Famous Firesides of French CanadaAlloway, Mary Wilson
History
Famous Firesides of French Canada
Alloway, Mary Wilson
Québec (Province) -- History
The winding length of quiet, old St. Paul street, then an Indian trail,
following the course of the river through the oak forest, must often
have known the presence of this picturesque warrior in his
weather-beaten garments of the doublet and long hose then in vogue.
"Over the doublet he buckled on a breastplate, and probably a back
piece, while his thighs were protected by cuisses of steel and his head
by a plumed casque. Across his shoulders hung the strap of his
_baudolier_ or ammunition box, at his side was his sword, and in his
hand his arquebuse. Such was the equipment of this ancient Indian
fighter, whose exploits date eleven years before the Puritans landed,"
among the grey granite hills of New England.
He was an armourer of Dieppe, who, though "a great captain, a successful
discoverer and a noted geographer, was more than all a God-fearing,
Christian gentleman." He was more concerned to gain victories by the
cross than by the sword, saying:--"The salvation of a soul is of more
value than the conquest of an empire."
The year 1620 was a red letter day in the history of the Colony, when,
from a little vessel moored at the foot of the cliff, he led on shore at
Quebec his young bride, who with her three maids had come to the western
wilderness, the first gentlewoman to land on Canadian shores. He
conducted her to where is now the corner of Notre Dame and Sous-le-Fort
streets, to the rude "_habitation_" he had prepared for her reception,
which was poorly furnished and unhomelike in comparison to the one which
she had left over the sea. But history tells of no word of complaint nor
disappointment coming from the gentle lips; but, as the youthful
_chateleine_ sat by her hearth, it shed a light among the huts of the
settlers and dusky lodges of the natives, as her example of patience and
duty performed by the first refined, civilized fireside in the land
does to the thousands who have succeeded her. After almost three
hundred years, the "charms of her person, her elegance and kindliness of
manner" are still remembered. The chronicler tells us that the
"Governor's lady wore in her daily rambles, amongst the wigwams, an
article of feminine attire, not unusual in those days, a small mirror at
her girdle." It appealed irresistibly to the simple natures around her,
that "a beauteous being should love them so much as to carry their
images reflected close to her heart."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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