Hale was the
eldest son of Brevet Major John Hale, [67] of the 47th, who served under
General Wolfe at Quebec. Major J. Hale subsequently became General Hale.
Capt. John Hale, after stopping at Quebec with the Prince, subsequently
returned to Halifax with him. He was afterwards appointed by the Imperial
authorities Deputy Paymaster General to the Forces in Canada. He, it was,
who owned the lot on which the Commissary-General's office stood. This
occurred previous to 1812. He sold the property to Peter Brehault, who had
come out to Canada as an employe to John Muire, Esq. Mr. Brehault resold
it to the Imperial Government, the Paymaster's Office being merged into
the Commissariat Office. The Ursuline nuns have named, after their patron
Saint, Ste. Ursule, the first street to the west, which intersects at
right angles, St. Louis and Ste. Anne streets. Ste. Ursule and Ste. Anne
streets and environs seem to have been specially appropriated by the
disciples of Hippocrates. Physicians [68] and surgeons there assuredly do
congregate, viz.: Dr. James Sewell, his son, Dr. Colin Sewell, Drs.
Landry, Lemieux, Simard, Belleau, Russell, Russell, Jr., Gale, Ross,
Baillargeon, Roy, Fortier, LaRue, Parke, Rowand, Henchey, Vallee, Marsden,
Jackson - distinguished physicians. Notwithstanding that it is the abode of
so many eminent members of the Faculty, the locality is healthy; nay,
conducive to longevity.
The streets Aylmer, Burton, Bagot, Craig, Carleton, Dorchester, Dalhousie,
Haldimand, Hope, Metcalf, Murray, Prevost, Richmond, perpetuate the memory
of thirteen English Governors, while four French Governors have left their
names on as many thoroughfares - Buade, Champlain, d'Aillebout, Montmagny.
Many of the luxurious dwellings on the Cape date back to 1840 or so; this
now aristocratic neighborhood, after the conquest and until 1830, was
occupied by carters, old French market gardeners and descendants of French
artisans, &c. - such were the early tenants of Des Carrieres, Mont Carmel,
Ste. Genevieve, St. Denis, Des Grissons streets. - "Mais nous avons
change tout cela."
A few years since, the Town Council, on motion of Councillor Ernest
Gagnon, whose name is identified with our popular songs, [69] disturbed
the nomenclature of that part of D'Aiguillon street, extra muros, by
substituting the name of "Charlevoix." To that section of St. Joseph
street, intra muros, was conferred the name of our respected historian,
F. X Garneau. [70] To St. Francois street, the name of the historian,
Ferland, was awarded; the historian, Robert Christie, [71] has also his
street. This met with general approval.
"On ascending," says Abbe Faillon, "from the Lower to the Upper Town by a
tortuous road, contrived betwixt the rocks, and on the right hand side, we
reach the Cemetery. [72] This road, which terminated at the Parish Church,
[73] divided itself into two, - on one side it led to the Jesuits (Jesuits'
College) and to the Hospital (Hotel Dieu); and on the other, to the Indian
Fort [74] and to the Castle of Saint Louis. The Castle and King's Fort,
guarded by soldiers night and day, under the orders of the Governor, was
of an irregular shape, flanked by bastions, fortified by pieces of
artillery, and contained in its interior several suites of apartments
separated one from the other. At the distance of about forty toises (240
feet) from the Castle was seen, on the south side, a small garden, fenced
in, for the use of the Governor, and in front, towards the west, was the
Place d'Armes (now the Ring), in the form of a trapezium."
St. John street, for years without a rival as chief commercial
thoroughfare for retail trade in dry goods, sees its former busy aspect
daily fleeting since the invasion of that bitter foe to wheeled vehicles -
the street railway. Its glory is departing: the mercer's showy counter and
shelves are gradually replaced by vegetable and fruit stores. Stately
shops on Desfosses, Crown and Craig streets are rapidly diverting the
Pactolus of the city custom northwards. In the dark ages of the
Ancient Capital, when this lengthy, narrow lane was studded with one-story
wooden or stone tenements, Old Sol occasionally loved to look down and
gladden with his rays its miry footpaths. To our worthy grandfathers 'twas
a favorite rendezvous - the via sacra - the Regent street - the
Boulevard des Italiens - where the beau monde congregated at 4 P.M.,
sharp; where the merry jingle of the tandem grelots invaded the frosty
air in January; where the freshest toilettes, the daintiest bonnets - those
"ducks of bonnets" invented fifty years ago by Mrs. T - d - ensnared
admirers; where marten or "silver fox" muffs of portentous size - all the
rage then - kept warm and coursing the stream of life in tiny, taper hands,
cold, alas! now in Death's pitiless grasp; where the old millionaire,
George Pozer, chinked his English guineas or piled up in his desk his army
bills. Alas! Jean Bourdon, the pioneer of our land surveyors, you, who,
more than two centuries ago, left your name to this vaunted locality - your
street as well as your name are getting to be things of the past! Shall we
bid adieu to this oft travelled over thoroughfare without deigning a
parting glance, as we saunter on, at that low old-fashioned house, No. 84,
on the north side of the street, where, for a quarter of a century and
more, Monsieur Charles Hamel's book and church ornament emporium held its
own against all the other book stores? It is now occupied as a dwelling
and a notarial office by an ex-Mayor and late member for the city, P. A.
Tourangeau, Esq., N.P. Vividly, indeed, can we recall the busy aspect of
its former counter, studded with gilt madonnas, rosaries, some in brass
mountings, variegated Job beads for the million; others set in ebony and
silver for rich devotes, flanked with wax tapers, sparkling church
ornaments, bronze crucifixes - backed with shelves of books bearing, some,
the visa of Monseigneur de Tours - the latter for the faithful; others in
an inner room, without the visa - these for city litterateurs; whilst
in a shady corner-cupboard, imported to order - sometimes without order -
stood a row of short-necked but robust bottles, labelled "Grande
Chartreuse" and "Benedictine," for the especial delectation of a few
Quebec Brillat-Savarins - the gourmets!
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