The Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock, K.B.: Interspersed with notices of the celebrated Indian chief, Tecumseh, and comprising brief memoirs of Daniel De Lisle Brock, Esq., Lieutenant E.W. Tupper, R.N., and Colonel W. De Vic TupperBrock, Isaac, Sir
History
The Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock, K.B.: Interspersed with notices of the celebrated Indian chief, Tecumseh, and comprising brief memoirs of Daniel De Lisle Brock, Esq., Lieutenant E.W. Tupper, R.N., and Colonel W. De Vic Tupper
and after a few seconds he said, with his loud and sonorous
voice: "Pray, Mr. Brock, come near me,--I pray you come near
me." I felt a little for my companions who continued
unnoticed, and especially for Sir John C----, to whom I was
principally indebted for the royal interview.
The king addressed the Indians in French, very distinctly,
fluently, and loud: "I observe you have the portrait of my
father; will you permit me to present you with mine?" The
marquess then produced four large and weighty gold coronation
peer medallions of his majesty, suspended by a rich mazareen
blue silk riband. The chiefs, seeing this, dropped again upon
their knees, and the king took the four medallions
successively into his hand, and said: "Will some gentleman
have the goodness to tie this behind?"--upon which Sir Edmund
Nagle, with whom we had been condoling on account of the gout,
while waiting in the library, and who wore a list shoe,
skipped nimbly behind the chiefs, and received the string from
the king, tying the cordon on the necks of the four chiefs. We
were much amused to observe how the royal word can dispel the
gout. The instant the grand chief was within reach of the
medallion, and before the investiture was completed, he seized
the welcome present with the utmost earnestness, and kissed it
with an ardour which must have been witnessed to be conceived.
The king appeared sensibly affected by this strong and
unequivocal mark of grateful emotion. The other chiefs acted
in a similar way, and nothing could have been managed more
naturally, or in better taste. After this ceremony, the king
desired them to rise and to be covered. They put on their
hats, and which appeared extraordinary to me, his majesty
remained uncovered all the time. Here it was that the grand
chief, as if incapable of repressing his feelings, poured out
in a most eloquent manner, by voice and action, the following
unpremeditated speech in his native Indian tongue. I say
unpremeditated, because that fine allusion to the sun could
not have been contemplated while we were waiting in the
library, the room where we expected the interview to take
place. I was pleased to find that the presence of this mighty
sovereign, who governs the most powerful nation upon earth,
did not drive from the thoughts of the pious chief, the King
of kings and the Lord of lords.
The instant he had finished, the chief of the warriors
interpreted in the French language, and I wrote down the
speech as soon as I left the royal lodge. It should be
observed, that the chiefs had been previously informed by me
that, according to etiquette, they should answer any questions
which his majesty might be pleased to ask, but not introduce
any conversation of their own. The sun was shining vividly.
THE SPEECH.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account