So he besought a blessing from his Lord
Before he re-embarked; then, setting sail,
The newly-christened river he explored,
Till, favored by a gently-blowing gale,
He reached the Hochelaga settlement
Of Indians, and thence no further went.
A hundred years elapsed, and then there came
A little band from France to yonder isle;
To found a mission and a fort their aim;
And there they laboured for their faith, the while
Protecting them as best they might from those
Who proved themselves their fierce and bitter foes.
XXII.
The Iroquois, by cruel hate possessed,
Left not a chance untaken to obtain
A reeking scalp; and fiercely they oppressed
The little band, whose suffering and pain,
In Montreal and all throughout the land,
Seemed more than human frailty could withstand.
XXIII.
But Maisonneuve and they who followed him
Were bent upon a high and holy aim;
Their undertaking was no foolish whim,
Nor had they come for honour or for fame.
A Jesuitic band, they sought to win
Those Indians from a life of death and sin.
They sought to win them to the faith which they
Themselves possessed, and thought it not a hard,
Nor yet an unexpected, thing to lay
Their own lives down to win them. Their reward
They counted not to win on earth, but knew
That each in Heaven would gain the glory due.
XXV.