The Pathfinder | Page 9

Western, I suppose there is more or less land all round your lake."

"And, uncle, is there not more or less land around the ocean?" said
Magnet quickly; for she dreaded a premature display of the old
seaman's peculiar dogmatism, not to say pedantry.
"No, child, there is more or less ocean all round the land; that's what I
tell the people ashore, youngster. They are living, as it might be, in the
midst of the sea, without knowing it; by sufferance, as it were, the
water being so much the more powerful and the largest. But there is no
end to conceit in this world: for a fellow who never saw salt water often
fancies he knows more than one who has gone round the Horn. No, no,
this earth is pretty much an island; and all that can be truly said not to
be so is water."
Young Western had a profound deference for a mariner of the ocean,
on which he had often pined to sail; but he had also a natural regard for
the broad sheet on which he had passed his life, and which was not
without its beauties in his eyes.
"What you say, sir," he answered modestly, "may be true as to the
Atlantic; but we have a respect for the land up here on Ontario."
"That is because you are always land-locked," returned Cap, laughing
heartily; "but yonder is the Pathfinder, as they call him, with some
smoking platters, inviting us to share in his mess; and I will confess
that one gets no venison at sea. Master Western, civility to girls, at your
time of life, comes as easy as taking in the slack of the ensign halyards;
and if you will just keep an eye to her kid and can, while I join the mess
of the Pathfinder and our Indian friends, I make no doubt she will
remember it."
Master Cap uttered more than he was aware of at the time. Jasper
Western did attend to the wants of Mabel, and she long remembered the
kind, manly attention of the young sailor at this their first interview. He
placed the end of a log for a seat, obtained for her a delicious morsel of
the venison, gave her a draught of pure water from the spring, and as he
sat near her, fast won his way to her esteem by his gentle but frank
manner of manifesting his care; homage that woman always wishes to
receive, but which is never so flattering or so agreeable as when it

comes from the young to those of their own age -- from the manly to
the gentle. Like most of those who pass their time excluded from the
society of the softer sex, young Western was earnest, sincere, and kind
in his attentions, which, though they wanted a conventional refinement,
which, perhaps, Mabel never missed, had those winning qualities that
prove very sufficient as substitutes. Leaving these two unsophisticated
young people to become acquainted through their feelings, rather than
their expressed thoughts, we will turn to the group in which the uncle
had already become a principal actor.
The party had taken their places around a platter of venison steaks,
which served for the common use, and the discourse naturally partook
of the characters of the different individuals which composed it. The
Indians were silent and industrious the appetite of the aboriginal
American for venison being seemingly inappeasable, while the two
white men were communicative, each of the latter being garrulous and
opinionated in his way. But, as the dialogue will put the reader in
possession of certain facts that may render the succeeding narrative
more clear, it will be well to record it.
"There must be satisfaction in this life of yours, no doubt, Mr.
Pathfinder," continued Cap, when the hunger of the travellers was so
far appeased that they began to pick and choose among the savory
morsels; "it has some of the chances and luck that we seamen like; and
if ours is all water, yours is all land."
"Nay, we have water too, in our journeyings and marches," returned his
white companion; "we bordermen handle the paddle and the spear
almost as much as the rifle and the hunting-knife."
"Ay; but do you handle the brace and the bow-line, the wheel and the
lead-line, the reef-point and the top-rope? The paddle is a good thing,
out of doubt, in a canoe; but of what use is it in the ship?"
"Nay, I respect all men in their callings, and I can believe the things
you mention have their uses. One who has lived, like myself, in
company with many tribes, understands differences in usages. The
paint of a Mingo is not the paint of a Delaware; and he who