CHAPTER XXII

 Far away on the Potomac, where the steamers now toll¹ their bells in passing, Pocahontas had lived for the last three years, in the wigwam of Japazaws.

 

Roaming by the river’s bank she lived over again the happy days when she had called Smith “father” and he had called her “child.” What had become of him—was he still living? she wondered. She would ask Powhatan to send some one to England to find out, for she could not bear to go to Jamestown and miss him at every turn.

 

Looking down the river she descried² a ship approaching, filled with white men. Calling Japazaws, and pointing to the ship, she said, “Pocahontas will not see the pale-faces now. Her heart is sorrowful, for there is no friendship between us. Powhatan does not heed³ the pleadings of his best-loved daughter.”

 

Hastening down to the shore, Japazaws welcomed with loud shouts of joy Captain Argall and his crew.

 

“Japazaws is greatly honored by your coming. Opechancanough has told him of the presents you bestow⁴. Everything in his146 poor village is at your command.” And he bade his squaw bring refreshments⁵ for his guests and tobacco for their pipes.

 

Pocahontas, who had disappeared, heard the echo of their voices and found herself unable to keep away. Perhaps they could tell her something of her “father.” She must find out. Coming forward, she added her welcome to that of the Indians.

 

“Pocahontas once loved your people and came to Jamestown to visit them.”

 

“I have heard many kind things of her whom the pale-faces call the ‘Blessed Pocahontas,’” Argall replied.

 

“Has the chief with the shining body returned!” she inquired.

 

“No, he is dead,” replied Argall, who was of the nature that does not mind telling a wanton lie.

 

She turned sorrowfully away. All links with the happy past were broken. There was no one at Jamestown now who would love her as her “father” had done. It would only bring pain to visit there again.

 

While Argall was talking with Pocahontas a happy inspiration seized him. He would take her, by force if necessary, to Jamestown as a hostage of peace between Powhatan and the settlers. Fame would come to him and no doubt he would be147 rewarded. Nothing could be better, he thought, and he immediately set to work on the well-known greed of Japazaws to gain his end.

 

“Come down to the ship, Japazaws; I have something to show you.”

 

When they arrived there he brought forth⁶ a kettle, and placing it before the longing⁷ eyes of the Indian, said, “Look at this copper⁸ kettle; see how it shines and glistens⁹. Only great kings use them—not even Powhatan has one like it.”

 

“How many bushels of corn does the white chief want?”

 

“Not one bushel shall it cost you,” replied Argall. “Only a little thing, a very little thing, I ask in return.”

 

“What does the great chief desire?” inquired the crafty¹⁰ Japazaws.

 

“Bring Pocahontas as a captive to my ship to-morrow and the kettle is yours. Also I will bestow many presents of guns and hatchets¹¹ when next you visit Jamestown.”

 

“Japazaws dare not. Powhatan would kill,” said Japazaws.

 

“He need never know. Tell him that I took her and then turned the great guns of my ship upon you.”

 

“It is enough. Japazaws will do it to148 show his love for the white man. Forget not the copper kettle.”

 

Back went Japazaws and told his wife of his bargain, but she was very unwilling¹² to betray Pocahontas.

 

“Japazaws will beat hard if the squaw not obey.” At that threat she quailed¹³ and consented to aid him.

 

The next day she told Pocahontas that she and her husband were going on board the white man’s ship and wanted her to go, too. There would be no danger, she said. The pale faces were friends. All would be well.

 

Captain Argall received them with a great show of friendship and spread a feast in their honor. English food that they had never tasted was placed before them.

 

“Taste of this, Japazaws,” said Argall, handing a dish of veal¹⁴ sweetbread to him.

 

Japazaws took a huge mouthful, rolled it around once or twice, and then spit it out upon the floor. “Ugh! Bad mush!” exclaimed the disgusted chief.

 

After the repast was over Argall enticed¹⁵ Pocahontas into the gun-room to look at the wonderful cannon¹⁶. While she was marveling at the great guns he said, “You are to go with me to Jamestown as a hostage for your people. There will be peace with149 Powhatan, and the murder of our people will cease.”

 

A long heart-broken wail¹⁷ floated over the water. In came running Japazaws and his squaw to learn the cause of her sorrow.

 

“Japazaws take Pocahontas back. The white chief would make her a captive,” cried the unhappy girl.

 

“I will turn the great guns on his wigwams and kill his people if he carries you away,” said Argall.

 

All the while Japazaws was making the welkin ring with howls. “How is Japazaws to answer to Powhatan?” he yelled, at the same time treading hard on the pet corn of Argall to remind him of the copper kettle.

 

As Argall’s ship moored¹⁸ at the landing at Jamestown many of the settlers came down to meet him and hear of his adventures.

 

“Whom think you I have brought back with me, as a captive?” cried Argall pompously¹⁹.

 

“Not Powhatan?” exclaimed Laydon.

 

“Pshaw! might as well try to put salt on a snipe’s tail as catch that old rat. But I have the next best thing—Pocahontas, his daughter.” Then he narrated²⁰ the manner of her capture.

 

“How could you have the heart to do it?” said a woman standing²¹ by.

 

“I can do anything that will redound²² to my own personal gain,” replied Argall.

 

“You men are ever hunting down some poor female,” remarked the wife of a settler, who had recently bought her for forty pounds of tobacco.

 

“I take notice that they are very careful to be caught,” returned Argall. “I will now fetch the captive from the gun-room.”

 

Disappearing within the ship, he presently came out leading a maiden²³, slow of gait and with bowed head.

 

“Welcome back to Jamestown, Pocahontas, friend of the English,” cried Adam Clotworthy, who still retained vivid remembrances of her bounty²⁴.

 

Throwing back her head she faced the group of colonists²⁵, and in accents of blended scorn and pain poured forth the recital²⁶ of her wrongs:

 

“What is this you do to Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan?

Where is the memory of her kindness?

When starvation slayed your people and sickness

Laid them low, many times she came with food.

When Powhatan plotted destruction, through sleet²⁷

And storm she came, braving her father’s anger,

Because of the love she bore you.

Now Pocahontas is taken from her people and

Walks a stranger among you.”

 

Then from among the men stepped fair-haired, blue-eyed young Rolfe and in low accents tried to comfort her.

 

“Do not be so sorrowful, maiden. We will be as kindred to you. John Rolfe will be your brother and protect you with his life.”

 

“Let her come to me,” said the matron, Anne Laydon. “She needs a woman’s care. She shall live with me and I will befriend her.” And putting her arm around the waist of the Indian maiden she led her to her cabin.

 

John Laydon had steadily²⁸ prospered²⁹, and as the first fruits of his gain he erected³⁰ a pleasant house for Anne. Furniture from the mother country was brought over, a piece at a time, for his cherished wife. Now he welcomed the poor little captive in friendly words.

 

“John Laydon has not forgotten the kindness of Pocahontas in the years that are past. She is welcome to his house.”

 

“Pocahontas shall share the room with my baby girl. Will she not love the little papoose?” said Anne.

 

The Indian maid, who loved everything that was small and helpless, went down on her knees beside the cradle to caress³¹ the152 pink toes and kiss the dimpled hands of the little two-year-old baby. In a few days the little one could be seen holding on by the fringe on Pocahontas’s skirt as she toddled³² after her.

 

Under the capable supervision³³ of the young matron Pocahontas commenced to learn the art of housekeeping. Following Anne, who flitted from one spot to another like a hummingbird³⁴, she learned to manage the spinning-wheel and loom³⁵. Various tiny garments for the baby daughter of her benefactress were made by Pocahontas, whose skilful³⁶ fingers soon learned the use of the steel needle. Always some bright bit of Indian decoration could be found on them. She made dainty moccasins, embroidered³⁷ in beads³⁸ of many colors, for the tiny feet.

 

At first her Indian blood chafed³⁹ against the narrow confines of Jamestown, shut up within the palisades; but after a while other forces began to work within her, and she became more reconciled as the year drifted by.

 

Rolfe’s pity and sympathy for her made him seek her society frequently. He conceived the idea of instructing her in the Christian⁴⁰ religion, and teaching her how to read and speak the English language with153 fluency⁴¹. She constantly reminded him of a slender lily, swaying in the breeze, and when alone with her he always called her Lily.

 

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 descried   

adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的

参考例句：

• He descried an island far away on the horizon. 他看到遥远的地平线上有个岛屿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At length we descried a light and a roof. 终于，我们远远看见了一点灯光，一所孤舍。 来自辞典例句

3 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

4 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

5 refreshments   

n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待

参考例句：

• We have to make a small charge for refreshments. 我们得收取少量茶点费。
• Light refreshments will be served during the break. 中间休息时有点心供应。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

8 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

9 glistens   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The lake glistens in the moonlight. 湖水在月光下闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• VC:You forever are that star which in my heart most glistens. 翻译：你永远是我心中最闪亮的那一颗星。 来自互联网

10 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

11 hatchets   

n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战

参考例句：

• Hatchets, knives, bayonets, swords, all brought to be sharpened, were all red with it. 他们带来磨利的战斧、短刀、刺刀、战刀也全都有殷红的血。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. 圣所中一切雕刻的、们现在用斧子锤子打坏了。 来自互联网

12 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

13 quailed   

害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I quailed at the danger. 我一遇到危险，心里就发毛。
• His heart quailed before the enormous pyramidal shape. 面对这金字塔般的庞然大物，他的心不由得一阵畏缩。 来自英汉文学

14 veal   

n.小牛肉

参考例句：

• She sauteed veal and peppers,preparing a mixed salad while the pan simmered.她先做的一道菜是青椒煎小牛肉，趁着锅还在火上偎着的机会，又做了一道拼盘。
• Marinate the veal in white wine for two hours.把小牛肉用白葡萄酒浸泡两小时。

15 enticed   

诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He enticed his former employer into another dice game. 他挑逗他原来的老板再赌一次掷骰子。
• Consumers are courted, enticed, and implored by sellers of goods and services. 消费者受到商品和劳务出售者奉承，劝诱和央求。

16 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

17 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

18 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

19 pompously   

adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样

参考例句：

• He pompously described his achievements. 他很夸耀地描述了自己所取得的成绩。 来自互联网

20 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

22 redound   

v.有助于；提；报应

参考例句：

• Her efforts will redound to the general good.他的努力将使他受益匪浅。
• This will redound to his credit.这将提高他的名气。

23 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

24 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

25 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 recital   

n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会

参考例句：

• She is going to give a piano recital.她即将举行钢琴独奏会。
• I had their total attention during the thirty-five minutes that my recital took.在我叙述的35分钟内，他们完全被我吸引了。

27 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

28 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

29 prospered   

成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。

30 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

31 caress   

vt./n.爱抚，抚摸

参考例句：

• She gave the child a loving caress.她疼爱地抚摸着孩子。
• She feasted on the caress of the hot spring.她尽情享受着温泉的抚爱。

32 toddled   

v.（幼儿等）东倒西歪地走( toddle的过去式和过去分词 )；蹒跚行走；溜达；散步

参考例句：

• It's late — it's time you toddled off to bed. 不早了—你该去睡觉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her two-year-old son toddled into the room. 她的两岁的儿子摇摇摆摆地走进屋里。 来自辞典例句

33 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

34 hummingbird   

n.蜂鸟

参考例句：

• The hummingbird perches on a twig of the hawthorn.小蜂鸟栖在山楂树枝上。
• The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。

35 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

36 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

37 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

38 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

39 chafed   

v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒

参考例句：

• Her wrists chafed where the rope had been. 她的手腕上绳子勒过的地方都磨红了。
• She chafed her cold hands. 她揉搓冰冷的双手使之暖和。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

40 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

41 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。