The Song of the Exile--A Canadian Epic | Page 9

a mission and a fort their aim;
And
there they laboured for their faith, the while
Protecting them as best
they might from those
Who proved themselves their fierce and bitter
foes.
XXII.
The Iroquois, by cruel hate possessed,
Left not a chance untaken to
obtain
A reeking scalp; and fiercely they oppressed
The little band,
whose suffering and pain,
In Montreal and all throughout the land,

Seemed more than human frailty could withstand.
XXIII.
But Maisonneuve and they who followed him
Were bent upon a high
and holy aim;
Their undertaking was no foolish whim,
Nor had they
come for honour or for fame.
A Jesuitic band, they sought to win

Those Indians from a life of death and sin.
XXIV.
They sought to win them to the faith which they
Themselves
possessed, and thought it not a hard,
Nor yet an unexpected, thing to
lay
Their own lives down to win them. Their reward
They counted
not to win on earth, but knew
That each in Heaven would gain the
glory due.

XXV.
What though the Jesuitic creed be not
As true and generous a faith as
that
Which we profess; what though a bloody blot
Has stained its
page of history; the great
And worthy deeds those fathers wrought
should raise
A feeling in our hearts of loving praise.
XXVI.
They suffered for their God and for their Pope;
They suffered for
their faith, to them as true
And pure as ours to us, and in the hope

That God would bless their labours, and endue
The savage Indians
with a softer heart,
And give them with the blessed ones a part.
XXVII.
_They_ merit praise and honour, but the cause
For which they
laboured merits none of these;
A cruel creed, with harsh and bloody
laws,
The very name of Christ it travesties.
An evil Order, working
in the name
Of Christianity dark deeds of shame.
XXVIII.
He whom they call their Master suffered not
His followers to mingle
in the strife
Of politics--not such their chosen lot;
Theirs to prepare
men for a higher life.
And yet He bade them to their king be true,

And offer unto Cæsar all his due.
XXIX.
But this do not the Jesuits; they fain
Would undermine the power of
the land
In which they dwell, and every effort strain
To take the
civil sceptre in their hand.
They creep, as serpents, smoothly on their
prey,
But subtly spread their poison in the way.
XXX.

And these, Canadians, have found a home
Within your shores. Ye
know not what ye do
In harb'ring them. Be sure the day will come

When ye will bitterly and sadly rue
Your action. Other lands will not
permit
The entrance of the hated Jesuit.
XXXI.
But why should I presume to thus dictate
To ye? And what know I of
all the things
Which influence your Ministers of State,
That I
should utter forth these murmurings?
By greed and selfish motives
unpossessed,
They, in their wisdom, must do what is best!
XXXII.
I stand upon the hill at Ottawa,
And stretching wide before me lies a
scene
Of pretty lowland country. Near and far,
The river Ottawa
winds on between
The wooded slopes and meadow-lands, where lie

The lazy cattle chewing silently.
XXXIII.
The scene is unimposing; there is nought
Of grandeur or
magnificence displayed;
But by its quiet prettiness is brought
A
sense of calm enjoyment--hill and glade
And peaceful meadow, all
alike suggest
Sweet thoughts of still serenity and rest.
XXXIV.
The face of Nature, for the student's mind,
Provides a subject
inexhaustible.
And, in its study, weary men may find
A solace for
the troubles caused by all
The sorrows and afflictions which must be

The lot of all, of high or low degree.
XXXV.
The mountain, by its grandeur, testifies
To His omnipotence who

placed it there;
The rushing, mighty torrent verifies
His ceaseless
working; and His constant care
And kindliness is proven by the still

And growing meadow, and the purling rill.
XXXVI.
Thus, whatsoever his environment,
The sorrow-stricken one can find
a balm,
Which should assuage his moody discontent,
Replacing it
by trustfulness and calm.
For God reveals Himself in every place,

And writes His presence on Creation's face.
XXXVII.
And here I feel a quiet peace unfelt
In all my solitary wanderings

Before. My heavy troubles seem to melt
Away, and Faith a calm
contentment brings,
And all my misery aside is thrown;
He cares
for me who cares for all His own.
XXXVIII.
A pile majestic and magnificent,
Of lofty buildings, stands upon this
hill;
Unequalled elsewhere on the continent,
It well bespeaks the
architective skill
Displayed in this our nineteenth century;
And
clothes the city with its dignity.
XXXIX.
Within these walls are gathered in debate
The statesmen and the
legislators, who
Are learned in the matters of the State.
Alike to
God and to their country true
These men should be, and high above
the rest
Exalted, seeking not self-interest.
XL.
These hold the country's welfare in their hand.
A mighty trust to them
has been consigned.
They know their duty, and should understand


What acts will echo best the people's mind;
And they should act, in
matters small or great,
As wisdom and their consciences dictate.
XLI.
Thus should they act, but thus do not they all,
But mildly bow to their
Dictator's bid;
They