Wyandotté; Or, The Hutted Knoll: A Tale. James Fenimore Cooper

water, and removing the corn-cob that Pliny the younger had felt it to be classical to affix to the nozzle of a quart jug, had, some time before, commenced the delightful recreation of sounding the depth, not of the spring, but of the vessel. As respects the former, Mike, who was a wag in his way, had taken a hint from a practice said to be common in Ireland, called "potatoe and point," which means to eat the potatoe and point at the butter; declaring that "rum and p'int" was every bit as entertaining as a "p'int of rum." On this principle, then, with a broad grin on a face that opened from ear to ear whenever he laughed, the county Leitrim-man would gravely point his finger at the water, in a sort of mock-homage, and follow up the movement with such a suck at the nozzle, as, aided by the efforts of Nick, soon analyzed the upper half of the liquor that had entered by that very passage. All this time, conversation did not flag, and, as the parties grew warm, confidence increased, though reason sensibly diminished. As a part of this discourse will have some bearing on what is to follow, it may be in place to relate it, here.

      "Ye're a jewel, ye be, ould Nick, or young Nick!" cried Mike, in an ecstasy of friendship, just after he had completed his first half-pint. "Ye're as wilcome at the Huts, as if ye owned thim, and I love ye as I did my own brother, before I left the county Leitrim--paice to his sowl!"

      "He dead?" asked Nick, sententiously; for he had lived enough among the pale-faces to have some notions of then theory about the soul.

      "That's more than I know--but, living or dead, the man must have a sowl, ye understand, Nicholas. A human crathure widout a sowl, is what I call a heretick; and none of the O'Hearns ever came to that."

      Nick was tolerably drunk, but by no means so far gone, that he had not manners enough to make a grave, and somewhat dignified gesture; which was as much as to say he was familiar with the subject.

      "All go ole fashion here?" he asked, avoiding every appearance of curiosity, however.

      "That does it--that it does, Nicholas. All goes ould enough. The captain begins to get ould; and the missus is oulder than she used to be; and Joel's wife looks a hundred, though she isn't t'irty; and Joel, himself, the spalpeen--he looks--" a gulp at the jug stopped the communication.

      "Dirty, too?" added the sententious Tuscarora, who did not comprehend more than half his friend said.

      "Ay, dir-r-ty--he's always that. He's a dirthy fellow, that thinks his yankee charactur is above all other things."

      Nick's countenance became illuminated with an expression nowise akin to that produced by rum, and he fastened on his companion one of his fiery gazes, which occasionally seemed to penetrate to the centre of the object looked at.

      "Why pale-face hate one anoder? Why Irishman don't love yankee?"

      "Och! love the crathure, is it? You'd betther ask me to love a to'd"--for so Michael would pronounce the word 'toad.' "What is there to love about him, but skin and bone! I'd as soon love a skiliten. Yes--an immortal skiliten."

      Nick made another gesture, and then he endeavoured to reflect, like one who had a grave business in contemplation. The Santa Cruz confused his brain, but the Indian never entirely lost his presence of mind; or never, at least, so long as he could either see or walk.

      "Don't like him"--rejoined Nick. "Like anybody?"

      "To be sure I does--I like the capt'in--och, he's a jontleman--and I likes the missus; she's a laddy--and I likes Miss Beuly, who's a swate young woman--and then there's Miss Maud, who's the delight of my eyes. Fegs, but isn't she a crathure to relish!"

      Mike spoke like a good honest fellow, as he was at the bottom, with all his heart and soul. The Indian did not seem pleased, but he made no answer.

      "You've been in the wars then, Nick!" asked the Irishman, after a short pause.

      "Yes--Nick been chief ag'in--take scalps."

      "Ach! That's a mighty ugly thrade! If you'd tell 'em that in Ireland, they'd not think it a possibility."

      "No like fight in Ireland, hah?"

      "I'll not say that--no, I'll not say that; for many's the jollification at which the fighting is the chafe amusement. But we likes thumping on the head--not skinning it."

      "That your fashion--my fashion take scalp. You thump; I skin--which best?"

      "Augh! skinnin' is a dreadthful operation; but shillaleh-work comes nately and nat'rally. How many of these said scalps, now, may ye have picked up, Nick, in yer last journey?"

      "T'ree--all man and woman--no pappoose. One big enough make two; so call him four."

      "Oh! Divil burn ye, Nick; but there's a spice of your namesake in ye, afther all. T'ree human crathures skinned, and you not satisfied, and so ye'll chait a bit to make 'em four! D'ye never think, now, of yer latther ind? D'ye never confess?"

      "T'ink every day of dat. Hope to find more, before last day come. Plenty scalp here; ha, Mike?"

      This was said a little incautiously, perhaps, but it was said under a strong native impulse. The Irishman, however, was never very logical or clear-headed; and three gills of rum had, by no means, helped to purify his brain. He heard the word "plenty," knew he was well fed and warmly clad, and just now, that Santa Cruz so much abounded, the term seemed peculiarly applicable.

      "It's a plinthiful place it is, is this very manor. There's all sorts of things in it that's wanted. There's food and raiment, and cattle, and grain, and porkers, and praiching--yes, divil burn it, Nick, but there's what goes for praiching, though it's no more like what we calls praiching than yer'e like Miss Maud in comeliness, and ye'll own, yourself, Nick, yer'e no beauty."

      "Got handsome hair," said Nick, surlily--"How she look widout scalp?"

      "The likes of her, is it! Who ever saw one of her beauthy without the finest hair that ever was! What do you get for your scalps?--are they of any use when you find 'em?"

      "Bring plenty bye'm-by. Whole country glad to see him before long--den beavers get pond ag'in."

      "How's that--how's that, Indian? Baiver get pounded? There's no pound, hereabouts, and baivers is not an animal to be shut up like a hog!"

      Nick perceived that his friend was past argumentation, and as he himself was approaching the state when the drunkard receives delight from he knows not what, it is unnecessary to relate any more of the dialogue. The jug was finished, each man very honestly drinking his pint, and as naturally submitting to its consequences; and this so much the more because the two were so engrossed with the rum that both forgot to pay that attention to the spring that might have been expected from its proximity.

      Chapter V.

       Table of Contents

      The soul, my lord, is fashioned--like the lyre.

       Strike one chord suddenly, and others vibrate.

       Your name abruptly mentioned, casual words

       Of comment on your deeds, praise from your uncle,

       News from the armies, talk of your return,

       A word let fall touching your youthful passion,

       Suffused her cheek, call'd to her drooping eye

       A momentary lustre, made her pulse

       Leap headlong, and her bosom palpitate.

      Hillhouse.

      The approach of night, at sea and in a wilderness, has always something more solemn in it, than on land in the centre of civilization. As the curtain is drawn before his eyes, the solitude of the mariner is increased, while even his sleepless vigilance seems, in a measure, baffled, by the manner in which he is cut off from the signs of the hour. Thus, too, in the forest, or in an isolated clearing, the mysteries of the woods are deepened, and danger is robbed of its forethought and customary guards. That evening, Major Willoughby stood