His retreat was visited in 1670 by Marguerite Bourgeoys, who thus
describes it in the account of her journey to obtain the letters patent
for her new institution: "The morning of my arrival I went to the
Seminary of St. Sulpice to learn where I could find M. de Maisonneuve.
He was lodged at the Fossé St. Victor, near the church of the Fathers
of Christian Doctrine, and I arrived at his house rather late. Only
a few days before he had constructed a cabin and furnished a little
room after the Canadian manner so as to entertain any persons who
should come from Canada. I knocked at the door and he himself came
down to open it, for he lived on the second floor with his servant,
Louis Frins, and he opened the door for me with very great joy." Many
other kindnesses did this simple gentleman do for her and for other
Canadians, for whom he acted as the kindly agent while they were in
Paris.
A true Canadian! May his memory remain forever green at Montreal! He
died on September 9, 1676, and his funeral obsequies were carried out
in the church hard by his home, above mentioned. Dollier de Casson, in
his history of the city, treats the painful incident of the governor's
departure thus:
"Speaking of the arrival of the ships and of the 'grand monde' which
came to Montreal this year, and of the extreme joy because of the
king's goodness in making his victorious arms glare and glitter, all
the same these joys were diluted for the more intelligent with much
bitterness when they saw M. Maisonneuve, their father and very dear
governor, depart this time for good, leaving them in the hands of
others, from whom they could not expect the same freedom, the same
love, and the same fidelity in putting down the vices, which have since
taken effect with those other disgraces and miseries, which had never
up to then appeared to the point at which they have since been seen."
It is commonly thought that Maisonneuve arrived at Montreal in his
fortieth year. He lived there twenty-three years. After that he spent
eleven in France, thus dying at the age of seventy-four years.
CHAPTER XVII
1666-1670
THE SUBDUAL OF THE IROQUOIS
THE END OF THE HEROIC AGE
PRIMITIVE EXPEDITIONS UNDER DE COURCELLES, SOREL AND DE TRACY--THE
ROYAL TROOPS AND THE MONTREAL "BLUE COATS"--DOLLIER DE CASSON, THE
SOLDIER CHAPLAIN--THE VICTORY OVER THE IROQUOIS--THE HOTEL-DIEU AT
MONTREAL RECEIVES THE SICK AND WOUNDED--THE CONFIRMATION OF THE
GENTLEMEN OF THE SEMINARY AS SEIGNEURS--THE LIEUTENANT GENERAL AND
INTENDANT IN MONTREAL--THE "DIME"--THE CENSUS OF 1667--MORE CLERGY
NEEDED--THE ABBE DE QUEYLUS RETURNS, WELCOMED BY LAVAL AND MADE
VICAR GENERAL--REINFORCEMENT OF SULPICIANS--THEIR FIRST MISSION
AT KENTE--THE RETURN OF THE RECOLLECTS--THE ARRIVAL OF PERROT AS
LOCAL GOVERNOR OF MONTREAL.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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