twice as large as the long-boat of a merchantman, "too small a bark to pass through the ocean sea at that season of the year," was nearly wrecked. That same night, about twelve o'clock, its lights suddenly disappeared; and neither the vessel, nor any of its crew, was ever again seen. Before the end of September the Hind reached Falmouth in safety.

Raleigh, not disheartened by the sad fate of his stepbrother, revolved a settlement in the milder clime from which the Protestants of France had been expelled. He readily obtained from Elizabeth, in March, 1584, a patent as ample as that which had been conferred on Gilbert. It was drawn according to the principles of feudal law, and with strict regard to the Christian faith as professed in the church of England. Raleigh was constituted a lord proprietary, with almost unlimited powers, holding his territories by homage and an inconsiderable rent, and possessing jurisdiction over an extensive region, of which he had power to make grants according to his pleasure.

Expectations rose high, since the inviting regions of the south were now to be colonized. In April two vessels, well laden with men and provisions, under the command of Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow, buoyant with hope, set sail for the New World. They pursued the circuitous route by the Canaries and the islands of the West Indies; after a short stay in those islands they sailed for the north, and were soon opposite the shores of Carolina. As in July they drew near land, the fragrance was "as if they had been in the midst of some delicate garden, abounding with all kinds of odoriferous flowers." Ranging the coast for one hundred and twenty miles, they entered the first convenient harbor, and, after thanks to God for their safe arrival, they took possession of the country for the queen of England.

The spot on which this ceremony was performed was in the island of Wocoken, the southernmost of the islands forming Ocracoke inlet. The air was agitated by none but the gentlest breezes, and the English commanders were in raptures with the beauty of the ocean, gemmed with islands, and seen in the magnificence of repose. The vegetation of that southern latitude struck the beholders with admiration; the trees

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had not their paragons; luxuriant climbers gracefully festooned the loftiest cedars; wild grapes abounded; and natural arbors formed an impervious shade. The forests were filled with birds; and, at the discharge of an arquebuse, whole flocks would arise, uttering a cry as if an army of men had shouted together.

The tawny inhabitants of the land, which they called Secotan, appeared in harmony with the loveliness of the scene. The desire of traffic overcame their timidity, and the English received a friendly welcome. On the island of Roanoke they were entertained, by the wife of Granganimeo, father of Wingina the king, with the refinements of Arcadian hospitality. "The people were most gentle, loving, and faithful, void of all guile and treason, and such as lived after the manner of the golden age." They had no cares but to guard against the moderate cold of a short winter, and to gather such food as the earth almost spontaneously produced. And yet it was added, with singular inconsistency, that their wars were cruel and bloody; and the English were solicited to engage in them under promise of lucrative booty.

The adventurers were satisfied with observing the general aspect of the New World; Pamlico and Albemarle sounds and Roanoke island were explored, and some information gathered by inquiries from the Indians; the commanders had not the courage or the activity to undertake an extensive survey of the country. Having made but a short stay in America, they arrived in September in the west of England, accompanied by Manteo and Wanchese, two natives of the wilderness; and the returning voyagers gave such glowing descriptions of their discoveries as might be expected from men who had done no more than sail over the smooth waters of a summer's sea, among "the hundred islands" of North Carolina. Elizabeth esteemed her reign signalized by the discovery of the enchanting regions, and, as a memorial of her state of life, named them Virginia.

Nor was it long before Raleigh, elected to represent in parliament the county of Devon, obtained a bill confirming his patent of discovery; and while he received the honor of

knighthood, as the reward of his valor, he acquired a lucrative monopoly of wines, which enabled him to continue his schemes. The prospect of becoming the proprietary of a delightful territory, with a numerous tenantry, who should yield him not only a revenue, but allegiance, inflamed his ambition; and, as the English nation listened with credulity to the descriptions. of Amidas and Barlow, it was not difficult to gather a numerous company of emigrants. While a new patent was issued to John Davis for the discovery of the north-western passage, and his well-known voyages, sustained in part by the contributions of Raleigh himself, were increasing the acquaintance of Europe with the Arctic Sea, the plan of colonizing Virginia was earnestly pursued.

The new expedition was composed of seven vessels, and carried one hundred and eight colonists to the shores of Carolina. Ralph Lane, a man so much esteemed as a soldier that he was afterward knighted by Queen Elizabeth, was willing to act for Raleigh as governor of the colony. Sir Richard Grenville, the most able and celebrated of Raleigh's associates, distinguished for bravery among the gallant spirits of a gallant age, assumed the command of the fleet. In April, 1585, it sailed from Plymouth, accompanied by several men of merit, whom the world remembers: by Cavendish, who soon after circumnavigated the globe; Hariot, the inventor of the system of notation in modern algebra, the historian of the expedition; and White, an ingenious painter, whose sketches of the natives, their habits and modes of life, were taken with beauty and exactness.

To sail by the Canaries and the West Indies, to conduct a gainful commerce with the Spanish ports by intimidation; to capture Spanish vessels-these were but the expected preliminaries of a voyage to Virginia. In June the fleet fell in with the main land of Florida; it was in great danger of being wrecked on the cape, which was then first called the cape of Fear; and two days after it came to anchor at Wocoken. The largest ship, as it entered the harbor, struck, but was not lost. It was through Ocracoke inlet that the fleet made its way to Roanoke.

Manteo, who returned with the fleet from a visit to Eng

land, was sent to the mainland to announce their arrival. Grenville, accompanied by Lane, Hariot, Cavendish, and others, in an excursion of eight days, explored the coast as far as Secotan, and, as they relate, were well entertained of the savages. At one of the Indian towns a silver cup had been stolen; its restoration was delayed; with hasty cruelty, Grenville ordered the village to be burnt and the standing corn destroyed. Not long after this act of inconsiderate revenge, the ships, having landed the colony, sailed for England; a rich Spanish prize, made by Grenville on the way home, secured him a courteous welcome as he re-entered Plymouth.

The employments of Lane and his colonists, after the departure of Sir Richard Grenville, could be none other than to explore the country, which he thus describes: "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 that we have not one sick since we touched the land. If Virginia had but horses and kine, and were inhabited with English, no realm in Christendom were comparable to it."

The keenest observer was Hariot. He carefully examined the productions of the country, those which would furnish commodities for commerce, and those which were in esteem among the natives. He observed the culture of tobacco, accustomed himself to its use, and believed in its healing virtues. The culture and the extraordinary productiveness of maize especially attracted his admiration; and the tuberous roots of the potato, when boiled, were found to be very good food. The natural 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 witchhazel with arrows of reeds; no armor but targets of bark and sticks wickered together with thread. Their largest towns contained but thirty dwellings. 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. But the great peculiarity of the Indians cousisted in the want of political connection. A single town

often constituted a government; a collection of ten or twenty wigwams might be an independent state. The greatest chief in the 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 Algonkin race, where the Lenni-Lenape tribes melted into the widely differing nations of the south. Their wars rarely led them to the open battle-field; 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. To the credulity of fetichism they joined an undeveloped conception of the unity of the Divine Power, continued existence after death, and retributive justice. The mathematical instruments, the burning-glass, guns, clocks, and the use of letters, seemed the works of gods rather than of men; and the English were reverenced as the pupils and favorites of Heaven. In every town which Hariot entered he displayed and explained the Bible; the Indians revered the volume rather than its doctrines; with a fond superstition, they embraced the book, kissed it, and held it to their breasts and heads, as an amulet. As the colonists enjoyed uniform health and had no women with them, there were some among the Indians who imagined that the English were not born of woman, and therefore not mortal; that they were men of an old generation, risen to immortality. The terrors of fire-arms the natives could neither comprehend nor resist; every sickness which now prevailed among them was attributed to wounds from invisible bullets, discharged by unseen agents with whom the air was supposed to be peopled. They. prophesied that "more of the English generation would come, to kill them and take their places.”

The natives desired to be delivered from guests by whom they feared to be supplanted. A wily savage allured them by tales that the river Roanoke gushed from a rock near the Pacific; that its banks were inhabited by a nation skilled in refining the rich ore in which the country abounded; that the walls of their city glittered with pearls. In March, Lane attempted to ascend the rapid Roanoke; and his followers

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