Rising slowly, he said with a loud voice: “My dear French Canadian countrymen: Here is your holy bishop. Kneel down and he will give you his benediction.”
But to the great disgust of the poor grand vicar, this so well laid plan for beginning the battle, failed entirely. Not a single one of that immense multitude cared for the benediction. Nobody knelt.
Thinking that he had not spoken loud enough, he raised his voice to the highest pitch, and cried:
“My dear fellow countrymen: This is your holy bishop. He comes to visit you. Kneel down and he will give you his benediction.”
But nobody knelt, and what was worse, a voice from the crowd answered:
“Do you not know, sir, that here, we no longer bend the knee before any man? It is only before God we kneel.”
The whole people cried: “Amen!” to that noble answer. I could not restrain a tear of joy from falling down my cheeks, when I saw how this first effort of the ambassador of the Pope to entrap my people, had signally failed. But, though I thanked God from the bottom of my heart for this first success He had given to his soldiers, I knew the battle was far from being over.
I implored him to abide with us, to be our wisdom and our strength to the end. I looked at the bishop, and seeing his countenance as distressed as before, I offered him my hand again, but he refused it the second time with supreme disdain: However, he accepted the invitation I gave him to come to the platform.
When half way up the stairs, he turned, and seeing me following him, he put forth his hand to prevent me from ascending any further, and said:
“I do not want you on this platform. Go down and let my priests alone accompany me.”