r his King; and Roberval with the eagerness
of one who is about to venture on a mighty undertaking that may ruin his
fortunes, or make him the most renowned man in his country.

The nobleman's sharp eyes noted the mighty rivers and broad gulfs,
feeling that already they were his own. The vastness of the great
unknown world took hold on him. The forests of Picardy were like stubble
beside these unbroken stretches of wooded country; and the mightiest
river of France was but as a purling brook when compared with the
gigantic sweep of the river of Hochelaga, which stretched inland for
unknown leagues.

Cartier had been watching his countenance, and saw that he was
completely won to the enterprise; but Roberval feigned a lack of
enthusiasm. He turned from the map, and with assumed indifference said:
"I like not the look of the country. Woods and water, water and woods,
are all you have marked on it. I prefer a land of fertile fields and
civilised society."

"But, noble Sieur, you mistake. It is not all woods and water. This
mighty Baie des Chaleurs teems with fish. We filled our boats as we
passed along; and did all Europe take to a fish diet that one bay could
supply them. And the woods, Sieur! They swarm with animals. Mink, otter,
beaver, fox, are as plentiful there as sheep and goats are with us, and
as easily captured. There would be no trouble to get their skins, or
time lost in hunting them either. The Indians would bring in pelts by
hundreds, and all we should need to give them in return would be a few
glass beads, metal rings, leaden images, or some gaudy apparel."

"Enough, enough!" said De Roberval impatiently. "You talk as if you were
in the establishment of a St Malo merchant instead of in the house of a
nobleman of Picardy."

Claude saw that Cartier had over-shot the mark, and so came to the
rescue.

"The Sieur de Roberval," he said, "must pardon good Master Cartier. He
has so long been bringing home the wealth of other lands that he is
inclined to think of the value of a country by the amount of wealth it
can put into the treasury of France."

"A very laudable way of thinking, and one of which good King Francis
would be the first to approve," replied the nobleman in a gentler tone.

"Yes," said Claude, "but not the only thing to consider. This commerce
gives us the greatest opportunity any people has ever had. The whole New
World is steeped in the most degrading paganism. The Indians have no
notion of