rear their children in a very laudable manner, and -«
    »Very well, my dear sir,« interrupted his daughter, laughing, and averting
her eyes; »it is all well enough, I dare say; but as I do not understand a word
of the Mohawk language, he must be content to speak English; and as for his
behaviour, I trust to your discernment to control it.«
    »Ay! but, Bess,« said the Judge, detaining her gently, with his hand,
»nothing must be said to him of his past life. This he has begged particularly
of me, as a favour. He is, perhaps, a little soured, just now, with his wounded
arm; the injury seems very light, and another time he may be more
communicative.«
    »Oh! I am not much troubled, sir, with that laudable thirst after knowledge,
that is called curiosity. I shall believe him to be the child of Corn-stalk, or
Corn-planter, or some other renowned chieftain; possibly of the Big Snake
himself; and shall treat him as such, until he sees fit to shave his
good-looking head, borrow some half-dozen pair of my best earrings, shoulder his
rifle again, and disappear as suddenly as he made his entrance. So come, my dear
sir, and let us not forget the rites of hospitality, for the short time he is to
remain with us.«
    Judge Temple smiled, at the playfulness of his child, and taking her arm,
they entered the breakfast parlour, where the young hunter was seated, with an
air that showed his determination to domesticate himself in the family, with as
little parade as possible.
    Such were the incidents that led to this extraordinary increase in the
family of Judge Temple, where, having once established the youth, the subject of
our tale requires us to leave him, for a time, to pursue with diligence and
intelligence the employments that were assigned him by Marmaduke.
    Major Hartmann made his customary visit, and took his leave of the party,
for the next three months. Mr. Grant was compelled to be absent much of his
time, in remote parts of the country, and his daughter became almost a constant
visiter at the Mansion-house. Richard entered, with his constitutional
eagerness, on the duties of his new office; and, as Marmaduke was much employed,
with the constant applications of adventurers, for farms, the winter passed
swiftly away. The lake was a principal scene for the amusements of the young
people; where