324 LAHONTAN. 



Baltic) in 1694, no other date is given, and contains "an account of 

 the author's voyage from Lisbon to Guernsey : his adventure with 

 an English man of war and a privateer : a description of Rotterdam 

 and Amsterdam : the dimensions of a Flemish sloop : a description 

 of the city of Hamburg : the author's journey from thence to 

 Lubeck, and a description of that city." The following letter is 

 written at Copenhagen, September 12th, 1694. It contains "a 

 description of the port and city of Copenhagen : a view of the 

 Danish court : and of the humours, customs, commerce, forces, &c., 

 of the Danes." He appears to have found a friend in M. de Bonrep- 

 eau, the French ambassador in Denmark ; and protected by letters 

 from him, he ventures once more to Paris, to explain in person his 

 conduct at Placentia. The next letter is written at Paris and is 

 dated December 29th, 1694. It contains '"'a Journal of the Author's 

 travels from Copenhagen to Paris." The passage in it that concerns 

 us in the present inquiry is the following. " Immediately upon my 

 arrival at this place I repaired to Versailles to deliver M. de Bonrep- 

 eau's letters : but the persons to whom they were addressed used 

 their utmost efforts to no purpose in soliciting M. de Pontchartrain 

 to allow me to justify my conduct at Placentia. He answered them 

 very coldly that His Majesty's inflexible spirit would never admit of 

 any justification from an inferior in opposition to his superior. This 

 answer which in some measure tarnishes the shining merit and 

 judicious conduct of so wise a prince, gave me to know that the 

 serenity of M. de Pontchartrain did not proceed so much from a 

 principle of equity as from a stiff Iroquois temper. In the mean- 

 time," he continues, "I was like to die for grief, notwithstanding that 

 all my friends endeavoured to solace me in advising me to raise my 

 mind above the shocks of bad fortune, till a change of government 

 happened." The next letter was written at Erleich near Lahontan 

 in Basse Navarre, Jxxly 4, 1695. It gives "a view of the super- 

 stition and ignorance of the people of Beam : their addictedness to 

 the notions of witchcraft, apparitions, &c., and the author's argu- 

 ments against the delusion." Lahontan has taken a run down to his 

 native province. "Doubtless you will be mightily surprised when 

 you hear I am now in sight of a country, of which I retain no more 

 than the bare name ; but your surprise will be yet greater when you 

 are informed that all the recommendations of persons of the first 



