nt of his vow then made,
when he declared, as he pitched his tent and lighted his camp-fire, that
here he would found a city though every tree on the island were an
Iroquois. On an altar of bark, decorated with wild flowers and lighted
by fireflies, the first mass was celebrated, and the birthnight of
Montreal registered.

From the little seed thus planted in this rude altar, a mighty harvest
has arisen in cathedral, monastery, church and convent, representing
untold wealth and influence. The early French explorer, with a "sword in
his hand and a crucifix on his breast," was more desirous of
Christianizing than of conquering the native tribes. So completely has
this creed become identified with the country's character and history,
that the province of Quebec is emphatically a Catholic community. So
faithfully have its tenets been handed down by generations of devout
followers of this faith, that even the streets and squares bear the
names of saints and martyrs, such as St. Francis Xavier, St. Peter, St.
John, St. Joseph, St. Mary, and in fact the entire calendar is
represented, especially in the east end of the town. St. Paul, which was
probably the first street laid out, is called after the city's founder
himself,--Paul Chomedy de Maisonneuve.

NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA-VICTOIRE.

A few rods to the west of the Chateau, through a vaulted archway leading
from the street, in the shadow of the peaceful convent buildings is a
little chapel called _Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire_. The swallows
twittering under its broken eaves are now the only sign of life; and its
rotting timbers and threshold, forgotten by the world, give no
suggestion of the martial incident to which it owes its existence. While
the American Colonies were still English, the British Ensign floated
over Boston town, and good Queen Anne was prayed for in Puritan pulpits,
an expedition was fitted out under Sir Hovenden Walker to drive the
French out of Canada. In the previous year, 1710, the Legislature of New
York had taken steps to lay before the Queen the alarming progress of
Gallic domination in America, saying:--

"It is well known that the French can go by water from Quebec to
Montreal; from thence they can do the like through the rivers and lakes,
at the risk of all your Majesty's plantations on this Continent, as far
as Carolina."

In the command of Walker were several companies of regulars draughted
from the great Duke of Marlborough's Army. While he