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Show 330 CIIAPTER IL nrnAULT'S f"OliTUNES AT S£LOOE. IT was on the twenty-eighth of August, the day on which the Spaniards celebrated the fcsti,·al of St. Augustine, that the AdclnntaJo entered the mouth of the Selooc or Dolphin River. He was Mtracted by the aspect of the place, and here resolved to establish a settlement and fortress. He gave the name of the Saint to the settlement. IJaving landed a portion of his forces, he found himself welcomed by the savages, whom he treated with kindness and who requited him with assurances of frieudsllip From them he learned something of the French settlements, and of their vessels at the mouth of the May H.i\•er, and he rc8oived to attempt the surprise of his enemies. \Ve have seen the failure of this attempt. Disappointed in bis first desire, like the tiger who returns to crouch again within the jungle from wl1ich he has unsuccessfully sprung, Melendez made his way back to the waters of the Sclooc, where he proposed to plant his settlement, und which his troops were already beginning to entrench. Here he e1uployed himself iu taking formal possession in the name of the h ing of Spain, nnd having celebrated the Divine mysteries in a lll<Jnner at once solemn and ostentatious, he swore lJis officers to fidelity in the prosecution of the expedition, upon the lloly Sacrament.. It was while most busy with l1is preparations, that the fleet of Ribault made its appearance at the mouth of tho river. The two heaviest of tho Spanish vessels, being relieved of their armament and troops, which had been transferred to the lund, had b~.:cn despatched, on the approach of the thrcateuoJ daw•e1• with all haste to Hispn.niola. The two other vessels, at th tl b:,. ~r en- 331 trance of the harbor, were unequ3l to the conflict with the superior squadron of Hibault. Melendez wa.s embarked in one of t11cm, and the three lighter vessels of the French, built especially for penetrating shallow waters, were pressing forward to the certain capture of their prey, for which there seemed no possibility of escape. Melendez fen all !lis danger, but ho had prepared himself for a deadly struggle, and was especially confident in the enthusiastic conviction that himself and l1is design were equally tho concern of Providence. It would seem that fortune was selicicitous to justi fy the com·ictions of so much self-esteem. Ribaul t's extreme caution in sounding the bar to which his vessels were approaching, lost him Lwo precious hours ; but for which l1is conquest must have been certain. There wn.s no hope, else, unless in some such 111iraculous protection as that upon wl1ich the Spanish general seemed to count. H;d these two vessels been taken and Melendez a prisoner, the descent upon the dismayed troops on shore, not yet entrenched, and in no preparation for the conflict with an equal or superior enemy, and tho annihihttiou of the settlement must have ensued. The consequence of such an event might have cl1anged the whole destinies of Florida, might have established the J Iugucnot colonies fi1·mly upon the soil, and given to the French such a firm possession of the land, as might have kept the fle"r-de-li! waving from its summits to this very day. But the miracle was not wanting w!Jich the Spanish Adelantado expected. Jn the very moment wllCDthchandsofRibault,wcrcstrctched to seize his prizes, the sudden roar of the hurricane came booming along the deep. The sea rose between the assailant and his prcy,-the storm parted them, and wl1ilc the feebler ycsscls of l\lclendcz, partially under the security of tllc land, swept back towards the scttlument |