kindness and favours bestowed on me by the king and
yourself. Knowing that the best way to show my gratitude
is to do good service to His Majesty, and that the
best title to future benevolence lies in strenuous
effort for the successful execution of his wishes, I
shall do my utmost to attain that end in the charge
I am going to fill. I pray for your protection and
help, which will surely be needed, and if my endeavours
should not be crowned with success, at least it will
not be for want of zeal and fidelity.

A few hours after having written these farewell lines,
Talon, in company with M. de Courcelle, set sail on the
Saint Sebastien for Canada, where he was to make for
himself an imperishable name.




CHAPTER II

NEW FRANCE IN 1665

Let us take a glance over the colony at the time when
Courcelle and Talon landed at Quebec after an ocean
journey--there were no fast lines then--of one hundred
and seventeen days.

In 1665 Canada had only three settled districts: Quebec,
Three Rivers, and Ville-Marie or Montreal. Quebec, the