-hearted.
The old Duchesse de Rohan starved with the populace. Salbert, the most
eloquent of Huguenot pastors, preached that martyrdom was better than
surrender. Meanwhile, Richelieu built his mole across the harbour, and
Buckingham wasted the English troops to which the citizens looked for
their salvation. Then the town yielded.

The fall of La Rochelle was a great personal triumph for Richelieu, but
the war with England brought disaster to the Company of New France. At
Dieppe there had lived for many years an Englishman named Jarvis, or
Gervase, Kirke, who with his five sons--David, Lewis, Thomas, John, and
Jamesknew much at first hand about the French merchant marine. Early
in the spring of 1628 Kirke (who had shortly before moved to London)
secured letters of marque and sent forth his sons to do what damage they
could to the French in the St Lawrence. Champlain had spent the winter
at Quebec and was, of course, expecting his usual supplies with the
opening of navigation. Instead came Lewis Kirke, sent from Tadoussac by
his brother David, to demand surrender.

Champlain made a reply which, though courteous, was sufficiently bold
to convince the Kirkes that Quebec could be best captured by starvation.
They therefore sailed down the St Lawrence to intercept the fleet from
France, confident that their better craft would overcome these 'sardines
of the sea.' The plan proved successful even beyond expectation, for
after a long cannonade they captured without material loss the whole
fleet which had been sent out by the Company of New France. Ships,
colonists, annual supplies, building materials--all fell into the hands
of the enterprising Kirkes, who then sailed for England with their
booty. Alike to Champlain and to the Hundred Associates it was a
crippling blow.

Thus, but for the war with England, Quebec would have seen its
population trebled in 1628. As it was, the situation became worse than
ever. Lewis Kirke had been careful to seize the cattle pastured at Cap
Tourmente and to destroy the crops. When winter came, there were eighty
mouths to feed on a scant diet of peas and maize, imperfectly ground,
with a reserve supply of twelve hundred eels. Towards spring anything
was welcome, and the roots of Solomon's seal were esteemed a feast.
Champlain even gave serious thought to a raid upon the Mohawks, three
hundred miles away, in the hope that food could be brought back from
their granaries. Finally, on the 19th of Ju