First, my defective memory, which was never very good, [183] and which continues to wither every day. Oh, what an excellent man for these countries is Father Brebeuf! His most fortunate memory, and his amiability and gentleness, will be productive of much good among the Hurons. Secondement, la malice du sorcier qui defendoit par fois qu'on m'enseignast. Second, the malice of the sorcerer, who sometimes prevented them from teaching me. Tiercement, la perfidie de l'Apostat, qui contre sa promesse, & nonobstant les offres que ie luy faisois, ne m'a iamais voulu enseigner, voire sa déloyauté est venuë iusques à ce point de me donner exprez vn mot d'vne signification pour vn autre. Third, the perfidy of the Apostate, who, contrary to his promise, and notwithstanding the offers I made him, was never willing to teach me,--his disloyalty even going so far as to purposely give me a word of one signification for another. En quatriesme lieu, la famine a esté long temps nostre hostesse, ie n'osois quasi en sa presence interroger nos Sauuages, leur estomach n'est pas de la nature des tonneaux qui resonnẽt d'autant mieux qu'ils sont vuides, il ressemble au tambour, plus il est bandé mieux il parle. In the fourth place, famine was for a long time our guest; and I scarcely ventured in her presence to question our Savages, their stomachs not being like barrels which sound all the louder for being empty; they resemble the drum,--the tighter it is drawn, the better it talks. En cinquiesme lieu, mes maladies m'ont fait quitter le soing des langues de la terre pour penser au langage de l'autre vie où ie pensois aller. In the fifth place, my attacks of illness made me give up the care for the languages of earth, to think about the language of the other life whither I was expecting to go. [184] En sixiesme lieu enfin la difficulté de ceste langue qui n'est pas petite, comme on peut coniecturer de ce que i'ay dit, n'a pas esté vn petit obstacle pour empescher vue pauure memoire comme la mienne d'aller bien loing. Ie iargonne neantmoins, & à force de crier ie me fais entendre. [184] In the sixth place, and finally, the difficulty of this language, which is not slight, as may be guessed from what I have said, has been no small obstacle to prevent a poor memory like mine from advancing far. Still, I talk a jargon, and, by dint of shouting, can make myself understood.