11 
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 thought 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 queen graciously accepted of it, but finding her 
stomach sicken after two or three whiffs, it was presently wdiispered by the 
earl of Leicester’s faction, that sir Walter had certainly poisoned her. But 
her majesty 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 Quixote 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 W^est Indies, which made their maritime neigh- 
bours eager to do so too. This 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 transported, 
fondly expecting . their coarsest utensils, in that happy place, would be of 
massy 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 
w’ork 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 broke out again about 
the year 1606. Then it happened that the earl of Southampton and several 
other persons, eminent for their quality and estates, were invited into the 
company, who applied themselves 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 vray 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 
James 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 
that 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 themselves, w'ere alw'ays engaged in 
factions and quarrels, while the rest detested w'ork more than famine. At this rate the 
colony must have come to nothing, had it not been for 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 locked upon all labour as a curse. 
They chose rather to depend upon the musty provisions that were sent from England : and 
W’hen they failed they were foiced to take more pains to seek for wild fruits in the woods, 
than they would have taken in tilling the ground. Besides, this exposed 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 which were fewer gentlemen and more la- 
bourers, who, however, took oare not to kill themselves with work. 
