-
"NICOLAS LAQUIN
Dit PHILIBER,
M'a Pose Le 2e Aoust,
1735."
We clip the following from KNOX'S JOURNAL, of the siege of Quebec in 1759,
at which he was both an actor and an eye-witness:
-
"On the right of the descent, leading to the low town, stands a
stately old house, said to be the first built of stone in this city
(Quebec), and over the front door of it is engraved a dog gnawing a
large, fleshy bone, which he has got under and between his fore-feet,
with the following whimsical inscription: -
"Je suis le chien qui ronge l'os,
Sans en perdre an seul morceau;
Le temp viendra, qui n'est pas venu,
Je mordrai celui, qui m'aura mordu."
"The true meaning of this device I never could learn, though I made
all possible inquiries, without being gratified with the least
information respecting its allusion. I have been informed that the
first proprietor of the house was a man of great natural abilities,
and possessed a plentiful fortune, which he, after many
disappointments and losses in trade, had scraped together by means of
the most indefatigable industry. Now, whether the foregoing device had
any reference to these particulars of his own private affairs, or that
we may rather suppose the bone with flesh on it to resemble Canada,
and the dog an emblem of fidelity, to represent the French settled
there as if determined faithfully to defend that colony for their King
and country against the savage natives, who may perhaps be alluded to
by the two last lines of the inscription, I will not take upon me to
determine, but submit it to the more penetrating capacity of the
curious reader." - (KNOX'S JOURNAL, Vol. II., p. 149.)
There are two ways of arriving at this El Dorado of commerce: an easy,
expeditious, and, it is believed a safe passage, originated by our
enterprising fellow-townsman, W. A. G. Griffith, Esq. - the Terrace
Elevator. The ascent or descent by the elevator occupies fifty seconds
of time, at the moderate cost of three cents per head. The elevator,
opened to the public on 10th February, 1880, was erected at a cost of
about $30,000. Whether it is placed in the most suitable spot remains to
be seen.
THE ELEVATOR.
"The elevator is worked by the weight of water; this necessitates
there always being a sufficient supply in the tank at the top of the
incline, which is pumped by a 12-horse-power steam pump from a large
tank at the foot. The modus operandi is as follows: Suppose a
person enters the car at the foot of the incline to be carried to the
top, the bell-boy at once rings a bell to notify the brakesman to go
ahead; weight is required to bring the car and passenger from the foot
to the top, and both cars being built on tanks with necessary valves
for the entrance of the water from the upper tank and for the exit of
the same water when it reaches the bottom of the track, which the
large tank below receives, the brakesman proceeds to open one of the
water valves and allows sufficient water to enter the car tank until
it outweighs the car and passengers at the foot; the cars are now
supposed to be in motion, with the bell-boy at the foot and brakesman
at the top of the incline, who duties are to watch that everything
runs smoothly and that the track is clear of all obstructions. Nothing
can happen inside the cars during the transit that is not noticed by
the employes; now let us suppose that while in motion one of the
cables breaks, there is a second cable to take all the strain, which
is never over five tons, and each cable will lift at least 30 tons,
but should it happen by some extraordinary oversight that there
existed flaws in the cables which had not been noticed, so that first
one cable broke and then the second also broke, it would probably be
thought that an accident must occur. No such catastrophe would happen,
because under the cars and out of sight there are two enormously
strong chisels bolted to the iron tank, and running within half an
inch of the trestle work; immediately the strain is taken off the
cables, or immediately the two cables break, the two chisels would
enter the strong wooden beams that support the iron rails and hold the
cars firmly in position. Finally, let us suppose that these chisels
also gave way, it must be said surely an accident is now inevitable;
but no, for at the top as well as at the foot of the track there are
two air buffers, against which the cars strike on their ascent and
descent. So nicely adjusted are they, and so ingeniously are they
constructed, that although the cars may descend with great force
against these air buffers, the resistance being gradually developed as
the air compresses, there will be but little, if any, extra shock.
Should the brakesman happen to be absent from his post, we are
informed by the Manager that no irregularities would occur in
consequence, as a governor regulates the speed at which the cars are
to go, and on their arrival the air buffers come into play and receive
them. So well has the brakesman the cars under his control that at one
stroke of the bell he can stop them instantaneously wherever they may
be on the track. The brakes are arranged in such a way that it would
seem to be quite impossible for both of them to be out of order at the
same time; but even if they were, nothing could happen, as the air
buffers would check the force of any extra shock. It may be thought
that an enormous quantity of water must be used to work this
machinery, seeing that there is a 5,000 gallon water-tank at the top
of the incline and a 10,000 gallon tank at the foot, but such is not
the case, the water which is pumped up from the lower to the upper
tank returns again to the lower one, and so the same water is used
over and over again; indeed, the amount of water wasted is not nearly
as much as is consumed by a private family.
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