Part 12

And from her lowly hiding-place, Heard every yell of savage slaughter! And closer clasped in her embrace, The babe she deemed her fair-haired daughter.

At length the long night passed away— The morning rose in all its glory— But smouldering ruins met his ray, And corpses cold, and pale, and gory.

A midnight stillness reigned around— The savage foe had fled afar— The Lehigh with its moaning sound, Went wailing by the field of war.

Uprose that matron young and fair, With trembling limb and beating heart— Why bursts her wild shriek on the air? And whence that horror-speaking start?

She gazed upon that infant’s face With frenzied look and wild despair; Clasped to her breast, in fond embrace, An Indian babe lay sleeping there!

Nor pined she long in hopeless grief, With every bond of being riven; Death smiling came, a sure relief, And angels winged her soul to heaven.

Footnote 1:

Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi.

Footnote 2:

The sisters of Phaeton, whose tears, for the fate of their brother drowned in the river Eridanus, were metamorphosed into amber, according to the poets.

Footnote 3:

Eriphyle, the wife of Amphiaraus the prophet, who, bribed by a rich necklace, prevailed on her husband to be one of the seven chiefs against Thebes, under Adrastus, although she knew that he was fated to perish there if he should go—as he in fact did, being swallowed by an earthquake.

Footnote 4:

Tarpeia. The Roman virgin, who, agreeing to admit the Sabine troops then besieging the capitol, on condition that she should receive that which the soldiers wore on their left arms, meaning their golden bracelets, as the reward of her treachery, was overwhelmed and crushed to death by their bucklers; which Titus Tatius, their commander, ordered every warrior to cast upon her as he passed the gate.

Footnote 5:

Quintus Curtius, who devoted himself to his country’s safety, as described above.

Footnote 6:

Rousseau.

Footnote 7:

“Oh! that I were a glove upon that hand!” ROMEO AND JULIET.

Footnote 8:

Anawon was a mighty chief under King Philip; and was one of the bravest and most sagacious warriors among all the tribes.

Footnote 9:

The Indians believe that, when they have a friend murdered, the soul of that friend cannot rest till they have avenged the death by killing the murderer or some of his connections.

Footnote 10:

Months.

Footnote 11:

The ocean.

Footnote 12:

Ingenious.

Footnote 13:

The Indian’s god.

Footnote 14:

The Indians call the white people the children of sunrise, because they came from the east.

Footnote 15:

The arms of Genoa.

Footnote 16:

Christopher Columbus.

Footnote 17:

Eclogue III. of Garcilasso de la Vega.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. 4. Enclosed bold font in =equals=. 5. Denoted superscripts by a caret before a single superscript character, e.g. M^r.