agnificence of the vessel, on her stern, in
great black letters, was the awful word:

"DESPAIR."

What strange freak had induced the owner of this wonderful craft to
give it such a melancholy name? Jamestown was thrown into a flutter of
excitement at first, and whispered rumors went about that the vessel was
a pirate. If it should prove a pirate, they knew it would be able to
destroy the town and all their fleet. This story was perhaps started by
some idlers, who sought to go aboard when the vessel first arrived, but
were refused admittance to her deck.

Though not permitted to go aboard, those loafers had seen enough to
start the report that the vessel was a gilded palace, ornamented with
gold. Two days had elapsed, and no one had come ashore, nor had any
visitor been admitted to the ship, and the governor, growing uneasy
about the strange craft, resolved to know something of it, so he sent
the sheriff to ascertain her mission.

The captain of the ship, who gave his name as George Small, answered:

"This vessel is the property of Sir Albert St. Croix, a wealthy merchant
from the East Indies, who will this day visit the governor and make
known the object of his visit to Jamestown."

That day, a boat fit for a king was lowered, and eight or ten sailors,
richly dressed, took their places at the oars. A man, whose long white
hair hung about his shoulders in snowy profusion, and whose beard, white
as the swan's down, came to his breast, descended to the boat and was
rowed ashore.

When he was landed, the sailors returned with the boat to the ship,
leaving him on the beach. The old man was richly dressed. He blazed with
jewels such as a king might envy, and the hilt of his sword was of pure
gold. He wore a brace of slender pistols, whose silver-mounted butts
protruded from his belt.

The dark cloak about his shoulders was Puritanic; but the elegance of
his attire and the profusion of jewelry which he wore proved that he was
not of that order. His low-crowned hat was three-cornered, trimmed with
lace and the brim held in place by three blazing diamonds. It was
something like the cocked hat, which, half a century later, was worn by
most of the gentry.

After watching the boat until it returned to the vessel, the old man
went toward the statehouse. He spoke to no one on the way, though he
paused under a large oak about half way between the statehouse and the
beach, and gazed long on the town and surrounding country.