CHAPTER XII.
"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, 'rase the devil from the heart." --Duo.
While the congregation was separating, Mr. Grant approached the placewhere Elizabeth and her father were seated, leading the youthful femalewhom we have mentioned in the preceding chapter, and presented her ashis daughter. Her reception was as cordial and frank as the manners ofthe country and the value of good society could render it; the two youngwomen feeling, instantly, that they were necessary to the comfort ofeach other, The Judge, to whom the clergyman's daughter was also astranger, 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 ofa city to the solitude of Templeton; while Elizabeth, who had beenforcibly struck with the sweetness and devotion of the youthfulsuppliant, removed the slight embarrassment of the timid stranger by theease of her own manners. They were at once acquainted; and, duringthe ten minutes that the "academy" was clearing, engagements were madebetween the young people, not only for the succeeding day, but theywould 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 toodissipated. You forget that she is my housekeeper, and that my domesticaffairs must remain unattended to, should Louisa accept of half the kindoffers you are so good as to make her."
"And why should they not be neglected entirely, sir?" interruptedElizabeth. "There are but two of you; and certain I am that myfather's house will not only contain you both, but will open its doorsspontaneously to receive such guests. Society is a good not to berejected on account of cold forms, in this wilderness, sir; and I haveoften heard my father say, that hospitality is not a virtue in a newcountry, the favor being conferred by the guest."
"The manner in which Judge Temple exercises its rites would confirm thisopinion; but we must not trespass too freely. Doubt not that you willsee us often, my child, particularly during the frequent visits that Ishall be compelled to make to the distant parts of the country. But toobtain an influence with such a people," he continued, glancing hiseyes toward the few who were still lingering, curious observers of theinterview, "a clergyman most not awaken envy or distrust by dwellingunder so splendid a roof as that of Judge Temple."
"You like the roof, then, Mr. Grant," cried Richard, who had beendirecting the extinguishment of the fires and other little necessaryduties, and who approached in time to hear the close of the divine'sspeech. "I am glad to find one man of taste at last. Here's 'Duke now,pretends to call it by every abusive name he can invent; but though'Duke is a tolerable judge, he is a very poor carpenter, let me tellhim. Well, sir, well, I think we may say, without boasting, that theservice was as well per formed this evening as you often see; I think,quite as well as I ever knew it to be done in old Trinity--that is, ifwe except the organ. But there is the school-master leads the psalm witha very good air. I used to lead myself, but latterly I have sung nothingbut bass. There is a good deal of science to be shown in the bass, andit affords a fine opportunity to show off a full, deep voice. Benjamin,too, sings a good bass, though he is often out in the words. Did youever hear Benjamin sing the 'Bay of Biscay,'?"
"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. Penguillian is like most others who do one thingparticularly well; he knows nothing else. He has, certainly, a wonderfulpartiality to one tune, and he has a prodigious self-confidence in thatone, for he delivers himself like a northwester sweeping across thelake. But come, gentlemen, our way is clear, and the sleigh waits.Good-evening, Mr. Grant. Good-night, young lady--remember you dinebeneath the Corinthian roof, to-morrow, with Elizabeth."
The parties separated, Richard holding a close dissertation with Mr. LeQuoi, as they descended the stairs, on the subject of psalmody, whichhe closed by a violent eulogium on the air of the "Bay of Biscay, O," asparticularly connected with his friend Benjamin's execution.
During the preceding dialogue, Mohegan retained his seat, with his headshrouded in his blanket, as seemingly inattentive to surrounding objectsas the departing congregation was itself to the presence of the agedchief, Natty, also, continued on the log where he had first placedhimself, with his head resting on one of his hands, while the other heldthe rifle, which was thrown carelessly across his lap. His countenanceexpressed uneasiness, and the occasional unquiet glances that he hadthrown around him during the service plainly indicated some unusualcauses for unhappiness. His continuing seated was, how ever, out ofrespect to the Indian chief to whom he paid the utmost deference on alloccasions, although it was mingled with the rough manner of a hunter.
The young companion of these two ancient inhabitants of the forestremained also standing before the extinguished brands, probably from anunwillingness to depart without his comrades. The room was now desertedby all but this group, the divine, and his daughter. As the party fromthe mansion-house disappeared, John arose, and, dropping the blanketfrom 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 risingmoon, have gone upward, and the Great Spirit is glad. What you have toldyour children, they will remember, and be good." He paused a moment, andthen, elevating himself with the grandeur of an Indian chief, he added:"If Chingachgook lives to travel toward the setting sun, after histribe, and the Great Spirit carries him over the lakes and mountainswith the breath of his body, he will tell his people the good talk hehas heard; and they will believe him; for who can say that Mohegan hasever lied?"
"Let him place his dependence on the goodness of Divine mercy," said Mr.Grant, to whom the proud consciousness of the Indian sounded a littleheterodox, "and it never will desert him. When the heart is filled withlove to God, there is no room for sin. But, young man, to you I owe notonly an obligation, in common with those you saved this evening onthe mountain, but my thanks for your respectable and pious manner inassisting in the service at a most embarrassing moment. I shouldbe happy to see you sometimes at my dwelling, when, perhaps, myconversation may strengthen you in the path which you appear to havechosen. It is so unusual to find one of your age and appearance, inthese woods, at all acquainted with our holy liturgy, that it lessensat once the distance between us, and I feel that we are no longerstrangers. You seem quite at home in the service; I did not perceivethat you had even a book, although good Mr. Jones, had laid several indifferent parts of the room."
"It would be strange if I were ignorant of the service of our church,sir," returned the youth modestly; "for I was baptized in its communionand I have never yet attended public worship elsewhere. For me to usethe forms of any other denomination would be as singular as our own haveproved to the people here this evening."
"You give me great pleasure, my dear sir," cried the divine, seizing theother by the hand, and shaking it cordially. "You will go home with menow--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 atmanhood 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 the Leather-Stocking, "I must away to the wigwam;there's work there that mustn't be forgotten for all your churchings andmerry-makings. Let the lad go with you in welcome; he is used to keepingcompany with ministers, and talking of such matters; so is old John, whowas christianized by the Moravians abouts the time of the old war. But Iam a plain unlarned man, that has sarved b
oth the king and his country,in his day, agin' the French and savages, but never so much as lookedinto a book, or larnt a letter of scholarship, in my born days. I'venever seen the use of much in-door work, though I have lived to bepartly bald, and in my time have killed two hundred beaver in a season,and that without counting thc other game. If you mistrust what I amtelling you, you can ask Chingachgook there, for I did it in the heartof the Delaware country, and the old man is knowing to the truth ofevery word I say."
"I doubt not, my friend, that you have been both a valiant soldier andskilful hunter in your day," said the divine; "but more is wanting toprepare you for that end which approaches. You may have heard the maxim,that 'young men may die, but that old men must'."
"I'm 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 whotrails the savages through the woods, as I have done, and lives, for thehot months, on the lake streams. I've a strong constitution, I must saythat for myself, as is plain to be seen; for I've drunk the Onondagawater a hundred times, while I've been watching the deer-licks, when thefever-an'-agy seeds was to be seen in it as plain and as plenty as youcan see the rattle snakes on old Crumhorn. But then I never expected tohold out forever; though there's them living who have seen the Germanflats a wilderness; ay! and them that's larned, and acquainted withreligion, too; though you might look a week, now, and not find even thestump of a pine on them; and that's a wood that lasts in the ground thebetter part of a hundred years after the tree is dead."
"This is but time, my good friend," returned Mr. Grant, who began totake an interest in the welfare of his new acquaintance, "but I wouldhave you prepare for eternity. It is incumbent on you to attend placesof public worship, as I am pleased to see that you have done thisevening. Would it not be heedless in you to start on a day's toil ofhard hunting, and leave your ramrod and flint behind?"
"It must be a young hand in the woods," interrupted Natty, with anotherlaugh, "that didn't know how to dress a rod out of an ash sapling orfind a fire-stone in the mountains. No, no, I never expected to liveforever; but I see, times be altering in these mountains from what theywas thirty years ago, or, for that matter, ten years. But might makesright, and the law is stronger than an old man, whether he is one thathas much laming, or only like me, that is better now at standing at thepasses than in following the hounds, as I once used to could. Heigh-ho!I never know'd preaching come into a settlement but it made game scarce,and raised the price of gunpowder; and that's a thing that's not aseasily made as a ramrod or an Indian flint."
The divine, perceiving that he had given his opponent an argument by hisown unfortunate selection of a comparison, very prudently relinquishedthe controversy; although he was fully determined to resume it at amore happy moment, Repeating his request to the young hunter with greatearnestness, the youth and Indian consented to ac company him and hisdaughter to the dwelling that the care of Mr. Jones had provided fortheir temporary residence. Leather-Stocking persevered in his intentionof 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 shortdistance. Mr. Grant, who led the way, turned into a field, through apair of open bars, and entered a footpath, of but sufficient width toadmit one person to walk in at a time. The moon had gained a height thatenabled her to throw her rays perpendicularly on the valley; and thedistinct shadows of the party flitted along on the banks of the silversnow, like the presence of aerial figures, gliding to their appointedplace of meeting. The night still continued intensely cold, although nota breath of wind was felt. The path was beaten so hard that the gentlefemale, who made one of the party, moved with ease along its windings;though the frost emitted a low creaking at the impression of even herlight footsteps.
The clergyman in his dark dress of broadcloth, with his mild, benevolentcountenance occasionally turned toward his companions, expressing thatlook of subdued care which was its characteristic, presented the firstobject in this singular group. Next to him moved the Indian, his hairfalling about his face, his head uncovered, and the rest of his formconcealed beneath his blanket. As his swarthy visage, with its musclesfixed in rigid composure, was seen under the light of the moon, whichstruck his face obliquely, he seemed a picture of resigned old age, onwhom the storms of winter had beaten in vain for the greater part of acentury; but when, in turning his head, the rays fell directly on hisdark, fiery eyes, they told a tale of passions unrestrained, and ofthoughts free as air. The slight person of Miss Grant, which followednext, and which was but too thinly clad for the severity of the season,formed a marked contrast to thc wild attire and uneasy glances of theDelaware chief; and more than once during their walk, the young hunter,himself no insignificant figure in the group, was led to consider thedifference in the human form, as the face of Mohegan and the gentlecountenance of Miss Grant, with eyes that rivalled the soft hue of thesky, met his view at the instant that each turned to throw a glance atthe splendid orb which lighted their path. Their way, which led throughfields that lay at some distance in the rear of the houses, was cheeredby a conversation that flagged or became animated with the subject. Thefirst to speak was the divine.
"Really," he said, "it is so singular a circumstance to meet with one ofyour age, that has not been induced by idle curiosity to visit any otherchurch than the one in which he has been educated, that I feel a strongcuriosity to know the history of a life so fortunately regulated. Youreducation must have been excellent; as indeed is evident from yourmanners 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 doesnot partake, particularly, of the peculiarities of any country withwhich I am acquainted. You have, then, resided much in the cities, forno other part of this country is so fortunate as to possess the constantenjoyment of our excellent liturgy."
The young hunter smiled, as he listened to the divine while he soclearly betrayed from what part of the country he had come himself; but,for reasons probably connected with his present situation, he made noanswer.
"I am delighted to meet with you, my young friend, for I think aningenuous mind, such as I doubt not yours must be, will exhibit all theadvantages of a settled doctrine and devout liturgy. You perceive how Iwas compelled to bend to the humors of my hearers this evening. GoodMr. Jones wished me to read the communion, and, in fact, all the morningservice; but, happily, the canons do not require this of an evening.It would have wearied a new congregation; but to-morrow I purposeadministering the sacrament, Do you commune, my young friend?"
"I believe not, sir," returned 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 notqualified; I have never yet approached the altar; neither would I wishto 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 thinkthat a youth who had never been blown about by the wind of falsedoctrines, and who has enjoyed the advantages of our liturgy for somany years in its purity, might safely come. Yet, sir, it is a solemnfestival, which none should celebrate until there is reason to hope itis not mockery. I observed this evening, in your manner to Judge Temple,a resentment that bordered on one of the worst of human passions, Wewill cross this brook on the ice; it must bear us all, I think, insafety. Be careful not to slip, my child." While speaking, he descendeda little bank by the path, and crossed one of the small streams thatpoured their waters into the lake; and, turning to see his daughterpass, observed that the youth had advanced, and was kindly directing herfootsteps. When all were safely over, he moved up the opposite bank,and continued his discourse. "It was wrong, my dear sir, very wrong, tosuffer such feelings to rise, under any circumstances, and especially inthe present, where the evil was not intended."
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nbsp; "There is good in the talk of my father," said Mohegan, stopping short,and causing those who Were behind him to pause also; "it is the talkof Miquon. 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 isred, and the stain it makes can only be washed out with the blood of aMingo."
Mr. Grant was surprised by the interruption of the Indian, and,stopping, faced the speaker. His mild features were confronted to thefierce and determined looks of the chief, and expressed the horror hefelt at hearing such sentiments from one who professed the religion ofhis Saviour. Raising his hands to a level with his head, he exclaimed:
"John, John! is this the religion that you have learned from theMoravians? But no--I will not be so uncharitable as to suppose it. Theyare a pious, a gentle, and a mild people, and could never tolerate thesepassions. 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 hateyou; pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you.' Thisis the command of God, John, and, without striving to cultivate suchfeelings, no man can see Him."
The Indian heard the divine with attention; the unusual fire of hiseye gradually softened, and his muscles relaxed into their ordinarycomposure; but, slightly shaking his head, he motioned with dignityfor Mr. Grant to resume his walk, and followed himself in silence, Theagitation of the divine caused him to move with unusual rapidity alongthe deep path, and the Indian, without any apparent exertion, kept anequal pace; but the young hunter observed the female to linger in hersteps, until a trifling distance intervened between the two formerand the latter. Struck by the circumstance, and not perceiving anynew impediment to retard her footstep, the youth made a tender of hisassistance.
"You are 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, Ientreat 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 Iam startled by the manner of that Indian, Oh! his eye was horrid, as heturned to the moon, in speaking to my father. But I forgot, sir; he isyour friend, and by his language may be your relative; and yet of you Ido not feel afraid."
The young man stepped on the bank of snow, which firmly sustained hisweight, and by a gentle effort induced his companion to follow. Drawingher arm through his own, he lifted his cap from his head, allowing thedark locks to flow in rich curls over his open brow, and walked by herside with an air of conscious pride, as if inviting an examination ofhis utmost thoughts. Louisa took but a furtive glance at his person, andmoved quietly along, at a rate that was greatly quickened by the aid ofhis 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 toallow an injury to pass unrevenged; and nothing but the stronger claimsof hospitality can guard one against their resentments where they havepower."
"Surely, sir," said Miss Grant, involuntarily withdrawing her arm fromhis, "you have not been educated with such unholy sentiments?"
"It might be a sufficient answer to your excellent father to say that Iwas educated in the church," he returned; "but to you I will add thatI have been taught deep and practical lessons of forgiveness. I believethat, on this subject, I have but little cause to reproach myself; itshall be my endeavor that there yet be less."
While speaking, he stopped, and stood with his arm again proffered toher assistance. As he ended, she quietly accepted his offer, and theyresumed 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 youngcompanions. The former was earnestly occupied in endeavoring to correct,by his precepts, the evil propensities that he had discovered in theIndian during their conversation; to which the latter listened inProfound but respectful attention. On the arrival of the young hunterand the lady, they entered the building. The house stood at somedistance from the village, in the centre of a field, surrounded bystumps that were peering above the snow, bearing caps of pure white,nearly two feet in thickness. Not a tree nor a shrub was nigh it; butthe house, externally, exhibited that cheer less, unfurnished aspectwhich is so common to the hastily erected dwellings of a new country.The uninviting character of its outside was, however, happily relievedby the exquisite neatness and comfortable warmth within.
They entered an apartment that was fitted as a parlor, though the largefireplace, with its culinary arrangements, betrayed the domestic usesto which it was occasionally applied. The bright blaze from the hearthrendered the light that proceeded from the candle Louisa producedunnecessary; for the scanty furniture of the room was easily seen andexamined by the former. The floor was covered in the centre by a carpetmade of rags, a species of manufacture that was then, and yet continuesto be, much in use in the interior; while its edges, that were exposedto view, were of unspotted cleanliness. There was a trifling airof better life in a tea-table and work-stand, as well as in anold-fashioned mahogany bookcase; but the chairs, the dining-table,and the rest of the furniture were of the plainest and cheapestconstruction, Against the walls were hung a few specimens of needle-workand drawing, the former executed with great neatness, though of somewhatequivocal merit in their designs, while the latter were strikinglydeficient in both.
One of the former represented a tomb, with a youthful female weepingover it, exhibiting a church with arched windows in the background. Onthe tomb were the names, with the dates of the births and deaths, ofseveral individuals, all of whom bore the name of Grant. An extremelycursory glance at this record was sufficient to discover to the younghunter the domestic state of the divine. He there read that he wasa widower; and that the innocent and timid maiden, who had been hiscompanion, was the only survivor of six children. The knowledge of thedependence which each of these meek Christians had on the otherfor happiness threw an additional charm around the gentle but kindattentions which the daughter paid to the father.
These observations occurred while the party were seating themselvesbefore the cheerful fire, during which time there was a suspension ofdiscourse. But, when each was comfortably arranged, and Louisa, afterlaying aside a thin coat of faded silk, and a gypsy hat, that was morebecoming to her modest, ingenuous countenance than appropriate to theseason, had taken a chair between her father and the youth, the formerresumed the conversation.
"I trust, my young friend," he said, "that the education you havereceived has eradicated most of those revengeful principles which youmay have inherited by descent, for I understand from the expressionsof John that you have some of the blood of the Delaware tribe. Do notmistake me, I beg, for it is not color nor lineage that constitutesmerit; and I know not that he who claims affinity to the proper ownersof this soil has not the best right to tread these hills with thelightest conscience."
Mohegan turned solemnly to the speaker, and, with the peculiarlysignificant 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 therising to the setting sun, from the head-waters of the great spring, towhere the 'crooked river'* is hid by the hills, is his. He has Delawareblood, and his right is strong.
* The Susquehannah means crooked river; "hannah," or "hannock," meant river in many of the native dialects. Thus we find Rappahannock as far south as Virginia.
"But the brother of Miquon is just; he will cut the country in two parts,as the river cuts the lowlands, and will say to the 'Young Eagle,''Child of the Delawares! take it--keep it; and be a chief in the land ofyour fathers.'"
"Never!" exclaimed the young hunter, with a vehemence that destroyed therapt attention with which the divine and his daughter were listening tothe Indian. "The wolf of the forest is not more rapacious for
his preythan that man is greedy of gold; and yet his glidings into wealth aresubtle as the movements of a serpent."
"Forbear, forbear, my son, forbear," interrupted Mr. Grant. "These angrypassions most be subdued. The accidental injury you have received fromJudge Temple has heightened the sense of your hereditary wrongs. Butremember that the one was unintentional, and that the other is theeffect of political changes, which have, in their course, greatlylowered the pride of kings, and swept mighty nations from the face ofthe earth. Where now are the Philistines, who so often held the childrenof Israel in bondage? or that city of Babylon, which rioted in luxuryand vice, and who styled herself the Queen of Nations in the drunkennessof her pride? Remember the prayer of our holy litany, where we implorethe Divine Power--'that it may please thee to forgive our enemies,persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts. The sin of thewrongs which have been done to the natives is shared by Judge Templeonly in common with a whole people, and your arm will speedily berestored 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 toowily, too cowardly, for such a crime. But let him and his daughterriot in their wealth--a day of retribution will come. No, no, no," hecontinued, as he trod the floor more calmly--"it is for Mohegan tosuspect him of an intent to injure me; but the trifle is not worth asecond thought." He seated himself, and hid his face between his hands,as they rested on his knees.
"It is the hereditary violence of a native's passion, my child," saidMr. Grant in a low tone to his affrighted daughter, who was clinging interror to his arm. "He is mixed with the blood of the Indians, you haveheard; and neither the refinements of education nor the advantages ofour excellent liturgy have been able entirely to eradicate the evil. Butcare and time will do much for him yet."
Although the divine spoke in a low tone, yet what he uttered washeard by the youth, who raised his head, with a smile of indefiniteexpression, and spoke more calmly:
"Be not alarmed, Miss Grant, at either the wildness of my manner or thatof my dress. I have been carried away by passions that I should struggleto repress. I must attribute it, with your father, to the blood in myveins, although I would not impeach my lineage willingly; for it isall that is left me to boast of. Yes! I am proud of my descent froma Delaware chief, who was a warrior that ennobled human nature. OldMohegan was his friend, and will vouch for his virtues."
Mr. Grant here took up the discourse, and, finding the young manmore calm, and the aged chief attentive, he entered into a full andtheological discussion of the duty of forgiveness. The conversationlasted for more than an hour, when the visitors arose, and, afterexchanging good wishes with their entertainers, they departed. At thedoor they separated, Mohegan taking the direct route to the village,while the youth moved toward the lake. The divine stood at the entranceof his dwelling, regarding the figure of the aged chief as it glided,at an astonishing gait for his years, along the deep path; his black,straight hair just visible over the bundle formed by his blanket, whichwas sometimes blended with the snow, under the silvery light of themoon. From the rear of the house was a window that overlooked thelake; and here Louisa was found by her father, when he entered, gazingintently on some object in the direction of the eastern mountain. Heapproached the spot, and saw the figure of the young hunter, at thedistance of half a mile, walking with prodigious steps across the widefields of frozen snow that covered the ice, toward the point wherehe knew the hut inhabited by the Leather-Stocking was situated on themargin 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 fromthe over-hanging trees, and was lost to view.
"It is marvellous how long the propensities of the savage continue inthat remarkable race," said the good divine; "but if he perseveres ashe has commenced, his triumph shall yet be complete. Put me in mind,Louisa, to lend him the homily 'against peril of idolatry,' at his nextvisit."
"Surety, father, you do not think him in danger of relapsing into theworship of his ancestors?"
"No, my child," returned the clergyman, laying his hand affectionatelyon her flaxen locks, and smiling; "his white blood would prevent it; butthere is such a thing as the idolatry of our passions."
The Pioneers; Or, The Sources of the Susquehanna Page 13
