A popular history of the United States of America, Vol. 1 (of 2) : $b from the discovery of the American continent to the present timeHowitt, Mary (Mary Botham)
History
A popular history of the United States of America, Vol. 1 (of 2) : $b from the discovery of the American continent to the present time
Howitt, Mary (Mary Botham)
United States -- History
A marriage now took place in the colony, which forms an important event
in its annals, and the details of which we must give somewhat at length.
Captain Argall, an adventurer, who had come to Virginia in a trading
ship, being on one occasion sent up the Potomac to trade for corn, fell
in with the young Indian girl, Pocahontas, who had at that time been
absent from the colony of Jamestown for two years. Aided by a chief of
the district, whom Argall had bribed with a brass kettle, Pocahontas was
induced to go on board his ship, when he carried her off to Jamestown.
Powhatan demanded the restoration of his daughter, which Argall refused
without ransom. The naturally indignant chief prepared for war, when a
deliverer appeared for the young Indian girl in the person of John
Rolfe, an honest and discreet young Englishman. I will give the
narrative in the words of Bancroft. “Rolfe was an amiable enthusiast,
who had emigrated to the forests of Virginia, daily, hourly, and as it
were in his very sleep, hearing a voice crying in his ears that he
should strive to make Pocahontas a Christian. With the solicitude of a
troubled soul, he reflected on the true end of his being. ‘The Holy
Spirit,’ such are his own expressions, ‘demanded of me why I was
created? and conscience whispered, that, rising above the censure of the
low-minded, I should lead the blind in the right paths.’ After a great
struggle of mind, and daily and believing prayers, he resolved to labour
for the conversion of the unregenerated maiden, and winning the favour
of Pocahontas herself, he desired her in marriage. Quick of
comprehension, the Indian girl received instruction readily, and soon,
in the little church of Jamestown, which rested on rough pine columns,
fresh from the forest, and was in a style of rugged architecture as
wild, if not as frail, as an Indian wigwam, she stood before the font
which had been hollowed from the trunk of a tree, and, renouncing her
country’s idolatry, professed the faith of Jesus Christ, and was
baptized.” The gaining of this one soul, the first-fruits of Virginian
conversion, was followed by her nuptials with Rolfe. In April, 1613, to
the joy of Sir Thomas Dale, with the approbation of her father and her
friends, Opachisco, her uncle, gave the bride away; and she stammered
before the altar her marriage-vows according to the rites of the English
church.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account