She gave him its history, and explained the meaning of
several of its words that might otherwise have been unintelligible
to him, notwithstanding his tolerable proficiency in English--a
proficiency that had greatly increased in the last few weeks, in
consequence of his constant communications with those who spoke it
habitually. The word "trespasses," in particular, was somewhat
difficult for the Indian to comprehend, but Margery persevered until
she succeeded in giving her scholar tolerably accurate ideas of the
meaning of each term. Then she told the Indian to kneel with her,
and, for the first time in his life, that man of the Openings and
prairies lifted his voice in prayer to the one God. It is true that
Peter had often before mentally asked favors of his Manitou; but the
requests were altogether of a worldly character, and the being
addressed was invested with attributes very different from those
which he now understood to belong to the Lord of heaven and earth.
Nor was the spirit in asking at all the same. We do not wish to be
understood as saying that this Indian was already a full convert to
Christianity, which contains many doctrines of which he had not the
most distant idea; but his heart had undergone the first step in the
great change of conversion, and he was now as humble as he had once
been proud; as meek, as he had formerly been fierce; and he felt
that certain proof of an incipient love of the Creator, in a similar
feeling toward all the works of his hands.
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