Page 24 - 1931

22
"THE GLEANER"
T·RAVELOGUE
l}UEBEC
Doesn't the name Quebec just make you think of everything ro- mantic, picturesque and historic? And it isn't disappointing in any of the three ways, but they are all so dosely linked together that it would be difficult to consider them separ-
ately.
As soon as you enter Quebec you
can immediately feel the change in the atmosphere: Even the air seems different, clear and invig-orating, but with ~omething in it which seems to say "Take your time, don't hurr.v", and you certainly don't want to. The roads are good enough to perrrhlt as much speed as in Ontario but their sneed limit is lower and strictly en- forced.
We had always heard that the French loved color greatly and they never failed to prove the fact. In the little villages which lined the high- w a y , t h e c o s t u m e s w e r e v e r y ~·ay, bnt to us seemed rath~r old fashion- Prl, yet typical of Quebec. Pink was the predominating color and would 1:>~ contrasted with any other shari~
n~sired; yes, I rrJean1 ·con ti•asted, there was no idea of blendin.f(' or matching there. Then too, almost every house would display for sale, numer'<>us rugs of every description draped over railings, fences an,i chaJrs with little or no idea of sym- metry or good taste. They ·sell for P song but sometimes it is a bit dif- ficult to find out just what the cost price of that song is.
Their love of color is also brought nut. intentionally, or not. in their farming. 'Their estates (if they can he .so called) were narrow but ran ba,ck for m~les off the highway and were divided, not by fences, but sim- ply by furrows. Jn e~ch section. no matter how small, there would be 1~-.:m~paratively tiny· patches of the different grains. apnarently arrang- ed with an eye to the resultant col- or scheme since no two ever seemed
to produce the same shade. At the far north one could see, beyond all this, the haze of the Laurentians and to the south, the blue of the beautiful St. Lawrence.
What miore perfect picture could be desired water, mountains, the peace and · quietness of well-tilled, prosperous farms set in the romantic and artistic background of Old Que- bec?
Do you recall any Christmas cards of F1·ench Canadian winter scenes? Did you notice an.v more than the ordinary numher of buildings round about? If you didn't it wasn't the real thing; Quebec wouldn't be Que- bec without the farm houses and their 7 or 8 additional structures around. Sometimes the house may b8 so small that it is almost unnotice- able, especially in comparison with the numerous, large outbuilding-<>, made more pr'om!inent by the white- 'Wir,sh, which oovet!s every srbt nf them. Thi<> may be sugrrested by the Government but, nevertheless, gives an apPearance of cleanliness and prosperity.
The contrast between Montren.l a.nd Quehec city is very noticeable. Montreal is the modern up-to-date. CHlicldy moving city, Quebec is •)1d fr,shioneci and slow, but auite con- tt>nt vvith its own speed. One of the rvv,f.t attr::1dive things in Quebec city is a r.oc;sible mode of transportation w h i c h h a s s t i l l b e e n r e t a i n e d , th ~:! olci calechi, whit:h dates back incl\'1"- initelv and even the horses seem to g-i\'t; "the id,•a of antiauity. These mid-Victorian two-wheeled carts are • • s e d f o r si~rht-seeinl?,", i f y o u r . o n ' t really care whether you see anyt1Jing or not since for covering the ground, needle'ss to say, they are not thP. be!'1t device. However. thev provide at- mosphere and a thrill for thosB who are not a·ccu.stomed to such spr.edy tr:ovelling.
Their main point of interest is the Plllins of Abraham, and you never fail to reach them sow~tim,e in your