ng the _amende honorable_ to the justice of
God, who deigned to extend to me the mercy of recognizing that it was in
just punishment of my sins and lack of faith that His providence
deprived me of the blessing of returning to a place where I had so
greatly offended; and I told Him, I think with a cheerful heart and a
spirit of humility, what the high priest Eli said when Samuel declared
to him from God what was to happen to him: '_Dominus est: quod bonum est
in oculis suis faciat_.' But since the will of our Lord does not reject
a contrite and humble heart, and since He both abases and exalts, He
gave me to know that the greatest favour He could grant me was to give
me a share in the trials which He deigned to bear in His life and death
for love of us; in thanksgiving for which I said a Te Deum with a heart
filled with joy and consolation in my soul: for, as to the lower nature,
it is left in the bitterness which it must bear. It is a hurt and a
wound which will be difficult to heal and which apparently will last
until my death, unless it please Divine Providence, which disposes of
men's hearts as it pleases, to bring about some change in the condition
of affairs. This will be when it pleases God, and as it may please Him,
without His creatures being able to oppose it."

In Canada the return of the revered Mgr. de Laval was impatiently
expected, and the governor, M. de Denonville, himself wrote that "in the
present state of public affairs it was necessary that the former bishop
should return, in order to influence men's minds, over which he had a
great ascendency by reason of his character and his reputation for
sanctity." Some persons wrongfully attributed to the influence of
Saint-Vallier the order which detained the worthy bishop in France; on
the contrary, Saint-Vallier had said one day to the minister, "It would
be very hard for a bishop who has founded this church and who desires to
go and die in its midst, to see himself detained in France. If Mgr. de
Laval should stay here the blame would be cast upon his successor,
against whom for this reason many people would be ill disposed."

M. de Denonville desired the more eagerly the return of this prelate so
beloved in New France, since difficulties were arising on every hand.
Convinced that peace with the Iroquois could not last, he began by
amassing provisions and ammunition at Fort Cataraqui, without heeding
the protests of Colonel Dongan, the most vigilant and most