FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   >>  
s, it was deliberated in council whether he had not committed high treason by so doing, that is marrying an Indian princesse." It was like James to think so. His interest in the colony was never the most intelligent, and apt to be in things trivial. Lord Southampton (Dec. 15, 1609) writes to Lord Salisbury that he had told the King of the Virginia squirrels brought into England, which are said to fly. The King very earnestly asked if none were provided for him, and said he was sure Salisbury would get him one. Would not have troubled him, "but that you know so well how he is affected to these toys." There has been recently found in the British Museum a print of a portrait of Pocahontas, with a legend round it in Latin, which is translated: "Matoaka, alias Rebecka, Daughter of Prince Powhatan, Emperor of Virginia; converted to Christianity, married Mr. Rolff; died on shipboard at Gravesend 1617." This is doubtless the portrait engraved by Simon De Passe in 1616, and now inserted in the extant copies of the London edition of the "General Historie," 1624. It is not probable that the portrait was originally published with the "General Historie." The portrait inserted in the edition of 1624 has this inscription: Round the portrait: "Matoaka als Rebecca Filia Potentiss Princ: Pohatani Imp: Virginim." In the oval, under the portrait: "Aetatis suae 21 A. 1616" Below: "Matoaks als Rebecka daughter to the mighty Prince Powhatan Emprour of Attanoughkomouck als virginia converted and baptized in the Christian faith, and wife to the worth Mr. job Rolff. i: Pass: sculp. Compton Holland excud." Camden in his "History of Gravesend" says that everybody paid this young lady all imaginable respect, and it was believed she would have sufficiently acknowledged those favors, had she lived to return to her own country, by bringing the Indians to a kinder disposition toward the English; and that she died, "giving testimony all the time she lay sick, of her being a very good Christian." The Lady Rebecka, as she was called in London, died on shipboard at Gravesend after a brief illness, said to be of only three days, probably on the 21st of March, 1617. I have seen somewhere a statement, which I cannot confirm, that her disease was smallpox. St. George's Church, where she was buried, was destroyed by fire in 1727. The register of that church has this record: "1616, May 21 Rebecca Wrothe
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   >>  



Top keywords:

portrait

 
Gravesend
 

Rebecka

 
Salisbury
 

Prince

 

shipboard

 
Powhatan
 

converted

 

Virginia

 

London


Christian

 
General
 

Rebecca

 

edition

 

Historie

 

Matoaka

 

inserted

 
Camden
 

History

 

Matoaks


daughter

 

mighty

 

Emprour

 

Aetatis

 

Attanoughkomouck

 
virginia
 
Compton
 

baptized

 
Holland
 

bringing


statement
 

disease

 

confirm

 

illness

 
smallpox
 

church

 

register

 

record

 
Wrothe
 

Church


George

 
buried
 

destroyed

 

return

 

country

 
Indians
 

favors

 
respect
 

imaginable

 

believed