第170章

"I should be out of humor with the man that gainsayed the last, Master Cap.I have not been Christianized by the Moravians, like so many of the Delawares, it is true;but I hold to Christianity and white gifts.With me, it is as on-creditable for a white man not to be a Christian as it is for a red-skin not to believe in his happy hunting-grounds; indeed, after allowing for difference in traditions, and in some variations about the manner in which the spirit will be occupied after death, I hold that a good Dela-ware is a good Christian, though he never saw a Moravian;and a good Christian a good Delaware, so far as natur 'is consarned.The Sarpent and I talk these matters over often, for he has a hankerin' after Christianity -- ""The d---l he has!" interrupted Cap."And what does he intend to do in a church with all the scalps he takes?""Don't run away with a false idee, friend Cap, don't run away with a false idee.These things are only skin-deep, and all depend on edication and nat'ral gifts.Look around you at mankind, and tell me why you see a red warrior here, a black one there, and white armies in an-other place? All this, and a great deal more of the same kind that I could point out, has been ordered for some special purpose; and it is not for us to fly in the face of facts and deny their truth.No, no; each color has its gifts, and its laws, and its traditions; and one is not to condemn another because he does not exactly comprehend it.""You must have read a great deal, Pathfinder, to see things so clear as this," returned Cap, not a little mystified by his companion's simple creed."It's all as plain as day to me now, though I must say I never fell in with these opinions before.What denomination do you belong to, my friend?""Anan?"

"What sect do you hold out for? What particular church do you fetch up in?""Look about you, and judge for yourself.I'm in church now; I eat in church, drink in church, sleep in church.

The 'arth is the temple of the Lord, and I wait on Him hourly, daily, without ceasing, I humbly hope.No, no, I'll not deny my blood and color; but am Christian born, and shall die in the same faith.The Moravians tried me hard; and one of the King's chaplains has had his say too, though that's a class no ways strenuous on such matters;and a missionary sent from Rome talked much with me, as I guided him through the forest, during the last peace;but I've had one answer for them all -- I'm a Christian al-ready, and want to be neither Moravian, nor Churchman, nor Papist.No, no, I'll not deny my birth and blood.""I think a word from you might lighten the Sergeant over the shoals of death, Master Pathfinder.He has no one with him but poor Mabel; and she, you know, besides being his daughter, is but a girl and a child after all.""Mabel is feeble in body, friend Cap; but in matters of this natur' I dou bt if she may not be stronger than most men.But Sergeant Dunham is my friend, and he is your brother-in-law; so, now the press of fighting and main-taining our rights is over, it is fitting we should both go and witness his departure.I've stood by many a dying man, Master Cap," continued Pathfinder, who had a be-setting propensity to enlarge on his experience, stopping and holding his companion by a button, -- "I've stood by many a dying man's side, and seen his last gasp, and heard his last breath; for, when the hurry and tumult of the battle is over, it is good to bethink us of the misfortunate, and it is remarkable to witness how differently human natur' feels at such solemn moments.Some go their way as stupid and ignorant as if God had never given them reason and an accountable state; while others quit us re-joicing, like men who leave heavy burthens behind them.

I think that the mind sees clearly at such moments, my friend, and that past deeds stand thick before the recollec-tion."