| OCR Text |
Show XXIII. THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. HAVIXG thug rendered himself master of La Caroline, effectually displacing the JTugucnots from the region which they had acquired, and maintained so long through so many vioissitudi.·s, 1\Tclcndcz prepared to hurry back to hi-; camp on the banks of the Sclooc. Tie but lingered to review the force of the gnrrison, and with his own hands, fresh reeking with the blood of his slaughtered Yictims, to Jay the foundations of a church dedicated to the God of i\Icrcy, \vhcn he set forth with the small body of troops, \vhich he reserved to himself from the number tlutt nccompnnied his expedition, scarcely a hundred men, impatient for return, k st Hibault, escaping from the storm, should visit upon his settlement nt St. Augustine thC snmo wrath which had lighted upon' J~l\ C:~rolinc. The hcayy torrents from wl1ieh he had already sulfcre.l so much continued to descend as before, and the whole face of the country was inundated; his people suffered ineonceiYably upon tllC march, but. the Adelnntado w~.s superior to the sense of su!T~ring. lie felt himself too much the especial favorite of God, to suffer T ilE FORTUNES O'F RI8A\.' LT. 365 himself to doubt that the toils and inconveniences of such a progt ·ess as that lx-forc !tim, were anything but tests of his fidelity, and the means by which the Deity designed to prepare hint properly for the holy service which was expected at his bauds. He reached his camp in sufety. ITis art·ival was the source of a great t riumph and an unexpected joy. Here he had been repot·Lcd as haYing perished, with all l1is army, at the hands of the l~rcn ch . The deserters, who had abandoned him on the route, in certain anticipation of this fate, had not scrupled to spread this report by way of excusing their own inconstancy anti fears. llis people accordingly passed instantly from the extremity of terror to that of joy and triumph. They marched out, en masse, at his approach, to welcome him as the vanquisher of the heretics ; tho priests at their head, bearing the cross of Christ, the conqueror, and chanting 1'e Deum, in exultation at the twofold conquest which he had won, at the expense equally of their own1 and the enemies of tlie church. IIis t riumphs were not without some serious qualification!!. I n the midst of their joy, an incendiary, as he supposed, had reduced to ashes the remaining vessels in the harbor. A portion of his garrison, a little after, showed themselves in mutiny against their officers, this spirit having been manifested before his departure for J~a Caroline. lie was apprised also of a mishap to one of his greater ships, the San P elayo, which ltnd been sent to ITispaniola, filled with captiYo Frenchmen t:tken at different periods, nnd who were destined to 5ulfer the question as heretics in tho Inquisition of the mother country. These had risen upon the crew, overpowered them, captured the vessel, and carried her safely into Denmark. While meditating, and seeking to repair some of these mishaps, Melendez received intelligence of Ribault nnd his fleet, which cauaed him some inquietude. His own shipping being destroyed, |
