Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/100

 recalled that they were the first persons of their race to look upon that beautiful expanse of river and forest, which, for a length of time almost incalculable, had existed just as they saw it then.

The charming impressions as to the physical aspect of the country were confirmed by subsequent observations. Sir Thomas Dale, writing in 1613, only a few years after the first colony was established on Jamestown Island, declared that his admiration of Virginia increased as his opportunities for informing himself about its resources enlarged, and that he believed that it would be equivalent to all the best parts of Europe taken together, if it were only brought under cultivation and divided among industrious people. Percy was equally emphatic in asserting that if the promoters of the Virginian enterprise would only extend the adventurers a hearty support, the new country would be as profitable to England in time as the Indies had long been to the King of Spain. Whitaker describes it as a place beautified by God with all the ornaments of nature, and enriched with his earthly treasures. &#8220;Heaven and Earth,&#8221; exclaimed Captain Smith, &#8220;never