登陆注册
5419700000099

第99章

But when Standish refused, and said he would give them the Bible,Suddenly changing their tone, they began to boast and to bluster.

Then Wattawamat advanced with a stride in front of the other, And, with a lofty demeanor, thus vauntingly spake to the Captain:

"Now Wattawamat can see, by the fiery eyes of the Captain, Angry is he in his heart; but the heart of the brave Wattawamat Is not afraid at the sight.He was not born of a woman, But on a mountain, at night, from an oak-tree riven by lightning, Forth he sprang at a bound, with all his weapons about him, Shouting, 'Who is there here to fight with the brave Wattawamat?'"Then he unsheathed his knife, and, whetting the blade on his left hand, Held it aloft and displayed a woman's face on the handle, Saying, with bitter expression and look of sinister meaning:

"I have another at home, with the face of a man on the handle;By and by they shall marry; and there will be plenty of children!"Then stood Pecksuot forth, self-vaunting, insulting Miles Standish:

While with his fingers he petted the knife that hung at his bosom, Drawing it half from its sheath, and plunging it back, as he muttered, "By and by it shall see; it shall eat; ah, ha! but shall speak not!

This is the mighty Captain the white men have sent to destroy us!

He is a little man; let him go and work with the women!"Meanwhile Standish had noted the faces and figures of Indians Peeping and creeping about from bush to tree in the forest, Feigning to look for game, with arrows set on their bow-strings, Drawing about him still closer and closer the net of their ambush.

But undaunted he stood, and dissembled and treated them smoothly;So the old chronicles say, that were writ in the days of the fathers.

But when he heard their defiance, the boast, the taunt, and the insult, All the hot blood of his race, of Sir Hugh and of Thurston de Standish, Boiled and beat in his heart, and swelled in the veins of his temples.

Headlong he leaped on the boaster, and, snatching his knife from its scabbard, Plunged it into his heart, and, reeling backward, the savage Fell with his face to the sky, and a fiendlike fierceness upon it.

Straight there arose from the forest the awful sound of the war-whoop, And, like a flurry of snow on the whistling wind of December, Swift and sudden and keen came a flight of feathery arrows, Then came a cloud of smoke, and out of the cloud came the lightning, Out of the lightning thunder, and death unseen ran before it.

Frightened the savages fled for shelter in swamp and in thicket, Hotly pursued and beset; but their sachem, the brave Wattawamat, Fled not; he was dead.Unswerving and swift had a bullet Passed through his brain, and he fell with both hands clutching the greensward, Seeming in death to hold back from his foe the land of his fathers.

There on the flowers of the meadow the warriors lay, and above them, Silent, with folded arms, stood Hobomok, friend of the white man.

Smiling at length he exclaimed to the stalwart Captain of Plymouth:

"Pecksuot bragged very loud, of his courage, his strength, and his stature,--Mocked the great Captain, and called him a little man; but I see now Big enough have you been to lay him speechless before you!"Thus the first battle was fought and won by the stalwart Miles Standish.

When the tidings thereof were brought to the village of Plymouth, And as a trophy of war the head of the brave Wattawamat Scowled from the roof of the fort, which at once was a church and a fortress, All who beheld it rejoiced, and praised the Lord, and took courage.

Only Priscilla averted her face from this spectre of terror, Thanking God in her heart that she had not married Miles Standish;Shrinking, fearing almost, lest, coming home from his battles, He should lay claim to her hand, as the prize and reward of his valor.

VIII

THE SPINNING-WHEEL

Month after month passed away, and in Autumn the ships of the merchants Came with kindred and friends, with cattle and corn for the Pilgrims.

All in the village was peace; the men were intent on their labors, Busy with hewing and building, with garden-plot and with merestead, Busy with breaking the glebe, and mowing the grass in the meadows, Searching the sea for its fish, and hunting the deer in the forest.

All in the village was peace; but at times the rumor of warfare Filled the air with alarm, and the apprehension of danger.

Bravely the stalwart Miles Standish was scouring the land with his forces, Waxing valiant in fight and defeating the alien armies, Till his name had become a sound of fear to the nations.

Anger was still in his heart, but at times the remorse and contrition Which in all noble natures succeed the passionate outbreak, Came like a rising tide, that encounters the rush of a river, Staying its current awhile, but making it bitter and brackish.

Meanwhile Alden at home had built him a new habitation, Solid, substantial, of timber rough-hewn from the firs of the forest.

Wooden-barred was the door, and the roof was covered with rushes;Latticed the windows were, and the window-panes were of paper, Oiled to admit the light, while wind and rain were excluded.

There too he dug a well, and around it planted an orchard:

Still may be seen to this day some trace of the well and the orchard.

Close to the house was the stall, where, safe and secure from annoyance, Raghorn, the snow-white steer, that had fallen to Alden's allotment In the division of cattle, might ruminate in the night-time Over the pastures he cropped, made fragrant by sweet pennyroyal.

Oft when his labor was finished, with eager feet would the dreamer Follow the pathway that ran through the woods to the house of Priscilla, Led by illusions romantic and subtile deceptions of fancy, Pleasure disguised as duty, and love in the semblance of friendship.

同类推荐
  • 嘉庆东巡纪事

    嘉庆东巡纪事

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说如来兴显经

    佛说如来兴显经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 禅门锻炼说

    禅门锻炼说

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 早夏游平原回

    早夏游平原回

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Carnival of Crime in CT

    Carnival of Crime in CT

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 瓶粟斋诗话四编

    瓶粟斋诗话四编

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 续古尊宿语要目录

    续古尊宿语要目录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 新书

    新书

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 接引诸天

    接引诸天

    有五章没有改过来,第八卷补上太初有神神与道同!元始天王出世,开辟大罗天,开创神道太古三皇,苍离氏开天界,岳鉴氏辟幽冥,九头氏定洪荒!上古三皇,太一氏立天庭,后土氏开轮回,遂人氏诛天魔!人皇道化,五帝掌天,仙道大盛,以仙代神,以神化人,昊天上帝执掌天庭!悠悠万古,几番大劫,仙神之争,看似结束,但神道大能未死,神道种子未灭!执照造化大界,身居创世位格,俯视无尽时空。接引无量诸天,诸天神灵共聚一堂,回归洪荒。沧海书轩:702199047
  • 倾世劫缘

    倾世劫缘

    〖甜文、宠文〗一朝穿越异世大陆,成为废材大小姐。15岁才修灵又如何?常人修决十年功,某女只需几刻钟!左有妖孽当老公,右有神兽当灵宠……面对某妖孽美男的无所不能,某女戏言:“这世间还有什么事是你做不到的?”美男思索半秒,一本正经地回答道:“不爱你。”「PS:男强女强+1V1+双C身心干净+感情线无虐无误会」
  • 周易参同契注

    周易参同契注

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 中华喜事大观

    中华喜事大观

    喜——是百姓生活的福气标志;有喜——就有了生活中的居家之祥气;民间有喜——就有了极力向上的如日中升之瑞气。喜,是民间生活幸福的一个重要标志。喜,是一种好日子、好心情、好时光、好前景。喜,是一种民间传承明光的文化。喜,总是异彩纷呈:大年春节、元宵节、中秋节、端五节、清明节等,诸多时节,百姓都会张灯结彩、披红挂绿、歌舞蹁跹。喜,是艺术作品:喜字、喜花、喜联、喜礼仪、喜乐、喜歌、伴嫁情歌、祝颂寿诞、喜寿星座、剪纸泥塑、匾额壁挂、绣品礼花等等。喜,无处不在,是一种吉祥文化。
  • 任女

    任女

    “人之假造为妖,物之性灵为精,人魂不散为鬼,天地乖气,忽有非常为怪,神灵不正为邪,人心癫迷为魔,偏向异端为外道……”她,原本是九天任女,与幽冥神君璃订下了婚约,璃的哥哥犹天生善妒,私自解开了上古凶兽“犼”的封印,并联手一干妖魔陷害了天帝,堕入魔界,九天任女亲自率众神讨伐,从此,仙界与魔界便展开了旷日持久的征战,致使三界生灵涂炭……这场仙魔大战最终的结果是两败俱伤,战死了无数的仙魔,通往仙界的通天神树建木被摧毁,仙界从此再无踪迹。魔君犹及一干魔众也被暂时封印了起来……九天任女战死,仅剩一缕残念,飘落到人间,进行了百世轮回,一晃六千年……
  • 大千殇世

    大千殇世

    在那遥远的年代,隐之一族的威严无人能挡,世间也呈现出一片的安和。世纪大战的爆发使得这一切都毁于一旦,黑暗中的黑暗有眼睛在窥探,远古的秘密一直都存在,传闻中的隐子背负着血海深仇,又肩负着无可想象的远古大秘。魔界皇室,黑暗界皇室,天使神域,邪魔一脉----这是一个纷繁的世界。
  • 神道复苏

    神道复苏

    灵气复苏,鬼物乱世,众生苦楚。窦长生手持封神榜穿越而来,立符诏,争气运,聚香火、升神位、夺天下、等等,一觉醒来我怎么成天帝了?怕是没睡醒?注:本书神道流,气运争霸流,种田流,猥琐发育流,马甲狂人流!普通群:111367547!