The new arrivals beseeched me to perform this Mass and I do it with a warmth in my heart I’ve not felt since leaving Brittany. I can tell the new arrivals near burst to hear of my adventures and of this new world. But I will be coy in my sharing. I can tell them of what this dark world of sauvages is like until the breath leaves my chest for good. The only true way for them to understand, though, is to experience it for themselves. I plan to request of Champlain that I stay behind here in New France for the next year in order to complete my relations and send them back home while the new entourage travels out to the land of the Huron to gain experience. I need the rest, Lord, as I need to regain my physical and especially my spiritual strength. The idea of heading back into that wilderness makes me want to weep. You understand, don’t You? — I’M QUITE TAKEN by the zeal of these new arrivals. Two brother Jesuits have come, as well as four laymen to help assist them in their travels, teaching, and eventual conversions.
