[8] we can call him one of the “fathers of American literature.” 1 He was, in fact, a sturdy and accomplished Englishman of the best Elizabethan type. The famous story of his rescue by Pocahontas apparently represents the instinctive effort of a gallant gentleman-adventurer with a turn for expression to embellish his bluff narrative with a romantic incident. The first person of professedly literary pursuits to come to America was George Sandys, already a poet of recognized standing when, in 1621, he crossed the ocean as an official under the Governor of Virginia. The first five books of his translation of Ovid's “Metamorphoses” had just been published in England, and had been received with enthusiasm. On his departure for America he was sped by a rhymed tribute from Michael Drayton, exhorting him to go on with the same work in Virginia:--
Entice the Muses thither to repair;he urges. It was a rude air. To the ordinary privations of the pioneer, and the wearing routine of official duties, were added the
Entreat them gently; train them to that air,
