Roma at Three Rivers 81

Consequently they have so acted and given orders as to result in the ruin of my establishment, and to justify their conduct they have carried to the closet of the Minister the idea which they pretend to have formed of my person.

This recompense that I receive from my works, my integrity, my zeal, and from a great disinterestedness, has shown me how foolish it is to pride oneself on being a good citizen and to pretend to merit only through good works. This knowledge determined me to give it up, at an age already well advanced, and to make no use of the talents that I flattered myself to possess in regard to commerce and which might be of advantage to the colony ; and to seek rather in a poor retreat, shelter from the mortal blows, which gave me great pain, and an opportunity to do good to others. I furthermore took a vow of silence, my just resentment stifling all thought of vindication; but as I reflected that my reso- lution ought not to go so far as to sacrifice the inter- ests of my children, that my duty would not permit me to carry my resentment to the point of leaving my partners in such grave error as would cause them to lose a valuable establishment; and that my zeal for the good of the colony of Isle Saint Jean ought not to express itself in a manner that would injure it, I took a second resolution to appeal to you, gentlemen, as a last resort to avoid falling into such excess as might later bring me into disrepute. Your superior vision particularly in regard to the two islands, where your constant attention to their interests is well known, and the misfortune under which I labor in not having occa- sion to merit your personal fayor, renders your testi-

mony capable of conserving the advantages which re- main to me,