"Very true," said José. "I can manage when I'm driven to it, as in the scrimmage with the 'short petticoat'; but I confess that it grieves me to be thus crippled. Both hands would have been none too many to serve my master with. The times have been hard, indeed; but, thank God, the worst is over." And tears welled up in the faithful José's eyes.
Lochiel then betook himself to the harvesters, who were busy raking the hay and loading the carts. They were all old acquaintances, who greeted him warmly; for all the family, the captain excepted, had been at pains to exonerate him. The dinner, served with the greatest simplicity, was nevertheless lavish in its abundance, thanks to the game with which shore and forest were swarming at this season. The silver had been reduced to the limits of strict necessity; besides the spoons, forks, and drinking-cups, there remained but a single jug of ancient pattern, graven with the D'Haberville arms, to attest the former opulence of the family. The dessert consisted of the fruits of the season, brought in on maple leaves, in birch-bark cassots and baskets ingeniously woven by the Indians. A little glass of black-currant ratafia before dinner to sharpen the appetite, spruce beer made out of the branches of the tree, and Spanish wine which they drank much tempered with water, these were the only liquors that the hospitality of Seigneur D'Haberville could set before his guest. This did not prevent the meal from being pervaded with kindly gayety; the family seemed to be entering upon a new life. But for his dread of wounding Archie, Captain D'Haberville would not have failed to joke upon the absence of champagne, which was replaced by the sparkling spruce beer.
"Now that we are en famille," said the captain, smiling at Archie, "let us talk of the future of my son. As for me, old and worn out before my time with the fatigues of war, I have a good excuse for not serving the new government. It would not be for me, moreover, at my age, to draw the sword against France, whom I have served for more than thirty years. Rather death, a hundred times!"
"And, like Hector the Trojan," interrupted Uncle Raoul, "we can all say:
Si Pergama dextra
Defendi possent, etiam hâc defensa fuissent."
"Never mind Hector the Trojan," exclaimed M. D'Haberville who, not being as learned as his brother, had small taste for his quotations. "Never mind Hector the Trojan, who was not greatly concerned with our family affairs. Let us return to Jules. His health compels him to withdraw from the service, perhaps for a long time, or even permanently. His dearest interests are here where he was born. Canada is his true fatherland. He can not have the same affection for the land of his ancestors. His position, moreover, is very different from mine. What would be cowardice for me, standing on the edge of the tomb, is but an act of duty for him who is but on the threshold of life. Splendidly has he paid his debt to the country of his fathers. He retires honorably from a service which the doctors order him to leave. Now let him consecrate his energy and his abilities to the service of his fellow Canadians. The new governor is already well disposed toward us. He welcomes those of my countrymen who have intercourse with him. He has many times expressed his sympathy for the brave officers whom he had met face to face on the battle-field, and whom fate, not their courage, had betrayed. In the gatherings at Chateau St. Louis he shows the same regard for Canadians as for his own countrymen, as much for those of us who have lost all as for those more fortunate who can maintain a dignity suitable to their rank. Under his administration and supported by the strong recommendations which our friend Lochiel has procured for him, Jules has every reason to hope for a high position in the colony. Let him take the oath of allegiance to the English crown; and my last words when I bid him a final farewell shall be: 'Serve your English sovereign with the same zeal, devotion, and loyalty with which I have served the French King, and receive my blessing.'"
Every one was struck by this sudden change of sentiment in the head of the family. They forgot that Adversity is a hard master, who bends the most stubborn heart beneath his grasp of steel. Captain D'Haberville, too proud and too loyal to acknowledge openly that Louis XV had wronged the subjects who had served him with a heroism so devoted, nevertheless, felt keenly the ingratitude of the French court. Although stung to the quick by such treatment, he was ready to shed the last drop of his blood for this voluptuous monarch given over to the whims of his mistresses. But there his devotion ceased. He would have refused for himself the favors of the new government; but he was too just to sacrifice his son's future to a sentiment with so slight a basis.
"Let each one now express his opinion freely," said the captain, smiling, "and let the majority decide." The ladies answered this appeal by throwing themselves into his arms. Uncle Raoul seized his brother's hand, shook it vigorously, and exclaimed:
"Nestor of old could not have spoken more wisely."