The Knight Of The Golden Melice, John Turvill Adams [the reading list TXT] 📗
- Author: John Turvill Adams
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Consenting Hearts With One True Faith--A Faith Consoling
Exceedingly--A Faith To Lift High Above The Tempests Of Adversity--To
Heal The Wounds Of Earth, And To Be Crowned With Glory And Immortality
In Heaven."
"Were I Even To Join The Congregation, Which, In My Present Way Of
Thinking, I Might Not Do Without Guilt, Master Spikeman Would,
Doubtless, Find Means To Make Vain My Suit."
"Judge Him Not So Harshly. What Motive Can He Have, Other Than To
Perform His Duty To The Living And To The Dead? Think, Rather, That
Providence Hath, In Its Own Wonderful Way, Determined To Lead Thee By
The Silken Cord Of Thy Affections Unto Grace. Be Not Disobedient Unto
The Heavenly Impulse."
"I Perceive That I Have Failed In My Prayer, And Can Have No Hope Of
Your Intercession, Honored Sir," Said Arundel, Rising, "And Will
Therefore Take My Sorrowful Leave."
"It Pains Me," Said Winthrop, Also Rising, "That, Under Present
Circumstances, I Am Compelled To Deny It. I May Not Do Aught To
Contravene A Resolution Of The Deceased Edmund Dunning, Which Seems To
Have Been Inspired By Heaven; But, The Cause Of That Resolution Being
Removed, No One Will Be Happier To Promote Your Purpose. I Say This
The More Cheerfully, Because Thy Happiness Is Within Reach, To Be
Wisely Seized Or Unwisely Refused."
"With Thanks For Your Excellency's Good Will, And Lamenting That It Is
Fruitless, I Will Now Depart."
Hereupon, The Young Man Making A Sign To His Companion, The Indian
Approached. The Sight Of The Latter Seemed To Suggest An Idea To
Winthrop, For, Turning To Him, He Said:
"On The Morrow I Expect An Embassy From Some Of Your Countrymen,
Waqua. Will Not The Chief Remain To Witness It?"
On The Quiet Countenance Of The Indian Only An Inquiry Was To Be Read.
"The Taranteens," Said The Governor, In Answer To The Look, "Desire To
Brighten The Chain Of Friendship Between The White Men And Themselves,
And It Ought To Give Pleasure To A Wise Chief To Behold It."
"Waqua Is A Young Man," Replied The Indian, "And Is Not Wise; But He
Has Heard The Old Men Of His Tribe Say, That No Faith Was To Be Placed
In The Word Of A Taranteen."
"Let Them Beware," Said Winthrop, Who, From Obvious Motives Of Policy,
Adopted This Tone In The Indian's Presence, "How They Attempt To
Deceive Me. The Friendship Of The White Man Is Like The Blessed Sun,
Which Brings Life And Joy; His Enmity, Like The Storm-Clouds, Charged
With Thunders And Lightnings."
"Listen!" Said The Indian, Laying His Hand On The Arm Of The Governor.
"The Beavers Once Desired The Friendship Of The Skunk. They Admired
His Black And White Hair, And Thought His Round, Bushy Tail, Which Was
Different From Theirs, Very Beautiful; So They Invited Him Into Their
Lodges; But When He Came, His Scent Was So Bad That They Were All
Obliged To Abandon Them. The Taranteens Are The Skunk."
"I Have No Fear That They Will Drive Us Away," Said Winthrop, With A
Smile. "They Have Every Reason To Conciliate Our Favor, And We Would
Be At Peace, If We Are Permitted, With All Men. We Came Not Into These
Far Off Regions To Bring A Sword, But The Blessings Of Civilization
And Of The Gospel."
"Waqua Will Come," Said The Indian, "But The Taranteens Are A Skunk.
The White Chief Will Remember The Words Of Waqua, And Will Say, Before
Many Days, That He Spoke The Truth."
"We Know How To Deal With The Treacherous," Answered The Governor,
"But Anticipate No Evil Now."
With These Words, And, As If Striving By Extraordinary Courtesy To
Palliate The Pain Which He Had Inflicted On Arundel, He Accompanied
The Two To The Door Of The Apartment, Where He Dismissed Them.
Chapter XI (Oh! He Sits High In All The People's Hearts.)
Shakespeare.
It Was Evident That, So Far From Anything Being To Be Expected From
The Interposition Of The Governor, He Was Opposed To The Marriage Of
Arundel As Long As The Latter Should Remain Outside Of The Charmed
Circle Of The Church--A Full Communion With Which Was Necessary, Even
To The Exercise Of The Rights Of A Citizen. But The Young Man Was
Incapable Of Deception. His Ingenuous Mind Turned, Displeased, Away
From The Bait The Wily Governor Had Presented; And, Dearly As He Loved
His Mistress, He Would Have Preferred To Renounce Her Rather Than Play
The Hypocrite To Obtain The Prize. He Was Not Much Cast Down, For,
Having Sought The Interview, Not From The Promptings Of His Own
Judgment, But Out Of Deference To The Wishes Of The Knight, He Was Not
Greatly Disappointed. He Remained Firm In The Resolution, Whatever
Might Be The Risk, To Release Eveline From The Constraint Exercised
Over Her By Her Guardian. Silent, With The Indian Silent Following In
His Footsteps, He Returned To His Lodgings To Brood Over His Prospects
And To Devise Schemes.
The Next Day Was The Time Fixed For Receiving The Taranteens; And Not
Without Interest, Notwithstanding The Pre-Occupation Of His Mind, Did
Arundel Look Forward To The Event. Such Deputations Or Embassies Were,
Indeed, Not Uncommon, And The Young Man Had Already Been Present At
More Than One Occasion Of The Kind; But Great Consequence Was Attached
To The Present, And Unusual Preparations Were Made To Convert The
Ceremony Into A Scene That Should Be Imposing To The Imagination Of
The Savages, And Forcibly Impress Them With An Idea Of The Power Of
The English.
The Name Taranteen Was Given To The Natives Living On The Banks Of The
River Kennebec, In The Present State Of Maine, And Embraced A Number
Of Tribes, Among Whom Were Those Called By The French Abenakis. They
Were A Fierce And Proud Race, And Had Spread The Terror Of Their Arms
To A Wide Distance From Their Hunting Grounds. There Was A Perpetual
Feud Betwixt Them And The Aberginians, As The Indians On Massachusetts
Bay Were Styled, Who, In Consequence Of Wars With Their Northern
Neighbors, As Well As Of The Pestilence Which Had Desolated Their
Wigwams, Had Become Reduced From The Condition Of A Powerful People To
Comparative Insignificance. These Taranteens Had, At The Beginning Of
The Settlement Of The Colony, Occasionally Done Some Mischief,
Descending These Rivers In Canoes In Small Bands, Plundering The
Cabins Of Exposed Settlers, And Sometimes Murdering The Inmates. As
The Power Of The Whites Increased, And Their Name Became More
Terrible, These Forays Had Almost Ceased, And In Most Instances The
Colonists Were Able, In One Way And Another, To Obtain Satisfaction
For The Wrongs Committed. There Was No Defined State Of Hostilities
Existing Betwixt Them And The Taranteens, Nor Could It Be Said They
Were Strictly At Peace With Each Other, And It Was Felt That Great
Advantages Might Result From An Interchange Of Activities And A Formal
Establishment Of Friendly Relations. The Efforts Of Winthrop And Of
His Council Had Been For Some Time Directed To This Object, But
Hitherto They Had Been Frustrated By The Intrigues Of The French, Who
Found It For Their Interest To Discourage Intercourse Between The
Taranteens And The Colonists, Lest The Lucrative Trade With The
Former, Of Which They Enjoyed The Monopoly, Might Be Diverted From
Them Entirely, Or Diverted Into Other Channels. In These Exertions The
French Traders Were Not A Little Aided By The Jesuit Missionaries
Scattered Among Them, Who Naturally Favored Their Countrymen, And
Besides Were Afraid Of The Spiritual Influence Which The Heretical
Puritans Might Exercise Over Their Dusky Neophytes. For Even At That
Early Period, The Zeal Of The Romish Church Had Penetrated The Wilds
Of North As Well As Of South America, And Erected The Sacred Crucifix
Where Before Stood The Stake Of The Victim. Solitudes Which, Until
Then, Had Only Trembled To The Horrid War-Whoop, Were Now Tranquilized
By The Soft Sounds Of The Lowly Muttered Mass. The Ferocity Of The
Natives Began To Be Softened, And If Not Christianized And Practising
Only The Outward Ceremonies Of Christianity, They Had At Least Taken
The First Step Towards Civilization. In This State Of Things A
Circumstance Had Occurred, Which Made Abortive Any Further Opposition
Of The Missionaries And Traders.
A Shallop, Or Small Vessel Employed By The Colonists In Fishing, Had
Picked Up At Sea, At A Considerable Distance From The Land, A Canoe
Containing Some Half A Dozen Indians, Who Were On The Point Of
Perishing From Hunger. They Were Taranteens, Who Had Probably Ventured
Out Too Far From The Main, And Been Caught In A Storm, And Swept Out
By Currents, Until They Lost All Knowledge Of Their Situation, And Had
Been For Some Days Paddling About In The Fogs, Which Prevail In Those
Latitudes Near The Coast, In A Vain Attempt To Retrace Their Course To
Land. The Starving Wretches Had Been Taken On Board The Shallop, And
Instead Of Being Destroyed As They Expected, Had Been Kindly Treated,
And Brought In Safety To Boston, Where They Were Presented To
Winthrop. The Governor, Politic As Well As Humane, Seized The
Favorable Opportunity To Cultivate A Better Understanding Than Had
Hitherto Existed Between His Own People And The Eastern Tribes. He Was
Completely Successful In Making The Impression He Desired Upon The
Rescued Taranteens; And When They Took Their Departure, Loaded With
Presents, It Was With A Lively Regret That They Had Not Sooner Become
Acquainted With A People So Hospitable And Generous. Among Their
Number Was An Inferior Chief, Endowed With The Gift Of Eloquence,
Which Often Exists In A High Degree Among The Red Men. His Eulogies Of
The Colonists On His Return Were So Glowing, And His Representations
Were So Well Confirmed By His Companions, That The Exertions Of The
Frenchmen Were No Longer Able To Stifle Their Curiosity To Know More
Of Their Neighbors, Especially As The Report Of Their Returned
Tribes-Men Effectually Contradicted The Monstrous Fictions Which Had
Been Invented To Deter Them. Such Was The Origin Of An Embassy Which
Was A Source Of Fear To The French, And Of Hope To The English.
It Is Not Surprising That Winthrop, Thinking Highly Of The Importance
Of The Occasion, Should Avail Himself Of All The Means At Hand To
Produce A Striking And Imposing Spectacle, And That He Should Be
Seconded, To The Best Of Their Ability, By The Colonists. As Arundel
Walked Along He Could Observe Indications Of The Approaching
Ceremonies. The Roll Of A Drum, Mingled With The Shriek Of A Fife, And
The Blast Of A Trumpet Was Heard; An Occasional Passenger Either On
Foot Or Horseback, With A Musket On His Shoulder, And Whose Face Was
Not To Be Seen Daily In The Streets Of The Town, Loitered On His Way;
The Guard At The Door Of The Governor's House Was Doubled, More For
Show Than For Any Other Purpose, And A Greater Number Of The
Assistants Than Usual Was To Be Seen. Several Of These Gentlemen Lived
In The Town, But Some Resided On Their Plantations In The
Neighborhood, And Came To Boston Only For Purposes Of Business, Or
Diversion, Or Pleasure. Several Men Were Also Engaged In Drawing A
Couple Of Culverins To The Place Of Audience, Which Was To Be In The
Open Air. Waqua, As He Walked Demurely After Arundel, Doubtless
Noticed All That Was Passing, But He Made No Remark, Nor Through His
Appearance Of Indifference Was The Interest Which He Really Felt
Perceptible.
When They Reached The Inn, They Found An Unusual Number Of Persons
There Collected. Here Were To Be Found Not Only The Captains And
Inferior Officers Of The Vessels, Who, While In Harbor, Were
Accustomed To Make This A Place Of Resort, But Divers Colonists From
The Country Round, Who, Upon The Requisition Of The Governor, Had
Assembled, Provided With Military Equipments. The Heart Of The
Landlord, Goodman Nettles, Rejoiced, And His Contradictory Face Beamed
With Pleasure, As, Surveying The Increasing Crowd, He Calculated What
Quantity Of Ale And Wine And Victuals They Would Put Down Their
Throats, And How Many Pounds, Shillings, And Pence, Into His Own
Pocket. On Such Occasions The Large Circle Of His Benevolence
Comprehended All Mankind--Indians As Well As Whites. As The Two
Entered The Public Room Of The Inn, They Heard Rising Above The
Confused Din Of Voices, That Of
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