Page:The last of the Mohicans (1826 Volume 3).djvu/149

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THE MOHICANS.
143

their inferiors with such well-timed and apposite compliments, as left them no grounds of complaint. In short, the whole ceremony contained such a happy blending of the profitable with the flattering, that it was not difficult for the donor immediately to read the effect of a generosity so aptly mingled with praise, in the eyes of those he addressed.

This well judged and politic stroke on the part of Magua, was not without its instantaneous results. The Delawares lost their stern gravity, in a much more cordial expression of features; and the host, in particular, after contemplating his own liberal share of the spoil, for some moments, with peculiar gratification, repeated, with strong emphasis, the words—

"My brother is a wise chief. He is welcome!"

"The Hurons love their friends the Delawares," returned Magua. "Why should they not! they are coloured by the same sun, and their just men will hunt in the same grounds after death. The red skins should be friends, and look with open