Lily and the Totem, or, The Hugenots in Florida, A Series of Sketches, picturesque and Historical, of the Colonies of Coligni, in North America. 1562-1570. By the author of "The Yemassee"

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IX. THE SECOND EXPEDITION OF THE HUGUENOTS TO FLORIDA. Tl!l:s, unhappily, as we have seen, ended the first experiment of Coligny for the establishment of a Huguenot CQlony in tho tcnitory of tile Floridian. TLc disnstcrs wlJich had attended the fo~tuncs of tlJC garrison at Fort Charles, were due, in some degree, to its seeming abandonment by their founder. But Coligny was blameless iu this abandonment. When Ribault rclumcd to France, from his first voyngc, the civil wars had ngain Lcgun, depriving tbc admiral of the means for succoring tho colony, a.s lw.d been promised. Nearly two years bad now elapsed from tlmt period, before he could recover tho power which would enable him to send supplicli or recruits for it~ nuLin· lcnancc. In all tllis time, with the exception of tllC small domain occupied by Fort Charles, the country lay wholly derelict, and in tho keeping of the s:n·ngcs. Dut Coligny was uow in a con­dition to resume his endeavors in behalf of his colony. He was again in possession of authority. The nssnssino.tion of the Duke of Guise had restored to France the blessings of peace ; and Culigny seized upon this ioterval of refose, to in- 6£COND EXrEDITION. Ill quire after the settlement which bad been made by Ribault. Three sl1ips, and a considerable amount of money, were accorded to his application ; and the new armament was assigned to the commaud of Rcn6 L.·lUdonnicre-a man of intelligence, a. good seaman rather than a. ~ldier, and one wl10. had accompanied Ribault on l1is first expedition, though he had not remained wi1h the colony.• Laudonnicrc found it easy cnOuJ!h to procure his men, not only for the voynge but the colony. The civil wnrs lmd produced vast numbers of restle~s and destitute spirits, who longed for nothing so much al'l employment and excitement. Beside!!, there was a vague attraction for tlJC imagination, in tho tales which had reached the European world, of tho \VOndrous sweetness and beauty of the region to which they were invited. Florida. still continued, even at this period, to he the country beyond all others in the new world, wlJich appealed to the fancies nnd the appetites of the romantic, the selfish, nnd tl1e merely ad,,enturous. Ribault's own account of it had described the wondrous sweetness of ill! climate, and the exquisite riclmess and v:1riety of its fi"Uits and flowers. Then, there were the old dreams whicl1 had beguiled the Spanish cav!llier, Hernando deSoto, and had filled with the desires and tho hopes of youth, the aged heart of Juan Ponce de Leon. It did not matter if death did keep the portals of the country. This guardianship only seemed the more certainly to denote tl1e precious treasures which wero concealed within. Jn the absence of any certain knowledge, men dreamed of spoils within its bowel~, such as had been yielded to Cortes and Pizarro, by the great cities and teeming mounbius of Tcnocbtitlan and Peru. They had heard true • Charlevoix describe. L~udonniC'rl'l as " un gentilhmnme de mlirite­bon officier de marine, et qui avoit n1.ime servi sur terre an~c di,tiaction.