The name of the vessel was not in keeping with her general appearance.

In spite of the elegance and magnificence of the vessel, on her stern, in great black letters, was the awful word: "DESPAIR." What strange freak had induced the owner of this wonderful craft to give it such a melancholy name?
Jamestown was thrown into a flutter of excitement at first, and whispered rumors went about that the vessel was a pirate.

If it should prove a pirate, they knew it would be able to destroy the town and all their fleet.

This story was perhaps started by some idlers, who sought to go aboard when the vessel first arrived, but were refused admittance to her deck.
Though not permitted to go aboard, those loafers had seen enough to start the report that the vessel was a gilded palace, ornamented with gold.

Two days had elapsed, and no one had come ashore, nor had any visitor been admitted to the ship, and the governor, growing uneasy about the strange craft, resolved to know something of it, so he sent the sheriff to ascertain her mission.
The captain of the ship, who gave his name as George Small, answered: "This vessel is the property of Sir Albert St.Croix, a wealthy merchant from the East Indies, who will this day visit the governor and make known the object of his visit to Jamestown." That day, a boat fit for a king was lowered, and eight or ten sailors, richly dressed, took their places at the oars.