ANNE OF GREEN GABLES COUNTRY 169

“MacDonald! Heavens! He must have brought an awful whack of them. I’ve met nothing but MacDonalds ever since I came to this blessed Island, and Arsenaults, and Gallants. ”

“There are certainly plenty of Gallants here. As a matter of fact, the name Gallant has an unusual Island significance. Originally, there were no Gallants here at all. Instead, there was a Francois Hache, who had a large family of children. He did some wonderful deed, such as killing off a crowd of Indians, according to the legend we heard, and he was thenceforth dubbed Hache Galant—the brave Hache. Thereafter, in the records, he had this double name and his children, too. One of Hache’s sons left the Island and went to New Brunswick. He alone of the family retained the name of Hache. The Galant was variously spelled, depend- ing on the writer’s imagination. All the Gallants on the Island are descended from this one man.

“First, the name was written: Francois Hache Galant.

“Then, it became: Francois Hache dit Galland.

”Finally, the Hache was dropped, and the name became: Francois Gallant. ”

“Hence, the Island Gallants.”

“Then, the Haches and Gallants are really related. ”

” Naturally. ”

“There are Haches and Gallants where I come from. Must tell them,” he mumbled. “Where did you see this record?” he went on suspiciously.

“ In Charlottetown."

“I think there are more MacDonalds than Gallants, though. ”

“No. Arsenault is the most popular name, and Gallant is second. MacDonald comes third. About