112 courame'. 



letter which this poor girl had written to her. Madame d'e St. Croix 

 was inconsolable, nevertheless she did not think of using any means 

 to reclaim her from the Indians, as she held Courame to have exer- 

 cised no more than a duty in returning to her real mother. 



Five years passed without any tidings of the fugitive ; she was per- 

 haps happily settled in her mother's hut, and this idea lessened the 

 regret of Madame de St. Croix. 



Courame was indeed almost forgotten at Cayenne, and her name 

 rarely mentioned in conversation. By the most singular chance, it 

 happened that the good Dr. Valayer was led to the banks of the Ap- 

 prouague. He had an estate in this fertile spot, and went to visit it. 

 He entertained the idea of establishing botanical gardens there, as he 

 was passionately fond of this branch of natural history, and was con- 

 sidered one of the best pupils of Bernard de Jussieu. 



It is impossible to depict his surprise, when, on visiting the Nora- 

 gue Indians, the first person who presented herself was Courame, 

 whom he immediately recognized. He entered into her hut, where 

 he found her surrounded by all her family. Her husband was the 

 son of Almiki, the chief of the tribe, the same who had been one of 

 the deputation to the governor of Cayenne, when Courame bore the 

 name of Demetrie. It was the same youth whose noble air had been 

 so much admired at the fete given by M. Le Baron to the Indians ; and 

 it was well that the flower of the Norague women should be united 

 to the bravest of the men. Courame still lived with her aged mother, 

 whom she assisted and consoled. Some earthen vessels, some instru- 

 ments for hunting and fishing, and the rude sleeping couch composed 

 the furniture of the dwelling in which she preferred to pass her 

 days. 



Dr. Valayer beheld with astonishment, the changes which had taken 

 place in the deportment of Courame. She was no longer the young 

 girl devoured by ennui and melancholy, in the midst of luxury and re- 

 finement. She was now a woman whose delight consisted in her ma- 

 ternal cares, and who passed her days in domestic peace. But she 

 was still beautiful, and had not lost her taste for ornament. She wore 

 a necklace made of tiger's teeth ; her tresses were adorned with preci- 

 ous stones, brought from the sands of the Ruby river ; her bracelets 

 were of an Indian grain, which sometimes resembles jet. It may be 

 truly said that a well arranged hut, is the abode of the partriarchal 

 virtues. 



Dr. Valayer declared he never saw a more touching picture. He 

 blessed the day on which his own affairs and his love of Botany had 



