LIBRARY d>>L^Ar-r^ /v/>-^-' GLIMPSES OF Tirt: MONASTERY VKNKRABI,K MOTHER MARV OF THK INCARNATION, l-'oiiiidress and first Superior of the Ursuline Convent of Quebec i 1A39). ( From a painting by BoTTONi, Rome, 1.S7S. ) GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY SCENES FilOM THE HISTORY DKSULINES OF QUEBEC DURING TWO HUNVl^KED YEARS 1639-183.9- BY A MEMBliR OF THE (X)MMUNITY SECOND EDITION REVISED, AlGMENTIil) AND CO.MPMiTEI) liY KEMINISCENCES OF THE LAST FIFTY YEARS; 1839-1889 A. M. I), (i. QUEBEC PRINTED BY L. .1. DEMERS A- FRERE 30, De la Fabrique street isyr r I O) lin'primatur, ' '. t L. N., Archiep. Cyren., Adm. 30 Sept. 1897. ; : :,'**' '.•; •.',;,/::/:'.- % ; .•; ,». .. d5'S67dO t to J. M. J TO OUR DEAR MOTHER VENERABLE MARIE GUYART OF THE INCARNATION FIRST SUPERIOR AND WITH MADAME DE LA PELTRIE JOINT-FOUNDRESS OP THE MONASTERY THIS LITTLE SKETGH OF ITS HISTORY IS MOST HUMBLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. PREFACE Some twenty years ago the pages of the " G-limpses of the Monastery " were written to supply a want which had long been felt ; namely, that of possessing in English, and within a small compass, an account of the chief events that have marked the history of the Convent since its foundation. The object of the work suggested the plan. It was not to be a dry compendium of facts and dates. It should represent the character and spirit of the institution of which it treats, by presenting before the reader the varying vicissitudes through which it has passed from the first hazardous undertaking of its foundation to the present day. It should introduce us not only to those " valiant women " who shared the courage and long suffering of the holy priests and missionaries of the " heroic age " of Canada, but it should acquaint us also with some of those facts and incidents which occur to vary the uniformity of convent life, presenting us even the more intimate pictures of the lives of the nuns. Such was the plan of the work which, however, had VIII PREFACE to be accomplished without the leisure that would have have been desirable, and without foregoing either the duties of the class-room or the stated religious exercises of the community. But it was intended for a class of readers on whose unlimited indulgence we could depend. The little book treating of the Convent would be read by the friends and relatives of the nuns, by their pupils of present or former times, by persons young or old who love to meet in their reading the dear name of (lod and His Saints ; by strangers even who know little of monastic life, and whose curiosit}' we are willing to gratify by showing them something of that little world which opetdy professes to be " unlike the world ". The chief documents and reliable writings which have preserved the early history of the monastery, are : I. The Relations of the Jesuits, published in France from 1632 to 1672. As reprinted by the Canadian gov- ernment in 1868, they form three large octavo volumes. II. The life and Letters of Venerable Mother Marie Guyard de I'lncarnation, first Superior of the Monastery, who died in 1672. During the space of some thirty years this admirable woman entertained, in the interests of religion and the good of souls, a vast correspondence with persons of various rank and condition in France, and especially with her son who became a Benedictine monk, and who after his mother's death, published a selection of her letters. PREFACE IX III. For events of later years, for the lives of the nuns, etc., we have the annals of the monastery, the obituary notices of the nuns, often supj)leraented by reliable traditions, by letters, etc. The favorable reception that awaited the ■' Glimpses of the Monastery " on its first appearance leads us to expect it will obtain a wider circulation in its improved form. The history of Canada has become better known in the neighboring Kepublic within a few years past, and neitlier our English nor our American friends are indifferent to the reputation of our educational institutions. They are interested to find that wdiile the country was yet in its infancy, a feeble colony struggling for existence, the sacred fire, destined to enlighten the intelligences of future generations was carefull\' maintained in the religious institutions already founded. On the other hand, we have been most fortunate in being permitted to submit the w-ork, both the " Glimpses of the Monastery " and the " Reminiscences ", to the enlightened and judicious criticism of a Reverend friend, whose qualifications in all that relates to literature are only equalled by his exquisite delicacy and readiness to oblige. Ursuline Convent, Quebec, XoveoiIjiT 2ist, ISDT. CONTENTS BOOK I THE FIHST FIFTY YEARS lUo9-1689 CHAPTER I * FROM THE PRESENT TO THE PAST PAGES. Introductory 1 INSTRUCTION NEEDED IN NEW FRANCE Quebec before 1639 Intention of the founder of the City First missionaries Early letters The Christian village of Sillery 2 CHAPTER II THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE Wiio was Mother Marie Guyart of the Incarnation ? — Her apostolic spirit ; her call to found a Convent in Canada Madame de la Peltrie The Archbishop of Tours Journey of the Foundresses to Paris, to Diejjpe Mother Cecile de la Croix Tiie departure Tlie voyage. 5 CHAPTER III ARRIVAL OF THE URSUMNES IN CANADA The harbor of Tadoussac First night on land The reception at Quebec A visit to the Indian hamlet The Hospital nuns and the Ursulines part 13 XII CONTENTS CHAPTER IV THI-: LABOR OP THREE YEARS PAGES. .Study of the Indian languages.— " The Louvre " — Malady among the " seuunai-ists " — Nuns from Paris. — Mother St. Clare describes the little convent — Poverty and other difficulties Corner-stone of a new Monastery laid 19 CHAPTER V MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE IXDIANS The foundress boards with the nuns — A procession — Madame de la Peltrie at the Indian Council. — An excursion to Sillery Midnight Mass at the Indian Chapel 25 CHAPTER VI GOOD EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION The Indian girls in the wigwam — In the Convent, iirei)aring for first Communion Examples of their piety and docility Teresa the Huron The seminarists among their own people 2'J CHAPTER VII EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY Progress of Christianity The Monastery in readiness — Themuns take possession First Mass Seminarists and Indian women instructed — Parlor visitors. — Labors of seven nuns during live years.— Mother Mary's spirit seen in her letters.— Madamede la Peltrie aids in the Convent — Other laborers Mother St. Athanasius, superior — Miss de Boulogne joins the community -^S CHAPTER VIII MOTHER ST. .lOSEPH AND THE HURONS T'he Huron braves visit Quebec. — .Their reports — The "Mother " of the Hurons, and her class of Huron girls — Her neophytes among the Huron warriors — The remnants of the tribe at Quebec 47 CONTENTS XIII CHAPTER IX OXE NIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES PAGES. An evening scene in the Convent. — The alarm of nre. — Were all safe? — Poor Cecile ! — Mospitality offered and accepted. — Visit to the ruins A visit of condolence from the Ilurons Indian harangue 52 CHAPTER X COUKAGB IN ADVERSITY Invitation to return to France Resolution of the nuns Tiieir povert}^ Charity of the colonists The foundation- stone laid again Illness of Mother 8t. Joseph. — Her dying message.- Brief obituary. — A unique pearl 62 CHAPTER XI THE SECOND MONASTERY The nuns remove to their new convent Pupils more numer- ous Education of the times "Good ^minarists" Madame de la Peltrie's church Motlier Maiy of the In- carnation's labors Her writings 71 CHAPTER XII THE NOVITIATE. ARRIVAL OK BISIIOl* LAVAI. The secret of a religious vocation The Misses Bourdon as novices Miss Boutet and Miss Godefroy Miss Angelique Poisson of Gentilly Bishop Laval lodges near the con- vent 77 CHAPTER XIII THE URSULINES AND THE IRdl^UQIS (•IVII>1Z.\TI(IX (IP THE INDIANS Iroquois ambassadors at the Convent The female Sachem The (Jonvent becomes a fortress Intrepidity of the nuns. — Attempt to civilize the Indians O]nnion of Mother ilaiy of the Incarnation Result of the experiment. — Influence of Christianity upon the Indian race 84 XIV CONTENTS CHAPTER XrV THE INMATES OF THK MONASTERY AGAIN PAGES. A picture of life and manners Obligations of the Ursulines to the Marquis de Tracy New candidates for the novitiate. Instruction of the pupils Ursulines from France Their reception and visits List of the nuns in 1671 94 CHAPTER XV TBE CLOSE OF WELL-SPENT YEARS niness of Madame de la Peltrle — Her death Another greater sacrifice foreseen Last moments of Venerable Mother Marie de I'Incarnation Her burial Appreciations of her character 107 CHAPTER XVI IN AFTER YEARS The work of Mother Mary of the Incarnation continued Father Lalemant — Statistics A hallowed anniversary. — A beloved name The Indian pupils Constitutions of the Ursulines Election of a Superior i 113 CHAPTER XVII A MEMORABLE DATE 1686 Laying the corner-stone of " La Sainte-Famille." — Death and burial of Agnes Weskives. — October; aspect of the Mon- astery. — The alarm, "All is lost!" — Three of the specta- tors How the nuns bear the trial lly CHAPTER XVI 11 RESTORATION OF THE MONASTERY The Ursulines welcomed at the Hotel-Dieu The feast of St. Ui-sula. — Incidents A little convent Friends in adver- sity The winter and spring pass away Classes opened for day pupils Mortal illness of Mother Ste. Croix Fervor. — The restoration completed 127 CONTENTS XV BOOK n DURING SEVENTY YEARS — 1689-1759 CHAPTER I CLOSE OF THE FIRST HALF CENTURY PAGES. Coincidence of the restoration Vocations A new chapel Guardians of the Monastery The country threatened by the Indians. — Preparations for war 137 CHAPTER H THE ALARMS OF WAR Contrast of the present with the Y>ast The annals give an account of the siege Our Lady of Victory How the nuns keeji a festival 148 CHAPTER in MOTHER DE FLECELLES OF ST. ATHANASIUS The second Superior of the Monastery.— Her youth Her vocation to Canada Mother St. Clare " Our most honored and beloved Mother " described by the Annals The Constitutions of Paris adopted 149 CHAPTER IV THE URSULINE CONVENT OF THREE RIVERS Educational institutions in Canada Project of Bishop Saint- Valier — Consultations and journeys Prosjjerity of the new Convent — Trials of a later day 156 CHAPTER V FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART ESTABLISHED Origin of the Feast of the Sac re I Heart The devotion already known in the Monastery Establishment of the Feast in the Convent — The tiist shrine The Association 131 XVI CONTENTS CHAPTER VI THK LAST SURVIVOR OF 1639 PAGES. Biographical notice of Mother Cliarlotte Barre of iSt. Ignatius — Early piety, generosity Her edifying life Links in the chain of tradition 167 CHAPIER VII DAWN OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY The colony menaced by famine, sickness and war — Epidemy in Quebec and in the Convent. — Otlier maladies — Disasters and suflterings Return of Bishop de >St. VaUer after his long captivity 170 CHAPTER VIII THE THREE CAPTIVES MISS WHHKLMlilCHT HECOMES AN I' ItSL'LIXK The Wheelwright family The iiamlet of Wells, Maine The onset of the Indians Esther taken captive Father Bigot discovers and rescues her She is received by Gov- ernor de Vaudreuil and placed in the Convent Admitted as a novice, she makes profession Father Bigot's address. — Two other captives beco.ne Ursulines 175 CHAPTER IX THE MONASTERY ENLARGED The nuns enlarge tlie convent building and build the cliurch Their ardor, their labors ihcii' church blessed in 1723, and completed in 173:) 185 CHAPTER X (JUEBEC IN \~'2(): THE NOVITIATE OF THE ITRSLLINES AT THE SAME DATE Charlevoix' picture of life and manners in Quebec The novic- es introduced Miss Wheelwright. — Miss de Muy. — Miss de Bouchervillc and ]\lissde Ramesay Miss des Meloises. — 'I'he Misses (laillard and other novices ; — ^lore young ladies from Montreal, and fiom the environs of Quebec Thouiilits on the ixdijiious life ; 18'J CONTENTS XVII CflAPTER XI THE CHAPEt, OF THE SAINTS PAGES. Our Lady of Great Power. — Relics and other sacred objects Ex-votos The "Votive Lamp." — The de Repentigny family — Mother de Repentigny of St. Agatha , 201 CHAPTER XII EDUCATION' IX THE CONVENT The relation between pupil and '-Mother'' Local Govern- ment — Course of studies. —Zeal for education The day- school — Eti'ects of religious teaching Names on old lists — Miss Fezerel — The Misses de Ramesay The Misses Begon and their schoolmates 209 CHAPTER XIII ANCIENT SUPERIORS OF THE COMMUNITY MARY, PEKPKTUAL SaPERDR 01'' THE URSULINKS The first ten Superiors. — A l)rief notice ot each Our Perpetual Superior Act of consecration , 221 CHAPTER XIV THE CE>fTENXIAL AXNIVERSARV Celebration of religious festivals in the olden times Prepara- tions for the Centennial The Triduum of Masses The Indians at High Mass Some of the inscriptions 232 CHAPTER XV DEPARTURES DURINd THE CENTENN'IAI, YEAR COINCIDENC^K OF NAMES Statistics of the Community Mother Catherine Pinguet of the Incarnation Her youth Her life in the cloister Mother d'Ailleboust of Ste. Croix Mother Amiot of the Conception Other aged nuns. — Golden Jubilees 257 XVIII CONTENTS CHAPTER XVI PRIMITIVE TIMES AND MANNERS CANADIAN SKIGNIORS. MiSS DE BECANCOOR, MISS DE BOUCHERVILLE Mother Marie-Anne Robineau of the Trinity, — The Seignior Pierre Boucher de Boucherviile His legacy — His estates. His relatives among the nuns 245 CHAPTER XVII ARRIVAL OF BISHOI' DE PONTBRIAND Count Henri de Pontbriand's arrival in 174 1 Progress of the colony under the Marquis de Beauharnais Establishments of education Extent and aspect of the diocese of Quebec. 252 CHAPTER XVIII THE MUSES IN THE CLOISTER Old manuscripts A visit from the Marquis Duquesne ; an ode in his honor Other poems in honor of the Bishop 256 . CHAPTER XIX THE GUESTS OF THE URSULINES The Hotel-Dieu of Quebec destroyed by fire The peril The dying nun Three weeks at the Ursulines 262 CHAPTER XX PRELUDES OF THE GREAT CRISIS Troubles along the frontier Loss of vessels Failure of crops and scarcity.— Fate of the Acadians. — Famine threatening. — The British war -fleet in sight 265 CHAPTER XXI DURING THE SIEGE Preparation for the country's defence The English fleet before Quebec The Ursulines leave the cloister Asj^ect of the Geneial Hospital Progress of the siege September 13th. 269 CONTENTS XIX CHAPTER XXir SCENES AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS PAGES. Midnight at the Hospital Burial of Montcalm in the church of the Ursulines Death of two Ursulines at the General Hospital — Aspect of the city The community in 1759.... 274 BOOK III EIGHTY YEARS UNDER ENGLISH RULE — 1759 - 1839 CHAPTER I FOUR YEARS OF ANXIETY AND SCFFERING THE CONVENT BECOMES A HOSPITAL Prisoners of war Damages the convent had sustained Gen- eral Murray demands the services of the Ursulines The winter of 1760. — The second siege The Convent shelters the poor Classes re-opened The Treaty of 1763 confirms the Cession of Canada 281 CHAPTER II OTHER TRIALS AND CONSOLATIONS BISHOP F.KIAND. CLASSES RE-OPENED Death of Bishop de Pontbriand Mortality among the nuns The novitiate re-opened. — Poverty of the Convent Arrival of Bishop Briand His generosity His solicitude for the welface of the Ursulines Boarders, Day-scholars Reli- gion free 290 CHAPTER III MOTHER MIGEON OP THE NATIVITY OTHER SITPERIORS DCIRING TWENTY-FIVE YEARS A Superior continued in office beyond the term Sketch of Mother Migeon of the Nativity's life Mother La Grange of St. Louis Mother Boucher of St. Piorre 297 XX CONTENTS CHAPTER IV THE CONVENT DURING THE SIEGE OF 1775 DIFFICULTIKS or SUBSEQUENT YEARS PAGES. Courage of the nuns during the American invasion They remain in the Cloister Details given by Mother St. Louis de Gonzague Ten years later — Calamities Decline of jjiety in the country 302 CHAPTER V MOTHKK ESTHER WHEELWRIGHT AND OTHER SUPERIORS Character of Mother Esther of the Infant Jesus — Her death — Mother Davanne ot St. Louis de Gronzague, Superior — Lady Carleton Parlor boarders Lady Dorchester sends her daughter to the Convent Mother Poulin of St. Francis, Superior. — Mother Brassard of St. Clare — The 150th anniv- ersary of the foundation of the Convent 307 CHAPTER VI SAD ECHOES OP THE FRENCH REVOLUTION The Ursulines of Paris Record of the times in the annals — Letter from the Ursulines of Paris Their dispersion The last survivor 316 CHAPTER VII CONTRASTED SCENES, IX THE LIFE OF MOTHER DAVANNE OF ST. LOITIS DE GONZAGUE Preparations for a celebration — A domestic drama — Madame Davanne in Paris Fatal mistake — News of sorrow — Long career of Mother St. Louis de Gonzague — Her portrait — The pious secret 321 CHAPTER Vin SUPERIORS IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 19tH CENTURY MOTHERS ST. URSULA AND ST. FRANCIS XAVIER Group of Superiors Mother Marchand of St. Ursula, Mother Taschereau of St. Francis Xavier — Sketch of her life 329 CONTENTS XXI CHAPTER IX GRACE STRONGER THAX NATURE VOCATION OP THE MISSES ISERTHELOT PAGES. The Misses Berthelot ; Mothers St. Francis and St. Joseph — Correspondence with the UrsuUnes of Waterford A golden .lubilee and a requiem Mother St. Monica 336 CHAPTER X THE URSULINES OF THREE RIVERS (QUESTS OF THEIR SISTERS IN QUEBEC The meeting Conflagration of the Monastery of Three Rivers — Mother Theresa of Jesus dies at Quebec — The return of the nuns to Three Rivers 342 CHAPTER XI THE URSULINES OF QUEBEC AND THE URSULINES OF NEW ORLEANS Foundation of the Convent of New Orleans Appeal of Bishop Dubourg — Candidates for the mission The journey — Adventures at sea The Pirate Ship The arrival The sojourn in New Orleans A triple link between the two communities 347 CHAPTER XII MOTHER MCLOUGLIN OF ST. HENRY AND MOTHER DOUGHERTY OP ST. Al'GUSTINE PIONEERS OF ENGLISH EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT The two candidates for the religious life, Miss Mary Louisa McLoughlin and Miss Elizabeth Dougherty Their early life — Their vocation Their teaching Mother St. Henry characterized Services she renders the community Her death 354 CHAPTER XIII SISTER NOVICES OF MOTHERS ST. HENRY AND ST. AUGUSTINE The Novitiate. — Mother La Ferriere of St. Maiy Mother Elizabeth Blais of St. Monica Mothers St. Paul, St. Anne and St. Anthony The twin-sisters St. Gertrude and St. Catharine Mothers St. Helen and St. Athanasius 364 XXII CONTENTS CHAPTER XIV CONVENT KDUCATION SINCE 1800 PAGES. Impetus given to studies in 1800 — Boarders and half-boarders united Irish class in the Day-School organized — Able teachers Mother Cecilia O'Conway of the Incarnation. New classrooms provided Father Maguire appointed chaplain Rev. P. Turgeon Superior. Friendliness of the English Governors and their families.— Members of the Legislatui-e admitted to visit the Convent Public examinations Programme of studies in 1839 369 CHAPTER XV THE 01,11 BELFRY — THE CONVENT BELLS Scene within the Convent grounds History of the Convent bells The old French cross. — Aspect of the garden and the Convent buildings 381 CHAPTER XVI FATHER .IKAN DENIS DAULE RESIDENCK OF THK CHAPLAIN OF THE LRSILINES Chaplains of the Monastery since 1780. — First resident chaplain. Father Jean Denis Daule Means to promote the piety . of the pupils The good lather's favorite instrument — His Golden Jubilee of priesthood — His last visit 388^ CHAPTER XVII A FAMILY OF JUBILARIANS SPEEDILY REUNITED JIOTHKRS ST. BERNARD AND ST. JACQUES FoTU' anniversaries. — Golden Jubilee of Mother St. Jacques — The entertainment in the new hall St. Ursula Death of Bishop Panet Deaths of Mothers St. Bernard and St. Jacques and Reverend Jacques Panet 392 CHAPTER XV II I THE MONASTERY NARROWLY ESCAPES A TOTAL CONFLAGRATION 12th Jan. 1834 Alarm of fire The rescue — The crisis — Danger is over Scene at seven o'clock in the morning. — The Hre-engine that wins the prize — Masses in thanks- giving Kindness of friends — Card of thanks 396 CONTENTS XXIII CHAPTER XrX THE TUII'LE FESTIVAL O.I .rPLV J 2tH PAGES. Fe/e oi the Superior Mother St. Henry. — (jUth anniversary of Mother Amable Dube of St. Ignatius Baptism of a neojshyte The mid-day repast in the old refectory 403 CHAPTER XX THE 200th AXXIVEKSARY Preparations, the chapel, the 4 First Ursuline Convent, '• 38 5. — The Monastery enlarged, '' 185 6 The Historical Convent of 1759, •' 281 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY BOOK I THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS CHAPTER I FROM THE PRESENT TO THE PAST INTKODrcrOltY Among the many tourists who, during the course of the summer season, stroll through the winding streets of the old city of Qnehec, so unlike any other city on the American con- tinent, not a few, with guide-book in hand, pause before the gate-way and grass-plot wliich front the entrance to the Ursu- line Convent. Goini)aring tlie asi)ect of the buildings before them with the picture they have formed of it in their mind, they hesitate to recognize that time-honored Institution, dating from 16o9, which is said to cover a large space in the centre of the city. The disappointetl traveller will perhaps seek another point of view, and should he gain access to one of the fine dwellings to the riglit hand, on 8t. Louis street, or to the stately residences on St. Ann's, he will perceive that the GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY whole square formed by these streets, constitutes the cloistered ground from which his footsteps are debarred. The guide-book can take him no further. Therefore we here offer a brief account of the foundation of the Convent, its chief vicissitudes during two hundred and fifty years, with some notice of the lives and labors of the nuns who have succeeded each other here during that space of time. These, and other kindred topics will not fail to interest the intelligent tourist, whether he hail from Albion's famous isle, or from the nearer land where waves the Star-spangled Banner. Other readers, besides the traveller, will be attracted by these records of the past which, to many, will be as new and strange as tales from an unknown land. INSTRUCTION NEEDED IX NEAV FRANCE A glance at the history of Canada, at the period of the foundation of the monastery, 1639, will show the opportune- ness of the undertaking and its urgency for the prosperity of the colony. Thirty years had elapsed since the attempt had been made to fix a permanent settlement upon the shores of the St. Lawrence. With no other neighbors for thousand of miles than savage hordes, the little Colony founded in 1608 would have been, for twenty years, merely a central post for the fur-traders, had it not been, above all, a refuge and a rallying point for the missions. The illustrious founder of Quebec had mainly in view, " to plant in this country, the standard of the Cross, to teacli the knowledge of God and the Glory of His Name, desiring to increase charity for His creatures." Hence, while providing for the spiritual welfare of his own people, he had not failed INSTRUCTION NEEDED IN NEW FRANCE to invite missionaries to come and labor for the conversion of the pagan Indians. The call was accepted by the sons of St. Francis, as early as 1615. Ten years later, came the Jesuit missionaries, to share the labors, the perils, and the merits of the Eecollets. In 1629, the little Fort of Quebec was beleaguered, at once, by famine and by a hostile fleet. It was not a Strasbourg, surrendering with its army 300,01)0 strong. It was simply the capture of about fifty people, but it annihilated, at one blow, the fruit of twenty years' labor and hardships, depriving the French monarch of his only foothold on the American continent, and plunging the poor Indian anew into the pagan darkness from which he was beginning to emerge. Fortunately, the fleet, which three years later brought back the Jleur de lis, bore a more numerous colony than had been carried away. It restored also the missionary to his glorious toils. The new colonists were not mere traders. They came provided with implements of agriculture ; a few had brought their families to make this distant shore their home. The powerful Company of the Hundred Associates, moreover, was pledged to increase the number of immigrants to four thousand before the end of ten years. Such was the prospect the noble and devoted Charaplain was given to contemplate, before closing his eyes upon the scenes of his long and arduous labors. His death, on Christ- mas day, 1635, filled witli mourning his own countrymen, wherever they Avere scattered throughout the land. The Indians also, wept the kind hearted governor whotu they regarded with reverence and affection. Another year brought, as governor of JSTew France, the gallant de Montmagny, who continued the plans of his illus- trious predecessor. In his company, besides his officers and GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY soldiers, were two noble families, Le Clardeur de Repentigny and Le Neuf, comprising forty-five persons, with artisans and laborers, giving to the infant city a population of nearly two hundred souls. The fort was now enlarged, and partly built of stone ; the streets of the city were traced. The Jesuit mission-house having received reinforcements, a residence was established also at Three Pavers, where already the fur-traders had their post, frequented by the Indian hunters. Another mission- house was built in the distant country of the Hurons, and there, in the midst of leisecutors, was a little band of faith- ful converts. The wandering Algonquin and Montagnais \ more docile than the Hurons, wherever they had met the missionary, had received with joy the tidings of salvation. New interest in the success of the missions and the wel- fare of the colonists was awakened in France by the publica- tion of the Relations, in which the holy missionaries made known the wonderful effects of grace in these new Christians, as well as the ardor of their own longings to shed their blood for the cause of God. Princes and prelates, courtiers and ladies, as well as persons in the humbler walks of life, vied with each other, in raising funds for the missions and other charitable piirposes. One of these pious donations provided for the establishment of the converted Algonquins and Montagnais, on the model of the 1_ North of the St. Lawrence wandered various tribes of the Algonquin type : the Montagnais, the Algonquins and the Nipissings. Maine was occupied by the Abenakis ; Gaspe and New Brunswick, by the Micmacs. The Hurons inhabited the peninsula formed by Lake Huron, the river Severn, and Lake Simcoe. All these tribes were gained to the faith within the lifetime of the first missionaries. The Iroquois occupied the centre of New York. THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE Eediictions of Paraguay. Thus was conunenced, in 1637 ^ the Christian village of Sillery. There, at only four miles' distance from Quebec, were little Intlian girls waiting to be instructed. Other little French maidens were growing up among the settlers, within and around the city. It is easy to imagine with what anxiety pious fathers and mothers looked upon their daughters, for whom it was impossible to procure the advantages of educa- tion and instruction. For their sons, these precious advan- tages were to be found in the college of the Jesuits, opened in lGo5. Had Divine Providence, while providing for the bird unfledged, rocking in its little nest, forgotten the birdlings of a Christian home ? If left without intellectual and moral culture, would not the descendants of European civilization sink to the level of the degraded beings around them, and become perhaps more savage than the natives themselves ? But Providence had not forgotten the little ones in New France, as we shall soon see. CHAPTER II THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE Far from these vast regions where the fearless missiona- ries labored, away in central France, the old city of Tours lay quivering in the sunlight of an April morning. It is not 1 — By Noel Brulart de Sillery, Prime Minister of Louis XIII. 6 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY to the bright fields, the vine-clad hills, the pleasant thickets of mulberry-trees, that we shall direct our gaze ; but to the cloistered garden-walks of the Ursuline Monastery, along which one of the sisterhood glides, with joyous step, hastening to visit a favorite shrine, " the Hermitage of St. Joseph ^" In this sacred spot we might recognize one whose name is now familiar to thousands on both sides of the Atlan- tic. It was Mother Mary of the Incarnation, for whom St. Joseph had procured an immense favor. An interior assurance had been granted her that the moment for the accomplishment of the will of God in her regard was at hand. The long years of waiting are nearly over; the " precious crosses of Canada," which will soon be hers, promise her " the delights of Paradise," because there she will have an opportunity of winning souls to God. Perhaps there are none of our readers who have not heard something of the history of this remarkable woman — the foundress of the first institution for the instruction of female youth on our continent ; the first, also, whose name, from this Northern America, has been carried to Eome, to be m- sd-ibed as a candidate for the highest honors which the Church can bestow upon her most faithful children. Born in 1599, of a family, not wealthy, but distinguished for probity and virtue, Marie Guyart had the advantage of a solid and pious education, and from her earliest years, her 1 This garden-chapel, solidly built of stone, still exists, and has been visited of late years by travellers from Canada, among others by Mr. Ernest Gagnon, secretary of Public Works. To his kindness we are indebted for the interesting photographic views of the monastery of the Ursulines, the Hermitage, or chapel of St. Joseph and the i)aternal mansion in which our Venerable Mother Mary Guvart de I'lncarnation was born. This monastery, from which the Ursulines of Tours were driven by the Kevolution of 1793, is now a Catholic college. THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE soul was the recipient of heavenly favors. The piety and innocence of her youth, the trials that attended her during the two years of her married life, the admirable virtues she practised during her widowhood, while bringing up her infant son — the only tie that retained her in the world, — these Avould form the headings of as many chapters, replete with interest and edification. At length, after devoting twelve years to the training and education of her son, she confided him to her sister's care, and entered the cloister. These years of probation had been to her the narrow, thorny path, leading to the mountain- heights of sanctity. She had practised the counsels of evan- gelical perfection before pronouncing the solemn vows as a religious. She had attained that sublime state, which St. Paul describes of himself : " Henceforth I live, yet not I, but Jesus Christ liveth in me." The interests of (lod had become hers ; the extension of the Kingdom of His Divine Son, her only and ardent desire. The conversion of the heathen, throughout the universe, was the continual object of her supplications. Not long after her admission into the Community, one Christmas-tide (it was in 1631), her future course was mysteriously shadowed forth in a dreatn, which made a deep impression upon her mind. Tlirough a dark and perilous way, she groped, hand in hand, with a lady whose counten- ance was unknown to her. A venerable personage directed the travellers by a motion of the hand, and they entered a spacious court, enclosed by the buildings of a monastery. The pavement was of white marble, intersected by lines of vermilion. Over all this place, seemed to brood the spirit of stillness and peace. On one side rose a chapel of purest alabaster, upon the summit of which, as upon a throne, was seated the Virgin with the Divine Infant, All around GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY extended a desolate country, covered with fogs and beset with mountains and precipices. In the midst of these gloomy- wastes, the spire and gable-end of a little church could be perceived, just visible above the fogs. The Virgin looked with sadness on the dismal scene, and as Mary of the Incar- nation, longing to be nearer, pressed forward close to her seat, the sweet Mother of Mercy turned towards her with a smile of welcome, and gently bending down, embraced her. Then she seemed to whisper some message to the Divine Infant, that concerned Mother Mary and the salvation of souls. The words had not "been heard, but, on awaking, she knew the purport of that secret message, and her heart, filled with ineffable consolation, burned more than ever for the conver- sion of pagan nations. A year later, the same scene was represented to her, attended by an interior call to devote herself to found a monastery of her Order in Canada. Henceforth, while praying for all the benighted nations of the earth, it is in particular for the poor Indians of the New World that her zeal is enkindled. Many times each day, with pressing supplications she pleads for souls, through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and still she seems to hear our Lord's bidding : " Go to Canada, and there, build a house to Jesus and Mary. " There, the light of the Gospel was indeed just beginning to dispel the darkness which through long ages had covered the land. About this time the Relations which the Jesuit missionaries in New France had begun to publish in 1632, found their way to the monastery, and helped to fan the flame. How the Almighty had provided for the accomplishment of His designs, we must now relate. In another distant part of France, near the little town of Alencon, in Normandy, stood the castle of the Seigneur of Yaubougon, the ancestral home of Madeleine de Chauvigny, THE AVAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 9 better known by the name of Madame de la Peltrie. Like Mother Mary of the Incarnation, Madeleine, engaged once in the married state through pure compliance with the will of her parents, constantly refused, when these ties were broken, to contract a second engagement. The piety of her early years had been remarkable. As a widow she proved her love of God by the practice of exterior works of charity, bestowing alms, lodging and serving the poor, visiting and comforting the sick and the unfortunate. To her also, the Relations, particularly that of 1635, brought a ray of light to direct her future course. There she had read these moving words : " Alas ! were the superfluous wealth of some of the ladies of France employed to further the conversion of these poor Indians, what blessings would they not draw" down upon their own families ! What a glorious thing it w^ould be in the sight of Heaven to gather up the precious drops of the blood of Jesus and apply them to the souls of these poor heathens ! " How many hearts that thrilled on reading this vehement appeal, turned as soon to some trivial pursuit, giving no further heed to the voice of grace ! Not so Madeleine, A high and noble purpose filled her soul, while it overwhelmed her with the impression of her own unworthiness. — Yes, she ■would go to that heathen land : she would aid in gathering up the precious Blood of Jesus ! Before she had taken any step towards the accomplish- ment of her pious project, she fell dangerously ill, and soon her life was despaired of. In this extremity, she made a solemn vow to go to Canada, and to found, in honor of St. Joseph, a monastery of Ursulines for the instruction of the little Indian and French girls. Suddenly she rose, from the brink of the grave, to perfect health ! 10 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY Many difficulties remained to be overcome. Family inte- rests were at stake, and family ties formed impediments. Legal proceedings having failed to procure her arrest, those who coveted the wealth she was giving to good works, were fully determined to deprive her of her liberty in order to obtain it. Through zeal for the missions of Canada, a gentle- man of Caen, M, de Bernieres, consented to aid Madame de la Peltrie in this difficult conjuncture, to protect her and forward the holy but hazardous enterprise i. A journey to Paris enabled the pious lady to consult Father Condren, General of the Oratory, and St, Vincent of Paul, Both these eminent men approved of the noble under- taking and encouraged her to hope for success. It remained to obtain nuns for the proposed foundation. Madame de la Peltrie sought the advice of Father Poncet, who was charged with the missions of Canada. From him, to her great joy, she learned the particulars of the vocation of Mother Mary of the Incarnation. Not many Aveeks later, Madame de la Peltrie was at Tours, negotiating the affair with the archbishop. Admitted into the monastery, Mother Mary recognized, in the stranger, the companion with whom, in that mysterious dream, eight years before, she had toiled along a dangerous path, through an unknown, desert land. It was necessary to choose a companion for Mother Mary; this was equally overruled by Providence. Not one in that fervent community would have shrunk from the proposed sacrifice ; all were even anxious, to obtain the nomination. 1 — M. de Bernieres remained the devoted friend of the Ursu- lines, taking cliarge of their affairs in France with a kindness worthy of the highest praise. THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 11 One alone, in her humility, judged herself unworthy to aspire to such a distinction : yet she was the chosen one. Of gentle mien and delicate health, the youthful and accom- plished Marie de la Troche de St. Bernard, was of the noble blood of the de Savonnieres. Her vocation to a religious life at the early age of fourteen, had already cost her parents an immense sacrifice. How was she to obtain either their con- sent, or thatof her community ? When God wills, He provides the means of accomplishing His Holy will ; thus it proved in the case of Mile de la Troche, Attributing the unlooked-for success to the protection of St. Joseph, to whom she had confided all her hopes, Mother St. Bernard exchanged her name for that of Mother St. Joseph, by which she will be known in the following pages. It remained to regulate the temporal affairs of the pro- jected foundation, and to receive the Archbishop's blessing, with their " obediences, " or episcopal authorization. The assembly was held in the Archbishop's palace. The venerable Prelate, then eighty years of age, was profoundly moved. When the moment of parting came, he arose, and presenting the two religious to Madame de la Peltrie, addressed her in these remarkable words : " Behold the two corner-stones of the temple you are about to erect in the New World to glorify the Almighty. I entrust them to you for this end, conformably to your request. May they be two precious gems in the foundation, like those in the heavenly Jerusalem. May this edifice be a mansion of peace, of grace, and heavenly blessings, more abundant than those of the ancient Temple of Solomon. May the efforts of hell never prevail against it, no more than against the Holy Church itself. And since this House is to be built for God, may He fix His dwelling there, as the Father and as the Spouse, not only of the nuns I confide to you, but of all 12 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY who may accompany them, or who will live there after them, to the end of time." These solemn words, the farewell blessing, the last will and testament, as it were, of the aged prelate, are never read without emotion by the daughters of Mother Mary of the Incarnation, who would fain believe them to be a prophecy, A last adieu to their dear monastery, to their beloved Mothers and Sisters, and their long journey commences. In Paris they form an acquaintance with the Ursulines of the great city, who were destined later to lend them efficient aid. The Queen, Anne of Austria, the Duchesses d'Aiguillon and de Brienne, as well as many other high-born ladies, mani- fested their interest in the future benefactresses of the poor Indians of Canada, bestowing gifts and pious donations to forward the good work. At Dieppe, in another convent of Ursulines, the missionary spirit has been imparted to Mother Cecile Eicher de la Croix, wdio seems, like another Matthew, to have risen at the first sound of the Divine Master's voice, ready to follow Him, even to the ends of the earth. The merchant-ships, bound for Canada, had taken in their freight: dry goods, implements of labor, live-stock, seed, salt meat — a miscellaneous assortment — and were only waiting now for a favorable breeze. Among the expected passengers were three nuns ^ from the Hospital in Dieppe, who under the high patronage of the Duchess d'Aiguillon, were going to Quebec to found a house of their order. There were also the Jesuit Fathers, Vimont, Pinet, and Chau- 1 — Mother Marie Guenet de St. Ignace, Anne le Cointre de St. Bernard, and Marie Forestier de St. Bonaventure. ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA 13 raonot, for the missions ; and now, at the latest hour — an unexpected reinforcement — appeared Madame de la Peltrie and the three Ursulines. On the 4th of May, all being in readiness and the wind favorable, our voyageis embarked. Three long months with no other horizon but the mingling sea and sky, no other landscape but the placid waters or the tossing billows ; such is theii' prospect, at best. Before they quit the Channel, they are rocked till all are sea-sick ; they barely escape being shipwrecked ; but that is nothing. " Their hearts are in peace, because they are fully abandoned to God." — Who would not wish them God-speed on their long and perilous voyage ? CHAPTER III 1G30 ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IX CANADA It was mid-summer, when the little fleet which had lost sight of the coasts of France in May, anchored, at last, in the harbor of Tadoussac, at the confluence of the Sagueuay with the St. Lawrence. Our travellers, no doubt, were struck with the stern and savage grandeur of the scenery : the black impending cliffs, rising perpendicularly, and forming a gigan- tic g.ite-way, through which the dark waters of the Saguenay issue — a fathomless flood — sublimely reminding the specta- tor of long ages past, and terrible convulsions of nature since her birth. The dense, lonelv forests were unbroken, save bv the cutI- 14 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY ing smoke of the wigwam-fire, or the rude sheds of the trading-station. Strange, too, and wild, were these swarthy hunters, the Algonquins and Montagnais, who had come, bringing their furs, the skin of the beaver, the seal and marten, to exchange for blankets, kettles, knives, and other European commodities. The poor Indian looked with amazement on these " daugh- ters of Sachems " who, he was told, had left their homes beyond the Great Sea, to teach the wives and daughters of the red man how to avoid the flames of another world. Impatient to reach their destination, the passengers leave their ship, the Admiral, to its traffic, and in a smaller vessel press onwards towards Quebec. The natives, swift of foot, follow along the solitary shores, unwilling to lose sight of a spectacle so new and wonderful: The last day of July is near its close, when, turning the eastern point of the Isle of Orleans, the semicircle of the northern shore opens before them in all the loveliness of a summer sunset, varying its beauties from the abrupt promontory, the term of their voyage, to the low banks where the St. Charles brings in its tribute : the plea- sant beach, adorned with woodland scenery, the little rustic village of Beauport, peeping through the trees, the precipitous ledge over Avhich the Montmorency casts its sheet of foam. Of all this, the slumbering river had a picture in its bosom. Our voyagers had another in their souls, a picture of all they fain would do and suffer for this Land of Promise. It was decided not to enter the port of Quebec that night, and, a little bay i presenting itself on the pleasant wooded Island, they resolved to go on shore. How refreshing to the 1 — The Island of Orleans was. at that date, uninhabited. The little bay was, apparent ly, that now called I'Ause dii Fort. ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA 15 sea-fariug voyagers is the cool, forest breeze, laden with sweet odors ! How delightful this evening scene, where every feature is novel and grand ! But of this our travellers take no note. They have only told us how they lodged in cabins, constructed by the sailors in Indian style. A wigwam was their hotel for that first night on shore, in the New World. Then with what joy their hearts were filled to see themselves under these " grand old forests " which they made resound with " hymns to God ! " During the evening, news of the bivouac on the point of the Island reached the fort of Quebec. At early dawn — it was the first of August — the booming cannon from the heights of Cape Diamond announced the arrival of this fresh body of recruits for the Colony. The Governor's yacht, sent out to honor the missionary band, was seen returning with flying colors. While the strangers approach, let us with them view the scene. Before us towers the bold promontory, crowned with military works. At the base of the cliffs, is a cluster of store-houses, sheds, and other wooden tenements, set down in the midst of fir-trees, sumachs, and aspens. Further on, the strand is studded with Indian encampments. The first sound of the cannon has brought out the swarthy forms of the Huron traders. Some rush to the water's edge and launch their light canoes ; others are grouped in various attitudes along the shore. Another flourish of military music, and the beach is thronged with all the population of the city. The Governor, in plumed hat and scarlet, embroidered coat, leads the central group. It is the gallant Charles Huault de Montmagny, with his suite, all in brilliant uniform, his Lieutenant de Lisle, his secretary Piraube, his friends St. Jean de Eepentigny, de Tilly, La Potherie, du Herisson, 16 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY Juchereau des Chatelets, the factor of the fur comi)any. The Jesuit Fathers are there in their clerical costume. Gentle- women mingle with the officials, and with the other groups of citizens. More numerous than all are the crowd of workmen,- artisans, and clerks, who have leave to suspend their labors for the day, and who join the squad of soldiers in their noisy demonstrations, while perched on every rock along the moun- tain path, are other Indian braves, the villagers of Sillery. The yacht has neared the shore. Our missionary nuns, on landing, fall prostrate, and kiss the soil of their adopted country, embracing, in their hearts, all the crosses it may bring forth. The introductions over, the pious cortege moves on, climb- ing the zigzag pathway up the steep, now known as Moun- tain Hill. At the top of the liill, to the left, is the little chapel of our Lady of Eecovery i. There, the Holy Sacrifice is offered by the Father Superior of the missions ; it is followed by the Te Deum. The emotions of this pious assembly, we shall not attempt to penetrate. They could only be fully known to Him, whose grace had inspired the heroic undertaking and whose love was the source of the sympathy it excited in these congenial souls. The rites of hospitality reunited the dite of the company with the strangers, at the castle. We have no further details of this first day. All the French families had a right to an introduction. The nuns must have noticed the Heberts, the (Jouillurds, the de Puiseaux ; perhaps also, the Seigneur of Beauport -, Giflard. ]_Notre-Dame de la Recouvrance, huilt By Champlain in 1632, in fulfilment of a vow he had made while retained in France. 2 — M. Gifiai'd had obtained the Seigniory of Beauport, and, in 1634, seven families had arrived there as tenants. ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA 17 The next scene recorded in the old volumes which have guided us thus fur, is a visit, on the day following, to the Indian hamlet of Sillerv. The Ursulines and the Hospital- lers, conducted by Father Le Jeune, proceed first through the *' Grande Allee, " bordered in nearly all its length with fine old forest-trees. Birds of new song and plumage, flowers of unknown forms, but chiefly conversation on the prospects of the mission, diversified the way. The hamlet was enclosed by a palisade, as a sort of fortifi- cation. The gateway, thrown open, discloses the life and man- ners of barbarism, just softened by a touch of civilization and purified by Christianity. The Eeduction consists of some fifteen families, their habita- tions varying from the primitive rudeness of the Algonquin wigwam to the substantial stone hut. A chapel, a mission- house for the priest, and an infirmary, or hospital, occupy the centre of the village. At sight of the nuns clad in their peculiar costume, the: poor squaws gather up their little papooses and seem ready to flee to the woods with them ; the older red-skinned urchins stop their wild play and huddle together ; but at a motion from the good priest Mhom they all know, they gather round and soon forget their sudden alarm. When told that these *' daughters of Captains " had left their happy homes in France, to come and teach them more about the Blessed Jesus, .or to serve them in their sickness, their wonder and admira- tion were unbounded. Not less profound was the joy, the affection with which the good nuns looked upon these children of the forest, whose spiritual welfare was henceforth to be the end of all their labors. Not a little Indian girl aj)peared, but Ma lame de la Peltrie pressed her to her bosom and kissed her with a mother's 18 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY fondness, unmindful of much that might have created disgust. The nuns were not less moved, and gathered round them with the aid of their good conductor, several of the little half- clothed children to be their future pupils. They next visit the chapel and hear the voices of the good Indians singing : " I believe in God, the Almighty Creator; I believe in Jesus Christ our Lord. " Hymns too, in a language that seemed like the chattering and twittering of birds ; but the nuns knew they were singing of Jesus ; that was enough to move them to tears of devotion. Father Le Jeune announ- ces that there is a neophyte to be baptized. Must not Madame de la Peltrie be the godmother ? The visit over, the good Hospital Sisters and the Ursulines embraced each other for a final adieu. The two Orders had formed one community for the last three months, while the ship was their monastery and the Ocean their cloister. Now, their respective avocations require them to separate ; still living and laboring for the same end, the glory of God and the salvation of souls. The Hospital Sisters find a comfortable dwelling-house in the Upper Town, near the Fort, to shelter them until their monastery, already commenced, will be ready to receive tliem. As to the Ursulines, they have the loan of a small building on the wharf, i preferable, certainly, to an Indian wigwam in which, however, Mother Mary of the Incarnation declared, for her part, she was prepared to lodge. ]--0n the market-place, facing the Lower Town Church of N. D. des Victoires. THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS 19 CHAPTER IV 1639-1642 THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS The departure of the French lleet from the harbor of Quebec early in autumn, left the colonists to their seclusion, severing their last link with the mother country, for the next six or eight months. The Huron traders also had rolled up their bark houses and launched their light flotilla, leaving the strand to its wonted tranquillity. Our Ursulines are already laboring " according to their institute, " for the French jpupils ; at the same time they are tasking their energies to the utmost to acquire the Indian languages. They have an able and willing teacher in Father Le Jeune, who has become so learned only at the expense of hard labor and many months of forest-life with the savage hunters. The young seminarists, also, are efficient aids, one especially, who having lived near the trading-post of Three Elvers, has quite a vocabulary of French words which she can translate into Algonquin. But our readers have ndt yet seen the interior of that little Convent, " the Louvre ", as the nuns facetiously named it. This palace consists of two rooms, one sixteen feet square, the other of smaller dimensions, with a garret and a cellar. The arrangements need to be economical. The larger room serves as a dormitory, the beds being arranged along the wall in tiers ; it is, at the same time, parlor, kitchen, refectory, recrea- tion-room, and choir. The smaller ap)artinent is a class-room. An adclitional wing, a sort of shed, serves as an exterior parlor, where, 20 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY through the prescribed grating, the uuns may speak of God to brave chiefs and warriors of the Indian race. The colonists, fortunately, have invented an " order of archi- tecture," which is not expensive : a few strong posts set in the ground, some bars to join them, the whole covered with planks and hnished off with rough plastering. A chapel in this style, before the winter closes in, is raised, and receives the " gilded tabernacle," the parting gift of a Parisian friend. It is a delightful " devout chapel ", so one affirms who saw it ^ ; " agreeable for its poverty," and above all, precious to the good Ursuliues and their pious foundress, for the Adorable Presence which it procures them. The cloister-wall, enclosing a large space, is formed l^y a palisade, and by the solid barrier of the mountain, plentifully decked at its base and at various heights, with shrubbery, wild vines, and tiower.-. Within this cloi- stered tract, they set up a sort of rustic arbor, on the plan of a Huron lodge, to serve as another class-room for Indian women and children. All these accon:imodations are of a nature to suggest thoughts of the contrast between a poor hut in Canada, and the elegant lordly castles of Suvonnieres and de Yaubougon, or even the spacious monasteries of Dieppe and Tours. But Canada is to I hem an earthly Paradise, and if they have anything to complain of, it is that they have not enough to suffer. Thus they wrote to their friends, even after that terrible scourge, the small-pox, had transformed their school- room and tlie dormitory into a hospital. Already, three years before the arrival of the nuns, a sort of pestilence had spread terror and desolation among the 1 Mother St. Clare mentions it thus in a charming letter to her community in Paris, after her arrival in Canada. THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS 21 Indian tribes. This year, soon after the departure of the trading vessels, the small-pox, in its most virulent form, made its appearance at Sillery. The little convent in the Lower Town was, in its turn, invaded by the malady, which attacked the Indian children only. All the seminarists — as the Indian boarders were called — caught the infection, affording the nuns abundant occasion for the exercise of charity. The beds of the patients, placed upon the floor, left hardly room to move among them. Night and day the poor little sufferers were tended by their indefatigable nurses. Four died of it before mid-winter, after which its intensity diminished. At the end of February, it had entirely disappeared ; but not until the stock of clothing destined to the use of the Indian children for two years was exhausted, as well as the provision of linen for the community. Throughout this trial, the nuns kept up their spirits and their health. Their only anxiety was, lest the pagan Indians, believing the sickness to be the effects of baptism, should refuse to send them their children. In this they were happily deceived. With the cessation of the malady, the nuns found more congenial occupation, instructing Indian women and girls. The men also frequently appeared at the grating and listened to their teachings with as much docility as the children. Their seminarists increased to eighteen or twenty. Ti3^ii_ French pupils were even then boarding in the little convent. The number of day-scholars is not stated, but it included " all who were of an age to be instructed." When the warm season returned, the bark cabin become a class- room ; and, from the surrounding shrubbery, came fresh air, and sweet songs, mingling with the cadence of the waters plashing upon the beach. In July, the annual fleet brought them Mothers St. Atha- nasius and St. Clare from the Ursuline Monastery of Paris 22 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY to aid them in their arduous labors. The latter, writing to her community soon after her arrival, describes her new home, where they " live in admirable peace and union." Mother Mary of the Incarnation, she says, "treats me with too much honor; the sweet odor of sanctity seems to surround her, and tD embalm all who approach her. Mother St. Joseph is a charming person, most accomplished in every way. During recreation she often makes us laugh till we cry : it is impos- sible to be melancholy in her company. She loves the little Indian girls like a mother. After catechism, she teaches them to sing hymns and to play the viol. " Sometimes she gives them leave to perform one of their own pantomime dances, and the little scholars make no cere- mony of inviting Madame de la Peltrie to dance with them, which she does with the best grace in the world." The two Parisians commence studying the Indian language with courage, remarking that the other nuns are " well advanced." They have to learn " the grammar and write exercises, like students in Latin." Two languages, at least, are required ; the Algonquin, and the Huron ^ All are busy, and all are happy in that little convent, where the love of God reigns supreme. The Ursulines had indeed come to the colony at an oppor- tune moment. The field in which the good missionaries labored long with little success, had now begun to yield fruit. Our Mothers considered themselves supremely happy in being called to aid in gathering in the precious harvest. The difticulties of the situation were however great. The 1 — The Algonquin and the Huron are the mother tongues of a hundred tribes who wandered over the North American continent, between the sources of the Mississippi and the Atlantic as far as the coast of North Carolina. THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS 23 revenue of the foundress was only nine hundred livres ; a larger sum had been expended on the lodgings, such as they were, in the Lower Town, and on the seminarists. Madame de la Peltrie had calculated for the expenses of six ; but they had taken in three times that number. It must be borne in mind that not only the Indian pupils, but sometimes their families, had to be fed and clothed gratis. At the parlor, where the nuns exercised their zeal in favor of the Indian men, it was not merely the bread of instruction that was broken : according to the Indian laws of hospitality, the food of the body was indispensable. It would have been an affront to send away a guest without offering him to eat. The " wA of saffainiie " must be constantly on the fire. From time to time, a more " splendid banquet " was prepared for sixty or eighty persons. Then it required " a bushel of black plums, twenty-four pounds of bread, a due quantity of Indian-meal or ground peas, a dozen of tallow candles melted, two or three pounds of fat pork ", all well boiled together. " It would be a pity, says our judicious Mother, to deprive these poor people of such a feast, since it requires no more to content even their sachems and war-chiefs, that is to say, their princes." But if the revenue of the foundation was insufficient, cha- rity, in those times, was not an idle word. Pious friends in France, moved by the letters of the nuns, sent them presents : clothing for their seminarists, tools for their workmen, a chalice for their altar. The good Ursulines of Paris and of Tours are always first on the list of benefactresses. In the Relations, also, the Fathers set forth the poverty of the little convent, and the good the nuns were doing. Father Vimont laments that they have not the means to build, and invites in his amiable manner, "two courageous young ladies provided with a good dowry, to come to tlie assistance of the ^ 24 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY little convent, which contains more joy within its narrow limits than ever was found in the palace of the Caesars ! " In the spring of 1641, Madame de la Peltrielaid the foun- dation-stone of the monastery, on the advantageous site granted by the Governor, in the name of the Hundred Associates. The deed specified that the donation ^ of " six arpents of land Avithin the limits of the city of Quebec, was to enable the said Eeverend Ursuline Mothers to build a convent where they may live according to the rules of their institute, and devote themselves to the education of young girls, French 2 and Indian." While the building was going on, the number of their seminarists amounted to forty-eight or fifty ; the parlor visits exceeded eight hundred in the course of one year. Mother Mary of the Incarnation, with all her zeal, confesses that the nuns, five in number, have had to labor excessively, and that the visits of the Indians at the parlor were con- tinual. '' But, she adds, the providence of our Heavenly Father provides for all things. The pot of sa(/awii^^ was never empty," 1 — To this day a mass is said in the Chapel of the Monastery for the " Messieurs de la Compagnie.' 2 — From 1639 to 1642 about foi'ty families had settled within some fifteen miles of Quebec. M'"P DR I,A PEI.tr IK, Hoiiiulress of tlie rrs\iline Convt'iit of Ouet)ei-. MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE INDIANS 25 CHAPTER V 1639-1641 MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE INDIANS In the little convent on the wharf, the "Louvre" of those French ladies who inhabited it, were also the good foundress, and her attendant, Charlotte Barre. It must have been from motives of the purest charity and self-denial, that Madame de la Peltrie resolved to content herself with such accommo- dations as that poor cottage afforded : all that she could save by living in poverty would be so much gain for the poor Indians ! But our readers have contemplated long enough the picture of privations and sufferings. Let us follow the generous French lady, when she goes abroad, always in the interest of the dear seminarists, or of the missions in oeneral. On one of these occasions, an incident occurred which has been recorded at full length in the Relations (1639). It was the Feast of the Assumption, only fifteen days after the nuns had been welcomed to their new home. There , was a grand procession, in which six Indians, in splendid 8 robes of silk and velvet, lately sent them by the French * monarch, followed the cross and banner. A hundred of their fur-clad brethren, marching two by two, in the order assigned them, came after. Next walked Madame de la Peltrie, lead- ing some of her little seminarists, in new tunics of red camelot, and white caps ; then came a long file of Indian girls and women, clothed in garments of their own fashion : a frock, made i,i a blanket or a moose-skin, falling from the shoulders to the knee, and fastened around the waist by a girdle, their 26 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY long black hair simply gathered behind their neck ; necklaces and bracelets of colored beads completed their attire on this holiday occasion. The clergy headed the French population in the usual order. But it is not of the procession itself that we write. We shall not follow it from station to station, pausing at the hos- pital and then at the Ursulines, where the nuns sing the Exaudiat, and the poor Indians, as usual, wonder and admire. Neither shall we tell of the dinner given at the Castle to a hundred of the Indians, while the six, transformed by French court-dresses into gentle-nien — all but their bronzed faces — were treated as royal guests at the Jesuits' table. Our purpose is with what took place after vespers, when the Superior of the Jesuits was notified that an Indian council was awaiting his presence in the College-hall. Father Le Jeuue did not go alone, but invited the Governor, the newly arrived Father Vimont and Madame de la Peltrie to take part in the proceedings. Entering, they found Indian chiefs and notables, to the number of twenty or twenty-live, seated around the hall, in their own style, on mats they had provided. The Governor, with Madame de la Peltrie and Miss Barre on one side, and the two Jesuits on the other, have taken seats and are waiting. An Algonquin chief, rising, looks around upon the assembly, and begins : " Be attentive. Father Le Jeune ; let not thy spirit wander, give heed to my discourse." " Ho! ho! " answers the Father, and the Algonquin continues : — " The words thou hearest are not mine. I am the mouth of all my brethren seated here. We wish to believe in God: we wish to cultivate the ground ; but we want help. Now, tell our great chief Ononthio to write to our king. Let him say : All the red men wonder to hear that you think of them. They .say to you : Pity us, send us help. We wish to cultivate the MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE INDIANS 27 ground. We cannot make houses like yours unless you help us. Father Le Jeune, tell thy brother, who has come to be in thy place, to write for us. Write thou also, that our king may believe us, I have spoken." The first orator takes his seat, an Abenaki rises and urges the same suit with much pathos. He concludes: "Certainly thou speakest well, promising to help us to live like men. Do not deceive us. I go to my home, there, where the sun stands in the middle of the sky (the South). When I come back, the snow will yet be on the mountains. I will come to see if thou sayest the truth, if thou hast men to help us, that we may no more live in the woods like the beasts." This spirited appeal, translated by Father Le Jeune, moved the assembly to compassion. De Montniagny promised to do all in his power for them. Father Vimont was nigh losing patience, seeing that for the want of a little money those poor people were debarred from receiving religious instruction. Madame de la Peltrie exclaims : " Alas • must it be said that we cannot aid these good people to save their souls ? The expense of one ball in Paris, one soiree, would procure the means of opening heaven to these poor creatures. Reverend Father, continues she, adressing Le Jeune, tell them that if I could aid them with my own hands, I would do so. I will try, at least, to plant something for them." Her speech, translated, made the Indian braves smile. "'Tell the' lady, said one, that corn planted by hands as delicate as hers, would take a long time to ripen." The conclusion of the assembly was, that a great effort should be made to help the Indians the next spring, according to their request. Now for another scene. Let us follow Madame de la Peltrie, on one of her frequent excursions to Sillery. All the seminarists accompany her on holiday occasions. 28 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTEKY There she sometimes finds the squaws gathering corn, which they suspend along the sloping sides of their bark habitations, till they look gay as if decked for some festal ceremony ; or they are roasting it before the fire, previous to pounding it in their wooden mortars. Sometimes a family, just come to live in the hamlet and not yet provided with any other titensils but those of their own manufacture, cook a dinner in her presence, kindling a fire by striking two white stones together ; then, filling a large bark tray or bowl with water, they heat other stones red-hot and throw them in, till they have boiled a piece of meat. Perhaps they prefer it roasted; then they show her a cord made of tender bark or of hemp, with which they suspend their steak, turning it as adroitly as the kitchen-maid manages a spit. If it is a pleasant day when Madame is there, the little Indian boys are at play with the bow and arrow, not as noisy as a similar group of little French boys, but silent as the braves who listen to a harangue in council, unless some unskilful throw, or some unlooked-for success, provoke a laugh or a good-natured joke. A well-known author has said, that " simplicity of soul is an inexhaustible source of happiness i." This simplicity was possessed by the Indians of our America. They only needed to be enlightened by religion, to be delivered of their gloomy superstitions, cruel practices, revengeful passions, and absurd pride, in order to be happy. That liberty of life which was theirs; that freedom from the shackles of custom and the cares of business which civilized man seeks from time to time, and enjoys with infinite zest, was not incompatible with the duties of a Christian. 1 — Chateaubriand. EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION 29 But turning from this digression, we are again with Madame de la Peltrie, at Sillery. The second year that the UrsuHnes passed in Canada, the Foundress went to the Indian chapel for midnight Mass, with a few of the most exemplary of the seminarists. Little Agnes, not yet five years old, was of the number. Ueturning to the Convent, this wee-one astonished the nuns by her vivid description of all she had seen and all she had heard. There was a sermon, and she well understood that the Bethlehemites of old refused a shelter to the Blessed Virgin and the Infant Jesus. Her indignation against them is great ; and her com- passion for the sutt'erings of the Divine Infant in the Cave of Bethlehem, is so real that she moves the nuns to tears while she imitates the tone of voice, the gestures, as well as the words of the preacher. But Madame de la Peltrie as well as Miss Barre were oftener at home than abroad, and we shall hear of both several times yet, as well as of little Agnes. CHAPTER VI EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION From the forest-home of the young Indian girl to the Con- vent, the distance, in a moral sense, was infinite. Frolicsome and wild as the little animals that roamed with her, she knew as little as they of obedience, or wholesome restraint. The only authority she was taught to respect, was that of her mother, or her aged grand-parents ; but if she chose to be 30 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY wilful, on no account was she punished, nor compelled to obey. Her clothing was scanty and of the roughest material. Only in winter were her feet and limbs protected by a coarse sort of moccasin, and gaiters. She knew of no other cosmetics but soot and bear's grease ; her matted hair had never been visited by a comb nor by the scissors. Her bed had been the ground by the wigwam fire, shared equally by the dogs and by the rest of the family. It is not surprising that some of these " wild birds " caged for the first time, occasionally flew off to the forest ; but M'hen by affection and great patience, they had been tamed, they proved most docile to instructions, and most exemplary in piety. Little Algonquins from Sillery were the first seminarists the Ursulines undertook to form, and as neither understood the language of the other, the difficulty must have been extremp. " A great desire to speak is a great help towards doing so," says Mother Mary. We may readily believe it, since the nuns were able to begin to instruct in Algonquin before the end of two months. Mother St. Joseph learned also the Huron tougue and had occasion for it in the fol- lowing spring. But with what success have the Ursulines toiled durino- these three years ? Of what avail were their instructions ? " A tree is known by its fruit." Let us examine the letters, written by the nuns to their friends, and we shall find that they were consoled beyond measure, by the miracles of grace they daily witnessed among these same little forest-girls. The Relations concur in the same statements. Mother Mary declares that these new Christians are as meek as lambs, and that after their baptism they preserve an admirable purity of conscience. Among the seminarists of EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION 31 the first year, she raeutious little Marie Gamitiens (godchild of Mile, de Chevreuse), M'ho at the age of five or six years, is no sooner awake in the morning than she begins her prayers ; she says her beads during mass, and sings hymns in her own language, Marie Madeleine Abatenau (godchild of another noble lady), is a model of obedience and ability, knowing her catechism and reciting her prayers, with a devotion capable of inspiring others with the same. She also is only six years old. But Agnes Chabdikwachich is twelve. It was she who seeing one of the Fathers at a little distance from the place where she was making up her bundle of faggots, threw away her hatchet, crying out : " Teach me, " and this, so win- ningly that the good Father pleaded her cause, and brought her to the convent with one of her little companions. Both were soon prepared for baptism, and at Easter, with two others, made their first communion. Agnes is not only well instructed in her catechism, she is also skilful with her needle. She handles the viol, knows how to read, and is so gentle and well behaved, that she merits the name of lanih, which she bears. Little Nicole Assipanse is seven years old. At the end of five months, Nicole knows the principal mysteries of religion, her catechism and her prayers, so well, that when her mother comes for her, returning from the winter's chase, the liitle daughter teaches her poor pagan father and mother to know the true God. With all her talents, she has the true Indian character : she must go with her parents, w^ho have no other child ; she coaxes her mother, and gains her point. But here is Marie Negabamat, so accustomed to the wild life of the woods that the good chief, her father, to entice her to remain in the convent, sends with her two of her friends 32 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY already baptized. This was not enough ; she takes to the woods in a few days, tearing her red tunic to shreds. One more trial and Marie is obedient. She becomes the model, not only of the seminarists but of the French pupils, although, as our Mother remarks, " the young girls of Quebec are extremely well brought up." From day to day she advances in piety; she relishes reli- gious instructions, has a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and so loves prayer that when the pious exercises are over among the seminarists, she goes into the room where the French pupils are, to continue them. Marie Ami^vivevan wins the heart of all who see her* She is seventeen years old, and a model of candor and inno- cence. She excites her companions to piety, treating them with all the charity of a mother. Moreover, she speaks a little French, and has aided the nuns greatly in their study of her language. Another young Algonquin girl, from Three Eivers, receives the grace of baptism in such dispositions of fervor and contri- tion, that Father Buteux, who had sent her to the convent, is moved to tears, and tells the nuns that this conquest alone is well worth all the sacrifices they have made, and all the toils they have undergone in Canada. In reading of such effects of divine grace, we understand better how the nuns could endure with joy the privations and hardships of the mission. Let us cite a few more examples. A little band were preparing for their first communion. Father I*ijart once, and Mother Mary two or three times a day, instructed them how to prepare for their Heavenly Guest. They were heard exclaiming: " Oh ! when will Jesus come ! when will He gave us the kiss of peace in our souls." Marie Negabamat was in great jubilation, " Why are EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION 33 you SO joyful, inquired one?" " Oh! cried she, I shall soon receive Jesus into my heart." Some begged permission to fast on the eve of their first communion, and afterwards made that their practice when- ever they prepared for the reception of the great Sacrament. These children were not more than twelve years old. Many of the Indian girls had first to be prepared for the sacrament of baptism. One day, five were baptized in the little chapel of the convent. At other times the sacrament was administered to men and women, old and young. Their edifying deportment was most touching. One vonng woman had waited many months for this precious grace. When the healing waters were poured over her, turning to the specta- tors, she exclaimed : " There ! it is done ! my soid is cleansed, at last." Were these little forest-girls susceptible of gratitude, of benevolence, and the other fine qualities of the mind which adorn their possessor ? Let their teachers. Mothers Ste. Croi.x; and St. Joseph, answer : "Our seminarists, they declare, are exceedingly grateful, and appreciate highly the services we render them. One day, seeing the difficulty we have to learn their language, they exclaimed : ' Oh ! if we could give you our tongues to speak with, we would do so with pleasure.' A better proof of their gratitude is found in their docility, their affection for their teachers, their willingness to be corrected of their faults — a thing so contrary to the customs of their race — their readiness to conform to the regulations of the school, and to remain away from theif parents." As an instance of iheir kindness towards each other, let us cite another passage from the long pages before us. " Some new scholars had come in ; there was no clothing prepared to put upon them ; — quickly our seminarists supply the 3 34 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY deficiency, without being requested to do so, bringing what- ever they could spare from their own little wardrobe. It is they who commence the instructions. They have no greater pleasure than to teach the new-comers what we have taught them." All the scholars mentioned thus far were Montagnais or Algonquins. The first Huron seminarist, was the niece of the famous war-chief Chihatenhwa. He had seen the " holy virgins," les saintes filles, robed in black, who had come to teach the little Indian girls the way to heaven ; and others, dressed differently, who would take care of the sick. Great was the admiration of his countrymen when they heard the mar- vellous story. He brings his little Teresa to the Convent, where she becomes a prodigy of learning and of piety. When next the Huron flotilla covers the river, Chihatenhwa, from afar, points out to his brethren the " House of Jesus," and hastens to meet his little Teresa. She is only thirteen,, but she has the zeal of an apostle. Her exhortations startle and subdue the most obstinate. On their return to Huronia, they publish her fame throughout the tribe. " Teresa has more sense than any one who has ever appeared in their country. Doubtless the one who has instructed her is also the greatest genius among the French." Once, at Sillery, she holds a discourse to catechumens, who remain with her more than two hours I The sachems, even of other tribes, listen to her Mitli reverence. As to other attainments, Teresa speaks two languages with facility, and sings in Huron, French, and Latin, The nuns, at another time, must lake a few days to attend to their own souls, " for of what avail would it be to preach to others and be one's self a cast-away ? " The little girls are to have a week of holidays, with Madame de la Peltrie. But EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION they must make no noise, for fear of disturbing their good ■Mothers, who are conversing with God in retreat ; and, lo ! all these late barbarians are as well versed in oood breeding and genuine politeness, as pupils of the most accomplished boarding-school. They speak low, they moderate their play ; yet, the time seems long, and when their dear Mothers re- appear, it is to be overwhelmed with caresses. Teresa the Huron resolves to make a retreat, in imitation of the nuns. She hides herself in the thicket along the moun- tain's base, in order to pray for the conversion of her country- men without ceasing, and to let no one interfere between her and God. Won by her example, the others beg to be allowed to make a retreat, and transforming their school- room into cells, they set about it with such a will that the nuns must interfere to moderate their fervor. Were these little Indian girls attached to their convent home ? Let us ask Teresa who had remained more than two years. Oh ! the separation was most painful. But the mis- sionaries were anxious to have the influence of the young seminarist among her countrymen, and her parents could no longer endure her absence. Teresa makes the sacrifice, for she has learned obedience ; she leaves her dear convent Mothers. From Three Kivers, she writes to Mother Mary of the Incarnation : — " My dear Mother, " I am going to my distant home; we are ready to start. I thank you for all the care you have bestowed upon me. I thank you for having taught me to serve God. Is it for a thing of small value that I offer you my thanks ? Never shall I forget you. — Teresa." Two davs after she had confided her letter to Father du 36 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY Perron who was returning to Quebec, she, with all who accompanied her, fell into the hands of the ferocious Iroquois. Faithful to God during her captivity, she continued to instruct and to edify. After three years she was rescued, through the intervention of the Governor, who made a present for htr release at the great assembly for the treaty of peace, at Three Eivers (1645). The good conduct of the seminarists among their own people was another subject of immense joy, both to the nuns and the missionaries. It was their ofiftce to regulate the pious exercises, to say the prayers, to choose the hymns, and to teach the others how to examine their conscience. Three young girls had been required to follow their parents during the winter chase. On their return, in spring, their first visit was to the Blessed Sacrament ; their next to the chapel of the Blessed Virgin, to crown her statue with the flowers they had brought from the woods. Then, entering the convent, they gave the nuns an account of all they had done during their absence. " Oh, said they, how painful it was to be so long away from holy Mass and the sacraments ! " During the winter, they had written twice to the Superior of the Jesuits, to beg him to send a priest to their people. The letters passed from hand to hand, and were even shown to the Governor, who, hke the others, pronounced them admir- able in style and execution, as well as for the sentiments expressed. But it is time to pause. The reader who has seen how Mother Mary writes to her intimate friends, will understand how she could say in the second year of her labors : " The Relation will make mention of the seminarists and the con- solation they give us, but the truth is, if all were published, it would appear past belief. They lose all their barbarity •once they are baptized, and one who has seen them runniuo- EFFECTS OP INSTRUCTION 37 wild in the forest, cannot, without emotion, behold them approach the holy Table, gentle as lambs, to receive the true Lamb of God. No one would have thought that they could be brought to live in the cloister ; yet they do remain, wil- lingly, and do not leave it without permission." The elegant historian, Bancroft, had he trusted the Letters and the Relations, from which we have abridged the above account, would have given unrestricted praise where he has said : " Is it wonderful if the natives were touched by a bene- volence which their poverty and squalid misery could not appall ? Their education was attempted ; and the venerable ash-tree still lives beneath which Mother Mary of the Incar- nation, so famed for chastened piety, genius, and good judg- ment, toiled though in vain for the education of the Huron children." The " education " given by the missionaries and by the nuns had sufliced to soften the manners of a barbarous race, to elevate their souls by the knowledge of the high and holy truths of revealed religion, to teach them to forgive, instead of torturing, a captured foe, to practise the austere virtues of Christianity, instead of following the instincts of a depraved and degraded nature. In this success, they found abundant reward for their toil, which no one, surely, should deem to have been " in vain." This effect of the instruction given by the Ursulines has already appeared in the preceding pages ; those that follow will prove it still more abundantly, while we behold hun- dreds of Indian children, as well as men and women, receiv- ing with joy the inestimable boon of faith and transmitting it to other poor pagans in the distant forest- wilds of the con- tinent. 38 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY CHAPTER VII 1642-1650 EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY The conversion of the aborigenes, which Mother Mary of the Incarnation had seen prefigured as a church just emerg- ing from clouds and darkness, was now rapidly progressing. On all sides, the mists of error were retiring, and soon whole nations embraced Christianity with the fervor of the primi- tive ages. But was this Church destined to be perpetuated through a long space of time ? Or was it destined to people the heavenly Jerusalem with one rich colony of souls, and then diminish with the nations that formed it ? This latter destiny. Mother Mary foresaw, as appears by her letters. So much the more ardent, if possible, was her zeal for the welfare of souls, purchased with the blood of Christ ; so much the more strenuous her efforts to be useful to them, by building for them a more spacious house, where greater num- bers of them could be instructed unto eternal life. The missionary Fathers often expressed their desire to see the monastery completed, foretelling that the nuns would have more labor than they could perform, whether for the Indians or for the French population. That monastery was, at last, in readiness to receive inhab- itants. It was a stately edifice, for the times, built of dark-colored lime-stone, quarried upon the spot ; it was three stories in height, its length being ninety-two feet and its width twenty-eight. Three other massive stone edifices stood within the limits of the city where the prinjitive forest yet victoriously dis- ^ FIRST rkSL'l.lNJC i:uN\K-NT. I'.uill ill i6;2. l.)L-slroyeil by fire, December 31, 1(150, EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY 39 puted for the mastery with the encroachments of civiUza- tion. At various distances from these centres were scattered a certain number of dwelling-houses, built, some of hewn pine-timber, some of stone. Evidently the colonists, if yet few in number, were pro- vided with means of perpetuating the civilization they had brought to these northern wilds. The Fort would protect them from being cut off by the native barbarians ; the college of the Jesuits and the monastery of the Ursulines provided for the wants of their souls and the education of their offspring; the hospital assured them an asylum for the sick and afflicted. To the Indians, the new " House of Jesus " was a wonder, worth coming a long way to see. If the little tenement on the wharf, dignified with the name of " Convent " had been to them so precious, was not this a more secure and certain refuge ? The new Monastery might well be called " The House of Jesus " ; no one else could claim to be its proprietor. It had not been built by means of bazaars or lotteries, so convenient at the present day to raise funds when coffers are empty. Neither was it due to the endowments of the foundress: these barely sufficed for the expenses of the convent, where, far from exacting payment for board or teaching, food, raiment, and instruction were distributed gratis. The only banker known to Mother Mary and her nuns, was divine Providence. It had not failed them on the present occasion. With grateful hearts, they prepare to take possession of their new home ; yet it is in a spirit of penance, more than of joy, as if foreseeing the trials reserved for them and for their dear neophytes. The fast of the vigil of the Presenta- tion was a prelude to another on the day of removal, with all its cares and fatigues. 40 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY At an early hour, the nuns, preceded by Father Vimont and followed by their French pupils and their seminarists,, were seen climbing the steep mountain-path which led from their little convent to the Upper Town. Crowds of Indians followed, or awaited the sight among the forest-trees along the way. In the cold atmosphere of autumn, treading the crisp, fallen leaves that covered the frosty ground, there was little to make the morning walk pleasant, but when they approached the goodly mansion prepared for them, all were deeply affected. The poor forest-children, who had never beheld anything so grand, could not refrain from shouts of admiration, wondering if indeed this " great wigwam " was to be their home. But they soon proceeded again quietly and with recollec- tion. They knew that the holy sacrifice of mass was to be offered by the revered Father Gabriel Laleraant, who closed the procession, bearing the most Holy Sacrament. They must think over the hymns they were going to sing, and their good Mothers were preparing for Holy Communion, Shall we follow them till all kneel in the new chapel ? It is not very spacious, since it measures only twenty-eight feet by seventeen, yet it is brilliant with lights and tapestried for the occasion with red stuffs, borrowed from the store and destined to other usages. The gilded tabernacle, the em- broidered altar-front, the highly colored pictures, the priest in radiant vestments, the sweet odor from the censer and the sweeter "voices of the little seminarists, mingling with the grave notes of the pious nuns during the Holy Sacrifice, all combined to make this first Mass in the monastery impres- sive, it was still more so when the future martyr, before distributing the Bread of Life, addressed a few words of exhortation to the fervent Spouses of Christ — words of one to whom the realities of another world were more present EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY 41 than the passing events of this — words that came from a heart burning with the love of God, and longing to seal that love with his blood in the midst of suf[erin2S. But let us leave the chapel, to consider the rest of the premises. The interior of the convent was still far from being finished. The sound of the saw, the chisel, and ham- mer, continued all winter, while partitions were completed, doors set, and ceilings made secure. Four ample fire-places which, before spring, devour one hundred and seventy-five cords of wood, are needed to drive away the cold. During the night, as a means of keeping from freezing, they have recourse to large boxes or chests to hold both the bedding and the sleeper ; yet even with this precaution, the cold penetrates uncomfortably. To remain away from the fire-side more than an hour at a time, even when well wrapped up, would be a great imprudence. The long pine table is served as heretofore, with " salt fish and pork, " garnished with vegetables, such as the coun- try produced. The courageous nuns who never said to sufferings and toil ; " That is enough, " had only desired to be lodged more comfortably, in order to be more useful. During the follow- ing eight years, that brightest period for the conversion of the poor Indians of Canada, their labors were incredible. Besides the regular seminarists who, as we have already said, were clothed and fed at the expense of the convent, and who (as the Relations affirm) amounted one year to as many as eighty, the nuns were daily called upon to give instruction to Indian women in their class-rooms, and to Indian men at their parlor. Among these were good Christian Indians from Sillery, where were now (1642-43) from thirty-five to forty famihes. From this centre the faith spread throughout the 42 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY country, from Miscou and Tadoussac to the canton of the Hurous. Here, it is the good Charles Meiaskwat, whose zeal trans- forms him into an apostle, not only for those of his own nation on the Saguenay, but even for the Abenakis on the Kennebec. There, it is another of Mother Mary's parlor visitors, the brave chief, Noel Negabamat, who knows no greater happiness than to explain the Christian doctrine to all who will listen to him. Again, it is a woman, nearly sixty years of age, who profits so well of the parlor instructions that she, too, becomes a missionary. In the depth of winter she penetrates the forests, and seeks at a distance of many days' journey, a savage tribe who have not yet heard the name of God. Doubt- less the Fathers did not exaggerate the value of such aids as these, when they said : " The Indian, who is a good Christian and really zealous, does more good among his countrymen than three Jesuit missianaries." Warned by the fervid exhortations of these new Apostles, whole tribes, all over the country, were seen moving in the direction of the various missionary stations, Tadoussac, Three Eiders, Quebec. The greater number came to the chief French settlement to see the strange sights it afforded of European buildings and manners, at the same time that it promised them not only the succor of the " black robes, " but also of the " holy virgins." The bare enumeration of all these visitors would be tedious. Let it suffice to instance the following (we quote from the Relations, 1643). " While the Attikamegues (a tribe of Algonquius from Three Kivers) sojourned at Quebec, they w^ent often to the Ursulines to be instructed, demanding with importunity, to be taught their prayers or their catechism. After the instructions, the hunger of these poor people must EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY 43 be appeased, so that they occasioned as much expense per- haps as the seminarists themselves." At the same time, some of the Abeuakis were at Sillery, and were not less eager to be instructed. The following year came the Iroquets from the great island of the Allumettes, having passed through the country of their enemies, the Iroquois. " The Iroquets, camped near the monastery, went every day to the nuns' chapel to be instructed by Father Dequen ; when sufficiently instructed, they were baptized there. During six weeks, the Ursulines fed this troop of eighty persons, after mass, and again at a later hour, after giving them instruction at their parlor. The women came in their turn, entering the class-room for the same purpose. " During the same year, numbers of Hurons, who remained at Sillery during the winter, were at the convent every day for instructions. Cold or storm could not deter them. They remained two or three hours at a time, always occupied in learning their prayers or the Christian doctrine. These, as well as the others, must have food before they go." It is needless to multiply (quotations; they would show a similar state of things during the following six years, (to 1650), which is the period under consideration in the present chapter. Our readers will have, with us, but one difficulty, and that is to comprehend how these seven nuns — that was their number until 1644 — could suffice for such labors : religious instructions in three languages, French, Algonquin, and Huron ; cooking, distributing food to the family within, and strangers without ; teaching their seminarists to read, to write and sew ; teaching their French pupils " all that is neces- sary to fit them for the station in society to which they belong;" writing letters to the missionaries and to their friends — not letters of ceremony, but often of many folio 44 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY pages — to say nothing of their religious exercises, which could by no means have been neglected. The letters of Mother Mary of the Incarnation during this period are most characteristic. It is not of her seminarists, her labors and toils that she chiefly entertains her friends. Oh, no ! In her charity, she identifies herself with all who labor for the conversion of the Indians, She surveys the field of missionary labor, from Labrador to the Great Lakes ; she counts the chapels that are built, the number of baptisms, the holy deaths. She knows all the nomadic tribes that come to be instructed. She shares the perils of the missionary, his enthusiasm, and his longings for martyrdom. After filling eight or twelve pages with such topics, she adds — " A word now of our seminarists ; they give us every possible satis- faction. Their piety, their devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, their docility, their generosity in overcoming their defects, all this is ravishing ; yet it strikes us less now that we are accustomed to it." At other times she merely says : " God has blessed our labors this year as during the preceding ones ; we have as much as we can do, especially during the winter months, when the warriors leave us their children while they go to hunt." Later, when the country from Quebec to lake Huron becomes one great arena where scenes at once distressing and consoling are enacted, she suffers with those that suffer, rejoices in all that conduces to the glory of God, and helps to obtain by her prayers, that abundance of grace which was poured out so copiously upon the new Christians, who often had to pass from the waters of baptism to the fire their enemies had enkindled around their habitations. Taking up to the thread of our narrative, we should record, in the autumn of 1643, the return of Madame de la Peltrie from Montreal, where she had accompanied Miss EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY 45 Mance, the foundress of the Hospital of Ville-Marie, eighteen months previous. Great was the joy at the convent, both among the nuns and the little seminarists, some of whom, being " old scholars," had not failed to pray for the dear lady's return, every day during her absence. The foundress was not an idle spectator of the laborious occupations of the nuns. It was her right, she insisted, to prepare the little Indian girls for convent-life, where clean- liness is a first principle. The amount of scrubbing with soap and warm water it required, together with the long and patient use of the comb and the scissors, to prepare these little forest girls for their new garments, was not sufficient to disconcert her. She loved also to conduct them, for a holiday, to Sillery, where the parents of many of the semin- arists lived. Like so many " birds set free " they would fly to their various lodges, passing the time in romping, j)laying with their little brothers and sisters, around their mothers. But when the signal of departure was given, from every side, they would hasten, gathering around their ningay, " darling Mother ", embracing her with more affection than their own parents. The small building known as Madame de la Peltrie's house, and which twice served to shelter the entire com- munity, was erected after her return from Montreal. From the year 1G46, it is within the Monastery, occupying through choice the last place among the sisterhood and sharing all their privations, that we shall find the good foundress, enjoying in seclusion that peace of mind which is the reward of the true servants of God. Other laborers came in, from time to time, to share the hardships and the joys of the pioneers. A lay-sister from the Monastery of Dieppe arrived before the nuns had quitted their little convent on the wharf. It was the good Sister 46 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY St. Laurent, who proved a real treasure to the community. The Ursulines of Ploermel sent one of their number, Mother Marie Anne of the Seraphim ; Tours sent two, Mothers Anne of St. Cecilia and Anne of Notre Dame. The venera- " ble Archbishop of Tours was happy to contribute once more to the welfare of the convent he had blessed so heartily, and sent out his own carriage to convey the two new missiona- ries as far as Poitiers. Mother St. Cecilia, after sharing some years the abundant privations and trials of the little commu- nity, returned to her monastery in France. Mother Anne de Notre-Dame, although feeble and suffering, persevered and rendered service in the classes, both French and Algon- quin. In 1645, Mother Mary of the Incarnation joyfully resigned the office of Superior to Mother St. Athanasius. Announcing the result of the elections to her son, she says : " Our dear Lord has made our hearts one, so that we can differ neither in our views nor our desires. We have elected Mother St. Athanasius, an excellent religious of the Congregation of Paris, who has such a spirit of union and charity that she would suffer death rather that disturb the peace that dwells with us." In the following year. Miss Charlotte Barre, who had accompanied Madame de la Peltrie to Canada only on condi^ tion of being permitted to embrace the religious state, commenced her novitiate on the feast of the Presentation, with Catherine Lezeau, the latter as a lay-sister. Both persevered, and pronounced their vo\^^s after the usual proba- tion of two years, having taken the names of St. Ignatius and St. Ursula. Thus, the cloistered family in 1648, consisted of eight professed choir-nuns and two lay-sisters. Before the close of the year, a lady from the grand rtionde. Mademoiselle MOTHER ST. JOSEPH AND THE HURONS 47 Philippe- Gertrude de Boulogne, sister of Madame d'Aille- boust, joined the little community of Ursulines. The triennial election of a Superior was made again in June (1648), in pace et benedidione \ resulting in the con- tinuation of the same Mother in the oftice. Without anti- cipating more upon a future page, let it be said that Mother St. Athanasius was one of those remarkable women, whose precious and noble qualities have entitled her to the lasting esteem and gratitude of the community, which she continued to govern alternately with Mother Mary of the Incarnation^ as long as both were spared. This served to cement indisso- lubly the union between the two congregations of Paris and Tours, represented about equally for many years in the monastery of Quebec. CHAPTER VIII 1640-1652 MOTHER ST. JOSEPH AND THE HUKONS From the Huron country to Quebec, by the circuitous water-route, it was a distance of, at least, nine hundred miles. But to the redman of America, long journeys were not more expensive than his daily life. While his canoe glided stealthily along under the deep shadows of the overhanging forests, he knew on what banks to find the wild l)erries, the succulent roots; or, if ]iis foot startled the deer and the wild 1 — " In peace and blessing."' Thus marked in the Journal des J4suites. 48 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY fowl from their covert, the quick arrow brought him his bill of fare, without a reckoning. Besides, there were strange sights to be seen, down where the white man had set his great fort on the top of a mountain. There were " big canoes " with wings; there where great "wigwams" not made of bark; there was a Captain of the day (a clock) that told the French- man when to eat, and when to sleep ; in fine, beautiful beads to make wampum, robes of bright colors ; bowls and ladles that would not burn, could be procured for beaver-skins and other furs, of which the Indian liad an abundance. These were some of the motives that, in 163U, had brought to the city of Champlain, one hundred and fifty canoes, bear- ing six or seven hiindred of the tall, well-built, swarthy braves, from the north shores of Lake Huron. From Point Levy to the opposite cliffs of Quebec, the channel of the St. Lawrence was alive with their fantastic barks, each contain- ing four or five savage warriors ; their shoulders covered with shaggy hides, their visages glowing with paint of various colors ; their long, naked arms, vigorously swaying the paddle. This was the first time so large a number of these allies of the French had appeared at Quebec. In the following years, their visits were renewed, and generally corresponded to the expected arrival of merchant-ships from France. In 1639, there were stranger sights than ever. The Christian Huron, Joseph Chihatenhwa, who, after his baptism, had lived like a saint, was animated with new fervor. Keturning from his journey he went from " town to town, preaching with heavenly eloquence," and publishing what he had seen. " Ah ! said he, if you only knew what charity there is among those who believe in God, you would never remain in your super- stitions. Ev^n among those who have never seen each other, there is but one heart and one mind. The daughters of Sachems who have crossed the great Sea to live in Quebec, MOTHER ST. JOSEPH AND THE HURONS 49 have come for the love of us. When they arrived, there was such rejoicing, you would have said that all the people of Quebec were one. Oh ! how far are we from resembling them." In the following spring, Joseph sent to the Convent his young niece, the charming Teresa, whom we have already mentioned. Mother St. Joseph, in the meantime, had studied the Huron language with such success that she was able to converse with Teresa, and with the braves who accompanied her. Soon Teresa was joined by other young Huron girls, and not an Indian of the nation could come to Quebec without seeing the wonderful, " wise virgin " who could speak their language. The holy nun, so rich in the gifs of grace that we forget her noble birth and all her rare accomplishments, was to the poor Indians an angel from heaven ; her words were their law, her intiuence was irresistible. Her name was known throughout the Huron country. Those who had never been in Quebec, knew the Mother of the Hurons, the holy virgin, as well as those who had been instructed by her in the faith. From the time Teresa, the niece of the great medicine-man, with some companions, had entered, there was constantly a class of young Huron girls at the convent. There are amusing anecdotes related of the childhke sim- plicity of some of the Huron warriors. One of the neophytes of Mother St. Joseph being invited by his companions to join them in the winter's chase, declined giving a decided answer, saying that he wished to consult his directress : upon which the other replied contemptuously : " You are not a man, but a woman ! " The poor neophyte felt the reproach keenly, but stifled his anger, and came to recount his trials to Mother St. Joseph. He was exhorted to bear the 50 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY reproach patiently, as became a good Christian, who should know how to love his enemies. He replied with a sigh : " That 1 will do, but, Mother !• you do not know how hard it is for a man to he called a tvoman," The brave Jean Baptiste had another difficulty. He was at Quebec with all his family and lived by the hospitality of the nuns. One day, as he was going out to hunt, some of his fellows refused him what they had promised to provide. In his disappointment, he uttered some words of impatience. Perceiving his fault immediately, he wished to confess it; but his confessor was absent. There was still a resource left; he comes to see Mother St. Joseph, tells her what has happened, asking her to tell his confessor, when she would see him, that Jean Baptiste had sinned, but that he was extremely sorry, and begged God to pardon him. Often the pagan Hurous, decided by their visit to Quebec to become Christians, remained many months, coming every day to the convent to be instructed. One of these whom Mother St. Joseph was instructing, was invited by the Algonquius to join them in a hunt. He consults the Mother, who tells him if he is in no hurry to be baptized, she sees no reason why he should not go ; but if, on the contrary, he desires that grace very ardently, it would be better to remain and continue to be instructed. Upon that, he replies with resolution : " It is decided that I shall not go. Certainly, my chief business here is to get baptized. I seek no other riches than that of being the child of God." He kept his word, received the grace of baptism some weeks later, and still remained in Quebec till Mother St. Joseph had prepared him for a fervent first communion. The assiduity of the Huron neophytes to the parlor instruc- tions, which lasted two or three hours when needed, has already been noticed; but we have not mentioned another tie MOTHER ST. JOSEPH AND THE HURONS 51 between the poor Indians and their Mother. By letters to her noble parents, Mother St. Joseph obtained abundant supplies for these poor people, her adopted children whom she cherished as her own spiritual family. At the time she commenced her intercourse with the Hurons, there were thirteen missionaries in their country, laboring with a zeal capable of inspiring the most indifferent with admiration. But the relentless Iroquois, those Romans of the New World, had vowed the destruction of another Carthage. With atrocious pertinacity they pursued their plan, until the land of the Hurons was a land of desolation. The hour of distress proved tlie hour of salvation. While misfortunes of every kind were upon them — famine, pestilence, war, in its most horrid forms — conversions multiplied. Crowds that had long deferred renouncing their superstitions, hastened to demand baptism. The missionaries, after passing through such trials as are recorded of the most heroic confessors of the faith — the ordeal of fire and torture in every form which fiends could invent, — left upon the list of martyrs the names forever glorious of Daniel, Gamier, Chabauel, Breba3uf and Lalemant i, all personal friends of the Ursulines. No one in the colony, perhaps, followed M'ith more interest than Mother St." Joseph the different stages of that sad drama, destined to close by the extinction of the Huron nation; and when, in the summer of 1650, the last miserable remnant of a people that had lately reckoned 35,000 souls, ] — The Letters of Mother Mary contain lengthy and interesting details of the labors, sufierings and combats of these martyrs. Twenty-nine missionaries had labored for the conversion of the Hurons ; seven of these had perished by the hand ot violence. 52 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY set up their poor camp-huts within view of the monastery, no heart bled with a deeper wound than hers. Mother Mary of the Incarnation says it was her death-blow. Soon they gathered around her, in troops of forty or fifty at a time, — as many as the parlor class-room and later the bark cabin could hold — men, women and children. Mother St, Joseph had the secret of consoling them, fortifying them with holy instructions, and inspiring them with sentiments of Christian resignation. From the Huron seminarists in captivity among the Iro- quois, the nuns had most consoling accounts. One of Mother St. Joseph's pupils, who had been carried off in 1643, at the age of thirteen or fourteen, was married, and thus had become mistress of one of those " long houses " where several fami- lies lived together. After ten years of captivity, the mis- sionary not only found her firm in the faith, but she had gained others to worship her God and pray with her. Such instances — and they were not unfrequent — show the value of the instructions given by the nuns. The bright wave, once sot in motion, ran multiplying in widening circles, under the eye of Him who blessed it, in numbers that will be known only in heaven. CHAPTER IX 1650 ONE NIGHT, AND .TS CONSEQUENCES The year 1650, so fertile in trials and disasters, was 'drawing to a close. A clear, cold, December evening was ■brooding over the glistening landscape. The great constella- ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 53 tions which light the wintry iirmament with splendor, were silently marking the early hours of the night. The dark form of the monastery looked not gloomy, for the ruddy glow of the casements told of cheerful fires and cheerful faces within. There was even the sound of merriment, for this was the hour of recreation. One who had gained admittance on that evening, would have found the cloistered inmates enjoying in genial inter- course the social hour. Adjoining the chapel and choir, was the community-hall, which the nuns had just entered, leav- ing the small refectory, with the usual ejaculation : Deus det nobis suam pacem, " God give us His peace ! " That peace was there, in the depth of their souls. We behold it in their countenances, as with words of gentle greeting they unfold already their parcels — knitting, sewing, mending — and take their seats around a plain centre-table, where two lighted candles invite them to utilize even the time allotted by rule to relaxation. We have seen them all before. It is Mother St. Athana- sius, the Superior, who has labored on the arduous mission ten years ; it is the pale and worn, yet gay and enel'getic Assistant, Mother St. Joseph. Here is also Mother Mary of the Incarnation, depositary, the guardian spirit of all ; IMothers Ste. Croix, Anne de Ste. Cecile, Anne de Notre-Dame, Mother St. Ignatius have come in. The three lay-sisters, St. Lau- rence, St. Ursula and St. Michael, with the poor Indian widow, Cecile Arenhatsi, have still the company of the late " lady of the castle," Mademoiselle de Boulogne, now called Mother St. Dominic, in the kitchen below, where there is work to be done. In the hall adjoining the community, the largest in the house, the Indian girls are in frolicsome glee. Mother Anne of the Seraphim is in their midst, when Madame de la Pel- 54 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY trie enters, and there is a general rush to be near the Ningay, " the dear Mother, " who never comes to them without giving and receiving pleasure. " The New year is coming," they remind her, and she, with pretended gravity, does not under- stand the allusion ; yet we know she has counted well her little seminarists, that no one may be forgotten in her loving distribution of presents on New Year's morning i. But the hour is waning. Let us look into the French class- room, where Mother St. Ciare presides at the evening recrea- tion. It is above stairs. We have not complete lists, but we can name : the Misses de Eepentigny, Misses Elizabeth and Marie Couillard, Jucliereau de More, Le Tardif, Marsolet, de la Poterie, Bourdon, Hayot, Hertel, C4odefroy, Misses Made- leine and Genevieve Chavigny, Porchet, Nicolet as being probably of the number. Gay and sportive as young girls can be, let them enjoy the hour, then close by prayer and a 1 The custom of New Year's visits, and gifts too, in these early times, has become known to us through the private Journal of the Jesuits, lately given to the public. One example will suffice, as a picture of the cordiality that reigned among the inhabitants of New France. The date we select is, " Jan. 1st, 1646. The soldiers went to salute the Governor with their guns ; the inhabitants presented their compliment in a body. He was beforehand with us and came here at seven o'clock to wish us a happy New Year, addressing each of the Fathers one after another. 1 returned his visit after IVTass. (Another time we must be beforehand with him). Mr. Giffard also came to see us. The Hospital nuns sent us a letter of compliment earljr in the morning ; the Ursulines also, with beautiful presents, wax-candles, rosaries, a crucifix ; and at dinner, two excellent pigeon-pies. 1 sent them two images, in enamel, of 8t. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. We gave to Mr. GifKird, the Life of Our Lord, by F. Bonnet; to Mr. des ChcHelets, a little volume of Drexelius, on Eternity ; to Mr. Bourdon, a telescoiae and compass ; and to others, reliquaries, rosaries, medals, images, etc. 1 went to see Mr. Giffard, Mr. Couillard and Mademoiselle de Re- pentigny. The Ursulines sent to beg I would come and see them before tlie end of the day. I went; and paid my couipliments also to Madame de la Peltrie, who had sent us presents." Journal des J4suites, p. 24. ONE NIUIIT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 55 preparation for communion to-morrow morning. Have they not just been told of the fervor of their little rivals, in the hall below ? If they are more privileged than these little forest-girls, who have but lately known the good God, should they be less grateful or less i-rious ? The hour of silence is proclaimed by the bell at seven ; then for a half-hour are heard tlie grave and solemn tones of the recitation of the Divine Office. It is the evening tribute of the spouse of Christ, as the appointed organ of the Church, offering to Heaven for all creatures, a few notes of that per- petual hymn which encircles the terrestrial orb ; a hymn of adoration, praise, and love. An hour later and all had sunk to rest within that peace- ful mansion ; soon all were wrapped in the profound slumber of the first hours of the night. For " Tired Nature's stveet restorer, bahiiy sleep, " A ready visit pays " To light on lids unsullied by a tear." It gently smooths the pillow for the innocent and the unM'orldly, for the simple child whose last act was to give her heart to God, as well as for the laborious teacher, whose last prayer had been for the welfare of her youthful charge and for the salvation of souls. Meanwhile, the midnight hour had passed, undisturbed by dreams of an impending calamity. Suddenly, the Sister sleeping in the children's room, is awakened as by a voice of terror crying out : " Hasten, hasten ; wake your children, or they will be burned alive." She leaps to her feet ; the flames were bursting through the floor into the room, where they all were sleeping. She shrieks : *' Up ! for your lives, children, fly " — and she rushes 56 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTEKY to the nuns' dormitory to cry : " Wake ! wake ! the house is on fire. Be quick, and save the chiklren." In a moment, all are aware of the danger ; the fire was upon them on all sides. One rushes to the bell, to 'give warning of their peril. Mother Superior, with admirable presence of mind, seizes the keys and opens the doors. Mother Assistant and Sister St. Laurence break down the parlor-grating, to afford a way of escape for those who are on the second story. Some of the Sisters, thinking the progress of the fire may be arrested, run in the direction of the cistern for water. Mother Mary calls to them that it is in vain ; they must only think of saving themselves and the children. But smoke and flames are quicker than words. The dormitory where the little ones sleep is already on fire. Mother St. Ignatius, at the peril of her life, breaks in and hurries them out, — which is no sooner done than the floor gives way. Other Sisters seize the little innocents in their arms and bear them off to a place of safety, returning several times, regardless of the danger of perishing in the flames. Mother Mary of the Incarnation had grasped the papers of the community, and attempted to save some clothing for the Sisters, who had all rushed from the house with the children, in their night-dresses. She was alone in the midst of the flaming mass. The fire was consuming the rooms beneath ; it was devouring the timbers of thereof, over her head; and the flames were following upon her steps, as after bowing to her crucifix in submission to the holy will of God, she flew along the passage of the dormitory, leading through the parlor, to a stair-case, — the only issue now possible. Happily, it was free, although she encountered another danger from the melting bell, directly over her way. At the door, she meets the Father Superior of the Jesuits and all his householkl,. ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 57 hurrying to the rescue. The chapel-room alone was not yet iu flames. They had time to save the Blessed Sacrament, and such of the sacred vestments as were in the vestry adjoining, yet not without imminent peril. But were all safe ? Had it been possible in that brief space of time, between the first alarm and Mother Mary's egress from the house, which she measures by the length of the Miserere — some five or six minutes — to transport all the children to a place of safety ? Had no Sister lost her way ? Had no one been forgotten ? — anguishing questions were these to Mother St. Athanasius, who having hastened down with a Sister to open the doors, did not know that the others had . taken flight in the opposite direction. Shivering there upon the snow, she endures a mortal agony within her soul, and calls her Sisters by name, — but no one answers. Casting herself upon her knees, she invokes the aid of Heaven, she calls upon the good Angels. At last, all are reunited around their Mother; the children and all the Sisters are safe ! Poor Cecile' had cast herself from a window in the third story upon the icy ground ; but she was only stunned. Little Genevieve, alas ! was still missing ! But the good Angels were busy : Genevieve had escaped, unharmed, though found only after a two hours' search. Xow, higher and higher rise the flames, bursting through that wooden roof. The heavy timbers bend and fall with a crash. It is the brightness of mid-day on this midnight scene, while the cold, silent stars look down unmoved, upon a glowing, seething furnace, in lieu of the late happy mansion, the Ursuline Monastery. On the cold snow-path, clustered close to keep those little children warm, the nuns are kneeling. They are silent and calm, — so calm that one of the spectators cries : " Surely, GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY those women have lost their senses, or they are transported with a vehement love of God ! " Friends surronnd them now, and cover them with their rough garments. They bear off the children, the little Indian girls to the nearest shelter, the French children, to their own homes. Madame de la Peltrie, in her night tunic, and bare-footed until she gets the loan of shoes and a mantle, shudders in the night air, as she hurries, with the nuns, all in a similar condition, down the street to the Jesuits' college, where they receive hospitality for the night. In every direction were groups of French and Indians, .watching, in dismay, the progress of the conflagration. Great was their compassion for the misfortune of those heroic women, who had never toiled for themselves ; and as great their admiration, beholding their angelic composure under a calamity so sudden and so terrible. Whence had the fire originated ? — Vain but inevitable question on such occasions. Mother Mary accounts for the disaster as follows : " The Sister charged with the bakery had prepared. the dough for baking early the next morning, and to ensure its rising had placed a pan of coals under the bread-trough, fully intending to remove it later.- This was an unusual thing to do in her office, and it entirely escaped her memory." The dreadful consequences of such forgetfulness we have seen. Of the dispositions with which the calamity was borne. Mother Mary, writing to her son, says : " My heart preserved its usual peace ; I felt neither grief nor anxiety, but united my will to His whose Hand has passed over us, leaving us in the state in which He was Himself at this season in the cave of Bethlehem." Early the next morning, the friendly nuns of the Hospital sent their steward with », pressing invitation to accept hospi- ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 59 tality with them. The Governor, on the other hand, had ordered preparations to be made for them at the Castle. The nuns were grateful to both ; but preferring the monastery to the Governor's residence, they were soon iu the arms of their dear sisters, the Hospitalieres, who shed abundant tears, while they welcomed them so cordially to their home. Quickly the kind nuns brought apparel from their own wardrobe, and the whole community of Ursuliues were trans- formed into Hospitallers, dear Madame de la Peltrie with the others. In the course of the day, the Governor, with Father Eague- neau, came to convey to the scene of the disaster, the Supe- rior of the Ursulines, with Mother Mary of the Incarnation, Madame de la Peltrie and Mother St. Joseph. That smoking heap of stones was a sad spectacle. There had perished, not only the fruit of ten years' solicitude and toil, but also the six months' store for themselves and their seminarists, a part of it due to the charity of their friends in France : their provisions for the rest of the winter, their clothing and beds, the furniture of tlipeir chapel and school- rooms ; all, in fine, that had been provided for the service of the poor Indians, and for their own comfort and subsist- ence ; all had been utterly consumed. Madame de la Peltrie had lost every thing as well as the nuns. The New Year's greeting, so cordial in those early times that even to read of it is refreshing, must have given occasion to many touching expressions of sympathy. The nuns were at least, safely lodged, for the time being. Nothing that the most delicate and ingenious charity could suggest, was omitted on the part of the dear hospital Sisters, to alleviate their distress. During three weeks, with indefatigable zeal, these "friends in need " furnished materials, and aided in putting together complete suits of apparel for each of the Ursulines. 60 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY The two coramunities made but one, seated at the same table, observing the same rule, and reciting the Divine Oflfice together : but can Ursulines live without having little children around them ? Evidently not. Already the vacant house of Madame de la Peltrie has been examined, and the offer of the good foundress accepted. The nuns soon remove thither, bearing with them the generous gifs of their benefactresses ; and the not less generous loan of at least 500 livres worth of commodities, necessary for a bare commencement. They brought, above all, and bequeathed to their successors, an inexhaustible fund of gratitude for unbounded hospitality and sisterly kindness. Among the many marks of sympathy the Ursulines received while they were the guests of the generous Hospital nuns, perhaps none touched them more than the visit of condolence from their poor Hurons. Assembled in one of the large halls of the Hospital, their chief, Louis Taiearonk, opened his harangue as follows : " Holy Virgins : You behold here a miserable skeleton, which was one a living, happy people. Our flesh has been devoured by war and by famine. These poor bones are only held together by your benevolence and compassion. Consider our sad fate, and you will see that we have every reason to weep for ourselves a torrent of tears. Alas ! the friends that kept us from utter destruction have become like us, and their affliction renews all our distress. Must it be said that we have seen that great flouse of Jesus, the House of Charity, reduced to ashes in a moment? We have seen the fire pursue, without respect, your sacred persons ! In that conflagration we beheld again our own houses, our towns and country in flames. Alas ! must the fire follow the poor Huron wherever he goes ? Weep, oh ! weep, my brethren, weep with me the misfortunes which were ours, and which have become the portion of these innocent virgins. Holy virgins : lo ! you are reduced to the same extremity as your poor Hurons, for whom your compassion was so great. You have no more a country, a home, nor a hope, but in heaven where you have placed all your desires. ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 61 We have come hither to console you, and before entering this hall,we entered your hearts to see what was your greatest affliction, in order to seek a remedy. If we were addressing persons like our- selves, our customs would lead us to ofter you a present to dry your tears, and another to restore your courage ; but we see that your courage has not failed, and as to tears, you have shed none for your misfortunes. Your eyes are not fixed upon any thing lower than heaven, where you have placed your treasures. Thus, our presents are superfluous. There is but one evil to be apprehended, and that threatens us more than you. It is the effect which the news of this deplorable accident will have upon your friends in France. They will be more touched by it than you are, and .will call lou