ACT I.

ACT I.SceneI.Powhatan River; wild and picturesque. Ships appear. Barges approach the shore, from which landSmith,Rolfe,Percy,Walter,Larry,Robin,Alice, &c.Chorus.Jolly comrades, raise the glee,Chorus it right cheerily;For the tempest's roar is heard no more,And gaily we tread the wish'd-for shore:Then raise the glee merrily,Chorus it cheerily,For past are the perils of the blust'ring sea.Smith.Once more, my bold associates, welcome. MarkWhat cheery aspects look upon our landing:The face of Nature dimples o'er with smiles,The heav'ns are cloudless, whiles the princely sun,As glad to greet us in his fair domain,Gives us gay salutation—Larry.[ToWalter.] By St. PatrickHis fiery majesty does give warm welcome.Arrah! his gracious smiles are melting—Walter.Plague!He burthens us with favours till we sweat.Smith.What think ye, Percy, Rolfe, have we not foundSir Walter Raleigh faithful in his tale?Is 't not a goodly land? Along the bay,How gay and lovely lie its skirting shores,Fring'd with the summer's rich embroidery!Percy.Believe me, sir, I ne'er beheld that spotWhere Nature holds more sweet varieties.Smith.The gale was kind that blew us hitherward.This noble bay were undiscover'd still,Had not that storm arose propitious,And, like the ever kindly breath of heav'n,Which sometimes rides upon the tempest's wing,Driv'n us to happiest destinies, e'en thenWhen most we fear'd destruction from the blast.Rolfe.Let our dull, sluggish countrymen at homeStill creep around their little isle of fogs,Drink its dank vapours, and then hang themselves.In this free atmosphere and ample rangeThe bosom can dilate, the pulses play,And man, erect, can walk a manly round.Robin.[Aside.] Aye, and be scalp'd and roasted by the Indians.Smith.Now, gallant cavalier adventurers,On this our landing spot we'll rear a townShall bear our good king's name to after-time,And yours along with it; for ye are menWell worth the handing down; whose paged namesWill not disgrace posterity to read:Men born for acts of hardihood and valour,Whose stirring spirits scorn'd to lie inert,Base atoms in the mass of populationThat rots in stagnant Europe. Ye are menWho a high wealth and fame will bravely win,And wear full worthily. I still shall beThe foremost in all troubles, toil, and danger,Your leader and your captain, nought exactingSave strict obedience to the watchful careWhich points to your own good: be wary then,And let not any mutinous hand unravelOur close knit compact. Union is its strength:Be that remember'd ever. Gallant gentlemen,We have a noble stage, on which to actA noble drama; let us then sustainOur sev'ral parts with credit and with honour.Now, sturdy comrades, cheerly to our tasks![ExeuntSmith,Rolfe, &c.Scene II.A grove.EnterWalterandLarry.Larry.Now by the black eyes of my Katy, but that master of yours and captain of mine is a prince!Walter.Tut, you hav'n't seen an inch yet of the whole hero. Had you followed him as I have, from a knee-high urchin, you'd confess that there never was soldier fit to cry comrade to him. O! 'twould have made your blood frisk in your veins to have seen him in Turkey and Tartary, when he made the clumsy infidels dance to the music of his broad sword!Larry.Troth now, the mussulmans may have been mightily amused by the caper; but for my part I should modestly prefer skipping to the simple jig of an Irish bag-pipe.Walter.Then he had the prettiest mode of forming their manners—Larry.Arrah, how might that be?Walter.For example: whenever they were so ill-bred as to appear with their turbans on before him, he uses me this keen argument to convince them they shewed discourtesy. He whips me out his sword, and knocks their turbans off—Larry.Knocks their turbans off?Walter.Aye, egad, and their heads to boot.Larry.A dev'lish cutting way of reasoning indeed; that argument cou'dn't be answered asily.Walter.Devil a tongue ever wagg'd in replication, Larry.—Ah! my fairy of felicity—my mouthful of melody—my wife—EnterAlice.Well, Alice, we are now in the wilds of Virginia, and, tell me truly, doesn't repent following me over the ocean, wench? wilt be content in these wild woods, with only a little husband, and a great deal of love, pretty Alice?Alice.Can you ask that? are not all places alike if you are with me, Walter?Song.—Alice.In this wild wood will I range;Listen, listen, dear!Nor sigh for towns so fine, to changeThis forest drear.Toils and dangers I'll despise,Never, never weary;And be, while love is in thine eyes,Ever cheery.Ah! what to me were cities gay;Listen, listen, dear!If from me thou wert away,Alas! how drear!Oh! still o'er sea, o'er land I'll rove,Never, never weary;And follow on where leads my love,Ever cheery.Larry.Och! the creature!Walter.Let my lips tell thee what my tongue cannot.[Kiss.Larry.Aye, do, do stop her mellifluous mouth; for the little nightingale warbles so like my Kate, she makes me sigh for Ballinamoné; ah! just so would the constant creature carol all day about, roving through the seas and over the woods.EnterRobin.Robin.Master Walter, the captain is a going to explore the country, and you must along.Walter.That's our fine captain, always stirring.Robin.Plague on his industry! would you think it, we are all incontinently to fall a chopping down trees, and building our own houses, like the beavers.Larry.Well, sure, that's the fashionable mode of paying rent in this country.Alice.O, Walter, these merciless savages! I sha'n't be merry till you return—Robin.I warrant ye, mistress Alice—Lord love you I shall be here.Walter.Cheerly, girl; our captain will make the red rogues scamper like so many dun deer. Savages, quotha! at sight of him, their copper skins will turn pale as silver, with the very alchemy of fear. Come, a few kisses,en passant, and then away! cheerly, my dainty Alice.[ExeuntWalterandAlice.Robin.Aye, go your ways, master Walter, and when you are gone—Larry.What then! I suppose you'll be after talking nonsense to his wife. But if ever I catch you saying your silly things—Robin.Mum, Lord love you, how can you think it? But hark ye, master Larry, in this same drama that our captain spoke of, you and I act parts, do we not?Larry.Arrah, to be sure, we are men of parts.Robin.Shall I tell you in earnest what we play in this merry comedy?Larry.Be doing it.Robin.Then we play the parts of two fools, look you, to part with all at home, and come to these savage parts, where, Heaven shield us, our heads may be parted from our bodies. Think what a catastrophe, master Larry!Larry.So the merry comedy ends a doleful tragedy, and exit fool in the character of a hero! That's glory, sirrah, a very feather in our cap.Robin.A light gain to weigh against the heavy loss of one's head. Feather quotha! what use of a plumed hat without a head to wear it withal?Larry.Tut, man, our captain will lead us through all dangers.Robin.Will he? an' he catch me following him through these same dangers—Larry.Och, you spalpeen! I mean he'll lead us out of peril.Robin.Thank him for nothing; for I've predetermined, look you, not to be led into peril. Oh, master Larry, what a plague had I to do to leave my snug cot and my brown lass, to follow master Rolfe to this devil of a country, where there's never a girl nor a house!Larry.Out, you driveller! didn't I leave as neat a black-ey'd girl, and as pretty a prolific potato-patch all in tears—Robin.Your potato-patch in tears! that's a bull, master Larry—Larry.You're a calf, master Robin. Wasn't it raining? Och, I shall never forget it; the thunder rolling, and her tongue a-going, and her tears and the rain; och, bother, but it was a dismal morning!Song—Larry.I.Och! dismal and dark was the day, to be sure,When Larry took leave of sweet Katy Maclure;And clouds dark as pitch hung just like a black laceO'er the sweet face of Heav'n and my Katy's sweet face.Then, while the wind blow'd, and she sigh'd might and main,Drops from the black skiesFell—and from her black eyes;Och! how I was soak'd with her tears—and the rain.[Speaks.] And then she gave me this beautiful keep-sake [Shows a pair of scissors.], which if ever I part with, may a tailor clip me in two with his big shears. Och! when Katy took you in hand, how nicely did you snip and snap my bushy, carroty locks; and now you're cutting the hairs of my heart to pieces, you tieves you—[Sings.] Och! Hubbaboo—Gramachree—Hone!II.When I went in the garden, each bush seem'd to sighBecause I was going—and nod me good-bye;Each stem hung its head, drooping bent like a bow,With the weight of the water—or else of its woe;And while sorrow, or wind, laid some flat on the ground,Drops of rain, or of grief,Fell from every leaf,Till I thought in a big show'r of tears I was drown'd.[Speaks.] And then each bush and leaf seem'd to sigh, and say, "don't forget us, Larry." I won't, said I.—"But arrah, take something for remembrance," said they; and then I dug up this neat jewel [Shows a potato.]; you're a little withered to be sure, but if ever I forget your respectable family, or your delightful dwelling place—may I never again see any of your beautiful brothers and plump sisters!—Och! my darling, if you had come hot from the hand of Katy, how my mouth would have watered at ye; now, you divil, you bring the water into my eyes.[Sings.] Och! Hubbaboo—Gramachree—Hone![Exeunt.SceneIII.Werocomoco, the royal village ofPowhatan.Indian Girlsarranging ornaments for a bridal dress. Music.Nima.Let us make haste, my companions, to finish the dress of the bride; to-day the prince Miami returns with our hunters from the chase; to-morrow he will bear away our princess to his own nation.EnterPocahontasfrom the wood, with bow and arrow, and a flamingo (red bird). Music as she enters.Princess.See, Nima, a flamingo.Indian Girlscrowd around, and admire the bird.Princess.O Nima! I will use my bow no longer; I go out to the wood, and my heart is light; but while my arrow flies, I sorrow; and when the bird drops through the branches, tears come into mine eyes. I will no longer use my bow.Distant hunting-horn. Music. They place themselves in attitudes of listening. Hunting-horn nearer.Nima.'Tis Miami and our hunters. Princess, why are your looks sad?Princess.O Nima! the prince comes to bear me far from my father and my brother. I must quit for ever the companions and the woods that are dear to me. Nima, the Susquehannocks are a powerful nation, and my father would have them for his friends. He gives his daughter to their prince, but his daughter trembles to look upon the fierce Miami.Music.Huntersseen winding down the hills; they are met by the women of the village;MiamiapproachesPocahontas, and his attendants lay skins at her feet.Miami.Princess, behold the spoils I bring thee. Our hunters are laden with the deer and the soft furred beaver. But Miami scorned such prey: I watched for the mighty buffalo and the shaggy bear; my club felled them to the ground, and I tore their skins from their backs. The fierce carcajou had wound himself around the tree, ready to dart upon the hunter; but the hunter's eyes were not closed, and the carcajou quivered on the point of my spear. I heard the wolf howl as he looked at the moon, and the beams that feel upon his upturned face shewed my tomahawk the spot it was to enter. I marked where the panther had crouched, and, before he could spring, my arrow went into his heart. Behold the spoil the Susquehannock brings thee!Princess.Susquehannock, thou'rt a mighty hunter. Powhatan shall praise thee for his daughter. But why returns not my brother with thee?Miami.Nantaquas still finds pleasure in the hunt, but the soul of Miami grew weary of being away from Werocomoco, for there dwelt the daughter of Powhatan.Princess.Let us go to my father.Music. ExeuntPrincessandMiamiinto palace, followed byNimaand train; the others into their several cabins.SceneIV.A Forest.Smithenters, bewildered in its mazes. Music, expressive of his situation.Smith.'Tis all in vain! no clue to guide my steps.[Music.By this the explorers have return'd despairing,And left their forward leader to his fate.The rashness is well punish'd, that, alone,Would brave the entangling mazes of these wilds.The night comes on, and soon these gloomy woodsWill echo to the yell of savage beasts,And savage men more merciless. Alas!And am I, after all my golden dreamsOf laurel'd glory, doom'd in wilds to fall,Ignobly and obscure, the prey of brutes?[Music.Fie on these coward thoughts! this trusty sword,That made the Turk and Tartar crouch beneath me,Will stead me well, e'en in this wilderness.[Music.O glory! thou who led'st me fearless on,Where death stalk'd grimly over slaughter'd heaps,Or drank the drowning shrieks of shipwreck'd wretches,Swell high the bosom of thy votary![Music. ExitSmith.Music. A party ofIndiansenter, as followingSmith, and steal cautiously after him. The Indian yell within. Music, hurried. Re-enterSmith, engaged with theIndians; several fall. Exeunt, fighting, and enter from the opposite side the PrinceNantaquas, who views with wonder the prowess ofSmith; when the music has ceased he speaks.Sure 'tis our war-god, Aresqui himself, who lays our chiefs low! Now they stop; he fights no longer; he stands terrible as the panther, which the fearful hunter dares not approach. Stranger, brave stranger, Nantaquas must know thee![Music.He rushes out, and re-enters withSmith.Prince.Art thou not then a God?Smith.As thou art, warrior, but a man.Prince.Then art thou a man like a God; thou shalt be the brother of Nantaquas. Stranger, my father is king of the country, and many nations obey him: will thou be the friend of the great Powhatan?Smith.Freely, prince; I left my own country to be the red man's friend.Prince.Wonderful man, where is thy country?Smith.It lies far beyond the wide water.Prince.Is there then a world beyond the wide water? I thought only the sun had been there: thou comest then from behind the sun?Smith.Not so, prince.Prince.Listen to me. Thy country lies beyond the wide water, and from it do mine eyes behold the sun rise each morning.Smith.Prince, to your sight he seems to rise from thence, but your eyes are deceived, they reach not over the wilderness of waters.Prince.Where sleeps the sun then?Smith.The sun never sleeps. When you see him sink behind the mountains, he goes to give light to other countries, where darkness flies before him, as it does here, when you behold him rise in the east: thus he chases Night for ever round the world.Prince.Tell me, wise stranger, how came you from your country across the wide water? when our canoes venture but a little from the shore, the waves never fail to swallow them up.Smith.Prince, the Great Spirit is the friend of the white men, and they have arts which the red men know not.Prince.My brother, will you teach the red men?Smith.I come to do it. My king is a king of a mighty nation; he is great and good: go, said he, go and make the red men wise and happy.During the latter part of the dialogue, theIndianshad crept in, still approaching till they had almost surroundedSmith. A burst of savage music. They seize and bear him off, thePrincein vain endeavouring to prevent it.Prince.Hold! the white man is the brother of your prince; hold, coward warriors![He rushes out.SceneV.Powhatan River, as the first scene.EnterLarry.Now do I begin to suspect, what, to be sure, I've been certain of a long time, that master Robin's a little bit of a big rogue. I just nowobserved him with my friend Walter's wife. Arrah! here they come. By your leave, fair dealing, I'll play the eavesdropper behind this tree.[Retires behind a tree.EnterAlice, followed byRobin.Robin.But, mistress Alice, pretty Alice.Alice.Ugly Robin, I'll not hear a syllable.Robin.But plague, prithee, Alice, why so coy?EnterWalter[observing them, stops].Alice.Master Robin, if you follow me about any longer with your fooleries, my Walter shall know of it.Robin.A fig for Walter! is he to be mentioned the same day with the dapper Robin? can Walter make sonnets and madrigals, and set them, and sing them? besides, the Indians have eat him by this, I hope.Walter.Oh, the rascal!Robin.Come, pretty one, quite alone, no one near, even that blundering Irishman away.Larry.O you spalpeen! I'll blunder on you anon.Robin.Shall we, Alice, shall we?Quartetto.Robin.Mistress Alice, say,Walter's far away,Pretty Alice!Nay, now—prithee, pray,Shall we, Alice? hey!Mistress Alice?Alice.Master Robin, nay—Prithee, go your way,Saucy Robin!If you longer stay,You may rue the day,Master Robin.Walter.[Aside.] True my Alice is.Larry.[Aside.] Wat shall know of this.Robin.[Struggling.] Pretty Alice!Walter.[Aside.] What a rascal 'tis!Larry.[Aside.] He'll kill poor Rob, I wis!Robin.[Struggling.] Mistress Alice,Let me taste the bliss—[Attempts to kiss her.Alice.Taste the bliss of this,[Slaps his face.Saucy Robin!Walter.[Advancing.] Oh, what wond'rous bliss!Larry.[Advancing.] How d'ye like the kiss?Alice.}Master Robin?Walter.Larry.[Robinsteals off.Walter.Jackanapes!Larry.Aye, hop off, cock robin! Blood and thunder now, that such a sparrow should try to turn hawk, and pounce on your little pullet here.Alice.Welcome, my bonny Walter.Walter.A sweet kiss, Alice, to season my bitter tidings. Our captain's lost.Larry.}Lost!Alice.Walter.You shall hear. A league or two below this, we entered a charming stream, that seemed to glide through a fairy land of fertility. I must know more of this, said our captain. Await my return here. So bidding us moor the pinnace in a broad basin, where the Indian's arrows could reach us from neither side, away he went, alone in his boat, to explore the river to its head.Larry.Gallant soul!Walter.What devil prompted us to disobey his command I know not, but scarce was he out of sight, when we landed; and mark the end on't: up from their ambuscado started full three hundred black fiends, with a yell that might have appalled Lucifer, and whiz came a cloud of arrows about our ears. Three tall fellows of ours fell: Cassen, Emery, and Robinson. Our lieutenant, with Percy and myself, fought our way to the water side, where, leaving our canoe as a trophy to the victors, we plunged in, ducks, and, after swimming, dodging, and diving like regained the pinnace that we had left like geese.Alice.Heaven be praised, you are safe; but our poor captain—Walter.Aye; the day passed and he returned not; we came back for a reinforcement, and to-morrow we find him, or perish.Alice.Perish!—Walter.Aye; shame seize the poltroon who wou'dn't perish in such a cause; wou'dn't you, Larry?Larry.By Saint Patrick, it's the thing I would do, and hould my head the higher for it all the days of my life after.Walter.But see, our lieutenant and master Percy.EnterRolfeandPercy.Rolfe.Good Walter look to the barge, see it be readyBy earliest dawn.Walter.I shall, sir.Rolfe.And be careful,This misadventure be not buzz'd abroad,Where 't may breed mutiny and mischief. SayWe've left the captain waiting our return,Safe with the other three; meantime, choose outSome certain trusty fellows, who will swearBravely to find their captain or their death.Walter.I'll hasten, sir, about it.Larry.Good lieutenant,Shall I along?Rolfe.In truth, brave Irishman,We cannot have a better. Pretty Alice,Will you again lose Walter for a time?Alice.I would I were a man, sir, then, most willingly I'd lose myself to do our captain service.Rolfe.An Amazon!Walter.Oh, 'tis a valiant dove.Larry.But come; Heaven and St. Patrick prosper us.[ExeuntWalter,Larry,Alice.Rolfe.Now, my sad friend, cannot e'en this arouse you?Still bending with the weight of shoulder'd Cupid?Fie! throw away that bauble, love, my friend:That glist'ning toy of listless laziness,Fit only for green girls and growing boysT' amuse themselves withal. Can an inconstant,A fickle changeling, move a man like Percy?Percy.Cold youth, how can you speak of that you feel not?You never lov'd.Rolfe.Hum! yes, in mine own way;Marry, 'twas not with sighs and folded arms;For mirth I sought in it, not misery.Sir, I have ambled through all love's gradationsMost jollily, and seriously the whilst.I have sworn oaths of love on my knee, yet laugh'd not;Complaints and chidings heard, but heeded not;Kiss'd the cheek clear from tear-drops, and yet wept not;Listen'd to vows of truth, which I believed not;And after have been jilted—Percy.Well!Rolfe.And car'd not.Percy.Call you this loving?Rolfe.Aye, and wisely loving.Not, sir, to have the current of one's bloodFroz'n with a frown, and molten with a smile;Make ebb and flood under a lady Luna,Liker the moon in changing than in chasteness.'Tis not to be a courier, posting upTo the seventh heav'n, or down to the gloomy centre,On the fool's errand of a wanton—pshaw!Women! they're made of whimsies and caprice,So variant and so wild, that, ty'd to a God,They'd dally with the devil for a change.—Rather than wed a European dame,I'd take a squaw o' the woods, and get papooses.Percy.If Cupid burn thee not for heresy,Love is no longer catholic religion.Rolfe.An' if he do, I'll die a sturdy martyr.And to the last preach to thee, pagan Percy,Till I have made a convert. Answer me,Is not this idol of thy heathen worshipThat sent thee hither a despairing pilgrim;Thy goddess, Geraldine, is she not false?Percy.Most false!Rolfe.For shame, then; cease adoring her;Untwine the twisted cable of your arms,Heave from your freighted bosom all its charge,In one full sigh, and puff it strongly from you;Then, raising your earth-reading eyes to Heaven,Laud your kind stars you were not married to her,And so forget her.Percy.Ah! my worthy Rolfe,'Tis not the hand of infant ResolutionCan pluck this rooted passion from my heart:Yet what I can I will; by heaven! I will.Rolfe.Why, cheerly said; the baby ResolutionWill grow apace; time will work wonders in him.Percy.Did she not, after interchange of vows—But let the false one go, I will forget her.Your hand, my friend; now will I act the man.Rolfe.Faith, I have seen thee do 't, and burn'd with shame,That he who so could fight should ever sigh.Percy.Think'st thou our captain lives?Rolfe.Tush! he must live;He was not born to perish so. Believe 't,He'll hold these dingy devils at the bay,Till we come up and succour him.Percy.And yetA single arm against a host—alas!I fear me he has fallen.Rolfe.Then never fellA nobler soul, more valiant, or more worthy,Or fit to govern men. If he be gone,Heaven save our tottering colony from falling!But see, th' adventurers from their daily toil.Enter adventurers,Walter,Larry,Robin,Alice, &c.Walter.Now, gentlemen labourers, a lusty roundelay after the toils of the day; and then to a sound sleep, in houses of our own building.Roundelay Chorus.Now crimson sinks the setting sun,And our tasks are fairly done.Jolly comrades, home to bed,Taste the sweets by labour shed;Let his poppy seal your eyes,Till another day arise,For our tasks are fairly done,As crimson sinks the setting sun.ACT II.SceneI.Inside the palace at Werocomoco.Powhatanin state,Grimosco, &c., his wives, and warriors, ranged on each side. Music.Powhatan.My people, strange beings have appeared among us; they come from the bosom of the waters, amid fire and thunder; one of them has our war-god delivered into our hands: behold the white being!Music.Smithis brought in; his appearance excites universal wonder;Pocahontasexpresses peculiar admiration.Pocahontas.O Nima! is it not a God!Powhatan.Miami, though thy years are few, thou art experienced as age; give us thy voice of counsel.Miami.Brothers, this stranger is of a fearful race of beings; their barren hunting grounds lie beneath the world, and they have risen, in monstrous canoes, through the great water, to spoil and ravish from us our fruitful inheritance. Brothers, this stranger must die; six of our brethren have fall'n by his hand. Before we lay their bones in the narrow house, we must avenge them: their unappeased spirits will not go to rest beyond the mountains; they cry out for the stranger's blood.Nantaquas.Warriors, listen to my words; listen, my father, while your son tells the deeds of the brave white man. I saw him when 300 of our fiercest chiefs formed the warring around him. But he defied their arms; he held lightning in his hand. Wherever his arm fell, there sunk a warrior: as the tall tree falls, blasted and riven, to the earth, when the angry Spirit darts his fires through the forest. I thought him a God; my feet grew to the ground; I could not move!Pocahontas.Nima, dost thou hear the words of my brother.Nantaquas.The battle ceased, for courage left the bosom of our warriors; their arrows rested in their quivers; their bowstrings no longer sounded; the tired chieftains leaned on their war-clubs, and gazed at the terrible stranger, whom they dared not approach. Give an ear to me, king: 't was then I held out the hand of peace to him, and he became my brother; he forgot his arms, for he trusted to his brother: he was discoursing wonders to his friend, when our chiefs rushed upon him, and bore him away. But oh! my father, he must not die; for he is not a warcaptive; I promised that the chain of friendship should be bright between us. Chieftains, your prince must not falsify his word; father, your son must not be a liar!Pocahontas.Listen, warriors; listen, father; the white man is my brother's brother!Grimosco.King! when last night our village shook with the loud noise, it was the Great Spirit who talk'd to his priest; my mouth shall speak his commands: King, we must destroy the strangers, for they are not our God's children; we must take their scalps, and wash our hands in the white man's blood, for he is an enemy to the Great Spirit.Nantaquas.O priest, thou hast dreamed a false dream; Miami, thou tellest the tale that is not. Hearken, my father, to my true words! the white man is beloved by the Great Spirit; his king is like you, my father, good and great; and he comes from a land beyond the wide water, to make us wise and happy!Powhatandeliberates. Music.Powhatan.Stranger, thou must prepare for death. Six of our brethren fell by thy hand. Thou must die.Pocahontas.Father, O father!

SceneI.Powhatan River; wild and picturesque. Ships appear. Barges approach the shore, from which landSmith,Rolfe,Percy,Walter,Larry,Robin,Alice, &c.

Chorus.

Jolly comrades, raise the glee,Chorus it right cheerily;For the tempest's roar is heard no more,And gaily we tread the wish'd-for shore:Then raise the glee merrily,Chorus it cheerily,For past are the perils of the blust'ring sea.

Smith.Once more, my bold associates, welcome. MarkWhat cheery aspects look upon our landing:The face of Nature dimples o'er with smiles,The heav'ns are cloudless, whiles the princely sun,As glad to greet us in his fair domain,Gives us gay salutation—Larry.[ToWalter.] By St. PatrickHis fiery majesty does give warm welcome.Arrah! his gracious smiles are melting—Walter.Plague!He burthens us with favours till we sweat.Smith.What think ye, Percy, Rolfe, have we not foundSir Walter Raleigh faithful in his tale?Is 't not a goodly land? Along the bay,How gay and lovely lie its skirting shores,Fring'd with the summer's rich embroidery!Percy.Believe me, sir, I ne'er beheld that spotWhere Nature holds more sweet varieties.Smith.The gale was kind that blew us hitherward.This noble bay were undiscover'd still,Had not that storm arose propitious,And, like the ever kindly breath of heav'n,Which sometimes rides upon the tempest's wing,Driv'n us to happiest destinies, e'en thenWhen most we fear'd destruction from the blast.Rolfe.Let our dull, sluggish countrymen at homeStill creep around their little isle of fogs,Drink its dank vapours, and then hang themselves.In this free atmosphere and ample rangeThe bosom can dilate, the pulses play,And man, erect, can walk a manly round.Robin.[Aside.] Aye, and be scalp'd and roasted by the Indians.Smith.Now, gallant cavalier adventurers,On this our landing spot we'll rear a townShall bear our good king's name to after-time,And yours along with it; for ye are menWell worth the handing down; whose paged namesWill not disgrace posterity to read:Men born for acts of hardihood and valour,Whose stirring spirits scorn'd to lie inert,Base atoms in the mass of populationThat rots in stagnant Europe. Ye are menWho a high wealth and fame will bravely win,And wear full worthily. I still shall beThe foremost in all troubles, toil, and danger,Your leader and your captain, nought exactingSave strict obedience to the watchful careWhich points to your own good: be wary then,And let not any mutinous hand unravelOur close knit compact. Union is its strength:Be that remember'd ever. Gallant gentlemen,We have a noble stage, on which to actA noble drama; let us then sustainOur sev'ral parts with credit and with honour.Now, sturdy comrades, cheerly to our tasks![ExeuntSmith,Rolfe, &c.

Larry.[ToWalter.] By St. PatrickHis fiery majesty does give warm welcome.Arrah! his gracious smiles are melting—

Walter.Plague!He burthens us with favours till we sweat.

Smith.What think ye, Percy, Rolfe, have we not foundSir Walter Raleigh faithful in his tale?Is 't not a goodly land? Along the bay,How gay and lovely lie its skirting shores,Fring'd with the summer's rich embroidery!

Percy.Believe me, sir, I ne'er beheld that spotWhere Nature holds more sweet varieties.

Smith.The gale was kind that blew us hitherward.This noble bay were undiscover'd still,Had not that storm arose propitious,And, like the ever kindly breath of heav'n,Which sometimes rides upon the tempest's wing,Driv'n us to happiest destinies, e'en thenWhen most we fear'd destruction from the blast.

Rolfe.Let our dull, sluggish countrymen at homeStill creep around their little isle of fogs,Drink its dank vapours, and then hang themselves.In this free atmosphere and ample rangeThe bosom can dilate, the pulses play,And man, erect, can walk a manly round.

Robin.[Aside.] Aye, and be scalp'd and roasted by the Indians.

Smith.Now, gallant cavalier adventurers,On this our landing spot we'll rear a townShall bear our good king's name to after-time,And yours along with it; for ye are menWell worth the handing down; whose paged namesWill not disgrace posterity to read:Men born for acts of hardihood and valour,Whose stirring spirits scorn'd to lie inert,Base atoms in the mass of populationThat rots in stagnant Europe. Ye are menWho a high wealth and fame will bravely win,And wear full worthily. I still shall beThe foremost in all troubles, toil, and danger,Your leader and your captain, nought exactingSave strict obedience to the watchful careWhich points to your own good: be wary then,And let not any mutinous hand unravelOur close knit compact. Union is its strength:Be that remember'd ever. Gallant gentlemen,We have a noble stage, on which to actA noble drama; let us then sustainOur sev'ral parts with credit and with honour.Now, sturdy comrades, cheerly to our tasks![ExeuntSmith,Rolfe, &c.

[ExeuntSmith,Rolfe, &c.

Scene II.A grove.

EnterWalterandLarry.

Larry.Now by the black eyes of my Katy, but that master of yours and captain of mine is a prince!

Walter.Tut, you hav'n't seen an inch yet of the whole hero. Had you followed him as I have, from a knee-high urchin, you'd confess that there never was soldier fit to cry comrade to him. O! 'twould have made your blood frisk in your veins to have seen him in Turkey and Tartary, when he made the clumsy infidels dance to the music of his broad sword!

Larry.Troth now, the mussulmans may have been mightily amused by the caper; but for my part I should modestly prefer skipping to the simple jig of an Irish bag-pipe.

Walter.Then he had the prettiest mode of forming their manners—

Larry.Arrah, how might that be?

Walter.For example: whenever they were so ill-bred as to appear with their turbans on before him, he uses me this keen argument to convince them they shewed discourtesy. He whips me out his sword, and knocks their turbans off—

Larry.Knocks their turbans off?

Walter.Aye, egad, and their heads to boot.

Larry.A dev'lish cutting way of reasoning indeed; that argument cou'dn't be answered asily.

Walter.Devil a tongue ever wagg'd in replication, Larry.—Ah! my fairy of felicity—my mouthful of melody—my wife—

EnterAlice.

Well, Alice, we are now in the wilds of Virginia, and, tell me truly, doesn't repent following me over the ocean, wench? wilt be content in these wild woods, with only a little husband, and a great deal of love, pretty Alice?

Alice.Can you ask that? are not all places alike if you are with me, Walter?

Song.—Alice.

In this wild wood will I range;Listen, listen, dear!Nor sigh for towns so fine, to changeThis forest drear.Toils and dangers I'll despise,Never, never weary;And be, while love is in thine eyes,Ever cheery.Ah! what to me were cities gay;Listen, listen, dear!If from me thou wert away,Alas! how drear!Oh! still o'er sea, o'er land I'll rove,Never, never weary;And follow on where leads my love,Ever cheery.

Larry.Och! the creature!

Walter.Let my lips tell thee what my tongue cannot.

[Kiss.

Larry.Aye, do, do stop her mellifluous mouth; for the little nightingale warbles so like my Kate, she makes me sigh for Ballinamoné; ah! just so would the constant creature carol all day about, roving through the seas and over the woods.

EnterRobin.

Robin.Master Walter, the captain is a going to explore the country, and you must along.

Walter.That's our fine captain, always stirring.

Robin.Plague on his industry! would you think it, we are all incontinently to fall a chopping down trees, and building our own houses, like the beavers.

Larry.Well, sure, that's the fashionable mode of paying rent in this country.

Alice.O, Walter, these merciless savages! I sha'n't be merry till you return—

Robin.I warrant ye, mistress Alice—Lord love you I shall be here.

Walter.Cheerly, girl; our captain will make the red rogues scamper like so many dun deer. Savages, quotha! at sight of him, their copper skins will turn pale as silver, with the very alchemy of fear. Come, a few kisses,en passant, and then away! cheerly, my dainty Alice.

[ExeuntWalterandAlice.

Robin.Aye, go your ways, master Walter, and when you are gone—

Larry.What then! I suppose you'll be after talking nonsense to his wife. But if ever I catch you saying your silly things—

Robin.Mum, Lord love you, how can you think it? But hark ye, master Larry, in this same drama that our captain spoke of, you and I act parts, do we not?

Larry.Arrah, to be sure, we are men of parts.

Robin.Shall I tell you in earnest what we play in this merry comedy?

Larry.Be doing it.

Robin.Then we play the parts of two fools, look you, to part with all at home, and come to these savage parts, where, Heaven shield us, our heads may be parted from our bodies. Think what a catastrophe, master Larry!

Larry.So the merry comedy ends a doleful tragedy, and exit fool in the character of a hero! That's glory, sirrah, a very feather in our cap.

Robin.A light gain to weigh against the heavy loss of one's head. Feather quotha! what use of a plumed hat without a head to wear it withal?

Larry.Tut, man, our captain will lead us through all dangers.

Robin.Will he? an' he catch me following him through these same dangers—

Larry.Och, you spalpeen! I mean he'll lead us out of peril.

Robin.Thank him for nothing; for I've predetermined, look you, not to be led into peril. Oh, master Larry, what a plague had I to do to leave my snug cot and my brown lass, to follow master Rolfe to this devil of a country, where there's never a girl nor a house!

Larry.Out, you driveller! didn't I leave as neat a black-ey'd girl, and as pretty a prolific potato-patch all in tears—

Robin.Your potato-patch in tears! that's a bull, master Larry—

Larry.You're a calf, master Robin. Wasn't it raining? Och, I shall never forget it; the thunder rolling, and her tongue a-going, and her tears and the rain; och, bother, but it was a dismal morning!

Song—Larry.

Och! dismal and dark was the day, to be sure,When Larry took leave of sweet Katy Maclure;And clouds dark as pitch hung just like a black laceO'er the sweet face of Heav'n and my Katy's sweet face.Then, while the wind blow'd, and she sigh'd might and main,Drops from the black skiesFell—and from her black eyes;Och! how I was soak'd with her tears—and the rain.

[Speaks.] And then she gave me this beautiful keep-sake [Shows a pair of scissors.], which if ever I part with, may a tailor clip me in two with his big shears. Och! when Katy took you in hand, how nicely did you snip and snap my bushy, carroty locks; and now you're cutting the hairs of my heart to pieces, you tieves you—

[Sings.] Och! Hubbaboo—Gramachree—Hone!

II.

When I went in the garden, each bush seem'd to sighBecause I was going—and nod me good-bye;Each stem hung its head, drooping bent like a bow,With the weight of the water—or else of its woe;And while sorrow, or wind, laid some flat on the ground,Drops of rain, or of grief,Fell from every leaf,Till I thought in a big show'r of tears I was drown'd.

[Speaks.] And then each bush and leaf seem'd to sigh, and say, "don't forget us, Larry." I won't, said I.—"But arrah, take something for remembrance," said they; and then I dug up this neat jewel [Shows a potato.]; you're a little withered to be sure, but if ever I forget your respectable family, or your delightful dwelling place—may I never again see any of your beautiful brothers and plump sisters!—Och! my darling, if you had come hot from the hand of Katy, how my mouth would have watered at ye; now, you divil, you bring the water into my eyes.

[Sings.] Och! Hubbaboo—Gramachree—Hone!

[Exeunt.

SceneIII.Werocomoco, the royal village ofPowhatan.Indian Girlsarranging ornaments for a bridal dress. Music.

Nima.Let us make haste, my companions, to finish the dress of the bride; to-day the prince Miami returns with our hunters from the chase; to-morrow he will bear away our princess to his own nation.

EnterPocahontasfrom the wood, with bow and arrow, and a flamingo (red bird). Music as she enters.

Princess.See, Nima, a flamingo.

Indian Girlscrowd around, and admire the bird.

Princess.O Nima! I will use my bow no longer; I go out to the wood, and my heart is light; but while my arrow flies, I sorrow; and when the bird drops through the branches, tears come into mine eyes. I will no longer use my bow.

Distant hunting-horn. Music. They place themselves in attitudes of listening. Hunting-horn nearer.

Nima.'Tis Miami and our hunters. Princess, why are your looks sad?

Princess.O Nima! the prince comes to bear me far from my father and my brother. I must quit for ever the companions and the woods that are dear to me. Nima, the Susquehannocks are a powerful nation, and my father would have them for his friends. He gives his daughter to their prince, but his daughter trembles to look upon the fierce Miami.

Music.Huntersseen winding down the hills; they are met by the women of the village;MiamiapproachesPocahontas, and his attendants lay skins at her feet.

Miami.Princess, behold the spoils I bring thee. Our hunters are laden with the deer and the soft furred beaver. But Miami scorned such prey: I watched for the mighty buffalo and the shaggy bear; my club felled them to the ground, and I tore their skins from their backs. The fierce carcajou had wound himself around the tree, ready to dart upon the hunter; but the hunter's eyes were not closed, and the carcajou quivered on the point of my spear. I heard the wolf howl as he looked at the moon, and the beams that feel upon his upturned face shewed my tomahawk the spot it was to enter. I marked where the panther had crouched, and, before he could spring, my arrow went into his heart. Behold the spoil the Susquehannock brings thee!

Princess.Susquehannock, thou'rt a mighty hunter. Powhatan shall praise thee for his daughter. But why returns not my brother with thee?

Miami.Nantaquas still finds pleasure in the hunt, but the soul of Miami grew weary of being away from Werocomoco, for there dwelt the daughter of Powhatan.

Princess.Let us go to my father.

Music. ExeuntPrincessandMiamiinto palace, followed byNimaand train; the others into their several cabins.

SceneIV.A Forest.Smithenters, bewildered in its mazes. Music, expressive of his situation.

Smith.'Tis all in vain! no clue to guide my steps.[Music.By this the explorers have return'd despairing,And left their forward leader to his fate.The rashness is well punish'd, that, alone,Would brave the entangling mazes of these wilds.The night comes on, and soon these gloomy woodsWill echo to the yell of savage beasts,And savage men more merciless. Alas!And am I, after all my golden dreamsOf laurel'd glory, doom'd in wilds to fall,Ignobly and obscure, the prey of brutes?[Music.Fie on these coward thoughts! this trusty sword,That made the Turk and Tartar crouch beneath me,Will stead me well, e'en in this wilderness.[Music.O glory! thou who led'st me fearless on,Where death stalk'd grimly over slaughter'd heaps,Or drank the drowning shrieks of shipwreck'd wretches,Swell high the bosom of thy votary![Music. ExitSmith.

[Music.

[Music. ExitSmith.

Music. A party ofIndiansenter, as followingSmith, and steal cautiously after him. The Indian yell within. Music, hurried. Re-enterSmith, engaged with theIndians; several fall. Exeunt, fighting, and enter from the opposite side the PrinceNantaquas, who views with wonder the prowess ofSmith; when the music has ceased he speaks.

Sure 'tis our war-god, Aresqui himself, who lays our chiefs low! Now they stop; he fights no longer; he stands terrible as the panther, which the fearful hunter dares not approach. Stranger, brave stranger, Nantaquas must know thee!

[Music.

He rushes out, and re-enters withSmith.

Prince.Art thou not then a God?

Smith.As thou art, warrior, but a man.

Prince.Then art thou a man like a God; thou shalt be the brother of Nantaquas. Stranger, my father is king of the country, and many nations obey him: will thou be the friend of the great Powhatan?

Smith.Freely, prince; I left my own country to be the red man's friend.

Prince.Wonderful man, where is thy country?

Smith.It lies far beyond the wide water.

Prince.Is there then a world beyond the wide water? I thought only the sun had been there: thou comest then from behind the sun?

Smith.Not so, prince.

Prince.Listen to me. Thy country lies beyond the wide water, and from it do mine eyes behold the sun rise each morning.

Smith.Prince, to your sight he seems to rise from thence, but your eyes are deceived, they reach not over the wilderness of waters.

Prince.Where sleeps the sun then?

Smith.The sun never sleeps. When you see him sink behind the mountains, he goes to give light to other countries, where darkness flies before him, as it does here, when you behold him rise in the east: thus he chases Night for ever round the world.

Prince.Tell me, wise stranger, how came you from your country across the wide water? when our canoes venture but a little from the shore, the waves never fail to swallow them up.

Smith.Prince, the Great Spirit is the friend of the white men, and they have arts which the red men know not.

Prince.My brother, will you teach the red men?

Smith.I come to do it. My king is a king of a mighty nation; he is great and good: go, said he, go and make the red men wise and happy.

During the latter part of the dialogue, theIndianshad crept in, still approaching till they had almost surroundedSmith. A burst of savage music. They seize and bear him off, thePrincein vain endeavouring to prevent it.

Prince.Hold! the white man is the brother of your prince; hold, coward warriors!

[He rushes out.

SceneV.Powhatan River, as the first scene.

EnterLarry.

Now do I begin to suspect, what, to be sure, I've been certain of a long time, that master Robin's a little bit of a big rogue. I just nowobserved him with my friend Walter's wife. Arrah! here they come. By your leave, fair dealing, I'll play the eavesdropper behind this tree.

[Retires behind a tree.

EnterAlice, followed byRobin.

Robin.But, mistress Alice, pretty Alice.

Alice.Ugly Robin, I'll not hear a syllable.

Robin.But plague, prithee, Alice, why so coy?

EnterWalter[observing them, stops].

Alice.Master Robin, if you follow me about any longer with your fooleries, my Walter shall know of it.

Robin.A fig for Walter! is he to be mentioned the same day with the dapper Robin? can Walter make sonnets and madrigals, and set them, and sing them? besides, the Indians have eat him by this, I hope.

Walter.Oh, the rascal!

Robin.Come, pretty one, quite alone, no one near, even that blundering Irishman away.

Larry.O you spalpeen! I'll blunder on you anon.

Robin.Shall we, Alice, shall we?

Quartetto.

Mistress Alice, say,Walter's far away,Pretty Alice!Nay, now—prithee, pray,Shall we, Alice? hey!Mistress Alice?

Master Robin, nay—Prithee, go your way,Saucy Robin!If you longer stay,You may rue the day,Master Robin.

Walter.[Aside.] True my Alice is.

Larry.[Aside.] Wat shall know of this.

Robin.[Struggling.] Pretty Alice!

Walter.[Aside.] What a rascal 'tis!

Larry.[Aside.] He'll kill poor Rob, I wis!

Robin.[Struggling.] Mistress Alice,Let me taste the bliss—[Attempts to kiss her.Alice.Taste the bliss of this,[Slaps his face.Saucy Robin!

Robin.[Struggling.] Mistress Alice,Let me taste the bliss—[Attempts to kiss her.

[Attempts to kiss her.

Alice.Taste the bliss of this,[Slaps his face.Saucy Robin!

[Slaps his face.

Walter.[Advancing.] Oh, what wond'rous bliss!

Larry.[Advancing.] How d'ye like the kiss?

[Robinsteals off.

Walter.Jackanapes!

Larry.Aye, hop off, cock robin! Blood and thunder now, that such a sparrow should try to turn hawk, and pounce on your little pullet here.

Alice.Welcome, my bonny Walter.

Walter.A sweet kiss, Alice, to season my bitter tidings. Our captain's lost.

Walter.You shall hear. A league or two below this, we entered a charming stream, that seemed to glide through a fairy land of fertility. I must know more of this, said our captain. Await my return here. So bidding us moor the pinnace in a broad basin, where the Indian's arrows could reach us from neither side, away he went, alone in his boat, to explore the river to its head.

Larry.Gallant soul!

Walter.What devil prompted us to disobey his command I know not, but scarce was he out of sight, when we landed; and mark the end on't: up from their ambuscado started full three hundred black fiends, with a yell that might have appalled Lucifer, and whiz came a cloud of arrows about our ears. Three tall fellows of ours fell: Cassen, Emery, and Robinson. Our lieutenant, with Percy and myself, fought our way to the water side, where, leaving our canoe as a trophy to the victors, we plunged in, ducks, and, after swimming, dodging, and diving like regained the pinnace that we had left like geese.

Alice.Heaven be praised, you are safe; but our poor captain—

Walter.Aye; the day passed and he returned not; we came back for a reinforcement, and to-morrow we find him, or perish.

Alice.Perish!—

Walter.Aye; shame seize the poltroon who wou'dn't perish in such a cause; wou'dn't you, Larry?

Larry.By Saint Patrick, it's the thing I would do, and hould my head the higher for it all the days of my life after.

Walter.But see, our lieutenant and master Percy.

EnterRolfeandPercy.

Rolfe.Good Walter look to the barge, see it be readyBy earliest dawn.Walter.I shall, sir.Rolfe.And be careful,This misadventure be not buzz'd abroad,Where 't may breed mutiny and mischief. SayWe've left the captain waiting our return,Safe with the other three; meantime, choose outSome certain trusty fellows, who will swearBravely to find their captain or their death.Walter.I'll hasten, sir, about it.Larry.Good lieutenant,Shall I along?Rolfe.In truth, brave Irishman,We cannot have a better. Pretty Alice,Will you again lose Walter for a time?

Rolfe.Good Walter look to the barge, see it be readyBy earliest dawn.

Walter.I shall, sir.

Rolfe.And be careful,This misadventure be not buzz'd abroad,Where 't may breed mutiny and mischief. SayWe've left the captain waiting our return,Safe with the other three; meantime, choose outSome certain trusty fellows, who will swearBravely to find their captain or their death.

Walter.I'll hasten, sir, about it.

Larry.Good lieutenant,Shall I along?

Rolfe.In truth, brave Irishman,We cannot have a better. Pretty Alice,Will you again lose Walter for a time?

Alice.I would I were a man, sir, then, most willingly I'd lose myself to do our captain service.

Rolfe.An Amazon!Walter.Oh, 'tis a valiant dove.Larry.But come; Heaven and St. Patrick prosper us.

Rolfe.An Amazon!

Walter.Oh, 'tis a valiant dove.

Larry.But come; Heaven and St. Patrick prosper us.

[ExeuntWalter,Larry,Alice.

Rolfe.Now, my sad friend, cannot e'en this arouse you?Still bending with the weight of shoulder'd Cupid?Fie! throw away that bauble, love, my friend:That glist'ning toy of listless laziness,Fit only for green girls and growing boysT' amuse themselves withal. Can an inconstant,A fickle changeling, move a man like Percy?Percy.Cold youth, how can you speak of that you feel not?You never lov'd.Rolfe.Hum! yes, in mine own way;Marry, 'twas not with sighs and folded arms;For mirth I sought in it, not misery.Sir, I have ambled through all love's gradationsMost jollily, and seriously the whilst.I have sworn oaths of love on my knee, yet laugh'd not;Complaints and chidings heard, but heeded not;Kiss'd the cheek clear from tear-drops, and yet wept not;Listen'd to vows of truth, which I believed not;And after have been jilted—Percy.Well!Rolfe.And car'd not.Percy.Call you this loving?Rolfe.Aye, and wisely loving.Not, sir, to have the current of one's bloodFroz'n with a frown, and molten with a smile;Make ebb and flood under a lady Luna,Liker the moon in changing than in chasteness.'Tis not to be a courier, posting upTo the seventh heav'n, or down to the gloomy centre,On the fool's errand of a wanton—pshaw!Women! they're made of whimsies and caprice,So variant and so wild, that, ty'd to a God,They'd dally with the devil for a change.—Rather than wed a European dame,I'd take a squaw o' the woods, and get papooses.Percy.If Cupid burn thee not for heresy,Love is no longer catholic religion.Rolfe.An' if he do, I'll die a sturdy martyr.And to the last preach to thee, pagan Percy,Till I have made a convert. Answer me,Is not this idol of thy heathen worshipThat sent thee hither a despairing pilgrim;Thy goddess, Geraldine, is she not false?Percy.Most false!Rolfe.For shame, then; cease adoring her;Untwine the twisted cable of your arms,Heave from your freighted bosom all its charge,In one full sigh, and puff it strongly from you;Then, raising your earth-reading eyes to Heaven,Laud your kind stars you were not married to her,And so forget her.Percy.Ah! my worthy Rolfe,'Tis not the hand of infant ResolutionCan pluck this rooted passion from my heart:Yet what I can I will; by heaven! I will.Rolfe.Why, cheerly said; the baby ResolutionWill grow apace; time will work wonders in him.Percy.Did she not, after interchange of vows—But let the false one go, I will forget her.Your hand, my friend; now will I act the man.Rolfe.Faith, I have seen thee do 't, and burn'd with shame,That he who so could fight should ever sigh.Percy.Think'st thou our captain lives?Rolfe.Tush! he must live;He was not born to perish so. Believe 't,He'll hold these dingy devils at the bay,Till we come up and succour him.Percy.And yetA single arm against a host—alas!I fear me he has fallen.Rolfe.Then never fellA nobler soul, more valiant, or more worthy,Or fit to govern men. If he be gone,Heaven save our tottering colony from falling!But see, th' adventurers from their daily toil.

Percy.Cold youth, how can you speak of that you feel not?You never lov'd.

Rolfe.Hum! yes, in mine own way;Marry, 'twas not with sighs and folded arms;For mirth I sought in it, not misery.Sir, I have ambled through all love's gradationsMost jollily, and seriously the whilst.I have sworn oaths of love on my knee, yet laugh'd not;Complaints and chidings heard, but heeded not;Kiss'd the cheek clear from tear-drops, and yet wept not;Listen'd to vows of truth, which I believed not;And after have been jilted—

Percy.Well!

Rolfe.And car'd not.

Percy.Call you this loving?

Rolfe.Aye, and wisely loving.Not, sir, to have the current of one's bloodFroz'n with a frown, and molten with a smile;Make ebb and flood under a lady Luna,Liker the moon in changing than in chasteness.'Tis not to be a courier, posting upTo the seventh heav'n, or down to the gloomy centre,On the fool's errand of a wanton—pshaw!Women! they're made of whimsies and caprice,So variant and so wild, that, ty'd to a God,They'd dally with the devil for a change.—Rather than wed a European dame,I'd take a squaw o' the woods, and get papooses.

Percy.If Cupid burn thee not for heresy,Love is no longer catholic religion.

Rolfe.An' if he do, I'll die a sturdy martyr.And to the last preach to thee, pagan Percy,Till I have made a convert. Answer me,Is not this idol of thy heathen worshipThat sent thee hither a despairing pilgrim;Thy goddess, Geraldine, is she not false?

Percy.Most false!

Rolfe.For shame, then; cease adoring her;Untwine the twisted cable of your arms,Heave from your freighted bosom all its charge,In one full sigh, and puff it strongly from you;Then, raising your earth-reading eyes to Heaven,Laud your kind stars you were not married to her,And so forget her.

Percy.Ah! my worthy Rolfe,'Tis not the hand of infant ResolutionCan pluck this rooted passion from my heart:Yet what I can I will; by heaven! I will.

Rolfe.Why, cheerly said; the baby ResolutionWill grow apace; time will work wonders in him.

Percy.Did she not, after interchange of vows—But let the false one go, I will forget her.Your hand, my friend; now will I act the man.

Rolfe.Faith, I have seen thee do 't, and burn'd with shame,That he who so could fight should ever sigh.

Percy.Think'st thou our captain lives?

Rolfe.Tush! he must live;He was not born to perish so. Believe 't,He'll hold these dingy devils at the bay,Till we come up and succour him.

Percy.And yetA single arm against a host—alas!I fear me he has fallen.

Rolfe.Then never fellA nobler soul, more valiant, or more worthy,Or fit to govern men. If he be gone,Heaven save our tottering colony from falling!But see, th' adventurers from their daily toil.

Enter adventurers,Walter,Larry,Robin,Alice, &c.

Walter.Now, gentlemen labourers, a lusty roundelay after the toils of the day; and then to a sound sleep, in houses of our own building.

Roundelay Chorus.

Now crimson sinks the setting sun,And our tasks are fairly done.Jolly comrades, home to bed,Taste the sweets by labour shed;Let his poppy seal your eyes,Till another day arise,For our tasks are fairly done,As crimson sinks the setting sun.

SceneI.Inside the palace at Werocomoco.Powhatanin state,Grimosco, &c., his wives, and warriors, ranged on each side. Music.

Powhatan.My people, strange beings have appeared among us; they come from the bosom of the waters, amid fire and thunder; one of them has our war-god delivered into our hands: behold the white being!

Music.Smithis brought in; his appearance excites universal wonder;Pocahontasexpresses peculiar admiration.

Pocahontas.O Nima! is it not a God!

Powhatan.Miami, though thy years are few, thou art experienced as age; give us thy voice of counsel.

Miami.Brothers, this stranger is of a fearful race of beings; their barren hunting grounds lie beneath the world, and they have risen, in monstrous canoes, through the great water, to spoil and ravish from us our fruitful inheritance. Brothers, this stranger must die; six of our brethren have fall'n by his hand. Before we lay their bones in the narrow house, we must avenge them: their unappeased spirits will not go to rest beyond the mountains; they cry out for the stranger's blood.

Nantaquas.Warriors, listen to my words; listen, my father, while your son tells the deeds of the brave white man. I saw him when 300 of our fiercest chiefs formed the warring around him. But he defied their arms; he held lightning in his hand. Wherever his arm fell, there sunk a warrior: as the tall tree falls, blasted and riven, to the earth, when the angry Spirit darts his fires through the forest. I thought him a God; my feet grew to the ground; I could not move!

Pocahontas.Nima, dost thou hear the words of my brother.

Nantaquas.The battle ceased, for courage left the bosom of our warriors; their arrows rested in their quivers; their bowstrings no longer sounded; the tired chieftains leaned on their war-clubs, and gazed at the terrible stranger, whom they dared not approach. Give an ear to me, king: 't was then I held out the hand of peace to him, and he became my brother; he forgot his arms, for he trusted to his brother: he was discoursing wonders to his friend, when our chiefs rushed upon him, and bore him away. But oh! my father, he must not die; for he is not a warcaptive; I promised that the chain of friendship should be bright between us. Chieftains, your prince must not falsify his word; father, your son must not be a liar!

Pocahontas.Listen, warriors; listen, father; the white man is my brother's brother!

Grimosco.King! when last night our village shook with the loud noise, it was the Great Spirit who talk'd to his priest; my mouth shall speak his commands: King, we must destroy the strangers, for they are not our God's children; we must take their scalps, and wash our hands in the white man's blood, for he is an enemy to the Great Spirit.

Nantaquas.O priest, thou hast dreamed a false dream; Miami, thou tellest the tale that is not. Hearken, my father, to my true words! the white man is beloved by the Great Spirit; his king is like you, my father, good and great; and he comes from a land beyond the wide water, to make us wise and happy!

Powhatandeliberates. Music.

Powhatan.Stranger, thou must prepare for death. Six of our brethren fell by thy hand. Thou must die.

Pocahontas.Father, O father!

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