irrevocably with the soil of the land that he saved, and can never become
associated with a movement that has been disgraced by the vile flag of
Secession!

But to return to the Rue d'Anjou. A loud noise in the street announced
the approach of the Indians, whose appearance in an open carriage had
drawn together a dense crowd of sight-loving Parisians; and in a few
moments they entered, decked out in characteristic finery, but without
any of that natural grace and dignity which I had been taught to look
for in the natives of the forest. The General received them with the
dignified affability which was the distinctive characteristic of his
manner under all circumstances; and although there was nothing in the
occasion to justify it, I could not help recalling Madame de Staël's
comment upon his appearance at Versailles, on the fearful fifth of
October:--"M. de la Fayette was perfectly calm; nobody ever saw him
otherwise." Withdrawing with them into an inner room, he did his best,
as he afterwards told me, to prevail upon them to return home, though
not without serious doubts of the honesty of their interpreter. It was
while this private conference was going on that I got my first sight of
Cooper,--completing my morning's experience by exchanging a few words
with the man, of all others among my countrymen, whom I had most wished
to know. Meanwhile the table in the dining-room was spread with cakes
and preserves, and before the company withdrew, they had a good
opportunity of convincing themselves, that, if the American Indian had
made but little progress in the other arts of civilization, he had
attained to a full appreciation of the virtues of sweetmeats and pastry.

I cannot close this portion of my story without relating my second
interview with my aboriginal countrymen, not quite so satisfactory as
the first, but at least with its amusing, or rather its laughable side.