Section 151 Returned Kindness1
When (S. 4, N. 2) the country near2 Albany was newly settled, a starving Indian came to the inn at Lichfield and asked for a night’s shelter and some supper, at3 the same time confessing that, from4 failure in hunting, he had nothing5 to pay. The hostess drove him away with reproachful6 epithets, and as the Indian was about (S. 6, N. 4) scornfully to retire,—there being (S. 30, N. 4) no other inn for7 many a weary mile,—a8 man, who was sitting by, directed the hostess to supply9 his wants, and promised to pay her. As10 soon as the Indian’s supper was ended, he thanked his benefactor, and said he would some day return his kindness. Several years thereafter11 the settler was taken a prisoner by a hostile tribe, and carried off to (S. 72, N. 4) Canada. His life was spared12, but he was detained in13 slavery. One14 day, however, an Indian came to him, and bade the captive follow him. The Indian never told where they were going, nor15 what was his object; but day after16 day the captive followed his mysterious guide, till one afternoon they came suddenly on17 a beautiful expanse of cultivated fields, with many houses rising amongst them. “Do you know that place?” asked the Indian. “Ah, yes—it is Lichfield!” and whilst the astonished exile18 had not yet recovered from his surprise and (S. 10, N. 9) amazement, the Indian exclaimed: “And I am the starving Indian, on whom, at this very place, you took19 pity. And now that20 I have repaid you, I pray you go home!”—Dr. Dwight.
Notes
1 vergelten, insep. comp. str. v.
2 unweit; newly, eben; ‘to settle’, here kolonisieren.
3 at — confessing = on which occasion (wobei) he confessed.
4 wegen erfolgloser Jagd.
5 nothing to pay = no money for (zu, contracted with the dat. of the def. art.) paying.
6 reproachful epithets, Scheltworte.
7 for — mile, meilenweit in der Runde.
8 ‘a man’, here = a guest. The verb ‘directed’ (heißen, str. v.) must be placed before the subject, since the subordinate clause precedes the principal one.
9 to supply a person’s wants, für die Bedürfnisse eines Menschen sorgen.
10 Say ‘As soon as the Indian had eaten (verzehren) his supper’.
11 später.
12 verschonen.
13 in slavery = as a slave; ‘to detain’, here gefangen halten.
14 Say ‘One day, however, came an Indian to the prisoner with the intimation (Weisung, f.) to follow him’. This construction is necessary to avoid the repetition of the pronoun ‘ihm’.
15 nor — object = or else his intention.
16 für.
17 zu einer schönen Fläche urbar gemachter Felder.
18 exile = settler.
19 to take pity on a person, sich eines Menschen erbarmen; supply the adverb einmal (one day) before the verb.
20 that = since, da; to repay a person, einem seine Schuld ab´tragen.