418 



B R A S I L. 



Brazil, their numbers ; and on their road to the place of em- 

 /""-* barkation at Rouen, new recruits continually pre- 

 sented themselves. Their departure was precipitated 

 by an adventure of no agreeable nature. It having 

 transpired, that they had exceeded the very narrow 

 bounds of the toleration which the law allowed, the 

 Catholic inhabitants of Harfleur, influenced by the 

 most furious intolerance, rose in arms against them ; 

 and a desperate conflict ensued, in which one of their 

 best officers was killed, and the rest were saved, only 

 by setting out instantly, and under these disastrous 

 f ircumstances, for the place of their destination. 



A violent storm which this expedition met with 

 on its passage, struck with consternation the majo- 

 rity of the passengers, who had not been inured to 

 the sea. After a long delay, however, they arrived 

 off the coast of Brasil, at about the tenth degree of 

 south latitude. They proceeded along the coast, and 

 after a slight encounter with the Portuguese at Spi- 

 ritu Santo, reached at length the settlement of their 

 countrymen on the Rio Janeiro. Here they were re- 

 ceived with apparent cordiality ; but after the first 

 welcome, they experienced nothing but hard fare and 

 hard labour, which few of them, it is probable, were 

 fully prepared to encounter. The Protestant rites, 

 however, were now for the first time celebrated, and 

 with every appearance of zeal and satisfaction on the 

 part of Villegagnon. The Portuguese, meanwhile, 

 seem to have made no efforts to dislodge these in- 

 truders, thinking, perhaps, that there was room 

 enough in the country for both. The advantage of 

 this forbearance, however, was entirely lost to the 

 new colony, in consequence of its own internal dis- 

 !t- failure, sensions. We have only the narrative of Lery, who 

 was one of those newly arrrred ; but as his statement 

 was never contradicted, considerable credit is at- 

 tached to it. Villegagnon, it appears, after having 

 founded his colony upon the basis of Protestantism, 

 began himself to entertain doubts upon the most es- 

 sential principles of that creed. He cherished pe- 

 culiar scruples' upon the subject of the real presence ; 

 and though he could not believe that Christ was 

 really present in the sacraments, yet neither could he 

 be satisfied that he was not. He began also to sus- 

 pect that the wine ought to be diluted, and that salt 

 and oil ought to be mingled with the water of bap- 

 tism; and having introduced innovations conformable 

 to those opinions, he soon excited a violent discontent 

 among his followers. Those newly arrived from 

 Geneva, in particular, who were imbued with the 

 most rigid principles of Calvinism, wholly declined 

 participating in these new rites, which they account- 

 ed to be rank Popery, and clandestinely celebrated 

 the sacrament during the night, as was done by their 

 persecuted brethren in France. Villegagnon, on dis- 

 covering these proceedings, was extremely chagrined, 

 and mutual irritation, daily increasing, rose at length 

 to such a pitch, that he resolved-to expel them en- 

 iirely from the fort, and force them to return to their 

 native country : declaring, that if their arrival had 

 caused him much satisfaction, their departure was 

 still more agreeable. The unfortunate Gcnevese were 

 forced to embark on board a vessel in a very bad 

 state of repair, as well as insufficiently supplied with 

 provisions. Through the ignorance of the pilot, the 



voyage was prolonged considerably beyond expecta- 

 tion ; and the crew were destined, in consequence, to 

 experience the utmost extreme of human misery. 

 Long before their arrival off the coast of France, 

 their stock of provisions failed; and they were assail- 

 ed by hunger in its most direful form. Their situa- 

 tion is painted in so lively a manner by one of the 

 sufferers, that we shall translate some passages of his 

 narrative. "After having devoured," says he, " all 

 the leather in our vessel, even to the covering of the 

 trunks, we thought ourselves approaching to the last 

 moment of our life ; but necessity suggested to some 

 one the idea of pursuing the rats and mice, and we 

 had the greater hope of taking them easily, because, 

 having no more crumbs, nor any thing to devour, 

 they ran in great numbers, dying of hunger, through 

 the vessel. We pursued them so carefully, and by 

 so many kind of snares, that very few remained. 

 Even in the night, we sought them with our eyes 

 open, like cats. A rat was more valued than an ox 

 on land. The price rose so high as four crowns. 

 We boiled them in water, with all the intestines, 

 which were eaten as well ae the body. The paws 

 were not omitted, nor the other bones, which we 

 found means to soften. The extremity was such, 

 that nothing remained but Brazil-wood, the driest of 

 all woods, which many, however, in their despair, 

 attempted to chew. Carguilleray du Pont, our 

 leader, holding one day a piece in his mouth, said 

 to me, with a deep sigh, Alas ! my friend, I have 

 due to me in France a sum of four thousand livres; 

 and would to God, that, after giving a discharge for 

 the whole, I held in my hand a pennyworth of bread, 

 and a single glass of wine." Several died of hunger; 

 and they had already begun to form the resolution 

 of devouring each other, when Rochelle appeared in 

 view. They landed ; but a number having, after 

 this long abstinence, devoured food with too eager 

 avidity, perished soon after. 



Concerning the subsequent fortune of Villegagnon, 

 who appears to have been so ill qualified for the 

 task which he had undertaken, we have few de- 

 tails. After having thus preposterously reduced his 

 strength, he found himself unable to contend with 

 the Portuguese, who at length bestirred themselves in 

 order to expel this heretical colony from their settle- 

 ments. Villegagnon evacuated the fort on their ap- 

 proach, abandoning the cannon which he had placed 

 on it. The Portuguese thus reaped all the fruits of 

 the French attempts to colonize Brasil ; and found 

 established for them a settlement, which they have 

 since erected into the capital of this flourishing co- 

 lony. 



Brasil, however, was too valuable to be left in the 

 undisturbed possession of any one nation. The Por- 

 tuguese had soon a more formidable and persevering 

 enemy to encounter. In consequence of the rash and 

 fatal expedition of Sebastian into Africa, the imme- 

 diate heirs to the throne of Portugal failed ; and se- 

 veral claimants having started up, Philip II. of Spain, 

 through the great superiority of his power and in- 

 fluence, easily secured the preponderance. Portugal 

 was thus annexed to his dominions. The intolerance 

 and cruelty of Philip, meanwhile, had involved him 

 in a long and cruel war with Holland and the neigh- 



