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Canada； by removing a near menace to the English colonies； led to
this new conflict and to the collapse of that older British
Empire which had sprung from the England of the Stuarts。
When Montreal fell there were in the St。 Lawrence many British
ships which had been used for troops and supplies。 Before the end
of September the French soldiers and also the officials from
France who desired to go home were on board these ships bound for
Europe。 By the end of November most of the exiles had reached
home。 Varying receptions awaited them。 Levis； who took back the
army； was soon again； by consent of the British government； in
active service。 Fortune smiled on him to the end。 He died a great
noble and Marshal of France just before the Revolution of 1789；
but in that awful upheaval his widow and his two daughters
perished on the scaffold。 Vaudreuil's shallow and vain
incompetence did not go unpunished。 He was put on trial； accused
of a share in the black frauds which had helped to ruin Canada。
The trial was his punishment。 He was acquitted of taking any
share of the plunder and so drops out of history。 Bigot and his
gang； on the other hand； were found guilty of vast depredations。
The former Intendant was for a time in the Bastille and in the
end was banished from France； after being forced to repay great
sums。 We find echoes of the luxury of Quebec in the sale in
France of the rich plate which the rascal had acquired。 There
were； however； other and even worse plunderers。 They were tried
and condemned chiefly to return what they had stolen。 We rather
wonder that no expiatory sacrifice on the scaffold was required
of any of these knaves。 Lally Tollendal； who； as the French
leader in India； had only failed and not plundered； was sent to a
cruel execution。
Under the terms of the surrender and of the final Treaty of Peace
in 1763； civilians in Canada were given leave to return to
France。 Nearly the whole of the official class and many of the
large landowners； the seigneurs； left the country。 In Canada
there remained a priesthood； largely native； but soon to be
recruited from France by the upheaval of the Revolution； a few
seigneurial families； natural leaders of their race； a peasantry；
exhausted by the long war but clinging tenaciously to the soil；
and a good many hardy pioneers of the forest； men skilled in
hunting and in the use of the axe。 Out of these elements；
amounting in 1763 to little more than sixty thousand people； has
come that French…Canadian race in America now numbering perhaps
three millions。 The race has scattered far。 It is found in the
mills of Massachusetts； in the canebrakes of Louisiana； on the
wide stretches of the prairie of the Canadian West； but it has
always kept intact its strong citadel on the banks of the St。
Lawrence。 New France was； in reality； widely separated in spirit
from old France； before the new master in Canada made the
division permanent。 The imagination of the Canadian peasant did
not wander across the ocean to France。 He knew only the scenes
about his own hearth and in them alone were his thought and
affections centered。
The one wider interest which the habitant treasured was love for
the Catholic Church of his fathers and of his own spiritual
hopes。 It thus happened that when France in revolution assailed
and for a time overthrew the Church within her borders； the heart
of French Canada was not with France but with the persecuted
Church； she hated the spirit of revolutionary France。 Te Deums
were sung at Quebec in thanksgiving for the defeats of Napoleon。
In language and what literary culture they possessed； in
traditions and tastes； the conquered people remained French； but
they had no allegiance divided between Canada and France。 To this
day they are proud to be simply Canadians； rooted in the soil of
Canada； with no debt of patriotic gratitude to the France from
which they sprang or to the Britain which obtained political
dominance over their ancestors after a long agony of war。 To the
British Crown many of them feel a certain attachment because of
the liberty guaranteed to them to pursue their own ideals of
happiness。 In preserving their type of social life； their faith
and language； they have shown a resolute tenacity。 To this day
they are as different in these things from their fellow…citizens
of British origin in the rest of Canada as were their ancestors
from the English colonies which lay on their borders。
The French in Canada are still a separate people。 From time to
time a nervous fear seizes them lest too many of their race may
be lost to their old ideals in the Anglo…Saxon world surging
about them。 Then they listen readily to appeals to their racial
unity and draw more sharply than ever the lines of division
between themselves and the rest of North America。 They remain a
fragment of an older France； remote and isolated； still dreaming
dreams like those of Frontenac of old of the dominance of their
race in North America and asserting passionately their rights in
the soil of Canada to which； first of Europeans； they came。 At
the mouth of the Mississippi in the Louisiana founded by Louis
XIV； along the St。 Lawrence in the Canada of Champlain and
Frontenac； with a resolution more than half pathetic； and in a
world that gives little heed； men of French race are still on
guard to preserve in America the lineaments of that older France；
long since decayed in Europe； which was above all the eldest
daughter of the Church。
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
While the present narrative is based for the most part on more
recondite and widely scattered sources； the most accessible
volumes relating to the period are the following works of Francis
Parkman （Boston： many editions）： 〃La Salle and the Discovery of
the Great West； Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV； A Half
Century of Conflict〃 （2 vols。）； and 〃Montcalm and Wolfe〃 （2
vols。）。 To these should be added； as completing the story； George
M。 Wrong； 〃The Fall of Canada〃 （Oxford； 1914） which dwells in
detail on the last year of the struggle。 All these volumes
contain adequate references to authorities。 The last of Parkman's
works was published more than twenty…five years ago and later
research has revised some of his conclusions； but he still
commands great authority。 In 〃The Chronicles of Canada〃 （Toronto；
191316） half a dozen volumes relate to the period； each of these
volumes； which embody later research and are written in an
attractive style； contains a bibliography relating to its special
subject： C。W。 Colby； 〃The Fighting Governor〃 ＇Frontenac＇； Agnes
C。 Laut； 〃The Adventurers of England on Hudson Bay〃； Lawrence J。
Burpee； 〃The Pathfinders of the Great Plains〃； Arthur G。 Doughty；
〃The Acadian Exiles〃； William Wood； 〃The Great Fortress〃
＇Louisbourg＇； 〃The Passing of New France〃； and 〃The Winning of
Canada。〃 Lawrence J。 Burpee's 〃Search for the Western Sea〃
（Toronto； 1908） deals with the work of La Verendrye and other
explorers。 Anthony Hendry's 〃Journal〃 is published in the
〃Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada；〃 series iii； volume
i。 The latest phase of the discussions on La Verendrye are
reviewed in an article by Doane Robinson in 〃The Mississippi
Valley Historical Review〃 for December； 1916。 The material
relating to the discoverer was long scattered； but it has now
been collected in a volume； edited by Lawrence J。 Burpee for the
Champlain Society； Toronto； but owing to the war it is at the
present date （1918） still in manuscript。 Much of what is
contained in Mr。 Burpee's volume will be found in 〃South Dakota
Historical Collections；〃 volume vii； 1914 （Pierre； S。D。）。
Additional references are given in the bibliographies appended to
the articles on 〃Chatham； Seven Years' War；〃 and 〃Nova Scotia〃 in
〃The Encyclopaedia Britannica；〃 11th Edition。
End