lust, although he may be sunk deep in both these abysses.

But to continue, he says wonders of our Holy doctrine, preaching it publicly. Father Buteux writes me from the three Rivers that he declared openly his belief in God, and that he was keeping all the commandments, except that one about having only one wife. I have seen him at Kebec speak quite boldly in favor of our holy Faith, saying in the presence of his compatriots that he was going to cast off his old customs that he would never give eat-all feasts, that he would not summon the Sorcerers to treat him in his sicknesses, that he would no longer believe in dreams, and that he desired to be baptized and to believe what the French believe. After all that he still crawls [94] upon the ground; his understanding acknowledges what his will, accustomed to evil, cannot or will not wholly embrace. I implore with all my heart those to whom God has given the faith almost as an inheritance, I may say, to have pity on this poor man and to supplicate our Lord to give him humility. Ah, how little we value the gift of the Faith in Europe! It seems as if belief in God were a part of our nature. Oh what a gift! Great God, what a favor! It is here that one sees what a privilege it is to believe in JESUS CHRIST; it is here one realizes the difficulty there is in making this belief enter the mind of an infidel Barbarian; it is here that the obligations to love him, who has acquainted us with so great a blessing, appear fully revealed. Indeed, the obstinacy of heretics is a true illustration of the callousness of our Savages. Let us pass on.

I am well aware that some of our French people, on seeing this Savage intractable, after so many

Ie fçay bien que quelques-vns de nos François voyant ce Sauuage retif apres tant de promeffes faictes en particulier, & en public, ont voulu dire que tout ce qu'auoit faict cét homme, n'estoit que pour se donner du credit aupres des François, afin [95] d'espouser vne ieune femme, qu'il n'auroit peu auoir autrement. C'eft vn erreur, car ie fçay nettement le fond de ceste affaire, & y ay contribué fans y penser: mon deffein eftoit qu'il en retint vne des deux plus agées qu'il auoit, mais comme ceste ieune femme l'aymoit, & cependant ne l'ofoit efpoufer pour la crainte qu'elle auoit qu'vn Sorcier qui la vouloit prendre pour feconde femme, ne la fit mourir par fes forts. Il arriua que noftre Sauuage en quelque autre occafion m'ayant tefmoigné qu'il redoutoit l'art de cét homme, ie luy fis entendre qu'il ne deuoit point craindre, s'il croyoit en Dieu, que fa foy luy feruiroit de bouclier contre les charmes, & pour le confirmer en ceste verité ie prouoquay moy-mefme le Sorcier, ie l'attaquay fi viuement que foit qu'il craignit les chastimens de Dieu, ou qu'il me creut plus grand forcier que luy; il fit la paix auec ce Capitaine dans noftre propre maison. S'imaginant peut-eftre que ie le tuërois par des charmes plus puiffans que les fiens, s'il perfeueroit dans la mauuaise volonté qu'il auoit contre vn homme que i'aymois. Si toft qu'ils furent reconciliez ceste ieune femme deliurée de sa crainte l'espousa cõtre [96] mon sentiment, car veritablement fi i'euffe pensé que ceste reconciliation eut deu faire ce mariage ie ne l'aurois pas procurée comme ie fis. Au refte tout ainfi qu'en voftre France, fi toft qu'vne perfonne s'adonne à fuiure la deuotion les hommes imparfaits ne la fçauroient plus supporter, fi elle

promises made in private and in public, were ready to say that all this man had done was only to gain credit with the French, in order [95] to marry a young woman whom he could not have had otherwise. That is a mistake, for I thoroughly understand the whole affair, and unwittingly helped to bring it about. I intended to have him retain one of the two older ones that he had; but this young woman loved him, yet did not dare to marry him through fear that a Sorcerer, who wished to make her his second wife, would kill her by his charms. It happened that our Savage on some other occasion had declared to me that he feared the artifices of this man, and I gave him to understand that he should not fear,— that, if he believed in God, his faith would serve as a shield against all charms. To demonstrate the truth of this, I myself provoked the Sorcerer, attacking him so severely that he either feared the punishments of God, or else thought I was a greater sorcerer than he was; he made peace with this Chief in our house, imagining, perhaps, that I would kill him with charms more potent than his own, if he persevered in his ill-will toward a man that I loved. As soon as they were reconciled, this young woman, freed from her fears, married him against [96] my wishes,- for, truly, if I had thought that this reconciliation would have caused this marriage, I would not have procured it as I did. However, just as in your France, as soon as a man betakes himself to following piety, imperfect men cannot tolerate him if he falls into some error, as if he could become a Saint in a moment; so in ours you will find some,- but very few and of slight importance in these affairs, in which they have not the least perception, who would have

tombe dans quelques fautes, comme fi en vn moment elle pouuoit deuenir Saincte, de mefme en la nostre vous en trouuerez mais bien peu, & bien peu confiderables en ces affaires où ils ne voyent goutte, qui voudroient qu'vn Sauuage fut tres-feruent Chreftien & fe defpouillast tout à coup de fa vieille peau, si tost qu'il à fait paroiftre quelque bonne inclination pour nostre creance, autrement tout ce qu'il fait n'est que feintife. Si leur conclufion eftoit bonne, ie les conuainqurois de grande tromperie & peut eftre des facrileges, car apres auoir promis à Dieu tant de fois de s'amender de leurs fautes, ils ne s'acquittent pas de la promeffe qu'ils en ont faite en fa prefence, donc ils procedent par feintise. La conclufion n'eft pas bonne ny pour eux ny pour nos Sauuages. Finiffons auec fes paroles, eadem quippe menfurâ qua menfi fueritis remetietur vobis.

a Savage become a very fervent Christian and shed his old skin all at once, and as soon as he has shown any favorable inclination to our belief, otherwise all he does is only hypocrisy. If their conclusion were just, I would convince them of great deceit and perhaps of sacrilege; for, after having promised God so many times to correct their own faults, they do not acquit themselves of the promises they have made in his presence, therefore they act the part of hypocrites. The conclusion is not just, either for them or for our Savages. Let us finish with these words, eadem quippe mensurá qua mensi fueritis remetietur vobis.