United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Fiction
Across the broad Atlantic, on the rocky shore of Marblehead, the May
sun had been shining as golden and warm as in old England; and the new
home, although lacking the renown which age and legend had brought to
every stone of Bromwich Castle, was enveloped by the glory that comes
from the love of pure, brave hearts and God-fearing lives.
Facing the open sea along a portion of the shore of what is now known
as Devereux and Clifton, lay the acres--forest and meadow land--of
which John Devereux was owner. The house--a low, rambling stone
building, of somewhat pretentious size for those days, and fitted with
stout oaken doors and shutters--stood in a small clearing.
Only a few yards away were the sheds for cattle, placed thus near for
greater protection against thieving Indians, as well as the pilfering
pirates who at rare intervals swept along the coast and descended upon
the unwary settler, in quest of food or booty.
The virgin forest rose all about, save to the southwest, where the
fields were planted to the extent of several acres; and beyond these
the forest came again, stretching away to the site of the present town
of Marblehead, more than a mile off.
In front of the house was a small open space where the trees had been
cut away and the undergrowth removed, that a glimpse might be obtained
of the sea; and the land, sloping to the sands, ended in a noble sweep
of beach.
A mile or more to the south and southwest, by Forest River, dwelt the
Indians, their wigwams not so many as a few years before; for want and
pestilence had sadly weakened the once proud Naumkegs.
Their chief, the renowned Nanepashemet, was now dead; and the present
ruler, his widow, the "Squaw Sachem," was, like her tribe, too greatly
broken by the vicissitudes of fate to resist the encroachments of the
whites. And her only surviving son, Weenepauweekin, or, as the
settlers called him, "George," was either indifferent, or else too wise
to risk incurring further trouble for his tribe by assuming other than
an amicable attitude toward his white neighbors.
And thus it was that between the settlers and the Naumkegs all was at
peace.
The wife of Weenepauweekin, Ahawayet by name, was well known to Anne
Devereux and her husband; and both she and her daughter, a girl of
seventeen, were frequent visitors at the house of the "English Chief,"
as John Devereux was called by the Indians.
In her own gentle, coaxing way, Anne had undertaken to instruct
Ahawayet in the Christian faith, and hoped to impress also the wayward,
wild-eyed daughter, Joane, who would sometimes come from her dignified
playing with the children of the "English Chief" to crouch by her
mother, and listen to these teachings.
When the news of Sir Walter's death had come across the sea, tears
gathered in Anne's eyes as she raised them to those of her sad-faced
husband.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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