"New Atlantis" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bacon Francis)

And we thinking every minute long till we were on land, came
close to the shore and offered to land. But straightway we
saw divers of the people, with batons in their hands, as it
were forbidding us to land: yet without any cries or fierce-
ness, but only as warning us off, by signs that they made.
Whereupon being not a little discomfited, we were advising
with ourselves what we should do. During which time there
made forth to us a small boat, with about eight persons in it,
whereof one of them had in his hand a tipstaff of a yellow cane,
tipped at both ends with blue, who made aboard our ship,
without any show of distrust at all. And when he saw one
of our number present himself somewhat afore the rest, he
drew forth a little scroll of parchment (somewhat yellower
than our parchment, and shining like the leaves of writing-
tables, but otherwise soft and flexible), and delivered it to our
foremost man. In which scroll were written in ancient He-
brew, and in ancient Greek, and in good Latin of the school,
and in Spanish these words: "Land ye not, none of you, and
provide to be gone from this coast within sixteen days, except
you have further time given you; meanwhile, if you want
fresh water, or victual, or help for your sick, or that your ship
needeth repair, write down your wants, and you shall have
that which belongeth to mercy." This scroll was signed with
a stamp of cherubim's wings, not spread, but hanging down-
ward; and by them a cross.

This being delivered, the officer returned, and left only a
servant with us to receive our answer. Consulting hereupon
among ourselves, we were much perplexed. The denial of
landing, and hasty warning us away, troubled us much: on
the other side, to find that the people had languages, and were
so full of humanity, did comfort us not a little. And above all,
the sign of the cross to that instrument was to us a great rejoic-
ing, and as it were a certain presage of good. Our answer
was in the Spanish tongue, "That for our ship, it was well;
for we had rather met with calms and contrary winds, than
any tempests. For our sick, they were many, and in very ill
case; so that if they were not permitted to land, they ran in
danger of their lives." Our other wants we set down in par-
ticular, adding, "That we had some little store of merchandise,
which if it pleased them to deal for, it might supply our wants,
without being chargeable unto them." We offered some re-
ward in pistolets unto the servant, and a piece of crimson velvet
to be presented to the officer; but the servant took them not,
nor would scarce look upon them; and so left us, and went
back in another little boat which was sent for him.

About three hours after we had despatched our answer, there
came toward us a person (as it seemed) of a place. He had
on him a gown with wide sleeves, of a kind of water chamolet,