sanctioned by the London Company was Draconian in its severity. Blasphemy, denying "the known articles of the Christian faith," speaking against the King, or vilifying the London Company, were crimes punishable with death.

But these laws were not considered unduly harsh for their day, and they did not sorely oppress the colonists. Men were whipped and fined and pilloried and a few were hanged, but Virginia had slight cause to complain of tyrants who punished for the mere delight of inflicting suffering and gratifying a love for cruelty. It was this moderation that left Virginia almost indifferent to the great struggle in England and made no unclosable breach between the Virginians and the New Englanders. In Virginia there were no wrongs to be avenged, no bitter memories of persecution, no fortunes wrecked or estates confiscated because Commonwealth had succeeded King and King had replaced Protector. Individual preference of course the colonists had, but they accepted the change almost with unconcern. It is true that in 1661 the Virginia Assembly passed an act making the thirteenth of January, the anniversary of the execution of Charles I, a day to be solemnized with fasting and prayer, "that our sorrows may expiate our crime, and our tears wash away our guilt," but that was partly sentiment and affection for the memory of the "murdered" sovereign, and partly expediency. The successor of Charles was firmly seated on the throne, Puritanism

was another lost cause, politically speaking, and the colonists knew the advantage of having the favor of the King and the Court. But whether King reigned or Protector governed was of less consequence to these fiery colonists than the enjoyment of their rights that had so early “broken out" in the history of the colony. They were quick enough to resist encroachment, they were prompt in defying the Company or the Court when their liberties were threatened, but English politics never raised up among the colonists two formidable parties always waiting to fly at each other's throats. In England the hope was cherished that the King's party would be built up in Virginia and that when the time was ripe Virginia could be relied on to contribute men and money for the restoration of the monarchy. But it was empty hope. There was party neither of the Crown nor of Parliament, and the Virginians cared more to save the colony from spoliation and bloodshed than they did to become involved in English politics.

The whole course of American history, even in the colonial era, when American history was being written, although no one was wise enough to read it, shows that the Englishman in America cast off some of the political traditions that had governed him in England and adopted new principles that were the necessity of his new environment and his new conditions. And, curiously enough, broadly and fundamentally, from these principles there

has been no deviation. The cardinal principle of American polity from the time of Washington to the present day has been no "entangling alliances," and in keeping aloof from the struggle of Roundhead and Cavalier, and in refusing to be made a pawn in the great game of English politics, the Virginians unconsciously adopted a policy that later was to have the sanction of the American people and become incorporated into the unwritten constitution. We shall see how an unbroken thread runs through the complicated arabesque of American history, and how it appears and reappears at every stage of American development and with what fidelity it has been adhered to.

After the Virginians brought the wilderness under subjection and the peril of Indian massacre was no longer to be feared, it was natural that they should settle down to the enjoyment of the good fortune that was theirs. In all the accounts of contemporary Virginia we are impressed by the spirit of content, by the emphasis laid on pleasant surroundings and the life of ease and pleasure, which is in such marked contrast to life in the northern colonies, where hearts were still being searched in the vain endeavor to solve the unfathomable mystery of sin and suffering. The Virginian was no metaphysician or hair-splitting theologian; polemical discussion did not appeal to him; whether a soul could dance on the point of a needle was a foolish speculation when the hounds were straining to raise the fox, and the

skies were blue and cloudless, and the air was balmy and perfume laden, and after the chase there was tobacco and toddy to bring enjoyment and defy sour-faced preachers.

This contentment resulted in another significant mental change. From mere adventurers and transients the Virginian had been transformed into a people with a country. The spirit of patriotism, which makes nations, was springing into life. The discovery that Virginia was not a land of fabled wealth and mythological miracle, that the ground was not encumbered with gold and rivers did not run contrary to the laws of Nature, was a great blow to the first settlers, who in many things were as simple as children and as easily imposed upon by fairy tales. But back of their ingenuousness was the substratum of English solidity and obstinacy. The gold existed only in imagination, but the wealth was there to be won by effort. Virginia was no longer a place of exile, but a country in which men were to live and prosper; a country not only to be endured but to be liked, for the Virginians soon came to have an affection for this wondrous land that was so rich and rewarded them so lavishly. They were not only content to remain, but few had any desire to leave.1 "The romantic era of colonization, with its wild hopes and ambitions, is over." It was no longer necessary to hold out alluring but impossible

1 "Leah and Rachel; or The Two Fruitful Sisters, Virginia and Maryland," Force, vol. iii, p. 12.

promises. God need not be propitiated by the sanctimonious lie of the conversion of the heathen, nor greed excited by illusory tales of gold. Even the importance of Virginia to England as a commercial and military outpost was less dwelt upon. Virginia was appreciated for herself, and the once stony-hearted stepmother had become a sweetheart to be wooed and a wife to be cherished.

And climate worked its end. "The cloudless skies and genial air had changed the heavy, sombre Englishman into the spirited, keen, vivacious beings who produced the Jeffersons, Madisons, Randolphs and Lees." They were a united people, those Virginians, and believed in themselves. Perhaps this- this intense confidence in themselves was the great reason why they achieved and became great.