The town is situated at the junction of the St.
Lawrence and the St. Charles, and as the latter forms a large bay or
estuary at the confluence, the whole has a very lake-like appearance.

We left the citadel at the gate opposite the one at which we entered,
and getting out upon the plains of Abraham, saw the monument erected on
the spot where Wolfe fell; close to it is an old well from which water
was brought to him to relieve his thirst after he had received his
mortal wound. Another monument is erected within the citadel, in what
is called the Governor's Garden. This is raised to the joint memories of
Wolfe and the French general, Montcalm, who was also mortally wounded in
the same action. From the plains of Abraham there is a beautiful view up
the river, and here, as on the other side of the town, the country at a
distance is studded with farm houses. In a circuit we made of two or
three miles in the vicinity of the town, we passed a number of really
splendid villas belonging to English residents, but with this exception
all seemed much more French than English, excepting that in _la vieille
France_ we never saw such order, cleanliness, and comfort, nor could
these be well surpassed in any country.

The small farmers here live entirely upon the produce of their farms;
they knit their own stockings, and weave their own grey coarse cloth. We
looked into several of their houses, and the extreme cleanliness of
every little corner of their dwellings was wonderful. The children seem
very healthy and robust-looking. The whole population talk French. The
crosses by the roadside proclaim them to be Roman Catholics, and the
extensive convents in the town tend doubtless to the promotion of the
temporal comforts of the poorer inhabitants. The principal church was
richly decorated with gilding up to the roof, and the gold, from the
dryness of the climate, was as bright as if newly laid on.

The extreme clearness of the air of Canada contributed, no doubt,
greatly to the beauty of everything we saw, though we found the cold
that accompanied it rather sharper than we liked. Mrs. Baily told me
that it is a curious sight to see the market in the winter, everything
being sold in a frozen state. The vegetables are dug up in the beginning
of winter, and are kept in cellars and from thence brought to market. A
month's consumption can be bought at a time, without the provisions
spoiling, as all remains frozen till it is cooked. The shee