.

XVI.

When men were more unlearned than they are
In this our present scientific day,
The earth to heaven seemed to be more near,
And God Himself appeared less far away.
For deeds accomplished, or for blessings given,
Due praise was offered to the God of Heaven.

XVII.

But now our wise philosophers, and those
Whose scientific knowledge is so vast
That he who knows what has escaped them knows
What is not worth the knowing; these, at last,
Have reached to such a pinnacle of pride,
That God Himself is little by their side.

XVIII.

In truth, their learning has become so great
That their imagination can conceive
No being mightier than they, and, straight,
In God's existence they will not believe.
And men untutored listen to their word,
And deem those foolish who believe the Lord.

XIX.

But Cartier was living in an age
When Science in her cradle was asleep,
And men accounted not themselves too sage
To bow to God in prayer, nor to reap
The benefits which only can accrue
To those whose faith in God is pure and true.

XX.

So he besought a blessing from his Lord
Before he re-embarked; then, setting sail,
The newly-christened river he explored,
Till, favored by a gently-blowing gale,
He reached the Hochelaga settlement
Of Indians, and thence no further went.

XXI.

A hundred years elapsed, and then there came
A little band from France to yonder isle;
To found a mission and a fort their aim;
And there they laboured for their faith, the while
Protecting them as best they might from those
Who proved themselves their fierce and bitter foes.

XXII.

The Iroquois, by cruel hate possessed,
Left not a chance untaken to obtain
A reeking scalp; and fiercely they oppressed
The little band, whose suffering and pain,
In Montreal and all throughout the land,
Seemed more than human frailty could withstand.

XXIII.

But Maisonneuve and they who followed him
Were bent upon a high and holy aim;
Their undertaking was no foolish whim,
Nor had they come for honour or for fame.
A Jesuitic band, they sought to win
Those Indians from a life of death and sin.

XXIV.

They sought to win them to the faith which they
Themselves possessed, and thought it not a hard,
Nor yet an unexpected, thing to lay
Their own lives down to win them. Their reward
They counted not to win on earth, but knew
That each in Heaven would gain the glory due.

XXV.

What thou