. One of them said that when the
French were absent the earth was no longer the earth, the river was no
longer the river, the sky was no longer the sky; but upon the return
of Sieur de Champlain everything was as before: the earth was again the
earth, the river was again the river, and the sky was again the sky.'

Thus welcomed by the savages, Champlain resumed his arduous task. He was
establishing Quebec anew and under conditions quite unlike those which
had existed in 1608. The most notable difference was that the Jesuits
were now at hand to aid in the upbuilding of Canada. The Quebec of De
Monts and De Caen had been a trading-post, despite the efforts of
the Recollets and Jesuits to render it the headquarters of a mission.
Undoubtedly there existed from the outset a desire to convert the
Indians, but as a source of strength to the colony this disposition
effected little until the return of the Jesuits in 1632.

With the re-establishment of the Jesuit mission the last days of
Champlain are inseparably allied. A severe experience had proved that
the colonizing zeal of the crown was fitful and uncertain. Private
initiative was needed to supplement the official programme, and of such
initiative the supply seemed scanty. The fur traders notoriously shirked
their obligations to enlarge the colony, and after 1632 the Huguenots,
who had a distinct motive for emigrating, were forbidden by Richelieu to
settle in Canada. There remained the enthusiasm of the Jesuits and the
piety of those in France who supplied the funds for their work among the
Montagnais, the Hurons, and the Iroquois. As the strongest order in the
Roman Catholic Church, the Jesuits possessed resources which enabled
them to maintain an active establishment in Canada. Through them Quebec
became religious, and their influence permeated the whole colony as its
population increased and the zone of occupation grew wider. Le Jeune,
Lalemant, Brebeuf, and Jogues are among the outstanding names of the
restored New France.

During the last two years of his life Champlain lived patriarchally at
Quebec, administering the public affairs of the colony and lending its
religious impulses the strength of his support and example. Always a man
of serious mind, his piety was confirmed by the reflections of advancing
age and his daily contact with the missionaries. In his household there
was a service of prayer three times daily, together with reading at
supper from the lives of