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.One of a hated race, if thou wilt – a Yengee.But one who has never harmed thee, and who cannot harm thy people, if she would; who asks for succour.«»Tell me, my children,« continued the patriarch, hoarsely, motioning to those around him, though his eyes still dwelt upon the kneeling form of Cora, »where have the Delawares 'camped?«»In the mountains of the Iroquois; beyond the clear springs of the Horican.«»Many parching summers are come and gone,« continued the sage, »since I drank of the waters of my own river.The children of Miquon28 are the justest white men; but they were thirsty, and they took it to themselves.Do they follow us so far?«»We follow none; we covet nothing;« answered Cora.»Captives, against our wills, have we been brought amongst you; and we ask but permission to depart to our own, in peace.Art thou not Tamenund – the father – the judge – I had almost said, the prophet – of this people?«»I am Tamenund, of many days.«»'Tis now some seven years that one of thy people was at the mercy of a white chief, on the borders of this province.He claimed to be of the blood of the good and just Tamenund.›Go,‹ said the white man, ›for thy parent's sake, thou art free.‹ Dost thou remember the name of that English warrior?«»I remember, that when a laughing boy,« returned the patriarch, with the peculiar recollection of vast age, »I stood upon the sands of the sea-shore, and saw a big canoe, with wings whiter than the swan's, and wider than many eagles, come from the rising sun –«»Nay, nay; I speak not of a time so very distant; but of favour shown to thy kindred by one of mine, within the memory of thy youngest warrior.«»Was it when the Yengeese and the Dutchemanne fought for the hunting grounds of the Delawares? Then Tamenund was a chief, and first laid aside the bow for the lightning of the pale-faces –«»Nor yet then,« interrupted Cora, »by many ages; I speak of a thing of yesterday.Surely, surely, you forget it not!«»It was but yesterday,« rejoined the aged man, with touching pathos, »that the children of the Lenape were masters of the world! The fishes of the salt-lake, the birds, the beasts, and the Mengwe of the woods, owned them for Sagamores.« Cora bowed her head in disappointment, and, for a bitter moment, struggled with her chagrin.Then elevating her rich features and beaming eyes, she continued, in tones scarcely less penetrating than the unearthly voice of the patriarch himself,»Tell me, is Tamenund a father?«The old man looked down upon her, from his elevated stand, with a benignant smile on his wasted countenance, and then casting his eyes slowly over the whole assemblage, he answered –»Of a nation.«»For myself I ask nothing.Like thee and thine, venerable chief,« she continued, pressing her hands convulsively on her heart, and suffering her head to droop, until her burning cheeks were nearly concealed in the maze of dark, glossy tresses, that fell in disorder upon her shoulders, »the curse of my ancestors has fallen heavily on their child! But yonder is one, who has never known the weight of Heaven's displeasure until now.She is the daughter of an old and failing man, whose days are near their close.She has many, very many, to love her, and delight in her; and she is too good, much too precious, to become the victim of that villain.«»I know that the pale-faces are a proud and hungry race.I know that they claim, not only to have the earth, but that the meanest of their colour is better than the Sachems of the red man.The dogs and crows of their tribes,« continued the earnest old chieftain, without heeding the wounded spirit of his listener, whose head was nearly crushed to the earth, in shame, as he proceeded, »would bark and caw, before they would take a woman to their wigwams, whose blood was not of the colour of snow.But let them not boast before the face of the Manitto too loud.They entered the land at the rising, and may yet go off at the setting sun! I have often seen the locust strip the leaves from the trees, but the season of blossoms has always come again!«»It is so,« said Cora, drawing a long breath, as if reviving from a trance, raising her face, and shaking back her shining veil, with a kindling eye, that contradicted the death-like paleness of her countenance; »but why – it is not permitted us to inquire! There is yet one of thine own people, who has not been brought before thee; before thou lettest the Huron depart in triumph, hear him speak.«Observing Tamenund to look about him doubtingly, one of his companions said –»It is a snake – a red-skin in the pay of the Yengeese.We keep him for the torture.«»Let him come,« returned the sage.Then Tamenund once more sunk into his seat, and a silence so deep prevailed, while the young men prepared to obey his simple mandate, that the leaves, which fluttered in the draught of the light morning air, were distinctly heard rustling in the surrounding forest.Chapter XXX»If you deny me, fie upon your law!There is no force in the decrees of Venice:I stand for judgment: answer; shall I have it?«The Merchant of Venice, IV.i.101-103.The silence continued unbroken by human sounds for many anxious minutes.Then the waving multitude opened, and shut again, and Uncas stood in the living circle.All those eyes, which had been curiously studying the lineaments of the sage, as the source of their own intelligence, turned, on the instant, and were now bent in secret admiration on the erect, agile, and faultless person of the captive
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