Hutter had withdrawn to the stern of the scow, in
order to steer, but, finding that the young men kept even strokes,
and held the desired course by their own skill, he permitted the
oar to drag in the water, took a seat on the end of the vessel, and
lighted his pipe. He had not been thus placed many minutes, ere
Hetty came stealthily out of the cabin, or house, as they usually
termed that part of the ark, and placed herself at his feet, on a
little bench that she brought with her. As this movement was by
no means unusual in his feeble-minded child, the old man paid no
other attention to it than to lay his hand kindly on her head, in
an affectionate and approving manner; an act of grace that the girl
received in meek silence.
After a pause of several minutes, Hetty began to sing. Her voice
was low and tremulous, but it was earnest and solemn. The words
and the tune were of the simplest form, the first being a hymn
that she had been taught by her mother, and the last one of those
natural melodies that find favor with all classes, in every age,
coming from and being addressed to the feelings. Hutter never
listened to this simple strain without finding his heart and manner
softened; facts that his daughter well knew, and by which she had
often profited, through the sort of holy instinct that enlightens
the weak of mind, more especially in their aims toward good.
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