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to secure to
England those delightful countries
Chap. III.} 1584. Mar. 25. |
from which the Protestants of
France had been expelled.
Having presented a memorial, he readily obtained from Elizabeth a paten
1 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 balmy regions of the south were now to be colonized; and the terrors of icy seas were forgotten in the hope of gaining a province in a clime of perpetual fertility, where winter hardly intruded to check the productiveness of nature.
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 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.’
They ranged the coast for a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, in search of a convenient harbor; they entered the first haven which offered, and, after thanks to God for their safe arrival, they landed to take possession of the coun-
try for the queen of
England.
The spot on which this ceremony was performed,