But if I should not succeed in recovering these things, I flatter myself that you, my Reverend Father, would be entirely willing to supply this deficiency by sending me a complete church service, for every thing has been lost. On my arrival at Cayenne, I had found there the officer who was at Oyapoc when it was taken, and who since then has returned thither with the chief surgeon and a party of soldiers. Since that time, the commandant himself has gone back with the rest of the detachment, to await the orders which the Court shall give with regard to Oyapoc. The fort which we have just lost was built in 1725, under the direction of M. d’Orvilliers, Governor of this colony, and had thus been in existence but nineteen years. We do not know whether the Court will think proper to re-establish it. It was a great consolation to me to learn that our two missionaries, the Fathers d’Autillac and d’Huberlant, have returned each to his own post, after having entirely got over their fatigues before they went back. They had again much to suffer, until we were able to furnish them with assistance. They write me that the Indians, who had been at first exceedingly frightened, had begun to be reassured, and that they continued to render all the services in their power to the inhabitants who remained in that quarter awaiting the new order. You see, my Reverend Father, a very long letter, and, perhaps, one a little too long. I should esteem myself happy if it is able to afford you any pleasure, for I had no other object in writing. I am, with respect, in the unity of your holy sacrifices, &c. FOOTNOTES: [1] _The Landfall of Leif_, _The Problem of the Northmen_, _The Defences of Norumbega_, _The Discovery of the Ancient City_, _Leif’s House in Vinland_, etc. [2] W. H. Babcock, _Early Norse Visits to America_. Smithsonian Misc. Colls., Vol. 59, No. 19. [3] Babcock, p. 139. [4] Astronomical calculations demonstrate that the sun rose and set at the time mentioned, October 17, in Latitude 41°, 24′, 10″, almost exactly that of Narragansett Bay. [5] In Old Norse the term “Hop” was applied to any inlet, fiord or harbor with a narrow entrance, widening inside not far from the entrance to a larger lake or lagoon into which a river flowed. [6] The commander of the Prince Charles of Lorraine, of whom we shall write later. [7] The words used by Father Fauque are “_corsaire anglois_.”--_Trans._ [8] _Les corsaires._ [9] Suspecting that _Rodelan_ and _Rhode Island_ were similar enough in sound to mislead Father Fauque, we examined the list of governors of Rhode Island, and found that William Greene was governor in 1744-5. This, therefore, was a Rhode Island privateer.[10] Father Fauque says Captain Potter was “_Creole de la Nouvelle Angleterre_.” He, of course, means he was a native of New England, and we have thus translated it.--_Trans._ [10] The Prince Charles was owned in Newport. See _ante_, p. 44. [11] Very true.--_Ed._