Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

There he sang of Hiawatha,
Sang the song of Hiawatha,

Sang his wondrous birth and being,
How he prayed, and how he fasted,
How he lived, and toiled, and suffered,
That the tribes of men might prosper,
That he might advance his people.

II.

Ye who love the haunts of Nature, Love the sunshine of the meadow, Love the shadow of the forest, Love the wind among the branches, And the rain-shower, and the snow-storm,

And the rushing of great rivers,

Listen to these wild traditions,

To this Song of Hiawatha.

III.

Ye who love a nation's legends,
Love the ballads of a people,
That like voices from afar off
Call to us to pause and listen,
Speak in tones so plain and childlike,
Scarcely can the ear distinguish
Whether they are sung or spoken;—
Listen to this Indian Legend,

To this Song of Hiawatha!

IV.

Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple, Who have faith in God and Nature, Who believe, that in all ages

Every human heart is human,
That in even savage bosoms,

There are longings, yearnings, strivings,
For the good they comprehend not,

That the feeble hands and helpless,

Groping blindly in the darkness,

Touch God's right hand in that darkness,
And are lifted up and strengthened ;-
Listen to this simple story,

To this Song of Hiawatha!

EXERCISE XXV.

HIAWATHA'S WOOING.

I.

LONGFELLOW.

At the doorway of his wigwam
Sat the ancient Arrow-maker,
In the land of the Dacotahs,
Making arrow-heads of jasper,
Arrow-heads of chalcedony.
At his side, in all her beauty,
Sat the lovely Minnehaha,
Sat his daughter, Laughing Water,
Plaiting mats of flags and rushes;

Of the past the old man's thoughts were
And the maiden's of the future.

II.

He was thinking, as he sat there,
Of the days, when with such arrows
He had struck the deer and bison,
On the Muskoday, the meadow;
. Shot the wildgoose, flying southward,
On the wing, the clamorous Wawa;
Thinking of the great war-parties,
How they came to buy his arrows,
Could not fight without his arrows.
Ah, no more such noble warriors
Could be found on earth, as they werel
Now the men were all like women,
Only used their tongues for weapons!

III.

She was thinking of a hunter,
From another tribe and country,
Young and tall and very handsome,
Who one morning, in the spring time,
Came to buy her father's arrows,
Sat and rested in the wigwam,
Lingered long about the doorway,
Looking back, as he departed.
She had heard her father praise him,
Praise his courage and his wisdom;
Would he come again for arrows
To the Falls of Minnehaha?
On the mat her hands lay idle,
And her eyes were very dreamy.

IV.

Through their thoughts they heard a footstep,

Heard a rustling in the branches,

And, with glowing cheek and forehead,

With the deer upon his shoulders,

Suddenly from out the woodlands
Hiawatha stood before them.

V.

Straight the ancient Arrow-maker
Looked up gravely from his labor,
Laid aside th' unfinished arrow,
Bade him enter at the doorway,
Saying, as he rose to meet him,-
"Hiawatha, you are welcome!"
At the feet of Laughing Water
Hiawatha laid his burden,

Threw the red deer from his shoulders;
And the maiden looked up at him,
Looked up from her mat of rushes,

[blocks in formation]

Very spacious was the wigwam,
Made of deer-skin dressed and whitened,
With the gods of the Dacotahs
Drawn and painted on its curtains;
And so tall the doorway, hardly
Hiawatha stooped to enter,

Hardly touched his eagle-feathers
As he entered at the doorway.

VII.

Then uprose the Laughing Water,
From the ground fair Minnehaha,
Laid aside her mat unfinished,

Brought forth food, and set before them,
Water brought them from the brooklet,
Gave them food in earthen vessels,
Gave them drink in bowls of bass-wood,
Listened while the guest was speaking,
Listened while her father answered,
But not once her lip she opened,
Not a single word she uttered.

VIII.

Yes, as in a dream, she listened

To the words of Hiawatha,

As he talked of old Nokomis,

Who had nursed him in his childhood, As he told of his companions,

Chibiabos, the musician,

And the very strong man, Kwasind,

And of happiness and plenty
In the land of the Ojibways,

In the pleasant land and peaceful.

[blocks in formation]
« AnteriorContinuar »