Senones

“ You can’t find out how Big Buffalo was killed, and until you know, every mother’s son of those Delawares swallow all that Lone-Elk tells them. So how’s it going to end? Am I to jump and run like a whipped pup, all winter, every time we hear a noise?”
“Just you wait, my son,” Kingdom answered, quite gaily. “We know that the Seneca’s hold on Captain Pipe is his secret lead mine. Suppose we find that mine! Mr. Pipe will be glad to find out where it is. There! Now you see what I mean. You’re just feeling a little cross because you had to stay out of sight. But here’s another thing, John. ”

“ Lycus: ⁠What to Jove
Is lawful, is my kingly right as well.
A wife thou gav'st to him; so for thy king
Shalt thou a mate provide. Now Megara 490
From thine example shall the lesson learn,
Not new, that wives may yield to better men,
When husbands give consent. But if, self-willed,
She still refuse to take me for her lord,
I'll force her will to bear me noble seed.
Megara: ⁠Ye shades of Creon, and ye household gods 495
Of Labdacus, ye impious nuptial fires
Of Oedipus, your wonted fortune give
To this our union! ”

“ Ruth would have ushered him into the sitting room where Mrs. Eland and her sister were; but Seneca shrank from that.
“I am not a society man—nay, verily,” quoth 64 the prophet. “The sex does not interest me.”
“But it is only Mrs. Eland and her sister, who are our guests to-day for dinner,” Ruth said, as she led him into the dining room, while Agnes sped to get the cake.
“Ha! Those Aden girls,” said Seneca, referring to the hospital matron and the red-haired school teacher by their family name. “I remember Lemuel Aden well—their uncle. A hard man was Lemuel—a hard man.” ”

“ Hold in your bosom Novatilla, who soon will present you with great-grandchildren, she whom I had so entirely adopted and made my own, that, now that she has lost me, she seems like an orphan, even though her father is alive. Love her for my sake as well as for her own: Fortune has lately deprived her of her mother: your affection will be able to prevent her really feeling the loss of the mother whom she mourns. Take this opportunity of forming and strengthening her principles; nothing sinks so deeply into the mind as the teaching which we receive in our earliest years ”

“ A wise man's voice enunciates here simply and beautifully the alone right, but the bitterly difficult rules for the art of life. Seneca, accordingly, counsels his mother not to use the ordinary means for overcoming her grief—a picturesque tour, or employment in household affairs; he advises mental occupation, lamenting, at the same time, that his father—an excellent man, but too much attached to the customs of the ancients—never could prevail upon himself to give her philosophical cultivation. Here we have an amusing glimpse of the old Seneca, I mean of the father. ”

“ So they went back to the spot where the canoe lay. Then the strange man repeated what he had been saying again and again: “Have I not been saying that you and I are indeed brothers? We have the same fleetness of foot; we are of the same stature; our bodies are alike in form and condition; our bows are exactly alike; our arrows are also alike. These things indicate that truly you and I are brothers and that Okteondon is your uncle, as he is my uncle. Come, then, let us go hence. We will amuse ourselves. ”

“ Perhaps a senorita, more venturesome, with her black hair hanging in two long plaits behind each shoulder, has run to her iron-barred window to smile at me, and then penitently fallen before her patron saint imploring forgiveness, or hurried to confess her sin to the wily padre. ”

“ Thyestes [in soliloquy] : Why hesitate, my soul, or why so long
Deliberate upon a point so clear?
To such uncertain things dost thou intrust
Thyself as throne and brother? And fearest thou 425
Those ills already conquered and found mild?
Dost flee those cares which thou hast well bestowed?
Oh, now my former wretchedness is joy.
Turn back, while still thou mayst, and save thyself
Tantalus: What cause, O father, forces thee to leave
Thy native land at last regained? Why now, 430
When richest gifts are falling in thy lap,
Dost turn away? Thy brother's wrath is o'er ”

“ But Ma-za-ri-ta, who had listened with shifting emotions chasing over her face, vainly striving to pierce the meaning of the words, now threw her arms about the neck of the chief, and spoke rapidly in the Seneca tongue. The Indian's stern aspect melted and took on its more wonted expression, in which there was something almost benignant.
"Go without harm even while it is night," he said, "lest the Senecas discover all, and sore mischief befall." ”

“ You must hear it, senor, since you are now one of us; and when I am no longer here to protect her, then she will be yours. And although you will never be able to do more than old Nuflo for her, perhaps she will be better pleased; and you, senor, better able to exist innocently by her side, without eating flesh, since you will always have that rare flower to delight you. But the story would take long to tell. You shall hear it all as we journey to Riolama. What else will there be to talk about when we are walking that long distance, and when we sit at night by the fire? ”

“ Saw even Cerberus with milder face.
O Theseus, faithful friend, seek out a place, 1335
Far off from here, where I may hide myself.
Since thou a lenient judge of others' sins
Hast ever been, grant mercy now to me.
Restore me to the infernal shades, I beg,
And load me with the chains thou once didst wear. 1340
That place will hide me—but it knows me too!
Theseus: My land awaits thy coming; there will [2] Mars
Wash clean thy hands, and give thee back thy arms.
That land, O Hercules, now calls to thee,
Which even gods from sin is wont to free. ”

“ He was greatly surprised by the beauty of the inmates of the lodge and their mother, too. When night came on Doädanegeñ shared the bed of the young woman who had brought him back with her.
In the meanwhile, the next day, the younger one of his wives said to her elder sister: “These women who live far from here have taken our husband away from us; it is they who have conquered him. Now, I will now go after him. You must remain with the old man, his uncle.” Thereupon the old man began to weep because he did not know where his nephew was. ”

“ So I said—even I have my bright ideas at times—'if it got down from Sevenoaks to Snooks, why not get it back from Snooks to Sevenoaks?' And the long and the short of it is, dear, he couldn't refuse me, and he changed his spelling there and then to Senoks for the bills of the new lecture. And afterwards, when we are married, we shall put in the apostrophe and make it Se'noks. Wasn't it kind of him to mind that fancy of mine, when many men would have taken offence? But it is just like him all over; he is as kind as he is clever. ”

“ As the boy approached the skull said to him: “Oh, my nephew! you are much to be pitied now, for affairs have taken a turn which will cause you misfortune. Exert yourself with all your (magic) power, for he will indeed outmatch your orenda (magic power) if it so be that you do not learn to remember the things which you have killed.” Thus spoke the skull of the old man. [588]
But he continued: “You shall do this in your defense. I will assist you. I am the brother of your uncle, who has outmatched to the utmost degree my orenda. ”

“ As for the Senora, the experience did her a world of good. She waited upon herself as a princess might condescend to minister to her own wants—loftily, with a smile at her own complaisance. The very knowledge that her husband was near at hand inspired her with courage. She went to sleep assuring herself “that not even Fray Ignatius should again speak evil of her beloved, who never thought of her except with a loyal affection.” For in married life, the wife can sin against love as well as fidelity ”

“ In a centre box of the first tier sits Senorita Isabella Gonzales, with her father, brother, General Harero, and a party of friends. All eyes are turned towards the peerless beauty-those of the ladies with envy at her extraordinary charms of person, and those of the young cavaliers and gentlemen with undisguised admiration at the picture of loveliness which met their eyes. ”

“ The mind ought in all cases to be called away from the contemplation of external things to that of itself: let it confide in itself, rejoice in itself, admire its own works; avoid as far as may be those of others, and devote itself to itself; let it not feel losses, and put a good construction even upon misfortunes. Zeno, the chief of our school, when he heard the news of a shipwreck, in which all his property had been lost, remarked, "Fortune bids me follow philosophy in lighter marching order." A tyrant threatened Theodorus with death, and even with want of burial. ”

“ Now the Five Nations in their wisdom had set apart a Seneca maiden dwelling alone in the forest as arbiter of quarrels between braves. This maiden the men of all tribes regarded as sacred and as apart from other women. Like the ancient Vestals, she could not become the bride of any man.
As the Peace Queen heard the wrathful clamour of the braves outside her lodge she stepped forth, little pleased that they should thus profane the vicinity of her dwelling. ”

“ They also said, that the fire shall continue among us and shall never be extinguished as long as one remains. The Seneca further said to the Shawnees, I have put a belt around you, and have tied up the talk in a bundle, and placed it on your backs; we will now make a path on which we will pass to the Sioux. The Seneca said further, You shall continue your path until it shall reach the lodge of the Osage. When the talk was brought to the Sioux, they replied, we feel thankful to you and will take your talk; we can see a light through the path you have made for us. ”

“ Like squaws that tell one another of the worms that harmed the corn does the Paleface want the Delawares to meet together with him and speak idle words! Words! Words, that mean nothing and come to nothing.”
With a move of his hand to his companions to follow, the Seneca left the cabin. Rapidly the other Indians marched off in single file after him. Fishing Bird, somehow, was the last to leave. As he went out of the door, he cast a glance of friendliness, which was also a look of warning, to Ree and the peace of mind of that young gentleman was not increased thereby. ”

“ Where there is one man of this, I believe there are a thousand of Senecio's mind, whose ridiculous affectation of grandeur Seneca the elder describes to this effect. Senecio was a man of a turbid and confused wit, who could not endure to speak any but mighty words and sentences, till this humour grew at last into so notorious a habit, or rather disease, as became the sport of the whole town: he would have no servants but huge massy fellows, no plate or household stuff but thrice as big as the fashion ”

“ It was to this small latter class that Seneca belonged. He became a Stoic from very early years. The Stoic philosophers, undoubtedly the noblest and purest of ancient sects, received their name from the fact that their founder Zeno had lectured in the Painted Porch or Stoa Paecile of Athens. The influence of these austere and eloquent masters, teaching high lessons of morality and continence, and inspiring their young audience with the glow of their own enthusiasm for virtue, must have been invaluable in that effete and drunken age. ”

“ Eland’s father. Oh! we know all about it.”
“Ah!” said Seneca again, tasting the cake. “Very delicious. I know that you put none of the fat of the accursed swine in your cake as some of these women around here do.”
“Lard, he means,” whispered Ruth, for Seneca followed the rabbinical laws of the Jews and ate no pork.
“Lemuel Aden was a miser,” the prophet announced. “He was worse than your uncle, Peter Stower,” he added bluntly. “All three of us went to school together. They were much older than I, of course; but I came here to the Corner House to see Peter at times. ”

“ The servant that had conducted me to Sennaar, and was then with us, went forward close to him, and said, in a kind of whisper, "Should he go often to the king?"—"When he pleases; he may go to see the town, and take a walk, but never alone, and also to the palace, that, when he returns to his own country, he may report he saw a king at Sennaar, that neither knows how to govern, nor will suffer others to teach him; who knows [442] not how to make war, and yet will not sit in peace." ”

“ We have no idea of our own except to follow the advice given; since we have set out to come and are here, we must endure what we meet.” They talked in this way until they came to the lodge. Finding a man who called himself their uncle, they saluted him. He said: “I am glad that your brother has sent you. You are going to a large assembly, but you can not join it unless I transform you.”107 One of the young men responded: “How so? We are men. Why should we be transformed? We have come here in our proper forms. Why should we change?” ”

“ So the man married the Stone Coat’s daughter, although the old man said that his people would be surprised at his giving his daughter to a Seneca.
The Stone Coat rubbed his son-in-law’s hands, feet, and body with an object like a bone, and then told him to go out hunting. The young man felt himself growing so strong that he felt he could carry off everything he laid his eyes on. There was a certain young man of the Stone Coats who loved the old Stone Coat’s daughter and wanted to marry her. Being angry with the Seneca, he came up to him, saying, “You and I must have a foot race. ”