Page:Gilbert Parker--The Lane that had No Turning.djvu/181

Rh dere come to Mathurin a letter—voilà, dat is a letter! It have one, two, three, twenty seals; and de King he say to Mathurin: ‘Merci mille fois, m’sieu’. You are ver’ polite. I tank you. I will keep your verses to tell me dat my French subjects are all loyal like M. Mathurin.’ Dat is ver’ nice, but Mathurin is not proud—non! He write six verses for my granmudder—hein! Dat is something. He write two verses for de King of Englan’ and he write six verses for my gran'mudder—you see! He go on so, dis week, dat week, dis year, dat year, all de time.

"Well, by-and-by dere is trouble on Pontiac. It is ver’ great trouble. You see dere is a fight ’gainst de King of Englan’, and dat is too bad. It is not his fault; he is ver’ nice man; it is de bad men who make de laws for de King in Quebec. Well, one day all over de country everybody take him gun, and de leetla bullets, and say, I will fight de soldier of de King of Englan’—like dat! Ver’ well, dere was twenty men in Pontiac, ver’ nice men—you will find de names cut in a stone on de church; and den, three times as big, you will find Mathurin’s name. Ah, dat is de ting! You see, dat rebellion you English call it, we call it de War of de Patriot—de first War of de Patriot, not de second—well, call it what you like, quelle différence? The King of Englan’ smash him Patriot War all to pieces. Den dere is ten men of de twenty come back to Pontiac ver’ sorry. Dey are not happy, nobody are happy. All de wives, dey cry; all de children, dey are afraid. Some people say, What fools you are; others say, You are no good; but everybody in him heart is ver’ sorry all de time.

"Ver’ well, by-and-by dere come to Pontiac what you call a colonel with a dozen men—what for, you