QUEBEC.

City and river port of Canada, on the W. bank
of the St. Lawrence, about 340 miles from its
mouth, and about 180 miles below Montreal.
As many of our readers will be interested to
know some of the more important particulars
of a place so remarkable in its features, and so
much frequented by persons from the United
States on their excursions of pleasure in the
summer months, we shall give a brief notice of
it here.

Quebec is situated upon the extremity of an
elevated ridge, or bluff, between the St. Lawrence
and the St. Charles Rivers, at their point of junc-
tion. Its ground plan in this respect very nearly
resembles that of the city of New York. The
extreme angle of this promontory of rock, upon
and around which the city is built, and which is
called Cape Diamond, rises, on the side next to
the St. Lawrence, almost perpendicularly to the
height of about 340 feet, giving to the place,
and especially to the citadel which crowns its
summit, a most commanding appearance, from
whatever direction it is first approached. On
the 17th of May, 1841, a large portion, about
250 feet, of this cliff fell away, cadsing the ruin
of several buildings and the death of about
30 persons.

Quebec is naturally divided into the Upper
and the Lower town. The Lower town, which
is the oldest, and lies wholly without the walls,
partly at the foot of Cape Diamond and partly
extending round to the St. Charles, has narrow
and dirty streets, which are in some parts steep
and winding, “the most crowded parts of the
old town of Edinburgh not being more irregular
or confined than the Lower town of Quebec.''
The streets in the Upper town, though rather
narrow, are generally clean, and paved or mac-
adamized. Both sections are almost wholly built
of stone, and the public buildings and most of
the houses in the Upper town are roofed with
tin, the glitter of which in the sun has a very
brilliant effect, though not altogether in keeping
with the venerable aspect and associations of the
place in other respects. The public buildings
are substantial rather than elegant. The Roman
Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame; the Cathe-
dral of the English Church; the old Episcopal
palace, afterwards, for a time, the seat of the
Canadian legislature; the quadrangular build-
ing, formerly the College of Jesuits, but now a
barrack; with the Quebec Bank; —all these in
the Upper town, and the government warehouses
in the Lower town, constitute the principal public
odifices. There are three nunneries in Quebec,
one of which, the Hotel Dleu, answers a valuable
purpose as a hospital. It was founded by the
Duchess Aiguillon in 1637. Its chapel contains
some fine paintings. The Ursuline Nunnery, near
the centre of the Upper town, founded in 1639, is
a neat building surrounded by a garden. The
chapel is ornamented with appropriate decora-
tions and with handsome paintings. The nuns
of this institution are very rigid in their seclusion.
Only persons of distinction are admitted within
the walls, though admittance to the chapel can
be more freely enjoyed upon application to the
chaplain. The body of the French General
Montcalm was deposited within this convent.

Near the cathedral is the Place d'Armes, or
parade ground, where, on the E. of the Penta-
gon, once stood the Castle of St. Louis, the
84

foundation of which was laid by Champlain in
1624. The position is a most commanding one,
upon the very brink of an almost perpendicular
precipice of rock, 200 feet above the river, flow-
ing almost at its base. This castle was the resi-
dence of the French and English governors,
until it was destroyed by fire in 1834. Lord
Durham, during his administration, had the site
cleared and levelled, floored with wood, and con-
verted into a spacious platform, with a railing
carried quite over the edge of the precipice, mak-
ing it one of the most beautiful promenades
imaginable. From this platform, which is called
Lord Durham's Terrace, is had an extensive view
of the St. Lawrence, as far down as the Isle of
Orleans ; of the harbor filled with shipping, and
the opposite bank of the river; with Point Levi;
the village of D'Aubigny ; and the road, leading
up through one continuous line of cottages, to
the Falls of the Chaudiere; with the mountains
in the distance gradually fading from the view.
From this point of observation, much of the
Lower town and of the shipping at the wharves
lies far below the eye, and almost directly under
the feet of the spectator.

Crossing the Place d'Armes from the Terrace
to Des Carrieres Street, the visitor will see the
beautiful monument, erected by Lord Dalhousie,
“ To the Immortal Memory of Wolfe and Mont-
calm.'' This monument, at the period of its erec-
tion, stood in the gardens of the chateau.

But to the American visitor, Quebec is most
extraordinary for the costliness, perfection, and
strength of its means of defence against an invad-
ing enemy. It is, in the first place, by its natural
situation, a “ munition of rocks '' — the “ Gib-
raltar of America.'' The whole Upper town is
surrounded by a lofty wall, with fortifications,
about 3 miles in extent. All communication
from without is through massive gates, protected
by heavy cannon, and attended by a military
guard constantly on duty. The W. part of the
city, being comparatively deficient in natural
strength, has been covered by a combination of
regular works, upon the most approved system,
comprising ramparts, bastion, ditch, and glacis.
In advance of these, also, to strengthen the de-
fences of the city on the W., this being the only
quarter from which an invader can approach by
land, 4 martello towers have been erected on the
Plains of Abraham. They extend from the St.
Lawrence to the Coteau St. Genevieve, at the dis-
tance of 500 or 600 yards from each other. They
are constructed with almost impregnable strength
on their outer side, and the platform on the top
is furnished with cannon of a heavy calibre; but
on the side next to the city, they are so built as
to be easily battered down by the guns from the
walls or from the citadel, in the event of an ene-
my's gaining possession of them. The citadel
itself occupies the highest point of Cape Diamond,
from which it frowns with terror upon the foe in
every direction in which access can be had to the
city by water or by land. This fortress is con-
structed upon the most gigantic scale, and upon
the most approved principles of the art. It in-
cludes an area of about 40 acres, accommodates
the garrison, and contains a beautiful parade
ground, with a prison, and with magazines and
warlike implements, which are immense. The
officers' barrack is a fine building, looking di-
rectly down upon the St. Lawrence. The sol-
diers' quarters are under the ramparts. If not