the scenes of which we are about to unfold. The dramatis persona need not be brought before the reader at once, but will come before him naturally with the course of events. Indeed, with the exception of the hero of the piece, and perhaps the Deus ex Machina, the general of the order, there is nothing very remarkable about them. The first scene, then, opens in the West Indies, where we find the incumbent of a small parish of Martinique entering on commercial transactions, in a style almost worthy of the first merchants of our own days the Rothschilds, the Barings, or the La Fittes. But the mere negotiation of bills was too sedentary an employment for so active a mind and body: multitudes of busy hands were set to work by this one busy head; manufactories were formed, factories built, and in a short time the Jesuit priest became, not only the chief merchant, but the greatest landed proprietor in those parts. The "Unus Pellæo juveni non sufficit orbis" was destined to find another fulfilment in the person of this enterprising man. He could not confine his ambition to the limits of a single island, but he bought estates in Dominica, which extended three leagues in length and one in depth-a surface of nearly twenty square miles. Such an estate is not cultivated without a considerable number of slaves, and it was necessary to purchase an addition to his stock. A difficulty here occurred. Father de la Valette wished to buy slaves, but to buy them below the market price, as cheap, in short, as possible. Now some awkward letters patent of the year 1717, forbade all traffic in slaves with foreign colonies, under the penalty of a fine of 1000 livres and three years labour in the galleys. The English market at that time was probably the cheapest, and Father de la Valette was not a man to make a difficulty of trifles. He disguised himself as a buccaneer, and in this masquerade made a voyage to Barbadoes, and bought 500 negroes under a false name. But during all this time a storm was brewing, both in France and in the colony, against the active and enterprising merchant-priest, which caused him great inconvenience. It was found that he was establishing a complete monopoly, to the great annoyance of many other traders, whose jealousy led them to make formal complaints to the government at home. And, besides, the little incident of his voyage to Barbadoes was, by some accident, whispered about. The government communicated with Father de Sacy, procureur-general of the missions to the Windward Islands, then resident in the House of Profession at Paris. He acknowledged at once the justice of these complaints, and promised that every inconvenience should be remedied in so decisive a manner that it was thought the recal of Father de la Valette was certain. Two years passed away and nothing was done towards performing these promises, and the commercial correspondence which had existed between these two Jesuits, the missionary agent and his superior at home, continued uninterrupted. The go The English, it is to be feared, may have borne the character which Aristophanes in the Plutus gives the Thessalians of his day, when he makes Chremylus tell us that the slaves under his new system were to be brought from Thessaly-παρα πλειστων ἀνδραποδίστων (alii παρ' ἀπιστων ἀνδραποδίστων.) vernment was not inclined to submit to this treatment, and accordingly requested M. de Bompart, governor-general of the Windward Islands, to send home this troublesome individual. The society was again more than a match for the government, and baffled it for a time. The government had usually exercised a courtesy towards the Jesuits, of which they were, it seems, unworthy; they always communicated with the inferior Jesuits through their immediate superiors in the order, and M. de Bompart was accordingly enjoined to request the superior of Father de la Valette in those quarters, to send him home under any pretence he might deem proper. This gave the society an opportunity of evading these orders altogether, for they made Father de la Valette superior general of the missions of the Windward Islands, and M. de Bompart had no longer any superior officer to communicate with! The court on this became so incensed that they sent immediate orders for his return to France, and he was given to understand the reason for which he was thus sent away. It was thought, at least, that he would break up his commerce. So far, however, was this from being in his thoughts, that he entered even on more extensive speculations, appointed Messrs. Coën and Cautier-the one a Jew, the other a Protestant-his agents, and still continued his correspondence with F. de Sacy. He addressed his letters to Messrs. Lioncy (frères) and Gouffre, bankers, of Marseilles; he consigned a cargo to them; he requested them to hire him two vessels, and directed them to F. de Sacy for their indemnification. The two ships were to be sent to his Jewish agent, who would send them back laden with sugar and coffee. His correspondents obeyed his orders: hired the Queen of the Angels, a ship of thirty guns, and sent it to the West Indies, preceded by another, called the St. Pierre, heavily freighted. In the meantime he embarks for Europe. Thus ends the first act of this historical and commercial drama. The second may conveniently open with his arrival in France. His Jesuit friends had endeavoured, by every means in their power, to allay the ferment his dealings had caused, and to dissipate the evil impression they had made, by representing all these measures only as great preparations in order to obtain funds to establish a mission in the Caribbee Islands, and convert the natives of them. He himself landed at Havre, and travelled post to Paris, with two black slaves and a footman. His Jesuit friends received him as the great benefactor of their order; introduced him at Versailles, and did all they could for him. But, notwithstanding his friends and his equipages, he found the government entirely indisposed to withdraw their reprimand and interdict. More than a year passed before he could obtain any remission of his sentence. At length he obtained permission to return, on condition of finally abandoning all commercial transactions whatsoever, a condition which was ratified by F. de Sacy and his superior also. He obtained also, in the meantime, a decree, enabling him to effect a loan of 600,000 livres (about 25,0007.) for the purpose of giving up business! But owing to some informality in the proceedings in the Parliament, persons in France were shy of lending their money. England and elsewhere he obtained about 200,000 livres (about 80007.), a part of which was advanced to Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre, In to enable them to meet their engagements. A little episode, partaking of what one may call the romance of commerce, may be related here. It would have disconcerted, nay, entirely demolished, an ordinary man, but a prostration to the earth seemed only to renovate the powers of this commercial Antæus. One of his bills, drawn on Messrs. David and Grodes, of Bordeaux, for 300,000 livres (about 12,0007.), was not accepted; in fact, it was protested. Immediately on hearing this, he rattled down to Bordeaux, post haste, paid the whole bill, though part of it had some months to run, and thus, and by shewing the other treasures of his portfolio, he re-established his credit on a firmer base than ever. Having finished these affairs, he embarks again for Martinique, in the character of visitor-general and apostolical prefect of the Windward Island missions. His friends at court, having assured (as we have before stated) the government that he was about to abandon his commercial traffic, amused the world with eulogies of his apostolical zeal and his great talents for the conversion of the Caribbees. The circumstances attending Father de la Valette's recal were kept a profound secret from his commercial friends, as well as the conditions on which he was permitted to return to the western hemisphere. It would have been ruin at once to let this be generally known. Accordingly we find that Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre, who were deeply involved in his fortunes, were in entire ignorance of these points, and when they were rather disappointed at receiving no more funds on his appearance at Marseilles for the purpose of embarking for the west, he took the modern fashionable mode of testifying gratitude, by presenting them with a very handsome service of plate. Whether their vanity was so touched by this delicate attention that their judgment was warped, or whether the brilliant prospects of increased commerce which he set before them deluded their minds, does not appear; but it does appear that their confidence was so restored that he might do with them almost what he pleased. Perhaps, however, his arts and talents would have been unavailing, or at least by no means successful, had it not been for the following letter, which he took care to remit to them. It was signed by one of the assistants of the general of the order of Jesuits. It is given here in as literal a translation as the respective idioms of the French and English language will allow. It is addressed to Father de la Valette, and signed by Father Flachat : Rome, 1st Jan., 1755. Reverend FATHER,-I beg your acceptance of the wishes which I send you from the bottom of my heart, that you may enjoy a happy year, a speedy departure, and a good and short voyage. Some time ago, I had the honour to write to you to inform you, that our general permitted you to borrow the sums you require, in order to place the temporal interests of your mission on an advantageous footing. I see at present, by your letter, that I did not explain myself with sufficient clearness, and that you wish, in all the loans you effect, to act with the permission of our general, and of the provincialt of France. Our general highly approves this feeling, and desires me to convey to you his permission to obtain all the loans you consider requisite for R. P. Général. R. P. is the common abbreviation for Reverend Père. the object you propose, namely, the proper establishment of the temporal revenue of your mission, and these loans you will take care to have sanctioned by the authority of the provincial of France. You may act in conformity to the instructions of this letter, without any anxiety, since it has been read and approved by the general. I have the honour to be, &c. This letter became of so much importance in the later stages of this history, and it is in itself so curious a document, that it was necessary to give it in full. It was certainly calculated to impress on Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre the conviction, that they were backed by the full authority of the whole order, and that the whole order would be responsible for these engagements. The sequel will shew how far their implicit faith was prudent. A slight instance of their great confidence in the apostolical prefect of the missions of the Windward Isles may conveniently be introduced here. Father Des Marêts, superior of the mission of Cape François, in St. Domingo, had drawn on Father de la Valette, in favour of a certain M. Kervegan, of Nantes, for 30,000 livres, (about 12007.) payable next June or July; and Father de la Valette had accepted the bill. The speculation, however, was not one which, on second thoughts, he entirely relished; he accordingly determined that all the benefit which might accrue from it should fall to the lot of his Marseillois friends, Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre. He therefore persuaded them to guarantee the 30,000 livres to M. Kervegan, promising to send them the produce about to be consigned to him by F. Des Marêts, on very advantageous terms, and assuring them that the first instalment would more than cover the sum they were to advance. This took place in January 1755; and it appeared in the sequel that F. de Sacy had been security to M. Kervegan for the 30,000 which was owing to him from the mission of St. Domingo. M. Kervegan obtains the payment from Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre, during the course of the year, stating to them that he draws on them in consequence of the letter of Father de la Valette, (dated 20th Jauuary, 1755,) and of orders given by F. de Sacy, to consign the sugars from St. Domingo to them. F. de Sacy and Des Marêts are full of gratitude to the bankers of Marseilles, but no sugars arrive. Instead of solid hogsheads of sugar and indigo, nothing makes its appearance but a few vague expressions of hope that they may be able, on some future occasion, to liquidate the debt. At length F. des Marêts speaks plainly; he tells them, (7th October, 1755,) that he does not intend to consign anything to them, as F. de Sacy had become security for the money, on seeing Father de la Valette's name on the bill, and that, in fact, F. de Sacy had given the money to Father de la Valette. F. des Marêts, after apologizing for his long silence, caused by a long journey and an attack of apoplexy, very civilly takes leave of Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre, assuring them that he shall not consign them a single article of commerce, because Father de la Valette will certainly make no difficulty of paying them a sum he had already received from F. de Sacy. In short, the whole matter comes to this: the procureur-general of missions, the apostolical prefect, and the superior of the mission of St. Domingo, deluded Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre into paying 30,000 livres, which M. Kervegan had advanced to F. des Marêts; and they left their dupes in the lurch without the smallest remorse. It was a transaction not very far removed from swindling. This, however, is only a little episode. We must hasten back to the main incidents of our drama, the denouement of which is now rapidly approaching. We have seen Father de la Valette return to Martinique triumphant over every obstacle thrown in his path, and ready to launch at once into still wider fields of speculation. The confidence now placed in him exceeds all bounds. He receives many millions of livres to negociate on the terms of exchange which were stated at the beginning of this narrative. Thus furnished with new funds, his buildings multiply, and there are no bounds to his enterprise. Letters of exchange are drawn by him on Bordeaux, Marseilles, Lyons, Paris, Cadiz, Leghorn, Amsterdam, and, in short, on almost every place one sees enumerated in Herries and Farquhar's circular notes. The stream of his prosperity was now flowing in full tide; but the waters were soon to ebb, and leave nothing behind but mire and mud. His ruin arose from the following circumstance:-He had drawn on Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre for more than a million and a half of livres, (about 60,0007.,) and had freighted two ships with merchandize to meet these demands. These were taken by the English; and thus at once the priest of Carbet became a bankrupt, and crushed also in his fall the house of his great benefactors and partners, Lioncy and Gouffre. In a memoir devoted to the defence of the order of Jesuits, in reference to these transactions, it was argued, that this capture was a misfortune, and ought not to be made a subject of reproach. No doubt it was a misfortune; but on whom, by all the laws that bind honourable men together in commerce, ought the loss to have fallen? Assuredly not on Messrs. Lioncy and Gouffre. But the manner in which the Jesuits treated these great merchants will be seen immediately, and it will then appear whether they wished to bind themselves by such laws as those to which we have alluded. The capture of these ships left Messrs. L. and G. the following three debts, for which they were responsible(1.) 30,000 livres for M. Kervegan; 12007. in round numbers. (2.) 93,463 livres for various transactions; 40007. (3.) 1,502,266 livres, 2 sous, for bills drawn by Father de la Valette, and accepted by them; 60,0007. The moment the capture of these ships was known, the credit of this house was seriously affected; but, on application to the Jesuits, it must be confessed that they immediately represented it as the duty of the society to make good its engagements, and expressed themselves quite satisfied that it would be done. Messrs. L. and G. accordingly wrote to F. de Sacy, stating their case, and begging for a remittance of from 300,000 to 400,000 livres (about 12,000l. or 16,000l.,) to meet the bills which would be due first. F. de Sacy sends them some money, which he says is all that is at his disposal; but it was totally inadequate to meet the exigencies of the case. Unfortunately for the credit, and ultimately perhaps unfortunately for the pockets, of the society, F. Visconti, the general, took the liberty of dying at this inconvenient |