Governing Passion by Don Gutteridge Read Free Book Online Page B

lost favour with some of our
comrades in Quebec, we decided we needed another spokesman, someone
with battlefield credentials and political weight. We identified
Henri Thériault. He was wounded at the Battle of St. Eustache in
‘thirty-seven, trying to prevent the English militia from blowing
up the church. He escaped to Montreal, where he was successfully
hidden away from the troops in search of him. Before the rebellion,
he was a member of the Assembly and a confederate of Nelson and
Papineau. He now lives near Chateauguay on his family’s farm. I
went to visit him last week. I laid before him our ambitious plan
to make the union and the new Parliament work in our favour. He has
great respect for Louis, but naturally hates the English. His own
farm, near St. Eustache, was razed and his wife and children
terrorized. But I put our case forcefully. I told him he did not
have to love the English, that Monsieur Baldwin was a man of great
character and fortitude and would help us move towards a kind of
government that would have to carry out the true wishes of the
people, including those in Quebec. We talked of reparations and
moves to preserve the French language and education. He was quite
taken with the details of the alliance that I conveyed to him.”
    “And he’s agreed to be our spokesman?” Hincks
said in French.
    Gagnon sighed. “Alas, no.”
    “But we thought – ”
    “All is not hopeless,” Gagnon said. “It’s
true that Neilson had also been in touch with Thériault, trying,
like us, to get him to come out of his isolation and fight for
Quebec. Even the bleu had approached him. You see how
valuable he is thought to be as a spokesman for those who’ve
suffered most from the failed rebellion. He is a charismatic
speaker when he puts his mind to it.”
    “So he didn’t give you a flat ‘no’?” Robert
said.
    “He said he was intrigued by our plans. But
also said he is seriously considering Neilson’s offer of contesting
a safe seat in the April election. He’s going to make up his mind
whether to join him or us in the next week or so.”
    “Well,” Hincks said, “that’s almost good
news.”
    “There’s more to come,” Louis said.
    Gagnon smiled again. “We have, as you English
say, an ace up our sleeves. An ace that is right here in
Kingston.”
    “What is that?” Robert said.
    “It’s a who, not a what,” Louis said. “Gilles
learned by a lucky accident that there is in town a young man who
has come here from Toronto to help his fiancée arrange their
wedding in April. She’s a Kingston woman. His name is Christopher
Pettigrew.”
    “Oh,” Marc said. “I’ve already met him. He’s
staying here at this hotel, though he’s not here a lot. His fiancée
takes up most of his time. But I liked him very much. He’s also an
ardent supporter of the Reform party. We had a brief but
interesting talk about politics. I think he’d like to help us.”
    “And we would like him to do just that,”
Louis said. “You see, the person who hid out Henri Thériault when
he was fleeing the English troops was none other than young
Christopher Pettigrew.”
    There was amazement all around. Gilles Gagnon
took up the tale. “I got this story from Thériault himself, who
said there was only one Englishman he trusted – Christopher
Pettigrew. Pettigrew was articling law in Montreal back in
‘thirty-seven. One night, after the rebellion had started, he heard
a knock on his front door and opened it to find a bleeding and
semi-conscious man on his doorstep. He helped the man inside and
tended to his wounds as best he could, as Thériault ordered him not
to fetch a doctor. Moments later, the redcoats arrived, but
Pettigrew was able to convince them that the escapee had been there
but had been turned away and fled farther into the city. Thériault
stayed safely at Pettigrew’s place for three weeks. Pettigrew was
bilingual and the men became friends. Pettigrew, as it turned out,
was a Reform sympathizer