A RECAPITULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF THE LIFE OF SISTER
BOURGEOIS.
On reading this life, one cannot help being struck with wonder and
admiration, at the great work Sister Bourgeois undertook and
accomplished. We behold a simple country girl forming the then
astonishing project of going to Canada, in the hope of founding a city
bearing the name of Mary, there to teach religion and morality to
persons of her own sex. What seemingly insurmountable obstacles
presented themselves to her view. She must undertake a voyage of many
thousand leagues, must traverse immense and unknown seas, must expect to
live in the wilds of primeval forests, exposed to the fury of cruel
savages, who unceasingly attacked the weak ramparts of Ville-Marie. And
what means did she possess to surmount these difficulties? Had she
credit? Had she any available human support? Was she high-born or
powerful? Had she wealth at her disposal? To all these questions we must
answer, no. Her hopes of success centered only in an unbounded
confidence in the providence of God. Young Margaret possessed the
strength of soul and resolution necessary for great designs, the noble
intrepidity that rises superior to danger, the firmness that obstacles
cannot shake, the fertile and ingenious mind always equal to the
occasion, and a sublime spirit of piety and devotion that was useful
everywhere. While she felt herself in a manner pushed towards Canada,
she prayed unceasingly, consulted spiritual directors, listened
respectfully to the voice of her superiors, and listened _interiorly_ to
the voice of heaven. Nothing could arrest or retard her progress, and
she fearlessly set out for the new New World that claimed her zeal. At
the age of ten she gathered around her little children to form them to
virtues. At a later period she was to establish a religious Congregation
in the Church, whose members should aspire to the highest sanctity.
Scarcely had the vessel on which she embarked set sail, than her zeal
was called into active service. She induced the entire ship's crew to
unite in daily prayer and pious reading. Several soldiers falling sick,
she nursed them with sisterly charity, eight of them dying in her arms.
Arriving at her destination, she finds no home ready to receive her, and
takes up her dwelling in a _stable_, which is for her a happy omen, as
it resembles the stable of Bethlehem. There she opens school; from
thence she daily departs to perform innumerable good works. But the
harvest ripens quickly, and the laborers are few. Overflowing with zeal
she again traverses the broad sea in search of help, and leads back many
generous volunteers. Again she returns to procure letters patent for the
consolidation of her establishment. In the court of a king, in the
centre of a camp, she solicits the favor and obtains it. On returning to
the city of her love, she resolves on securing ecclesiastical
approbation for the rules of her institute, and for this purpose travels
on foot through blinding snowstorms. A hundred times would she have
crossed the continent rather than fail to accomplish the will of God,
and her courageous zeal was eventually blessed by heaven, a crowd of
devoted young girls ranging themselves under her standard.
The capital and provinces were alike eager to obtain a foundation of her
Sisters, and in a few years all Canada experienced the happy effects of
her institute, which for nearly two centuries has not ceased to spread
about the odor of sanctity and the knowledge of our holy religion. Being
at all times desirous to do good, she established temporarily a House of
Providence, for virtuous poor girls, where they might be saved from the
snares of a treacherous world. Placing her confidence in God more than
in man, she undertook to build a plain, substantial house, to serve the
triple purpose of convent, boarding and day-school, and though at the
start she had neither money nor credit, the building was completed. At
another time she was inspired to build a church, and the church was
built. Travelling in Paris she was reduced to extreme poverty, and
heaven sent a man from the depth of a Canadian forest to pay her an
almost forgotten debt. An establishment of her daughters was demanded
for Quebec, and she permitted them to go and live; in a stable _pro
tem_., until better accommodations were offered. The intended property
at Quebec having been unjustly contested, she relinquished her rights,
and an unknown hand gave her sufficient money to make a clear purchase.
But not only was her _confidence in God_ most remarkable; she possessed
all other virtues in an eminent degree. In youth she made a vow of
chastity, and preserved that beautiful virtue amidst many dangerous
occasions, compelling a regiment of soldiers to respect her, although
she was frequently the only woman on board. Yet of all her personal
virtues none was more extraordinary than her spirit of mortification.
She seemed to live for the express purpose of afflicting her body, using
her food always too hot or too cold, mixing ashes with her drink,
sitting at meals in a painful position, sleeping on the bare earth with
a wooden plank for her pillow, and taking little sleep at that. She
never approached the fire in winter, and frequently made use of
disciplines, hair-shirts, and a frightful crown of thorns, that she
concealed on her head. How truly she hated her flesh such severe
penances as these prove. When summoned to Quebec by her bishop, she made
the journey on foot, through ice and snow, often wading across Canadian
swamps. When she undertook a foundation she carried the furniture on her
own shoulders, saying with Solomon: "I do not ask for the community
either wealth, honors, or the pleasures of this life." Of her holy
resignation also we have many striking instances. When all was ready to
build the church of Bon Secours, knowing that nothing could be more
useful to the young colony than such a work, and that unnecessary delays
would ruin the material, yet when ecclesiastical superiors forbade her
to continue, she instantly obeyed, without murmur or reply. The Bishop
refusing for many years to approve her rule, which was nevertheless an
epitome of divine wisdom, she ceased importuning, and silently awaited
the time appointed by Divine Providence. In one short hour she lost by
fire her convent, and everything it contained, the bodies of two dear
Sisters being consumed in the flames. Yet her resignation triumphed over
fire and death. For several years she experienced the most frightful
interior desolation, neither prayers, reflections, communions, nor
spiritual advice affording her the least relief. Yet in silent
submission she drank the chalice to the dregs, without one atom of human
consolation.
What afflicted her most daring this ordeal was not the fear of hell, to
which she believed herself condemned; no, it was lest she should be
reduced to the horrible alternative of hating God, whom she wished to
love in _time_, if she could not in _eternity_. Humility was another of
her characteristic virtues, for, after she had solidly established her
institute, and formed the Sisters in her spirit, her chief desire was to
be exempted from all honorable functions in the community, to become the
last and least in the holy obedience. They complied reluctantly with her
desires in such matters during the remaining years of her saintly life,
but all respected her, and remembered with gratitude how much they owed
her. She herself recalled only her sins and infidelities. Such shining
virtues were the result of her extraordinary devotion to the Mother of
God, to whose service she had consecrated herself from childhood, and to
whose glorified earthly actions she had united her own. Believing that
Magdalen and Martha were the great models of religious life, she
regarded Mary Immaculate as _their Mistress_, and loved to represent her
instructing young virgins, and assisting to form the Church of Jesus
Christ. She came to Canada for the express purpose of living in a city
named after Mary--Ville-Marie. She called her Congregation Notre
Dame--Our Lady--and wished that everything connected with it should bear
the name of _Mary_. But the Queen of Heaven did not allow herself to be
outdone in generosity. The statue shone with celestial light before the
eyes of young Margaret at Troyes. On the Feast of the Assumption this
privileged soul saw in the Holy Host an infant a thousand times more
beautiful than the children of men, looking love into her eyes. In a
dream she saw as distinctly as in life one of Mary's most devoted
clients, M. de Maisonneuve, and finally the Blessed Virgin assured her
_personally_ of protection by the solemn words, "Go to Canada. I will
never abandon you." If charity is the queen of virtues, Sister Bourgeois
practised it to heroism. In girlhood she courageously put on her
father's burial-shroud with her own hands, which charitable office for
the poor became afterward a favorite duty of her life. Being informed
that a few reckless libertines were leading off a young girl to make her
the victim of their debaucheries, she followed them with a crucifix in
her hands, and despite their menaces to kill her, heroically snatched
from them their prey. A soldier once being benumbed with cold, she gave
him her only mattress; another received her bed, and two other
unfortunates her comforters, her own couch in consequence being the cold
ground. A Sister having fallen into her agony, the holy Foundress, who
was far advanced in years, cried out to God: "Take _me_, O Lord, I am
old and _useless_. This young Sister may yet render you great service."
The noble sacrifice was accepted, the Sister in her agony recovering,
while the Foundress was stricken unto death--a victim of the most heroic
charity. We need not be astonished at the extraordinary brightness of
her face after death, nor at the wonderful cures effected by touching
her body, nor at the red blood that trickled from the burned relic of
her heart. All is possible, all is easy to _charity_.
This rapid glance at the life of Sister Bourgeois proves that the name
of so uncommon a woman deserves to be better known in the history of the
Church, because she has been one of its most beautiful ornaments. Such
names as those of Montcalm, and of Montgomery, are of less value in the
sight of God, than the Christian heroine's title of "The St. Genevieve
of Canada." And we may well say of her with the prophet, "The Lord is
admirable in his saints." _Mirabilis Deus in sanctis suis_.
CONCLUSION
Besides what has been related in the preceding chapters, Sister
Bourgeois wrote of several other events, both public and private, that
occurred some before and some after her arrival in Canada. We will
relate a few, in order to give a more correct idea of the state of
things in the isle of Montreal, when she undertook to establish her
community there. She says, it was then a vast, impenetrable forest,
inhabited only by a great number of savages, who unceasingly attacked
the French colonists, to prevent their establishment in the country, and
as the settlers were then few in number, many of them fell beneath the
bloody tomahawks of the relentless Iroquois. In fact it was extremely
difficult to induce any one to leave the mother country for the New
World, knowing what their fate would be when they reached Ville-Marie,
if some measures were not taken to secure life and property. The general
depression was so great that matters remained unchanged for _several
years_, during which time the colonists were literally at the mercy of
wild savages, to whom mercy was unknown. They lay treacherously
concealed in the woods, and sallied forth with hatchet and tomahawk on
their murderous rampage, when least expected, to pillage and burn the
houses and then massacre the inhabitants. In those days it was
impossible to labor singly in the fields. The tillers of the soil were
obliged to work in groups, with a gun in one hand, and a scythe or spade
in the other, often at the peril of their lives. These intrepid French
Catholics had left peaceful, happy homes, and the blessings of a
Christian government, for no other purpose than to convert wild Indians,
who were absolutely under the dominion of the devil, and to spread
abroad the glorious Faith over the prairies, and by the lakeshores of
this vast continent. Most assuredly their names are emblazoned on the
martyr-roll of heaven. It matters little if ungrateful men have
forgotten _them_, and lauded the makers of mowing-machines, the
inventors of steam-boats, the patented proprietors of the telegraph, the
torpedo, the needle-gun, the steam engine, the sewing-machine, etc. All
these things being of the earth earthy, shall pass away; nay, may become
the civilized (?) instruments of driving the enlightened nations of the
nineteenth century back into degraded barbarism. Have we not an
undeniable proof of this in the uprising of the masses today (July,
1877) in their might and wrath, who, believing they have been in many
instances, and for long years, the unrequited starving tools of
unprincipled _un-Christ-like Christian_ masters, have stood before the
fiery breath of the steam-engine and said: "Thus far shalt thou go, and
no farther;" have torn up the iron railroad tracks of a proud commercial
country, and startled the world by the verification of Gamaliel's
warning: "If these things be not of God, they will perish,"
The truth is that the toil, devotion and blood of the early French
settlers of Canada have produced an imperishable work in the propagation
of the Faith, and the conversion of the Indians. In Canada these poor
people become Christian, peaceful, and civilized; at least there exist
very few exceptions in the country north of the Great Lakes. And this
living, indestructible monument of the martyr's love is the work of
Catholic France, and her noble sons and daughters. It became, therefore
a matter of necessity at the time either to _abandon_ the young colony,
or to _save it at all hazards_. M de Maisonneuve determined on the
_latter_ course for the glory of God, the salvation of souls, the honor
of France, and the _love of the Virgin Mary_. In 1652 he returned to his
native land for soldiers to garrison and protect Ville-Marie, feeling
confident that if a sufficient number could be induced to volunteer, the
safety and prosperity of Canada would be secured. This gentleman had
himself frequently escaped the fury of the savages miraculously. On one
occasion, he was seized by a party of Iroquois, who were in the act of
choking him to death, but having by a violent effort disengaged himself
momentarily from their grasp, he blew out the brains of the chief with a
pistol he fortunately had in his possession. The sight of their
mutilated fallen leader, and the _smell_ of _gunpowder_, scattered the
balance of the red men, and set the Governor free. Shortly after his
departure, a band of nearly two hundred Iroquois presented themselves
before the little fort of Ville-Marie, in order to lay siege to it. They
knew beforehand that French arms and gunpowder were rather formidable
opponents, especially if they should happen to meet another de
Maisonneuve, and, as usual, had recourse to concealment. They formed
their ambuscade in a ditch which they dug on the very ground that now
forms the garden of the Congregation convent. There they lay hid,
reconnoitering the strength of the place, and having matured their
plans, commenced hurlling stones and shooting poisoned arrows against
the fort, which contained only the small number of sixteen or seventeen
men capable of bearing arms. This little troop, commanded by M. Closse,
sustained the siege with undaunted bravery. The combat lasted an entire
day, and one after another the savages sunk in death, pierced by a
French bullet. The survivors went off at night, full of rage and shame,
having succeeded in inflicting no other injury than the firing of an
out-house belonging to M. d'Ailbout. During the long combat, M. Closse
lost only one man, who was killed by an accidental discharge of a
cannon.
M. Brisac, an officer of the French army, was not so fortunate, however.
He had determined to draw off and attack a second body of savages who
had come to the assistance of the first party, but the wily Indians met
stratagem by stratagem, and succeeded in deceiving him on the route.
Seeing that they _must_ perish, as their enemies were ten times as
numerous as they, the French resolved to sell their lives as dearly as
possible. They erected a circular barricade of stones, and entrenched
themselves within it, firing at random on the furious savages, who
howled for their blood. The Iroquois fought like incarnate demons, and
every stone they flung with unerring precision shattered a white man's
skull. Like the Spartan three hundred, this brave French band determined
not to be _taken alive_, so the living supplied the places of their
fallen comrades until only five or six men remained. But the Indians at
last effected an entrance within the barricade, and killed the survivors
with the most | horrible cruelties. M. Brisac, the brave commander, was
reserved by the savages to die last, that they might torture him at
their ease, yet while he was able to speak, he never ceased exhorting
his men to die like Christians. The constancy of the devoted band
astonished the Iroquois, who could not refrain from expressing their
admiration of the white man's constancy. The death of such heroic
Christians is as much to be admired as that of the early martyrs,
because like them they combatted and suffered for religion and the glory
of God. Sister Bourgeois relates that during the first eight or nine
years of the existence of the colony, they could not succeed in raising
healthy children, all of them dying at a very tender age, as much on
account of the rigorous climate, as of the privations and sufferings
which were endured by their mothers, who, being all natives of sunny
France, had enjoyed, at least in a moderate way, the good things of this
life. In Canada, during these early days, they lacked nearly everything,
except good will and an undying love of the Catholic Faith, bequeathed
to them by their sainted forefathers. It may be also, that Almighty God
wished to to take to Himself these precious children, as the first
fruits of the New World. The first girl that arrived at maturity in the
country was Jane Loisel. She became a pupil of Sister Bourgeois, to
whose care she was confided at the age of four, and remained in the
Sister's school to her eighteenth year, when she married John Beauchamp.
It appears that theirs was the first Canadian marriage in Montreal. The
first boy who escaped an early grave was John Desroches, and the first
native of Montreal who consecrated herself to God in the Congregation
was Marie Barbier, who became Superior after Sister Bourgeois'
resignation. She was a very holy religieuse, and imbibed the spirit of
her Foundress, subjecting herself to such frightful penances that a
dangerous cancer formed in her body, of which, after years of intense
suffering, she was miraculously cured. The venerable Foundress also
leaves the following record of a few of the Indian girls she took under
her protection:
"In 1656, a young Iroquois mother had a little girl about nine months
old, which she neglected shamefully, and treated with brutal violence. I
endeavored to get the poor little sufferer from her, in order to raise
it a Christian, M. Souard assisting me to secure it. So after giving the
savage mother many presents, she at last consented to place the child in
my care. But as I was on the eve of my first voyage back to France, I
gave it in charge to Margaret Picard during my absence. As soon as I set
sail the mother retracted, and tried in every possible way to get the
child back without our knowledge. Once, while the little one and her
vigilant nurse were out taking exercise, the Iroquois woman suddenly
appeared, and endeavored with violence to snatch away the terrified
infant. But she was disappointed; the child clung convulsively to her
French mother, as she called her, and the savage departed, vowing to
seize her another time, and then take revenge for the child's
preference. In order to prevent a catastrophe, the Sisters hid the
child, and the Iroquois eventually gave up the search. This little
Indian was baptized and named Mary when she attained her fourth year, M.
de Maisonneuve and Mlle. Closse being her sponsors. She was the first
Iroquois baptized in the colony, and died two years after. I also raised
a little Algonquin girl, and an infant Illinois, but both died at the
age of nine. We received at a later period, another Algonquin, aged
nineteen, who expressed an ardent desire to live with our Sisters. She
was admitted on trial, and for a long time was faithful to all the
practices of piety in use among us, however contrary they were to her
inclinations, or to her Indian proclivities. She died shortly after her
baptism, having given great edification to the Sisters. One of the first
Canadian members of the Institute, was an Iroquois who had been educated
at the Mission of the Mountain. She was received into the community as
soon as she arrived at the proper age, and died happily, after laboring
twelve years in the mission school where she was instrumental in
effecting much good among her own people."
As Sister Bourgeois took a singular pleasure in recounting these Indian
conquests, we do not consider it out of place to revert to them here,
and might add many others, but will conclude by relating a remarkable
event that occurred in her time. The father of Mary Teresa
Gannensagouach, who had been admitted a member of the Congregation, as
was mentioned in the fourth chapter, became a Christian, and worshipped
the true God with all the ardor of his poetic Indian nature. Many a time
did the forests of the island re-echo with his recitations of the holy
rosary, and he had the happiness to see his son also follow his example,
by receiving the saving waters of Baptism. The graceless son, however,
soon forgot his baptismal vows, and returned to his former licentious
mode of life. Falling in with a depraved party of his tribe, who had
taken the war-path against the peaceful Christian Indians, he assisted
in a murderous attack on his native village. The fiends were unhappily
successful in their carnival of blood, and each reeking warrior selected
his wretched victim among the few survivors to lead him off to a distant
encampment and there torture him slowly to death. Young Gannensagouach
dragged _his_ captive through forest and swamp with brutal violence; but
at last growing tired of listening to the sufferer's groans, commanded
him to kneel for his death-blow. He did so, and for the first time since
his capture, raised his eyes to the face of the would-be murderer. Both
were paralyzed with horror--for he gazed upon his apostate son. "Father,
forgive him, he knows not what he does," cried the agonized parent, and
his prayer was heard. The arm that held the uplifted tomahawk fell
powerless by the young man's side, and from that hour the _apostate_
became a _penitent_. The good old Indian died a peaceful Christian
death, a few years later, and to this day, a rude stone cross with an
appropriate epitaph, marks his last resting-place.
May my soul also die the death of the just.
* * * * *
NOTE.
Happily, during the interval that elapsed between the writing and the
publication of this book, the process of canonizing Venerable Sister
Bourgeois has been commenced, and splendid ecclesiastical services were
held in the spring of 1879 in the city of Montreal, in unison with the
canonical proceedings. The canonization of this saintly woman will give
to the church in America, a _second_ acknowledged _intercessor_ in
heaven, St. Rose of Lima being the _first_, and will procure new
triumphs for the Faith in "the land of the West," where such triumphs
are numerous and marvellous. THE AUTHORESS.
[Transcriber's Note: The title of Chapter IX in the original reads:
"THE RULES OF THE CONGREGATION, AND ESTAB-
MENT OF MISSIONS."
The missing characters have been restored in this text.]