The Translation of a Savage, Volume 1Parker, Gilbert
General
The Translation of a Savage, Volume 1
Parker, Gilbert
England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Indians of North America -- Fiction; Married people -- Fiction
like the idea, and Richard opposed it heartily. She must be taught
English and educated, and made possible in "Christian clothing," as Mrs.
Armour put it. Of the education they almost despaired--all save Richard;
time, instruction, vanity, and a dressmaker might do much as to the
other.
The evening of her arrival, Lali would not, with any urging, put on
clothes of Marion's which had been sent in to her. And the next morning
it was still the same.
She came into the breakfast-room dressed still in buckskin and moccasins,
and though the grease had been taken out of her hair it was still combed
flat. Mrs. Armour had tried to influence her through Mackenzie, but to
no purpose. She was placidly stubborn.
It had been unwisely told her by Mackenzie that they were Marion's
clothes. They scarcely took in the fact that the girl had pride, that
she was the daughter of a chief, and a chieftainess herself, and that it
was far from happy to offer her Marion's clothes to wear.
Now, Richard, when he was a lad, had been on a journey to the South Seas,
and had learned some of the peculiarities of the native mind, and he did
not suppose that American Indians differed very much from certain well-
bred Polynesians in little matters of form and good taste. When his
mother told him what had occurred before Lali entered the breakfast-room,
he went directly to what he believed was the cause, and advised tact with
conciliation. He also pointed out that Lali was something taller than
Marion, and that she might be possessed of that general trait of
humanity-vanity. Mrs. Armour had not yet got used to thinking of the
girl in another manner than an intrusive being of a lower order, who was
there to try their patience, but also to do their bidding. She had yet
to grasp the fact that, being her son's wife, she must have, therefore, a
position in the house, exercising a certain authority over the servants,
who, to Mrs. Armour, at first seemed of superior stuff. But Richard said
to her: "Mother, I fancy you don't quite grasp the position. The girl is
the daughter of a chief, and the descendant of a family of chiefs,
perhaps through many generations. In her own land she has been used to
respect, and has been looked up to pretty generally. Her garments are,
I fancy, considered very smart in the Hudson's Bay country; and a finely
decorated blanket like hers is expensive up there. You see, we have to
take the thing by comparison; so please give the girl a chance."
And Mrs. Armour answered wearily, "I suppose you are right, Richard; you
generally are in the end, though why you should be I do not know, for you
never see anything of the world any more, and you moon about among the
cottagers. I suppose it's your native sense and the books you read."
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account