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60.

The old man to whom he had been given in care,
To Dobrizhoffer came one day and said,
The trouble which our youth was thought to bear
With such indifference hath deranged his head.
He says that he is nightly visited;

His Mother and his Sister come and say

That he must give this message from the dead, Not to defer his baptism, and delay

A soul upon the earth which should no longer stay.

61.

A dream the Jesuit deem'd it; a deceit
Upon itself by feverish fancy wrought;
A mere delusion which it were not meet
To censure, lest the youth's distemper'd thought
Might thereby be to farther error brought;

But he himself its vanity would find, . . .

...

They argued thus, . . . if it were noticed not.

...

His baptism was in fitting time design'd

The Father said, and then dismiss'd it from his mind.

62.

But the old Indian came again ere long
With the same tale, and freely then confest
His doubt that he had done Yeruti wrong;
For something more than common seem'd imprest;
And now he thought that certes it were best
From the youth's lips his own account to hear,
Haply the Father then to his request

Might yield, regarding his desire sincere,

Nor wait for farther time if there were aught to fear.

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63.

Considerately the Jesuit heard, and bade
The youth be called. Yeruti told his tale.
Nightly these blessed spirits came, he said,
To warn him he must come within the pale
Of Christ without delay; nor must he fail
This warning to their Pastor to repeat,
Till the renewed entreaty should prevail.

Life's business then for him would be complete, And 't was to tell him this they left their starry seat.

64.

Came they to him in dreams?... he could not tell.
Sleeping or waking now small difference made;
For even while he slept he knew full well
That his dear Mother and that darling Maid
Both in the Garden of the Dead were laid:
And yet he saw them as in life, the same,
Save only that in radiant robes array'd,

And round about their presence when they came There shone an effluent light as of a harmless flame.

65.

And where he was he knew, the time, the place,...
All circumstantial things to him were clear.
His own heart undisturb'd. His Mother's face
How could he choose but know; or knowing, fear
Her presence and that Maid's, to him more dear
Than all that had been left him now below?

Their love had drawn them from their happy sphere; That dearest love unchanged they came to show; And he must be baptized, and then he too might go.

66.

With searching ken the Jesuit while he spake
Perused him, if in countenance or tone
Aught might be found appearing to partake
Of madness. Mark of passion there was none;
None of derangement: in his eye alone,
As from a hidden fountain emanate,
Something of an unusual brightness shone :
But neither word nor look betrayed a state
Of wandering, and his speech, though earnest, was
sedate.

67.

Regular his pulse, from all disorder free,

The vital powers perform'd their part assign'd; And to whate'er was ask'd, collectedly

He answer'd.

Nothing troubled him in mind; Why should it? Were not all around him kind?

Did not all love him with a love sincere,

And seem in serving him a joy to find?

He had no want, no pain, no grief, no fear;

But he must be baptized; he could not tarry here.

68.

Thy will be done, Father in heaven who art!

The Pastor said, nor longer now denied ;
But with a weight of awe upon his heart
Enter'd the church, and there the font beside,
With holy water, chrism and salt applied,
Perform'd in all solemnity the rite.

His feeling was that hour with fear allied;
Yeruti's was a sense of pure delight,

And while he knelt his eyes seem'd larger and more

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69.

His wish hath been obtain'd, and this being done His soul was to its full desire content. The day in its accustom'd course pass'd on, The Indian mark'd him ere to rest he went, How o'er his beads, as he was wont, he bent, And then, like one who casts all care aside, Lay down. The old man fear'd no ill event, When, "Ye are come for me!" Yeruti cried "Yes, I am ready now!" and instantly he died.

;

NOTES

TO

A TALE OF PARAGUAY.

So he forsooth a shapely boot must wear. — Proem, p. 12. His leg had been set by the French after their conquest of Pamplona, and re-set after his removal to his father's house. The latter operation is described as having been most severe, but borne by him in his wonted manner without any manifestation of suffering. For some time his life was despaired of. "When the danger of death was past, and the bones were knit and becoming firm, two inconveniences remained: one occasioned by a portion of bone below the knee, which projected so as to occasion some deformity; the other was a contraction of the leg, which prevented him from walking erect or standing firmly on his feet. Now as he was very solicitous about his appearance, and intended at that time to follow the course of a military life which he had begun, he inquired of his medical attendants in the first place whether the bone could be removed which stood out in so unsightly a manner. They answered that it was possible to remove it, but the operation would be exceedingly painful, much more so than any which he had before undergone. He nevertheless directed them to cut it out, that he might have his will, and (as he himself related in my hearing, says Ribadeneira,) that he might wear fashionable and well-fitting boots. Nor could he be dissuaded from this determination. He would not consent to be bound during the

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