It is needful here to pass rapidly over the chronicle of the expeditions
to America, since they form no part of the personal history of Raleigh.
On April 27 he sent out his first fleet under Amidas and Barlow. They
sailed blindly for the western continent, but were guided at last by 'a
delicate sweet smell' far out in ocean to the coast of Florida. They
then sailed north, and finally landed on the islands of Wokoken and
Roanoke, which, with the adjoining mainland, they annexed in the name of
her Majesty. In September this first expedition returned, bringing
Raleigh, as a token of the wealth of the new lands, 'a string of pearls
as large as great peas.' In honour of 'the eternal Maiden Queen,' the
new country received the name of Virginia, and Raleigh ordered his own
arms to be cut anew, with this legend, _Propria insignia Walteri
Ralegh, militis, Domini et Gubernatoris Virginiae_. No attempt had been
made on this occasion to colonise. It was early in the following year
that Raleigh sent out his second Virginian expedition, under the brave
Sir Richard Grenville, to settle in the country. The experiment was not
completely successful at first, but from August 17, 1585, which is the
birthday of the American people, to June 18, 1586, one hundred and eight
persons under the command of Ralph Lane, and in the service of Raleigh,
made Roanoke their habitation. It is true that the colonists lost
courage and abandoned Virginia at the latter date, but an essay at least
had been made to justify the sanguine hopes of Raleigh.

These expeditions to North America were very costly, and by their very
nature unremunerative for the present. Raleigh, however, was by this
time quite wealthy enough to support the expense, and on the second
occasion accident befriended him. Sir Richard Grenville, in the 'Tiger,'
fell in with a Spanish plate-ship on his return-voyage, and towed into
Plymouth Harbour a prize which was estimated at the value of 50,000_l._
But Raleigh was, indeed, at this time a veritable Danae. As though
enough gold had not yet been showered upon him, the Queen presented to
him, on March 25, 1584, a grant of license to export woollen
broad-cloths, a privilege the excessive profits of which soon attracted
the critical notice of Burghley. Raleigh's grant, however, was long left
unassailed, and was renewed year by year at least until May 1589. It
would seem that his income from the trade in undyed broad-cloth was of
a two-fold natur