From dark the east grew pale, from pallor put on roses. This day no mariner5 grumbled6 at the call to awake. Here still lay our Fortunate Isle7, our San Salvador; here our ivory beach, our green wood. Up went the little curls of smoke.
We had breakfast. So great was now the deference8 to him who three days ago had been "madman" and "black magician", "dreaming fool" and "spinner without thread!" Now it was "Admiral", "Excellency", and "What shall we do next?" and "What is your opinion, sir?"
The immediate9 thing to do proved to be to come forth10 from cabin and mark the beach thronging11 with thrice the number of yesterday, and the canoes putting off to us. We counted eight. Only one was a long craft, holding twenty men; the others came in cockle boats, with one or two or three. Not only canoes, but they came swimming, men and boys, all a dark grace in the cerulean, lucid12 sea. They were so fearless—for we came from heaven and would not harm them. We were going to make them rich; we were going to "save" them.
A score perhaps were helped aboard the Santa Maria. The Pinta, the Nina, had others. They were like children, touching13, staring, excitedly talking and gesturing among themselves, or gazing in a kind of fixed14 awe15, asking of the least sailor with all reverence16, bowing themselves before the Admiral, the over-god. The Admiral moved richly dressed, rapt and benignant, yet sparing a part of himself to keep all order, measure, rightness on the ship, and another part to find out with keen pains, "What of other lands? What of folk who must be your superiors?"
They had brought offerings. Half a dozen parrots perched around, very gorgeously colored, loquacious17 in a speech we did not know. We had stacks of the large round thin cakes baked on stones which afterwards we called cassava, and great gourds18, "calabashes" filled with fruit, and balls of cotton in a rude thread. We gave beads19, bits of cloth, little purses, and the small bells that caused extravagant20 delight. But ever the Admiral looked for signs of gold, for he must find for princes and nobles and merchants gold or silver, or precious stones or spice, or all together. If he found them not, half his fortunes fell; a half-wind only would henceforth fill his sails.
And at last came in a canoe with three a young Indian who wore in his ear a knob of gold. Roderigo Sanchez saw this first and brought him to the Admiral. The latter, taking up an armlet of green glass and a hawk21 bell, touched the gold in the ear. "Do you trade?" Glad enough was the Indian to trade. It lay in the Admiral's palm, a piece of gold as great as a filbert.
Juan Lepe watched him make inquisition, Diego de Arana, Sanchez and Escobedo at his elbow. He did it to admiration22, with look, gesture and tone ably translating his words. "Gold—gold?" The Indian said, or we put down in this wise what he said, "Harac."
Was there more harac on the island? We would give heavenly things for harac. The Indian was doubtful; he thought proudly that he had the only harac. "Where did he get it?" He indicated the south.
"Little island like this one?"
"No. Great land. Harac there in many ears. Much harac."
So we understood him. "Cipango!" breathed the Admiral. "Or neighbor to Cipango, increasingly rich and civilized23 as we go."
He took a case of small boxes, each box filled with merchandise of spice which he desired. Cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, saffron, cloves24 and others. He made the islander smell and taste. "Had they aught like these?"
The Indian seemed to say they had not, but would like to have. He looked about for something with which to trade, a parrot, or heap of cakes, or ball of cotton. I thought that it was the box of boxes that he extremely wished, but the Admiral thought it was the spicery, and that he must have known them wherever he got the gold. "Were they found yonder?"
The Admiral stretched arm out over blue sea and the Indian followed his gesture. He shot out his own arm, "South—southwest—west," nodded the Admiral. "Many islands, or the mainland. Gates open before us!"
"Had the Indian been to these lands?" No, it seemed, but one had come in a boat, wearing this knob of gold, and he had told them. Was he living? No, he was not living. What kind of a person was he? Such as us? Emphatically no. Not such as us! Much, we gathered, as was the Indian himself. "Pearls have come from Queen's neck to Queen's neck," quoth the Admiral, "by a thousand rude hands and twisting ways!"
There was one woman among the visitors to the Santa Maria, a young woman, naked, freely moving and smiling. Eyes dwelled on her, eyes followed her. She was with an Indian who might be brother or husband. The Admiral gave her a worked, Moorish25 scarf. She tied it about her head, and the bright ends fell down beside her long, black, braided hair. None touched her, but they were woman-starved, and they looked at her hungrily. She had beauty in her way, and a kind of innocence26 both frank and shy. She was like a doe in the green forest, come silently upon at dawn.
Fed full of marvel27 at last, these Indians left us. But no sooner had they reached land and told of great kindness on the part of the inhabitants of heaven than other canoes and other swimmers put forth. This might go on all day, so we checked it by ourselves going ashore28.
This day we filled our water casks and took aboard much fruit and all the cakes that they brought us. Moreover we explored the island, finding two villages of a piece with the first, and in the middle land a fair pool of water. This day like yesterday was blissful wine.
All blessed Christopherus Columbus. No man now but, for a while, did his bidding with an open heart.
In the morning we sailed away, not without plentiful29 promises of return. When we put up our white sails they cried out and pointed to the cloud sierra. No! We would not go back to heaven—or if we did so we would come again, loving so our gentle friends upon earth! We sailed, and in all our after wanderings we never came back to this island. And never again, I think, while Columbus voyaged, did there come to us just the bright, exquisite30 thrill of that first land after long doubt and no land. San Salvador—Holy Saviour31 Island!
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1
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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2
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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4
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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6
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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7
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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8
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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10
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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thronging
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的现在分词 ) | |
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lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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13
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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14
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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15
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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16
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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17
loquacious
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| adj.多嘴的，饶舌的 | |
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18
gourds
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| n.葫芦( gourd的名词复数 ) | |
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19
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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20
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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22
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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23
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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24
cloves
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| n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic) | |
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25
moorish
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| adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的 | |
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26
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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27
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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28
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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29
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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30
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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31
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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