STRAY LEAVES FROM THE WEED 147 



honour of the Queen. In the following year a second 

 expedition was despatched, conveying one hundred and 

 seven souls, whom, with Master Ralph Lane at their head 

 as the governor of the new colony, Raleigh had inspired 

 with his own ardent hopes and plans for the founding of a 

 new settlement that should, in course of time, rival the 

 Spanish conquests. The adventure, however, was not 

 attended with the success anticipated. The party remained 

 in the new territory from August 17, 1585, to June 18, 1586, 

 when Sir Francis Drake, with his fleet, returning along the 

 coast from his victorious raid in the West Indies, called at 

 their port, and, learning their discontent, brought them back 

 to England. They took care, however, not to return 

 empty-handed; a large quantity of tobacco, which the 

 natives had prepared for them, was stowed on board the 

 vessels, with a variety of instruments for preparing and 

 using it. It can well be imagined that Master Lane would 

 take pride in exhibiting himself to London's gazing 

 multitude smothered in Indian clouds. The learned 

 Camden speaks of Lane as the original English smoker. 

 It is remarkable that there should have been so much 

 uncertainty, even in Eliza-Jacobean times, as to the date 

 when tobacco was first received in this country and the 

 person by whom it was first introduced. The painstaking 

 annalist, Stow, says that tobacco came into England about 

 the twentieth year of Queen Elizabeth (1577). But 

 Aubrey, speaking of Sir Walter Raleigh, says that ' he was 

 the first that brought tobacco into England and into fashion 

 (1686). In our part of North Wilts e.g. Malmesbury 

 Hundred it came first into fashion by Sir Walter Long. 

 They had first silver pipes. The ordinary sort made use of 

 a walnut shell and a straw. I have heard my grandfather, 

 Lyle, say that one pipe was handed from man to man 



