Stadacona

“ Twenty-five canoes from Stadacona afterwards visited them; and later Donnaconna brought on board "10 or 12 other of the greatest chiefs" with more than 500 persons, men, women and children, some doubtless from the neighbouring settlements. If the same 200 persons as in the previous year were absent fishing at Gaspé, and others in other spots, these figures argue a considerable population. ”

“ The short and imperfect vocabulary of Indian words which Cartier left behind, his account of Hochelaga, the intimacy of the two Gaspé Indians with the inhabitants of Stadacona—these and other facts go to show that the barbarous tribes he met were of the Iroquois stock.
The Indians have never had any written records, in the European sense, to perpetuate the doings of their nations or tribes. From generation to generation, from century to century, however, tradition has told of the deeds of ancestors, and given us vague stories of the origin and history of the tribes. ”

“ He has much influence in Picardy, and King Francis is greatly indebted to him. He declares that if he wants a ship, or indeed a fleet, he can have it. He professes to be anxious to win souls in the new land of darkness, as he calls it; but do not lay too much stress on the darkness when you meet him. The gold and the diamonds and the furs will touch his heart much quicker than anything else. He is a shrewd fellow, and if you can get him enthusiastic over your New World you will soon be at your beloved Stadacona, and have a chance to stay there too. ”

“ It must be allowed however that the winter that year was uncommonly long, and there was even some scarcity of provisions among the natives.
On the 21st of April 1536, Domagaia came to the shore accompanied by several strong men whom we had not seen before, and told us that the lord Donnacona would come next day to visit us, and was to bring abundance of venison and other things along with him. Next day Donnacona came to Stadacona with a great number of men, for what purpose we know not; but as the proverb says, "He who takes heed of all men may hap to escape from some." ”

“ Ona dashed for the canoe, maybe with some blind idea to get hold of the other paddle to defend herself with, but he had the speed of her and headed her off; she made for the rough coral of the outer beach but he headed her off; time and again he could have closed with her and killed her, but the sight of her frizzy head, her face, her figure, and the fact that she was a woman, filled him with a counter rage that spared her for the moment. He could have chased her for ever, killing her a thousand times in his mind, had his strength been equal to his hatred ”

“ I have said to myself; ‘Your end is approaching, and here is a man who will take care of Kineia if he only learns to love her and if he proves worthy of her.’ That is what I have said. And I have said to myself: ‘You will make a will and every sou you possess they shall possess—schooner and all.’ I made that will last night. It was attested by Ramura and Tonga. It is in my bureau. Had this interview not been satisfactory, I would have torn it up and I would have said to you: ‘Lygon, my friend, take half I possess, if you will, but leave this island.’ There remains only one thing. ”

“ Then I have little to add.—When the king's memory was restored, by the sight of his gem, he instantly exclaimed: "Yes, the incomparable Sacontalá is my lawful wife; and when I rejected her, I had lost my reason."——— He showed strong marks of extreme affliction and penitence; and from that moment he has abhorred the pleasures of life. No longer does he exert his respectable talents from day to day for the good of his people; he prolongs his nights without closing his eyes, perpetually rolling on the edge of his couch; and when he rises, he pronounces not one sentence aptly ”

“ She had seen orcas hunting and destroying a cachalot from the outer beach of Karolin and the sight had left her without emotion, but the mind of Katafa had changed, and the world around her had found voices telling her of things unguessed and undreamed of till now.
The great fight had brought matters to a head with her, coupling itself in some extraordinary way, by antithesis, with the warm tenderness revealed by the birds and with Dick, who had just vanished heedless of her.
What the bluebirds had whispered, the battle had suddenly shouted: “You stand alone. ”

“ Far away in the remote past some man once stood, the father of this daring invention; little dreaming of the vast consequences of the work to which he had put his hand.
Dick at the steering paddle saw a figure on the northern beach as they drew near. It was Katafa, waiting for him, the wind blowing her girdle of dracæna leaves and her hand sheltering her eyes against the sun. Standing just as Le Moan was standing on the southern beach sheltering her eyes and watching the canoe that carried the first man who had ever made her turn her head. ”

“ The medicine extracted from the balmy Usíra has been applied, I see, to her bosom; her only bracelet is made of thin filaments from the stalks of a water lily, and even that is loosely bound on her arm. Yet, even thus disordered, she is exquisitely beautiful. Such are the hearts of the young! Love and the sun equally inflame us; but the scorching heat of summer leads not equally to happiness with the ardour of youthful desires.
Pri. [Aside to Anusúyá.] Did you not observe how the heart of Sacontalá was affected by the first sight of our pious monarch? ”

“ Sacontalá stops, and trembles. Sárad. Let the queen hear. If thou beest what the king proclaims thee, what right hast thou to complain? But if thou knowest the purity of thy own soul, it will become thee to wait as a handmaid in the mansion of thy lord. Stay, then, where thou art; we must return to Canna.
Dushm. Deceive her not, holy men, with vain expectations. The moon opens the night flower; and the sun makes the water lily blossom: each is confined to its own object: and thus a virtuous man abstains from any connection with the wife of another. ”

“ She noticed them. Any of these might be the grave of her lover. Even in daylight they might have taken him, let alone vague moonlight, for they were all but indistinguishable to any but her eyes and the eyes of the Arabs and the few fishermen who used the place, nothing but a slight change of color marking the spots where underground springs made the sand treacherous as liquid mud.
Mason did not return that night and next morning Giovanna again sought the sands, the sea wind blowing her black hair and pleating her crimson robe. ”

“ Le Moan’s mother had been Le Jennabon, daughter of Le Juan, priestess of Naniwa the shark-toothed god. On the death of Le Juan, Naniwa had seemed to depart, for Karolin. Had he? Do the gods ever die whilst there is a human heart to give them sanctuary?
Nan the benign, grinning on his post—he was carved from a coconut—was set in such a way that his face was turned to the east, that is to say towards the gates of morning. He was placed in that way according to ritual. Chance had anchored the schooner in his line of vision. ”

“ My son Sárngarava, remember, when thou shalt present Sacontalá to the king, to address him thus in my name: "Considering us hermits as virtuous, indeed, but rich only in devotion, and considering also thy own exalted birth, retain thy love for this girl, which arose in thy bosom without any interference of her kindred; and look on her among thy wives with the same kindness which they experience; more than that cannot be demanded; since particular affection must depend on the will of heaven." ”

“ That was why he had sent a canoe that morning across to the southern beach to fetch Aioma, Palia and Tafata, three old men, too old for war, but expert canoe-builders, that was why when gazing at the tribe in full congregation, his eyes had brightened to the fact that nearly a hundred of the youths were ripening to war age, but under all, lighting and animating his mind, raising daring to eagle heights, lay his passion for Katafa, his other self more dear to him than self, threatened, ever so vaguely, yet still threatened. ”

“ Great king, we came hither to collect wood for a solemn sacrifice; and this forest, on the banks of the Malinì, affords an asylum to the wild animals protected by Sacontalá, whom our holy preceptor Canna has received as a sacred deposit. If you have no other avocation, enter yon grove, and let the rights of hospitality be duly performed. Having seen with your own eyes the virtuous behaviour of those whose only wealth is their piety, but whose worldly cares are now at an end, you will then exclaim, "How many good subjects are defended by this arm, which the bowstring has made callous!" ”

“ The fight with the Spanish ship people and the people of the Paumotus. Katafa’s name was mentioned—the child whom he had saved from Laminai and who had been drowned and devoured by the sharks. And as they whispered and talked, the lagoon water whispering on the beach seemed telling also of the deeds of the departing one, and in the far rumble of the reef the voice of the outer sea seemed joining in.
If Uta had never loved a human being, he had loved the sea, as the gulls love it, and the fish. ”

“ It is religion, I think, that George Santayana represents—Santayana who contrasts for me with that rooted countryman of his, Miguel de Unamuno. I have a love for both, the one tenacious of his soil and its traditions, the other early detached, flung into the New England of Harvard and William James, now lodged in Paris, and always with his roots feeding orchid-like on the air. It is inevitable that one like Santayana should bear his blossom in poetry and criticism and his fruit in philosophy-religion, or religious philosophy. ”

“ Adi. Long be a warriour with a car unshattered in combat.
[Sacontalá and her son prostrate themselves.
Cas. Daughter, may thy husband be like Indra! May thy son resemble Jayanta! and mayst thou (whom no benediction could better suit) be equal in prosperity to the daughter of Pulóman!
Adi. Preserve, my child, a constant unity with thy lord: and may this boy, for a great length of years, be the ornament and joy of you both! Now be seated near us.
[They all sit down.
Cas. [Looking at them by turns.] Sacontalá is the model of excellent wives; her son is dutiful ”

“ My first task was duly performed when I went to bathe in the Nymphs' pool; and I now must see with my own eyes how the virtuous king is afflicted.—Sacontalá is dear to this heart, because she is the daughter of my beloved Ménacà, from whom I received both commissions.— [She looks round.] —Ah! on a day full of delights the monarch's family seem oppressed with some new sorrow.—By exerting my supernatural power I could know what has passed; but respect must be shown to the desire of Ménacà. ”

“ Dushm. No; what male divinity would have taken the pains to carry off a wife so firmly attached to her lord? Ménacà, the nymph of Swerga, gave her birth; and some of her attendant nymphs have, I imagine, concealed her at the desire of her mother.
Misr. [Aside.] To reject Sacontalá was, no doubt, the effect of a delirium, not the act of a waking man.
Mádh. If it be thus, you will soon meet her again.
Dushm. Alas! why do you think so?
Mádh. Because no father and mother can long endure to see their daughter deprived of her husband. ”

“ At times he almost feared that the people might some day lose their age-long apathy and brokenness and turn like desperate rats against the unknown lands above them, sweeping all before them by virtue of their singular and still-remembered scientific powers. But for the present they fought their boredom and sense of emptiness in other ways; multiplying their hideous emotional outlets and increasing the mad grotesqueness and abnormality of their diversions. The arenas of Tsath must have been accursed and unthinkable places—Zamacona never went near them. ”

“ The sea is clear.”
“Aioma,” said Dick, “I have come from there,” pointing to the north; “the sea is not clear.”
“You have come from Marua (Palm Tree) ?”
“I have come from Marua, where one day Katafa came, drifted from here in her canoe; there we lived till a little while ago when men landed, killing and breaking and burning—burning even the big canoe they had come in. Then Katafa and I set sail for Karolin, for Karolin called me to rule her people.” ”

“ Others, deemed less necessary, might receive rather different treatment. He even wondered what would happen to him when the sages of Tsath considered him drained dry of fresh facts; and in self-defence began to be more gradual in his talks on earth-lore, conveying whenever he could the impression of vast knowledge held in reserve.
One other thing which endangered Zamacona’s status in Tsath was his persistent curiosity regarding the ultimate abyss of N’kai, beneath red-litten Yoth, whose existence the dominant religious cults of K’n-yan were more and more inclined to deny. ”

“ Saotan and Asokoa had dwelt in perfect happiness for three years when a war expedition was organized to go southward and retaliate upon their enemies for the depredations the tribe had suffered at their hands. Two of these young men had been killed, and the desire was to kill their enemies, that the young men's spirits might rest in the happy spirit land. ”

“ Our father Canna is giving orders for the intended journey to Hastinápura.
Anusúyá re-enters with the ingredients of her charm.
Anu. I am here; let us go, my Priyamvadá.
[They both advance. Pri. [Looking.] There stands our Sacontalá, after her bath at sunrise, while many holy women, who are congratulating her, carry baskets of hallowed grain.—Let us hasten to greet her.
Enter. Sacontalá, Gautamí, and female Hermits.
Sac. I prostrate myself before the goddess.
Gaut. My child, thou canst not pronounce too often the word goddess: thus wilt thou procure great felicity for thy lord. ”