CHAPTER III

FRONTENAC'S FIRST YEARS IN CANADA

Frontenac received his commission on April 6, 1672, and
reached Quebec at the beginning of September. The king,
sympathetic towards his needs, had authorized two special
grants of money: six thousand livres for equipment, and
nine thousand to provide a bodyguard of twenty horsemen.
Gratified by these marks of royal favour and conscious
that he had been assigned to an important post, Frontenac
was in hopeful mood when he first saw the banks of the
St Lawrence. His letters show that he found the country
much less barbarous than he had expected; and he threw
himself into his new duties with the courage which is
born of optimism. A natural fortress like Quebec could
not fail to awaken the enthusiasm of a soldier. The
settlement itself was small, but Frontenac reported that
its situation could not be more favourable, even if this
spot were to become the capital of a great empire. It
was, indeed, a scene to kindle the imagination. Sloping
down to the river-bank, the farms of Beauport and Beaupre
filled the foreground. Behind them swept the forest, then
in its full autumnal glory.

Awaiting Frontenac at Quebec were Courcelles, the late
governor, and Talon the intendant. Both were to return
to France by the last ships of that year; but in the
meantime Frontenac was enabled to confer with them on
the state of the colony and to acquaint himself with