Lawrence as far westward as the mouth of the
Saguenay. His name is Pontgrave. Like other French adventurers of his time
he is a brave and energetic man, ready to do, to dare, and, if need be, to
suffer; but his primary object in life is to amass wealth, and to effect
this object he is not over-scrupulous as to the means employed. On this
occasion he has come over with instructions from Henry IV., King of France,
to explore the St. Lawrence, to ascertain how far from its mouth navigation
is practicable, and to make a survey of the country on its banks. He is
accompanied on the expedition by a man of widely different mould; a man who
is worth a thousand of such sordid, huckstering spirits; a man who unites
with the courage and energy of a soldier a high sense of personal honour
and a singleness of heart worthy of the Chevalier Bayard himself. To these
qualities are added an absorbing passion for colonization, and a piety and
zeal which would not misbecome a Jesuit missionary. He is poor, but what
the poet calls "the jingling of the guinea" has no charms for him.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58