Mary's Isle. He sought for justice from the British
Parliament, but could there get no movement in his favor. A copy of a
letter to him from Sir Walter Scott, his old friend, is in the hands of
the writer, but Sir Walter was himself too ill at the time to lend him
aid in presenting his case before the British public. Heart-broken, he
gave up the struggle. With the Countess and his family he went to the
South of France and died on April 8th, 1820, at Pau, and his bones lie
in the Protestant Cemetery of Orthes.
He had not fought in vain. He had broken down single-handed a system of
organized terrorism in the heart of North America, for the Nor'-Westers
never rose to strength again. They united in a few years with the
Hudson's Bay Company. He established a Colony that has thriven; he
cherished a lofty vision; he made mistakes in action, in judgment, and
in a too great optimism, but if we understand him aright he bore an
untainted and resolute soul.
"Only those are crown'd and sainted
Who with grief have been acquainted
Making Nations nobler, freer."
"In their feverish exultations,
In their triumph and their yearning,
In their passionate pulsations,
In their words among the nations
The Promethean fire is burning.
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