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　the　skeptics。　Their　ridicule　would　naturally　appear　to　him　to　arise　from　envy。　　We　read　between　the　lines　of　his　own　eulogies　of　himself；　that　there　was　a　widespread　skepticism　about　his　greatness　and　his　achievements；　which　he　attributed　to　jealousy。　　Perhaps　his　obtrusive　virtues　made　him　enemies；　and　his　rectitude　was　a　standing　offense　to　his　associates。

It　is　certain　he　got　on　well　with　scarcely　anybody　with　whom　he　was　thrown　in　his　enterprises。　　He　was　of　common　origin；　and　always　carried　with　him　the　need　of　assertion　in　an　insecure　position。　　He　appears　to　us　always　self…conscious　and　ill　at　ease　with　gentlemen　born。　　The　captains　of　his　own　station　resented　his　assumptions　of　superiority；　and　while　he　did　not　try　to　win　them　by　an　affectation　of　comradeship；　he　probably　repelled　those　of　better　breeding　by　a　swaggering　manner。　　No　doubt　his　want　of　advancement　was　partly　due　to　want　of　influence；　which　better　birth　would　have　given　him；　but　the　plain　truth　is　that　he　had　a　talent　for　making　himself　disagreeable　to　his　associates。　　Unfortunately　he　never　engaged　in　any　enterprise　with　any　one　on　earth　who　was　so　capable　of　conducting　it　as　himself；　and　this　fact　he　always　made　plain　to　his　comrades。　Skill　he　had　in　managing　savages；　but　with　his　equals　among　whites　he　lacked　tact；　and　knew　not　the　secret　of　having　his　own　way　without　seeming　to　have　it。　　He　was　insubordinate；　impatient　of　any　authority　over　him；　and　unwilling　to　submit　to　discipline　he　did　not　himself　impose。

Yet　it　must　be　said　that　he　was　less　self…seeking　than　those　who　were　with　him　in　Virginia；　making　glory　his　aim　rather　than　gain　always；　that　he　had　a　superior　conception　of　what　a　colony　should　be；　and　how　it　should　establish　itself；　and　that　his　judgment　of　what　was　best　was　nearly　always　vindicated　by　the　event。　　He　was　not　the　founder　of　the　Virginia　colony；　its　final　success　was　not　due　to　him；　but　it　was　owing　almost　entirely　to　his　pluck　and　energy　that　it　held　on　and　maintained　an　existence　during　the　two　years　and　a　half　that　he　was　with　it　at　Jamestown。　　And　to　effect　this　mere　holding　on；　with　the　vagabond　crew　that　composed　most　of　the　colony；　and　with　the　extravagant　and　unintelligent　expectations　of　the　London　Company；　was　a　feat　showing　decided　ability。　　He　had　the　qualities　fitting　him　to　be　an　explorer　and　the　leader　of　an　expedition。　　He　does　not　appear　to　have　had　the　character　necessary　to　impress　his　authority　on　a　community。　　He　was　quarrelsome；　irascible；　and　quick　to　fancy　that　his　full　value　was　not　admitted。　　He　shines　most　upon　such　small　expeditions　as　the　exploration　of　the　Chesapeake；　then　his　energy；　self…confidence；　shrewdness；　inventiveness；　had　free　play；　and　his　pluck　and　perseverance　are　recognized　as　of　the　true　heroic　substance。

Smith；　as　we　have　seen；　estimated　at　their　full　insignificance　such　flummeries　as　the　coronation　of　Powhatan；　and　the　foolishness　of　taxing　the　energies　of　the　colony　to　explore　the　country　for　gold　and　chase　the　phantom　of　the　South　Sea。　　In　his　discernment　and　in　his　conceptions　of　what　is　now　called　〃political　economy〃　he　was　in　advance　of　his　age。　　He　was　an　advocate　of　〃free　trade〃　before　the　term　was　invented。　　In　his　advice　given　to　the　New　England　plantation　in　his　〃Advertisements〃　he　says：

〃Now　as　his　Majesty　has　made　you　custome…free　for　seven　yeares；　have　a　care　that　all　your　countrymen　shall　come　to　trade　with　you；　be　not　troubled　with　pilotage；　boyage；　ancorage；　wharfage；　custome；　or　any　such　tricks　as　hath　been　lately　used　in　most　of　our　plantations；　where　they　would　be　Kings　before　their　folly；　to　the　discouragement　of　many；　and　a　scorne　to　them　of　understanding；　for　Dutch；　French；　Biskin；　or　any　will　as　yet　use　freely　the　Coast　without　controule；　and　why　not　English　as　well　as　they？　　Therefore　use　all　commers　with　that　respect；　courtesie；　and　liberty　is　fitting；　which　will　in　a　short　time　much　increase　your　trade　and　shipping　to　fetch　it　from　you；　for　as　yet　it　were　not　good　to　adventure　any　more　abroad　with　factors　till　you　bee　better　provided；　now　there　is　nothing　more　enricheth　a　Common…wealth　than　much　trade；　nor　no　meanes　better　to　increase　than　small　custome；　as　Holland；　Genua；　Ligorne；　as　divers　other　places　can　well　tell　you；　and　doth　most　beggar　those　places　where　they　take　most　custome；　as　Turkie；　the　Archipelegan　Iles；　Cicilia；　the　Spanish　ports；　but　that　their　officers　will　connive　to　enrich　themselves；　though　undo　the　state。〃

It　may　perhaps　be　admitted　that　he　knew　better　than　the　London　or　the　Plymouth　company　what　ought　to　be　done　in　the　New　World；　but　it　is　absurd　to　suppose　that　his　success　or　his　ability　forfeited　him　the　confidence　of　both　companies；　and　shut　him　out　of　employment。　　The　simple　truth　seems　to　be　that　his　arrogance　and　conceit　and　importunity　made　him　unpopular；　and　that　his　proverbial　ill　luck　was　set　off　against　his　ability。

Although　he　was　fully　charged　with　the　piety　of　his　age；　and　kept　in　mind　his　humble　dependence　on　divine　grace　when　he　was　plundering　Venetian　argosies　or　lying　to　the　Indians；　or　fighting　anywhere　simply　for　excitement　or　booty；　and　was　always　as　devout　as　a　modern　Sicilian　or　Greek　robber；　he　had　a　humorous　appreciation　of　the　value　of　the　religions　current　in　his　day。　　He　saw　through　the　hypocrisy　of　the　London　Company；　〃making　religion　their　color；　when　all　their　aim　was　nothing　but　present　profit。〃　　There　was　great　talk　about　Christianizing　the　Indians；　but　the　colonists　in　Virginia　taught　them　chiefly　the　corruptions　of　civilized　life；　and　those　who　were　despatched　to　England　soon　became　debauched　by　London　vices。　　〃Much　they　blamed　us　＇he　writes＇　for　not　converting　the　Salvages；　when　those　they　sent　us　were　little　better；　if　not　worse；　nor　did　they　all　convert　any　of　those　we　sent　them　to　England　for　that　purpose。〃

Captain　John　Smith　died　unmarried；　nor　is　there　any　record　that　he　ever　had　wife　or　children。　　This　disposes　of　the　claim　of　subsequent　John　Smiths　to　be　descended　from　him。　　He　was　the　last　of　that　race；　the　others　are　imitations。　　He　was　wedded　to　glory。　　That　he　was　not　insensible　to　the　charms　of　female　beauty；　and　to　the　heavenly　pity　in　their　hearts；　which　is　their　chief　grace；　his　writings　abundantly　evince；　but　to　taste　the　pleasures　of　dangerous　adventure；　to　learn　war　and　to　pick　up　his　living　with　his　sword；　and　to　fight　wherever　piety　showed　recompense　would　follow；　was　the　passion　of　his　youth；　while　his　manhood　was　given　to　the　arduous　ambition　of　enlarging　the　domains　of　England　and　enrolling　his　name　among　those　heroes　who　make　an　ineffaceable　impression　upon　their　age。　　There　was　no　time　in　his　life　when　he　had　leisure　to　marry；　or　when　it　would　have　been　consistent　with　his　schemes　to　have　tied　himself　to　a　home。

As　a　writer　he　was　wholly　untrained；　but　with　all　his　introversions　and　obscurities　he　is　the　most　readable　chronicler　of　his　time；　the　most　amusing　and　as　untrustworthy　as　any。　　He　is　influenced　by　his　prejudices；　though　not　so　much　by　them　as　by　his　imagination　and　vanity。　　He　had　a　habit　of　accurate　observation；　as　his　maps　show；　and　this　trait　gives　to　his　statements　and　descriptions；　when　his　own　reputation　is　not　concerned；　a　value　beyond　that　of　those　of　most　contemporary　travelers。　　And　there　is　another　thing　to　be　said　about　his　writings。　　They　are　uncommonly　clean　for　his　day。　　Only　here　and　there　is　coarseness　encountered。　　In　an　age　when　nastiness　was　written　as　well　as　spoken；　and　when　most　travelers　felt　called　upon　to　satisfy　a　curiosity　for　prurient　observations；　Smith　preserved　a　tone　quite　remarkable　for　general　purity。

Captain　Smith　is　in　some　respects　a　very　good　type　of　the　restless　adventurers　of　his　age；　but　he　had　a　little　more　pseudo…chivalry　at　one　end　of　his　life；　and　a　little　more　piety　at　the　other；　than　the　rest。　　There　is　a　decidedly　heroic　element　in　his　courage；　hardihood；　and　enthusiasm；　softened　to　the　modern　observer's　comprehension　by　the　humorous　contrast　between　his　achievements　and　his　estimate　of　them。　　Between　his　actual　deeds　as　he　relates　them；　and　his　noble　sentiments；　there　is　also　sometimes　a　contrast　pleasing　to　the　worldly　mind。　　He　is　just　one　of　those　characters　who　would　be　more　agreeable　on　the　stage　than　in　private　life。　　His　extraordinary　conceit　would　be　entertaining　if　one　did　not　see　too　much　of　him。　Although　he　was　such　a　romancer　that　we　can　accept　few　of　his　unsupported　statements　about　himself；　there　was；　nevertheless；　a　certain　verity　in　his　character　which　showed　something　more　than　loyalty　to　his　own　fortune；　he　could　be　faithful　to　an　ambition　for　the　public　good。　　Those　who　knew　him　best　must　have　found　in　him　very　likable　qualities；　and　acknowledged　the　generosities　of　his　nature；　while　they　were　amused　at　his　humorous　spleen　and　his　serious　contemplation　of　his　own　greatness。　　There　is　a　kind　of　simplicity　in　his　self…appreciation　that　wins　one；　and　it　is　impossible　for　the　candid　student　of　his　career　not　to　feel　kindly　towards　the　〃sometime　Governor　of　Virginia　and　Admiral　of　New　England。〃





End　of　Volume　Three　of　The　Writings　of　Charles　Dudley　Warner