France and England in North America, Part IV: The Old Régime In CanadaParkman, Francis
History
France and England in North America, Part IV: The Old Régime In Canada
Parkman, Francis
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France)
Whence were these funds derived? Laval, in order to imitate the poverty
of the apostles, had divested himself of his property before he came to
Canada; otherwise there is little doubt that in the fulness of his
zeal he would have devoted it to his favorite object. But if he had no
property he had influence, and his family had both influence and wealth.
He acquired vast grants of land in the best parts of Canada. Some of
these he sold or exchanged; others he retained till the year
*Annales du Petit Séminaire de Quebec, see Abeille, Vol. I.;
Notice Historique sur le Petit Séminaire de Quebec, Ibid.,
Vol. II.; Notice Historique sur la Paroisse de St. Joachim,
Ibid., Vol. I. The Abeille is a journal published by the
seminary.
1680, when he gave them, with nearly all else that he then possessed, to
his seminary at Quebec. The lands with which he thus endowed it included
the seigniories of the Petite Nation, the island of Jesus, and Beaupré.
The last is of great extent, and at the present day of immense value.
Beginning a few miles below Quebec, it borders the St. Lawrence for a
distance of sixteen leagues, and is six leagues in depth, measured
from the river. From these sources the seminary still draws an abundant
revenue, though its seigniorial rights were commuted on the recent
extinction of the feudal tenure in Canada.
Well did Laval deserve that his name should live in that of the
university which a century and a half after his death owed its existence
to his bounty. This father of the Canadian church, who has left so deep
an impress on one of the communities which form the vast population of
North America, belonged to a type of character to which an even justice
is rarely done. With the exception of the Canadian Garneau, a liberal
Catholic, those who have treated of him, have seen him through a medium
intensely Romanist, coloring, hiding, and exaggerating by turns both his
actions and the traits of his character. Tried by the Romanist standard,
his merits were great; though the extraordinary influence which he
exercised in the affairs of the colony were, as already observed, by
no means due to his spiritual graces alone. To a saint sprung from
the _haute noblesse_, Earth and Heaven were alike propitious. When the
vicar general Colombière pronounced his funeral eulogy in the sounding
periods of Bossuet, he did not fail to exhibit him on the ancestral
pedestal where his virtues would shine with redoubled lustre. “The
exploits of the heroes of the House of Montmorency,” exclaims the
reverend orator, “form one of the fairest chapters in the annals of
Old France; the heroic acts of charity, humility, and faith, achieved by
a Montmorency, form one of the fairest in the annals of New France. The
combats, victories, and conquests of the Montmorency in Europe
would fill whole volumes; and so, too, would the triumphs won by a
Montmorency, in America, over sin, passion, and the devil.” Then he
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account