Page:The Life of George Washington, Volume 1.djvu/82

 52 INTRODUCTION. chap it. By his mildness of temper, his assiduity to 1610. business, and a judicious exercise of authority, this nobleman restored order and contentment to the colony, and again impressed the Indians with respect for the English name. Unfortu- nately, a complication of diseases soon obliged him to resign his government, which, on the 16U. 28th of March he placed once more in the hands of Mr. Percy, and sailed himself for Nevis in the West Indies; leaving in the co- lony about two hundred persons in possession of the blessings of health, plenty, and peace. MJ homas ^ n the *-0th of May, sir Thomas Dale, who had been appointed to the government, arrived with a fresh supply of men and provisions, and found the colony relapsing into its former state of anarchy, idleness and penury. It required all the authority of the new governor to main- tain public order, and to compel the idle and the dissolute to labour. Some conspiracies having been detected, he proclaimed martial law, which he instantly put in execution by punishing the most guilty. These severities which, in the ordinary state of society, would not and ought not to have been tolerated, were then deemed necessary, and are spoken of as having probably saved the settlement. 11 In the beginning of August, sir Thomas Gates, who had been appointed to succeed sir Thomas Dale, arrived with six ships and a n Robertson. .x.Chalmer..,.Stith....Eeverhj.