"All correct, M'sieu'. It was an affair of a new schoolhouse. We are
going to build it. All goes well. We are beginning to comprehend.
Quebec is a large corner of the world. But it is only a corner,
after all, we can see that. And those damned Germans who do such
terrible things in France, we do not love them at all, no matter what
the priest may say about Christian charity. They are Protestants,
M'sieu', is it not?"

"Well," I answer, hiding a smile with a large puff of smoke, "some
of them call themselves Protestants and some call themselves
Catholics. But it seems to me they are all infidels, heathen--judging
by what they do. That is the real proof."

_"C'est b'en vrai, M'sieu',_" says Iside. "It is the conduct
that shows the Christian."

IV

BELOW CAPE DIAMOND March, 1818

The famous citadel of Quebec stands on top of the steep hill that
dominates the junction of the Saint Charles River with the Saint
Lawrence. That is Cape Diamond--a natural stronghold. Indians and
French, and British, and Americans have fought for that coign of
vantage. For a century and a half the Union Jack has floated there,
and under its fair protection the Province of Quebec, keeping its
quaint old language and peasant customs, has become an important
part of the British Empire.