came from time to time, they sat at table eating and
drinking like ourselves. And we were glad to see them,
while, on the contrary, their absence saddened us.'

These citations bring into view the writer who has most
copiously recorded the early annals of Acadia--Marc
Lescarbot. He was a lawyer, and at this date about forty
years old. Having come to Port Royal less as a colonist
than as a guest of Poutrincourt, he had no investment at
stake. But contact with America kindled the enthusiasm
of which he had a large supply, and converted him into
the historian of New France. His story of the winter he
passed at Port Royal is quite unlike other narratives of
colonial experience at this period. Champlain was a
geographer and preoccupied with exploration. The Jesuits
were missionaries and preoccupied with the conversion of
the savages. Lescarbot had a literary education, which
Champlain lacked, and, unlike the Jesuits, he approached
life in America from the standpoint of a layman. His
prolixity often serves as a foil to the terseness of
Champlain, and suggests that he must have been a merciless
talker. Yet, though inclined to be garrulous, he was a
good observer and had many correct ideas--notably the
belief that corn, wine, and cattle are a better foundation
for a colony than gold or silver mines. In temperament
he and Champlain were very dissimilar, and evidence of
mutual coolness may be found in their writings. These we
shall consider at a later stage. For the present it is
enough to note that both men sat at Poutrincourt's table
and adorned the Order of Good Cheer.