The Prairie (Fiscle Part 3) Of 2 by J Fenimore Cooper (phonics reading books TXT) 📕

His Advice. The Trapper Then Turned Away From His Rough But Warm-

Hearted Companion; And,  Having Called Hector From The Boat,  He Seemed

Anxious Still To Utter A Few Words More.

"Captain," He At Length Resumed,  "I Know When A Poor Man Talks Of

Credit,  He Deals In A Delicate Word,  According To The Fashions Of The

World; And When An Old Man Talks Of Life,  He Speaks Of That Which He

May Never See; Nevertheless There Is One Thing I Will Say,  And That Is

Not So Much On My Own Behalf As On That Of Another Person. Here Is

Hector,  A Good And Faithful Pup,  That Has Long Outlived The Time Of A

Dog; And,  Like His Master,  He Looks More To Comfort Now,  Than To Any

Deeds In Running. But The Creatur' Has His Feelings As Well As A

Christian. He Has Consorted Latterly With His Kinsman,  There,  In Such

A Sort As To Find Great Pleasure In His Company,  And I Will

Acknowledge That It Touches My Feelings To Part The Pair So Soon. If

You Will Set A Value On Your Hound,  I Will Endeavour To Send It To You

In The Spring,  More Especially Should Them Same Traps Come Safe To

Hand; Or,  If You Dislike Parting With The Animal Altogether,  I Will

Just Ask You For His Loan Through The Winter. I Think I Can See My Pup

Will Not Last Beyond That Time,  For I Have Judgment In These Matters,

Since Many Is The Friend,  Both Hound And Red-Skin,  That I Have Seen

Depart In My Day,  Though The Lord Hath Not Yet Seen Fit To Order His

Angels To Sound Forth My Name."

"Take Him,  Take Him," Cried Middleton; "Take All,  Or Any Thing!"

The Old Man Whistled The Younger Dog To The Land; And Then He

Proceeded To The Final Adieus. Little Was Said On Either Side. The

Trapper Took Each Person Solemnly By The Hand,  And Uttered Something

Friendly And Kind To All. Middleton Was Perfectly Speechless,  And Was

Driven To Affect Busying Himself Among The Baggage. Paul Whistled With

All His Might,  And Even Obed Took His Leave With An Effort That Bore

The Appearance Of Desperate Philosophical Resolution. When He Had Made

The Circuit Of The Whole,  The Old Man,  With His Own Hands,  Shoved The

Boat Into The Current,  Wishing God To Speed Them. Not A Word Was

Spoken,  Nor A Stroke Of The Oar Given,  Until The Travellers Bad

Floated Past A Knoll That Hid The Trapper From Their View. He Was Last

Seen Standing On The Low Point,  Leaning On His Rifle,  With Hector

Crouched At His Feet,  And The Younger Dog Frisking Along The Sands,  In

The Playfulness Of Youth And Vigour.

                    --Methought,  I Heard A Voice.

                                                   --Shakspeare.

The Water-Courses Were At Their Height,  And The Boat Went Down The

Swift Current Like A Bird. The Passage Proved Prosperous And Speedy.

In Less Than A Third Of The Time,  That Would Have Been Necessary For

The Same Journey By Land,  It Was Accomplished By The Favour Of Those

Rapid Rivers. Issuing From One Stream Into Another,  As The Veins Of

The Human Body Communicate With The Larger Channels Of Life,  They Soon

Entered The Grand Artery Of The Western Waters,  And Landed Safely At

The Very Door Of The Father Of Inez.

The Joy Of Don Augustin,  And The Embarrassment Of The Worthy Father

Ignatius,  May Be Imagined. The Former Wept And Returned Thanks To

Heaven; The Latter Returned Thanks,  And Did Not Weep. The Mild

Provincials Were Too Happy To Raise Any Questions On The Character Of

So Joyful A Restoration; And,  By A Sort Of General Consent,  It Soon

Came To Be An Admitted Opinion That The Bride Of Middleton Had Been

Kidnapped By A Villain,  And That She Was Restored To Her Friends By

Human Agency. There Were,  As Respects This Belief,  Certainly A Few

Sceptics,  But Then They Enjoyed Their Doubts In Private,  With That

Species Of Sublimated And Solitary Gratification That A Miser Finds In

Gazing At His Growing,  But Useless,  Hoards.

In Order To Give The Worthy Priest Something To Employ His Mind,

Middleton Made Him The Instrument Of Uniting Paul And Ellen. The

Former Consented To The Ceremony,  Because He Found That All His

Friends Laid Great Stress On The Matter; But Shortly After He Led His

Bride Into The Plains Of Kentucky,  Under The Pretence Of Paying

Certain Customary Visits To Sundry Members Of The Family Of Hover.

While There,  He Took Occasion To Have The Marriage Properly

Solemnised,  By A Justice Of The Peace Of His Acquaintance,  In Whose

Ability To Forge The Nuptial Chain He Had Much More Faith Than In That

Of All The Gownsmen Within The Pale Of Rome. Ellen,  Who Appeared

Conscious That Some Extraordinary Preventives Might Prove Necessary To

Keep One Of So Erratic A Temper As Her Partner,  Within The Proper

Matrimonial Boundaries,  Raised No Objections To These Double Knots,

And All Parties Were Content.

The Local Importance Middleton Had Acquired,  By His Union With The

Daughter Of So Affluent A Proprietor As Don Augustin,  United To His

Personal Merit,  Attracted The Attention Of The Government. He Was Soon

Employed In Various Situations Of Responsibility And Confidence,  Which

Both Served To Elevate His Character In The Public Estimation,  And To

Afford The Means Of Patronage. The Bee-Hunter Was Among The First Of

Those To Whom He Saw Fit To Extend His Favour. It Was Far From

Difficult To Find Situations Suited To The Abilities Of Paul,  In The

State Of Society That Existed Three-And-Twenty Years Ago In Those

Regions. The Efforts Of Middleton And Inez,  In Behalf Of Her Husband,

Were Warmly And Sagaciously Seconded By Ellen,  And They Succeeded,  In

Process Of Time,  In Working A Great And Beneficial Change In His

Character. He Soon Became A Land-Holder,  Then A Prosperous Cultivator

Of The Soil,  And Shortly After A Town-Officer. By That Progressive

Change In Fortune,  Which In The Republic Is Often Seen To Be So

Singularly Accompanied By A Corresponding Improvement In Knowledge And

Self-Respect,  He Went On,  From Step To Step,  Until His Wife Enjoyed

The Maternal Delight Of Seeing Her Children Placed Far Beyond The

Danger Of Returning To That State From Which Both Their Parents Had

Issued. Paul Is Actually At This Moment A Member Of The Lower Branch

Of The Legislature Of The State Where He Has Long Resided; And He Is

Even Notorious For Making Speeches That Have A Tendency To Put That

Deliberative Body In Good Humour,  And Which,  As They Are Based On

Great Practical Knowledge Suited To The Condition Of The Country,

Possess A Merit That Is Much Wanted In Many More Subtle And Fine-Spun

Theories,  That Are Daily Heard In Similar Assemblies,  To Issue From

The Lips Of Certain Instinctive Politicians. But All These Happy

Fruits Were The Results Of Much Care,  And Of A Long Period Of Time.

Middleton,  Who Fills,  With A Credit Better Suited To The Difference In

Their Educations,  A Seat In A Far Higher Branch Of Legislative

Authority,  Is The Source From Which We Have Derived Most Of The

Intelligence Necessary To Compose Our Legend. In Addition To What He

Has Related Of Paul,  And Of His Own Continued Happiness,  He Has Added

A Short Narrative Of What Took Place In A Subsequent Visit To The

Prairies,  With Which,  As We Conceive It A Suitable Termination To What

Has Gone Before,  We Shall Judge It Wise To Conclude Our Labours.

In The Autumn Of The Year,  That Succeeded The Season,  In Which The

Preceding Events Occurred,  The Young Man,  Still In The Military

Service,  Found Himself On The Waters Of The Missouri,  At A Point Not

Far Remote From The Pawnee Towns. Released From Any Immediate Calls Of

Duty,  And Strongly Urged To The Measure By Paul,  Who Was In His

Company,  He Determined To Take Horse,  And Cross The Country To Visit

The Partisan,  And To Enquire Into The Fate Of His Friend The Trapper.

As His Train Was Suited To His Functions And Rank,  The Journey Was

Effected,  With The Privations And Hardships That Are The

Accompaniments Of All Travelling In A Wild,  But Without Any Of Those

Dangers And Alarms That Marked His Former Passage Through The Same

Regions. When Within A Proper Distance,  He Despatched An Indian

Runner,  Belonging To A Friendly Tribe,  To Announce The Approach Of

Himself And Party,  Continuing His Route At A Deliberate Pace,  In Order

That The Intelligence Might,  As Was Customary,  Precede His Arrival. To

The Surprise Of The Travellers Their Message Was Unanswered. Hour

Succeeded Hour,  And Mile After Mile Was Passed,  Without Bringing

Either The Signs Of An Honourable Reception,  Or The More Simple

Assurances Of A Friendly Welcome. At Length The Cavalcade,  At Whose

Head Rode Middleton And Paul,  Descended From The Elevated Plain,  On

Which They Had Long Been Journeying,  To A Luxuriant Bottom,  That

Brought Them To The Level Of The Village Of The Loups. The Sun Was

Beginning To Fall,  And A Sheet Of Golden Light Was Spread Over The

Placid Plain,  Lending To Its Even Surface Those Glorious Tints And

Hues,  That,  The Human Imagination Is Apt To Conceive,  Forms The

Embellishment Of Still More Imposing Scenes. The Verdure Of The Year

Yet Remained,  And Herds Of Horses And Mules Were Grazing Peacefully In

The Vast Natural Pasture,  Under The Keeping Of Vigilant Pawnee Boys.

Paul Pointed Out Among Them,  The Well-Known Form Of Asinus,  Sleek,

Fat,  And Luxuriating In The Fulness Of Content,  As He Stood With

Reclining Ears And Closed Eye-Lids,  Seemingly Musing On The Exquisite

Nature