"
Margaret Davidson, "To my Mother," 11. 7-12.
Hist and Hetty arose with the return of light, leaving Judith still
buried in sleep. It took but a minute for the first to complete
her toilet. Her long coal-black hair was soon adjusted in a simple
knot, the calico dress belted tight to her slender waist, and her
little feet concealed in their gaudily ornamented moccasins. When
attired, she left her companion employed in household affairs, and
went herself on the platform to breathe the pure air of the morning.
Here she found Chingachgook studying the shores of the lake, the
mountains and the heavens, with the sagacity of a man of the woods,
and the gravity of an Indian.
The meeting between the two lovers was simple, but affectionate.
The chief showed a manly kindness, equally removed from boyish
weakness and haste, while the girl betrayed, in her smile and half
averted looks, the bashful tenderness of her sex. Neither spoke,
unless it were with the eyes, though each understood the other as
fully as if a vocabulary of words and protestations had been poured
out. Hist seldom appeared to more advantage than at that moment,
for just from her rest and ablutions, there was a freshness about
her youthful form and face that the toils of the wood do not always
permit to be exhibited, by even the juvenile and pretty.
Pages:
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731