We arrived at the Illinois Central depot of Chicago, the 28th, at about 10 A. M. Mr. Desaulnier was there waiting for us. He was as pale as a dead man. The marks of Cain and Judas were on his face. Having taken him at a short distance from the crowd, I asked him:
“What news?”
He answered: “The news is, that you and Mr. Brassard have nothing to do but to take your bags and go away from St. Anne, to Canada. The bishop is unwilling to make any arrangements with you. He wants me to be the pastor of St. Anne, pro tempore, and he wants you with Mr. Brassard, to go quietly back to Canada, and tell the bishops to mind their own business.”
“And what has become of the promise you have given me and to my people, to go with me and Mr. Brassard to Rome, if the bishop refused the proposed arrangements you had fixed yourselves?”
“Tat! tat! tat!” answered he, “the bishop does not care a straw about your going or not going to Rome. He has put me as his grand vicar at the head of the colony of St. Anne, from which you must go in the shortest time possible.”
“Now, Desaulnier,” I answered, “you are a traitor, and a Judas, and if you want to have the pay of Judas, I advise you to go to St. Anne. There you will receive what you deserve. The beauty and importance of that great colony has tempted you, and you have sold me to the bishop, in order to become a grand vicar and eat the fruits of the vine I have planted there. But you will soon see your mistake. If you have any pity for yourself, I advise you never to put your feet into that place any more.”
Desaulnier answered: “The bishop will not make any arrangements with you unless you retract publicly what you have written against him on account of his taking possession of the church of the French-Canadians of Chicago, and you must publish, in the press, that he was right and honest in what he did in that circumstance.”
“My dear Mr. Brassard,” I said, “can I make such a declaration conscientiously and honorably?” That venerable man answered me:
“You cannot consent to such a thing.”
“Desaulnier,” I said, “do you hear? Mr. Brassard and your conscience, if you have any, tell you the same thing. If you take sides against me with a man whom you have yourself declared, yesterday, to be a sacrilegious thief, you are not better than he is. Go and work with him.