All this Deerslayer saw, and noted with a degree of minuteness that
would have done credit to the habitual observation of his friends,
the Delawares. Nor did he fail to perceive the distinction that
existed between the appearances on the different sides of the bed,
the head of which stood against the wall. On that opposite to the
one just described, everything was homely and uninviting, except
through its perfect neatness. The few garments that were hanging
from the pegs were of the coarsest materials and of the commonest
forms, while nothing seemed made for show. Of ribbons there was
not one; nor was there either cap or kerchief beyond those which
Hutter's daughters might be fairly entitled to wear.
It was now several years since Deerslayer had been in a spot
especially devoted to the uses of females of his own color and race.
The sight brought back to his mind a rush of childish recollections;
and he lingered in the room with a tenderness of feeling to which
he had long been a stranger. He bethought him of his mother, whose
homely vestments he remembered to have seen hanging on pegs like
those which he felt must belong to Hetty Hutter; and he bethought
himself of a sister, whose incipient and native taste for finery had
exhibited itself somewhat in the manner of that of Judith, though
necessarily in a less degree.
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