Smith, "for the erecting of a great citie:" though it seems that there was some difference of opinion among the captains even then upon this subject; and subsequent experience seems to have proved the propriety of the doubt. But here, nevertheless, the majority so willing it, on the 13th day of May, 1607, the axe was buried in the trees, and the first shafts were hewn out for the foundation of the forest city of the Royal James,-henceforward to be called Jamestown. But the foundation of the city was a small and trivial event to that of the great nation which has yet grown from this small beginning: and he whose eye beholds now upon this memorable but neglected spot no trophy more significant than the rents of ruin in the arches of a single tower overgrown with ivy, and the lank forest growth which denotes the mound where sleep the bones of the early settlers, will scarcely be persuaded .hat he beholds the obscure nest and birth-place, as lowly as that of the sea-fowl which leaves her eggs along the shore, of the great nation whose wing now spreads, or is fast spreading, over the whole vast continent of North America. Such is, nevertheless, the simple and the startling truth! One hundred and ten years have elapsed from the discovery of the country by Sebastian Cabot, and twenty-two since Raleigh first attempted unsuccessfully its colonization. From this memorable movement the tree takes root, in the future shade of which a mighty people are to find shelter, and in the fruits of which a thousand generations are to gather strength and sustenance. Verily, we may not look upon that ruin of a town, that low and lonely remnant of our royal hamlet, on the north side of the river Powhatan, with unconcern and indiffer ence!

CHAPTER III.

THE site of their future habitations chosen, the first duty of our council was to appoint a President. Their choice fell upon Mr. Wingfield, by whom the members of the council were sworn to the performance of their duties. From this privilege Smith was especially excluded; the president declaring his reasons for the exclusion in a speech, which we may easily suppose embodied the several charges which had been made against him, of treason and sedition. We can readily understand the propriety, nay, the absolute necessity of excluding from a seat in the government, an individual who stood under such imputations; and though the exclusion was in direct disobedience of that authority under which they acted as a council, yet we are of opinion that it is a vital constituent of every social or political body to be able to determine who shall properly appear among them. It certainly does not seem an injustice-assuming that the members of the council are themselves free from improper agency in the matter that, while such charges are pending over the head of an associate, they should refuse to grant him an exercise of power which might contribute to the promotion of the dangerous designs which he is supposed to meditate. Ard we are bound to believe, until the issue is known, that the council consists of honest men, who are only solicitous of what is right. At all events, Smith makes no complaint. You hear no murmurs from his lips. He is cool and resolute, patient as strong men generally are, not anxious about the result, pretty well assured, indeed, what it must be. He knows the persons with

whom he has to deal; has sounded their depths already, and is familiar with all their shallows. What is more, he knows himself-his innocence and his resources equally; and steadily maintaining his temper and his calmness, he fortifies himself in the daily increasing confidence and affections of those whose morbid vanities are not mortified by his evident superiority of character.

But though his services are rejected from the councilseat, they are not to be slighted when the toils and perils of the field are to be undertaken. The colony is quite too feeble to forego the vigor of any able-bodied man, and as soon as the work begins we find our adventurer busy with the rest in providing for the security and comfort of the settlement. Trees are to be felled, forts to be raised, wigwams built, and clapboards are to be split for freighting the returning vessels-our patrons at home requiring as rapid return for the outlay as possible. Each man is assigned a labor suited to his capacities; and while some are engaged upon the tents and cabins, some in the forest hewing trees and getting clapboards, others are weaving bushes into a shelter for their homesteads, and others are laying out gardens, and are preparing gins, snares, and nets for the taking of game and fish. In any of these labors we may be sure that Smith would hold his hand with the best. But he is required for other toils; and as soon as things begin to be tolerably secure and comfortable in the settlement, he is despatched with Captain Newport and twenty others on a voyage of exploration up the river of Powhatan. He offers no objection to this service, though nothing is said of his trial, and he is still denied the place in council which his sovereign has assigned him. But Smith is superior to his enemies. He entertains no sulks, has no petty revenges, but conscientiously having the good of the colony at heart, cheerfully goes upon the

duty which is assigned him. They ascend the river to the hamlet of Powhatan himself, the great chief of the country, who dwelt near the falls, and just below the present site of Richmond. This prince is described as a " tall, well-proportioned man, with stern countenance, a head somewhat grey, his beard quite thin and insignificant, his limbs straight, his person erect, of an able and hardy frame, equal to any labor, and at the time of making the acquaintance of the English, near sixty years of age." He is the Emperor of all the country surrounding Jamestown for a space of sixty miles-is supposed,out of a population of six or eight thousand, to be able to bring from fifteen hundred to two thousand warriors into the field. Dwells in some state at his royal hamlet of Powhatan, but has numerous residences; is ordinarily attended by a body guard of forty or fifty of the tallest men in his country; and a strict military discipline environs his dwelling-place with guards day and night, who regularly relieve each other, and who neglect or slumber in their watches at peril of a bastinado, not unlike that of the Turkish in its severity. Like the Turk, he has his Hareem, his religion offering no limit to his appetite. When weary of his women, he bestows them upon his favorites. His power seems to have been a pure despotism; though it appears that under particular circumstances his subjects are permitted the rare privilege of grumbling. They exercise this privilege when Smith and Newport visit the emperor at his village. They resent the intrusion of the strangers; but Powhatan with better policy, quiets their apprehensions while seeking to disguise his own. "They are harmless-they want nothing but a little land." A little land! The poor savages little know how nearly allied to a land's safety and their own is the knowledge of its value. Powhatan treated the English with a lofty courtesy. He was no

common man among his tribe A born sovereign, he extended his domains by conquest, and absorbed the conquered people among his own. He was of an ambitious and fearless nature, but rendered cautious by the usual training of the savage. An object of fear and awe among his subjects, the presence of the whites, among whom he evidently inspired no such sentiments, was ungracious to his eyes; but with the sagacious instincts of a strong mind, he saw at a glance that he had to deal with a superior race, and the weapon which he proposed to employ against them was one the use of which was familiar to his genius-treachery.

Nobody could have been treated with more kindness and courtesy than were Smith and Newport by our Indian Emperor. Indeed, the entertainment which marked their progress among the Indians was one of the warmest hospitality. They were everywhere received with dancing and feasting. The food spread before them consisted of bread and fish, strawberries, mulberries, &c. ; in return for which the Indians received the most precious baubles in the shape of bells, beads, pins, needles, and lookingglasses, which made them the happiest of mortals for the time. Powhatan himself furnished them with a guide to explore the river, receiving a warrior as a hostage "in pawn" for the Indian. In this progress Smith exhibits his customary acuteness of remark, and his vigilance of examination into all that met his eyes. He has left us a considerable body of facts, collected on this and subsequent voyages, illustrative of the manners and habits of the Indians; their costume, their religion, their superstitions, their modes of going to war, and all the peculiarities in short which distinguish their condition, and all the facts or traditions which could illustrate their history. These materials, to this day, furnish the ample storehouse