NOTRE-DAME DES ANGES.
Quebec in 1634 ? Father Le Jeune ? The Mission-House ? Its Domestic Economy ? The Jesuits and their Designs
Opposite Quebec lies the tongue of land called Point Levi. One who, in the summer of the year 1634, stood on its margin1 and looked northward2, across the St. Lawrence, would have seen, at the distance of a mile or more, a range of lofty cliffs, rising on the left into the bold heights of Cape3 Diamond, and on the right sinking abruptly4 to the bed of the tributary5 river St. Charles. Beneath these cliffs, at the brink6 of the St. Lawrence, he would have descried7 a cluster of warehouses8, sheds, and wooden tenements9. Immediately above, along the verge10 of the precipice11, he could have traced the outlines of a fortified12 work, with a flagstaff, and a few small cannon13 to command the river; while, at the only point where Nature had made the heights accessible, a zigzag14 path connected the warehouses and the fort.
2 Now, embarked15 in the canoe of some Montagnais Indian, let him cross the St. Lawrence, land at the pier16, and, passing the cluster of buildings, climb the pathway up the cliff. Pausing for rest and breath, he might see, ascending17 and descending18, the tenants19 of this outpost of the wilderness20: a soldier of the fort, or an officer in slouched hat and plume21; a factor of the fur company, owner and sovereign lord of all Canada; a party of Indians; a trader from the upper country, one of the precursors22 of that hardy23 race of coureurs de bois, destined24 to form a conspicuous25 and striking feature of the Canadian population: next, perhaps, would appear a figure widely different. The close, black cassock, the rosary hanging from the waist, and the wide, black hat, looped up at the sides, proclaimed the Jesuit,—Father Le Jeune, Superior of the Residence of Quebec.
And now, that we may better know the aspect and condition of the infant colony and incipient26 mission, we will follow the priest on his way. Mounting the steep path, he reached the top of the cliff, some two hundred feet above the river and the warehouses. On the left lay the fort built by Champlain, covering a part of the ground now forming Durham Terrace and the Place d'Armes. Its ramparts were of logs and earth, and within was a turreted27 building of stone, used as a barrack, as officers' quarters, and for other purposes. [1] Near the fort stood a small chapel28, newly built. The 3 surrounding country was cleared and partially29 cultivated; yet only one dwelling-house worthy30 the name appeared. It was a substantial cottage, where lived Madame Hébert, widow of the first settler of Canada, with her daughter, her son-in-law Couillard, and their children, good Catholics all, who, two years before, when Quebec was evacuated31 by the English, [2] wept for joy at beholding32 Le Jeune, and his brother Jesuit, De Nou?, crossing their threshold to offer beneath their roof the long-forbidden sacrifice of the Mass. There were inclosures with cattle near at hand; and the house, with its surroundings, betokened33 industry and thrift34.
[1] Compare the various notices in Champlain (1632) with that of Du Creux, Historia Canadensis, 204.
[2] See "Pioneers of France in the New World." Hébert's cottage seems to have stood between Ste.-Famille and Couillard Streets, as appears by a contract of 1634, cited by M. Ferland.
Thence Le Jeune walked on, across the site of the modern market-place, and still onward36, near the line of the cliffs which sank abruptly on his right. Beneath lay the mouth of the St. Charles; and, beyond, the wilderness shore of Beauport swept in a wide curve eastward37, to where, far in the distance, the Gulf38 of Montmorenci yawned on the great river. [3] The priest soon passed the clearings, and entered the woods which covered the site of the present suburb of St. John. Thence he descended39 to a lower plateau, where now lies the suburb of St. Roch, and, still advancing, reached a pleasant spot at the extremity40 of the Pointe-aux-Lièvres, a tract35 of meadow land nearly inclosed 4 by a sudden bend of the St. Charles. Here lay a canoe or skiff; and, paddling across the narrow stream, Le Jeune saw on the meadow, two hundred yards from the bank, a square inclosure formed of palisades, like a modern picket41 fort of the Indian frontier. [4] Within this inclosure were two buildings, one of which had been half burned by the English, and was not yet repaired. It served as storehouse, stable, workshop, and bakery. Opposite stood the principal building, a structure of planks42, plastered with mud, and thatched with long grass from the meadows. It consisted of one story, a garret, and a cellar, and contained four principal rooms, of which one served as chapel, another as refectory, another as kitchen, and the fourth as a lodging43 for workmen. The furniture of all was plain in the extreme. Until the preceding year, the chapel had had no other ornament44 than a sheet on which were glued two coarse engravings; but the priests had now decorated their altar with an image of a dove representing the Holy Ghost, an image of Loyola, another of Xavier, and three images of the Virgin45. Four cells opened from the refectory, the largest of which was eight feet square. In these lodged46 six priests, while two lay 5 brothers found shelter in the garret. The house had been hastily built, eight years before, and now leaked in all parts. Such was the Residence of Notre-Dame des Anges. Here was nourished the germ of a vast enterprise, and this was the cradle of the great mission of New France. [5]
[3] The settlement of Beauport was begun this year, or the year following, by the Sieur Giffard, to whom a large tract had been granted here—Langevin, Notes sur les Archives de N. D. de Beauport, 5.
[4] This must have been very near the point where the streamlet called the River Lairet enters the St. Charles. The place has a triple historic interest. The wintering-place of Cartier in 1535-6 (see "Pioneers of France") seems to have been here. Here, too, in 1759, Montcalm's bridge of boats crossed the St. Charles; and in a large intrenchment, which probably included the site of the Jesuit mission-house, the remnants of his shattered army rallied, after their defeat on the Plains of Abraham.—See the very curious Narrative47 of the Chevalier Johnstone, published by the Historical Society of Quebec.
[5] The above particulars are gathered from the Relations of 1626 (Lalemant), and 1632, 1633, 1634, 1635 (Le Jeune), but chiefly from a long letter of the Father Superior to the Provincial48 of the Jesuits at Paris, containing a curiously49 minute report of the state of the mission. It was sent from Quebec by the returning ships in the summer of 1634, and will be found in Carayon, Première Mission des Jésuites au Canada, 122. The original is in the archives of the Order at Rome.
Of the six Jesuits gathered in the refectory for the evening meal, one was conspicuous among the rest,—a tall, strong man, with features that seemed carved by Nature for a soldier, but which the mental habits of years had stamped with the visible impress of the priesthood. This was Jean de Brébeuf, descendant of a noble family of Normandy, and one of the ablest and most devoted50 zealots whose names stand on the missionary52 rolls of his Order. His companions were Masse, Daniel, Davost, De Nou?, and the Father Superior, Le Jeune. Masse was the same priest who had been the companion of Father Biard in the abortive53 mission of Acadia. [6] By reason of his useful qualities, Le Jeune nicknamed him "le Père Utile." At present, his special function was the care of the pigs and cows, which he kept in the inclosure around the buildings, lest they should ravage54 the neighboring fields of rye, barley55, wheat, 6 and maize56. [7] De Nou? had charge of the eight or ten workmen employed by the mission, who gave him at times no little trouble by their repinings and complaints. [8] They were forced to hear mass every morning and prayers every evening, besides an exhortation57 on Sunday. Some of them were for returning home, while two or three, of a different complexion58, wished to be Jesuits themselves. The Fathers, in their intervals59 of leisure, worked with their men, spade in hand. For the rest, they were busied in preaching, singing vespers, saying mass and hearing confessions60 at the fort of Quebec, catechizing a few Indians, and striving to master the enormous difficulties of the Huron and Algonquin languages.
[6] See "Pioneers of France in the New World."
[7] "Le P. Masse, que je nomme quelquefois en riant le Père Utile, est bien cognu de V. R. Il a soin des choses domestiques et du bestail que nous avons, en quoy il a très-bien reussy."—Lettre du P. Paul le Jeune au R. P. Provincial, in Carayon, 122.—Le Jeune does not fail to send an inventory61 of the "bestail" to his Superior, namely: "Deux grosses truies qui nourissent chacune quatre petits cochons, deux vaches, deux petites genisses, et un petit taureau."
[8] The methodical Le Jeune sets down the causes of their discontent under six different heads, each duly numbered. Thus:—
"1o. C'est le naturel des artisans de se plaindre et de gronder."
"2o. La diversité des gages les fait murmurer," etc.
Well might Father Le Jeune write to his Superior, "The harvest is plentiful62, and the laborers64 few." These men aimed at the conversion65 of a continent. From their hovel on the St. Charles, they surveyed a field of labor63 whose vastness might tire the wings of thought itself; a scene repellent and appalling66, darkened with omens67 of peril68 and woe69. They were an advance-guard of the great army of Loyola, strong in a discipline that controlled 7 not alone the body and the will, but the intellect, the heart, the soul, and the inmost consciousness. The lives of these early Canadian Jesuits attest70 the earnestness of their faith and the intensity71 of their zeal51; but it was a zeal bridled72, curbed73, and ruled by a guiding hand. Their marvellous training in equal measure kindled74 enthusiasm and controlled it, roused into action a mighty75 power, and made it as subservient76 as those great material forces which modern science has learned to awaken77 and to govern. They were drilled to a factitious humility78, prone79 to find utterance80 in expressions of self-depreciation and self-scorn, which one may often judge unwisely, when he condemns81 them as insincere. They were devoted believers, not only in the fundamental dogmas of Rome, but in those lesser82 matters of faith which heresy83 despises as idle and puerile84 superstitions85. One great aim engrossed86 their lives. "For the greater glory of God"—ad majorem Dei gloriam—they would act or wait, dare, suffer, or die, yet all in unquestioning subjection to the authority of the Superiors, in whom they recognized the agents of Divine authority itself.
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1 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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2 northward | |
adv.向北;n.北方的地区 | |
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3 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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4 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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5 tributary | |
n.支流;纳贡国;adj.附庸的;辅助的;支流的 | |
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6 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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7 descried | |
adj.被注意到的,被发现的,被看到的 | |
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8 warehouses | |
仓库,货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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9 tenements | |
n.房屋,住户,租房子( tenement的名词复数 ) | |
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10 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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11 precipice | |
n.悬崖,危急的处境 | |
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12 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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13 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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14 zigzag | |
n.曲折,之字形;adj.曲折的,锯齿形的;adv.曲折地,成锯齿形地;vt.使曲折;vi.曲折前行 | |
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15 embarked | |
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事 | |
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16 pier | |
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱 | |
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17 ascending | |
adj.上升的,向上的 | |
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18 descending | |
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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19 tenants | |
n.房客( tenant的名词复数 );佃户;占用者;占有者 | |
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20 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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21 plume | |
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰 | |
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22 precursors | |
n.先驱( precursor的名词复数 );先行者;先兆;初期形式 | |
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23 hardy | |
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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24 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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25 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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26 incipient | |
adj.起初的,发端的,初期的 | |
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27 turreted | |
a.(像炮塔般)旋转式的 | |
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28 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
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29 partially | |
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲 | |
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30 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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31 evacuated | |
撤退者的 | |
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32 beholding | |
v.看,注视( behold的现在分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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33 betokened | |
v.预示,表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34 thrift | |
adj.节约,节俭;n.节俭,节约 | |
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35 tract | |
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林) | |
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36 onward | |
adj.向前的,前进的;adv.向前,前进,在先 | |
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37 eastward | |
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部 | |
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38 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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39 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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40 extremity | |
n.末端,尽头;尽力;终极;极度 | |
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41 picket | |
n.纠察队;警戒哨;v.设置纠察线;布置警卫 | |
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42 planks | |
(厚)木板( plank的名词复数 ); 政纲条目,政策要点 | |
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43 lodging | |
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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44 ornament | |
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物 | |
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45 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
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46 lodged | |
v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 );暂住;埋入;(权利、权威等)归属 | |
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47 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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48 provincial | |
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人 | |
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49 curiously | |
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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50 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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51 zeal | |
n.热心,热情,热忱 | |
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52 missionary | |
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士 | |
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53 abortive | |
adj.不成功的,发育不全的 | |
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54 ravage | |
vt.使...荒废,破坏...;n.破坏,掠夺,荒废 | |
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55 barley | |
n.大麦,大麦粒 | |
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56 maize | |
n.玉米 | |
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57 exhortation | |
n.劝告,规劝 | |
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58 complexion | |
n.肤色;情况,局面;气质,性格 | |
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59 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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60 confessions | |
n.承认( confession的名词复数 );自首;声明;(向神父的)忏悔 | |
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61 inventory | |
n.详细目录,存货清单 | |
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62 plentiful | |
adj.富裕的,丰富的 | |
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63 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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64 laborers | |
n.体力劳动者,工人( laborer的名词复数 );(熟练工人的)辅助工 | |
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65 conversion | |
n.转化,转换,转变 | |
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66 appalling | |
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的 | |
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67 omens | |
n.前兆,预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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68 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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69 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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70 attest | |
vt.证明,证实;表明 | |
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71 intensity | |
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度 | |
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72 bridled | |
给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 ); 控制; 昂首表示轻蔑(或怨忿等); 动怒,生气 | |
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73 curbed | |
v.限制,克制,抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74 kindled | |
(使某物)燃烧,着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 ); 激起(感情等); 发亮,放光 | |
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75 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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76 subservient | |
adj.卑屈的,阿谀的 | |
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77 awaken | |
vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 | |
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78 humility | |
n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
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79 prone | |
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的 | |
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80 utterance | |
n.用言语表达,话语,言语 | |
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81 condemns | |
v.(通常因道义上的原因而)谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 );宣判;宣布…不能使用;迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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82 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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83 heresy | |
n.异端邪说;异教 | |
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84 puerile | |
adj.幼稚的,儿童的 | |
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85 superstitions | |
迷信,迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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86 engrossed | |
adj.全神贯注的 | |
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