Letter from Miss Sutherland

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume XI, Issue 3, 1 July 1918, Page 156

Letter from Miss Sutherland

We are indebted to Miss I. Sutherland for this interesting account of a trip to Quebec from her sister, Miss J. W. Sutherland, late of St. Helens Hospital, Dunedin, who is at present visiting in Ottawa, Canada. Miss Campbell and I left Ottawa at 7.15 p.m. for Quebec ; we had engaged sleepers, so as soon as the darkey porter had our beds made we undressed and slipped in between the curtains. It is very hot in bed, although the windows are left open, just a perforated slip is inserted in the aperture, but the heavy curtains which button together and hide one from one's neighbours, gives one a " suffocaty " feeling. 7 a.m. the following morning found us in Quebec. On arrival we asked a policeman to direct us to our destination. Instead of doing so he said : " Go on to the C.P. Railway Station and there you will find a young lady wearing a badge ; she will direct you." In all the large Canadian cities one may find " A Travellers' Aid" meeting the trains. Our "aid" was a Swiss, and had formerly been a French governess with a wealthy family in Montreal. Her knowledge of English was somewhat limited. After getting breakfast and making ourselves presentable, we set out to " do " Quebec, the cradle of New France, and the most absorbingly interesting city of America. There are two cities to be seen in Quebec in one fascinating whole — the old French city, the Quebec of the seventeenth century, and ancient capital of Canada, and modern Quebec, the provincial capital of to-day. Ascending the St. Lawrence River in front rises the city of Quebec, tier upon tier of steeped-roofed houses and quaint precipitous streets, breadths of grey cliff front, and again the roofs and terraces and far up on the summit of the height the grim ancient citadel. As I stood, at night on Dufferin Terrace where there is a promenade of a quarter of a mile with the band (city) in a band pavilion close by, and hundreds of people sitting on the seats listening to the music or chatting and promenading with their friends and looked across the river at the lights along the Sevis heights and on the island of Orleans,

1 was reminded so of dear old Dunedin. Ottawa is not so picturesque, although it is a beautifully kept city. In the lower and upper town markets may be witnessed, scenes of French-Cana-dian habitant life, and even in the streets through which electric cars run, one may trace the features of the French regime. The boys of the seminary still wear the long blue coat piped with white, with green sashes as they did two hundred years ago. The nuns passing to and fro in their prescribed costumes, the priests in their cassocks, the inhabitants in their old-fashioned vehicles, look out of place in the twentieth century. The narrow streets with their cobble stones pavements, the houses of French architecture, the institutions, scarcely altered by a flight of three centuries, apart from its magnificent situation, make Quebec a perpetual charm. For the modest sum of fifty cents^ one can take a trip by motor car round the city. The trip takes about an hour and a half. The car accommodates about fifty persons ; a man stands up and points out places of interest to the occupants. Situated in the Governor's garden is the Wolfe and Montcalm monument which was completed in 1828. The inscription on the western side of the column is as follows : ' Valour gave them a common death, History a common fame, and Prosperity a common monument." We visited the House of Parliament and gave the man who attended us a quarter for his trouble. Quebec abounds in churches, mostly French Roman Catholic. We visited one Irish Roman Catholic. At 9 a.m. we visited the English Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. After we had been in the building for about fifteen minutes a man came in and switched on the lights. We then saw the stained glass windows to perfection. I counted twenty of them. The chancel window is the finest on this continent. The subject is " The Ascension " ; I never saw a more beautiful piece of work, the colouring is superb. I could have returned again and again to look at it. This church was built in 1804. Fifty -two mural and brass tablets are placed on the walls. King George 111 presented the church with an elaborate

communion service which cost $20,000. Above the chancel hang the tattered colours of the 69th Foot. St. Matthew's Episcopal Church is surrounded by an old burial ground, in which is buried Thomas A. Kempis, brother of Sir Walter Scott, and many British officers. One monument bore the date 1750 ; the stones are very old. Of the Roman Catholic institutions which we visited, the most interesting were the Ursuline Chapel and the Franciscan. We called at the convent of the former. This convent was established in 1639. The buildings are of grey stone and most extensive. In the nave of the Chapel repose the remains of Mc-ntcalm and what are claimed to be the following relics : A piece of the Holy Cross, 1667 ; a portion of the Crown of Thorns, brought from Paris, 1830 ; the body of St. Clements, from the Catacombs of Rome, 1687 ; the skull of St. Justis, 1662, may be seen. In the Chapel of the Saints— an annex through all the startling changes of two centuries — the Votive Lamp, first trimmed by Marie Repentgny in the days of the French regime, is still kept steadfastly burning. Here I saw several nuns at their devotions. We slipped a quarter into the maid's hand as we thanked her and passed out again into the bright sunshine. The Franciscan Chapel is situated further from the city ; it is an imposing building. Here General Montcalm drew up his army prior to his fatal charge upon the British lines which quietly awaited his attack about a quarter of a mile away. The Franciscan Church has many attractions for visitors. The perpetual adoration is one of its features, and there is not an hour in the twenty -four in which whiterobed nuns may not be seen on their knees in front of the altar. There were five of them ; they looked as if they were carved out of stone, they looked so motionless. I don't know how often they are relieved. How unnatural such posturing and adoration seemed to us. But I must hurry on. One day we took a trip to Saint Enne de Beaupre, about thirty-five miles from Quebec. At certain seasons the Roman Catholic Churches arrange for a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre, and people come from all over this continent to visit the shrine of good St. Anne. Dur-

ing our visit a pilgrimage was being held. St. Anne is supposed to be the mother of the Virgin Mary, and was buried near Jerusalem. In the first century, A.D., the greater portion of her body was brought to France. These poor pilgrims are told concerning the removal of these precious remains, that one day a mysterious barque was seen to approach the shores of France. It had neither sails nor rudder, but God was its pilot . Never had the ocean borne a greater treasure for in this barque was St. Lazarus with his two sisters, St . Mary and St . Martha , toget her with several saintly women. They were fleeing from Palestine, carrying with them a number of precious relics, the most precious being the hallowed body of St. Anne . This treasure was placed in the hands of the Bishop of Apt, France. Some Breton mariners, while navigating the St. Lawrence, were overtaken by a storm* They promised St. Anne, who had never remained deaf to their prayers, that if she would save them from shipwreck they would build her a sanctuary. Their prayers were heard, and true to their vow, they raised a wooden chapel. This has been replaced by a handsome wooden building. St. Anne is supposed to have miraculous power, hence these pilgrimages. It was sad and heartrending to see the lame, the blind, and the deformed there, seeking healing. On each side of the entrance doors are large pyramids of crutches and various surgical appliances that have been left by those who have been cured through the intercession of good St Anne. At the extremity of the middle aisle of the Basilica a few feet from the communion rail, a statue of St. Anne stands on a pedestal ten feet high. It is the miraculous statue to the church. Here the pilgrims come to kneel and implore the intercession of the Wonder Worker. I sat in the front seat and watched the poor souls. The Church, a large one, was nearly full ; sightseers do not seem to disconcert the people, but they kneel and pray as if no one was near. We saw no cures wrought. At the four corners of the pedestal are receptacles wherein are placed the offerings and written prayers of the saints, nothing unless one pays. People leave money, watches, jewels, etc., for favours received. Some of the jewellery has been melted down and made

into a Chalice valued at $10,000. The miraculous statue stands on a pedestal . She holds in her arms the immaculate Child, in whose pleading she is supposed to share. She wears a diadem of gold with which she was crowned in 1887. At her feet crutches and votive offerings are displayed. Several pairs of crutches bore the date 1916. In front of the pedestal, under glass, is part of the wrist-bone of St. Anne. It was pathetic to see men and women kneel, turn about in front of this bone, bring out their rosaries, press them on the glass, lay their bottles containing hoh T water againso it then kiss the glass. Round the Chapel proper are small Chapels to the Saints — St. Patrick, Anthony, Paul de Vincent, Francis Xavier, John the Baptist. In one of these Chapels was a life-sized figure of our Saviour lying in a coffin. In another was a wax model of a hand with a nail driven through and blood strea ming from it. Everything to appeal to the senses. In a magnificent adjoining building — the Scala Santa — are the " holy steps." Pilgrims go up these on their knees, count-

ing their beads and saying their paternosters on every step and then kissing each step before ascending. A young man asked us if we would like to go up by another way, for no one is allowed to walk up these "holy steps." so he showed us up back stairs by which the pilgrims descend. I believe no one is supposed to get up save the pilgrims. Up the stairs were altars, a life-size figure of Christ hanging on the Cross with the blood streaming from his side ; a group of figures representing the agony in the garden, etc. I heard one girl say : Lt I feel as if my knees would burst." Her companion said : tc You can't expect a blessing if you don't suffer." The priest told me that some people wear nails inside their stockings. As the Scala Santa building is built on a terrace, a great many steps have to be climbed in order to visit it. The day was a broiling one, about ninety degrees in the shade. One man had a boy of about eight years of age with withered legs, in a wheeled chair. Before carrying the boy and pram up I heard him say : :t Daddy is going to take you where

he took you last year. You remember the place where you kissed the steps ? ' We were standing half-way up these steps, and as he passed us carrying his boy, pram, and hat, he said : " It's very hot." I said : " Yes, and it must be hard for you carrying the boy." He replied : We can't expect a cure without a sacrifice." Poor things, it was all very sad, but these devout souls were a rebuke to me. Next week there is to be another pilgrimage ; one of our neighbours who is a devout Roman Catholic is going. They believe in it all. On our return to Quebec we paid a visit to the Montmorency Falls. On arriving we stepped into an elevator and were taken to the top of the falls. These falls are 274 feet, or 100 feet higher than Niagara. After viewing them we walked to Kent House, once occupied by the Duke of Kent, visited the zoological garden, then returned by electric car to Quebec, eightmile trip. The following day Ave paid a visit to Valcatier (pronounced Valcartya) where 25,000 men are under canvas preparatory to going overseas. These volunteers come from all parts of the Dominion. So far Quebec has not raised one battalion. The French Roman Catholic clergy are held responsible for this. They advised the French to stay at home to protect their rights here. The bi-lingual question is acute just now. Even in Ottawa some French people refuse to have an English person attend to them in the stores. We were sorry to leave Quebec, but the time had come. We arrived in Montreal by 11.30 p.m. train. At the hotel our meals were served a la cafeteria — same style

as in Chicago — the menu was varied and everything was nicely cooked. Montreal has a population of six hundred thousand. It is largely made up of French-speaking people. I think there are 70,000 Jews, some of whom are very poor, and atheistical. Crossing the Atlantic, they jettisoned their fathers' faith, their fathers' God. We spent a considerable time in the fine stores there, took a trip to the top of the mountain by car ; the view from the top was panoramic and superb. We spent a night at the Hotel Joliette. All the people there are French, the menu was in French, and we had a French waiter, a small, perspiring, fussy creaturej who gave us some vile concoctions. Our train left at 5.30 a.m., and this villian wakened us at 3.30 a.m. On our way to the station we saw the people coming out of a large Catholic (French) Church from a service. The grounds surrounding the church were spacious, the large residence near was the home of the priests. On the streets were large crosses, about eight feet high, and hanging on the crosses with the head drooping on the chest, were life-size figures of Christ. These shrines were protected from the weather by a small rotunda. We arrived back in Ottawa at 11 a.m. It was an interesting trip.