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fell, and a stone

said he was laid.

is shewn on which it is It is very much mutilat

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ed, from the curiosity of strangers who wish to carry off a bit of it, as a kind of relic. One cannot help feeling a good deal interested in traversing a field of battle;-the glory which we attach to the death of the hero who falls in his country's cause, sanctifies the ground on which he fell.

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The upper town of Quebec being on a very elevated situation, enjoys fine air, and a commanding view of the surrounding country, which affords the most sublime scenery in nature. I have seen most of the fine views in Europe; and I can safely say, they do not surpass, perhaps they do not equal, that from the flagstaff of Quebec on Cape Diamond.

The majestic St. Lawrence under your feet, receiving the waters of the river St. Charles, and forming the bason of Quebec, from three to four miles across ;-further on you see the river dividing itself into two branches, forming the beautiful island of Orleans:-on the opposite side of the great river, a finely wooded country, terminating at Point Levi, conceals the course and bed

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of one of the branches of the river,-the island of Orleans, the falls of Montmoren→ cy, strike the observer; and the villages of Beauport, Charlebourg, and Lorette, appear at a distance, and render the woods in which they are embosomed more interesting. The eye follows the northern branch of the St. Lawrence till it is lost amongst the distant mountains. To the southward you look over a level country for upwards of sixty miles, till the view is bounded by mountains. This extensive tract is still in a great measure in a state of nature;-nothing to be seen but the stately forest in all its majesty.

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Amongst the fine views which I have beheld with delight, and which combine in them objects sufficiently striking to entitle them to be compared with the view from Quebec, I recollect that from the Rock of Gibraltar, from the pass of Bellegarde in the Pyrenees, from the Place de Peru at Montpellier, from Kingsweston near Bristol,-from Edinburgh Castle,-from Cintra near Lisbon, and from many other places which I could mention; but the view from Quebec is equal to any of them, perhaps I

might even venture to say, that it surpasses them all. It is difficult to imagine a more happy blending of art and nature;-villages, country houses, cottages, corn fields, -are combined with primeval woods, fine rivers, beautiful islands, magnificent waterfalls, towering hills, and lofty mountains.

From the scenery which surrounds Cape Diamond let me return to the Cape itself. -I had heard that Cape Diamond, and the country in the neighbourhood of Quebec, abounded with marble. I am no great mineralogist; but, from every thing I can observe (and I have taken some pains to examine), I do not find any species of cal careous rock in the whole extent of the ridge, from Cape Diamond to Cape Rouge. What generally prevails, is a coarse incomplete sort of schistus, the lamina of which, when exposed to the operation of the atmosphere, moulder into a dark brown coloured earth; it never can be used for building to any advantage, unless it is defended from the action of the air.

Cape Diamond abounds with very fine specimens of quartz, or rock crystals.-I have myself, in walking on the banks of

the river at the foot of the rocks, found many of them. They are discovered from the brilliancy of their reflecting surfaces:they sparkle like the diamond;—and hence the place had its name. On examination, I have generally found that they are pentagons, terminating in a point, and possessing naturally much of the brilliancy and polish of a cut diamond; and they are so hard, that like a diamond they cut glass.

LETTER VII.

Quebec, August, 1806. I FORMERLY observed to you, that Quebec seems admirably situated to become the capital of an empire. Allow me to mention the circumstances which induce me to think so.

The uninterrupted navigable part of the St. Lawrence is of great extent,near five hundred miles, which is the distance between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Montreal, where, are found vessels of from 3 to 400 tons burden. In its course it receives a number of fine rivers, which open a communication with the country on both sides. The lake Champlain, 120 miles in length, communicates with the St. Lawrence by means of the river Sorel (or Chambly, as it is sometimes called), and is the natural channel for the produce of the fine country surrounding this lake.

Although the ship navigation ends at Montreal, another species of navigation

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