The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of the IncarnationAnonymous
Religion
The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation
Anonymous
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France); Indians of North America; Marie de l'Incarnation, mère, 1599-1672
The love which this good Mother while on earth had shown for her
neighbour, was assuredly not diminished in heaven, where charity is made
perfect. That it survived the grave, was manifested in at least one
singular instance, which occurred some years after the present date of
our history. Among the captives whom Governor Tracy compelled the
Iroquois to set free in 1666, was a young French girl named Anne
Baillargeon, who had been made prisoner at the age of nine. So
naturalized had she become to life in the woods, that when her companions
in misfortune were about to return to their families she refused to
accompany them, and lest she should be constrained to do so, she
concealed herself in the forest at the moment of their departure. Just as
she was exulting at the supposed success of her stratagem, a lady wearing
the religious dress suddenly stood before her, and in a tone which
admitted of no reply, commanded her to rejoin the French, threatening her
at the same time with punishment if she hesitated. Having no other
alternative, she reluctantly obeyed. When she arrived in Quebec, the
Governor confided her to the care of the Ursulines. The moment she
entered the house and saw the portrait of Mother St. Joseph, she
exclaimed, "Ah, there she is! There is the person who spoke to me in the
woods, even the dress is exactly the same." The exclamation convinced the
witnesses of the strange scene that it was indeed Mother St. Joseph who
had acted the part of guardian angel to the truant, and conducted her to
the haven of safety.
CHAPTER VIII.
THREATENED INVASION OF THE IROQUOIS.--HEROES OF VILLE MARIE.
In eighteen months after the destruction of the first monastery, the
Ursulines were enabled to re-open schools for the French, and a seminary
for the Indians, and so great was the increase of applicants for
admission, especially to the latter, that the Mother of the Incarnation
tells us she was obliged to her great regret to refuse many, who went
away with tears in their eyes, leaving her, as she beautifully expresses
it, with tears in her heart. The children who could not be accommodated
in the school, were taught in the parlour, and a little later, bark
cabins were again constructed in the neighbourhood of the old ash tree
for the reception of the Huron girls, eighty of whom at a time might
daily be seen receiving not only spiritual instruction, but also a
plentiful meal of the never-failing Indian meal porridge. The seminarists
resumed possession of the now vacant house of Madame de la Peltrie.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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