"How do you know?"

"Because I have lived with them. It is a fallacy to suppose that the
savage has a health superior to that of the civilized man,--if the
civilized man be but temperate; and even if not, he has the stamina that
can resist for years the effect of excesses which would destroy the savage
in a month. As to the savage's fine perceptions of sense, such do not
come from exquisite equilibrium of system, but are hereditary attributes
transmitted from race to race, and strengthened by training from infancy.
But is a pointer stronger and healthier than a mastiff, because the
pointer through long descent and early teaching creeps stealthily to his
game and stands to it motionless? I will talk of this later; now I
suffer! Pain, pain! Has life any ill but pain?"

It so happened that I had about me some roots of the white lily, which I
meant, before returning home, to leave with a patient suffering from one
of those acute local inflammations, in which that simple remedy often
affords great relief. I cut up one of these roots, and bound the cooling
leaves to the wounded hand with my handkerchief.

"There," said I. "Fortunately if you feel pain more sensibly than others,
you will recover from it more quickly." And in a few minutes my
companion felt perfectly relieved, and poured out his gratitude with an
extravagance of expression and a beaming delight of countenance which
positively touched me.

"I almost feel," said I, "as I do when I have stilled an infant's wailing,
and restored it smiling to its mother's breast."