Robert's own heart throbbed as
he knew that this last stage of their journey would take them to famous
Quebec.
"If the St. Lawrence didn't freeze over for such a long period," said de
Galisonniere, "this region would become in time the greatest empire in
the world."
"But isn't that a huge 'if'?" asked Robert, laughing.
De Galisonniere smiled.
"It is," he said, "but New France is the chief jewel in the French
crown, nevertheless. In time the vice-regal court at Quebec will rule an
empire greater than that of France itself. Think of the huge lakes, the
great rivers, the illimitable forests, beyond them the plains over which
the buffalo herds roam in millions, and beyond them, so they say, range
on range of mountains and forests without end."
"I have been thinking of them," said Robert, "but I've been thinking of
them in a British way."
De Galisonniere laughed again and then grew serious.
"It's natural," he said, "that you should think of them in a British
way, while I think of them in a French way.
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