204 VILLEMARIE DE MONTREAL. [1642. 



ills which beset them were^the eccentricities of one 

 of then- lay sisters, crazed with religious enthusiasm, 

 who had the care of their poultry and domestic 

 animals, of which she was accustomed to inquire, 

 one by one, if they loved God ; when, not receiv- 

 ing an immediate answer in the affirmative, she 

 would instantly put them to death, telling them 

 that thek impiety deserved no better fate.^ 



At St. Michel, Maisonneuve employed his men 

 in building boats to ascend to Montreal, and in 

 various other labors for the behoof of the future 

 colony. Thus the winter wore away; but, as ce- 

 lestial minds are not exempt from ire, Montmagny 

 and Maisonneuve fell into a quarrel. The twenty- 

 fifth of January was Maisonneuve's fete day ; and, 

 as he w^as greatly beloved by his followers, they 

 resolved to celebrate the occasion. Accordingly, 

 an hour and a half before daylight, they made a 

 general discharge of their muskets and cannon. 

 The sound reached Quebec, two or three miles 

 distant, startling the Governor from his morning 

 slumbers ; and his indignation was redoubled when 

 he heard it again at night : for Maisonneuve, 

 pleased at the attachment of his men, had feasted 

 them and warmed their hearts with a distribution 

 of wine. Montmagny, jealous of his authority, 

 resented these demonstrations as an infraction of 

 it, affirming that they had no right to fire their 



1 Juchereau, 45. A great mortification to these excellent nuns was 

 the impossibihty of keeping their white dresses clean among their Indian 

 patients, so that they were forced to dye them with butternut juice. They 

 were the Rospitalieres who had come over in 1639. 



