THE old proverb is true that the Gods sell us all things for work. This may be recognized in many of the ordinary events of life, but especially in the matter of which we are about to speak, and for which we have a subject in the incomparable virtues of sieur de Poutrincourt, whose more than Herculean labors have for a long time deserved a very ample fortune, which he might have succeeded in acquiring during our late struggles, had he not been too entirely devoted to the party which he had embraced. For the King, holding him besieged in person in Beaumont castle, [4] wished to give him the County thereof to attach him to his service. Refusing the gift at this time, he nevertheless accepted it freely soon afterwards, when he learned that his Majesty had embraced the faith of the Roman Catholic Church. It is true that our late King HENRY the Great had rendered him one service; that is, he had testified with his own lips that he was one of the most honorable and valiant men in his kingdom. Again, after our recent wars, being naturally attracted to difficult enterprises and shunning a life of idleness, he sought some occasion to more effectually show his courage, to honor his Prince, and to glorify his country. This he did by meeting sieur de Monts,[13] who, in the year 1603, undertook the voyage to New and Western France beyond the sea; and by associating himself with him, to find a suitable place where he could settle down, and there render service to God and the King. To this end he has labored continually ever since, and would have already greatly advanced the work, had not his amiable nature been imposed upon by dishonest men, who have been the cause of great losses to him in time and money. But, as he was a Gentleman not to be conquered by hardships, and fearing no dangers, he might have been sure of prompt advancement in his work had he not been hindered by the greed of those who robbed him of the fat of his lands, without making any settlement there. These people, eager to get the Beaver skins of that country, go there for no other purpose; and so compete with each other, that they have caused every Beaver skin (which is the chief traffic [5] of these regions) to be worth here to-day ten livres, when they might have been sold for one-half that price, if the traffic therein had been limited to one person. In this way the Christian Religion might have also been established there; and it certainly would have been greatly advanced, if such a course had been pursued. Also for the sake of Religion and of permanent colonization, from which France can derive both profit and glory, it is well that those who settle there should enjoy fully and wholly the advantages guaranteed by them; since no one does anything in this direction for the sake