Before the dawning we had heard from all save the remoter settlements. The blow had been struck and the hurt was deep. But it was not beyond remedy, thank God! We took stern measures for our protection, and the wound to the colony was soon healed; vengeance was meted out to those who had set upon us in the dark and had failed to reach the heart. The colony of Virginia had passed through its greatest trial and had survived--for what greater ends, under Providence, I knew not. MARY JOHNSTON. =HELPS TO STUDY= I. Describe the situation in which Percy and Diccon found themselves. What preparations did the Indians make for the death of the two men? How were they interrupted? Tell what happened after the appearance of Nantaquas? How were the five days spent? How did Nantaquas come to the rescue of the white men a second time? What did Opechancanough do to try to deepen the impression of friendship? II. What happened on the way to Jamestown? Describe the scene when Percy entered the governor's house. Give an account of the fight at the palisade. Why was Nantaquas spared? What was the result of the Indian attack? Give your opinion of Nantaquas. Of what Indian in _The Last of the Mohicans_ does he remind you? Of whom does Opechancanough remind you? Find out all you can of life in Virginia at the time this story was written. Compare the life there with the life in Plymouth colony. SUPPLEMENTARY READING Prisoners of Hope--Mary Johnston. My Lady Pokahontas--John Esten Cooke. The Wept of Wish-ton-wish--J. Fenimore Cooper. Hiawatha--Henry W. Longfellow. Old Virginia and Her Neighbors--John Fiske. HARRY ESMOND'S BOYHOOD _Henry Esmond_, by William Makepeace Thackeray, is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of historical novels. It describes life in England during the first years of the eighteenth century, dealing chiefly with people of wealth and high position. "Harry Esmond's Boyhood" narrates the early career of the hero, who was a poor orphan and an inmate of the family of his kinsman, the Viscount of Castlewood. Harry Esmond had lived to be past fourteen years old; had never possessed but two friends, and had a fond and affectionate heart that would fain attach itself to somebody, and did not seem at rest until it had found a friend who would take charge of it. At last he found such a friend in his new mistress, the lady of Castlewood. The instinct which led Harry Esmond to admire and love the gracious person, the fair apparition whose beauty and kindness had so moved him when he first beheld her, became soon a devoted affection and passion of gratitude, which entirely filled his young heart that as yet had had very little kindness for which to be thankful.