ovel and
far from unimposing spectacle. He stood leaning, gravely, on his lance,
while the smoking steed, that grazed nigh, showed that he had ridden far
and hard to be a spectator, on the occasion.

Ishmael had received his new ally with a coldness that showed his entire
insensibility to that delicacy, which had induced the young chief to
come alone, in order that the presence of his warriors might not create
uneasiness, or distrust. He neither courted their assistance, nor
dreaded their enmity, and he now proceeded to the business of the hour
with as much composure, as if the species of patriarchal power, he
wielded, was universally recognised.

There is something elevating in the possession of authority, however it
may be abused. The mind is apt to make some efforts to prove the fitness
between its qualities and the condition of its owner, though it may
often fail, and render that ridiculous which was only hated before. But
the effect on Ishmael Bush was not so disheartening. Grave in exterior,
saturnine by temperament, formidable by his physical means, and
dangerous from his lawless obstinacy, his self-constituted tribunal
excited a degree of awe, to which even the intelligent Middleton could
not bring himself to be entirely insensible. Little time, however, was
given to arrange his thoughts; for the squatter, though unaccustomed to
haste, having previously made up his mind, was not disposed to waste the
moments in delay. When he saw that all were in their places, he cast a
dull look over his prisoners, and addressed himself to the Captain, as
the principal man among the imaginary delinquents.

"I am called upon this day, to fill the office which in the settlements
you give unto judges, who are set apart to decide on matters that arise
between man and man. I have but little knowledge of the ways of the
courts, though there is a rule that is known unto all, and which
teaches, that an 'eye must be returned for an eye,' and a 'tooth for
a tooth.' I am no troubler of countyhouses, and least of all do I like
living on a plantation that the sheriff has surveyed; yet there is
a reason in such a law, that makes it a safe rule to journey by, and
therefore it ar' a solemn fact that this day shall I abide by it, and
give unto all and each that which is his due and no more."

When Ishmael had delivered his mind thus far, he paused and looked
about him, as if he would trace the effects in the countenances of his
hearers. Whe