with the exception of some
furniture and a little plate and tapestry. The cathedral was saved,
thanks to the efforts of the state engineer, M. Levasseur de Nere, who
succeeded in cutting off the communication of the sacred temple with the
buildings in flames. Mgr. de Laval, confined then to a bed of pain,
avoided death by escaping half-clad; he accepted for a few days,
together with the priests of the seminary, the generous hospitality
offered them by the Jesuit Fathers. In order not to be too long a burden
to their hosts, they caused to be prepared for their lodgment the
episcopal palace which had been begun by Mgr. de Saint-Vallier. They
removed there on December 4th following. The scholars had been divided
between the episcopal palace and the house of the Jesuits. "The
prelate," says Sister Juchereau, "bore this affliction with perfect
submission to the will of God, without uttering any complaint. It must
have been, however, the more grievous to him since it was he who had
planned and erected the seminary, since he was its father and founder,
and since he saw ruined in one day the fruit of his labour of many
years." Thanks to the generosity of the king, who granted aid to the
extent of four thousand francs, it was possible to begin rebuilding at
once. But the trials of the priests were not yet over. "On the first day
of October, 1705," relate the annals of the Ursulines, "the priests of
the seminary were afflicted by a second fire through the fault of a
carpenter who was preparing some boards in one end of the new building.
While smoking he let fall in a room full of shavings some sparks from
his pipe. The fire being kindled, it consumed in less than an hour all
the upper storeys. Only those which were vaulted were preserved. The
priests estimate that they have lost more in this second fire than in
the first. They are lodged below, waiting till Providence furnishes them
with the means to restore their building. The Jesuit Fathers have acted
this time with the same charity and cordiality as on the former
occasion. Mgr. L'Ancien[10] and M. Petit have lived nearly two months in
their infirmary. This rest has been very profitable to Monseigneur, for
he has come forth from it quite rejuvenated. May the Lord grant that he
be preserved a long time yet for the glory of God and the good of
Canada!"
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to raise it from its ruins, a great
grief seized upon him at the sight of the roofs destroy
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