"Thou wilt become famous; thy children will name thee among the elders.
Think of Tikaens as an old man!
"By what name is thy bride known? Is she beautiful? Are her eyes soft as the light of the moon? Is she a strong woman? Didst thou understand her signs during the dance?
"I know not whether thou lovest her, Tikaens.
"What said the old man, her father, when thou askedst for his pretty daughter?
"What betrothal presents didst thou give?
"Rejoice, Tikaens! be glad, be happy!
"Build thyself a happy home.
"This is the song of its building!"
Some of the songs of war and death are quite Ossianic in style, and yet they appear to be accurate translations.[71]
The comparatively elevated style of such poems need not cast doubt upon them. The first European who wrote about the songs of the natives of America, who was none other than the witty and learned Montaigne, paid a high tribute to their true poetic spirit. Montaigne knew a man who had lived among the Tupis of Brazil for ten or twelve years, and had learned their language and customs. He remembered several of their songs of war and love, and translated them to gratify the insatiable thirst for knowledge of the famous essayist. The refrain of one of them, supposed to be addressed to one of those beautiful serpents of the tropical forests, ran thus:—