American fiction -- 19th century; Historical fiction; Indians of North America -- Fiction
“I wish I could let you understand, Peter, how much I rejoice to hear
this! I have never felt afraid of you, on my own account, though I will
own that I have sometimes feared that the dreadful cruel stories which
are told of your enmity to my color are not altogether without truth.
Now, you tell me you are the white man's friend, and that you no longer
wish to injure him. These are blessed words, Peter; and humbly do I
thank God, through his blessed Son, that I have lived to hear them!”
“Dat Son make me feel so,” returned the Indian, earnestly. “Yes, juss
so. My heart was hard, till medicinepriest tell dat tradition of Son of
Great Spirit--how he die for all tribes and nations, and ask his fader
to do good to dem dat take his life--dat won'erful tradition, Blossom!
Sound like song of wren in my ear--sweeter dan mocking-bird when he do
his bess. Yes, dat won'erful. He true, too; for medicine-priest ask his
Manitou to bless Injin, juss as Injins lift tomahawk to take his life. I
see'd and heard dat, myself. All, won'erful, won'erful!”
“It was the Spirit of God that enabled poor Amen to do that, Peter; and
it is the Spirit of God that teaches you to see and feel the beauty
of such an act. Without the aid of that Spirit, we are helpless as
children; with it, strong as giants. I do not wonder, at all, that the
good missionary was able to pray for his enemies with his dying breath.
God gave him strength to do so.”
Margery spoke as she felt, earnestly, and with emphasis. Her cheeks
flushed with the strength of her feelings, and Peter gazed on her with a
species of reverence and wonder. The beauty of this charming young woman
was pleasing rather than brilliant, depending much on expression for
its power. A heightened color greatly increased it, and when, as in this
instance, the eyes reflected the tints of the cheeks, one might have
journeyed days in older regions, without finding her equal in personal
attractions. Much as he admired her, however, Peter had now that on his
mind which rendered her beauty but a secondary object with him. His
soul had been touched by the unseen, but omnipresent, power of the Holy
Spirit, and his companion's language and fervor contributed largely in
keeping alive his interest in what he felt.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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