Henry II.

Dandelot

vely.

The Cardinal being a vain and bufy Man, who, 1558. in his greatest designs had not always the PruPope Paul IV. dence nor Conftancy neceffary to carry them on, fnap'd prefently at the Bait, thinking to find his LXXXVIII account in the new Difcovery he had made, beHe charges caufe he knew that the bare fufpicion of Herefy with He was enough to incite King Henry to ruin his greatest Favourite; accordingly he came to his Majefty, and told him what he had learned in his Conference with the Bishop of Arras. The King, who fufpected already Dandelot, ordered the Cardinal of Chatillon and the Duke of Montmorency, to wait upon that Lord, and to difpofe him to give him fome fatisfactory account of his Religion; for he heartily wifhed, that he should not be found guilty of the Crime of Herefy, which he ftood charged with.

Dandelot, being fo fummoned and forewarned, came to Monceaux, where the King was; he was admitted to his Audience while he fat at Dinner: The King spoke to him about the many favours he had heaped upon him, as likewife about his own perfonal Merit; then he added, that he had heard with a great deal of forrow, that he entertained very bad Opinions about Religion, he charged him, of having caused the new Doctrine to be preached in his own House of having been in the Clerk's Meadow; of going no more to hear Mafs; and that he had not been seen in any Church during all the time of his Journey to and from Calais; laftly, of having fent fome Books of Geneva to the Admiral his Brother.

Dandelot answered with a great firmness of mind, and declared his opinion about the Tenets of the Church of Rome in very strong Terms; the King exhorted him, in a friendly manner, to take care of himself, to provide for his own fecurity, and avert the danger while it

was

1558.

was time; but Dandelot, being not moved by Henry II
these Intreaties, anfwered his Majefty to this
purpose.

SIR,

Pope

Paul IV.

Defence

I Stand fo far indebted to your Majesty's Good- LXXXIX.
nefs, for the many Favours and Honours be- Dandelor's
Stowed upon me, that as I never fpared, fo, as in and Perfe
Duty bound, I will never spare my Fortune nor cution.
Life for your Majesty's Service. But after having
done my Duty towards your Majefty, don't take it
amifs, I beseech you, if I spend the rest of my time
to work out my Salvation. The Doctrine which, as
I confefs, I bave caufed to be preached, is pure and
boly, taken out of the Old and New Testament,
approved of by the antient Councils, and the Di-
vines of the primitive Church, and is the fame
which our Forefathers have held and believed. I
bave not been in the Clerk's Meadow, as it has
been reported to your Majefty; but if I had been
there, I fhould not think I had done any thing
against God, or your Majesty's Service; for after
an exact Enquiry of what has been done in that
Place, I find that nothing has been done, but to fing
the Pfalms of David, and to pray God for the Pre-
fervation and Welfare of your Majesty, and of
your Dominions. I confefs, that I have not heard
Mafs for a long time, but I did not absent myself
from Churches or Chappels, but for good reafons,
which your Majesty would approve of, if you would
be at the trouble of confidering and weighing them.
It is likewife true, that I have fent to my Brother
the Admiral a Book very proper to comfort him
under the tediousness of the Captivity, which he has
fuffered for your Majesty's Service. So, I befecch
your Majefty to leave my Confcience at Liberty,
end to difpofe of my Fortune, and Life, which are
intirely yours, just as you shall think fit.

H 3

The

1

Henry II.

The King was extremely furprized at this An1558. fwer, and the Cardinal, who waited only for an Pope Paul IV. Opportunity to ruin that Lord, told him, to think of what he faid, that he was in a very bad way; to which Dandelot replied, My Lord Cardinal, I am very well fatisfied, as to my Doctrine, and you know better than you talk. I appeal to your Confcience, if you bave not been a Favourer of that boly Doctrine, but the Honours and Dignities of this World have quite altered your mind, and you are become a Perfecutor of the true Members of Chrif's Body.

At this, the King ran into fuch a fit of paffion, that he fuffered himself to be transported to very indecent Actions; for he would have killed him, and in the attempt, he wounded the Dauphin his Son, who was near him. Dandelot was Tent to Prifon, and deprived. of all his Places. But when the King's paffion was over, the Conftable found credit enough to have him reftored, though only upon this Condition, that he would hear a Mafs in his Prifon, without any other Form of Abjuration; to which he confented at last, being inticed to it by the ftrong Sollicitations of his Lady; and though he paid no great regard to that Ceremony, or the performance of it, nevertheless he was afterwards very fenfible of his own weaknefs, and penitent of his Fault all the days of his life (s).

So the Cardinal's Artifice had no other effect for that time, than to provoke against him the refentment of thofe puiffant Houfes, and to give publick notice to the Reformed, that fome of the most confiderable Lords of the Court were of their Opinion. And it is certain, that fince that

() Thuani Hift. lib. 20. p. 610, 611, 612. Mezeray Abr. Chr. Tom. 4. p. 713,716. Beze liv. 2. p. 143, &c.

that time, the Guifes held fecret Correfpondence Henry II. with Spain, to the great detriment of the King- 1558. Pope dom of France.

Paul IV.

I fhall infert here the Voyage to Brafil, under the direction of Nicholas Durand de Ville- XC. gagnon Knight of Malta, the beginnings of which Villegag non's Voyfeemed to promife fo great Advantages to the Reformed, but its end proved fo tragical to many. Brafil.

That Gentleman, of a bold Genius, and who on many occafions had given proof of his Bravery and Experience, who was likewife a good Scholar, and befides that, eager for Glory, or, as fome others fay, for getting Riches; knowing that the Admiral Coligny countenanced in fecret the Reformed Religion, and that he was in great favour with King Henry, communicated to him a Scheme of his own, to find out and fortify fome place in America, wherein the Reformed perfecuted might find a perfect fafety against their Enemies; befides that motive, there was another which afforded the Admiral a very fair pretence to engage his Majefty in fuch an Expedition; and it was, that thereby great glory would accrue to the French Name, and the Forces of their Enemies, (who received immenfe Treasures from the fure and peaceable Poffeffion of thefe Countries, which put them in a Capacity to carry on the War with fuccefs) would be diftracted or much weakened; that after the Example of the French, the American being reftored to Liberty, by their means, a publick and free Commerce fhould be opened there with all other Nations, which Commerce the Spaniards had wholly ingroffed to themselves, keeping those People under the yoke of the most intolerable Slavery.

These were the Reasons which the Admiral made ufe of with the King; his Majefty approvH 4

age into

Henry II. ed that Scheme, and granted to Villegagnon two
1558. large Ships of two hundred Tuns each, and
Pope
Paul IV. Guns in proportion, well mann'd, with another

Ship of Burthen to carry all forts of Ammunition
and Provifion, and allowed him ten thoufand
Livres for the charges of his Expedition.

Having failed from Havre de Grace the 15th of July 1555, he arrived in the River of Janeiro in November following, having landed in an uninhabited Island, to which he gave the Name of Coligny; he fent an account of his Voyage to the Admiral, and let him know, that it would be an eafy matter to settle the Reformed Religion in that Country, and asked him leave to fend to Geneva for fome Divines. He wrote for that purpose to Calvin, in February 1556, and after a mature deliberation, his requeft, fupported with the Admiral's Intreaties, was granted; two Minifters, namely Peter Richer and William Chartier accepted of the Commiffion, and fet out on their Journey to Honfleur, under the direction of a Gentleman, namely, Philip Corquilleray du Pont; who was a Refugee at Geneva for Reli gion's fake, and feveral others went along with them, being willing to undertake that Voyage, amongst whom was John Leri. They took their way through Chaftillon upon Loing, where having conferred with the Admiral, and received his Letters, they continued their Journey to Honfleur, where they were kindly received by Bois le Conte Nephew to Villegagnon, who was to carry them to Coligny Island. They failed from the faid place the 19th of November 1556, in three Ships, one of them carried eighty Perfons, the next a hundred and twenty, and the third ninety; they landed in Coligny's Ifiand the 7th of March 1557.

As