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23 May 1842 — Father Louis-Maxime Petit to Father Jean-Claude Colin, Kororareka

Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, January 2015

To the Very Reverend Father Colin, Superior-General of the Society of Mary, Lyons

[In Poupinel’s hand]

New Zealand, Kororareka 23 May 1842, Reverend Father Petit

Jesus Mary Joseph

Very Reverend Father

[1]

I am truly sorry to again be obliged to deprive myself of the pleasure of writing to you. I have been at the Bay of Islands only since the day before yesterday, and all my free time has been taken up with meetings which were concerned with the general good. I have just lost, in a French ship, on which I thought I would be only a moment, the 3 hours I had set aside to write to you. The ship is setting sail and I see myself forced to delay until the first opportunity of writing to you, and I hope my letter arrives in Lyons before Father Épalle.

[2]

Although I esteem and respect Bishop Pompallier and do not think I get on badly with him, I still feel myself wanting to be posted to the most savage islands, and it seems to me that it is not so as to have less to suffer there. I will give you in a detailed way the reasons for that in my next letter.

[3]

I have received and read with very appreciable pleasure the letter you were so good as to write to me.

[4]

Please forgive me the delays I have experienced in writing to you, as my duty and my childlike heart urged so to do. I often lacked the opportunity and more often the time because of my almost continuous journeys.

[5]

I commend myself urgently to your good prayers and to those of the Society so that I may become a worthy child of Mary, our good Mother.

[6]

With deepest respect I remain,

Very Reverend Father,

Your most humble and obedient servant and child,

Petit, mis(sionary) apost(olic)

Kororareka 23 May 1842