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In the Eastern mind, youth, beauty, and precious stones were the meed of Paradise. In a conflict under the walls of Emesa, between the Saracens and the Christians (A.D. 635), an Arabian youth, cousin of the sanguinary Kaled, was heard aloud to exclaim, "Me-thinks I see the black-eyed girls looking upon me; one whom, should she appear in this world, all mankind would die for love of her. And I see in the hand of one of them a handkerchief of green silk, and a cap of precious stones, and she beckons me, and calls out, 'Come hither quickly, for I love thee.' "With these words charging the Christians, he made havoc wherever he went, until he was struck through with a javelin.
It was the exaggeration of old travellers, like Parrazano and Jacques Cartier, and those of Englishmen who had lately made their way from America, that induced the gold and jewel seekers in Elizabeth's reign to traverse stormy seas, to fight with the Spaniards, and, in fact, with anything that came in their way.
These traditions were carefully gathered up in England, and set forth in a document which appears to have been drawn up for Sir Humphrey Gilbert's guidance in 1581 or 1582, when fitting out an expedition to America. There we are told of the exceeding wealth of the natives and the surprising richness of the country. Great pieces of pure gold, as large as a man's fist, were to be picked up at the heads of some of the rivers, and there were plenty of gold and silver mines that could be worked without trouble. In every cottage there were a store of pearls, and in some houses they were to be measured by the peck. |
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Precious Stones Vol 11
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