Presently, from among them, one man rises, goes to the steps of the
sanctuary and kneels. He is the leader of the expedition, the Chevalier
de Troyes, the chosen of the governor. A moment, and three other men rise
and come and kneel beside him. These are three brothers, and one we
know--gallant, imperious, cordial, having the superior ease of the
courtier.
The four receive a blessing from a massive, handsome priest, whose face,
as it bends over Iberville, suddenly flushes with feeling. Presently the
others rise, but Iberville remains an instant longer, as if loth to
leave. The priest whispers to him: "Be strong, be just, be merciful."
The young man lifts his eyes to the priest's: "I will be just, abbe!"
Then the priest makes the sacred gesture over him.
CHAPTER IX
TO THE PORCH OF THE WORLD
The English colonies never had a race of woodsmen like the coureurs du
bois of New France. These were a strange mixture: French peasants,
half-breeds, Canadian-born Frenchmen, gentlemen of birth with lives and
fortunes gone askew, and many of the native Canadian noblesse, who, like
the nobles of France, forbidden to become merchants, became adventurers
with the coureurs du bois, who were ever with them in spirit more than
with the merchant.
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