George Calvert, of Kipling, England, was such a fine man that he was beloved by king and people alike. King James gave him the title of “Sir” George Calvert, and made him Secretary of State. As the king and the church in England were Protestant, Sir George felt it his duty to give up his royal honors when he became a Catholic. But King James’ son, Charles the First, instead of taking Calvert’s rank away from him, made him “Baron” Baltimore. A baron is higher in position than a knight, who is called “Sir.” A few years after the Pilgrims came to America and settled at Plymouth in order to worship God as they thought right, Lord Baltimore asked permission to make a settlement for himself and the Catholics of England who were persecuted because of their religion. The first place chosen by him for a Catholic settlement was in Newfoundland. But though the climate was lovely and cool there in spring and summer, the settlers found it so cold in winter that they had to go back to England. King Charles then granted Lord Baltimore another great tract of land much farther south, between the English settlement at Jamestown and that of the Puritans at Plymouth in New England. Lord Baltimore named this region “Mary Land,” in honor of King Charles’ wife, the queen of England. [Illustration: GEORGE CALVERT, LORD BALTIMORE] As all the other English settlements in America were Protestant, the party had great trouble in securing supplies and getting started for the New World. Before they were quite ready, the first Lord Baltimore died, and his eldest son, Cecil Calvert, who then became Lord Baltimore, inherited Maryland as part of his father’s estate. But some of the land granted to Lord Baltimore had been settled years before and was claimed by the colonists of Virginia. On account of this, young Lord Baltimore had to stay in London to look out for his rights in America. Therefore his younger brother, Leonard Calvert, was sent to act for him as governor of Maryland. At last the voyagers sailed away in two ships, the _Ark_ and the _Dove_. There were one hundred and twenty-eight passengers, not counting servants and children. There were others on board who, not having money, bound themselves by law to work for a certain time in America to pay their passage across the sea. The two ships were caught in a terrific storm on the way and the _Dove_ was not to be seen anywhere. After many days of hoping against hope, those on the _Ark_ gave up for lost the _Dove_ and all their friends on it. Then the _Ark_ sailed on alone, stopping, after many weeks, at one of the islands of the West Indies. While they were anchored there their sorrow was turned to joy, for the _Dove_ caught up with them. It had been driven out of sight by the fierceness of the gale and had found refuge in a harbor near by. The two sister ships now sailed northward and entered the mouth of the Potomac. Of this river Father White, one of the company, wrote: