its expanse of river, lake, and forest, was to be reared
a commonwealth built upon the union and harmony of the
two great races who had fought for its dominion.

Jacques Cartier, as much perhaps as any man of his time,
embodied in himself what was highest in the spirit of
his age. He shows us the daring of the adventurer with
nothing of the dark cruelty by which such daring was
often disfigured. He brought to his task the simple faith
of the Christian whose devout fear of God renders him
fearless of the perils of sea and storm. The darkest hour
of his adversity in that grim winter at Stadacona found
him still undismayed. He came to these coasts to find a
pathway to the empire of the East. He found instead a
country vast and beautiful beyond his dreams. The enthusiasm
of it entered into his soul. Asia was forgotten before
the reality of Canada. Since Cartier's day four centuries
of history have hallowed the soil of Canada with memories
and associations never to be forgotten. But patriotism
can find no finer example than the instinctive admiration
and love called forth in the heart of Jacques Cartier by
the majestic beauty of the land of which he was the
discoverer.



ITINERARY OF CARTIER'S VOYAGES

Adapted from Baxter's 'Memoir of Jacques Cartier'