For A Similar Purpose, I
Have Thought Of Presenting Such Social Pictures Of The Good Old Times, Of
His Habits And Practices, As Marked His Connection With His Relatives And
Neighbors, And In This Way An Instructive Lesson May Be Learned.
Mr. Perrault's abode was a building 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 a
nepveu, to-day, as Perrault's Hill, upon which the residence of Mr. Henry
Dinning now stands. As all students are aware, this is classic ground;
here was fought the main struggles of the battles of the Plains of Abraham
and of St. Foy; Murray's troops having entrenched themselves here on the
eve of the engagement with de Levis. A stone wall with an elegant railing
divided the property from the main road, near which was a graceful little
nestled summer house, overgrown with creepers and vines; through an avenue
with flowery borders, between lines 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. It was a double
house with a conservatory at each end, the first erected in Canada, filled
with exotic and native plants, at some distance on either side were
miniature Norman turrets. Mr. Perrault had selected this favourable site
for his residence, carefully noting all its advantages. The rays of the
rising sun flashed through the front windows, cheering him in his morning
labours, while as the day wore on, a flood of mellow light suffused the
western portion of his chamber. From such vantage ground, Mr. Perrault, of
an evening, could observe the movements of the heavenly bodies, the
position of the planets and the various phenomena of the firmament; the
study of which had great attractions for him, and created in his mind a
gratitude to the great architect for all His vast works and beneficent
care. On entering the visitor found himself in the reception room, of
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, the commanding heights of Point
Levi, with the chasm between, where rolled by the great St. Lawrence; to
the east, the picturesque island of Orleans, dividing the river into two
channels, and the imposing old Citadel, or martial crown of the city on
Cape Diamond; to the north, the meandering river in the beautiful valley
of St. Charles, the heights of Charlesbourg and Lorette, the shore of
Beauport, the faint trace of the embouchure of the Montmorenci, and
the grand Laurentian mountain range in the distance; and to the west, the
battle fields of 1759 and 60, memorable for their heroic deeds and
momentous results - views most charming, exquisite and impressive.
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