George Bancroft, History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent, Vol. 3, 15th edition.

‘ [125] invoke thy name;’ and, in sight of the Eternal Father

Chap. XX.}

and the Holy Spirit, of the most holy Mother of Christ and St. Joseph, before angels, apostles, and martyrs, before St. Ignatius and Francis Xavier, he made a vow never to decline the opportunity of martyrdom, and never to receive the death-blow but with joy.

The life of a missionary on Lake Huron was simple and uniform. The earliest hours, from four to eight, were absorbed in private prayer; the day was given to schools, visits, instruction in the catechism, and a service for proselytes. Sometimes, after the manner of St. Francis Xavier, Brebeuf would walk through the village and its environs, ringing a little bell, and inviting the Huron braves and counsellors to a conference. There, under the shady forest, the most solemn mysteries of the Catholic faith were subjected to discussion. It was by such means that the sentiment of piety was unfolded in the breast of the great warrior Ahasistari. Nature had planted in his mind the seeds of religious faith: ‘Before you came to this country,’ he would say, ‘when I have incurred the greatest perils, and have alone escaped, I have said to myself, ‘Some powerful spirit has the guardianship of my days;’’ and he professed his belief in Jesus, as the good genius and protector, whom he had before unconsciously adored. After trials of his sincerity, he was baptized; and, enlisting a troop of converts, savages like himself, ‘Let us strive,’ he exclaimed, ‘to make the whole world embrace the faith in Jesus.’

As missionary stations multiplied, the central spot

1639

was called St. Mary's, upon the banks of the Matchedash, the pleasant watercourse which joins Lake Toronto to Huron. There, at the humble house dedi-

Creuxius, 493.

cated to the Virgin, in one year, three thousand guests