 CHAPTER XI And full who came to scoff, remained to pray," Goldsmith. Notwithstanding the united labors of Richard and Benjamin, the long room was but an extremely inartificial temple. Benches made in the coarsest manner, and entirely with a view to usefulness, were arranged in rows for the reception of the congregation, while a rough unpainted box was placed against the wall in the center of the length of the apartment as an apology for a pulpit. Something like a reading desk was in front of this rostrum, and a small mahogany table from the mansion house, covered with a spotless damaskloth, stood a little on one side by the way of an altar. Branches of pines and hemlocks were stuck in each of the fissures that offered in the unseasoned and hastily completed woodwork of both the building and its furniture, while festoons and hieroglyphics met the eye in vast perfusion along the brown sides of the scratch-coated walls. As the room was only lighted by some ten or fifteen miserable candles and the windows were without shutters, it would have been but a dreary, cheerless place for the solemnities of a Christmas Eve, had not the large fire that was crackling at each end of the apartment given an air of cheerfulness to the scene, by throwing an occasional glare of light through the vistas of bushes and faces. The two sexes were separated by an area in the center of the room, immediately before the pulpit. Amid, a few benches lined this space that were occupied by the principal personages of the village and its vicinity. This distinction was rather a gratuitous concession made by the poor and less polished part of the population than a right claimed by the favorite few. One bench was occupied by the party of Judge Temple, including his daughter, and with the exception of Dr. Todd, no one else appeared willing to incur the imputation of pride by taking a seat in what was literally the high place of the tabernacle. Richard filled the chair that was placed behind another table in the capacity of a clerk, while Benjamin, after heaping sundry logs on the fire, posted himself nigh by in reserve for any movement that might require cooperation. It would greatly exceed our limits to attempt a description of the congregation, for the dresses were as various as the individuals. Someone article of more than usual finery and perhaps the relic of other days was to be seen about most of the females in connection with a coarse attire of the woods. This wore a faded silk that had gone through at least three generations over coarse wool and black stockings, that a shawl whose dyes were as numerous as those of the rainbow over an awkwardly fitting gown of rough brown women's wear. In short, each one exhibited some favorite article, and all appeared in their best both men and women. While the ground works in dress in either sex were the coarse fabrics manufactured within their own dwellings. One man appeared in the dress of a volunteer company of artillery, of which he had been a member in the downed countries. Precisely for no other reason than because it was the best suit he had. Several particularly of the younger men displayed pantaloons of blue, edged with red cloth down the seams, part of the equipments of the Templeton Light Infantry, from a little vanity to be seen in button clothes. There was also one man in a rifle frock with its fringes and folds of spotless white striking a shield to the heart with the idea of its coolness, although the thick coat of brown homemade that was concealed beneath preserved a proper degree of warmth. There was a marked uniformity of expression in countenance, especially in that half of the congregation did not enjoy the advantages of the polish of the village. A shallow skin that indicated nothing but exposure was common to all, as was an air of great decency and attention mingled generally with an expression of shrewdness and in the present instance of active curiosity. Now and then a face and dress were to be seen among the congregation that differed entirely from this description. If pockmarked and floored with guarded legs and a coat that snugly fitted the person of the wearer, it was surely an English immigrant who had bent his steps to this retired quarter of the globe. If hard-featured and without color with high cheekbones, it was a native of Scotland in similar circumstances. The short black-eyed man with a cast of the swarthy Spaniard in his face, who rose repeatedly to make room for the bells of the village as they entered, was a son of Aaron, who had lately left off his pack and become a stationary trader in Templeton. In short, half the nations in the north of Europe had their representatives in this assembly, though all had closely assimilated themselves through the American's dress and appearance except the Englishman. He indeed not only adhered to his native customs in attire and living, but usually drove his plow among the stumps in the same manner as he had before done on the plains in Norfolk until dear-bought experience taught him the useful lesson that a sagacious people knew what was suited to their circumstances better than a casual observer or a sojourner who was perhaps too much prejudiced to compare and, per adventure, too conceited to learn. Elizabeth soon discovered that she divided the attention of the congregation with Mr. Grant. Timidity, therefore, confined her observation of the appearances which we have described to stolen glances, but, as the stamping feet was now becoming less frequent and even the coughing and other little preliminaries of a congregation settling themselves down into a reverential attention were ceasing, she felt emboldened to look around her. Suddenly all noise has diminished until the suppressed cough denoted that it was necessary to avoid singularity and the most profound stillness pervaded the apartment. The snapping of the fires as they threw a powerful heat into the room was alone heard and each face and every eye were turned on the divine. At this moment a heavy stamping of feet was heard in the passage below as if a newcomer was releasing his limbs from the snow that was necessarily clinging to the legs of a pedestrian. It was succeeded by no audible tread, but directly Mohegan, followed by the leather stalking and the young hunter, made his appearance. Their footsteps would not have been heard as they trod the apartment in their moccasins but for the silence which prevailed. The Indian moved with great gravity across the floor and observing a vacant seat next to the judge he took it in a manner that manifested his sense of his own dignity. Here drawing his blanket closely around him so as to partly conceal his countenance, he remained during the service immovable but deeply attentive. Natty passed the place that was so frequently taken by his companion and seated himself on one end of a log that was lying near the fire where he continued with his rifle standing between his legs, absorbed in reflection, seemingly of no very pleasing nature. The youth found a seat among the congregation and another silence prevailed. Mr. Grant now arose and commenced his service with the sublime declaration of the human prophet. The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. The example of Mr. Jones was unnecessary to teach the congregation to rise. The solemnity of the divine affected this as by magic. After a short pause, Mr. Grant proceeded with the solemn and winning exhortation of his service. Nothing was heard but the deep affectionate tones of the reader as he went slowly through this exhortium until, something unfortunately striking the mind of Richard as incomplete, he left his place and walked on tiptoe from the room. When the clergyman bent his knees in prayer and confession, the congregation so far imitated his example as to resume their seats, once no succeeding effort of the divine during the evening was able to remove them in a body. Some rose at times, but by far the larger part continued unbending, observant it is true, but it was the kind of observation that regarded the ceremony as a spectacle rather than a worship in which they were to participate. Thus deserted by his clerk, Mr. Grant continued to read, but no response was audible. The short and solemn pause that succeeded each petition was made. Still, no voice repeated the eloquent language of the prayer. The lips of Elizabeth moved, but they moved in vain, and, accustomed as she was to the service of the churches of the metropolis, she was beginning to feel the awkwardness of the circumstance most painfully when a soft, low female voice repeated after the priest. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done. Startled at finding one of our own sex in that place who could rise superior to natural timidity, Ms. Temple turned her eyes in the direction of the penitent. She observed a young female on her knees but a short distance from her, with her meek face humbly bent over her book. The appearance of this stranger, for such she was entirely to Elizabeth, was light and fragile. Her dress was neat and becoming, and her countenance, though pale and slightly agitated, made deep interest by its sweet and melancholy expression. A second and a third response was made by this juvenile assistant, when the manly sounds of a male voice proceeded from the opposite part of the room. Ms. Temple knew the tones of the young hunter instantly, and struggling to overcome her own diffidence, she added her low voice to the number. All this time, Benjamin stood thumbing the leaves of a prayer book with great industry. But some unexpected difficulties prevented his finding the place before the divine reached the close of the confession. However, Richard reappeared at the door, and as he moved lightly across the room, he took up the response in a voice that betrayed no other concern than that of not being heard. In his hand he carried a small open box with the figures eight by ten written in black paint on one of its sides, which having placed in the pulpit apparently as a footstool for the divine, he returned to his station in time to say sonorously, Amen. The eyes of the congregation very naturally were turned to the windows, as Mr. Jones entered with his singular load, and then, as if accustomed to his general agency, were again bent on the priest in close and curious attention. The long experience of Mr. Grant admirably qualified him to perform his present duty. He well understood the character of his listeners who were mostly a primitive people in their habits, and who, being a good deal addicted to subtleties and nice distinctions in their religious opinions, viewed the introduction of any such temporal assistance as form into their spiritual worship not only with jealousy, but frequently with disgust. He had acquired much of his knowledge from studying the great book of human nature as it lay open in the world, and knowing how danger it was to contend with ignorance uniformly endeavored to avoid dictating where his better reason taught him it was the most prudent to attempt to a lead. His orthodoxy had no dependence on his cassock. He could pray with fervor and with faith, if circumstances required it, without the assistance of his clerk. And he had even been known to preach a most evangelical sermon in the winning manner of native eloquence, without the aid of a Cambric handkerchief. In the present instance he yielded, in many places, to the prejudices of his congregation. And when he had ended, there was not one of his new hearers who did not think the ceremonies less papal and offensive, and more confirmant to his or her own notions of devout worship, than they had been led to expect from a service of forms. Richard found in the divine during the evening a most powerful co-operator in his religious schemes. In preaching, Mr. Grant endeavored to steer a middle course between the mystical doctrines of those sublimated creeds which daily involved their professors in the most absurd contradictions, and those fluent roles of moral government which would reduce the savior to the level of the teacher of a school of ethics. Doctrine, it was necessary to preach, for nothing less would have satisfied the disputatious people who were his listeners, and who would have interpreted silence on his part into a tacit acknowledgment of the superficial nature of his creed. We have already said that among the endless variety of religious instructors the settlers were accustomed to hear every denomination urge its own distinctive precepts, and to have found one different to this interesting subject would have been destructive to his influence. But Mr. Grant so happily blended the universally received opinions of the Christian faith with the dogmas of his own church that although none were entirely exempt from the influence of his reasons, very few took any alarm at the innovation. When we consider the great diversity of the human character, influenced as it is by education, by opportunity, and by the physical and moral conditions of the creature, my dear hearers, he earnestly concluded, It can excite no surprise that creeds so very different in their tendencies should grow out of a religion revealed it is true, but whose revelations are obscured by the lapse of ages and whose doctrines were at the fashion of the countries in which they were first promulgated, frequently delivered in parables, and in a language abounding in metaphors and loaded with figures. On points worth a learned have in purity of heart been compelled to differ, the unlettered will necessarily be at variance. But happily for us, my brethren, the fountain of divine love flows from a source to pure to admit of pollution in its course. It extends to those who drink of its vivifying waters, the peace of the righteous and life everlasting. It endures through all time and it pervades creation. If there be mystery in its workings, it is the mystery of a divinity with a clear knowledge of the nature, the might, and the majesty of God. There might be conviction, but there could be no faith. If we are required to believe in doctrines that seem not in conformity with the deductions of human wisdom, let us never forget that such is the mandate of of wisdom that is infinite. It is sufficient for us that enough is developed to point our path right and direct our wandering steps to that portal which shall open on the light of an eternal day. And indeed it may be humbly hoped that the film which has been spread by the subtleties of earthly arguments will be dissipated by the spiritual light of heaven, and that our hour of probation by the aid of divine grace, being once passed in triumph, will be followed by an eternity of intelligence and endless ages of fruition. All that is now obscure shall be complained to our expanded faculties, and what our present senses may seem irreconcilable to our limited notions of mercy, of justice, and of love shall stand irradiated by the light of truth. Confessedly the suggestions omniscience and the acts of an awe-powerful benevolence. What a lesson of humility my brethren might not each of us obtain from a review of his infant hours and the recollection of his juvenile passions. How differently do the same acts of parental rigor appear in the eyes of the suffering child and of the chastened man? When the Sophos would supplant with the wild theories of his worldly wisdom the positive mandates of inspiration let him remember the expansion of his own feeble intellects and pause. Let him feel the wisdom of God in what is partially concealed, as well as that which is revealed. In short, let him substitute humility for pride of reason. Let him have faith and live. The consideration of this subject is full of consolation my heirs, and does not fail to bring with it lessons of humility and of profit. That duly improved would both chase in the heart and strengthen the feeble-minded man in his course. It is a blessed consolation to be able to lay the misdoubtings of our arrogant nature at the threshold of the dwelling place of the deity from whence they shall be swept away at the great opening of the portal like the mist of the morning before the rising sun. It teaches us a lesson of humility by impressing us with the imperfection of human powers and by warning us of the many weak points where we are open to the attack of the great enemy of our race. It proves to us that we are in danger of being weak when our vanity would faint sooth us into the belief that we are most strong. It forcibly points out to us the vain glory of intellect and shows us the vast difference between a saving faith and the corollaries of a philosophical theology, and it teaches us to reduce our self-examination to the test of good works. But good works must be understood the fruits of repentance, the chieftice of which is charity. Not the charity only which causes us to help the needy and comfort the suffering, but that feeling of universal philanthropy which by teaching us to love causes to judge with lenity, all men, striking at the root of self-righteousness and warning us to be sparing of our condemnations of others while our own salvation is not yet secure. The lesson of expediency, my brethren, which I would gather from the consideration of this subject is most strongly inculated by humility. On the heading and essential points of our faith there is but little difference among those classes of Christians who acknowledge the attributes of the Savior and depend on his mediation, but heresies have polluted every church, and schisms are the fruit of disputation. In order to arrest these dangers and to ensure the union of his followers it would seem that Christ had established his visible church and delegated the ministry. Wise and holy men, the fathers of our religion, have expended their labors in clearing what was revealed from the obscurities of language, and the results of their experience and researchers have been embodied in the form of evangelical discipline. What this discipline must be statutory is evident from the view of the weakness of human nature that we have already taken and that it may be profitable to us and all who listen to its precepts and its literature may God in His infinite wisdom grant and now to etc. With this ingenious reference to his own forms and ministry, Mr. Grant concluded his discourse. The most profound attention had been paid to the sermon during the whole of its delivery, although the prayers had not been received with so perfect demonstration of respect. This was by no means an intended slight of that liturgy to which the Divine alluded, but was the habit of the people who owed their very existence as a distinct nation to the doctrinal character of their ancestors. Every looks of private dissatisfaction were exchanged between Hiram and one or two of the leading members of the conference, but the feeling went no further at that time, and the congregation, after receiving the blessing of Mr. Grant, dispersed in silence and with great decorum. End of Chapter 11. This reading by Gary W. Sherwin of Yukon, Pennsylvania, in January of 2009. Chapter 12 of The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna, a descriptive tale by James Fenimore Cooper. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Chapter 12. Quote, Your creeds and dogmas of a learned church may build a fabric fair with moral beauty, but it would seem that the strong hand of God can only raise the devil from the heart. Duo. While the congregation was separating, Mr. Grant approached the place where Elizabeth and her father were seated, leading the youthful female, whom we have mentioned in the preceding chapter, and presented her as his daughter. Her reception was cordial and frank as the manners of the country, and the value of good society could render it. The two young women feeling instantly that they were necessary to the comfort of each other. The judge, to whom the clergyman's daughter was also a stranger, was pleased to find one who, from habits, sex, and years, could probably contribute largely to the pleasures of his own child, during her first privations on her removal from the associations of a city to the solitude of Templeton. While Elizabeth, who had been forcibly struck with the sweetness and devotion of the youthful supplient, removed the slight embarrassment of the timid stranger by the ease of her own manners. They were at once acquainted, and during the ten minutes that the academy was clearing, engagements were made between the young people, not only for the succeeding day, but they would probably have embraced in their arrangements half of the winter, had not the divine interrupted them by saying, GENTLY! GENTLY, MY DEAR MISS TEMPLE, OR YOU WILL MAKE MY GIRL TOO DISAPATED! YOU FORGOT SHE IS MY HELSEKEEPER, AND THAT MY DEMESTIK AFFAIRS MUST NOT REMAIN UNATENDED TO! SHOULD LUISA ACCEPT OF HALF THE KIND OFFERS, YOU ARE SO GOOD TO MAKE OF HER! AND WHY SHOULD THEY NOT BE NEGLECTED ENTIRELY, SIR? INTERRUPTED ELIZABETH, THERE ARBIT TWO OF YOU, AND CERTAIN I AM, THAT MY FATHER'S HOUSE WILL NOT ONLY CONTAIN YOU BOTH, BUT WILL OPEN IT'S DOOR SPONTANYSELY TO RECEIVE SUCH GUEST. Society is a good not to be rejected on account of cold forms in this wilderness, sir, and I have often heard my father say that hospitality is not a virtue in a new country, the favor being conferred by the guest. The manner in which Judge Temple exercises its rights would confirm this opinion, but we must not trespass too freely. Doubt not that you will see us often, my child, particularly during the frequent visits that I shall be compelled to make through the distant parts of the country, but to obtain an influence with such a people. He continued, glancing his eyes toward the few who were still lingering, curious observers of the interview. A clergyman must not awaken envy or distrust by dwelling under so splendid a roof as that of Judge Temple. You liked the roof then, Mr. Grant, cried Richard, who had been directing the extinguishment of the fires and other little necessary duties, and who approached in time to hear the close of the divine speech. I am glad to find one man of taste at last. Here's Duke, though. Duke is a tolerable judge. He is a very poor carpenter, let me tell him. Well, sir, well, I think we may say without boasting that the service was as well performed this evening as you often see. I think quite as well as I ever knew it to be told in old trinity, that is, if we accept the organ. But there is the schoolmaster leads the psalm with a very good air. I used to lead myself. But lately I have sung nothing but bass. There is a good deal of science to be shown in the bass, and it affords a fine opportunities to show off a full, deep voice. Benjamin, too, sings a good bass, though he is off out in the words. Did you ever hear Benjamin sing the Bay of Biscayle? I believe he gave us part of it this evening, said Marmaduke laughing. There was now and then a fearful quaver in his voice, and it seems that Mr. Penguilon is like most others who do one thing particularly well. He knows nothing else. He has certainly a wonderful partiality to one tune, and he has a prodigious self-confidence in that one. For he delivers himself like a norwester sweeping across the lake. But come, gentlemen, our way is clear and the sleigh waits. Good evening, Mr. Grant. Good night, young lady. Remember you dine beneath the Corinthian roof tomorrow with Elizabeth. The party separated. Richard holding a close dissertation with Mr. Lecoy as they descended the stairs on the subject of psalmody, which he closed by a violent eulogrium on the air of the Bay of Viscayle, as particularly connected with his friend Benjamin's execution. During the preceding dialogue, Mohegan returned to his seat with his head shrouded in his blanket, as seemingly inattentive to surrounding objects as the departing congregation was itself to the presence of the aged chief. Natty also continued on the log where he had first placed himself, with his head resting on one of his hands, while the other held the rifle, which was thrown carelessly across his lap. His countenance expressed uneasiness, and the occasional unquiet glances that he had thrown around him during the service plainly indicated some unusual causes for unhappiness. His continued seating was, however, out of respect to the Indian chief, to whom he paid the utmost deference on all occasions, although it was mingled with the rough manner of a hunter. The young companion of these two ancient inhabitants of the forest remained also standing before the extinguished brands, probably from an unwillingness to depart without his comrades. The room was now deserted by all but this group, the divine, and his daughter. As the party from the mansion house disappeared, John arose, and dropping the blanket from his head, he shook back the mass of black hair from his face, and, approaching Mr. Grant, he extended his hand and said solemnly, Father, I thank you. The words that have been said since the rising moon have gone forward, and the great spirit is glad. What you have told your children, they will remember and be good. He paused the moment, and then elevating himself with the grandeur of an Indian chief he added, if Chin Gajkot lives to travel toward the setting sun after his tribe, and the great spirit carries him over the lakes and mountains with the breath of his body, he will tell his people the good talk he has heard, and they will believe him. For who can say that Mohican has ever lied? To him place his dependence on the goodness of divine mercy, said Mr. Grant, to whom the proud consciousness of the Indian sounded a little heterodox. And it will never desert him. When the heart is filled with love to God, there is no room for sin. But young man, to you I owe not only an obligation, in common with those you saved this evening on the mountain, but my thanks for your respectable and pious manner in insisting in the service at a most embarrassing moment. I should be happy to see you sometimes at my dwelling, when perhaps my conservation may strengthen you in the path which you appear to have chosen. It is so unusual to find one of your age and appearance in these woods at all acquainted with our holy liturgy that it lessens at once the distance between us. And I feel that we are no longer strangers. You seem quite at home in the service. I did not perceive that you had even a book, although good Mr. Jones had laid several in different parts of the room. It would be strange if I were ignorant of the service of our church, sir, returned the youth modesty. For I was baptized in its communion, and I have never yet attended public worship elsewhere. For me to use the forms of any other denomination would be as singular as our own have proved to the people here this evening. You give me great pleasure, my dear sir, cried the divine, seizing the other by the hand and shaking it cordially. You will go home with me now, indeed you must. My child has yet to thank you for saving my life. I will listen to no apologies. This worthy Indian and your friend there will accompany us. Bless me to think that. He has arrived at manhood in this country without entering a dissenting meeting house. The Divines of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States commonly call other denominations dissenters, though there never was an established church in their own country. No, no, interrupted leather stalking. I must away to the wigwam. There is work there that mustn't be forgotten for all your churchings and merry-makings. Let the lad go with you and welcome. He is used to keeping company with ministers and talking of such matters, so is old John, who was Christianized by the Moravians about the time of the old war, but I am a plain unlearned man that has sired both the king and his country in this day again, the French and savages, but never so much as looked into a book or learnt a letter of scholarship in my born days. I've never seen the use of much-endure work, though I have lived to be partly bald, and in my time have killed two hundred beavers in a season, and that without counting the other gain. If you mistrust what I am telling you, you can ask Chinchgauch cook there, for I did it in the heart of the Delaware country, and the old man is knowing to the truth of every word I say. I doubt not, my friend, that you have been both a valiant soldier and skillful hunter in your day, said the divine, but more is wanting to prepare you for that end which approaches. You may have heard the maxim that young men may die, but old men must. I am sure I never was so great a fool as to expect to live forever, said Natty, giving one of his silent laughs. No man need do that, who trails the savages through the woods, as I have done, and lives for the hot months on the lake streams. I have a strong constitution. I must say that for myself, as it is plain to be seen. For I have drunk the Onondaga water a hundred times while I have been watching the deer licks. When the fever and aggy seeds was to be seen in it as plenty as you can see the rattlesnakes on old crumbhorn. But then I never expected to hold out forever, though there's them living who have seen the German flat's wilderness. I am them that's learned and acquainted with religion, too. Though you might look a week now and not find even the stump of a pine on them, and that's a wood that lasts in the ground the better part of a hundred years after the tree is dead. This is but time, my good friend, return, Mr. Grant, who began to take an interest in the welfare of his new acquaintance. But I would have you prepare for eternity. It is incumbent on you to attend places of worship, as I am pleased to see that you have done this evening. Would it not be heedless in you to start on a day's toil of hard hunting, and leave your ramrod and flint behind? It must be a young hand in the woods, interrupt the natty, with another laugh, that didn't know how to dress a rod out of an ash sapling, or find a firestone in the mountains. No, no, I never expected to live forever. But I see times be altering in these mountains from what they was thirty years ago, or for that matter ten years. But might makes right, and the law is stronger than an old man, whether he is one that has much laming, or only like me, that is better now at standing at the passes than following the hounds as I once used to could. Hey-ho! I never knowed preaching come into a settlement, but it made game scarce, and raised the price of gunpowder. And that's a thing not as easily made as a ramrod or an Indian flint. The divine, perceiving that he had given his opponent an argument by his own unfortunate selection of a comparison, very prudently relinquished the controversy, although he was fully determined to resume it at a more happy moment. Repeating his request to the young hunter with great earnestness, the youth and Indian consented to accompany him, and his daughter, to the dwelling, that the care of Mr. Jones had provided for their temporary residence. Leather-stalking persevered in his intention of returning to the hut, and at the door of the building they separated. After following the course of one of the streets of the village a short distance, Mr. Grant, who led the way, turned into a field through a pair of open bars, and entered a footpath of but sufficient width to admit one person to walk in at a time. The moon had gained a height that enabled her to throw her rays perpendicularly on the valley, and the distinct shadows of the party flitted along on the banks of the silver snow, like the presence of aerial figures, gliding to their pointed place of meeting. The night still continued intensely cold, although not a breath of wind was felt. The path was beaten so hard that the gentle female, who made one of the party, moved with ease along its windings, though the frost emitted a low creaking at the impression of even her light footsteps. The clergyman, in his dark dress of broadcloth, with his mild benevolent countenance, occasionally turned toward his companions, expressing that look of subdued care, which was its characteristic, presented the first object in the singular group. Next to him moved the Indian, his hair falling about his face, his head uncovered, and the rest of his form concealed beneath his blanket. As his swarthy visage, with its muscles fixed in rigid composure, was seen under the light of the moon, which struck his face obliquely, he seemed a picture of resigned old age, on whom the storms of winter had beaten in vain for the greater part of a century. But when, interning his head, the race fell directly on his dark, fiery eyes, they told a tale of passions unrestrained, and of thoughts free as air. The slight person of misgrant, which followed next, and which was but too thinly clad for the severity this season, formed a marked contrast to the wild attire and uneasy glances of the Delaware chief. And more than once during the walk, the young hunter, himself no insignificant figure in the group, was led to consider the difference in the human form, as the face of Mohegan, and the gentle countenance of Miss Grant, with eyes that rivaled the soft hue of the sky, met his view at the instant that each turned to throw glance at the splendid orb which lighted their path. Their way, which led through the fields that lay at some distance in the rear of the houses, was cheered by a conversation that flagged or became animated with the subject. The first to speak was the divine. Really, he said, it is so singular a circumstance to meet with one of your age that has not been induced by idle curiosity to visit any other church than the one in which he has been educated, that I feel strong curiosity to know the history of a life so fortunately regulated. Your education must have been excellent, as indeed is evident from your manners and language. Of which of the states are you a native, Mr. Edwards? For such I believe was the name that you gave Judge Temple? Of this. Of this? I was at a loss to conjecture from your dialect which does not partake particularly of the peculiarities of any country with which I am acquainted. You have then resided much in the cities, for no other part of this country is so fortunate as to possess the constant enjoyment of our excellent liturgy. The young hunter smiled as he listened to the divine. While he so clearly betrayed from what part of the country he had come himself, but for reasons probably connected with his present situation, he made no answer. I am delighted to meet with you, my young friend, for I think an ingenious mind such as I doubt not yours must be will exhibit all the advantages of a settled doctrine and devout liturgy. You perceive how I was compelled to bend to the humors of my hearers this evening. Good Mr. Jones wished me to read the Communion, and in fact all the morning service. But happily the cannons do not require this of an evening. I would have wearied a new congregation, but tomorrow I propose administering the sacrament. Do you commune, my young friend? I believe not, sir. I return the youth with a little embarrassment. That was not at all diminished by Miss Grant's pausing involuntarily, and turning her eyes on him in surprise. I fear that I am not qualified. I have never yet approached the altar. Neither would I wish to do it while I find so much of the world clinging to my heart. Each must judge for himself, said Mr. Grant, though I should think that a youth who had never been blown about by the wind of false doctrines, and who has enjoyed the advantages of our liturgy for so many years in its purity, may safely come. Yes, sir. It is a solemn festival, which none should celebrate until there is reason to hope it is not a mockery. I observe this evening, in your manner to judge temple, a resentment that bordered on one of the worst of human passions. We will cross this brook on the ice. It must bear us all, I think, and safely. Be careful not to slip, my child. While speaking he descended a little bank by the path, and crossed one of the small streams that poured their waters into the lake, and turning to see his daughter pass, observed that the youth had advanced and was kindly directing her footsteps. When all were safely over, he stopped the opposite bank, and continued his discourse. I was wrong, my dear sir, very wrong to suffer such feelings to rise under any circumstances, and especially in the presence where the evil was not intended. There is good in the talk of my father, said Mohican, stopping short and causing those who were behind to pause also. It is the talk of Minkwon. The white man may do as his fathers have told him, but the young eagle has the blood of a Delaware chief in his veins. It is red, and the stain it makes can only be washed out with the blood of a mingo. Mr. Grant was surprised by the interruption of the Indian, and stopping faced the speaker. His mild features were confronted to the face and determined looks of the chief, and expressed the horror he had felt at hearing such sentiments, from one who professed the religion of his savior. Raising his hands to a level with his head, he exclaimed, John, John, is this the religion that you have learned from the Moravians? But no, I will not be so uncharitable as to suppose it. They are a pious, a gentle and a mild people, and could never tolerate these passions. Listen to the language of the Redeemer, but I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you. This is the command of God, John, and without striving to cultivate such feelings, no man can see him. The Indian heard the divine with attention. The unusual fire of his eye gradually softened, and his muscles relaxed into their ordinary composure. But, slightly shaking his head, he motioned with dignity for Mr. Grant to resume his walk, and followed himself in silence. The agitation of the divine caused him to move with unusual rapidity along the deep path, and the Indian, without any apparent exertion, kept an equal pace, but the young hunter observed the female to linger in her steps, until a trifling distance intervened between the two former and the latter. Struck by the circumstance, and not perceiving any new impediment to retard her footstep, the youth made a tender of his assistance. You are a fatigued, Miss Grant, he said. The snow yields to the foot, and you are unequal to the strides of us men. Step on the crust, I entreat you, and take the help of my arm. Yonder light is, I believe, the house of your father. But it seems, yet, at some distance. I am quite equal to the walk, returned a low, tremulous voice. But I am startled by the manner of the Indian. Oh, his eye was horrid! As he turned to the moon in speaking to my father, but I forgot, sir, he is your friend. And by his language may be your relative. And yet, of you, I do not feel afraid. The young men stepped on the bank of snow, which firmly sustained his weight, and by a gentle effort induced his companion to follow. Drawing her arm through his own, he lifted his cap from his head, allowing the dark locks to flow in rich curls over his open brow, and walked by her side with an air of conscious pride, as if in inviting an examination of his utmost thoughts. Luisa took but a furtive glance at his person, and moved quietly along at a rate that was greatly quickened by the aid of his arm. You are but little acquainted with this peculiar people, Miss Grant, he said. Or you would know that revenge is a virtue with an Indian. They are taught from infancy upward to believe it a duty never to allow an injury to pass unrevenged. And nothing but the stronger claims of hospitality can guard one against their resentments where they have power. Surely, sir! said Miss Grant, involuntarily withdrawing her arm from his. You have not been educated in such unholy sentiments. It might be a sufficient answer to your excellent father to say that I was educated in the church, he returned. But to you, I will add that I have been taught deep and practical lessons of forgiveness. I believe that on this subject I have but little cause to reproach myself. It shall be my endeavor that there yet be less. While speaking, he stopped and stood with his arm again preferred to her assistance. As he ended she quietly accepted his offer and they resumed their walk. Mr. Grant and Mohegan had reached the door of the former's residence and stood waiting near its threshold for the arrival of their young companions. The former was earnestly occupied in endeavoring to correct, by his precepts, the evil propensities that he had discovered in the Indian during their conversation, to which the latter listened in profound but respectful attention. On the arrival of the young hunter and the lady they entered the building. The house stood at some distance from the village in the center of a field, surrounded by stumps that were peering above the snow, bearing caps of pure white nearly two feet in thickness. Not a tree nor a shrub was nigh, but the house externally exhibited that cheerless, unfurnished aspect, which is so common to the hastily erected dwellings of a new country. The uninviting character of the outside was, however, happily relieved by the exquisite neatness and comfortable warmth within. They entered an apartment that was fitted as a parer, though the large fireplace with its culinary arrangements betrayed the domestic uses to which it was occasionally applied. The bright blaze from the hearth rendered the light that proceeded from the candle Louisa produced unnecessary, for the scanty furniture of the room was easily seen and examined by the former. The floor was covered in the center by a carpet made of rags, a species of manufacturer that was then, and yet continues to be, much in use in the interior. While its edges that were exposed to view were of unspotted cleanliness, there was a trifling air of better life in a tea table and work stand as well as an old-fashioned mahogany bookcase, but the chairs, the dining table, and the rest of the furniture were of the plainest and cheapest construction. Against the walls were hung a few specimens of needlework and drawing. The former executed with great neatness, though of somewhat equivocal merit in their designs, while the latter were strikingly deficient in both. One of the former represented a tomb with a youthful female weeping over it, exhibiting a church with arched windows in the background. On the tomb were the names with the dates of the births and deaths of several individuals, all of whom bore the name of Grant. An extremely cursory glance at this record was sufficient to discover to the young man the domestic state of the divine. He there read that he was a widower, and that the innocent and timid maiden, who had been his companion, was the only survivor of six children, the knowledge of the dependence which each of these meat Christians had on the other for happiness, through an additional charm around the gentle but kind attentions which the daughter paid to the father. These observations occurred while the party were seating themselves before the cheerful fire, during which time there was a suspension of discourse. But when each was comfortably arranged, and Loisa, after laying aside a thin coat of faded silk and a gypsy hat that was more becoming to her modest ingenuous countenance than appropriate to the season, had taken a chair between her father and the youth. The former resumed the conversation. Trust my young friend, he said, that the education you have received has eradicated most of those revengeful principles which you may have inherited by descent, for I understand from the expressions of John that you have some of the same blood of the Delaware tribe. Do not mistake me, I beg, for it is not color nor lineage that constitutes merit, and I know not that he who claims affinity to the proper owners of this soil has not the best right to tread these hills with the lightest conscience, for he can turn solemnly to the speaker, and with the peculiarly significant gestures of an Indian he spoke. Father, you are not yet past the summer of life. Your limbs are young. Go to the highest hill and look around you. All that you see, from the rising to the setting sun, from the headwaters of the Great Spring, to where the crooked river is hid by the hills is his. He has Delaware blood, and his right is strong. Footnote. The Susquehanna means crooked river. Hanna or Hannock meant river in many of the native dialects. Thus we find Rappahannock as far south as Virginia. And footnote. But the brother, Amingorn, is just. He will cut the country into parts as the river cuts the low lands, and will say to the young eagle, Child of the Delaware's, take it, keep it, and be a chief in the land of your fathers. Never, exclaimed the young hunter, with a vehemence that destroyed the rapt attention with which the divine and his daughter were listening to the Indian. The wolf of the forest is not more rapacious for his pray than that man is greedy of gold, yet his glidings into wealth are subtle as the movements of a serpent. Forbear, forbear, my son, forbear, interrupted Mr. Grant. These angry passions must be subdued. The accidental injury you have received from Judge Temple has heightened the sense of your hereditary wrongs. But remember that the one was unintentional, and that the other is the effect of political changes which have in their course greatly lowered the pride of kings, and swept mighty nations from the face of the earth. Where now are the Philistines, who so often held the children of Israel bondage, or that city Babylon, which rioted in luxury and vice, and who stowed herself the queen of nations in the drunkenness of her pride? Remember the prayer of our holy litany, where we implore the divine power that it may please thee to forgive our enemies, persecutors and slanderers, and turn their hearts. The sin of the wrongs which have been done to the natives is shared by Judge Temple only in common with the whole people, and your arm will speedily be restored to its strength. This arm, repeated the youth pacing the floor in violent agitation, think you, sir, that I believe the man a murderer? Oh, no, he is too wily, too cowardly for such a crime, but let him and his daughter riot in the wealth. A day of retribution will come. No, no, no, he continued as he trod the floor more calmly. It is for Mohican to suspect him of an ancient right to injure me. But the trifle is not worth a second thought. He succeeded himself and hit his face between his hands as they rested on his knees. It is the hereditary violence of a native's passion, my child, said Mr. Grant, in a low tone to his affrighted daughter who was clinging in terror to his arm. He is mixed with the blood of the Indians you have heard, and neither the refinements of education nor the advantages of our excellent liturgy have been able entirely to eradicate the evil. But care and time will do much for him yet. Although the divine spoke in a low tone, yet what he uttered was heard by the youth, who raised his head with a smile of indefinite expression and spoke more calmly. Be not alarmed, Miss Grant, at either the wildness of my manner or that of my dress. I have been carried away by passions that I should struggle to repress. You must attribute it with your father to be the blood in my veins, although I would not impeach my lineage willingly. For it is all that is left me to boast of. Yes, I am proud of my descent from a Delaware chief who was a warrior that ennobled human nature. Omohegan was his friend and will vouch for his virtues. Mr. Grant here took up finding the young man more calm and the aged chief attentive. He entered into a full and theological discussion of the duty of forgiveness. The conversation lasted more than an hour when the visitors arose and after exchanging good wishes with their entertainers they departed. At the door they separated. Omohegan taking the direct route to the village while the youth moved toward the lake. The divine stood at the entrance following regarding the figure of the aged chief as it glided at an astonishing gate for his years. Along the deep path his black straight hair just visible over the bundle formed by his blanket which was sometimes blended with the snow under the silvery light of the moon. From the rear of the house was a window that overlooked the lake and here Luisa was found by her father when he entered gazing intently on the same object in the direction of the eastern mountain. He approached the spot and saw the figure of the young hunter at the distance of half a mile walking with prodigious steps across the wide fields of frozen snow that covered the ice to word the point where he knew the hut inhabited by the leather stalking was situated on the margin of the lake under a rock that was crowned by pines and hemlocks. At the next instant the wild-looking form entered the shadow cast from the overhanging trees and was lost to view. It is marvelous along the propensities of the savage continuing that remarkable race said the good divine but if he perseveres as he has commenced his triumph shall yet be complete put me in mind Luisa sent him the homily against peril of idolatry at his next visit. Surety father you do not think him in danger of relapsing into the worship of his ancestors? No, my child returned the clergyman laying his hand affectionately on her flaxen locks and smiling his white blood would prevent it but there is such thing as the idolatry of our passions End of Chapter 12 This reading by Gary W. Sherwin of Yukon, Pennsylvania in January of 2009 Chapter 13 of The Pioneers or The Sources of the Susquehanna A Descriptive Tale by James Fenimore Cooper This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Chapter 13 Quote End of drink out of the quart pot Here's a heath to the barley mile unquote It's a drinking song On one of the corners where the two principal streets of Templeton intersected each other stood as we have already mentioned the inn called The Bold Dragoon In the original plan it was ordained that the village should stretch along the little stream that rushed down the valley and the street which led from the lake to the academy was intended to be its western boundary but convenience frequently frustrates the best regulated plans The House of Mr. or as a consequence of commanding the militia of that vicinity he was called Captain Hollister had at an early day been erected directly facing the main street and ostensibly interposed a barrier to its further progress Horsemen and subsequently teamsters however availed themselves of an opening at the end of the building to pass each westward until in time the regular highway was laid out along this course and houses were gradually built on either side so as effectively to prevent any subsequent correction of the evil two material consequences followed this change in the regular plans of Marmaduke the main street after running about half its length was suddenly reduced for two months with and Boldregoon became next to the mansion house by far the most conspicuous edifice in the place this conspicuousness aided by the characters of the host and hostess gave the tavern an advantage over all its future competitors that no circumstances could conquer an effort was however made to do so that the corner diagonally opposite stood a new building that was intended by its occupants to look down all opposition it was a house of wood ornamented in the prevailing style of architecture and about the roof and balustrades was one of the three imitators of the mansion house the rough windows were filled with rough boards secured by nails to keep out the cold air before the edifice was far from finished although glass was to be seen in the lower apartments and the light of the powerful fires within denoted that it was already inhabited the exterior was painted white on the front and on the end which was exposed to the street but in the rear and on the side which was intended to join the neighboring house it was coarsely smeared with Spanish brown before the door stood a new lofty post connected at the top by a beam from which was suspended an enormous sign ornamented around its edges with certain curious carvings in pine boards and on its faces loaded with masonic emblems over these mysterious figures was written in large letters the Templeton coffee house and Travelers Hotel and beneath them by Habakkuk foot and Joshua Knapp this was a fearful rival to the bold dragoom as our readers were more readily perceive when we add that the same sonorous names were to be seen over a newly erected store in the village a Hatter's shop and the gates of a tanyard but either because too much was attempted to be executed well or that the bold dragoom had established a reputation which could not be easily shaken not only Judge Temple and his friends but most of the villages also who were not in depth to the powerful firm we have named frequented the inn of Captain Hollister on all occasions where such a house was necessary on the present evening the limping veteran and his consort were hardly housed after their return from the Academy when the sounds of stamping feet at their threshold announced the approach of visitors who were probably assembling with a view to compare opinions on the subject of the ceremonies they had witnessed the public or as it was called the bar room of the bold dragoom was a spacious apartment lined on three sides with benches and on the fourth by fireplaces on the latter there were two of such sizes to occupy with their enormous jams the whole of that side of the apartment where they were placed accepting room enough for a door or two and a little apartment in one corner which was protected by miniature palisades and profusely garnished with bottles and glasses in the entrance to this sanctuary mrs. Hollister was seated with great gravity in her air while her husband occupied himself with stirring fires moving the logs with a large steak burnt to a point at one end their sergeant here said the landlady after she thought the veteran had got the logs arranged in the most judicious manner give over poking thought it's no good yet be doing now that they burned so conveniently there's the glasses on the table there and the mug that the doctor was taking his cider and ginger in before the fire here just put them in the barn will ye for we'll be having the judge on the marriage and Mr. Jones down the night without reckoning Benjamin Poop and the lawyers and he'll be fixing the room tidy put both flips irons on the coats and tell Jude the lazy black best that if she's no be cleaning up the kitchen I'll turn her out of the house and she may live with the gentleman that caped the coffee house good luck to him sergeant sure it's a great privilege to go a mateying where a body can sit easy without jumping up and down so often as this Mr. Grant is doing that same it's a privilege at all times Mrs. Hollister whether we stand or be be seated or as good Mr. Whitefield used to do after he'd made a weirsome day's march get on our knees and pray like Moses of old with a flanker to the right and left to lift his hands to heaven returned her husband who composedly performed what she had directed to be done it was a very pretty fight Betty that the Israelites had on that day with the Amalekites it seems that they fought on a plane where Moses is mentioned as having gone on the heights to overlook the battle and wrestle in prayer and if I should judge with my little learning the Israelites and mainly on their horse for it is written that Joshua cut up the enemy with the edge of the sword from which I infer not only that they were horse but well disciplined troops indeed it says as much as that they were chosen men quite likely volunteers for raw dragoons seldom strike with the edge of their swords particularly if the weapon be any way crooked why do you bother yourself while text man about so small a matter interrupted the landlady sure it was the Lord who was with him for he always sided with the Jews before they fell away and it's but little matter what kind of men Joshua commanded so that he was doing the right bidding of and them cursed maliciously the Lord forgive me for swearing that was the death of him with their cowardice would have carried the day in old times there's no ransom to be thinking that the soldiers were used to the drill I must say Mrs. Hollister that I have not often seen raw troops fight better than the left flank of the militia at the time you mentioned they rallied handsomely and that without beat of drum which is no easy thing to do under fire and were very steady till he fell but the scriptures contain no unnecessary words and I will maintain that horse who know how to strike with the edge of the sword must be well disoyplined many a good sermon has been preached about smaller matters than that one word if the text was not meant to be particular what wasn't it written with the sword and not with the edge now a backhanded stroke on the edge takes long practice goodness what an argument would Mr. Whitefield make of that word edge as to the captain if he had only called up the guard of the dragoons when he rallied the foot they would have shown the enemy what the edge of a sword was for although there was no commission officer with them yet I think the veteran continued stiffening his cravat about his throat and raising himself up with tile air of a drill sergeant they were led by a man who know how to bring them on in spite of the ravine it's alive on ye would cried the landlady when ye know yourself Mr. Hollister that the bust he rode was but little able to jump from one rock to another and the animal was as spry as a squirrel ouch but it's useful talk for he's gone this many a year I would that he had lived to see the true light but there's mercy for a brave soul that died in the saddle fighting for the liberty it is a poor tombstone they have given him anyway and many a good one that died like himself but the sign is very like and I will be caping it up while the black smith can make a hook for it to swing on for all the coffee houses between this and Albany there is no saying where this desultory conversation would have led the worthy couple had not the men who were stamping the snow off their feet on the little platform before the door suddenly ceased their occupation and entered the bar room for 10 or 15 minutes the different individuals who intended either to bestow or receive edification before the fires of the bold dragoon on that evening were collecting until the benches were nearly filled with men of different occupations Dr. Todd and a slovenly looking shabby gentile young man who took tobacco profusely wore a coat of imported cloth cut with something like a fashionable air frequently exhibited a large french silver watch with a chain of woven hair and a silver key and who altogether seemed as much above the artisans around him as he was himself inferior to the real gentleman occupied a high back wooden seti in the most comfortable corner in the apartment sundry brown mugs containing cider or beer were placed between the heavy androns and little groups were found among the guests as subjects arose or the liquor was passed from one to the other no man was seen to drink by himself nor in any instance was more than one vessel considered necessary for the same beverage but the glass or the mug was passed from hand to hand until a chasm in the line or a regard to the rights of ownership would regularly restore the dregs of the partition to him who defrayed the cost toast were uniformly drunk and occasionally someone who conceived himself peculiarly endowed by nature to shine the way of wit would attempt such sentiment as hoping that he who treated might make better man than his father or live till all his friends wished him dead while the more humble pot companion contented himself by saying with a most composing gravity in his air come here's luck or by expressing some other equally comprehensive desire in every instance the veteran landlord was requested to imitate the custom of the cup bears to King and taste the liquor he presented by the invitation of after you his manners with which he ordinarily complied by wetting his lips first expressing the wish of here's hoping leaving it to the imagination of its hearers to fill the vacuum by whatever good each thought most desirable during these movements the landlady was busily occupied with mixing the various compounds required by her customers with her own hands and occasionally exchanging greetings and inquiries concerning the conditions of their respective families with such of the villagers as approach the bar at length the common thirst being in some measure assuaged conversation of a more general nature became the order of the hour the physician and his companion who is one of the two lawyers of the village being considered the best qualified to maintain a public discourse with credit were the principal speakers though a remark was hazarded now and then by doctor do little who was thought to be their inferior only in the enviable point of education a general silence was produced on all but the two lawmakers by the following observation from the practitioner of the law so doctor Todd I understand that you have been performing an important operation this evening by cutting a charge of buckshot from the shoulder of the son of leather stocking yes sir returned the other elevating his little head with an air of importance I had a small job up the judge in that way it was however had it gone through the body the shoulder is not a very vital part and I think the young man will soon be well but I did not know that the patient was a son of leather stocking it is news to me to hear that Natty had a wife it is by no means a necessary consequence returned the other winking with a shrew look around the bar room there is such a thing I suppose you know in law as Philius Nellius spake out man exclaimed the landlady spake it out in kings English what for you be talking indian in a room full of christian folks though it's about a poor hunter who has but little better in his ways than the wild savages themselves oh it's to be hoped that the missionaries will in his own time make a conversion of the poor devils and then it will matter a little of what color is the skin or whether there be wool or hair on the head oh it is latin not indian miss Hollister returned the lawyer repeating his winks and shrewd looks and doctor Todd understands latin or how would he read the labels on his gaily pots and drawers no no miss Hollister the doctor understands me don't you doctor why I guess but I'm not far out of the way returned ellenthin endeavoring to imitate the expression of the others countenance by looking jocular latin is a queer language gentlemen now I rather guess there's no one in the room except squire lippard who can believe that far I've means oatmeal in english the lawyer in his turn was a good deal embarrassed by his display of learning for although he actually had taken his first degree at one of the eastern universities he was somewhat puzzled with the terms used by his companion it was dangerous however to appear to be out done in learning in a public bar room and before so many of his clients he therefore put the best face on the matter and laughed knowingly as if there were a good joke concealed under that was understood only by the physician and himself all this was tentatively observed by the listeners who exchanged looks of a probation and the expressions of tonguey maddie and I guess squire lippard knows if anybody does were heard in different parts of the room as vouchers for the admiration of his auditors thus encouraged the lawyer rose from his chair and turning his back to the fire and facing the company he continued the son of nanny or the son of nobody I hope the young man is not going to let the matter drop this is a country of law and I should like to see it fairly tried whether a man who owns or says he owns a hundred thousand acres of land has any more right to shoot a body than another what do you think of it doctor Todd oh sir I am of opinion that the gentleman will soon be well the wound is not in a vital part and the ball was extracted so soon that the shoulder was what I call well attended to I do not think there is much danger as there might have been I say squire do little continued the attorney raising his voice you are I magistrate and know what is law and what is not law I ask you sir if shooting a man is a thing easily suppose sir that the young man had a wife and family and suppose that he was a mechanic like yourself sir and suppose that his family depended on him for bread and suppose that the ball instead of merely going through the flesh had broken the shoulder blade and crippled him forever I ask you all gentlemen supposing this to be the case whether a jury wouldn't give him damages as the close of the suppositious case was addressed to the company generally Hiram did not at first consider himself called on for a reply but finding the eyes of the listeners bent on him in expectation he remembered his character for judicial discrimination and spoke observing a due degree of deliberation and dignity why if a man should shoot another he said and if he should do it on purpose and if the law took notice on it and if a jury should find him guilty it would be likely to turn out a state prison matter it would do sir return the attorney the law gentlemen is no respecter of persons in a free country it is one of the great blessings that has been handed down to us from our ancestors that all men are equal in the eye of the laws as they are by nature though some may get property no one knows how yet they are not privileged to transgress the laws any more than the poorest citizen in the state this is my notion gentlemen and I think that if a man had a mind to bring this matter up something might be made out of it that would help pay for the salve huh doctor why sir return the physician who appeared a little bit uneasy at the turn the conversation was taking I have the promise of judge temple before men not but what I would take his word as soon as his note of hand but it was before men let me see there was my sure the quaw and squire jones and major heartman and miss petty bone and one or two of the blacks by when he said that his pocket would amply reward me for what I did was the promise made before or after the service was performed as the attorney it might have been both returned the discreet physician though I am certain he said it before I undertook the dressing but it seems that he said his pocket should reward you doctor observed Hiram now I don't know will hold a man to such a promise he might give you his pocket with six pence in it and tell you to take your pay out it that would not be a reward in the eye of the law interrupted the attorney not what is called a quid pro quo nor is the pocket to be considered as an agent but as part of a man's own person that is in this particular I am of opinion that an action would lie on that promise and I will undertake to bear him out free of cost if he don't recover to this proposition the physician made no reply but he was observed to cast his eyes around him as if to enumerate the witnesses in order to substantiate this promise also at a future day should it prove necessary a subject so momentous that of suing judge temple was not very palatable to the present company in so public a place and a short silence ensued that was only interrupted by the opening of the door and the entrance of natty himself the old hunter carried in his hand his never failing companion the rifle and although all of the company were uncovered accepting the lawyer who wore his hat on one side with a certain dammy air to the front of one of the fires without the least altering any part of his dress or appearance several questions were addressed to him on the subject of the game he had killed which he answered readily and with some little interest and the landlord between whom and natty there existed so much cordiality on account of there both having been soldiers and youth offered him a glass of a liquid which if we might be judge of its reception was no unwelcome guest when the forester had gotten his petition also he quietly took his seat on the end of one of the logs that lay nigh the fires and the slight interruption produced by his entrance seemed to be forgotten the testimony of the black should not be taken sir continued the lawyer for they are all the property of mr. jones who owns their time but there is a way by which judge temple or any other man might be made to pay for shooting another and for the cure in the bargain there is a way I say and that without going into the court of errors too and a mighty big air ye would make affect mr. Todd, cried the landlady should ye be putting that matter into the law at all with dutch temple who has a purse as long as one of them pines on the hill and who is an easy man to dealt with if ye put mine to yomer him he's a good man, his judge temple and a kind one and one who will be no like to do the pretty thing because he would wish to terrify him with the law I know what but one objection to the same which is an over carelessness of his soul it's neither a method nor a purpose nor a presbyterian that he is but just nothing at all and it's hard to think that he who will not fight the good fight under the banners of regular church in this world will be mustered among the chosen of heaven as my husband the captain there as he call him says though there is but one captain that I know who deserves the name I hope leather stocking you'll be no foolish and putting the boy up to try the law in the matter for it will be the evil day for ye both when ye first turn the skin or so peace supple an animal as a sheep into a bone of contention the lad is welcome to his drink for nothing until his shoulder will bear the rifle again well that's generous was heard from several mouths at once for this was a company in which a liberal offer was not thrown away while the hunter instead of expressing any of that indignation which he might be supposed to feel at hearing the hurt of his young companion alluded to opened his mouth with a silent laugh for which he was so remarkable and after he had indulged his humor made this reply I know the judge would do nothing with his smooth bore when he got out of his sleigh I never saw but one smooth bore would carry it all and that was a French ducking piece upon the big lakes it had a barrel half as long again as my rifle and would throw fine shot into a goose at one hundred yards but it made dreadful work with the game and you wanted a boat to carry it about in when I went with Sir William again the French at Fort Niagara all the Rangers used the rifle and a dreadful weapon in the hands of one who knows how to charge it and keep a steady aim the captain knows for he says he was a soldier in Charlize and though they were nothing but bayonet man he must know how we cut up the French and the Iroquois in the scrimmages in that war change gotcha cook which means big serpent in English old John Mahegan who was a warrior then and was out with us he can tell all about it though he was overhand for the Tomahawk never firing more than once or twice he was running in for the scalps all at times is dreadfully altered since then why doctor there was nothing but a footpath or at the most attract for pack horses along the Mohawk from the German flats now they say they talk of running one of them wide roads with gates on it along the river first making a road and then fencing it up I hunted one season back of the Catskills nigh-hand to the settlements and the dogs often lost the scent when they came to them highways there was so much travel on them though I can't say that the brutes was a very good breed old Hector will win the deer in the fall of the year across the broadest place in Ostego and that is a mile and a half for I pasted it myself on the ice when the track was first surveyed under the Indian Grant it seems to me natty but a sorry compliment to call your comrade after the evil one said the landlady and it's no much like a snake that old John is looking now Nimrod would be a more becoming name for the lad seeing that it conies from the Bible the sergeant read me the chapter about him the night before my christening and I might least said it was to listen to anything from the book old John and changed gotch cook were very different men to look on returned the hunter shaking his head with his melancholy recollections in the 58th war he was in the middle of manhood and taller than now by three inches if you had seen him as I did the morning we beat the scowl from behind our log walls you would have called him as commonly a red skin as he ever set eyes on he was naked all to his breech cloth and leggings and you never seed a creature so handsomely painted one side of his face was red and the other black his head was shaved and clean all to a few hairs on the crown as tough of eagle feathers as bright as if they had come from a peacock's tail he had colored his side so they looked like anatomy ribs and all for ginger gotch cook had great taste in such things so that what with his bold fiery countenance his knife and his tomahawk I have never seen a fiercer warrior on the ground he played his part too like a man for I call him the next day with thirteen scalps on his pole and I will say this for the big snake that he always dealt fair and never scalped any that he didn't kill with his own hands well well cried the landlady fighting is fighting anyway there is different fashions in the thing though I can't say that I wrangling the body after the breath is out of it can be up healed by doctrine I hope sergeant he never was helping such evil work it was my duty to keep my ranks and to stand or fall by the bayonet or lead returned the veteran it was then in the fort and seldom leaving my place so but little of the savages who kept on the flanks or in front scrimmaging I remember how some ever to have heard mention made of the great snake as he was called for he was a chief of renown but little that I ever expect to see him enlisted in the cause of Christianity and civilized like old John oh he was Christianized by the Moravians who were always over intimate with the Delaware's said leather stocking it's my opinion that had they been left to themselves there would be no such doings about the headwaters of the two rivers and that these hills might have been kept as good hunting ground by their right owner who is not too old to carry a rifle and whose sight is as true as a fish-hawk hovering he was interrupted by more stamping at the door and presently the party from the mansion house entered followed by the Indian himself end of chapter 13 this recording by Gary W. Sherwin of Yukon, Pennsylvania in January of 2009