"I didn't know that you understood French, Uncle Jack," said Belle. "That is one of the many things we had to learn at the Naval Academy. And a very useful thing it is, when traveling here," he added. "Here we are, at the entrance to the Citadel,' said McDermott, turning in his seat and addressing Uncle Jack. "I am not permitted to go any farther. The corporal of the guard will detail a private to show you around.' They alighted, and proceeded with the soldier who, after a few minutes time, had been detailed to accompany them through the Citadel. One of the first things to which he drew their attention was a small brass cannon, with its muzzle embedded in the ground, its butt reaching about three feet above the surface. 66 we "There," said the soldier, triumphantly, captured that from the Yankees at Bunker Hill. "Humph!" exclaimed Belle. exclaimed Belle. "We have the hill, and you have the cannon. He had nothing more to say about the cannon, as he took the party about, showing them the other points of interest in this American Gibraltar. On their return to the entrance, Uncle Jack thanked him courteously, giving him the customary fee. "Where next?" asked McDermott, as they got into the carriages. "The Plains of Abraham," was the reply. "Why are we going there?" asked May. "It will take a long story to answer that,' replied Uncle Jack. "But I will try to make it clear: "Champlain, a Frenchman, settled in Quebec in 1608, and from that time to this French has been the language of this Province. Moreover, the French, following the line of the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi, extended their language and their influence from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. During this same time, the English were extending their influence westward from the Atlantic, and when the two came in contact, there could be but one result, war. And on the Plains of Abraham came the last great battle of that war. "But here we are," he concluded, as he alighted and aided the rest to do so. "Look first for the monument to Wolfe." Hardly had they reached it, however, when the rain, which had been threatening for some time, began to fall, heavily. "We had better get back to the hotel," said Uncle Jack. "Otherwise, we shall soon be wet through." So back they went. On their way, Uncle Jack called their attention to the tablet which marks the scene of our Montgomery's death, and which bears the inscription: "Here Montgomery fell, Dec. 31, 1775." He also pointed out the monument to Wolfe and Montcalm, which bears an inscription in Latin, the English translation of which is: "Valor gave them a common death, history a common fame, and posterity a common monument." Uncle Jack also called their attention to the fact that General Wolfe's name is commemorated in the Canadian National song, "The Maple Leaf Forever," as follows: In days of yore from Britain's shore, When they had reached their rooms in the hotel Uncle Jack said: "It looks as if the rain would last all day. Suppose I read you something about Quebec from the guide book?" "Please do," said May. "And as Father gave me a box of candy, we can have a very good time, even if it is raining,” she added, passing the candy around and then seating herself close to her Uncle. "All right," said Uncle Jack, opening the guide book. "Now listen to this:" At such places as the Citadel, Wolfe's Cove, and the Plains of Abraham, the steps of the victor and the vanquished, the English and the French, may be seen. There is but one Quebec, old, quaint, and romantic, the theater that has witnessed some of the grandest scenes in the dramas played by nations. Five generations of men have seen and honored, the British flag on the Citadel; but, to a very great degree, the religion, language, and customs of old France remain. The past speaks as does the present. We may roam through queer, crooked, narrow old streets, and enter quaint, old houses, in the dark corners of which we almost look for ghosts to come to us from the bygone centuries. Of all the French settlements in Canada, Quebec best retains its ancient form. The hand of time has swept away the ruins of Port Royal, and the grass grows over what was once the Fortress of Louisburg; but Quebec remains, and will remain, the Niobe of the cities of France in the western world. "It's an interesting thought to follow out," said Father, as Uncle Jack concluded. “What thought is that, Father?" asked May, as she again passed the candy around. "What would have happened had France instead of England been victorious on the Plains of Abraham," was the response. "Probably, the people of the United States would all be speaking French instead of English," said Mother. "Perhaps," said Uncle Jack. "But I want to call your attention to a fact which has always interested me. Call it a coincidence if you will: Quebec fell in 1759. And that meant a democracy in what is now the United States. In that same year a poet was born in Scotland people, the poet of democracy a poet of the Robert Burns. As has been well said: "The birth of Burns in the old world and the fall of the French in the new, marked the birth of democracy.' As Burns puts it:" A MAN'S A MAN FOR A' THAT Is there, for honest poverty, That hangs his head, and a' that; |