A History of American Literature Author:Moses Coit Tyler General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1890 Original Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons Subjects: American literature History / General Literary Collections / American / General Literary Criticism / General Literary Criticism / American / General Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Wel... more »sh Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER II. VIRGINIA: THE FIRST WRITER. I. -- The arrival in America of the f1rst Americans -- A fortunate blunder -- Satisfaction with their new home. II. -- The sort of men they were -- Their leaders -- Captain John Smith -- His previous career -- His character -- His important relation to early American settlements -- The first writer in American literature. III. -- His fust book -- Its publication in London in 1608 -- A literary synchronism -- American literature and John Milton -- Synopsis of the book -- Notable passages -- The fable of his rescue by Pocahontas -- The place of the book at the head of American literature -- Summary of its literary traits. IV. -- His second American writing -- A bold letter to his London patrons -- His knowledge refusing to be commanded by their ignorance -- The kind of men to make good colonists of -- Early symptoms of American recalcitrance. V. -- His third American work -- Vivid pictures of Virginia -- The climate -- The country -- The productions -- The Indians -- His fine statement of the utility of the Virginian enterprise. VI. -- Captain John Smith's return to England -- His subsequent career -- A baffled explorer -- His pride in the American colonies -- Utilized by the playwrights -- Thomas Fuller's sarcastic account of him -- His champions -- Final estimate. The three little ships ...« less