2 THE HISTORY OF 



they brought over some of that bewitching vegetable, tobacco. And this be- 

 ing the first that ever came to England, sir Walter thouglit he could do no 

 less than make a present of some of the brightest of it to his royal mistress, 

 for her own smoking. The (|ueen graciously accepted of it, but finding her 

 stomach sicken after two or three whiffs, it was presently whispered by the 

 earl of Leicester's faction, that sir Walter had certainly poisoned her. But 

 her majcsly soon recovering her disorder, obliged the countess of Notting- 

 ham and all her maids to smoke a whole pipe out amongst them. 



As it happened some ages before to be the fashion to saunter to the Holy 

 Land, and go upon other Q,uixote adventures, so it was now grown the hu- 

 mour to take a trip to America. The Spaniards had lately discovered rich 

 mines in their part of the West Indies, which made their maritime neigh- 

 hours eager to do so too. Tliis modish frenzy being still more inflamed by 

 the charming account given of Virginia, by the first adventurers, made many 

 fond of removing to such a paradise. 



Happy was he, and still happier she, that could get themselves trans[iorted, 

 fondly expecting their coarsest utensils, in that happy place, would be of 

 ma.ssy silver. 



This made it easy for the company to procure as many volunteers as they 

 wanted for their new colony ; but, like most other undertakers who have no 

 assistance from the public, they starved the design by too much frugality; for, 

 unwilling to launch out at first into too much expense, they shipped off" but 

 few people at a time, and those but scantily provided. The adventurers 

 were, besides, idle and extravagant, and expected they might live without 

 work in so plentiful a country. 



These wretches were set ashore not far from Roanoke inlet, but by some 

 fatal disagreement, or laziness, were either starved or cut to pieces by the 

 Indians. 



Several repeated misadventures of this kind did, for some time, allay the 

 itch of sailing to this new world ; but the distemper l^oke out again about 

 the year 160G. Then it happened that the earl of Southampton and several 

 other persons, eminent tor their quality and estates, were invited into the 

 company, who applied tiiemselves once more to people the then almost aban- 

 doned colony. For this purpose they embarked about a hundred men, most 

 of them reprobates of good families, and related to some of the company, 

 who were men of quality and fortune. 



The ships that carried them made a shift to find a more direct way to Vir- 

 ginia, and ventured through the capes into the bay of Chesapeake. The 

 same night they came to an anchor at the mouth of Powhatan, the .same as 

 .Tames river, where they built a small fort at a place called Point Comfort. 



This settlement stood its ground from that time forward in spite of all the 

 blunders and disagreement of the first adventurers, and the many calamities 

 tliat befel the colony afterwards.* 



* The six gentlemen who were first named of the company by the crown, and who were 

 empowered to choose an annual president from among themselvi s, were always engaged in . 

 factions and quarrels, while the rest detested work more than famine. At this'rate the 

 colony must have come to nothing, had it not been (or the vigilance and bravery of captain 

 Smith, who struck a terror into all the Indians round about. This gentleman took some 

 pains to persuade the men to plant Indian corn, but they looked upon all labour as a curse. 

 They chose rather (o depend upon the musty provisions that were sent from England : and 

 when they failed they were fou-ed to take more pains to seek for wild Iriuts in the woods, 

 than they would have taken in tilling the ground. Besides, this ex|)osed them to be 

 knocked on the head by the Indians, and gave them fluxes into the bargain, which thinned 

 the plantation very much. To supply this mortality, they were reinforced the year follow- 

 ing with a greater number of people, amongst w^hich were fewer gentlemen and more la- 

 bourers, who, however, took care not to kill themselves with work. 



