L4H0NTAN. 323 



eourts that lie could not be found guiltj. There is some pleasure in 

 making gifts after his fashion : for by them he has made 50,000 

 crowns ^er/as et nefas in the space of three or four years. If I 

 offered to give you a particular account of all the trouble and vex- 

 ation he gave me, I should never have done." On the lith of 

 December he gets on board a small vessel, the last of the season that 

 is leaving for the other side of the Atlantic. The captain engages to 

 land him on the coast of Portugal for 1,000 crowns. Lahontan had 

 earnt that Brouillon had taken the precaution to forward orders for 

 his arrest to the governprs of Belleisle, Re and Rochelle, in the 

 event of his disembarking at either of those places. They had a 

 yery stormy passage and are attacked when nearing the Poi'tuguese 

 coast, first by a Flushing privateer and then by a corsair from Sallee. 

 Tow'^rds the end of January he is landed at Yiana in Portugal. 

 ** As soon as we came to an anchor," Lahontan says, " I paid down 

 my 1,000 crowns to the captain, who has reason to look upon this 

 act of his as one of the best he ever did in his lifetime. The long 

 boat was no sooner in the water," he continues, "than I went ashore 

 with all my baggage ; as soon as I came into the city I procured 

 ammunition and provisions for the ship with such expedition that 

 the captain weighed anchor the very next day and so continued his 

 course to France." 



On the 20th of April, 1694, Lahontan is writing to his aged friend 

 from Lisbon, giviag him a copious account of the country, the inns, 

 the manners of the people, &c. It appears that he had been making 

 some further application to Pontchartrain in relation to his affairs, 

 without success. "After the receipt of some bad news relating to 

 my business," he says, " I find I have spirit enough to brave all the 

 jolts of fortune. The universe which swallows and Jesuits take for 

 their country must likewise be mine until such time as it please God 

 to send to the other world some persons that do Him very little 

 service here." At the close of the letter he is more clear. " I am 

 setting out immediately,'* he says, " for the northern kingdoms of 

 Europe, waiting patiently until it pleases God that M. Pontchartrain 

 should either remove to Paradise, or do justice to him who shall 

 always be yours more than his own." Lahontan is not very explicit 

 in regard to himself. He does not account for his movements. His 

 next letter is written at Travemunde (the port of Lubeck, on the 



