Victory! come on, my brave boys, the works our own!

All this was perfectly military, and was such an example as a gallant officer was in some measure bound to exhibit to his men but the outcry was the unlucky cause of turning the tide of success. Natty, who had been keeping a vigalent eye on the wood-chopper, and the enemy immediately before him, wheeled at this alarm, and was appalled at beholding his comrade on the ground, and the veteran standing on his own bulwark, giving forth the cry of victory! The muzzle of the long rifle was turned instantly toward the captain. There was a moment when the life of the old soldier was in great jeopardy but the object to shoot at was both too large and too near for the Leather-Stocking, who, instead of pulling his trigger, applied the gun to the rear of his enemy, and by a powerful shove sent him outside of the works with much greater rapidity than he had entered them. The spot on which Captain Hollister alighted was directly in front, where, as his feet touched the ground, so steep and slippery was the side of the mountain, it seemed to recede from under them. His motion was swift, and so irregular as utterly to confuse the faculties of the old soldier. During its continuance, he supposed himself to be mounted, and charging through the ranks of his enemy. At every tree he made a blow, of course, as at a foot-soldier; and just as he was making the cut St. George at a half burnt sapling he landed in the highway, and, to his utter amazement, at the feet of his own spouse. When Mrs. Hollister, who was toiling up the hill, followed by at least twenty curious boys, leaning with one hand on the staff with which she ordinarily walked, and bearing in the other an empty bag, witnessed this exploit of her husband, indignation immediately got the better, not only of her religion, but of her philosophy.

Why, sargeant! is it flying ye are? she cried that I should live to see a husband of mine turn his hack to an inimy! and such a one! Here I have been telling the bys, as we come along, all about the saige of Yorrektown, and how ye was hurted; and how yed be acting the same agin the day; and I mate ye retraiting jist as the first gun is fired. Och! I may trow away the bag! for if theres plunder, twill not be the wife of sich as yerself that will be privileged to be getting the same. They do say, too, there is a power of goold and silver in the placethe Lord forgive me for setting my heart on woorldly things; but what falls in the battle, theres scriptur for believing, is the just property of the victor,

Retreating! exclaimed the amazed veteran; wheres my horse? he has been shot under meI

Is the man mad? interrupted his wife devil the horse do ye own, sargeant, and yere nothing but a shabby captain of malaishy. Oh! if the raal captain was here, tis the other way yed be riding, dear, or you would not follow your laider!

While this worthy couple were thus discussing events, the battle began to rage more violently than ever above them. When Leather-Stocking saw his enemy fairly under headway, as Benjamin would express it, he gave his attention to the right wing of the assailants. It would have been easy for Kirby, with his powerful frame, to have seized the moment to scale the bastion, and, with his great strength, to have sent both of its defenders in pursuit of the veteran; but hostility appeared to he the passion that the wood-chopper indulged the least in at that moment, for, in a voice that was heard by the retreating left wing, he shouted:

Hurrah well done, captain! keep it up! how he handles his bush-hook! he makes nothing of a sapling! and such other encouraging exclamations to the flying veteran, until, overcome by mirth, the good-natured fellow seated himself on the ground, kicking the earth with delight, and giving vent to peal after peal of laughter.

Natty stood all this time in a menacing attitude, with his rifle pointed over the breastwork, watching with a quick and cautions eye the least movement of the assail ants. The outcry unfortunately tempted the ungovernable curiosity of Hiram to take a peep from behind his cover at the state of the battle. Though this evolution was performed with great caution, in protecting his front, he left, like many a better commander, his rear exposed to the attacks of his enemy. Mr. Doolittle belonged physically to a class of his countrymen, to whom Nature has denied, in their formation, the use of curved lines. Every thing about him was either straight or angular. But his tailor was a woman who worked, like a regimental contractor, by a set of rules that gave the same configuration to the whole human species. Consequently, when Mr. Doolittle leaned forward in the manner described, a loose drapery appeared behind the tree, at which the rifle of Natty was pointed with the quickness of lightning. A less experienced man would have aimed at the flowing robe, which hung like a festoon half-way to the earth ; but the Leather-Stocking knew both the man and his female tailor better; and when the smart report of the rifle was heard, Kirby, who watched the whole manoeuvre in breath less expectation. saw the bark fly from the beech and the cloth, at some distance above the loose folds, wave at the same instant. No battery was ever unmasked with more promptitiude than Hiram advanced from behind the tree at this summons.

He made two or three steps, with great precision, to the front and, placing one hand on the afflicted part, stretched forth the other with a menacing air toward Natty, and cried aloud:

Gawl darn ye: this shant he settled so easy; Ill follow it up from the common pleas to the court of errors.

Such a shocking imprecation, from the mouth of so orderly a man as Squire Doolittle, with the fearless manner in which he exposed himself, together with, perhaps, the knowledge that Nattys rifle was unloaded, encouraged the troops in the rear, who gave a loud shout, and fired a volley into the tree-tops, after the contents of the swivel. Animated by their own noise, the men now rushed on in earnest; and Billy Kirby, who thought the joke, good as it was, had gone far enough, was in the act of scaling the works, when Judge Temple appeared on the opposite side, exclaiming:

Silence and peace! why do I see murder and blood shed attempted? Is not the law sufficient to protect itself, that armed bands must be gathered, as in rebellion and war, to see justice performed?

Tis the posse comitatus, shouted the sheriff, from a distant rock, who-

Say rather a posse of demons. I command the peace. Hold shied not blood! cried a voice from the top of the Vision. Hold, for the sake of Heaven, fire no more! all shall be yielded! you shall enter the cave!

Amazement produced the desired effect. Natty, who had reloaded his piece, quietly seated himself on the logs, and rested his head on his hands, while the Light Infantry ceased their military movements, and waited the issue in suspense.

In less than a minute Edwards came rushing down the hill, followed by Major Hartman, with a velocity that was surprising for his years. They reached the terrace in an instant, from which the youth led the way, by the hollow in the rock, to the mouth of the cave, into which they both entered, leaving all without silent, and gazing after them with astonishment.



CHAPTER XL.



I am dumb. Were you the doctor, and I knew you not?-Shakespeare.

During the five or six minutes that elapsed before the youth and Major reappeared. Judge Temple and the sheriff together with most of the volunteers, ascended to the terrace, where the latter began to express their conjectures of the result, and to recount their individual services in the conflict. But the sight of the peace-makers ascending the ravine shut every mouth.

On a rude chair, covered with undressed deer-skins, they supported a human being, whom they seated carefully and respectfully in the midst of the assembly. His head was covered by long, smooth locks of the color of snow. His dress, which was studiously neat and clean, was composed of such fabrics as none but the wealthiest classes wear, but was threadbare and patched ; and on his feet were placed a pair of moccasins, ornamented in the best manner of Indian ingenuity. The outlines of his face were grave and dignified, though his vacant eye, which opened and turned slowly to the faces of those around him in unmeaning looks, too surely announced that the period had arrived when age brings the mental imbecility of childhood.

Natty had followed the supporters of this unexpected object to the top of the cave, and took his station at a little distance behind him, leaning no his rifle, in the midst of his pursuers, with a fearlessness that showed that heavier interests than those which affected himself were to be decided. Major Hartmann placed himself beside the aged man, uncovered, with his whole soul beaming through those eyes which so commonly danced with frolic and humor. Edwards rested with one hand familiarly but affectionately on the chair, though his heart was swelling with emotions that denied him utterance.

All eyes were gazing intently, but each tongue continued mute. At length the decrepit stranger, turning his vacant looks from face to face, made a feeble attempt to rise, while a faint smile crossed his wasted face, like an habitual effort at courtesy, as he said, in a hollow, tremulous voice:

Be pleased to be seated, gentlemen. The council will open immediately. Each one who loves a good and virtuous king will wish to see these colonies continue loyal. Be seatedI pray you, be seated, gentlemen. The troops shall halt for the night.

This is the wandering of insanity! said Marmaduke: who will explain this scene.

No, sir, said Edwards firmly, tis only the decay of nature; who is answerable for its pitiful condition, remains to be shown.

Will the gentlemen dine with us, my son? said the old stranger, turning to a voice that he both knew and loved. Order a repast suitable for his Majestys officers. You know we have the best of game always at command,

Who is this man? asked Marmaduke, in a hurried voice, in which the dawnings of conjecture united with interest to put the question.

This man, returned Edwards calmly, his voice, how ever, gradually rising as he proceeded; this man, sir, whom you behold hid in caverns, and deprived of every-thing that can make life desirable, was once the companion and counsellor of those who ruled your country. This man, whom you see helpless and feeble, was once a warrior, so brave and fearless, that even the intrepid natives gave him the name of the Fire-eater. This man, whom you now see destitute of even the ordinary comfort of a cabin, in which to shelter his head, was once the owner of great richesand, Judge Temple, he was the rightful proprietor of this very soil on which we stand. This man was the father of

This, then, cried Marmaduke, with a powerful emotion, this, then, is the lost Major Effingham!

Lost indeed, said the youth, fixing a piercing eye on the other.

And you! and you! continued the Judge, articulating with difficulty.

I am his grandson.

A minute passed in profound silence. All eyes were fixed on the speakers, and even the old German appeared to wait the issue in deep anxiety. But the moment of agitation soon passed. Marmaduke raised his head from his bosom, where it had sunk, not in shame, but in devout mental thanksgivings, and, as large tears fell over his fine, manly face, he grasped the hand of the youth warmly, and said:

Oliver, I forgive all thy harshnessall thy suspicions. I now see it all. I forgive thee everything, but suffering this aged man to dwell in such a place, when not only my habitation, but my fortune, were at his and thy command.

Hes true as ter steel! shouted Major Hartmann; titnt I tell you, lat, dat Marmatuke Temple vas a friend dat woult never fail in ter dime as of neet?

It is true, Judge Temple, that my opinions of your conduct have been staggered by what this worthy gentle man has told me. When I found it impossible to convey my grandfather back whence the enduring love of this old man brought him, without detection and exposure, I went to the Mohawk in quest of one of his former comrades, in whose justice I had dependence. He is your friend, Judge Temple, but, if what he says be true, both my father and myself may have judged you harshly.

You name your father! said Marmaduke tenderly was he, indeed, lost in the packet?

He was. He had left me, after several years of fruit less application and comparative poverty, in Nova Scotia, to obtain the compensation for his losses which the British commissioners had at length awarded. After spending a year in England, he was returning to Halifax, on his way to a government to which he had been appointed, in the West Indies, intending to go to the place where my grand father had sojourned during and since the war, and take him with us.

But thou! said Marmaduke, with powerful interest; I had thought that thou hadst perished with him.

A flush passed over the cheeks of the young man, who gazed about him at the wondering faces of the volunteers, and continued silent. Marmaduke turned to the veteran captain, who just then rejoined his command, and said:

March thy soldiers back again, and dismiss them, the zeal of the sheriff has much mistaken his duty.Dr. Todd, I will thank you to attend to the injury which Hiram Doolittle has received in this untoward affair,Richard, you will oblige me by sending up the carriage to the top of the hill.Benjamin, return to your duty in my family.

Unwelcome as these orders were to most of the auditors, the suspicion that they had somewhat exceeded the whole some restraints of the law, and the habitual respect with which all the commands of the Judge were received, induced a prompt compliance.

When they were gone, and the rock was left to the parties most interested in an explanation, Marmaduke, pointing to the aged Major Effingham, said to his grand son:

Had we not better remove thy parent from this open place until my carriage can arrive?

Pardon me, sir, the air does him good, and he has taken it whenever there was no dread of a discovery. I know not how to act, Judge Temple; ought I, can I suffer Major Effingham to become an inmate of your family?

Thou shalt he thyself the judge, said Marmaduke. Thy father was my early friend, He intrusted his fortune to my care. When we separated he had such confidence in me that he wished on security, no evidence of the trust, even had there been time or convenience for exacting it. This thou hast heard?

Most truly, sir, said Edwards, or rather Effingham as we must now call him.

We differed in politics. If the cause of this country was successful, the trust was sacred with me, for none knew of thy fathers interest, if the crown still held its sway, it would he easy to restore the property of so loyal a subject as Colonel Effingham. Is not this plain?

The premises are good, sir, continued the youth, with the same incredulous look as before.

Listenlisten, poy, said the German, Dere is not a hair as of ter rogue in ter het of Herr Tchooge.

We all know the issue of the struggle, continued Marmaduke, disregarding both. Thy grandfather was left in Connecticut, regularly supplied by thy father with the means of such a subsistence as suited his wants. This I well knew, though I never had intercourse with him, even in our happiest days. Thy father retired with the troops to prosecute his claims on England. At all events, his losses must be great, for his real estates were sold, and I became the lawful purchaser. It was not unnatural to wish that he might have no bar to its just recovery.

There was none, but the difficulty of providing for so many claimants.

But there would have been one, and an insuperable one, and I announced to the world that I held these estates, multiplied by the times and my industry, a hundredfold in value, only as his trustee. Thou knowest that I supplied him with considerable sums immediately after the war.

You did, until

My letters were returned unopened. Thy father had much of thy own spirit, Oliver; he was sometimes hasty and rash. The Judge continued, in a self-condemning manner; Perhaps my fault lies the other way: I may possibly look too far ahead, and calculate too deeply. It certainly was a severe trial to allow the man whom I most loved, to think ill of me for seven years, in order that he might honestly apply for his just remunerations. But, had he opened my last letters, thou wouldst have learned the whole truth. Those I sent him to England, by what my agent writes me, he did read. He died, Oliver, knowing all, he died my friend, and I thought thou hadst died with him

Our poverty would not permit us to pay for two passages, said the youth, with the extraordinary emotion with which he ever alluded to the degraded state of his family ; I was left in the Province to wait for his return, and, when the sad news of his loss reached me, I was nearly penniless.

And what didst thou, boy? asked Marmaduke in a faltering voice.

I took my passage here in search of my grandfather; for I well knew that his resources were gone, with the half pay of my father. On reaching his abode, I learned that he had left it in secret; though the reluctant hireling, who had deserted him in his poverty, owned to my urgent en treaties, that he believed he had been carried away by an -old man who had formerly been his servant. I knew at once it was Natty, for my father often

Was Natty a servant of thy grandfather? exclaimed the Judge.

Of that too were you ignorant? said the youth in evident surprise.

How should I know it? I never met the Major, nor was the name of Bumppo ever mentioned to me. I knew him only as a man of the woods, and one who lived by hunting. Such men are too common to excite surprise.

He was reared in the family of my grandfather; served him for many years during their campaigns at the West, where he became attached to the woods; and he was left here as a kind of locum tenens on the lands that old Mohegan (whose life my grandfather once saved) induced the Delawares to grant to him when they admitted him as an honorary member of their tribe.

This, then, is thy Indian blood?

I have no other, said Edwards, smiling Major Effingham was adopted as the son of Mohegan, who at that time was the greatest man in his nation; and my father, who visited those people when a boy, received the name of the Eagle from them, on account of the shape of his face, as I understand. They have extended his title to me, I have no other Indian blood or breeding; though I have seen the hour, Judge Temple, when I could wish that such had been my lineage and education.

Proceed with thy tale, said Marmaduke.

I have but little more to say, sir, I followed to the lake where I had so often been told that Natty dwelt, and found him maintaining his old master in secret; for even he could not bear to exhibit to the world, in his poverty and dotage, a man whom a whole people once looked up to with respect.

And what did you?

What did I? I spent my last money in purchasing a rifle, clad myself in a coarse garb, and learned to be a hunter by the side of Leather- Stocking. You know the rest, Judge Temple.

Ant vere vas olt Fritz Hartmann? said the German, reproachfully; didst never hear a name as of olt Fritz Hartmann from ter mout of ter fader, lat?

I may have been mistaken, gentlemen, returned the youth, but I had pride, and could not submit to such an exposure as this day even has reluctantly brought to light. I had plans that might have been visionary; but, should my parent survive till autumn, I purposed taking him with me to the city, where we have distant relatives, who must have learned to forget the Tory by this time. He decays rapidly, he continued mournfully, and must soon lie by the side of old Mohegan.

The air being pure, and the day fine, the party continued conversing on the rock, until the wheels of Judge Temples carriage were heard clattering up the side of the mountain, during which time the conversation was maintained with deep interest, each moment clearing up some doubtful action, and lessening the antipathy of the youth to Marmaduke. He no longer objected to the removal of his grand father, who displayed a childish pleasure when he found himself seated once more in a carriage. When placed in the ample hall of the mansion- house, the eyes of the aged veteran turned slowly to the objects in the apartment, and a look like the dawn of intellect would, for moments flit across his features, when he invariably offered some use less courtesies to those near him, wandering painfully in his subjects. The exercise and the change soon produced an exhaustion that caused them to remove him to his bed, where he lay for hours, evidently sensible of the change in his comforts, and exhibiting that mortifying picture of human nature, which too plainly shows that the propensities of the animal continue even after the nobler part of the creature appears to have vanished.

Until his parent was placed comfortably in bed, with Natty seated at his side, Effingham did not quit him. He then obeyed a summons to the library of the Judge, where he found the latter, with Major Hartmann, waiting for him.

Read this paper, Oliver, said Marmaduke to him, as he entered, and thou wilt find that, so far from intending thy family wrong during life, it has been my care to see that justice should be done at even a later day.

The youth took the paper, which his first glance told him was the will of the Judge. Hurried and agitated as he was, he discovered that the date corresponded with the time of the unusual depression of Marmaduke. As he proceeded, his eyes began to moisten, and the hand which held the instrument shook violently.

The will commenced with the usual forms, spun out by the ingenuity of Mr. Van der School: but, after this subject was fairly exhausted, the pen of Marmaduke became plainly visible. In clear, distinct, manly, and even eloquent language, he recounted his obligations to Colonel Effingham, the nature of their connection, and the circumstances in which they separated. He then proceeded to relate the motives of his silence, mentioning, however, large sums that he had forwarded to his friend, which had been returned with the letters unopened. After this, he spoke of his search for the grandfather who unaccountably disappeared, and his fears that the direct heir of the trust was buried in the ocean with his father.

After, in short, recounting in a clear narrative, the events which our readers must now he able to connect, he proceeded to make a fair and exact statement of the sums left in his care by Colonel Effingham. A devise of his whole estate to certain responsible trustees followed; to hold the same for the benefit, in equal moieties, of his daughter, on one part, and of Oliver Effingham, formerly a major in the army of Great Britain, and of his son Ed ward Effingham, and of his son Edward Oliver Effingham, or to the survivor of them, and the descendants of such survivor, forever, on the other part. The trust was to endure until 1810, when, if no person appeared, or could be found, after sufficient notice, to claim the moiety so devised, then a certain sum, calculating the principal and interest of his debt to Colonel Effingham, was to be paid to the heirs-at-law of the Effingham family, and the bulk of his estate was to be conveyed in fee to his daughter, or her heirs.

The tears fell from the eyes of the young man, as he read this undeniable testimony of the good faith of Marmaduke, and his bewildered gaze was still fastened on the paper, when a voice, that thrilled on every nerve, spoke near him, saying:

Do you yet doubt us, Oliver?

I have never doubted you! cried the youth, recovering his recollection and his voice, as he sprang to seize the hand of Elizabeth ; no, not one moment has my faith in you wavered.

And my father

God bless him!

I thank thee, my son, said the Judge, exchanging a warm pressure of the hand with the youth ; but we have both erred: thou hast been too hasty, and I have been too slow. One-half of my estates shall be thine as soon as they can be conveyed to thee; and, if what my suspicions tell me be true, I suppose the other must follow speedily. He took the hand which he held, and united it with that of his daughter, and motioned toward the door to the Major.

I telt yon vat, gal! said the old German, good-humoredly ; if I vas as I vas ven I servit mit his grand-fader on ter lakes, ter lazy tog shouldnt vin ter prize as for nottin.

Come, come, old Fritz, said the Judge; you are seventy, not seventeen; Richard waits for you with a bowl of eggnog, in the hall.

Richart! ter duyvel! exclaimed the other, hastening out of the room; he makes ter nog as for ter horse. vilt show ter sheriff mit my own hants! Ter duyvel! I pelieve he sweetens mit ter Yankee melasses!

Marmaduke smiled and nodded affectionately at the young couple, and closed the door after them. If any of our readers expect that we are going to open it again, for their gratification, they are mistaken.

The tete-a-tete continued for a very unreasonable time-how long we shall not say; but it was ended by six oclock in the evening, for at that hour Monsieur Le Quoi made his appearance agreeably to the appointment of the preceding day, and claimed the ear of Miss Temple. He was admitted ; when he made an offer of his hand, with much suavity, together with his amis beeg and leet, his pre, his mere and his sucreboosh. Elizabeth might, possibly, have previously entered into some embarrassing and binding engagements with Oliver, for she declined the tender of all, in terms as polite, though perhaps a little more decided, than those in which they were made.

The Frenchman soon joined the German and the sheriff in the hall, who compelled him to take a seat with them at the table, where, by the aid of punch, wine, and egg nog, they soon extracted from the complaisant Monsieur Le Quoi the nature of his visit, it was evident that he had made the offer, as a duty which a well- bred man owed to a lady in such a retired place, before he had left the country, and that his feelings were but very little, if at all, interested in the matter. After a few potations, the waggish pair persuaded the exhilarated Frenchman that there was an inexcusable partiality in offering to one lady, and not extending a similar courtesy to another. Consequently, about nine, Monsieur Le Quoi sallied forth to the rectory, on a similar mission to Miss Grant, which proved as successful as his first effort in love.

When he returned to the mansion-house, at ten, Richard and the Major were still seated at the table. They at tempted to persuade the Gaul, as the sheriff called him, that he should next try Remarkable Pettibone. But, though stimulated by mental excitement and wine, two hours of abstruse logic were thrown away on this subject; for he declined their advice, with a pertinacity truly astonishing in so polite a man.

When Benjamin lighted Monsieur Le Quoi from the door, he said, at parting:

If-so-be, Mounsheer, youd run alongside Mistress Pettybones, as the Squire Dickens was bidding ye, tis my notion youd have been grappled; in which case, dye see, you mought have been troubled in swinging clear agin in a handsome manner; for thof Miss Lizzy and the parsons young un be tidy little vessels, that shoot by a body on a wind, Mistress Remarkable is summat of a galliot fashion: when you once takes em in tow, they doesnt like to be cast off agin.



CHAPTER XLI.



Yes, sweep ye on!We will not leave, For them who triumph those who grieve. With that armada gay Be laughter loud, and jocund shout But with that skill Abides the minstrel tale. Lord of the Isles.

The events of our tale carry us through the summer; and after making nearly the circle of the year, we must conclude our labors in the delightful month of October. Many important incidents had, however, occurred in the intervening period; a few of which it may be necessary to recount.

The two principal were the marriage of Oliver and Elizabeth, and the death of Major Effingham. They both took place early in September; and the former preceded the latter only a few days. The old man passed away like the last glimmering of a taper; and, though his death cast a melancholy over the family, grief could not follow such an end. One of the chief concerns of Marmaduke was to reconcile the even conduct of a magistrate with the course that his feelings dictated to the criminals. The day succeeding the discovery at the cave, however, Natty and Benjamin re-entered the jail peaceably, where they continued, well fed and comfortable, until the return of an express to Albany, who brought the governors pardon to the Leather-Stocking. In the mean time, proper means were employed to satisfy Hiram for the assaults on his person ; and on the same day the two comrades issued together into society again, with their characters not at all affected by the imprisonment.

Mr. Doolittle began to discover that neither architecture nor his law was quite suitable to the growing wealth and intelligence of the settlement; and after exacting the last cent that was attainable in his compromise, to use the language of the country he pulled up stakes, and proceeded farther west, scattering his professional science and legal learning through the land; vestiges of both of which are to be discovered there even to the present hour.

Poor Jotham, whose life paid the forfeiture of his folly, acknowledged, before he died, that his reasons for believing in a mine were extracted from the lips of a sibyl, who, by looking in a magic glass, was enabled to discover the hidden treasures of the earth. Such superstition was frequent in the new settlements; and, after the first surprise was over, the better part of the community forgot the subject. But, at the same time that it removed from the breast of Richard a lingering suspicion of the acts of the three hunter, it conveyed a mortifying lesson to him, which brought many quiet hours, in future, to his cousin Marmaduke. It may be remembered that the sheriff confidently pronounced this to be no visionary scheme, and that word was enough to shut his lips, at any time within the next ten years.

Monsieur Le Quoi, who has been introduced to our readers because no picture of that country would be faithful without some such character, found the island of Martinique, and his sucreboosh, in possession of the English but Marmaduke and his family were much gratified in soon hearing that he had returned to his bureau, in Paris; where he afterward issued yearly bulletins of his happiness, and of his gratitude to his friends in America.

With this brief explanation, we must return to our narrative. Let the American reader imagine one of our mildest October mornings, when the sun seems a ball of silvery fire, and the elasticity of the air is felt while it is inhaled, imparting vigor and life to the whole system ; the weather, neither too warm nor too cold, but of that happy temperature which stirs the blood, without bringing the lassitude of spring. It was on such a morning, about the middle of the month, that Oliver entered the hall where Elizabeth was issuing her usual orders for the day, and requesting her to join him in a short excursion to the lakeside. The tender melancholy in the manner of her husband caught the attention of Elizabeth, who instantly abandoned her concerns, threw a light shawl across her shoulders, and, concealing her raven hair under a gypsy hat, and took his arm, and submitted herself, without a question, to his guidance. They crossed the bridge, and had turned from the highway, along the margin of the lake, before a word was exchanged. Elizabeth well knew, by the direction, the object of the walk, and respected the feelings of her companion too much to indulge in untimely conversation. But when they gained the open fields, and her eye roamed over the placid lake, covered with wild fowl already journeying from the great northern waters to seek a warmer sun, but lingering to play in the limpid sheet of the Otsego, and to the sides of the mountain, which were gay with the thou- sand dyes of autumn, as if to grace their bridal, the swelling heart of the young wife burst out in speech.

This is not a time for silence, Oliver! she said, clinging more fondly to his arm; everything in Nature seems to speak the praises of the Creator; why should we, who have so much to be grateful for, be silent?

Speak on! said her husband, smiling; I love the sounds of your voice. You must anticipate our errand hither: I have told you my plans: how do you like them?

I must first see them, returned his wife. But I have had my plans, too; it is time I should begin to divulge them.

You! It is something for the comfort of my old friend, Natty, I know.

Certainly of Natty; but we have other friends besides the Leather- Stocking to serve. Do you forget Louisa and her father?

No, surely; have I not given one of the best farms in the county to the good divine? As for Louisa, I should wish you to keep her always near us.

You do! said Elizabeth, slightly compressing her lips; but poor Louisa may have other views for herself; she may wish to follow my example, and marry.

I dont think it, said Effingham, musing a moment, really dont know any one hereabouts good enough for her.

Perhaps not her; but there are other places besides Templeton, and other churches besides New St. Pauls.

Churches, Elizabeth! you would not wish to lose Mr. Grant, surely! Though simple, he is an excellent man I shall never find another who has half the veneration for my orthodoxy. You would humble me from a saint to a very common sinner.

It must be done, sir, returned the lady, with a half-concealed smile, though it degrades you from an angel to a man.

But you forget the farm?

He can lease it, as others do. Besides, would you have a clergyman toil in the fields?

Where can he go? You forget Louisa.

No, I do not forget Louisa, said Elizabeth, again compressing her beautiful lips. You know, Effingham, that my father has told you that I ruled him, and that I should rule you. I am now about to exert my power.

Anything, anything, dear Elizabeth, but not at the expense of us all: not at the expense of your friend.

How do you know, sir, that it will be so much at the expense of my friend? said the lady, fixing her eyes with a searching look on his countenance, where they met only the unsuspecting expression of manly regret.

How do I know it? Why, it is natural that she should regret us. It is our duty to struggle with our natural feelings, returned the lady; and there is but little cause to fear that such a spirit as Louisas will not effect it.

But what is your plan?

Listen, and you shall know. My father has procured a call for Mr. Grant, to one of the towns on the Hudson where he can live more at his ease than in journeying through these woods; where he can spend the evening of his life in comfort and quiet; and where his daughter may meet with such society, and form such a connection, as may be proper for one of her years and character.

Bess! you amaze me! I did not think you had been such a manager!

Oh! I manage more deeply than you imagine, sir, said the wife, archly smiling again; but it is thy will and it is your duty to submitfor a time at least.

Effingham laughed; but, as they approached the end of their walk, the subject was changed by common consent.

The place at which they arrived was the little spot of level ground where the cabin of the Leather-Stocking had so long stood. Elizabeth found it entirely cleared of rubbish, and beautifully laid down in turf, by the removal of sods, which, in common with the surrounding country, had grown gay, under the influence of profuse showers, as if a second spring had passed over the land. This little place was surrounded by a circle of mason-work, and they entered by a small gate, near which, to the surprise of both, the rifle of Natty was leaning against the wall. Hector and the slut reposed on the grass by its side, as if conscious that, however altered, they were lying on the ground and were surrounded by objects with which they were familiar. The hunter himself was stretched on the earth, before a head-stone of white marble, pushing aside with his fingers the long grass that had already sprung up from the luxuriant soil around its base, apparently to lay bare the inscription. By the side of this stone, which was a simple slab at the head of a grave, stood a rich monument, decorated with an urn and ornamented with the chisel.

Oliver and Elizabeth approached the graves with a light tread, unheard by the old hunter, whose sunburnt face was working, and whose eyes twinkled as if something impeded their vision. After some little time Natty raised himself slowly from the ground, and said aloud:

Well, wellIm bold to say its all right! Theres something that I suppose is reading; but I cant make anything of it; though the pipe and the tomahawk, and the moccasins, be pretty wellpretty well, for a man that, I dares to say, never seed ither of the things. Ahs me! there they lie, side by side, happy enough! Who will there be to put me in the arth when my time comes?

When that unfortunate hour arrives, Natty, friends shall not be wanting to perform the last offices for you, said Oliver, a little touched at the hunters soliloquy.

The old man turned, without manifesting surprise, for he had got the Indian habits in this particular, and, running his hand under the bottom of his nose, seemed to wipe away his sorrow with the action.

Youve come out to see the graves, children, have ye? he said; well, well, theyre wholesome sights to young as well as old.

I hope they are fitted to your liking, said Effingham, no one has a better right than yourself to be consulted in the matter.

Why, seeing that I aint used to fine graves, returned the old man, it is but little matter consarning my taste. Ye laid the Majors head to the west, and Mohegans to the east, did ye, lad?

At your request it was done,

Its so best, said the hunter; they thought they had to journey different ways, children: though there is One greater than all, wholl bring the just together, at His own time, and wholl whiten the skin of a blackamoor, and place him on a footing with princes.

There is but little reason to doubt that, said Elizabeth, whose decided tones were changed to a soft, melancholy voice; I trust we shall all meet again, and be happy together.

Shall we, child, shall we? exclaimed the hunter, with unusual fervor, theres comfort in that thought too. But before I go, I should like to know what 'tis you tell these people, that be flocking into the country like pigeons in the spring, of the old Delaware, and of the bravest white man that ever trod the hills?

Effingham and Elizabeth were surprised at the manner of the Leather- Stocking, which was unusually impressive and solemn; but, attributing it to the scene, the young man turned to the monument, and read aloud:

Sacred to the memory of Oliver Effingham Esquire, formally a Major in his B. Majestys 60th Foot; a soldier of tried valor; a subject of chivalrous loyalty; and a man of honesty. To these virtues he added the graces of a Christian. The morning of his life was spent in honor, wealth, and power; but its evening was obscured by poverty, neglect, and disease, which were alleviated only by the tender care of his old, faithful, and upright friend and attendant Nathaniel Bumppo. His descendants rest this stone to the virtues of the master, and to the enduring gratitude of the servant.

The Leather-Stocking started at the sound of his own name, and a smile of joy illuminated his wrinkled features, as he said:

And did ye say It, lad? have you then got the old mans name cut in the stone, by the side of his masters! God bless ye, children! twas a kind thought, and kindness goes to the heart as Life shortens.

Elizabeth turned her back to the speakers. Effingham made a fruitless effort before he succeeded in saying:

It is there cut in plain marble; but it should have been written in letters of gold!

Show me the name, boy, said Natty, with simple eagerness; let me see my own name placed in such honor. Tis a ginrous gift to a man who leaves none of his name and family behind him in a country where he has tarried so long.

Effingham guided his finger to the spot, and Natty followed the windings of the letters to the end with deep interest, when he raised himself from the tomb, and said:

I suppose its all right; and its kindly thought, and kindly done! But what have ye put over the red-skin

You shall hear: This stone is raised to the memory of an Indian Chief of the Delaware tribe, who was known by the several names of John Mohegan Mohican

Mo-hee-can, lad, they call theirselves! hecan.

Mohican; and Chingagook

Gach, boy; gach-gook; Chingachgook, which interpreted, means Big- sarpent. The name should he set down right, for an Indians name has always some meaning in it.

I will see it altered. He was the last of his people who continued to inhabit this country; and it may he said of him that his faults were those of an Indian, and his virtues those of a man.

You never said truer word, Mr. Oliver; ahs me! if you had knowed him as I did, in his prime, in that very battle where the old gentleman, who sleeps by his side saved his life, when them thieves, the Iroquois, had him at the stake, youd have said all that, and more too. I cut the thongs with this very hand, and gave him my own tomahawk and knife, seeing that the rifle was always my fav'rite weapon. He did lay about him like a man! I met him as I was coming home from the trail, with eleven Mingo scalps on his pole. You neednt shudder, Madam Effingham, for they was all from shaved heads and warriors. When I look about me, at these hills, where I used to could count sometimes twenty smokes, curling over the tree-tops, from the Delaware camps, it raises mournful thoughts, to think that not a red-skin is left of them all; unless it be a drunken vagabond from the Oneidas, or them Yankee Indians, who, they say, be moving up from the seashore; and who belong to none of Gods creatures, to my seeming, being, as it were, neither fish nor fleshneither white man nor savage. Well, well! the time has come at last, and I must go

Go! echoed Edwards, whither do you go?

The Leather-Stocking; who had imbibed unconsciously, many of the Indian qualities, though he always thought of himself as of a civilized being, compared with even the Delawares, averted his face to conceal the workings of his muscles, as he stooped to lift a large pack from behind the tomb, which he placed deliberately on his shoulders.

Go! exclaimed Elizabeth, approaching him with a hurried step; you should not venture so far in the woods alone, at your time of life, Natty; indeed, it Is Imprudent, He is bent, Effingham, on some distant hunting.

What Mrs. Effingham tells you is true, Leather-Stocking said Edwards; there can be no necessity for your submitting to such hardships now. So throw aside your pack, and confine your hunt to the mountains near us, if you will go.

Hardship! tis a pleasure, children, and the greatest that is left me on this side the grave.

No, no; you shall not go to such a distance, cried Elizabeth, laying her white hand on his deer-skin pack I am right! I feel his camp- kettle, and a canister of powder! He must not be suffered to wander so far from us, Oliver; remember how suddenly Mohegan dropped away.

I knowed the parting would come hard, childrenI knowed it would! said Natty, and so I got aside to look at the graves by myself, and thought if I left ye the keep sake which the Major gave me, when we first parted in the woods, ye wouldnt take it unkind, but would know that, let the old mans body go where it might, his feelings stayed behind him.

This means something more than common, exclaimed the youth. Where is it, Natty, that you purpose going?

The hunter drew nigh him with a confident, reasoning air, as If what he had to say would silence all objections, and replied:

Why, lad, they tell me that on the big lakes theres the best of hunting, and a great range without a white man on it unless it may be one like myself. Im weary of living in clearings, and where the hammer is sounding in my ears from sunrise to sundown. And though Im much bound to ye both, childrenI wouldnt say it if It was not trueI crave to go into the woods aginI do.

Woods! echoed Elizabeth, trembling with her feelings; do you not call these endless forests woods?

Ah! child, these be nothing to a man thats used to the wilderness. I have took but little comfort sin your father come on with his settlers; but I wouldnt go far, while the life was in the body that lies under the sod there. But now hes gone, and Chingachgook Is gone; and you be both young and happy. Yes! the big house has rung with merriment this month past! And now I thought was the time to get a little comfort in the close of my days. Woods! indeed! I doesnt call these woods, Madam Effingham, where I lose myself every day of my life in the clearings.

If there be anything wanting to your comfort, name it, Leather- Stocking; if it be attainable it is yours.

You mean all for the best, lad, I know; and so does madam, too; but your ways isnt my ways. Tis like the dead there, who thought, when the breath was in them, that one went east, and one went west, to find their heavens; but theyll meet at last, and so shall we, children. Yes, and as youve begun, and we shall meet in the land of the just at last.

This is so new! so unexpected! said Elizabeth, in almost breathless excitement; I had thought you meant to live with us and die with us, Natty.

Words are of no avail, exclaimed her husband: the habits of forty years are not to he dispossessed by the ties of a day. I know you too well to urge you further, Natty; unless you will let me build you a hut on one of the distant hills, where we can sometimes see you, and know that you are comfortable.

Dont fear for the Leather-Stocking, children; God will see that his days be provided for, and his ind happy. I know you mean all for the best, but our ways doesn't agree. I love the woods, and ye relish the face of man; I eat when hungry, and drink when a-dry; and ye keep stated hours and rules; nay, nay, you even over-feed the dogs, lad, from pure kindness; and hounds should be gaunty to run well. The meanest of Gods creatures be made for some use, and Im formed for the wilderness, If ye love me, let me go where my soul craves to be agin!

The appeal was decisive; and not another word of en treaty for him to remain was then uttered; but Elizabeth bent her head to her bosom and wept, while her husband dashed away the tears from his eyes; and, with hands that almost refused to perform their office, he procured his pocket-book, and extended a parcel of bank-notes to the hunter.

Take these, he said, at least take these; secure them about your person, and in the hour of need they will do you good service.

The old man took the notes, and examined them with curious eye.

This, then, is some of the new-fashioned money that theyve been making at Albany, out of paper! It can't be worth much to they that hasnt larning! No, no, lad-take back the stuff; it will do me no sarvice, I took kear to get all the Frenchmans powder afore he broke up, and they say lead grows where Im going. it isnt even fit for wads, seeing that I use none but leather!Madam Effingham, let an old man kiss your hand, and wish Gods choicest blessings on you and yourn

Once more let me beseech you, stay! cried Elizabeth. Do not, Leather-Stocking, leave me to grieve for the man who has twice rescued me from death, and who has served those I love so faithfully. For my sake, if not for your own, stay. I shall see you in those frightful dreams that still haunt my nights, dying in poverty and age, by the side of those terrific beasts you slew. There will be no evil, that sickness, want, and solitude can inflict, that my fancy will not conjure as your fate. Stay with us, old man, if not for your own sake, at least for ours.

Such thoughts and bitter dreams, Madam Effingham, returned the hunter, solemnly, will never haunt an innocent parson long. Theyll pass away with Gods pleasure. And if the cat-a-mounts be yet brought to your eyes in sleep, tis not for my sake, but to show you the power of Him that led me there to save you. Trust in God, madam, and your honorable husband, and the thoughts for an old man like me can never be long nor bitter. I pray that the Lord will keep you in mindthe Lord that lives in clearings as well as in the wildernessand bless you, and all that belong to you, from this time till the great day when the whites shall meet the red-skins in judgement, and justice shall be the law, and not power.

Elizabeth raised her head, and offered her colorless cheek to his salute, when he lifted his cap and touched it respectfully. His hand was grasped with convulsive fervor by the youth, who continued silent. The hunter prepared himself for his journey, drawing his belt tighter, and wasting his moments in the little reluctant movements of a sorrowful departure. Once or twice he essayed to speak, but a rising in his throat prevented it. At length he shouldered his rifle, and cried with a clear huntsmans call that echoed through the woods: He-e-e-re, he-e-e-re, pupsaway, dogs, away!ye'll be footsore afore ye see the end of the journey!

The hounds leaped from the earth at this cry, and scenting around the grave and silent pair, as if conscious of their own destination, they followed humbly at the heels of their master. A short pause succeeded, during which even the youth concealed his face on his grandfathers tomb. When the pride of manhood, however, had sup pressed the feelings of nature, he turned to renew his en treaties, but saw that the cemetery was occupied only by himself and his wife.

He is gone! cried Effingham.

Elizabeth raised her face, and saw the old hunter standing looking back for a moment, on the verge of the wood. As he caught their glances, he drew his hard hand hastily across his eyes again, waved it on high for an adieu, and, uttering a forced cry to his dogs, who were crouching at his feet, he entered the forest.

This was the last they ever saw of the Leather-Stocking, whose rapid movements preceded the pursuit which Judge Temple both ordered and conducted. He had gone far toward the setting sunthe foremost in that band of pioneers who are opening the way for the march of the nation across the continent.

THE END