The Makers of Canada: Bishop Laval | Page 9

and satisfied the claim to authority
of the apostolic vicar.
But a new complication arose: the _St. André_, which had arrived on
September 7th, brought to the Abbé de Queylus a new appointment as
grand vicar from the Archbishop of Rouen, which contained his
protests at court against the apostolic vicar, and letters from the king
which seemed to confirm them. Doubt as to the authenticity of the
powers of Mgr. de Laval might thus, at least, seem permissible; no act
of the Abbé de Queylus, however, indicates that it was openly
manifested, and the very next month the abbé returned to France.
We may understand, however, that Mgr. de Laval, in the midst of such
difficulties, felt the need of early asserting his authority. He
promulgated an order enjoining upon all the secular ecclesiastics of the
country the disavowal of all foreign jurisdictions and the recognition of
his alone, and commanded them to sign this regulation in evidence of
their submission. All signed it, including the devoted priests of St.
Sulpice at Montreal.
Two years later, nevertheless, the Abbé de Queylus returned with bulls
from the Congregation of the Daterie at Rome. These bulls placed him
in possession of the parish of Montreal. In spite of the formal
forbiddance of the Bishop of Petræa, he undertook, strong in what he
judged to be his rights, to betake himself to Montreal. The prelate on
his side believed that it was his duty to take severe steps, and he
suspended the Abbé de Queylus. On instructions which were given him
by the king, Governor d'Avaugour transmitted to the Abbé de Queylus
an order to return to France. The court of Rome finally settled the

question by giving the entire jurisdiction of Canada to Mgr. de Laval.
The affair thus ended, the Abbé de Queylus returned to the colony in
1668. The population of Ville-Marie received with deep joy this
benefactor, to whose generosity it owed so much, and on his side the
worthy Bishop of Petræa proved that if he had believed it his duty to
defend his own authority when menaced, he had too noble a heart to
preserve a petty rancour. He appointed the worthy Abbé de Queylus his
grand vicar at Montreal.
When for the first time Mgr. de Laval set foot on the soil of America,
the people, assembled to pay respect to their first pastor, were struck by
his address, which was both affable and majestic, by his manners, as
easy as they were distinguished, but especially by that charm which
emanates from every one whose heart has remained ever pure. A lofty
brow indicated an intellect above the ordinary; the clean-cut long nose
was the inheritance of the Montmorencys; his eye was keen and bright;
his eyebrows strongly arched; his thin lips and prominent chin showed
a tenacious will; his hair was scanty; finally, according to the custom of
that period, a moustache and chin beard added to the strength and
energy of his features. From the moment of his arrival the prelate
produced the best impression. "I cannot," said Governor d'Argenson, "I
cannot highly enough esteem the zeal and piety of Mgr. of Petræa. He
is a true man of prayer, and I make no doubt that his labours will bear
goodly fruits in this country." Boucher, governor of Three Rivers,
wrote thus: "We have a bishop whose zeal and virtue are beyond
anything that I can say."
CHAPTER III
THE SOVEREIGN COUNCIL
The pious bishop who is the subject of this study was not long in
proving that his virtues were not too highly esteemed. An ancient
vessel, the _St. André_, brought from France two hundred and six
persons, among whom were Mlle. Mance, the foundress of the
Montreal hospital, Sister Bourgeoys, and two Sulpicians, MM. Vignal
and Lemaître. Now this ship had long served as a sailors' hospital, and

it had been sent back to sea without the necessary quarantine. Hardly
had its passengers lost sight of the coasts of France when the plague
broke out among them, and with such intensity that all were more or
less attacked by it; Mlle. Mance, in particular, was almost immediately
reduced to the point of death. Always very delicate, and exhausted by a
preceding voyage, she did not seem destined to resist this latest attack.
Moreover, all aid was lacking, even the rations of fresh water ran short,
and from a fear of contagion, which will be readily understood, but
which was none the less disastrous, the captain at first forbade the
Sisters of Charity who were on board to minister to the sick. This
precaution cost seven or eight of these unfortunate people their lives.
At least M. Vignal and M. Lemaître, though both suffering themselves,
were able to offer to the dying the consolations