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Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniftre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole -^^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN ". re Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film^s d des taux de rdduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivarts illustrent la m6thode. ly errata sd to nt ne pel u re, ipon A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 BLIMFSES OF THE MONASTERY : A BRIEF SKETCH OF TUB HISTORY OF THE URSULINES OF QUEBEC, DURING TWO HUNDRED YEARS. BY A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY. FROM 1639 TO 1672: PART I. |l- 1 1- 1- t QUEBEC : PRINTED BY C. DARVEAU. 1875. 18 5 8 61 Gs G- or M S^LM^M^^M I- 1 !■ TO OUR DEAR MOTHER MARIE GCJYART OF THE INCARXATION, FIRST SUPERIORESS. AND WITH MADAME DE LA PELTRIE, JOINT-FOUNDRESS OF THIS MONASTERY; THIS LITTLE SKETCH OF ITS HISTORY 13 MOST HUMBLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. S fu PREFACE. A brief history of the Ursulino Convent of Quobcc, during two centuries of its existence, is the 'object of these simple pages, offered to our English-reading friends. The edification and delight afforded hy the nistoire thi Monnstere, published in French, some years ago, (1803,-64) lead us to anticipate a favorable reception for the present sketch, por- traying the vicissitudes that have passed over an Institution, wliose origin is nearly coeval with the first attempts to colonize these wilds of America. We have, for the most part, confined ourself to such facts and incidents as regard exclusively the Convent and its inmates ; we relate the difficulties, the toils, the trials, which occasionally have fallen to the lot of our predecessors, te\beholdi^ — con- vinced that there is no spectacle more encouraging, than to behold the servants of God, faithfully adhering to His holy will and accomplishing their duty with a cheerful heart, in adversity as well as in prosperity. PREFACE. Our (Jocunjcnts and books of reference have been tlic following : — I. Tlic Relations of the Jesuits, publisliod dur- in<^ a period of forty yo:irs, and widely read in FraTicc, from 1G32 to 1G72 : as reprinted by tlie Canadian government, in 1858, they form three large octavo volumes. II. The Life and Letters of Mother Mary of the Incarnation, first Superioress of the Ursulinc Monastery in Quebec. During the space of some tliiiiy years, this ad- mirable woman, in the interests of lleligion and for tlie good of souls, entertained a vast corres- pondence with persons of various rank and con- dition in France, with dififerent religious Commu- nities, and especially with her eon, who became a Benedictine monk, and who was, at one time, Su- perior of his Monastery. A selection of these letters published by her son, after her death, forming a quarto volume of 672 pages, have just been reprinted in three octavo volumes, and are read with admiration. III. The Old Narrative^ or a relation of the events of the first half-century, written from mem- ory Jifter the conflagration of the Monastery (1686), in which the records of the early times i 4 r r ( ! i ■f cc have loJ dur- read in by the nil three Mary of Ursuline , this ad- igion and 5t corres- and con- Coiiiuiu- became a time, Su- d by her volume of ree octavo on of the rom mem- \Ionastery arly times i PREFACE. D had perished. For tlie years subsequent to that epoch, we have h:id the re^'ulnr cloistral Annals; the obituaries of the Nuns; fiairmcnts of letters that have escaped the destructive hand of time ; registers, li!«ts, &c. We have been hnppy, also, to refer to the ven- erated Chaplain of the Monastery, Rev. 0. L. Le- moinc, at whose suggestion this work was com- menced; and who by a eiui-ful study of all our documents, as well as by an attentive reading of the proof-sheets, has been enabled to lend us in- valuable aid. By no means do we desire to prepare the reader to expect a story of great and thrilling interest; but rather to claim indulgence for pages so poor, gleaned from so rich a source. For our pupils, who remember the clo'ster as a little world where all was calm and pure ; where piety mingled so naturally with science, and where no employment excluded the thought and the name of God, these " Glimpses of the Monastery," will doubtless possess a peculiar charm. They will be happy to meet the oft-repeated name of our Venerable Mother Marie de I'Tnear- nation — and to listen anew to those " tales of the Olden Times," which were wont to make the social hour so pleasant. ii! 6 PREFACE. Siicli rcruinisconcca have a soothinf]^ and hal- lowed influence upon the niind amid the turmoil — the troubles perhaps, and sorrows — of life. In such a result the writer would feel her toil amply repaid ; desiring above all to contribute, according to her humble capacity, to the glory of God and the good of her fellow-creatures. UusuMNii Convent, Qukbec, 1875. 0. 1(1 hal- turmoil 111 amply cording rod and GLIMPSES OF THE MUXASTEUY. CilAPTEll T. ( INTHOUrCTOIlY. ) io:5i>. LNSTKUCTION NEEDED IN NEW FRANCE. Thirty years had elapsed since Uk; at- tempt had been made to iix a permanent settlement upon the shores of the St. Lawrence. With no other neighbors lor thousands of miles than savage hordes, the little Colony founded in 1(J08, would have been, for twenty years, merely a central post for the lur-traders, had it not been, above all, a refug-e and a rallying point for the missions. The illustrious founder of Quebec had mainly in view, " to plant in this country 10 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. i : the standard of the Cross ; to teach the knowledge of God and the Grlory 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 to invite mis- sionaries, to come and labor for the con- version of the pagan Indians. The call was accepted by the sons of St. Francis, as early as IGlo. Ten years later, came the Jesuit missioners, to share the labors, the perils, and the merits of the Recollects. In 1G29, the little Fort of Quebec was beleaguered, at once, by famine and by a hostile ileet. It was not a Strasbourg, sur- rendering with its army 300,000 strong; ■ -It w^as simply the captivity 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 beirinninir to emera'e. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 11 ich the r of His •ity for aviding is own ite mis- iie con- sons of ;n years to share lerits of 3ec was nd by a irg, sur- strong; f about at one bor and lonarch nierican Indian m which Fortunately, the iieet which three years Jater brought back the White Flag, bore a more numerous colony than had been carried away. It restored also the mis- sionary to his glorious toils. The new colonists were not mere trad- ers : 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, were pledged to increase the number of im- migrants to four thousand, before the end of ten years. Such was the prospect the noble and devoted Champlain was given to con- template, before closing his eyes upon the scenes of his long and arduous labors. His death, on Christmas day, 1635, filled with mourning his own countrymen, wherever they were scattered, throughout the land ; the Indians also, wept the kind hearted Governor, whom they regarded with re- verence and affection. Another year brought, as Governor of ^ r u l' 12 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTEttT. New France, the gallant De Montmagny, who continued the plans of his illustrious predecessor. In his company, besides his officers and soldiers, were two noble families \ com- prising forty-five persons ; with workmen, artisans, and laborers, giving to the infant city a population of nearly two hundred souls. The Fort was now enlarged, and part- ly built of stone ; the streets of the city w^ere traced. The Jesuit Mission-House having received reinforcements, a Resi- dence was established also at Three- Rivers, 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 persecutors, was a little band of faithful converts. The wandering Algonquin and Mon- ^ Le Gardeur de Repentigny, and Le Neuf. 2 800 miles west of Quebec. 1 I ! . I GLIMPSES OF TITE MONASTKRY. 13 magny, ustrious cers and s\ com- roikmen, he infant hundred and pait- [ the city ion-House f:s, a Resi- t Three- [ur-traders le Indian was built Ilurons* ; ersecutors, iivertiL). and M-on- ,6 Neuf. tagnais, ^ more docile than the Hurons, wherever they had met the Missionary, had received with joy the tidings of sal- vation. ^ In the following pJiire.«, the names of the Indian trihes recurring frequently, we bhail here indicate their locality. Nortli of the St. Lawrence wandered various tribes of the Algonquin type; — the Muntagnais, along tlie Saguenay to Hud.-^on's Bay, the Algonquin proper on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa; the Nipissings dwelt on the lake of that name; the Attimegues north of Three Rivers ; Maine wa.s occupied by the Abnakis; and Gaspe and N. Brunswick, by the Micmacs. The south shore of the St. Lawrence, in Canada, had no fixed inhabitants. , The Hurons were an agricultural and sedentary tribe, inhabiting tiie 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 most barbarous, and yet the most advanced mition of the Continent, the Iroquois, occupied tlie centre of New- York, from the Hudson to the Gene- ske. The five principal cantons of the confederacy were the Mohawk, (Agnier,) Oneida (Onneyut), Onondaga {Onnontague) Cayuga, and Seneca. u (If.l.MI'SLS Of TIIK MONASTKI'.Y. All irnnions(» iiiU^'ost in I he succoSkS of tlh^ nii:s8i()iis iuid Iho wcHare of Iho colo- nists, was awakoiied in all ranks oi society in 1^'ranco, by the i)ublicati()n of the Jle- lations, in which the holy missionaries mtide known llie wonderiul ellects ol" grace in these new Christians, as w^'Jl as the ardor oi' their own k)ni'in I (JLIMPSKS OF TllK MoNA^TKHY 15 success ol ' the colo- . ,ol society [)l' the Ive- issioiuivii'S oli'ecls of as well as * the settlers, within and around the city. It is easy to imagine with what anxiety pious fathers and mothers looked u[)oii tlu'ir dauii'hters, lor whom it was im[)os- sible to procure tlu^ advantau;'es of edu- cation and instruction. For their sons, these precious advanta^'es were prepared in the college oi' the Jesuits, o[)ened in Had Divine Providence, while provid- jnii' ibr the bird unhedged, rocking in its little nest, ibrgotten tln» birdlings ol' a jOhristian home ? if lel't without intel- lectual and moral culture, would not the descendants of Il^uropean civilization, sink .to the level ol the degraded beings around them, and become perhaps, more savage than the natives themselves ? 3 But Providence had not forgotten the little ones in New France, as we shall IBoon see. ; t ■; in the New, God lias tipt'ken to man, whether hy angels, as to Abra* liani and to Lot ; or in dreams, as to St. Joseph. i •AMb A« tf -. 'fh 22 GLIMPSES OF TIIK MONAMKUY. l)i(l(linii' her (o lend her aid, " to izo to Caniida, and tln»r(», hiiild a house to Jesus mid Mary." Th(? (church oi' Canada was iiidciHl just (MnorL''iii^" I'roiri tlie darkii(»ss that through lontjr a^es has covered tlic land. The "Rehitions" which th(^ missionaries in New r'rance hei»'an to publish in MV-Vl, found tlieir way to the Monastery, and heli)ed to Jan th(; ilarne. It is lor the Almiizlity to provide tlie way for the accomplishment of His own desio'us. In what manner this was brouu-ht about, we must now relate. In another distant part of France, near the little town of Alen(,'on, in Normandy, stood the castle of the Seigneur of Yau- bouiz'on, the ancestral honu^ of Madeleine de Chauvig'ny, ])etter known by the name of Madame de la Peltrie. Like Mother Mary of the Incarnation, Madeleine, en- g'Mii'ed once in the married state through pure compliance with the will of her parents, constantly refused, when the.^e ties were broken, to contract a second to he leii he (SLIMI'SKS Of TIIK MONASTKllY. to HO to t^ to .1 t'SUS inula Wi^s darknoss s'iM-ed the issionarios ih in 1 <)•>-, story, and rovide tlio )t' His own this Avas relate. ranco, near Normandy, >ur ol' Yau- [' Madeleine ^Y the name ake Mother deUnno, en- ate through will of her when the>>e ct a second eni-MiiN'nnMil. The piety of In-r early y(»nrs luid heeii renuirkahle ; as a widow she perl'ected h<*r love oi' God by the practice oi' exterior works ot'charitv, — alms deeds, lodL'ini^' and servini:^ the poor, visit iiii^ and eomiortini;" the sick, and the iinl'or- tunate. To her also, the Kelations, par- tieularly that of Id:)'), were as a ray of li^lit l'ashi(niing her future course. One of the holy missioners had uttered this rnoviiiL'' appeal : "Alas! were the su- perlluous wealth of sonu' of the hidies of France, employed to further the conver- sion of these poor Indians, what blessings would they not draw down upon their own lamilies ! AVhat a glorious thing it would be in the sight of Heaven to gather up the precious drops of Jesus' blood and apply it to the souls of these poor heathens!" How many hearts that thrilled on read- ing this vehement appeal, turned as soon to some trivial pursuit, giving no further heed to the voice of grace ! Nor so Made- leine. A high and no])le purpose idled her soul, while it overwhelmed her with ii 24 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERT. I I I , ' t"' the impression ol' her own nnworthiness. She resolved to go to that heathen land, to gather up the precious Blood of Jesus! Before she had taken any step towards the accomplishment of her pious project, she fell dangerously ill, and soon her life was despaired of. In this extremity, she made a solemn vo\v to go to Canada, and to found, in honor of St. Joseph, a Monas- tery of Ursulines for the instruction of the little Indian and French girls. Suddenly she rose, from the brink of the grave, to perfect health ! Many dif- ficulties remained to be overcome. Fa- mily interests changed them to persecu- tions. 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. Aware of this, and supported by able casui:5LS, she adopted measures, suited only to ex- ceptional cases; such as hers evidently w^as\ ^ It was on tills occasion that the zeal of a pious la dev alia h it: Mai \V('r( tlie GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTIRY. 25 •thiness. 211 land, f J esus ! towards project, 1 her liie aity, slie ada, and a Honas- ou oi' the brink of riany dif- me. Fa- persecu- r tailed to veted the d works, ive her of Aware casui&LS, Illy to ex- evidently kl of & pious A journey to Paris enal)led her to con- snll ivev. Father Goudren, General of the Oratory, and ;St. Vincent of Paul : — l)V both these eminent men, her devout project was approved. It remaintHl to obtain nuns I'or the pro- posed foundation. Madame de la Peltrie sought the advice of Kev. Father Poncet, charj^-ed with the missions of Canada ; and, to her great joy, learned from him the par- ticuhirs of the vocation of Mother Mary of the Incarnation. Not many weeks later, the pious widow was at Tours, negotiating the affair with the Arch])ishop. Admitted into the Mo- nastery, Mother Mary recognizes in the gentleman of Caen, M. de Bernieres, was awakened for the Missi(.)ns of Canada. After aiding Madame de la Peltrie in a ilillicnlt conjuncture, lie remained a devoted friend of the Ur.sulines, taking' cliarire of their allairs in France with a benevolence worthy of tlie highest praise. It is a source ol regret that Motlier Mary of the Incarnation's letters to M. de JJernieres were not recovereil : to liim, naturally, the state of the Convent, its penury and its resources, nnist have Leen stated, from vear to vear. I . 2G GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 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 Alary ; this was equally over- ruled l>y Providence. Not one in that fervent community would have shrunk from the proposed sacrilice ; all w^ere anxious, even, to obtain the nomiiuition. One, alone, in her humility, judged herself unworthy to aspire io such a distinction : — yet she was the chosen one. Of gentle mien, and delicate health, the youthful and accomplished Mary de la Troche of St. Bernard, was of the noble blood of the De Savonnieres. Her vocation to a reli- gious life at the early age of fourteen, had already cost her parents an immense sacrilice : How^ w^as she to obtain the con- sent either of them or of her community ? When God wills, "there is away" and thus it proved in the case of Mile, de la Troche. Attributing the unlooked-for success to h( th to ,vhoin, in rs beiore, ous path id. )uipaiiion ally over- e ill that e shrunk all were Diiiinatioii. ^ed herself istiuctiou : Of gentle 5 youthful , Troche of lood of the 1 to a reli- ir teen, had immense in the con- )mmunity ? way" and Mile, de la r success to GLIMPSES OF TIIK MONASTKRY. o7 the protection of St. .Joseph, to whom she liad conlidi'd all her hopes, Mother M. l^'rnard exehanii'ed her name for that ol .Mother St. Joseph ; as she will be known ill the subsequent i)ag(^s. It remained to ren-ulate the temporal af- fairs of the projected Foundation, and to recei^'e the Archbishop's benediction with their " obedienci^s "' or Episcoi)al authoi'i- zatioii. It was their Bill of Slight, their F(iss/)()rl in authentic form, — although not issu'3d from the Foreli^'/i Ol/ice, The assembly wa.^ held in the Arch- bishop's palace. The Venerable Prelate, now eighty years of age, was profoundly moved. When the moment of jKirting cani(\ he arose, and pres'Miting the two Ue- iigioLis to Madame de la Peltrie, addressed her in these remarkable words : " Uehold the two foundation 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, according to your .demand. May they be two precious stones in the foundation, on the model ^^' <& - ! ; -T ■ -^ I I' !l! i ) 28 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. the Jerusalem above. May this edifice be a mansion of peace, ol' i^'race, and heav- enly blessings, more abundant than those of the Ancient Temple of Solomon. May the ell'orts of hell never prevail ag'ainst it, no more than ag-ainst the Holy Church itself. And since this House is to be built for Ciod, mav He iix His dwelling' there, as the Father and as the S[)ouse, .notojily of the nuns I conlide to you, but of all who may accom})any them, or who "will live there, af::er them, to the end ol" time. " 1 hese solemn words, the farewell bles- sing', the last Avill and testament, as it were, of the aged Pn^lato, are nin^er read without emotion by the daughters oi Mother Mary of the Incarnation, who would fain !)elieve them a prophecy. A last adieu to their dear Monaster v to their beloved Mothers and Sisters,— and their long journey commences. At Paris they f )rm an acquaintance witli the Ursulines of the great eitv, who were destined later to lend them elhcient aid. hac ple| ine We' brel 1 Coiiii Bonj Y. GLIMPSES or THE MONASTERY. 29 is ediTice \n(l ln'iiv- mt than Solomon. '1- prevail Iho Holy Louse is to s dwelling le vSpouse, ;oyou, but in, or who the end oi' •ewell bles- nent, as it n^'ver read AiL>'htevs ol ation, who phecy. Monastery, I Sisters,— ences. ntance witli , who ^vore hcient aid. : The Queen, Anne of Austria; the Duchess of Aiguillon, and of Jirienne ; and other ladies of quality, saw many times the future benefactresses of the poor Indians of Canada ; and not without bestowing pious donations as a pledge of affection and esteem. Their next pause is at Dieppe, where another Convent of Ursulines has inher- ited the missionary spirit. — A third com- panion was found there, in Mother Cecile Richer de la Croix, who seems, like another Matthew, to have risen at the iirst sound of the Divine Master's voice, ready to fol- low liim, even to the ends of the earth. The merchant ships, bound for Canada, had taken in their freight, — dry goods, im- plements of la])or, live-stock, seed, salt meat, — a miscellaneous assortment— and ^ere only waiting now for a favorable breeze. Among the expected passengers W^'re three nuns ^ from the Hospital in ^ Mntlicrs Marie Guciiet de St. Iixnaco, Anne le Coiiitrc do St. IJernar 1, and Marie Fore^tier de St. Boimventure, ir ' / !|i I I li ! ■ M 80 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Dieppe, who under the high patronage of the Duchess of Aiguillon, were going to Quebec to found a House of their Order : there w^ere also the Rev. Fathers Yimont, Pinet, and Chaumonot, for the Missions ; and now, at the latest hour — an unex- pected recruit — appeared Madame de la Peltrie and the three Ursulines. On the 4th of May, all being in read- iness and the wind favorable, our voyagers 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 their prospect, at best. Before they quit the Channel, they are rocked till all are sea-sick ; they barely escape being ship- wrecked ; but that is nothing : — " Their hearts are in peace, because they are fully abandoned to Grod. " — Who would not wish them God-speed on their long voyage ? '^ m ■^ la ill r. ronage of going to ir Order : s Yimont, Missions ; -an unex- ame de la T in read- ,r voyagers ;is with no 111 sea and the placid 1 — such is e they quit till all are being ship- ; " Their e they are Who would their long i CHAPTER III. 103Q. ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA. It was mid'summor, when the little fleet which had lost sio^ht ofthe coasts of France in May, anchored, at last, in the harbor of Tadoussac, at the confluence of the Sague- nay with the St. Lawrence. Our travel- lers, no doubt, were struck with the stern and savage grandeur of the scenery ; the black impending cliirs, rising perpendicu- larly, and forming a gigantic gate-way, through which the dark waters of the Saguenay issue, — a fathomless flood, — sublimely reminding the spectator of long ages past, and terrible convulsions of nature since her birth. The dense, lonely forests,w^ere unbroken, save by the curling smoke of the wigwam fire, or the rude sheds of the trading-sta- fl I 11 ■ J I' ( !'. !;( i.i. 32 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. tion. strange, too, and wild, were these swarthy hunters,— the Algonquins and Montagnais, who had come, bringing their furs, — the skin oi'the beaver, the seal, and maiten, to exchange for blankets, kettles, knives, and other European commodities. The poor Indian looked with amazement on these " daughters of Sachems" who, he was told, had left their homes beyond the Great oea, to teach the wiv es and daughters of the Ivedman how to avoid Ihe llames of another world. Impatient to reach their destination, the passengers leave the Admiral to its traJiic, and in a smaller vessel press onwards towaixls Qne])ec. The natives, swift ot foot, follow along the solitary shores, un- willing to lose sight of a spectacle so new and wonderful. The last day of July is near its close, when, turning the eastei'ii point of the Isle of Orleans, the semicircle of the northern shore, opens before them in all the loveliness of a summer's sunset; varying its beauties from the abrupt niouutainhead, the term of their voyage, ha I Cal 'I' RY. r,M.Mr.«^F,s OF Tin: imonastkry. 33 vere these |uins and miuG: their le seal, and its, kettles, inmodities. imazement is" who, he jeyoud the 1 daughters the ilames illation, the o its traihc, is onAvards }s, swii't of shores, nn- acle so new Y of July i>i the eastern e semicircle 3eibre them ler's sunset; the abrupt leir voyage, ^to tlie low wave where the 8t, ('harl<'s *briiiu's in ils trihuti*; th*^ })l('nsaiit Ixnicli, adorned with woodhuid sct'iiery ; th.' little rustic villa of IJeauport, p(M»pini>' through ?th(' trees ; — the pri'cii)itous h'dge, ^vh(n•e the Montmorency casts its sheet oi' loam. or all this, thi' slumbering Itiver had a picture in its bosom. Our voyn^'ers had another in their souls; a i)icture ol* all they fain would do and sutler I'or this J^and oi' Promise. Tt was decided not to enter the port of Quebec that night ; ami, a little l)ay ^ pre- senting itseli* on the pleasant wooded Is- |aiid, they resolved to go on shore. How telVeshinu" to the sea-faring vovagers is the cool, forest breeze, laden with sweet odors ! how delightful this evening scene, when* m'ery feature is novel and grand ! But of this our travellers take no note; they have only told us how they lodged "• TIk' T^laiul of Orleans wa^^. at tliat date, iinin- lial>it(.'il. The little l>ay was. apparently^ that now fealleil : L' Anse du Furt. M ,wf^ 34 OMMP.SES OP THE MONASTEHY. ill cal)iiis, construct(^(l by the sailors in In- diiiii stylo; — a wigwam was Iht'ir hotel lor that lirst night on siioro, in the Now- AYorld. Then with what joy tht^ir li*'arts w^m'o lilled to see themselves under th(»se "grand oldibrests" wdiich th«^y made resound with "hymns to God!" During the evening, news of the bivouac on the point oi' the Island, reached iho fort of Quebec. At early dawn, — it w^as the first of August — the booming cannon from the heights of Cape Diamond, an- nounced the arrival of this fresh recruit for the Colony. The Crovernor's yatch, sent out to honor the missionary baud, was seen leturning with Hying colors. AVhile the strangers approach, let us with them view the scene. Before us towers the bold Promontory, crownied with military works. At the base of the clifrs,is a cluster of store houses, sheds, aud other w^ooden tenements, si't down in the midst of fir-trees, sumachs, cl< 'KUY. fJLIMPSES OF THE MONASTF.RY. 35 lailors in In- tht'ir hott'l in the New- hi 'arts woro these "grand \de resound f the bivouac reached iho awn,— it ^v^^^ mnrr cannon Diamond, au- i'resh recruit rnor's yalch, sionary band, „iio' colors. •oach, let us . Promontory, orks. At the I' store houses, enements, s^'i •ees, sumachs Wand aspens. FurHuT on, the strand is studded with Indian canip-l()dg(\s. ^ Tiie lirst sound of the cannon has Tbrouiiht out the swarthv^ Ibinis of tlie Huron trach'rs. Some ru>h to the water's edge and launch iheir light canoes ; otiiers are grouped in various attitudes along the shore. Another llourisli of military music, aiid the bi^ach is thronged with all the population ol* the city. The Governor, — in plumed slouched hat, and scarlet embroidered coat, — Itnids the central group. It is the gallant Charles Huault de Montmagny, with his suite, all in brilliant unilbrm; — his Lieutenant De Lisle, his secretarv Piraube ; his i'riends St .lean, De Kepentigny, De Tilly, La Potherie, Du Herissou ; Juchereau des Chatelets, the factor of the i'ur-company. The Jesuit Fathers are there, in their clerical costume. G-entle dames mingle "llrith the gentry, 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 ^-- I r I II 3G lal (;mmi'>i:s ok tiik monastkuy. lor I he (li (lull ill 1 iihors lor Ihc diiy, niul who join tlu* scpiai ol* soldiers in (heir noisy dcnionslriilions : while perfhed on every roek iilon^' the ^roiinhnn patli, iiro other Jndian hraves, the villai>'ers ol' >^illery. Tiie yatrh has iieared the slioro. Our missionary nuns, on landini»", prostrate, and kiss the soil ol' their ad()i)te(l eountry ; oni bracing*, in their hearts, all the crosses it may produce. The introductions over, the pious cor- tege moves on, climhing the zigzag path- way up the steop, now known as Moun- tain street. At the top ol'the hill, to the left, is the little chapel of our Lady ol' Kecovery \ There, the Holy Sacrihee is ofl'erc^"' by the luither Superior ol' the Missions ; it is fol- lowed by the Te Deum. The emotions ol this pious assembly, we shall not attempt to penetrate ; they could only be fully known to llim, whose grace had inspiret; ^ ]>iiiU by Chaniplain in 1032, in fulfilment oi' vow he had n»acle while retained in France. f. S( am Fa the boi fin I lOcie IB.'U lite accor Can, V. nUMPSES (»F TIIK MONASTF.Ur. 37 strut ions : alon^' ^l^*' lore. 0\u prof^ivato, (I country; the croisbos pious cor- rio/an- palh- u as Mouu- V, i loft, is the Uecovery ^ ere "^ by tho IS ; it is ibl- emotions ol not attenipi ly be I'ully had inspirec fulfilment of n'unce. tho un(h'^^akini,^ and Iho syui[)atliy it ex- cites in conarenial souls. ^ Tho ritos of hospitality rounitod tlio ^life of lln» company, with Iho stranq'(»rs at tho casth\ Wo have no further details of this first d.iy. All the French famili;>s had a riuht to an introduction. Tho luuis must have noticed tho Hehorls. the Couil- lards, the JJe Puiseaux ; perhaps also, the Seii^nour of Beauport, ^ ClilFard. Tho next scene recorded in the old volumes which have guide:! us thus I'ar^ is a visit, on tho day following, to the Indian hamlet of Sillery. The Ursulines and the Hospitallers, conducted by Rev. Father Le.Ieune, proceed first through the '' Crrande Allee,'' (now St. Louis Road,) bordered in nearly all its length, with fine old forest trees. Birds of new song ,7 ,^ M. Giffard obtint de la conipagnie des Cent-As- •Ocies la Seigneurie de Beauport, et dans I'ete de 1)534, sept families nombrcuses y arriverent en qua- }m de censituires. Le Sieur Giffard etait aussi aeconipagne de sa femme et ses enfants. Hist, du Cun,^ Ferland. 38 QLIMP.SES OF THE MONASTERY. and plumage, flowers of unknown forms, — but chiefly conversation on the pros- pects oi' the mission, — diversifled the way. The hamlet was enclosed by a palisade, as a sort oi fortilioation. The g-ateway thrown open, discloses the lil'e and man- ners of barbarism, just softened by a touch of civilization and puriified by Christianity. The Reduction consists of some fifteen families, their habitations varying from the primitive rudeness of the Algonquin wigwam, to the substantial stone hut. ^ A chapel, a mission-house for the priest, and an Inlirmary, or hospital, occupy the centre of the village. At sight of the nuns clad in their pe- culiar 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 wi'd play. and huddle together ; — but at a moiioii from the good priest, whom they know ^ Iq 1642, there were yet but four stone cottage? Hel. ■t GLIMPSES OF THE MONA^TKRY. 39 ai forms, the pros- .the way. , palisade, N palace consists of two rooms, one 16 feet square, the other of smaller dimension.^ with a garret, and a cellar. — The arrange- ments need to be economical. Tht larger room serves as a dormitory, the be(l> beinn^ arrauG^ed alon^- the wall in tiers; it is, at the same time, a parlor, a kitchen, a refectory, recreation room, and choir. cJ Cl( See lY. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 43 ' for the time that es to the anguages. teacher in IS become 56 of rude 3t4ife with xyr semini^- especially, aing-post oi cabulary ol ,11 translate ^et seen the 'iheLouvre\ d it. Thi-s one 16 feet dimensions The arrange- )mioal. Tn ory,thehecl^ 11 in tiers ; it a kitchen, a nd choir. The smaller apartment is a class-room. An additional wing, — a sort of shed, serves as an exterior parlor, where, through the usual grating, ihe nuns may speak of Clod to brave chiefs, and warriors of the Indian race. The colonists, fortunately, have in- vented an Order of Architecture, which is not expensive ; — a few strong posts set in the ground, some bars to join them, the whole covered with planks and finished off wilh rough plastering. A chapel in this style, before the winter closes in, is raised, and receives the "gilded Taber^ iiacle, " the parting gilt of a Parisian friend M It is a delightful "devout chapel" so one aflirms who saw it -, ** agreeable for its poverty" and above all precious to the good Lrsulines and their pious Foundress, for the Adorable PrC' sence which it procures them. The cloister-wall, enclosing a large space, is ^ Mde (le lii Villo-aiix-Clercs. 2 Motlier St. -Claire writes a cliannini^ letter to lier Community in Pari?, alter her arrival in Canada. Jee Hi.^toire des Ur-^qliues, Vol, I, p. 38, I- ^L^ I 44 GLIMPSES OF TflE MONASTERY. I '. 'II : ,n ' formed by a palisade, and by the solid barrier of the mountain, plentifully decked at its base and at various heights, with shrubbery, wild- vines, and llowers. With- in this cloistered space, 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 accommodations are of a na- ture to suggest thoughts of the contrast between a poor hut in Canada, and the elegant seigneurial castles of Savonnieres and Do Vaubougon, or even the spacious monasteries of Dieppe and Tours. But Canada is to them a " Terrestrial paradise and if they have anything to complain of, it is that they have not enough to suller. " Thus they wrote to their friends, even after that terrible scourge, the small- pox, had transformed their school-room and the dormitory into a hospital. Already, three years before the arrival of the nuns, a sort of pestilence had spread ti'rror and desolation amono; the Indian iribes, This year, soon after the departuiv isJ en up on bej y. the solid ly decked ^hts, with ''ers. With- set up a of a Huron is-room for iXQ of a na- tie contrast La, and the Savonnieres he spacious Tours. But ial paradise o complaiu enough to heir friends, e, the small- school-room pital. e the arrival e had spreail o' the Indian he departur- GLIMPSES OF TIIR MONASTERY. 45 of the mercantile vessels, the small-pox, ill its most virulent form, made its appear- ance at ISillery. The little Convent in th.^ Lower Town Aviis. in its turn, invaded hy tho malady, -which attiicktMl the Indian children only. All the seminarists— as the Indian board- ers were called— had it, allordinu^ the nuns ahnndant occasion for the exercise of charitv. The })eds of the patients, placed npon the iloor, left hardly room to move amono' them Ts^ic^ht and day the poor little sufferers were tended hy their mdid'atiii-able nurses. Fonr died of it be- fore mid-winter, when its intensity dimin- ished. At the end of February, it had entirely disaj^pwred ; but not until the stock of clothnm' destined to the nse of the Indian children for two years, was ex- hausied, as well as the provision of linen for the Convent. Throui>li all this misery, the nuns kept up their spirits, and their health. Their only anxiety was, lest the pan-an Indians, believing' the sickness to be the eliects of h/7 MMHai iC 46 r.T.lMPSFS OF THE MONASTERY. I; I i' baptism, should reiu>e to send thorn thoir children. In this they were hnppily dis- appointed. With the cessation of th<3 malady, the nuns found more congenial occupation instructinii: Indian women and irirls : the men also frequently appeared at their ^rate, and listened to their teach- inr^s Avith as much docility as the chil- dren. Their seminarists increased to eii^hteen or twenty. Two P'rench pupils were even then, boarding in the little Convent. The number of day scholars is not stated, but it included " all who wero of an age to be instruct^Kl." When the warm season returned, the bark cabin needed no lire ; and, from the surround- ing shrul)V)ery, came fresh air, and sweet sons:?, mino'linir with the cadence of ll '0-' le 111 waters, plashing upon the beach. In July, the annual ileet brought the Mothers St. Athanasius and St. Claire, from the ITrsuline Monastery of Paris, to ai; them in their arduous labours The lat her com escribes ter, writinix to her arrival, d munity soon afr< her new h onie m lY. GLIMPSES ('F THE MONASTEllY. 47 horn thoir ippily (lis- )n (»!' ^^^*' ( congenial vomen and y appeared [heir teach- as the chil- Lcreased to ench pupils u the littlo y scholars is lU who wero AVhen tho bark cabin he surround- r, and sweet dence of the each. )rought thinii .Claire, IVoni Paris, to ai; irs The lit- itv soon ai'n^r new home "wliere they "live in admirable peace and union." Mother Mary of the Incarnation, she says, " treats me with too much honor; the sweet odor oi' sanctity seems to surround her, and to embalm all who approach her. Mother St. Joseph is a charming person, most accomplished in every way : during recreation she oiteu makes us laugh till we cry : it is impos- sible to be m(dancholy in her company. She loves the little Indian girls hke a mo- ther. Ai'tcr catechism, she teaches them to sing hymns and to touch the viol. Sometimes she gives them leave to per- form one of their own pantomime dances, and the little scholars make no ceremony of inviting Mad. de la Teltrie to dance with them, which she does with, the best grace in the world. " The two Tarisians commence studying the Indian language with courage, re- iparking that the other nuns are " well advanced ". They have to learn ** the grammars aud write themes, like students in Latin." Two languages, at least, are re- HMm- 48 dLIMl'SKS dp TlIK MONASTERY. i -I cjiiirod : tlio Aluoiiquiii, and tliolTuroii. ^ AH aro busy, and all are hai)py in tliat little Convent, where the love of God reigns supreme. 1 Tilt' (liHtTonce between tlie Huron and Algonquin will appear troni tlie inspection of tlie Our Fatiier in the two lan;^Mages. Thu Lord's Prayer in the. Abndki, a dialed oj the Algomiuin. Kcniitimksena ppondvik ayan waiwai^^elniognatcli ayiliwisian aniantai paitriwai wituwaikai ketepelta ni(»han_L!raneck aylikitaidconak ketelai!tani()luin<.';ui spomkik tali yo nampikik paitchi kik tankouataitelie inaniilinai yupaimi ghisgakdaitaski>koaai aipuiunena yopa liatchi anailiail tania wihaikai liaissikakiiu wihiolaikaipan aliniona kisi anailiailtaniakukaik kaikauwia kaitaipanik niopak kaita litchi kitawikaik tainpaniohontchi saghihouneMiinanjai ou laliamistaka: paghihousuuarninai iiiamaitcliikill, Nialest. Note in Shears Am. Cat/i. Miss. p. 137. 77ie Lord^s Prayer in Huron, {as translated k Brebaiuf.) Onaistan de aronhiae istare. Sasen tehonilacli: endatere gachiendao'ian. Ont aioton sa cheouaii diosta endinde. Ont aioton senchien sarasta, ohouen: eoone ache toti ioti Aronhiaone. Ataindataia sec Donenda tara cha ecantate aouantehau. OuU of of Thi E bfii TIY. r.LIMl'SES OK THE .M( NASTKRY. 49 Huron. ^ py in that 'e of God tnd Alfronquin Our Ful'uer in i, a dialect oj .•aiselinoj^uatcli likui la-tt-poltii lailtanR)hi\n}j;an tankouataitche ouai aipouniena ai liaissikakuu hailtatiuvkokuik itchi kitawikaik uulahamiv^talwv, alest. Note in s translated k isen telionJacli. on ?a cheouan sarasta, ohouen' Ataindataia set antehau. Ouu The IJrsulinos had nuleecl come to the Colony, at an opportiiin^ moment. The iit'ld in wliich th*^ <:;o()d missionaries la- K; bored lonL"* with little success, had now beu^un to yield IVuit. Our Mothers cou- sicU'red themselves supremely ha})py in beini^ called to aid in gathering in the precious harvest. t«onaii(liimrlien.«, son atonarril»(»ilanx Extracted from Travels in Americay Chateau- hriand. 50 (JMMI',-KS (If TKK .MONASTKHy. The (lidicultics oI'IIk' "Nilunlioii" wvrc liowever i^'K'.-it. Tlie revoiiiM'. of tlu' loiin- datioii was only hiho liuiidri'd livrcs;— a lari»er siuii had hecii cxi^'ihUhI on IIm' I()d<>in*^.s, such as llwy wvii\\n tlic Lower Town, and on tlui sorninarisla. I\Ia(hniit; de la Peltrio had calculated ibr the ex- penses ol* six ; hut they had taken in three times that numher/ It must he home in mind that the Indian pupils, and sonu^ times their families, had to he led '\nd clothed gratis. At the parlor, where the nuns exercised their zeal in favor of the Indian men, it was not merely the hread of instruction that was broken : according ^ All lieu (le fix il en est entre 18 dans cetu petite maison. . . .sans coTni)ter les petitea filles trim- guises qui vont pour etre instruitesj sans compter aussi les filles et les fenuues sauvages qui entrenta toute lieure en la chanibre ou on enseigne kur-j pe tites eonipatriotea, et qui ussez souvent y pastent la nuit. Relation, IGiO. Outre les seminaristes arretees, les Ursulines en ont d'autres passageres, values a la sauvage qui denieuren-t quelque temps pour etre instruites. R( luiion, 1641. Waj Wa: Ft: sen cini I'} lY. "ONASTKHY. 51 ion" \v»^rc , livvrs;-— [od on tli*' lilt' Lowoi bv the ox- ;ou in thiHH' be borne in lUld KOUUV 1)0 led '^^^^ where the iavor of the y the bread : according 18 (Isuis cetle ■■lites filled tVun- stinH coniplo: ;e8 qui entrcnt a seigiie Iturs pe jent y passent la les Ursulines er; la pauvdge qui instruites. -Kt to lilt' liuli;in laws ol' hospilsility (he food oltlit' bodv was indispensable. ft • ^ Amonir Iheni, it isronsidored nn MflVont lo si^ndaway ai^nest without oH'orinir liim to rat. Tl\<^ '* pot of. sv/i;// //»//•" must bceon- «tantlyoii tln' lire. Fr(nu time to lime, a more 'sphMidid bauqut^t " was prepared for sixty or eiLrhty persons Then it recpiir- ed " a l)usli(d ol' black phims, twenty-lour pounds ol' bread, a due (quantity of Indian- men I or irround-peas ; a dozmi of tallow candl«\s nndtiul ; two or three poujids of fat pork " all well boiled toL]f«dh(^r. "It would bi» a pity, says our judicious Mother, to (b^prive these poor pi^ople 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 tlie foundation was insuflicient, charity, in those tunes. was not an idle w^ord. Pious friends in France, moved bv the kdters of the nuns. Bent them presents,— clothing for their seminarists, tools for their workmim, a chalice for their altar. The i>*ood Ursulines i} 52 OLIMPftF.S OF THE MONASTERY. of Paris and of Tours, are always first on the list of benefactresses. In the delations, also, the Rev. Fathers; set forth the poverty of the litthi Convent, and the i>"oo[l the nuns were doini^. Rev. Father Yimont laments that thev have riot the means to build, and invites in his amiable manner, two courageous youii? ladies, armed with a good dowry, to come to the assistance of the little Convent " which contains more joy within its nar- row limits than ever was found in tli* palace of the Cesars ! " In the spring of 1641, Madame de l^ Peltrio laid the foundation stone of tb Monastery, on the advantageous sir granted by the Governor, in the name o: the Hundred Associates. The deed spo cilied that ihe donation ^ of" six arpents i land within the limits of the city of Qiv bee, was to enable the said Rev. Ursulin Mothers to build a Convent where the may live according to the rules of the: ■■ To this day a Mass is said in the Chapel (,>ft Monastery for the " Messieurs de la Conipa^^nie." etahli la cdl Bean I Bichel lY. ^s first on ^v. Fathers e Convent, nncr. Kev. :^V have not ites in his -ous youn!i ry, to comt le Convent tliin its nai- ►und in tlv. dame de 1^ stone of llv ta<^eoiis sit- the name o; le deed spe six arpents < city of Qu' lev. Ursulin where the •ules of thei he Chapel oft; GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 5 Institute, and devote themselves to the education of young girls, French ^ and ndian." While the building was going on, the lium})er of their seminarists amounted to forty-eight or lilty; the parlor visits ex- ceeded eight nundred in the course of one year. Moth(TMary of the Incarnation,with all her zeal, confesses that the nuns, live in namher, have had labor beyond their strength, and that the visits at the parlor were continual. " Bat, she adds, the Pro- vidence of our Heavenly Father provides fot all thinirs. The poc of mgamite was n^ver empty." ',"l.'^!' * De Ki.'iO A 1042 il y avait environ 40 tUmilles itaMies siir (le? terres, depiiis le Cap Ruii^e juscpi'a la cote Ste. Genevieve et N. D. ties Atiges; et de Beauport jusqu'd hi riviere aux Chieiis du Cliateau Richer, et dans le voieiiiage du Cap Tournicnte. I ■ 4 I i til CHAPTER V. ie3o-ie-ii. MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE INDIANS. In the little Convent on the wharf, the "Louvre" of those French Ladies who inhabited ii, there were two boarders^ who deserve a special mention : These vrert; the good Foundress, and her attendant, Miss Charlotte Earre. It must have been from motives of the purest charity and self-denial, that Madame de la Peltrit resolved to content herself with sucii accommodations as that poor cottage al- forded : — all that she could save by liviiiij in poverty Tv^ould be so much gain for tht poor Indians ! But our readers have contemplated Ion: enough the picture of privations, aiic sufferings. Let ns follow the generoii: French Lady, when she goes abroad always in the interest of the dear seni: narists, or of the missions, in general. the by sim pftrtl Ill GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 55 E INDIANS. wharf, the ,adies who anlers, who ?hese were : attendant, t have been charity and la Peltrk with such • cottage al' ve by living < !'i necklaces and bracelets of colored beads completed their attire on this holiday occasion. The clergy headed the French popula- tion in the usual order. But it is not of the procession itseil that we write. We shall not follow il from station to station, pausing at the II( spital 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 gentlemen, — all but their bronzed faces, — were treated a^i 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 Coun- cil was awaiting his presence in the College-hall. Father LeJeune did not go alone, but invited the Governor, the newly-arrived OU] kin W( ThI I' ' i i ERY. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTFRY. 57 ored beads lis holiday ich popula- ission itseii' Dt follow it sing at the lines, where nd the poor aid admire, inner given, the Indians; by French ;u,— all but treated as ble. t took place lerior of the ndian Couii- ence in the fo alone, but ewly-arrived Father Vimont and Madame de laPeltrie to tuko part in the proce nlings. Entering, they ibnnd Indian chiel's and notables, to the nnmber of twenty or twenty-tive, seated around the hall, in their own styh% dn mats they hud provided. The Gover- nor, with Madame de hi Peltvio and Miss Barre on one side, and the two Jesuits on the other, have taken seats and are waiting. An Alii'onqnin chief, rising, looks around Upon the ass(^mbly, and begins: " J^o at- tentive, Father Le.Ieune; Let not thy Spirit wander ; give hi^ed to my discourse. Ho ! ho ! answers the Father,— and the Al- gonquin continues :—'' The words thou hearest are not mine : 1 am the mouth of all my brethren suited here. We wish to [)elieve in Cro 1 : 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 Pedmen wonder to hear that you think of them. They say to you : Pity us, send us help. We wish to cultivate the ground. AVe 58 GLIMPSES OF TIIK MONA^TRRY. cannot mako houses like yours unless yon help us. Father Le.leune, tell thy hrr, ther, who has come to be in thy place, !■ write for us. Write thou al-^o, that on: king may believe us. —I have spoken." The first orator takes his seat: an Ao- naki rises and urs^es thi;; same suit wit much pathos. He concludes : '' Certain' ly thou speakost good, promising to Ik^I; us to live like men. Do not deceive u^ I go to my home, there, where the sn; stands in the middle of the sky [the south AVhen 1 come back, the snow will yet K on the mountains. I will come to see i thou sayest the truth, if thou hast men t help us. that we may no more live in tli woods like the beasts." This spirited appeal, translated by Y: the . ther Le.Teune, moved the assembly ! their compassion. JDe Montmagny promis'v ^^ to do all in his power for them. Fatlv w , Yimont was ni£>'h losino; patience, seoiii. . Quen that for the want of a little money tlm^ ^ . poor people were debarred from receivin. mi gOi pel Wo hea the tell my try, B diaij plan won T that reli scions instruction. ocoaig sunless yoi; ell thy bro- hy place, t' [lere the su; :y [the south w will yet li ome to see : 11 hast men i )re live in tli slatod by P assembly i ;iiy promis'^ hem. Fatli tience, seein. money tho^ Tom receiviii GLIMPSES f F THF. MON.V^TEUY. b9 ^Madame de la Pi'ltrio exclaims : '• Alas ! must it be said that we cannot aid these gpood people to save their souls. The ex- j|ense ot one ball in J'aris, one boiree^ Would procure the means of opening- heaven to these unfortunates. Ilev. Fa- ther, continues she, addressing LeJeunOy tell tluan 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 In- dian 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 ire- qiient excursions to Siilery. All the seminarists accompany her, on holiday ocoasions. CO (1L1MP8ES OF THE MONASTERY. iii I l,!'i Th(;re she somotimos finds the squa\v,s gathering corn, which they suspend liom the sloping sides oi" their bark habitation^ till they look gay as if decked for soiiu' festal ceremony ; or, they are roasting i: before the lire, previous to pounding ii in their wooden niortor^. ^Sometimes a family, just come to live in the hamlet and not yet provided with any other utensil> but those of their own manuiachire, cook^ dinner in her presence, kindling a lire b; striking two white stones together ; thiMi iilling a large bark tray or bowl, will w^ater, they heat other stones red-ho* and throw them in, till they have boile a piece of meat. Perhaps they prefer i roasted ; — then they show her a cord mad of tender bark or of hemp, with whic^ thry suspend their steak, turning it a adroitly as the kitchen-m.aid manages spit. If it is a pleac.ant day when Madame\ there, the little Indian boys are at pla with the bow and arrow, — not as noisy i a similar group of little French boys, bi \hT^ ERY. the squa^v^ ispeiul Irom habitiitioiif" (1 ibr boiiw 5 roasting it pomuling it Sometimes a e hamlet and ther utensiL Achire, coolvL hii": a lire h gether; then r bowl, will ones red-ho! f have boile ;h.ey prefer i .r a cord mad with whic. turning it a id manages .en Madame\ s are at pl^v -not as noisy i ench boys, bi OTJMPSES OF THE M )NASTI:RY. Gl lilenf as the braves who listen to a har- in1 i AvIiTWMm firo, sharod «'C]iially }>y the dogs and ])y the rost ol the lainily. It is not surprisincf that some ol'tlnw "wild birds" Ciijz'cd lor tlio first timo, oc- casionally ih'Av oil' to the icm^st ; but \\\m. })y afl'oction and groat patience, they li:v: been tamed, they proved most docile t instructions, and most exemplary u piety. Little Algonquins iVoni Sillery, wcr the lirst seminarists the Ursnlines unde: took to form ; and as neither understooi the lam^uac^e of the other, the dillicuh must have been extreme. " A "reat desi: to speak, is a great help towards doiii. so," says Mother Mary. "We may readi! believe it, since the nuns Avere able ! I)egin to instruct in Algonquin belbre tl; ^^j end of tvv^o months. Mother St. Josor j^^^ learned also the Huron, and had occasi ^^j^ for it in the following spring. citjnl lUit with what success have the ( ^* ^ su lines toiled during these three year ^^^^ Of w^hat avail were their instruction; B e U tl th an Ch aft mi] sen JittJ de ( six moi says K.UY. )y the dogs, ,mc of th'^s> ivst iimo, oc- it ; bwt whoii ce, they had Lost docile U !C('mplary it Cillery, ^voT juliues mule; 3r vinderstoof the dilliculr A "Toat dosi: owards doiii. ''e may roadi. Avere able ' [uin belbre tl; her St. .losoi d had occasio 11 g. have the I ;e three yeai> V mstructioii> GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. G5 "A tree is kuowii by its fruit." Let us examine the letters, written by the nuns Id tlioir friends, and we shall find that they were consoled beyond measure, by Ibe miracles of i^rac(» they daily witnessed •moni^ these same little forest-girls. The Re/(i/i()/i!i concur in the same statements. Mother Mary declares that these new Christians are as meek as lambs, and that after their baptism th(»y preserve an ad- mirabh^ purity of conscience. Amon^^ the seminarists of the iirst year, she mentions little Marie Gamitiens, (o'odchild of Mile. de Chevreuse) who at the ag'e of live or six years, is ]io sooner awake in the morninii* that she begins her prayers ; she says hor beads during mass, and sings hymns in her own language. Marie Ma- deleine Abatenau, (godchild of another noble lady) is a model of obedience and address, knowing her catechism and re- citing her prayers, with a devotion capable of inspiring others with the same. — She alsp is only six years old. But Agnes Chabdikwachich is twelve. 66 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 1 I, 'i h' i It was she who seeing one of the Rov Fathers at a httle distance from the place where she was making up her bundle of faggots, threw away her hatchet, crying out : " Teach me ; " and this, with such grace, that the good Father pleaded her cause, and brous^ht her to the Convent with one of her little companions. Both were soon prepared for baptism ; and at Easier, with two others, made their first Communion. Agnes is not only weli instructed in her Catechism, she is aln skilful with her needle ; she handles the " viol," — knows how to read ; and is s; gentle and well behaved, that she merit- the name of lamb, which she bears. Little Nicole Assipanse is seven yea: old : — At the end of five month?, Nicol: knows the principal mysteries of Religioi: her catechism, and her prayers, so wel that when her mother comes for he: returning from the winter's chase, tli little daughter teaches her poor paga father and mother to know the true Go( "With all her talents, she has the true I: all ' ,iSi' SKY. 3f the Eov m the place sr bundle of 3het, crying with such pleaded her .he Convent nions. Both tism; and at de their tirsi 3t only well I, she is als(. 3 handles ih ,d ; and is s: .at she merii- bears. seven year lonths, Nicol: ies of Religioi: lyers, so wel. omes for he; ii's chase, tL er poor paga i the true Go' as the true I GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 67 dian character ; — she must go w^ith her parents, who have no other child ; she coaxes her mother, and gains her point. ^ But here is, Marie Negabamat, so ac- dwstomed to the wild life of the woods that the good chit^f, hor father, to entice her to remain in the Convent, sends with her two of her friends, 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 oply of the seminarists but of the French pupils, although, as our Mother remarks, "the young girls of Quebec are extremely w^U brought up." From day to day she advances in piety ; she relishes religious 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 Amiskivevan wins the heart of all who see her. She is seventeen years fT I! 68 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. ii' old, and a model of candor and innocence She excites her companions to piety, treat. in^T" 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 from Three Rivers, receives the grace of baptism in such dispositions of fervor and contrition, that Kev. Father Butoux, who had sent her to the Convent, is moved to tears, and tells the nuns that this conques: alone, is well worth all the sacrifices they have made, and all the toils they havt undergone in Canada. In reading of such effects of Divine grace, we understand better how tk nuns could endure with joy the priva- tions and hardships of the mission. Le: us cite a few more examples. A little band were preparing for theii first Communion:— the Rev. Father Pi- jart once, and Mother Mary two or thm times a day, instructed them how to pre- pare for their Heavenlv G-uest. Th er :^; rERY. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 69 i innocence, piety, treat. of a mother, French, and L their study from Three t' baptism in id contrition, ho had seni ^ed to tears, bis conques! acrihces they s they have ts of Divine ter how tk )y the priva- iiission. Le: s. 'ing for theii V. Father Ti- ■ two or threi n how to pre- uest. The) were heard exclaiming : — " Oh ! when will Jesus come ! when will He give us the kiss of peace in our souls." ! Marie Nes-abamat was in great jubila- tion : — ""Why are you so joyful, inquired ^ne ? " "Oh! cried she, I shall soon receive Jesus into my heart." They begged permission to fast on the eve of their first Communion ; and after- wards made that their practice whenever 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 bap- tism. One day, iiye were baptized in the little chapel of the Convent. At other times the vSacrameiit was administered to men and women, old and vouns:. Their edifying deportment was most touching. One young woman had waited many months for this precious grace ; when the healing waters were poured over her, 70 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. turning to the spectators, she exclaimed *' There ! it is done ! my soul is cleanser] at last." Were these little forest girls susceptible of gratitude V of benevolence, and thf other fine qualities of the mind whid. adorn their pon'sessor ? Let their teachen Mothers Ste. Croix and St Joseph, an swer : '' Our seminarists, they declare, ar^ exceedingly grateful, and appreciate hinfli ly the services we render them. Oik day, seeing the difficulty v^^e have to lean their language, they exclaimed : Oh ! : we could give you our tongues to spea with, we would do so with pleasure. ■ better proof of their gratitude is found i their docility, their affection for thd teachers ; their willingness to be corrects oF their faults, — a thing so contrary to tli customs of their race, — their readiness t conform to the regulations of the schoo and to remain away from their parents, As an instance of their kindness tow arc each other, let us cite another passai' from the long pages before us. '' Soiii TERY. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTEKY 71 i exclaimed I is cieansefl Is susceptibk ice, and ih mind whicl. heir teachers Joseph, an y declare, ar^ preciate higli r them. Oii^ ? have to lean limed : Oh ! : issues to spea pleasure. ■ .de is found i ion for ih'\ to be correct!' iontrary to tli ir readiness! of the schoo their parents, idness toward lother pass'cv: -e us. '' Soiii ^ew scholars had come in ; there was no ojothing prepared to put upon them ; — ^ickly our old seminarists snpi)ly the 4eiiciency, without being requested to do dp, bringing whatever they could spare from their own little w^ardrobe. Itisthey 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 Kuron seminarist, w^as the niece of the famous war-chief Chihatenh- wa. He had seen the ''holy Virgins," lei saintes fiUes, robed in black, who had ccMQtte to teach the little Indian girls the way to heaven ; and others, dressed differ- ently, w^ho w^ould take care of the sick. Great was the admiration of his country- men w^hen they heard the marvellous flftory. He brings his little Teresa to the Convent, where she becomes a prodigy oi learning' and of piety. When next the Htiron flotilla covers the river, Chihatenh- wt, from afar, points out to his brethren i i . 1<' 72 UMMI'SES OP THE MONASTERY. the " House of Jesus," and hastens to meet his little Teresa. She is only thirteen. but she had the zeal of an apostle. Her exhortations startle and subdue the most obstinate. On their return to Pluronia, they publish her fame throughout the tribe. " Teresa has more sense than aiiv one who has ever appeared in their coiiii' try. Doubtless the one who has instruct- ed her is also the greatest genius amoiii; the French ? " Once, at Siilery, she hold? a discourse to catechumens, who remaii with her more than two hours ! The sa chems, even of other tribes, listen to he: with reverence. As to scientific attain ments, Teresa speaks 1 wo languages wiii facility, and sings in Huron, French, aiic Latin. The nuns, at another time, must take few days to attend to their own souI> " for of what avail would it be to preac! *^ to others and be one's self a cast-away? The little girls are to have a week ( to i\ holidays, with Madame de la Peltrie. Ei sa they must make no noise, for fear of di; yeaj ery. GLIMPSES ('F THE MCNASTKUY. 73 hastens to LJy thirteen, lostle. Hev XQ the most to Huroiua, iirrhout the ise thiin any I their conn- has instruct- enius amoiii ry, she hold? who re mail: )urs! Thesa' , listen to he: ienUfic attain tngnages witi French, am e, must take ;ir own soul^ t be to preac: a cast-away^ ,ve a week ( laPeltrie. Bi: for fear of di; turbin?; Iheir L>'ood Mothers, who are con- Versing witli God in retreat ; and, lo ! all ^es(3 late barbarians are as well versed ill good breeding and genuine politoneys, 1^ the most accornpliijhed jjoarding-school. They speak low, they moderate their play; —yet, the time seems long, and when their dear Mothers reappear, it is to be overwhelmed with caresses. Teresa the Huron resolves to make a retreat, in imitation of the nuns. 8he hides hi)edi' nee. She leavo> her dear Conner} VnHhers. From Three Rivers, she writes to Isl ther Mary ot' th^ Incarnation : . My dear Mother, I am iroin£>' to mv distant home, we ar^ ready to start. I thank you tor all th^ care you have bestowed upon me. i thank you for having* taught me to serv Grod. Is it for a thing* of small value tha: I offer you my thanks ? Never shall i forget you. Teresa.'^ Two days after she had confided he letter to the Rev. Father Du Perron, vrli was returning to Quebec, she, with ii who accompanied her, fell into the hand of the ferocious Iroquois. Faithful i God during her captivity, she continiii to instruct and to edify. After three year; she was rescued, through the interventio m duri paiii| liolv the Sup( ^^gjjjjg** V. (ILI.MrSKS OF TITK MONASTKRY. 75 3 anxious nng semi- ; and her ro her ah- rilice ; lor jhe loi\vo> rom Three lary of tlk ime, we art? for all th^ )on nie. i me to sei'Y^ I value tlia ver shall i onfided he' Perron, vrh he, with a. to the haiiii Faithful 1 le continiv r three year; interveutio of the Oovenior, who mado a present for her at the i>tc t assembly lor the treaty 0f Peace at TVroe Pivjrs (U)45). k I The L>-oo(l conduct of the seniinarists aiiionu' ih«'ir owii ]M'ui)ie, was another sul)ject of immense jo}, both to the nuns and the niis:sionaries. It was for them to reiiulate the pious exercises, to say the pray«^rs, to choose the hymns, and to teach the others liow to examine their con- science. Tliree yo\ng girls had been required to follow thi'ir parents during the winter chase. On tlii'ir return, in spring, their first visit was to tht\ Jjhvssed Sacrament; their next to tln^ chapi'l of the Blessed Virgin, to cr( \vn her statue with the {low- ers they hid brought from the woods. Then, enteriim- tlie Consent, they gave the nuns an account of all they had done durino- thi^ir absence. " Oh, said th.w, how painful it was to be so loim' away from holy Mass aiul the Sacraments I " During the winter, thoy li:id written twice to the Superior of the Jesuits, to beg him to send ■'5 76 tlLIMPSES OF THE MONASTKIIV. '.^ i I'l' a priest to tlieir p(M)ple. Tin* letters piisst'c Irom hand to hand, and were evi^n cariii\ to the Governor, who, like the other> pronounced them admirable for the styl and execution, as w^'U as lor the sent; inenfs expressed. But it is time to pause. The rondi who has seen how Mother Mary writ' to her intimate friends, will understaii how she could say in the second year < her labors : " The Relation will raal: mention of the seminarists and the con> hition they give us, but the truth i>s, all w^ere published, it would ai^pear m belief. They lose all their barbarity on they are baptized ; 'and one who has s> them running wild in the forest, canii without emotion, behold them approa the h(;ly Table, gentle as lambs, to recei the true Lamb of God. No jne won inst have thought that they could be broiv: pra to live in the cloister ; vet thev do reiii; inst willingly and do not leave it without p: pra\ mi^^sion. " j^ The elegant historian, Bancroft, had the 1 c P h in th. w} 80' goc in ^ fan( ^ use] ous knol rev' KUY. fJLIMrSES OF THE MONASTtiRY. 77 tiers \)iisst>c )ViiU carvii'' the olhor^ for iHe stvi or the sent The roadv Mary ^vvit I uuderstaii ccoud year ' ax ^viU ^^f^'' uul the con^ te truth is, d appear pa barbarity o\v ^vho has sot Ibresx, canii lieni approa mbs, to recei o jue Avoi; luld be brou^ they do renu. [, it without p iancro ft, had seen the Lrffera and tlie Relafions, from which 've have ahridi^'ed the above ae- connt, woukl have given unrestricted praise where he has said : " Is it wonder- ful ii' the natives were touched by a bene- volence which their poverty and squalid misery could not appall V " "Their education was attempted ; and the vent^rable ash-tree still lives beneath which Mother Mary of the Incarnation, 80 famed foe chastened piety, genius, and good ju(li>"ment, toikul, though [surely f/u/] in vain, lor the education of tho Huron [and other Indian] children. " No I it cannot be accounted voin or useless to soften the manners of a barbar- ous race ; to elevate thcnr souls by the knowledge of the high and holy truths of revealed religion; to teach ihem to foru-ive, instead of torturing, a captured foe ; to practise the austere virtues of Christianity, instead of following the instincts of a de- praved and degraded nature. ^flThis effect of the instruction given by thelJrsulines has already appeared in the "Ir 78 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. •I I u I' precodini^ pat^es; those that follow will prove it still more a!)Uiidantly, while we behold hundreds of Indian children, as well as men and women, receivino* with joy th(» inestimable boon of Faith, and transmitting^ it to other poor pag'ans in the distant forest-wilds of the continent. CIIAPTEll VIT. ic;^%r-io.">c>. EIGHT YEARS IN THE i\EW-MONASTEU\ P W lai mc bio stn by con T thei ed. The conversion of the aborii^eies, whirl mor] Mother Mary of the Incarnation, had soe: wh( pre-iii^ured as a Church just emergiii. pop| from clouds and darkness, was now rapi< TJ ly progressing. On all sides, the mists ' error were retiring, and soon whole natioi; i embraced Christianity, with the fervor aurorj the primitive ages. But was this Chui' ^^fioi Y. r.LlMPHES OF THE MONASTERY. 79 )llow will while wo lildron, as vino; w'ith Faith, and paii'aus iu continent. j)NASTEUV. irre.\f^s,whicl' tron,hadst^or. ast emcrgiiv. ^ras now vapi' s, the mists > whole nation h the iervov < as this Chur*. destined to bo perpetuat(nl throncrh a lono* ipace of time ^ Or was it destined to people th(^ lieavcnly Jerusalem witli one ifch colony ot* souls, and then diminish with tim nations that formed it ? — This latter destiny, MotluM* Mary foresaw, — at appears hy her letters. So much the more ardent, it' possible, was her zeal lor the welfare oi' souls, purehas(»d with the blood of Christ ; so much tln^ more strenuous her dlorts to be useful to them, by oi)enmL>" to them a more spacious *' House " where <>'reater numl)ers of them, could l)(^ instructed " unto eternal life." The missionary Fath(»rs often expressed their desire to see the ^[onastery complet- ed, Ibretelliim- that the nuns would have moTo hibor th;ni ihey could periorm, whetlier [\)Y ihe Indians or for the French population \ ThatMonastery was, at la , in readiness * Si j.unai.-s ollt'sont une iimison l)icii capable, dies auront j.liH tTouvrage qu'ello.s iic p(-urrunt (Uiri*. ^e- lation 1 i 1 1 . iiite. '% 80 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. to receive inhabitants. It was a stately' edilice, for the times,— built of dark-co- lored, ronghly-shaped blocks of stone ; it was thr<\- 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 primitive forest yet victoriously disputed for the mastery with the encroachmeiit> of civilization. At various distances from these centres, were scattered a certain number of dwelling houses, built, sonv- ol'lu'wii pine-timber, some of stone. r^vidently the colonists, if yet few ii lei.> number, were provided with means o: *li:i per[)ctuatin^' the civilization they hiu; ^^ broua'ht to these northern vilds. Id;i The Fort would def^'ud thcnn from bein,g cut oil' hy the native barbarians Co Seniiiiaire o-i un dcs plus lieaux <»r 1' IK'lllCl e si'jfnaiee nour 1 arret v* do la Colonie, et uno aiii version (Jes >auvag'es. Leur l>at:nKV.t est ^'ruiid t5oli(le, fait a cluuix ot a sal>]e. 1h( 1ih( fro] ^ni>', dist 4o.^l RY. a stalely >f dark-co- of stone; its \en^i\i its wi^ltli iilicos stood where th'- ly disputed roachment> tances t'roni I a certain built, sonv tstoue. yet few ii 1 moans o; they ha<: Is. them from barbarian? ,r r arret v* ' fJLIMPSES OF THF, MONASTKRY. 81 th(^ colloire of Iht^ .T(^8uits and th'^ Monas- ; tery of the Ursuliucs, provided lor tlie I \v;uits of th 'ir souls and the education of '! tlieir oflsprinir ; thellospilul assured ihem an asylum for tlu) siek and alllietrd. f To the Indians, the new '' House oi' .L'sus " \vas a wonder, worth coming' a UouLT way to see. If the little tenement , on the wliarl', diLi'nilied with the nam*' of ;l" Convent," hau f)een to them so precious, 'was not this a more secure and certain asylum ^ The new Monastery miu'ht well be called "The House of Jesus;" — no one else could claim tv. be the j)roi)rietor. It hid not been built by means of iJazaars or Lotteries, so convenient at the present day, to raise funds when coffers are empty. Is either was it due to the endowments id' tln^ Foundress: these barely suliiced lor the expenst s of the Conv'f^at cabin'' was to be their home. jjut they soon proceeded ai^'ain quietly, and with recollection ; tln^y knew that the holy sacrilice of mass, was to be offered by the revered Father Gabiiel Lalemant, who closed the procession, bearing- the most Holy Sacrament. — They iiust think over the hymns they were going to sing, and their good Mothers trere preparing for Holy Communion. t Shall we ibllow them till all kneid in ftic new Chapel ? It is not vastly spacious, llnce it measures only twenty-eight i'at^t fy seventeen, yet it is brilliant with IBj^hts, and tapestried for the occasion 1 red stuffs, borrowed from the store fetined to other usages. The "gilded |abernacle" ; the embroidered altar- front; the high-colored pictures; the priest in ley appvoacli ^iant vestments; the sweet odor from tile censer ; and the sweeter voices of the little seminarists, mingled with the QTave prepare i home,— )>■ aore than < ; reserved I'u: ^^hytes. Fresentatior le day oi'i> latigaes. ans, precede d foUow^ed ^ ir seuiinaTis'r ep mountai:. little Couvi'.. vds of lrn\\^ Tht among i: In the (■' he crisp oh:. frosty gv^'^^^^ tlie nionu: The poor roi> 'M 8-i GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. notes of llie pious nuns during the Holy Sacrilice, — all comhined to make this First Mass in the ^Monastery impressive. It was still more so when the future martvr, before distiibutiuo- the Bread o! V ' CD Life, addressed a lew words of exhorta- tion to the fervent Spouses of Christ,— words of one to whom the realities oi anolher world were more present than the passing events of this;— words that came from a heart burning with the lovr of Crod, and io?"-ood Christian Indians of Cillery, where there were nov (1G42-3) from thirty-five to forty familiuN, From this centre the Faith spread through- out the country, from Miscou and Tadoii^- sac, to the canton of the Hurons. Here, it is the good Charles Meiaskwai Fran^aisep, et qiiantite de sanvages, homines e; femines, qui les vont sou vent vi.- •ons. ;s Meiaskwai res, homines ^ et recevoir qut Bert souvent '• enant expres 'r btc. Rel. lOi:".. couru et instr-; de quatre-vin;: ent reussi. Lt ion pour les Fra 1647. fH-lMl'Si:S OF TIIK MONASTKHY. 87 i \vlioso ztnU translnrmshiin into an apostle, V lint oiilv lor Ihose ul' his own nation on the SagiUMiay but tMi^n Tor tlie Ahnakis, ': on tlie Kciinebce ; — there, it is another ol IMnther Mary's parlor visitors, the brave chii'l' Noel Nei>a!)auiat, who knows no greater liappiness than to explain the Christian doetrine to all who will listen to him; a^ain, it is a woman, ni^arly sixly years oi' a^•^^ who prolits so well oi' the parhjr instructions that she, too, be'comes a missionary. In the depth ofAvinter she p;'n('trat(\s the Forests, and seeks at the distance oi' many davs' journey, a sava^'-e trihe who have not yet h^.^ird the name brCfod. Doubtless the Rev. Fathers did "hot exa'i'^'(n-ate the value of sucli aids as Jlhese, when they said : " Tlie Indian who Is a u'ood Christian and really zealous, does more u'ood amono' his country men Ihan three Jesuit missioiuiries." AVarned by (he i'ervid exhortations of l^iese new Apostles, Avhole tribes, all over the country, were seen movincr in the lirecliou of the various missionary sta- Il ' 88 OMMl'SES OF THE MONASTERY. lions, — Tadoussac, Thi'(»o l{iv(»re, Quchoc tliL^ LiToiiter number cainu to Iho (.hi.: Fi'i'nch settlement, to see thtj stranii sii^'hts it tiU'orded of l^^uropean ])uil visitors would be tedious. Let it sullii to instance the followinj;^: (we quote iVoi.. uie E-elatio'iis, 1643,) "While the Attika megues (a tribe of Algonquinsfrom Thiv Itivers) S"journed at Quebec, they wci often to he Ursulines to be instructei: entering- their parlor with importuiiiiy to be taught their prayers or their cat- chism. After the instructions, the hunii. of the poor people must be appeased. ^ that they occasioned as much exjii'ii? perhaps as the seminarists themselves. At the same time, some of the Abnak were at Sillery, and were not less eaii to he instritcted. The following' ve a|aiJ dtral tenij od I' les > leur TEUY. Lo thi) clii': th('^ stranuv an builtlnig' lime thai i: succor ol' \\i r the " Iloi; of all tliov Let it suilli' ^ve quot(> iVoi.. le the Attib ins iVom Thif eo, they \V('L he instrucii" importuuii) or their cat- ns, the hniv-v e appeased, > much expeib IhemsiAves. of the Abiiak not less eac'- ibllowing' ye. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 89 came the Iroqueis ^ IVom the great island ol' Ihii Alluinettes, having passed through the country of their en(nuies, the Iroquois. J" The Iroquets, camped near the Monas- tery, went every day to their chapel to be instructed by Father Duquen '^ ; whcMi suf- Jiciently instructed, they were baptized jht're. During six weeks, the Ursulinc^s fed this troop of eighty persons, after ass; and again at a later hour, alter iving them instruction at their parlor, he women came in iheir turn, entering e class-room for the same purpose." 1 ^ Otherwirio called La Nation de l^ Isle. I 2 J*lusieur3 .«auvai:es de la Nation dqi'oquet 8'etant nipes assez prochede Qiiehcc allaient tons les ymrs la Chapi'lle des rrsiiliiies ou le Pere Duqueti lour sail raunioiie spiritnelle. An sortir dii stTinuu les ftres donnaieiit a inaiii;;er a (piatre-vintrts persomies, avite qivelles ont CDHtinuee environ six sewiiaines (llraiit. Les fenimes venaient encore en craiures fct^ijis ct enu-aient dans la classe des filles sauvaL^es I I'nn ne cessait de lenr apprciidre a jirier Plcu; li'Miinu's entraienl an ji.irlcii- }>unr le nieine snjet, l«*ir lervenr payait vl recompensait la bonte des Wires, etc. Mel. 1G44. 90 GLIMPSES OF TUf. MONASTKUY. "During the sanK* yoar, nnmhors of IIuioiis, who iNMiiaiiU'd at Sillory (Imiiiif the winter, wore at the CoiiVc^nt even day ibr instructiojis. Cold or slorm couM not deter tiieni ; they remainecl two o three hours at a time, always occui)i('il learninL;* their prayers, or the Christiaii doctrine. These, as well as the othtM^ must have food helbri^ they g*o." It is needless to niviltiply quotations;- they would show a similar state oi'thiiiij^ during the Ibllowing six years, (to 1 (!")", whicli is the period under consideraliu; in th(^ present article. Oar readers will have, with us, but on dilReulty ;— and that is to comprehcii iiow these seven nunsi — that was thi' number until 1G44 — could sufhce for sue' la])or; — instructions, in three langunuv« French, Algonquin, and Huron ; cookiiu distrif)uting food to the family witlm and strangers without; teachin ^ Thcv were ten in 1G48, be.-itKs Miuliune fcil Pelt no be the 11 UY. (JLIMPSKS OF THE MONASTERY. 91 Limb«n*s ol rent every lorm coiill \(h\ two 01 rs occupit'il le Chvisliaii the oth»'V^ ■0." notations ;- iate ol' thin- vs, (to 1< '.•)". 30usi(lei'ati'ii has, but oil compveVu'i! at was th ' (hce t'ov sue >c h\u2;vinir' 11 von ; coo ivnily \vi ;hinG: th^nr kin: lliii. ,l,,ri Madiuue ininMiists to road, to writi^ to sew, and cloiliiiiu' them ; — teachinu' Iht'ir French pupils, aecordinn' to their rules, ail that is neet'ssary to lit th^ni lor the station in so- ci<'ty to w hich lliev belony'; \vritint>* hit- ters to the uiissionaiies and to their i'lieiids. — not letters ot ceremony, but oiten ol' many folio paues: — to say no- thinu,' of their reiiu"ious exercises, which could, In no means, have Innni ni'^'lected. The letters ol* Moth 'r Mnrv oftin^ In- Carnation darinu' this ])eriod are most characteristic. It is not ol7/^^/* seminarists, I toils that she chii^lly enter- nd." O, 1 10 In 1 lei- vast d(Mitiru\s herseli' with all wh'j conversion ol* the Indians. h(^ Held of missionary labor, or to th<^ Oreat Lakes : sh le chapels that are built, the ptisms, the holy deuLlis. She nomadic rribes that come to d. Sli3 shares the perils of h V. Ills eniUousiasin, aiu 1 1 us martyrdom. After lillini2r ,.^.. ^^ v> *> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // // 1.0 I.I 11.25 |50 ^^ ■■■ 2.2 12.0 'A iiiiii ^m, ^^^ O 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 92 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Qight or twelve pages with topics like those, she adds :— '^ A word now of our seminarists;— they give us every possible satisfaction. Their piety, their devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, their docility, their generosity in overcoming their de- fects,— all this is ravishing; yet it strikes us less now that we are accustomed to it. " — At other times she merely says ; *' G-od has blessed our labors this year as on the preceding ones : we have as much as we can do, especially during the winter months, when the b.aves leave us their children wiiile they go to hunt." As to the other incidents of Convent life, having once entered into some details, her pen refuses to reiterate them. l^ater, when the country from Quebec to lake Huron, becomes oiie great arena where scenes, at once distressing and consoling, are enacted, she sulfers with those that suffer, rejoices in all that con- duces to the glory of God, and helps to obtain by her prayers, that abundance oF GLIMPSES (»F TIIK MONASTKUY. 93 ijrace which was poured out so copiously upon the now Christians, who often had to pass from the waters of baptism, to the lire their enemies had enkindled jiround their habitations. Taking' up to the thread of our narra- tive, we should record, in the autumn of 1G48, the return of Madame de la Peltrie iromMontreal,where she had accompanied Miss Mance, the foundress of the Hospital of Ville-Marie, eig-hteen 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 oi* the laborious occupations of the nuns. It was her right, she insisted, to ju'epnre the httle Indian girls for Convent-lif% where cleanliness is a iirst principle. The amount of scrubbing with soap and warm water it required, together with the long* and patient use ol' the comb and the scis- sors, to prepare these little greasy creat- 04 CILIMTSES OF TIIK MON.«STERY. Ji - iiros for their now i^armoiits, was iiotsnfTi- cient to disconcert hor. vShe lovofl also to conduct them, for a holiday, to Sillery, where the parents of many of the semin- arists HvcmI. Like so mmv "birds set free" thi^y would Hy to their various lod<^es, passiuLT tlnMime in romping, playing wilh their little hrolhers and sisters, around their inothers. But when the signal of de- parture was given, from every side, they would hasten, gatherinix around their niii<2;ai/^ darling Mother, enihracing her with more alfection than their own parents. That small ten(mieut, known as Madame de la Peltrie's Iiouse, and wliieh in fact, twice served to shelter the entire Com- munity, was erected after her return from Montreal. l^>om t!ie year 1()4(3, it is within the Monastery, occupying through choice the last place among the sisterhood, and sharing all tlK.nr privations, that we shall iind the good Foundress, enjoying in se- clusion, that pence of mind which is the rcAvard of the rpright of heart. GLIMPSI'P OF THE MON ASTF.KY. 9.) it sulli- alrso to >ill«M'y, somin- t iVee" jrouud .1 or de- ,e, they L their no- her parents I ad a me in fact, e Co lu- ll iVom iiiii the )ice the |d, and ve shall ir 111 so- 11 IS is tht Other hiboiN^rs came in, from time to time, to share the hardships and the joys of the pioneeis. A lay sister from the Monastery of Dieppe arrived before the nuns had quitted their little Convent on the wharf. It was the c^-ood Sr. iSt. J^au- rent, who proved a real treasure to the Community. The Ursulines of Piorrmel 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 venerable 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, althouo-h feeble and suffering, persevered, and ren- dered service in the classes, both French and Algonquin. In 1645, Mother Mary of the Incarnation 9G GLIMPs-ES OF THE MONASTERY. In, joyl'iiUy resigned Iho ollice oi' Superi<. ross to Mother >St. Athanasius. Announcing the result ol' the eleetions to her son, she says : ''Our dear Lord lias made our hearts one, so that we cnn diller neither in our views, nor our desires. We have elected our Rev. Mother St. Athanasius, an excel- lent religious of the Congregation of Paris, who has such a spirit of union and chariiy, that she would sutler death rather than 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 condition to be permitted to embrace the religious state, commenced her noviciate, on the feast of the Presentation, with Catherine Lezeau, the latter as a lay sister. Both persevered, and pronounced their vows after the usual probation of two years, havinir taken the names of St. Imatius and St. Ursula. Thus, the cloistered family in 1648, consisted of eight professed choir nuns, . and two lay sisters. Before the close of GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 07 the year (Dec. 2cl), a lady from the a;reat v'orld^ Miss Philippa-Gertrudo de Bou- loi^ne, sister of Madame d'Ailleboust, joined the little Community of Ursulines. The triennial election of a Superioress was made again in June (1G48), in pace et henediclione \ resulting in the continuation of the same Rev. Mother in the office. Without anticipating more upon a future page, let it at least be said, that Mother St. Athanasius was one of those remarkable wcmen, whose precious and noble quali- ties ha\'^e 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 indissolubly the union between the two congregations of Paris and Tours, represented about equally for njany years in the Monastery of Quebec. * ^ Thus marked in the Journal des Jesuites. ■ ; CHAPTER vm. io-i.o-ior5«. MOTHER ST. JOSErH AND THE IIURONS. From the Huron country to Quebec, by the circuitous water-route, it was a distance of, at least, nine hundred miles. But to the lledman of America, long journeys \Yp\e not more expensive than bis 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 berries, the succulent roots ; or, if his foot startled the deer and the wild fowl from their covert, the quick nrrow 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 was OLIMrSES OP THE MONASTERY. 99 a Captain of the Day [a clock] that told the Frouchmaii when to eat, and whou tc ,x(*op : — ill line, beautiiVil beads to inalce /ampum ; robes of brii^ht colors ; bowls and ladles that would not burn, could be procured for beaver skins and other furs, of which the Indian had an abundance. These were some of the motives that, in 16^7, had brought to the city of Cham- plain, one hundred and iifty canoes, bear- ini>' six or seven hundred of the tall, well-built, swarthy braves, from the north shores of Lake Huron. From Point- Levis to the opposite cHifs of Quebec, the channel of the St. Lawrence was alive with their fantastic barks, each containing four or five savage warriors, their shoulders covered with shaggy hides ; their visages glowing with paint of various colors; their long, naked arms, vigorously sway- ing 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 100 flLIMPSES OF TTIH .MONASTKIlY. goiionilly corri'spoiided to the oxpoctod arrival ormorcaiilile vessels from l^'raiice. Ill 1(J.'>1>, there were stranu^er slights than ever. The Christian Huron, Joseph Chi- hateiihwa, who after nis baptism hiid Jived like a saint, was animated with new fervor. Keturnini^' 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 charily there is among those who believe in Uod, you would never remain in your s'.iperstitions. Even 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, have come for the Jove of us. When tli(^y arrived, there was sut'h re- joicing, you would liave said tliat all the people of Quebec were one. Oli ! how far are we from resembling them." In the following spring, Joseph sent to the Convent his young niece, the charm- ing Teresa, whom we have already men- GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 101 tioned. Mother St. Joseph, in the mean- time, had studied the Huron with such success that she was able to converse with Teresa, and with the braves who were wi^h her. h)oon Teresa was joined by otl)er young Huron girls; and not an Indian of the nation could come to Que- bec without seeing the wonderful, " Wise Virgin " who could speak their language. The holy nun, so rich in the gifts 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 inlluoiice irresi:-.tible. Her name was known throusrhout the IIu- ron country. Those who liac never been in Quebec, knew the Mother of the IIu- roHS, the ho/// Virf^iu, as well as those who had been instructed by her in the faith 1. From the time Teresa, the niece of the great medicine-man, with some companions, had entered, there was 1 Relations, 1G42. II iie des^ccMid aucun Siuivage a Quebec qui ne veuille voir Ics lilies Vierges. 102 GLIMPSEB OF TUB MONASTF.RY. if ' constantly a class of young Huron girls at the Convent. There are amusing anecdotes related of the childlike simplicity of some of the Huron braves. One of the neophytes of Mother 8t. Joseph 1 being invited by his companions to join them in the winter's chase, de- clined giving a decided answer, sayini» that he wished to consult his directress ; upon which the other replied contemptu- ously "You are not a man, but a woman!" The poor neophyte felt the reproach keenly, but stilled his anger, and came to recount his trials to Mother St. Joseph. He was exhorted to bear tlie reproach patiently, as became a good Christian, who should know how to love his en- emies. He replies with a sigh : •' That I will do, but, O Mother ! you do not know how hard it is for a man to be called a woman." The brave Jean-Baptiste had another 1 Let. of M. M. of the Incarnation. GLIMPSES OF THE MONARTKRT. 103 II girls related 3 of the her 8t. panioiis [ISO, de- saying ectress ; temptu- oinau ! " •eproach d came Joseph, eproach hristian, his en- ^' That do not 111 to be an other difliculty; 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 furnish. In his disappointment, he uttered some words of impatience. Perceivmg his fault im- mediately, 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 Grod to pardon him. Often the pagan liurons, decided l>y their visit to Quebec to b(*come Christians, remained many months, coming every day to the Convent to be instructed. One of these, whom Mother t*>t. Joseph was instructing, was invited by the Algoncpiins 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 coiitrary. he 104 OLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. desires that grace very ardently, it would be better to reniaiu and continue to bo instructed. Upon that, he replies with resolution : " It is decided that I shall not go. Cer- tainly, rny 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 pre- pared him for a fervent first Communion. The assiduity of the Huron neophytes to the parlor instructions, which lasted two or three hotirs when needed, has al- ready been noticed ; but we have not mentioned another tie between the poor Indians and their Mo/her. By letters to her parents. Mother St. Joseph obtained abundant suppli*'s for these poor people, whom she had adopted, and whom she cherished like her own family. At the time she commenced her inter- course with the llurons, there were thir- teen missionaries i:i their coiuitry, laboring GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 105 with a zeal capable of inspiring the most callous with admiration. But the relentless Iroquois, those Ito- mans oi' the New^ AVorkl, had vowed the destruction of another Carthage, — with atrocious pertinacity th(^y pursued their plan, until the Land oi' the llurons was a land oi' desolation. The hour of distress proved the hour of salvation. While misfortunes of every kind were upon them, famine, pi\stilence, war, in its most horrid forms, — conver- sions multiplied. Crowds, that had long deferred renouncing th«nr superstitions, hastened to demand baptism. The missionaries, after passing through such trials as belong to the most heroic confessois of the Faith, the ordeal of lire and torture in every form which iieiids could invent, left upon the list of martyrs the names forever glorious of Daniel, Crar- nier, Chabanel, Ib'elxcuf and Lalemant,^ — all personal friends of the Ursulines. ^ The Letters of Motlicr Mary contain len'^Uiy and interesting liftails of the labors, suUvringsand combats ; 106 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. No one in the Colony, perhaps, followed with more interest than Mother St. Joseph the different stages of that sad drama, des- tined to close by the extinction of the Huron name ; and when, in the summer !l of tlie^e martyrs. In them we easily follow the pro- gresH of the faith, from the time tliat the holy Jogues offered his life for the conversion of these poor pagan«, and was accepted (1040). We read in 1048, ** Huit a neuf cents Hurons baptises p. 439. In IG49, detail- ing all the cruel circumstances of the martyrdom of Rev. Fathers Brebeuf and G. Lalement, who had grown old in the Apostolic Missions among the sa- vages, she adds : F. Brebeuf had the consolation of seeing seven or eight thousand baptized before his death, many of them by aspersion. V/hile the Iroquois were burning, massacring, and destroying, the IIu- rons were no longer rebellious. 2,700 were baptized, the year following : — these were dispersed, when they were not massacred. One of these exiled bands came to Quebec, where they subsisted by the charity of the three religious Conimunities, and otlier benevolent persons. In August IGoO, there were 600 Christian Indians at Quebec. Twenty-nine missionaries had labored for the con- version of tl'e Hurons : seven of these had perished by the hand of violence. Letters, p. 441 to 450. GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 107 of 1G50, the last miserable remnant of a people that had lately reckoned 35,000 souls, set up their poor camphnts 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, and later the bark cabin could hold — men, women and children. Mother St. Joseph had the secret of consoling them, — fortifying them with holy instruc- tions, and inspiring them with sentiments of Christian resignation. From thelluron seminarists, in captivity among the Iroquois, 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 four- teen, was married, and thus had become mistress of one of those " Long Houses " where sev^eral families lived together. After ten years of captivity, the missionary not only found her iirm ia the faith, but 108 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. she had gained others to worship her Gcd, and pray with her. tSuch instances, — and thoy were not unfrequent, — show the value of the in- structions given by the nuns. The bright wave, once set forward, ran multiplying in widening circles, under the eye ol'Him who blessed it, in numbers that will be known only in heaven. CHAPTER IX. lesjo. ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEUUENCES. 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 constellations which light the wintry GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 109 firmament with splendor, were there, marking the progress of the night. The dark form of the Monaster^ looked not gloomy, for the ruddy glow of the case- ments 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 unbent from labor, en- joying in genial intercourse the social hour. Adjoining the Chapel and Choir, was the Community Hall, — not very spa- cious, — which the nuns had just entered, leaving the small refectory, with the usual ejaculation : " Deus del nobis suam pacem!^ Grod give us His peace ! That peace was there, in the depth of their souls. We saw it in their countenances, as with words of gentle greeting they unfold al- ready their parcels, — knitting, sewing, mending, — and take their seats around a plain centre-table, where burn two candles. 110 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. "We have seen them all before. — It is Reverend Mother 8t. Athanasius, Supe- rioress, who has labored on the arduous mission, ten years ; it is the pale and worn, yet gay and energetic Mother St. Joseph, Assistant ; here is also Mother Mary of the Incarnation, Depositary, the tutelary ge- nius of all ; — Mothers St. Croix, Anne de Ste. Cecile, Anne de Notre-Dame, Mother St. IgnaHa have come in. The three lay sisters, St. Laurent, St. Ursula and St. Michael ^ w^th the poor Indian widow, Cecile Arenhatsi, have still the company of the late *' lady of the castle, " Miss 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 Peltrie enters, and there is ^ Fran^oise Capel, novice of the white veil, who remained only a few months. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Ill a general rush to be near the Nin(i;ai/^ dear Mother, who never comes to thi^m without giving and receiving pleasure. "New years is coming, " they remind her, and she with pretended gravity, does not understand 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 morninff^ ^ The custom of New Year's visits, and presents too, in these early times has become known to ua through tlie private Journal of the Jesuits, lately given to the public. One example will suffice, as a picture of the cordiality that reigned among tlie in- habitants of New France. The date we select is : — ''Jan. I-IOIG. The soldiers went to salute the Gover- nor with their guns : the inhabitants presented their compliment in a body. He was betbrehand with us and came here at seven o'clock to wish us a happy New Year, addressing each of the Fathers one after another. I returned his visit after Mass. (Another time we nnist be beforehand with him.) M. Giff'ard also came to see us. The Hospital nuns sent us a letter of compliment early in the morning; the Ur- sulines also, with beautiful presents, wax-candles, rosaries, a crucifix, and at dinner, two excellent 112 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Bat the hour is waning" ; let ns look into the French class-room, where Mother St. Clnra presides at the evenin^]^ recrea- tion. It is above stairs We have not lists complete, bat we can name : the Misses de pigoon-piofl. T Bent thoin two images, in enanu'l, of St. Ignatius anil St. F. Xavier. We gave to M. GifFunl, tlie life of Our Lord, by F. Bonnet ; to M. (les Ciiatelets, a little volume of Drexelliu^^, on Eter- nity; to M. IJourdon. a telesci)pe and compass ; and to others, reliquaries, n)saries, medals, imnges, etc. We gave a crucifix to th" woman who wasiies tiie Ciiurch linen, a bottle of rum to Al)raham, and four liandkerchieis to his wife; some books of dev(jtion to others and two handkerchiefs to llobort Huche; he asked for more and we gave them to liim. I went to see M. Gilfard, M. Couillard and Ma le- iiioiselle de Repentigny. Tiie Ursulines sent to beg I would come and see them before the entl of the day. I went; and paid my com[)IinK'nts also to Madame de Ja Peltrie, who had sent us presents. I was near leaving this out, which would have been a great oversigiit. At home, I gave to our Fathers and Bro- thers what I thought they would like best. I had given beforehand to F. De Quen for Sillery, all he chose to take f»'om my room, and a choice present for Father Masse." Journal, p. 24. GLIMPSES OF TnE MONASTERY. 113 Repentigny, Misses Elizabeth and Mary Couillard, Juchereau de More, Le Tardif, Marsolet, de la Poterio, Bourdon, Hayot, Hertel, Godefroy, Misses Madeleine and G-enevieve Chavigny, Porchet, Nicolet, as being probably of the numoer. Gay and happy as young girls can be, let them with thoughts of piety, sink to rest. Has not their Mother just told them of the fervor of their little rivals, in the hall below ? They will not believe that be- cause they are more privileged than these little forest girls, who have but lately known the good God who made them, they should be less grateful or less pious. The hour of silence is proclaimed by the bell at seven ; then for a half-hour are heard the grave and solemn tones of the recitation of the Divine office. It is the evening tribute of the Spouse of Christ, as the deputed organ of the Church, offering to Heaven for all crea- tures a few notes of that perpetual hymn which circulates around the terrestrial 114 GLLMrSES OF THE MONASTERY. ! !ii orh; a hymn of adoration, praise, and love '. When all had sunk to rest within that poaceiul mansion, there was something that did not sleeji. — It was a pan of coals, which a 8ister, charg-ed with the baking, had placed beneath her bread-trough, well closed round with the napkin that covered the dough. It was not her habit to take this precaution to hasten the ac- tion of the yeast ; but this was bread for New- Year's; she would have it liirht, Th(^. coals thus set on duty, were unper- ceived, and, alas ! forgotten. All slept, but— the lire. That began by the pine box, soon well heated; then the flames circulated to all within the baking- room ; to the cellar beyond, and its stores ; to the pine beams and floor, overhead. Suddenly, Mother Mary of the Seraphim starts, as by a voice calling to her : "Haste, 1 For all that follows, see Lettres de la M. Marie de l^ Incarnation ; the scene that precedes is, ol' course, supposed. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 115 —awaken your children, or they will bo burned alive." She leaps to her feet ; the flames were bursting- through tho iloor into the room, where they all were sleep- ing. She shrieks : *' Up lor your lives, children, Ily ; " — and she rushes to the dormitory to cry: "Wake! wake! the house is on fire. Quick, and save the children." 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 Su- perior, witli admirable presence of mind, seizes the keys, and opens the doors ; Mother Assistant and Sr. St, Laurent break down the grating, *o afford egress to those who are in the second story. Some of the Sisters, thinking the fire might be still arrested, run in the direct- ion 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. The smoke and flames were quicker than words : the dormitory whore the little ones were, was already on lire. IIG GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. tSr.iSt. IfTiiatiii, at the peril of her life, breaks ill and hurries them out, — when the Uoor f^ivos way. The other sisters seize the litlle innocents in their arms and bear them off to a place of safetjr, returning several times, regardless of the danger of sufTocation or of being enveloped in the llames. 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. kShe was alone in the midst of the llaming mass ; the lire was consuming the rooms beneath ; another had seized upon the timbers of the roof, over her head ; and a third was ibllowing upon her steps, as after bowing to her cruciiix to acquiesce in the holy wnll of Grod, 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, di- OLIMPSKS OF TIIK MONASTKHY. 117 roctly over hor way. At th(^ door, sho iiKM'ts the liov. leather SuptMior ol' llie .K'suits juul all his housi'iiold, hurryiiii»' to tlio rcscuo. Tin* Chapel aloii»» was not yet in flames. Th<'y had timo to save the Bless(»d kSacramiMit, ajnl such ol' the Sacred vestments as were in the vestry ail joining", yet not without immini'ut peril. But were all indeed sale V Had it ])een possible in that hriel' space of tim(\ be- tween the first alarm and Mother Mary's ei^'ress from the house, which sh»^ measurers by the length of the " Miserere " — some five or six minutes — to transport all the household to a place of safety ? Had no one been forgotten ?— anguishing ques- tions were these to Kev. Mother St. Athanasius, who having hastened down to open the doors, had not returned, know- ing that it would be of no avail. The others had taken flight in the opposite direction, and when poor Mother Superior, shivering there upon the snow, endures a mortal agony within her soul, and calls her sisters by name, no one answers. 118 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Casting horsoir upon hor knees, she makes a vow to the Blessed Virgin, — and waits. At last, the children discover her and gather around ; Mother Mary too and all the sisters are there. Poor Cecile liad cast herself from a \vi idow in the third story upon an icy frozen path — but she was only stunned. Little Genevieve, alas! was missing still ; — it is agony for all. Eut the good angels were bnsy : — Ge- nevieve did not perish ;— she was safe, though found only after a two hours' search. Higher and higher rise the flames, wreathing through that wooden roof; the heavy timbers bend, and fall with a crash: it is the brightness of mid-day on this mid- night scene, while the cold, silent stars look down unmoved. But while that doomed mansion is siiik- ing there in a glowing, seething furnace, where are its late happy inmates ? On the cold snow-bank, clustered close to keep those little children warm, they kneel ; — calm, though pale, — so calm that one of GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 119 the spectators cries: " Surely, those women are mad ! or they have an exceeding love ofaod." Friends surround them now, and cover them w^ith their rough garments;-- they bear off the children; — the little in- dian 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 plight down the street to the Je- suits, the nearest inhabited house. G-reat were the pity and grief of the spectators, both French and Indians, though powerless to stop the progress of the conflagration. They wept with com- passion for the misfortunes of those heroic souls who had never toiled for themselves ; — or they were moved to tears to behold the angelic composure of those victims of a calamity so sudden and so terrible. The dispositions of the nuns on the 120 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. nio-ht of the conflagration, may be divined by those oi'Mother Mary herself; — lor we know that there was but one heart and mind among them. "My heart, she writes, 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 w^as Himself at this season in the cave of Bethlehem. " Early the next morning, the friendly nuns of the Hospital sent their steward with a pressing invitation to accept hospitality with them. The G-overnor, on the other hand, had ordered prepara- tions to be made for them at the Castle. The nuns were grateful to both ; — but naturally preferring the Monastery of the Hospital, to the (rovernor's Residence, they were soon in the arms of their dear sisters, the Hospitalieres, — who shed abun- dant tears, while they welcomed them so cordially to their home. The extent of the misfortune w^as sufficiently evident by the condition in which they were forced GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 121 divined -lor we art and rt, she i ; I felt ted my led over hich lie cave of to present themselves : wrapped round in borrowed mantles, and still shivering with the cold they had endured in the night Straightway, the kind hosts brought apparel from their wardrobe, and the whole community of Ursulines were trans- formed to Hospital nuns, dear Madame de la Peltrie with the rest. In the course of the day, the Grovernor with E,ev. F. Ragueneau came to convey to the scene of the disaster, the Supe- rioress of the Ursulines, 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 them- selves 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 buds ; the fur- niture of their chapel and school-rooms ;. —all, in line, that they had amassed for the service of the poor Indians, and for GLIMPSES OF THE 3I0NAfeTERY. their o\Yn subsistence ; all had been con- sumed in the space of two hours. Ma- dame de la F'eltrie 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 sympa- thy. The nuns were at least safely lodged, for the time-being. Nothing which 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 in- defatigable zeal, these " friends in need " furnished materials, and aided in putting together, complete suits of apparel for each of the Ursulines. The two Communities made but one : —seated at the same table ; sleeping under the same roof, and reciting the Holy Office together ; — but can Ursulines live without having little children around them ? Evidently not. Already the vacant house of Madame de la Peltrie has been m GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTliRY. 123 examined, and the offer of Ihe good Foundress accepted. The nuns i soon remove thither, bearing with them the generous gifts of their benefactresses; and the not less generous loan of at least 500 livres worth of commodities, necessary for a bare commencement. They bore above all and bequeathed to their succes- sors, an inexhaustible fund of gratitude for unbounded hospitality. 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 Taice- ronk, opened his harangue as follows : 1 The nuns, on their way fiome visit the College of ihe Jesuits, the Castle St. Louis and the Parish Church. Jour, des Jes. On the 18th Feb. the clironicler has written : Les Ursulines se renferment, signifying that they begin to observe a many souls whom you love in God, and who will one day bo your crown in heaven." Doubtless, this harangue has lost by the double translation, much of the vivid coloring it had in its native dress, yet it shows how sincere was their attachment to the Faith, and to all who contributed to their instruction. CHAPTER X. ior>o-ion^5. COURAGE IN ADVERSITY. Had the Ursulinos been of only mode- rjito utility to the Colony, whether lor aiding" in converting the Indians, or in diffusing' the blessino-s oi' instruction and education amon^' the rising' cceneration of French Canadians, the conjuncture was ravora])le to allow them to retire. Ten years were sufficient for an experiment ; and had there been a want of success, the nuns themselves, after all the hardships they had endured, and all the uncertain- ties before them, had a rio^ht to desist from their enterprise without being taxed with pusillanimity. Spring vessels, bringing them the usual succor, would have enabled them to defray the expenses of their pas- sage home. That they would have been (iLI.MlVSEh OF TIIK MONASTEUY, 12'J coriliiilly wclcorncd !)y their (liU'evciit roiiiinuiiities, \vas cvidoiit IVoin Iho press- iiiLi" invitations thry h id already received to (|uit tlie country on account oi'tlie In- dian warlare, and the precarious state of the colony. These invitations were still more urgiMit when tidinu's ol' the conllaiiration ol" the Monastery had reached their I'riends in France. No one conversant with the early His- tory of Canada is ignorant how critical was the state of all'airs, and how li'looniy the prospect during the years that follow- ed the dispersion of the llurons. The Iroquois, Hushed by his dire success, daz- zled by the fires that had consumed his victim, had not paused to rest him, in the solitude h'3 had made. Throughout the land, he was busy ; here, to cut off a still Hying bmid of llurons; there, to scalp the trembling Algonquin ; — and everywhere to beset the French, and conline them within their forts. The ubiquitous Iro- quois seemed destined to remain soh3 130 OMMI'SKS OF TIIK MONASTERY. innstcr of a (levjis-taii'd country. Two tliousaiid l^'rciiclimt'ii, scattorod along I lie St Lavvr(»ncc, al the various settlements and tradinu' posts, were but a handl'ul, conjj)ared to the Jlurons destroyed; and tlieir inij)ortance to the inoth<'r country depended chieily on the fur-trade witli the Indians, which the Iroquois intercep- ted \ All this was well known to the nuns; but they were all determined to persever(», and share the late ol' the Colony, whose interests they had espoused, "liow could we abandon our Christian neophytes V " says Mother Mary of the Incarnation. They are our treasures, our spiritual chil- dren, for whom we are ready to die a million of times. And what ..'ll become of our dear French o'irls without instruc- 1 LcH flottcR (les Hurons ne de^scendent plus a lii traite ; les Algonqnins sont depenples, ct lea nations plus eioigiiees se retireiit encore plus loin, craignunt le feu den Iroquois. J.c niagasin de Montreal n'a pas achete des sau- vage^ un seul castor depuis un an. liel. (JLIMTSKS OF TIIK MONASTKUY. 131 tion, without culture ? No ! wo aro not so cowardly as to botray our trust or abandon our post. Our oii«nni(»s are poweri'ul, but (lod is greater than th«^y. " The resolution of the nuns was ap- plauded by th(» public. In an assembly of the principal citizens and the Jesuit Fathers, presided by the Governor D'Ail- Itiboust, it was decided to oIFer them a loan, free of interest for six years, and to aid them as far as possible in rebuilding their Monastery \ ^ The Relation pays : Le feu avail fait un liolo. causte tout eiitier do leurs liabit.s, de leur maison, de tons leurs meubles et des aumoiien, duntdepnis dix ans on avait tache de soulager une partie de leurs neceaaite.s. La perte a ete grande, rnais ces boniiea meres n'ont pas perdu leur confiance en Dieu. . . .Le de.sir qui les presse de se tnettre en etat de fuire en ce pays ce que leur zele y est venu chercher pour le pa- int des anies; I'esperance qui leur lait croire que voulant tout souffrir et tout faire pour Dieu, il fera tont pour elles : ces rai&ons, dis-je, les ont obligees saintement a rebdtir de nouveaux edifices. . . . Noua les y avons assistees de toutes nos forces. . . . Tout le pays a interet a leur etablissenient, principalenient a GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. This decision takon, let us return to the " lietheleliein " of the UrsuHnes to take note of some of the comforts and con- veniences. The mansion, built probably on the model of other small dwellino-- houses of the city, was two stories high, thirty feet in length and twenty in breadth. These were narrow limits for thirteen persons, ^ to whom a chapel and a class- cause de leur seiuinaire ; car ^experience fait voir que les filles qui out ete aux Ursulines s'en ressenteiit toute leur vie, et que dan.s lenr inenage la crainte de Dieu y regne davantage, et qu'elles y elevent bien iiiieux leurs enfants. In the same article Rev. F. Ragueneau mentions a school for boys : On a commence cette annee (1651) un seminaire, ou les enfants sont en pension sous uu honnete homme. ... lis viennent en classe au Col- lege. Sans cela nos fran^ais devietidraient sauvages, et auraient moins d'instruction que les sauvages memes. ^ The Relation mentions in additio»> to tlie '•' treize personnes qui component leur communaute, quelques pensionnaires dont leur charite n'a pu se dispenser, nonobstant \cs incommo«Jites presque intolerables qu'il leur a fallu souftVir, principalement dans les chaleurs etouffantes de I'ete, et dans une pauvrete qui les a reduiiea a avoir besoin de toutes choses. t*oc GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 133 to the ,0 take (1 con- obably ^elling- s high, readth. hirteeii a class- ; fait voir ressenteiit crainte Je jvent bien nentions a ee (16.-)1) -n sous un ise au Col- gauvages, sauvages Ihe ''treize 5, quelques dir^penser, itolerables dans Ics pauvrete Icbosea. room were as indispensable as a dining- room and a dormitory. Their ingenuity and their patience, having already been tasked m a similar manner, made them at home in their new domicile. Beds were arranged, one above another, for themselves and lor some little boarders, probably orphans ; — a board partition screened off' a little chapel. A sort of rustic arbor, covered on all sizes with bark, in the Huron style of architecture as before, gave them an additional class- room for their neophytes. Their poverty, which excited universal compassion, reduced them to receive alms from such as would hav^^ been succored by them, in better days. One woiald bring a towel, a chemise, or a cloak ; another presented a chicken, a few eggs, or a loaf of bread. " The Jesuit Fathers, says mother Mary, sent us the stuffs destined to their own use to clothe us ; they gave us provisions, hnen, and blankets for our beds. They lent us the services of their lay brethen ».;» 134 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. and their workmen, to aid in the build- ing. The Grovernor also and his wife, Madame D'Ailleboust, succored us in many ways. In short, all ov.r friends showed Ihemselves so compassionate and obliging that we have no words sufficient to express our gratitude. If the i>overty of our Colonists is great, their charity is greater." In the mean-time they sought to re- sume the labors of the Institute, in favor of the young French girls, as well as the Indians. The snow had not yet fully disappear- ed from the ground, when the nuns were seen clearing away, with their own hands, the rubbish that covered the charred foundations, in preparation for the work of the masons. On the 18th of May, in presence of the Governor, and a goodly company, another foundation-stone was blessed by Kev. Father Laloment, and deposed, with the usual ceremonies, by Madame de la Feltrie. All the workmen that could be obtained, were employed ; GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. and the walls rose so rapidly that some hopes were entertained of inhabiting them the following winter. But the short summer passed too quiek- ly ^ ;— autumn came, and the long- winter ^ Mother Mary of the Incarnation tells us how the the nuns manaured to live after the burnini; of the Convent. The spring vessels bringing them only the usual supplies when they were in need of every- thing their Chaplain, Rev. Mr. Vignal, undertook to provide for their subsistence by cultivating their land. He took laborers with liini, and set them the example, by toiling early and late. God so blessed his charity and his labor, that they harvested wheat peas and barley in sufHcient quantity tor the forty persons that composed the family of that year. " We have a double team of oxen for our labor and six cows that furnish us with milk and butter." Rev. M. Vignal continued his charitable care of the Com- numity until 1G57, when he joined tlie Sulpicians. Mother M. of the Incarnation says : ''Notre Com- munaute avait des obligations intinies a ce bon pretre. Outre I'accomplisseiiient des devoirs spirituels de sa charge, il surveillait lai-meme nos domestiques, et nous lui devons une eternelle reconnaissance pso pi'dvitleiitially. llor deiniuul to 1)0 allowed to accompany Mother Mary ol'llic liicarnalion, was met hy an inlimaliou to bo in readiness to take tin; ollice ol' another tSister who would be ap- pointed to 1^0. But lUMther the opposition oI* h(^r Com- munity, unwilling" tor many reasons to part with her, nor the justly expected refusal ot her parents to consent to her ^oing, disturbed the equanimity of her generous soul. Conliding in the pro- tection of tSt. Joseph, she awaited the result of the deliberations of the various parties interested. That result, as we know already, was most fortunate for the foundation of the Ursulines of Quebec. The name of Mother St. Joseph is next to that of Mother Mary of the Incarnation in their hearts. They can. never forget that the first of her three constant de- mands to Heaven, was, — the sanctifica- tion of her Community. The second was, GLIMPSES OF TIIK MONASTER V. 145 niaiid Lot her by ail ke tlu; bo iv|)- [• C om- ens to pected to her of her le pro- ed the various as we ibr the ebec. I ho conversion of all the pagan nafions of America ; the third, — thii pr(»s('rvati()n and prosperity oi" the French Colony in Canada. ^ 1 TIjc Relation of 1().')2 inflerted a Hioj^raphical notice of Mutlier St. Joscpli, wliicli occupies nearly twenty pages. '* Cbh menioires [L'al-rege de la Vie de la Mere M. de St. Joseph] etant entre nos mains — says the au- thor of the Hdaiion—yii'i cru que ce serait faire tort lui pubhc de renfcriner ce tresor dans les seulen iiiai- sons des Ursulinea Son convoi ne se fit pas avec les poinpes de I'Europe, niais avec tout ce qu'il y avait d'honorable au pays, avec toutes les affections et tons lea regrets des Fran9ai8 et des sauvages qui I'ainiaient et qui la cherissaient pendant sa vie et qui la respectent corntne une aainte apres sa mort." Rev. P, Ragueneau. Sup. des Jes. it '? I 1- CHAPTER xr. 1«^S-10G;5. THE SECOI^D MONASTERY. The central building of that pile which constitutes, at the present day, the Ur- suline Monastery, is the one that Wf.s erected in 1652, by Mother Mary of the Incarnation. Those walls, cimented by charity, it would seem, over which our Mother passed so many times, conversing in the intimate recesses of her soul, with the Blessed Virgin, as with the principal .Directress of the enterprise, were not dissolved by the flames which for the second time, some thirty years later, con- sumed the Monastery. After a fifteen months' residence in the house of Madame de la Peltrie, the Ur- sulines were enabled to remove to their new Convent. Mother Mary, with that gi.imPkSEs of the monasteliy. Ii7 forotliou'.';ht which marked all her plans, h;id provided additional class-rooms by extendini^' the walls to the length oi' one hundred and eig'ht i'eet, instead of ninety- two. The nuns eiiected their removal on the vigil of Pentecost. It is easy to imau'ine that few h(ig-LiYiL!,r,-wai^'ons were required. As usual, the whole population of Qae- bec took part in the rejoicings. On the morning of Pentecost Sunday, a proces- sion from the parish Church. — priests in g'ittering cape and stole, youths in the white robe of the alcolyte, citizens in holiday attire, came singing hymns beiit- cinii' the occasion, to transport the l]les-ed Sacrament from the lowly Altar where it had rested for tlie last iiftoen months, to the Tabernacle pi'epared in the new Con- vent for its receptioji. During three days, the clergy and pi^ople came in sim ilar order to sing High Mass in the new Chapel, wh-n*e there was exposition of the Ph^ssed Sacrament for the (inaraiiC Ore. To ail the country, the rebuilding 148 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. |: . •> "1 " The seminarists continued to occupy the late residence of the Community, the house of Madame de la Peltrie. The French population was not yet numerous, but there was a rising gene- ration as the Relations testify (1653) of '' line, healthy children." GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 149 This explains what Mother Mary states of the Institution at this period. " After the restoration of our Monastery" she writes, " our scholars augmented in pro- portion to our accomodations. In fact, we have been, at times, overcharged ; and I have seen myself, to my great regret, forced to refuse many ; — the poor parents, retiring with tears in their eyes, while I wept in my heart. It is indeed a miracle that we have been able to subsist," over- whelmed as they were with the occu- pations of our Institute. When we reflect how well the good Mother understood the avt of lodging a large family within very narrow limits, without complaint or observation, we may easily form some estimate of the number of pupils. The zeal of the co- lonists for the education of their children need not be frustrated by the scarcity of money. The usual barter of the country will do, for the nuns required ^'Jfre-ivood, hntter, pork, salled-eels, corn, vegetables, S^cT although they cultivate as much land as ■ ' I. 150 GLIMISIS OP THE MONASTERY. they can under the charitable direction of iheir Chaplain. From the Journal of the Jesuits, already- cited, we learn that in 1660, forty children made their first Communion at the Pa- rish : twenty had been placed at the Convent by the Bishop, for the usual preliminary instructions. From this num- ber of poor children within the limits of the city, nearly of the same age, it is reasonable to infer that the French pu- pils under the care of the Ursulines at this period were numerous : — the usual proportion of children for their first Com- munion is not one fourth of those sent to school. The education of those times, without embracing the diversified programme re- quired ])y the customs of the present day, was perhax^s the more favorable to the developmiMit of the superior faculties of the mind. The rules for the Institute which were printed at that date and followed, required the pupils to be taught reading and grammar ; the Christian doe- GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 151 trine and sacred History ; practical arith- metic, penmanship and needlework. The requirements of modern systems of education were unknown in the 17th century, nor w^ere they yet fashionable in Louis XIV or Queen Anne's time. In preparation for the Huron seminar- ists, Mother Mary of Incarnation had commenced the study of their language two years before Mother St. Joseph's death. Their classes, therefore, did not sutler, and we hear of "good seminarists" who are " pious and devout," wlio are so "well advanced that thoy are able to aid in the classes, teaching their companions to read and to write : able also, to make their clothes and keep the house in order." Finally, we hear of several " who pressed to be received into the Novitiate ; but as the nuns always put them oil" they dis- covered, at last, themselves that they could not ahvays remain in the same place ; they longed for the woods, yet leit the 152 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Convent w^ith regret. " ^ " \Ye have not sense enough, they said, to live like you ; " they might have said, God has given us hearts to love Ilim, but not lungs to breathe the air oi' cities. Like those wild and yet beautiful llowers, the Orchis tribe, that thrive in the clefts of rocks, at the base of the overhanging precipice, in the solitude of the forest glade,— but fade and die when transplanted to the garden and treated to a rich soil : so our native American tribes faded and v^^ere short- lived, in proportion as they were deprived of the air and life of the great forests, which for so many ages had been their home. Besides the direct object of instruction, the Monastery w^as the ordinary refuge ^ Letters of Motlier Mary of the Incarnation, and Relations 1053, 4, 1055- 1 G58. The Hospital nuns received one into their novitiate, but she only liveil to receive tlie habit and to pro- nounce her vows on her ileath-bcd. A few others have been receivetl into the different Conununities of Cana- da— but all died young. GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 153 for the Indian g'irls, whenever their pa- rents were unable to protec* them. Sometimes it was an orplian, that the relatives could not provide for ; — some- times a wee babe of some months, which the nuns were offered l)ecauso the mother was dead, or that two of the same age were burdensome. ^ More than once, a poor widow, with tearful eyes, begged for the protecting shelter of the Convent, —and was not refused. Mother Mary ^ Ces bonnes Mercs sont extrenienient c]iarital)le8 ; Ic.'^ difficiiltes (111 pays ne Ics etonnent ptjint; leur Heniinaire ne refuse aucunc Fran^ lise ni aiicune fillo Sauvage; I'auinoiie we I'ait choz elle en tout temps, lenr cueu^ est plus gran^l ((ue leurs biens. Les pen- si'jnnaires en France ne grevent p )int les Monasteres ou elle< sont instruites ; ce n'est pas de meine en Caiui'la: il taut non-seuleinent nourrir et iustruire les petites seminaristes, mais il les taut habiller, ct a leur depart leur taire de bonnes auniones et souvent encoie a leurs parents, tant ils sont pauvres. "After giving some instances th/j good Father adds : " V'ous diriez qu'elles fcraient volontiers tous les tVais neces- f^aires pour les mener et p >ur les con luire jusqu'en paradis. Relation. 154 (JMMPSES OF TT.K Mr)NAsTKllY. seoms to have had a special compassion, and a si)ecial carci'or widows and orphans. It was Avdth llio latter shv^ was most succcsslul in Ibrming' them to all the usag'es oi' civilized lire,~sonie of those seminarists really intelligent and accom- plished became the wives ol' respectable. Frenchmen. Mr. JJjuchei, afterwards Governor of Three Ivivers, married a seminarist. In lO')!!, the nuns abandoned, for two years, thinr class- rooms in the h")use of Madame de la Peltrie in favor of an il- histrious personage, for whom, it appears, Quebec could oiler n.o better accommo(Ui- tions. It was the noble ^Scion of the house of Montmor(mcv, .lean-Francois Ijaval, the ilrst Bishop of Canada. Mother Mary announcing' iiis arrival says: — " lie is a man of superior merit and siu'i^'ular \ irtue, whose a1)ilities are of ihi^ highest or(kn*. Tie is al)ove all hum.-'n respect, zealous for the spread of religion and for every li'ood work. Ilis manner of lif^ is so exemplary that every one is in admira- OMMPSES OF THK MONASTKllY. 155 lion : ill short, ho is a man chosen by Heaven, an apostle worthy of all possible consideration. AVe shall be incommoded, certainly, to fnid place in our class- rooms for our seminarists, but we shall sutler the inconvenience joyfully on such an occasion. He will have the enjoyment of a fine garden; we have put up a cloister-paling, that all may be according to rule." Within the precints of the cloister, another enterprise had been undertaken, which doubtless received a fresh impulse from the presence of the chief Pastor. It was a Church, adjoining the Convent, commenced by the unwearied friend of the Ursulines, Madame de la Peltrie. The pious widow, who without the consolation of an irrevocable engagement in the service of her Divine Master, per- severed in the humble and retired life she had embraced in the Community, had long nourished the project of raising a *' House to the Lord " — thus she designa- ted the church she had in contemplation. 15() (iIilMl»SES OF TliK MONASTERY. While the nuns were engaged in ivl)uil(l- iiig the MoiKi.siery, she had eoiiinienced amassing* llie necessary runds. Her an- nual income, much diminished by the hiw-proceedings of lier relatives, only permitted her to ])eg'in in 1050. The Go- vernor, M. de Lauson, invited to lay the foundation stone, had assisted at Vespers, with his suite, in the httle Chapel of the Monastery, on the Feast of the Ascension. The Oilice of the Church concluded, the Superior of the Jesuits, and other Eccle- siastics, proceeded to the spot marked for the foundation. The stone, inscribed with the sacred names,— Jesus, Mary, Joseph, — was blessed by the Iiev. Father LeMercier ; the Governor, with his silver trowel, performed the part assigned him in the cei^mony, while all the cloistered family looked on with pleasing anticipa- tions. Two years and a half later ^ the chapel being completed, was solemnly blessed 1 This date we have been enabled to verify by the Journal des Jesuites : — 1659. (JLIMPSES OF TIIK MONASTKRY. 157 hy the Superior of'the Jesuits ; the ]51essed vSaerament was transported to the new altar, leaviiii>' the apartments which had liitherto served I'or prayer and the Divine 8acrihee, free to be employed as ckiss- rooms or for other purposes. At the close of this period of thirteen years (1(.)(>5) we lind the Ursulines had aui^mented their numl)erof teachers in the Institute by receiving several subjects, formed in their classes ^ Although the Indian race had greatly diminished throughout all the country, since the first arrival of the nuns, — cut off by sickness ^ and the unsparing arms of the Iroquois, — there were still the sedentary Indians of ^ See Chapter XII. 2 <' Sickness, " — among the Indiana. — For Euro- peans the country was remarkably healthy. During thirty two years, only two deaths had occurred in the Community. The Superior of the Jesuits says : L'air du Canada est si excellent, qu il y a fort peu de ma- lades en ce pays, et on n'y peut quasi mourir, a moin;? qu'on ne meure d' accident ou de mort violente. Rel. 1663. I.kS (;mmpsf..s (ir tiik .monastery. Silb'ry, whose clj»'m'ht «»!'?•', IVoin ilio iirst, were instructed in the Convt'iit ; tlicre were also lhi» llurons, who, since Ihcy had been iriinsiK)ite(l iVoni Ihn Island (•!' ( )rleans to Quclx-c ( 1(158), and lodged near the ChulrdH Sf. Loffis, sent tlicir chiKlr(>n daily I'or instruction, to the nund>er of sixty or eii^'lity. These, as in Ibrnier times, had their daily mess oi* sai;'(Hiif/e, alter their school was over. During Die v>interoriGG2, Mother Mary was surrounded by a class ol' novices, eag'er to render themselves usel'uJ, and to avail themselves ol'her knowledge ol' the Indian languages. For their heneiit, and for the use ol'the other nuns, she composed at that time, a catechism in Huron ; three in Algonquin, and a large Dictionary, French and Algonquin. With all this labor for the Indian race, writing in 1(J(J4, she says: "We are still more occupied in the classes for the French children : and, it is certain that if God had not sent the Ursulines to Canada, they w^ould be left to the most deplorable ignorance. All OLI.Ml'SKS OK TIIK M"NAM'liUV. 150 iho yoiiULi'H'irlsin llu^ counlrv l^ass thron^'h our hands; siiid this cjiiiscs pii'ly and re- ligion to llourishfvoi'vwhoro. Tlu» I'l'iMicli ]u>i)ul;i(ion, rapidly in(;ro'\sinu*, our (Mu- l)!oynirnls niiust keep pace with that in- crease. ?) CllAI'TKll XII, !<;.-> r^-i<;t>.->. T THE NOVITIATE. The secret oT a relii>-ious vocation is, for nrany, a mystery uniathonial)ie : hat in vain woidd they seek, in the circle oi* human passions, the motive Tor end^raciiii^ a state, \vho;se iirst ol)li«_,-ation is to curb those pas.sions. By what standard can the wordly-miuded, the nid)elieving*, judL^'e of actions that arise IVoni motives superior to nature? No; they are incapable oT ibrm- \\\[^ a just estimate in these matters; and 160 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. irom false premises, necessarily draw false conclusions. They study the phenom- enon from their own level, and settiui^ up a caricature, call it a true portrait. Ambition, pride, self-love, at best religious enthusiasm— they cannot mount to high- er motives. But neither pride nor am- bition prompts one to reduce himself to be the servant of the poor, the orphan, or the savage. Self- love is not so blind as to thrust itseU'into the wilderness, to seek admirers, nor courageous enough to en- dure long years of abnegation and utter self-sacrilice. ^ As to religious enthu- siasm it may excite to rash enterprises, but it is insufficient to ensure persever- ance ; — the lire invariably burns out, and leaves its possessor colder and weaker than before. ^ Tlie presold century will bra-e to record other lieroic examples of selt-sacrilice; and none more resembling that of tbe iir,>=t Ursulines and Hospital nuns oi' Canada tban tbe recent establisbment fur tbe poor savages of tbe River McKenzie, by tbe coura- geous Sr. Lapointe and her little Community tbe dauditers of Madauic Youville. ~~^. GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 161 The true motive of a religious vocation, especially for the active Orders, is Cha- rity, — that supreme love of G-od which hears w^ith joy the injunction : " Take up thy Cross and follow me ;" — believing in the promised " hundred-fold in this world, and eternal life in the next " ; — believing also the words of our Saviour : " What- soever ye have done to the least of these, ye have done unto me." Without this supernatural motive, in a greater or less degree, there can be no true religious vocation. But it is time to return from this di- fifression. The value of the labors of our first Ur- sulines to society, is sufficiently evident ; — but how will their work be perpe- tuated? Will the wild soil of Canada be found productive of plants, fit to be trans- ferred to the " G-arden enclosed " of the Celestial Bridegroom ? Yet, why should we not expect to find the Lily and the Hose blossoming under the shadow of the Cross? In an atmosphere, redolent of the J 162 GLI.MPhES OF THE MONASTERY. purest Christianity, there could not be a dearth of vocations for the cloister. AVe have seen that throe novices had been reuoived before the burning of the Convent ; — Miss Barre, and Miss de Bou- log'ne, w^ere natives of France: Catherine Le;'pau, a lay sister, was the iirst Canadian novice. In 1G52, Miss Genevieve Bourdon, at the age of fourteen, hears the mysterious cnll, and turning away from the world she was just entering, she begs to bo permitted to embrace the religious state. The nonoral)le Pwcureur-General, her father, was of that class of men, whoso worth is superior to any station. The refuge of the poor, the protector of tho widow and the orphan, he was a man of prayer, leading an interior life, such as is the aim of the monk in his cell, or tho nun in her cloister. .Such a man would not refuse to part with his daughter, when it was to give I or to God \ 1 Mis? jMarguerire l^ourdon, the eliletrtof the family, ami lier younger sister Mary, embraced also the w- GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 103 th Grcnevieve, on taking the veil, i adopts name e of St. Joseph, proposing, no liirions stato, anionj:^ the nuns of tlie IloPiiital i im Que bet ^ Le (]econil)rc \C}')2, Genevieve Bourdon [)ren(l I'hahit aux UrsuHnes; c'cs;t moi (le Pere Rdgue- mail Sup.) qui oiKoia le P. Jerome Lalenient qui (lit la messe, et le Pere Cliatelain qui precha. Ma- dame d'Aillebuusi et Madame llourdon entrerent et (liiierent dans la niaison des Ur.sulines. M. le G<^u- verneur, ^F. d'Ailleboust et M. Ijourdon vinrent diner en notre retl'Ctoire com me aussi M. de St. Sauveur et M. Vignal, (I'un prctre, I'autre cliapelain defi Ursulincs.) M. Bourdon ayant envoy 6 de quoi di- ner pour tout notre refectoire, ubi diiplicia fuere omnia. Jour, des Je-^. The Journal r/t'.n of the complete series of the Udution des Jcsuiles, or dered bv the Canadian Liovernment. 164 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. doubt, while placing herself under the protection of that glorious Saint, to imi- tate the holy nun who had lately borne it with so much edilication to the Com- munity. A younger sister, Miss Anne Bourdon, having, in 1658, attained the age of four- teen, like Grenevieve, enters the novitiate of the Ursulines. Hereafter, she is known as Mother Anne of St. Agnes. These two angelic young girls have not become nuns " to pine away and die." no ! Mother St. Joseph lives to celebrate the 47th anniversary cf her profession, having filled all the offices of the Commu- nity, except thai of Superioress. She was oi'tenest employed at class, where her vigi- lance, her zeal, her tender piety, rendered her services invaluable. Mother Anne of St. Agnes was very precious to her community, which she was called to govern, later, after those venerable Mothers who had directed her in the paths of perfection, had been called to their reward. GLIMPSKS OF THE MONASTEKY. 1G5 This is not the place to enter into fur- ther details of the piiity, the rare inh^lli- gence, the rich endowments, of this lirst Canadian Superioress, whose memory is embalmed in the gratitude of the Com- munity. She lived to the age of seventy. Miss Anne Bourdon had taken the veil with Miss Mary Boutet de St. ]\lartin, in religion Mother St. Augustin, who pro- nounced her vows at seventeen, and lived to renew the 40th a)iniversary of her pro- fession. Mother Mary of St. Augustin, was chiefly employed at the Institute, for which her talents adapted her in a special manner. Proposing toherself our Saviour in His hidden life, as her model, she had a special preference for all the laborious and obscure oflices, — aiding the lay Sisters, sweeping, taking care of the little Indian gins. The following year, the novitiate re- ceived another acquisition in the person of Miss Jeanne CrodeiVov, who had been a pupil in the Convent from the age of six years. She was one of those who^ ir»(; (J[,i,mi»m;s (iF Tiii; monastki'.v. I; driv«Mi IVom IIkmi' hods ai :i monionl' Wiirimm', wiM'o 111 ;h nM'o snivcniiir <> 11 11 li' snow, whiu' llio lin^ was consuniin^" (lie Monastery. M'Y lalli''!', ■Nl. John (lode- IVov, oi' J^inctot in Numnndy, ^vas one (»!' tho earliest settlers ol* Three Ivivers. To vi^dize tht^ perils tliat surrounded theso pion(nM's oi' the colonization of Canadn, Ave have oidv to read [hi": trai>ic late ol' six ineinhers oi' our novice's ianiily. in the daily encounters with the Irocjuois, dt^termiiuul on the extermination ot* th*^ l^ettlers, live amonu" her tmi hrothars, vveri^ killed. Her uncle, Thomas G ode iroy, was taken })risoiier, and burned hy those bar- barians. A nuui capable of maintaininu" his post, and aiding', in such circumstauc(\'^, to tix the Fr^'uch name upon the soil, miulit Avell be remi^mbered i)y the '' Grand Jvoy "' in his distribution of tithes ^ of nobility amona- the most worthy oi' his Ganadiaii sub] eels. Tl u se tltl cs cair.e to th ai ui'v Go'.letrov 10^8. (iLIMI»Si:s (»F illl'; MONASTKUY. lo: ItcturniiiL'' ioour Novico, who look llie ]i;iine ol' Si. 1m\s. Xnvio", wo iruist cite h(M-o,!iir()iHlin<4', ill lis way, a piclure ol" ilio tiiiios, a lew linos of Ih^' "Mouioiv" ol' lliis ami iblo Canadian Ursuliuo : " Oar lillle pupil, IVoni tlio a'^o ol' six: years, was r<'- markahlo I'or {\\\} precoeily ol' her intelli- n-ence, her happy ni<'niory, her brilliant taiiUits. She made rapid progress in learn- ing" her catechism, Sacred Jlislo^y, and llie oilier ^studies suited lo her ai>-e. In thesis early times, the Rev. Fathers ol'lhe Society oi' Jesus, used to ^'ive pubhc i n- >t which all clions on Sundays, a hoarders assisted. To excite emulation among them, they w^ere allowed to learn dialogues or verses on sacred subjects. Miss Grodel'roy w^as the one Avho ol'tenest carried oil the prize lor application and success. " Bishop Laval gave her the veil at the age ofsixtetn. From that day forward, she never turned aside from the paths of perfection she had resolved to pursue. Mother St. Frs. Xavier was one of those 168 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. young sisters, so arcb^nt to learn the In- dian languages, as we have seen in 10(32. Iler biographical notice would lead us too far, while it would show us this ler- vent Ursulinr pra<' :is*ng the sweet vir- tues of jliaritv a.) J kamilily, preserving the candor and ;u;tuetv of her chilhood, passing through the laborious offices of Depositary, Mistress of Novices, anc G-en- eral Mistress of the Boardini? School. Another youthful aspirant to the reli- gious life from Three Rivers, enters in 1665. It is Angelique Poisson, daughter of the Seigneur of Grentilly. Her vocation was as precocious as that of the Misses Bourdon ; and her eloquence like theirs, in pleading the cause of her fervor, enabled her to triumph over the opposition of heT mother, her only surviving parent. She entered the Novitiate in her fifteenth year, to serve the Community, and edify it to the age of seventy-nine. The annal- ist of the Convent, tracing a notice of this beloved Mother Angelique Poisson of St. John the Evangelist, who died in the GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 16a ofFice of Superioress, make.^ us share her admiral n of a life so pure, so fervent, so T-eplete with ediHcatioii during ilie space of sixty- our years, which she had passed n the iaithful obr^er ance of the rale and the obligations of the religious state. These are the fiv^e first-fruits of the grace of a religious vocation for the Ur- sulines in the New "World. Won by the sweet attractions of grace, they turned away from home and kindred, to follow Grod mere closely, living in Him by a life of prayer and recollection ; laboring for Him in purity of intention, in singleness of heart. Their death was in peace, and their memory is blessed : who shall say that thei:* sacrifice was in vain, or their choice unwise ? CIIAPTEll XIIL ior>;5— looo. THE URSULINES AND THE IROQUOIS. 100J5J. CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS. Would the Iroquois ambassadors, at Quebec, in 1655 and '56, fail to visit the House of Jesus, and the IloJij Virgins^ so much talked of by their Huron captives? And would the Ursulines, with their ex- perience of the value of such interviews, fail to seize the occasion to speak of the " Great Creator of all things " to their swarthy visitors ? Mother Mary tells us how the Chief Teharihogen and all his company, eigh- teen stalwart braves, were received at the Convent, and twice regaled splendidly. OLIMrSES OF TIIR MO:,.; TKllY. 171 Tho sominarists were a wonder to th(mn, osp^oiaily to see thorn caved lor and cher- ished so tenderly by the nuns, to whom they were by nature, strangers. Marie Arinadsit, who, at the aii'e of eleven, writers French as well at Huron, and sino's liymns in three lanji'uaijes, is 'J a prodin-y for them, especially al'ter she has tau'^ht a class of Huron girls in their presence. INIarie prolits oi' the occasion to haranu'ue the Chiei'; she makes him the present of a wampum belt, to invite him to send the little Iroquois girls to the Convent, and promises to treat them as her sisters. Another day, a female sachem comes, with all her suite. Marie recommences, with the same success. Mother Mary of the Incarnation has repeated interviews with Magdalen and her companions. Be- fore they leave Quebec, their faith is iirm, and they are sufliciently instructed to be baptized : the ceremony takes i^lace i'"* the convent Chapel, — " Oh ! what a glad Te Deum was sun^: on that occasion. 172 niJMISKS OP THE MONASTERY. Thankful hoarts exulted, to soe the porso- cutors of Christianity becomo the children of Clod." The ambassadors and the new Christians, on their way home, meet a larg-e number of their nation, men and w^omen, at Montreal, and tell them so much of the nuns and their " seminarists" that another band come on, impelled by no other motive but to see the " sights " at Quebec. They were welcome at the Convent no doubt. The women were admitted to the class-rooms of the semi- narists, to be regaled and entertained like the former visitors. The nuns were delighted with the fe- males of that nation, whose warriors were a terror to the country. Mother Mary pronounces them the gentlest creatures in the w^orld, and often reiteratt s the wish to see a troop of young Iroquois girls in her convent. This wish was destined to be fullilled, as we shall see later. The noble Magdalen, who has come so far to be instructed and baptized, might herself be considered as the first seminarist. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 173 This fervent Christian, returning to her country with Mother Mary's holy words still ringing in her heart, proved faithful to the graces she had received. To aid the missionary, Father Dablon, in acquiring the language, she remains hours by his side, a willing and patient teacher. She is a missionary herself. Fearless of the ridicule and contempt to which she was exposed by fulfilling an office considered unworthy of her rank, she goes daily from cabin to cal)in to call the Christians to prayer. She sings at mass with the Huron captives, and in all things lives up to the tc achings of her Faith. When Father Chaumonot writes, she renders Mother Mary of the Incarnation an account of herself, declares she will ever be faithful to prayer, and renews her promise to send her sister to the Con- vent. Later, when persecuted by her un- believing relations, sue never wavered in her faith, and her death was as consoling as her life had been edifying. It was not without a smile we read in 174 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTKIIY. the Old Books that the nuns took part also in the Council ^ of the lioquois and the Missionaries spoke for them ; a present in the style of the country, ^ ijivitiiig- the Indian braves to send their daughters to the Convent. But the pagan Iroquois was the per- sonilieation of deceit and treachery. Five years alter ^ the visit of the ambassadors, alluded to above, the Iroquois were again expected at the Convent, — but not as 1 This aRSGMibly was lield in the midst of'tlie Iro- quois country, where the missionaries liad fearlessly penetrated. 2 Pour donner dr. relief a tout cela [les present> des Peres] suivait le present des Meres Ursuiines .k' Quebec, (pd s'otYraient do grand cceur arece\oir clicz e1'"s les petites filles du pays, pour les elevcr dans h\ piete et dans la crainte de Dieu. lldation, 165G. 3 This interval of five years was one of alternate hope and atixiet", througliout the Colony: the Irw quois, having dispersed the Neutral nation anl destro}ed the Eries, were waging war with the An- daste, and still pursuing under treacherous pretexts of friendship, the Algonquins and the remnant of tho Hurons. The reader will not expect to lliid here iW GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 175 welcome visitors. The Monastery had be- come a Fortress, not merely by a figure of speech in the Indian style, but in reality. This episode must not be omitted : it belongs to the year 16G0. No one had forgotten the hostile llotilla which had passed under the very cannons oi' the Fort, (liJoG) to fall upon the Hurons on the Is- land of Orleans, killing some, and bearing oif nearly a hundred into captivity. Tiiis daring act was achieved by the Mohawks, the most intractable of all the Iroquois tribes. In IG60, large bodies of these fierce marauders were threatening the French settlements. Hamlets were pillaged and burned, diole families were cut off. A prisoner, taken by the French, revealed detjiilH — which are the province ot' the Hi^tury of Ca- nada. We cannot furhear nienlioning hore — on the part ofUie Coinnnmity — Dr. Mik's' Series of Hlsiories uf Ca;iaila, which are written in a spirit of impartiality deserving of the lii,giiest pra;.-e, — to say nut hi a,:! of the ease and perspicuity of the style. 176 glimp.es of the mon.astery. the plots of his contrymen, declaring that an army of eight hundred, or more, were pressing on, to surprise Quebec. *' Let us cut off the head, " said they, " then we shall have easy work of the members. Let us strike Onontio."' The enemy was not farther off than Three Kivers. No time was to be lost. The danger from these barbarians was thought to be so imminent that the Bishop came for the Ursulines, and conducted them with their pupils to the Jesuits' buildings which had been prepared as a fortress. The Hos- pital nuns were provided for with the same solicitude. Mother Mary of the In- carnation, always intrepid in the hour of danger, remained, with three of her nuns, not to leave the house at the mercy of the soldiers. The next morning, at six o'clock, the nuns returned to their respective Con- vents, which the soldiers guarded, and which were rapidly transformed into for- tresses. The windows were walled up to the middle, and provided with beams and loop-holes. Redoubts were erected GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 177 ng that ■e, were ' Let us tien we embers, iiy was (rs. No 3r from be so for the ith their lich had he Hos- dth the t' the In- hour of er nuns, y of the o'clock, ve Con- ed, and nto for- lUed up 1 beams erected in various directions ; the only egress left free, was a posterii-gate with its moulinet. Add to this, two cor/js-de-fi^ardes, regu- larly mounted by a guard of twenty-four resolute men, to whom were associated, at night, for the out-posts, twelve French blood-hounds, — and we shall have some idea of the martial air of the Monastery during eight days of that month of .Fune. The fortifications were maintained during live months, but the immates of the Mo- nastery were not disturbed. Once there was a sudden a!ert;— the Iro- quois were certainly in sight. In less than half an hour, every thing was in readiness to give him a terrible reception. Mother Mary and her aids, had distri- buted the ammunition ; every soldier was at his post. Happily it was a false alarm, no enemy appeared. Later, it was known that the colony had been saved by the heroic devotion of Bollard and his seven- teen companions, with a party of Ilurons from Quebec, who within their little fort, 178 GLIMPSES OF THE MONAbTKRY. ^i had so weakened an army of seven hun- dred Iroquois that they came no farther/ 1 We give tlie picture in the original} — '' L'ar- mee de.s Iroquois etaient «fteiiJue — Nous ii'eii avons eu que la penr, si cela peut s'appeler peur, car je n'ai })as vu qu'aucune tie nous ait ete hors sa tran- quillite. Le bruit tueme de la garde ne nous donnait aucune distraction. Nos j^ens n'entraieni dans la cloture que le suir; on laissait le passage en bas et k's odices ouverts pour I'aire la ronde et la visite. Toutes les avenues des cours etaient barricadees, ds ell outre enviroii une douzame de grands cJuens qui gar- daient les portes de deliors, et dont la garde valait mieux sans comparaison (pie celle dc^. hoinnies pour ecaruT les sauvaL!:es ; car ils crai^rnent autant les chiens I'ran^ais que lea honiines, paroe qu'ils tent sur eux et les dechirent quand lis peuve attraper." , " ^e jet- t les Ml II On se tient certaiii que les Injquois reviendront a l'aut( )inne; c'est pourquoi on sc fortilie dari; Quel )ec Monsieur le (j-iuvcrneur travaille a faire f;'.ire des vil- la.H's lernie-! oil il oblige cliacun de baiir une niaison j)Our sa lUinille, ^'t contribuer a faire des grang'S .D( connnunes pour assurer les moissons .. porte 11 se trouvera heuf ou dix reduity bien petiples et capable^ Ic se defendre. Ce qui est a craindre c'est laianiine, car si I'ennenu vient a I'automne il ravagera les moissons; s'il vient an printemps, il ei'ipechcra les seinences." • De Quc'beCj le 2ojuin IGtjO. GLIMPSKS OF TIIK MONASTERY. 170 Our cloistered Lctter-irrifrr shews us the state of the Colony in the iall; — Nov. 2u(] 1GG0. Her appreciations are, as usual, just, and her resolutions lull ol' intrepidity. She writes : — " Rev.F.Lejeune has gone to France to demand succor : it is to be hoped his Ma- jesty will not refuse it. If these harl)arians are not humbled, they will destroy the Colony. Their is no assurance in their treaties of peace, which they only make in order to gain time Oar Frencii- men and Christian Indians, taken prison- ers last spring, have been put to death with horrible torments ; after havin;^ their limbs mutilated, their flesh cut to pieces, they were burnt in a slow fire. The last one who was tormented thus, threw himself on his knees each time that a joint of his fingers was cut off, to thank God and bless him for his sufferings".... "'While the country is in this deplorable state, perhaps our Mothers will be anxious about us, and wish to have us return to France. .Should this be the case, do your ♦f. *. 180 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. best, my dear son, to prevent it. \Ye are not afraid Although the intention oi' our enemies is to destroy us, I have a firm contidence that the design of God is to ensure the stabihty of the Colony and to render this new Church victorious over her enemies. — Adieu for this year." [The interest the Ursulines took in all that re- garded the conversion of the Indians, and the welfare of the Colony, with which their own was inseparably linked, induces us to follow briefly the course of events until, at last, the tomahawk of the Iroquois is buried, and the Lily of France is suf- fered to grow a while in peace.] The issue of these events of IGGO, was the return of that intrepid missionary, Father Lo Moyne to the Iroquois, as a hostage. Already he had four times penetrated into their country, at the imminent risk of his life. His chief consola- tions were among the Huron women, captives, whose faith he found undimmed ; some even had won their mistresses and brought them to receive instruction. Strange as it may seen, Christianity was taking root in the cantons of the Iroquois, while parties of their braves were, as usual, threading the by- GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 181 tioii of nave a God is iiy and jtoriotis year." U that rc- and the • own was )ricfly the iwk of the ace is suf- 1 was the athcr Le Uready he 3untry, at f consola- captives, even had to receive \ras taking ile parties Ug the by- paths of the forests, particularly in ihe vicinity of ^luntrcal and Three Rivers, to burst upon the un- guarded and the defenceless. The Cayuga chief even made a present, solicit- ing Bishop Laval to send to his people, not only missionaries but nuni ! — Tlie Frencli know, by this time, the value of the treaties of peace and all the fair promises of the Mohawks. There re- mained one resource — to subdue them by force of arms, — but for that the colonists were unprepared. Men of influence had been sent to engage the French monarch to furnish troops for an expedi- tion, in form, against them. These came at last, in 1665. The Marquis of Tracy, named Vice- Roy and entrusted with almost royal prerogatives, commanded about 1200 men. The season was too far advanced, before the last companies arrived, to permit the expedition to be undertaken with all the forces ; but the Marquis sent a detachment to defend Three Rivers, and to establish forts that might protect the friendly In- dians in their hunting grounds, and be a safe- guard for Montreal and the other French settle- ments. The Governor DeCourcelles, impatient of delay, led, in the depth of winter, one hundred and fifty men to the country of the Iroquois. 182 OLIMrSES OF THE MONASTERY. Their march hiy through a wiltlerness, to th(5 dis- tanco of more tliau iniir hiuidred miles, over snows four feet in depth, thrtnif^h all the horrors of trackless wastes, impenetrable thickets, chill ra- vines, frozen hei^lits, — with no conveyance l.nit their own vigorous limbs, and no guide but a band of faithless Indi-ins. When a three weeks" march, with all their bagga^re, and a bare escape of starvation, hud led them into the heart of the wily enemy's country, ^ they were forced to retreat almost as suddenly as if they had met with a de- feat, to save themselves from another enemy, — the return of spring, to break up the ice of the rivers vhich they had no means to ford. So much bravery was not totally lost ; — the Mohawks made overtures of peace ; but would they not prove as perfidious is heretofore? A few months suflBced to show tiiut this first expedition had not suffi- ciently terrified these human tigers. Again they had fallen upon a party of Frenchmen, kill- ing some and bearing off others as prisoners. The Marquis de Tracy, notwithstanding his advanced age, would command the expedition in person. The valiant army, more than thirteen thousand strong, equipped for war, prepared by the ^ They were near the present city of Albany, N. Y. GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 183 the cUs- los, over lorrors of cliill ra- il uce but de but u ee weeks' .re escape rt of the to retreat ^ith a de- imv, — the the rivers So much Iwks made prove as sufficed not suffi- Again men, kill- lers. nding his dition in thirteen red by the iny, N. Y. reception of the Sacraments, and wearing, for the most part the scapular, which the nuns had vvroujiht for tliem ; — emhark(Ml on the llth Sep- tember, in their long-boats, with all that milit;iry display, wliich inspires enthusi;ism. Less hazard- ous than the winter expedition, this had yet its toils and its hardships, most trying to European soldiers. The march extended to thirty days. At the aspect of tliis army, whose numbers seemed inaiz- nified to th()U^ands, the Mohawk warriors AimI in precipitation, so that the victory was won, like that of Jericho, without the shedding of blood ; and the pious Frenchmen sang, as usual, the Chris- tian's triumphal Ode, — the Te Deum. Very different were the Iroijuois strongholls from what was expected of a savage foo. The " Lonsf House " nation was Iodf»;ed in cabins, thirty feet high, one hundred and twenty feet in length, by thirty in width. These structures, which sheltered eight or ten families, were provid- ed interiorly, with elevated platfornas for sleeping apirtments, and furnished with implements of tillage and cooking. Abundant stores of provi- sions, — maize, beans, and fruit ; kettles, and other articles of European manuf icture, together with arms and ammunitions, proved that there were 181 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Btill life and strcn«^th in this universal foe, wliosc hund, like that of the son of Ilagar, had been against every man's hand, for the last thirty years. The forts of the Mohawks were triple palisiidos, twenty feet in hei<^ht, flunked with bastions, and armed with cannons, purchased from the Dutch in New York. All this, it seemed necessary to ruin. Fires were enkindled in each of the four strongholds, after rifling them of whatever could be of use to the French army. The terrible lesson proved SJilutary. Crippled of their strength, they were forced to keep the peace, and in a short time, Christianity, which was already flourishing in some of the cantons, entered that of the Mohawks. The famous Garacontie, — not yet ranked as a catechumen, — was there, preparing the way for the missionaries. "With the success of the French arms in IGOG, commenced a period of greater prosperity for the Colony, which now seriously occupied the attention of the mother country, i ^ The Relation oflGGT, marks with admiration that Quebec had seen eleven vessels in her port that year. GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 185 It was an act of benevolence, no doubt, as well as of policy, in the French Mon- arch when, in 1668, he signified to his lieutenants in N c w France, that he desired the Indians should be civilized. It would be the means of assuring their welfare, while it would consolidate bis power, forming of all those nations one vast empire. There was but one objection to be made ; namely, — that the project wasim- praticable. During half a century the missionaries had converted thousands to the Faith; the}^ could say; " Experience has proved that the Indians are as capable as the most civilized nation in Europe, of under- standing and practising all that relates to piety and the service of God. They are perfectly instructed in the Christian doctrine, the mystery of the adorable Trinity, and the two natures in Jesus Christ ; they know what the Church teaches regarding the immortality of the soul, the judgment of the world to come ; V..^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 IASM2.8 140 "^ 1^ I.I Hm Lis 11^^ Jj6 V] ^ ^;. 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation •sj A <'" 186 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. mortal and venial sin, the fall of man, &c ; They know the ordinary prayers of a Christian, the Commandments of God and the Church; they approach the Sacraments with piety and edification. Even children of the most tender age are susceptible of the impressions of faith." Thus writes the Kev. Father Fremin, in 1669, in reference to the most rebellious of all the tribes— the Mohawks. In all the preceding years, the Relations render similar testimonies with regard to ihe other Indians of North America. ** The Gospel knows no distinction of Greek or barbarian, bond or free. " The converted Indian, retaining the rude blanket and moccasin, the wigwam for his home, and hunting for his profession, is no less the child of God and an heir of heaven, than the trader to whom he sells his furs, or the gentleman of rank and education who wears them. Mother Mary of the Incarnation, like the missionaries, had already formed her GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERT. 187 opinion, grounded on experience, i She pictures the liberty of the Indian mode of life, " which is so deUghtful to those who are accustomed to it, that it requires almost a miracle to detach them from it. The whole family go together to the chase. The men bring in the game, they pat up their cabins as often as needed, make their snow-shoes, their canoes, their sledges, the cradle-beds of their infants— and smoke their calumets. The females know how to use the bow and arrow, how to direct a canoe as well as the men. They cut up the game, dress the skins, gather the wood, prepare the fire and ^ A missionary who has spent twenty years with the Indians of Seaskatchewan (New Brit.) Rev. Father Lacombe O. M. J. writes, two centuries after Mother Mary. — " Nos sauvages de I'Anierique du Nord ne sont pas aptes a recevoir une complete civi- lisation, telle du moins que I'entendent ceux qui la leur offrent en dehors de la vraie religtion. — Le sau- vage est capable de connaitre le vrai Dieu, les dogmes et la morale de la religion chreticnne. A vrai dire c'est bien la seule civilisation veritable. Annates de la Prop, de la Foi 1871. rr 188 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERT. the food. In summer they cultivate the ground for maize and other vegetables. The children, learning these things from their infancy, it becomes a second nature to them. It is far easier, says she, for a Frenchman to become a savage, than for a savage to adopt the customs of civilized nations." But the project of civilizing the aborig- ines of America, their Francisalion, as it wras more definitely termed, having re- ceived the royal sanction; the experiment must be fairly tested. Bishop Laval had been too long in the country to have much confidence in its success, but in compli- ance with the royal v\rill, he received six Huron boys into his Seminary, to be brought up with the French students ; the Jesuit Fathers took others into their col- lege. The Intendant Talon, placed five young Iroquois girls at the Convent for a similar purpose. On this subject Mother Mary says : "If it be the will of our Sovereign, we shall undertake the task through obedience and GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 189 for the glory of God. ISerertheless it is a very difficult thing if it is not an impos- sibility to civilize them, (les franciscr^ on les civilise r.) We have more experience on this head than any one else, and we have made the remark that of the p^reat number that have been instructed by us, we have hardly civilized one in a hundred. We have found them docile and intelligent, but they have not the constancy to remain vv^ith us after a certain time. They must see the woods;— they must follow their parents to the chase, and they find more pleasure in their wig- wams them in our line houses. That is the nature of the Indians: they cannot submit to constraint ; if deprived of their usual liberty, they become melancholy ; and sadness makes them sick. Besides, the Indians love their children to an ex- cess, and if they see them sad, no consi- deration can induce them to leave them in that state. We have had them of dif- ferent nations, — Hurons, Algonquins and Iroquois ; these are the prettiest and the 190 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. most docile ; but are they more suscepti- ble of being civilized ? Will they retain the polished manners, and the customs in which we are bringing them up ? 1 do not expect it, for they are of the Indian race, and that is sufficient." This verdict of Rev. Mother Mary of the Incarnation has been sanctioned now by the experience of two hundred years. "We all know that th<^ Indians, as a race, have not entered into the category of what are called civilized nations. Those who live in the neighbourhood of the whites, enjoy more of the comforts of life ; but, unfor- tunately, theyadopt the vices rather than the virtues of civilized man : in his vici- nity, especially, they seem destined to an inevitable decrease in population, which has already ended, in many cases, in the extinction of a people. In Christianity, alone, the Indian has been found suscep- tible of " progress," capable of " improve- ment," and even attaining a high degree of moral excellence. Many among these simple-hearted people have exclaimed GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 191 like the saintly Catherine Tehgahkwita : " Who will teach me what is most agree- able to Grod that 1 may do it ?" The results of the labors of the missionaries, as well as those of the nuns within the humble limits of their station, were great, certain- ly, since by imparting to these poor people the knowledge of the true Grod, and fur- nishing them the means of salvation, they opened heaven to many thousands of immortal souls. Nor were these results confined to the period in which they were achieved. All over the Continent, the Indian races have been found more acces- sible to Christianity from the time of the first converted tribes. There are still in Lower Canada, seven Indian villages, pro- tected by the G-overnment and attended by the clergy : they have schools and chapels ; ^ they are not excluded by the ^ The first priest ever ordained in Canada -and perhaps in America — of pure Indian descent is Rev. Prosper Vincent, grand son of Tsanhanwanhi, one of the four Huron chieftains who went to England and were presented to king Georre IV. Another family of the same village of New Lorette, 192 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. I I II-- law nor by any prejudice against them, from any calling or prolession ; but to this day, where are their learned men, their men of business? Wo may seek the without finding one in a thousand, — if 've may not better say one in ten thousand.'^ Yet it is well known that Indian tribes, at a distance from the settlements of the whites, if visited by a missionary a few times during the year, readily become gOKjd Christians and are most faithful to the law of God. They learn to read and write ; they know how to sing and pray; — has furni.^hed a student at the Laval University for the Faculty of Medicine. Four or five young girls, sisters or cousins of these two Huron educated men, have followed, with advantage, the usual course of studies at the Ursulines or at other Convents. 2 The worthy missionary of the Montagnais of Sagueuay Rev. F. Arnaud, 0. M.I. who has attended theiri as pastor for the last twenty-two years, attributes to their being well instructed in the Christian doctrine and morals, and to their unfrequeui, intercourse with the whites, the admirable life they lead. Sin is almost unknown to them. ** How can we offend God after all He has done for us ? " they say. ^f Mm^^ GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. r, st them, it to this m, their jk the ' 1,— it've ousand.^ Ill tribes, :s ol' the y a lew become lithi'ul to read and d pray;— 193 they ignore the vices as well as the enjoy- ments of civilized life, and iii that ignor- ance find their security and their hap- piness. ^ Our readers will not expect, then, to hear that the Ursulines succeeded, after 1668, in forming young ladies of the young Indian girls. No ! but, in one sense, they did more ; — they formed them to piety, to the virtues of our Blessed Reli- gion ; and sought not to unfit them for that state of life for which nature had formed them. There are always exceptions to general rules: — some of the pupils, as already mentionec\ were susceptible of all the polish desirable in society. ^ 1 The fate of the Mohegans, Pequods, Narragan- 8ets and others of the continent has been very dif- ferent. 2 Nous avons francise plusieurs filles sauvages, tant Huronnes qu'Algonquines, que nous avons eneuite mariees d des Fran^ais, qui font fort bon menage. II y en a une, entre autres, qui sait lire et ecrire en perfection, tant en sa langue Huronne, 194 QLIMISES OP THE MONASTERY. One of the last letters that have been preserved of Mother Mary, mentions " a line band of Indian girls, of four different nations; Iroquois, AJgonquins, Abnakis, and Montagnais. " They are our consola- tion and our delight, she says, by their do- ciUty, rendering our labors so light that we would not exchange them for all the kingdoms of the earth." (1670) qu*en notre Fran^aise; il n'y a personnequi la put distinguer ni se persuader qu'elle fut nee sauvage. Monsieur i'Tntendant Talon en a ete si ravi, qu'il I'a obligee de lui 6crire quelque chose en sa langue et en la notre pour I'emporter en France, et le faire voir comme une chose extraordinaire. Lettres Hist, 1668. CIIAPTEll XIV. loors-ion. THE INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN. The residence of the Vice-lloy during nearly two years in Quebec, could not fail to furnish incidents that would be remem- bered in the cloister. Our old books re- late some which seem to merit a place here, were it only to give a picture of life and manners. "We must remember that the city itself, on V\e arrival of these 1200 soldiers, with five hundred workmen and some two hundred farmers w^ith their families, contained only about seventy dwelling-houses. The principal public monuments to be visited by the strangers who had come to protect and strengthen the Colony, were the Cathedral, with the adjoining Theological Seminary of Bishop lOG GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Laval ; tho College of the Jesuits; the Mo- nastery oi'the Ursuliiies, and the Hospital, or IIotel-Dieu. As to tho castle St. Louis, "within the Fort, that was the residence oi'the Vice-Koy and his household. This veteran of seventy years, of a lofty stature and military bearinj^, had come to person- ate royalty, on these distant shores, and royalty of the time of Louis XIV. "Whenever he appeared in public, he was attended by four pages, and followed by six footmen. Twenty-four guards pre- ceded, and officers of various grades sur- rounded him; — all apparelled in the bright colors of the military, or court-dresses. Let us note one occasion which called out, not only the military, but the clergy and all the citizens. The relics of the holy martyrs, St. Fe- licity and St. Flavianus, had been sent to the young Church of Canada by the Holy Father; and the Bishop had ordered a public procession in their honor. The shrines enclosing the precious relics, plac- ed on stands elegantly decorated with OLIMPSES OF THE M0NA8TIBT. 197 the Mo- [Iospilal» t. Louis, esidence .d. This y stature D person- )res, and • ic, he was [owed by ards pre- rados sur- the bright ?sses. Let d out, not ;y and all 's, St. Fe- en sent to the Holy ordered a lor. The lies, plac- ted with drapery, lights, and flowers, were borne by four venerable priests. A sheltering canopy of scarlet and gold, was upheld by the Vice-Roy ; the governor, DeCour- celles; the Intendant, Talon; and the Agent of the West India Company,Barrois. The Bishop, in pontifical robes, follow- ed, with above forty clergymen, in surplice, chasuble and dalmatic. Next came the officers of the Vice-Roy's house- hold ; the citizens according to their rank; the long file of soldiers, in full uniform ; and finally the mass of the people and the Indians. The procession paused at the church of the Ursulines, which doubt- less could not contain all this multitude. The three other churches of the city, were stations, and a fifth had been prepared within the Fort. Another day, the Cathedral was conse- crated, in the midst of a similar concourse, with all the imposing ceremonies of the Roman ritual ; this was in July, 1666. In the same month, at the College of the JesuitSjthere was an examination; degrees 198 0LIMP8ES OF THE MONASTERT. were conferred in Philosophy and Physics, in presence of the noble personages above mentioned. . . • But the Marquis de Tracy was not a mere passing visitor at the Ursulines; he was a sincere friend and a benefactor. For his powerful protection in a matter that regarded the temporal interests of the Community, the Ursulines owe him a lasting debt^of gratitude. In debating these questions, and on many other occasions, when the pious Yice-Roy called upon the Ursulines, he had an opportunity of appreciating those qualities that gave Mother Mary of the Incarnation such an ascendency over all who approached her. On her part, she describes the Marquis as not less remark- able for his piety and merit, than for his rank. ^ His example, she says, was an 1 The Journal des Jesuites among ita amiable souvenirs, tells us, in 1666, on the Feast of St. Jo- seph : ** The Marquis de Tracy made a general con- fession of all his life, and received the Holy Com- munion at the Ursulines. He presented three fine GLIMPSES OP THE M0i\A6TEUY. 199 inestimable advantage ta society, and his zeal for the welfare of the Colony was boundless. The TJrsulines owe to the generosity of the Yice-Eoy the erection of a chapel dedicated to Ste. Anne ^ adjoining their church, which cost him above 2,500 livres. At his request also, their Church was consecrated by the Bishop with the same " magnificence " as the Cathedral. 3 loaves of Blessed Bread, and tv.enty crowns for the Monastery." 2 It may interest some of our readers to know that the devotion to ^ood St. Anne, is ancient in the country. We read in the JRe/a^/ons 1667 : **Tlsem- ble que Dieu a voulu choinir de nos jouis I'Eglise de Ste. Anne du Petit-Cap, pour faire un refuge assure aux Chretiens de ce nouveau monde des mer- veilles s'y sont optrees depuis six ans." 3 Mother Mary mentions the departure of the Marquis de Tracy in terms that mark both her gratitude and her esteem : *' Nous allons perdre Monsieur de Tracy. Le Roi qui le rappelle en France a envoye un grand vaisseau de guerre pour I'emmener avec honneur. Cette noU' velle Eglise, et tout le pays y fera une perte qui ne 'P 200 GLIMPSES OF THE M0NA6TERT. „ Passing now to the interior of the Mon- astery, let us view once more the inmates, and examine their labors. Four young ladies, from 1667 to 70, had passed from the classes to the novi- tiate, exchanging their own for a religious name. These were Miss Agnes Duqaet, in re- ligion Mother Agnes of the Nativity; Marie Madeleine Pinguet of the Assump- tion ; Marie Margaret de Lauzon of St. Charles, and Charlotte Grodefroy of the se peut dire, car il a fait ici des expeditions qu'on n'aurait jaraais ose entreprendre ni esperer. Dieu a voulu donner cela a la grande piete de son Serviteur, qui a gagne tout le nic.ide par ses bonnes oeuvres et par ses grands exemples de vertu et de Religion qu'il a donnes a tout le pays. Nous perdons beaucoup pour notre particulier. II nous fait faire une Clia- pelle qui lui coiitera plus de deux mille cinq cents livres. C'est le meilleur an.i que nous ayons eu depuis que nous sommes en ce pays. Nous sou* haiterions pour le bien de I'Eglise et de tout le Ca- nada, que Sa Majeste le voulul renvoyer. Nous prierons pour cela, joignez vos prieres aux notres. " Lettres Historiquea. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 201 ions qu on Blessed Sacrament. It appears that the air of Canada and the reg^ime of the Mon- astery were specially favorable to lon- gevity in those times : — we have here, again, four young* novices, from the age of fifteen to nineteen, destined, like the pre- ceding that we have noticed, to celebrate some their 50th and some their GOth an- niversary of profession. Another novice, admitted to her pro- fession in 1669, was Mother LeBer of the Annunciation. Miss LeBer was born at Pitre in Normandy. Her family having sought the wilds of Canada, through motives of piety, like many others, Miss LeBer was retained in the world two years more, against her will, and only found means, at the age of twenty-six, to break the ties that bound her. She might, with some reason, complain of the long delay ; but it excites a smile to see that young girl, Miss Pinguet, tired, at fifteen, of " hope deferred," putting on shoes with heels as high as could be worn, that her size may no longer be objected to by '[.■■■■"■V 202 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. the nuns, who seem to think her yet a child ! Sr. de Lauzon of St. Charles has another way Calthough she little suspects it) of proving the maturity of her virtue, if not of her years, — preferring the hum- blest occupations of the Monastery,serving the little Indian girls, abasing herself before all ; and, far from accepting the services of a lay Sister, as had been sti- pulated by her parents, she often found means t^ aid that Sister in the manual labor of her office. AYhile these good Sisters were begin- ing their career, an estimable lay Sister was closing hers. It was Sr. St. Laurent, whose merit we shall sufficiently make known by citing one of her last words . '* I have thanked God, said she, every day of my life for having called me to the humble state of a lay Sister in an TJrsuline Convent. I would not exchange it for that of a queen." The novices, above mentioned, confided to Mother Mary of the Incarnation during the years 1667 and '9 raised the number GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 203 of the Community to twenty-two mem- bers, and others, earnestly deman(led,were expected from France. The labors of the Institute, at this ]>e- riod, necessarily increased with the in- crease of the population in the country. ^ We have seen that the limits of the Monastery had been extended by the building of a church where the public were admitted, with an interior chapel for the nuns and for their pupils, leaving the apartments which had hitherto served ^ De grands accroissementa sont faits en ce pays depuis qu'il a plu au Roi d'y envoyer des troupes et par I'etablissement de plus de trois cents families en assez peu de temps, les manages etant si frequents que depuis trois ans on en a fait quatre-vingt-treize dans la seule paroisse de Quebec. Plus de 400 sol- dats du Regiment de Carignan se sont fait habitants avec de tres-avantageuses conditions. La crainte de nos ennemis n'empeche plus nos laboureurs de faire reculer nos forets et de charger leurs terres de toutes sortes de grains Nos chas- rfeurs vont bien loin en toute assurance, courir I'ori- gnal, avec un profit signale. Relations. 204 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. for prayer and the Holy ISacvilice, free to be employed as class-rooms or for other purposes. The state of the seminary for the Indian girls, has been noticed in the preceding Chapter. As to the French pupils, al- though our catalogues were destroyed with other useful documents in the second burning of the Convent, we can, in a measure, re-establish them by the statistics of another institution in the city. It is recorded that, in 1668, the College of the Jesuits in Quebec was attended by one hundred and twenty students, sixty of them being boarders. ^ That same year Bishop Laval opened the classes of his Seminary for boys. It seems improbable that, in these early times of the Colony especially, there should be more boys than girls sent to school. 1 Le College des Jesuites ee maintenait depuis 30 ans ; lorfiqu'on y admit les jeunes hurons (1668), on y inntruisait 60 pensionnaires et autant d'externeSi HisL du Can, Ferland. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 205 On the other hand, Mother Mary of the Incarnation mentions, in 16G8, that their pupils augment from day to day; that seven nuns are constantly occupied teach- ing in the French classes, while for other services there are two lay sisters. ^ "Some pupils remained six or eight years others in the short space of twelve months must be taught reading and writing, arith- metic, the Christian doctrine and morals ; their prayers ; in short, all that is most essential in the education of females." 1 Any one who examines attentively the statements of Mother Mary of the Incarnation with regard to the care of the colonists to send their children to the Convent &c., the number of nuns employed at class &c., will perceive that in writing to France, at least in the letters preserved, she makes mention only of the pupils supported by the Convent. Others, who paid for their board, were not objects of charity and needed no particular mention. This was not the case with those whom, as she says, " she was forced to send away for want of means to keep them.'* Bishop Laval makes mention in his turn of the large fiamilies in the country, where there were eight, ten, twelve^ and sometimes, fifteen or sixteen children. 200 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. If I , Mother Mary may well add : — " For this end a teacher must be unremitting in her efforts to improve every moment, in order to lay a good foundation of instruction ! " Even the poorest faiiiilies sent their daugh- ters two or three months, to be prepared for their first communion. The extern pupils were numerous, but as they came to the Convent merely for the hours of class, the nuns had not the same oppor- tunity of forming their character as they had with the boarders. ^ Two years later we fiid another remark that is not less significant. She says : " The French Col- ony augments sensibly ; '^ the great forests 1 Lee externes nous donnent beaucoup de travail, maia nous ne pouvons veiller sur ellescomme si elles 6taient en cloture. Elles sont dociles, et ont i'esprit bon, elles sont fermes dans le bier quand elles le con- naissent. Lettres de la Mere M. de V Incarnation. 2 A glance at the statistics of the country from 1665 to 1671, shows a rapid increase of population in comparison to the preceding years. . .,.,.,. Before the first mentioned date, there were not 2,500 Europeans in Canada : in the following year (1666) there were 3,418, of which 584 belonged to r. ' For this ig in her , ill order action ! " ir daugh- prepared le extern tiey came hours of ne oppor- 3r as they y-ears later 3 not less rench Col- eat forests ip de travail, »mine si elles it ont r esprit elles le con- ^ncarnation. |ountry from lopulation in Ire were not [Uowing year belonged to GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 207 formerly inhabited only by wild beasts, begin to be peopled by Christians. " Our Community is composed of twen- ty-two nuns ; our classes are filled with pupils, French and Indian." Montreal and its environs, '''0 to Three Rivers, 2,374 to Quebec and the environs. Two years later (IGG8), the population was 5,870. Rev. J. B. Ferland remarks the rapid natural in- crease of the population in the country. In the course of the year 1671, there were nearly seven hun- dred children to baptize. The population of Canaiia, in 1G84, amounted to 17,000. For other marks of growing prosperity in 1670, see the following : — Pour ce qui est des affaires temporelles, le Roi fait ici de grandes depenses ; il a encore envoye cette an- nee cent cinquante filles et un grand nombre de sol- dats et d'ofiiciers, avec des chevaux, des nioutons et des chevres pour peupler. Monsieur Talon fait ex- actement garder les ordres du Roi. II a comm^nde qu'on fasse des chanvres, des toiles et des serges; cela a commence, et grossira peu a peu. II fait faire une halle a Quebec, une brasserie et une tannerie a cause du nombre prodigieux de betes qu'il y a en ce 208 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. "We have been obliged to provide other class-rooms, and our venerated Pre- late has taken the trouble to write him- self to France to procure help for us. He has asked for two nuns, and has appoint- ed a Vicar-General, one of his friends, to negotiate the matter. " This demand was soon after found too low, and four were finally obtained, as will be noticed later. Our readers, no doubt, would fain form some acquaintance with those young ladies of the "olden times" ; — unfortunate- pays. Ces man 11 fact urea n'etaient point en usage par le passe en Canada, niais si e\\e€ reussissent ellea dimiuueront beaucoup lea gramles depenses qu'il faut faire pour faire venir tout de France. L'on presse tant qu'onpeutles femmes et les filles d'apprendre ^ filer. Onveutque nous I'appreniona a nos Semina- ristes tant Fran9aises que Sauvages, et on nous offre de la matiere pour cela. Lettres Hist. M. M. de Vine. After other interesting details that relate to worldly affairs, she fails not to add : '* For us, our fortune is made. We are the inheritance of Jesus, and He is ours; our gains are in seeking to piease Him by the practice of our rules and doing His will. Pray, that we may be enabled to do so." BY, aLTMFSES OF THE MONASTERY. 209 > provide rated Pre- vrrite him- 6r us. He s appoint- [riends, to mund was four were iced later. . fain form )se young ifortunate- en usage par ississent ellea isesqu'il faut L'on pre88e I'apprendre k noa Semina- on nous ofFre I M. de Vine. ite to worldly )ur fortune is |s; and He is Him by the Pray, that ly we hi ve few notes beyond the brief memoirs of such as became nuns. Some traits of these have already been noticed. We might have added others :— for in- stance, the precocious piety of Genevieve and Anne Bourdon, placed at the Convent at the ages of six and seven ; — the lovely death of Anne de Lauzon, upon whom the nuns were called to bestow their care from the age of three years. Nothing can be more beautiful than the portrait they have left us of this angelic young creature, called in her sixteenth year to enjoy the company of the angels in heaven. In consideration of her ardent desire to be admitted to the Novitiate, and at her earnest request, she was dressed for her I arial as an Ursuline and laid beside the three whose graves were beneath the Chapel. Another young lady for whom a brief memoir has been traced in our old books, for a similar reason, is Miss Marie des Moulins of Three Rivers. Confided to the nuns at the age of four, she grew up 210 GLIMPSES OF TUE M0NA6TERT. pious,amiable, and intelligent, and seemed destined to complete the happiness of her excellent parents in the family circle ; — but God had not so ordained. At the age of fourteen, she, like her companion, Miss do Lauzon, saw death approaching, and bade him welcome. To the privilege of being waited upon by the nuns, in their Infirmary, she begged them to add that of being buried in the religious dress. Miss des Moulins also, reposes in the ce^ metery with the Ursulines deceased. Other pupils of Mother Mary's time, consecrated their lives to the service of God in the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec ;— for in- stance, the two Misses Bourdon, Misses Marie Marguerite and Marie Madeleine Gloria : others, in the Hotel-Dieu at Mon- treal ; as Miss LeDuc, who had greatly edified her class-mates (1669) at the Ur- sulines, before returning to edify her na- tive place by embracing the laborious life of a Hospital \x\\n; Miss Marie Racine had preceded Miss Le Due in the religious state. Miss Marie Morin, the first Cana* GLIMPSES OF THE M0NA8TERT. 211 dian novice received at the Ilotel-Dien of Montreal, had boen also a model of piety and amiable deportment while at the Ur- sulincs, desiring above all things to be a martyr for the Faith. Before attaining her fourteenth year, she had essayed the state of life in which she persevered to the age of eighty-two ! She left her Com- munity a lasting memorial of her piety and her talents, by writing their Annals, — a work in which she was engaged till the age of seventy-five. Let us mention also the Misses Moyen ; one of whom, after being a captive of the Iroquois, married Major Lambert Closse, the hero of Montreal; her sistrr became the wife of Capt. du Gue ol the regiment of Carignan ; — Miss du Clos, daughter of the intrepid Madame du Clos, whose name is another celebrity of Montreal ^ was accompanied to the Ursulines by two 1 Formally other names of the olden time?, — the '< Heroic times " of Canada us they liave been culled, —see JJistoire. des Ursulines, lame Ut. 212 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY* of her friends Miss Sailly and Miss Le Due. ^ Brief as are these notes, they give us an insight into the sealed book of the past, and enable us to form some estimate of the Institute as it was 200 years ago. As to the qualifications of the teachers of those days, we know that our beloved Mo- ther Mary of the Incarnation was ready to impart to the other Sisters all that could be communicated; — even in the last months of her life she had a class of young nuns around her, learning the Indian languages. She wrote several valuable treatises, for the use of the Institute, in French, besides a Sacred History in Algonquin ; a Diction- ^ Several Officers of tlie famed Regiment of Cari* gnan-Saliere8, married in the country, and found *' dea mariages assortis " in the pupils of the Ursu' lines : for instance M. de Sorel niarried Catherine LeGardour de Repentigny, of Quebec (1G()S) ; M. Ber- thier, — Marie LeGardeur (IGT'i) ; M. Chambly — Louise de Launay; M. Vercheres — Marie Perrot (1GG9); M. Gauthier de Varennes — Marie Boucher etc, etc. GL'MPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 213 ary and a Catechism Iroquois ; a Diction- ary Algonquin ; a catechism in Huron ; another catechism and a Prayer-book in Algonquin. She excelled in all kinds of needle-work and embroidery, as well as in painting and gilding. While she sanc- tified these talents by working for the Altar, and contributing to the decoration of chapels and churches all over the coun- try, her young Sisters as well as the pu- pils, must have loved to take lessons and to aid her in her toils. Even in sculp- ture and architecture this indefatigable Mother had taken lessons, — ^ unless we suppose her to have been self-instructed. It was she who taught the workmen, employed to decorate the interior of the Church with architectural ornaments, guiding them for the proportions of tho columns and entablature as well as in the minute details of the art. We have mentioned that other nuns from France had been invited to join the little Community. 214 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. News reached the Monastery on the 15th September that a vessel detained at the I/e aux Coudres^ by contrary winds, had Ursulines on board— UrsuHnes IVom " Home ! " Several of the nuns knew what it was to be rocked for three months in one of those w^ooden prisons, called a mercantile vessel — not to speak of the tare and the accommodations ! As the wind continued contrary they would, at least, send them refreshments — perhaps even, a smaller vessel would hnd its way against the wind. A little sloop was accordingly sent, with a cordial invitation to accept the protection of the good Jesuit Brother Juchereau,the pilot of the bark; and M. de Dombourg ^ who had generously placed himself at the head of the expedition. Sailors were hired to man the " vessel " and the Convent steward added to the equipment. They were strong and resolute, " i^ens de cceur " ; but all their efforts to 1 This M. de Dombourg was son of M. Bourdon, and brother of Mothers St. Joseph and St. Agne«. GUMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 215 make a prompt voyage only availed them to reach Quebec on the 19th. We need not ask if the time seemed long. It gave the voyagers time to remark the beauty of the environs, — already beginning to put on the gay colors of an autumnal land- scape, the lovely Islands among w^hich they were detained ; Y lle-aux-Coiidres, He- aux-Oies, — inhabited even then ; the fertile Island of Orleans w^ith its pleasant farm- houses: all along the shores of the St. Lawrence they had seen villages and hamlets,^ where thirty years before dark forests frowned. Let us meet now upon the wharf, where thirty-two years ago, our first IJrsulines landed, that missionary band, so long and ^ ''II fait beau voir a present (1667) les rivages de notre fleuve St. Laurent j de nouvelles colonies vont fcj'etendant sur plus de 80 lieuesle long des bords de cette grande Riviere j ou I'on voit naitre d'espace en espace de nouvelles Bourgades qui facilitent la navigation, la rendant plus agreable par la vue de quantite de maisons, et p^is commode par de fre- quent lieux de repos. " Relation, 216 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. anxiously expected. Of these four French ladies, wearing the black robe of the Ur- suline, two are from the monastery of Eourges ; — Mother Marie Drouet, of Jesus, nineteen years professed ; and Marie Gi- bault du Breuil, of St. Joseph, four years professed. Two others are from the *' great Convent " of Paris ; it is Mother Marie Le Maire, of the Angels, once a rich Parisian Lady ; the other is a lay sister, Mary Dieu of the Resurrection. Great was the rejoicing in the cloistered family on receiving this desired accession to their number, — not mere young girls, to be formed to the religious life ; but persons of mature years, trained in the most fervent Communities, and ready now for any labor. Such were the persons de- manded by Bishop Laval, by Mother Mary of the Incarnation and Mother St. Athan- asius. The latter, about 50 years old was still hale and vigorous ; the former was passed " three score and ten." Mothers St. Croix and St. Clair, who had aided in governing the house for the ^Y. GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 217 ►ur French of the Ur- lastery oi* st, of Jesus, Marie Gi- four years the " great r Marie Le ;h Parisian yiary Dieu B cloistered i accession Dung girls, life; but ed in the ready now ersons de- ther Mary St. Athan- rs old was rmer was Hair, who Lse for the last thirty years, in the office of Assistant, wore not younger. The rest of the Com- munity, as we have seen, were mostly young. Without anticipating upon the future career of usefulness of these three Mothers, we shall merely say that all passed long years in the Superiority, and not only contributed to the prosperity of the Mo- nastery they had come to aid, but founded and governed long that of Three Rivers. Our missionary band, while we have discussed their merits, have been mtro- duced to their new Sisters. We shall not at- tempt to describe the scene. ^ The two Pa- risians find one from their own Monastery at the head of the Community, — Rev. Mother St. Athanasius, in place of the recent Superioress, Mother Mary of the Incarnation, who is now charged with the Novitiate. The other members are all known to our readers, or soon will be. ^ 1 Elles furent accueillies dans notre Communaiite avec des sentiments de joie qui se peuvent bien sentir, niais non s'exprinier. Vieux Recit, * See List, at the end of present Chapter. 218 GLIMISKS OF THE MONASTERT. The pnpils, as is usual on such occasions, took an active ptirt in the welcoming. A lew days later they comply with a general custom, a sort of by-law for the two Communities on similar occasions, and visit the good Hospital nuns of the Hotel-Dieu. They do not lind a numerous, but a fervent, happy Community conti- nuins^ the labors, and emulatino- the bright examples of their first foundresses. Our voyagers had also to acquit them- selves of a pious vow. This took them, still accompanied by the amiable Ma- dame de la Peltrie, to the statue of the Blessed Virgin, honored in the Chapel of Notre Dame de Foye. They would not, of course, fail to visit this much-talked-of Huron village, where Falher Chaumonot attends with assiduous care, his beloved exiles ^ now reduced to 150 souls. The ^ After the Hurons were attacked on Isle of Or- leans, by the Mohawks in 1G5G, a part of theni voluntarily oniigrated to the country of their enemy, and became incorporated with them : such was the custom of these nations. The remainder were trans- :ery. GLIMPSES CF TIIK MONASTKUY. 219 1 occasions, 3omiiig. mply with •law for the r occasions, luns of the a numerous, mnity conti- ig- the bright ■esses. acquit them- ; took them, uniable Ma- tatue of the he Chapel of would not, uch-talked-of Chaumonot his beloved souls. The on Isle of Or- part of them of their enemy, such was the lider were trans- aged Dogique, passed his eightieth year, was there, ready to harangue the " Holy A'ir^ius" in his most picturesque, styk% and all these good Christians invoked upon them a thousand blessings. Had our voyngers postponed this visit a lew weeks, they might have witnessed an edifying spectacle. At the commencement of Advent, Mo ther Tklary of the Incarnation sent the worthy Dogique a wax-figure of the In- fant Jesus. ^ These simple-hearted people ported to Quebec, and lodged in a Fort (on the margin of Moujuain Ili'.l) hnilt for them till peace was restored in lOOlJ; when they removed about five miles from the city, ami founled tlie mission of Notre Danje de Foye. Some twenty five years later they removed to Lorette, 12 miles north of Quehoc. 1 This devotion of the Christian Hurons is so etlifying that we transcribe an extract from the ac- count in the Ihlation. '•'La Keverende Mere Marie de I'Incarnation fit an commencement de I'Avent, un present au premier Dogique de la petite Eglise Ilnronne, Louis Taonde- choren, d'une belle Image de cire en relief du saint Enfant Jesus, dans son berceau. Ce bon Saiivage i 220 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. received it as a present from heaven. Each poor cabin became, in turn, a en teinoigna plus de reconnaissance, que ei on lui eut donne tons les tresors du monJe. Toute la Buur- gade prit part a ea joie, et regardacette sainte Image, quoique donnee a un particulier, comnie un bieii coniniun et coinme un present envoye du Ciel. lis prirent la pensee d'oftrir les honueurs qu'ils ren- draient a cette sainte image, en reparation de la niauvaise reception que les Juifs firent a 1' Enfant Jesus, quand il vint au monde. Le Perequi les vit dans ces bons sentiments, les assura que cette devo- tion atlirerait sur eux mille benedictions du Ciel. II leur donna une semaine entiere pour se preparer a recevoir I'Image dans leurs Cabanes : cette semaine se passa dans un redoublement de fervcnr . . .Le jour destine a commencer cette devotion etant venu, apres le chant du Veni Creator, on tira a'l sort. . . . Le premier billet etait marque du nom d'une bonne veuve, qui ^ cette nouvelle pensa mourir de joie En un moment tout fut pret, sa cabane bien nette, un petit Autel fort propre, avec son dais, orne de tout ce qu'elle avait pu trouver de beau pour rece- voir un tel hole. Car elle etait bien persuadee que ce choix etait un coup du Ciel, et une marque d'une Providence particuliere de Notre Seigneur sur elle et 8ur toute sa fam'ile. La sainte Image y ayant ete portee comme en Procession et posee sur 1' Autel, le Pere leur fit faire une priere pour saluer leur bote, [\T. aUMPSES OF THE MONASTERT. 221 . heaven, turn, a je ei on lui 3ute la Bc.ur- sainte Image, uue un bien ilu Ciel. lis 3 qu'ils ren- \ration de la it ^ 1' Enfant jre qui les vit le cette devo- s du Ciel. II ie preparer a cette semaine ir ...Le jour etant venu, [a a'l sort. . . . d'une bonne ir de joie . . . ne bien nette, ais, orne de u pour rece- »ersuadee que arque d'une leur sur elle et y ayant ete iur I'Autel, le luer leur bote, chapel, while from week to week their devotions were prolonged and their acts ct lui offrir tout ce qu'ils avaient, leurs biena, leura personnes et leur vie, et ^ la fin ile se niirent tous ^ chanter des Noels en leur langue en I'honneur du saint Enfant Jesus, ce qu'ils continuerent tous lea jours auivants i leurs petits saluts du soir." Cette image du Saint Enfant Jesus, changeant chaque semaine de cabane, en la maniere que j'ai dit, jusques i la f^te de la Purification, chacun par une sainte jalousie prenait plaisir ^ lui preparer un reposoir toujours plus magniflque, trouvait de nou- velles inventions pour le garantir de la fumee. Cette devotion fit des biens incroyables partout; la mo* destie et la retenu de ceux de la cabane qui jonissait de ce bonlieur, etait ei grande, que pendant ce temps- \^, on s'y comportait a peu pres comme dans une eglise; les saluts s'y faisaient reglement tous les eoirs, meme en I'absence du Pere ; les petits ausei bien que les grands y assistaient sans y manquer, et apres les prieres communes, qu'ils recitaient tous ^ haute voix al'heure ordinaire, ils chantaient alter- nativement, les hommes et les petits gardens d'un cote, et les femmes et les filles de I'autre, des can- tiques et des Hymnes en leur langue, sur le Mystere de la naissance du Fils de Dieu ; leur maniere de chanter etait si agreable et si devote, que les Fran- ^ais qui demeurent au:^ environs, et quelques uas ij w 990 OtlMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. of virtue, till the Feast of the I'unfication closed the Christmas-tide. '' ' ^ In the hamlet of Sillery, our travellers heard the good Algonquins and Monta- gnais in their devout chapel, entone, as they had done thirty-two years before, sweet hymns that moved strangely the hearts of these French ladies. Yet what ravages sickness i has made in this once flourishing mission ! The poor Indians are but a handful, compared to former ineme dans de.s liabitationH assez eluignees, les ecou* taientavec admiration et en etaient touches. Lea plus eclaires d'entr' eux remarquerent un si grand changement dans les families, qui avaient re^u chcz elles rimage du Saint Enfant Jesus, que quand ils s'apercevaient de quelque desorde dans une famille, ils souhaitaitiit aussitot et procuraient selon leur pouvoir, qu'on y port£kt la sainte Image: C'est ce que fit leur Cr.pitaine. 3 I^a petite verole a dopuis un an furieusement desole cette petite colonie. — Les Algonquins et les Montagnuis en sont quasi tons morts. Rel. IGTO. From tliis period Sillery became an Abenaki mis- sion, until a new site was found for them in 1G83, at the falls of the Chaudiere, south of Quebec. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 223 times, when Madame de la Peltrio, had seen happy g-roups of romping children, follow her, their Nin^ayy more fondly than their own mothers. But the kind-hearted, generous lady, who had done much for Sillery, only to feel her heart swell with the wish of doing more, visits to-day her poor IndianSjher dear ancient seminarists, for the last time. Did her good angel whisper to her that she would return no more? or did the good squaws with tearful eyes, follow wistfully the receding figure of their pious benefactress as she disap- peared withthe ** Holy Virgins," for the last time from their hamlet ? But let us not delay our narrative to conjecture. — Madame de la Peltrie con- ducts the good nuns back to the Convent ; they have come to labor, and we shall find them engaged, at once, in teaching the French classes, while they take les- sons from Mother Mary of the Incar- nation in the Indian languages. The following list will show us their compaU" ions, hi- *>f «;*' 224 QLIMPBES OF THE MONASTERY, After naming Madame de la Peltrie, we place A LIST OF THE CHOIR JiUNS, IN 1C71. [PBOrjCSSRD IN FKANOB.] IRBIViL. Ven. Mother Mary Giiyart of the Incarnation. 1639 Pev. Mother Cecile KicherofSt. Croix 1639 — Anne Le Bugle of St. Clare. ... 1640 — Margaret deFIecelles of St. Atha- nasius 1640 •*• Anne Le lioue of Our Lady 1644 "-• Mary de Villiers of St. Andrew.. 1657 •— Mary du Breuil of St. Joseph...,. 1671 w— Mary Drouet of Jesus 1671 «— Mary Le Maire of the Angels. . .. 1671 IPro/eaaed in the Monaster y.^ PBOPESSIOir. ^- Charlotte Barre of St. I<;natius. . 1648 — Philippa de Boulogne of St. Do- nunic 1650 •^ Mary Genevieve Bourdon of St, ,Tosepli 1654 «— Anne Bourdon of St. Agnes, 1660 <— Mai'y i^uutet of St. Augustin ... 1661 ' — June Louise Godefroy of St. John t]|(> Evangelist 1668 9^ Mary Atjgelica Poisson of St. Francis Xavier 1668 Agnes Dugnet of the Nativity.,.,. 1669 BY, , we place [ 1671. ARRIVAL. mtion. 1639 1639 !. ... 1640 Atha- 1640 1644 rew.. 1657 ph 1671 1671 Is.... 1671 QLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 225 PROPK88IO!*. Uev. Mother Mary Mag.lelcn Pii.^rnot of tl»e Assumption 1009 — ^ Mury-Charlotte (Jo.li'froy of tlie IJ. SacriiiiK'iit n;(j]PSES OF TIIK MONASTKIIY. 097 tiie nuns I been re- the calm 5e to over- row. The i-cinted: — ice, as un- Deatlihad )od Foun- r beloved and their dst, those ent'ss and er to them donations It Avas early in November when ^la- dame de hi Peltrie was struck v/ith her last ilhiess. Seven days were a short space for the nuns to prepare to 'use her ; but to the pious lady herself, the summons brought no terror, She had no sooner been warned that her maladv, a violent attack of pleurisy, would termi- nate her life, than she occupied herself in regulating her temporal affairs, in order to have done with the things of this world. The Royal Intendant, Talon, was present, with the other functionaries necessary, at the signing of her will. She took her leave of him, expressing her thanks for his visit with as much ease and presence of mind, as if the occasion had been an or- dinary occurrence. The last Sacraments, administered by the Grand Vicar, M. de Bernieres, were to her a source of abun- dant strength and consolation. Seeing the nuns in sorrow, surrounding her with affectionate solicitude, and seeking by a thousand delicate attentions to procure her some alleviation in her sufferings, she ^ 228 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. appeared sensibly allected ; and declared, like the dying Mother St, Joseph, that (xod had given her the promised hundred- fold in this life, for all ihat she had aban- doned for His love. As life ebbed slowly away, the hours seemed long to her, in her ardent desires to be forever united to her Grod, and often she repeated the words of the sacred Psalmist : " Lcetatus sum in his quce dicta sunt mihi : in domum Domini ibimus : — I rejoice in the words that have been said unto me, I shall go into the House of the Lord." These words were accomplished in her on the evening of the 19th November, 1671, leaving her spiritual daughters sad- dened by her loss, yet consoled by a close of life, so tranquil, so full of sweetness. Madame de la Peltrie was sixty-eight years of age; but the vivacity of the French character, and the healthful influence of such occupations as hers had been, — ex- ercises of piety and good works, — are a t 3 ? i i GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. 229 eclared, 3h, that Lundred- ad aban- tie hours it desires lud often e sacred invd dicta imus : — I been said xse of the ed in her ovember, hters sad- 3V a close letness. ixty-eight ;e French uence of een, — ex- s, — are a great preservative against the ravages of time. No one had ever thought she was growing old. The good nuns now missed their companion and friend, whose unob- trusive virtues had been an unfailing source of edification ; while to the poor, and to the missions, she had been a con- stant and generous benefactress. Her funeral obsequies were attended by the G-overnor and all the distinguished persons of the city, as well as of the neigh- boring hamlets. Her loss was universally deplored ; nor were the poor Indians the last in their demonstrations of sorrow. Our venerable Mother Mary of the In- carnation had assisted her companion at the hour of her departure from this worJd ; she seemed to have outlived her only to console her sisters, and to animate them by her own example of perfect resigna- tion to the will of Heaven. Alas ! another and a greater sacrifice would soon be de- manded of them. Early in January a serious malady threatened the precious life of that beloved Mother, for whom 230 GLIMPSES OP I'HE MONASTERf. each of the nuns would have gladly given her own. Overwhelmed with grief, they be- sought Heaven to spare them the dread- ed sacrifice, and the venerable patient, unable to refuse them this consolation joined in their petitions so far as to say : " My God, if I may yet be of service to this little community, I do not refuse the labor nor the fatigue : thy will be done." — '*No, my good Mother, that is not enough, urged the kind Father Lalemant, you must join our petitions, and ask to re- cover." Ever obedient, she fulfilled the injunction. Thus was obtained a few weeks' respite;— but it was only a delay. The bilious affection from which she had suffered severely for eight years past, with a few intervals of comparative health, had impaired her naturally strong con- stitution, and the hour was at hand when it must fail altogether. During Holy Week, in the month of April, the venerable Mother was obliged once more to suffer herself to be conduct- a .{ Y. GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. 231 ily given they be- he dread- 3 patient, insolation far as to of service lot refuse tiy will be that is not Lalemant, i ask to re- alfilled the ed a few a delay. h she had past, with ^ve health, strong con- land when month of ras obliged ►e conduct- ed to the Infirmary. Iler sufferings, which were intense, only served to unite her soul more closely to God. — " Chrisfo confixa sum crucir " I am crucified with Jesus on the Cross." — These words were not a complaint, but the expression of the joy of her heart. On the 29th of April she received the Holy Yiaticum and Ex- treme Unction, entering from that moment into so intimate a communication with God that she seemed no longer of earth. While her dear Sisters, overcome with ten- der sorrow, surrounded the dying saint, her tranquil aspect inspired them with higher thoughts ; that weary pillow seem- ed the porch of heaven. Visitors, allowed to enter to behold a spectacle so impres- sive, spoke low, and stayed the farewell they had prepared to utter. Mother St. Athanasius, whose grief, in- tensilied by that of each of her Sisters, ren- dered her the more thoughtful of all who, with her, would soon mourn their dearest friend, reminded her of her son, and asked a message for him. Mother Mary of the 232 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY. Incarnation, recalled a moment to earth by maternal love, answered with emotion : '* Tell him that I bear him away w^ith me in my heart : in heaven I will ask for his perfect sanctification." Already, several times, the boarders, French and Indian, had knelt around her to receive her blessing. On the morning of the day of her death, having asked to see once more her dear seminarists, she spoke to them admirably in their own language, on the beauty of the Christian doctrine, and the happiness of serving God, and gave them, with effusion, her last blessing. From noon to six o'clock in the even- ing, she remained absorbed in Grod' speechless, yet conscious, awaiting in peace the moment of her departure. The nuns kneeling beside their dying Mother and friend, felt the tranquillizing influence of those marks of predestination, which transformed the chamber of death to a sanctuary. ^li lY. GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERT. 233 t to eartli L emotion : ^ with me asli tor his boarders, iround her e morning [T asked to larists, she their own e Christian of serving fusion, her the even- in aod' [waiting iu Irture. The iiig Mother ^r influence [ion, which death to a " The 30th of April was drawing to a close, when the venerable Mother hearing the summons : *' Come, faithful soul ! enter into the joy of thy God," — opens her dying eyes upon her beloved Sisters with a look full of love, as if to bless them and say — " Adieu." — One feeble sigh was heard, — life was over ; — the spirit, disen- thralled, had sped on wings of love to the bosom of its God. That moment, so overwhelming to sur- viving friends,when suspense has yielded to certainty, and we become conscious that, while waiting for the last sigh, we were still nourishing a secret hope that life would be prolonged,was not one of unmin- gled grief A ray of immortality seemed to illuminate the features of the departed, and celestial consolations inundated the hearts of those who wept an irreparable loss. The venerable Mother had expired^ aged seventy-two years, 2 thirty-three of which had been spent in Canada. The intellijrence of her decease was re- J She was born Oct. 28th 1599. 234 GLIMPSES OF THE MOxNASTERT. «i r ceived in the city and throughout the Colony with sentiments that corresponded to the universal esteem in which she was held, and the gratitude which almost every family owed her, r On the day of her burial, that veteran of the sanctuary. Father Lalemant, now seventy-nine years of age, made the pane- gyric of the deceased, applying to her the attributes of the valiant woman, as de- picted in Scripture. The church was thronged with a dense concourse. In the midst of the mourners, as all the au- dience might be called, were the Grov- ernor De Courcelles and the Royal In- tendant. It was at their request that the coffin was not lowered into the grave before an artist had been employed to transfer to canvas, if possible, some trace of that celestial beauty which struck the beholders with veneration. Our readers will not expect to find here any thing resembling a biographical no- tice of Yen. Mother Marie de I'lncarna- tion. The bare enumeration of her re- I' II rhout the •esponded li she was ih almost r at veteran oaant, now 3 the pane- ; to her the lan, as de- tiurch was course. In all the au- ^ the G^ov- Royal In- quest that the grave employed ible, some hich struck • to find here aphical no- rincarna- of her re- OLIMPSES OP THE MONASTEKY. 235 markable qualities, the heroic virtues, the marvels of grace that constituted her in- terior life, and which have made her, ac- cording to Bossuet, the Teresa of the New World, would lead us far, without being satisfactory. Our purpose in this little work has been, to trace her principal labors in the ac- complishment of that special embassy which concerned the spiritual, as well as the temporal, well-being of so many thou* sands of souls in Canada, and to leave our readers to draw their own conclu- sions. It would be easy to point out her wonderful and versatile ta!enls ; the thoroughness of her character ; her uner- ring and enlightened judgment ; the ex- traordinary powers of her well-balanced mind. At the same time we might revert to her spirit of self-sacrihce, of utter re- liance upon Providence, which was only equalled by her vast charity, and her insatiable zeal for the salvation oi* souls. The wonderful extension of the Faith during the last years ot her life, consoled 236 GLIMPSES OP THE MONASTERY. her in proportion to the interior martyr- dom she had suffered while she saw the eflbrts of the missionaries baffled, and the salvation of the poor pagans retarded. Christianity was now triumphant throughout the land ; and, if she, in her humility, considered herself and her Community as a mere grain of sand m the foundations of the Church of Canada, — the object of her solicitude, and of her burning zeal, — by others her labors and her success, were appreciated differently. The illustrious Bishop Laval has written her eulogium, from which we cite one passage ; — *' Mother Mary of the Incarna- tion, having been chosen by Grod to es- tablish the Order of St. IJrsulainCanada, was endowed with the plenitude of the spirit of that holy Institute. She was a perfect Superioress, an excellent Mis- tress of Novices, and was well qualified for all the offices in a religious Commu- nity. Her life, which interiorly was all divine, was so well regulated exteriorly that she was a living rule for her Sisters. Y. GLIM PS KS OF TIIK MONASTKUV. 2:j7 ' martyr* I saw the L, and the irded. lumphant le, in her and her and in the Janada, — nd of her ibors and ifFerently. Las written J cite one e Incarna- ;^od to es- nCanada, de of the She was llent Mis- qualilied Commu- y was all exteriorly ,er Sisters. Her zeal for the salvation of souls, and ospeciiilly for that of the poor Indians, was so ardent that she; seemed to em- brace them all within her heart. We have no doubt that to her prayers are due, in a ^roat measurt\ the blessings which the Church of Canada now enjoys." Charlevoix, who wrote her life about fifty years after her decease says, that, "History presents us few women to be compared to her" Of her writings he declares : — " They prove her lo have been one of the most intellii>'ent women of that century. Every thing is solid in her writings: the thoughts are just; her as- sertions never hazarded ; her manner is original, and her style is marked by that noble simplicity which few writers at- tain," We cannot take our leave of the subject without allowing our readers to hear how the decease of Mother Mar^^ of the Incarnation and of Madame de la Peltrie, was announced in the Relation of 1672. The writer, Rev. Father LeMercier, opens 238 rJMMPSKS OF THE MONASTERY. a hioGrrnphioal notico of thirty columns in the following' torms : — ** Tlio diMith of those two illustrious per- sons is a pn})lic allliction. They wt're ve- nerated lor their virtue and holiness ; but th(*y were especially cherished and es- teemed lor having tounded an Institution for the instruction of female youth, both French and Indian, thereby contributing greatly to the solid establisliment and. progress of the Colony of New France. These two holy souls burned with the same zeal .md had no other object in view but to live and die in the love of God, a.ud at the pi'ril of their lives, to cause Him to i)o known and loved by the people of this Now AVorld." i "^ Two years previous, tlie pame Rev. FaOier liad written : It is an inestimable happiness for Canada to have possessed since thirty years tiie religious Houses of the Ursnlines and the Hospital nuns. These two institutions were necessary here, and the nuns have acquitted themselves with honor and with merit of all that God or num conld demand of them in the discharge uf the duties of their respective callings. ■RY. ^ columns ;trious pcr- y Wi*TC vc- liiiess; but ^d and es- Institution outh, both Dutributinj? iment and \v France. I with the joct in view )ve of God, > cause Him e people of v. Father had for Canada to 'liiriou-! Houses IS. These two ,he nuns have with merit of f them in the ve callings. CONTENTS. (VOL. I.) PREFACE, p. 3. CHAPTER I. IXSTRUCTION NKEDKD IN NEW FUANCK. Quebec before 1630, p. 9. —Interest in the Mispions, 14.— Indi irlf md daughters of the settlers, 15. CHAPTER II. THE WAYS F DIVINE PHOVIDENCE. "Who was Mother Marie Guyart of tlie Incarnation, p. IG. — Her apo.stoiic spirit, 18 — Her call to found a Convent in Canada, 21 — Madame de la Peltrie, 23 — Her proji ct approved, 25 — Another missionary Ur- suline, 2G. — The Archbishop of Tours blesses the foundresses, 27. — Paris, Dieppe; Mother Cecile de la Croix, 28.— The departure, 29, CHAPTER III. ARRiVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA. The harbor of Tadoussac, p. 31. — First night on land, 33. — Tlie reception, 35. — A visit to the Indian hamlet, 37.~The Hospital Nuns and the Ursulines part, 40. II CONTENTS. ll- CHAPTER IV. THIIEE years' labors. Stiuly of the Indian languages, p. 41.— ''The Louvre," 42. — Malady among the ^'Seminarists,'^ 44. — Nuns from Paris, 46. — What they write of tho Convent, 47. — Difficulties, 50.— Founiation-stonB ot the Monastery laid, 52. CHAPTER V. MADAMIC DE LA PELTRIE AND Tnr<: INDIANS. The foundress boanls with the Nuns, 7). 54. — A procession, 55. — The Indian Council, 5G. — An ex- cursion t") Sillery, 51). — Midnight 'lass at the Indian Chapel, 62. CHAPTER VI. EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION. The Indian girls at home, p. (U. — In the Convent, 65. — Preparing for first Communion, 08. — Their gratitude, 70. — Teresa the Huron, H.—Thi^^ievii- narists among their own people, 75. CHAPTER VII. EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY. Progress of Christianity, p. 78. — The Monastery in readiness, 79.— The Nuns take possession, the first Mass, 82. — Seminarists and Indian women, SG. — Parlor visitors, 87. — Labors of seven Nuns. DO. — Mother Mary's spirit, 91. — Madame de la Peltrie aids in the Convent, 93. — Other laborers arrive, 95. — Mother St. Athanasius Superior, 96. — Miss de Uou- logue, 97. CONTENTS. m I. 41.— "Tlic hminaristti, " ej write of tho iation-stouB ot INDIANS. ans, p. 54. — A , 50. — An ex- 3 at the Indian ^. n the Convent, n, G8.— Their 1.— The l^itmi- ASTKRY. rhe Monastery )Ossession, the ndian women, even Nuns, DO. e de la Peltrie rers arrive, 95. —Miod de 13ou- CHAPTER VIII. MOTHER ST. JOSKPII AND Till': HURONS. Tlie Huron braves visit Quel>ec, p. 98.— Their reports, 100. — The Mother of the Hurons and her neophytes, 101. — The Iroquois destroy the Huron country, 105. — The remnants of the tube ai Quebec, 107. CHAPTER IX. ONE NIGIIT AND ITS CONvSEQUENCKS. An evening scene, p. 109. — Tlie alarm of fire, 114, — Were all safe? 117.— Hospitality ollered, 120.— The ruins, 121.— A visit of condolence, 123.— The Indian harangue, 124. CHAPTER X. COURAGE IN ADVERSITY. Invitation to return to France,^. 128. — Resolu- tion of the Nuns, 130.— Their poverty; charity of the colonists, 138.— The foundation-tone laid again, 134. —Illness of Mother St. Jo r-ph, 1 37.— Her dying message, 139.— Brief Obituary, 141. CHAPTER XL THE SECOND MONASTERY. The Nuns remove to their new^ Convent, p. 14G. — The number of scholars augment, 149. — Education of the times, 150. — ''Good Seminarists,^^ 151.— , Lodgings of the first Bishop of Quebec, 154.— Ma dame de la Peltrie's Church, 155.— Mother Mary o the Incarnation's labors, 158. li " 1 IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII, THK NOVITI.VTE. The secret of a relitrious; vocation,^. 159. — Tlie Misses Bdurdon, 'joviceH, 162. — Miss Boutet and Miss OodcCroy, 165. — Miss Angelique Poi.ssori of Gentilly, IG8. CHAPTER XII [. THK URSULINES AND THE IROQUOIS. Ambassadors at the Convent, p. 170. — The feir.ale Sachem, 171. — The Convent a fortress, 175. — Intre- pidity, 179. — Attempt to civilize the Indians, 185. — Opitiion o! Mother Mary of the Incarnation, 188. — Experience, 190. CHAPTER XIV. THE INMATES OF 1VK MONASTERY AGAIN. A picture of lift.' and manners, p. 195. — The Ursu- lines and the Marquis de Tracy, 198. — New candi- dates for the Novitiate, 200.— Instruction, 203. — Souvenirs of the pupils, 209. — Ursulines from Home, 214.- -Their reception, 216.— Their visits, 218.— List oftheNunsin 1671, 224. CHAPTER XV. THE CLOSE OF WELL-SPENT YEARS. Sad illness of Madame de la Peltrie, p. 226.— Her death, 228. — Another greater sacrifice, 229. — Last moments of Venerable Mother Marie de I'lncarna- tion, 282. — Her burial, 234. — Appreciations of her character, 236. ?. 159.~The Boulet and Poisaoti of 01 s. -The female 175. — Intre- ndians, 185. ■nation, 188, AGAIN. -The Ursu- New canJi- ion, 203.-- froin Home, ,218.— List. [IS. 226.-Her 229.— Last I'Incarna- ons of her