In August he settled a schoolmaster, leaving Mr. Habersham at Savannah; and, parting affectionately with his flock, he went to Charlestown, South Carolina, and, on the 9th of September, went aboard the Mary, Captain Coe, for England, where he arrived in the latter part of November, 1738.

The Trustees for the Colony received him cordially; were pleased to express their satisfaction at the accounts which had been sent them of his conduct and services during his stay in the Colony; and having been requested by letters sent, unknown to him, from the magistrates and inhabitants, they most willingly presented to him the living of Savannah, (though he insisted upon having no salary), and as readily granted him five hundred acres of land, whereon to erect an Orphan-House, and make a garden and plantations; to collect money for which, together with taking priest’s orders, were the chief motives of his returning to England so soon[1].

[Footnote 1:  GILLIES, p. 32.]

Without extending the account of this zealous, eloquent, and popular preacher any further, suffice it to say that he was greatly successful in the object of his visit, and his appeals to public charity in behalf of the Orphan-House; that he returned to Georgia, and on March 11th, 1742, laid the foundation of that edifice; and, both in America and in England, continued his measures for its establishment, till he saw it completed.

CHAPTER XI

Oglethorpe arrives in England—­Trustees petition the King for military aid to the new Colony—­A regiment granted—­Oglethorpe appointed Commander in Chief of South Carolina and Georgia—­Part of the regiment sent out—­Oglethorpe embarks for Georgia the third time—­Remainder of the regiment arrive—­And two companies from Gibraltar—­Prospect of war with Spain—­Military preparations at St. Augustine—­Oglethorpe makes arrangements for defence—­Treason in the Camp—­Mutiny, and personal assault on the General.

“At a meeting of the Trustees of Georgia, Wednesday, January 19th, 1737, Mr. Oglethorpe, newly returned hither, had the unanimous thanks of the board.  He informed them that Savannah had greatly increased in building, and that three other towns had been founded within a year; namely, Augusta, Darien, and Frederica; that a new town, called Ebenezer, had been laid out for the Saltzburgers; and that there were several villages settled by gentlemen at their own expense.  He gave them the pleasing intelligence that the remoter Creek nation acknowledged his Majesty’s authority, and traded with the new settlers; and that the Spanish Governor-General and Council of War of Florida had signed a treaty with the Colony."[1] He added, however, that notwithstanding these seeming auspicious circumstances, the people on the frontiers were in constant apprehensions of an invasion, and that he had strong suspicions that the treaty would not be regarded; that the Spanish government at Cuba was wholly opposed to it; and that the indignant demand of the commissioner from Havana, and the threat which followed, implied an infraction, and would lead to consequences against which it was necessary to provide.