"Yes, sweep ye on!--We will not leave,For them who triumph those who grieve.With that armada gayBe laughter loud, and jocund shout----But with that skillAbides the minstrel tale. "--Lord of the Isles.
The events of our tale carry us through the summer; and after makingnearly the circle of the year, we must conclude our labors in thedelightful month of October. Many important incidents had, however,occurred in the intervening period; a few of which it may be necessaryto recount.
The two principal were the marriage of Oliver and Elizabeth, and thedeath of Major Effingham. They both took place early in September;and the former preceded the latter only a few days. The old manpassed away like the last glimmering of a taper; and, though his deathcast a melancholy over the family, grief could not follow such an end.One of the chief concerns of Marmaduke was to reconcile the evenconduct of a magistrate with the course that his feelings dictated tothe criminals. The day succeeding the discovery at the cave, however,Natty and Benjamin re-entered the jail peaceably, where theycontinued, well fed and comfortable, until the return of an express toAlbany, who brought the governors pardon to the Leather-Stocking. Inthe mean time, proper means were employed to satisfy Hiram for theassaults on his person ; and on the same day the two comrades issuedtogether into society again, with their characters not at all affectedby the imprisonment.
Mr. Doolittle began to discover that neither architecture nor his lawwas quite suitable to the growing wealth and intelligence of thesettlement; and after exacting the last cent that was attainable inhis compromise, to use the language of the country he "pulled upstakes," and proceeded farther west, scattering his professionalscience and legal learning through the land; vestiges of both of whichare to be discovered there even to the present hour.
Poor Jotham, whose life paid the forfeiture of his folly,acknowledged, before he died, that his reasons for believing in a minewere extracted from the lips of a sibyl, who, by looking in a magicglass, was enabled to discover the hidden treasures of the earth.Such superstition was frequent in the new settlements; and, after thefirst surprise was over, the better part of the community forgot thesubject. But, at the same time that it removed from the breast ofRichard a lingering suspicion of the acts of the three hunter, itconveyed a mortifying lesson to him, which brought many quiet hours,in future, to his cousin Marmaduke. It may be remembered that thesheriff confidently pronounced this to be no " visionary "scheme, andthat word was enough to shut his lips, at any time within the next tenyears.
Monsieur Le Quoi, who has been introduced to our readers because nopicture of that country would be faithful without some such character,found the island of Martinique, and his "sucreboosh," in possession ofthe English but Marmaduke and his family were much gratified in soonhearing that he had returned to his bureau, in Paris; where heafterward issued yearly bulletins of his happiness, and of hisgratitude to his friends in America.
With this brief explanation, we must return to our narrative. Let theAmerican reader imagine one of our mildest October mornings, when thesun seems a ball of silvery fire, and the elasticity of the air isfelt while it is inhaled, imparting vigor and life to the whole system; the weather, neither too warm nor too cold, but of that happytemperature which stirs the blood, without bringing the lassitude ofspring. It was on such a morning, about the middle of the month, thatOliver entered the hall where Elizabeth was issuing her usual ordersfor the day, and requesting her to join him in a short excursion tothe lakeside. The tender melancholy in the manner of her husbandcaught the attention of Elizabeth, who instantly abandoned herconcerns, threw a light shawl across her shoulders, and, concealingher raven hair under a gypsy hat, and took his arm, and submittedherself, without a question, to his guidance. They crossed thebridge, and had turned from the highway, along the margin of the lake,before a word was exchanged. Elizabeth well knew, by the direction,the object of the walk, and respected the feelings of her companiontoo much to indulge in untimely conversation. But when they gainedthe open fields, and her eye roamed over the placid lake, covered withwild fowl already journeying from the great northern waters to seek awarmer sun, but lingering to play in the limpid sheet of the Otsego,and to the sides of the mountain, which were gay with the thou- sanddyes of autumn, as if to grace their bridal, the swelling heart of theyoung wife burst out in speech.
"This is not a time for silence, Oliver!" she said, clinging morefondly to his arm; "everything in Nature seems to speak the praises ofthe Creator; why should we, who have so much to be grateful for, besilent?"
"Speak on!" said her husband, smiling; "I love the sounds of yourvoice. You must anticipate our errand hither: I have told you myplans: how do you like them?"
"I must first see them," returned his wife. "But I have had my plans,too; it is time I should begin to divulge them."
"You! It is something for the comfort of my old friend, Natty, Iknow."
"Certainly of Natty; but we have other friends besides the Leather-Stocking to serve. Do you forget Louisa and her father?"
"No, surely; have I not given one of the best farms in the county tothe good divine? As for Louisa, I should wish you to keep her alwaysnear us."
"You do!" said Elizabeth, slightly compressing her lips; "but poorLouisa may have other views for herself; she may wish to follow myexample, and marry."
"I dont think it," said Effingham, musing a moment, really dontknow any one hereabouts good enough for her."
"Perhaps not her; but there are other places besides Templeton, andother churches besides New St. Pauls."
"Churches, Elizabeth! you would not wish to lose Mr. Grant, surely!Though simple, he is an excellent man I shall never find another whohas half the veneration for my orthodoxy. You would humble me from asaint to a very common sinner."
"It must be done, sir," returned the lady, with a half-concealedsmile, "though it degrades you from an angel to a man."
"But you forget the farm?"
"He can lease it, as others do. Besides, would you have a clergymantoil in the fields?"
"Where can he go? You forget Louisa."
"No, I do not forget Louisa," said Elizabeth, again compressing herbeautiful lips. "You know, Effingham, that my father has told youthat I ruled him, and that I should rule you. I am now about to exertmy power."
"Anything, anything, dear Elizabeth, but not at the expense of us all:not at the expense of your friend."
"How do you know, sir, that it will be so much at the expense of myfriend?" said the lady, fixing her eyes with a searching look on hiscountenance, where they met only the unsuspecting expression of manlyregret.
"How do I know it? Why, it is natural that she should regret us."It is our duty to struggle with our natural feelings," returned thelady; "and there is but little cause to fear that such a spirit asLouisas will not effect it."
"But what is your plan?"
"Listen, and you shall know. My father has procured a call for Mr.Grant, to one of the towns on the Hudson where he can live more at hisease than in journeying through these woods; where he can spend theevening of his life in comfort and quiet; and where his daughter maymeet with such society, and form such a connection, as may be properfor one of her years and character."
"Bess! you amaze me! I did not think you had been such a manager!"
"Oh! I manage more deeply than you imagine, sir," said the wife,archly smiling again; " but it is thy will and it is your duty tosubmit--for a time at least."
Effingham laughed; but, as they approached the end of their walk, thesubject was changed by common consent.
The place at which they arrived was the little spot of level groundwhere the cabin of the Leather-Stocking had so long stood. Elizabethfound it entirely cleared of rubbish, and beautifully laid down inturf, by the removal of sods, which, in common with the surroundingcountry, had grown gay, under the influence of profuse showers, as ifa second spring had passed over the land. This little place wassurrounded by a circle of mason-work, and they entered by a smallgate, near which, to the surprise of both, the rifle of Natty wasleaning against the wall. Hector and the slut reposed on the grass byits side, as if conscious that, however altered, they were lying onthe ground and were surrounded by objects with which they werefamiliar. The hunter himself was stretched on the earth, before ahead-stone of white marble, pushing aside with his fingers the longgrass that had already sprung up from the luxuriant soil around itsbase, apparently to lay bare the inscription. By the side of thisstone, which was a simple slab at the head of a grave, stood a richmonument, decorated with an urn and ornamented with the chisel.
Oliver and Elizabeth approached the graves with a light tread, unheardby the old hunter, whose sunburnt face was working, and whose eyestwinkled as if something impeded their vision. After some little timeNatty raised himself slowly from the ground, and said aloud:
"Well, well--Im bold to say its all right! Theres something that Isuppose is reading; but I cant make anything of it; though the pipeand the tomahawk, and the moccasins, be pretty well--pretty well, for aman that, I dares to say, never seed ither of the things. Ahs me!there they lie, side by side, happy enough! Who will there be to putme in the arth when my time comes?"
"When that unfortunate hour arrives, Natty, friends shall not bewanting to perform the last offices for you," said Oliver, a littletouched at the hunters soliloquy.
The old man turned, without manifesting surprise, for he had got theIndian habits in this particular, and, running his hand under thebottom of his nose, seemed to wipe away his sorrow with the action.
"Youve come out to see the graves, children, have ye?" he said; "well, well, theyre wholesome sights to young as well as old."
"I hope they are fitted to your liking," said Effingham, "no one has abetter right than yourself to be consulted in the matter."
"Why, seeing that I aint used to fine graves," returned the old man,"it is but little matter consarning my taste. Ye laid the Majorshead to the west, and Mohegans to the east, did ye, lad?"
"At your request it was done,"
"Its so best," said the hunter; "they thought they had to journeydifferent ways, children: though there is One greater than all, whollbring the just together, at His own time, and wholl whiten the skinof a blackamoor, and place him on a footing with princes."
"There is but little reason to doubt that," said Elizabeth, whosedecided tones were changed to a soft, melancholy voice; "I trust weshall all meet again, and be happy together."
"Shall we, child, shall we?" exclaimed the hunter, with unusualfervor, "theres comfort in that thought too. But before I go, Ishould like to know what 'tis you tell these people, that be flockinginto the country like pigeons in the spring, of the old Delaware, andof the bravest white man that ever trod the hills?"
Effingham and Elizabeth were surprised at the manner of the Leather-Stocking, which was unusually impressive and solemn; but, attributingit to the scene, the young man turned to the monument, and read aloud:
"Sacred to the memory of Oliver Effingham Esquire, formally a Major inhis B. Majestys 60th Foot; a soldier of tried valor; a subject ofchivalrous loyalty; and a man of honesty. To these virtues he addedthe graces of a Christian. The morning of his life was spent inhonor, wealth, and power; but its evening was obscured by poverty,neglect, and disease, which were alleviated only by the tender care ofhis old, faithful, and upright friend and attendant Nathaniel Bumppo.His descendants rest this stone to the virtues of the master, and tothe enduring gratitude of the servant."
The Leather-Stocking started at the sound of his own name, and a smileof joy illuminated his wrinkled features, as he said:
"And did ye say It, lad? have you then got the old mans name cut inthe stone, by the side of his masters! God bless ye, children! twasa kind thought, and kindness goes to the heart as Life shortens."
Elizabeth turned her back to the speakers. Effingham made a fruitlesseffort before he succeeded in saying:
"It is there cut in plain marble; but it should have been written inletters of gold!"
"Show me the name, boy," said Natty, with simple eagerness; "let mesee my own name placed in such honor. Tis a ginrous gift to a manwho leaves none of his name and family behind him in a country wherehe has tarried so long."
Effingham guided his finger to the spot, and Natty followed thewindings of the letters to the end with deep interest, when he raisedhimself from the tomb, and said:
"I suppose its all right; and its kindly thought, and kindly done!But what have ye put over the red-skin"
"You shall hear: This stone is raised to the memory of an Indian Chiefof the Delaware tribe, who was known by the several names of JohnMohegan Mohican------"
"Mo-hee-can, lad, they call theirselves! hecan."
"Mohican; and Chingagook--"
"Gach, boy; gach-gook; Chingachgook, which interpreted, means Big-sarpent. The name should he set down right, for an Indians name hasalways some meaning in it."
"I will see it altered. He was the last of his people who continuedto inhabit this country; and it may he said of him that his faultswere those of an Indian, and his virtues those of a man."
"You never said truer word, Mr. Oliver; ahs me! if you had knowed himas I did, in his prime, in that very battle where the old gentleman,who sleeps by his side saved his life, when them thieves, theIroquois, had him at the stake, youd have said all that, and moretoo. I cut the thongs with this very hand, and gave him my owntomahawk and knife, seeing that the rifle was always my fav'riteweapon. He did lay about him like a man! I met him as I was cominghome from the trail, with eleven Mingo scalps on his pole. Youneednt shudder, Madam Effingham, for they was all from shaved headsand warriors. When I look about me, at these hills, where I used tocould count sometimes twenty smokes, curling over the tree-tops, fromthe Delaware camps, it raises mournful thoughts, to think that not ared-skin is left of them all; unless it be a drunken vagabond from theOneidas, or them Yankee Indians, who, they say, be moving up from theseashore; and who belong to none of Gods creatures, to my seeming,being, as it were, neither fish nor flesh--neither white man norsavage. Well, well! the time has come at last, and I must go----"
"Go!" echoed Edwards, " whither do you go?"
The Leather-Stocking; who had imbibed unconsciously, many of theIndian qualities, though he always thought of himself as of acivilized being, compared with even the Delawares, averted his face toconceal the workings of his muscles, as he stooped to lift a largepack from behind the tomb, which he placed deliberately on hisshoulders.
"Go!" exclaimed Elizabeth, approaching him with a hurried step; "youshould not venture so far in the woods alone, at your time of life,Natty; indeed, it Is Imprudent, He is bent, Effingham, on some distanthunting."
"What Mrs. Effingham tells you is true, Leather-Stocking saidEdwards; "there can be no necessity for your submitting to suchhardships now. So throw aside your pack, and confine your hunt to themountains near us, if you will go."
"Hardship! tis a pleasure, children, and the greatest that is left meon this side the grave."
"No, no; you shall not go to such a distance," cried Elizabeth, layingher white hand on his deer-skin pack--" I am right! I feel his camp-kettle, and a canister of powder! He must not be suffered to wander sofar from us, Oliver; remember how suddenly Mohegan dropped away."
"I knowed the parting would come hard, children--I knowed it would!"said Natty, "and so I got aside to look at the graves by myself, andthought if I left ye the keep sake which the Major gave me, when wefirst parted in the woods, ye wouldnt take it unkind, but would knowthat, let the old mans body go where it might, his feelings stayedbehind him."
"This means something more than common," exclaimed the youth. "Whereis it, Natty, that you purpose going?"
The hunter drew nigh him with a confident, reasoning air, as If whathe had to say would silence all objections, and replied:
"Why, lad, they tell me that on the big lakes theres the best ofhunting, and a great range without a white man on it unless it may beone like myself. Im weary of living in clearings, and where thehammer is sounding in my ears from sunrise to sundown. And though Immuch bound to ye both, children--I wouldnt say it if It was not true--Icrave to go into the woods agin--I do."
"Woods!" echoed Elizabeth, trembling with her feelings; "do you notcall these endless forests woods?"
"Ah! child, these be nothing to a man thats used to the wilderness.I have took but little comfort sin your father come on with hissettlers; but I wouldnt go far, while the life was in the body thatlies under the sod there. But now hes gone, and Chingachgook Isgone; and you be both young and happy. Yes! the big house has rungwith merriment this month past! And now I thought was the time to geta little comfort in the close of my days. Woods! indeed! I doesntcall these woods, Madam Effingham, where I lose myself every day of mylife in the clearings."
"If there be anything wanting to your comfort, name it, Leather-Stocking; if it be attainable it is yours."
"You mean all for the best, lad, I know; and so does madam, too; butyour ways isnt my ways. Tis like the dead there, who thought, whenthe breath was in them, that one went east, and one went west, to findtheir heavens; but theyll meet at last, and so shall we, children.Yes, and as youve begun, and we shall meet in the land of the just atlast."
"This is so new! so unexpected!" said Elizabeth, in almost breathlessexcitement; "I had thought you meant to live with us and die with us,Natty."
"Words are of no avail," exclaimed her husband: "the habits of fortyyears are not to he dispossessed by the ties of a day. I know you toowell to urge you further, Natty; unless you will let me build you ahut on one of the distant hills, where we can sometimes see you, andknow that you are comfortable."
"Dont fear for the Leather-Stocking, children; God will see that hisdays be provided for, and his ind happy. I know you mean all for thebest, but our ways doesn't agree. I love the woods, and ye relish theface of man; I eat when hungry, and drink when a-dry; and ye keepstated hours and rules; nay, nay, you even over-feed the dogs, lad,from pure kindness; and hounds should be gaunty to run well. Themeanest of Gods creatures be made for some use, and Im formed forthe wilderness, If ye love me, let me go where my soul craves to beagin!"
The appeal was decisive; and not another word of en treaty for him toremain was then uttered; but Elizabeth bent her head to her bosom andwept, while her husband dashed away the tears from his eyes; and, withhands that almost refused to perform their office, he procured hispocket-book, and extended a parcel of bank-notes to the hunter.
"Take these," he said, "at least take these; secure them about yourperson, and in the hour of need they will do you good service."
The old man took the notes, and examined them with curious eye.
"This, then, is some of the new-fashioned money that theyve beenmaking at Albany, out of paper! It can't be worth much to they thathasnt larning! No, no, lad-----take back the stuff; it will do me nosarvice, I took kear to get all the Frenchmans powder afore he brokeup, and they say lead grows where Im going. it isnt even fit forwads, seeing that I use none but leather!--Madam Effingham, let an oldman kiss your hand, and wish Gods choicest blessings on you andyourn"
"Once more let me beseech you, stay!" cried Elizabeth. Do not,Leather-Stocking, leave me to grieve for the man who has twice rescuedme from death, and who has served those I love so faithfully. For mysake, if not for your own, stay. I shall see you in those frightfuldreams that still haunt my nights, dying in poverty and age, by theside of those terrific beasts you slew. There will be no evil, thatsickness, want, and solitude can inflict, that my fancy will notconjure as your fate. Stay with us, old man, if not for your ownsake, at least for ours."
"Such thoughts and bitter dreams, Madam Effingham," returned thehunter, solemnly, " will never haunt an innocent parson long. Theyllpass away with Gods pleasure. And if the cat-a-mounts be yet broughtto your eyes in sleep, tis not for my sake, but to show you the powerof Him that led me there to save you. Trust in God, madam, and yourhonorable husband, and the thoughts for an old man like me can neverbe long nor bitter. I pray that the Lord will keep you in mind--theLord that lives in clearings as well as in the wilderness--and blessyou, and all that belong to you, from this time till the great daywhen the whites shall meet the red-skins in judgement, and justiceshall be the law, and not power."
Elizabeth raised her head, and offered her colorless cheek to hissalute, when he lifted his cap and touched it respectfully. His handwas grasped with convulsive fervor by the youth, who continued silent.The hunter prepared himself for his journey, drawing his belt tighter,and wasting his moments in the little reluctant movements of asorrowful departure. Once or twice he essayed to speak, but a risingin his throat prevented it. At length he shouldered his rifle, andcried with a clear huntsmans call that echoed through the woods:He-e-e-re, he-e-e-re, pups--away, dogs, away!--ye'll be footsore aforeye see the end of the journey!"
The hounds leaped from the earth at this cry, and scenting around thegrave and silent pair, as if conscious of their own destination, theyfollowed humbly at the heels of their master. A short pausesucceeded, during which even the youth concealed his face on hisgrandfathers tomb. When the pride of manhood, however, had suppressed the feelings of nature, he turned to renew his en treaties,but saw that the cemetery was occupied only by himself and his wife.
"He is gone!" cried Effingham.
Elizabeth raised her face, and saw the old hunter standing lookingback for a moment, on the verge of the wood. As he caught theirglances, he drew his hard hand hastily across his eyes again, waved iton high for an adieu, and, uttering a forced cry to his dogs, who werecrouching at his feet, he entered the forest.
This was the last they ever saw of the Leather-Stocking, whose rapidmovements preceded the pursuit which Judge Temple both ordered andconducted. He had gone far toward the setting sun--the foremost inthat band of pioneers who are opening the way for the march of thenation across the continent.