demic. Of the multitudes stricken, but a small percentage
survived, and of these only the very shadows were left to
startle their neighbors and call forth by their wasted forms
and pallid faces, the deepest sympathy of the fortunate
ones who had escaped. The daily sights witnessed were
of the most harrowing kind. At all hours of the day
hearses and open carts, often containing five and six
coffins, piled one upon the other, could be seen slowly
driving through the streets towards " The Cholera Bury
ing Ground," in St. Louis street, with occasionally one or
two mourners following, but oftener none. One of the
municipal regulations enforced, forbade the people keeping
their dead over night — all who died previous to seven
o'clock in the evening had to be given sepulture that day.*
Many sought safety in flight, but often only to die else
where, having lurking within them the germs of the disease ;
and in this way the infection was spread from place to
place. What to do to arrest, or, at least, to some extent
diminish its violence, was the all absorbing problem of
the day?
In the presence of such havoc among the people and
such widespread suffering and distress, no one could be
indifferent, none feel secure. All sighed for that remedy
and protection which medical science was utterly unable
to supply. Able, zealous and humane physicians did
their utmost, unquestionably, to stay the progress of
the fell destroyer — to rescue the people from what
the Psalmist so patheticaUy describes, as "the pesti
lence that walketh in darkness, and the destruction that
wasteth at noon day" — but sanitary laws were not
sufficiently understood, and the professipnal experience of
* Charles Guirin, by P, J, O. Chauveau, p. 293,

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 205
physicians was sadly inadequate to the difficult task. The
cholera, consequently, had an unobstructed field, of which
it made remorseless use,*
Mr, Perrault and his son. Dr. Charles Norbert Perrault,
¦did aU they could think of to meet this trying emergency.
In systematic and energetic advice with regard to proper
•diet, cleanliness and temperance more especially — in the
recommendation of the best known remedies — they strove
to avert all the evil possible and circumscribe, to the
greatest practicable extent, the spread of the disease.
But good counsel and an active interest in all preventive
measures did not exhaust their efforts ; they could risk
their fives too — one in supplying the wants of the
afflicted and consoling the bereaved; and the other in
tending the sick night and day, from the beginning of the
¦epidemic until the i6th of June, when he fell a victim to
his devotion to humanity. The acts of both father and
son were not soon forgotten, many of the comforted and
assisted retaining for them, ever afterwards, the warmest
place in their hearts.
As in the work of education, Mr. Perrault thought it his
obvious duty to do everything within his jjower to better
the condition of the victims ; but his gratification at the
relief, or prevention of suffering was, naturaUy, deeper
than any similar feeling connected with the bestowal of
less needed favors, however congenial to his tastes and
aspirations the latter might be. From thjs time forward
he manifested a stUl stronger interest in sanitary reforms,"
intently following their progress in England, and urging
* Quebec was subsequently visited by cholera in 1834, 1S49, 1851, 1852,
1854; but with a reduced mortality on each occasion from the first. — The
-.author.

206 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
the adoption by the local magnates, of a proper system of
scavenging, the supply of pure water, better drainage and
wider streets — improvements which now-a-days are gener
ally recognised as undeniable maxims of sanitary science-
These subjects became themes of discussion with him, by
voice and pen, with the pleasing result of witnessing a
gradual awakening to their importance, a sense of which
has since been seen to be absolutely indispensable to the
preservation of health. Yet it wa. not tUl 1854 that the
present system of water-works and sewerage was intro
duced into Quebec.
In nothing is the astonishing progress of our days
more marked, than in the precautions against infection
and the mode of treating cholera. Much might be said
with reference to the old time neglect of all proper sani
tary provisions against its importation and dissemination,
and also as to the prevalence of that ignorant, superstitious
feeling which sought excuse for such neglect and for the
failure of the unintelligent, inadequate curative means
employed, in a species of absurd fatalism — in attributing
those diseases and their mortal results mainly to the
will of that Providence, which governs all things. In no
spirit of professional controversy or boasting it may be
fairly said, in regard to this important subject, that aUo-
pathic physicians, for the most part, have almost universally
abandoned the systems of treatment followed over 40-
years ago. At that time and during subsequent epidemics,
patients were often drugged to death, as Sir Boyle Roche
would have said, " in order to prolong their lives." But a
larger experience, better knowledge of the pathogenetic
and therapeutic effects of medicines, including a clearer
apprehension of the nature of the vital forces, a more

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 207
thorough acquaintance with sanitary laws, and wiser views
as to diet, have led to a sensible diminution of the mor
tality from cholera.
Truth also compels the statement that the treatment
which has proved most successful, by the testimony of
impartial judges, is the homoeopathic, which has of late
years rapidly gained ground in popular favor. Dr. Mac-
loughlan, an allopath of wide experience in the treatment
of cholera, and inspector of the general Board of Health,
in England, made a report to the House of Commons in
1854, giving the percentage of deaths under the two sys
tems respectively. From this return it appears that the
death-rate under allopathic treatment was 59.2 per cent.,
whUe under the homoeopathic, but 16.4. In presenting
their report to the House the Medical CouncU of Health
omitted this statement of facts, which, upon motion of
Lord Ebury, however, had to be furnished, after which it
was published in a parliamentary paper dated 21st May,
1855. Such figures speak for themselves, being eloquent
of the superior benefits of the new system to humanity.
In relation to the prevention of this terrible disease,
there has been a vast improvement since 1832. Greater
knowledge of the conditions of health and physical im
provement, has been acquired with the enlarged experience
of the profession, enabling it to wonderfully restrict the
ravages of this much-dreaded enemy of mankind. To a
Quebec physician. Dr. Wm, Marsden, a gentleman who
has witnessed six visitations of cholera, we are indebted
for a scientific system of quarantine, based on the
theory of infection, which, wherever applied, has had for
result the total extinction of the disease. The system
rests upon the principle of complete isolation and thorough

208 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
disinfection of all clothing. The learned doctor has
written much on this important subject, including an able
¦" Essay on the Asiatic Cholera, in its relations to Quaran
tine ; its infection, contagion, portability and communica-
bility, with a brief history of its origin, course and progress
in Canada from 1832 ; " and an " Original plan of Quaran
tine for Asiatic Cholera," which has won the approval of
most of the medical journals and associations of America,
and been accepted by the United States govemment, the
Sanitary and Quarantine authorities of New York and
Boston, and is in successful operation at the port of New
York,* Mr, Perrault would frequently remark that it is in such
ways, through the mysterious agencies of Providence, that
the fruit of good devices, with increased knowledge, is
extracted from appalling evils, which, in ancient times, but
scourged and stupefied mankind.
*With regard to Dr, Marsden , it is but just to say_that he has devoted a
large amount of thought and study to this very important subject for many
years, giving, with a disinterestedness for which he is well known, in this
city and province, his views to the public and the Canadian Govemment
through newspapers, essays and reports ; and the profession have frequently
testified to their scientific character and utility.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 209

CHAPTER XXX.
The Troubles of 1837 — Constitutional Reforms.
Although he did not prominently identify himself with
British schemes or interests, Mr. Perrault accepted
British rule and lauded its benefits. It cannot be doubted
that, when the more aggravating questions of national
rights sprang up, he felt deeply concerned. No one,
however, in the community ever suspected his sincerity
or patriotism; for all knew that he was actuated by the
most conscientious motives, and that his horizon of duty
was not bounded by any petty feeling of race or religion.
He loved Canada for its own sake, and particularly for the
sake of its various elements. As has elsewhere been noticed,
he loyally accepted the decision of the fortune of war, and
laudably exerted himself to induce others to do the same.
He endeavored to reconcUe his countrymen to British
rule, to giving it a fair and generous trial ; and to efforts
such as his must be attributed the success of Britain in
converting such a population into loyal subjects. The
well-known sympathies of the King who so cordially
respected the attachment of the French-Canadians, and,
at a time when liberality was not the order of the day,
also materially aided this feeling. He cheerfully granted
them rights from which his subjects in Ireland were de
barred. No royal regard was ever better invested. In
the course of the growth and development of the colony,
difficulties arose between the British and French-Cana-
14

210 old and new CANADA.
dian elements. Ideas of toleration and justice were not so
prevalent as they are to-day, and men enjoying temporary
advantages, through hap-hazard circumstances, were
often too much inclined to make capital out of their
position, regardless of the irritation or effects upon the
feelings of their feUow-subjects of a different race and
creed. Shortly afterwards a distinct class sprang into
existence, caUed the British office-holding clique, whose
loyalty and interests supported more the supposed policy
of Great Britain than that of the country in which they
resided. The old " Family Compact," in Upper Canada,
and the British official class, in Lower Canada, wUl not
soon be forgotten, and although they included many men
of abUity and fair cultivation, their influence was baneful
to the progress of the country, in discouraging settlement
and liberal enterprise, and in the perpetuation of a sys
tem suited only to the old times of George I. and Louis
XIV. Mr. Perrault, convinced of the necessity of reform,
moderately but honestly advocated such measures as
would secure it, but in his character no revolutionary
element existed. A friend of church and state, and
encouraging the cause of reform, he sought in every
way to moderate the passion of extremists by reminding.
them that the disposition of the British Govemment was
not hostile, and that but the want of knowledge of our
actual pohtical condition, and characteristic apathy, pre
vented it from granting Canadian reformers those perfect
rights to which, a little later, they considered us fully
entitled. He would state that within the resources of the Brit
ish constitution, there were sufficient means for the re-

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 211
moval of the greatest grievances ; that to remedy such it
was not necessary to overthrow a monarchy, and that the
foundations of the state should not be tampered with but ,
for the gravest reasons. By such arguments he influ
enced men of weight, who knew that his official position
did not affect his private judgment ; that if the authorities
wished him to adopt an inconsistent, or unpatriotic
course, he would rather resign his office than consent ;
his chief object being the advancement of the best inter
ests of his fellow-countrymen.
Mr, Perrault was one of those who saw that loyalty to
England and the upholding of Canadian connection could
be preserved only by reasonable concessions on the part
of the Mother Country ; and although he did not adopt
the rdle of a blatant agitator in official and other circles,
he quietly exerted his influence to assist in the removal
of grievances and the creation of better relations for the
future. The influence of such a man at so important a crisis of
our history cannot be overrated : a French-Canadian
Catholic, well-known for his independence of character
and respect for the different elements of the population,
and his motives beyond the breath of suspicion, his coun
sels would naturally possess great weight in the highest
as weU as the lowest quarters. There were many others
in the city who sympathized with Mr, Perrault's views,
and were fully alive to the advantages of British institu
tions, and who consequently desired the continuance of
the connection. They remembered the conditions under
which Canada had been ceded to Great Britain, and
properly demanded their fuU rights under the British con
stitution. There can be no doubt that this vigorous

¦212 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
-agitation gave an impetus to the reform movement in
Great Britain, which was destined so soon to triumph
¦^over mediaeval obstacles and class exclusiveness.
While the community in Lower Canada was in the
•throes of the revolutionary excitement of 1837 ; while one
'¦class insisted on annexation to the United States, and
^while another loyally clung to the Mother Country, Mr.
Perrault's course was unswervingly trae to the principles
¦enunciated above. Condemning the excited passions of
the crowd, and looking beyond the events of the passing
'time he pictured in his mind, a Canada which should em
brace all the British possessions on the continent and
¦ develop into a mighty nation, free and practically inde
pendent, of which every English subject woiUd be proud.
Although it is not the object of this work to give a
4iistory of any of the great national, revolutionary, or poli
tical events connected with this period of Mr. Perrault's
9ife, one reason being that he was a citizen of calm temper,
moderate desires and conservative instincts, who abstained
'from connecting himself with any violent agitation, yet
the author will give some detaUs of the troubles of 1837,
so that the reader, not famUiar with all the facts relating
thereto, may form a correct estimate of them. The fol
lowing clever risumi is from the pen of a contemporary
writer of considerable fame, Mr. John Charles Dent :
¦" In both Provinces the representative branch of the
Legislature began to be frequently at issue with the exe
cutive. The Canadian constitution was confessedly
modelled upon that of Great Britain, but in Canada the
executive declined to act as its prototype in England
would have done upon finding itself out of harmony with
4he popular branch of the Legislature. Here, the place-

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 213
men who made up the executive refused to surrender their
power, patronage and emoluments at the bidding of the
Assembly, and declined to admit the analogy between
th^ir position and that of the executive at home. When
the principle of executive responsibility was propounded,
they scouted and denounced it as a democratic sophism
unworthy of serious consideration. This was the begin
ning of the discussion, energetically waged and long
maintained, on the vexed question of Responsible Gov
emment. Long impunity, and the countenance of suc
cessive Governors, made the executive very bold, and in
process of time the want of unison between the latter and
the Assembly came to be regarded by those in authority
as a very insignificant matter. This involved constant
hostihty and irritation between the Assembly and the
Govemment. The popular leaders in the Assembly of
the Lower Province were driven further in the direction
of opposition and radicalism than they would otherwise
have felt disposed to travel. By their influence the As
sembly was induced to pass various measures to curtail
the prerogative. It was evident that to such a strife as
this an end must come sooner or later, and what that end
would be was not doubtful. The foundations of the con
stitution must give way. The Government, then appears
to have conceived the idea of interposing the Legislative
CouncU between itself and the Assembly, and in pursu
ance of this policy appointed to that Council persons who
were bitterly hostUe to the leaders in the popular body.
The result was frequent and violent collision between
these two branches of the Legislature, The opposition
became almost inconceivably factious, and in some
instances measures were passed by the Assembly for no.

214 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
Other. purpose than to induce their rejection by the Coun
cU. In 1828 the discontent of the people was expressed
in a petition of grievances addressed to the King, to which
petition 87,000 names were appended. Many crying evils
were pointed out, and a clause was inserted praying that
the Legislative Council might be made elective . . . but
the system of appointing Legislative CouncUlors remained
unchanged, and it was not long ere the popular discontent
was greater than ever  At last the Assembly of
Lower Canada resorted to the extreme m.easure of stop
ping the supplies. The example was followed in 1836 by
the Assembly of the Upper Province, In each case the
Government got over the dilemma by appropriating such
pubhc funds as were at the Crown's disposal. Then came
the rebelhon.
" It was evident to the Imperial authorities that some
change in the Canadian constitution was imperatively
required. Their weak but well-meant efforts to govern
the colony in accordance with the popular wUl had thus
far proved ineffectual. The condition of affairs was much
more serious in the Lower than in the Upper Province,
In the latter the great mass of the people were loyal sub
jects, and though many of them had been goaded into
rebelhon by the domination of the Family Compact and
the more unwise administration of abitrary Lieutenant-
Governors, there had been no widespread desire to throw
off the British yoke. The local mihtia and volunteers had
been found fully equal to the task of putting down the
attempted insurrection. Very different was the case in
Lower Canada, where a large majority of the people had
long been disaffected and ripe for revolt. Regular troops
were called into requisition. Several conflicts took place

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 215
which might almost be dignified by the name of pitched
liattles, and there was considerable effusion of blood,;.,..
The Imperial authorities found it necessary, in the month
of Febraary, 1838, to suspend the constitution of Lower
Canada  The plan finally determined upon by
the Home Govemment was to send out a high functionary
to Canada, armed with ,extraordinary powers, to report
upon the condition and requirements of the country, civil
and political  The statesman fixed upon to under
take this important mission was Lord Durham," *
As has already been said, while not approving of
resort to arms, or falling into the mistakes, or excesses
of either of the contending parties, Mr, Perrault sym
pathized, though not ostentatiously, with the efforts made
to obtain needed reforms. Men like M. M. Quesnel,
Cuvillier and John NeUson (friends of Mr. Perrault)
pursued a similar course and discountenanced rebel
lion. He viewed the straggle, its character and objects,
which he deemed worthy of advocacy, much in the
spirit of an author, who has, in a marked degree, dis
played most of the requisites of the historian and whose
work, to this day, remains the best extant on the history
•of Canada : " For some time past, Mr. NeUson, noting
the railway speed (entrainemeni), with which a majority
¦of the representatives were pursuing their opposition
¦career seceded from M. Papineau's party. Several in
fluential French-Canadians, such as M. M. Quesnel and
Cuvillier, along with some others, had before done the
like. These enlightened men, whose experience and
judgment gave them great weight, acknowledged the jus
tice of the demands by the majority ; but they feared to
* The last forty years since ihe Union of 1841, p, 21,

216 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
lose, in a struggle for rights not yet conceded^ those that
had already been latterly obtained. Lord Goderich had
made concessions and initiated reforms which were not
to be despised ; considering, too, that he had so acted in
presence of the rooted prejudices of the British people
against everything French or Catholic in its nature. In
proportion as progress was made in putting those preju
dices to shame, our oppositionists rose in their demands
for further reforms. M. Bedard, senior, Mr. Neilson and
M. Papineau, were three of the most eminent statesmen
(constitutional) Canada had yet known ; and the pohtical
separation of the two latter was a real misfortune for the
country  Both had been intimate, almost from
childhood upwards ; and both had hitherto fought, side
by side, for the common cause. M. M. Cuvillier and
Quesnel, again, were liberals, but of a moderate stamp ;
both lovers of their country, and enjoying a reputation
among their fellows which reflected honor on all parties.
M. Papmeau, in parting company with so many of his
wisest compatriots, and running headlong into a contest
with the authorities of the British empire, took upon him
self a perUous responsibility." *
The feelings animating Mr. Perrault served to moderate,
within a certain circle, revolutionary ideas ; for, while he
concurred with his friends in urging every reasonable
reform, he wamed them against the excesses of republic
anism and an agitation, which, though promising tempor
ary benefits, involved dangerous consequences in the future.
* " L'Histoire du Canada, of F, X, Garneau, translated by Andrew Bell,
vol, iii, p, 330. The original work has long been out of print; but his son —
M. Alfred Garneau — is presently engaged preparing another edition, which
will be entirely re-written and with copious additions. M. Garneau brings.
to his task unusual abilities, and none is better fitted to revise so important
and useful a publication.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 217
No one in Canada more highly enjoyed the patriotic
efforts of M. Louis-Joseph Papineau than Mr. Perrault,
and none was more disposed to further his worthy
objects and appreciate his oratorical successes; and
no mere difference of opinion could for a moment restrain
him from awarding the highest meed of praise to that
patriot. But he plainly saw that M. Papineau was fast
drifting towards repubhcanism,* and that, he felt it his
duty to oppose with all the influence at his command
The author of a recent, well-written and impartial work,
entitled, Les Eviniments de 1837-38 par L. N. Carrier,
says, in criticizing the leading personages of that period :
" This agitation was but the result of a projected inde
pendence for Canada, and consequently its formation
into a republic, a cherished scheme of M. Papineau's, as
confirmed by subsequent events, and by a letter of his,
found among the papers of Mr. Nelson."
But the great reform movement of 1837 ^^s destined
to succeed. The eloquent and heart-stirring appeals of
Papineau, Lafontaine, Nelson and Morin moved a por
tion of the French-Canadian population to its utmost
depths, and m Upper Canada these inspiring speeches
found a sympatiietic echo in the halls and conventions of
that pioneer province. These men, after the sharp
struggle of 1837, w^hich resulted in the reahzation of what
the patriots had demanded, untrammelled self-govern
ment, walked steadily in the path of reform in order to
secure for their fellow-countrymen all the blessings of
responsible govemment. The cabinet formed by MM.
Baldwin and Lafontaine marked an era in our history, its
* L ^Histoire du Canada depuis sa dicouverte jusqu'd nos jours, 2nde
Edition, par F, X, Garneau, vol, iv,, p. 235,

218 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
labors being devoted to securing the fullest advantages
possible from a free constitution.
Prominent and venerable citizens like the subject of
this sketch did good work for the country, in the way of
conciliation and judicious advice with the different gover
nors sent out from England ; and it was this knowledge
which confirmed such men, in their determination to avoid
strife, and resort to moral influences to shorten its dura
tion, whUe quietly promoting deserving projects of reform.
Mr. Perrault thought long and anxiously upon the mo
mentous issues between the Papineau party and the
Imperial Government ; but he could not sympathize with
the extreme pretensions of either. He held that much
harm can be done, as well as much good, by energetic
agitation, and that theorists and political agitators often
excite more popular discontent and alarm than the actual
grievances warrant, while frequently, by their exaggeration
and extreme courses, retarding rather than advancing a
good cause. Besides, he knew too weU both human
nature and the circumstances of his countrj'men to imagine
that all the evils were to be cured by any form of consti
tution, or any species of legislation, how perfect soever.
But he ever set the highest value upon the great healing
and elevating forces of moral influences, which have done
so much for our race in every age and clime ; and the
success which they had achieved, under even moderately
favorable conditions, inclined him to urge their employ
ment to the extent of aU the avaUable resources and
energies of the truest friends of mankind.

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 219

CHAPTER XXXI,
Lakes Beauport and Berryman. — Their Enchanting
Scenery.
As early as 1830, the sportsman explored the neighbor
ing lakes with a view of enjoying the fishing and shooting
thereat, which were abundant in those days. Mr, Perrault
was not fond of such pastimes, but he would occasionaUy
visit the different localities to note the changes produced
by trade and settlement, and appreciate the attractions
of the scenery. Lakes Beauport and Blue (another name
for Berryman) distant twelve and fifteen mUes, respec
tively, from the city, northward, were favorite places of
resort for members of his family. These localities have
changed but Uttle within the past generation, so that a
description of them, with the enjoyments they afford,
written some years ago by the biographer, after a visit
thereto in company with friends, will give a fair idea of
those lakes as known to the older inhabitants and visitors
of Quebec :
"At the request of those with whom I lately had
the pleasure of making a short tour into one of my favor
ite localities, I venture to attempt a slight description of
our journey and its incidents. The task is not an easy
one, particularly to an amateur scene-painter, and its
difficulty in my case is increased by the desire to do jus
tice and realize, however faintly, the expectation of my
companions on that occasion.

220 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
"The shady and thomy path of life is occasionally
enlivened by social events, which leave a deep impression
upon the memory. It is, after all, the society of friends
that gives a flavor to our experiences of the world, and
which charms and beautifies the ordinary course of life,
reconciling us to tasks and toils that might otherwise
prove highly distasteful and even oppressive. The
happy little reunion of a few days ago came like a ray of
sunshine to the minds and spirits of us all, and I beheve
will leave traces that even the disappointments and sacri
fices of life wiU fail to efface. A somewhat threatening
sky at the outset made us apprehensive of bad weather,
but as we wended our way by the picturesque Charles
bourg and St. Pierre roads, the clouds disappeared and
a clear, serene sky smiled upon us, giving promise of
unusual pleasure. We had diverged from the main highway
and entered a country lane ; at every step, the road now
grows more inviting ; on the left, the eye is delighted by
a smUing vaUey with commanding background of moun
tains, and a variety of upland and lowland feature ; on the
right the senses are treated to the fragrance of the green
woods, which add to the softness and varied charms of the
picture, while its grander hiUs and mountains, with their
lofty summits and sombre or brighter hues make up a
panorama of natural beauty, which would arouse the
enthusiasm of any. At one point of our course, we are
almost embowered in woods, with alluring, umbrageous
spots, exhibiting both the solitary pine and the graceful
elm. " We pay a hurried visit to the attractive Lake Beau
port, glorying in every feature of exquisite scenery, and
the fascination but grows and strengthens with time and

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 221
repeated visits. Its deep, clear, placid waters, environed
by wooded mountains, whose bases are bright and
odorous with tasteful gardens, and smiling wheat-fields
and meadows, all present to the enraptured senses a
thousand chamis. At every turn some fresh allurement
appears, rich, grassy margins, sunny slopes, crowned by
picturesque cottages and flowery hiUocks, challenging the
beholder's admiration and wreathing around his feelings a
magic spell. At every season this lovely lake presents a
beauty all its own ; its cool depths supplying to the
patient angler speckled trout of finest flavor. In autumn,
when the leaves have donned their gorgeous Uvery of
many colored hues, the sight is still more enchanting.
" We resume our journey and become lost in a perfect
maze of hUls, whose emerald sides and crests are bathed in
briUiant sunshine, and whose grand proportions elicit from
the spectator intense admiration. The most unsenti
mental critic must, in such a neighborhood, confess
nature's generosity in picturesque effects ; the mountains
monopolize attention and seem to vie with each other
in efforts to scale heaven, and excite the rapture of the
gazer. Every phase of natural beauty has here a repre
sentative ; every position is nobly occupied with nature's
masterpieces. At no point is there anything tame or
uninteresting ; and no pencU could do justice to the chang
ing and yet briUiant colors of this rare spectacle. The
tints of the brightest landscapes are here conspicuous ;
every passing cloud, every outbreak of sunshine adds
to the beautiful effects ; lights and shadows inter
mingle, or create contrasts of color and brightness,
which astonish and enchant. Even the prosaic jehu,
whose soul is not above whips and bridles, had his

222 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
phlegmatic spirit aroused by the scene, for he gave
vent to language which, though below the character
of the occasion, proved he understood that there was
something unusually stirring, which he criticised by the
remark that " the country was not beautiful, but wUd,"
However, even such a verdict formed a contrast to the
other incidents of the trip. The journey still increases in
interest as we advance ; there is no end to the surprises
with which we are greeted in a region so highly favored.
Before one has had the opportunity of fully appreciating
the attractions of one view, another bursts upon him.
Hills and valleys, shady ravines and lofty uplands follow
in a perfect profusion of rare and imposing effects. We
next approach the turn in the road leading to the path
which opens to view the charming lake; the terminus
of our joumey. Again have we matter for ardent admira
tion ; the tranquU lake has for its setting a grand circle of
mountains, near and distant, of every form, shade and color.
Its lovely marge is gracefully wreathed with verdure and
foliage, which offset its pure and calm waters. We now
indulge m an excursion on the twin lakes Berryman and
Bonnet, where the quieter charms of the scene impress
themselves upon our attention, which is every moment
appealed to by some fresh or startling beauty. We seem
to be completely isolated from the great practical busy
world, whose jars and conflicts heighten the contrast of
the peacefulness and retirement of the scene. We move
upon the clear and sparkling waters, mere specks of hu
manity with nature's grandeur and excellence in every
form around us ; the attractions of the spot being enhanced
by the wonderful echoes created for the enjoyment of
their spell.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 223
" It would be imfair to conclude this sketch without
some tribute of praise to the sheltered and beautiful
bay in the vicinity of the house, which, in its graceful
proportions, its picturesque surroundings, the pellucidness
of its waters, forms a type of loveliness seldom excelled.
It mirrored every passing cloud on its quiet breast, whUe
the sunlight sparkled and sported with its glassy sur
face. The eye here enjoys a great treat ; but no poet's
pen, nor painter's brush could do justice to scenes so
entrancing, nor could one hope to reflect even faintly its
attractions. One might imagine that the ambition of this
little bay was to sketch the proportions and reflect the
beauties of its verdant banks, rejoicing in graceful shrub,
and not merely to reveal, but vary and heighten their
loveliness. " Nor can I now quit this alluring theme without an
allusion to the little natural-wooded, rocky bridge be
tween the two lakes, which links them by a miniature yet
picturesque causeway suggestive of feelings of unity and
friendship, particularly grateful to myself. There I
have spent many happy hours in years gone by with
friends no longer present, and to this inspiring spot
memory fondly returns. I have indulged in quiet siestas
amid its rich vegetation, and enjoyed the soothing effects
of the stillness reigning there, and the perfumed airs wafted
towards me from mountain and glen. The sensations I
then experienced are ineffaceably stamped upon my mem
ory. But my mind is too deeply moved for any lengthened
description; our last pleasant trip thereto forms an
additional bond of sympathy and affection, for the place
itself and the friends of the present and the past.
" AU things, however, must come to an end, this day

224 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
included; and who of us could fail to recur to this
social treat, the place and the time heightening the natural
enjoyment so generously afforded us ? The happiest art
of description could convey but the slenderest idea of all
that we saw, thought and felt, during this dehghtful
¦expedition. All seemed equally impressed and charmed.
The feelings of sympathy and mutual regard animating
us, and the enlivening conversation by the way also con
tributed to our pleasure. I could long dwell upon this
gratifying theme, but I must have some regard for your
patience." Mr, Perrault being a lover of nature lost no opportunity
of calling the attention of tourists to the attractions of the
Quebec neighborhood, and many a friend from a distance
would be conducted, or induced to visit some of our most
enticing locaUties. He naturally desired that others
should enjoy the charms which he felt so powerfully hhn-
. self, and also considered that material benefits might be
the result of a better acquaintance with this city and
vicinity.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 225

CHAPTER XXXII.
The Union op the Provinces, — Its Results, — Confede
ration ; Sir George Cartier ; Sir Etienne Tache.
The position of Mr. Perrault towards the scheme of
Provincial Union is a subject deserving of a few remarks,
not only on account of the interest felt by many at the
time in his opinions, but of the lesson his moderation and
loyalty conveyed, A gentleman of the old school, bom
and bred in a truly conservative atmosphere, he was
naturally averse to changes, merely for the sake of variety
or experiment, His mind, by its constitution and
education, was always accessible to reason, and when
circumstances justified any departure from old methods
and policies, he could seqsibly favor such a course, regard
less of the accusation of inconsistency. He had witnessed,
even before middle Ufe, great constitutional, political and
material changes in his country and the Westem pro
vince, some of which were not in all respects to his
taste, but over which no private citizen, however able
and influential, could have exercised any control ; and he
was prepared for further modifications of existing condi
tions in the general progress of society. The great
Republic to the south and the Western Canadian pro
vince were every year rapidly increasing in population ;
the English language and its related civUization fast
spreading towards the Mississippi on the southwest, and
the remoter great lakes on the north-west, and the pros
pects of stiU more wonderful results in this direction steadily
increasing. 15

226 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
He readily perceived that, as the United States rapidly
expanded and developed their illimitable resources, the
greater need was there for Canadian growth and ex
pansion under the monarchical system, from which the
population of both nations sprung ; and, although there
might be local grievances to redress and provincial con
troversies to settle, he felt that these were petty obstacles
— indeed, mere pebbles in his country's path — which
good sense, friendly feeling between the different sections
of its population, mutual loyalty to the country's institu
tions, and a common sovereign would, at no distant day,
sweep out of sight. Thus, although at first, pending
disputes between Upper and Lower Canada, respecting
the division of the customs' duties and other matters,
and the difficulties between the French and British
elements in the Eastem province, previous to the Union,
Mr. Perrault, like many of his countrymen of the same
origin, disliked that proposal, for the reason that it
would complicate the constitutional machinery under
which the country would be govemed, he, at length,
after weighing the arguments on both sides and carefully
considering the probable dangers of disunion, including
provincial jealousies and quarrels, with local troubles and
agitation, arrived at the conclusion that the scheme was
likely to remedy existing evils and benefit both provinces.*
He thenceforth suffered no feeling of local, or national
prejudice to influence his mind against a pohcy promis-
* " The legislative union of the two Canadas was in itself a makeshift,
and was only adopted as such. Lord Durham would have had it otherwise
if he might; but he did not see his way then to anything like the complete
federation scheme afterwards adopted.- But the success of the policy lay in
the broad principles it established, and to which other colonial system as
well as that of the Dominion of Canada owe their strength and security
to-day."— .,4 History of Our Own Times, by Justin McCarthy.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 227
ing substantial advantages to his countrymen of both
races, but supported the cause of Union with char
acteristic sincerity.*
It may be as well here to add, for the information
of some who may have formed incorrect opinions
in relation to the exciting events of the Union era,
exaggerated by partial, or ignorant writers, that,
after the reasonable demands of the French-Canadian
reformers, including the right of responsible govern
ment and the control of the public purse by the popular
Chamber, had been granted, the majority of this race be
came fully satisfied, only a small minority favoring the
idea of an Independent Repubhc. The Roman Catholic
clergy also opposed this latter disloyal project, as they did
aU other previous movements of a similar nature, and
httle was heard of it after the Union.
Mr. Perrault Uved four years after this, long enough to
see the wisdom of the policy recommended by Lord Dur
ham, as testified by the close and friendly connection of
the two Canadas, and the early material development of
their valuable resources. He witnessed the good results
of the change in the rapid increase of the population by
natural growth and immigration, the extensive clearing of
the forests, the constraction of public works and the
material expansion of trade and commerce. But even
had this marked progress of the country proved slighter
and less gratifying, the aUayment of sectional strife and
the estabhshment of good feeling between the sister pro
vinces, which that measure produced, would have been
ample justification of it,
*Sir Hypolite Lafontaine and others considered the imposition of the
Act of Union a crying injustice to the province, but were of opinion that
the posilioi) must be accepted and a fair trial given to it. The Author.

228 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
In one terse sentence M. L. P. Turcotte sums up the
results of the Union. He writes in Le Canada sous
/ Union : " Notwithstanding countless, bitter political
struggles, the union of the Canadas resulted in the forma
tion, in the space of fourteen years, out of two provinces
dissatisfied and sparsely populated, of one, prosperous,
populous, independent and satisfied."
Sir. Hypolite Lafontaine's name exerted a healing in
fluence in social and national controversies, which was
felt for many years after his promotion to the bench. It
was men like him, who made the Union of the Canadas
fruitful in political benefits to both provinces, who eradi
cated the old prejudices and jealousies, by which its
different races had been too long divided.
And here it may be stated that no one in Lower Canada
so closely foUowed in the footsteps of Sir Hypolite or
oftener professed that as his chief aim, than Sir George
Cartier, While professing conservatism to its fuUest
extent, he was ever animated by the spirit which
guided the policy of that gentleman, and in our day no
man more completely secured the confidence of all
nationahties in his Uberahty and honest intentions than
Sir George. An admirer of British institutions and op
posed to annexation, rather than consent to a separation
between Upper and Lower Canada, he favored the
scheme of confederation. Nothing was more repugnant
to his mind than the thought of a severance from Eng
land ; but at the same time he felt so sensitive as to the
rights and sentiments of his co-religionists and French-
Canadian countrymen that he would not countenance
any pohtical arrangement, which might, in the slightest
degree, imperU their interests. "Thus it was that

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 229
when in 1864, Canadian politics had come to a dead
lock, and parties continued to be equaUy divided,
and no outlet from the difficulty presented itself, he
accepted confederation as a dernier ressort. There can be
no doubt that this was the only practicable solution of the
difficulty, short of revolutionary changes, or doubtful ex
periments. »
Though Upper Canada had a larger popiUation in 1864
than Lower, she had no more influence in the Legis
lature, where each province was equally represented. The
Liberals of that day contended in the councUs of the
country that she had less, on account of the alliance of
a considerable number of the British representatives
with the great French majority led by Sir George,
who, it was asserted, managed the public affairs regard
less of Westem feelings and interests. This view was
always denied by the conservative party of both provinces,
which professed to do them equal justice, and did not
fail to remind the advocates of a larger representation for
Upper Canada, that at the time of the Union it had as
many representatives as Lower Canada, though contain
ing a considerably smaller population. The propriety of
the demand of Upper Canada for an influence in the
Legislature, commensurate with her contribution to the
public exchequer and larger population, was tacitly ad
mitted by the party led by Sir George and Sir Etienne
Tach6, in their approval of the present Federal constitu
tion, which at once gave Upper Canada a numerical
superiority in the House of Commons of seventeen mem
bers. It may be said, in concluding this part of the sub
ject, that the scheme of confederation has worked favor

230 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
ably to the peace, harmony and prosperity of the pro
vinces, and that the Dominion already occupies a high
rank among the nations of the world. A Lower Canadian,
whose name wiU ever be mentioned with honor for his
abihty and patriotic services to the public, is that of Sir
Etienne Tache. No one in public life more thoroughly
understood the value of such labors as those rendered
by Sir Etienne than Sir George ; and he greatly strength
ened himself in Upper Canada by associating himself
with this honorable and respected knight. There, not
a voice was raised against the character or intentions of
Sir Etienne, whose popularity, if possible, was increased
by his well-known remark, " That the last gun that would
be fired for British supremacy in America would be fired
by a French-Canadian." It is certainly true that such a
favorable impression prevailed in Upper Canada with
regard to his liberality and national feeling that, throughout
the province, he would have been treated with great
respect. To the influence and character of such men as Sir
Etienne is largely due the better feeling which now exists
among our Canadian population. He considered it his
mission to smooth down race and creed prejudices, to
remove all causes of contention and to incite the different
elements of the population to a species of honorable
rivalry in promoting the general \*'effare.
It is a satisfaction to notice that, under such influences
as Mr. Perrault favored, was educated the generation
which produced sucli men as Papineau, Lafontaine,
Morin, Tache, Baldwin, Mackenzie and Blake, of both
provinces.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 231

CHAPTER XXXIII.
Mlle. Reine Perrault — Hon, Louis Panet's Residence
— Coucy le Castel — Fetes Champetres — Genuine
Hospitality — Characteristic Scene,
No visitor of E Asyle Champetre but cherished a high
regard for Mile, Reine Perrault, whose character may be
judged from the fact that she was known to every intimate
friend of the family as la cousine. She entered with enthusi
asm into her cousin's benevolent schemes and nothing gave
her more pleasure than the education and moral improve
ment of the youth of both sexes who attended his schools.
Naturally averse to public display, or self-assertion, she
labored in private for their advancement, and their suc
cess in life gave her great satisfaction. It is pleasant to
record that Fran?ois-Xavier Garneau, when sending her
a copy of his first volume of his Histoire du Canada, in
a letter dated the isth November, 1845, acknowledged
with candor and gratitude the value of the schools of his
benefactor, Mr. Perrault, and his indebtedness to herself
for some of the earliest lessons he had received from
them ; adding that he had endeavored to improve the-
good work then begun, and profit by those advantages.
Mile. Perrault took great interest in horticulture, and
strove to impart to her pupUs the value of the latest
.additions to this art; her greatest pleasure was the
knowledge that they benefitted by her instructions.
Among the minor incidents of life at L' Asyle, and
which are related with the view of the entertainment of

232 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
some readers, and the conveyance of a fuUer idea of some
of the occasional occurrences of Mr. Perrault's house
hold than could otherwise be communicated, it may be
here stated that this lady, besides the care of the
gardens, her particular part of it being the HonaS. parterres
in. front of the house, superintended the care of the
pets and domestic animals. She was especially fond of
two peacocks, upon whose backs two ducks would per
sistently perch, to the great annoyance of one, who was
ever influenced by a sense of the proprieties. She would
rush at the offending birds with uplifted broom-stick,
vowing punishment for their rudeness. On one occasion,
at Easter-tide, the same incident occmrred, when she lost
her patience, which she regarded as a sin, fearing that
" these wretched animals woiUd yet prevent her doing
her Easter duties." It was very seldom indeed that
one of her equable temperament was betrayed into anger,
but in her case, also, human weakness was destined to an
other illustration. In fine weather it was her custom to
work in the garden, or promenade in the neighborhood,
foUowed by her pets, three or four dogs and as many cats.
She has been pictured by one who knew her well in her ad
vanced years, as with hair white as snow, regular features
and pleasing countenance, whose expression of benevo
lence impressed all who approached her.
The other inmates of Mr. Perrault's household gratified
their tastes, which were sufficiently varied, in a way not
only to enjoy themselves, but to please their numerous
friends, whose frequent visits kept the Asyle in a state of
continual pleasurable excitement. He himself delighted
in refined society, in dispensing hospitality and in giving
entertainments, which were equally pleasant to the house-

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 233
hold and the guests. These reunions generally began
before noon and concluded at nine o'clock in the evening.
To visitors and friends, the chief characteristic of the
members of his family was the virtue of genuine hospital
ity, a virtue displayed with a refinement truly agree
able to the frequenters of the house. Many stories on this
subject can be told by old residents of Quebec, who appear
to take greater pleasure as time advances in indulging in
such memories.
One of the old favorite resorts of Mr, Perrault's family
was the hospitable mansion of the Hon. M. Louis Panet,
Coucy le Castel, on the southern bank of the Little River,*
This was one of the loveliest spots in the vicinity of
Quebec, the resources of art happily contributing to off
set and enhance its charming natural advantages. These
picturesque grounds, which had been early planted and
laid out with exquisite taste, were divided by neat hedges
of fir, hawthorn and spruce kept in admirable condition,
and rejoiced in a wealth of noble pines and oaks, under
whose grateful shade were rastic benches—
" For talking age and whispering lovers made,"
Variegated flower-beds sparkled in every nook and comer.
" A fish pond, close to the house, enabled anglers to indulge
in their favorite pastime.
The house, occupying a commanding position, was
an old-fashioned two-storey double buUding, with a
roomy piazza, front and side, and an aviary at one end
filled with birds of many climes, and embowered in beauti-
ful climbing vines. A row of poplar trees lined the avenue
leading to the house. On the margin of the river stood a
* The present proprietor of this charming retreat is the Hon, J, T, Tas
chereau.

234 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
platform, commanding a view down the stream as far as
that attractive spot spanned by Scott's bridge, and up to
the graceful bend of the river, arched by verdant foliage
and bordered by pebbly beaches. One of the enjoy
ments much appreciated at that time was a trip to the
Castel by water, which could be indulged in only in die
spring and autumn, owing to the shallowness of the water
at other seasons.
The entertainments given at this rural home were of
the most recherchi kind, attracting the brilliant society
of the capital and neighborhood, the officers of the army
and navy, and distinguished strangers. The guests on the
occasion of these fetes champetres arrived at one o'clock
-in the afternoon,' when dancing on the greensward would
immediately commence. In the intervals between the
dances the lively pleasure-seekers enjoyed quiet saun
ters with their partners in the delightful groves of the
home, or gayly stroUed upon the airy platform. In the
evening a variety of pleasing games beguiled the hours,
and the representation of charades and petites comidies
contributed to the general enjoyment. The host of the
Castel Coucy, in this year of 1881 eighty-six years of age,
took a leading part in aU these sports and entertainments,
and wore the droUest costumes at times as he entered into
the spirit of the occasion with all the zest and vigor of
youth. On the anniversary of this gentleman's natal day, his
grounds presented a scene peculiarly fascinating. In
aU the glory of floral wealth and forest beauties, they were
opened to the public, while the city band discoursed
the choicest music of its ripertoire to the great delight-Of
the numerous visitors. In his hall, refreshments were liber

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 235
aUy dispensed to the guests. The crowning event of such
occasions, of course, was when the host appeared before
his welcome visitors to thank them for the honor they
did him, when immediately afterwards the band, amidst
applause, would strike up the Canadian national air.
A noteworthy and characteristic virtue of the old
French-Canadian race was the genuine affection they dis
played towards relations and friends. There can be no
doubt that in Canada the ties of relationship were treated
with marked respect, manifesting a spirit of fraternity and a
deep regard for domestic affections and duties. The
subject of this memoir may truly be instanced as an illus
tration in point. Not only he, but the several mem
bers of his famUy showed themselves keenly alive to the
obligations of such ties, their example in this respect
producing a good effect upon those of less emotional dis
position, in the language of our cooler and more practi
cal times.
At this house, to which, in regard to the hospitality
therein dispensed to a large circle, might well be accorded
the term " open," the poorest and humblest were made
as welcome as the richest and most influential, and as
cheerfuUy aided by counsel and other means. All under
stood that their host was a friend in every sense of the
word and on all occasions. The space at the disposal of
the writer does not permit his recording a tithe of the
evidence in support of this rejpark. The foUowing incident,
however, wiU not be inappropriate : A distant relative of
Mr, Perrault, with his Indian wife and child, from Lake Su
perior, paid him a visit. As a matter of course, they were
well received, neither the lady's pure aboriginal blood, nor
her forest habits lessening in the slightest degree the respect-

236 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
ful attention of their host. Though not prepossessing either
in appearance, or manner, in the acceptance of civilized
notions, Mr. Perrault evinced a kindly interest in her, during
her stay, which he strove not unsuccessfully to make as
agreeable as possible. Her habits however would at tunes
excite the. amusement, and at others the terror of the yotmg
people, who knew not in what light to regard her. Much
to their annoyance, she would rush into the drawing-room
whenever visitors were announced ; but Mr. Perrault, with
characteristic politeness, would introduce " the squaw" as
his cousin, the courtesy being performed with his usual
chivalric regard for the sex, in a manner to avoid
giving offense to the most susceptible. This ordeal often
proved very trying to some of the guests, as well as to
the young folks at I' Asyle, whose inclination to laugh
could hardly be suppressed.
The tenacity with which French-Canadians adhere to
the ancient customs of their ancestors and native pro
vinces, has often formed the subject of comment, not
unmixed with compliment. In this new world, with its
entirely different circumstances, its various distractions
and dissimilar customs and interests, a conservatism, so-
like that of the French of the olden time, appears doubly
interesting and highly suggestive of by-gone days and
events. . Many instances of this spirit might be cited
were there any doubt on the subject, but the foUowing;
wiU suffice for the author's present object : — This last
autumn he witnessed a scene which, perhaps, could not
be noticed outside of Brittany. On the way from A ncienne
Lorette, to Quebec, in the vicinity of a rustic bridge, a
noise on the left attracted his attention. The sight
resembled the subjects of some of the old pictures of

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 237
Frencli or Flemish rural Ufe. About a dozen men, women
and children composed a merry group, the figures set out
in mani-\colored costumes, red and blue predominating ;
the men wearing the national bonnets, rouge et bleu, and
the women light, pretty shawls of different tints, gracefully
spread over their heads and shoulders. The party were
engaged in flax-dressing, with brakes. For a moment,
as the writer came in sight, work was suspended, but soon
resumed, the toilers keeping time and striking the flax
with their brakes, to the tune of —
" Lui ya longtemps queje faime,
Jamais je ne foublierai."
This picturesque group, in connection with the surround
ings, made up a scene in every way enchanting. In the
background stood a low cUff, and at its base a blazing fire,
to the left a gorge spanned by a raUway bridge, to the
right a saw mill in fuU operation, and in the foreground a
a pretty, running stream, with a motley autumn sky
commanding and encircling the whole. In response to
the refrain the author could not help exclaiming Jamais
je ne foublierai, which in his case referred to the charming
paysage before him.

238 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

CHAPTER XXXIV.
Advantages and Importance of Immigration fro Can
ada RECOGNISED AND URGED BY Mr. PeRRAULT —
Natural Wealth and Prospects of the Province.
It is usual, nowadays, to form a very lofty idea of the
superiority of the present era to all its predecessors, and
to take credit to latter-day schemes and policies for merits
infinitely transcending those of previous times. The
praises of modem days and modern notions are continuaUy
sounded in our ears, their eulogists, in a spirit of seff-
complacency, not confining their efforts to the actual feats
and conceptions of recent times — many of which, no
.doubt, merit all that can be said in their favor — but
striving to render the weight of modem honor absolutely
crushing by the appropriation of projects and theories,
which have really come down to us from previous genera
tions. Thus, among the schemes fraught most truly with
benefit to our country, which are supposed to be
pecifliarly recent and due to statesmen of our own days,
must be set down the encouragement of emigration to the
British North American provinces.
Now, no fair-minded person, who has any acquaintance
with this subject, would seek for a moment to disparage
the sensible and worthy efforts that have been made by
the different Canadian governments, withm the last thirty-
five years, to attract desirable emigrants to our growing
towns and cities, and particularly to our large, fertile tracts
of land in Ontario and Quebec. Men of aU parties

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 239'
in their legislatures, as weU as outside, have agreed on
this pohcy, if on little else, and with the sanction of this-
consensus •of intelligent opinion and foresight, liberal
grants of money have been made for over a quarter of a..
century to promote it vigorously. With this object, too,.
the public lands in both Quebec and Ontario, formerly
Lower and Upper Canada, have been surveyed, marked.
off and opened up to settlement by means of good and
useful colonization roads, by desirable information and
valuable encouragement to settlers, in the form of merely
nominal prices for the lands sold.
The results unquestionably have proved, so far, satis
factory, especially within the last few years. Immense
tracts of the primeval forest have been penetrated, cleared
and added to the ever-extending domain of civilization,
hundreds of thousands, a very large portion of them British
and other immigrants, having, in the process, been trans
formed from ill-paid, hopeless laborers and poor, rent-
oppressed, small farmers into prosperous, independent
and happy Canadian yeomen, owners of productive and
remunerative farms. The social and material advantages-
thus afforded immigrants and native Canadians alike,
within even the last forty years, and the benefits thereby
secured to these pioneers, are beyond calculation.
Through such liberal and far-seeing policy, our country
has been enabled to double its population and increase its-
wealth and productive resources fully tenfold.
But whUe these facts, which also suggest innumerable
kindred statements and equally gratifying reflections, de
serve to be brought into due prominence, in any work
treating, even incidentally, of the political and industrial
history of the Canadian pioneers, it is but right to record

240 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
the no less certain fact that the policy of encouraging
immigration and, as rapidly as possible, reclaiming the
Canadian wildemess, is one which dates far beyond the
present energetic and enterprising generation. In the
early days of the present century the old U. E, loyalists
and a few enlightened Canadians, including Mr. Perrault,
gave most earnest attention to this vital subject, which
was rightly considered by them quite as important as we
regard it in our more peaceful and advanced age, with the
older provinces well settled and developed and in the
enjoyment of the brightest prospects.
Two severe conflicts with the neighboring Repubhc had
taught Canadians a sharp and trying lesson with regard to
their numerical weakness and paralyzing disadvantages, in
connection with the vastness and wildness of the region
over which they were thinly scattered, the resources of
which were but lightly touched at a few points ; anything
like even modest development being wholly beyond the
small, ill-connected and straggling population of that
period. The old Canadian leaders and statesmen, both
French and British, limited as was their knowledge of the
enormous natural wealth and resources of these provinces,
very soon recognized the important fact that to turn even
what were known to good account, for the benefit of the
actual inhabitants and the advantage of the country, to
which aU were attached, a large immigration was to the
last extent desirable.
The fathers and founders of our present Canadian state,
despite differences of political opinion, and difliculties and
distractions incident to their position in a new country,
suffering from so many disadvantages and drawbacks,
generally agreed and acted up to their behef, that a large

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 241
and rapid increase of the population was the one thing
necessary to Canada, to make of it an energetic, prosper
ous and happy young nation. Of course, all were not
equally ardent in this conviction, or prepared to make as
great sacrifices for the object the majority professed to
have at heart ; but, considering the state of the country at
the time, the fewness of its inhabitants, particularly in the
westem province, their struggling condition and scanty
means, creditable interest was manifested in this cause and
comparatively great exertions were put forth.
The subject of this sketch was one of the far-sighted
men who desired the early settiement of the Canadian
wildemess, and wished to make the most of the country's
resources. The chief obstacle to such enterprises sixty
or seventy years ago,, was the almost universal ignor
ance abroad in regard to our country, climate, resources
and innumerable advantages offered the working-classes,
coupled with the magnetizing influence upon the Euro
pean mind of the great dynastic wars, with their exhausting
expenditure of hfe and treasure. An era of peace, active
commercial enterprise and rapid growth of wealth and
population was needed, not only to repair the losses of
prolonged destructive wars, but to enable the poorer por
tions of the great old world communities to learn cf the
superior prospects presented by the new world, and to
devote their energies to the task of reaching it.
Canadian patriots and statesmen of the olden time were,
accordingly, highly gratified at witnessing the beginning
of that wonderful westward movement of the European,
particularly the British and Irish masses, which has
already changed the face of North America, trans
forming its boundless forests and prairies into regions
16

242 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
of the highest civihzation, boasting of enlightened and
progressive populations, now numbering over fifty
millions. Even Mr. Perrault, who always showed great
pride in his country's growth and development, and who
anticipated for it a great future, could hardly have dreamt
of progress so wonderful, within so short a period. The
value he set upon the proper education of the poor mani
fests the importance of the sphere he desired them to fill
in life, not only as inteUigent and well-behaved, but as
industrious and energetic citizens of a youthful and grow
ing community, with a heritage of half a continent and a
noble part in the grand drama of modern civihzation.
The efforts made by the different provincial govemments
since confederation to open up and settle the back regions
of the province of Quebec are worthy of all praise.
Hundreds of mUes of colonization roads have been con
structed on both shores of the St, Lawrence, sums of
money, vast for the resources of the province, having been
voted to societies having this laudable object in view;
liberal aid, monetary and otherwise, has been granted new
railways intended to bring the remoter sections into easy
communication with the older districts, the towns and
cities ; and the scheme of repatriation of French Canadians
in the Eastem Townships and elsewhere is also working
favorably. Colonization societies have too been formed
by wealthy Enghsh and Canadian capitalists, from whose
operations most beneficial results must accrue to the
province. Nothing is better calculated to advance the true inter
ests of our province and the results, so far, have been very
gratifying, and there is the hope that stiU greater benefits
may flow from such a wise and enterprising policy.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 243
Although the population of the province does not show
any very marked increase for the last decade, a marked im
provement of the material circumstances of the people has
been effected. Comforts and conveniences formerly un
known have been provided in all parts of the country ;
good roads, better schools and kindred amehorations now
e.xist, to the great advantage of all. It is something to be
able to claim that the province has made considerable
advances, despite the great competition of the United
States and the newer and very attractive westem regions.
It is also something to boast of that notwithstanding the
severe time of depression, lasting from 1873 to 1880, and
the various facilities for travel and communication with
the Republic, with the gratifying success of a very large
number of Canadians of all origins, in the United States,
the province has made, on the whole, good progress in
comparison with previous periods. It is worth remember
ing too that large districts hitherto unknown to the masses
of the people have been opened up to enterprise, and that
broad tracts of the wilderness have even recentiy been
reclaimed. * The province of Quebec can boast of over
200,000 square mUes of territory, being half as large
again as Ontario, nearly twice the size of Great Britain
and Ireland and a little larger than France. As yet,
though colonized for over 250 years, but a comparatively
small portion of our extensive territory is settied. The
bulk of our population is scattered along the valleys of
the St. Lawrence, Saguenay, River du Loup, St, Francis,
Magog, Richeheu, Chaudiere, St, Maurice, Gatineau and
* Last year over three hundred thousand acres of land were surveyed and
laid out in settlers' lots by the Crown Lands Department of the province.
—Official Report of the Hon. E. J. Flynn.

244 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
Ottawa, the settiements mostly forming strips of no great
depth. Beyond them, in many places, fie great tracts of
good, uncleared land, ready, when brought into cultivation,
to yield abundant crops. Much might be said of the excel
lent opportunities to the farmer and lumberman presented
by the splendid Lake St. John region, — liarge enough to
make a smaU European Kingdom — and the valuable lands
of the Eastem Townships, which hold out the greatest
attractions to industrious, respectable citizens. It is a
common saying in regard to Compton, Brome and other
districts, that their inhabitants need not go to Manitoba
for good soil — they have a Manitoba at home. The
same remark applies to the counties of Beauce and Dor
chester, adjoining the Maine frontier, to which the Quebec
Central Railway is fast penetrating, being now only some
fourteen mUes from the naturaUy rich township of Met-
germette Nord.
Nothing is more surprising than the rapid growth of
villages and settlements along the fines of the new
railroads. A spirit of enterprise has been developed,
even in the older sections, which promises valuable results
to the province at no distant epoch. Among the newer
industries which have sprung into existence, of late
years, is the mining, which is being prosecuted with success
at the St, Maurice, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence,
in the Beauce district and in the vicinity of Sherbrooke
and Capelton. In the counties of Beauce and Dorchester,
especially, indications of the precious metals have attracted
American and Canadian capitalists, whose large bands of
skilful miners are already enlivening those locaUties and
demonstrating most profitably the sohd character of their
mineral wealth. Elsewhere, also, the same cheering

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 245
progress is manifest. Those works employ large numbers,
having greatly relieved, even this past summer, the
overstocked labor market of Quebec and other cities
of the province. The phosphate and plumbago mines of
the Ottawa region, the north shore, have afforded em
ployment and fostered business to a considerable extent
within the last three years. There are several other im
portant industries flourishing in our province which need
not be mentioned here, but one new resource is entitled
to notice. To the practical efforts of a few far-seeing
political economists are due the organization of one
powerful loan company, whose operations are rapidly
extending, and whose means have already begun to create
a good effect in various departments of commerce and in
dustry. In this way men in business, or owning lands,
are enabled to obtain money at moderate rates of interest,
and to carry out undertakings which woulcj not otherwise
be practicable. Another good result of this policy has
been a flow of capital from France to our shores, seeking
investment, and the formation of social connections with
the mother-country of the larger portion of the population,
both of which wiU lead to pleasant material results in
time to come. A young country hke Canada, with a very
large portion of its natural advantages but partially
developed, needs an encouraging tariff, and a larger
volume of foreign capital to supply it with that stimulus
and strength required for the buUding up of a prosperous
nation. Mr. Perrault's views in favor of economy and the care
ful management of the provincial resources would have
favored the accumulation of the capital wanted for those
promising public undertakings ; but he was altogether

246 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
opposed to a system of economy which, by neglecting
productive schemes, would have in the long run proved
foohsh and benumbing, every way obstractive to the
country's prosperity.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 247

CHAPTER XXXV-
Little River Road — Route Misere — Lorette Falls —
Chateau d'Eau.
Of a summer's aftemoon towards 1830, and subse-
quentiy, Mr, Perrault would occasionally drive to his
model farm, on the south shore of the beautiful Little
River, the Cabire-Coiibat of old, on the road to Lorette ;
his inspection terminated, he would generally visit the
neighborhood to feast his eyes on the charms of its
scenery. Its varied, low, gently sloping or elevated
banks, sunlit or shaded ; its cool, winding flood, babbling
at one point over a pebbly bed, or boisterously rushing
over a miniature cataract on its way to the great northern
father of waters — the St, Lawrence ; heie narrowed and
deeply obscured by steep and bushy banks, and there
pleasingly opening out to the gracious influences of sun
and air, mirroring on its glassy breast the passing
clouds or the trembling boughs — form features in the land
scape that in every sense deserve the epithet of lovely,
and which Mr, Perrault could never weary admiring.
Among the floral delights of this romantic stream may be
named the beautiful purple trillium, the brilliant and
many-colored leaves of the Smilacina, the bright-hued
orchis and anemonies, the graceful pitcher-plant, the
delicate forget-me-not, the sweet-scented honeysuckle, the
rhodoras of the thickets, the fragrant pines, all perfuming
the air with delicious odors.

248 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
At dawn of day, in the spring or autumn, some of
the youths of the city, and among them the grandsons of
Mr. Perrault, at times wended their way with fishing rods
towards the Little River, They began whipping the
waters at Scott's bridge and ascended as far as the Falls
of Lorette, and occasionally still further, by canoe, to Lake
St, Charles. They seldom returned without baskets filled
with finny prizes, among which were frequently salmon,
caught at the foot of the Lorette FaUs and' the rapids be-.,
low. The stream then was fuller than at present and
sport infinitely better.
The river, some distance below the Lorette Falls, on
Route Misere, divides into twin channels and washes the
shores of a tiny island whose graceful shrubbery courts the
breeze and mingles shadows on the dimpling waters. The
path thence to the Falls crosses shrub-clad slopes, bosky
valleys, the features becoming bolder and the thunder of
the cataract louder as the Chaudiere is approached.
The picturesque Falls rivets the eye by the sparkle of its
descending waters aiid the clouds of foam, which whirl
and dance in maddest glee at the rage and recklessness of
the torrent. The view of this wild scene from the old-
fashioned bridge above is well worth the trip, but the
sight from below is still more attractive. The river in its
course from above hurries through a romantic gorge,
bounded by bushy banks ; the rapids divide midway into
two branches, which lower down reunite in tumultuous
confusion and pursue their brawling course through the
narrowing channel, producing charming effects of light
and shade, with the play of cloud or sunshine upon its
wavelets, seething waters and frothy billows.
The Huron ' vUlage then presented very much the

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 249
same appearance as now, the habits of the aborigines
differing but slightly from those of the present day. Then,
too, Indian boys displayed their skiU, " shooting at
¦coppers.'' No dam marred the wild aspect of the river
at Chdteau d'Eau ; no clearances softened the primeval
aspect of nature ; forest and torrent with bold blue moun
tains in the distance forming an impressive scene. Among
the features of the river above the cataract were beaver
dams,* and the rich flora of the banks, whose cool and
scented air was ever pleasing. The scenery, as far as
Lake St. Charles, maintained the same enticing character,
novelty and beauty chaUenging admiration at every turn.
To be once more somewhat errant from the main stream
of this narrative, it may be said that after a visit to
Lorette, by way of Route Misere, the writer of these pages,
a few years ago, indited a letter to a friend which con
tained an account of a trip thither, that may give the reader
an idea of the beauties of that locality at the present day : —
" Behold me a few days ago on a trip to old suggestive Lor
ette ! The Chdteau d'Eau was the goal ; the way thither
being by the Misere road, A charming day with a bright
blue sky, in which scarcely a cloud floated, but whose
briUiancy was softened here and there by fleecy specks.
The landscape was arrayed in robes of summer brightness,
the colors enriched with the mellow tints of early autumn,
a forerunner of the coming change. The air, redolent of
pine trees and flowery meadows, was soft and balmy, the

* An elderly friend of the author informs him that, in the fall of 1837, he
.ascended this river in company with two friends, as far as Lake St, Charles
without meeting with any obstruction ; but ten days later, upon their retum,
it was completely dammed by the beavers in two places, the neighboring-
¦creeks all overflowing. It took the party several hours before they could hew
their way through by means of axes.

250 OLD AND NEW CANAbA.
whole scene, rich and tranquil, presenting a picture and
evoking sensations which never can be forgotten. The
inspiration of nature met in my spirits and inclination con
genial aUies, to realize sensations worthy of the day and
surroundings, such as would create pleasant oases in the
desert of ordinary experiences, to be hereafter gratefully
dwelt upon by memory in perhaps future gloomy days.
What wonder then that we lingered before the various
masterpieces of nature on the route- ! What words can paint
their charms and the thoughts excited by such a profusion
of scenic beauties and luxuries ? How much was there to
arrest the admiring gaze and stimulate the mind, in
distant mountains, towering to the skies, yet fading into
a sublime outline of blue ! How much in deep, solemn,
shady ravines, concealing in parts and revealing in others
the pure brawling stream, meandering or rushing to its
ocean outlet ! How much to chann and stimulate in the
smiling plain, sparkling with wild flowers and dotted with
peaceful homesteads, in the bright cheerful headlands
of the north shore, or in the commanding heights and
martial crown of distant Quebec, with its lofty spires
and glistening roofs — in the neighboring L6vy and St.
Joseph, with their grand natural features of bluff, moun
tain and valley, to enhance the splendors of the panorama !
The mind may appreciate the elements, the lights and
shadows, the forms and outlines of such a grand display
ot nature, but words strive in vain to convey even a faint
impression of its character and enchanting effects. Each
new contrast of sunshine and shadow, of meadow and
mountain, of highland and ravine, of wild rapid and
placid stream, gives fresh objects for admiration and adds
new fire to imaginations susceptible to the influences of

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 251
beauty. One of the gems of this magnificent scenery iff
found below the Lorette Falls, on the Misere road, where-
the river divides, leaving in the midst of the diverging'
streams a miniature island — a level, shady, peaceful spot,.
strikingly contrasting with the towering, verdure-clad,.
tree-crowned banks of the stream.
" On the margin of this river for nearly two mUes are'
sheltered, grassy nooks, offering tempting opportunities to'
the tourist and admirer of rural beauties. The very spot
for picnics, with the softest of greenswards for loungers
and the lovers of the Terpsichorean art ! Taking the
road past the quaint littie church of the Indians, the odd
medley of Huron huts and cottages excites one's curiosity
and interest. Soon again we come to a country lane,
following the winding of the river, giving pleasant sur
prises, in striking views of the stream, on its southward!
course. At this point also, tumbling over rocks and
ledges in its rash for the great river, its roar breaks the
stillness of a spot that woiUd otherwise be tranquil andl
solitary enough for a hermit. The whole forms a fitting in
troduction to the romantic stream of the aqueduct, which;
is the chef-d'oeuvre of this attractive locality. Here we-
took a boat above the dam and headed towards the upper
part of the river. The scene now is of a very different
kind ; no sudden contrasts of the grand and picturesque, of
soft and stem elements, with a background of mountains,
to absorb or impress ; quiet, secluded beauty is all pre
vailing. The clear and peaceful river with its rich green
banks, and overhanging fringes of luxuriant brash, reflects
upon its pure, transparent bosom the objects which adorn
its sides, as well as the briUiant sky above. The deep,
pellucid waters sport with the imagination, picturing the:

252 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
arching verdure as springing from below with a distinc
tiveness and accuracy of outhne, which the transparent
air itself fails to excel. In this little domain of natural
loveliness one sees a heaven below as well as above, clouds
and sky shining from the river's depths in striking resem
blance to the gorgeous firmament.
" About half a mile above the dam on the right bank is
Castor Ville, the residence of the Hon. Louis Panet,
whose pretty log-cabin and neat and comfortable cottage
pleasingly attract the eye. In the adjoining forest is a minia
ture hut filled with a variety of curiosities, and reached
by by-paths through primeval groves. Generally the
proprietor, a refined, genial old gentleman, wearing a
broad-brimmed straw hat, may be seen promenading in
his sylvan retreat, but on this occasion he was absent.
We missed his enlivening conversation and courtesy,
which one cannot soon forget,
"After we had rowed up this fairy river for upwards of
an hour, we landed in a secluded copse and enjoyed an
alfresco lunch, for which we had now acquired the keenest
appetite. It was soon evident that we were not alone, for
our repast was cheered by a concert of feathered song
sters, whose music heightened tlie enjoyment of the
delicacies so temptingly placed before us on the green
swaid, tastefully ornamented by luxuriant bouquets
of maiden-hair, ferns, cornel-berries and wild flowers.
Cool breezes, fanning our faces as we rechned on the
grass at the foot of shading trees, added to our comfort,
and to that " feast of reason and flow of soul " considered
by the poets the acme of delight.
" Some of our party afterwards indulged in a siesta, for
which the fatigues of the drive had well prepared them ;

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 253
Others sauntered into the woods, cool and fragrant, thanks
to the evergreens, so thick in the neighborhood. LoUing
under the trees seemed very refreshing to our fair com
panions, who soon enticed us into conflicts of wit and
badinage, in which they as usual came off best. Under
their exciting influence, a bon-mot, or spicy retort, evoked
shouts of laughter and thus a few hours were agreeably
whUed away till we made a fresh start,
"As we ascend the stream the desire for its exploration
grows with its enjoyment. The scenery is of the same
character, every new prospect vying with, if not excelling,
the old, A rustic bridge, beneath which we pass, almost
compels us to bend to the gunwale of the boat to avoid
an upset into the water, which would not, under other
circumstances, be distasteful ; but here accidents through
other causes in this land-locked, remote locality, never
for a moment seem possible. It is, therefore, not aston
ishing that one loiters in such a region, trying to almost
absorb its charms and to forget the cares, the troubles and
the repellent verities of the hard, unsentimental world
outside. " The many and varied beauties of this river might justify
the happiest effort of the most skilful word-painter ; —
" Earth has not anything to show more fair."
At times one may imagine himself an intruder upon the
domain of some water nymph, or some woodland sprite,
for which a guardian spirit, or other occult power, will
inflict dire punishment.
"But a declining sun and fresher airs, forewarning night's
approach, recall the necessity of returning. The joumey
downwards gives a renewal of those agreeable sensations,
which I have above attempted to describe, emphasizing

254 OLD AND NEW CANAt)A,
them, however, for recollection in future days and in less
inviting hours. To the motion of the boat and cadence
"of the oars go the notes of " Pinafore," sung by the com
bined voices of the party, which resound pleasantly over the
•clear and tranquU waters. Our leader, or captain, would
loccasionally make a hit, giving zest to such passages as " I
aim Monarch of the Sea," and " Sweet Little Buttercup" —
the craft being a very tiny representative of the warlike
monsters carrying the Queen's flag over the stormiest
waters. The ladies present might be supposed to form a
comical representation of ' his sisters, his cousins, and his
aunts,' and ' never — well, hardly ever,' did one of Her
Majesty's ships carry a more amiable crew. But a trace
to badinage.
" Our drive home was equaUy pleasant with the other
incidents of the day. We took the road by Jeune
Lorette and Charlesbourg, and in the shades of night
enjoyed a clear sky and brUliant stars, the planets Jupiter
and Mars being particularly resplendent. Our sights by
the way claim little notice ; the distant city of Quebec
brightly shining, and at every commanding point absorbing
attention by its grand position and outline, I have
striven to place you in harmony with my reflections on
this delightful theme, and I fain hope I have succeeded."
A day in the country and in our beautiful early autumn
too ! What pleasing associations does it not recall ? Cares
and worries are forgotten for the moment, in the flush of
joyous expectation of a return to the scenes and a renewal
of the delights, which f<3r years have shone as happy land
marks in memory's waste. How enjoyable to quit the
city to indulge in those rural pleasures, that mental calm,
. and that physical repose so grateful and beneficial to its

OLf) AND NEW CANADA. 255
hard-worked, denizens ! What an agreeable change
from " a great wilderness of brick " to the charms
of commanding scenery, or the winning aspects of a
Jovely champaign, where the senses are gratified with every
ipleasing influence, including the odors of wild flowers !
^nd where could a rambler go for a greater treat of this
ikind than to some of the justly admired resorts in the
vvjcinitj of Quebec ?

256

OLD AND NEW CANADA,

CHAPTER XXXVI.
Quebec, its progress, embellishments and future
prospects — ^Earl of Dufferin's artistic and sys
tematic scheme of improvements — Railway and
OTHER enterprises — PROVINCIAL AGRICULTURE.
In the third chapter the author has endeavored to con
vey to the reader some idea of the form, condition and
stage of development reached by Quebec about the time
of Mr. Perrault's early manhood. The plan of this work
does not permit of anything like an elaborate sketch, or
topographical details, such as can be found in Quebec;
its Gates and Environs, and other works, by Mr. LeMoine ;
but it is appropriate in this connection to assert, as might
readily be supposed, from what has already been related
of Mr, Perrault's character and projects, that every move
ment tending to the amelioration of the city's conveniences,
its local and foreign trade, and better sanitary appli
ances, found in him a willing and zealous advocate. Not
only on grounds of taste or art, but on the broader and
more tangible ones of pubUc profit and advantage did he,
at all times, counsel wide, clear and well-maintained
streets, and buildings larger, airier and better adapted to
modern wants and business purposes than the high-
roofed, thick-walled, contracted dweUings and marts of the
olden time, not a few of which yet remain to excite the
wonder of the tourist and mark the contrast between the
past and the present, in the civic life of our venerable
French capital.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 257
While totally opposed to mushroom progress, premature
change, or vandal-like alterations, he favored a progress in
civic ameliorations equal to the advances of the most en
lightened community. Of course in his day, as at present,
the question of such improvements was always felt to be
complicated with the natural ^difficulties of the site, the
fortifications and related military arrangements, not to
speak of antiquarian feelings which yet exist in com
mendable vigor. But wherever, despite such obstacles,
advantageous innovations could be secured — when
municipal and other conditions could allow of it — he
lent aU his iufluence to faciUtate the change. And slow
as some are in the habit of regarding the ancient city,
whose difficulties unfortunately outnumber and outweigh
those of most other cities in the Dominion, an intelligent
use of the visitor's eyes wUl convince the most sceptical
that progress, great and substantial, has here been made
in the means of street locomotion, architecture and other
forms of improvement, within even the last twenty years.
Much of the city in its most easily accessible and com
manding localities may be called new, whUe facihties of
business and travel, and other important requirements of
beneficial city life show, on all sides, material increase.
The advance in the character of its architecture, especially,
as compared with the stage reached in 1844, the year of
Mr, Perrault's death, is marked, and it might be well for
the benefit of strangers to call attention to certain new
features and agreeable landmarks worthy of notice, though
the subject has already been treated of by more compe
tent authorities. * A spirit of justice and gratitude, how
ever, compels a brief notice of the last extensive, artistic,
?Quebec Past and Present. Maple Leaves, etc, by J. M. LeMoine,

258 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
and systematic scheme of improvements devised for
Quebec, by the Earl of Dufferin, our late governor-general,
whose name wUl thereby be forever connected with it, as
also in its union with our magnificent terrace, the finest
promenade in North America and perhaps in the whole
world. In brief the creditable and friendly project contemplated
a system of ramparts and bulwarks, and handsome gates,
calculated to maintain the old mihtary and mediaeval
features of the city, relieved and adomed by amehorations
not only pleasing to the eye, but largely promotive of the
public convenience. Crumbling walls, ragged bastions
and weather-worn curtains and embrasures were to be
repaired and renovated, an aspect of neatness, newness
and strength succeeding that of age, ruin and decay with
which our citizens and their visitors have been so long
familiar. Comfortable promenades were to be furnished
by the summits of those miUtary walls, in localities affording
the most charming views, while some of the old gates and
other points of historic interest to men of French and
English blood, alike, were to be replaced with more artis
tic kindred structures, and made still more attractive and
noticeable by works commemorative of their ancient and
enduring fame.
But while projected and partially finished improvements
and adomments would have highly gratified such men of
the olden time as Mr. Perrault, who ever evinced a deep
pride in the prosperity of Quebec, the progress actually
made would have been a frequent theme of congratulation.
With what pleasure and hope of still greater results would
they not have contemplated the Dufferin Terrace, the St.
Louis and Kent gates now completed, and the magnificent

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 259'
series of Parliament buUdings on Grand AUee which wiU'
soon be finished ! The latter are works not only highly
attractive and imposing, but in classic design not sur
passed by any other building in America. They are
admirably adapted to the objects in view, and in their
interior arrangements evince the very latest improve-
ipents in art and science. But in other most important
directions, besides, the present generation can point to
undertakings vvhich would equally have gladdened the
eyes and stirred the blood of patriotic citizens like Mr.
Perrault. What would they have thought of the Quebec
Harbor improvements which promise such enormous
benefits to Quebec trade and Canadian commerce ; of our
splendid Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Rail
way ; of the Grand Trunk Railway ; and of the Quebec
Central !p.ailway which, in less than six hours, can
carry the citizen or the habitant, to Montreal on the
one side, or the Eastem Townships and American
boundary on the other ? In less than a dozen hours by the
North Shore Railway the traveller is now enabled to reach
Ottawa, the new, from Quebec, the old Canadian capital.
A worthy beginning is also made of the much-needed
raUway into our fine, distant northem region, by the
Quebec and Lake St. John Railway which now reaches
to Lake St, Joseph, while the great Intercolonial to St.
John and Halifax, gives us constant and swift communi
cation with the open sea at all seasons.
Apart from those splendid and fruitful factors of national
progress, constituting and creating most productive and
helpful resources, we have such hberal and statesmanlike
encouragement, of late, given to our provincial mineral
and forest interests, by the waters of the Ottawa, the

260 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
Chaudiere and other valuable streams, as have kindled
profitable enterprise, increased the fund of labor, attracted
foreign capital, set afoot new industries like the manufac
ture of beet root sugar and inspired a spirit of hopefulness
and enterprise throughout our province, which will doubt
less lead, at no remote period, to the best and most
permanent results.
Whatever fault, on grounds personal or political, may
be found with this or that party leader, or pohtical organi
zation, or with the fruits of this or that series of actions,
no one can deny the existence of an ambition and a
measure of enterprise on the part of the ministers who
conducted the affairs of Quebec from 1867 to 1878 which
have, along with some inevitable disadvantages, including
the creation of a large and inconvenient debt, provided it
with those vast and valuable pubUc works which will
yield a rich harvest of profitable restUts in the early future.
To the credit of aU parties it must be said that the Liberal
Administration, which ruled about eighteen months, fol
lowed energetically in the footsteps of its predecessors, in
the great work of completing the Nortii Shore Railway
and fostering the development of our material resources,
so that, despite political changes, no time was lost. The
province can, at present, boast of an amount of progress
achieved in this direction of which much larger and
wealthier countries might weU be proud.
It will be remembered that Mr. Perrault took a deep
interest in the agriculture of his native province, and con
sidered this industry deserving the most careful consider
ation of its pohtical economists and leading men generally.
He urged upon them the importance of inculcating among
the people its true principles ; and he m ide lessons in

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 261
farming a part of the curriculum of his schools — not the
prevalent methods of husbandry in his day, but the most
recent and improved systems followed by intelligent and
enterprising cultivators of the soU. In the course of his
travels in early and middle life, in the great westem and
southem regions of the United States, as well as in Upper
Canada of the olden time, he had studied the respective
natural features of those countries, their climates, agri
culture and various advantages, and he was wont to
make comparisons between them and the physical charac
teristics and resources of Quebec, which were highly
favorable to the natural capabilities of this province.
Convinced of their superiority, he deemed it his duty to
resort to such practical means as lay within his power, to
impress upon all the value of turning to much more
profitable account the rich soil, promising mines and
extensive forests within their reach.
It was abundantly evident to thoughtful men in the
early part of this century, that not a tithfe of those valuable
resources was properly developed, while the labor and
capital of the people were largely employed in compar
atively unproductive undertakings, such as defective
methods of cultivating, long-settled and worn-out lands.
Farming was then, as it is stiU, the great fundamental
industry of the country, which maintained all others, and
yet its methods were ancient, unprogressive and less
remunerative than was desirable It appeared, therefore,
that if the rising generation of farmers and a certain
class of city youths could be inspired with a proper
pride in raral life, and particularly in the adoption
of every improvement then known, that an important
gain would be achieved in the work of national advance-

¦262 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
ment. No cause appeared worthier, or more fraught with
bright promise to the people. Mr. Perrault hoped in this
way to foster thought among the habitants and excite in
them a spirit of rivalry and imitation, thus bettering their
condition, mental and material.
His experience but supplied another instance of that
disappointment which has ever attended the worthy efforts
of reformers and phUanthropists ahead of their time.
But if he did not achieve any considerable success,
through lack of suflScient means, and public apathy, he
enjoyed that inward satsfacton which waits upon kindly
aspirations and duty faithfully performed. The thoughts
of many were, however, directed to progress elsewhere,
which insensibly created a desire for better things.
The knowledge of the territorial extent of the province
of Quebec, and of its vast and varied resources, forty
or fifty years ago, was slender indeed, compared with
that now available to every school boy ; and with some pride
one may reflect that the interests deemed most valuable
would be thought still more so were their capabilities fully
known. Every day affords more encouragement to one
who loves his country, and the new light thrown upon this
subject, and the larger opportunities thus supplied to the
capitahst and the laborer are of the greatest value. Indeed
were the forests, fertile lands and rich mines of aU sorts,
and the numerous promising facilities for manufacturing
which we possess made more of, which is easily practicable
with our present advantages, a comfortable living could be
found for thrice our population — aye, for three and a half
to four miUions of inhabitants.
But perhaps nothing more strikingly shows the advance
of enlightened ideas and a true spirit of enterprise than

OLD AND NEW CANADA. " 263
the establishment, within the last 15 years, of no fewer
than three Agricultural Schools, one at Ste. Anne, another
at L'Assomption, and the third at Richmond, to serve
the interests of their respective districts. These institu
tions, in many respects, approach the ideal set up by Mr.
Perrault, who would have been delighted to see them in
successful operation. But it is unfortunate that the means
for their foundation on a larger and more effective scale,
with suitable farming lands attached, and in their imme
diate vicinity, were not at command. They also lack
enough implements of the newest and best kinds, and
sufficient first-class stock to enable them to make a vigor
ous start and carry out with the speed desirable, their
useful educational purposes ; but the province is not in
a position, so say its Ministers, to supply these wants.
The great length of our province, and the different races
and sectional interests rendered it obligatory on the Govem
ment, some state, to set up three schools, where one, under
other circumstances, might have sufficed ; indeed, many
argue, to-day, that with a more liberal spirit abroad, in
those races and sections, the three might be merged in
one complete, efficient College, to which all races and
creefls should have easy access. The means now dissi
pated among three cotUd do more good concentrated upon
one, conducted in a spirit of liberality, and encouraging
among teachers and pupils a proper, a most desirable and
beneficial spirit of mutual toleration and respect. One
such institution could thus be made attractive, useful and
national in character, Ontario with its various races and
creeds does well with but one such College, and no
complaint from any quarter is ever heard ; and it is
generally admitted that there is only one institution of the

264 " OLD AND NEW CANADA.
kind superior to it on this continent. Why should Quebec
lag behind the great sister province in this respect ? But
it is well to have made even the present beginning in
Quebec, which, doubtless, will, with a little^more pecuniary
and other encouragement produce, ere long, most exceUent
results.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. • 265

CHAPTER XXXVII.
Mr. Perrault's Habits of Life and Domestic System
— His Death — Family Necrology.
Notwithstanding the incessant occupation incident to
his praiseworthy schemes, official and private duties, Mr.
Perrault, evidendy with a feeling of satisfaction, states
that it had developed an intellectual and physical activity,
which contributed to the strengthening instead of the en-
feeblement of his faculties. He well knew this result
to be in accordance with the laws of Nature, which de
mand for the highest state of mental or bodUy vigor,
constant and systematic exercise. Such exercise would
be judicious were there no higher object in view ; but Mr,
Perrault had additional inducements to obeying the dic
tates of reason — the performance of a duty to his less
favored fellow-citizens, and for its accomplishment he
labored with the greatest zeal. He characteristically
appeals with earnestness to all who love life to pursue
such a course, and predicts for them the same agreeable
results as he himself experienced.
Towards the conclusion of his autobiography, Mr. Per
rault thus addresses His ExceUency, and his language and
style are worthy of literal translation: — "As probably
Your Excellency wiU be curious to ascertain, also, what
rigime I have adopted to enjoy such a long hfe and
vigorous health, I will explain with as little pretention
and assumption as I have shown in treating of the events

"266 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
¦of my life. I have generally followed the maxim of
Martial, ' that mere existence is not sufficient, we must
at the same time value life,' — Non est vivere, sed valere
vita; and that of another author, whose name I do not
remember. Si tibi deficiant medici, tibi fiant hoec tria:
mens laeta, requies, moderata diceta — if you have no
physician, pursue these three rules, cheerfulness, rest, and
moderate diet.
" I have imposed upon myself the foUowing regulations,
to which I have strictly adhered : —
" I. To be as moderate m pleasure ss in trouble; I have
consequently not run to excess in the enjoyment of the.
first, nor aUowed myself to be overcome by the second ;
convinced that they were sent to me for my good, as I
had experienced when I was brought back to my native
coimtry a coups de baton, to lead there a happy and
peaceable life, instead of a miserable and wandering one.
''2. To be as moderate in happy as in unhappy emo
tions, since Providence sends both in its wisdom for our
good. " 3. Labor and rest, so necessary to man, should be
¦govemed by moderation. My work has been constant,
ibut not forced, for I have never exhausted myself by it.
If I have written much, it is because I had leisure to em
ploy ; and if a friend happened to drop in upon me, I
cheerfully left my task to receive him and enjoy his con
versation, and resumed it with a light heart after his de
parture. I usually began to write about four o'clock in
the morning in summer, and at five in winter, and again
took up the pen in the afternoon and continued until
nine o'clock, when I retired. I stiU follow this system
without inconvenience, and I have seldom infringed

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 26T
upon these hours of labor and rest. I sleep soundly
the whole night, unless some unforeseen incident should
suddenly distract me, ere I have time to reflect and com
pose myself.
"4, Moderation in drinking and eating, although not in
fashion, has been strictly observed by me, and I have
never seen a table laden with viands and wines without
reflecting that they were the enemies of mankind and
more destractive than the last unwholesome addition to
the menu of the gourmand, and that more died through
the excesses of the table than by the sword — non plus
gladio, quam occidere gala. I generally take soup at
dinner, a little boiled meat, or any other dish ; after soup
I take a glass of claret and a goblet of ale during the re
past ; afterwards half a wine-glass of cognac, and I finish
dessert by a sip of sherry, which suffices me for the day.
I breakfast at half-past six, taking a cup of tea, a slice of
bread and butter, or a small piece of sausage ; my supper,
at the same hour in the evening, consists of a cup of tea
with a piece of bread steeped in it. Such is my ordinary
rcutine, and, as I am a stranger to an overloaded stomach,
I enjoy tranquU sleep and do not snore. I was omitting
to state that for forty years, the first thing I do in the
moming and the last on retiring for the night, is to drink
a few mouthfuls of cold water, which always produces a
most agreeable sensation and an indescribable sense of
elation," In this practical age, we judge of tiie efficacy, or utiUty
of a course by its results. In Mr. Perrault's case, by
his frugal and abstemious manner of living, he secured a
probation beyond the usual earthly span, without a
moment's illness. Until a short time before his death, his

268 <5ld and new Canada.
form was still perfectly erect, he could hear as well as a
youth, could see without spectacles, and needed no help
from any of his relatives, such as persons of advanced age
are generally offered. He could easUy sharpen his quill
pen, a feat difficult to even many young men, as one of
his grandsons proudly states, and in every way showed an
amount of vigor and vitality perfectly astonishing. When
anyone proposed to help him to take off his coat, he woiUd
laughingly refuse saying that he wished " to keep his
faculties from rusting," His physical powers continued
excellent till within a few months of his decease, when the
only change that oppeared was a gradual, painless decline,
instead of any sharp transition from strength to weakness ;
and his intellect maintained its brightness to the very last
minute, without failure of memory, or diminution of inter
est in his cherished schemes.
He was aware of his approaching end and viewed
it with calmness, confiding in a merciful God ; but like
other true men he was conscious of his unworthiness,
and often expressed regret that he had not done more in
accordance with the claims of Christian duty. He was a
man of large faith and reverent mind, desirous always of
rendering trae worship to his God and discharging to the
utmost of his abihty his duty to all about him. This was
ever the steady aim of his mind, always impressed, like the
Psalmist, with the fleeting character of life and the in
finite importance of setting in the foreground of human
aspiration the right, and the unceasing discharge of life's
highest duties. On the 4th of April, 1844, this good and
wise man breathed his last at the ripe age of 91, surround
ed by his affectionate and disconsolate family.
Mr. Perrault's family consisted, as already stated, of

OLD and new CANADA. 269
two boys and three girls, whose social positions and ami
able characters secured and retained for them, throughout
life, a very large circle of friends. The eldest son was
Frangois Xavier Perrault, who was for many years Clerk
of the Peace in Quebec and a leading officer of the volun
teer force in which he held the commission of Lieutenant
Colonel, He devoted a great deal of his time to the
interests of the force and was popular with the most social
men of his time. His reputation as a bon vivant was
widespread, and men from other parts of the province
gladly sought his hospitable house on the occasion of a
journey to Quebec* He died December 27, 1853. The
other son. Dr. Charles Norbert Perrault, made his mark
in the profession, short as was his hfe which ended June
16, 1832, during the cholera period, as recorded in a
previous chapter. The other members of the family were
TherSse, married to Dr. Louis Albert Bender, who
died October 13, 1846; Eleonore, wife of Jacques Le
Moine de Martigny, deceased 9th Dec. 1858, and Olympe,
wife of Dr. Francois Fortier who died March 28, 1845.
These ladies were all remarkable for that wit, intellectual
refinement and social disposition which distinguished both
their parents. They possessed talents for music, and,
without any pretentions to high art, could entertain their
friends in a way to elicit well-deserved commendation ;
and their conversation was a mental treat appreciated by
visitors and friends. They also evinced the hospitahty of
their father, the name in fact being synonymous for hos
pitahty, and their houses were frequented by the leading
minds of the province,
* His residence was corner of Mount Carmel and des Carrigres streets, now
owned by Mr, Jos. Louis.

270 OLD AND NEW CANAD'A.

CHAPTER XXXVIIL
Tributes to the Works and Character of Mr..
Perrault,
" An honest man's the noblest work of God.**
It is gratifying to know that gentlemen of the highest
culture, and especially interested in the progress of edu
cation and hterature, on both benevolent and professional
grounds, did not hesitate to publicly testify their appre
ciation of Mr. Perrault's efforts and sacrifices. In proof
of which the first Superintendent of Education after the
Union, the late Dr. MeUleur, thus speaks of him at page
293 of his book, entitled Mimorial d' Education : " The
venerable Joseph-Frangois Perrault, prothonotary of Que
bec, a true pbUanthropist, is the ai;thor of numerous
elementary works on the history of Canada, agriculture
and primary education, one of which is in manuscript
form and is to be found in the library of the department
of Public Instruction, to which I have sent it, as being the
best place for its preservation and utility at need. The
author had given it to me, several years before his death.
M. Perrault not only founded schools, but model farms,
which he conducted in the most exemplary manner. He
knew well how to impart his views to others on education
and agriculture."
The second Superintendent of Education of the pro
vince of Quebec, the Hon. Mr. Chauveau, now Sheriff of

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 271
Montreal, also felt it a duty and a pleasure to bear cheer
ful testimony to the generous labors of this gentleman.
He wrote, thus, when reviewing the history of Canada, of
a period preceding the Union of the two provinces, in
L' Instruction Publique au Canada : '• ' The Society of
Education,' under the control of Catholic ladies and
gentlemen, was founded in 1821, and its first president
was M. Joseph-Frangois Perrault  This
distinguished philanthropist operated independently, and.
founded schools in which he introduced the ' Lancastrian
system,' and instruction in the arts and trades ; he also
published, at his own expense, a great number of school
books." In "Hawkin's Picture of Quebec," Mr. Perrault is-
referred to as " the venerable and consistent promoter of
elementary instruction in his native city."
In the Dictionnaire Hi&torique des hommes illustres du
Canada et de VAmirique, by M, Bibaud, Junior, is the
following extract in reference lo Mr, Perrault : . . . ,
" One of the finest characters to which Quebec has given
birth  His treatise on La petite et la grande
Culture was awarded a prize by the Horticultural Society
of New York, The leamed Pascalis, in his report to the
above society, and published by its orders, says, ' He
appears to. have built the philosophy of his art upon
long experience, and imparted to it a judicious practic^
and a wholesome theory. He treats his subjects with a
charming simpUcity, combining a clear judgment with
such purity of language, that his work deserves to be
placed among our standard books. Tt is well adapted to
the rising generation, whom he desires to see instracted
in agriculture  His utilitarianism is not

272 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
limited to his own country ; he also corresponds with
American agricultural theorists, who, we doubt not, will
be delighted to unite with him in his phUosophical labors
and to circulate among our farmers the useful works of
this author.' "
L 'Encyclopidie Canadienne, of June 1842, refers to Mr.
Perrault's comprehensive plan of education as follows :
" Mr. Perrault is well known in this country and abroad
as the author of several elementary works on different sub
jects, civU law, history, agriculture, etc., all tending to
enable the youth of the country to acquire such knowledge
as may be necessary in their future stations in life. This
book is not one of those elementary works. . . . We find
in it not only the matiriel of a system of teaching, if we
may thus express ourselves, but also of moral reflections,
or rather the reasons by which, according to the author,
the proposed plan should be adopted. If it be, or be not
possible of putting it into practice, our readers may judge
by what we say in the foUowing summary :
" . , , , Mr. Perrault approves of and recommends
mutual instraction, or the Lancastrian system, improved
upon  He desires that educational institutions
should be supported not only by the inhabitants who wish
for them, but also by those among whom it should be
done ; and this, he says, in the same manner, as.when they
assist, or are forced to assist, in the building and repairing
of churches and presbyteries. By this means, he continues,
the province would be relieved of a burden which sooner
or later must become very oppressive.
" . . . . Such is the summary of the system of public
education of Mr. Perrault, Some may perhaps look upon
it as an irapracticable, or Utopian system ;. others as being

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 273"
somewhat arbitrary and despotic ; but aU must allow that
on the whole, it is that of a well-meaning and energetic
citizen, zealous for the public welfare,"
The reader need hardly again be told that this system
as proposed by Mr, Perrault, has now been long in force
in our province.
The Quebec Mercury, of May 1830, thus alludes to the
fact of a prize being awarded Mr. Perrault, by The Literary
and Historical Society of Quebec, for the best thesis of a
comprehensive system of education, calculated to advance
the prosperity and intellectual advancement of Canada :
•'A silver medal was adjudged to J, F, Perrault, Esquire,
one of the prothonotaries of the Court of King's Bench for
this district, to whose zeal and generosity, as president of
two educational societies, and as founder of a French ele
mentary school, the country is so greatly indebted. The
essay, composed by this gentleman, will appear in the
volume of the transactions oiThe Literary and Historical
Society of Quebec, for the present year ; but as it is sold at
a high price and wiU be in the hands of but a few persons,
and as the worthy prothonotary desires that the public
should more generally benefit by his works, he has had it
printed in pamphlet form. He intends devoting the pro
ceeds of its sale to the purchase of clothing for the poor
chUdren of his elementary school, during our rigorous
winter." The Abb^ Casgrain, one of our cleverest French-Cana
dian littirateurs, and the author of several meritorious
works,* also speaks of him in his interesting biography
of F. X. Garneau, and says : " That worthy man, the

* Vide, the author's work. Literary Sheaves, or, ia Litterature au Ca.
nada Francais. 18

274 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
friend of literature and students, who imposed upon himself
so many sacrifices in the cause of education 
M, Garneau ever held in grateful remembrance his old
benefactor," In Quelques Notes pour Servir a l' Histoire de I' Agri
culture au Canada, by Professor Hubert Larue,* refer
ence is made, in terms of warm appreciation, to the subject
of this biography : " In 1830 appeared, one whose name is
seldom mentioned in our history, but who has been one
of the greatest benefactors of the community, Joseph-
Franq;ois Perrault," Then follows a list of his patriotic
and benevolent deeds, many of which have already been
enumerated. An appropriate notice of Mr. Perrault's work in behalf
of education in the Province of Quebec is found in Les
Notes sur le Canada, by M. Paul DeCazes : " Among
those who made efforts and sacrifices in the interest of
education, was J, F, Perrault, . , , . who devoted
his leisure hours and a portion of his fortune to this emin
ently patriotic work. This philanthropist was the author
of a great many works on the history of education and
agriculture," From E, Lareau's Histoire de la Littirature Cana
dienne, the author selects some appreciative remarks with
regard to the subject of this memoir : " When he first
devoted himself to literature, books were scarce in the
country. He copied, translated and compiled many, and
by dint of energy and perseverance he amassed a large

* Since tlie penning of the above, Dr. Larue has died. His untimely
death will be regretted by all lovers of literature. For the autlior's appre
ciation of the professor's writings he refers the reader to his work, Literary
Sheaves, or, La Littirature au Canada Francais.

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 275
amount of useful and practical knowledge. Besides his
numerous works on agriculture, education and law,
which I will more fully examine, we owe to him a
History of Canada 
This work, which now can hardly be procured, was
written, like all M. Perrault's publications, to supply the
wants of the people  His style is not
-strictly pure nor precise, but his faults disappear before
his good-will and the services which he has rendered his
country. Men of his stamp are rare in our days, , .
M, Perrault is one of the shining lights, a Canadian who
is in the same category, in our national literature, as Com
mander Viger and M, Bouchette, Historian, legislator
and agriculturist, he has left behind him writings on all
these subjects. In respect to each, he deserves the
esteem of posterity. He has his niche among our
country's patriarchs, who so lovingly and patrioticaUy
watched over the future of Canada 
" Joseph-Francois Perrault is one who, at the time he
lived, rendered the greatest services to his country by
his pen. His works are numerous for that period,
when there were few books whereby to enlighten one's
self, which, doubtless, explains the unfinished style of his
writings." As regards the correctness of the language and the
purity of the style of Mr. Perrault's writings, the author
must coincide with the remarks of M. Lareau. It is
apparent that he ever aimed more at the value of the
thoughts and ideas he wished to impart than the form
in which they were couched and presented. For the time
when he wrote and the literaiy advantages of his day,
his writings were remarkable productions.

276 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
As further Ulustrating the esteem in which he was held
by his fellow-citizens, and the appreciation of his efforts
in behalf of the needy, the following obituary notice,
which appeared in Le Journal de Quebec, contains many
complimentary aUusions to the eminent services and pat
riotism of the deceased : " The faithful performance of
his official duties was not the only, or greatest, of M.
Perrault's merits in the eyes of his countrymen. The
sacrifices which he made to procure them education and
advancement in life, more effectively touched their hearts.
" When elected member for the county of Huntingdon,
he introduced a bill for the establishment of parish schools
and another for Houses of Industry. Unfortunately the
country was not sufficiently advanced for such measures,
and he had to abandon these noble projects.
" He was nevertheless the father of education in
Canada, and no one can rob him of that glorious
title. An intrepid traveller and accustomed to dangers
and obstacles of every kind, he was the first to venture
into this field, which was still in its virgin state.
There were then excellent institutions for higher educa
tion, but they were too leamed and consequently be
yond the reach of the great mass of the population.
Later on, the first seeds planted by this venerable citizen
in an uncultivated soil, yielded abundant fruit, for it was
naturally rich. Education became the order of the day ;
the Legislature voted considerable sums of money, and
elementary schools were started in every parish. But
amidst this mental activity, which conduced to give
intellectual culture to the people, of which they stood in
need, we ask why the name of M. Perrault did not appear
in the parliamentary records ? The fact is, he was never

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 277
called upon by the Assembly to throw Ught on a subject
which was his special study. It is a well-known axiom, that
in all phases of society, men have ever been unjust, and the
evU passions of one or the other were always in the way
to prevent the -carrying out of useful reforms and projects.
Unfortunately, a difference of opinion occasioned the
loss to this country of much educational ardor. How
ever, this unjust forgetfulness did not wholly damp his
zeal, and, what he could not do for the country through
the country, he did by himself. He erected schools for
both sexes in the St, Louis suburb of Quebec,
" M. Perrault expended more than two "thousand
pounds on these objects, and as^ there were no elemen
tary school-books in the country, he edited and published
several at his own cost  In fine, to com
plete his works, he established a model farm, and all these
enterprises were undertaken with the view of instructing
his countrymen in useful arts, and they cost him six
.thousand pounds. These efficient institutions have now
disappeared, whUe those, who had in their charge the well-
being of the people, should have continued and sup
ported them, and thus benefitted the country,
" Such was the devotion of this exceUent man, whose
remains now he in the church of Notre Dame, Quebec,
and who impoverished himself in the performance of
noble deeds ! Where is the recognition of his eminent
.services ? Does it lie buried with him in the tomb ? No,
it was depicted upon the sorrowful countenances of the
many who foUowed him to his grave, including the
Christian Brothers and their pupils and the youth of the
country, who all deplored the loss of the father of Cana-
,dian education.

278 OLD AND NEW CANADA,
" His habits were without reproach and his faith with
out stain. He was moral and religious, and for sevent)r
years he followed an abstemious rule of life, which
brought him to a ripe old age. Death approached him
imperceptibly ¦ and his end was painless ; he was ready
for eternity, and thanked the Almighty for so easy and
calm a departure. At the moment he was about to-
appear before his Maker, he was speaking with that
lucidity and cleamess, which were characteristic of him
during a life of nigh a hundred years. It is believed
that he was the last of those bom under the French
rigime." From among the several other obituary notices pub
lished shortly after the death of Mr, Perrault, the author
submits a few passages from the pen of M. N, Aubin :
" We wish it were in our power to give our readers
who are unacquainted with a life so replete with interest
ing details, the complete biography of a man of whom
the country has every reason to be proud ; of a man,,
celebrated not for the briUiant or active part he took in;
politics, but for his private and civic virtues, of which he
gave an example during his long life, by the many and
important sacrifices he underwent for the spread of edu
cation among his fellow-citizens. We would have wished
especially to publish the numerous anecdotes and bons
mots characteristic of this gentieman, which are so well
known and ever listened to with interest, but fast being
forgotten. We are unable to assume the task of perpet--
uating them, but we hope that others who possess more-
information wiU take up and complete the imperfect- '
notice, to which we are compelled to confine ourselves, . .
" Before and after office hours, he found time to write

OLD AND NEW CANADA. 279

or compile a number of instractive litfle books for the
use of the young ; but, not content with devoting his
leisure hours in spreading useful knowledge among his
fellow-citizens, he expended considerable sums of money
in the establishment of schools on an entirely new system.
At a time, when countless theories were prevaihng
theories, which each did his best to uphold by specula
tive reasons, M, Perrault acted by precept and example.
In this way, at considerable expense, he established two
exceUent schools, where the chUdren of the poor were
taught, at the same time enabling them to gain a Uveli-
hood and acquire a trade. These establishments, then
too recent to be self-supporting, were consequenfly too
expensive for the means of one individual, and, not receiv
ing any assistance from the legislature, he was obliged
partiy to discontinue them. We beheve that the time is
not far distant when, after trying all the systems of popu
lar education, we shaU be obliged to retum to that which
this venerable doyen of Canadian philanthropists wished
to adopt; but, as often happens to the benefactors of
mankind, he did not experience the cheering reward of
his works and sacrifices, nor witness their happy results
in the triumph of that truth, which he preached and prac
tised. M. Perrault saw. that the children of the indigent
required education more than those of the wealthy, as
the uneducated are indifferent and require, in default of
compulsion, inducements ; he, therefore, compelled the
young to work out of their class hours and paid them
for their labor : thus endowing them with a trade, with a
primary education, sufficient for their future vocation,
and to those parents, who were destitute, he granted
pecuniary aid. Such an idea, preached in so practical a

'280 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
manner, entailing the sacrifice of fortune, is certainly
worthy o( being recorded in ineffaceable terms.
" The country has produced numberless orators, able
jurisconsults, profound politicians and erudite writers ;
but how many practical philanthropists, like the venerable
patriarch of Quebec, has it known ? "
In 1861, and again during the present year, M. J. N.
Duquet, a well-known ex-journalist, fully impressed with
the important character of the services rendered the com
munity by the subject of this biography, made urgent
appeals to the government and citizens of this province to
pay a well-merited tribute of gratitude and respect to his
memory, by the erection of a monument on the site of one
of his model farms, on the south side of the Little River.
Without questioning the good taste of M. Duquet it
may be observed that no monument or tribute to the
memory of Mr. Perrault, could be more acceptable to his
relations and admirers, who are imbued with his spirit,
than the furtherance of some of those weU-meant projects,
which occupied so large a share of his time and affections.

CLD AND NEW CANADA, 281

CHAPTER XXXIX.
Conclusion.
The authoi has thus traced the life of a man, who is
truly entitled to be styled a remarkable' character, and
whose history will, it is hoped, not only shed light upon
the annals of his country, but contribute in at least some
slight degree to render them more interesting to the
present generation of Canadians, His life connected
him with the two great eras and political systems, the
French and the English, which constitute the basis and
frame-work of our history — -in fact of the history of the
North American continent for the last 250 years. Born
under the French rigime, when every sign of those
eventful times marked to the sagacious observer the
early coming doom of that national and political system,
which had weathered the storms of nigh two centuries,
and proved its rugged vitality by surviving the gloomiest
perUs and severest hardships in the trying climate of
a Northern Wilderness, and harassed by terrible Indian
wars and weakened, not seldom, by fierce, unequal con
flicts with the lusty Anglo-Saxon colonists to the south,
Mr, Perrault seemed to inherit the heroic qualities of the
two great colonizing, conquering races, which were
destined to bring the whole northern continent within
the pale of an advanced and elevating civilization. As
has been shown, his boyhood reaches back to the last
eventful years of Intendant Bigot's rapacious rule, which

282 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
formed the culminating point of Imperial misrule and
colonial mal-administration — his early impressions and
experiences mingling with the haze of that romantic and
heroic time, which revolutionary changes and the wonder
ful growth and development of all the settlements in
North America, more than the lapse of intervening years,
cause to appear as remote, strange and antiquated as the
Middle Ages themselves. The conquest of New France,
with all its thrilhng events, mighty changes, and far-
reaching consequences, were the absorbing subjects of
his youth and early manhood, as the civil war in the United
States and the Franco^Prussiaii war have been to the men
of the present generation. Nor can it be doubted that,
notwithstanding the fair and generally wise policy of the
British government, liberally carried out in its earliest
days by General Carleton, towards its new French
subjects, neither the spirit of conciliation on the one side,
nor the dictates of self-interest on the other, aided by the
healing influences of time, had as yet removed all traces
of the irritating wounds to patriotism and national
vanity inflicted by the cession. Men, of such good
understanding and liberal views as the subject of this
biography, whose practical good sense reconciled them to
the irreversible decisions of fortune, were needed in the
troubled early days of English rule, to settle the seething
elements of national rivalries and antipathies, and lay
broad and deep the foundations of a Franco-British state,
which should meet the wishes and subserve the best
interests of both races, make rapid strides in the path of
progress, and give full scope to the genius and energies of
men of every race, in the grand and glorious work of
extending civilization over half a continent, and of build-

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 283'
ing up a nation which, for liberty, equal social opportun
ities, natural wealth, means of livehhood and personal
advancement, might challenge the admiration of the world,-
Quietly but effectually were the influences of sound intel
lect, true loyalty and good social position employed during
the first twenty years of British rule to bring about satis
faction with it, and that union and beneficial co-operation.
of both races which promised not only the advantages off
order, but of material progress, to the province of Quebec,
Never were social and political virtues productive of better
fruit; for former enemies speedily became amicable-
neighbors and willing fellow-laborers in all undertakings
of business, friendship and public duty. Nor -could the
most seductive blandishments and promises of the Ameri
can rebels, but fifteen years after the cession, shake the
allegiance of the new subjects of King George. They
chivalrously manifested their loyalty in the most arduous
and perilous enterprises against the enemy, during con
tests which shook both countries to their foundations,
Mr, Perrault's early manhood, described in preceding
chapters, as weU as the period of his middle life, afforded
him valuable opportunities of seeing the American world,
North and South, and becoming acquainted with its
physical characteristics, varied resources, and climatic,
social and political conditions, of which he made the very
best use. His West Indian experiences, his romantic
and perilous labors by land and water, on the vast
journeys of those days between Quebec and New Orieans,
and other points, comprised more exciting adventures and
consumed more time, entailing greater risks to life and,
Umb on dangerous rivers and difficult, gloomy forest paths,,
beset by blood-thirsty Indians, than a trip round the world

284 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
would in the present time of railroads, steamships and tele-
.graphs. Yet they proved enlightening and inspiring experi
ences of the highest value.
Who can overrate the marked effect upon an observant
and reflective mind, of thrilling adventures and hair
breadth escapes from injury, captivity, and death — of
arduous pilgrimages through the northern forests, of
tedious voyages in bark canoes through the great chain
of rivers and lakes extending from the Gulf of St. Law
rence to the Gulf of Mexico ? Lessons of patience,
-endurance, and business enterprise were learned, which
affected the whole character and subsequent career of
this worthy man. The disposition and habits of the
Canadian voyageur, the American frontiersman and
the Indian hunter, became thoroughly known to him,
and he was thus enabled to form an estimate of their
value and influence in the colonization and development
of the vast westem and southern sohtudes of North
America, which he foresaw in the course of no very
remote period would be converted into prosperous settle
ments and busy towns and cities. This useful experience
¦of the western world and of the character of its popula
tion, with its vast and varied resources, helped to suggest
to him broad,benevolent and patriotic views in regard to
Jiis fellow-citizens.
It is, indeed, a subject of just pride to his admirers
and surviving relations that he was in a position to
contribute more than a mite to the philanthropic enter
prises of his latter days, and was spared to witness some
retum, in moral and inteUectual results, from the seed
sown with such affectionate longing for an abundant
of good fruits. Like many o'her philanthropists.

OLD AND NEW CANADA, 285-
he painfully experienced the consciousness of possessing,
means wholly inadequate to the charitable objects of a
generous nature, and lamented his inability to achieve
the StUl greater success, attainable only by greater means.
But the gain to society from such a life Ues, perhaps,
more in the unselfish benovolent spectacle it presents,
and the wholesome influence it exerts than in the tangible
results accomphshed. Good men are still more needed
than great, even were there no truth in the poet's concep
tion that " The good, alone, are great,"
But who can measure the potent, far-reaching effects of
true moral worth and Christian character, united with a
spirit of active benevolence, when they blossom forth in
practical benefits to mankind ; and when a noble ambition
kindles a fraternal interest in the condition of the neediest
classes of society ? Reviewing thus briefly the worthy
aims and honorable deeds of one of the most excellent
and praiseworthy citizens, of which the province and capi
tal of Quebec can boast, the author can surely find
another Ulustration of the truth, so beautifully expressed.
by LongfeUow :
" Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime.
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time,"

FINIS.

286 OLD AND NEW CANADA.

APPENDIX.
A list of the works written by Mr, Perrault is herewith
appended. In 1789, he pubhshed " Le juge de paix et
officier de par oisse, pour la Province de Quibec ; " a transla
tion of Lex parliamentaria, or a treatise on the laws and
customs of parliament, of which a second edition was
issued in 1803 ; in 1805, Dictionnaire portatif et abrigi
des Lois et Regies du Parlement Provincial du Bas-
Canada; in 1810, Questions et Riponses sur le Droit
Civil du Bas- Canada, dedicated to students at law; in
1 813, Manuel des Huissiers de la Cour du Banc du Roi
du District de Quibec ; in 1 8 1 4, Questions et Riponses
sur le Droit Criminel ; in 1829, Manuel Pratique de
I'Ecole Element aire ; in 1824, Extrait ou Pricidents tiris
des Registres de la Prevosti de Quibec, containing
judgments from 1726 to 1756 inclusive. "(This work
appears to have been compUed with much industry and
judgment, and is a curious and valuable acquisition to
the libraries of our legal practitioners. Can. Mag. (Mont.);"
in 1825, Extrait ou Pricidents des Arrets tiris des Regis
tres du Conseil Supirieur de Quihec. (The publication of
this work, which will prove a valuable acquisition to the
libraries of our professional men, affords a further proof
of the active zeal of the worthy prothonotary, who, at
an age, when most men seek only ease and retirement,

APPENDIX. 287
devotes his time and labor to the service of the com
munity. Can. Mag. (Mont.) ; ) in 1830, Traitis de la
Grande et Pet ite Culture, in 2 vols. ; in 1830, Plan
raisonni d' Education Ginirale et Permanente ; in 1832,
Moyens de conserver nos Institutions, notre Langue et
nos Lois , also in the same year, the two first parts of
Abrigi de I' Histoire du Canada, the first part being
from its discovery to the cession, 1769-60; the second
part from the cession to the establishment of a House of
Assembly in 1792 ; in 1833, the same history from the
¦establishment of the Assembly to 181 5, and in the same
year, the fourth part, from the departure of General
Prevost to that of the Earl of Dalhousie ; and in 1836,
-the fifth part, from the departure of the Earl- of Dalhousie
to the arrival of Lord Gosford, and the Royal Com-
¦,mission, for the redress of grievances, of which works,
subsequently appeared 2nd and 3rd editions J in 1831,
Traiti de Midecine Vetirinaire , in \Z'^2, Code Rural a
I'usage des habitans tant anciens que nouveaux du Bas
Canada; and in 1839, Traiti d' Agriculture adopti au
.climat du Bas Canada. Other works were also published
-by him, namely : Plaidoyers dans deux causes cilibres ;
Modeles dentrie de procidures aux termes de Coiv
.Supirieur ; Modeles d'entrie dc procidures aux termes de
Cour Inferieure; Mithodes pour enseigner la langue
Anglaise; Mithodes pour enseigner la langue Latine;
Mithodes pour enseigner la langue Fran^aise , Mithodes
pour enseigner l' Arithmitique ; Mithodes pour enseigner
I'usage des Globes cilestes et terrestres ; Mithodes pour les
examens des icoles primaires; Manuel pour enseigner le
.dessin liniaire ; Abecidaires et vocabulaires Francais ;
Histoire d'Angleterre; Histoire Sainte; Preuves de la

288 OLD AND NEW CANADA.
Religion Chritienne, translated from the Spanish of Brey-
nard, and Preuves du Christianisme, also from the same
Spanish author; Manuel a, I'usage des Greffiers de la
Cour; Manuel pour toutes les parties de mathematiques
applicable aux arts et metiers; Manuel pour la tenue des
livres a parties simple et double; Manuel pour l' etude du
commerce; Manuel pratique des icoles secondaires, &c., &c.-

INDEX.

289

INDEX.

A.
Abraham, battle of the plains of, 7
Agriculture, provincial  360
Agricultural Schools  263
American Revolution of 1775,
its causes, 69, 71 ; Allen's ad
vance upon Montreal and his
capture 77; capture of Montreal
by Montgomery, 78 ; Mont
gomery & Arnold's assault
upon Quebec, 7^; death ot
ot Montgomery, tb.
Asyle Champetre, Mr. Perrault's
home, 1S4 ; commanding views
from it, 185; inmates  333
Autobiography of Mr. Perrault.
dedicated to Lord Aylmer  10
B.
Baby» Jacques Duperon, uncle
of^Mr. Perrault, 51,53; Mrs.
Baby's heroism  54
Beauport, battle of  6, 199
Beauport Lake  219
Bedard, T. P  84
Bender Mr. Albert, grandson of
Mr. Perrault  121
Berryman Lake  319
Bibaud, M. M., his description
of Mr. Perrault's home, 188;
his appreciation of Mr. Per
rault's character and works. . 271
Bigot, Intendant  143, 144
Bourinot, J. G., on education . . 163
Brock, General Isaac  118
C.
Canada, its condition and popu
lation in 1755  •,-*:••• 4
Canadian pioneers and mission
aries  22
Cape Haytien  34
Carrier,!. N  217
Cartier, Sir George  338
Casgrain, Abb6  373
Castor Ville  252
Cession of Canada  i
19

Chdteau Big^ot, its description,
souvenirs and associations... 138
Chdteau d *£au  24S
Chdteau St, l.ouis, 16, 193 ; view
of Quebec and environs from, 194
Chauveau, Hon. P. J. O., on
education  162
Cholera of 1S33  203
Colonies, English, their popula
tion in 1755, 4; policy of Eng
land towards them  66
Colonies, French,their condition
in 1763  4, 15^
Confederation  23S'>
Conjugal Life  85, 87'
Coucy^ le Castel  233-
Constitution of 1791  89'
Coureurs de hois  22:
Craig, Sir James, h.\B fetes cham
petres  105,
D.
Dambourges, Lieut. Col  119
Dansereau, A  150
De Cazes, Paul, on education
164; his Notes sur le Canada 166
De Gasp^, P. A  100, 105, 106
DeM.C.,herletter tothe author 123.
Dent, Mr. J. C, on the troubles
of 1837  213
De Salaberry, Lieut. Col  119.
Detroit, 54; the difficulties of a %" '
journey thither, last century. , 56
Dufferin, Earl of, his scheme of
Quebec improvements  258-
Dunn, Oscar  68
Durham Terrace 16  193.
E.
Education, popular, 14S; its con
dition previous to 1828, 150;
state of, in Ontario and Que
bec, 162; compulsory educa
tion, 178 ; Hon. G. Ouimet's
zeal in the cause, 181, 182;
Hon. W. W. Lynch, a recent
and useful friend  183

290

INDEX.

F.
Falls of Montmorency, 197 ;
"Natural Steps, 19S; winter
aspect and enjoyments thereat 201
Fetes Champetres, at Powell
place, 102; at Castel le Coucy 233
French-Canadian loyalty to
England, 76; during the war
of 1812  Ill

G.
Garneau, F. X., 215; his letter
to Mile. Perrault acknowledg
ing the value of Mr. Perrault's
schools  121
Grateful and affectionate recol
lections  31

H.
Havana, 26 ; the grievances* of
the Cubans  28
Homceopathy, its efficacy in
Cholera, etc  307
I.
Immigration, its advantages
and importance to Canada. . . . 338
Indians, their operations on the
Mississippi, 34; their cruelty
and rapaciousness  40, 43
J.
Journalism, early, in Canada. . . 93

Lafontaine, Sir Hypolite  228
Lareau, E., 274  274
LaRue, Professor.  274
Law, Mr. Perrault's i>rojects of. 168
LeMoine; J. M., 94 ; his valuable
services to Canadian annals,
97; his account of Nelson's
love escapade, 98; his remarks
on the effect of the French
revolution in Canada, 100; de
tails in reference to the stirring
incidents of thewarofiSia. .. 115
Literary and Historical Socie^
of Quebec  96, 97
Little River Road  247
Lorette Falls  348
Lynch, Hon. W. W., a friend of
education  -  181

M-
Marmette, Joseph, 48; his inter
esting historical novel, JJIn-
tendant Big-ot  141
Marsden, Dr, Wm.,his valuable
services to science and effect
ive system of Quarantine. .. . 307
McCarthy, Ursule, wife of Mr.
Perrault, 8^; her death, ih.
Miles, Dr., his services to edu
cation  182
Mississippi, its scenery, 30; its
dangers  33
Missionary life  21
Montcalm, Louis-Joseph, Mar
quis de St. Vdran, 5 ; his
death, 7; his prophecy  195
Montreal (Ville-Marie) of last
century, 58 ; its social and
hospitable features  61
Morrin, Dr  183
N.
Nairn, Major, his heroic con
duct  118
" Natural Steps," at Montmor
ency  19S
New-Orleans  38
New Year's customs  190
O.
Ohio river and valley  40
Ouimet, Hon. G^d^on, his zeal
and usefulness, 181 ; his patri
otic scheme in aid of litera
ture, ib, P.
Panet, Hon. Louis  333, 353
Papineau, Louis-Joseph... .315, 217
Paquet, Hon. T  167
Parkman, F  22
Perrault, M. Louis, lather of Mr,
Perrault  i, 3, 15, 21, 35, 8i
Perrault, Mr. , his autobiography
10; his birth, 12; family his
tory, 13 ; departure from Que
bec, 31 ; shipwrecked at
San Domingo, 24; leaves for
New Orleans and is nearly
lost off Cape Florida, 26; his
travels up and down the Mis
sissippi, 37; sets out for Vir
ginia and is captured by the
Indians, 30, 44; his hardships
and sufferings, 45; runs the
gauntlet twice, 40,48; escapes

INDEX.

291

to Detroit, 51; attempts to re
turn to St. Louis, but fails, 5^;
settles in Montreal, ib. ; his
professional labors, 80; ap
pointment as Clerk of the
Peace, 81 ; as registrar of
births, deaths and marriages,
83; as prothonotary, ib; elec.
ted member for Huntingdon,
83 ; death of Mrs. Perrault, ib;
he assists in the formation of
the Literary and Historical
Society of Quebec, 96 ; his loy
alty during the war of 1812,
iii; Lieut. Col. ot the Seden
tary Militia, 113; personal ap
pearance and habits, 136, 128;
some of his numerous deeds
of benevolence, 128; anecdotes
and characteristic traits, 130,
137; his educational experi
ments and establishment of
free schools, 154, 161 ; his gen
erosity and liberality, 156, 158,
159; his projects of law, in
1S41, free elementary educa
tion, compulsory attendance,
franchise to the educated only,
industrial and agricultural
schools, civil service examina
tion, Houses of Industry, abo
lition of ijiendicancy, ito, 177 ;
his home, Asyle Champetre,
184; his hospitality, 187; his
devotion to the sufferers of the
cholera of 1833, 205 ; his views
on sanitary matters, ib; his
attitude during the troubles of
183^ — 309, 313, 216; his position
towards the scheme of Union,
325; his chivalrous regard for
the sex, 235; his recognition
of the importance of immigra
tion, 238; the importance he
attached to civic improve
ments. 356; his great interest
in agriculture, 3&d; his habits
of hfe and domestic system,
265; his death, 268; his fam
ily, ib. ; tributes to his works
and character, 370 ; list of his
published works  286
Perrault, Mile. Reine  231
Perrault, Dr, Chas. Norbert. ... 305
Perrault, F. X  269
Quebec, siege of, 6, 7; its de
scription in 1763, 16; Mont

gomery & Arnold's assault
upi"n the city, 79; its environs,
196, 30o; its progress, embel
lishments and prospects  357
Quebec, province of, its natural
wealth and prosperity, 242;
railway and other enterprises,
258 ; territorial extent and
varied resources  262
Quebec Act of 1774, its results. 63
R.
River, Montmorency  198
Rolette, Lieut. Fred  116
Route Misirey its description,. . 248
S.
San Domingo  25
" Seven year's war ".2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8
Shipwreck  34
Slavery  25, 27
Social amenities of old rivals 94, 95
Social reunions at Quebec  loi
Ste. Foye road, 193; admirable
view from the church  196
St. Lawrence, travelling on the,
30; its scenery, 31 ; its perils. 33
St. Louis, Missouri  36
Storm at sea  33, 26
Suite, Benjamin  93
T.
Tachd, Sir Etienne  230
Teachers, low rate of remunera
tion  164, 166
Three Rivers  14
Troubles of 1837, constitutional
reforms  209
U.
Union of the provinces  235
V.
Ville Marie, 58; sociability of
its inhabitants  01
"W,
Warof 1812  no, in, 113. "5
Watson, Samuel T  67, 90
"Withrow, Wm. H  03, 64
Wolfe, Gen  7
Wonjan, her mission  85

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