This Peep-
Show (For I Can Call It Nothing Else) Was At The Same Time So Inexplicable
And So Ludicrous, That, To Avoid Shocking The Feelings Of A Devout-Looking
Woman Who Was Praying Near It By An "éClat De Rire," We Hurried From The
Church.
I met with many sincere and devout Romanists among the upper classes in
Canada; I know that there are
Thousands among the simple habitans; and
though, in a thoughtless moment, the fooleries and puerilities of their
churches may excite a smile, it is a matter for the deepest regret that so
many of our fellow-subjects should be the dupes of a despotic priesthood,
and of a religion which cannot save.
Close to the cathedral is the convent of the Grey Sisters, who, with the
most untiring zeal and kindness, fulfil the vocations of the Sisters of
Charity. There are several other convents, some of them very strict; and
their high walls and grated windows give Montreal a very Continental
appearance. On a lady remarking to a sister in one of these, that the view
from the windows was very beautiful, she replied, with a suppressed sigh,
that she had never seen it. There are some very fine public buildings and
banks; but as I am not writing a guide-book, I will not dilate upon their
merits.
We walked round Le Champ de Mars, formerly the great resort of the
Montreal young ladies, and along the Rue Notre Dame, to the market-place,
which is said to be the second finest in the world, and, with its handsome
façade and bright tin dome, forms one of the most prominent objects from
the water. As those disgusting disfigurements of our English streets,
butchers' shops, are not to be seen in the Canadian towns, nor, I believe
I may say, in those in the States, there is an enormous display of meat in
the Montreal market, of an appearance by no means tempting. The scene
outside was extremely picturesque; there were hundreds of carts with
shaggy, patient little horses in rows, with very miscellaneous tents -
cabbages and butter jostling pork and hides. You may see here hundreds of
habitans, who look as if they ought to have lived a century ago - shaggy
men in fur caps and loose blue frieze coats with hoods, and with bright
sashes of coloured wool round their waists; women also, with hard features
and bronzed complexions, in large straw hats, high white caps, and noisy
sabots. On all sides a jargon of Irish, English, and French is to be
heard, the latter generally the broadest patois.
We went into the Council Chamber, the richly cushioned seats of which
looked more fitted for sleep than deliberation; and I caught a glimpse of
the ex-mayor, whose timidity during a time of popular ferment occasioned a
great loss of human life. That popular Italian orator, "Father Gavazzi"
was engaged in denouncing the superstitions and impositions of Rome; and
on a mob evincing symptoms of turbulence, this mayor gave the order to
fire to the troops who were drawn up in the streets.
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