Montreal being a unique city, with a personality of its own, its history, beyond that of any city of the new world, is particularly interesting and fruitful for such a retrospect. Dealing with the fortunes of several peoples, the original inhabitants of Hochelaga visited by Jacques Cartier in 1535, the French colonists from 1642 and the Anglo-Saxons and Gaels from their influx in 1760, together with the steady addition of those of other national origins of later years, the story of Montreal, passing over the greater part of four centuries, is full of romance and colour and quickly moving incidents; of compelling interest to the ordinary student, but how much more so to those who have any way leagued their fortunes with it, and assisted in its progress and in its making!
Such cannot dip into the pages of the history of this ancient and modern city without finding fresh motives for renewed enthusiasm and for deeper pride.
For Montreal is still in the making, with its future before it.
The present work is especially dedicated to those who would realize the duties of good citizenship and it is the hope of the writer that it may serve to deepen the sense of civic pride now happily being cultivated here. To foster this civic pride is the justifying reason why he has been induced by his friends to launch on a long and laborious task, sweetened though it may be by the pleasure anticipated of communion with the scenes and thoughts and deeds of a romantic past and a wonderfully progressive present.
All history is profitable. Perhaps, however, civic history has not been cultivated sufficiently. The present work is an attempt to repair this by interesting Montrealers in their citizenship so that by placing before them the deeds of the doers of the past, they may realize they are dwellers in no mean city. We would hope that something of the spirit of love for their cities, of the Romans, Athenians, or Florentines, might be reincarnated, here in Montreal. Good citizenship would then be thoroughly understood as the outcome of a passionate love of all that is upright, noble and uplifting in human conduct, applied to the life of a city by which it shall be made beautiful and lovable in the sight of God and man. For this purpose the life story of any city that has reached any eminence and has a worthy past should be known by good citizens so that they begin to love it with a _personal_ love.