SECTION II. COLONIAL HISTORY. VIRGINIA. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Voyage.—In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gil bert sailed from England, under a patent granted by Queen Elizabeth. His design was to take possession of the northern parts of America, and found a colony in Newfoundland. He landed on the island, but, in consequence of disasters, no attempt at settlement was made. On the return to England, one of the ships, that in which Gilbert sailed, foundered, and all on board perished. Voyage of Amidas and Barlow.-Sir Walter Raleigh (raw'lē), not disheartened by the sad fate of his step-brother, Gilbert, obtained from Elizabeth an ample patent, and, in 1584, sent two vessels, under the command of Am'i-das and Barlow. The voyagers arrived on the coast of Carolina, visited the islands in Pam'li-co and Albemarle Sounds, took possession of the country in the name of their sovereign, and, after trafficking with the natives, returned to England. So glowing an account did Amidas and Barlow give of the country which they had seen, that Elizabeth declared the event to be the most glorious in her reign, and, as a memorial of her unmarried state, named the region VIRGINIA. Upon Raleigh she conferred the honor of knighthood. First Attempts at Settlement in Virginia.-Two unsuccessful attempts were afterward made to establish a colony on Roanoke Island (1585-7); and an attempt farther north was made by Burtholomew Gosnold, who discovered Cape Cod (1602), but failed to effect a settlement. Martin Pring the following year explored the coast and large rivers of Maine. In 1606, King James I. divided the territory claimed by the English into North and South Virginia, granting the former to the Plymouth Company, the latter to the London Company. The first permanent settlement under this grant was made at Jamestown, in 1607, by an expedition sent out by the London Company. This expedition was commanded by Captain Christopher Newport. Settlement of Jamestown.--Grahame. 1. AFTER the lapse of a hundred and ten years from the discovery of the continent by Cabot, and twenty-two years after its first occupation by Raleigh, was the number of English colonists limited to a hundred and five; and this handful of men undertook the arduous task of peopling a remote and uncultivated land, covered with woods and marshes, and inhabited only by tribes of savages and beasts of prey. Under the sanction of a charter which bereaved Englishmen of their most valuable rights, and banished from the constitution of American society the first principles of liberty, were the foundations laid of the colonial greatness of England, and of the freedom and prosperity of America. From this period, or at least very shortly after, a regular and connected history ensues, of the progress of Virginia and New England, the two eldest-born colonies, whose example promoted the rise, as their shelter protected the weakness, of the others which were successively planted and reared. 2. Newport and his squadron, pursuing, for some unknown reason, the wider compass taken by the first navigators to America, instead of the less circuitous track that had been recently ascertained, did not accomplish their voyage in a shorter period than four months; but its termination was rendered peculiarly fortunate by the effect of a storm, which defeated their purpose of landing and settling at Roanoke, and carried them into the Bay of Chesapeake (April, 1607). 3. As they advanced through its waters, they easily perceived the advantage that would be gained by establishing their settlement on the shores of this spacious haven, replenished' by the tributary floods of so many great rivers, which fertilize the soil of that extensive district of America, and, affording commodious inlets into the interior parts, facilitate their foreign commerce and mutual communication. 4. Newport first landed on a promontory forming the southern boundary of the bay, which, in honor of the Prince of Wales, he named Cape Henry. Thence, coasting the southern shore, he entered a river which the natives called Powhatan, and explored its banks for the space of forty miles from its mouth. Impressed with the superior convenience of the coast and soil to which they had been thus happily conducted, the adventurers unanimously determined to make this the place of their abode. They gave to their infant settlement, as well as to the neighboring river, the name of their king; and Jamestown retains the distinction of being the oldest existing habitation of the English in America. 5. But the dissensions that broke out among the colonists soon threatened to deprive them of all the advantages of their fortunate territorial position. Their animosities were inflamed by an arrangement, which, if it did not originate with the king, at least betrays a strong affinity to that ostentatious" mystery and driftless artifice which he affected as the perfection of. political dexterity. The names of the provincial council were not communicated to the adventurers when they departed from England; but the commission which contained them was inclosed in a sealed packet, which was directed to be opened within twenty-four hours after their arrival on the coast of Virginia, when the councillors were to be installed in their office, and to elect their own president. 6. The disagreements incident to a long voyage had free scope among men unaware of the relations they were to occupy toward each other, and of the subordination which their relative and allotted functions might imply; and when the names of the council were proclaimed, the disclosure was far from affording satisfaction. Captain Smith, whose superior talents and spirit excited the envy and jealousy of his colleagues, was excluded from a seat in the council, which the commission authorized him to assume, and even accused of traitorous designs, so unproved and improbable, that none less believed the charge than the persons who preferred it. 7. The privation of his counsel and services in the difficulties of their outset, was a serious loss to the colonists, and might have been attended with ruin to the settlement, if his merit and generosity had not been superior to their mean injustice. The jealous suspicions of the individual who was elected president restrained the use of arms, and discouraged the construction of fortifications; and a misunderstanding having arisen with the Indians, the colonists, unprepared for hostilities, suffered severely from one of the sudden attacks characteristic of the warfare of these savages. 8. Newport had been ordered to return with the ships to England; and, as the time of his departure approached, the accusers of Smith, with affected clemency, proposed that he also should return with Newport, instead of abiding a criminal prosecution in Virginia. But, happily for the colony, he scorned so to compromise his integrity; and, demanding a trial, was honorably acquitted, and took his seat in the council. 9. The fleet was better victualled than the magazines of the colony; and while it remained with them, the colonists were permitted to share the plenty enjoyed by the sailors. But when Newport set sail for England, they found themselves limited to scanty supplies of unwholesome provisions; and the sultry heat of the climate and moisture of a country overgrown with wood, co-operating with the defects of their diet, brought on diseases that raged with fatal violence. Before the month of September, one half of their number had miserably perished; and among these victims was Bartholomew Gosnold, who had planned the expedition, and materially contributed to its accomplishment. 10. This scene of suffering was embittered by internal dissensions. The president was accused of embezzling the public stores, and finally detected in an attempt to seize a pinnace", and escape from the colony and its calamities. At length, in the extremity of their distress, when ruin seemed to impend, alike from famine and the fury of the savages, the colonists obtained a complete and unexpected deliverance, which the piety of Smith ascribed to the influence of God, in suspending the passions, and controlling the sentiments and purposes of men. The savages, actuated by a sudden and generous change of feeling, not only refrained from molesting them, but gratuitously brought them a supply of provisions so liberal, as at once to dissipate their apprehensions of famine and hostility. 11. Resuming their spirit, the colonists now proved themselves not wholly uninstructed by their misfortunes. In seasons of exigency merit is illustrated, and the envy that pursues it is absorbed by deeper interest and alarm. The sense of common and urgent danger promoted a willing and even eager submission to a man whose talents were most likely to extricate' his companions from the difficulties with which they were encompassed. Every eye was now turned on Smith, and with universal acclaim his fellow-colonists devolved on him the authority which they had formerly shown so much jealousy of his acquiring. 12. This individual, whose name will be forever associated with the foundation of civilized society in America, was descended from a respectable family in Lincolnshire, and born to a competent fortune. At an early age, his lively mind was deeply smitten with the spirit of adventure that prevailed so strongly in England during the reign of Elizabeth; and yielding to his inclination, he had passed through a great variety of military service, with little pecuniary' gain but high reputation, and with the acquisition of an experience the more valuable that it was obtained without exhausting his ardor or tainting his morals. 13. The vigor of his constitution had preserved his health unimpaired amid the general sickness; the undaunted mettle of his soul retained his spirits unbroken and his judgment unclouded, amidst the general misery and dejection; and his adventurous zeal, which once attracted the reproach of overweening ambition, was now felt to diffuse an animating glow of hope and courage among all around him. A strong sense of religion predominated over the well-proportioned qualities. of his mind, refreshed his confidence, extended and yet regulated his views, and gave dignity to his character and consistency to his conduct. 14. Assuming the direction of the affairs of the colonists, he promptly adopted the only policy that could save them from destruction. Under his directions, Jamestown was fortified by such defences as were sufficient to repel the attacks of the savages; and by dint of great labor, which he was always the foremost to partake, its inhabitants were provided with dwellings that afforded shelter from the weather, and contributed to restore and preserve their health. Finding the supplies of the savages discontinued, he put himself at the head of a detach |