, by these symptoms, that the mind
of their friend was not prepared for so mighty an effort of fortitude, relaxed
in their attention, and, with innate delicacy, seemed to bestow all their
thoughts on the obsequies of the stranger maiden.
    A signal was given, by one of the elder chiefs, to the women, who crowded
that part of the circle near which the body of Cora lay. Obedient to the sign,
the girls raised the bier to the elevation of their heads, and advanced with
slow and regulated steps, chanting, as they proceeded, another wailing song in
praise of the deceased. Gamut, who had been a close observer of rites he deemed
so heathenish, now bent his head over the shoulder of the unconscious father,
whispering -
    »They move with the remains of thy child; shall we not follow, and see them
interred with Christian burial?«
    Munro started, as if the last trumpet had sounded in his ear, and bestowing
one anxious and hurried glance around him, he arose and followed in the simple
train, with the mien of a soldier, but bearing the full burthen of a parent's
suffering. His friends pressed around him with a sorrow that was too strong to
be termed sympathy - even the young Frenchman joining in the procession, with
the air of a man who was sensibly touched at the early and melancholy fate of
one so lovely. But when the last and humblest female of the tribe had joined in
the wild, and yet ordered, array, the men of the Lenape contracted their circle,
and formed, again, around the person of Uncas, as silent, as grave, and as
motionless, as before.
    The place which had been chosen for the grave of Cora, was a little knoll,
where a cluster of young and healthful pines had taken root, forming, of
themselves, a melancholy and appropriate shade over the spot. On reaching it,
the girls deposited their burthen, and continued, for many minutes, waiting,
with characteristic patience, and native timidity, for some evidence, that they
whose feelings were most concerned, were content with the arrangement. At
length, the scout, who alone understood their habits, said, in their own
language -
    »My daughters have done well; the white men thank them.«
    Satisfied with this testimony in their favour, the girls proceeded to
deposit the body in a shell, ingeniously, and not inelegantly, fabricated of the
bark of the birch; after which, they lowered it into its dark and final abode.
The ceremony of covering the remains, and
