E-text prepared by Melissa McDaniel, Robert Tonsing, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/daughterofvirgin00wall Transcriber’s note: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). [Illustration] THE DAUGHTER OF VIRGINIA DARE by MARY VIRGINIA WALL [Illustration] New York and Washington The Neale Publishing Company 1908 Copyright, 1908, by Mary Virginia Wall TO MY MOTHER, VIRGINIA AND MY GRANDMOTHER, ENGLAND THE DAUGHTER OF VIRGINIA DARE PRELUDE The sunbeams were playing hide and seek with the ripples around the prows of three small vessels lying at anchor in the harbor of Portsmouth. Their decks were crowded with the colonists going to seek a home on the soil of Virginia. On the wharf all was bustle and confusion. The songs of the sailors loading the vessels with the goods of the voyagers mingled with the whip and snap of the sails as they were given to the breeze. At last the creaking of the capstan as the anchors were hoisted on board sounded the warning note of departure. Leading the diminutive fleet was the good ship _Admiral_, having as her master Simon Ferdinando. Closely in her wake followed a pinnace and a flyboat, and from the masthead of all three fluttered the English flag. They were not to leave England, however, until they had stopped at two of her ports on their way out. For eight days they tarried at the Isle of Wight, and two more in the harbor of Plymouth. As they sailed out of this quaint old harbor the balmy air of May wafted the fragrant farewell of the hawthorn blossoms even to the water’s edge. “How hard it is to bid farewell to home and friends and turn my face to this unknown land,” said Eleanor Dare to herself as she stood on the deck of the _Admiral_. “There is a strange fear welling up in my heart as if some unknown shadow were falling upon us. “But I must not even breathe such a thought to my husband, it would dampen the hope of home and fortune which is buoying him up. I must rather cheer and encourage him; I must hide the heart sickness, and leave our future in the hands of God.” Fainter and fainter grew the outlines of old England’s shores, until only the dim bluffs of Cornwall, like a mirage, lay on the horizon. As Eleanor Dare strained her eyes to catch the last glimpse before the curve of the earth hid them from view, her husband drew her to him. “Dear heart, turn your eyes to the west, to home and happiness. See how the sun is making a pathway of light for our ship. Is it not a good omen?”