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Show 312 TilE LILY A~D TilE TOTF.bf. ruerchandizo and npp:wel, as with promise of greater matters; and with whome I so behaved myself, that although sometimes I was constrained to take victuals in some few \'illagcs, yet I lost not the alliance of dght kings and lords, my neighbours, which con· tinually succourcd and ayded me with whatever they were able to alford. Yea, this was the principal scope of all my purposes, to winne and en'tertaine them, knowing how greatly their ami tic might ad\·auce our enterprise, and principally while I diseovcrcJ. the commodities of the country, and sought to strengthen myself therein. ] leave it to your cogitation to think how nearc it went to our heart.a to leave a place abounding in riches (as we were thoroughly enformcd thereof) in coming whereunto, and doing serv ice unto our prince, we lefte our owne eountrey, wi\·es, children, parents and friends, and passed the perils of the sea, and were therein arrived as in a plentiful treasure of all our heart's desire." It was while d~trcssing himself with these cogitations tl1at J~:lu· donnicrc, on the 3d of August, 1565, took a walk,"aswas his custom of an afternoon," to tho top of a little eminence, iu tho neighborhood of the fort, wl1ieh afforded a dist.'mt prospect of the sea. llere, looking forth with yearning to that watery waste which he was preparing to traverse, he was suddenly excited, as he beheld four sail of approaching vessels. At first, tho tidings made the soldiers of tho garrison to leap for joy. Tho vessels were naturally supposed to be those of their own countrymen; and such was the gladness inspired by this supposition, that "one would have thought them to be out of their wittcs, to sec them laugh and leap." Dut, something in the behavior of the strange ships, after a while, rendered our F renchmen a little doubtful of their character. Instead of boldly approaching, they \Verc seen to cast anchor and to send out one of their boats. A prudent fear IIISTORICAL SU.ili!ARY. 313 of the Spaniards mnrle Laudoun icrc get l1is soldiers in r.,_aJ.in,..ss . wl1ilc Cnptaiu La Vnsscu r, with a select pa 1·ty, nd1•ane ,d to th: l"i\·cr side to meet the vi~itors. They pmvcd to be En g:li.~luncnn fl eet under tho command of the celebr:~.tcd Jolm Hawkins; and had ou bo:~.rd one 1\larlin Atinas, of Dieppe ; a Frenchman, who had been one of the colonists of Fort Char\cs,-onc of tl10:;e who, returning to !~rane e, had been taken up at sea and carried into England. lle had guided the English admiml along the coast, nnd l1is informntion had conll·ibutcd to prompt the voyage of ex:. ploration which Hawkins had in Land. But the obj:>ct of tho Briti~h admirul was quite pacific, and his conduct exceed ingly generous and noble. llis ostensible purpose in putting into May River was to procure fresh water. La.udonniere permitted him to do so. Hawkins, perceiving tho distressed condition of tho l1'rcnchmcn, relieved them with liberal supplies of bread, wine and prO\'i><ions. A pp1·isod of their desire to return to ]?ranee, he, with greater liberality nnJ a wiser policy, offered to transport the whole colony. But l~audonnicrc was still j ealous of the Englishman, and was apprehensh·o that, while he carried off the one colony, he would instantly pbnt anothc1· in its place. He declined the generous offur, but bargained with him for one of his \'csscls, for \Yhieh I..audonnicre chiefly paid by tl1e furniture of the fortress, - tho cannon, &e.,-viz.: "two bastard;;, two myniooor, one thous<tnd of imn (balls), 1lnd one thousand (pounds) of powder." These items included only a portion of the purchase consideration, in earnest of the treaty. Moved with pity at tho wretched condition of the Frenchmen, the generous Englishman offered supplies for which he accepted Laudonniere's bills. These the subs~ qur>nt misfortunes of the latter nc,•er permitted him to satisfy. In !.Lis way our colouists procured "twenty barrels of mealc, six l4 |
