Page 37 of The False Chevalier


  CHAPTER XXXVI

  AT MONTREAL

  Next morning, after old Lecour had, with a heart full of content, and apipeful of tobacco, taken his son the round of his warehouses andgranaries, his piles of furs, his mountains of wheat, and the risingvaults of what was to be his newest and greatest building, they set offdown the village street to the Notary's house.

  D'Aguilhe was of a famous breed of notaries, who had driven the quilland handed it down from father to son from the earliest days of thecolony. When Lecour discovered that he was founding St. Elphege, one ofthe first things he did was to jolt up to Montreal, and catch a youngscion of this race of d'Aguilhes, and here he had kept him making acomfortable living at his profession ever since. It was therefore notimproper that the man of the _paraphe_--and a wondrous _paraphe_ hissignature had, flourishing from edge to edge of a foolscap page, inwoolly and laborious curves--should, when called upon next morning,treat his best client to his best office manners.

  "Monsieur d'Aguilhe," commenced old Lecour, "here is my son, who thinksme a noble--and upon my honour I cannot argue against him; he is tooable for me."

  "Aha!" returned d'Aguilhe, pricking up his ears, and saying to himself,"This looks like something important."

  "We desire," said Germain, taking the business into his own hands, "tosee the marriage contract of my father and mother."

  "Certainly, Monsieur Germain," he answered, and going to his cupboards,took his package of deeds for the year 1765, picked out the document andhanded it to Germain, who read a few lines at the beginning.

  "I see," the latter said, "that my father is improperly described here,as you will observe by these documents I now place before you. He isentitled to be called in this contract 'Francois Xavier LeCour,Chevalier de Lincy.'"

  "A--ah!" exclaimed again the Notary, solemnly, raising his eyebrows andpoking over Germain's parchments.

  "Are they not correct?" asked Germain.

  "Without a doubt."

  "Is not my father the Chevalier de Lincy?"

  "It seems so."

  "Then we have only to ask, as it is a family matter, that you add thisname to the contract of marriage, and give us a copy."

  "It cannot be done, sir."

  Germain felt a check. He was silent.

  "Do not say that, d'Aguilhe," the merchant said; "if the boy wants it,let him have it. What do I care?"

  "No sir, it cannot be done."

  "Cannot be done? for _me_? Have I done nothing for you, M. d'Aguilhe?Have I not been a good client to you?"

  "Nevertheless, sir, nothing can weigh with me against the rules of myprofession," pompously replied the Notary. "A Public Person must notallow himself to be swayed by private considerations."

  "In what lies your difficulty in changing this deed?" Germain asked.

  "A deed once deposited in the archives of the Notary is sacred."

  "But you see a mistake has been made?"

  "Etiquette, Monsieur."

  "You see that the honour of the family is concerned in rectifying thatmistake."

  "Etiquette, Monsieur."

  "But is there no way? If I offer fifty livres for your advice upon away, for instance?"

  "Ah, Monsieur, that is different; the heart of the professional manshould open, and his knowledge be accessible to his client. There is away."

  "What is it?"

  "Obtain an order of the Judge upon me to add the required paragraphs tomy deed."

  "Here are your fifty livres."

  "I thank you, sir," and, so saying, d'Aguilhe put his quill behind hisear and showed them politely to the door.

  Germain and his father--the father arrayed by Madame in his best blackcoat--set, therefore, off for Montreal. They crossed the ferry nearRepentigny church, and drove through open country along the riversidetill, as evening drew on, they came in sight of the walls, the citadelhill, the enchanting suburban estates and green Mount Royal in thebackground, which denoted the city.

  They drew up in the court of a bustling inn, stabled their horse, wentto bed, and the next morning sought the house of a celebrated advocate,the great Rottot. The great Rottot was chiefly known for his imposingproportions, and no sight was thought so beautiful by the _habitants_ asthat of his black silk leg, as, with his robe fluttering out in thebreezes, he seemed to be flying from his office across the street to thecourt-house, followed by a bevy of clients.

  He listened, standing, to the respectful request of Lecour, helped outin his explanations by Germain, who desired to have the pleader obtainfor them the requisite order of the Judge.

  "Ah," said he, "I see, gentlemen, you do not appreciate the importanceof your case. Such a matter ought to be made the subject of theprofoundest studies, and we should at length approach the Legislatureitself with a petition and demand the passage of a private bill. Theaffair tempts my powers."

  "But we have no special wish for publicity."

  "Gentlemen, you know not what would be your good fortune. It would makeyou the talk of the Province. _In re Lecour_ would be a greatprecedent."

  "Such is not our desire."

  "What! not to establish a precedent?"

  "No, Mr. Advocate," Germain said firmly; "a simple petition to obtainthis order is what we want. We must have it, and quickly, and nothingmore."

  "Ah, then, this is what you want," said he. "I will draw it for you,"and, sitting down, he wrote out a document as follows:--

  "To the Honourable Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the District of Montreal:

  "The petition of Francois Xavier LeCour de Lincy, Esquire, residing at St. Elphege, respectfully shews:--That when he contracted marriage with Mademoiselle Lanier, he knew not that he was of noble origin, having left Europe at a very early age with scarcely any knowledge of his family; that since then he has learned of his extraction and obtained his titles of _noblesse_ which he now presents to your Honours in evidence.

  "Wherefore may it please your Honours to grant an order upon Maitre d'Aguilhe, Notary, of St. Elphege, to add to the minute of his contract of marriage the name and title of 'de Lincy, Esquire'; and you will do justice."

  "Sign, sir, please."

  Francois Xavier attached his signature.

  "It will do," Rottot sighed; "but I should have preferred theprecedent."

  They crossed the road and entered the court-room.

  A rubicund, easy-going old judge, Fraser by name, sat on the bench, theroyal arms painted large in oils on a canvas behind him. In front were alawyer or two and a few clients--a slack court. Rottot, with a flourish,read the petition.

  The judge smiled. "Only a _habitant_ from the country," he mused,good-humouredly, "who wants to add some mouldy flourishes to his name.Well, if it pleases him, let him have them. Does anybody oppose thepetition?" he said aloud. "No? Well, it is granted. Hand it up for mysignature."

  The astute Rottot had added the words--"Granted as prayed for, as wellas to all other deeds and writings."

  This gave Germain great satisfaction. With the precious order in hispocket he spent a few hours reconnoitring the town, and especially theheadquarters of the garrison and the Governor's residence, the Chateaude Ramezay.

  Returning to St. Elphege, he presented the order of the Court at once toMaitre d'Aguilhe, and obtained a copy of the amended marriage contract,which he stored in his box as proof for use in France of the titles ofhis father in Canada.

  While in Montreal he had determined to make that place also useful tohim. So, after a decent delay, he found lodging at an elegant littlehouse which suited him in St. Jean Baptiste Street, secluded behindthe great Convent of the Grey Nuns and yet not far away from garrisonheadquarters.

  Germain Lecour at the House in St. Jean Baptiste Street.]

  His first act when he was left alone in his room was to don his uniform,his next to take out of his pocket the certified copy of the marriagecontract of his parents which had been made for him by the Notaryd'Aguilhe. He con
ned it a minute, standing by the Louis XIV. mantel,which may still be seen in that house, and sought but his mother's name."Dame Catherine Lanier," it read. He drew out his little inkstand andquill, and, seizing a scrap of paper, tried some marks on it. Findingthe ink to his satisfaction, he carefully touched the point of the quillto the contract and rapidly inserted the particle "de," making the name"Catherine de Lanier."

  Rushing out of the house--it was afternoon--he sought relief in the openair and garden-like freshness of Notre Dame Street, a thoroughfare up towhich the serried buildings of the "Lower Town"--for Montreal also had aLower and Upper Town, even within its contracted width--had not yetcrept, and which, situated on the top of the long, low ridge of thecity, commanded free views of the river, the town, and all the prominentlandmarks on one side, and of the fortification walls and the beautifulcountry seats on the slopes towards Mount Royal on the other. At firsthe noticed these alone, but gradually the wind from the west cooled hisblood, and his eyes became conscious of military men and frilled andpowdered people of fashion promenading the street to and from thebarracks, and of his uniform becoming, as at Quebec, a subject of publiccuriosity. He stopped at length to note a prisoner in the town pillory,when a promenader of somewhat frayed attire and a countenance which boremarks of dissipation looked at him closely.

  "I know your face very well," said he, coming forward, "though I cannotrecall you. Do you remember any one of the name of Quinson St. Ours?"

  "Quinson St. Ours? I should think I do. Are you my old schoolfellow ofthe Little Seminary?"

  "Yes, it was at the Little Seminary--I have not been wrong then--but itis your name, my good schoolfellow, which escapes me; and now you lookso distinguished that I hope you are not going to forget a schoolmate onthat account?"

  "Never, sir. My name is the Chevalier LeCour de Lincy, officer of theGuards of His Most Christian Majesty. I am the boy whom you knew as thelittle Lecour of St. Elphege."

  The somewhat humble and seedy Quinson, black sheep of an excellentfamily, was glad to brighten up his tarnished career as the cicerone ofso brilliant a butterfly, and only too proud to be the means ofintroducing Germain to the young bloods of the city. At the end of theweek, when departing, Lecour gave a banquet, to which he invited all thechoicest spirits, and having brought the feast well on into the drinkinghe said, casually--

  "I am about, gentlemen, to go from here into the American coloniesbefore I return to Europe and have a letter drawn which is necessary toidentify me, when requisite, in places where I shall be totally unknown.Will you all do me the favour of signing it?"

  "By Pollux and Castor we will!" shouted St. Ours, decidedly vinous.

  "Certainly, friend," cried the others, and each in turn affixed hissignature to the paper laid on the table. It read--

  "MONTREAL, _September 19, 1788_.

  "We, gentlemen of Montreal, voluntarily attest to whomsoever it may concern that Mons. Germain LeCour de Lincy is a gentleman of good character and standing in Canada, and son of Monsieur Francois Xavier LeCour de Lincy, _Esquire_, an honourable person of St. Elphege.

  (Signed) "QUINSON DE ST. OURS, "LONGUEUIL, "DE ROUVILLE, _fils_, "ST. DIZIER, "LOUVIGNY DE MONTIGNY, "LA CORNE, _fils_,"

  and over thirty others.

  In this paper Germain had secured the apparent attestation of his claimsby many of the principal younger _noblesse_ of the country. He made offwith it to St. Elphege, where he spent a week, drawing from his mother acrowd of tales about the de Lerys and the LeGardeurs, which had beengossiped around her when she was housekeeper to Governor de Beauharnois.Then, under excuse of pressing business in France, he left St. Elphegeagain.

 
W. D. Lighthall's Novels