In the evening, the lieutenant informed himself of every thing which related to the dwellings of the French along the river,--how many there were of them, at what distances they were, how many inhabitants each had, &c. Afterwards, he took with him ten men, and one of the young Frenchmen who had already served as guide to surprise us; and, after having made all the necessary preparations, they set out, and went up the river. But they found nothing, or very few articles, because the colonists, having been warned by our fugitives, had placed all their effects in concealment, and particularly their negroes, who, more than any thing else, excited the cupidity of the English. Finding themselves thus disappointed in their hopes, they spent their anger on the buildings, which they burned, without, however, injuring the plantations. This, however, caused us to suspect that they had some intentions of returning.
As to those of us who were in the fort, we spent this night very much like the preceding,--the same agitations, the same excesses on the part of our enemies, and the same disquietude on our part. The second lieutenant, who was left in command, did not lose sight of me, fearing, without doubt, that I wished to profit by the absence of the captain and the first lieutenant to make my escape. I had a great deal of difficulty in reassuring them on this point, and could not convince them. People of this kind, accustomed to judge others by themselves, are not able to imagine that an honorable man, that a priest, was able and obliged to keep his parole in such a case.
When the day dawned, he seemed a little less uneasy on my account. Towards eight o’clock, they all placed themselves at table; and, after a miserable repast, one of them attempted to enter into a controversy with me. He put many questions to me about Confession, about the worship which we gave to the Cross, to images, &c. “Do you confess your parishioners?” he presently asked me.
“Yes,” I replied, “whenever they come to me; but they do not do so as often as they should, or as I could wish them, for the zeal I have for the salvation of their souls.”
“And do you really think,” he added, “that their sins are remitted as soon as they have declared them to you?”