Mellichampe - Border Romances Author:William Gilmore Simms General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1885 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: CHAPTEB II. INDIAN BLOOD. To estimate the solitude of such a creature as Ulonay under the present loss of his parent, by any of those finer standards of humanity which belong to a higher class and better habits, would be manifestly idle and erroneous. But that his isolation previously from all others, and his close dependence for sympathy upon the one relative whom he had just lost, added largely to his degree of suffering now, is equally unquestionable. Supposing his mere human feelings to have been few an 1 feeble, they were yet undivided. Concentrating upon the one object as they had done for so long a period, they had grown steady and unwavering; and, if not very strong or very active at any time, they were at least sufficiently tenacious in their hold to make the sudden wrenching of their bands asunder to be felt sensibly by the survivor. But he did full justice in bis deportment to the Indian blood which predominated in his veins. He had no uttered griefs ; no tears found their way to his cheeks, and his eyes wore their wonted expression, as he took his seat upon the floor of his lonely Cftbin, and, stirring the embers upon the hearth, proceeded, with the aid of the-rich lightwood which lay plentifully at hand, to kindle up his evening fire. But, if grief were wanting to the expression of his countenance, it did not lack in other essentials of expression. Ilaving kindled his fire, he sat for some time before it in manifest contemplation. His brow was knitted, his eyes fixed upon the struggling blaze, his lips closely compressed, and a general earnestness of look indicated a laboring industry o...« less