Montreal, Wednesday, Oct 26/98.
The Queen’s Hotel.
I arrived at Montreal from Quebec this morning at 8:20. Had a very comfortable night & arose at 6:15 so that I might get a view of the sights approaching Montreal. The morning was then dry but grey, & a fair view some distance either bank was obtainable. At 7 we passed the village of Varennes on the river bank, right bank, with a very fine Catholic church & the bells announcing mass, I have no doubt, & just here we passed the SS Teelin Head[1] of Belfast, going seaward loaded, & soon after the SS “Polino” going ditto. Pretty scenery: so many islands, flat, no trees on them, but light houses & beacons on some & the river channel buoyed all the way up. Point Aux Trembles was the next interesting on the left bank, & here is the point of the island on which Montreal stands. Ottawa & St. Lawrence surrounds it. Just at this point we passed a big 3-masted, double-funnelled steamer, the Lake Ontario of Liverpool, one of the Beaver Line. 7:25 this was, & at 7:35, a pretty U. States small navy steamer, torpedo, passed us, painted pure white. I could not get her name. Now we soon passed Long Point & on here are some very big buildings, Catholic institutions. [8:31] These are on the left bank of St. Lawrence & over on the right is Longeuil or South Montreal, & one of the finest Catholic churches in the diocese. It looked very grand from the steamer’s deck, & now we are getting near Montreal, with its smoky clouds resting on it, the morning was getting dull & drizzling rain. The isle of St. Helena, which the Ottawa government own, & military quarters are on it, & partially fortified, we pass it close & now get a fine view of the big Victoria Grand Trunk Bridge, to which I referred coming in from Lachine Falls. It is 2 miles long & now being broadened by a carriage drive & elec. car track, a pedestrian track, & a second line of rails. We landed just opposite the church, which has a grand figure on its dome top: the Virgin with out stretched arms protecting the mariners. It has a magnificent effect & the face of the building is magnificent with figures & architecture. This is really its back which overlooks the harbour. Its front is very plain & in a poor, poor street. I’ve got 1 shot of it. It is named Bonsecou[r]s, or Notre Dame of Good Help. I had got a lot of information from an old priest who went up & returned in the steamer. He was very gracious & gave me his card. He is a Belgian by birth but been 40 years in Canada as Superintendent of Institutions. [8:32] He is not in the ministry, but dressed same style, & very devotional, & did his exercises in the saloon. He knows every spot & I gleaned much information during conversation. He often goes over to Belgium via Liverpool. As we passed from the steamer, he kindly offered to take me into this fine church. I told him I should like to see it & the figure, so he took me & introduced me to the attendant, & left me, bidding a kindly adieu.
I ascended the stairs to the dome & saw some of the figures, & looked up to the great figure, & all this was grand. Then just under the dome is a little circular chapel, a fac similie of one in Nazareth in the year 1800. You’ll see a photo by & by of it. I stayed ¼ hour up there as the view was good & much to see, then I came down & viewed the Old Chapel & its imagery, & lots of people were in at devotions, & I saw a pillar, white & gilt with a capitol, & on it hung 5 old crutches and 1 gibby[2] stick, & one man was kneeling before it. The old priest told me it was a miraculous church during our conversation, & this came to my mind at once when I saw the crutches. Put me in mind of “Sequah”.[3] This is the oldest church in Montreal. I wandered on a bit & saw in an old churchy looking building a marble tablet: [8:33] St. Gabriel Church, the first Protestant church of Montreal, 1792. I ventured in but found it was now a Police Bureau & Revenue Office. It stands in St. James & St. Gabriel Streets. It was raining now so I made hotel-wards but walked as far as 137 St. James Street, Cook’s agency, & there got a letter from Albion, so I at once got on a car & was to hotel in a little while, ¼ to 10 by this. I had breakfast & went to my room to write up this diary & get it ready for posting, & with it I will send last diary as manuscript, & also will buy Souvenir of Montreal when out, & post it to[o], & all will go with Saturday’s mail for New York (the “Lucania”) & you’ll get the Quebec souvenir same post. Albi is well & looking forward to seeing me. He says he has viewed about & enjoyed the sights, has a Kodak. Ship is to more [sic] this week & load case oil for Shanghai. Now I am going to call upon Mr. Hadley after lunch &, if fine, we will view. All being well I leave at 9 tomorrow morning & reach Boston at 8:30. Salem is not enroute but easy distance, & will take train from Boston after I get settled. For the present close diary writing & hope this finds all well.
[8:34]
[1] Built 1883. Sunk by German submarine 1918.
[2] Northern England dialect for a stick with a curved handle.
[3] In 1887 the Sequah Medicine Co Ltd began selling patent medicines such as prairie flower and Indian oil using travelling salesman, known as Sequahs. The travelling salesmen were quack doctors who sold the Sequah Patent Medicine in Great Britain, Ireland, the West Indies and North America.