Excerpt from Canadian History and Biography: And Passages in the Lives of a British Prince and a Canadian Seigneur, The Father of the Queen and the Hero of Chateauguay, A Paper Read Before the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, December 19th, 1866Displayed, on a grand and noble stage, the energies, aspira tions and passions, which belong to hopes vast and vague, ill-restricted passions, and Stations of command. The French dominion is a memory of the past, and when we wake its departed shades, they rise upon us from their graves in strange, romantic guise. Again their ghostly cam p - fires Seem to burn, and the fitful light is cast around on lord and vessel and black-robed priest, mingled with wild forms of savage war riors, knit in close fellowship on the same errand. A boundless vision grows upon 'na, an untamed continent, vast wastes of forest verdure, mountains Silent in primeval sleep, river, lake and glimmering pool, wilderness oceans mingling with the sky. Such was the domain which France conquered for civilization. Plumed helmets gleamed in the shades of the forest, priestly vestments in its dens and fastnesses of ancient barbarism. Men steeped in antique learning, pale with the Close breath of the Cloister, here spent the noon and evening of their lives, ruled savage hordes with a mild paternal sway, and' stood serene before the direst shapes of death. Men of courtly nature, heirs to the polish of a far-reaching ancestry, here with their dauntless hardihood put to Shame the boldest sons of toil.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.