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BY WAY OF A CONCLUSION 'Faitz bien et laisse dire' hen the investigators of the Order of Malta visited the parish church of Montmagny in the springtime of 1622, they found, "in the main window behind the grand altar/' beneath the arms of Pierre Huault, the chevalier's great-grandfather, "two scrollsofsilver on which is written in gold, in ancient lettering, 'Faitz bien et laisse dire'" - do what is right and let others say what they will.1 This was the motto he had chosen. There is no way of knowing if Charles Huault adopted it or ifhe had meditated long on its significance,but it had no doubt been commented on by parents anxious to give his life a direction marked by dignity and virtue. Regardless, what must be remembered is that it applied verywell to him, and that it could have served as a theme for his biography. The ideal that itrepresented - "vertu,"2 sense ofduty -was surely his own. He has not told us this himself;he has "laisse dire" (let others say)- ifwecan bepermitted this play onwords - bytheJesuits and other chroniclers. His family coat of arms is equally symbolic.3 It has been adopted by two localities, both of which - the one in France and the other in Quebec - bear the name of Montmagny. It even appears in the mural painting which adorns the facade ofthe latter.4 It reads as follows: "D'or a la fasce d'azur, chargee de trois molettes d'eperon d'or, accompagnee de trois coquerelles de gueule, deux en chef et une en pointe."5 The spurs evoked the chivalryto which PierreHuault was already aspiring, and which was realized by some of his descendants, among them his great-grandson Charles and Charles's cousin Alexandre Huault de Vayres, spiritual heirs to the crusaders by way of the Order of Malta. The "coquerelles/' or stylized hazelnuts, recalledthe country life which the family pursued in its seigneurie north ofParis. His mother's family arms had a similar resonance: "D'or au dragon aile de sinople, arme, lampasse et couronne de gueule d'or", the dragon representing strength of character,indomitability, service that is all fire and flame for a cause.6 These symbols could not have left Charles Huault indifferent. W 290 THE CHEVALIER DE MONTMAGNY These allegorical images add a certain colour to the picture which is developed from the long description we have given ofthe deeds and behaviour ofthe chevalier de Montmagny, a picture which, moreover, is relatively close to the one tracedby the Quebecois historian, J.Edmond Roy, at the beginning of the century. He was a man of sincerity - the Grand Master called him "une ame droite" - andunselfishness; hetook his religious vocation seriously. Prudence was another of his qualities (the Relations mention this several times), as was patience, whether in the lengthy preparations for his privateering expedition, or in the long drawn-out activities for the Order in the affair of Saint-Christophe. Nothing discouraged him. Faced with the delays of the authorities in the mother country in sending aid to New France, he did not balk. In dangerous situations he gave proof of courage - perhaps the most characteristic quality of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem.A final trait of his personality was cordiality,which we observe, for example, in his relations with the Indians, welcoming them to his home, visiting them in Sillery, and mingling with them without difficulty. And thelittle ofhimthat hasbeen preserved - afewletters7 - does not contradict this portrait that the witnesses of his life have left us. At the very foundation ofhis thinking is a great respect for Christian values. Tothink of founding a seminary for the Amerindians - as did Noel Brulart - was, for him, "to follow the intention ofGod," and "to labour for the exaltation of his name." To Father de Goussaincourt, who wrote to him in Quebec, he recommended that he complete his work on the "martyrs" of the Order ofMalta,since it concerned persons who had "sacrificed their life in the service of God." He informed the Grand Master in 1649 that three Jesuits had been killed in Canada "in hatred of the faith"; these were "true martyrs." He suggested that he himself would bring the "relation" of these events to Valetta, as soon as it was published. His concern for the Order did not diminish during all those years spent far from Malta and from the Temple in Paris. When, in 1650, he wrote anew to his superior, he...

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