Theirs but to do and die,

might fittingly have been written. The Jesuit missionary
in North America had no thought of worldly profit or
renown, but, with his mind fixed on eternity, he performed
his task ad majorem Dei gloriam, for the greater glory
of God.

The Jesuits had sailed from Dieppe on the 26th of April
in company with a Recollet friar, La Roche de Daillon,
of whom we shall presently hear more. The voyage across
the stormy Atlantic had been long and tedious. On a vessel
belonging to Huguenots, the priests had been exposed to
the sneers and gibes of crew and traders. It was the
viceroy of New France, the Duc de Ventadour, a devout
Catholic, who had compelled the Huguenot traders to give
passage to these priests, or they would not have been
permitted on board the ship. Much better could the
Huguenots tolerate the humble, mendicant Recollets than
the Jesuits, aggressive and powerful, uncompromising
opponents of Calvinism.

As the anchor dropped, the Jesuits made preparations to
land; but they were to meet with a temporary disappointment.
Champlain was absent in France, and Emery de Caen said
that he had received no instructions from the viceroy to
admit them to the colony. Moreover, they were told that
there was no room for them in the habitation or the fort.
To make matters worse, a bitter, slanderous diatribe
against their order had been distributed among the