dislocated the
routine of government. There was no one who did not feel the force of
his will. Yet to friends and foes alike his recall at sixty-two must
have seemed the definite, humiliating close of a career. It was not
the moment to view in due perspective what he had accomplished. His
shortcomings were on the lips of every one. His strength had been
revealed, but was for the time forgotten. When he left Quebec in 1682
he must {72} have thought that he would never see it again. Yet when
need came he was remembered. This fact is a useful comment on his
first term, extenuating much that had seemed ground for censure in less
troubled days.

Let us now regard Frontenac's policy from his own point of view, and
attempt to estimate what he had accomplished down to the date of his
recall.

However closely Laval and Duchesneau might seek to narrow Frontenac's
sphere of action, there was one power they could not deny him. As
commander of the king's troops in Canada he controlled all matters
relating to colonial defence. If his domestic administration was full
of trouble, it must also be remembered that during his first term of
office there was no war. This happy result was due less to accident
than to his own gifts and character. It is true that the friendship of
Louis XIV and Charles II assured peace between New France and New
England. But Canada could thank Frontenac for keeping the Iroquois at
arm's length.

We have seen how he built the stronghold at Cataraqui, which was named
Fort Frontenac. The vigour and the tact that he displayed on this
occasion give the keynote to {73} all his relations with the Indians.
Towards them he displayed the three qualities which a governor of
Canada most needed--firmness, sympathy, and fair dealing. His
arrogance, so conspicuous in his intercourse with equals or with
refractory subordinates, disappears wholly when he comes into contact
with the savages. Theatrical he may be, but in the forest he is never
intolerant or narrow-minded. And behind his pageants there is always
power.

Thus Frontenac should receive personal credit for the great success of
his Indian policy. He kept the peace by moral ascendancy, and to see
that this was no light task one need only compare the events of his
regime with those which marked the period of his successors, La Barre
and Denonville. This we shall do in the next chapter. For the present
it is enough to say that throughout the ful