So well did he succeed, he says, that they promised him twenty sail of ships to go with him the next year, and to pay him for his pains and former losses.  The western commissioners, in behalf of the company, contracted with him, under indented articles, “to be admiral of that country during my life, and in the renewing of the letters-patent so to be nominated”; half the profits of the enterprise to be theirs, and half to go to Smith and his companions.

Nothing seems to have come out of this promising induction except the title of “Admiral of New England,” which Smith straightway assumed and wore all his life, styling himself on the title-page of everything he printed, “Sometime Governor of Virginia and Admiral of New England.”  As the generous Captain had before this time assumed this title, the failure of the contract could not much annoy him.  He had about as good right to take the sounding name of Admiral as merchants of the west of England had to propose to give it to him.

The years wore away, and Smith was beseeching aid, republishing his works, which grew into new forms with each issue, and no doubt making himself a bore wherever he was known.  The first edition of “New England’s Trials”—­by which he meant the various trials and attempts to settle New England was published in 1620.  It was to some extent a repetition of his “Description” of 1616.  In it he made no reference to Pocahontas.  But in the edition of 1622, which is dedicated to Charles, Prince of Wales, and considerably enlarged, he drops into this remark about his experience at Jamestown:  “It Is true in our greatest extremitie they shot me, slue three of my men, and by the folly of them that fled tooke me prisoner; yet God made Pocahontas the king’s daughter the meanes to deliver me:  and thereby taught me to know their treacheries to preserve the rest. [This is evidently an allusion to the warning Pocahontas gave him at Werowocomoco.] It was also my chance in single combat to take the king of Paspahegh prisoner, and by keeping him, forced his subjects to work in chains till I made all the country pay contribution having little else whereon to live.”

This was written after he had heard of the horrible massacre of 1622 at Jamestown, and he cannot resist the temptation to draw a contrast between the present and his own management.  He explains that the Indians did not kill the English because they were Christians, but to get their weapons and commodities.  How different it was when he was in Virginia.  “I kept that country with but 38, and had not to eat but what we had from the savages.  When I had ten men able to go abroad, our commonwealth was very strong:  with such a number I ranged that unknown country 14 weeks:  I had but 18 to subdue them all.”  This is better than Sir John Falstaff.  But he goes on:  “When I first went to those desperate designes it cost me many a forgotten pound to hire men to go, and procrastination caused more run away than went.”  “Twise