TALON
439
TALON
army- His success won Cardinal Mazarin's favour,
and he was promoied (1655) Intendant of the Prov-
ince of Hainaut Louis XIV and Colbert being de-
terminoti to save Canada, then in great distress,
Talon w;is appointed intendant the same day (23
March, 1655) that Courcelles became Governor of
New France. They, with Tracy, lieutenant-general
of all the French possessions in America, formed a
powerful triumvirate. Talon's faculties were most
ample, comprising justice, police, and finance.
Reaching Quebec in 1665, he immediately began
colonizing in the neighbourhood. In 1666 he had
the first Canadian census taken; it gave only 3215
souls. Had his colonization policy been adopted,
New France would have had 500,000 inhabitants in
1760, instead of only 60,000. Talon shared the glory
of Tracy and Courcelles's expedition against the Iro-
quois (1666), by the . preparat ion that had alone
rendered it possible. He consented to remain after
the two years of his term of office. The annexation
of the New Netherlands to the French domain,
which he suggested to Colbert, was not favoured by
the king. He concurred (1666) in reorganizing the
Sovereign Council and in reforming the petty courts.
By his plan of grouping settlers round the city, a de-
fence corps of volunteer militia would have dispensed
with reinforcements of regular troops. Three years
of Talon's administration had renewed the face of the
countrj'. Agriculture had progressed, cod and seal
fishing were tleveloped, shipbuilding began to thrive,
and trade with the Antilles was inaugurated.
After returning to France (1668) he strove to pro- mote Canada's interests. Reappointed in 1670, he brought with him freedom of trade. He sent ex- plorers north, west, and south. St-Lu6son took possession of Lake Superior. Forts were built and the Kennebec route opened between Quebec and Acadia, lately restored to France by the treaty of Breda. P'ather Albanel and his party reached James Bay and planted the cross in the far north. JoUiet, charged by Talon to find the north-west passage, discovered the INIississippi. At Talon's bidding, New France set her seal on the three-fourths of North America. He returned to France in 1672, after having, during his last weeks in office, created many seigniories for officers of the Carignan regiment, thereby contributing to the development of coloniza- tion and to the foundation of an aristocracy. During his seven years of office Talon had realized the pro- gramme he had traced in 1665. By establishing administrative and judiciarj- institutions that lasted througliout the entire French regime, by encouraging industry and conmierce, fostering charitable works, creating new centres of population, and fortifying the colony's frontiers he prepared the way with re- markable foresight for the future development of the country-, and ranks among the foremost makers of Canada. Louis XIV created him Count d'Orsain- ville (1675), honouring him with several important dignities and ample emoluments. Talon generously aided James II in his efforts to regain his throne, likewise assisting the exiled followers of the Stuarts. Naturally influenced by the Gallican spirit of his age, he was inclined to overmagnify the royal authoritj" in its centralizing and domineering attitude towards the Church. His excessive zeal for the financial prosperity of the State caused him to resent unrea- sonably the wise restrictions imposed by Bishop Laval on the liquor traffic with the Indians.
FERI.ASD. nistoire du Canada (Quebec, 1892); Garneau, Hia- toire du Canada (Montreal, 1882); Rochemonteix. Les JHuitfa et la NomdU-France (Paris, 1896); CaapaI8, Jean TaUm (Quebec, 1904).
Lionel Lindsay.
Talon, Nicolas, French Jesuit, historian, and a8cetic:il writer, b. at Moulins, 31 August, 1605; d. at Paris, 29 March, 1691. Entering the Society in
1621, he taught literature for several years, with re-
markable success. After his ordination he gained
some reputation as a preacher, was a devoted worker
in the prisons and hospitals of Paris, and served as
army-chaplain with the French troops in Flanders,
winning the admiration and love of the men and the
life-long friendship of the Prince de Conde. He
assisted the notorious Aim6 du Poncet during his
painfully protracted execution. Thanks to Talon's
gentleness, the terrible outlaw died penitent and re-
signed. This striking conversion made a profound
impression. As a wTiter, Talon had original, if not
always correct, views, a lively imagination, a quaint
and comparatively pure and elegant style. Besides
his "Oraison funebre de Louis XIII" (Paris, 1644),
a "Description de la pompe funebre du Prince de
Conde" (Paris, 1646), and some books of minor im-
portance, Talon wrote "La vie de St. Frangois de
Sales" (Paris, 1640), "La viedeSt. Francois Borgia"
(Paris, 1671), "Les peintures chretiennes" (Paris,
1667 according to Weiss, 1647 according to Sommer-
vogel), and a Bible history, the first part of which,
"Histoiresainte", was published at Paris in 1640. The
author's purpose was to interest his readers in the Old-
Testament story. The book became popular and was
several times reprinted, notably in a fine Cramoisy
edition (1665). The Marquis of Winchester gave an
English translation in 1653. Talon's "Histoire
saiute" is deficient in taste and critical judgment;
it is a romance, not a reliable exposition of facts.
Its methods, if not as objectionable as Berruyer's in
his "Histoire du peuple de Dieu", are unsound. The
author published a sequel, "L'histoire sainte du
Nouveau Testament" (Paris, 1669). It met with
little success. Talon's portrait has been engraved
by Heer. Sommervogel mentions 300 of his letters
in the d'Aumale collection at Chantilly.
Southwell, Bibliolhcca srri;.(.iri/m soc Jesu (Rome, 1676). 636;
d'Artigny, Nouveauxmrm , l\ I'mi, 1749), 138-48; Cae*-
YON, Vne execution en pill' ' XVII' sihle (piiceined'
i!f) (Poitiera, 1863);de H( fcrizainsdelaC.de J.,
Isted,, V, 717; de Guilui km . . U. '.,/.• de la C. de J.. Assisl- ance de France (1st ed., Paris. 1S'.'2). 429; HuRTER, Nomencla- lor, II, 457; Sommervogel, Bibl. de la C. de J., i. VII. 1821-3; Lemoine-Lichtenberger, Troisfamilicr.idu Grand Cond^, Vabbi Bourdelol, le plre Talon, le pire Tirier (Paris, 1909).
John C. Reville. Talon, Pierre, a French-Canadian ex-plorer, b. at Quebec, 1676, of Lucien and Isabelle Planteau; d. in France in the first half of the eighteenth century. His entire family had just emigi-ated to France, when they were all engaged to follow Cavalier de La Salle in his attempt to colonize Louisiana (16S4). Shortly after landing there, Pierre Talon was sent to learn the language of the Cenis Indians, and spent six years in their country about one hundred leagues inland at the limit of La Salle's discoveries. After the murder of the latter by one of his party, and the massacre of many of the colonists, in their first settlement by the Clamcoet Indians, the country was occupied by the Spaniards. Talon's father had perished in the woods, but his brothers and sisters had been saved by Indian women. They all followed the invaders to New Spain, first to San Luis Potosi; and then to Mexico City, where they spent ten years. The viceroy took them all into his palace as .servants and treated them well. Talon and his brother .lean-Baptiste enlisted as Span- ish marines and embarked at Vera Cruz. When their vessel was captured by Captain Desaugurs, they begged to be sent back to Spain, but were enrolled in the FougueroUes company of French marines. Talon, in his evidence sworn at Brest (1698), gives abundant details regarding the character, customs, and religious rites of the Indian tribes with whom he had lived, as well as of the fainia and flora of the southern portion of the continent. The tribes he mentions are in- scribed under the following names: Clamcoets, Tem- erlou.ans, Tohos, Cenis, Ayennys, .Xmalchams, Cano- tinos, Paouitas, and Chomans. There is a great
