woman, the queen of Apamattuck," is commanded to bring him water, in which to wash his hands. Another stands by with a bunch of feathers, a substitute for the towel, with which he dries them.

2. Food is then put before him, and he is instructed to eat, while a long consultation takes place between the emperor and his chief warriors, as to what shall be done with the captive. In this question, Smith is quite too deeply interested, to give himself entirely to the repast before him. He keeps up a stout heart and a manly countenance; but

"Sure his heart was sad;

For who can pleasant be and rest,

That lives in fear and dread?"

His judges decide

3. The discussion results unfavorably. against him. It is the policy of the savages to destroy him. He is their great enemy. He is the master spirit of the powerful and intrusive strangers. They have already discovered this.

4. They have seen that by his will and energies, great courage and equal discretion, he has kept down the discontents, disarmed the rebellious, and strengthened the feeble among his brethren; and they have sagacity enough to understand how much more easy it will be, in the absence of this one adventurous warrior, to overthrow and root out the white colony which he has planted. It is no brutal passion for blood and murder, which prompts their resolution.

5. It is a simple and clear policy, such as has distinguished the decision, in like cases, of far more civilized, and even Christian communities; and the award of the council of Powhattan, is instant death to the prisoner. He is soon apprised of their decision, by their proceedings. Two great

b

stones are brought into the assembly, and laid before the king.

NOTES.a Ap-a-mat'tuck; an Indian chief. Pow-hat-tan'; a famous sachem of the Indian tribes of Virginia, and the father of Pocahontas; born probably about 1535.

He is rudely dragged forth, and his head is laid upon them. They stood with clubs uplifted, about to strike the fatal blow, when Pocahontas, the king's dearest daughter, interposed for his safety.

6. It seems that she first strove to move her father by entreaties, but finding these of no avail, she darted to the place of execution, and before she could be prevented, got the head of the captive in her arms, and laying her own upon it, thus arrested the stroke of the executioner. And this was the action of a child but ten years old!

7. We may imagine the exquisite beauty of such a spectacle, the infantine grace, the feminine tenderness, the childish eagerness, mingled with uncertainty and fear, with which she maintained her hold upon the object of her concern and solicitude, until the will and violent passion of her father had been appeased.

8. This is all that comes to us of the strange, but exquisite dramatic spectacle; but it is not denied that we may conceive for ourselves, the beauty and terror of the tragic scene. Imagination may depict the event in her most glowing colors. The poet and painter will make it their own. They will show us the sweet child of the forest, clasping beneath her arm the head of the pale warrior, while the stroke of death, impending over both, awaits but the nod of the mighty chieftain, whose will is law, in all that savage region.

1

9. They will show us first the rage and fury which fill his eyes, as he finds himself baffled by his child; and then the softening indulgence with which he regards that pleading sweetness in her glance, which has always had such power over his soul. "She was the king's dearest daughter;" this is the language of the unaffected and simple chronicles, and her entreaty prevails for the safety of the prisoner. 10. Her embrace seems to have consecrated, froin harm,

NOTE.

Pocahontas is commonly supposed to have been about twelve years of age, at this time.

the head of the strange intruder. The policy of her nation, their passion for revenge and blood, all yield to the potent humanity, which speaks in the heart of that unbaptized daughter of the forest; and the prisoner is freed from his bonds, and given to the damsel who has saved him. Henceforth he is her captive. That is the decree of Powhattan. He shall be spared to make her bells and her beads, and to weave into proper form, her ornaments of copper.

QUESTIONS. Who was Captain Smith? Who was Pocahontas? Where and at what age did she die? 1. How did the Indians welcome the captive? 1. Who was Apamattuck? 2. What took place between the emperor and his warriors? 2. What were the feelings of Smith during the consultation? 3. How did the judges decide? 5. What was the punishment to be inflicted? 5. Who was Powhattan? 6. How did Pocahontas rescue Captain Smith? 6. What does the author say was her age at this time? 6. How old is she commonly supposed to have been? 10. What was done with the prisoner?

LESSON

LVIII.

Spell and Define.

1. Cap'tors, those who take a prisoner.

4. Re-spect'ive-ly, as relating to each.

1. Vouch-safed, granted in condescen- 5. Con-spic'u-ous, easy to be distin

sion.

1. Suit, a company of attendants.

2. Sa-loon', a spacious hall.

guished.

7. Ha-bil'i-ments, garments, clothing.

[stag. 7. Po'tent-ates, sovereigns, rulers. [tary. 2. Ant'ling, spreading like the horns of a 18. Spon-ta'ne-ous, acting of itself, volun2. Um-bra'ge-ous, shady. 9. Car'riage, deportment, manners.

2. Can'o-py, a covering over the head. 9. De-mean'or, behavior.

ERRORS.1. Fores for forest; 1. con-jec'ter for con-ject'ure; 2. a're for a're-a; 2. in'jun for in'dian; 3. bed'stid for bed'stead; 3. kep for kept ; 4. em'prer for em'pe-ror; 6. naw'thin for nothing; 7. pot'en-tates for po'tent-ates.

POWHATTAN AND HIS SUIT.

SIMMS.

1. Ar length the signal was received, and the captors and the captive were vouchsafed an audience. Powhattan" had completed his preparations. Himself and suit were assembled. The interview seems to have taken place in the open air, among the great trees of the forest; a pleasant space

NOTE. --a See Powhattan, p. 269, note b.

in the woods, which, as we may reasonably conjecture, was usually assigned for similar purposes; - for the reception of embassadors, a seat of judgment, and a place of fatal sacrifice together.

2. Certainly there could not be a more royal saloon. Great pines sent up their gigantic pillars; wide spreading oaks stretched their gnarled and antling branches overhead; and through the umbrageous masses, the blue canopy of the sky was visible and hanging over all. Conspicuous in this area sat, or rather reclined, the Indiana emperor.

3. His seat of state was a sort of bedstead, raised about a foot above the ground, upon which he might either sit or recline at pleasure. Some ten or a dozen mats formed the covering of this rude seat, immediately in front of which, a great fire was kept blazing. Upon this couch or throne, half lying, in something like oriental state, the form of Powhattan was seen between the persons of two young damsels, neither of whom was more than eighteen years of age.

4. On either hand, and ranging behind this group, were the warriors and women, who formed the suit of the emperor. These were sitting, or standing in alternate rows, and were all appareled in such ornaments as they could respectively command. Some had their heads decorated with the white down, and the plumage of native birds. Some wore strings of white beads upon their necks and bosoms. Others were otherwise adorned; and all of them appeared with cheeks, brows, and shoulders thickly painted with a brilliant red. But the chief, as the central figure of the group, was Powhattan himself; a man who needed not the foreign aid of ornament, to render him conspicuous in any circle.

NOTE. See Indian, p. 131, note b. b The practice of painting the face and shoulders with various colors, is common among the American Indians and most other savages. The South Sea islanders, however, practice tattooing the face, and in some instances the whole body, by pricking in a coloring matter with a sharp instrument, and thus forming various figures.

6. This prince, at the period of which we write, was fully sixty years of age; but time had taken nothing from the intense fire in his eye, and in no respect subdued the erect energies of his ample stature. His aspect was severe and noble; his presence majestic. His bearing was that of one to whom sway was habitual, and the haughtiness of which, seemed not unnatural or improper, to one accustomed to frequent conquest.

7. Although his state was rude, it was by no means inconsistent with its dignity. The rich chains of great pearls, which we are told encircled his neck, and the great robe made of raccoon skins, which covered his person, their tails all properly disposed and pendent, were, no doubt, worn with quite as much grace and majesty, as the costly habiliments of civilized potentates.

8. Indeed, it is not often that the dignitaries of the civilized world could compare, in nobleness of bearing, with the lords of the American forest, taught by nature herself, and with limbs rendered free and graceful in spontaneous movement, by the constant exercise of battle and the chase. It is certain that Powhattan needed quite as little of dress and decoration for the purposes of state, as any hereditary prince in Europe.

9. The face, the air, the carriage, of the emperor, seemed fully to justify the unlimited sway which he held over the affections of his people. Whatever may have been the other deficiencies of our forest chieftain, it is very sure that he was not wanting in the qualities of free and natural movements, a calm and grave intelligence of aspect, a lofty demeanor, and a noble bearing.

QUESTIONS. 1. Where did Powhattan and his suit assemble? 3. Describe the seat of state of the Emperor, and his mode of sitting. 3. By whom was the emperor attended? 4. How were those arranged who formed the suit of the emperor? 4. How were they appareled? 5. How were their faces and shoulders painted? 5. Is this custom common among savages? 5. How do the South Sea islanders ornament their faces, &c.? 6. What was the appearance of Powhattan? 9. What were his intellectual endowments?