Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

Smiling at length he exclaimed to the stalwart Captain

of Plymouth :

"Pecksuot bragged very loud, of his courage, his strength and his stature,

Mocked the great Captain, and called him a little man; but I see now

Big enough have you been to lay him speechless before you!"

815

Thus the first battle was fought and won by the stalwart Miles Standish.

When the tidings thereof were brought to the village of Plymouth,

And as a trophy of war the head of the brave Wat

tawamat

Scowled from the roof of the fort, which at once was a church and a fortress,

All who beheld it rejoiced, and praised the Lord, and took courage.

820

818, 819 Trophy of war: this would be thought a horrible thing to do now, but the English people were then so used to it that it did not shock them. Much later than this, in 1660, when Charles II was restored to the throne, the body of the great Cromwell was torn out of its grave and hung on a gibbet.

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

Only Priscilla averted her face from this spectre of

terror,

Thanking God in her heart that she had not married Miles Standish;

Shrinking, fearing almost, lest, coming home from his battles,

He should lay claim to her hand, as the prize and reward of his valor.

VIII

THE SPINNING-WHEEL

Month after month passed away, and in autumn the ships of the merchants

825

Came with kindred and friends, with cattle and corn for the Pilgrims.

825 Ships: the Anne and the Little James which really came in 1623.

826 Cattle: no cattle came to the colony till 1624, though the Pilgrims had dogs, swine, and poultry. It was necessary that cattle should be brought as soon as possible. The lack of domestic animals was one reason why the Indians did not attain to a higher civilization. How did the original inhabitants of America happen to be called Indians? How do you suppose they came to be in America? Look at the map and see if they could have come from Asia? How do domestic animals help to civilize?

Corn: this must mean wheat or oats, etc. They would not be likely to obtain Indian corn from England. Before the discovery of America, the word " corn meant any kind of grain.

[ocr errors]

All in the village was peace; the men were intent on their labors,

Busy with hewing and building, with garden-plot and with merestead,

Busy with breaking the glebe, and mowing the grass in the meadows,

Searching the sea for its fish, and hunting the deer in

the forest.

830

All in the village was peace; but at times the rumor

of warfare

Filled the air with alarm, and the apprehension of

danger.

Bravely the stalwart Standish was scouring the land with his forces,

Waxing valiant in fight and defeating the alien ar

mies,

Till his name had become a sound of fear to the

nations.

835

Anger was still in his heart, but at times the remorse

and contrition

Which in all noble natures succeed the passionate outbreak,

Came like a rising tide, that encounters the rush of a river,

835 Nations: name two great Indian nations which at that time held the eastern part of America.

Staying its current awhile, but making it bitter and brackish.

Meanwhile Alden at home had built him a new habitation,

840

Solid, substantial, of timber rough-hewn from the firs of the forest.

Wooden-barred was the door, and the roof was covered with rushes;

Latticed the windows were, and the window-panes were

of paper,

Oiled to admit the light, while wind and rain were ex

cluded.

There too he dug a well, and around it planted an

orchard:

845

888, 839 Such rivers are called tide-rivers. The Saint Lawrence is a tide-river up above Quebec.

843 Describe lattice windows.

Window-panes: the art of making window glass was known in England long before that, but it came into use very slowly, and glass windows were considered a great luxury which only the very rich could afford. Usually the lattice framework of windows was filled with paper which was treated with linseed oil. This allowed the light to shine through, but prevented the rain from soaking the paper.

Still may be seen to this day some trace of the well and the orchard.

Close to the house was the stall, where, safe and secure from annoyance,

Raghorn, the snow-white bull, that had fallen to Alden's allotment

In the division of cattle, might ruminate in the nighttime

Over the pastures he cropped, made fragrant by sweet pennyroyal.

Oft when his labor was finished, with eager feet would the dreamer

Follow the pathway that ran through the woods to the house of Priscilla,

Led by illusions romantic and subtile deceptions of fancy,

Pleasure disguised as duty, and love in the semblance of friendship.

Ever of her he thought, when he fashioned the walls of his dwelling;

855

Ever of her he thought, when he delved in the soil of his garden;

846 The descendants of John Alden still own his old homestead in Duxbury, a neighboring town to Plymouth. The present house is supposed to occupy the site of the first one.

« ПредишнаНапред »