^f i^ V ^ vfe. ^ Q IIWMtyA* AMtHM. SuNt 1100 8N««r aprtng. Mtiytand 20910 30t/8S7-«K» Centimeter 1 2^ 3 4 5 d 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 mm | i^ i | i i) i |ii|i| i ! | i| t i| i| i | iti|i^ i | i^ilj i | i ^ ^^ 1 Inches 2 ... _ .:■ 3. : . : -4 ltt|2£ W25 1.0 El 1.1 W l2& 12.2 S 1^ M2.0 I- u ■125 lU ILd HANUFRCTUREO TO flllM STRNOnRDS BY PPPLIEO IMAGE. INC. CIHM Microfiche Series (Mohograplis) ■-** iCiyiH Coliection cle microficlids' (monograpliies) ■«, [g] G,.»i^>mm>.t.,im,>^m«om<o*<'<>i^ TMliniMi and WbMofraphte ftom I No«m tMhiMiuas ct TIm ImtitMM hat attampMd to obtain tht bast oriflinal copy avatlaMa for filmint. Faaturai of thit eopy whMi may ba MMioflraphieaHv iw^ua. wMaH may aHar any of iha ImafM in tfM ra#ro*ietion, or wMob M^f •ignif icantly dianfa tha mmhI ntathod of f ilmint. ara chacfcafl batow. L'lnttitiit a mierof itan* la maiilaur amaniplatra ^'il lyi a M powibla 4a ta pfoowar . LatdMaihda^ a m mplalra ^ tont pa«»t4tfa ywi^ua t dy point 4a »<ia bibliepi»bHyi. qui paiMant MM«f iar una imaea raprodufta. o« qvi pawiant axifar una nmdif ication dam la mMMda nofinala da f ibnafa (ont indiquAt " c i da wo ui. CokNirad eovan/ l^ Couvartura da 0Covart Couvartuf* p~) Coyart rattoiad and/or laminatad/ I \/\ Couvartura rattaurte at/ou paMieuMa □ Co«ar titia Niiaiinf/ La titra da eeuyartura manqua □ Colourod mapa/ Caitaa ftofraphiquat an coulaur D D d Colourad ink (i.a. othar than Mua ok Mack)/ Encra da eoulaur (i.a. autra 9M« Maua ou noira) Colourod Plata* and/or illuttratiom/ Manehat at/ou illustratiom an eoulaur Bound with othar matarial/ RaM awacd'autrat documantt □ Tight Mridint may causa thadows or distortion ahmt intarior martin/ La raliura tarrte paut cauiar da I'ombra ou da la distortion la lonf da la marta intiriaiita □ D Blank laavat addad dunng rastoration may appaar within tha taxt. 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Addittonal commants:/ Commanttiras supplimantairas: % Thit itam is f ilmad at tha raduetion ratio chackad batow/ Ca documant ast filmi au taux da riduction indiquA ei'dassOus. □ Colourad papn/ fapw da eoulaur D □ Pagat rattorad and/or l|minatad/ Nqas rastaurAas at/ou paNiemMas Papas diteolourad. stainad or foxad/ NfH dteolortes. tachatias ou piquias □ Papas dataehad/ >afasd*taeh«as BShowthroufh/ Transparanoa I ~|43uality of print varias/ Liu Qualit* wi n f inifala da I'imprassion Continuous pagination/ Paflination continua Includas indaxlas)/ Comprand un (das) indax TitIa on haadar takan from:/ La titra da I'an-tlta proviant: □ TitIa paga of issua/ Paga da titra da la livraison « □ Caption of issua/ Titra da depart da la livraison Masthaad/ * Giniriqua (piriodiquas) da la livraison 10X WC-^ »X Sj( 26X ^W * » / "1 ■ 1 ! • 12X • . .■; ■ , 1SX ' .20X a ''\ • '■■ 24X • \m • 28X 32X M f*^'* Th» eopy ftliiMd »i«f» hM b—it nprodufd thf nkt' to tb* 0«ntrMlty of : VImrii Univmity ArtMvw . Tho ImagM appoarlng horo aro tha batt quality potalbia eonsMartng tho condition and laoibility of tho original copy and In keeping wItK tha ^lllmlng contract apaelf Iqatlona. Original coploa In printad papar covara arc filmed beginning with the front cover and endlrtg on the laat page with a printad or llluitrated Impret- alon. or the back cover when appropriate. All ^ other original coplee are filmed beginning on the firtt pege With a printed or llluttratadi impret* ^ •ion. and ending on the laat page with a printed or llluatratad Impreation. The laat recorded frame on each microfiche than contain the aymbol -^- (meaning "CON. TINUED"). or the aymbol ▼ (meaning "END ). whichever «pplle8. Mapa. platea. charta. etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratioa. Thoaa too large to be ehtlrely Included in one expoaure are filmed beginning In the upper left hand comer, left to right and top to bottom, aa many.framea a* required. The following diagrama lliuitrate the iiwnathod: ■ , ■ ■ -. '..' " ■• ■ D 32X L'ojiimptoiro mm* fut^rodult grice A It gAiiArodflA iio: ' • ■ ■ - ■ . • \. ' '■ ■ ' Tlwyiiki<C»anlnfC»lt<«Anlil<w Viitwto Uatvmky Artkim Lee Imagee auKrantee ont At* reprodultea avec If. plua grand aoln. compte temi de la condition et de le nettet* de I'enemplaire fllmA«'«t en ,;^s conformltA avec lea condltlona du comrat dA "^ fllmage. Lee exemplalree oHgtnaux dbnt la couverture en pepler eat ImprimAe aont fllmAa en commenpant par la premier plat et en termlnant aoitf ar la dernlAre page qui eomporte une emprelnte d'impreaalon ou dllluatration, aolt par le aecond pUit, aelonle caa. Toua lea autrea axempiairea orlglnaux adnt fllmAa en commenpant por la preml Are pagA qui eomporte une emprelnte dimpreaalon ou dllluatration «t en termlnant par la demlAre page qui eomporte une telle emprelnte. '" ' . . „ Un dee aymbdae auhranta apparattra aur la damlAre Imege do cheque microfiche, aeion le caa: le aymbde -»- aignif le "A ^UlvnS", le aymboieV aignlfla "WN V t ^^ •m Lea certea. plenchea. tableeux. etc.. peuvent Atre f ilmAa A dea taux de rAduction illif f Arenta. Loraque le document eat trop grand pour Atre reprodulVen un eeul clichA. II eat filmA A pertir de I'engle eupArleur gauche, de gauche A droite. et de haut en baa. en prenant le nombre d'imagea nAceaeelre. Lea diagrammea auiventa llluatrent la mAthode. 1 \ 3 '(i>- ^■^'^ V. V ..'•i t^ SifS-. gfi., J -^fc 4 f ij,i,».&li<i* %;■■ ■ ^:. I ^■ t IINITtD CHU«CM ANGMIVlft ABRIEB %;■■ HISTORICAL SKETCH. # C0 TNI Grande-Ligne Mission •■■'". Fi^ its beginning in 1835 to 1900/ 65 Years, ■ j^\ I ^■ REV. TH^pDORE, LAFLEUR, LL.D, >■ ^^1^* A Aontreal: PRINTED BY D. BENTLEY & CO, ,./, >— O' ■\ f I ■■."•, 'iM^MS- -■■»fl?f"*1^ 4 J A BRICP HISTORICAL SKETCH Zhc Otanbe^ligne Amission FROM ITS BEGOWING IN 1S3S to 1900. N • ♦ • Before the Be v. Henri Olivier and Mn. Olivier came to Canada in 1834, with a view to do miaaionary'work among the North American Indians, and deoided to remain in Montreal to evangelize French Canadians, and before he asked Madame Feller to come to Quebec, there had been a few attempts at such work by two at three religious men of very different types. One French Evangelist, a Methodist, tried some evangelization in Quebec without any permanent results. Another, a descendant of Huguenots, but a^ Quaker, named Etienne or Stephen Grellet, abbut 1880, came to Lacadie, the , parish of wiiioh Oronde-Ligne formed a part and where quite a commotion was created, but a meeting with the Gur6 forced him to abandon his evangelistic attempts, though at first he was welcomed by the people. One of Mr. Olivier's associates, Mr. Dentan, also was for two months teaching a schpbKIn the notthem end of Qrande Ligne. It would seem as if the Spirit of God through some of his servants, like the dovd from Noah's Ark, had fluttered over this spot withou|r finding a place to set foot on, but a little later bipught the proof . that therQ was some dry soil where one could land and raise a harvest After almost fruitless attempts in Montreal and in St Johns, Mr. Roussy came to Qrande-Ligtie (a .■■%■■ \ wry poor wtlleraent thcin) whor. . boginning «u flonlly nude by the oon».™i„„ of Mr.. Lor., . widow wom.D, who nwl > largo hniily. *>"• h"* iuggMtwl that thi. WM not . good .tmugrtll point Tro. th.r. wm nothing of roiKtary twtio. about it, th.y found no footing, .nd y.t, r,n..mb.ring the dilHouIti.. •noounl«rM), on. cnnot but believe that thi. litae of road r'j'.?"!i"j"' ** ' '"'" "•"«'•«<' " el-ewhore, •„ marked by he flnger of Ood for the U.gi„„ing „f a„ in,men« work of n,fo,n,ation. People tell u.. you are only dis- turbing a religiou, and Chriatian p«,ple; why don't you go and work among pagan.) Wo anawer that w. have two very groat Mample. to ju.tify our kind of work. The Bl...cd Urd himMlf, who did notVgo to „.ng.li„ ,h4 pegan.. but the hou« oT^mI, i„ which he reproved pagan - .dea. and praetice^ and the repeating .f meaningbl. prayer^ and the work of th. great Hoformation of the 16th «««ry which .wept away .o mudi paganLn. „ut „f th. debawd /ind corrupted Chriatianity of th. timofc When the Olivier, came to Montreal in 1884, it wa. a eity of «,me 80,000. inhabitants and the whole popuUtion French Canaduin. ahn^it all in LowW Cam«h and all Cathohc. formed a little more than half that nunkbor. About one m ton of then, eould read and writ., and their religion wa. one of form., but of very little moral or «..nlual valu.^ Mr,. Olivier, who wa. 7 very intelUgen of the French Canadian, of MontM at that time. Thair ^ZL T^.'^ •""" day. ha. been extremely .noc^ft ,""""««*<» *• Grande-Ligne Mi»ion begin it. wTaS whrL*"' *? '"'"' "'""» '"""celyabl: to walk when .t wa. nearly cru.hed to death by the W ^m f- Motion of 1837-88. The MhwionariM and th«lr oonverU, in order to avert tieitructlon, pMwdover the boundary to ipend the winter in the village of Champlain. in tb« Stote of New York. They returned in the apring of 1888, and Oo^, ^o overruled thU misfortune aa to give them kind in^ •feneroua English friends, to enable them to repair their houses and oulUvate their farms. Some generous frienda foremost among them the Rev. John Qilmour, Pastor in Montreal, came to their help, in- building a achool house. It seemed as if this improvement had forthwith prompted the missionaries and their friends to attempt a much larger enterprise, even the building of a substantial stone h<ftise for the reception of pupils and for public worship, . The Rev. Mr. Kirk, then pastor in AlUany, N.Y., accom-. - panied Mad. Feller to secure the Urgest portion of necessary funds. It was finished and dedicated in August, 1340, and . soon became a great center of work, expansion and radiation, as well as of attraction. In point of important conversions, it was perhaps the most brilliant moment in the history of tho Mission. At the outset was the conversion of Dr. Cote, a ' prominent political leader and orator of former days, and who was at the tim» in exile at Swantoi^, Vermont, where Mr. Roussy went tjH> visit liim. Then the conversion of a priest. Rev. Mr. Normandeau, forinerly Professor in the Seminary of Quebec, who came to visit Grande-Ligne. and re- mained there as a convert and teachar. Two young men from the neighboring village of Napieryilfe, Me88% Nailsis*^, C^- and Theodore Lafleur, were also tonverted, and joined th#*J Church at Grande-Ligne. Both studied for a time jit the ,^ , Grande-Ligne School, and then went to study in Gene vtf%nd returned to labor here. In th*l meantime, there had beeii remarkable openings at St. Pie, through a New Testament taken there by a visitor to Grande-Ligne and compared with an old Bible in the fatmily Auger, who have left a nanao in the annals of the Mission. Some 12 miles from St Pie, several families in the townships of Roxton and Milton wew .■*■■■' ■sr^itm^' converted. A young Canadian T R,«n^ the iTbited States came to 0^;/; .^'®"^?"» converted in asa teacher. C'Zlrl^d^^^^ ^ Btit before that succeaaful decade was end«H fi,. u darkened, the clouds lowered S «n« i ^ f ' ^® "^^ heart of the M,«.,n„ . '^®'®** a^^ enveloped the mind apd which XlTthe hVartTalaT '"f "' "^^ ^^^^^^^ helpew The Mi«ir k ^ number of old friends and -tiook began to impC ^I>J^;"^^^ then renewed missionary activit^LT ^here was ways. Mr Cvr ho^ ""^y activity, and progress in many /o. mr, i.yr had returned to Canada in ifidfl ««^ k his labow in connection with th.i^' t' *°**%an and at NamervilirT ^"'*''° *' Gmndc-Ligne started the S^^^^^^^ place Where in 1849'he afewyeaw w^^'^^^^^^^^ fitted L rhani^^To'rlc ^Tf ""'''' -« ^^^ . years, meanwhile devotin^tr^^^^^^^ ^"!"^^ ''^'^' work; °^ P*'''<»^ *>" time to evangelistic On his return from Geneva in iRnn i>r t ^ panied Mad. Feller on .T J ^' ^'' ^euraccom- Ignited States^ir?. !f ?""' ^"^°'^°« '«"' ^^ the fieW at aP^^^' end Of which he was assigned to the the lV>wnsh^';; Mn^^"^^» °[ f ^'- and Berea. in helping himl ^^^i^^^^^'^ ^^^^ ^- ^treau. Mel ST. PIE SCHOOL. W erected there in 1842 J,h !! . ** """''"' ,««cna.nt« formed a congregation of more iaWi-iis. ■f I than a hundred on Sundays. In 1852 Mrs. Lafleur came to take the leading part in the teaching of the school. LONGUEUIL SCHOOL. When in 1 864 the Mission house at St Pie was destroyed by fire, the school was removed to Lpngueuil, to a much larger house— a substantial stone building. Mr. and Mrs. Lafleur took the direction of the Institute, and Miss Jonte was the valuable matron and indispensable helper. For many years this school, so near Montreal, made the general Mis- sion much better known. It was visited by a great many fHendft among the number being the Kev. Mr. Gilmour, who hid baptized the Oliviers. "^4 For many years it was a flourishing Institution, often fiiVored with gracious revivals. Among the thrilling events was the rescuing of a young nun, an American girl, from the Convent of Longueuil. In 1851 a most remarkable work oif grace took place at Ste. Marie de Monnoir,^ in connection with the labors of Mr. Roussy and his helper, the young Evangelist Louis Auger. Several prominent families of the parish leftthe Cfauroh of Rome, accepting the Gospel, so that in the summer of 1862 a nice chap6l was built very near the village. At the dedi- cation it was remarkable that most of the speakers were Roman Catholic Converts. Dr. Cote, who had also labored there, had died after a very short illness in S wanton, Vt., in 1860, at the early age of 42. This success in the parish of Ste. Marie appeared of such importance to the clergy that they sent their now famous Father Chiniquy, the champion of temperance, to oppose ifc hence a public discussion took place between Mr. Roussy and Mr. Chiniquy. It caused a great uproar, both sides claimed a victory. This is the first time the renowned priest came into contact and in strong opposition to our work, but we shall have more to do with him later on. "«': i We quote from Br fjw.m« j , view the workof t»el „1 ^* * ""f-^.f '■■« M»»ion we r^ • «..» were .i,teea rnver.. Tot '^""' ^'"' "'"«»» It„ow.w„,twoI„.tit„r;lTGlT-r'" '""»•'"''• Montreal, Sherringt™,, HeLrvtil M r"""^ "'"■<"» '» . Ca««d«„ „ „^„ of tir;Zj '■ " *" *« *^' in that same vear mriA /« to the Gospel. tIo ^-^iy^^^u T ^^'''^^ ^<"^ omed f~m Home. Eloi 4 .ad zrh"f i' ;°''""*'"^ "^""'^ work .nd were the mean, rft," ^"«°»>«'«. entered the P«" of the co„i,tryTfr"f "^""'""o"' over . I.,ve _^ In the winter of 1854-6 M.d p«.i ' in health that the phv,ici.„, "*' *" «> enfeebled Mori<ia. InI8SStheG^i.T r'""'"«««onin •ted. After an at^^rrf'^"*"^'"' *" ■•-corpor- «t„medto her beiov^d workaro,:: T?"" '''^- ^'"^ way back .topped at Phila^fpC^rd'^ f' '""'•™ l"" »eet the need, of the p"r Gr!». r^"* "* '" "«'" «» found there her beIoV«iSd^";r«w^'""y- S** Before the end of tifal^J". """ ''"""-«'«'"• "■nstbenoted. "™ decade three important fact. mobw'andt,d;/tl"n 'on'lT"*"' '» «-"»« had been '^t«retop,^:t'a°h,niteTr?'' "•■"'-'«' - generoM suggestion of o«r, ale- .?''*■ Th"'"?'" the M«»b. the Baptist brethZl™;ST"V""''. ««-■ Mr. fe'vices. For«ver.,s„n2r„o",^''''''''»»^f"evening ^ '•^ »no«e«. Seeing thi/S iT" *" ^°" "^ '■' ' ^"-I^fleur anj Norman- '*r deau were invited to go and preach there for several Sundays. The result was a small nucleus. of converts, and Mr. Normandeau, a converted priest, became pastor of*a little church of 12 members. He labored there for ten years with varying success. ^ It was but a short time after that, in 1868, that Mr. Lafleur's attention was drawn to a public letter of Father Chiniquy's in the French papers of Montreal, which led him to write to the noted priest still personally unknown to him. A secret correspondence of six or seven months ensued, after which, Mr. Chiniquy invited Mr. Lafleur to visit him at St. Anne^ de Kankakee, Illinois, which he did incognito in the summer of 1858. He returned there in the autumn of 1859, and was the first to preach in French in the still nominally Catholic Church to more than 600 people. Two pr threeonflttths after, more than 200 persons made a public profession of their adhesion to the Gospel, and wonderful to say, they retained their church edifice. Mr. Lafleur was accompanied there by Mr. Louis Auger, who remained, and later on formed a small Baptist church. 1 have b6en asked oftentimes, how is it that you did not make a Baptist of Mr. Chiniqtfy? My making him would have had but poor results. I wanted God to make first a true Christian, and then a Baptist. Mr. Chiniquy remained some time ^- decided between the claims of diverse denominations, and finally cast his lot among the Presbyterisins. I have wished sometimes that he had made pwblijB Ihe part our Mission had in enlightening hin^ and in furnishing him much needed material aid, but he did not do so! there is a slight allu- sion to his indebtedness to the Mission in his last work: " Forty years in the church of Christ." It is difl&cult to realize now the great sensation produced by his cpnversion to Protestantism. In the fall of 1859; for reasons of health, Mrs. Lafleur was advised to visit Switzerland and Mad. Feller joined her. ■ B . ,. :■ / ...3. i> ■^' .'jfii* .f-\ ■ ■ / :■ ,10. • «vjS^!.'".''" "■•" '" >""'»' J*-"""". •« full .f Atthfatiae th. Grande-Ligne MiMion eitended over 40 p««,.« or township, i„ C^ad.. a„d the norther Z of Vermont and New Ynrk fitat^ „ ""«wiern pan tained Fr*.n.», p ^^^/^^'f State, every one of which con- atu?3 Z .f T ' V^^^ *'""^ ""™^' -counted to a^2 ^'^®^' *>^ ^hom 700 wem ifa church fellowship The . ^e following decade was filled with trials and sorrows the United States whiVK .n *u i V ''"^''^v nearly S29 000 V.1, '^^^^«^e»» y«a« Xo^'^ted to 1« w« '!jtef 'f ^''''"' 'f ^■«°''"" '" """t^^. "he™ »nt.red1^ „v T*^**""'" ""' '»»'<"»1 »o* He i-tir for ^^''S: 'r;:^"" %«» ^-^--a C-a. had ,e e4e ::^£t.:S" ^t^:^ ^ r u- ^ ^4»Sfa.5ifefcw««=fc. iic >. ,jv, l^-^i.VaSjfe c- .; -*T«wfv»"' r 11 ARCMIVI* sombre yearp of ananciW difflcnltiea, and of Mad. Feller's tiling health, a new field full of promise of future harvest, Was opening for the af ssion, at South Ely/ in the Township /bf Leslie, ^y remarkible conversions. If there were shadows at the cefitre there were luminous points at the circumference, Some of the Grande-Ligne students had ijust entered the pastoral work, Mr, F. X. Smith at South Ely, our youthful brothel Therrien at St. Pie, brother Riendeau at Ste. Marie, and Brother J. N. Williams at Granby and neighborhood, j The next division | is from the time of Mad. FellQr*a delith to Mr, RoussyV death, 1868 to 1881. It was a time of many changJa on the Ihission field, of days of elation and of depregsicln, we have only time to glance at this period so full of varied experiences. The hour of our great mourning was at hand,) in the'beginning of 1868 we were to lose the founder of the \ Mission^ the one .who from the first had been its daily inspiration, its wise coiJnsellor, its most assiduous advocate befJre God aii4 men. She was very ill •only a few days, her mind being occupied all the time about^ the salvation of the pupils of the house. She fell asleep in the Lord on the^ 29th of March, 1868, at the kge of 68 years. Dr. Cramp has related at some length and touchiifgly the last days of this remarkable servant of God, the services at. her burial, and on the occasion of the erection of tf monument to her memory by French Canadian con verts] so we may be excused for only alluding to the sad but inspiring events. The work of the Mission though suffering in many ways by the loss of this wonderfully gifted instrument was not stopped, but in some respects it slackened for i few years. During this very trying period 'the Mission was again crippled for want of means, and thus lost ieveral of its laborers, Messrs. Cyr, Williams ^nd Bossier jgoing |io the United States. ^ Mr. ajid Mrs. Normandeau were called to Grand eiLigne to assume the direction of the Institute, and so| Quel)?c was abandoned for a time. ■m / T-Kt; 4 _^ ■^y-^-Iitc- -fT'.^MvS "W^. ^i^^Otl%£kjE?^ - ':■: 12 .;■ Mr. A. L. Therrien ifemcfved to St Pie '"» b, Mr. .„d M„' Z!^. ""• """'"«"«• «»<' ""y » of the'^iitl't^rfS'j'': It' V""" ""^ ""»'«" »«'•■•<'• left St. ftfLT I 1 r'° '"'■''"'■ "'-Themen Montgomery Vern,„„, i^' „ ' "o"'" "««' back to Feller I J;:^^;"^::-^""-^"'. bu^g of the work of the teaohil H . "^ 'o concentrate the •».kingit.l!^e?«Ll '"0^°°' "' G»«de.Ligne, thu, the factthat" h.1 tjt * trkTthf* '•" '" "f""" contact with Montreal Chri.7 f ? """"o" » doser »»ot«ary of thr^e«t Tv "'"' '^' " "*' '^'' '"o other hand, there CZn bntfTw"""'" '""'" °'' ""> out8id,e, in the viW^Z, t ! ^ oo^vewons irom the tbere .y the''.2rnL;^^?XryTe:^ •■«''-■' borne the blading rtSTT'^j'^"'^'"'' »"' of the whole «hooI. meMiwhUe 1 pre^^f Z ""^ °^ being erected: wie present girls wmg was Ji 18 , The missionaries never lost sight of their first duty, viz., to bring soule to Christ as soon as a spirit t)f enquiry "appeared among the> pupils. Mr. Therrien, then in Bur- lington, was invited to come to Grande-Ligne to hold meetings, in which Mr. Lafleur came to help. They wit- nessed a goodly number of conversions ; in the course of the winter forty-three were baptized. Our old missionary, Mr. Roussy, now in feeble health, said he had never seen a revival of such intensity. After a few years of successful work in Burlington, Rdv. Mr. Therrien came back to work in Canada, and began by replacing Mr. Lafleur in Montreal, during the latter's absence in Europe in the interest of the Mission in 1879-80, and in* the spring of 1880 he was called to the pastorate of the church at Grande-Ligne, when the. amount of the sale of the Longueuil building was applied in building the large and somewhat imposing wing added to the old building. It was dedicated in 1881. Mr. Roussy was still alive, but very feeble, and it was with a faltering^ step that he was helped to the presiding ^ chair. From that moment the decline continued, and o^ devoted missionary died in the month of November, at the age of 68, the same age as that of our great missionary, to whom he was ft devoted and zealous helper for many years. He preceded only a few months in the field of rest another devoted missionary, Madamoiselle Sophie Jonte, who had consecrated forty "years of her very useful life to this, work without any remuneration. . /. ■ . ■ "... NEXT DECADE, 1881-1890. A new and spacious house had noi^ been built at Grande-Ligne for the accommodation of a large number of pupils. Still for the solid establishment of thb work and its development, two more buildings were needed, a church edifice in Montreal and another at Grande-Ligne. The jv^ -^ u -""ng. Finally .ZL^Jt '"7"" ""'^ ^o" 'C hwK Mr. Lofleur «.. .k ■ >! ' ^' ' S""" "•''y draw- February 1883 "„H "",''""''"'8 """'d aid dedicated in »«ry 1883, and ,oo„ .lite, entirely f,^ f„„ debj. a..„d..rM:.:!a:di:Lt:::2:ir:--^ Li,ne.^:x:et„-:=':t"a:^rrtr*^""" Homanim. A orettv .„/ Canadian convert, from who wa, notTwed ri^ .1 ""T" "' «■•• '^""X. wo«hip, there were ™ thf '^* ^"'"»"<"' "^ "■» house of other. Mr. Oregoire;;re;rrui^'i;X:-^ to be the first candidate t^ h^ k"T !^°"^' ^"'^ ^^o was the new Church on tXwXCtd'aV*" "'^ < •rite fonnd.S:rittjZnT„r:tr""'^'^ enough to encourage u, to p^ „! » V^'" """» 'JK P«t commoUon .iong EomirUthoUc U" *J lTT .^It 16 (jbyt were devoted to commemorate the grwioug event. A great number of friends from Montreal and elsewhere gathered at Grande-Ligne to celebrate it with the missionaries. In the historical sketch which I read on the occasion, I entered into details of persons and facts which I will not repeat here, but let me say, this same year was marked by a revival of great power, in which 40 persons were converted and 36 of them baptized. The year that followed our jubilee was marked by great activity, and several changes in the personnel of the pastorates and teachers at Grande-Ligne and elsewhere. In 1887 Mr. Therrien was called to Montreal, and Mr. and Mrs. Roux as principals resigned their positions in the Institute. The work was nevertheless actively pursued in most stations, particularly in Hontreal, where the work of a frail and sickly woman was unprece- dentedly successful in the sale and distribution of the holy Scriptures, and in many welcome visits to Roman Catholic families. In the summer of 1888, there gathered on the banks of the beautiful Richelieu river, a convention of French protes- tants, which more than anything else, to casual observers, clearly indicated what progress had been made during these few years of missionary l»bor. The Grande-Ligne Mission being the acknowledged pioneer in this work, by schools, by preaching, by writings, by colportage. More than six hundred French Protestants were there, with converted priests an^ong them, to testify to the blessed results of our labor. It need scarcely be said that those 600 were only a small portion of those who have left the Roman Church, they were chiefly those living at convenient distances from that central .s^t. The appearance of these people, the orations they listened to would haVe been commended by any community* ■y^. "t N. 16 The year 1889 was in a great meaauro devoted to the raising of an Endowment and Building Fund/the business men of our Board, and^tho Missionaries sharing in it. the Rov. A. G. Upham.l5.D.. (he President, bearing a large portion of the labor entailed. The churches in connection with the Mission met in ^ Association at Orande-Ligne. on the 26th and 27th June Many of the laborers and former pupils exchanged greetings in the old rooms where they used to meet Mad. Feller and Mr. Roussy. little thinking, that those rooms, the shrine of #80 many sacred memories, would a few months after be entirely destroyed. Daring the last term of the school some thirty young people accepted Christ as their Saviour ond made profession by baptism. Having fairly succeeded in the collections for the • Endowment and Building Fund, the plans were already - made, and tenders received for the enlarging and re rpodelling of the old building, when on the Slst January 1890, rt was entirely destroyed by fire. Painful as this was to us all, obliging us to close our school, by the loss of the old house, the library, the house furniture, etc, our Board of Directors lost no time in having other plans drawn for a larger building, better suited in its construction to our present needs. It was with a great deal of difficulty that the new wing of the Institute waS saved. Even when that was secured, the painful sensation of our loss came over us increased by the necessity staring us in the face, that in our crippled condition we must disband our pupils, most of whom had lost their all. All connected with the Mission set to work to repair the loss. Some deprived of their work of teoqhmg went out collecting, or preaching, supplying fields that needed it. Early in the spring the plans were ready and materials on the ground. A whole summer of hari work and at time anxious thoughts elapsed, and at last a stately building, with a remodelled and enlarged wing all t 17 «-<s.s:s" fitted up with modern improvemenU, with renewed but- buildinge, were let apart with appropriate and moet interesting Mrvices. On the 9th of October, 1890, a large number of frionde of the cause, from Montreal esp^ially, but also from many other places, came to take part in the dedication of a beautiful and much larger building, suited to our growing need. In closing this decade, we have to mention the death of two noted missionaries, Rev. Mr. Normandeau, the converted priest, and Mrs. Normandeau, his distinguished American wife. For a good many years they had labored in intimate connection with Madame Feller and Mr. Roussy. She very unexpectedly preceded him a few months into the the mysterious sphere of the larger church, on the other side of great shadow, into which she entered happily and peacefully in the faith of the dear Master. Their remains repose by the side of their great friends in Orande-Ligne cemetery. During these ten years we added from time to time, as mAny as 17 missionaries to our staff of laborers, ten of whom still remain with us. During that space of time, more than three hundred Qonverts were added to our churches. We enter with some diffidence pn the ground of the last decade of this missionary work, as it is difficult to write history when it is being formed. The Grande-Ligne school was reopened with a large number of pupils. The Grande Ligne church had an accession of 20 members, that of Montreal of 18, with a great revival of interest at Ste. Marie A strong missionary effort by lieveral of our missionaries in the Ottawa Valley, so that the Secretary could write in all truthfulness, that the year 1891-92 was one of the most remarkable in the history of the Mission. ; ' In 1892 the work in the parish ©f Maskinong^ was opened for our missionaries in a way so remarkable, so un- expected that it is still in the minds of the friends of the '•w./ - ■■-# '■:,-■% -1 '*•>'*, H-' I *« i','1. 5* « i?^ '^JyiUi^^'^" than miuiotiftry friendi enquired about OfWIfcf, and'etiMoUUy tho Catholic clergy, were for MiMioQ Mj|iQet%||||rdiiiary, and the oewa of it ao wide- ipreacl ' ^ it, and a lo^g tiuio very'tSxioua aa to the reault of the affair. Many will reinemlier that the difficulty aroae anent a church building to be orectod on one or the other side of the river dividing |Ko village. A wooden chapel had been "built pend- ing the erection of a more fiubatantial atructuro. As a discussion arose omong Catholic?* a* to its proper location, a Rederaptorist Father prtachingone day in the wooden chapel, cursed it on account of the opposition of the majority of the attendants to thef recent decision of the Bishop about it. Being now a cursed building, it was abandoned as a place of worship by timorous catholics, while brave ones continued to meet there, without the services of the priest. Taking advantage of this state of* things, some of our missionaries, and especially Brother Burwash, then in our employ, and colporteur Gendroau, visited theae people, evangelized them, And the j-esult was the adfhesion of some fifty followers, live of.||fipi w*ro baptized on an eventful day.' Lat'er he curlSTchapel where the baptisms hatd taken placfe, was abandoned, u nice chopel and parsonage built and a pastor settled there. Through the opposition of the clergy, the work was arrested for a time, as at Marie ville, but after a while it will revive. In the meantime there was also a I'emark- able opening at Sorol. Brother Cat^. then at Marlboro. Mass., was called to labor there and for a time met with good success, being also helped by Brother Gendreau, who' was beaten, and imprisoned, as all wiU remember, and finally released by the verdict of a Roman Catholia Judge, who severely reprimanded the men who had maltreated ouj brother. The cau$e seemed to justify the expense of build* ing a place of worshipMich was duly built and dedicated m 1896, with very interesting services. After several years labor, Brother Cot^ saw his congregation diminish by emi- gration, especially on account of want of work for many of *'f?^ ■^fclF- V^' ^ ^■W^- %\\9 followwni. retura«d to hfltime^lklfii raiigned, tad bM Now tht time o^lte ^uuiit meeting and the preeenti-* tlonof the Annual ri^Ub wa« changed from February to October, 1«93. Ther^p*^ been regular preaching in all the eatablithed ntotions, ^LplMtio preaching and eolporUge in new places, Bible woi^Ps work in Montieal, OtUwa and Quebte, The immediatA resulU in actual addition to our members by ^»apti»ra )"»%««i^ ^^- ^« *>*<* **■** ""*** ^^® press more expensively tl^ «««al* A field Secretary, Be».— K Bosworth, was ad<led # the forces df the Mission band. The Mission owes a good leal of its progress in financial ways and to the general forward movement of later years to is devoted hard working -bMlher. 10^ In October, 1895, wo coifd write "during the past year have had numerous tokens of God's presence and ftproval. All the Missionary Stations have been maini- aed^nd new ones added. The churchei have held theii* o«n with frequent additions." - "'■ » '^ In the follol^g years, efforts have been made by the Salle Bvangelique, in Montreal, repeatedly in the Ottawa Valley and elsewhere. And eachyear^heOrande-LJgne School is flWed to overflowing v^ith pupils, under the care and abl© and devoted teaching of the ^ws^'s and their ass^iates and for nine years under the pastoral care and religious Instruction of the able preacher, the man of few words but much work, the Rev. M. B. Parent. That Institution haa^ been so often the iacred place of gracious and yearly revivals, that the missionaries would feel now very much disappointed if a scholastic year should pass without oneJ/ Now at the close of this century after these 65 years of laborious service, you have a right to ask us for adequate results for all the money spent. If we Mike the aggre- gate results, comprising as it has a right, to all the ^converts •'• '% . . f' of the different misiionary efforts from the begiAniag of the Grande-Ligne Mission, which has been the pioneer of them all, both in Canada and the United States, we may say that about forty thousand, about equally divided between these two countries, have passed from Bomanism to Protestantism by the labors of missionary societies, 6^nd probably not less than ten thousand of those have! received some secular and religious training in one or other of the missionary schools, such as Grande Ligne, Point aux Trembles, and others. There are ,now scores of French chapels or churches in French Canada, and in the New Englond States, aiid li^ot .'jdi^ than six in Montreal alone. . If they do not increase more, in the United States, it is because, the converts are more easily merged ijito English speaking congregations. As for the money spent, I do nut even know approxi- mately how much it has amounted to, but I can afiBrm that these 65 years of intellectual, moral and spiritual warfare, have cost less than 65 hours of another kind of warfare, in South Africa for instance. Of the 40,000 supposed to have been converted to Protestantism, and now distributed in different denomina- tions and churches, we could only show you a small part,* thou^ some years ago under the Government of Mr. Mercier, it was asce^ned that there were not less than 4000 French Protestant voters in the Prpvince of Quebec. But how many churches, and how man/ members in them ? We have repeatedly given these statistics in our reports, and always with some uneasiness, because in actual circum- stances they are misleading, they belittle our labors and success, and for one I sincerely distrust them. Even in the Province of Q&ebec, in the City of Montreal, where naturally the children of French Protestants go to English Protestant schools, colleges and McGill University, very many of them find their w$y, openly or otherwise, into English Protestant churches, and how much more so in the United States, and « 21 t especially in the New England States, where the Mission for French Evangelization have de(!«de(l not to form French speaking churches, but merge tlya, French converts into American congregations, where theif very names are trans- lated, travestied and altered in all sorts of ways. Thut is s natural, thing enough, but then when you have swallowed us, it is enough for us to be told by Boman Catholics, that in becoming Protesta,nts we become English, without require- ing us to remain distinctly French quand mime. If the missionaries had not been labouring especially in view of the eternal realities of a more perfect world, they would often feel humiliated. But |he}|hftd| before the eye of the soul another home where they expiect to meet a great many English saints. But it is not quite certain that it will be an English speaking community. Meanwhile, where to-day in France the converts to Protestantism are many, and the cpn version of noted priests amount to 130, (says one of them, Mr. Bourrier) in ten years, these converts remain in their country and form churches of their nationalities. Kdyt only that, but great organs of the press, newspapers l|nd reviews say and expect that Protestantism can alone savev France politically and morally, that Catholicism is efifeta and hated by many. And prominent Catholics write large books to show that a small minority of less than a million in thirty eight millions, has so much influence as to be greatly feared, is a menace. We French Protestants have not come to this stage of influence as yet, in the Province of Quebec, but we have conquered respect, and the right to be heard in our cause, even with the Archbishop, We remember the time when we were often insulted in the pulpits, and the organs of the press could not find epithets strong enough to malign us. This has disappeared, owing in a great measure to the writ- ings and criticisms of our French organ, the Aurore, which has many exchanges, and ought to be better sustaii^ed by^ English speaking Protestants. •*ir. r#J '^iM ,*,->■' rt-: ■ h: ' >^. The French Protestants in France were not always so powerful in their own country. Persecution forced them to become English in England, Dutch in Holland, Germans in Germany, Atnerjcans in America. Tb^ir nationality wRs lost; but their iBt^gence, their industlRV, their morality, their religion 8S»y^|f, they were still thdv light, the salt of the earth, as n^SI^ o^ *^« ^"*« Church of^Christ. So we pray that our ^riiflpSh Christians may so devetiope in spite of their owr-shadowing. They still form a part of a purer Christianity, which is bound to be the saving leaven for tRis whole continent. ^ - Great changes have taken place in this coutotry since the beginning of the Grande-Ligne Missioii Work, the population has increased from one million to fivb millions and a half. Education which was at Its lowest ebb, has increased from year to year under the impulse and competi- tion of English public schools, colleges and univerpities, and in this our missionary schools have had their shaip, so that ■ to-day instead of one in ten being able to read ind write, ^ fully one-half of the French population of the Province of Quebec have attained to this, and here and thdre a good many more. The fed,ucation given in convents W still very limited, sadly tinted with anti<iuated notions. /We do not work with the expressed or even implied idea that there ore no true 05 real Christians among Roman Cathdlics, and we do not, at least I do not, in this relation like the expression of aggressiveness.- I cannot conceive that it /would be the proper qualification for the way in which ou^ blessed Lord " himself labored and evangelized, but more in the manner of loving words of truth and light, letting our Wn light shine in good works, as in good words, being epiitles read of all men. Knowing by the experience of Birotestantism how difficult it is, even with an open Gospel, to form churches with a pure membership after personal profession of faith, it goes without saying, that a so-called Catholic/ church, where the » .)« .k Gospel is very littld^known, where to become members of that chnroh nothing more is required than a ceremoq^ per« formed over a child in infancy, where traditions, incredible doctrines so encumber the Word of God, that it is virtually unknown aQd of no effect. We pursue among these people our work of enlightenment, of evangelization, of moraliza- tion, wi^h a clear conscience, and we shall not be boasting when we say that in many places our liEibors and our teach^ ingd have had that result in the moralization of coiiimunities, where people are still Boman Oatholics. The church in which they remain gives them light enough to understand us, to respect us, and instead of damning us, they often with an apologizing tone, ask the significant question, •• Don't you think we may b^saved in our religion ? " In dosing, allow us to mention with, gratitude to God, that we have had for years a strong and devoted board of managers, I mean the iaymen and ministers, besides the missionaries, \^ho are always supposed to be devoted if not strong. Without ignoring the worthy Presidents of other days, the Mission has had, of late years, espe- cially as presidents, men of strong executive ability, of large views on the missionary work. Let me mention the Bev. Dr. Upham, Rev. W. N. Clarke, Mr. A. A. Ayer, and the dear brother and friend we all mourn, the late Rev. Dr. Dadson, our last President. Their readiness to help the missionaries with' pen, voice and time; their unfailing kindness are duly appreciated by all the mission- aries. May we be allowed to say that the Grande-l^igne Mission has been also blfessed in most of its laborers. They have generally combined some ability, devo^edness and zeal with .some knowledge, and a good maasure of common sense, in dealing with the people we endeavor to evangelize and instruct. And this is very largely due, we think, to the fact^at we prepare most of our laborers in our own Institute. To do that on a larger scale we neecl larger accommodation. 'IV''-' - V^i jj ya;- f A --J j ,^;'fe j^- j^:.aL!^|r- ii^ s •I with larger means. Evangelization in a general way is very good, but for the great long battle of life, we need not only enlightened souls but trained minds. You cannot impart talent, still less genius, but you can show them they know very little, that they may never know much, and that may help to make them humble, but that if they are devoted, they may be fitted for higher ministries, while if they are wise in winning souls, they will some day shine for ever in the great Kingdom of their heavenly Father, the Grande- Jiigne Mission^ in spite of its imperfections and very limited means, has worked especially for that glorious result, to be seen on the other side of the church universal. While laboring for this country, for this continent, she often looks to her Master in heaven and to her friends on earth, for means to do a much larger work in the name of the Eternal Master. ^ THEODORE LAFLEUR. MontbXAL, October, 1900. w: iA *;Vf*" ^"^ '^*" >i"""*''^'Y^*"V. V ^■*t ^ .J'l^mjf^^ f.^fP! ^^r..i *4 "4 A fci? • . *i ^ V. r -•#►>.■ .',t>''^--.i,--'f^,-iim'"'- 'W- '"■JW T^^?S?^?53^75!!pW5^S»'^^^^^^^M^|gPP55F.'' 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