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SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT'S TWO EXPEDITIONS.

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was the guide of his life. 'Death, I know,' he said, 'is inevitable; but the fame of virtue is immortal.' He applied to the Queen for a patent, to be permanent and perpetual, if he should establish his plantation within six years. All he asked for was granted. Walter Raleigh was his half-brother; and with nim he held long and earnest consultations which were to be attended with such lasting results.

Gilbert's Expedition.-June 11, 1578.-It is strange there should be any doubt on such a subject, but it is questionable if Raleigh embarked in this expedition. It matters little, however, for it was attended with immediate misfortune, and compelled to put back.

June, 1583.-It was four years before Gilbert had recovered sufficiently from this disaster, in which he had lost one of his ships, and impaired hist fortune, to be able to equip a new squadron. But the indomitable energy of Raleigh, with his ample fortune, was sufficient for the emergency; and the expedition stood so high at court that it started with most auspicious omens. Elizabeth had given to the commander an anchor of gold, guided by a lady, in token of her favor;' and in June, 1583, he sailed from the port of Plymouth. But disasters were still in store for him. In two days after leaving port, his largest vessel, which had been equipped entirely by Raleigh, deserted, and, under pretext of the breaking out of an infectious disease, left her companions. But Gilbert continued his voyage, and reached Newfoundland in safety. Here he erected a pillar, with the Arms of England on a monument; and proclaiming the sovereignty of his Queen over the land, granted deeds of the soil to British fishermen; took vast quantities of what he deemed to be the precious ore on board his largest ship, and with the only three vessels left him, sailed up along the coast of New England. But his large ship was wrecked with her golden cargo, and a hundred of his best men perished. He turned back to his native country in a little bark of only ten tons; attended by the Hind. As she seemed to be going down, the brave Gilbert was seen sitting in the stern of his little Squirrel, holding up a book-probably the Isible, and shouting to them,—'We are as neere heaven by sea as by land,' night came down over the two little struggling waifs. At midnight the lights. of the Squirrel disappeared. The Hind reached the harbor of Falmouth, bearing the news that she was the last England would ever see of the squadron of the brave Sir Humphrey Gilbert.'

1 To form part of Gilbert's fleet, Raleigh built a ship and bestowed on it his own name, with which aid Gilbert was constrained to content himself. At length his little fleet, manned, victualled and ready for sea, was collected on the Devonshire coast, where he received the following letter from Raleigh,-"Brother, I have sent you a token from her majesty-an anchor, guided by a lady-as you see; and further, her highness willed me to send you word, that she wished you as great good hap and safety to your ship as if herself were there in person, desirmg you to have care of yourself as of that which she tendereth, and therefore for ner sake, you must provide for it accordingly; further, she commandeth that you leave your picture with me.

For the rest I leave it to our meeting, or to the report of this bearer, who would needs be the messenger of this good news. So I commend you to the will and protection of God, who sends us such life or death as he shall please or hath appointed."-St. John's Life of Sir Walter Raleigh, vol. i. p. 113.

2 Away went the gallant explorer towards the West, and for several months kept moving to and fro over the ocean, his little fleet now dispersed, now col lected, till on the 9th of September, he was beheld for the last time reclining on the deck of his vessel, either reading or consulting some chart. Night then closed in, rough and boisterous, and when the morning of the 1oth dawned, Gilbert's ship could nowhere be seen up

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RALEIGH LORD PROPRIETARY OF VIRGINIA.

1584.-But the ardor of Raleigh was not to be dampened by the miscarriage of the expedition, n'or the sad fate of his kinsman. He had matured a plan for a wiser expedition. Never infatuated by the passion for gold, and guided by higher intelligence than his contemporaries, he determined to risk another portion of his fortune in establishing a settlement in the milder regions of the south. On the 28th of March, Elizabeth granted him an ample patent, constituting him Lord Proprietary over the regions where he was to establish his colony; and the minds of the adventurous being inflamed by visions of a balmy country, where the reign of perpetual fruitfulness was never checked by the inclemencies of winter, the expedition was soon ready, and the command of it given to Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow. Being a southern expedition, they took the southern route, by the Canaries and the West Indies. On the 27th of April they had left England, and after a short stay in the West Indies, they reached the shores of Carolina on the 2d of July. In describing the fragrance which filled the air as it came off the coast, one of the writers of the expedition says it was as if they had been in the midst of some delicate garden, abounding in all kinds of odoriferous flowers.'' One hundred and twenty miles to the north, they glided into the calm water of the island of Wocoken, near the opening of Ocracock inlet. The scene which opened upon the eyes of these adventurers, accustomed as they were to the foggy skies and wild elements of the British Isles, filled them with rapture.

It was in the depth of summer :-'the sea was tranquil; no storms were gathering; the air was agitated by none but the gentlest breezes; and the English commanders were in raptures with the beauty of the ocean, seen in the magnificence of repose, gemmed with islands, and expanding in the clearest transparency from cape to cape. The vegetation of that southern latitude struck the beholders with admiration; the trees had not their paragons in the world; the luxuriant vines, as they clambered up the loftiest cedars, formed graceful festoons; grapes were so plenty upon every liate shrub, that the surge of the ocean, as it lazily rolled in upon the shore with the quiet winds of summer, dashed its spray upon the clusters; and the natural arbors formed an impervious shade, so that not a ray of the suns of July could penetrate. The forests were filled with birds; and, at the discharge of an arquebuss, whole flocks would arise, uttering a cry, which the many echoes redoubled, till it seemed as if an army of men had shouted together.'

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Suspicions of violence and injustice from all new-comers to their peaceful shores, had long haunted the minds of their gentle inhabitants; but, unable to restrain their curiosity and desire for traffic, they gradually accepted the ad

on the waters. The brave adventurer had perished; the survivors returned to England with the evil tidings, which, instead of disheartening, only the more stimulated Raleigh to pursue and complete the design his brother had formed.-St. John's Life of Sir Walter Raleigh, vol. i. p. 113-14.

1 Barlow describes the incidents of the voyage with ability and enthusiasm. Along the coasts of Florida and Carolina, they enjoyed, while yet beyond sight of land, "Sabæan odors from the spicy shores," not indeed of Araby the blest, but of a far richer and lovelier land,

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RALEIGH'S EXPEDITION UNDER AMIDAS AND BARLOW 27

vances of the English, and their relations became so friendly that the wife of Granganimeo, who was the father of the King Wingina, entertained them at her Arcadian residence on the Island of Roanoke. In the account of the voyage by Amidas and Barlow, which Hakluyt has preserved, they said: "The people were most gentle, loving, and faithful, void of all guile, and such as lived after the manner of the golden age.' Something better than treachery and blood were to be hoped for now, and something better actually followed. Nothing, however, beyond a partial examination of Roanoke Island and Pamlico and Albemarle Sound, and a general survey of the coast was attempted: and after a few weeks delightfully spent, having persuaded two attractive natives of the forest to accompany them, they took Manteo and Wanchese aboard, and sailed on their return voyage to England. But they were prepared to give glowing accounts of the paradise world they had revelled in.. They told the story of their charming sails over the summer seas, and among 'the hundred enchanted islands,' and so delighted was Elizabeth with the whole affair, that she named the fair land after herself. Virginia now at least had a name, which the deeds of her sons were to emblazon among the most brilliant records of the Caucasian race.

Raleigh had now become a member of Parliament, received the honors of knighthood for his valor as a soldier in other fields; and as a reward for the discoveries his expedition had made, a new patent, confirming his rights to the régions discovered, and encouraging to a new and broader scheme for colonization; ' a lucrative monopoly of wines was also granted to him. Although he entered warmly into another attempt to discover the Northwest passage, and contributed generously to equipping the expedition, and assisted in the voyages in which the discoveries of Davis were made in the Arctic Sea, he still pursued with greater earnestness his plan for colonizing Virginia.

April 9, 1585.-A squadron of seven vessels, carrying one hundred and eight colonists, was now fitted out for the shores of Carolina. Resolute upon founding a permanent colony, and careful in all his preparations, he chose for his Governor, Ralph Lane, a well-known soldier; and as the commander of the expedition one of the most gallant and brilliant of his own friends, Sir Richard Grenville. There were also on board that fleet, other men, whose names were to ring through the world. Hariot, the historian of the expedi tion, became the inventor of the system of rotation in modern algebra; Cavendish was afterwards to circumnavigate the globe; and White, one of the best painters of his day, made the most valuable artistic contribution yet furnished, by his sketches of the Indians and their habits of life.

1 His American grant filled him with hopes, the vastness of which he was careful never to reveal: though they again and again urged him to lavish his revenue on colonizing enterprises never destined to bear fruit. With all the power of his intellect, and acute insight into the nature of things, he yet found it impossible to foresee to what extent he should become, by the steps he was then taking, the benefactor of the human race; how many millions, through generation after generation, should owe to him their daily food, so that next after the inventor of corn, he should most deserve the bless'ngs of his :pecies.

To the health and pleasure of mankind he was lik wise to contribute largely by the introduction into Eu rope of that article, the mere duty upon which, during the year in which I write, contributes nearly seven millions sterling to the revenues of his country, while its use constitutes the solace of all classes, from the Prince to the hodman. If Great Britain, therefore, should ever think of repaying with a statue the debt of gratitude it owes to Raleigh, there should be placed on the lofty brow a wreath composed of the tobacco-leaf and the potato-flower.-St. John's Life of Sir Walter Raleigh, vol. i. p. 134-5.

28 RALEIGH'S NEXT EXPEDITION UNDER GRENVILLE.

June 26, 1585.-The fleet cast anchor at the Island of Roanoke. Man teo, who had been fascinated by his visit to England, returned with the expe dition, and went ashore to announce his arrival. This time a warmer welcome was extended to the new-comers, and the best hospitalities were offered, with guides for the exploration of the coast and harbors, which was effectually done by Grenville, Lane, Cavendish, Hariot, and White. But an unfortunate circumstance occurred, which was to cast a deep shadow over the fortunes of the little colony. A silver cup belonging to some one in the party was missing. Its restoration was demanded, and when delayed Grenville, in his madness, gave up the village, and all the standing corn of the natives, to fire. But a favorable site being selected, the colony was landed, and Grenville sailed for England. Encountering a valuable Spanish prize on the voyage, it enriched the enterprise; and as the news soon spread from Plymouth through England, Grenville was greeted by the shouts of the populace, and the favor of the Queen.

After a pretty thorough exploration of the surrounding country, Governor Lane, in his first letter to Raleigh, paints the following picture-Sept. 3: 'It is the goodliest soil under the cope of heaven; the most pleasing territory of the world. The continent is of a huge and unknown greatness, and very well peopled and towned, though savagely. The climate is so wholesome we have not one sick since we touched the land. If Virginia had but horses and kine, and were peopled with English, no realm in Christendom were com parable to it.'

The most reliable accounts were, however, furnished by Hariot, who was a keen observer. He seized at once upon three great points that successive centuries were to develop as the sources of the vast wealth of Virginia. The natives were smoking a weed of strange aroma, and which produced still stranger effects. They had received it as a gift from the Great Spirit; they believed in its healing virtues, and even Hariot himself soon became a convert to their belief, and learned to smoke the pipe of peace with the enthusiasm of a new disciple.' Around their villages he looked with delight at perhaps the most beautiful of all the products of the fields, waving in the breezes

Hariot, whose story is closely linked with that of Raleigh, from the dawn of these colonial enterprises to the later colloquys in the Bloody Tower, took, in Virginia, to the smoking of tobacco, the numerous virtues of which he celebrates; and on his return to England, infected the lord-proprietor with his newly acquired taste. Pipes, shag, and tankards of ale were consequently familiar to Raleigh's apartments in the palace, and led to several comic incidents which the newsmongers of the time industriously circulated. When the Red Men indulged in this luxury, they inhaled the intoxicating fumes through pipes made of clay; for which Raleigh substituted pipes of silver, while our rustic countrymen, when the practice spread, ould devise nothing better than a split walnut-shell, into which they inserted a straw.

One day Raleigh, intending to enjoy in his library the new outlandish luxury, sent servant for a tankard of ale, and then sat down to his pipe. When the man returned, observing his master enveloped in smoke, he threw the ale over him, and then, in the greatest terror, ran down-stairs, shouting as he went, that Sir Walter was on fire.

We sometimes find the great Tudor Queen sitting

familiarly beside her favorite while he smoked, chatting, laughing, and laying wagers. Once she objected to him that, with all his ingenuity, he could not tell the weight of the smoke. Your majesty must excuse me, replied Raleigh, 'for the thing is quite easy.' Elizabeth was incredulous, and laid a bet that he could not do what he said. Your majesty shall be the judge,' he answered, and sending for a small quantity of tobacco, and weighing it in her presence, he put it inte his silver pipe, which had probably a capacious bowl, and went on smoking till the whole was consumed. Then placing the ashes in the scales and weighing them, he pointed out to Elizabeth that the difference indicated the weight of the smoke. The Queen laughingly paid the money, saying, in allusion to the alchem ists, that she had heard of many who turned their gold into smoke, but till then never knew any one who could turn smoke into gold. From the date of that memora ble wager, the use of tobacco gained ground in Eng land, so that it may now almost be said to perfume the whole island, from John o'Groat's to the Land's End.St. John's Life of Sir Walter Raleigh, vol. i. p 137-9.

GRENVILLE, LANE, CAVENDISH, HARIOT, WHITE.

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ɔf summer, and filled with amazement at its productiveness and facility of cultivation, he saw no danger of famine. Almost without culture, huge tuberous roots seemed to multiply themselves under the surface of the soil, and supply a most agreeable and healthy food.

In these three great staples-tobacco, maize, and the potato-lay sources of wealth in the fertile soil, which, as they became a substitute, in culture, for the maddening passion for gold, were to enrich the whole continent, and one of which-the potato-was to save nations from famine.

And probably on the whole continent of America, none of the native tribes could be found who might more readily have been at once introduced into the pale of Christian civilization.' Partaking of the softness of the climate which had tempered the native ferocity of the savage; hospitable in disposition, and quick to reciprocate any favor; looking upon white men with all their imposing array of mysterious implements of power, and devices for comfort and luxury; firm in their belief of a future life, and the existence of a God of justice; with clear conceptions at least of one Almighty undivided Power, which they worshipped as the Great Spirit; feeling that they were yet holding intercourse with the departed of their tribe, who were still conscious of their existence and pursuits :-how easy it would have been for these men, who were regarded as the favorites of heaven, to bring the tawny worshippers of a common Father within the sacred fold of Christ. Everywhere they went, Hariot tells us that he showed the Bible, and, as best he could, explained its precepts as a divine revelation from heaven. They embraced the sacred volume; they clasped it to their breasts; they pressed it on their heads; they kissed it; they were ready to listen to the story of the Man of Nazareth, and the universal love, as well as the infinite power of the Creator of all things. The annalist tells us, that, as the colonists brought no women with them, the Indians imagined that they were not born of woman, and therefore were immortal, or else that they were of former generations who had descended to the earth, to die no more. When they saw the clock, with its incomprehensible mechanism and its invisible tick, marking on its dial the passing moments of time; when they saw the burning-glass light fire in the dry wood and grass; and the pen gliding over paper, making signs that carried information to other persons, when they were read-they seemed to be entertaining gods, and not mortals. But when they saw the flash of burning gunpowder, and the bullet strike death through the swift-winged or fleet. footed game, they were filled with terror. The air was at once peopled with hosts of invisible spirits; and when sickness seized them, they believed that

1 The inhabitants are described as too feeble to inspire terror; clothed in mantles and aprons of deerskins; having no weapons but wooden swords, and bows of witch-hazel, with arrows of reeds; no armor but targets of bark and sticks wickered together with thread. The walls of the houses were made of bark, fastened to stakes; and sometimes consisted of poles fixed upright, one by another, and at the top bent over and fastened, as arbors are sometimes made in gardens. Bat the peculiarity of the Indians consisted in the want o. political connection. A single town often constituted a government, a collection of ten or twenty wigwams was an independent State. The greatest chief in the

whole country could not muster more than seven or eight hundred fighting men. The dialect of each government seemed a language by itself. The country which Hariot explored was on the boundary of the Algonquin race, where the Lenni Lenape tribes melted into the widely-differing nations of the south. The wars among themselves rarely led them to the open battlefield; they were accustomed rather to sudden surprises at daybreak or by moonlight, to ambushes and the subtle devices of cunning falsehood. Destitute of the arts, they yet displayed excellency of wit in all which they attempted.-Bancroft, vol. i. p. 98.

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