Be
proclaimed and her saintly legacies preserved, and therefore, it is, that
the writer humbly calls attention to a new work, written by a daughter of
Erin, written lovingly and sweetly in the quiet precincts of the Ursuline
Convent, Blackrock, Cork, and in which may be found the story of the
devoted French woman, whose name is now inseparably linked with that of
Canada, told in chaste language worthy alike of the virtuous theme, and of
the ability which marks the narration. The earlier days of the French
Colony are depicted therein; and with an accuracy no less commendable than
useful. In fact the book is eminently a readable one, the object of the
publication being to extend the knowledge which all of us ought to possess
of one whose life glorified God, and whose advent to our shores was a very
benediction."
JAMES JOSEPH GAHAN.
Quebec, 27th January, 1881.
We copy the following from the Quebec Gazette, 10th October, 1793: -
THE VARIATION OF THE NEEDLE AT QUEBEC.
"For the information of the curious, the particular benefit of Land
Surveyors, and safety of seafaring people, please to insert in your
Gazette, that from critical observation on the variation of the
needle at Quebec, it is found to be on the decrease, or in other words to
be again returning to the Eastward, - a proof of which is, that in 1785,
when the Meridian line on Abraham's Plains was ascertained by me, the
variation was found to be 12 degrees, 35 minutes West; whereas at present
the variation is no more than 12 degrees, 5 minutes West, having in the
space of eight years diminished half a degree.
