James Nelson Barker

“ Powhatan. Like a warrior he subdued them, for the chain of friendship bound them not to each other. The white man is brave as Aresqui; and can the brave be treacherous?
Grimosco. Like the red feathers of the flamingo is craft, the brightest plume that graces the warrior's brow. Are not your people brave? Yet does the friendly tree shield them while the hatchet is thrown. Who doubts the courage of Powhatan? Yet has the eye of darkness seen Powhatan steal to the surprise of the foe. ”

“ Grimosco. The valour of thy chiefs may slumber, but the craft of thy priest shall watch. When the English sit at that banquet from which they shall never rise; when their eyes read nothing but friendship in thy looks, there shall hang a hatchet over each victim head, which, at the silent signal of Grimosco—
Powhatan. Forbear, counsellor of death! Powhatan cannot betray those who have vanquished his enemies; who are his friends, his brothers.
Grimosco. Impious! Can the enemies of your God be your friends? Can the children of another parent be your brethren? ”

“ 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. Hunters seen winding down the hills; they are met by the women of the village; Miami approaches Pocahontas, 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. ”

“ Grimosco. And at last, when the angel of death obeys his call of anguish, whither will go his condemned soul? Not to the fair forests, where his brave fathers are. Oh! never will Powhatan clasp the dear ones who have gone before him. His exiled, solitary spirit will forever houl on the barren heath where the wings of darkness rest. No ray of hope shall visit him; eternal will be his night of despair.
Powhatan. Forbear, forbear! O priest, teach me to avert the dreadful doom.
Grimosco. Let the white men be slaughtered.
Powhatan. The angry Spirit shall be appeased. Come. ”

“ Powhatan. Priest!
Grimosco. From the face of the waters will he send them, in mighty tribes, and our shores will scarce give space for their footsteps. Powhatan will fly before them; his beloved child, his wives, all that is dear to him, he will leave behind. Powhatan will fly; but whither? which of his tributary kings will shelter him? Not one. Already they cry, "Powhatan is ruled by the white; we will no longer be the slaves of a slave!" ”

“ To your bosoms, ladies, sweet ladies! the little stranger flies with confidence for protection; shield it, I pray you, from the iron rod of rigour, and scold it yourselves, as much as you will, for on your smooth and polished brows it can never read wrinkled cruelty; the mild anger of your eyes will not blast it like the fierce scowl of the critic; the chidings of your voice will be soothing music to it, and it will discover the dimple of kindness in your very frowns. ”

“ 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!
Powhatan deliberates. Music.
Powhatan. Stranger, thou must prepare for death. Six of our brethren fell by thy hand. Thou must die.
Pocahontas. Father, O father!
Smith. ”

“ Exit into palace, followed by Nima, &c.
Music. Enter Grimosco and Warriors.
Powhatan. Brave chieftains! need I remind you of the victories you have gained; the scalps you have borne from your enemies? Chieftains, another victory must be won; more trophies from your foes must deck your cabins; the insolent Miami has braved your king, and defied him with the crimson tomahawk. Warriors! we will not bury it till his nation is extinct. Ere we tread the war-path, raise to our god Aresqui the song of battle, then march to triumph and to glory. ”

“ ACT II. Scene I. Inside the palace at Werocomoco. Powhatan in 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. Smith is brought in; his appearance excites universal wonder; Pocahontas expresses 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. ”

“ 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! ”

“ If a leaf but fall in the forest, my people cry out with terror, "hark! the white warrior comes!" Chief, thou art terrible as an enemy, and Powhatan knows the value of thy friendship.
Grimosco waves his hand again; the Indians seize their tomahawks, and prepare to strike. ”

“ I will demand of him if he be the friend of Powhatan.
Grimosco. Yes; but demand it of him as thou drawest thy reeking hatchet from his cleft head. [King starts.] The despoilers of our land must die!
Powhatan. What red man can give his eye-ball the glare of defiance when the white chief is nigh? He who stood alone amidst seven hundred foes, and, while he spurned their king to the ground, dared them to shoot their arrows; who will say to him, "White man, I am thine enemy?" No one. ”

“ Grimosco. Away! the Great Spirit commands you. Resume your seat; hold the white men in discourse; I will but thrice wave my hand, and your foes are dead. [King resumes his seat.] [To Miami.] Now, prince, has the hour of vengeance arrived.
Powhatan. [With a faltering voice.] Think not, white men, that Powhatan wants the knowledge to prize your friendship. Powhatan has seen three generations pass away; and his locks of age do not float upon the temples of folly.
Grimosco waves his hand: the Indians steal behind the English, Miami behind Rolfe. ”

“ Will 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 population
That rots in stagnant Europe. Ye are men
Who a high wealth and fame will bravely win,
And wear full worthily. I still shall be
The foremost in all troubles, toil, and danger,
Your leader and your captain, nought exacting
Save strict obedience to the watchful care
Which points to your own good: be wary then,
And let not any mutinous hand unravel
Our close knit compact. Union is its strength:
Be that remember'd ever. ”

“ Nay, sir, its foster-mother.
Delawar. Mark how wild—
Music. The Princess enters, with wild anxiety in her looks; searches eagerly around for Smith and Rolfe.
Delawar. Whom do you look for, lady?
Princess. They are gone!
Gone to be slaughter'd!
Walter. If you seek our captain,
He has departed for your father's banquet.
Princess. Then they have met, and they will both be lost,
My lover and my friend. O! faithless path,
That led me from my lover! Strangers, fly!
If you're the white man's friends—
Delawar. ”

“ In sending it to the press I am perfectly apprized of the probability that it goes only to add one more to the list of those unfortunate children of the American drama, who, in the brief space that lies between their birth and death, are doomed to wander, without house or home, unknown and unregarded, or who, if heeded at all, are only picked up by some critic beadle to receive the usual treatment of vagrants. ”

“ Powhatan. The red hatchet! 'Tis well. Grimosco, summon our warriors.
Grimosco. O king! might I—
Powhatan. Speak not. Tell our chiefs to assemble; and show them the war-signal [Exit Grimosco.] . Go, tell your master, the great Powhatan will soon meet him, terrible as the minister of vengeance. [Exit Indian.] The chiefs approach. My child, retire from this war scene.
Princess. O dear parent! thine age should have been passed in the shade of peace; and do I bring my father to the bloody war-path?
Powhatan. Not so; the young prince has often dared my power, and merited my vengeance ”

“ Though a lass or a glass, in this wild country,
Can't be had, or for love, or for money.
[Pg 598] Larry. Well, how do you feel?
Robin. As courageous as, as a—
Larry. As a wren, little Robin. Are you sure, now, you won't be after fancying every deer that skips by you a divil, and every bush a bear?
Robin. I defy the devil; but hav'n't you heard, my masters, how the savages go a hunting, drest out in deer-skin? How could you put one in mind, master Larry? O Lord! that I should come a captain-hunting! the only game we put up is deer that carry scalping knives! ”

“ And kiss,
Bliss—
O, she hugg'd to her heart the welcome stranger.
Larry. How's that? Ballinamoné, Kate, did you say, Kate?
Kate. Aye, Katy Maclure; as neat a little wanton tit—
Larry. My wife a wanton tit!—Hark ye, master Whippersnapper, do you pretend—
Kate. Pretend! no, faith, sir, I scorn to pretend, sir; I am above boasting of ladies' favours, unless I receive 'em. Pretend, quotha!
Larry. Fire and faggots! Favours!—
Kate. You seem to know the girl, mister—a—
Larry. Know her! she's my wife. ”

“ Dramatic genius, with genius of every other kind, is assuredly native of our soil, and there wants but the wholesome and kindly breath of favour to invigourate its delicate frame, and bid it rapidly arise from its cradle to blooming maturity. ”

“ Indeed, were I disposed to draw comfort from the misfortunes of others, I might make myself happy with the reflection, that however my vagabond might deserve the lash, it would receive no more punishment than those who deserved none at all; for the gentlemen castigators seldom take the pains to distinguish Innocence from Guilt, but most liberally bestow their stripes on all poor wanderers who are unhappily of American parentage. ”

“ But alas! poor weak ones! what a climate are ye doomed to draw your first breath in! the teeming press has scarcely ceased groaning at your delivery, ere you are suffocated with the stagnant atmosphere of entire apathy, or swept out of existence by the hurricane of unsparing, indiscriminating censure! ”

“ Is thy child dear to thee, my father? Thy child will die with the white man.
Plaintive music. She bows her head to his feet. Powhatan, after some deliberation, looking on his daughter with tenderness, presents her with a string of white wampum. Pocahontas, with the wildest expression of joy, rushes forward with Smith, presenting the beads of peace.
Captive! thou art free!—
Music. General joy is diffused—Miami and Grimosco only appear discontented. The prince Nantaquas congratulates Smith. The Princess shows the most extravagant emotions of rapture.
Smith. O woman! angel sex! ”

“ Warriors, when the third signal strikes, sink your tomahawks in his head.
Pocahontas. Oh, do not, warriors, do not! Father, incline your heart to mercy; he will win your battles, he will vanquish your enemies! [First signal.] Brother, speak! save your brother! Warriors, are you brave? preserve the brave man! [Second signal.] [Pg 595] Miami, priest, sing the song of peace; ah! strike not, hold! mercy!
Music. The third signal is struck, the hatchets are lifted up: when the Princess, shrieking, runs distractedly to the block, and presses Smith's head to her bosom.
White man, thou shalt not die ”

“ In all ages, and in every country, even the sturdiest offspring of genius have felt the necessity and received the aid of a protecting hand of favour to support and guide their first trembling and devious footsteps ”

“ 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 [Pg 590] —
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? ”

“ Walter. Marry, girl, thus it was: when we had given the enemies of our ally, Powhatan, defeature, and sent the rough [Pg 607] Miami in chains to Werocomoco, our captain dispatches his lieutenant, Rolfe, to supply his place, here, in the town; and leading us to the water's edge, and leaping into the pinnace, away went we on a voyage of discovery. Some thousand miles we sailed, and many strange nations discovered; and for our exploits, if posterity reward us not, there is no faith in history. ”

“ 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 with Smith.
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? [Pg 587]
Smith. Freely, prince; I left my own country to be the red man's friend. ”