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THE INDIANS OF ST. MARY’S.

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IT belonged to a member of the once dominant sect of Catholics to glorify his creed and clime, and to set an example to the world, in the establishment of complete religious liberty. To George Calvert, the originator of the scheme for colonizing Maryland, this honor belonged; but, alas! he was not permitted to execute the plans his noble heart conceived, for death snatched him from his labors, ere the boon he contemplated for the world was ready to be given.

But Cecil Calvert was a worthy son of so great a father. He at once entered into all the plans of his deceased parent, and with a veneration that does him credit, resolved that they should be carried out to the fullest extent; and the slightest wish the old lord had expressed in regard to the new colony should be religiously complied with. Bigots sneered at him, enemies maligned, but, conscious of the rectitude of his purpose, he steadily pursued his plans.

Under the guidance of Leonard Calvert, (a brother of the proprietor), some two hundred English gentlemen, and their servants, mostly of the catholic persuasion, sailed for the province, in November, 1633, and after the usual vicissitudes and adventures of a sea voyage at that period, arrived in the Potomac in the spring of 1634. A small party was despatched into the interior to explore the country previous to effecting a permanent settlement; the woods were then all joyous and teeming with grandeur, and loveliness of spring tinting the fair face of nature with that peculiar and fascinating beauty which is better felt than described.