The Pioneers; Or, The Sources of the Susquehanna

by James Fenimore Cooper

  CHAPTER IX.

  "Now all admire, in each high-flavored dish The capabilities of flesh--fowl--fish; In order due each guest assumes his station, Throbs high his breast with fond anticipation, And prelibates the joys of mastication." --Heliogabaliad.

  The apartment to which Monsieur Le Quoi handed Elizabeth communicatedwith the hall, through the door that led under the urn which wassupposed to contain the ashes of Dido. The room was spacious, and ofvery just proportions; but in its ornaments and furniture the samediversity of taste and imperfection of execution were to be observedas existed in the hall. Of furniture, there were a dozen green, woodenarm-chairs, with cushions of moreen, taken from the same piece as thepetticoat of Remarkable. The tables were spread, and their materials andworkmanship could not be seen; but they were heavy and of great size, Anenormous mirror, in a gilt frame, hung against the wall, and a cheerfulfire, of the hard or sugar maple, was burning on the hearth. The latterwas the first object that struck the attention of the Judge, who onbeholding it exclaimed, rather angrily, to Richard:

  "How often have I forbidden the use of the sugar maple in my dwelling!The sight of that sap, as it exudes with the heat, is painful to me,Richard, Really, it behooves the owner of woods so extensive as mine, tobe cautious what example he sets his people, who are already felling theforests as if no end could be found to their treasures, nor any limitsto their extent. If we go on in this way, twenty years hence we shallwant fuel."

  "Fuel in these hills, Cousin 'Duke!" exclaimed Richard, inderision--"fuel! why, you might as well predict that the fish will diefor the want of water in the lake, because I intend, when the frost getsout of the ground, to lead one or two of the spring; through logs, intothe village. But you are always a little wild on such subject;Marmaduke."

  "Is it wildness," returned the Judge earnestly, "to condemn a practicewhich devotes these jewels of the forest, these precious gifts ofnature, these mines of corn, forest and wealth, to the common uses of afireplace? But I must, and will, the instant the snow is off the earth,send out a party into the mountains to explore for coal."

  "Coal!" echoed Richard. "Who the devil do you think will dig for coalwhen, in hunting for a bushel he would have to rip up more of treesthan would keep him in fuel for a twelvemonth? Poh! poh! Marmaduke: youshould leave the management of these things to me, who have a naturalturn that way. It was I that ordered this fire, and a noble one it is,to warm the blood of my pretty Cousin Bess."

  "The motive, then, must be your apology, Dick," said theJudge.--"But, gentlemen, we are waiting.--Elizabeth, my child, take thehead of the table; Richard, I see, means to spare me the trouble ofcarving, by sitting opposite to you."

  "To be sure I do," cried Richard. "Here is a turkey to carve; and Iflatter myself that I understand carving a turkey, or, for that matter,a goose, as well as any man alive.--Mr. Grant! Where's Mr. Grant? Willyou please to say grace, sir? Everything in getting cold. Take a thingfrom the fire this cold weather, and it will freeze in five minutes. Mr.Grant, we want you to say grace. 'For what we are about to receive,the Lord make, us thankful Come, sit down, sit down. Do you eat wing orbreast, Cousin Bess?"

  But Elizabeth had not taken her seat, nor Was she in readiness toreceive either the wing or breast. Her Laughing eyes were glancing atthe arrangements of the table, and the quality and selection of thefood. The eyes of the father soon met the wondering looks of hisdaughter, and he said, with a smile:

  "You perceive, my child, how much we are indebted to Remarkable for herskill in housewifery. She has indeed provided a noble repast--such aswell might stop the cravings of hunger."

  "Law!" said Remarkable, "I'm glad if the Judge is pleased; but I'mnotional that you'll find the sa'ce over done. I thought, as Elizabethwas coming home, that a body could do no less than make thingsagreeable."

  "My daughter has now grown to woman's estate, and is from this momentmistress of my house," said the Judge; "it is proper that all who livewith me address her as Miss Temple.

  "Do tell!" exclaimed Remarkable, a little aghast; "well, who ever heerdof a young woman's being called Miss? If the Judge had a wife now, Ishouldn't think of calling her anything but Miss Temple; but--"

  "Having nothing but a daughter you will observe that style to her, ifyou please, in future," interrupted Marmaduke.

  As the Judge looked seriously displeased, and, at such moments, carrieda particularly commanding air with him, the wary housekeeper made noreply; and, Mr. Grant entering the room, the whole party were seatedat the table. As the arrangements of this repast were much in theprevailing taste of that period and country, we shall endeavor to give ashort description of the appearance of the banquet.

  The table-linen was of the most beautiful damask, and the plates anddishes of real china, an article of great luxury at this early periodof American commerce. The knives and forks were of exquisitely polishedsteel, and were set in unclouded ivory. So much, being furnished bythe wealth of Marmaduke, was not only comfortable but even elegant. Thecontents of the several dishes, and their positions, however, were theresult of the sole judgment of Remarkable. Before Elizabeth was placedan enormous roasted turkey, and before Richard one boiled, in the centreof the table stood a pair of heavy silver casters, surrounded by fourdishes: one a fricassee that consisted of gray squirrels; anotherof fish fried; a third of fish boiled; the last was a venison steak.Between these dishes and the turkeys stood, on the one side, aprodigious chine of roasted bear's meat, and on the other a boiled legof delicious mutton. Interspersed among this load of meats was everyspecies of vegetables that the season and country afforded. The fourcorners were garnished with plates of cake. On one was piled certaincuriously twisted and complicated figures, called "nut-cakes," Onanother were heaps of a black-looking sub stance, which, receivingits hue from molasses, was properly termed "sweet-cake;" a wonderfulfavorite in the coterie of Remarkable, A third was filled, to use thelanguage of the housekeeper, with "cards of gingerbread;" and the lastheld a "plum-cake," so called from the number of large raisins that wereshowing their black heads in a substance of suspiciously similar color.At each corner of the table stood saucers, filled with a thick fluid ofsome what equivocal color and consistence, variegated with small darklumps of a substance that resembled nothing but itself, which Remarkabletermed her "sweetmeats." At the side of each plate, which was placedbottom upward, with its knife and fork most accurately crossed aboveit, stood another, of smaller size, containing a motley-looking pie,composed of triangular slices of apple, mince, pump kin, cranberry, andcustard so arranged as to form an entire whole, Decanters of brandy,rum, gin, and wine, with sundry pitchers of cider, beer, and one hissingvessel of "flip," were put wherever an opening would admit of theirintroduction. Notwithstanding the size of the tables, there was scarcelya spot where the rich damask could be seen, so crowded were the dishes,with their associated bottles, plates, and saucers. The object seemed tobe profusion, and it was obtained entirely at the expense of order andelegance.

  All the guests, as well as the Judge himself, seemed perfectly familiarwith this description of fare, for each one commenced eating, withan appetite that promised to do great honor to Remarkable's taste andskill. What rendered this attention to the repast a little surprising,was the fact that both the German and Richard had been summoned fromanother table to meet the Judge; but Major Hartmann both ate and drankwithout any rule, when on his excursions; and Mr. Jones invariably madeit a point to participate in the business in hand, let it be what itwould. The host seemed to think some apology necessary for the warmthhe had betrayed on the subject of the firewood, and when the partywere comfortably seated, and engaged with their knives and forks, heobserved:

  "The wastefulness of the settlers with the noble trees of this countryis shocking, Monsieur Le Quoi, as doubt less you have noticed. I haveseen a man fell a pine, when he has been in want of fencing stuff, androll his first cuts into the gap, where he left it to rot, though itstop would have made rails enough to answer his pur
pose, and its buttwould have sold in the Philadelphia market for twenty dollars."

  "And how the devil--I beg your pardon, Mr. Grant," interrupted Richard:"but how is the poor devil to get his logs to the Philadelphia market,pray? put them in his pocket, ha! as you would a handful of chestnuts,or a bunch of chicker-berries? I should like to see you walking up HighStreet, with a pine log in each pocket!--Poh! poh! Cousin 'Duke, thereare trees enough for us all, and some to spare. Why, I can hardly tellwhich way the wind blows, when I'm out in the clearings, they are sothick and so tall; I couldn't at all, if it wasn't for the clouds, and Ihappen to know all the points of the compass, as it were, by heart."

  "Ay! ay! squire," cried Benjamin, who had now entered and taken hisplace behind the Judge's chair, a little aside withal, in order tobe ready for any observation like the present; "look aloft, sir, lookaloft. The old seamen say, 'that the devil wouldn't make a sailor,unless he looked aloft' As for the compass, why, there is no such thingas steering without one. I'm sure I never lose sight of the main-top, asI call the squire's lookout on the roof, but I set my compass, d'ye see,and take the bearings and distance of things, in order to work outmy course, if so be that it should cloud up, or the tops of the treesshould shut out the light of heaven. The steeple of St. Paul's, now thatwe have got it on end, is a great help to the navigation of the woods,for, by the Lord Harry! as was--"

  "It is well, Benjamin," interrupted Marmaduke, observing that hisdaughter manifested displeasure at the major-domo's familiarity; "butyou forget there is a lady in company, and the women love to do most ofthe talking themselves."

  "The Judge says the true word," cried Benjamin, with one of hisdiscordant laughs. "Now here is Mistress Remarkable Pettibones; justtake the stopper off her tongue, and you'll hear a gabbling worselike than if you should happen to fall to leeward in crossing a Frenchprivateer, or some such thing, mayhap, as a dozen monkeys stowed in onebag."

  It were impossible to say how perfect an illustration of the truth ofBenjamin's assertion the housekeeper would have furnished, if she haddared; but the Judge looked sternly at her, and unwilling to incur hisresentment, yet unable to contain her anger, she threw herself out ofthe room with a toss of the body that nearly separated her frail form inthe centre.

  "Richard," said Marmaduke, observing that his displeasure had producedthe desired effect, "can you inform me of anything concerning the youthwhom I so unfortunately wounded? I found him on the mountain hunting incompany with the Leather-Stocking, as if they were of the same family;but there is a manifest difference in their manners. The youth delivershimself in chosen language, such as is seldom heard in these hills,and such as occasions great surprise to me, how one so meanly clad,and following so lowly a pursuit, could attain. Mohegan also knew him.Doubtless he is a tenant of Natty's hut. Did you remark the language ofthe lad. Monsieur Le Quoi?"

  "Certainement, Monsieur Temple," returned the French man, "he deedconvairse in de excellent Anglaise."

  "The boy is no miracle," exclaimed Richard; "I've known children thatwere sent to school early, talk much better before they were twelveyears old. There was Zared Coe, old Nehemiah's son, who first settledon the beaver-dam meadow, he could write almost as good hand as myself,when he was fourteen; though it's true, I helped to teach him a littlein the evenings. But this shooting gentleman ought to be put in thestocks, if he ever takes a rein in his hand again. He is the mostawkward fellow about a horse I ever met with. I dare say he never droveanything but oxen in his life."

  "There, I think, Dickon, you do the lad injustice," said the Judge; "heuses much discretion in critical moments. Dost thou not think so, Bess?"

  There was nothing in this question particularly to excite blushes, butElizabeth started from the revery into which she had fallen, and coloredto her forehead as she answered:

  "To me, dear sir, he appeared extremely skilful, and prompt, andcourageous; but perhaps Cousin Richard will say I am as ignorant as thegentleman himself."

  "Gentleman!" echoed Richard; "do you call such chaps gentlemen, atschool, Elizabeth?"

  "Every man is a gentleman that knows how to treat a woman with respectand consideration," returned the young lady promptly, and a littlesmartly.

  "So much for hesitating to appear before the heiress in hisshirt-sleeves," cried Richard, winking at Monsieur Le Quoi, who returnedthe wink with one eye, while he rolled the other, with an expression ofsympathy, toward the young lady. "Well, well, to me he seemed anythingbut a gentleman. I must say, however, for the lad, that he draws agood trigger, and has a true aim. He's good at shooting a buck, ha!Marmaduke?"

  "Richart," said Major Hartmann, turning his grave countenance towardthe gentleman he addressed, with much earnestness, "ter poy is goot. Hesavet your life, and my life, and ter life of i'ominie Grant, and terlife of ter Frenchman; and, Richard, he shall never vant a pet to sleepin vile olt Fritz Hartmann has a shingle to cover his het mit."

  "Well, well, as you please, old gentleman," returned Mr. Jones,endeavoring to look indifferent; "put him into your own stone house, ifyou will, Major. I dare say the lad never slept in anything better thana bark shanty in his life, unless it was some such hut as the cabin ofLeather-Stocking. I prophesy you will soon spoil him; any one could seehow proud he grew, in a short time, just because he stood by my horses'heads while I turned them into the highway."

  "No, no, my old friend," cried Marmaduke, "it shall be my task toprovide in some manner for the youth; I owe him a debt of my own,besides the service he has done me through my friends. And yet Ianticipate some little trouble in inducing him to accept of my services.He showed a marked dislike, I thought, Bess, to my offer of a residencewithin these walls for life."

  "Really, dear sir," said Elizabeth, projecting her beautiful under-lip,"I have not studied the gentleman so closely as to read his feelings inhis countenance. I thought he might very naturally feel pain from hiswound, and therefore pitied him; but"--and as she spoke she glanced hereye, with suppressed curiosity, toward the major-domo--"I dare say,sir, that Benjamin can tell you something about him, he cannot have beenin the village, and Benjamin not have seen him often."

  "Ay! I have seen the boy before," said Benjamin, who wanted littleencouragement to speak; "he has been backing and filling in the wake ofNatty Bumppo, through the mountains, after deer, like a Dutchlong-boat in tow of an Albany sloop. He carries a good rifle, too, 'theLeather-Stocking said, in my hearing, before Betty Hollister's bar-roomfire, no later than the Tuesday night, that the younger was certaindeath to the wild beasts. If so be he can kill the wild-cat that hasbeen heard moaning on the lake-side since the hard frosts and deep snowshave driven the deer to herd, he will be doing the thing that is good.Your wild-cat is a bad shipmate, and should be made to cruise out of thetrack of Christian men."

  "Lives he in the hut of Bumppo?" asked Marmaduke, with some interest.

  "Cheek by jowl; the Wednesday will be three weeks since he first hovein sight, in company with Leather-Stocking. They had captured a wolfbetween them, and had brought in his scalp for the bounty. That MisterBump-ho has a handy turn with him in taking off a scalp; and there'sthem, in this here village, who say he l'arnt the trade by workingon Christian men. If so be that there is truth in the saying, and Icommanded along shore here, as your honor does, why, d'ye see, I'dbring him to the gangway for it, yet. There's a very pretty post riggedalongside of the stocks; and for the matter of a cat, I can fit one withmy own hands; ay! and use it too, for the want of a better."

  "You are not to credit the idle tales you hear of Natty; he has a kindof natural right to gain a livelihood in these mountains; and if theidlers in the village take it into their heads to annoy him, as theysometimes do reputed rogues, they shall find him protected by the strongarm of the law."

  "Ter rifle is petter as ter law," said the Major sententiously.

  "That for his rifle!" exclaimed Richard, snapping his fingers; "Ben isright, and I--" He was stopped by the sound of a common ship-bell, thathad been elevated to the belfry
of the academy, which now announced,by its incessant ringing, that the hour for the appointed service hadarrived. "'For this and every other instance of his goodness--' I begpardon, Mr. Grant, will you please to return thanks, sir? It is time weshould be moving, as we are the only Episcopalians in the neighborhood;that is, I and Benjamin, and Elizabeth; for I count half--breeds, likeMarmaduke as bad as heretics."

  The divine arose and performed the office meekly and fervently, and thewhole party instantly prepared them selves for the church--or ratheracademy.