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Historical souvenir and book of the pageants; of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec, the ancient capital of Canada, July twentieth to thirty first, nineteen hundred and eight
Historical souvenir and book of the pageants of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec the ancient capital of Canada July twentieth to thirty first nineteen hundred and eight Author:Canada. National Commission This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 Excerpt: ...She "played nun" even in the nursery, and entered many a time the great soaring cathedral at Tours and that exquisite little gem of Gothic... more » architecture de la Salette, all aglow with the sacred music. After her marriage, the birth of an only son and an early widowhood, she had entered at thirty the Ursuline convent at Tours. Stirred by the thrilling Relations des Jésuites and the words of St. Vincent de Paul, aided by the companionship of Madame de la Peltrie, a volunteer from the haute noblesse of Normandy, and supported by Anne of Austria and the devotion of the Duchesse d'Aiguillon, Mere Marie de PIncarnation sailed for the New World on the 4th of May, 1639. There were three Jesuits in the little company, three Hospitalieres, founders of the H6tel Dieu in Quebec, and Madame de la Peltrie with her three Ursulines. Great was the joy of the citizens of Quebec when the little vessel rounded the point of Orleans. Montmagny, the Governor, sent his barge in viceregal state to welcome the woman whom Bossuet in years to come was to call the Ste. Therese de I'Amerique. The Governor himself, Fathers Vimont and Le Jeune, Martial Piraube and the citizens of Quebec thronged the landing place and acclaimed the beginning of the pious work in the New World. The hardships endured by the first Ursulines cannot be recorded here. Surrounded by the menace of the wilderness, assailed by the ravages of smallpox, braving the discouragement of disastrous fires, of war and of poverty, the society was sustained only by the indomitable perseverance and devotion of the founders. Mere Marie de lTncarnation was accustomed to gather about her the Indian girls beneath a primeval ash tree which stood for two centuries as a monument to her zeal. Beneath these spreading branch...« less