HOLMES ANNIVERSARY VOLUME 



wisdom and upon whom the eyes of those of great minds rested 

 confidently. 



"Now, more than this, do thou know it, this one [indicating], my 

 offspring, thou noble one, thou whom I have been wont to hold in my 

 bosom, that now, do not the Three Brothers perfect their prepa- 

 rations, and now, more than this, let them say it, 'We now level the 

 uptorn earth over the place where rests the one thou didst trust for 

 words of wisdom.' And, more than this, a fine slab of wood do the 

 Three Brothers place over it there, and also do they place fine mosses 

 over it; for that, verily, that there are two things that are done by 

 day and also by night; the one is that, should it so be that should it 

 put forth fierce rays of sunlight, they shall not, indeed, pierce through 

 to it; the other is, that should it so be that rains fall heavily upon it, 

 that they too shall not penetrate through it to the place where he 

 lies — though nothing save the bones be there. And, more than this, 

 we now restore thy land to orderliness, and now the Three Brothers 

 say, 'Now, we rush forward, throwing ourselves here and there, in 

 that we may now gather together again thy bones, so widely scattered 

 as they have been by the Being Malefic in Itself, the Being that is 

 Faceless — the Being that is the Great Destroyer — Death,' (I say). 



"More than this, (I say), that our departed grandsires made a 

 ruling, in that they said that twenty (strings of wampum) shall be 

 the value of this [i.e., a death by murder], at that price did they fix 

 it, in that they denominated it by this: That it shall be worth (or 

 valued at) twenty (strings of wampum) ; they declared that one shall 

 bind their bones thereby [i.e., to keep them from being murdered by 

 a clan or tribal enemy], (I say). 



"Do thou know it, furthermore, this one [indicating], my offspring, 

 thou noble one, thou whom I have been wont to hold in my bosom, 

 that now, do not the Three Brothers take that up now, and that now, 

 let them say it, 'Now, we bind thy bones one and all, setting the value 

 of twenty (strings of wampum) on them,' (I say). 



"Thus, furthermore, let it be (so), that for one poor short day thou 

 mayst continue to think in contentment, this one [indicating], my 

 offspring, thou noble one, thou whom I have been wont to hold in 

 my bosom, (I say). 



"In this manner, then, let it be, and let them do it, the Three 

 Brothers, so denominated ever since they were in the prime growth 

 of their affairs. 



"Now, more than this, do thou know it, my offspring, that their 

 word [wampum string] is going hence to thee, (I say)." 



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