eagerly and with interest, to know from whom he had received this cross. After a moment's thought, and counting on his fingers, he answered, " It was you, Black-robe, who gave me this cross. I have never laid it aside for twenty
six snows. The cross has raised me to the clouds among my people " (meaning that it had made him great and re
spectable). "If I still walk on earth, it is to the cross that I owe it, and the Great Spirit has blessed my numerous family."
I begged him to explain further, and he continued " When I was younger, I loved whisky to madness, and at every chance I would get drunk and commit excesses. It is now twenty-six snows since my last turbulent orgy. I was stupid and sick from it; just then I had the good fortune to meet you, and you made known to me that my behavior was against the will of the Master of Life and offended him grievously. Since then, I have often had opportunities; my friends have sometimes sought to induce me to join them in their illicit enjoyments, and often my old evil inclination would combat my good will, which desired to resist the temptation. Every time the cross has come to my help. I would take it between my hands, imploring the Great Spirit to give me strength, and your words, Black-robe, would come to my mind. Ever since we first met, I have renounced drink, and have never tasted a drop."
Armed with the grace of God, the good old man's strength of soul and his good will to resist temptation were really admirable. This good, simple-hearted savage, living among his pagan brothers, in the most hostile camp in the desert, had little trouble in comprehending the most lofty things; he received the light of intelligence from on
high and drew strength from the humble little cross. As Thomas A Kempis so well says (book II, chap. XII), the poor savage " found in the cross a refuge against his evil nature, an infusion of heaven's sweetness, strength to his
soul and gladness to his mind." He had always retained a