fRENCH î'iîîACY* 
55 
Woiiîcl send îiim a prîest and some Frenchmen to live on the isle 
under his protection. 
The king resided about a qunrter of a league from this spot, 
and M. Brue was presented to liim by tlie JS egro prince, who 
received him in a gracious manner. He was a good looking old 
man, with a grey beard and white hair ; he had Hvely eyes, â 
handsome mouth, and a majestic air. His cloathing consisted 
only of a piece of cotton and a hat, which he took off to sainte 
M. Brue ; he then offered him the land which he desired, to 
form «n establishment, and promised to protect him against all 
enemies. He added, " I have forgotten all that has passed be- 
tween one of my predecessors and a French pirate ; because 
faults are personal, and vengeance .should not be extended to those 
"who are innocent." 
The foilo\'\ ina; were the circumstances to which the Nccto 
king alluded. In l687, a Frenchman named Deiafond, stopped at 
the island to barter some goods, and had reason to complain of 
the inhabitants, who stole some of his' property. While he was 
thinking how he should revenge himself, a FVench ship of war 
arrived ; and he proposed to the commander to conquer and 
pillage the island of Gazegut. The attack was resolved on, and 
200 men were landed, who carried every thing before them. The 
king of the island at that time was invested and burnt in his huts ; 
w^hiie his subjects Hew to the woods and mountains ; so that only 
ten or twelve were taken out of 2000 or 3000^ who formed the 
pulation of the island. 
This unfortunate and cruel expedition did not, however, inter- 
rupt the commerce of the FVench. Deiafond had recourse to 
so many artifices, that he persuaded the principal people of the 
island, that he had taken no part in the attack, but that the death 
of the king, and the desolation with which it had been attended, 
were caused by a chief of pirates, on whom all the crime of the 
expedition was at length thrown. 
The king having promised to forget this outrage, M. Brue 
felt inclined to accept his offers, and made him presents, which 
he much admired ; amongst which were two casks of brandy. 
The king's^ house was neither so fine nor so well furnished as 
that of his relative ; but it had some chairs and tables. Th& 
king invited M. Brue and his suite to dinner, and gave them veni- 
son, beef, and mutton, tolerably well prepared. They drank 
very good palm wine; and after dinner they smoaked and drank 
brandy, on which occasion the king caused M, Brue to smoka 
out of his own pipe. This was really a royal instrument, both 
with respect to its length and capacity ; the tunnel was five feet 
long, and the bowl large enough to hold a quarter of a pound of 
tobacco; it was well ornamented outside. 
