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Show 4 TilE LILY AND THE TOTE)f. Spaniards. They anticipated them in the northern portions .of the continent. These settlements were projected by the achvc genius of the justly-cclcbr:ttcd French admiral, G:tspard de Co~igny, one of the great lc:..dcrs of the llugucnots in Fran<~c. lTJs persevering energies, impelled by his sagaci~us ~orctho~ght, effected a beginning in the \Vork of foreign coloOLzahon, winch, unhappily for himself and party, he was not permitted to .prosceu~c, with the proper yigor, to successful completion. HIS snga.ctty led J1im to apprehend, from nn cady experience of the character of the Queen-mother, in the bigoted and brutal rcigo of Charles the Ninth, that there would, in little time, be no safety in Franco for the dissenters from the established religion. The feebleness of the youthful Prince, tho jealous and malignant character of Cntharine-llcr utOOr faitblessnes.'i, and the hatred which she felt for the ProOOstants, ,vhich no pact could bind, and no concession mollify,-to say nothing of the controlling will of Pius the. :F~th, who had nscendcd the Papal throne, sworn t.o the e:r.termmahou of all heresics,-all combined to assure tho Protestants of tho dangers by which their cause was threatened. Tho danger 'vns 0110 of lire as well o.s religion. It was in tho destruction of the one, that tho enemies of tho IIugucnots contemplated th~ overthrow of the other. Coligny was not the man to be dec<uvcd by tho hollo'v compromises, the delusive promises, tho false truces1 wllicb were all employed in turn to beguile him and his n.ssocitttes into confidence, o.nd persuade them into the most treacherous snares. He combined a fair proportion of the cunning of tho serpent with the dove's purity, and, maintaining strict watch upon his enemies, succeeded, for a long period, in eluding tho artifices by which he was overcome at last. Availing himself of tho influence of his position, and of a brief respite from that open ATTEMPT AT COLONIZATION. war which preceded the famous Edict of January, 15G21 by which the IIuguenots were admitted, with some restrictions, to the exercise of their religion, Coligny addressed himself to the task of establishing a colony of Protestants in America. He readily divined the future importance, to his sect, of such a. plnco of refuge. The moment was favorable to his objects. The policy of tho Queen-mother was not yet sufficiently matured, to render it proper that she should oppose herself to his desires. Perhaps, she also concch•od tho plan a good one, which should relieve the country of a race whom she equally loathed and dreaded.• It ia possible that she did not fully conjecture the ultimate calculations of the admiral. Tho king, llimsclf, was a minor, entirely in her hands, who could add nothing to her counsels, or, for tho present, interfere with her authority; and, without seeking farther to inquire by what motives she was governed in according to Coligny the pcrmilision which he sought, it is enough that he oLt.ained the necessary sanction. Of tlds he readily availed himself. It was not, by tho way, his first attempt at colonization. llaving in view the same objects by which he was governed in the present inst:l.nce, he bad, in 1555, sent out an expedition to Brazil under Villegagnon. This enterprise had failed through tho perfidy of that commander. Its failure did not discourage the admiral. Though the full character of Catharine l1nd not developed itself, in all its cruel and heartless characteristics, it was yet justly understood by • Charlevoilt expressly uys, speaking, however, of Charles IX., "qu'il fut fort aise de voir queM. tle Coligui n'employoit a cetta expedition que des Caivinistes, pnrce que c•etoit aut~nt d'ennemis, dont il purgeoit J•etat." Of Coligny'1 anxiety in regard to this expedition and hi• objects, the ume writer ny•: " Co\igny had the colony greatly at heart. It wu, in fact, the first thing of which the admiral spoke to tho king when he obtained permiuion to repair to the court." |
