Her interest accordingly grew apace. "It was magnanimous of His Majesty to take our cause to his heart. We can never fail in our gratitude." "It is only natural for man to resist oppression. It has been written that it is only the meek who should possess the land." "An ideal which is often badly shattered by the selfish ambitions and perverse passions of godless men." "You are a Catholic?" he asked suddenly. "I am proud of it." "And your fellow patriots are of the same form of worship?" "A goodly proportion of them." "How many might you assume?" "I scarce know. We have no method of compiling our numbers, not even our total population." "Surely there must be a great percentage, if one considers the influx from France and England, not to mention Ireland, whence many fled from persecution." "I once heard Father Farmer say that there must be over seven thousand Catholics in Pennsylvania, while Maryland has about fifteen thousand. Whatever there remain are much scattered, except of course New York with its thousand." "I never dreamt they were so numerous! So great is the spirit of intolerance, that the wonder is that a single Catholic would remain in the Colonies." "I know it. Formerly Maryland and Pennsylvania were the two only colonies where Catholics were allowed to reside, and even there were excluded from any civil or military office. And the time has not yet arrived for complete religious freedom, though the arrival of the French fleet with its Catholic army and Catholic chaplains will make a favorable impression upon our less enlightened oppressors." "It seems strange that you should throw in your lot with a people who prove so intolerant." "Father Farmer, our pastor, says that no influence must ever be used except for the national cause, for we must be quickened by the hope of better days. He pleads with his people to remain faithful and promises the undivided sympathy of his fellow priests with their kinsmen in the struggle. For these reasons I hardly think that many Catholics will desert our cause." "Yet you must know that it was England that bestowed the most liberal grants to the inhabitants of the Northwest territory." "You mean the Quebec Act?" she asked. "Yes. And you know that Canada would be allied with you, heart and soul, were it not for the intolerant spirit of your fellow colonists." "Perhaps it would." "Now, would it not be better----" "Do you mean to suggest to me that we turn traitor?" she interrupted, turning full upon him, her eyes flashing with intense feeling. "No ... pardon ... I meant no offense.... The fact is I was only remarking on the sad plight of our co-religionists." "I fail to perceive how ill we fare. Our compatriots render us honor, and as Father Farmer says, 'we may cherish the hope of better days, which are inevitable.' You must know that one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence is a Catholic; and that the army and navy boast of a considerable quota."