allowed to keep possession of this beautiful country till the white men
should be in want of it."

"Did the pious men of those days never try to make Christian of them?"
asked Laurence. "Sometimes, it is true," answered Grandfather, "the
magistrates and ministers would talk about civilizing and converting the
red people. But, at the bottom of their hearts, they would have had
almost as much expectation of civilizing the wild bear of the woods and
making him fit for paradise. They felt no faith in the success of any
such attempts, because they had no love for the poor Indians. Now, Eliot
was full of love for them; and therefore so full of faith and hope that
he spent the labor of a lifetime in their behalf."

"I would have conquered them first, and then converted them," said
Charley.

"Ah, Charley, there spoke the very spirit of our forefathers." replied
Grandfather. "But Mr. Eliot a better spirit. He looked upon them as his
brethren. He persuaded as many of them as he could to leave off their
idle and wandering habits, and to build houses and cultivate the earth,
as the English did. He established schools among them and taught many of
the Indians how to read. He taught them, likewise, how to pray. Hence
they were called 'praying Indians.' Finally, having spent the best years
of his life for their good, Mr. Eliot resolved to spend the remainder in
doing them a yet greater benefit."

"I know what that was!" cried Laurence.

"He sat down in his study," continued Grandfather, "and began a
translation of the Bible into the Indian tongue. It was while he was