been thought by some that the boats advanced until the
foaming waters of the Lachine rapids forbade all further
progress. Others have it that the boats were halted at
the foot of St Mary's current, and others again that Nun
Island was the probable place of landing. What is certain
is that the French brought their boats to shore among a
great crowd of assembled savages,--a thousand persons,
Cartier says,--and that they were received with tumultuous
joy. The Indians leaped and sang, their familiar mode of
celebrating welcome. They offered to the explorers great
quantities of fish and of the bread which they baked from
the ripened corn. They brought little children in their
arms, making signs for Cartier and his companions to
touch them.

As the twilight gathered, the French withdrew to their
boats, while the savages, who were loath to leave the
spot, lighted huge bonfires on the shore. A striking and
weird picture it conjures up before our eyes,--the French
sailors with their bronzed and bearded faces, their
strange dress and accoutrements, the glare of the great
bonfires on the edge of the dark waters, the wild dances
of the exultant savages. The romance and inspiration of
the history of Canada are suggested by this riotous
welcome of the Old World by the New. It meant that mighty
changes were pending; the eye of imagination may see in
the background the shadowed outline of the spires and
steeples of the great city of to-day.

On the next day, October 3, the French were astir with