anied my friend to the theatre. My appearance at the
pit-door was the signal for nods and beckonings from a dozen boxes; but
as no one could dispute the superior claims of the Countess P----, I soon
found myself seated in the front of her Ladyship's box, and the chief
object of attention till the curtain rose.

"And now, my dear G----, tell us all about these strange countrymen
of yours,--how they live,--whether it is true that they eat one
another,--what kind of houses they have,--how they treat their
women,--and everything else that we ought to know."

Two or three years later, when Cooper began to be translated, they would
have known better; but now nothing could convince them that I was not
perfectly qualified to answer all their questions and stand interpreter
between my countrymen and the audience. Fortunately, I had read Irving's
beautiful paper in the "Sketch-Book," and knew "The Last of the
Mohicans" by heart; and putting together, as well as I could, the ideas
of Indian life I had gained from these sources, I accomplished my task
to the entire satisfaction of my interrogators. At last the curtain
rose, and, though reduced in number, and evidently much the worse for
their protracted stay in the land of civilization and brandy, there
they were, the very Osages I had seen at the good old General's. The
interpreter came forward and told his story, making them chiefs of rank
on a tour of pleasure. And a burly-looking fellow, walking up and down
the stage with an air that gave the lie to every assertion of the
interpreter, made a speech in deep gutturals to the great delight of
the listeners. Fortunately for me, the Italian love of sound kept my
companions still till the speech was ended, and then, just as they were
turning to me for a translation, the interpreter announced his intention
of translating it for them himself. Nothing else, I verily believe,
could have saved my reputation, and enabled me to retain my place as a
native-born American. When the exhibition was over,--and even with the
ludicrousness of my part of it, to me it was a sad one,--I went behind
the scenes to take a nearer view of these poor victims of avarice. They
were sitting round a warming-pan, looking jaded and worn, brutalized
beyond even what I had first imagined. It was my last sight of them, and
I was glad of it; how far they went, and how many of them found their
way back to their native land, I never was able to learn.

Before I left