Quebec





  A FORTIFIED CITY.


IN olden times, when governments were maintained at the point of the sword, and war and conquest was the order of the day, all the great cities of the world were strongly fortified. We read in the Bible of many fortified cities, the most notable of which was Babylon, with its massive walls and its "two-leaved gates" under which ran the river Euphrates.In these modern days, walled cities are comparatively rare; yet a few of them still exist in the East, and one on the American continent has obtained quite a celebrity.

THE CITY OF QUEBEC, the citadel of which is shown in the engraving, is situated at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers, about 360 miles from the gulf of St. Lawrence, and 180 miles from Montreal. It is an object of much curiosity, and is visited annually by hosts of travelers. The city is divided into the upper and lower towns, the upper being surrounded by a wall nearly three miles in extent, mounted with cannon, and having five gates. The lower town is on the banks of the river, and is the seat of the principal business of the city, the commerce of which, by means of the river St. Lawrence, is very important. 

The CITADEL is built upon the highland of the upper town, 345 feet above the level of the river, and covers about 40 acres. The view from its walls is magnificent) embracing a circuit of many miles in every direction, and its guns command the river at every point of approach. It has been styled the "Gibraltar of America," and is considered well-nigh impregnable. To the west lie the plains of Abraham, the scene of the memorable battle in which Wolfe and Montcalm, the leaders of the opposing forces, both fell, mortally wounded. The approach from this direction is guarded by four strong towers.

Within the past few years the preservation of the walls, especially between the upper and lower towns, has been deemed of less consequence than formerly, and on the occasion of a visit by the writer a few years since, one of the massive gates was being leveled to the ground before the march of improvement. The citadel, however, will doubtless be cherished and preserved as a mark of the city's greatness, and as a source of defense from invasion.

While gazing at the walls and towers, I was reminded of a walled city which is promised as the home of the saved, "Whose glittering towers the sun outshine, "whose walls are of precious stones, and whose gates are of pearl. Can we all say with the poet, "That heavenly mansion shall be mine"? It is our privilege, dear readers, one and all; and may we all meet in that blest abode, is my prayer.





W. C. G.