when Henry of Navarre ceased to be a
heretic, giving France peace and a throne. It is unfortunate that the
details of these adventurous years in Champlain's early manhood should
be lost. Unassisted by wealth or rank, he served so well as to win
recognition from the king himself, but beyond the names of his
commanders (D'Aumont, St Luc, and Brissac) there is little to show the
nature of his exploits.[2] In any case, these ten years of campaigning
were a good school for one who afterwards was to look death in the face
a thousand times amidst the icebergs of the North Atlantic, and off the
rocky coast of Acadia, and in the forests of the Iroquois.

With such parentage and early experiences as have been indicated
Champlain entered upon his career in the New World. It is {8}
characteristic that he did not leave the army until his services were
no longer needed. At the age of thirty-one he was fortunate enough to
be freed from fighting against his own countrymen. In 1598 was signed
the Peace of Vervins by which the enemies of Henry IV, both Leaguers
and Spaniards, acknowledged their defeat. To France the close of
fratricidal strife came as a happy release. To Champlain it meant also
the dawn of a career. Hastening to the coast, he began the long series
of voyages which was to occupy the remainder of his life. Indeed, the
sea and what lay beyond it were henceforth to be his life.

The sea, however, did not at once lead Champlain to New France.
Provencal, his uncle, held high employment in the Spanish fleet, and
through his assistance Champlain embarked at Blavet in Brittany for
Cadiz, convoying Spanish soldiers who had served with the League in
France. After three months at Seville he secured a Spanish commission
as captain of a ship sailing for the West Indies. Under this
appointment it was his duty to attend Don Francisco Colombo, who with
an armada of twenty galleons sailed in January 1599 to protect Porto
Rico from the English. In the maritime strife of Spain {9} and England
this expedition has no part that remains memorable. For Champlain it
meant a first command at sea and a first glimpse of America.

The record of this voyage was an incident of no less importance in
Champlain's fortunes than the voyage itself. His cruisings in the
Spanish Main gave him material for a little book, the _Bref Discours_;
and the _Bref Discours_ in turn advanced his career. Apart from any
effect which it may have had in se