132 TALES OF A NOMAD. 



assured. Most of them had lost relatives, fathers, brothers, 

 husbands or sons in the righting. I do not think that 

 the affections or the sensibilities of the savages are as 

 highly developed as those of civilised folk, but they do 

 feel. The difference between their nature and ours is 

 more one of degree than of kind. 



On the faces of some of them was stamped an expres- 

 sion of apathetic grief. The terrible scenes through 

 which they had passed seemed to have exhausted their 

 capacity for realising suffering. 



Some men are sceptical as to the common element 

 which binds humanity of every race and class together ; 

 but had such a one seen the trusting joyful look of grati- 

 tude which came as a swift response to the least word 

 kindly spoken (even though they understood it not), or 

 to the least sympathetic sign one gave them, his heart 

 would instantly have converted his intellect. 



Perhaps some one reading these lines may wish that 

 he had been there to extend kindly help to those 

 wrecked ones. Are there no others in the streets of our 

 great cities at this very moment ready to repay a hun- 

 dredfold by wealth of gratitude the slightest tokens of 

 good-will exhibited towards suffering brothers? What 

 do we strive for continually ? Gold, is it ? Fame, is it ? 

 Pleasure, is it ? The treasure we seek we miss daily, for 

 it is in the hearts of our fellow-creatures. Yes, heaven 

 and earth may pass away, but kindness never. 



The following day the king surrendered. When I saw 

 the miserable, feeble, broken-down old man, I could 

 hardly realise that this was indeed the great Secocoeni, 

 whose ambition had for so long perturbed the country. 

 We put him in a sort of stretcher or hammock, and 

 escorted him down to the main camp. 



