Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/687

 Marc Lescarbot 677 Port Royal for Canso at the end of July, the vessel in which the colonists returned to France (it was again .& Jonas) did not leave Canso till her cargo of fish was complete, which was early in Sep- tember.' On his return to France in the autumn of 1607, Lescarbot again resumed his practice at Paris, and it was not until the Easter law vacation of the year 160S that his thoughts were turned to the pro- duction of a work on New France. At the instance of his friends, he was soon persuaded to set to work upon a history of French efforts to establish a foothold in the New World. His plan was, after briefly reviewing the early voyages of Verrazano, Cartier, Villegagnon and Laudonniere from books found in the King's Library, to give an original account of the attempt at colonization recently made by de Monts, and in which he himself had taken part." The work, which was finished at the end of November,^ was published in the following year under the title of Histoire de la NouvelU France con- tenant les navigations, decouvertes, et habitations faites par les Fran- cois is hides OccideJitales et Nonvelle France sons I'avceu ct an thorite de 710Z Rois Tres- Chretiens et les diverses fortunes d'iceux en l' execu- tion de ces chases depnis cent ans jiisqnes d hui. The work is divided into three books. In the first are described the voyages of Verrazano, Villegagnon, Ribaut, Laudonniere and Gourgues. The accounts of the expeditions of Cartier, Roberval, de la Roche and de Monts occupy the second book, while in the . . . Je fus du voyage," etc. Cf. also pp. 752 and 822. A letter dated at Port Royal August 22, 1606, and written in all probability by Lescarbot, is preserved in the Archives of the French Foreign Office (Amerique, I. 25 and 26). It was published by M. Gabriel Marcel in the Rome de Geographie for January 1885. In 1613 Champlain ( CE«OT-M published by LaverdiSre, III. 123) mentioned that Lescarbot had never been beyond Ste. Croix and four years later Lescarbot replied (edition of 1617, p. 594) that he had never pretended the contrary. ^ Ibid., p. 649. " Le troisieme jour de Septembre nous levames les ancres," etc. Cf. also p. 716. ''■Histoire de la Nouvelle France, Paris 1609, p. 5. " Ainsi m'a semble a propos de joindre brievement et comme par epitome a la description des derniers voyages faits par les sieurs de Monts et de Poutrincourt en la Nouvelle France, ce que noz Francois ont laisse par ^crit des decouvertes qu'ils ont des long temps fait es parties Occidentales," and again p. 6, " Je veux done faire un recueil general de ce que i'ay leu en divers petits traitez et memoires que i'ay pris tant en la Biblioth^que du Roy qu'ailleurs ; ensemble de ce que le sieur De Monts ... a fait et exploite au voyage qu'il y fit il y a cinq ans ; et final ement ceque i'y ay veu et remarque, en I'espace de deux etes et un hiver que nous avons est^ en ladite province . . . tant pour contenter I'honnete desir de plusieurs qui des long temps requierent cela de moy, que pour employer utilement les heures que ie puis avoir de loisir durant ce temps qu'on appelle des Vacations." He added in 1617 '■ des Vacations en I'an 1608." Cf. also p. 663. 'The privilege to print is dated November 27, 160S. Cf. also p. 526, "Fan der- nier mil six cens sept;" and p. 624, " le dernier hiver de I'an mil six cens sept et huit ; " also p. 652.