[149] On The Summit Of The Plateau, Formerly Known As Buttes-
A-Nepveu, And Facing Mr. John Roche's Stately Mansion, Hon.
P. Garneau
and M. Bilodeau have constructed handsome terraces of cut-stone dwellings.
We are now in the Grande Allee - the forest avenue, which two hundred
years ago led to Sillery Wood.
On turning and looking back as you approach
Bleak House, you have an excellent view of the Citadel, and of the old
French works which extend beyond it, to the extremity of the Cape,
overlooking l'Anse de Meres. A little beyond Bleak-House, at the top of
what is generally known as Perrault's Hill, stands the Perrault [150]
homestead, dating back to 1820, l'Asyle Champetre - now tastefully
renovated and owned by Henry Dinning, Esq. The roof and facade of a
Chalet Suisse would much enhance its appearance. The adjoining range of
heights, occupied by the Martello Towers, the Garneau and Bilodeau
Terraces, &c., were called the Buttes-a-Nepveu, after one of their first
French owners. "It was here that Murray took his stand on the morning of
April 28th, 1760, to resist the advance of Levis, and here commenced the
hardest-fought, the bloodiest action of the war, which terminated in the
defeat of Murray, and his retreat within the city". The Martello Towers
are bomb-proof, they were four [151] in number, and formed a chain of
forts extending along the ridge from the St. Lawrence to the River St.
Charles. The fact that this ridge commanded the city, unfortunately
induced Murray to leave it and attempt to fortify the heights, in which he
was only partially successful, owing to the frost being still in the
ground.
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