nd the food!--'ducks,
bustards, grey and white geese, partridges, larks, and other birds;
moreover moose, caribou, beaver, otter, bear, rabbits, wild-cats,
racoons, and other animals,' the whole culminating in the tenderness of
moose meat and the delicacy of beaver's tail. Such are the items which
Champlain omits and Lescarbot includes. So it is throughout their
respective narratives--Champlain ever gaining force through compactness,
and Lescarbot constantly illuminating with his gaiety or shrewdness
matters which but for him would never have reached us.

This difference of temperament and outlook, which is so plainly
reflected on the printed page, also had its effect upon the personal
relations of the two men. It was not that Lescarbot scandalized
Champlain by his religious views, for though liberal-minded, Lescarbot
was not a heretic, and Champlain knew how to live harmoniously even with
Huguenots. The cause of the coolness which came to exist between
them must be sought rather in fundamental contrasts of character. To
Champlain, Lescarbot doubtless seemed a mere hanger-on or protege of
Poutrincourt, with undue levity of disposition and a needless flow of
conversation. To Lescarbot, Champlain may well have seemed deficient in
literary attainments, and so preoccupied with the concerns of geography
as to be an uncongenial companion. To whatever cause conjecture may
trace it, they did not become friends, although such lack of sympathy
as existed shows itself only in an occasional pin-prick, traceable
particularly in the later editions of their writings. For us it is the
more needful to lay stress upon the merits of Lescarbot, because he
tends to be eclipsed by the greater reputation of Champlain, and also
because his style is sometimes so diffuse as to create prejudice. But at
his best he is admirable, and without him we should know much less than
we do about that Acadian experience which holds such a striking place in
the career of Champlain.

The popular estimate of French character dwells overmuch upon the levity
or gaiety which undoubtedly marks the Gallic race. France could not have
accomplished her great work for the world without stability of purpose
and seriousness of mood. Nowhere in French biography are these qualities
more plainly illustrated than by the acts of Champlain. The doggedness
with which he clung to his patriotic and unselfish task is the most
conspicuous fact in his life. Coupled therewith is his