fred Bernard, though false to all the world beside! At
last, good father Bellini, thou hast taught me true wisdom--'Success
sanctifies sin.'"
FOOTNOTES:
[21] The name of the village at the confluence of Pamunkey and
Mattapony, now called West Point.
[22] Grand Council of the Indians.
[23] A woman.
[24] A root used by the Indians successfully in the cure of all wounds.
CHAPTER XIII.
"Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days?"
_Isaiah._
"One mouldering tower, o'ergrown with ivy, shows
Where first Virginia's capital arose,
And to the tourist's vision far withdrawn
Stands like a sentry at the gates of dawn.
The church has perished--faint the lines and dim
Of those whose voices raised the choral hymn,
Go read the record on the mossy stone,
'Tis brief and sad--oblivion claims its own!"
_Thompson's Virginia._
The traveller, as he is borne on the bosom of the noble James, on the
wheezing, grunting steamboat, may still see upon the bank of the river,
a lonely ruin, which is all that now remains of the old church at
Jamestown. Despite its loneliness and desolation, that old church has
its memories, which hallow it in the heart of every Virginian. From its
ruined chancel that "singular excellent" Christian and man, good Master
Hunt, was once wont, in far gone times, to preach the gospel of peace to
those stern old colonists, who in full armour, and ever prepared for
Indian interruptions, listened with devout attention. There in the front
pew, which stood nearest the chancel, had sat John Smith, whose sturdy
nature and strong practical sense were alone sufficient to repel the
invasion of heathen savages, and provide for the wants of a famishing
colony. Yet, with all the sternness and rigour of his character, his
heart was subdued by the power of religion, as he bowed in meek
submission to its precepts, and relied with humble confidence upon its
promises. The pure light of Heaven was reflected even from that strong
iron heart. At that altar had once knelt a dusky but graceful form, the
queenly daughter of a noble king; and, her savage nature enlightened by
the rays of the Sun of righteousness, she had there received upon her
royal brow the sacred sign of her Redeemer's cross. And many a dark eye
was bedewed with te
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