ch labor, and as a possible short cut to the South Sea and
Cathay. The vast number of Londoners whose names appear in the second
Virginia charter shows the readiness of traders to seek profit in
adventure. The stir for wider freedom in religion and government
increased with the activity of exploration and colonization, and one
reason why James finally annulled the Virginia, charter was because
he regarded the meetings of the London Company as opportunities of
sedition.

Smith is altogether silent about his existence at this time. We do not
hear of him till 1612, when his "Map of Virginia" with his description
of the country was published at Oxford. The map had been published
before: it was sent home with at least a portion of the description
of Virginia. In an appendix appeared (as has been said) a series of
narrations of Smith's exploits, covering the rime he was in Virginia,
written by his companions, edited by his friend Dr. Symonds, and
carefully overlooked by himself.

Failing to obtain employment by the Virginia company, Smith turned his
attention to New England, but neither did the Plymouth company avail
themselves of his service. At last in 1614 he persuaded some London
merchants to fit him out for a private trading adventure to the coast
of New England. Accordingly with two ships, at the charge of Captain
Marmaduke Roydon, Captain George Langam, Mr. John Buley, and William
Skelton, merchants, he sailed from the Downs on the 3d of March, 1614,
and in the latter part of April "chanced to arrive in New England,
a part of America at the Isle of Monahiggan in 43 1/2 of Northerly
latitude." This was within the territory appropriated to the second (the
Plymouth) colony by the patent of 1606, which gave leave of settlement
between the 38th and 44th parallels.

Smith's connection with New England is very slight, and mainly that of
an author, one who labored for many years to excite interest in it by
his writings. He named several points, and made a map of such portion
of the coast as he saw, which was changed from time to time by other
observations. He had a remarkable eye for topography, as is especially
evident by his map of Virginia. This New England coast is roughly
indicated in Venazzani's Plot Of 1524, and better on Mercator's of a few
years later, and in Ortelius's "Theatrum Orbis Terarum" of 1570; but
in Smith's map we have for the first time a fair approach to the real
contour.

Of Smith's English predeces