Part 2 (2/2)
”This can be more easily imagined than depicted. We were huddled in a s.p.a.ce scarcely large enough to contain us. The air rarefied by our breathing became unwholesome and oppressive; we could not lie down to rest our weary limbs. With but scant food, with the water given grudgingly to us, barely enough to wet our parched lips; with no one to care for us, you can well imagine that our sufferings became unbearable. Yet, when we expostulated with our jailers, and complained bitterly of the excess of our woes, it seemed to rejoice them. They derided us, called us n.o.ble patriots, stubborn French people and papists; epithets that went right to our hearts, and added to our misery.
”At last our s.h.i.+p was anch.o.r.ed, and we were told that we had reached the place of our destination. Was it Louisiana? we inquired.
Rude scoffs and sharp invectives were their only answer. We were disembarked with the same ruthless brutality with which we had been dragged to their s.h.i.+p. They landed us on a precipitous and rocky sh.o.r.e, and leaving us a few rations, saluted us in derision with their caps and bidding farewell to the n.o.ble patriots, as they called us.
Our anguish, at that moment, can hardly be conceived. We were outcasts in a strange land; we were friendless and penniless, with a few rations thrown to us as to dogs. The sun had now set, and we were in an agony of despair.
”Our only hope rested in the mercy of a kind Providence, and with hearts too full for utterance, we knelt down with one accord and silently besought the Lord of Hosts to vouchsafe to us that pity and protection which he gives to the most abject of his creatures. Never was a more heartfelt prayer wafted to G.o.d's throne. When we arose, hope, once more smiling to us, irradiated our souls and dispelled, as if by magic, the gloom that had settled in our hearts. We felt that none but n.o.ble causes lead to martyrdom, and we looked upon ourselves as martyrs of a saintly cause, and with a clear conscience, we lay down to sleep under the blue canopy of the heavens.
”The dawn of day found us scattered in groups, discussing the course we were to pursue, and our hearts grew faint anew at the thought of the unknown trials that awaited us.
”At that moment, we spied two hors.e.m.e.n approaching our camp. Our hearts fluttered with emotion. The incident, simple as it was, proved to be of great importance to us. We felt as if Providence had not forsaken us, and that the two hors.e.m.e.n, heralds of peace and joy, were his messengers of love in our sore trials.
”We were not mistaken, petiots. When the cavaliers alighted, they addressed us in English, but in words so soft and kind, that the sound of the hated language did not grate on our ears, and seemed as sweet as that of our own tongue. They bowed gracefully to us, and introduced themselves as Charles Smith and Henry Brent. 'We are informed,' said they, 'that you are exiles, and that you have been cast penniless on our sh.o.r.es. We have come to greet you, and to welcome you to the hospitality of our roofs.' These kind words sank deep in our hearts.
'Good sirs,' answered Rene Leblanc, 'you behold a wretched people bereft of their homes and whose only crime is their love for France and their devotion to the Catholic faith,' and saying this, he raised his hat, and every man of our party did the same. 'We thank you heartily for your greeting and for your hospitality so generously tendered. See, we number over two hundred persons, and it would be taxing your generosity too heavily, no one but a king could accomplish your n.o.ble design.'
”'Sir,' they answered, 'we are citizens of Maryland, and we own large estates. We have everything in abundance at our homes, and this abundance we are willing to share with you. Accept our offer, and the Brent and Smith families will ever be grateful to G.o.d, who has given them the means to minister to your wants, a.s.suage your afflictions and soothe your sorrows.'
”How could we decline an offer so generously made? It was impossible for us to find words expressive of our grat.i.tude. Unable to utter a single word, we shook hands with them, but our silence was far more eloquent than any language we could have used.”
Chapter Seven
a.s.sisted by Their Generous Friends
_The Acadians become prosperous, but yearn to rejoin their friends and relatives in Louisiana_
”The same day, we moved to their farms, which lay near by, and I shall never forget the kind welcome we received from these two families.
They vied with each other in their kind offices toward us, and ministered to our wants with so much grace and affability, that it gave additional charm and value to their already boundless hospitality.
”Petiots, let the names of Brent and of Smith remain enchased forever like precious jewels in your hearts, let their remembrance never fade from your memory, for more generous and worthier beings never breathed the pure air of heaven.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Catholic Church, St. Martinsville, La._]
”Thus it was, petiots, that we settled in Maryland after leaving Acadia.
”Three years pa.s.sed away peacefully and happily, and during the whole of that time, the Smith and Brent families remained our steadfast friends. Our party had prospered, and plenty smiled once more in our homes. We lived as happy as exiles could live away from the fatherland, ignorant of the fate of those who had been torn from us soruthlessly. In vain we had endeavored to ascertain the lot of our friends and relatives, and what had become of them; we could learn nothing. Many parents wept for their lost children; many a disconsolate wife pined away in sorrow and hopeless grief for a lost husband; but, petiots, the saddest of all was the fate of poor Emmeline Lab.i.+.c.he.”
Emmeline Lab.i.+.c.he? Who was Emmeline Lab.i.+.c.he? We had never heard her name mentioned before, and our curiosity was excited to the highest pitch.
Chapter Eight
_The_ True Story _of Evangeline_
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