Le Père Joseph Denis: Premier Récollet Canadien (1657–1786) by the R. P. Hugolin (review)

REVIEWS OF BOOKS 149 1685 at the age of twenty-sixyears as a surgeon. He soonattracted the attention of Denonville,and in the followingyear wasnominated surgeon-majorof the military forcesby order of the Superior Council. His appointment was ratified by brevetroyal from Versaillesin 1691 on the representations of Frontenac,whospokeof him in the highestterms. It is possiblethat the visit of the hydrographerFranquelin to Canada stimulated his interest in natural science,and that he became further interestedduring three years, 1694-7, spent in France in the study of medicine. In Paris he came under the influence of Tournefort, one of the foundersof modernbotany. He took his doctor'sdegreeat Reims. He was devoted to his work and laboured incessantly, whether in the epidemics of smallpoxandotherpestilence broughtto Quebecby ships, or assurgeonin the siegeof 1690whenthe hospitalswerefilled with the wounded,or in morepeacefultimesin the study of the natural history of Canada. His contributions earned for him election in 1699 as member of the Royal Academy of Scienceswith such names as Tournefort, R6aumur, I-{alley,Boerhaave,Roemerand Newton. With the hundreds of specimensof Canadian plants which he sent to the Jardin Royal, there were numerousannotationsregardingtheir medicinalaction. His name has been perpetuatedin the pitcher plant, the $arracenia,which he first described. In the presentvolume,which wascrownedPrix David d'Histoiredu Canada, 19œ6,Dr. Val16ehas given us a well-documentedbiography of the first great Canadianbiologist. There is in full his brevet as physicianto the hospitalsof New France, dated Versailles,1700, his nominationto the SuperiorCouncil,and the royal order of his appointment as Gardedes$ceaux. There is also a completeaccount of his numerouscommunications to the Royal Academyof Sciences, including those on the muskrat, the beaver, mineral waters, the maple and its products, and hisbotanicalcontributions. It is notablethat the beaver and the maple, which were the subjectsof intensivestudy by him, have beenadoptedas national emblems. This volume,publishedin a limited edition, is a worthy addition to Canadianbiography. Dr. Val16ehas addedas a backgroundchapters givinga pictureof the socialand politicallife of the time with a sketch of contemporarymedicine. J. H. ELLIOT? Le P}re JosephDenis:Premier R•collet Canadien (1657-1736). Par le R. P. HUGOLIN,o.f.m. Avec une introduction par m. /EGIDIUS FAUTmYX. Deux tomes. Qu6bec. 1926. Pp. 205; 210. FArmERHUGOLIN'S work on the historyof the R6colletsin Canadaha• 150 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW long been favourably known to studentsof early Canadianhistory. His treatiseson the establishmentof the R6colletsat Montreal, in Newfoundland ,and in Gaspawereexhaustive,painstaking,and authoritative. No purely secularhistorianof New Francehasshowna greatercommand of the technique of the historian, or a more critical attitude toward secondarysources. These qualitiesappear onceagain in the volumes under review, which constitute a full-length biography of the first Ricollet born in Canada. Le P•re JosephDenis was not a figure of first-rate importancein Canadianhistory. He servedin Newfoundland,at MontrealandQuebec, and at Louisbourg. He held on severaloccasions important positions in the R6collet order, and he was ultimately appointed grand vicar, with jurisdictionoverthe islandof CapeBreton. But hewasan interesting figure, and the accountsof his life available have hitherto been mainly inaccurate. Father Hugolin at the beginningof the biography quotes the account of Father Denis's life contained in the Pantheon Canadienof Bibaud the younger;and he points out, by way of preface, that in this accountthere is nothing true except that there was oncea Denis who becamea priest, who built a church at Perc6, and who later died. All dates given are wrong, and the Christian names of Denis are inaccurate. This is a striking illustration of the unsubstantialbasis of much that is found in the bookson Canadian history; and serves alone as an excuse for the somewhat extended account of Father Denis and his times which Father Hugolin has given us in the present volume. There is another point of interest in connection with this book. Unlike most French-Canadianauthors, Father HUgolin has provided the reader with a full and exhaustive index, and this index will unlock for thosewho are not especiallyinterestedin ecclesiastical historya gooddeal of valuable material relating to the generalhistory of New France. W. S. W•I.I..•c• LettresHistoriquesde la V•n&able Mgre Marie de l'Incarnation sur le Canada. Compilation de B. SULTE. Qu&bec:L'Action Sociale, Lt6. 1927. Pp. 147. Ca.therineTekakwitha: Le Lis desBordsde...