The smallest birds sing the sweetest; it is always
pleasant to hearken to their songs. I wish I could hear the Wren
of the Woods in my difficulty; its note would reach deeper than
the ear."
Again Hist experienced the profound gratification that the language
of praise can always awaken when uttered by those we love. The
'Honeysuckle of the Hills' was a term often applied to the girl by
the young men of the Delawares, though it never sounded so sweet
in her ears as from the lips of Chingachgook; but the latter alone
had ever styled her the Wren of the Woods. With him, however, it
had got to be a familiar phrase, and it was past expression pleasant
to the listener, since it conveyed to her mind the idea that her
advice and sentiments were as acceptable to her future husband, as
the tones of her voice and modes of conveying them were agreeable;
uniting the two things most prized by an Indian girl, as coming
from her betrothed, admiration for a valued physical advantage,
with respect for her opinion. She pressed the hand she
held between both her own, and answered -
"Wah-ta-Wah says that neither she nor the Great Serpent could ever
laugh again, or ever sleep without dreaming of the Hurons, should
the Deerslayer die under a Mingo tomahawk, and they do nothing to
save him.
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