To my Worthy friend and Cousen, Captaine Iohn Smith,

IT

Touer-ioyes my heart, when as thy Words Of these designes, with deeds I doe compare. Heere is a Booke, such worthy truth affords, None should the due desert thereof impare; Sith thou, the man, deseruing of these Ages, Much paine hast ta'en for this our Kingdoms good, In Climes vnknowne, Mongst Turks and Saluages, T'inlarge our bounds; though with thy losse of blood. Hence damn'd Detraction: stand not in our way, Enuie, it selfe, will not the Truth gainesay.

N. Smith.

To that worthy and generous Gentleman, my verie good friend, Captaine Smith.

MAy Fate thy Prospect prosper, that thy name
May be eternised with liuing fame :

Though foule Detraction Honour would peruert,
And Enuie euer waits vpon desert:

In spight of Pelias, when his hate lies colde,
Returne as Iason with a fleece of Golde.

Then after-ages shall record thy praise,
That a New England to this Ile didst raise:
And when thou dyst (as all that liue must die)
Thy fame liue heere; thou, with Eternitie.

R: Gunnell.

To his friend Cap: Smith vpon his description of New England.

SIr; your

Ir; your Relations I haue read: which shewe,
Their's reason I should honour them and you;
And if their meaning I haue vnderstood,

I dare to censure, thus: Your Proiect's good;
And may (if follow'd) doubtlesse quit the paine,
With honour, pleasure and a treeble gaine;
Beside the benefit that shall arise

To make more happie our Posterities.

For would we daigne to spare, though' twere no more
Then what o're-filles, and surfets vs in store,"
To order Nature's fruitfulnesse a while

In that rude Garden, you New England stile;
With present good, ther's hope in after-daies
Thence to repaire what Time and Pride decaies
In this rich kingdome. And the spatious West
Being still more with English blood possest,
The Proud Iberians shall not rule those Seas,
To checke our ships from sayling where they please;
Nor future times make any forraine power
Become so great to force a bound to Our.

Much good my minde fore-tels would follow hence
With little labour, and with lesse expence.
Thriue therefore thy Designe, who ere enuie:
England may ioy in England's Colony,
Virginia seeke her Virgine sisters good,
Be blessed in such happie neighbourhood:
Or, what-soere Fate pleaseth to permit,
Be thou still honor'd for first moouing it.

George Wither,

è societate Lincols.

In the deserued honour of my honest and worthie Captaine,

John Smith, and his Worke

Captaine and friends when I peruse thy booke
(With Iudgements eyes) into thy heart I looke:
And there I finde (what sometimes-Albyon) knew)
A Souldier, to his Countries-honour, true.

Some fight for wealth; and some for emptie praise; But thou alone thy Countries Fame to raise. With due discretion, and vndanted heart, I (oft) so well haue seene thee act thy Part In deepest plunge of hard extreamitie,

As forc't the troups of proudest foes to flie. Though men of greater Ranke and lesse desert Would Pish-away thy Praise, it can not start

From the true Owner; for, all good-mens tongues Shall keepe the same. To them that Part belongs. If, then, Wit, Courage, and Successe should get Thee Fame; the Muse for that is in thy debt: A part whereof (least able though I bee) Thus heere I doe disburse, to honor Thee.

Rawly Croshaw.

Michael Phettiplace, William Phettiplace, and Richard Wiffing, Gentlemen, and Souldiers vnder Captaine Smiths Command: In his deserued

WH

honor for his Worke, and worth.

Hy may not we in this Worke haue our Mite, That had our share in each black day and night, When thou Virginia soild'st, yet kept'st vnstained; And held'st the King of Paspeheh enchained. Thou all alone in Saluage sterne didst take. Pamunkes king wee saw thee captiue make Among seauen hundred of his stoutest men, To murther thee and vs resolued; when Fast by the hand thou ledst this Saluage grim, Thy Pistoll at his breast to gouerne him: Which did infuse such awe in all the rest #

(Sith their drad Soueraigne thou' had'st so distrest)
That thou and wee (poore sixteene) safe retir'd
Vnto our helplesse ships. Thou (thus admir'd)
Didst make proud Powhatan, his subiects send
To Iames his Towne, thy censure to attend:
And all Virginia's Lords, and pettie Kings,
Aw'd by thy vertue, crouch, and Presents brings
To gaine thy grace; so dreaded thou hast beene:
And yet a heart more milde is seldome seene;
So, making Valour Vertue, really;

Who hast, nought in thee counterfet, or slie:
If in the sleight bee not the truest art,
That makes men famoused for faire desert.

Who saith of thee, this sauors of vaine-glorie,
Mistakes both thee and vs, and this true storie.
If it bee ill in Thee, so well to doe;
Then, is it ill in Vs, to praise the too,
But, if the first bee well done; it is well,
To say it doth (if so it doth) excell!
Praise is the guerdon of each deere desert,
Making the praised act the praised part

With more alacritie: Honours Square is Praise;
Without which, it (regardlesse) soone decaies.

And for this paines of thine wee praise thee rather, That future Times may know who was the father

Of this rare Worke (New England) which may bring. Praise to thy God, and profit to thy King.

Because the Booke was printed ere

the Prince his Highnesse had altered the names, I intreate the Reader, peruse this schedule; which will plainely shew him the correspondence

of the old names to the new.