The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757

[Illustration] INTRODUCTION It is believed that the scene of this tale, and most of the information necessary to understand its allusions, are rendered sufficiently obvious to th...

“Mine ear is open, and my heart prepared: The worst is worldly loss thou canst unfold:— Say, is my kingdom lost?”—Shakespeare It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of Nor...

“Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola!” —Shakespeare While one of the lovely beings we have so cursorily presented to the reader was thus lost in thought, the other quickly recovered from ...

“Before these fields were shorn and till’d, Full to the brim our rivers flow’d; The melody of waters fill’d The fresh and boundless wood; And torrents dash’d, and rivulets play’d, ...

“Well go thy way: thou shalt not from this grove Till I torment thee for this injury.”—Midsummer Night’s Dream. The words were still in the mouth of the scout, when the leader of ...

...”In such a night Did This be fearfully o’ertrip the dew; And saw the lion’s shadow ere himself.”—Merchant of Venice The suddenness of the flight of his guide, and the wild crie...

“Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide; He wales a portion with judicious care; And ‘Let us worship God’, he says, with solemn air.”—Burns Heyward and his female compani...

“They do not sleep, On yonder cliffs, a grizzly band, I see them sit.”—Gray “’Twould be neglecting a warning that is given for our good to lie hid any longer,” said Hawkeye “when ...

“They linger yet, Avengers of their native land.”—Gray The warning call of the scout was not uttered without occasion. During the occurrence of the deadly encounter just related, ...

“Be gay securely; Dispel, my fair, with smiles, the tim’rous clouds, That hang on thy clear brow.”—Death of Agrippina The sudden and almost magical change, from the stirring incid...

“I fear we shall outsleep the coming morn As much as we this night have overwatched!” —Midsummer Night’s Dream The instant the shock of this sudden misfortune had abated, Duncan b...

“Cursed be my tribe If I forgive him.” —Shylock The Indian had selected for this desirable purpose one of those steep, pyramidal hills, which bear a strong resemblance to artifici...

“Clo.—I am gone, sire, And anon, sire, I’ll be with you again.” —Twelfth Night The Hurons stood aghast at this sudden visitation of death on one of their band. But as they regarde...

“I’ll seek a readier path.” —Parnell The route taken by Hawkeye lay across those sandy plains, relived by occasional valleys and swells of land, which had been traversed by their ...

“Guard.—Qui est la? Puc. —Paisans, pauvres gens de France.” —King Henry VI [Illustration] The scout resumed his post in the advance During the rapid movement from the blockhouse,...

“Then go we in, to know his embassy; Which I could, with ready guess, declare, Before the Frenchmen speak a word of it.” —King Henry V A few succeeding days were passed amid the p...

“EDG.—Before you fight the battle ope this letter.” —Lear Major Heyward found Munro attended only by his daughters. Alice sat upon his knee, parting the gray hairs on the forehead...

“Weave we the woof. The thread is spun. The web is wove. The work is done.”—Gray The hostile armies, which lay in the wilds of the Horican, passed the night of the ninth of August...

“Why, anything; An honorable murderer, if you will; For naught I did in hate, but all in honor.” —Othello The bloody and inhuman scene rather incidentally mentioned than described...

“Salar.—Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou wilt not take his flesh; what’s that good for? Shy.—To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge.” —Mercha...

“Land of Albania! let me bend mine eyes On thee; thou rugged nurse of savage men!” —Childe Harold The heavens were still studded with stars, when Hawkeye came to arouse the sleepe...

“If you find a man there, he shall die a flea’s death.” —Merry Wives of Windsor. The party had landed on the border of a region that is, even to this day, less known to the inhabi...

“Bot.—Abibl we all met? Qui.—Pat—pat; and here’s a marvelous convenient place for our rehearsal.” —Midsummer Night’s Dream The reader may better imagine, than we describe the surp...

“But though the beast of game The privilege of chase may claim; Though space and law the stag we lend Ere hound we slip, or bow we bend; Whoever recked, where, how, or when The pro...

excluded; but boys, little able to wield the instruments, tore the tomahawks from the belts of their fathers, and stole into the ranks, apt imitators of the savage traits exhibited...

“Thus spoke the sage: the kings without delay Dissolve the council, and their chief obey.” —Pope’s Iliad A single moment served to convince the youth that he was mistaken. A hand ...

“Snug.—Have you the lion’s part written? Pray you, if it be, give it to me, for I am slow of study. Quince.—You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.” —Midsummer Nig...

“Bot.—Let me play the lion too.” —Midsummer Night’s Dream Notwithstanding the high resolution of Hawkeye he fully comprehended all the difficulties and danger he was about to incu...

“Ant. I shall remember: When C’sar says Do this, it is performed.” —Julius Caesar The impatience of the savages who lingered about the prison of Uncas, as has been seen, had overc...

“Brief, I pray for you; for you see, ’tis a busy time with me.” —Much Ado About Nothing. The tribe, or rather half tribe, of Delawares, which has been so often mentioned, and whos...

“The assembly seated, rising o’er the rest, Achilles thus the king of men addressed.” —Pope’s Illiad Cora stood foremost among the prisoners, entwining her arms in those of Alice,...

“If you deny me, fie upon your law! There is no force in the decrees of Venice: I stand for judgment: answer, shall I have it?” —Merchant of Venice The silence continued unbroken ...

“Flue.—Kill the poys and the luggage! ’Tis expressly against the law of arms; ’tis as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now, as can be offered in the ’orld.” —King Henry V. So l...

“But plagues shall spread, and funeral fires increase, Till the great king, without a ransom paid, To her own Chrysa send the black-eyed maid.” —Pope. During the time Uncas was ma...

“They fought, like brave men, long and well, They piled that ground with Moslem slain, They conquered—but Bozzaris fell, Bleeding at every vein. His few surviving comrades saw His ...