After a pause, she audibly murmured the word--
"Manitou."
"Manitou, or Jehovah; God, or King of Kings, and Lord of Lords! it
mattereth little which term is used to express his power. Thou knowest him
then, and hast never ceased to call upon his name?"
"Narra-mattah is a woman. She is afraid to speak to the Manitou aloud. He
knows the voices of the chiefs, and opens his ears when they ask help."
The Puritan groaned, but Ruth succeeded in quelling her own anguish, lest
she should disturb the reviving confidence of her daughter.
"This may be the Manitou of an Indian," she said, "but it is not the
Christian's God. Thou art of a race which worships differently, and it is
proper that thou shouldst call on the name of the Deity of thy fathers.
Even the Narragansett teacheth this truth! Thy skin is white, and thy ears
should hearken to the traditions of the men of thy blood."
The head of the daughter drooped at this allusion to her color as if she
would fain conceal the mortifying truth from every eye; but she had not
time for answer ere Whittal Ring drew near, and pointing to the burning
color of her cheeks, that were deepened as much with shame as with the
heats of an American sun, he said--
"The wife of the Sachem hath begun to change.
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