I am too busy and practical a man to indulge in sports…although during my stays in Paris I often enjoy a game of tennis. As it is King Henry’s favourite pastime, tennis enjoys a special place at court. It is said that because of his being brought up in the countryside he learned only Latin and tennis. This, I’m sorry to say, is more than his successor Louis XIII learned. He shuns learning and he and most of the idle aristocrats in his court seem to spend all their time hawking, cock-fighting, or playing cards. While the hunt is popular with all well-bred people, my experiences in New France have taken the excitement out of such staged activities. Even so, as a self-made man, I lack the time or inclination to engage in such frivolities, being kept quite busy with my maps and journals and the seemingly endless need to protect and promote the well-being of our colony on the St. Lawrence. Return to Other Ways of Seeing... |
