greatness of our mysteries, with such gentle native
eloquence inspired by the affection of her heart, that
these good people were greatly touched by it, and
one of their pleasures was to visit her from time to
time. One of them, on observing the fervor of this
young Christian, wished to test it. As he was on
the eve of being baptized, and as he saw that the
child rejoiced at it, he pretended that he had become
indifferent, saying that he found it difficult to believe
what was taught him, and that he no longer thought
of Baptism. On hearing these words, the young
girl became greatly excited; she was seized with a
holy anger, and exclaimed : ' ' What art thou think-
ing of doing, thou wretch ? What has disturbed thy
thoughts? Dost thou wish to go to Hell with the
Demons? [118] Perhaps thou wilt die this night,
and wilt find thyself with them before day breaks.
The Devil has turned thy head." The good man
seemed as cool as the child was ardent ; he pretended
that all this did not affect him, and that he no longer
cared to believe in God. The poor little creature
blames her own eyes ; she leaves this man, and goes,
all disconsolate, to the Mothers. " He is lost," she
said; " I am very sad. He will no longer believe
in God. The Devil has deceived him ; he no longer
wishes to go to Heaven." Then, raising her voice,
and using threats, with a toss of her head that be-
trayed her sorrow and her zeal, she said: " If I could
have broken the grating I would have beaten him."
How innocent is such fervor ; how lovable is the God
of Heaven !
194 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 22
il fallut que le Pere de Brebeuf l'affeuraft que cela
s'eftoit fait par artifice.
II ne venoit aucun Huron a Kebec, que [la] ieune fille
ne le prefchaft, & fouuent auec fruit. En voicy vn
exemple authentique. Vn Pere de noftre Compagnie
ecriuant du pays des Hurons, a la Mere qui a inftruit
[i 19] cette petite Huronne, luy tient ce langage : I'ef-
pere que Dieu benira voftre petite Terefe: vos
exemples luy feruiront toute fa vie, plus que tout ce
qu'on luy pourroit dire. Quelques Hurons du Bourg
de Sainct, Iofeph, qui defcendirent l'an paffe a Kebec,
font retournez fi fatisfaits de quelques entretiens
qu'ils ont eus auec elle, qu'ils ne fgauoient ce qu'ils
deuoient plus admirer, ou vne petite fille Huronne,
qui leur prefchoit vn Dieu, vn Paradis, & vn Enfer,
ou les faindtes filles qui l'auoient inftruite, & qui luy
auoient tourne l'efprit vers le Ciel. C'eft ainfi qu'ils
m'en parloient c6t Hyuer. Et dans vne autre lettre,
deux de nos Neophytes font remontez ca haut, telle-
ment edifiez de la vertu & de la faindtete qu'ils ont
remarquee la bas, & principalement en voftre Mai-
fon, qu'il y a vn plaifir nompareil de les entendre
fur ce fujet, & notammet fur les loiianges de Terefe.
Elle eft, difent-ils, fi conftante, fi bien inftruite, fi
aimee, fi feruente en la Foy, qu'a la voir on ne diroit
pas qu'elle fufl Huronne : ce fera le plus grand efprit
des Hurons quand elle fera de retour ; celle qui l'a
inftruite eft fans doute vn des plus grands efprits de
la France. En vn [120] mot, ce qu'ils ont veu par-
my les Chreftiens de Kebec, leur fait condamner la
folie des Hurons, & leur fait benir Dieu de les auoir
£clairez du flambeau de la Foy, i'efpere qu'ils con-
tinueront ca haut a bien faire. Ce font les paroles
1642] RELA TION OF 1642 195
The Mothers, discovering this man's deception,
tried to console her, but she could not believe them ;
Father de Brebeuf was compelled to assure her that
a trick had been played upon her.
No Huron came to Kebec without this young girl
preaching to him, and frequently with good effect.
Here is an authentic instance of it. A Father of our
Society, writing from the country of the Hurons to
the Mother who taught [119] this little Huron, says:
' ' I hope that God will bless your little Terese ; your
examples will serve her, for life, more than all that
can be said to her. Some Hurons of the Village of
Saint Joseph, who went down last year to Kebec,
have returned so satisfied with some conversations
that they had with her, that they did not know
which they should most admire, — a little Huron
girl who preached to them about God; a Paradise
and a Hell ; or the holy virgins who had taught her,
and turned her thoughts towards Heaven. Thus
they spoke to me of her, last Winter." And, in
another letter, he says: " Two of our Neophytes have
returned here, so edified by the virtue and holiness
which they observed there, and especially in your
House, that it gives us the greatest pleasure to hear
them speak on the subject and, above all, on the
praises of Terese. ' She is,' they say, ' so steadfast,
so well taught, so beloved, so fervent in the Faith,
that on seeing her, one would not take her for a Hu-
ron. She will be the greatest mind among the Hu-
rons when she shall return. She who taught her is
doubtless one of the greatest minds of France.' In
a [120] word, what they have seen when among the
Christians of Kebec makes them condemn the folly
of the Hurons, and bless God for having enlightened
196 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol.22
du Pere. La vertu parle fans dire mot, elle eft
comme les Cieux, qui enarrant gloriam Dei, qui pu-
blient la grandeur de Dieu en toutes fortes de lan-
gues, fans mot dire.
Cette bonne femme Seminarifte Huronne eftant
aux trois Riuieres, 6criuit vn mot de fa main a la
Mere Superieure : le voicy rendu en Francois, comme
elle l'a couch e en Huron.
Ma bonne Mere, ie fuis fur le poind; de partir.
Ie vous remercie de ce que vous auez eu tant
de foin de moy, & de ce que vous m'auez enf eigne a
bien feruir Dieu. Seroit-ce pour peu de chofe que ie
vous remercief Iamais ie ne m'en oublieray.
Deux iours apres qu'elle eut mis cette lettre entre
les mains du Pere Iofeph du Peron, elle fut prife des
Hiroquois auec fes parens, & auec le Pere Ifaac
Iogues, & [121] deux de nos Francois.
Si ie ne reconnoiffois vne autre conduite fur la
terre que celle des hommes, ie dirois que la premiere
Seminarifte que les Meres Vrfulines ont eue du pais
des Hurons, feroit la derniere, & qu'il n'y auroit plus
rien a efperer de ce coft6 la. Ie ne fcay pas le futur,
ie ne fus iamais Prophete ; mais ie f gay bien que fi
Dieu nous gouuerne toufiours comme il a commence,
elles en doiuent attendre d'autres en fon temps de ce
mefme pays-la, pourueu qu' elles ayent dequoy les
nourrir.
Ie trouue dans leur memoire, que l'vne de leurs
filles Algonquines s'en eftant enfuye chez fes parens,
ne fut pas loin que la tentation qui l'auoit fait fortir
en cachette, la quitta; elle ouure les yeux, reconnoit
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1642] RELA TION OF 1642 197
them with the torch of Faith. I hope they will
continue to do well up here." Such are the Father's
words. Virtue speaks without uttering a syllable.
It is like the Heavens qui enarrant gloriam Dei, which
publish God's greatness in all tongues, without
saying a word.
When this good Huron Seminarist was at the
three Rivers, she sent a letter in her own handwrit-
ing to the Mother Superior. Here is a translation of
it in French, as it was written in Huron:
* * /\ l\ Y £°°d Mother, I am about to leave. I thank
1 V 1 you for having taken such care of me, and
for having taught me to serve God well. Do I thank
you for a trifling matter? I shall never forget it."
Two days after she had placed this letter in the
hands of Father Joseph du Peron, she was taken
prisoner by the Hiroquois with her parents, with
Father Isaac Joguesand [121] two of our Frenchmen.
If I knew of no other guidance on earth than that
of men, I would say that the first Seminarist that the
Ursuline Mothers have had from the country of the
Hurons would be the last, and that nothing more
could be expected from that quarter. I do not know
the future, — I was never a Prophet; but I do know
that if God always guides us as he has from the be-
ginning, they may expect other pupils, at such time
as he judges best, from the same country, provided
they have the wherewithal to feed them.
I find in their memoir that one of their Algonquin
girls, who had run away to her parents, had not
gone far before the temptation which had induced
her to go away clandestinely, left her. Her eyes are
198 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.22
fa faute, retourne an Seminaire, prie qu'on la recoiue,
mais on luy fait la fourde oreille: elle infifte, on la
rebutte ; la pannre enfant fe gliff e dans la Maifon auec
les Seminariftes paffageres, fe va ietter aux pieds de
la Mere Superieure, la coninre a iointes mains de la
tenir comme anparanant au nombre des Seminariftes
fedentaires: On m'a follicitee, difoit-elle, de vons
quitter, i'ay mal fait, ie ne m'enfuiray plus, ie feray
[122] obeiffante: c'eft tout de bon que ie veux eftre
inftruite. On luy fait grace, on l'admet dans la Mai-
fon, on l'habille a la Frangoife, elle garde fa -parole,
donnant a connoiftre que Dieu & fon cceur auoient
parle auffi bien que fa bouche.
Nous ne parlons point, dift la Mere qui a fourny ces
memoires de nos Seminariftes paffageres, ny de leurs
bons fentimes, ny des vifites frequentes & continu-
elles d'vn tres-grand nombre de Sauuages, ny des
petits f ecours que nous leur rendons inceff amment ;
il n'eft pas quafi poffible de les voir fi riches & fi pau-
ures des biens de la terre, fans fe rejouir de leur
bon-heur, & fans [foulager] leurs miferes. Nous ne
faifons aucune mention des grands temoignages
d'affedtion qu'ils nous rendent, nous voyas en ces
contrees pour les fecourir. Nous ne difons rien de
ceux qui ont efte faits Chreftiens en noftre petite
Chapelle, des inftrudtions que nous leur donnons a
noftre grille, & dans le lieu ou nous enfeignons nos
Seminariftes. II y en a qui fe viennent confoler auec
nous fur leurs petites affaires ; d'autres nous vifitent
pour s'entretenir des grandeurs & des bontez de Dieu.
Nous laiffons tous ces bons fentimens [123] pour le
gros de la Relation, nous contentant de dire deux
mots des Seminariftes, que nous auons inceffamment
1642] RELA TION OF 1642 199
opened ; she sees her error, returns to the Seminary,
and begs to be admitted ; but they turn a deaf ear to
her. She persists, but is refused. The poor child
slips into the House with the transient Seminarists,
throws herself at the feet of the Mother Superior,
and, with clasped hands, entreats that she will admit
her, as before, to the ranks of the permanent Semina-
rists. ' ' I was solicited to leave you, ' ' she said ; "I
did wrong. I will never run away again ; I will
be [122] obedient. I really wish to be taught. " She
was forgiven, admitted into the House, and clothed
in the French fashion. She kept her word, showing
that God and her heart had spoken as well as her lips.
" We say nothing," writes the Mother who has
supplied these memoirs, " of our transient Semina-
rists, or of their good sentiments; or of the fre-
quent and constant visits paid by a great number of
Savages ; or of the slight assistance that we always
give them. It is hardly possible to see them so rich,
and so poor in worldly goods, without rejoicing at
their welfare and relieving their misfortune. We
do not mention the great proofs of their affection
that they give us, upon seeing that we are here in
this country to succor them. We say nothing of
those who have been made Christians in our little
Chapel ; of the instruction that we give them at the
grating, and in the room where we teach our Semi-
narists. Some come to us to be comforted about their
little personal affairs; others visit us to converse
about the greatness and goodness of God. We leave
all these good sentiments [123] for the bulk of the
Relation, contenting ourselves with saying a few
words about the Seminarists whom we have always
with us in our cloister. Those nuns who will sue-
200 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol.22
auec nous dans noftre clofture. Ces filles qui vien-
dront quelque iour apres nous, & qui n'auront pas
veu l'etrange incommodite que nous receuons d'vn
petit coin de maifon, oil il faut faire toutes les fon-
dtions d'vn grand Monaftere, ignoreront peut-eftre
nos ioyes auffi bien que nos peines.
1642] RELATION OF 1642 201
ceed us some day, and will not have witnessed the
great inconvenience that we experience in a small
house, wherein all the occupations and duties of a
large Monastery have to be performed, will probably
be ignorant of our joys as well as of our troubles."
202 LES RELA TTONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 22
CHAPITRE IX.
DU DESSEIN DE MESSIEURS DE MONTREAL.
VN grand homme de bien n'ayant iamais veu la
Nouuelle France que deuant Dieu, fe fentit
fortement infpire d'y trauailler pour fa gloire.
Ayant fait rencontre d'vne perfonne de mefme cceur,
ils enuoyerent l'an 1640. vingt tonneaux de viures,
& d'autres chofes neceff aires pour commencer en fon
temps vne nouuelle habitation en l'lfle de Montreal.
L'annee derniere ils firent paffer quarante hommes
commandez par le fieur de Maifonneufue, [124] Gen-
til-homme Champenois, pour ietter les fondemens de
ce genereux deffein. Cette entreprife paroiftroit
autant temeraire, qu'elle eft faindte & hardie, fi elle
n'auoit pour baf e la puiffance de celuy qui ne manque
iamais a ceux qui n'entreprennent rien qu'au branfle
de f es volontez ; & qui fcauroit ce qui fe paff e pour
faire reiiffir ce grand affaire, iugeroit aum-toft que
Noftre Seigneur en eft veritablement l'autheur. Mais
difons deux mots de cette Me deuant que de paffer
outre.
On compte depuis l'emboucheure du Golphe de
Saindt Laurens, iufques au Forillon de Gafpe, ou le
Golphe fe reftreffit, & fe fait riuiere, foixante lieues.
Depuis le Forillon de Gafpe* iufques a Tadouffac,
quatre-vingts dix lieues; depuis Tadouffac iufques a
Kebec, quarante lieues; depuis Kebec iufques aux
trois Riuieres, vingt-huidt ou trente lieues; depuis
les trois Riuieres iufques au Fort de Richelieu, qu'on
1642] RELA TION OF 1642 203
CHAPTER IX.
OF THE PROJECT OF THE GENTLEMEN OF MONTREAL.
A GREAT and good man, who had never seen
New France except in the presence of God,
felt strongly inspired to work there for his
glory. Having met with a person animated by the
same spirit, they shipped, in the year 1640, twenty
tons of food and other necessaries for the purpose of
founding, in due time, a new residence on the Island
of Montreal. Last year they sent over forty men
under the command of the sieur de Maisonneufve,
[124] a Gentleman of Champagne, to lay the founda-
tions of this generous undertaking. Such an enter-
prise would have seemed as rash as it was holy and
daring, had it not been based upon the power of him
who never fails those who undertake nothing except
under the impulse of his will. And every one who
learns what is being done to carry out this great
design successfully will at once see that Our Lord is
certainly the author thereof. But let us say a few
words about that Island before going any further.
They count sixty leagues from the entrance of the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the Forillon of Gaspe, 8
where the Gulf narrows and becomes a river; ninety
leagues from the Forillon of Gaspe to Tadoussac;
forty leagues from Tadoussac to Kebec; twenty-
eight or thirty leagues from Kebec to the three
Rivers; twelve leagues from the three Rivers to the
Fort of Richelieu, now being built on the River of
204 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol.22
baftit fur la Riuiere des Hiroquois, douze lieues;
depuis cette Riuiere iufques a Montreal, douze autres
lieues: fi bien que depuis l'embouclieure du grand
fleuue & du Golphe Saindt Laurens, iufques a cette
Ifle, on y compte pres de deux [225 i.e., 125] cens
lieues; & toute cette grande etendue d'eau eft naui-
gable, en partie par de grands Vaiffeaux, en partie
par des Barques.
L'Ifle de Motreal a enuiron vingt lieues de tour, elle
eft baignee d'vn cofte du grand fleuue Saindt Lau-
rens, & de 1' autre de la riuiere des Prairies Ces deux
grands fleuues fe ioignans enfemble font comme deux
lacs ou deux grands eftangs. Aux deux bouts de
cette Ifle, il y a quantite d' autres Ifles plus petites,
fort agreables: la plus belle apres l'lfle de Montreal,
c'eft V Ifle de I E s v s . II fort des terres vne autre pe-
tite riuiere du cofte du Nord, nommee des Francois,
la riuiere de l'Affomption, & des Sauuages tftaragau-
efipi, laquelle fe iette dans cette grande 6tendue
d'eau qui fe rencotre a la pointe plus baffe de Mont-
real : toutes ces eaux f e raff emblans & marchans de
compagnie, prennent le nom du grad fleuue Saindt
Laurens: Quinze lieues plus bas, tout aupres de l'em-
boucheure de la riuiere des Hiroquois, qui vient du
cofte* du Midy, ce grand fleuue s'ouure & fe dilate
derechef , & fait le lac que nous appellons de Saindt
Pierre, qui peut auoir quatre ou cinq lieues de large,
& fept ou huidt de long, eft parfeme de quantite de
[126] belles Ifles: d'vn cofte* & de l'autre il fe v6-
treffit, pour reprendre vne autre fois le nom du fleuue
de Saindt Laurens, a deux lieues ou enuiron, plus
haut que 1' habitation, & que le fleuue des trois
Riuieres.
1642] RELA TION OF 1642 205
the Hiroquois ; twelve more leagues from that River
to Montreal. So that, from the entrance of the great
river and Gulf of Saint Lawrence to that Island, they
count nearly two [225 i.e., 125] hundred leagues;
and the whole of that great stretch of water is navi-
gable, — in part by great Ships, and in part by Barks.
The Island of Montreal has a circumference of
about twenty leagues. 9 It is bathed on one side by
the great river Saint Lawrence, and on the other by
the river des Prairies. These two great rivers unite
and form, as it were, two lakes or large ponds. At
each end of this Island, there are many smaller
Islands that are very pleasant. The finest, after the
Island of Montreal, is the Isle of Jesus. Another
small river flows from inland on the North side,
called by the French the river of the Assumption and
by the Savages Outaragauesipi, which falls into that
wide expanse of water which lies at the lower point
of Montreal. The whole of these waters, uniting
and flowing together, take the name of the great river
Saint Lawrence. Fifteen leagues below, — quite
near the mouth of the river of the Hiroquois, which
comes from the South, — the great river again widens
and expands, and forms the lake that we call lake
Saint Pierre, which may be four or five leagues wide,
and seven or eight long, and is studded with a num-
ber of [126] beautiful Islands. It then narrows on
both sides, resuming once more the name of river
Saint Lawrence, about two leagues above the settle-
ment and the river of the three Rivers.
But, to return to our Island, I may say, in passing,
that the aspect of a fine mountain which stands there
has given it the name of Montreal or Mont-royal.
Jacques Cartier, the first of our French who dis-
206 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.22
Mais pour remonter a noftre Ifle, ie diray en
paffant que l'afpedt d'vne belle montagne qui s'y
rencontre, luy a fait porter le nom de Montreal, ou
Mont-royal.
Iacques Cartier, qui eft le premier de nos Francois
qui la decouuerte, ecrit qu'il y rencontra vne ville
nominee Ochelaga. Cela s'accorde bien a ce qu'en
difent les Sauuages, qui la nomment Minitik b'ten en-
tagb'giban, rifle oil il y auoit vne ville, ou vne bour-
gade, les guerres en ont banny les habitans.
Elle donne vn acc£s & vn abord admirable a toutes
les Nations de ce grand pais, car il fe trouue au Nord
& au Midy, au Leuant & au Couchant des riuieres qui
fe iettent dans les fleuues de Sainct. Laurens, & dans
la riuiere des prairies qui enuironnent cette Ifle ; de
forte que fi la paix eftoit parmy ces peuples, ils pour-
roient aborder la de tous coftez, Omnia tempus habent,
tout fe fera auec le temps.
Ces Meffieurs qui entreprennent de [227 i.e., 127]
faire adorer Iefus-Chrift dans cette Ifle, firent c6t
Hyuer dernier vne adtion vrayement Chreftienne. Ce
font perfonnes de vertu, de merite & de condition,
gens qui font prof efflon de f eruir Dieu publiquement ;
que ces termes me font agreables (feruir Dieu pu-
bliquement) ne rougir point pour les baffeffes de
Iefus-Chrift, & ne fe point enfler pour les grandeurs
de la terre. Ces Ames d 'elite s'eftans raffemblees en
la grande Eglife de Noftre Dame de Paris, ceux qui
portent le faindt charadtere, difent la faindte Meffe,
& les autres fe communierent a 1' Autel de cette Prin-
ceffe tout charge de miracles, ayans le Sauueur du
monde auec eux, ils d6dierent & confacrerent a la
Sain die Famille l'lfle de Mont-real, defirans qu'elle fe
1642] RELA TION OF 1642 207
covered it, writes that he found on it a village called
Ochelaga. This fully agrees with the accounts of the
Savages, who call it " Minitik outen entagougiban,"
"the Island on which stood a town or a village."
The wars have banished its inhabitants. 10
It gives access and an admirable approach to all
the Nations of this vast country; for, on the North
and South, on the East and West, there are rivers
which fall into the river Saint Lawrence and the
river des prairies that surround the Island. So that,
if peace prevailed among these peoples, they could
land thereon from all sides. Omnia tempns habent;
all will be done in time.
The Gentlemen who have undertaken to [227
i.e., 127] have Jesus Christ adored on this Island,
performed a truly Christian action last Winter. They
are persons of virtue, of merit, and of condition,
people who profess to serve God publicly, — how
pleasant those words (to serve God publicly) are to
me! — not to blush for the humiliations of Jesus
Christ, and not to be puffed up by worldly honors.
These noble Souls having assembled in the great
Church of Nostre Dame, at Paris, those who had taken
holy orders said holy Mass, and the others received
communion at the Altar of that Princess, which is
fraught with miracles. Having the Savior of the
world with them, they consecrated the Island of
Mont-real to the Holy Family, desiring that it should
thereafter bear the name of Nostre Dame de Mont-
real. But let us listen, if you please, to what a vir-
tuous person who hides from men, but who is well
known to the Angels, writes on this subject.
"As more ample information is desired regarding
the particular circumstances of this Society, here is
208 LES RELA TIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 22
nommaft dorefnauant Noftre Dame de Mont-real:
Mais 6coutons, s'il vous plaift, ce qu'vne perfonne de
vertu, qui fe cache aux hommes, & qui eft bien
connue des Anges, efcrit fur ce fujet.
Puis qu'on defire quelque inftrudtion plus ample
des particularitez de cette Societe, voicy ce que i'en
puis dire. Enuiron trente-cinq perfonne de condi-
tion fe font vnies pour trauailler a la conuerfion [128]
des pauures Sauuages de la Nouuelle France, & pour
tafcher d'en affembler bon nombre dedans l'lfle de
Mont-real qu'ils ont choifie, eftimans qu'elle eft pro-
pre pour cela, leur deflein eft de leur faire baftir des
maifons pour les loger, & d6fricher de la terre pour
les nourrir, & d'etablir des Seminaires pour les
inftruire, & vn Hoftel-Dieu pour fecourir leurs ma-
lades. Tous ces Meffieurs & Dames s'affemblerent
vn Ieudy vers la fin du mois de Feurier de cette
annee 1642. fur les dix heures du matin en l'Eglife
de Noftre Dame de Paris, deuant 1' Autel de la Saindte
Vierge, oil vn Preftre d'entr'eux dift la faindte Mefle,
& communia les affociez qui ne portent point le Cha-
radtere. Ceux qui le portent celebrerent aux Autels
qui font a l'entour de celuy de la Sainct-e Vierge: la
tous enfemble ils confacrerent l'lfle de Mont-real a la
Saindte Famille de Noftre Seigneur, Iesvs, Marie
& I o S E P H , f ous la protection particuliere de la
Sain<5te Vierge ils fe confacrerent eux-mefmes, &
s'vnirent en participation de prieres & de merites,
afin qu'eftans conduits d'vn mefme efprit, ils trauail-
lent plus purement pour la gloire de Dieu, & pour le
[129] falut de ces pauures peuples, & que les prieres
qu'ils feront pour leur conuerfion, & pour la fanctifi-
cation d'vn chacun defdits Affociez, foient plus agre-