CHAPTER VI
A BRAVE HEART
“Father, are there no convents in Canada?” asked Mercèdes.
“At Quebec, my daughter, I believe the Ursuline Convent is a very fine establishment,” said the General. “It was founded more than a hundred years ago, in 1640, by a very rich and very beautiful woman, Madame de Peltrie. It is a romantic story. Her home was near Caen, in Normandy, and her husband dying soon after her marriage, she desired to enter a nunnery; but her father, who was old, opposed her wishes, and she remained with him until his death. Then she sold all her possessions, and with another lady like-minded, Marie de l’Incarnation, set sail with a party of Jesuit missionaries for Canada. After untold hardships they arrived at Quebec; and there she built a convent and opened a school for Indian children, which she dedicated to St. Ursula.”
“How do you know all this, father?” asked the young girl, as she walked beside him on the terrace early the following morning.
Mercèdes was the General’s especial favourite, and when he was at home was always with him; nevertheless, being the third daughter, from an early age she had been destined to a convent life. She was perfectly happy, and looked upon her future with complacent satisfaction; it was the fate of many highborn girls in those days. She closely resembled her father, was small, sallow of complexion, with dark, sparkling eyes, full of intelligence and sweetness.
“I learnt the story through a Jesuit whom I met the other day at Court,” answered her father. “He had just returned from Canada, and when he heard who I was, and my position, he gave me much useful information. He is a remarkably intelligent man, and very devoted to the interests of the colony. He has been a missionary amongst the Indian tribe of the Iroquois for over twenty years. He will probably return with me. His name is Father Mathevet.”
“And he said the convent was a good one? Are the nuns French?” asked Mercèdes.
“French Canadians mostly; but I believe he mentioned that two or three ladies from the mother country had joined the community within the last year.”
“Father, let me go.”
“You, Mercèdes? My child, it is impossible!”