I hadna been his wife, a week but only four, I saw my Jamie's ghaist-I cou'dna think it he, Till he said, "I'm come hame, my love, to marry thee!" O sair, sair did we greet, and mickle say of a'; I gang like a ghaist, and I carena to spin; I darena think o' Jamie, for that would be a sin. He gaed to his bed, but nae physic would take, The tears trickled down upon Auld Robin Gray. "Oh, greet nae mair, Jeanie!" said he, wi' a groan; "I've wranged her," he said, "but I kent it o'er late; 141 142 LETTERS. "I lo'ed and I courted her mony a day, The auld folks were for me, but still she said nay; In mercy forgi'e me, 'twas I stole the cow! "I cared not for crummie, I thought but o' thee; I thought it was crummie stood 'twixt you and me; "But sickness at hame, and want at the door- Oh, that was a deed to my shame o'er the land! "How truth, soon or late, comes to open daylight! "Is Jamie come here yet?" and Jamie he saw! They kiss'd his cauld hands, and a smile o'er his face The first days were dowie, while time slipt awa'; But nae guile had she, and her sorrow away, LETTERS. Letters from absent friends extinguish fear, And wafts embodied thought a thousand ways. Could souls to bodies write, death's power were mean, For minds could then meet minds with heav'n between. O blessed letters! that combine in one By you we do confer with who are gone, And the Dead-living unto counsel call! -AARON HILL (1685-1750). Of what we feel and what doth us befall.-SAMUEL DANIEL (1562-1619). DEERSLAYER. [James Fenimore Cooper, born in Burlington, New Jersey, 15th September, 1789; died in Cooperstown, New York, 14th September, 1851. He is sometimes called "the Scott of America." After studying in the Yale College, he served six years in the United States navy, travelled in Europe for several years, and ultimately settled in his native country. His first novel, Precaution, appeared in 1821, and was followed by The Spy: The Pioneers: The Pilot, &c. He wrote thirty-four novels, various sketches of travel, a History of the United States Navy, and other works. His tales of Indian and backwoods life, and of the sea, maintain their place as amongst the very best of their kind. Daniel Webster Baid of him: "The enduring monuments of Fenimore Cooper are his works. While the love of country continues to prevail, his memory will exist in the hearts of the people." Our extract is from the famous Leatherstocking series of tales. Natty Bumpo passes through many adventures under the names of Deerslayer, Hawkeye, Pathfinder, and, in his old age, Leatherstocking. His chief comrade is Chingachgook, or the "Big Serpent," who is a chief of the Mohicans or Delaware Indians. The latter's has been captured by the Iroquois or Mingos. Deerslayer assists his friend in rescuing the girl from their enemies, but he is himself made prisoner.] betrothed, Wah-ta-Wah, or in English, Hist-oh-Hist! The day succeeding his capture Deerslayer was conducted before the assembled band. It was an imposing scene into which he was brought. All the older warriors were seated on the trunk of a fallen tree, waiting his approach with grave decorum. On the right stood the young men, armed, while the left was occupied by the women and children. In the centre was an open space of considerable extent, always canopied by leaves, but from which the underbrush, dead wood, and other obstacles had been carefully removed. The more open area had probably been much used by former parties, for this was the place where the appearance of a sward was the most decided. The arches of the woods, even at high noon, cast their sombre shadows on the spot, which the brilliant rays of the sun, that struggled through the leaves, contributed to mellow, and, if such an expression can be used, to illuminate. It was probably from a similar scene that the mind of man first got its idea of the effects of Gothic tracery and churchly hues; this temple of nature producing some such effect, so far as light and shadows were concerned, as the well-known offspring of human invention. As was not unusual among the tribes and wandering bands of the aborigines, two chiefs shared, in nearly equal degrees, the principal and primitive authority that was wielded over these children of the forest. There were several who might claim the distinction of being chief men, but the two in question were so much superior to all the rest in influence, that, when they agreed, no one disputed their mandates; and when they were divided, the band hesitated like men who had lost their governing principle of action. It was also in conformity with practice-perhaps we might add in conformity with nature-that one of the chiefs was indebted to his mind for his influence, whereas the other owed his distinction altogether to qualities that were physical. One was a senior, well known for eloquence in debate, wisdom in council, and prudence in measures; while his great competitor, if not his rival, was a brave, distinguished in war, notorious for ferocity, and remarkable, in the way of intellect, for nothing but the cunning and expedients of the war-path. The first was Rivenoak, while the last was called le Panthere, in the language of the Canadas; or the Panther, to resort to the vernacular of the English colonies. The appellation of the fighting chief was supposed to indicate the qualities of the warrior, agreeably to a practice of the red-man's nomenclature; ferocity, cunning, and treachery being perhaps the distinctive features of his character. Rivenoak and the Panther sat side by side, awaiting the approach of their prisoner, as Deerslayer put his moccasined foot on the strand; nor did either move, or utter a syllable, until the young man had advanced into the centre of the area, and proclaimed his presence with his voice. This was done firmly, though in the simple manner that marked the character of the individual. "Here I am, Mingos," he said, in the dialect of the Delawares, a language that most present understood; "here I am; do with me what you please. My business with man and 'arth is settled; nothing remains now but to meet the white man's God, accordin' to a white man's duties and gifts." A murmur of approbation escaped even the women at this address, and, for an instant, there was a strong and pretty general desire to adopt into the tribe one who owned so brave a spirit. Still there were dissenters from this wish, among the principal of whom might be classed the Panther, and his sister, le Sumach, so called from the number of her children, who was the widow of le Loup Cervier, now known to have fallen by the hand of the captive. [After much deliberation, Deerslayer was offered his life on condition that he should join the tribe and become the husband of le Sumach. Deerslayer firmly refused to accept these terms. The whole tribe was offended, but the Panther was furious at this insult to his sister, and hurled his tomahawk at the captive. The latter with singular skill caught the weapon and hurled it back at his assailant killing him on the spot. ] A common rush to his relief, left the captive, for a single instant, quite without the crowd; and, willing to make one desperate effort for life he bounded off, with the activity of a deer. There was but a breathless instant, when the whole band, old and young, women and children, abandoning the lifeless body of the Panther where it lay, raised the yell of alarm, and followed in pursuit. Sudden as had been the event which induced Deerslayer to make this desperate trial of speed, his mind was not wholly unprepared for the fearful emergency. In the course of the past hour he had pondered well on the chances of such an experiment, and had shrewdly calculated all the details of success and failure. At the first leap, therefore, his body was completely under the direction of an intelligence that turned all its efforts to the best account, and prevented every thing like hesitation or indecision, at the important instant of the start. To this alone was he indebted for the first great advantage, that of getting through the line of sentinels unharmed. The manner in which this was done, though sufficiently simple, merits a description. Although the shores of the point were not fringed with bushes, as was the case with most of the others on the lake, it was owing altogether to the circumstance that the spot had been so much used by hunters and fishermen. This fringe commenced on what might be termed the main land, and was as dense as usual, extending in long lines both north and south. In the latter direction, then, Deerslayer held his way; and as the sentinels were a little without the commencement of this thicket, before the alarm was clearly communicated to them, the fugitive had gained its cover. To run amongst the bushes, however, was out of the question, and Deerslayer held his way for some forty or fifty yards, in the water, which was barely knee-deep, offering as great an obstacle to the speed of his pursuers as it did to his own. As soon as a favourable spot presented, he darted through the line of bushes, and issued into the open woods. Several rifles were discharged at Deerslayer while in the water, and more followed as he | came out into the comparative exposure of the clear forest. But the direction of his line of flight, which partially crossed that of the fire, the haste with which the weapons had been aimed, and the general confusion that prevailed in the camp, prevented any harm from being done. Bullets whistled past him, and many cut twigs from the branches at his side, but not one touched even his dress. The delay caused by these fruitless attempts was of great service to the fugitive, who had gained more than a hundred yards on even the leading men of the Hurons, ere something like concert and order had entered into the chase. To think of following with rifle in hand was out of the question; and after emptying their pieces in vague hopes of wounding their captive, the best runners of the Indians threw them aside, calling out to the women and boys to recover and load them again as soon as possible. Deerslayer knew too well the desperate nature of the struggle in which he was engagel, to lose one of the precious moments. He also knew that his only hope was to run in a straight line, for as soon as he began to turn, or double, the greater number of his pursuers would put escape out of the question. He held his way, therefore, in a diagonal direction up the acclivity, which was neither very high nor very steep in this part of the mountain, but which was sufficiently toilsome for one contending for life to render it painfully oppressive. There, however he slackened his speed, to recover breath, proceeding even at a quick walk, or a slow trot, along the more difficult parts of the way. The Hurons were whooping and leaping behind him; but this he disregarded, well knowing they must overcome the difficulties he had surmounted, ere they could reach the elevation to which he had attained. The summit of the first hill was now quite near him, and he saw, by the formation of the land, that a deep glen intervened, before the base of a second hill could be reached. Walking deliberately to the summit, he glanced eagerly about him, in every direction, in quest of a cover. None offered in the ground; but a fallen tree lay near him, and desperate circumstances require desperate remedies. tree lay in a line parallel to the glen, at the brow of the hill; to leap on it, and then to force his person as close as possible under its lower side, took but a moment. disappearing from his pursuers, however Deerslayer stood on the height, and gave a cry of triumph, as if exulting at the sight of the descent that lay before him. In the next instant he was stretched beneath the tree. This Previously to footing on the level ground, Deerslayer now avoided the sidehill, holding his flight along the ridge; while the Hurons, judging from the general formation of the land, saw that the ridge would soon melt into the hollow, and. kept to the latter, as the easiest mode of heading the fugitive. A few, at the same time,. turned south, with a view to prevent his escaping in that direction, while some crossed his. trail toward the water, in order to prevent his retreat by the lake, running southerly. No sooner was this expedient adopted, than | seen and the chase renewed. As it was better the young man ascertained how desperate had been his own efforts, by the violence of the pulsations in his frame. The footsteps of those who toiled up the opposite side of the acclivity were now audible, and presently voices and treads announced the arrival of the pursuers. The foremost shouted as they reached the height; then, fearful that their enemy would escape under favour of the descent, each leaped upon the fallen tree, and plunged into the ravine, trusting to get a sight of the pursued ere he reached the bottom. In this manner Huron followed Huron, until Natty began to hope the whole had passed. Others succeeded, however, until quite forty had leaped over the tree; and then he counted them, as the surest mode of ascertaining how many could be behind. Presently all were in the bottom of the glen, quite a hundred feet below him, and some had even ascended part of the opposite hill, when it became evident an inquiry was making as to the direction he had taken. This was the critical moment; and one of nerves less steady, or of a training that had been neglected, would have seized it to rise and flee. Not so with Deerslayer. He still lay quiet, watching with jealous vigilance every movement below, and fast regaining his breath. The Hurons now resembled a pack of hounds at fault. Little was said, but each man ran about, examining the dead leaves as the hound hunts for the lost scent. The great number of moccasins that had passed made the examination difficult, though the intoe of an Indian was easily to be distinguished from the freer and wider step of a white man. Believing that no more pursuers remained behind, and hoping to steal away unseen, Deerslayer suddenly threw himself over the tree, and fell on the upper side. This achievement appeared to be effected successfully, and hope beat high in the bosom of the fugitive. Rising to his hands and feet, after a moment lost in listening to the sounds in the glen in order to ascertain if he had been seen, the young man next scrambled to the top of the hill, a distance of only ten yards, in the expectation of getting its brow between him and his pursuers, and himself so far under cover. Even this was effected, and he rose to his feet, walking swiftly but steadily along the summit, in a direction opposite to that in which he had first fled. The nature of the calls in the glen, however, soon made him uneasy, and he sprang upon the summit again, in order to reconnoitre. No sooner did he reach the height than he was VOL VIH. The situation of Deerslayer was now more. critical than it ever had been. He was virtually surrounded on three sides, having the lake on the fourth. But he had pondered well on all the chances, and took his measures with coolness, even while at the top of his speed. As is generally the case with the vigorous border-men, he could outrun any single Indian among his pursuers, who were principally formidable to him on account of their numbers, and the advantages they possessed in position; and he would not have hesitated to break off in a strait line at any spot, could he have got. the whole band again fairly behind him. But. no such chance did, or indeed could now offer; and when he found that he was descending toward the glen, by the melting away of the ridge, he turned short, at right angles to his. previous course, and went down the declivity with tremendous velocity, holding his way to ward the shore. Some of his pursuers came panting up the hill, in direct chase, while most still kept on in the ravine, intending to head him at its termination. Deerslayer had now a different, though a. desperate, project in view. Abandoning all thoughts of escape by the woods, he made the best of his way toward the canoe. He knew where it lay could it be reached, he had only to run the gauntlet of a few rifles, and success. would be certain. None of the warriors had kept their weapons, which would have retarded their speed, and the risk would come either from the uncertain hands of the women, or from those of some well-grown boy; though most of the latter were already out in hot pursuit. Everything seemed propitious to the execution of this plan, and the course being a continued descent, the young man went over the ground at a rate that promised a speedy termination to his toil. As Deerslayer approached the point, several women and children were passed, but, though the former endeavoured to cast dried branches between his legs, the terror inspired by his bold retaliation on the redoubted Panther was 179 |