The British Associations visit to Montreal, 1884: Letters | Page 8

bring on his
rheumatism and knock him up for the real Business in Montreal. After
this we had the carriage and drove in state to the Hotel where John and
E--- were to sleep, arranged about our berths on the steamer for
Montreal, saw numbers of our fellow-passengers who had not gone to
Montreal, and drove to the wharf and only brought a little luggage to
come here with. They told me I should not want umbrellas ("Our
climate here is very different from yours," said they), nor wraps, but I
persisted in bringing a few, fortunately, for it has been pouring all night
and up to this time (twelve o'clock Wednesday), and it was so cold
besides. While at the hotel (I forgot to mention _that_) a card was
handed to me with Mr. Price's name on it. I could not think who he was,
but he soon came and mentioned Capt. F--- (Julia Spicer's son-in-law),
and then I remembered he had promised to mention us to the Prices. He

offered to drive one of the ladies in his buggy to his house near the
Montmerenci Falls, where we were all to lunch, and E--- went in it, and
the rest of us drove in another carriage to his place, about five miles off.
The drive was delightful and his cottage a picture--a little, fat, fair
motherly woman for a wife, with two little chicks, and a lady friend.
They took us down some steps to the Falls, the river Montmerenci
falling 500 feet, and it was very fine, the view being improved by the
figures of our fellow-passengers on the opposite side making struggling
efforts to gain good positions, which we achieved in all ease and
comfort. Then we returned to an excellent luncheon, very pleasantly
diversified to us by Indian corn, which we learned to eat in an
ungraceful but excellent fashion on the cob, blueberry tart and cream.
This was our third substantial meal on Tuesday. Several visitors called,
and among them our fellow-passengers, Mr. Stephen Bourne and his
daughters and two friends, who are also staying here, a gentleman with
three other ladies (two of whom had been on the "Parisian") who said
he had been staying lately with one of them in Cheshire, so I concluded
he was an English-Canadian and said heartily: "That's right, keep up
with the old country. You come to see us and we come to see you."
And he responded graciously, but I heard after that he was a
French-Canadian and R. C., and they are not fond of England, but cling
very much to French ways and customs and are entirely in the hands of
their priests. They are a quiet, moral people, marry very young and
have very large families. It is quite common to hare ten children, and
they live at what we should call a starvation rate; yet they will not go to
service, contribute hardly anything to the revenue, and so the English,
who are the only active and money-making section of the population,
are heavily taxed; of course I speak of the poor and working classes.
The province of Quebec is, therefore, not a favourite one with
enterprising spirits from our shores or from other parts of Canada.
After these visitors were gone, Mr. Price drove me and E---, and the
rest walked, to the "Natural Steps." It was a beautiful spot, the clear
torrent of the river Montmerenci falling in cascades over a curious
formation of layers of stone and steps on either side, with the bright
green arbor vitae, which they call cedar, growing above and in every
niche it can find a bit of soil; wild raspberries and strawberries too,
which, alas, were over. We met several of our fellow-passengers, and

we greet one another like long-lost friends. On our return we found Mrs.
Price had cuddled her ailing boy to sleep and could give us some
attention. We had delicious tea and cake (our fourth meal). Mr. Price
comes from Boss, in Herefordshire, and has been twelve years away
from it. He is very nice and intelligent. Her brother owns the Falls and
lives in a pretty cottage near. Edison, the electric light inventor, has
bought the power of these falls for electric purposes. John was thinking
all the time how useful they might be made. We returned to the hotel in
time for John and E--- to dress for the Governor-General's dinner party.
We took a little baggage and Gibson and came here--a dark drive, and
we were shaken to bits in what is justly called a rockaway carriage. We
were met at the door by Mr. Dobell, much to our surprise, for he and
his family had returned unexpectedly from camping out, as it proved a
failure, and rushed