108 THEISLAND ACADIANS

life, the faithful would first seek the support of the clergy; otherwise nothing would happen. Writing to the French historian, Edme Rameau de Saint-Pére, in 1867, Israél Landry made the following comments:

...our good Acadians are Catholic and would not do anything against their priests’ wishes. If they have a priest who cares for their well-being, you will see them support him wholeheartedly in anything he undertakes on their behalf; take for example Rustico, Miscouche, Memramcook, etc. (TR)'®

For most people, the priest was virtually untouchable. Even if he did have faults and even if he did misuse his power, no one was permitted to criticize him. The following story illustrates this mentality. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a pedlar from Shediac visiting a family in Abram’s Village took the liberty of making several critical remarks about certain priests. A grandmother listened atten- tively to the visitor’s “shocking” gossip and then proceeded to lecture him: “Did you know, she said sternly, that our Lord said ‘He who strikes my priests, strikes me in the eye?’” (TR). Astonished by this sharp and unexpected reply, the stranger asked immediately: “In what book did you read that?” To which the old lady responded: “I read it in better books than you read!” (TR)"”.

It should be said that there were many Acadians of this elderly lady’s calibre who respected everything the Church preached. Nevertheless, there were Acadians who did not always follow their priest’s instruction to the letter and who even dared disobey him in public. In Mont Carmel around 1880, several parishioners uttered threats against the elderly Father Sylvain-Ephrem Poirier during a quarrel and, what is more, urged their fellow parishioners not to provide firewood for the church or the presbytery since it was not cited as an obligation in either the Bible or the Church precepts". Sometimes these protests were justified because some priests did take advantage of their authority by denouncing and disgracing their parishioners from the pulpit'®. Generally, however, Acadians held their priests in high esteem. They would often pay their respects to their priest on the anniversary of his ordination and when he moved away from the parish—or even when he left for an important trip abroad— and on New Year’s Day. On each occasion they would emphasize his dedication to the parish, enumerate his many qualities and ac- complishments and express their obedience as parishioners. In closing,