At Troyes, Marguerite Bourgeoys had been equally successful, having received the co-operation of three workers, Edmée Chastel (Aimée Chatel), Catherine Crolo, and Marguerite Raisin. Mademoiselle Catherine Gauchet de Belleville also joined the party. She was the cousin of M. Souart and came from the parish of St. Sulpice in Paris. She was then sixteen years old. In 1665 she married Migeon de Brausaat. At La Flèche three Hospitalière Sisters of St. Joseph were chosen: Judith Moreau de Brésoles, Catherine Massé and Marie Maillé, with Marie Polo, their servant, and the departure of the party from La Flèche was fixed for May 25th.
[Illustration: DEPARTURE OF THE THREE HOSPITALIERES FROM LA FLECHE FOR CANADA]
But they did not leave peaceably, for there was a party at La Flèche, which had resented the previous consignments of "pious young girls" that had been previously taken to Montreal through the instrumentality of M. de la Dauversière, it being alleged that this enthusiast, as he was thought, had done it against the wishes of their parents. Open persecution broke out against him. Dollier de Casson tells us that there was a popular resentment; each one murmured, "M. de la Dauversière is leading these girls away by force; we must stop it." In their anxiety many could not sleep that night; but next morning, May 26th, M. Robert Saint André, an admirer of M. de la Dauversière, who, with his wife, was returning to Montreal, forced, with the assistance of other gentlemen, a way on to the ship for the girls, at the point of the sword. On reaching Rochelle M. Dauversière's party was met by agents from Mgr. Laval, who wished to restrain their departure on the ground that they were not wanted in Canada, as one institute of Hospitalières was sufficient. We have seen that even M. de Queylus was of this opinion. But M. de la Dauversière's resolution was unshaken. "If they do not go this year they will never go." The La Flèche institute had been founded for Montreal; the departure of the Hospitalières had been delayed several years. He now carried his point.
New embarrassments arose. The owner of the ship, doubtless influenced by the agents, refused to weigh anchor without the passage money being paid in advance; he appears even to have profited by this circumstance to raise the price. But Jeanne Mance, never to be taken by surprise, immediately obtained the money from a merchant in consequence of a contract which she made with a group of colonists who were coming "en famille." These latter obliged themselves, on June 5th, before Notary Demontreau, as a body to reimburse their debts to her in two years. In addition they were indebted to Jeanne Mance for 199 _livres_ 8 _sols_, which she turned over for hotel expenses to Daniel Guerry, mine host of the Grâce-de-Dieu.[82]