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diff --git a/9845-h/9845-h.htm b/9845-h/9845-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2da976d --- /dev/null +++ b/9845-h/9845-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,22667 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Spy, by James Fenimore Cooper</title> +<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify } + +h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 {text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-weight: +normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: .5em; margin-bottom: .5em;} + +h1 {font-size: 300%; + margin-top: 0.6em; + margin-bottom: 0.6em; + letter-spacing: 0.12em; + word-spacing: 0.2em; + text-indent: 0em;} +h2 {font-size: 150%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} +h3 {font-size: 150%; margin-top: 2em;} +h4 {font-size: 120%;} +h5 {font-size: 110%;} + +hr {width: 80%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-bottom: 0.25em; } + +.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: 90%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.center {text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.left {text-align: left; + margin-left: 20%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.right {text-align: right; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.footnote {font-size: 90%; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +sup { vertical-align: top; font-size: 0.6em; } + +div.fig { display:block; + margin:0 auto; + text-align:center; } + +a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:hover {color:red} + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spy, by James Fenimore Cooper + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + +Title: The Spy + +Author: James Fenimore Cooper + +Release Date: October 23, 2003 [EBook #9845] +Last updated: December 7, 2019 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPY *** + + + + +Produced by PG Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" style="width:100%;" alt="cover" /><br/><br/> +</div> + +<h1>The Spy</h1> + +<h5>A TALE OF THE NEUTRAL GROUND</h5> + +<h2>by James Fenimore Cooper</h2> + +<h5>EDITED BY</h5> + +<h5>NATHANIEL WARING BARNES</h5> + +<h5>PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH COMPOSITION IN DE PAUW UNIVERSITY GREENCASTLE, +INDIANA</h5> + +<hr /> + +<h2>Contents</h2> + +<table summary="" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#pref01">JAMES FENIMORE COOPER</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#pref02">AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap01">CHAPTER I.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap02">CHAPTER II.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap03">CHAPTER III.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap04">CHAPTER IV.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap05">CHAPTER V.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap06">CHAPTER VI.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap07">CHAPTER VII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap08">CHAPTER VIII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap09">CHAPTER IX.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap10">CHAPTER X.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap11">CHAPTER XI.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap12">CHAPTER XII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap14">CHAPTER XIV.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap15">CHAPTER XV.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap16">CHAPTER XVI.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap17">CHAPTER XVII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap18">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap19">CHAPTER XIX.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap20">CHAPTER XX.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap21">CHAPTER XXI.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap22">CHAPTER XXII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap23">CHAPTER XXIII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap24">CHAPTER XXIV.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap25">CHAPTER XXV.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap26">CHAPTER XXVI.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap27">CHAPTER XXVII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap28">CHAPTER XXVIII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap29">CHAPTER XXIX.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap30">CHAPTER XXX.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap31">CHAPTER XXXI.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap32">CHAPTER XXXII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap33">CHAPTER XXXIII.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap34">CHAPTER XXXIV.</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap35">CHAPTER XXXV.</a></td> +</tr> + +</table> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="pref01"></a>JAMES FENIMORE COOPER</h2> + +<p> +“I believe I could write a better story myself!” With these words, +since become famous, James Fenimore Cooper laid aside the English novel which +he was reading aloud to his wife. A few days later he submitted several pages +of manuscript for her approval, and then settled down to the task of making +good his boast. In November, 1820, he gave the public a novel in two volumes, +entitled <i>Precaution</i>. But it was published anonymously, and dealt with +English society in so much the same way as the average British novel of the +time that its author was thought by many to be an Englishman. It had no +originality and no real merit of any kind. Yet it was the means of inciting +Cooper to another attempt. And this second novel made him famous. +</p> + +<p> +When <i>Precaution</i> appeared, some of Cooper’s friends protested +against his weak dependence on British models. Their arguments stirred his +patriotism, and he determined to write another novel, using thoroughly American +material. Accordingly he turned to Westchester County, where he was then +living, a county which had been the scene of much stirring action during a good +part of the Revolutionary War, and composed <i>The Spy—A Tale of the +Neutral Ground</i>. This novel was published in 1821, and was immediately +popular, both in this country and in England. Soon it was translated into +French, then into other foreign languages, until it was read more widely than +any other tale of the century. Cooper had written the first American novel. He +had also struck an original literary vein, and he had gained confidence in +himself as a writer. +</p> + +<p> +Following this pronounced success in authorship, Cooper set to work on a third +book and continued for the remainder of his life to devote most of his time to +writing. Altogether he wrote over thirty novels and as many more works of a +miscellaneous character. But much of this writing has no interest for us at the +present time, especially that which was occasioned by the many controversies in +which the rather belligerent Cooper involved himself. His work of permanent +value after <i>The Spy</i> falls into two groups, the tales of wilderness life +and the sea tales. Both these groups grew directly out of his experiences in +early life. +</p> + +<p> +Cooper was born on September 15, 1789, in Burlington, New Jersey, but while +still very young he was taken to Cooperstown, on the shores of Otsego Lake, in +central New York. His father owned many thousand acres of primeval forest about +this village, and so through the years of a free boyhood the young Cooper came +to love the wilderness and to know the characters of border life. When the +village school was no longer adequate, he went to study privately in Albany and +later entered Yale College. But he was not interested in the study of books. +When, as a junior, he was expelled from college, he turned to a career in the +navy. Accordingly in the fall of 1806 he sailed on a merchant ship, the +<i>Sterling</i>, and for the next eleven months saw hard service before the +mast. Soon after this apprenticeship he received a commission as a midshipman +in the United States navy. Although it was a time of peace, and he saw no +actual fighting, he gained considerable knowledge from his service on Lake +Ontario and Lake Champlain that he put to good use later. Shortly before his +resignation in May, 1811, he had married, and for several years thereafter he +lived along in a pleasant, leisurely fashion, part of the time in Cooperstown +and part of the time in Westchester County, until almost accidentally he broke +into the writing of his first novel. Aside from the publication of his books, +Cooper’s later life was essentially uneventful. He died at Cooperstown, +on September 14, 1851. +</p> + +<p> +The connection of Cooper’s best writing with the life he knew at first +hand is thus perfectly plain. In his novels dealing with the wilderness, +popularly known as the Leatherstocking Tales, he drew directly on his knowledge +of the backwoods and backwoodsmen as he gained it about Cooperstown. In <i>The +Pioneers</i> (1823) he dealt with the scenes of his boyhood, scenes which lay +very close to his heart; and in the other volumes of this series, <i>The Last +of the Mohicans</i> (1826), <i>The Prairie</i> (1827), <i>The Pathfinder</i> +(1840), and <i>The Deerslayer</i> (1841), he continued to write of the trappers +and frontiersmen and outpost garrisons and Indians who made up the forest life +he knew so well. Similarly, in the sea tales, which began with ‘The +Pilot’(1823) and included ‘The Red Rover’(1828), ‘The +Two Admirals’ (1842) and ‘The Wing-and-Wing’(1842), he made +full use of his experiences before the mast and in the navy. The nautical +accuracy of these tales of the sea could scarcely have been attained by a +“landlubber”. It has much practical significance, then, that Cooper +chose material which he knew intimately and which gripped his own interest. His +success came like Thackeray’s and Stevenson’s and Mark +Twain’s—without his having to reach to the other side of the world +after his material. +</p> + +<p> +In considering Cooper’s work as a novelist, nothing is more marked than +his originality. In these days we take novels based on American history and +novels of the sea for granted, but at the time when Cooper published ‘The +Spy’ and ‘The Pilot’ neither an American novel nor a +salt-water novel had ever been written. So far as Americans before Cooper had +written fiction at all, Washington Irving had been the only one to cease from a +timid imitation of British models. But Irving’s material was local, +rather than national. It was Cooper who first told the story of the conquest of +the American continent. He caught the poetry and the romantic thrill of both +the American forest and the sea; he dared to break away from literary +conventions. His reward was an immediate and widespread success, together with +a secure place in the history of his country’s literature. +</p> + +<p> +There was probably a two-fold reason for the success which Cooper’s +novels won at home and abroad. In the first place, Cooper could invent a good +story and tell it well. He was a master of rapid, stirring narrative, and his +tales were elemental, not deep or subtle. Secondly, he created interesting +characters who had the restless energy, the passion for adventure, the rugged +confidence, of our American pioneers. First among these great characters came +Harvey Birch in ‘The Spy’, but Cooper’s real triumph was +Natty Bumppo, who appears in all five of the Leatherstocking Tales. This +skilled trapper, faithful guide, brave fighter, and homely philosopher was +“the first real American in fiction,” an important contribution to +the world’s literature. In addition, Cooper created the Indian of +literature—perhaps a little too noble to be entirely true to +life—and various simple, strong seamen. His Chingachgook and Uncas and +Long Tom Coffin justly brought him added fame. In these narrative gifts, as +well as in the robustness of his own character, Cooper was not unlike Sir +Walter Scott. He once modestly referred to himself as “a chip from +Scott’s block” and has frequently been called “the American +Scott.” +</p> + +<p> +But, of course, Cooper had limitations and faults. When he stepped outside the +definite boundaries of the life he knew, he was unable to handle character +effectively. His women are practically failures, and like his military officers +essentially interchangeable. His humor is almost invariably labored and +tedious. He occasionally allowed long passages of description or long speeches +by some minor character to clog the progress of his action. Now and then, in +inventing his plots, he strained his readers’ credulity somewhat. +Finally, as a result of his rapid writing, his work is uneven and without style +in the sense that a careful craftsman or a sensitive artist achieves it. He is +even guilty of an occasional error in grammar or word use which the young pupil +in the schools can detect. Yet his literary powers easily outweigh all these +weaknesses. He is unquestionably one of America’s great novelists and one +of the world’s great romancers. +</p> + +<p> +There is abundant reason, therefore, why Americans of the present day should +know James Fenimore Cooper. He has many a good story of the wilderness and the +sea to tell to those who enjoy tales of adventure. He gives a vivid, but +faithful picture of American frontier life for those who can know its stirring +events and its hardy characters only at second hand. He holds a peculiarly +important place in the history of American literature, and has done much to +extend the reputation of American fiction among foreigners. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="pref02"></a>AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION</h2> + +<p> +The author has often been asked if there were any foundation in real life for +the delineation of the principal character in this book. He can give no clearer +answer to the question than by laying before his readers a simple statement of +the facts connected with its original publication. +</p> + +<p> +Many years since, the writer of this volume was at the residence of an +illustrious man, who had been employed in various situations of high trust +during the darkest days of the American Revolution. The discourse turned upon +the effects which great political excitement produces on character, and the +purifying consequences of a love of country, when that sentiment is powerfully +and generally awakened in a people. He who, from his years, his services, and +his knowledge of men, was best qualified to take the lead in such a +conversation, was the principal speaker. After dwelling on the marked manner in +which the great struggle of the nation, during the war of 1775, had given a new +and honorable direction to the thoughts and practices of multitudes whose time +had formerly been engrossed by the most vulgar concerns of life, he illustrated +his opinions by relating an anecdote, the truth of which he could attest as a +personal witness. +</p> + +<p> +The dispute between England and the United States of America, though not +strictly a family quarrel, had many of the features of a civil war. The people +of the latter were never properly and constitutionally subject to the people of +the former, but the inhabitants of both countries owed allegiance to a common +king. The Americans, as a nation, disavowed this allegiance, and the English +choosing to support their sovereign in the attempt to regain his power, most of +the feelings of an internal struggle were involved in the conflict. A large +proportion of the emigrants from Europe, then established in the colonies, took +part with the crown; and there were many districts in which their influence, +united to that of the Americans who refused to lay aside their allegiance, gave +a decided preponderance to the royal cause. America was then too young, and too +much in need of every heart and hand, to regard these partial divisions, small +as they were in actual amount, with indifference. The evil was greatly +increased by the activity of the English in profiting by these internal +dissensions; and it became doubly serious when it was found that attempts were +made to raise various corps of provincial troops, who were to be banded with +those from Europe, to reduce the young republic to subjection. Congress named +an especial and a secret committee, therefore, for the express purpose of +defeating this object. Of this committee Mr.——, the narrator of the +anecdote, was chairman. +</p> + +<p> +In the discharge of the novel duties which now devolved on him, +Mr.—— had occasion to employ an agent whose services differed but +little from those of a common spy. This man, as will easily be understood, +belonged to a condition in life which rendered him the least reluctant to +appear in so equivocal a character. He was poor, ignorant, so far as the usual +instruction was concerned; but cool, shrewd, and fearless by nature. It was his +office to learn in what part of the country the agents of the crown were making +their efforts to embody men, to repair to the place, enlist, appear zealous in +the cause he affected to serve, and otherwise to get possession of as many of +the secrets of the enemy as possible. The last he of course communicated to his +employers, who took all the means in their power to counteract the plans of the +English, and frequently with success. +</p> + +<p> +It will readily be conceived that a service like this was attended with great +personal hazard. In addition to the danger of discovery, there was the daily +risk of falling into the hands of the Americans themselves, who invariably +visited sins of this nature more severely on the natives of the country than on +the Europeans who fell into their hands. In fact, the agent of Mr. +—— was several times arrested by the local authorities; and, in one +instance, he was actually condemned by his exasperated countrymen to the +gallows. Speedy and private orders to the jailer alone saved him from an +ignominious death. He was permitted to escape; and this seeming and indeed +actual peril was of great aid in supporting his assumed character among the +English. By the Americans, in his little sphere, he was denounced as a bold and +inveterate Tory. In this manner he continued to serve his country in secret +during the early years of the struggle, hourly environed by danger, and the +constant subject of unmerited opprobrium. +</p> + +<p> +In the year ——, Mr. —— was named to a high and +honorable employment at a European court. Before vacating his seat in Congress, +he reported to that body an outline of the circumstances related, necessarily +suppressing the name of his agent, and demanding an appropriation in behalf of +a man who had been of so much use, at so great risk. A suitable sum was voted; +and its delivery was confided to the chairman of the secret committee. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. —— took the necessary means to summon his agent to a personal +interview. They met in a wood at midnight. Here Mr. —— complimented +his companion on his fidelity and adroitness; explained the necessity of their +communications being closed; and finally tendered the money. The other drew +back, and declined receiving it. “The country has need of all its +means,” he said; “as for myself, I can work, or gain a livelihood +in various ways.” Persuasion was useless, for patriotism was uppermost in +the heart of this remarkable individual; and Mr. —— departed, +bearing with him the gold he had brought, and a deep respect for the man who +had so long hazarded his life, unrequited, for the cause they served in common. +</p> + +<p> +The writer is under an impression that, at a later day, the agent of Mr. +—— consented to receive a remuneration for what he had done; but it +was not until his country was entirely in a condition to bestow it. +</p> + +<p> +It is scarcely necessary to add, that an anecdote like this, simply but +forcibly told by one of its principal actors, made a deep impression on all who +heard it. Many years later, circumstances, which it is unnecessary to relate, +and of an entirely adventitious nature, induced the writer to publish a novel, +which proved to be, what he little foresaw at the time, the first of a +tolerably long series. The same adventitious causes which gave birth to the +book determined its scene and its general character. The former was laid in a +foreign country; and the latter embraced a crude effort to describe foreign +manners. When this tale was published, it became matter of reproach among the +author’s friends, that he, an American in heart as in birth, should give +to the world a work which aided perhaps, in some slight degree, to feed the +imaginations of the young and unpracticed among his own countrymen, by pictures +drawn from a state of society so different from that to which he belonged. The +writer, while he knew how much of what he had done was purely accidental, felt +the reproach to be one that, in a measure, was just. As the only atonement in +his power, he determined to inflict a second book, whose subject should admit +of no cavil, not only on the world, but on himself. He chose patriotism for his +theme; and to those who read this introduction and the book itself, it is +scarcely necessary to add, that he took the hero of the anecdote just related +as the best illustration of his subject. +</p> + +<p> +Since the original publication of <i>The Spy</i>, there have appeared several +accounts of different persons who are supposed to have been in the +author’s mind while writing the book. As Mr. —— did not +mention the name of his agent, the writer never knew any more of his identity +with this or that individual, than has been here explained. Both Washington and +Sir Henry Clinton had an unusual number of secret emissaries; in a war that +partook so much of a domestic character, and in which the contending parties +were people of the same blood and language, it could scarcely be otherwise. +</p> + +<p> +The style of the book has been revised by the author in this edition. In this +respect, he has endeavored to make it more worthy of the favor with which it +has been received; though he is compelled to admit there are faults so +interwoven with the structure of the tale that, as in the case of a decayed +edifice, it would cost perhaps less to reconstruct than to repair. +Five-and-twenty years have been as ages with most things connected with +America. Among other advantages, that of her literature has not been the least. +So little was expected from the publication of an original work of this +description, at the time it was written, that the first volume of <i>The +Spy</i> was actually printed several months, before the author felt a +sufficient inducement to write a line of the second. The efforts expended on a +hopeless task are rarely worthy of him who makes them, however low it may be +necessary to rate the standard of his general merit. +</p> + +<p> +One other anecdote connected with the history of this book may give the reader +some idea of the hopes of an American author, in the first quarter of the +present century. As the second volume was slowly printing, from manuscript that +was barely dry when it went into the compositor’s hands, the publisher +intimated that the work might grow to a length that would consume the profits. +To set his mind at rest, the last chapter was actually written, printed, and +paged, several weeks before the chapters which precede it were even thought of. +This circumstance, while it cannot excuse, may serve to explain the manner in +which the actors are hurried off the scene. +</p> + +<p> +A great change has come over the country since this book was originally +written. The nation is passing from the gristle into the bone, and the common +mind is beginning to keep even pace with the growth of the body politic. The +march from Vera Cruz to Mexico was made under the orders of that gallant +soldier who, a quarter of a century before, was mentioned with honor, in the +last chapter of this very book. Glorious as was that march, and brilliant as +were its results in a military point of view, a stride was then made by the +nation, in a moral sense, that has hastened it by an age, in its progress +toward real independence and high political influence. The guns that filled the +valley of the Aztecs with their thunder, have been heard in echoes on the other +side of the Atlantic, producing equally hope or apprehension. +</p> + +<p> +There is now no enemy to fear, but the one that resides within. By accustoming +ourselves to regard even the people as erring beings, and by using the +restraints that wisdom has adduced from experience, there is much reason to +hope that the same Providence which has so well aided us in our infancy, may +continue to smile on our manhood. +</p> + +<p> +COOPERSTOWN, <i>March</i> 29, 1849. +</p> + +<p> +[Illustration: MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE STORY OF THE SPY] +</p> + +<p> +[The footnotes throughout are Cooper’s own.] +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap01"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +And though amidst the calm of thought entire,<br/> +Some high and haughty features might betray<br/> +A soul impetuous once—’twas earthly fire<br/> +That fled composure’s intellectual ray,<br/> +As Etna’s fires grow dim before the rising day. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Gertrude of Wyoming</i>. +</p> + +<p> +It was near the close of the year 1780 that a solitary traveler was seen +pursuing his way through one of the numerous little valleys of Westchester.<a +href="#linknote-1" name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +The easterly wind, with its chilling dampness and increasing violence, gave +unerring notice of the approach of a storm, which, as usual, might be expected +to continue for several days; and the experienced eye of the traveler was +turned in vain, through the darkness of the evening, in quest of some +convenient shelter, in which, for the term of his confinement by the rain that +already began to mix with the atmosphere in a thick mist, he might obtain such +accommodations as his purposes required. Nothing whatever offered but the small +and inconvenient tenements of the lower order of the inhabitants, with whom, in +that immediate neighborhood, he did not think it either safe or politic to +trust himself. +</p> + +<p> +The county of Westchester, after the British had obtained possession of the +island of New York,<a href="#linknote-2" name="linknoteref-2" +id="linknoteref-2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> became common ground, in which both +parties continued to act for the remainder of the war of the Revolution. A +large proportion of its inhabitants, either restrained by their attachments, or +influenced by their fears, affected a neutrality they did not feel. The lower +towns were, of course, more particularly under the dominion of the crown, while +the upper, finding a security from the vicinity of the continental troops, were +bold in asserting their revolutionary opinions, and their right to govern +themselves. Great numbers, however, wore masks, which even to this day have not +been thrown aside; and many an individual has gone down to the tomb, +stigmatized as a foe to the rights of his countrymen, while, in secret, he has +been the useful agent of the leaders of the Revolution; and, on the other hand, +could the hidden repositories of divers flaming patriots have been opened to +the light of day, royal protections would have been discovered concealed under +piles of British gold. +</p> + +<p> +At the sound of the tread of the noble horse ridden by the traveler, the +mistress of the farmhouse he was passing at the time might be seen cautiously +opening the door of the building to examine the stranger; and perhaps, with an +averted face communicating the result of her observations to her husband, who, +in the rear of the building, was prepared to seek, if necessary, his ordinary +place of concealment in the adjacent woods. The valley was situated about +midway in the length of the county, and was sufficiently near to both armies to +make the restitution of stolen goods no uncommon occurrence in that vicinity. +It is true, the same articles were not always regained; but a summary +substitute was generally resorted to, in the absence of legal justice, which +restored to the loser the amount of his loss, and frequently with no +inconsiderable addition for the temporary use of his property. In short, the +law was momentarily extinct in that particular district, and justice was +administered subject to the bias of personal interests and the passions of the +strongest. +</p> + +<p> +The passage of a stranger, with an appearance of somewhat doubtful character, +and mounted on an animal which, although unfurnished with any of the ordinary +trappings of war, partook largely of the bold and upright carriage that +distinguished his rider, gave rise to many surmises among the gazing inmates of +the different habitations; and in some instances, where conscience was more +than ordinarily awake, to no little alarm. +</p> + +<p> +Tired with the exercise of a day of unusual fatigue, and anxious to obtain a +speedy shelter from the increasing violence of the storm, that now began to +change its character to large drops of driving rain, the traveler determined, +as a matter of necessity, to make an application for admission to the next +dwelling that offered. An opportunity was not long wanting; and, riding through +a pair of neglected bars, he knocked loudly at the outer door of a building of +a very humble exterior, without quitting his saddle. A female of middle age, +with an outward bearing but little more prepossessing than that of her +dwelling, appeared to answer the summons. The startled woman half closed her +door again in affright, as she saw, by the glare of a large wood fire, a +mounted man so unexpectedly near its threshold; and an expression of terror +mingled with her natural curiosity, as she required his pleasure. +</p> + +<p> +Although the door was too nearly closed to admit of a minute scrutiny of the +accommodations within, enough had been seen to cause the horseman to endeavor, +once more, to penetrate the gloom, with longing eyes, in search of a more +promising roof, before, with an ill-concealed reluctance, he stated his +necessities and wishes. His request was listened to with evident unwillingness, +and, while yet unfinished, it was eagerly interrupted by the reply: +</p> + +<p> +“I can’t say I like to give lodgings to a stranger in these +ticklish times,” said the female, in a pert, sharp key. “I’m +nothing but a forlorn lone body; or, what’s the same thing, there’s +nobody but the old gentleman at home; but a half mile farther up the road is a +house where you can get entertainment, and that for nothing. I am sure +’twill be much convenienter to them, and more agreeable to +me—because, as I said before, Harvey is away; I wish he’d take +advice, and leave off wandering; he’s well to do in the world by this +time; and he ought to leave off his uncertain courses, and settle himself, +handsomely, in life, like other men of his years and property. But Harvey Birch +will have his own way, and die vagabond after all!” +</p> + +<p> +The horseman did not wait to hear more than the advice to pursue his course up +the road; but he had slowly turned his horse towards the bars, and was +gathering the folds of an ample cloak around his manly form, preparatory to +facing the storm again, when something in the speech of the female suddenly +arrested the movement. +</p> + +<p> +“Is this, then, the dwelling of Harvey Birch?” he inquired, in an +involuntary manner, apparently checking himself, as he was about to utter more. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, one can hardly say it is his dwelling,” replied the other, +drawing a hurried breath, like one eager to answer; “he is never in it, +or so seldom, that I hardly remember his face, when he does think it worth his +while to show it to his poor old father and me. But it matters little to me, +I’m sure, if he ever comes back again, or not;—turn in the first +gate on your left;—no, I care but little, for my part, whether Harvey +ever shows his face again or not—not I”—and she closed the +door abruptly on the horseman, who gladly extended his ride a half mile +farther, to obtain lodgings which promised both more comfort and greater +security. +</p> + +<p> +Sufficient light yet remained to enable the traveler to distinguish the +improvements<a href="#linknote-3" name="linknoteref-3" +id="linknoteref-3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> which had been made in the cultivation, +and in the general appearance of the grounds around the building to which he +was now approaching. The house was of stone, long, low, and with a small wing +at each extremity. A piazza, extending along the front, with neatly turned +pillars of wood, together with the good order and preservation of the fences +and outbuildings, gave the place an air altogether superior to the common +farmhouses of the country. After leading his horse behind an angle of the wall, +where it was in some degree protected from the wind and rain, the traveler +threw his valise over his arm, and knocked loudly at the entrance of the +building for admission. An aged black soon appeared; and without seeming to +think it necessary, under the circumstances, to consult his +superiors,—first taking one prying look at the applicant, by the light of +the candle in his hand,—he acceded to the request for accommodations. The +traveler was shown into an extremely neat parlor, where a fire had been lighted +to cheer the dullness of an easterly storm and an October evening. After giving +the valise into the keeping of his civil attendant, and politely repeating his +request to the old gentleman, who arose to receive him, and paying his +compliments to the three ladies who were seated at work with their needles, the +stranger commenced laying aside some of the outer garments which he had worn in +his ride. +</p> + +<p> +On taking an extra handkerchief from his neck, and removing a cloak of blue +cloth, with a surtout of the same material, he exhibited to the scrutiny of the +observant family party, a tall and extremely graceful person, of apparently +fifty years of age. His countenance evinced a settled composure and dignity; +his nose was straight, and approaching to Grecian; his eye, of a gray color, +was quiet, thoughtful, and rather melancholy; the mouth and lower part of his +face being expressive of decision and much character. His dress, being suited +to the road, was simple and plain, but such as was worn by the higher class of +his countrymen; he wore his own hair, dressed in a manner that gave a military +air to his appearance, and which was rather heightened by his erect and +conspicuously graceful carriage. His whole appearance was so impressive and so +decidedly that of a gentleman, that as he finished laying aside the garments, +the ladies arose from their seats, and, together with the master of the house, +they received anew, and returned the complimentary greetings which were again +offered. +</p> + +<p> +The host was by several years the senior of the traveler, and by his manner, +dress, and everything around him, showed he had seen much of life and the best +society. The ladies were, a maiden of forty, and two much younger, who did not +seem, indeed, to have reached half those years. The bloom of the elder of these +ladies had vanished, but her eyes and fine hair gave an extremely agreeable +expression to her countenance; and there was a softness and an affability in +her deportment, that added a charm many more juvenile faces do not possess. The +sisters, for such the resemblance between the younger females denoted them to +be, were in all the pride of youth, and the roses, so eminently the property of +the Westchester fair, glowed on their cheeks, and lighted their deep blue eyes +with that luster which gives so much pleasure to the beholder, and which +indicates so much internal innocence and peace. There was much of that feminine +delicacy in the appearance of the three, which distinguishes the sex in this +country; and, like the gentleman, their demeanor proved them to be women of the +higher order of life. +</p> + +<p> +After handing a glass of excellent Madeira to his guest, Mr. Wharton, for so +was the owner of this retired estate called, resumed his seat by the fire, with +another in his own hand. For a moment he paused, as if debating with his +politeness, but at length threw an inquiring glance on the stranger, as he +inquired,— +</p> + +<p> +“To whose health am I to have the honor of drinking?” +</p> + +<p> +The traveler had also seated himself, and he sat unconsciously gazing on the +fire, while Mr. Wharton spoke; turning his eyes slowly on his host with a look +of close observation, he replied, while a faint tinge gathered on his +features,— +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Harper.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Harper,” resumed the other, with the formal precision of that +day, “I have the honor to drink your health, and to hope you will sustain +no injury from the rain to which you have been exposed.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Harper bowed in silence to the compliment, and he soon resumed the +meditations from which he had been interrupted, and for which the long ride he +had that day made, in the wind, might seem a very natural apology. +</p> + +<p> +The young ladies had again taken their seats beside the workstand, while their +aunt, Miss Jeanette Peyton, withdrew to superintend the preparations necessary +to appease the hunger of their unexpected visitor. A short silence prevailed, +during which Mr. Harper was apparently enjoying the change in his situation, +when Mr. Wharton again broke it, by inquiring whether smoke was disagreeable to +his companion; to which, receiving an answer in the negative, he immediately +resumed the pipe which had been laid aside at the entrance of the traveler. +</p> + +<p> +There was an evident desire on the part of the host to enter into conversation, +but either from an apprehension of treading on dangerous ground, or an +unwillingness to intrude upon the rather studied taciturnity of his guest, he +several times hesitated, before he could venture to make any further remark. At +length, a movement from Mr. Harper, as he raised his eyes to the party in the +room, encouraged him to proceed. +</p> + +<p> +“I find it very difficult,” said Mr. Wharton, cautiously avoiding +at first, such subjects as he wished to introduce, “to procure that +quality of tobacco for my evenings’ amusement to which I have been +accustomed.” +</p> + +<p> +“I should think the shops in New York might furnish the best in the +country,” calmly rejoined the other. +</p> + +<p> +“Why—yes,” returned the host in rather a hesitating manner, +lifting his eyes to the face of Harper, and lowering them quickly under his +steady look, “there must be plenty in town; but the war has made +communication with the city, however innocent, too dangerous to be risked for +so trifling an article as tobacco.” +</p> + +<p> +The box from which Mr. Wharton had just taken a supply for his pipe was lying +open, within a few inches of the elbow of Harper, who took a small quantity +from its contents, and applied it to his tongue, in a manner perfectly natural, +but one that filled his companion with alarm. Without, however, observing that +the quality was of the most approved kind, the traveler relieved his host by +relapsing again into his meditations. Mr. Wharton now felt unwilling to lose +the advantage he had gained, and, making an effort of more than usual vigor, he +continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“I wish from the bottom of my heart, this unnatural struggle was over, +that we might again meet our friends and relatives in peace and love.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is much to be desired,” said Harper, emphatically, again +raising his eyes to the countenance of his host. +</p> + +<p> +“I hear of no movement of consequence, since the arrival of our new +allies,” said Mr. Wharton, shaking the ashes from his pipe, and turning +his back to the other under the pretense of receiving a coal from his youngest +daughter. +</p> + +<p> +“None have yet reached the public, I believe.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is it thought any important steps are about to be taken?” +continued Mr. Wharton, still occupied with his daughter, yet suspending his +employment, in expectation of a reply. +</p> + +<p> +“Is it intimated any are in agitation?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! nothing in particular; but it is natural to expect some new +enterprise from so powerful a force as that under Rochambeau.” +</p> + +<p> +Harper made an assenting inclination with his head, but no other reply, to this +remark; while Mr. Wharton, after lighting his pipe, resumed the subject. +</p> + +<p> +“They appear more active in the south; Gates and Cornwallis seem willing +to bring the war to an issue there.” +</p> + +<p> +The brow of Harper contracted, and a deeper shade of melancholy crossed his +features; his eye kindled with a transient beam of fire, that spoke a latent +source of deep feeling. The admiring gaze of the younger of the sisters had +barely time to read its expression, before it passed away, leaving in its room +the acquired composure which marked the countenance of the stranger, and that +impressive dignity which so conspicuously denotes the empire of reason. +</p> + +<p> +The elder sister made one or two movements in her chair, before she ventured to +say, in a tone which partook in no small measure of triumph,— +</p> + +<p> +“General Gates has been less fortunate with the earl, than with +General<br/> +Burgoyne.” +</p> + +<p> +“But General Gates is an Englishman, Sarah,” cried the younger +lady, with quickness; then, coloring to the eyes at her own boldness, she +employed herself in tumbling over the contents of her work basket, silently +hoping the remark would be unnoticed. +</p> + +<p> +The traveler had turned his face from one sister to the other, as they had +spoken in succession, and an almost imperceptible movement of the muscles of +his mouth betrayed a new emotion, as he playfully inquired of the +younger,— +</p> + +<p> +“May I venture to ask what inference you would draw from that +fact?” +</p> + +<p> +Frances blushed yet deeper at this direct appeal to her opinions upon a subject +on which she had incautiously spoken in the presence of a stranger; but finding +an answer necessary, after some little hesitation, and with a good deal of +stammering in her manner, she replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“Only—only—sir—my sister and myself sometimes differ in +our opinions of the prowess of the British.” A smile of much meaning +played on a face of infantile innocency, as she concluded. +</p> + +<p> +“On what particular points of their prowess do you differ?” +continued Harper, meeting her look of animation with a smile of almost paternal +softness. +</p> + +<p> +“Sarah thinks the British are never beaten, while I do not put so much +faith in their invincibility.” +</p> + +<p> +The traveler listened to her with that pleased indulgence, with which virtuous +age loves to contemplate the ardor of youthful innocence; but making no reply, +he turned to the fire, and continued for some time gazing on its embers, in +silence. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton had in vain endeavored to pierce the disguise of his guest’s +political feelings; but, while there was nothing forbidding in his countenance, +there was nothing communicative; on the contrary it was strikingly reserved; +and the master of the house arose, in profound ignorance of what, in those +days, was the most material point in the character of his guest, to lead the +way into another room, and to the supper table. Mr. Harper offered his hand to +Sarah Wharton, and they entered the room together; while Frances followed, +greatly at a loss to know whether she had not wounded the feelings of her +father’s inmate. +</p> + +<p> +The storm began to rage with great violence without; and the dashing rain on +the sides of the building awakened that silent sense of enjoyment, which is +excited by such sounds in a room of quiet comfort and warmth, when a loud +summons at the outer door again called the faithful black to the portal. In a +minute the servant returned, and informed his master that another traveler, +overtaken by the storm, desired to be admitted to the house for a shelter +through the night. +</p> + +<p> +At the first sounds of the impatient summons of this new applicant, Mr. Wharton +had risen from his seat in evident uneasiness; and with eyes glancing with +quickness from his guest to the door of the room, he seemed to be expecting +something to proceed from this second interruption, connected with the stranger +who had occasioned the first. He scarcely had time to bid the black, with a +faint voice, to show this second comer in, before the door was thrown hastily +open, and the stranger himself entered the apartment. He paused a moment, as +the person of Harper met his view, and then, in a more formal manner, repeated +the request he had before made through the servant. Mr. Wharton and his family +disliked the appearance of this new visitor excessively; but the inclemency of +the weather, and the uncertainty of the consequences, if he were refused the +desired lodgings, compelled the old gentleman to give a reluctant acquiescence. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the dishes were replaced by the orders of Miss Peyton, and the +weather-beaten intruder was invited to partake of the remains of the repast, +from which the party had just risen. Throwing aside a rough greatcoat, he very +composedly took the offered chair, and unceremoniously proceeded to allay the +cravings of an appetite which appeared by no means delicate. But at every +mouthful he would turn an unquiet eye on Harper, who studied his appearance +with a closeness of investigation that was very embarrassing to its subject. At +length, pouring out a glass of wine, the newcomer nodded significantly to his +examiner, previously to swallowing the liquor, and said, with something of +bitterness in his manner,— +</p> + +<p> +“I drink to our better acquaintance, sir; I believe this is the first +time we have met, though your attention would seem to say otherwise.” +</p> + +<p> +The quality of the wine seemed greatly to his fancy, for, on replacing the +glass upon the table, he gave his lips a smack, that resounded through the +room; and, taking up the bottle, he held it between himself and the light, for +a moment, in silent contemplation of its clear and brilliant color. +</p> + +<p> +“I think we have never met before, sir,” replied Harper with a +slight smile on his features, as he observed the move ments of the other; but +appearing satisfied with his scrutiny, he turned to Sarah Wharton, who sat next +him, and carelessly remarked,— +</p> + +<p> +“You doubtless find your present abode solitary, after being accustomed +to the gayeties of the city.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! excessively so,” said Sarah hastily. “I do wish, with my +father, that this cruel war was at an end, that we might return to our friends +once more.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you, Miss Frances, do you long as ardently for peace as your +sister?” +</p> + +<p> +“On many accounts I certainly do,” returned the other, venturing to +steal a timid glance at her interrogator; and, meeting the same benevolent +expression of feeling as before, she continued, as her own face lighted into +one of its animated and bright smiles of intelligence, “but not at the +expense of the rights of my countrymen.” +</p> + +<p> +“Rights!” repeated her sister, impatiently; “whose rights can +be stronger than those of a sovereign: and what duty is clearer, than to obey +those who have a natural right to command?” +</p> + +<p> +“None, certainly,” said Frances, laughing with great pleasantry; +and, taking the hand of her sister affectionately within both of her own, she +added, with a smile directed towards Harper,— +</p> + +<p> +“I gave you to understand that my sister and myself differed in our +political opinions; but we have an impartial umpire in my father, who loves his +own countrymen, and he loves the British,—so he takes sides with +neither.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said Mr. Wharton, in a little alarm, eying first one guest, +and then the other; “I have near friends in both armies, and I dread a +victory by either, as a source of certain private misfortune.” +</p> + +<p> +“I take it, you have little reason to apprehend much from the Yankees, in +that way,” interrupted the guest at the table, coolly helping himself to +another glass, from the bottle he had admired. +</p> + +<p> +“His majesty may have more experienced troops than the +continentals,” answered the host fearfully, “but the Americans have +met with distinguished success.” +</p> + +<p> +Harper disregarded the observations of both; and, rising, he desired to be +shown to his place of rest. A small boy was directed to guide him to his room; +and wishing a courteous good-night to the whole party, the traveler withdrew. +The knife and fork fell from the hands of the unwelcome intruder, as the door +closed on the retiring figure of Harper; he arose slowly from his seat; +listening attentively, he approached the door of the room—opened +it—seemed to attend to the retreating footsteps of the other—and, +amidst the panic and astonishment of his companions, he closed it again. In an +instant, the red wig which concealed his black locks, the large patch which hid +half his face from observation, the stoop that had made him appear fifty years +of age, disappeared. +</p> + +<p> +“My father!-my dear father!”—cried the handsome young man; +“and you, my dearest sisters and aunt!—have I at last met you +again?” +</p> + +<p> +“Heaven bless you, my Henry, my son!” exclaimed the astonished but +delighted parent; while his sisters sank on his shoulders, dissolved in tears. +</p> + +<p> +The faithful old black, who had been reared from infancy in the house of his +master, and who, as if in mockery of his degraded state, had been complimented +with the name of Caesar, was the only other witness of this unexpected +discovery of the son of Mr. Wharton. After receiving the extended hand of his +young master, and imprinting on it a fervent kiss, Caesar withdrew. The boy did +not reenter the room; and the black himself, after some time, returned, just as +the young British captain was exclaiming,— +</p> + +<p> +“But who is this Mr. Harper?—is he likely to betray me?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, no, Massa Harry,” cried the negro, shaking his gray head +confidently; “I been to see—Massa Harper on he knee—pray to +God—no gemman who pray to God tell of good son, come to see old +fader—Skinner do that—no Christian!” +</p> + +<p> +This poor opinion of the Skinners was not confined to Mr. Caesar Thompson, as +he called himself—but Caesar Wharton, as he was styled by the little +world to which he was known. The convenience, and perhaps the necessities, of +the leaders of the American arms, in the neighborhood of New York, had induced +them to employ certain subordinate agents, of extremely irregular habits, in +executing their lesser plans of annoying the enemy. It was not a moment for +fastidious inquiries into abuses of any description, and oppression and +injustice were the natural consequences of the possession of a military power +that was uncurbed by the restraints of civil authority. In time, a distinct +order of the community was formed, whose sole occupation appears to have been +that of relieving their fellow citizens from any little excess of temporal +prosperity they might be thought to enjoy, under the pretense of patriotism and +the love of liberty. +</p> + +<p> +Occasionally, the aid of military authority was not wanting, in enforcing these +arbitrary distributions of worldly goods; and a petty holder of a commission in +the state militia was to be seen giving the sanction of something like legality +to acts of the most unlicensed robbery, and, not infrequently, of bloodshed. +</p> + +<p> +On the part of the British, the stimulus of loyalty was by no means suffered to +sleep, where so fruitful a field offered on which it might be expended. But +their freebooters were enrolled, and their efforts more systematized. Long +experience had taught their leaders the efficacy of concentrated force; and, +unless tradition does great injustice to their exploits, the result did no +little credit to their foresight. The corps—we presume, from their known +affection to that useful animal—had received the quaint appellation of +“Cowboys.” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar was, however, far too loyal to associate men who held the commission of +George III, with the irregular warriors, whose excesses he had so often +witnessed, and from whose rapacity, neither his poverty nor his bondage had +suffered even him to escape uninjured. The Cowboys, therefore, did not receive +their proper portion of the black’s censure, when he said, no Christian, +nothing but a “Skinner,” could betray a pious child, while honoring +his father with a visit so full of peril. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-1">[1]</a> +As each state of the American Union has its own counties, it often happens that +there are several which bear the same name. The scene of this tale is in New +York, whose county of Westchester is the nearest adjoining to the city. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-2">[2]</a> +The city of New York is situated on an island called Manhattan: but it is at +one point separated from the county of Westchester by a creek of only a few +feet in width. The bridge at this spot is called King’s Bridge. It was +the scene of many skirmishes during the war, and is alluded to in this tale. +Every Manhattanese knows the difference between “Manhattan Island” +and the “island of Manhattan.” The first is applied to a small +District in the vicinity of Corlaer’s Hook, while the last embraces the +Whole island; or the city and county of New York as it is termed in the laws. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-3">[3]</a> +Improvements is used by the Americans to express every degree of change in +converting land from its state of wilderness to that of cultivation. In this +meaning of the word, it is an improvement to fell the trees; and it is valued +precisely by the supposed amount of the cost. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap02"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +And many a halcyon day he lived to see<br/> +Unbroken, but by one misfortune dire,<br/> +When fate had reft his mutual heart—but she<br/> +Was gone-and Gertrude climbed a widowed father’s knee. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Gertrude of Wyoming</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The father of Mr. Wharton was a native of England, and of a family whose +parliamentary interest had enabled them to provide for a younger son in the +colony of New York. The young man, like hundreds of others in this situation, +had settled permanently in the country. He married; and the sole issue of his +connection had been sent early in life to receive the benefits of the English +schools. After taking his degrees at one of the universities of the mother +country, the youth had been suffered to acquire a knowledge of life with the +advantages of European society. But the death of his father recalled him, after +passing two years in this manner, to the possession of an honorable name, and a +very ample estate. +</p> + +<p> +It was much the fashion of that day to place the youth of certain families in +the army and navy of England, as the regular stepping-stones to preferment. +Most of the higher offices in the colonies were filled by men who had made arms +their profession; and it was even no uncommon sight to see a veteran warrior +laying aside the sword to assume the ermine on the benches of the highest +judicial authority. +</p> + +<p> +In conformity with this system, the senior Mr. Wharton had intended his son for +a soldier; but a natural imbecility of character in his child interfered with +his wishes. +</p> + +<p> +A twelvemonth had been spent by the young man in weighing the comparative +advantages of the different classes of troops, when the death of his father +occurred. The ease of his situation, and the attentions lavished upon a youth +in the actual enjoyment of one of the largest estates in the colonies, +interfered greatly with his ambitious projects. Love decided the matter; and +Mr. Wharton, in becoming a husband, ceased to think of becoming a soldier. For +many years he continued happy in his family, and sufficiently respected by his +countrymen, as a man of integrity and consequence, when all his enjoyments +vanished, as it were, at a blow. His only son, the youth introduced in the +preceding chapter, had entered the army, and had arrived in his native country, +but a short time before the commencement of hostilities, with the +reinforcements the ministry had thought it prudent to throw into the +disaffected parts of North America. His daughters were just growing into life, +and their education required all the advantages the city could afford. His wife +had been for some years in declining health, and had barely time to fold her +son to her bosom, and rejoice in the reunion of her family, before the +Revolution burst forth, in a continued blaze, from Georgia to Massachusetts. +The shock was too much for the feeble condition of the mother, who saw her +child called to the field to combat against the members of her own family in +the South, and she sank under the blow. +</p> + +<p> +There was no part of the continent where the manners of England and its +aristocratical notions of blood and alliances, prevailed with more force than +in a certain circle immediately around the metropolis of New York. The customs +of the early Dutch inhabitants had, indeed, blended in some measures, with the +English manners; but still the latter prevailed. This attachment to Great +Britain was increased by the frequent intermarriages of the officers of the +mother country with the wealthier and most powerful families of the vicinity, +until, at the commencement of hostilities, their united influence had very +nearly thrown the colony into the scale on the side of the crown. A few, +however, of the leading families espoused the cause of the people; and a +sufficient stand was made against the efforts of the ministerial party, to +organize, and, aided by the army of the confederation, to maintain an +independent republican form of government. +</p> + +<p> +The city of New York and the adjacent territory were alone exempted from the +rule of the new commonwealth; while the royal authority extended no further +than its dignity could be supported by the presence of an army. In this +condition of things, the loyalists of influence adopted such measures as best +accorded with their different characters and situations. Many bore arms in +support of the crown, and, by their bravery and exertions, endeavored to secure +what they deemed to be the rights of their prince, and their own estates from +the effects of the law of attainder. Others left the country; seeking in that +place they emphatically called home, an asylum, as they fondly hoped, for a +season only, against the confusion and dangers of war. A third, and a more wary +portion, remained in the place of their nativity, with a prudent regard to +their ample possessions, and, perhaps, influenced by their attachments to the +scenes of their youth. Mr. Wharton was of this description. After making a +provision against future contingencies, by secretly transmitting the whole of +his money to the British funds, this gentleman determined to continue in the +theater of strife, and to maintain so strict a neutrality as to insure the +safety of his large estate, whichever party succeeded. He was apparently +engrossed in the education of his daughters, when a relation, high in office in +the new state, intimated that a residence in what was now a British camp +differed but little, in the eyes of his countrymen, from a residence in the +British capital. Mr. Wharton soon saw this was an unpardonable offense in the +existing state of things, and he instantly determined to remove the difficulty, +by retiring to the country. He possessed a residence in the county of +Westchester; and having been for many years in the habit of withdrawing thither +during the heats of the summer months, it was kept furnished and ready for his +accommodation. His eldest daughter was already admitted into the society of +women; but Frances, the younger, required a year or two more of the usual +cultivation, to appear with proper <i>éclat</i>; at least so thought Miss +Jeanette Peyton; and as this lady, a younger sister of their deceased mother, +had left her paternal home, in the colony of Virginia, with the devotedness and +affection peculiar to her sex, to superintend the welfare of her orphan nieces, +Mr. Wharton felt that her opinions were entitled to respect. In conformity to +her advice, therefore, the feelings of the parent were made to yield to the +welfare of his children. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton withdrew to the Locusts, with a heart rent with the pain of +separating from all that was left him of a wife he had adored, but in obedience +to a constitutional prudence that pleaded loudly in behalf of his worldly +goods. His handsome town residence was inhabited, in the meanwhile, by his +daughters and their aunt. The regiment to which Captain Wharton belonged formed +part of the permanent garrison of the city; and the knowledge of the presence +of his son was no little relief to the father, in his unceasing meditations on +his absent daughters. But Captain Wharton was a young man and a soldier; his +estimate of character was not always the wisest; and his propensities led him +to imagine that a red coat never concealed a dishonorable heart. +</p> + +<p> +The house of Mr. Wharton became a fashionable lounge to the officers of the +royal army, as did that of every other family that was thought worthy of their +notice. The consequences of this association were, to some few of the visited, +fortunate; to more, injurious, by exciting expectations which were never to be +realized, and, unhappily, to no small number ruinous. The known wealth of the +father and, possibly, the presence of a high-spirited brother, forbade any +apprehension of the latter danger to the young ladies: but it was impossible +that all the admiration bestowed on the fine figure and lovely face of Sarah +Wharton should be thrown away. Her person was formed with the early maturity of +the climate, and a strict cultivation of the graces had made her decidedly the +belle of the city. No one promised to dispute with her this female sovereignty, +unless it might be her younger sister. Frances, however, wanted some months to +the charmed age of sixteen; and the idea of competition was far from the minds +of either of the affectionate girls. Indeed, next to the conversation of +Colonel Wellmere, the greatest pleasure of Sarah was in contemplating the +budding beauties of the little Hebe, who played around her with all the +innocency of youth, with all the enthusiasm of her ardent temper, and with no +little of the archness of her native humor. Whether or not it was owing to the +fact that Frances received none of the compliments which fell to the lot of her +elder sister, in the often repeated discussions on the merits of the war, +between the military beaux who frequented the house, it is certain their +effects on the sisters were exactly opposite. It was much the fashion then for +the British officers to speak slightingly of their enemies; and Sarah took all +the idle vaporing of her danglers to be truths. The first political opinions +which reached the ears of Frances were coupled with sneers on the conduct of +her countrymen. At first she believed them; but there was occasionally a +general, who was obliged to do justice to his enemy in order to obtain justice +for himself; and Frances became somewhat skeptical on the subject of the +inefficiency of her countrymen. Colonel Wellmere was among those who delighted +most in expending his wit on the unfortunate Americans; and, in time, Frances +began to listen to his eloquence with great suspicion, and sometimes with +resentment. +</p> + +<p> +It was on a hot, sultry day that the three were in the parlor of Mr. +Wharton’s house, the colonel and Sarah seated on a sofa, engaged in a +combat of the eyes, aided by the usual flow of small talk, and Frances was +occupied at her tambouring frame in an opposite corner of the room, when the +gentleman suddenly exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“How gay the arrival of the army under General Burgoyne will make the +city, Miss Wharton!” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! how pleasant it must be,” said the thoughtless Sarah, in +reply; “I am told there are many charming women with that army; as you +say, it will make us all life and gayety.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances shook back the abundance of her golden hair, and raised her eyes, +dancing with the ardor of national feeling; then laughing, with a concealed +humor, she asked,— +</p> + +<p> +“Is it so certain that General Burgoyne will be permitted to reach the +city?” +</p> + +<p> +“Permitted!” echoed the colonel. “Who is there to prevent it, +my pretty<br/> +Miss Fanny?” +</p> + +<p> +Frances was precisely at that age when young people are most jealous of their +station in society; neither quite a woman, nor yet a child. The “pretty +Miss Fanny” was too familiar to be relished, and she dropped her eyes on +her work again with cheeks that glowed like crimson. +</p> + +<p> +“General Stark took the Germans into custody,” she answered, +compressing her lip; “may not General Gates think the British too +dangerous to go at large?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! they were Germans, as you say,” cried the colonel, excessively +vexed at the necessity of explaining at all; “mere mercenary troops; but +when the really British regiments come in question, you will see a very +different result.” +</p> + +<p> +“Of that there is no doubt,” cried Sarah, without in the least +partaking of the resentment of the colonel to her sister, but hailing already +in her heart the triumph of the British. +</p> + +<p> +“Pray, Colonel Wellmere,” said Frances, recovering her good humor, +and raising her joyous eyes once more to the face of the gentleman, “was +the Lord Percy of Lexington a kinsman of him who fought at Chevy Chase?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, Miss Fanny, you are becoming a rebel,” said the colonel, +endeavoring to laugh away the anger he felt; “what you are pleased to +insinuate was a chase at Lexington, was nothing more than a judicious +retreat—a—kind of—” +</p> + +<p> +“Running fight,” interrupted the good-humored girl, laying a great +emphasis on the first word. +</p> + +<p> +“Positively, young lady”—Colonel Wellmere was interrupted by +a laugh from a person who had hitherto been unnoticed. +</p> + +<p> +There was a small family apartment adjoining the room occupied by the trio, and +the air had blown open the door communicating between the two. A fine young man +was now seen sitting near the entrance, who, by his smiling countenance, was +evidently a pleased listener to the conversation. He rose instantly, and coming +through the door, with his hat in his hand, appeared a tall, graceful youth, of +dark complexion, and sparkling eyes of black, from which the mirth had not +entirely vanished, as he made his bow to the ladies. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Dunwoodie!” cried Sarah, in surprise; “I was ignorant of +your being in the house; you will find a cooler seat in this room.” +</p> + +<p> +“I thank you,” replied the young man, “but I must go and seek +your brother, who placed me there in ambuscade, as he called it, with a promise +of returning an hour ago.” Without making any further explanation, the +youth bowed politely to the young women, distantly and with hauteur to the +gentleman, and withdrew. Frances followed him into the hall, and blushing +richly, inquired, in a hurried voice,— +</p> + +<p> +“But why—why do you leave us, Mr. Dunwoodie? Henry must soon +return.” +</p> + +<p> +The gentleman caught one of her hands in his own, and the stern expression of +his countenance gave place to a look of admiration as he replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“You managed him famously, my dear little kinswoman; never—no, +never, forget the land of your birth; remember, if you are the granddaughter of +an Englishman, you are, also, the granddaughter of a Peyton.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” returned the laughing girl, “it would be difficult to +forget that, with the constant lectures on genealogy before us, with which we +are favored by Aunt Jeanette; but why do you go?” +</p> + +<p> +“I am on the wing for Virginia, and have much to do.” He pressed +her hand as he spoke, and looking back, while in the act of closing the door, +exclaimed, “Be true to your country—be American.” The ardent +girl kissed her hand to him as he retired, and then instantly applying it with +its beautiful fellow to her burning cheeks, ran into her own apartment to hide +her confusion. +</p> + +<p> +Between the open sarcasm of Frances, and the ill-concealed disdain of the young +man, Colonel Wellmere had felt himself placed in an awkward predicament; but +ashamed to resent such trifles in the presence of his mistress, he satisfied +himself with observing, superciliously, as Dunwoodie left the room,— +</p> + +<p> +“Quite a liberty for a youth in his situation; a shop boy with a +bundle,<br/> +I fancy.” +</p> + +<p> +The idea of picturing the graceful Peyton Dunwoodie as a shop boy could never +enter the mind of Sarah, and she looked around her in surprise, when the +colonel continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“This Mr. Dun—Dun—” +</p> + +<p> +“Dunwoodie! Oh, no—he is a relation of my aunt,” cried the +young lady, “and an intimate friend of my brother; they were at school +together, and only separated in England, when one went into the army, and the +other to a French military academy.” +</p> + +<p> +“His money appears to have been thrown away,” observed the colonel, +betraying the spleen he was unsuccessfully striving to conceal. +</p> + +<p> +“We ought to hope so,” added Sarah, with a smile, “for it is +said he intends joining the rebel army. He was brought in here in a French +ship, and has just been exchanged; you may soon meet him in arms.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, let him—I wish Washington plenty of such heroes;” and +he turned to a more pleasant subject, by changing the discourse to themselves. +</p> + +<p> +A few weeks after this scene occurred, the army of Burgoyne laid down their +arms. Mr. Wharton, beginning to think the result of the contest doubtful, +resolved to conciliate his countrymen, and gratify himself, by calling his +daughters into his own abode. Miss Peyton consented to be their companion; and +from that time, until the period at which we commenced our narrative, they had +formed one family. +</p> + +<p> +Whenever the main army made any movements, Captain Wharton had, of course, +accompanied it; and once or twice, under the protection of strong parties, +acting in the neighborhood of the Locusts, he had enjoyed rapid and stolen +interviews with his friends. A twelvemonth had, however, passed without his +seeing them, and the impatient Henry had adopted the disguise we have +mentioned, and unfortunately arrived on the very evening that an unknown and +rather suspicious guest was an inmate of the house, which seldom contained any +other than its regular inhabitants. +</p> + +<p> +“But do you think he suspects me?” asked the captain, with anxiety, +after pausing to listen to Caesar’s opinion of the Skinners. +</p> + +<p> +“How should he?” cried Sarah, “when your sisters and father +could not penetrate your disguise.” +</p> + +<p> +“There is something mysterious in his manner; his looks are too prying +for an indifferent observer,” continued young Wharton thoughtfully, +“and his face seems familiar to me. The recent fate of André has created +much irritation on both sides. Sir Henry threatens retaliation for his death; +and Washington is as firm as if half the world were at his command. The rebels +would think me a fit subject for their plans just now, should I be so unlucky +as to fall into their hands.” +</p> + +<p> +“But my son,” cried his father, in great alarm, “you are not +a spy; you are not within the rebel—that is, the American lines; there is +nothing here to spy.” +</p> + +<p> +“That might be disputed,” rejoined the young man, musing. +“Their pickets were as low as the White Plains when I passed through in +disguise. It is true my purposes are innocent; but how is it to appear? My +visit to you would seem a cloak to other designs. Remember, sir, the treatment +you received not a year since, for sending me a supply of fruit for the +winter.” +</p> + +<p> +“That proceeded from the misrepresentations of my kind neighbors,” +said Mr. Wharton, “who hoped, by getting my estate confiscated, to +purchase good farms at low prices. Peyton Dunwoodie, however, soon obtained our +discharge; we were detained but a month.” +</p> + +<p> +“We!” repeated the son, in amazement; “did they take my +sisters, also?<br/> +Fanny, you wrote me nothing of this.” +</p> + +<p> +“I believe,” said Frances, coloring highly, “I mentioned the +kind treatment we received from your old friend, Major Dunwoodie; and that he +procured my father’s release.” +</p> + +<p> +“True; but were you with him in the rebel camp?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said the father, kindly; “Fanny would not suffer me to +go alone. Jeanette and Sarah took charge of the Locusts, and this little girl +was my companion, in captivity.” +</p> + +<p> +“And Fanny returned from such a scene a greater rebel than ever,” +cried Sarah, indignantly; “one would think the hardships her father +suffered would have cured her of such whims.” +</p> + +<p> +“What say you to the charge, my pretty sister?” cried the captain +gayly; “did Peyton strive to make you hate your king, more than he does +himself?” +</p> + +<p> +“Peyton Dunwoodie hates no one,” said Frances, quickly; then, +blushing at her own ardor, she added immediately, “he loves you, Henry, I +know; for he has told me so again and again.” +</p> + +<p> +Young Wharton tapped his sister on the cheek, with a smile, as he asked her, in +an affected whisper, “Did he tell you also that he loved my little sister +Fanny?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense!” said Frances; and the remnants of the supper-table soon +disappeared under her superintendence. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap03"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +’Twas when the fields were swept of Autumn’s store,<br/> +And growing winds the fading foliage tore<br/> +Behind the Lowmon hill, the short-lived light,<br/> +Descending slowly, ushered in the night;<br/> +When from the noisy town, with mournful look,<br/> +His lonely way the meager peddler took. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—WILSON. +</p> + +<p> +A storm below the highlands of the Hudson, if it be introduced with an easterly +wind, seldom lasts less than two days. Accordingly, as the inmates of the +Locusts assembled, on the following morning, around their early breakfast, the +driving rain was seen to strike in nearly horizontal lines against the windows +of the building, and forbade the idea of exposing either man or beast to the +tempest. Harper was the last to appear; after taking a view of the state of the +weather, he apologized to Mr. Wharton for the necessity that existed for his +trespassing on his goodness for a longer time. To appearances, the reply was as +courteous as the excuse; yet Harper wore a resignation in his deportment that +was widely different from the uneasy manner of the father. Henry Wharton had +resumed his disguise with a reluctance amounting to disgust, but in obedience +to the commands of his parent. No communications passed between him and the +stranger, after the first salutations of the morning had been paid by Harper to +him, in common with the rest of the family. Frances had, indeed, thought there +was something like a smile passing over the features of the traveler, when, on +entering the room, he first confronted her brother; but it was confined to the +eyes, seeming to want power to affect the muscles of the face, and was soon +lost in the settled and benevolent expression which reigned in his countenance, +with a sway but seldom interrupted. The eyes of the affectionate sister were +turned in anxiety, for a moment, on her brother, and glancing again on their +unknown guest, met his look, as he offered her, with marked attention, one of +the little civilities of the table; and the heart of the girl, which had begun +to throb with violence, regained a pulsation as tempered as youth, health, and +buoyant spirits could allow. While yet seated at the table, Caesar entered, and +laying a small parcel in silence by the side of his master, modestly retired +behind his chair, where, placing one hand on its back, he continued in an +attitude half familiar, half respectful, a listener. +</p> + +<p> +“What is this, Caesar?” inquired Mr. Wharton, turning the bundle +over to examine its envelope, and eying it rather suspiciously. +</p> + +<p> +“The ’baccy, sir; Harvey Birch, he got home, and he bring you a +little good ’baccy from York.” +</p> + +<p> +“Harvey Birch!” rejoined the master with great deliberation, +stealing a look at his guest. “I do not remember desiring him to purchase +any tobacco for me; but as he has brought it, he must be paid for his +trouble.” +</p> + +<p> +For an instant only, as the negro spoke, did Harper suspend his silent meal; +his eye moved slowly from the servant to the master, and again all remained in +impenetrable reserve. +</p> + +<p> +To Sarah Wharton, this intelligence gave unexpected pleasure; rising from her +seat with impatience, she bade the black show Birch into the apartment; when, +suddenly recollecting herself, she turned to the traveler with an apologizing +look, and added, “If Mr. Harper will excuse the presence of a +peddler.” +</p> + +<p> +The indulgent benevolence expressed in the countenance of the stranger, as he +bowed a silent acquiescence, spoke more eloquently than the nicest framed +period, and the young lady repeated her order, with a confidence in its truth +that removed all embarrassment. +</p> + +<p> +In the deep recesses of the windows of the cottage were seats of paneled work; +and the rich damask curtains, that had ornamented the parlor in Queen Street,<a +href="#linknote-4" name="linknoteref-4" id="linknoteref-4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> +had been transferred to the Locusts, and gave to the room that indescribable +air of comfort, which so gratefully announces the approach of a domestic +winter. Into one of these recesses Captain Wharton now threw himself, drawing +the curtain before him in such a manner as to conceal most of his person from +observation; while his younger sister, losing her natural frankness of manner, +in an air of artificial constraint, silently took possession of the other. +</p> + +<p> +Harvey Birch had been a peddler from his youth; at least so he frequently +asserted, and his skill in the occupation went far to prove the truth of the +declaration. He was a native of one of the eastern colonies; and, from +something of superior intelligence which belonged to his father, it was thought +they had known better fortune in the land of their nativity. Harvey possessed, +however, the common manners of the country, and was in no way distinguished +from men of his class, but by his acuteness, and the mystery which enveloped +his movements. Ten years before, they had arrived together in the vale, and, +purchasing the humble dwelling at which Harper had made his unsuccessful +application, continued ever since peaceful inhabitants, but little noticed and +but little known. Until age and infirmities had prevented, the father devoted +himself to the cultivation of the small spot of ground belonging to his +purchase, while the son pursued with avidity his humble barter. Their orderly +quietude had soon given them so much consideration in the neighborhood, as to +induce a maiden of five-and-thirty to forget the punctilio of her sex, and to +accept the office of presiding over their domestic comforts. The roses had long +before vanished from the cheeks of Katy Haynes, and she had seen in succession, +both her male and female acquaintances forming the union so desirable to her +sex, with but little or no hope left for herself, when, with views of her own, +she entered the family of the Birches. Necessity is a hard master, and, for the +want of a better companion, the father and son were induced to accept her +services; but still Katy was not wanting in some qualities which made her a +very tolerable housekeeper. On the one hand, she was neat, industrious, honest, +and a good manager. On the other, she was talkative, selfish, superstitious, +and inquisitive. By dint of using the latter quality with consummate industry, +she had not lived in the family five years when she triumphantly declared that +she had heard, or rather overheard, sufficient to enable her to say what had +been the former fate of her associates. Could Katy have possessed enough of +divination to pronounce upon their future lot, her task would have been +accomplished. From the private conversations of the parent and child, she +learned that a fire had reduced them from competence to poverty, and at the +same time diminished the number of their family to two. There was a +tremulousness in the voice of the father, as he touched lightly on the event, +which affected even the heart of Katy; but no barrier is sufficient to repel +vulgar curiosity. She persevered, until a very direct intimation from Harvey, +by threatening to supply her place with a female a few years younger than +herself, gave her awful warning that there were bounds beyond which she was not +to pass. From that period the curiosity of the housekeeper had been held in +such salutary restraint, that, although no opportunity of listening was ever +neglected, she had been able to add but little to her stock of knowledge. There +was, however, one piece of intelligence, and that of no little interest to +herself, which she had succeeded in obtaining; and from the moment of its +acquisition, she directed her energies to the accomplishment of one object, +aided by the double stimulus of love and avarice. +</p> + +<p> +Harvey was in the frequent habit of paying mysterious visits in the depth of +the night, to the fireplace of the apartment that served for both kitchen and +parlor. Here he was observed by Katy; and availing herself of his absence and +the occupations of the father, by removing one of the hearthstones, she +discovered an iron pot, glittering with a metal that seldom fails to soften the +hardest heart. Katy succeeded in replacing the stone without discovery, and +never dared to trust herself with another visit. From that moment, however, the +heart of the virgin lost its obduracy, and nothing interposed between Harvey +and his happiness, but his own want of observation. +</p> + +<p> +The war did not interfere with the traffic of the peddler, who seized on the +golden opportunity which the interruption of the regular trade afforded, and +appeared absorbed in the one grand object of amassing money. For a year or two +his employment was uninterrupted, and his success proportionate; but, at +length, dark and threatening hints began to throw suspicion around his +movements, and the civil authority thought it incumbent on them to examine +narrowly into his mode of life. His imprisonments, though frequent, were not +long; and his escapes from the guardians of the law easy, compared to what he +endured from the persecution of the military. Still Birch survived, and still +he continued his trade, though compelled to be very guarded in his movements, +especially whenever he approached the northern boundaries of the county; or in +other words, the neighborhood of the American lines. His visits to the Locusts +had become less frequent, and his appearance at his own abode so seldom, as to +draw forth from the disappointed Katy, in the fullness of her heart, the +complaint we have related, in her reply to Harper. Nothing, however, seemed to +interfere with the pursuits of this indefatigable trader, who, with a view to +dispose of certain articles for which he could only find purchasers in the very +wealthiest families of the county, had now braved the fury of the tempest, and +ventured to cross the half mile between his own residence and the house of Mr. +Wharton. +</p> + +<p> +In a few minutes after receiving the commands of his young mistress, Caesar +reappeared, ushering into the apartment the subject of the foregoing +digression. In person, the peddler was a man above the middle height, spare, +but full of bone and muscle. At first sight, his strength seemed unequal to +manage the unwieldy burden of his pack; yet he threw it on and off with great +dexterity, and with as much apparent ease as if it had been filled with +feathers. His eyes were gray, sunken, restless, and, for the flitting moments +that they dwelt on the countenance of those with whom he conversed, they seemed +to read the very soul. They possessed, however, two distinct expressions, +which, in a great measure, characterized the whole man. When engaged in +traffic, the intelligence of his face appeared lively, active, and flexible, +though uncommonly acute; if the conversation turned on the ordinary +transactions of life, his air became abstracted and restless; but if, by +chance, the Revolution and the country were the topic, his whole system seemed +altered—all his faculties were concentrated: he would listen for a great +length of time, without speaking, and then would break silence by some light +and jocular remark, that was too much at variance with his former manner, not +to be affectation. But of the war, and of his father, he seldom spoke and +always from some very obvious necessity. +</p> + +<p> +To a superficial observer, avarice would seem his ruling passion—and, all +things considered, he was as unfit a subject for the plans of Katy Haynes as +can be readily imagined. On entering the room, the peddler relieved himself +from his burden, which, as it stood on the floor, reached nearly to his +shoulders, and saluted the family with modest civility. To Harper he made a +silent bow, without lifting his eyes from the carpet; but the curtain prevented +any notice of the presence of Captain Wharton. Sarah gave but little time for +the usual salutations, before she commenced her survey of the contents of the +pack; and, for several minutes, the two were engaged in bringing to light the +various articles it contained. The tables, chairs, and floor were soon covered +with silks, crapes, gloves, muslins, and all the stock of an itinerant trader. +Caesar was employed to hold open the mouth of the pack, as its hoards were +discharged, and occasionally he aided his young lady, by directing her +admiration to some article of finery, which, from its deeper contrast in +colors, he thought more worthy of her notice. At length, Sarah, having selected +several articles, and satisfactorily arranged the prices, observed in a +cheerful voice,— +</p> + +<p> +“But, Harvey, you have told us no news. Has Lord Cornwallis beaten the +rebels again?” +</p> + +<p> +The question could not have been heard; for the peddler, burying his body in +the pack, brought forth a quantity of lace of exquisite fineness, and, holding +it up to view, he required the admiration of the young lady. Miss Peyton +dropped the cup she was engaged in washing, from her hand; and Frances +exhibited the whole of that lovely face, which had hitherto only suffered one +of its joyous eyes to be seen, beaming with a color that shamed the damask +which enviously concealed her figure. +</p> + +<p> +The aunt quitted her employment; and Birch soon disposed of a large portion of +his valuable article. The praises of the ladies had drawn the whole person of +the younger sister into view; and Frances was slowly rising from the window, as +Sarah repeated her question, with an exultation in her voice, that proceeded +more from pleasure in her purchase, than her political feelings. The younger +sister resumed her seat, apparently examining the state of the clouds, while +the peddler, finding a reply was expected, answered,— +</p> + +<p> +“There is some talk, below, about Tarleton having defeated General<br/> +Sumter, on the Tiger River.” +</p> + +<p> +Captain Wharton now involuntarily thrust his head between the opening of the +curtains into the room; and Frances, turning her ear in breathless silence, +noticed the quiet eyes of Harper looking at the peddler, over the book he was +affecting to read, with an expression that denoted him to be a listener of no +ordinary interest. +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed!” cried the exulting Sarah; +“Sumter—Sumter—who is he? I’ll not buy even a pin, +until you tell me all the news,” she continued, laughing and throwing +down a muslin she had been examining. +</p> + +<p> +For a moment the peddler hesitated; his eye glanced towards Harper, who was yet +gazing at him with settled meaning, and the whole manner of Birch was altered. +Approaching the fire, he took from his mouth a large allowance of the Virginian +weed, and depositing it, with the superabundance of its juices, without mercy +to Miss Peyton’s shining andirons, he returned to his goods. +</p> + +<p> +“He lives somewhere among the niggers to the south,” answered the +peddler, abruptly. +</p> + +<p> +“No more nigger than be yourself, Mister Birch,” interrupted Caesar +tartly, dropping at the same time the covering of the goods in high +displeasure. +</p> + +<p> +“Hush, Caesar—hush; never mind it now,” said Sarah Wharton +soothingly, impatient to hear further. +</p> + +<p> +“A black man so good as white, Miss Sally,” continued the offended +negro, “so long as he behave heself.” +</p> + +<p> +“And frequently he is much better,” rejoined his mistress. +“But, Harvey, who is this Mr. Sumter?” +</p> + +<p> +A slight indication of humor showed itself on the face of the peddler, but it +disappeared, and he continued as if the discourse had met with no interruption +from the sensitiveness of the domestic. +</p> + +<p> +“As I was saying, he lives among the colored people in the +south”—Caesar resumed his occupation—“and he has lately +had a scrimmage with this Colonel Tarleton—” +</p> + +<p> +“Who defeated him, of course?” cried Sarah, with confidence. +</p> + +<p> +“So say the troops at Morrisania.” +</p> + +<p> +“But what do you say?” Mr. Wharton ventured to inquire, yet +speaking in a low tone. +</p> + +<p> +“I repeat but what I hear,” said Birch, offering a piece of cloth +to the inspection of Sarah, who rejected it in silence, evidently determined to +hear more before she made another purchase. +</p> + +<p> +“They say, however, at the Plains,” the peddler continued, first +throwing his eyes again around the room, and letting them rest for an instant +on Harper, “that Sumter and one or two more were all that were hurt, and +that the rig’lars were all cut to pieces, for the militia were fixed +snugly in a log barn.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not very probable,” said Sarah, contemptuously, “though I +make no doubt the rebels got behind the logs.” +</p> + +<p> +“I think,” said the peddler coolly, again offering the silk, +“it’s quite ingenious to get a log between one and a gun, instead +of getting between a gun and a log.” +</p> + +<p> +The eyes of Harper dropped quietly on the pages of the volume in his hand, +while Frances, rising, came forward with a smile in her face, as she inquired, +in a tone of affability that the peddler had never witnessed from her,— +</p> + +<p> +“Have you more of the lace, Mr. Birch?” +</p> + +<p> +The desired article was immediately produced, and Frances became a purchaser +also. By her order a glass of liquor was offered to the trader, who took it +with thanks, and having paid his compliments to the master of the house and the +ladies, drank the beverage. +</p> + +<p> +“So, it is thought that Colonel Tarleton has worsted General +Sumter?” said Mr. Wharton, affecting to be employed in mending the cup +that was broken by the eagerness of his sister-in-law. +</p> + +<p> +“I believe they think so at Morrisania,” said Birch, dryly. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you any other news, friend?” asked Captain Wharton, venturing +to thrust his face without the curtains. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you heard that Major André has been hanged?” +</p> + +<p> +Captain Wharton started, and for a moment glances of great significance were +exchanged between him and the trader, when he observed, with affected +indifference, “That must have been some weeks ago.” +</p> + +<p> +“Does his execution make much noise?” asked the father, striving to +make the broken china unite. +</p> + +<p> +“People will talk, you know, ’squire.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is there any probability of movements below, my friend, that will make +traveling dangerous?” asked Harper, looking steadily at the other, in +expectation of his reply. +</p> + +<p> +Some bunches of ribbons fell from the hands of Birch; his countenance changed +instantly, losing its keen expression in intent meaning, as he answered slowly, +“It is some time since the rig’lar cavalry were out, and I saw some +of De Lancey’s men cleaning their arms, as I passed their quarters; it +would be no wonder if they took the scent soon, for the Virginia horse are low +in the county.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are they in much force?” asked Mr. Wharton, suspending all +employment in anxiety. +</p> + +<p> +“I did not count them.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances was the only observer of the change in the manner of Birch, and, on +turning to Harper, he had resumed his book in silence. She took some of the +ribbons in her hand—laid them down again—and, bending over the +goods, so that her hair, falling in rich curls, shaded her face, she observed, +blushing with a color that suffused her neck,— +</p> + +<p> +“I thought the Southern horse had marched towards the Delaware.” +</p> + +<p> +“It may be so,” said Birch; “I passed the troops at a +distance.” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar had now selected a piece of calico, in which the gaudy colors of yellow +and red were contrasted on a white ground, and, after admiring it for several +minutes, he laid it down with a sigh, as he exclaimed, “Berry pretty +calico.” +</p> + +<p> +“That,” said Sarah; “yes, that would make a proper gown for +your wife,<br/> +Caesar.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Miss Sally,” cried the delighted black, “it make old +Dinah heart leap for joy—so berry genteel.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” added the peddler, quaintly, “that is only wanting to +make Dinah look like a rainbow.” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar eyed his young mistress eagerly, until she inquired of Harvey the price +of the article. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, much as I light of chaps,” said the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“How much?” demanded Sarah in surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“According to my luck in finding purchasers; for my friend Dinah, you may +have it at four shillings.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is too much,” said Sarah, turning to some goods for herself. +</p> + +<p> +“Monstrous price for coarse calico, Mister Birch,” grumbled Caesar, +dropping the opening of the pack again. +</p> + +<p> +“We will say three, then,” added the peddler, “if you like +that better.” +</p> + +<p> +“Be sure he like ’em better,” said Caesar, smiling +good-humoredly, and reopening the pack; “Miss Sally like a t’ree +shilling when she give, and a four shilling when she take.” +</p> + +<p> +The bargain was immediately concluded; but in measuring, the cloth wanted a +little of the well-known ten yards required by the dimensions of Dinah. By dint +of a strong arm, however, it grew to the desired length, under the experienced +eye of the peddler, who conscientiously added a ribbon of corresponding +brilliancy with the calico; and Caesar hastily withdrew, to communicate the +joyful intelligence to his aged partner. +</p> + +<p> +During the movements created by the conclusion of the purchase, Captain Wharton +had ventured to draw aside the curtain, so as to admit a view of his person, +and he now inquired of the peddler, who had begun to collect the scattered +goods, at what time he had left the city. +</p> + +<p> +“At early twilight,” was the answer. +</p> + +<p> +“So lately!” cried the other in surprise: then correcting his +manner, by assuming a more guarded air, he continued, “Could you pass the +pickets at so late an hour?” +</p> + +<p> +“I did,” was the laconic reply. +</p> + +<p> +“You must be well known by this time, Harvey, to the officers of the<br/> +British army,” cried Sarah, smiling knowingly on the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“I know some of them by sight,” said Birch, glancing his eyes round +the apartment, taking in their course Captain Wharton, and resting for an +instant on the countenance of Harper. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton had listened intently to each speaker, in succession, and had so +far lost the affectation of indifference, as to be crushing in his hand the +pieces of china on which he had expended so much labor in endeavoring to mend +it; when, observing the peddler tying the last knot in his pack, he asked +abruptly, +</p> + +<p> +“Are we about to be disturbed again with the enemy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Who do you call the enemy?” said the peddler, raising himself +erect, and giving the other a look, before which the eyes of Mr. Wharton sank +in instant confusion. +</p> + +<p> +“All are enemies who disturb our peace,” said Miss Peyton, +observing that her brother was unable to speak. “But are the royal troops +out from below?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis quite likely they soon may be,” returned Birch, raising +his pack from the floor, and preparing to leave the room. +</p> + +<p> +“And the continentals,” continued Miss Peyton mildly, “are +the continentals in the county?” +</p> + +<p> +Harvey was about to utter something in reply, when the door opened, and<br/> +Caesar made his appearance, attended by his delighted spouse. +</p> + +<p> +The race of blacks of which Caesar was a favorable specimen is becoming very +rare. The old family servant who, born and reared in the dwelling of his +master, identified himself with the welfare of those whom it was his lot to +serve, is giving place in every direction to that vagrant class which has +sprung up within the last thirty years, and whose members roam through the +country unfettered by principles, and uninfluenced by attachments. For it is +one of the curses of slavery, that its victims become incompetent to the +attributes of a freeman. The short curly hair of Caesar had acquired from age a +coloring of gray, that added greatly to the venerable cast of his appearance. +Long and indefatigable applications of the comb had straightened the close +curls of his forehead, until they stood erect in a stiff and formal brush, that +gave at least two inches to his stature. The shining black of his youth had +lost its glistening hue, and it had been succeeded by a dingy brown. His eyes, +which stood at a most formidable distance from each other, were small, and +characterized by an expression of good feeling, occasionally interrupted by the +petulance of an indulged servant; they, however, now danced with inward +delight. His nose possessed, in an eminent manner, all the requisites for +smelling, but with the most modest unobtrusiveness; the nostrils being +abundantly capacious, without thrusting themselves in the way of their +neighbors. His mouth was capacious to a fault, and was only tolerated on +account of the double row of pearls it contained. In person Caesar was short, +and we should say square, had not all the angles and curves of his figure bid +defiance to anything like mathematical symmetry. His arms were long and +muscular, and terminated by two bony hands, that exhibited on one side a +coloring of blackish gray, and on the other, a faded pink. But it was in his +legs that nature had indulged her most capricious humor. There was an abundance +of material injudiciously used. The calves were neither before nor behind, but +rather on the outer side of the limb, inclining forward, and so close to the +knee as to render the free use of that joint a subject of doubt. In the foot, +considering it as a base on which the body was to rest, Caesar had no cause of +complaint, unless, indeed, it might be that the leg was placed so near the +center, as to make it sometimes a matter of dispute, whether he was not walking +backwards. But whatever might be the faults a statuary could discover in his +person, the heart of Caesar Thompson was in the right place, and, we doubt not, +of very just dimensions. +</p> + +<p> +Accompanied by his ancient companion, Caesar now advanced, and paid his tribute +of gratitude in words. Sarah received them with great complacency, and made a +few compliments to the taste of the husband, and the probable appearance of the +wife. Frances, with a face beaming with a look of pleasure that corresponded to +the smiling countenances of the blacks, offered the service of her needle in +fitting the admired calico to its future uses. The offer was humbly and +gratefully accepted. +</p> + +<p> +As Caesar followed his wife and the peddler from the apartment, and was in the +act of closing the door, he indulged himself in a grateful soliloquy, by saying +aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“Good little lady—Miss Fanny—take care of he fader—love +to make a gown for old Dinah, too.” What else his feelings might have +induced him to utter is unknown, but the sound of his voice was heard some time +after the distance rendered his words indistinct. +</p> + +<p> +Harper had dropped his book, and he sat an admiring witness of the scene; and +Frances enjoyed a double satisfaction, as she received an approving smile from +a face which concealed, under the traces of deep thought and engrossing care, +the benevolent expression which characterizes all the best feelings of the +human heart. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-4">[4]</a> +The Americans changed the names of many towns and streets at the Revolution, as +has since been done in France. Thus, in the city of New York, Crown Street has +become Liberty Street; King Street, Pine Street; and Queen Street, then one of +the most fashionable quarters of the town, Pearl Street. Pearl Street is now +chiefly occupied by the auction dealers, and the wholesale drygoods merchants, +for warehouses and counting-rooms. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap04"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +“It is the form, the eye, the word,<br/> +The bearing of that stranger lord,<br/> +His stature, manly, bold, and tall,<br/> +Built like a castle’s battled wall,<br/> +Yet molded in such just degrees<br/> +His giant strength seems lightsome ease.<br/> +Weather and war their rougher trace<br/> +Have left on that majestic face;<br/> +But ’tis his dignity of eye!<br/> +There, if a suppliant, would I fly,<br/> +Secure, ’mid danger, wrongs, and grief,<br/> +Of sympathy, redress, relief—<br/> +That glance, if guilty, would I dread<br/> +More than the doom that spoke me dead.”<br/> +“Enough, enough!” the princess cried,<br/> +“’Tis Scotland’s hope, her joy, her pride!” +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—WALTER SCOTT. +</p> + +<p> +The party sat in silence for many minutes after the peddler had withdrawn. Mr. +Wharton had heard enough to increase his uneasiness, without in the least +removing his apprehensions on behalf of his son. The captain was impatiently +wishing Harper in any other place than the one foe occupied with such apparent +composure, while Miss Peyton completed the disposal of her breakfast equipage, +with the mild complacency of her nature, aided a little by an inward +satisfaction at possessing so large a portion of the trader’s lace; Sarah +was busily occupied in arranging her purchases, and Frances was kindly +assisting in the occupation, disregarding her own neglected bargains, when the +stranger suddenly broke the silence by saying,— +</p> + +<p> +“If any apprehensions of me induce Captain Wharton to maintain his +disguise, I wish him to be undeceived; had I motives for betraying him, they +could not operate under present circumstances.” +</p> + +<p> +The younger sister sank into her seat colorless and astonished. Miss Peyton +dropped the tea tray she was lifting from the table, and Sarah sat with her +purchases unheeded in her lap, in speechless surprise. Mr. Wharton was +stupefied; but the captain, hesitating a moment from astonishment, sprang into +the middle of the room, and exclaimed, as he tore off the instruments of his +disguise,— +</p> + +<p> +“I believe you from my soul, and this tiresome imposition shall continue +no longer. Yet I am at a loss to conceive in what manner you should know +me.” +</p> + +<p> +“You really look so much better in your proper person, Captain +Wharton,” said Harper, with a slight smile, “I would advise you +never to conceal it in future. There is enough to betray you, if other sources +of detection were wanting.” As he spoke, he pointed to a picture +suspended over the mantel piece, which exhibited the British officer in his +regimentals. +</p> + +<p> +“I had flattered myself,” cried young Wharton, with a laugh, +“that I looked better on the canvas than in a masquerade. You must be a +close observer, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Necessity has made me one,” said Harper, rising from his seat. +</p> + +<p> +Frances met him as he was about to withdraw, and, taking his hand between both +her own, said with earnestness, her cheeks mantling with their richest +vermilion, “You cannot—you will not betray my brother.” +</p> + +<p> +For an instant Harper paused in silent admiration of the lovely pleader, and +then, folding her hands on his breast, he replied solemnly, “I cannot, +and I will not.” He released her hands, and laying his own on her head +gently, continued, “If the blessing of a stranger can profit you, receive +it.” He turned, and, bowing low, retired, with a delicacy that was duly +appreciated by those he quitted, to his own apartment. +</p> + +<p> +The whole party were deeply impressed with the ingenuous and solemn manner of +the traveler, and all but the father found immediate relief in his declaration. +Some of the cast-off clothes of the captain, which had been removed with the +goods from the city, were produced; and young Wharton, released from the +uneasiness of his disguise, began at last to enjoy a visit which had been +undertaken at so much personal risk to himself. Mr. Wharton retiring to his +apartment, in pursuance of his regular engagements, the ladies, with the young +man, were left to an uninterrupted communication on such subjects as were most +agreeable. Even Miss Peyton was affected with the spirits of her young +relatives; and they sat for an hour enjoying, in heedless confidence, the +pleasures of an unrestrained conversation, without reflecting on any danger +which might be impending over them. The city and their acquaintances were not +long neglected; for Miss Peyton, who had never forgotten the many agreeable +hours of her residence within its boundaries, soon inquired, among others, +after their old acquaintance, Colonel Wellmere. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” cried the captain, gayly, “he yet continues there, as +handsome and as gallant as ever.” +</p> + +<p> +Although a woman be not actually in love, she seldom hears without a blush the +name of a man whom she might love, and who has been connected with herself by +idle gossips, in the amatory rumor of the day. Such had been the case with +Sarah, and she dropped her eyes on the carpet with a smile, that, aided by the +blush which suffused her cheek, in no degree detracted from her native charms. +</p> + +<p> +Captain Wharton, without heeding this display of interest in his sister, +immediately continued, “At times he is melancholy—we tell him it +must be love.” Sarah raised her eyes to the face of her brother, and was +consciously turning them on the rest of the party, when she met those of her +sister laughing with good humor and high spirits, as she cried, “Poor +man! does he despair?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, no—one would think he could not; the eldest son of a man of +wealth, so handsome, and a colonel.” +</p> + +<p> +“Strong reasons, indeed, why he should prevail,” said Sarah, +endeavoring to laugh; “more particularly the latter.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let me tell you,” replied the captain, gravely, “a +lieutenant colonelcy in the Guards is a very pretty thing.” +</p> + +<p> +“And Colonel Wellmere a very pretty man,” added Frances. +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, Frances,” returned her sister, “Colonel Wellmere was +never a favorite of yours; he is too loyal to his king to be agreeable to your +taste.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances quickly answered, “And is not Henry loyal to his king?” +</p> + +<p> +“Come, come,” said Miss Peyton, “no difference of opinion +about the colonel—he is a favorite of mine.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fanny likes majors better,” cried the brother, pulling her upon +his knee. +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense!” said the blushing girl, as she endeavored to extricate +herself from the grasp of her laughing brother. +</p> + +<p> +“It surprises me,” continued the captain, “that Peyton, when +he procured the release of my father, did not endeavor to detain my sister in +the rebel camp.” +</p> + +<p> +“That might have endangered his own liberty,” said the smiling +girl, resuming her seat. “You know it is liberty for which Major +Dunwoodie is fighting.” +</p> + +<p> +“Liberty!” exclaimed Sarah; “very pretty liberty which +exchanges one master for fifty.” +</p> + +<p> +“The privilege of changing masters at all is a liberty.” +</p> + +<p> +“And one you ladies would sometimes be glad to exercise,” cried the +captain. +</p> + +<p> +“We like, I believe, to have the liberty of choosing who they shall be in +the first place,” said the laughing girl. “Don’t we, Aunt +Jeanette?” +</p> + +<p> +“Me!” cried Miss Peyton, starting; “what do I know of such +things, child? You must ask someone else, if you wish to learn such +matters.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! you would have us think you were never young! But what am I to +believe of all the tales I have heard about the handsome Miss Jeanette +Peyton?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense, my dear, nonsense,” said the aunt, endeavoring to +suppress a smile; “it is very silly to believe all you hear.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense, do you call it?” cried the captain, gayly. “To +this hour<br/> +General Montrose toasts Miss Peyton; I heard him within the week, at Sir<br/> +Henry’s table.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, Henry, you are as saucy as your sister; and to break in upon your +folly, I must take you to see my new home-made manufactures, which I will be +bold enough to put in contrast with the finery of Birch.” +</p> + +<p> +The young people rose to follow their aunt, in perfect good humor with each +other and the world. On ascending the stairs to the place of deposit for Miss +Peyton’s articles of domestic economy, she availed herself, however, of +an opportunity to inquire of her nephew, whether General Montrose suffered as +much from the gout as he had done when she knew him. +</p> + +<p> +It is a painful discovery we make, as we advance in life, that even those we +most love are not exempt from its frailties. When the heart is fresh, and the +view of the future unsullied by the blemishes which have been gathered from the +experience of the past, our feelings are most holy: we love to identify with +the persons of our natural friends all those qualities to which we ourselves +aspire, and all those virtues we have been taught to revere. The confidence +with which we esteem seems a part of our nature; and there is a purity thrown +around the affections which tie us to our kindred that after life can seldom +hope to see uninjured. The family of Mr. Wharton continued to enjoy, for the +remainder of the day, a happiness to which they had long been strangers; and +one that sprang, in its younger members, from the delights of the most +confident affection, and the exchange of the most disinterested endearments. +</p> + +<p> +Harper appeared only at the dinner table, and he retired with the cloth, under +the pretense of some engagement in his own room. Notwithstanding the confidence +created by his manner, the family felt his absence a relief; for the visit of +Captain Wharton was necessarily to be confined to a very few days, both from +the limitation of his leave of absence, and the danger of a discovery. +</p> + +<p> +All dread of consequences, however, was lost in the pleasure of the meeting. +Once or twice during the day, Mr. Wharton had suggested a doubt as to the +character of his unknown guest, and the possibility of the detection of his son +proceeding in some manner from his information; but the idea was earnestly +opposed by all his children; even Sarah uniting with her brother and sister in +pleading warmly in favor of the sincerity expressed in the outward appearance +of the traveler. +</p> + +<p> +“Such appearances, my children,” replied the desponding parent, +“are but too often deceitful; when men like Major André lend themselves +to the purposes of fraud, it is idle to reason from qualities, much less +externals.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fraud!” cried his son quickly. “Surely, sir, you forget that +Major André was serving his king, and that the usages of war justified the +measure.” +</p> + +<p> +“And did not the usages of war justify his death, Henry?” inquired +Frances, speaking in a low voice, unwilling to abandon what she thought the +cause of her country, and yet unable to suppress her feelings for the man. +</p> + +<p> +“Never!” exclaimed the young man, springing from his seat, and +pacing the floor rapidly. “Frances, you shock me; suppose it should be my +fate, even now, to fall into the power of the rebels; you would vindicate my +execution—perhaps exult in the cruelty of Washington.” +</p> + +<p> +“Henry!” said Frances, solemnly, quivering with emotion, and with a +face pale as death, “you little know my heart.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pardon me, my sister—my little Fanny,” cried the repentant +youth, pressing her to his bosom, and kissing off the tears which had burst, +spite of her resolution, from her eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“It is very foolish to regard your hasty words, I know,” said +Frances, extricating herself from his arms, and raising her yet humid eyes to +his face with a smile; “but reproach from those we love is most severe, +Henry; particularly—where we—we think—we +know”—her paleness gradually gave place to the color of the rose, +as she concluded in a low voice, with her eyes directed to the carpet, +“we are undeserving of it.” +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton moved from her own seat to the one next her niece, and, kindly +taking her hand, observed, “You should not suffer the impetuosity of your +brother to affect you so much; boys, you know, are proverbially +ungovernable.” +</p> + +<p> +“And, from my conduct, you might add cruel,” said the captain, +seating himself on the other side of his sister. “But on the subject of +the death of André we are all of us uncommonly sensitive. You did not know him: +he was all that was brave—that was accomplished—that was +estimable.” Frances smiled faintly, and shook her head, but made no +reply. Her brother, observing the marks of incredulity in her countenance, +continued, “You doubt it, and justify his death?” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not doubt his worth,” replied the maid, mildly, “nor +his being deserving of a more happy fate; but I cannot doubt the propriety of +Washington’s conduct. I know but little of the customs of war, and wish +to know less; but with what hopes of success could the Americans contend, if +they yielded all the principles which long usage had established, to the +exclusive purposes of the British?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why contend at all?” cried Sarah, impatiently. “Besides, +being rebels, all their acts are illegal.” +</p> + +<p> +“Women are but mirrors, which reflect the images before them,” +cried the captain, good-naturedly. “In Frances I see the picture of Major +Dunwoodie, and in Sarah—” +</p> + +<p> +“Colonel Wellmere,” interrupted the younger sister, laughing, and +blushing crimson. “I must confess I am indebted to the major for my +reasoning—am I not, Aunt Jeanette?” +</p> + +<p> +“I believe it is something like his logic, indeed, child.” +</p> + +<p> +“I plead guilty; and you. Sarah, have not forgotten the learned +discussions of Colonel Wellmere.” +</p> + +<p> +“I trust I never forget the right,” said Sarah, emulating her +sister in color, and rising, under the pretense of avoiding the heat of the +fire. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing occurred of any moment during the rest of the day; but in the evening +Caesar reported that he had overheard voices in the room of Harper, conversing +in a low tone. The apartment occupied by the traveler was the wing at the +extremity of the building, opposite to the parlor in which the family +ordinarily assembled; and it seems that Caesar had established a regular system +of espionage, with a view to the safety of his young master. This intelligence +gave some uneasiness to all the members of the family; but the entrance of +Harper himself, with the air of benevolence and sincerity which shone through +his reserve, soon removed the doubts from the breast of all but Mr. Wharton. +His children and sister believed Caesar to have been mistaken, and the evening +passed off without any additional alarm. +</p> + +<p> +On the afternoon of the succeeding day, the party were assembled in the parlor +around the tea table of Miss Peyton, when a change in the weather occurred. The +thin <i>scud</i>, that apparently floated but a short distance above the tops +of the hills, began to drive from the west towards the east in astonishing +rapidity. The rain yet continued to beat against the eastern windows of the +house with fury; in that direction the heavens were dark and gloomy. Frances +was gazing at the scene with the desire of youth to escape from the tedium of +confinement, when, as if by magic, all was still. The rushing winds had ceased, +the pelting of the storm was over, and, springing to the window, with delight +pictured in her face, she saw a glorious ray of sunshine lighting the opposite +wood. The foliage glittered with the checkered beauties of the October leaf, +reflecting back from the moistened boughs the richest luster of an American +autumn. In an instant, the piazza, which opened to the south, was thronged with +the inmates of the cottage. The air was mild, balmy, and refreshing; in the +east, clouds, which might be likened to the retreating masses of a discomfited +army, hung around the horizon in awful and increasing darkness. At a little +elevation above the cottage, the thin vapor was still rushing towards the east +with amazing velocity; while in the west the sun had broken forth and shed his +parting radiance on the scene below, aided by the fullest richness of a clear +atmosphere and a freshened herbage. Such moments belong only to the climate of +America, and are enjoyed in a degree proportioned to the suddenness of the +contrast, and the pleasure we experience in escaping from the turbulence of the +elements to the quiet of a peaceful evening, and an air still as the softest +mornings in June. +</p> + +<p> +“What a magnificent scene!” said Harper, in a low tone. “How +grand! how awfully sublime!—may such a quiet speedily await the struggle +in which my country is engaged, and such a glorious evening follow the day of +her adversity!” +</p> + +<p> +Frances, who stood next to him, alone heard the voice. Turning in amazement +from the view to the speaker, she saw him standing bareheaded, erect, and with +his eyes lifted to heaven. There was no longer the quiet which had seemed their +characteristic, but they were lighted into something like enthusiasm, and a +slight flush passed over his features. +</p> + +<p> +There can be no danger apprehended from such a man, thought Frances; such +feelings belong only to the virtuous. +</p> + +<p> +The musings of the party were now interrupted by the sudden appearance of the +peddler. He had taken advantage of the first gleam of sunshine to hasten to the +cottage. Heedless of wet or dry as it lay in his path, with arms swinging to +and fro, and with his head bent forward of his body several inches, Harvey +Birch approached the piazza, with a gait peculiarly his own. It was the quick, +lengthened pace of an itinerant vender of goods. +</p> + +<p> +“Fine evening,” said the peddler, saluting the party, without +raising his eyes; “quite warm and agreeable for the season.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton assented to the remark, and inquired kindly after the health of his +father. Harvey heard him, and continued standing for some time in moody +silence; but the question being repeated, he answered with a slight tremor in +his voice,— +</p> + +<p> +“He fails fast; old age and hardships will do their work.” The +peddler turned his face from the view of most of the family; but Frances +noticed his glistening eyes and quivering lip, and, for the second time, Harvey +rose in her estimation. +</p> + +<p> +The valley in which the residence of Mr. Wharton stood ran in a direction from +northwest to southeast, and the house was placed on the side of a hill which +terminated its length in the former direction. A small opening, occasioned by +the receding of the opposite hill, and the fall of the land to the level of the +tide water, afforded a view of the Sound<a href="#linknote-5" +name="linknoteref-5" id="linknoteref-5"><sup>[5]</sup></a> over the tops of the +distant woods on its margin. The surface of the water which had so lately been +lashing the shores with boisterous fury, was already losing its ruffled +darkness in the long and regular undulations that succeeded a tempest, while +the light air from the southwest was gently touching their summits, lending its +feeble aid in stilling the waters. Some dark spots were now to be +distinguished, occasionally rising into view, and again sinking behind the +lengthened waves which interposed themselves to the sight. They were unnoticed +by all but the peddler. He had seated himself on the piazza, at a distance from +Harper, and appeared to have forgotten the object of his visit. His roving eye, +however, soon caught a glimpse of these new objects in the view, and he sprang +up with alacrity, gazing intently towards the water. He changed his place, +glanced his eye with marked uneasiness on Harper, and then said with great +emphasis— +</p> + +<p> +“The rig’lars must be out from below.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you think so?” inquired Captain Wharton, eagerly. +“God send it may be true; I want their escort in again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Them ten whaleboats would not move so fast unless they were better +manned than common.” +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps,” cried Mr. Wharton in alarm, “they are—they +are continentals returning from the island.” +</p> + +<p> +“They look like rig’lars,” said the peddler, with meaning. +</p> + +<p> +“Look!” repeated the captain, “there is nothing but spots to +be seen.” +</p> + +<p> +Harvey disregarded his observation, but seemed to be soliloquizing, as he said +in an undertone, “They came out before the gale—have laid on the +island these two days—horse are on the road—there will soon be +fighting near us.” During this speech, Birch several times glanced his +eye towards Harper, with evident uneasiness, but no corresponding emotion +betrayed any interest of that gentleman in the scene. He stood in silent +contemplation of the view, and seemed enjoying the change in the air. As Birch +concluded, however, Harper turned to his host, and mentioned that his business +would not admit of unnecessary delay; he would, therefore, avail himself of the +fine evening to ride a few miles on his journey. Mr. Wharton made many +professions of regret at losing so agreeable an inmate; but was too mindful of +his duty not to speed the parting guest, and orders were instantly given to +that effect. +</p> + +<p> +The uneasiness of the peddler increased in a manner for which nothing apparent +could account; his eye was constantly wandering towards the lower end of the +vale as if in expectation of some interruption from that quarter. At length +Caesar appeared, leading the noble beast which was to bear the weight of the +traveler. The peddler officiously assisted to tighten the girths, and fasten +the blue cloak and valise to the mailstraps. +</p> + +<p> +Every precaution being completed, Harper proceeded to take his leave. To Sarah +and her aunt he paid his compliments with ease and kindness; but when he came +to Frances, he paused a moment, while his face assumed an expression of more +than ordinary benignity. His eye repeated the blessing which had before fallen +from his lips, and the girl felt her cheeks glow, and her heart beat with a +quicker pulsation, as he spoke his adieus. There was a mutual exchange of +polite courtesy between the host and his parting guest; but as Harper frankly +offered his hand to Captain Wharton, he remarked, in a manner of great +solemnity,— +</p> + +<p> +“The step you have undertaken is one of much danger, and disagreeable +consequences to yourself may result from it; in such a case, I may have it in +my power to prove the gratitude I owe your family for its kindness.” +</p> + +<p> +“Surely, sir,” cried the father, losing sight of delicacy in +apprehension for his child, “you will keep secret the discovery which +your being in my house has enabled you to make?” +</p> + +<p> +Harper turned quickly to the speaker, and then, losing the sternness which had +begun to gather on his countenance, he answered mildly, “I have learned +nothing in your family, sir, of which I was ignorant before; but your son is +safer from my knowledge of his visit than he would be without it.” +</p> + +<p> +He bowed to the whole party, and without taking any notice of the peddler, +other than by simply thanking him for his attentions, mounted his horse, and, +riding steadily and gracefully through the little gate, was soon lost behind +the hill which sheltered the valley to the northward. +</p> + +<p> +The eyes of the peddler followed the retiring figure of the horseman so long as +it continued within view, and as it disappeared from his sight, he drew a long +and heavy sigh, as if relieved from a load of apprehension. The Whartons had +meditated in silence on the character and visit of their unknown guest for the +same period, when the father approached Birch and observed, +</p> + +<p> +“I am yet your debtor, Harvey, for the tobacco you were so kind as to +bring me from the city.” +</p> + +<p> +“If it should not prove so good as the first,” replied the peddler, +fixing a last and lingering look in the direction of Harper’s route, +“it is owing to the scarcity of the article.” +</p> + +<p> +“I like it much,” continued the other; “but you have +forgotten to name the price.” +</p> + +<p> +The countenance of the trader changed, and, losing its expression of deep care +in a natural acuteness, he answered,— +</p> + +<p> +“It is hard to say what ought to be the price; I believe I must leave it +to your own generosity.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton had taken a hand well filled with the images of Carolus III from +his pocket, and now extended it towards Birch with three of the pieces between +his finger and thumb. Harvey’s eyes twinkled as he contemplated the +reward; and rolling over in his mouth a large quantity of the article in +question, coolly stretched forth his hand, into which the dollars fell with a +most agreeable sound: but not satisfied with the transient music of their fall, +the peddler gave each piece in succession a ring on the stepping-stone of the +piazza, before he consigned it to the safekeeping of a huge deerskin purse, +which vanished from the sight of the spectators so dexterously, that not one of +them could have told about what part of his person it was secreted. +</p> + +<p> +This very material point in his business so satisfactorily completed, the +peddler rose from his seat on the floor of the piazza, and approached to where +Captain Wharton stood, supporting his sisters on either arm, as they listened +with the lively interest of affection to his conversation. +</p> + +<p> +The agitation of the preceding incidents had caused such an expenditure of the +juices which had become necessary to the mouth of the peddler, that a new +supply of the weed was required before he could turn his attention to business +of lesser moment. This done, he asked abruptly,— +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Wharton, do you go in to-night?” +</p> + +<p> +“No!” said the captain, laconically, and looking at his lovely +burdens with great affection. “Mr. Birch, would you have me leave such +company so soon, when I may never enjoy it again?” +</p> + +<p> +“Brother!” said Frances, “jesting on such a subject is +cruel.” +</p> + +<p> +“I rather guess,” continued the peddler, coolly, “now the +storm is over, the Skinners may be moving; you had better shorten your visit, +Captain Wharton.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” cried the British officer, “a few guineas will buy off +those rascals at any time, should I meet them. No, no, Mr. Birch, here I stay +until morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Money could not liberate Major André,” said the peddler, dryly. +</p> + +<p> +Both the sisters now turned to the captain in alarm, and the elder +observed,— +</p> + +<p> +“You had better take the advice of Harvey; rest assured, his opinion in +such matters ought not to be disregarded.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” added the younger, “if, as I suspect, Mr. Birch +assisted you to come here, your safety, our happiness, dear Henry, requires you +to listen to him now.” +</p> + +<p> +“I brought myself out, and can take myself in,” said the captain +positively. “Our bargain went no further than to procure my disguise, and +to let me know when the coast was clear; and in the latter particular, you were +mistaken, Mr. Birch.” +</p> + +<p> +“I was,” said the peddler, with some interest, “and the +greater is the reason why you should get back to-night; the pass I gave you +will serve but once.” +</p> + +<p> +“Cannot you forge another?” +</p> + +<p> +The pale cheek of the trader showed an unusual color, but he continued silent, +with his eyes fixed on the ground, until the young man added, with great +positiveness, “Here I stay this night, come what will.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Wharton,” said the peddler, with great deliberation and +marked emphasis, “beware a tall Virginian, with huge whiskers; he is +below you, to my knowledge; the devil can’t deceive him; I never could +but once.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let him beware of me,” said Wharton, haughtily. “But, Mr. +Birch, I exonerate you from further responsibility.” +</p> + +<p> +“Will you give me that in writing?” asked the cautious Birch. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! cheerfully,” cried the captain, with a laugh. “Caesar! +pen, ink, and paper, while I write a discharge for my trusty attendant, Harvey +Birch, peddler, etc., etc.” +</p> + +<p> +The implements for writing were produced, and the captain, with great gayety, +wrote the desired acknowledgment in language of his own; which the peddler +took, and carefully depositing it by the side of the image of his Catholic +Majesty, made a sweeping bow to the whole family, and departed as he had +approached. He was soon seen at a distance, stealing into the door of his own +humble dwelling. +</p> + +<p> +The father and sisters of the captain were too much rejoiced in retaining the +young man to express, or even entertain, the apprehensions his situation might +reasonably excite; but on retiring to their evening repast, a cooler reflection +induced the captain to think of changing his mind. Unwilling to trust himself +out of the protection of his father’s domains, the young man dispatched +Caesar to desire another interview with Harvey. The black soon returned with +the unwelcome intelligence that it was now too late. Katy had told him that +Harvey must be miles on his road to the northward, “having left home at +early candlelight with his pack.” Nothing now remained to the captain but +patience, until the morning should afford further opportunity of deciding on +the best course for him to pursue. +</p> + +<p> +“This Harvey Birch, with his knowing looks and portentous warnings, gives +me more uneasiness than I am willing to own,” said Captain Wharton, +rousing himself from a fit of musing in which the danger of his situation made +no small part of his meditations. +</p> + +<p> +“How is it that he is able to travel to and fro in these difficult times, +without molestation?” inquired Miss Peyton. +</p> + +<p> +“Why the rebels suffer him to escape so easily, is more than I can +answer,” returned the other; “but Sir Henry would not permit a hair +of his head to be injured.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed!” cried Frances, with interest. “Is he then known to +Sir Henry<br/> +Clinton?” +</p> + +<p> +“At least he ought to be.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think, my son,” asked Mr. Wharton, “there is no +danger of his betraying you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why—no; I reflected on that before I trusted myself to his +power,” said the captain, thoughtfully. “He seems to be faithful in +matters of business. The danger to himself, should he return to the city, would +prevent such an act of villainy.” +</p> + +<p> +“I think,” said Frances, adopting the manner of her brother, +“Harvey Birch is not without good feelings; at least, he has the +appearance of them at times.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” cried his sister, exulting, “he has loyalty, and that +with me is a cardinal virtue.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am afraid,” said her brother, laughing, “love of money is +a stronger passion than love of his king.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then,” said the father, “you cannot be safe while in his +power—for no love will withstand the temptations of money, when offered +to avarice.” +</p> + +<p> +“Surely, sir,” cried the youth, recovering his gayety, “there +must be one love that can resist anything—is there not, Fanny?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here is your candle; you keep your father up beyond his usual +hour.” +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-5">[5]</a> +An island more than forty leagues in length lies opposite the coasts of New +York and Connecticut. The arm of the sea which separates it from the main is +technically called a sound, and in that part of the country <i>par excellence, +the</i> Sound. This sheet of water varies in its breadth from five to thirty +miles. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap05"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Through Solway sands, through Taross moss,<br/> +Blindfold, he knew the paths to cross:<br/> +By wily turns, by desperate bounds,<br/> +Had baffled Percy’s best bloodhounds.<br/> +In Eske, or Liddel, fords were none,<br/> +But he would ride them, one by one;<br/> +Alike to him was time or tide,<br/> +December’s snow or July’s pride;<br/> +Alike to him was tide or time,<br/> +Moonless midnight or matin prime. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—WALTER SCOTT. +</p> + +<p> +All the members of the Wharton family laid their heads on their pillows that +night, with a foreboding of some interruption to their ordinary quiet. +Uneasiness kept the sisters from enjoying their usual repose, and they rose +from their beds, on the following morning, unrefreshed, and almost without +having closed their eyes. +</p> + +<p> +On taking an eager and hasty survey of the valley from the windows of their +room, nothing, however, but its usual serenity was to be seen. It was +glittering with the opening brilliancy of one of those lovely, mild days, which +occur about the time of the falling of the leaf; and which, by their frequency, +class the American autumn with the most delightful seasons of other countries. +We have no spring; vegetation seems to leap into existence, instead of +creeping, as in the same latitudes of the Old World; but how gracefully it +retires! September, October, even November and December, compose the season for +enjoyment in the open air; they have their storms, but they are distinct, and +not of long continuance, leaving a clear atmosphere and a cloudless sky. +</p> + +<p> +As nothing could be seen likely to interrupt the enjoyments and harmony of such +a day, the sisters descended to the parlor, with a returning confidence in +their brother’s security, and their own happiness. +</p> + +<p> +The family were early in assembling around the breakfast table; and Miss +Peyton, with a little of that minute precision which creeps into the habits of +single life, had pleasantly insisted that the absence of her nephew should in +no manner interfere with the regular hours she had established; consequently, +the party were already seated when the captain made his appearance; though the +untasted coffee sufficiently proved that by none of his relatives was his +absence disregarded. +</p> + +<p> +“I think I did much better,” he cried, taking a chair between his +sisters, and receiving their offered salutes, “to secure a good bed and +such a plentiful breakfast, instead of trusting to the hospitality of that +renowned corps, the Cowboys.” +</p> + +<p> +“If you could sleep,” said Sarah, “you were more fortunate +than Frances and myself; every murmur of the night air sounded to me like the +approach of the rebel army.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why,” said the captain, laughing, “I do acknowledge a little +inquietude myself—but how was it with you?” turning to his younger +and evidently favorite sister, and tapping her cheek. “Did you see +banners in the clouds, and mistake Miss Peyton’s Aeolian harp for +rebellious music?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, Henry,” rejoined the maid, looking at him affectionately, +“much as I love my own country, the approach of her troops just now would +give me great pain.” +</p> + +<p> +The brother made no reply; but returning the fondness expressed in her eye by a +look of fraternal tenderness, he gently pressed her hand in silence; when +Caesar, who had participated largely in the anxiety of the family, and who had +risen with the dawn, and kept a vigilant watch on the surrounding objects, as +he stood gazing from one of the windows, exclaimed with a face that approached +to something like the hues of a white man,— +</p> + +<p> +“Run—Massa Harry—run—if he love old Caesar, +run—here come a rebel horse.” +</p> + +<p> +“Run!” repeated the British officer, gathering himself up in +military pride. “No, Mr. Caesar, running is not my trade.” While +speaking, he walked deliberately to the window, where the family were already +collected in the greatest consternation. +</p> + +<p> +At the distance of more than a mile, about fifty dragoons were to be seen, +winding down one of the lateral entrances of the valley. In advance, with an +officer, was a man attired in the dress of a countryman, who pointed in the +direction of the cottage. A small party now left the main body, and moved +rapidly towards the object of their destination. +</p> + +<p> +On reaching the road which led through the bottom of the valley, they turned +their horses’ heads to the north. +</p> + +<p> +The Whartons continued chained in breathless silence to the spot, watching +their movements, when the party, having reached the dwelling of Birch, made a +rapid circle around his grounds, and in an instant his house was surrounded by +a dozen sentinels. +</p> + +<p> +Two or three of the dragoons now dismounted and disappeared; in a few minutes, +however, they returned to the yard, followed by Katy, from whose violent +gesticulations, it was evident that matters of no trifling concern were on the +carpet. A short communication with the loquacious housekeeper followed the +arrival of the main body of the troop, and the advance party remounting, the +whole moved towards the Locusts with great speed. +</p> + +<p> +As yet none of the family had sufficient presence of mind to devise any means +of security for Captain Wharton; but the danger now became too pressing to +admit of longer delay, and various means of secreting him were hastily +proposed; but they were all haughtily rejected by the young man, as unworthy of +his character. It was too late to retreat to the woods in the rear of the +cottage, for he would unavoidably be seen, and, followed by a troop of horse, +as inevitably taken. +</p> + +<p> +At length his sisters, with trembling hands, replaced his original disguise, +the instruments of which had been carefully kept at hand by Caesar, in +expectation of some sudden emergency. +</p> + +<p> +This arrangement was hastily and imperfectly completed, as the dragoons entered +the lawn and orchard of the Locusts, riding with the rapidity of the wind; and +in their turn the Whartons were surrounded. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing remained now, but to meet the impending examination with as much +indifference as the family could assume. The leader of the horse dismounted, +and, followed by a couple of his men, he approached the outer door of the +building, which was slowly and reluctantly opened for his admission by Caesar. +The heavy tread of the trooper, as he followed the black to the door of the +parlor, rang in the ears of the females as it approached nearer and nearer, and +drove the blood from their faces to their hearts, with a chill that nearly +annihilated feeling. +</p> + +<p> +A man, whose colossal stature manifested the possession of vast strength, +entered the room, and removing his cap, he saluted the family with a mildness +his appearance did not indicate as belonging to his nature. His dark hair hung +around his brow in profusion, though stained with powder which was worn at that +day, and his face was nearly hid in the whiskers by which it was disfigured. +Still, the expression of his eye, though piercing, was not bad, and his voice, +though deep and powerful, was far from unpleasant. Frances ventured to throw a +timid glance at his figure as he entered, and saw at once the man from whose +scrutiny Harvey Birch had warned them there was so much to be apprehended. +</p> + +<p> +“You have no cause for alarm, ladies,” said the officer, pausing a +moment, and contemplating the pale faces around him. “My business will be +confined to a few questions, which, if freely answered, will instantly remove +us from your dwelling.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what may they be, sir?” stammered Mr. Wharton, rising from his +chair and waiting anxiously for the reply. +</p> + +<p> +“Has there been a strange gentleman staying with you during the +storm?” continued the dragoon, speaking with interest, and in some degree +sharing in the evident anxiety of the father. +</p> + +<p> +“This gentleman—here—favored us with his company during the +rain, and has not yet departed.” +</p> + +<p> +“This gentleman!” repeated the other, turning to Captain Wharton, +and contemplating his figure for a moment until the anxiety of his countenance +gave place to a lurking smile. He approached the youth with an air of comic +gravity, and with a low bow, continued, “I am sorry for the severe cold +you have in your head, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“I!” exclaimed the captain, in surprise; “I have no cold in +my head.” +</p> + +<p> +“I fancied it then, from seeing you had covered such handsome black locks +with that ugly old wig. It was my mistake; you will please to pardon it.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton groaned aloud; but the ladies, ignorant of the extent of their +visitor’s knowledge, remained in trembling yet rigid silence. The captain +himself moved his hand involuntarily to his head, and discovered that the +trepidation of his sisters had left some of his natural hair exposed. The +dragoon watched the movement with a continued smile, when, seeming to recollect +himself, turning to the father, he proceeded,— +</p> + +<p> +“Then, sir, I am to understand there has not been a Mr. Harper here, +within the week?” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Harper,” echoed the other, feeling a load removed from his +heart, “yes, I had forgotten; but he is gone; and if there be anything +wrong in his character, we are in entire ignorance of it; to me he was a total +stranger.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have but little to apprehend from his character,” answered the +dragoon dryly. “But he is gone—how—when—and +whither?” +</p> + +<p> +“He departed as he arrived,” said Mr. Wharton, gathering renewed +confidence from the manner of the trooper; “on horseback, last evening, +and he took the northern road.” +</p> + +<p> +The officer listened to him with intense interest, his countenance gradually +lighting into a smile of pleasure, and the instant Mr. Wharton concluded his +laconic reply he turned on his heel and left the apartment. The Whartons, +judging from his manner, thought he was about to proceed in quest of the object +of his inquiries. They observed the dragoon, on gaining the lawn, in earnest +and apparently pleased conversation with his two subalterns. In a few moments +orders were given to some of the troops, and horsemen left the valley, at full +speed, by its various roads. +</p> + +<p> +The suspense of the party within, who were all highly interested witnesses of +this scene, was shortly terminated: for the heavy tread of the dragoon soon +announced his second approach. He bowed again politely as he reentered the +room, and walking up to Captain Wharton, said, with comic gravity,— +</p> + +<p> +“Now, sir, my principal business being done, may I beg to examine the +quality of that wig?” +</p> + +<p> +The British officer imitated the manner of the other, as he deliberately +uncovered his head, and handing him the wig, observed, “I hope, sir, it +is to your liking.” +</p> + +<p> +“I cannot, without violating the truth, say it is,” returned the +dragoon. “I prefer your ebony hair, from which you seem to have combed +the powder with great industry. But that must have been a sad hurt you have +received under this enormous black patch.” +</p> + +<p> +“You appear so close an observer of things, I should like your opinion of +it, sir,” said Henry, removing the silk, and exhibiting the cheek free +from blemish. +</p> + +<p> +“Upon my word, you improve most rapidly in externals,” added the +trooper, preserving his muscles in inflexible gravity. “If I could but +persuade you to exchange this old surtout for that handsome blue coat by your +side, I think I never could witness a more agreeable metamorphosis, since I was +changed myself from a lieutenant to a captain.” +</p> + +<p> +Young Wharton very composedly did as was required and stood an extremely +handsome, well-dressed young man. The dragoon looked at him for a minute with +the drollery that characterized his manner, and then continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“This is a newcomer in the scene; it is usual, you know, for strangers to +be introduced; I am Captain Lawton, of the Virginia horse.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I, sir, am Captain Wharton, of his Majesty’s 60th regiment of +foot,” returned Henry, bowing stiffly, and recovering his natural manner. +</p> + +<p> +The countenance of Lawton changed instantly, and his assumed quaintness +vanished. He viewed the figure of Captain Wharton, as he stood proudly swelling +with a pride that disdained further concealment, and exclaimed with great +earnestness,— +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Wharton, from my soul I pity you!” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! then,” cried the father in agony, “if you pity him, dear +sir, why molest him? He is not a spy; nothing but a desire to see his friends +prompted him to venture so far from the regular army in disguise. Leave him +with us; there is no reward, no sum, which I will not cheerfully pay.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sir, your anxiety for your friend excuses your language,” said +Lawton, haughtily; “but you forget I am a Virginian, and a +gentleman.” Turning to the young man, he continued, “Were you +ignorant, Captain Wharton, that our pickets have been below you for several +days?” +</p> + +<p> +“I did not know it until I reached them, and it was then too late to +retreat,” said Wharton sullenly. “I came out, as my father has +mentioned, to see my friends, understanding your parties to be at Peekskill, +and near the Highlands, or surely I would not have ventured.” +</p> + +<p> +“All this may be very true; but the affair of André has made us on the +alert. When treason reaches the grade of general officers, Captain Wharton, it +behooves the friends of liberty to be vigilant.” +</p> + +<p> +Henry bowed to this remark in distant silence, but Sarah ventured to urge +something in behalf of her brother. The dragoon heard her politely, and +apparently with commiseration; but willing to avoid useless and embarrassing +petitions, he answered mildly,— +</p> + +<p> +“I am not the commander of the party, madam; Major Dunwoodie will decide +what must be done with your brother; at all events he will receive nothing but +kind and gentle treatment.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dunwoodie!” exclaimed Frances, with a face in which the roses +contended for the mastery with the paleness of apprehension. “Thank God! +then Henry is safe!” +</p> + +<p> +Lawton regarded her with a mingled expression of pity and admiration; then +shaking his head doubtingly, he continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“I hope so; and with your permission, we will leave the matter for his +decision.” +</p> + +<p> +The color of Frances changed from the paleness of fear to the glow of hope. Her +dread on behalf of her brother was certainly greatly diminished; yet her form +shook, her breathing became short and irregular, and her whole frame gave +tokens of extraordinary agitation. Her eyes rose from the floor to the dragoon, +and were again fixed immovably on the carpet—she evidently wished to +utter something but was unequal to the effort. Miss Peyton was a close observer +of these movements of her niece, and advancing with an air of feminine dignity, +inquired,— +</p> + +<p> +“Then, sir, we may expect the pleasure of Major Dunwoodie’s company +shortly?” +</p> + +<p> +“Immediately, madam,” answered the dragoon, withdrawing his +admiring gaze from the person of Frances. “Expresses are already on the +road to announce to him our situation, and the intelligence will speedily bring +him to this valley; unless, indeed, some private reasons may exist to make a +visit particularly unpleasant.” +</p> + +<p> +“We shall always be happy to see Major Dunwoodie.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! doubtless; he is a general favorite, May I presume on it so far as +to ask leave to dismount and refresh my men, who compose a part of his +squadron?” +</p> + +<p> +There was a manner about the trooper that would have made the omission of such +a request easily forgiven by Mr. Wharton, but he was fairly entrapped by his +own eagerness to conciliate, and it was useless to withhold a consent which he +thought would probably be extorted; he therefore made the most of necessity, +and gave such orders as would facilitate the wishes of Captain Lawton. +</p> + +<p> +The officers were invited to take their morning’s repast at the family +breakfast table, and having made their arrangements without, the invitation was +frankly accepted. None of the watchfulness, which was so necessary to their +situation, was neglected by the wary partisan. Patrols were seen on the distant +hills, taking their protecting circuit around their comrades, who were +enjoying, in the midst of danger, a security that can only spring from the +watchfulness of discipline and the indifference of habit. +</p> + +<p> +The addition to the party at Mr. Wharton’s table was only three, and they +were all of them men who, under the rough exterior induced by actual and +arduous service, concealed the manners of gentlemen. Consequently, the +interruption to the domestic privacy of the family was marked by the observance +of strict decorum. The ladies left the table to their guests, who proceeded, +without much superfluous diffidence, to do proper honors to the hospitality of +Mr. Wharton. +</p> + +<p> +At length Captain Lawton suspended for a moment his violent attacks on the +buckwheat cakes, to inquire of the master of the house, if there was not a +peddler of the name of Birch who lived in the valley at times. +</p> + +<p> +“At times only, I believe, sir,” replied Mr. Wharton, cautiously. +“He is seldom here; I may say I never see him.” +</p> + +<p> +“That is strange, too,” said the trooper, looking at the +disconcerted host intently, “considering he is your next neighbor; he +must be quite domestic, sir; and to the ladies it must be somewhat +inconvenient. I doubt not that that muslin in the window seat cost twice as +much as he would have asked them for it.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton turned in consternation, and saw some of the recent purchases +scattered about the room. +</p> + +<p> +The two subalterns struggled to conceal their smiles; but the captain resumed +his breakfast with an eagerness that created a doubt, whether he ever expected +to enjoy another. The necessity of a supply from the dominion of Dinah soon, +however, afforded another respite, of which Lawton availed himself. +</p> + +<p> +“I had a wish to break this Mr. Birch of his unsocial habits, and gave +him a call this morning,” he said. “Had I found him within, I +should have placed him where he would enjoy life in the midst of society, for a +short time at least.” +</p> + +<p> +“And where might that be, sir?” asked Mr. Wharton, conceiving it +necessary to say something. +</p> + +<p> +“The guardroom,” said the trooper, dryly. +</p> + +<p> +“What is the offense of poor Birch?” asked Miss Peyton, handing the +dragoon a fourth dish of coffee. +</p> + +<p> +“Poor!” cried the captain. “If he is poor, King George is a +bad paymaster.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, indeed,” said one of the subalterns, “his Majesty owes +him a dukedom.” +</p> + +<p> +“And congress a halter,” continued the commanding officer +commencing anew on a fresh supply of the cakes. +</p> + +<p> +“I am sorry,” said Mr. Wharton, “that any neighbor of mine +should incur the displeasure of our rulers.” +</p> + +<p> +“If I catch him,” cried the dragoon, while buttering another cake, +“he will dangle from the limbs of one of his namesakes.” +</p> + +<p> +“He would make no bad ornament, suspended from one of those locusts +before his own door,” added the lieutenant. +</p> + +<p> +“Never mind,” continued the captain; “I will have him yet +before I’m a major.” +</p> + +<p> +As the language of the officers appeared to be sincere, and such as +disappointed men in their rough occupations are but too apt to use, the +Whartons thought it prudent to discontinue the subject. It was no new +intelligence to any of the family, that Harvey Birch was distrusted and greatly +harassed by the American army. His escapes from their hands, no less than his +imprisonments, had been the conversation of the country in too many instances, +and under circumstances of too great mystery, to be easily forgotten. In fact, +no small part of the bitterness expressed by Captain Lawton against the +peddler, arose from the unaccountable disappearance of the latter, when +intrusted to the custody of two of his most faithful dragoons. +</p> + +<p> +A twelvemonth had not yet elapsed, since Birch had been seen lingering near the +headquarters of the commander in chief, and at a time when important movements +were expected hourly to occur. So soon as the information of this fact was +communicated to the officer whose duty it was to guard the avenues of the +American camp, he dispatched Captain Lawton in pursuit of the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +Acquainted with all the passes of the hills, and indefatigable in the discharge +of his duty, the trooper had, with much trouble and toil, succeeded in +effecting his object. The party had halted at a farmhouse for the purposes of +refreshment, and the prisoner was placed in a room by himself, but under the +keeping of the two men before mentioned; all that was known subsequently is, +that a woman was seen busily engaged in the employments of the household near +the sentinels, and was particularly attentive to the wants of the captain, +until he was deeply engaged in the employments of the supper table. +</p> + +<p> +Afterwards, neither woman nor peddler was to be found. The pack, indeed, was +discovered open, and nearly empty, and a small door, communicating with a room +adjoining to the one in which the peddler had been secured, was ajar. +</p> + +<p> +Captain Lawton never could forgive the deception; his antipathies to his +enemies were not very moderate, but this was adding an insult to his +penetration that rankled deeply. He sat in portentous silence, brooding over +the exploit of his prisoner, yet mechanically pursuing the business before him, +until, after sufficient time had passed to make a very comfortable meal, a +trumpet suddenly broke on the ears of the party, sending its martial tones up +the valley, in startling melody. The trooper rose instantly from the table, +exclaiming,— +</p> + +<p> +“Quick, gentlemen, to your horses; there comes Dunwoodie,” and, +followed by his officers, he precipitately left the room. +</p> + +<p> +With the exception of the sentinels left to guard Captain Wharton, the dragoons +mounted, and marched out to meet their comrades. +</p> + +<p> +None of the watchfulness necessary in a war, in which similarity of language, +appearance, and customs rendered prudence doubly necessary, was omitted by the +cautious leader. On getting sufficiently near, however, to a body of horse of +more than double his own number, to distinguish countenances, Lawton plunged +his rowels into his charger, and in a moment he was by the side of his +commander. +</p> + +<p> +The ground in front of the cottage was again occupied by the horse; and +observing the same precautions as before, the newly arrived troops hastened to +participate in the cheer prepared for their comrades. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap06"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +And let conquerors boast<br/> +Their fields of fame—he who in virtue arms<br/> +A young warm spirit against beauty’s charms,<br/> +Who feels her brightness, yet defies her thrall,<br/> +Is the best, bravest conqueror of them all. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—MOORE. +</p> + +<p> +The ladies of the Wharton family had collected about a window, deeply +interested in the scene we have related. +</p> + +<p> +Sarah viewed the approach of her countrymen with a smile of contemptuous +indifference; for she even undervalued the personal appearance of men whom she +thought arrayed in the unholy cause of rebellion. Miss Peyton looked on the +gallant show with an exulting pride, which arose in the reflection that the +warriors before her were the chosen troops of her native colony; while Frances +gazed with a singleness of interest that absorbed all other considerations. +</p> + +<p> +The two parties had not yet joined, before her quick eye distinguished one +horseman in particular from those around him. To her it appeared that even the +steed of this youthful soldier seemed to be conscious that he sustained the +weight of no common man: his hoofs but lightly touched the earth, and his airy +tread was the curbed motion of a blooded charger. +</p> + +<p> +The dragoon sat in the saddle, with a firmness and ease that showed him master +of himself and horse,—his figure uniting the just proportions of strength +and activity, being tall, round, and muscular. To this officer Lawton made his +report, and, side by side, they rode into the field opposite to the cottage. +</p> + +<p> +The heart of Frances beat with a pulsation nearly stifling, as he paused for a +moment, and took a survey of the building, with an eye whose dark and sparkling +glance could be seen, notwithstanding the distance. Her color changed, and for +an instant, as she saw the youth throw himself from the saddle, she was +compelled to seek relief for her trembling limbs in a chair. +</p> + +<p> +The officer gave a few hasty orders to his second in command, walked rapidly +into the lawn, and approached the cottage. Frances rose from her seat, and +vanished from the apartment. The dragoon ascended the steps of the piazza, and +had barely time to touch the outer door, when it opened to his admission. +</p> + +<p> +The youth of Frances, when she left the city, had prevented her sacrificing, in +conformity to the customs of that day, all her native beauties on the altar of +fashion. Her hair, which was of a golden richness of color, was left, +untortured, to fall in the natural ringlets of infancy, and it shaded a face +which was glowing with the united charms of health, youth, and artlessness; her +eyes spoke volumes, but her tongue was silent; her hands were interlocked +before her, and, aided by her taper form, bending forward in an attitude of +expectation, gave a loveliness and an interest to her appearance, that for a +moment chained her lover in silence to the spot. +</p> + +<p> +Frances silently led the way into a vacant parlor, opposite to the one in which +the family were assembled, and turning to the soldier frankly, placing both her +hands in his own, exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“Ah, Dunwoodie! how happy, on many accounts, I am to see you! I have +brought you in here, to prepare you to meet an unexpected friend in the +opposite room.” +</p> + +<p> +“To whatever cause it may be owing,” cried the youth, pressing her +hands to his lips, “I, too, am happy in being able to see you alone. +Frances, the probation you have decreed is cruel; war and distance may separate +us forever.” +</p> + +<p> +“We must submit to the necessity which governs us. But it is not love +speeches I would hear now; I have other and more important matter for your +attention.” +</p> + +<p> +“What can be of more importance than to make you mine by a tie that will +be indissoluble! Frances, you are cold to me—me—from whose mind, +days of service and nights of alarm have never been able to banish your image +for a single moment.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dear Dunwoodie,” said Frances, softening nearly to tears, and +again extending her hand to him, as the richness of her color gradually +returned, “you know my sentiments—this war once ended, and you may +take that hand forever—but I can never consent to tie myself to you by +any closer union than already exists, so long as you are arrayed in arms +against my only brother. Even now, that brother is awaiting your decision to +restore him to liberty, or to conduct him to a probable death.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your brother!” cried Dunwoodie, starting and turning pale; +“your brother! explain yourself—what dreadful meaning is concealed +in your words?” +</p> + +<p> +“Has not Captain Lawton told you of the arrest of Henry by himself this +very morning?” continued Frances, in a voice barely audible, and fixing +on her lover a look of the deepest concern. +</p> + +<p> +“He told me of arresting a captain of the 60th in disguise, but without +mentioning where or whom,” replied the major in a similar tone; and +dropping his head between his hands, he endeavored to conceal his feelings from +his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“Dunwoodie! Dunwoodie!” exclaimed Frances, losing all her former +confidence in the most fearful apprehensions, “what means this +agitation?” As the major slowly raised his face, in which was pictured +the most expressive concern, she continued, “Surely, surely, you will not +betray your friend—my brother—your brother—to an ignominious +death.” +</p> + +<p> +“Frances!” exclaimed the young man in agony, “what can I +do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Do!” she repeated, gazing at him wildly. “Would Major +Dunwoodie yield his friend to his enemies—the brother of his betrothed +wife?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, speak not so unkindly to me, dearest Miss Wharton—my own +Frances. I would this moment die for you—for Henry—but I cannot +forget my duty—cannot forfeit my honor; you yourself would be the first +to despise me if I did.” +</p> + +<p> +“Peyton Dunwoodie!” said Frances, solemnly, and with a face of ashy +paleness, “you have told me—you have sworn, that you love +me——” +</p> + +<p> +“I do,” interrupted the soldier, with fervor; but motioning for +silence she continued, in a voice that trembled with her fears,— +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think I can throw myself into the arms of a man whose hands are +stained with the blood of my only brother!” +</p> + +<p> +“Frances, you wring my very heart!” Then pausing, to struggle with +his feelings, he endeavored to force a smile, as he added, “But, after +all, we may be torturing ourselves with unnecessary fears, and Henry, when I +know the circumstances, may be nothing more than a prisoner of war; in which +case, I can liberate him on parole.” +</p> + +<p> +There is no more delusive passion than hope; and it seems to be the happy +privilege of youth to cull all the pleasures that can be gathered from its +indulgence. It is when we are most worthy of confidence ourselves, that we are +least apt to distrust others; and what we think ought to be, we are prone to +think will be. +</p> + +<p> +The half-formed expectations of the young soldier were communicated to the +desponding sister, more by the eye than the voice, and the blood rushed again +to her cheek, as she cried,— +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, there can be no just grounds to doubt it. I know—I +knew—Dunwoodie, you would never desert us in the hour of our greatest +need!” The violence of her feelings prevailed, and the agitated girl +found relief in a flood of tears. +</p> + +<p> +The office of consoling those we love is one of the dearest prerogatives of +affection; and Major Dunwoodie, although but little encouraged by his own +momentary suggestion of relief, could not undeceive the lovely girl, who leaned +on his shoulder, as he wiped the traces of her feeling from her face, with a +trembling, but reviving confidence in the safety of her brother, and the +protection of her lover. +</p> + +<p> +Frances, having sufficiently recovered her recollection to command herself, now +eagerly led the way to the opposite room, to communicate to her family the +pleasing intelligence which she already conceived so certain, +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie followed her reluctantly, and with forebodings of the result; but a +few moments brought him into the presence of his relatives, and he summoned all +his resolution to meet the trial with firmness. +</p> + +<p> +The salutations of the young men were cordial and frank, and, on the part of +Henry Wharton, as collected as if nothing had occurred to disturb his +self-possession. +</p> + +<p> +The abhorrence of being, in any manner, auxiliary to the arrest of his friend; +the danger to the life of Captain Wharton; and the heart-breaking declarations +of Frances, had, however, created an uneasiness in the bosom of Major +Dunwoodie, which all his efforts could not conceal. His reception by the rest +of the family was kind and sincere, both from old regard, and a remembrance of +former obligations, heightened by the anticipations they could not fail to read +in the expressive eyes of the blushing girl by his side. After exchanging +greetings with every member of the family, Major Dunwoodie beckoned to the +sentinel, whom the wary prudence of Captain Lawton had left in charge of the +prisoner, to leave the room. Turning to Captain Wharton, he inquired +mildly,— +</p> + +<p> +“Tell me, Henry, the circumstances of this disguise, in which +Captain<br/> +Lawton reports you to have been found, and +remember—remember—Captain<br/> +Wharton—your answers are entirely voluntary.” +</p> + +<p> +“The disguise was used by me, Major Dunwoodie,” replied the English +officer, gravely, “to enable me to visit my friends, without incurring +the danger of becoming a prisoner of war.” +</p> + +<p> +“But you did not wear it, until you saw the troop of Lawton +approaching?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! no,” interrupted Frances, eagerly, forgetting all the +circumstances in her anxiety for her brother. “Sarah and myself placed +them on him when the dragoons appeared; and it was our awkwardness that has led +to the discovery.” +</p> + +<p> +The countenance of Dunwoodie brightened, as turning his eyes in fondness on the +speaker, he listened to her explanation. +</p> + +<p> +“Probably some articles of your own,” he continued, “which +were at hand, and were used on the spur of the moment.” +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said Wharton, with dignity, “the clothes were worn by +me from the city; they were procured for the purpose to which they were +applied, and I intended to use them in my return this very day.” +</p> + +<p> +The appalled Frances shrank back from between her brother and lover, where her +ardent feelings had carried her, as the whole truth glanced over her mind, and +she sank into a seat, gazing wildly on the young men. +</p> + +<p> +“But the pickets—the party at the Plains?” added Dunwoodie, +turning pale. +</p> + +<p> +“I passed them, too, in disguise. I made use of this pass, for which I +paid; and, as it bears the name of Washington, I presume it is forged.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie caught the paper from his hand, eagerly, and stood gazing on the +signature for some time in silence, during which the soldier gradually +prevailed over the man; when he turned to the prisoner, with a searching look, +as he asked,— +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Wharton, whence did you procure this paper?” +</p> + +<p> +“This is a question, I conceive, Major Dunwoodie has no right to +ask.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your pardon, sir; my feelings may have led me into an +impropriety.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton, who had been a deeply interested auditor, now so far conquered his +feelings as to say, “Surely, Major Dunwoodie, the paper cannot be +material; such artifices are used daily in war.” +</p> + +<p> +“This name is no counterfeit,” said the dragoon, studying the +characters, and speaking in a low voice; “is treason yet among us +undiscovered? The confidence of Washington has been abused, for the fictitious +name is in a different hand from the pass. Captain Wharton, my duty will not +suffer me to grant you a parole; you must accompany me to the Highlands.” +</p> + +<p> +“I did not expect otherwise, Major Dunwoodie.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie turned slowly towards the sisters, when the figure of Frances once +more arrested his gaze. She had risen from her seat, and stood again with her +hands clasped before him in an attitude of petition; feeling himself unable to +contend longer with his feelings, he made a hurried excuse for a temporary +absence, and left the room. Frances followed him, and, obedient to the +direction of her eye, the soldier reentered the apartment in which had been +their first interview. +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie,” said Frances, in a voice barely audible, as she +beckoned to him to be seated; her cheek, which had been of a chilling +whiteness, was flushed with a suffusion that crimsoned her whole countenance. +She struggled with herself for a moment, and continued, “I have already +acknowledged to you my esteem; even now, when you most painfully distress me, I +wish not to conceal it. Believe me, Henry is innocent of everything but +imprudence. Our country can sustain no wrong.” Again she paused, and +almost gasped for breath; her color changed rapidly from red to white, until +the blood rushed into her face, covering her features with the brightest +vermilion; and she added hastily, in an undertone, “I have promised, +Dunwoodie, when peace shall be restored to our country, to become your wife. +Give to my brother his liberty on parole, and I will this day go with you to +the altar, follow you to the camp, and, in becoming a soldier’s bride, +learn to endure a soldier’s privations.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie seized the hand which the blushing girl, in her ardor, had extended +towards him, and pressed it for a moment to his bosom; then rising from his +seat, he paced the room in excessive agitation. +</p> + +<p> +“Frances, say no more, I conjure you, unless you wish to break my +heart.” +</p> + +<p> +“You then reject my offered hand?” she said, rising with dignity, +though her pale cheek and quivering lip plainly showed the conflicting passions +within. +</p> + +<p> +“Reject it! Have I not sought it with entreaties—with tears? Has it +not been the goal of all my earthly wishes? But to take it under such +conditions would be to dishonor both. We will hope for better things. Henry +must be acquitted; perhaps not tried. No intercession of mine shall be wanting, +you must well know; and believe me, Frances, I am not without favor with +Washington.” +</p> + +<p> +“That very paper, that abuse of his confidence, to which you alluded, +will steel him to my brother’s case. If threats or entreaties could move +his stern sense of justice, would André have suffered?” As Frances +uttered these words she fled from the room in despair. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie remained for a minute nearly stupefied; and then he followed with a +view to vindicate himself, and to relieve her apprehensions. On entering the +hall that divided the two parlors, he was met by a small ragged boy, who looked +one moment at his dress, and placing a piece of paper in his hands, immediately +vanished through the outer door of the building. The bewildered state of his +mind, and the suddenness of the occurrence, gave the major barely time to +observe the messenger to be a country lad, meanly attired, and that he held in +his hand one of those toys which are to be bought in cities, and which he now +apparently contemplated with the conscious pleasure of having fairly purchased, +by the performance of the service required. The soldier turned his eyes to the +subject of the note. It was written on a piece of torn and soiled paper, and in +a hand barely legible, but after some little labor, he was able to make out as +follows— +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“<i>The rig’lars are at hand, horse and foot.</i>”<a +href="#linknote-6" name="linknoteref-6" id="linknoteref-6"><sup>[6]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie started; and, forgetting everything but the duties of a soldier, he +precipitately left the house. While walking rapidly towards the troops, he +noticed on a distant hill a vidette riding with speed. Several pistols were +fired in quick succession; and the next instant the trumpets of the corps rang +in his ears with the enlivening strain of “To arms!” By the time he +had reached the ground occupied by his squadron, the major saw that every man +was in active motion. Lawton was already in the saddle, eying the opposite +extremity of the valley with the eagerness of expectation, and crying to the +musicians, in tones but little lower than their own,— +</p> + +<p> +“Sound away, my lads, and let these Englishmen know that the Virginia +horse are between them and the end of their journey.” +</p> + +<p> +The videttes and patrols now came pouring in, each making in succession his +hasty report to the commanding officer, who gave his orders coolly, and with a +promptitude that made obedience certain. Once only, as he wheeled his horse to +ride over the ground in front, did Dunwoodie trust himself with a look at the +cottage, and his heart beat with unusual rapidity as he saw a female figure +standing, with clasped hands, at a window of the room in which he had met +Frances. The distance was too great to distinguish her features, but the +soldier could not doubt that it was his mistress. The paleness of his cheek and +the languor of his eye endured but for a moment longer. As he rode towards the +intended battle ground, a flush of ardor began to show itself on his sunburnt +features; and his dragoons, who studied the face of their leader, as the best +index to their own fate, saw again the wonted flashing of the eyes, and the +cheerful animation, which they had so often witnessed on the eve of battle. By +the additions of the videttes and parties that had been out, and which now had +all joined, the whole number of the horse was increased to nearly two hundred. +There was also a small body of men, whose ordinary duties were those of guides, +but who, in cases of emergency, were embodied and did duty as foot soldiers; +these were dismounted, and proceeded, by the order of Dunwoodie, to level the +few fences which might interfere with the intended movements of the cavalry. +The neglect of husbandry, which had been occasioned by the war, left this task +comparatively easy. Those long lines of heavy and durable walls, which now +sweep through every part of the country, forty years ago were unknown. The +slight and tottering fences of stone were then used more to clear the land for +the purposes of cultivation than as permanent barriers, and required the +constant attention of the husbandman, to preserve them against the fury of the +tempests and the frosts of winter. Some few of them had been built with more +care immediately around the dwelling of Mr. Wharton; but those which had +intersected the vale below were now generally a pile of ruins, over which the +horses of the Virginians would bound with the fleetness of the wind. +Occasionally a short line yet preserved its erect appearance; but as none of +those crossed the ground on which Dunwoodie intended to act, there remained +only the slighter fences of rails to be thrown down. Their duty was hastily but +effectually performed; and the guides withdrew to the post assigned to them for +the approaching fight. +</p> + +<p> +Major Dunwoodie had received from his scouts all the intelligence concerning +his foe, which was necessary to enable him to make his arrangements. The bottom +of the valley was an even plain, that fell with a slight inclination from the +foot of the hills on either side, to the level of a natural meadow that wound +through the country on the banks of a small stream, by whose waters it was +often inundated and fertilized. This brook was easily forded in any part of its +course; and the only impediment it offered to the movements of the horse, was +in a place where it changed its bed from the western to the eastern side of the +valley, and where its banks were more steep and difficult of access than +common. Here the highway crossed it by a rough wooden bridge, as it did again +at the distance of half a mile above the Locusts. +</p> + +<p> +The hills on the eastern side of the valley were abrupt, and frequently +obtruded themselves in rocky prominences into its bosom, lessening the width to +half the usual dimensions. One of these projections was but a short distance in +the rear of the squadron of dragoons, and Dunwoodie directed Captain Lawton to +withdraw, with two troops, behind its cover. The officer obeyed with a kind of +surly reluctance, that was, however, somewhat lessened by the anticipations of +the effect his sudden appearance would make on the enemy. Dunwoodie knew his +man, and had selected the captain for this service, both because he feared his +precipitation in the field, and knew, when needed, his support would never fail +to appear. It was only in front of the enemy that Captain Lawton was hasty; at +all other times his discernment and self-possession were consummately +preserved; but he sometimes forgot them in his eagerness to engage. On the left +of the ground on which Dunwoodie intended to meet his foe, was a close wood, +which skirted that side of the valley for the distance of a mile. Into this, +then, the guides retired, and took their station near its edge, in such a +manner as would enable them to maintain a scattering, but effectual fire, on +the advancing column of the enemy. +</p> + +<p> +It cannot be supposed that all these preparations were made unheeded by the +inmates of the cottage; on the contrary, every feeling which can agitate the +human breast, in witnessing such a scene, was actively alive. Mr. Wharton alone +saw no hopes to himself in the termination of the conflict. If the British +should prevail, his son would be liberated; but what would then be his own +fate! He had hitherto preserved his neutral character in the midst of trying +circumstances. The fact of his having a son in the royal, or, as it was called, +the regular army, had very nearly brought his estates to the hammer. Nothing +had obviated this result, but the powerful interest of the relation who held a +high political rank in the state, and his own vigilant prudence. In his heart, +he was a devoted loyalist; and when the blushing Frances had communicated to +him the wishes of her lover, on their return from the American camp the +preceding spring, the consent he had given, to her future union with a rebel, +was as much extracted by the increasing necessity which existed for his +obtaining republican support, as by any considerations for the happiness of his +child. Should his son now be rescued, he would, in the public mind, be united +with him as a plotter against the freedom of the States; and should he remain a +captive and undergo the impending trial, the consequences might be still more +dreadful. Much as he loved his wealth, Mr. Wharton loved his children better; +and he sat gazing on the movements without, with a listless vacancy in his +countenance, that fully denoted his imbecility of character. Far different were +the feelings of the son. Captain Wharton had been left in the keeping of two +dragoons, one of whom marched to and fro on the piazza with a measured tread, +and the other had been directed to continue in the same apartment with his +prisoner. The young man had witnessed all the movements of Dunwoodie with +admiration mingled with fearful anticipations of the consequences to friends. +He particularly disliked the ambush of the detachment under Lawton, who could +be distinctly seen from the windows of the cottage, cooling his impatience, by +pacing on foot the ground in front of his men. Henry Wharton threw several +hasty and inquiring glances around, to see if no means of liberation would +offer, but invariably found the eyes of his sentinel fixed on him with the +watchfulness of an Argus. He longed, with the ardor of youth, to join in the +glorious fray, but was compelled to remain a dissatisfied spectator of a scene +in which he would so cheerfully have been an actor. Miss Peyton and Sarah +continued gazing on the preparations with varied emotions, in which concern for +the fate of the captain formed the most prominent feeling, until the moment of +shedding of blood seemed approaching, when, with the timidity of their sex, +they sought the retirement of an inner room. Not so Frances; she returned to +the apartment where she had left Dunwoodie, and, from one of its windows, had +been a deeply interested spectator of all his movements. The wheelings of the +troops, the deadly preparations, had all been unnoticed; she saw her lover +only, and with mingled emotions of admiration and dread that nearly chilled +her. At one moment the blood rushed to her heart, as she saw the young warrior +riding through his ranks, giving life and courage to all whom he addressed; and +the next, it curdled with the thought that the very gallantry she so much +valued might prove the means of placing the grave between her and the object of +her regard. Frances gazed until she could look no longer. +</p> + +<p> +In a field on the left of the cottage, and at a short distance in the rear of +the troops, was a small group, whose occupation seemed to differ from that of +all around them. They were in number only three, being two men and a mulatto +boy. The principal personage of this party was a man, whose leanness made his +really tall stature appear excessive. He wore spectacles—was unarmed, had +dismounted, and seemed to be dividing his attention between a cigar, a book, +and the incidents of the field before him. To this party Frances determined to +send a note, directed to Dunwoodie. She wrote hastily, with a pencil, +“Come to me, Peyton, if it be but for a moment”; and Caesar emerged +from the cellar kitchen, taking the precaution to go by the rear of the +building, to avoid the sentinel on the piazza, who had very cavalierly ordered +all the family to remain housed. The black delivered the note to the gentleman, +with a request that it might be forwarded to Major Dunwoodie. It was the +surgeon of the horse to whom Caesar addressed himself; and the teeth of the +African chattered, as he saw displayed upon the ground the several instruments +which were in preparation for the anticipated operations. The doctor himself +seemed to view the arrangement with great satisfaction, as he deliberately +raised his eyes from his book to order the boy to convey the note to his +commanding officer, and then dropping them quietly on the page he continued his +occupation. Caesar was slowly retiring, as the third personage, who by his +dress might be an inferior assistant of the surgical department, coolly +inquired “if he would have a leg taken off?” This question seemed +to remind the black of the existence of those limbs, for he made such use of +them as to reach the piazza at the same instant that Major Dunwoodie rode up, +at half speed. The brawny sentinel squared himself, and poised his sword with +military precision as he stood on his post, while his officer passed; but no +sooner had the door closed, than, turning to the negro, he said, +sharply,— +</p> + +<p> +“Harkee, blackee, if you quit the house again without my knowledge, I +shall turn barber, and shave off one of those ebony ears with this +razor.” +</p> + +<p> +Thus assailed in another member, Caesar hastily retreated into his kitchen, +muttering something, in which the words “Skinner,” and “rebel +rascal,” formed a principal part of speech. +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie,” said Frances to her lover as he entered, +“I may have done you injustice; if I have appeared harsh—” +</p> + +<p> +The emotions of the agitated girl prevailed, and she burst into tears. +</p> + +<p> +“Frances,” cried the soldier with warmth, “you are never +harsh, never unjust, but when you doubt my love.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! Dunwoodie,” added the sobbing girl, “you are about to +risk your life in battle; remember that there is one heart whose happiness is +built on your safety; brave I know you are: be prudent—” +</p> + +<p> +“For your sake?” inquired the delighted youth. +</p> + +<p> +“For my sake,” replied Frances, in a voice barely audible, and +dropping on his bosom. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie folded her to his heart, and was about to speak, as a trumpet sounded +in the southern end of the vale. Imprinting one long kiss of affection on her +unresisting lips, the soldier tore himself from his mistress, and hastened to +the scene of strife. +</p> + +<p> +Frances threw herself on a sofa, buried her head under its cushion, and with +her shawl drawn over her face, to exclude as much of sound as possible, +continued there until the shouts of the combatants, the rattling of the +firearms, and the thundering tread of the horses had ceased. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-6">[6]</a> +There died a few years since, in Bedford, Westchester, a yeoman named Elisha +H—— This person was employed by Washington as one of his most +confidential spies. By the conditions of their bargain, H—— was +never to be required to deal with third parties, since his risks were too +imminent. He was allowed to enter also into the service of Sir Henry Clinton, +and so much confidence had Washington in his love of country and discretion, +that he was often intrusted with the minor military movements, in order that he +might enhance his value with the English general, by communicating them. In +this manner H—— had continued to serve for a long period, when +chance brought him into the city (then held by the British) at a moment when an +expedition was about to quit it, to go against a small post established at +Bedford, his native village, where the Americans had a depot of provisions. +H—— easily ascertained the force and destination of the detachment +ordered on this service, but he was at a loss in what manner to communicate his +information to the officer in command at Bedford, without betraying his own +true character to a third person. There was not time to reach Washington, and +under the circumstances, he finally resolved to hazard a short note to the +American commandant, stating the danger, and naming the time when the attack +might be expected. To this note he even ventured to affix his own initials, E +H, though he had disguised the hand, under a belief that, as he knew himself to +be suspected by his countrymen, it might serve to give more weight to his +warning. His family being at Bedford, the note was transmitted with facility +and arrived in good season, H—— himself remaining in New York. The +American commandant did what every sensible officer, in a similar case, would +have done. He sent a courier with the note to Washington, demanding orders, +while he prepared his little party to make the best defense in his power. The +headquarters of the American army were, at that time, in the Highlands. +Fortunately, the express met Washington, on a tour of observation, near their +entrance. The note was given to him, and he read it in the saddle, adding, in +pencil, “Believe all that E H tells you. George Washington” He +returned it to the courier, with an injunction to ride for life or death. The +courier reached Bedford after the British had made their attack. The commandant +read the reply, and put it in his pocket. The Americans were defeated, and +their leader killed. The note of H——, with the line written on it +by Washington, was found on his person. The following day H—— was +summoned to the presence of Sir Henry Clinton. After the latter had put several +general questions, he suddenly gave the note to the spy, and asked if he knew +the handwriting, and demanded who the E H was “It is Elijah Hadden, the +spy you hanged yesterday at Powles Hook.” The readiness of this answer, +connected with the fact that a spy having the same initials had been executed +the day before, and the coolness of H——, saved him. Sir Henry +Clinton allowed him to quit his presence, and he never saw him afterwards. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap07"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +The game’s afoot;<br/> +Follow your spirit. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—SHAKESPEARE. +</p> + +<p> +The rough and unimproved face of the country, the frequency of covers, together +with the great distance from their own country, and the facilities afforded +them for rapid movements to the different points of the war, by the undisputed +command of the ocean, had united to deter the English from employing a heavy +force in cavalry, in their early efforts to subdue the revolted colonies. +</p> + +<p> +Only one regiment of regular horse was sent from the mother country, during the +struggle. But legions and independent corps were formed in different places, as +it best accorded with the views of the royal commanders, or suited the exigency +of the times. These were not unfrequently composed of men raised in the +colonies, and at other times drafts were had from the regiments of the line, +and the soldiers were made to lay aside the musket and bayonet, and taught to +wield the saber and carbine. One particular body of the subsidiary troops was +included in this arrange ment, and the Hessian yagers were transformed into a +corps of heavy and inactive horse. +</p> + +<p> +Opposed to them were the hardiest spirits of America. Most of the cavalry +regiments of the continental army were led and officered by gentlemen from the +South. The high and haughty courage of the commanders had communicated itself +to the privates, who were men selected with care and great attention to the +service they were intended to perform. +</p> + +<p> +While the British were confined to their empty conquests in the possession of a +few of the larger towns, or marched through counties that were swept of +everything like military supplies, the light troops of their enemies had the +range of the whole interior. +</p> + +<p> +The sufferings of the line of the American army were great beyond example; but +possessing the power, and feeling themselves engaged in a cause which justified +severity, the cavalry officers were vigilant in providing for their wants, and +the horse were well mounted, well fed, and consequently eminently effective. +Perhaps the world could not furnish more brave, enterprising, and resistless +corps of light cavalry, than a few that were in the continental service at the +time of which we write. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie’s men had often tried their prowess against the enemy, and they +now sat panting to be led once more against foes whom they seldom charged in +vain. Their wishes were soon to be gratified; for their commander had scarcely +time to regain his seat in the saddle, before a body of the enemy came sweeping +round the base of the hill, which intersected the view to the south. A few +minutes enabled the major to distinguish their character. In one troop he saw +the green coats of the Cowboys, and in the other the leathern helmets and +wooden saddles of the yagers. Their numbers were about equal to the body under +his immediate orders. +</p> + +<p> +On reaching the open space near the cottage of Harvey Birch, the enemy halted +and drew up his men in line, evidently making preparations for a charge. At +this moment a column of foot appeared in the vale, and pressed forward to the +bank of the brook we have already mentioned. +</p> + +<p> +Major Dunwoodie was not less distinguished by coolness and judgment, than, +where occasion offered, by his dauntless intrepidity. He at once saw his +advantage, and determined to profit by it. The column he led began slowly to +retire from the field, when the youthful German, who commanded the +enemy’s horse, fearful of missing an easy conquest, gave the word to +charge. Few troops were more hardy than the Cowboys; they sprang eagerly +forward in the pursuit, with a confidence created by the retiring foe and the +column in their rear; the Hessians followed more slowly, but in better order. +The trumpets of the Virginians now sounded long and lively; they were answered +by a strain from the party in ambush that went to the hearts of their enemies. +The column of Dunwoodie wheeled in perfect order, opened, and, as the word to +charge was given, the troops of Lawton emerged from their cover, with their +leader in advance, waving his saber over his head, and shouting, in a voice +that was heard above the clangor of the martial music. +</p> + +<p> +The charge threatened too much for the refugee troop. They scattered in every +direction, flying from the field as fast as their horses, the chosen beasts of +Westchester, could carry them. Only a few were hurt; but such as did meet the +arms of their avenging countrymen never survived the blow, to tell who struck +it. It was upon the poor vassals of the German tyrant that the shock fell. +Disciplined to the most exact obedience, these ill-fated men met the charge +bravely, but they were swept before the mettled horses and nervous arms of +their antagonists like chaff before the wind. Many of them were literally +ridden down, and Dunwoodie soon saw the field without an opposing foe. The +proximity of the infantry prevented pursuit, and behind its column the few +Hessians who escaped unhurt sought protection. +</p> + +<p> +The more cunning refugees dispersed in small bands, taking various and devious +routes back to their old station in front of Harlem. Many was the sufferer, in +cattle, furniture, and person, that was created by this rout; for the +dispersion of a troop of Cowboys was only the extension of an evil. +</p> + +<p> +Such a scene could not be expected to be acted so near them, and the inmates of +the cottage take no interest in the result. In truth, the feelings it excited +pervaded every bosom, from the kitchen to the parlor. Terror and horror had +prevented the ladies from being spectators, but they did not feel the less. +Frances continued lying in the posture we have mentioned, offering up fervent +and incoherent petitions for the safety of her countrymen, although in her +inmost heart she had personified her nation by the graceful image of Peyton +Dunwoodie. Her aunt and sister were less exclusive in their devotions; but +Sarah began to feel, as the horrors of war were thus brought home to her +senses, less pleasure in her anticipated triumphs. +</p> + +<p> +The inmates of Mr. Wharton’s kitchen were four, namely, Caesar and his +spouse, their granddaughter, a jet-black damsel of twenty, and the boy before +alluded to. The blacks were the remnants of a race of negroes which had been +entailed on his estate from Mr. Wharton’s maternal ancestors, who were +descended from the early Dutch colonists. Time, depravity, and death had +reduced them to this small number; and the boy, who was white, had been added +by Miss Peyton to the establishment, as an assistant, to perform the ordinary +services of a footman. Caesar, after first using the precaution to place +himself under the cover of an angle in the wall, for a screen against any +roving bullet which might be traversing the air, became an amused spectator of +the skirmish. The sentinel on the piazza was at the distance of but a few feet +from him, and he entered into the spirit of the chase with all the ardor of a +tried bloodhound. He noticed the approach of the black, and his judicious +position, with a smile of contempt, as he squared himself towards the enemy, +offering his unprotected breast to any dangers which might come. +</p> + +<p> +After considering the arrangement of Caesar, for a moment, with ineffable +disdain, the dragoon said, with great coolness,— +</p> + +<p> +“You seem very careful of that beautiful person of yours, Mr. +Blueskin.” +</p> + +<p> +“A bullet hurt a colored man as much as a white,” muttered the +black, surlily, casting a glance of much satisfaction at his rampart. +</p> + +<p> +“Suppose I make the experiment,” returned the sentinel. As he +spoke, he deliberately drew a pistol from his belt, and leveled it at the +black. Caesar’s teeth chattered at the appearance of the dragoon, +although he believed nothing serious was intended. At this moment the column of +Dunwoodie began to retire, and the royal cavalry commenced their charge. +</p> + +<p> +“There, Mister Light-Horseman,” said Caesar eagerly, who believed +the Americans were retiring in earnest; “why you rebels don’t +fight—see—see how King George’s men make Major Dunwoodie run! +Good gentleman, too, but he don’t like to fight a rig’lar.” +</p> + +<p> +“Damn your regulars,” cried the other, fiercely. “Wait a +minute, blackey, and you’ll see Captain Jack Lawton come out from behind +yonder hill, and scatter these Cowboys like wild geese who’ve lost their +leader.” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar supposed the party under Lawton to have sought the shelter of the hill +from motives similar to that which had induced him to place the wall between +himself and the battle ground; but the fact soon verified the trooper’s +prophecy, and the black witnessed with consternation the total rout of the +royal horse. +</p> + +<p> +The sentinel manifested his exultation at the success of his comrades with loud +shouts, which soon brought his companion, who had been left in the more +immediate charge of Henry Wharton, to the open window of the parlor. +</p> + +<p> +“See, Tom, see,” cried the delighted trooper, “how Captain +Lawton makes that Hessian’s leather cap fly; and now the major has killed +the officer’s horse—zounds, why didn’t he kill the Dutchman +and save the horse?” +</p> + +<p> +A few pistols were discharged at the flying Cowboys, and a spent bullet broke a +pane of glass within a few feet of Caesar. Imitating the posture of the great +tempter of our race, the black sought the protection of the inside of the +building, and immediately ascended to the parlor. +</p> + +<p> +The lawn in front of the Locusts was hidden from the view of the road by a +close line of shrubbery, and the horses of the two dragoons had been left, +linked together, under its shelter, to await the movements of their masters. +</p> + +<p> +At this moment two Cowboys, who had been cut off from a retreat to their own +party, rode furiously through the gate, with an intention of escaping to the +open wood in the rear of the cottage. +</p> + +<p> +The victorious Americans pressed the retreating Germans until they had driven +them under the protection of the fire of the infantry; and feeling themselves, +in the privacy of the lawn, relieved from any immediate danger, the predatory +warriors yielded to a temptation that few of the corps were ever known to +resist—opportunity and horseflesh. With a hardihood and presence of mind +that could only exist from long practice in similar scenes, they made towards +their intended prizes, by an almost spontaneous movement. They were busily +engaged in separating the fastenings of the horses, when the trooper on the +piazza discharged his pistols, and rushed, sword in hand, to the rescue. +</p> + +<p> +The entrance of Caesar into the parlor had induced the wary dragoon within to +turn his attention more closely on his prisoner; but this new interruption drew +him again to the window. He threw his body out of the building, and with +dreadful imprecations endeavored, by his threats and appearance, to frighten +the marauders from their prey. The moment was enticing. Three hundred of his +comrades were within a mile of the cottage; unridden horses were running at +large in every direction, and Henry Wharton seized the unconscious sentinel by +his legs, and threw him headlong into the lawn. Caesar vanished from the room, +and drew a bolt of the outer door. +</p> + +<p> +The fall of the soldier was not great, and recovering his feet, he turned his +fury for a moment on his prisoner. To scale the window in the face of such an +enemy, was, however, impossible, and on trial he found the main entrance +barred. +</p> + +<p> +His comrade now called loudly upon him for aid, and forgetful of everything +else, the discomfited trooper rushed to his assistance. One horse was instantly +liberated, but the other was already fastened to the saddle of a Cowboy, and +the four retired behind the building, cutting furiously at each other with +their sabers, and making the air resound with their imprecations. Caesar threw +the outer door open, and pointing to the remaining horse, that was quietly +biting the faded herbage of the lawn, he exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“Run—now—run—Massa Harry, run.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” cried the youth as he vaulted into the saddle, “now, +indeed, my honest fellow, is the time to run.” He beckoned hastily to his +father, who stood at the window in speechless anxiety, with his hands extended +towards his child in the attitude of benediction, and adding, “God bless +you, Caesar, salute the girls,” he dashed through the gate with the +rapidity of lightning. +</p> + +<p> +The African watched him with anxiety as he gained the highway, saw him incline +to the right, and riding furiously under the brow of some rocks, which on that +side rose perpendicularly, disappear behind a projection, which soon hid him +from view. +</p> + +<p> +The delighted Caesar closed the door, pushing bolt after bolt, and turning the +key until it would turn no more, soliloquizing the whole time on the happy +escape of his young master. +</p> + +<p> +“How well he ride—teach him good deal myself—salute a young +lady—Miss Fanny wouldn’t let old colored man kiss a red +cheek.” +</p> + +<p> +When the fortune of the day was decided, and the time arrived for the burial of +the dead, two Cowboys and a Virginian were found in the rear of the Locusts, to +be included in the number. +</p> + +<p> +Happily for Henry Wharton, the searching eyes of his captors were examining, +through a pocket glass, the column of infantry that still held its position on +the bank of the stream, while the remnants of the Hessian yagers were seeking +its friendly protection. His horse was of the best blood of Virginia, and +carried him with the swiftness of the wind along the Valley; and the heart of +the youth was already beating tumultuously with pleasure at his deliverance, +when a well-known voice reached his startled ear, crying aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“Bravely done, captain! Don’t spare the whip, and turn to your left +before you cross the brook.” +</p> + +<p> +Wharton turned his head in surprise, and saw, sitting on the point of a jutting +rock that commanded a bird’s-eye view of the valley, his former guide, +Harvey Birch. His pack, much diminished in size, lay at the feet of the +peddler, who waved his hat to the youth, exultingly, as the latter flew by him. +The English captain took the advice of this mysterious being, and finding a +good road, which led to the highway, that intersected the valley, turned down +its direction, and was soon opposite to his friends. The next minute he crossed +the bridge, and stopped his charger before his old acquaintance, Colonel +Wellmere. +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Wharton!” exclaimed the astonished commander of the +English troops, “dressed in mohair, and mounted on a rebel dragoon horse! +Are you from the clouds in this attire, and in such a style?” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank God!” cried the youth, recovering his breath, “I am +safe, and have escaped from the hands of my enemies; but five minutes since and +I was a prisoner, and threatened with the gallows.” +</p> + +<p> +“The gallows, Captain Wharton! surely those traitors to the king would +never dare to commit another murder in cold blood; is it not enough that they +took the life of André? Wherefore did they threaten you with a similar +fate?” +</p> + +<p> +“Under the pretense of a similar offense,” said the captain, +briefly explaining to the group of listeners the manner of his capture, the +grounds of his personal apprehensions, and the method of his escape. By the +time he had concluded his narration, the fugitive Germans were collected in the +rear of the column of infantry, and Colonel Wellmere cried aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“From my soul I congratulate you, my brave friend; mercy is a quality +with which these traitors are unacquainted, and you are doubly fortunate in +escaping from their hands uninjured. Prepare yourself to grant me your +assistance and I will soon afford you a noble revenge.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not think there was danger of personal outrage to any man, Colonel +Wellmere, from a party that Major Dunwoodie commands,” returned young +Wharton, with a slight glow on his face. “His character is above the +imputation of such an offense; neither do I think it altogether prudent to +cross this brook into the open plain, in the face of those Virginian horse, +flushed as they must be with the success they have just obtained.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you call the rout of those irregulars and these sluggish Hessians a +deed to boast of?” said the other with a contemptuous smile. “You +speak of the affair, Captain Wharton, as if your boasted Mr. Dunwoodie, for +major he is none, had discomfited the bodyguards of your king.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I must be allowed to say, Colonel Wellmere, that if the bodyguards +of my king were in yon field, they would meet a foe that it would be dangerous +to despise. Sir, my boasted Mr. Dunwoodie is the pride of Washington’s +army as a cavalry officer,” cried Henry with warmth. +</p> + +<p> +“Dunwoodie, Dunwoodie!” repeated the colonel slowly, “surely +I have met the gentleman before.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have been told you once saw him for a moment, at the town residence of +my sisters,” replied Wharton, with a lurking smile. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! I do remember me of such a youth; and does the most potent congress +of these rebellious colonies intrust their soldiers to the leading of such a +warrior!” +</p> + +<p> +“Ask the commander of yon Hessian horse, whether he thinks Major<br/> +Dunwoodie worthy of the confidence.” +</p> + +<p> +Colonel Wellmere was far from wanting that kind of pride which makes a man bear +himself bravely in the presence of his enemies. He had served in America a long +time, without ever meeting with any but new raised levies, or the militia of +the country. These would sometimes fight, and that fearlessly, but they as +often chose to run away without pulling a trigger. He was too apt to judge from +externals, and thought it impossible for men whose gaiters were so clean, whose +tread so regular, and who wheeled with so much accuracy, to be beaten. In +addition to all these, they were Englishmen, and their success was certain. +Colonel Wellmere had never been kept much in the field, or these notions, which +he had brought with him from home, and which had been greatly increased by the +vaporing of a garrisoned town, would have long since vanished. He listened to +the warm reply of Captain Wharton with a supercilious smile, and then +inquired,— +</p> + +<p> +“You would not have us retire, sir, before these boasted horsemen, +without doing something that may deprive them of part of the glory which you +appear to think they have gained!” +</p> + +<p> +“I would have you advised, Colonel Wellmere, of the danger you are about +to encounter.” +</p> + +<p> +“Danger is but an unseemly word for a soldier,” continued the +British commander with a sneer. +</p> + +<p> +“And one as little dreaded by the 60th, as any corps who wear the royal +livery,” cried Henry Wharton, fiercely. “Give but the word to +charge, and let our actions speak.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now again I know my young friend,” cried Wellmere, soothingly; +“but if you have anything to say before we fight, that can in any manner +help us in our attack, we’ll listen. You know the force of the rebels; +are there more of them in ambush?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” replied the youth, chafing still under the other’s +sneers, “in the skirt of this wood on our right are a small party of +foot; their horse are all before you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where they will not continue long,” cried Wellmere, turning to the +few officers around him. “Gentlemen, we will cross the stream in column, +and deploy on the plain beyond, or else we shall not be able to entice these +valiant Yankees within the reach of our muskets. Captain Wharton, I claim your +assistance as an aid-de-camp.” +</p> + +<p> +The youth shook his head in disapprobation of a movement which his good sense +taught him was rash, but prepared with alacrity to perform his duty in the +impending trial. +</p> + +<p> +During this conversation, which was held at a small distance in advance of the +British column, and in full view of the Americans, Dunwoodie had been +collecting his scattered troops, securing his few prisoners, and retiring to +the ground where he had been posted at the first appearance of his enemy. +Satisfied with the success he had already obtained, and believing the English +too wary to give him an opportunity of harassing them further, he was about to +withdraw the guides; and, leaving a strong party on the ground to watch the +movements of the regulars, to fall back a few miles, to a favorable place for +taking up his quarters for the night. Captain Lawton was reluctantly listening +to the reasoning of his commander, and had brought out his favorite glass, to +see if no opening could be found for an advantageous attack, when he suddenly +exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“How’s this! a bluecoat among those scarlet gentry? As I hope to +live to see old Virginia, it is my masquerading friend of the 60th, the +handsome Captain Wharton, escaped from two of my best men!” +</p> + +<p> +He had not done speaking when the survivor of these heroes joined his troop, +bringing with him his own horse and those of the Cowboys; he reported the death +of his comrade, and the escape of his prisoner. As the deceased was the +immediate sentinel over the person of young Wharton, and the other was not to +be blamed for defending the horses, which were more particularly under his +care, his captain heard him with uneasiness but without anger. +</p> + +<p> +This intelligence made an entire change in the views of Major Dunwoodie. He saw +at once that his own reputation was involved in the escape of his prisoner. The +order to recall the guides was countermanded, and he now joined his second in +command, watching as eagerly as the impetuous Lawton himself, for some opening +to assail his foe to advantage. +</p> + +<p> +But two hours before, and Dunwoodie had felt the chance which made Henry +Wharton his captive, as the severest blow he had ever sustained. Now he panted +for an opportunity in which, by risking his own life, he might recapture his +friend. All other considerations were lost in the goadings of a wounded spirit, +and he might have soon emulated Lawton in hardihood, had not Wellmere and his +troops at this moment crossed the brook into the open plain. +</p> + +<p> +“There,” cried the delighted captain, as he pointed out the +movement with his finger, “there comes John Bull into the mousetrap, and +with eyes wide open.” +</p> + +<p> +“Surely,” said Dunwoodie eagerly, “he will not deploy his +column on that flat. Wharton must tell him of the ambush. But if he +does—” +</p> + +<p> +“We will not leave him a dozen sound skins in his battalion,” +interrupted the other, springing into his saddle. +</p> + +<p> +The truth was soon apparent; for the English column, after advancing for a +short distance on the level land, deployed with an accuracy that would have +done them honor on a field day in their own Hyde Park. +</p> + +<p> +“Prepare to mount-mount!” cried Dunwoodie; the last word being +repeated by Lawton in a tone that rang in the ears of Caesar, who stood at the +open window of the cottage. The black recoiled in dismay, having lost all his +confidence in Captain Lawton’s timidity; for he thought he yet saw him +emerging from his cover and waving his sword on high. +</p> + +<p> +As the British line advanced slowly and in exact order, the guides opened a +galling fire. It began to annoy that part of the royal troops which was nearest +to them. Wellmere listened to the advice of the veteran, who was next to him in +rank, and ordered two companies to dislodge the American foot from their hiding +place. The movement created a slight confusion; and Dunwoodie seized the +opportunity to charge. No ground could be more favorable for the maneuvers of +horse, and the attack of the Virginians was irresistible. It was aimed chiefly +at the bank opposite to the wood, in order to clear the Americans from the fire +of their friends who were concealed; and it was completely successful. +Wellmere, who was on the left of his line, was overthrown by the impetuous fury +of his assailants. Dunwoodie was in time to save him from the impending blow of +one of his men, and raised him from the ground, had him placed on a horse, and +delivered to the custody of his orderly. The officer who had suggested the +attack upon the guides had been intrusted with its execution, but the menace +was sufficient for these irregulars. In fact, their duty was performed, and +they retired along the skirt of the wood, with intent to regain their horses, +which had been left under a guard at the upper end of the valley. +</p> + +<p> +The left of the British line was outflanked by the Americans, who doubled in +their rear, and thus made the rout in that quarter total. But the second in +command, perceiving how the battle went, promptly wheeled his party, and threw +in a heavy fire on the dragoons, as they passed him to the charge; with this +party was Henry Wharton, who had volunteered to assist in dispersing the +guides. A ball struck his bridle arm, and compelled him to change hands. As the +dragoons dashed by them, rending the air with their shouts, and with trumpets +sounding a lively strain, the charger ridden by the youth became +ungovernable—he plunged, reared, and his rider being unable with his +wounded arm, to manage the impatient animal, Henry Wharton found himself, in +less than a minute, unwillingly riding by the side of Captain Lawton. The +dragoon comprehended at a glance the ludicrous situation of his new comrade, +but had only time to cry aloud, before they plunged into the English +line,— +</p> + +<p> +“The horse knows the righteous cause better than his rider. Captain<br/> +Wharton, you are welcome to the ranks of freedom.” +</p> + +<p> +No time was lost, however, by Lawton, after the charge was completed, in +securing his prisoner again; and perceiving him to be hurt, he directed him to +be conveyed to the rear. +</p> + +<p> +The Virginian troopers dealt out their favors, with no gentle hands, on that +part of the royal foot who were thus left in a great measure at their mercy. +Dunwoodie, observing that the remnant of the Hessians had again ventured on the +plain, led on in pursuit, and easily overtaking their light and half-fed +horses, soon destroyed the remainder of the detachment. +</p> + +<p> +In the meanwhile, great numbers of the English, taking advantage of the smoke +and confusion in the field, were enabled to get in the rear of the body of +their countrymen, which still preserved its order in a line parallel to the +wood, but which had been obliged to hold its fire, from the fear of injuring +friends as well as foes. The fugitives were directed to form a second line +within the wood itself, and under cover of the trees. This arrangement was not +yet completed, when Captain Lawton called to a youth, who commanded the other +troop left with that part of the force which remained on the ground, and +proposed charging the unbroken line of the British. The proposal was as +promptly accepted as it had been made, and the troops were arrayed for the +purpose. The eagerness of their leader prevented the preparations necessary to +insure success, and the horse, receiving a destructive fire as they advanced, +were thrown into additional confusion. Both Lawton and his more juvenile +comrade fell at this discharge. Fortunately for the credit of the Virginians, +Major Dunwoodie reentered the field at this critical instant; he saw his troops +in disorder; at his feet lay weltering in blood George Singleton, a youth +endeared to him by numberless virtues, and Lawton was unhorsed and stretched on +the plain. The eye of the youthful warrior flashed fire. Riding between this +squadron and the enemy, in a voice that reached the hearts of his dragoons, he +recalled them to their duty. His presence and word acted like magic. The clamor +of voices ceased; the line was formed promptly and with exactitude; the charge +sounded; and, led on by their commander, the Virginians swept across the plain +with an impetuosity that nothing could withstand, and the field was instantly +cleared of the enemy; those who were not destroyed sought a shelter in the +woods. Dunwoodie slowly withdrew from the fire of the English who were covered +by the trees, and commenced the painful duty of collecting his dead and +wounded. +</p> + +<p> +The sergeant charged with conducting Henry Wharton to a place where he might +procure surgical aid, set about performing his duty with alacrity, in order to +return as soon as possible to the scene of strife. They had not reached the +middle of the plain, before the captain noticed a man whose appearance and +occupation forcibly arrested his attention. His head was bald and bare, but a +well-powdered wig was to be seen, half-concealed, in the pocket of his +breeches. His coat was off, and his arms were naked to the elbow; blood had +disfigured much of his dress, and his hands, and even face, bore this mark of +his profession; in his mouth was a cigar; in his right hand some instruments of +strange formation, and in his left the remnants of an apple, with which he +occasionally relieved the duty of the before-mentioned cigar. He was standing, +lost in the contemplation of a Hessian, who lay breathless before him. At a +little distance were three or four of the guides, leaning on their muskets, and +straining their eyes in the direction of the combatants, and at his elbow stood +a man who, from the implements in his hand, seemed an assistant. +</p> + +<p> +“There, sir, is the doctor,” said the attendant of Henry very +coolly. “He will patch up your arm in the twinkling of an eye”; and +beckoning to the guides to approach, he whispered and pointed to his prisoner, +and then galloped furiously towards his comrades. +</p> + +<p> +Wharton advanced to the side of this strange figure, and observing himself to +be unnoticed, was about to request his assistance, when the other broke silence +in a soliloquy:— +</p> + +<p> +“Now, I know this man to have been killed by Captain Lawton, as well as +if I had seen him strike the blow. How often have I strove to teach him the +manner in which he can disable his adversary, without destroying life! It is +cruel thus unnecessarily to cut off the human race, and furthermore, such blows +as these render professional assistance unnecessary; it is in a measure +treating the lights of science with disrespect.” +</p> + +<p> +“If, sir, your leisure will admit,” said Henry Wharton, “I +must beg your attention to a slight hurt.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah!” cried the other, starting, and examining him from head to +foot, “you are from the field below. Is there much business there, +sir?” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed,” answered Henry, accepting the offer of the surgeon to +assist in removing his coat, “’tis a stirring time.” +</p> + +<p> +“Stirring!” repeated the surgeon, busily employed with his +dressings; “you give me great pleasure, sir; for so long as they can stir +there must be life; and while there is life, you know, there is hope; but here +my art is of no use. I did put in the brains of one patient, but I rather think +the man must have been dead before I saw him. It is a curious case, sir; I will +take you to see it—only across the fence there, where you may perceive so +many bodies together. Ah! the ball has glanced around the bone without +shattering it; you are fortunate in falling into the hands of an old +practitioner, or you might have lost this limb.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed!” said Henry, with a slight uneasiness. “I did not +apprehend the injury to be so serious.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, the hurt is not bad, but you have such a pretty arm for an +operation; the pleasure of the thing might have tempted a novice.” +</p> + +<p> +“The devil!” cried the captain. “Can there be any pleasure in +mutilating a fellow creature?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sir,” said the surgeon, with gravity, “a scientific +amputation is a very pretty operation, and doubtless might tempt a younger man, +in the hurry of business, to overlook all the particulars of the case.” +</p> + +<p> +Further conversation was interrupted by the appearance of the dragoons, slowly +marching towards their former halting place, and new applications from the +slightly wounded soldiers, who now came riding in, making hasty demands on the +skill of the doctor. +</p> + +<p> +The guides took charge of Wharton, and, with a heavy heart, the young man +retraced his steps to his father’s cottage. +</p> + +<p> +The English had lost in the several charges about one third of their foot, but +the remainder were rallied in the wood; and Dunwoodie, perceiving them to be +too strongly posted to assail, had left a strong party with Captain Lawton, +with orders to watch their motions, and to seize every opportunity to harass +them before they reëmbarked. +</p> + +<p> +Intelligence had reached the major of another party being out, by the way of +the Hudson, and his duty required that he should hold himself in readiness to +defeat the intentions of these also. Captain Lawton received his orders with +strong injunctions to make no assault on the foe, unless a favorable chance +should offer. +</p> + +<p> +The injury received by this officer was in the head, being stunned by a +glancing bullet; and parting with a laughing declaration from the major, that +if he again forgot himself, they should all think him more materially hurt, +each took his own course. +</p> + +<p> +The British were a light party without baggage, that had been sent out to +destroy certain stores, understood to be collecting for the use of the American +army. They now retired through the woods to the heights, and, keeping the route +along their summits, in places unassailable by cavalry, commenced a retreat to +their boats. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap08"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +With fire and sword the country round<br/> +Was wasted far and wide;<br/> +And many a childing mother then,<br/> +And new-born infant, died;<br/> +But things like these, you know, must be<br/> +At every famous victory. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—SOUTHEY. +</p> + +<p> +The last sounds of the combat died on the ears of the anxious listeners in the +cottage, and were succeeded by the stillness of suspense. Frances had continued +by herself, striving to exclude the uproar, and vainly endeavoring to summon +resolution to meet the dreaded result. The ground where the charge on the foot +had taken place was but a short mile from the Locusts, and, in the intervals of +the musketry, the cries of the soldiers had even reached the ears of its +inhabitants. After witnessing the escape of his son, Mr. Wharton had joined his +sister and eldest daughter in their retreat, and the three continued fearfully +waiting for news from the field. Unable longer to remain under the painful +uncertainty of her situation, Frances soon added herself to the uneasy group, +and Caesar was directed to examine into the state of things without, and report +on whose banners victory had alighted. The father now briefly related to his +astonished children the circumstance and manner of their brother’s +escape. They were yet in the freshness of their surprise, when the door opened, +and Captain Wharton, attended by a couple of the guides, and followed by the +black, stood before them. +</p> + +<p> +“Henry—my son, my son,” cried the agitated parent, stretching +out his arms, yet unable to rise from his seat; “what is it I see; are +you again a captive, and in danger of your life?” +</p> + +<p> +“The better fortune of these rebels has prevailed,” said the youth, +endeavoring to force a cheerful smile, and taking a hand of each of his +distressed sisters. “I strove nobly for my liberty; but the perverse +spirit of rebellion has even lighted on their horses. The steed I mounted +carried me, greatly against my will, I acknowledge, into the very center of +Dunwoodie’s men.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you were again captured,” continued the father, casting a +fearful glance on the armed attendants who had entered the room. +</p> + +<p> +“That, sir, you may safely say; this Mr. Lawton, who sees so far, had me +in custody again immediately.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why you no hold ’em in, Massa Henry?” cried Caesar, +pettishly. +</p> + +<p> +“That,” said Wharton, smiling, “was a thing easier said than +done, Mr. Caesar, especially as these gentlemen” (glancing his eyes at +the guides) “had seen proper to deprive me of the use of my better +arm.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wounded!” exclaimed both sisters in a breath. +</p> + +<p> +“A mere scratch, but disabling me at a most critical moment,” +continued the brother, kindly, and stretching out the injured limb to manifest +the truth of his declaration. Caesar threw a look of bitter animosity on the +irregular warriors who were thought to have had an agency in the deed, and left +the room. A few more words sufficed to explain all that Captain Wharton knew +relative to the fortune of the day. The result he thought yet doubtful, for +when he left the ground, the Virginians were retiring from the field of battle. +</p> + +<p> +“They had treed the squirrel,” said one of the sentinels abruptly, +“and didn’t quit the ground without leaving a good hound for the +chase when he comes down.” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye,” added his comrade dryly, “I’m thinking Captain +Lawton will count the noses of what are left before they see their +whaleboats.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances had stood supporting herself, by the back of a chair, during this +dialogue, catching, in breathless anxiety, every syllable as it was uttered; +her color changed rapidly; her limbs shook under her; until, with desperate +resolution, she inquired,— +</p> + +<p> +“Is any officer hurt on—the—on either side?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” answered the man, cavalierly, “these Southern youths +are so full of mettle, that it’s seldom we fight but one or two gets +knocked over; one of the wounded, who came up before the troops, told me that +Captain Singleton was killed, and Major Dunwoodie—” +</p> + +<p> +Frances heard no more, but fell lifeless in the chair behind her. The attention +of her friends soon revived her when the captain, turning to the man, said +fearfully,— +</p> + +<p> +“Surely Major Dunwoodie is unhurt?” +</p> + +<p> +“Never fear him,” added the guide, disregarding the agitation of +the family. “They say a man who is born to be hanged will never be +drowned; if a bullet could kill the major, he would have been dead long ago. I +was going to say, that the major is in a sad taking because of the +captain’s being killed; but had I known how much store the lady set by +him, I wouldn’t have been so plain-spoken.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances now rose quickly from her seat, with cheeks glowing with confusion, +and, leaning on her aunt, was about to retire, when Dunwoodie himself appeared. +The first emotion of the agitated girl was unalloyed happiness; in the next +instant she shrank back appalled from the unusual expression that reigned in +his countenance. The sternness of battle yet sat on his brow; his eye was fixed +and severe. The smile of affection that used to lighten his dark features on +meeting his mistress, was supplanted by the lowering look of care; his whole +soul seemed to be absorbed in one engrossing emotion, and he proceeded at once +to his object. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Wharton,” he earnestly began, “in times like these, we +need not stand on idle ceremony: one of my officers, I am afraid, is hurt +mortally; and, presuming on your hospitality, I have brought him to your +door.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am happy, sir, that you have done so,” said Mr. Wharton, at once +perceiving the importance of conciliating the American troops. “The +necessitous are always welcome, and doubly so, in being the friend of Major +Dunwoodie.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sir, I thank you for myself, and in behalf of him who is unable to +render you his thanks,” returned the other, hastily. “If you +please, we will have him conducted where the surgeon may see and report upon +his case without delay.” To this there could be no objection; and Frances +felt a chill at her heart, as her lover withdrew, without casting a solitary +look on herself. +</p> + +<p> +There is a devotedness in female love that admits of no rivalry. All the +tenderness of the heart, all the powers of the imagination, are enlisted in +behalf of the tyrant passion; and where all is given, much is looked for in +return. Frances had spent hours of anguish, of torture, on account of +Dunwoodie, and he now met her without a smile, and left her without a greeting. +The ardor of her feelings was unabated, but the elasticity of her hopes was +weakened. As the supporters of the nearly lifeless body of Dunwoodie’s +friend passed her, in their way to the apartment prepared for his reception, +she caught a view of this seeming rival. +</p> + +<p> +His pale and ghastly countenance, sunken eye, and difficult breathing, gave her +a glimpse of death in its most fearful form. Dunwoodie was by his side and held +his hand, giving frequent and stern injunctions to the men to proceed with +care, and, in short, manifesting all the solicitude that the most tender +friendship could, on such an occasion, inspire. Frances moved lightly before +them, and, with an averted face, she held open the door for their passage to +the bed; it was only as the major touched her garments, on entering the room, +that she ventured to raise her mild blue eyes to his face. But the glance was +unreturned, and Frances unconsciously sighed as she sought the solitude of her +own apartment. +</p> + +<p> +Captain Wharton voluntarily gave a pledge to his keepers not to attempt again +escaping, and then proceeded to execute those duties on behalf of his father, +which were thought necessary in a host. On entering the passage for that +purpose, he met the operator who had so dexterously dressed his arm, advancing +to the room of the wounded officer. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah!” cried the disciple of Aesculapius, “I see you are doing +well; but stop; have you a pin? No! here, I have one; you must keep the cold +air from your hurt, or some of the youngsters will be at work at you +yet.” +</p> + +<p> +“God forbid,” muttered the captain, in an undertone, attentively +adjusting the bandages, when Dunwoodie appeared at the door, impatiently crying +aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“Hasten, Sitgreaves, hasten; or George Singleton will die from loss of +blood.” +</p> + +<p> +“What! Singleton! God forbid! Bless me—is it George—poor +little George?” exclaimed the surgeon, as he quickened his pace with +evident concern, and hastened to the side of the bed. “He is alive, +though, and while there is life there is hope. This is the first serious case I +have had to-day, where the patient was not already dead. Captain Lawton teaches +his men to strike with so little discretion—poor George—bless me, +it is a musket bullet.” +</p> + +<p> +The youthful sufferer turned his eyes on the man of science, and with a faint +smile endeavored to stretch forth his hand. There was an appeal in the look and +action that touched the heart of the operator. The surgeon removed his +spectacles to wipe an unusual moisture from his eyes, and proceeded carefully +to the discharge of his duty. While the previous arrangements were, however, +making, he gave vent in some measure to his feelings, by saying,— +</p> + +<p> +“When it is only a bullet, I have always some hopes; there is a chance +that it hits nothing vital. But, bless me, Captain Lawton’s men cut so at +random—generally sever the jugular or the carotid artery, or let out the +brains, and all are so difficult to remedy—the patient mostly dying +before one can get at him. I never had success but once in replacing a +man’s brains, although I have tried three this very day. It is easy to +tell where Lawton’s troops charge in a battle, they cut so at +random.” +</p> + +<p> +The group around the bed of Captain Singleton were too much accustomed to the +manner of their surgeon to regard or to reply to his soliloquy; but they +quietly awaited the moment when he was to commence his examination. This now +took place, and Dunwoodie stood looking the operator in the face, with an +expression that seemed to read his soul. The patient shrank from the +application of the probe, and a smile stole over the features of the surgeon, +as he muttered,— +</p> + +<p> +“There has been nothing before it in that quarter.” He now applied +himself in earnest to his work, took off his spectacles, and threw aside his +wig. All this time Dunwoodie stood in feverish silence, holding one of the +hands of the sufferer in both his own, watching the countenance of Doctor +Sitgreaves. At length Singleton gave a slight groan, and the surgeon rose with +alacrity, and said aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! there is some pleasure in following a bullet; it may be said to +meander through the human body, injuring nothing vital; but as for Captain +Lawton’s men—” +</p> + +<p> +“Speak,” interrupted Dunwoodie; “is there hope?—can you +find the ball?” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s no difficult matter to find that which one has in his hand, +Major Dunwoodie,” replied the surgeon, coolly, preparing his dressings. +“It took what that literal fellow, Captain Lawton, calls a +circumbendibus, a route never taken by the swords of his men, notwithstanding +the multiplied pains I have been at to teach him how to cut scientifically. +Now, I saw a horse this day with his head half severed from his body.” +</p> + +<p> +“That,” said Dunwoodie, as the blood rushed to his cheeks again, +and his dark eyes sparkled with the rays of hope, “was some of my +handiwork; I killed that horse myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“You!” exclaimed the surgeon, dropping his dressings in surprise, +“you!<br/> +But you knew it was a horse!” +</p> + +<p> +“I had such suspicions, I own,” said the major, smiling, and +holding a beverage to the lips of his friend. +</p> + +<p> +“Such blows alighting on the human frame are fatal,” continued the +doctor, pursuing his business. “They set at naught the benefits which +flow from the lights of science; they are useless in a battle, for disabling +your foe is all that is required. I have sat, Major Dunwoodie, many a cold +hour, while Captain Lawton has been engaged, and after all my expectation, not +a single case worth recording has occurred—all scratches or death wounds. +Ah! the saber is a sad weapon in unskillful hands! Yes, Major Dunwoodie, many +are the hours I have thrown away in endeavoring to impress this truth on +Captain John Lawton.” +</p> + +<p> +The impatient major pointed silently to his friend, and the surgeon quickened +his movements. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! poor George, it is a narrow chance; but”—he was +interrupted by a messenger requiring the presence of the commanding officer in +the field. Dunwoodie pressed the hand of his friend, and beckoned the doctor to +follow him, as he withdrew. +</p> + +<p> +“What think you?” he whispered, on reaching the passage. +“Will he live?” +</p> + +<p> +“He will.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank God!” cried the youth, hastening below. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie for a moment joined the family, who were now collecting in the +ordinary parlor. His face was no longer wanting in smiles, and his salutations, +though hasty, were cordial. He took no notice of the escape and capture of +Henry Wharton, but seemed to think the young man had continued where he had +left him before the encounter. On the ground they had not met. The English +officer withdrew in haughty silence to a window, leaving the major +uninterrupted to make his communications. +</p> + +<p> +The excitement produced by the events of the day in the youthful feelings of +the sisters, had been succeeded by a languor that kept them both silent, and +Dunwoodie held his discourse with Miss Peyton. +</p> + +<p> +“Is there any hope, my cousin, that your friend can survive his +wound?” said the lady, advancing towards her kinsman, with a smile of +benevolent regard. +</p> + +<p> +“Everything, my dear madam, everything,” answered the soldier +cheerfully. “Sitgreaves says he will live, and he has never deceived +me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your pleasure is not much greater than my own at this intelligence. One +so dear to Major Dunwoodie cannot fail to excite an interest in the bosom of +his friends.” +</p> + +<p> +“Say one so deservedly dear, madam,” returned the major, with +warmth. “He is the beneficent spirit of the corps, equally beloved by us +all; so mild, so equal, so just, so generous, with the meekness of a lamb and +the fondness of a dove—it is only in the hour of battle that Singleton is +a lion.” +</p> + +<p> +“You speak of him as if he were your mistress, Major Dunwoodie,” +observed the smiling spinster, glancing her eye at her niece, who sat pale and +listening, in a corner of the room. +</p> + +<p> +“I love him as one,” cried the excited youth. “But he +requires care and nursing; all now depends on the attention he receives.” +</p> + +<p> +“Trust me, sir, he will want for nothing under this roof.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pardon me, dear madam; you are all that is benevolent, but Singleton +requires a care which many men would feel to be irksome. It is at moments like +these, and in sufferings like this, that the soldier most finds the want of +female tenderness.” As he spoke, he turned his eyes on Frances with an +expression that again thrilled to the heart of his mistress; she rose from her +seat with burning cheeks, and said,— +</p> + +<p> +“All the attention that can with propriety be given to a stranger, will +be cheerfully bestowed on your friend.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah!” cried the major, shaking his head, “that cold word +propriety will kill him; he must be fostered, cherished, soothed.” +</p> + +<p> +“These are offices for a sister or a wife.” +</p> + +<p> +“A sister!” repeated the soldier, the blood rushing to his own face +tumultuously; “a sister! He has a sister; and one that might be here with +to-morrow’s sun.” He paused, mused in silence, glanced his eyes +uneasily at Frances, and muttered in an undertone, “Singleton requires +it, and it must be done.” +</p> + +<p> +The ladies had watched his varying countenance in some surprise, and<br/> +Miss Peyton now observed that,— +</p> + +<p> +“If there were a sister of Captain Singleton near them, her presence +would be gladly requested both by herself and nieces.” +</p> + +<p> +“It must be, madam; it cannot well be otherwise,” replied +Dunwoodie, with a hesitation that but ill agreed with his former declarations. +“She shall be sent for express this very night.” And then, as if +willing to change the subject, he approached Captain Wharton, and continued, +mildly,— +</p> + +<p> +“Henry Wharton, to me honor is dearer than life; but in your hands I know +it can safely be confided. Remain here unwatched until we leave the county, +which will not be for some days.” +</p> + +<p> +The distance in the manner of the English officer vanished, and taking the +offered hand of the other, he replied with warmth, “Your generous +confidence, Peyton, will not be abused, even though the gibbet on which your +Washington hung André be ready for my own execution.” +</p> + +<p> +“Henry, Henry Wharton,” said Dunwoodie reproachfully, “you +little know the man who leads our armies, or you would have spared him that +reproach; but duty calls me without. I leave you where I could wish to stay +myself, and where you cannot be wholly unhappy.” +</p> + +<p> +In passing Frances, she received another of those smiling looks of affection +she so much prized, and for a season the impression made by his appearance +after the battle was forgotten. +</p> + +<p> +Among the veterans that had been impelled by the times to abandon the quiet of +age for the service of their country, was Colonel Singleton. He was a native of +Georgia, and had been for the earlier years of his life a soldier by +profession. When the struggle for liberty commenced, he offered his services to +his country, and from respect to his character they had been accepted. His +years and health had, however, prevented his discharging the active duties of +the field, and he had been kept in command of different posts of trust, where +his country might receive the benefits of his vigilance and fidelity without +inconvenience to himself. For the last year he had been intrusted with the +passes into the Highlands, and was now quartered, with his daughter, but a +short day’s march above the valley where Dunwoodie had met the enemy. His +only other child was the wounded officer we have mentioned. Thither, then, the +major prepared to dispatch a messenger with the unhappy news of the +captain’s situation, and charged with such an invitation from the ladies +as he did not doubt would speedily bring the sister to the couch of her +brother. +</p> + +<p> +This duty performed, though with an unwillingness that only could make his +former anxiety more perplexing, Dunwoodie proceeded to the field where his +troops had halted. The remnant of the English were already to be seen, over the +tops of the trees, marching along the heights towards their boats, in compact +order and with great watchfulness. The detachment of the dragoons under Lawton +were a short distance on their flank, eagerly awaiting a favorable moment to +strike a blow. In this manner both parties were soon lost to view. +</p> + +<p> +A short distance above the Locusts was a small hamlet where several roads +intersected each other, and from which, consequently, access to the surrounding +country was easy. It was a favorite halting place of the horse, and frequently +held by the light parties of the American army during their excursions below. +Dunwoodie had been the first to discover its advantages, and as it was +necessary for him to remain in the county until further orders from above, it +cannot be supposed he overlooked them now. To this place the troops were +directed to retire, carrying with them their wounded; parties were already +employed in the sad duty of interring the dead. In making these arrangements, a +new object of embarrassment presented itself to our young soldier. In moving +through the field, he was struck with the appearance of Colonel Wellmere, +seated by himself, brooding over his misfortunes, uninterrupted by anything but +the passing civilities of the American officers. His anxiety on behalf of +Singleton had hitherto banished the recollection of his captive from the mind +of Dunwoodie, and he now approached him with apologies for his neglect. The +Englishman received his courtesies with coolness, and complained of being +injured by what he affected to think was the accidental stumbling of his horse. +Dunwoodie, who had seen one of his own men ride him down, and that with very +little ceremony, slightly smiled, as he offered him surgical assistance. This +could only be procured at the cottage, and thither they both proceeded. +</p> + +<p> +“Colonel Wellmere!” cried young Wharton in astonishment as they +entered, “has the fortune of war been thus cruel to you also? But you are +welcome to the house of my father, although I could wish the introduction to +have taken place under more happy circumstances.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton received this new guest with the guarded caution that distinguished +his manner, and Dunwoodie left the room to seek the bedside of his friend. +Everything here looked propitious, and he acquainted the surgeon that another +patient waited his skill in the room below. The sound of the word was enough to +set the doctor in motion, and seizing his implements of office, he went in +quest of this new applicant. At the door of the parlor he was met by the +ladies, who were retiring. Miss Peyton detained him for a moment, to inquire +into the welfare of Captain Singleton. Frances smiled with something of natural +archness of manner, as she contemplated the grotesque appearance of the +bald-headed practitioner; but Sarah was too much agitated, with the surprise of +the unexpected interview with the British colonel, to observe him. It has +already been intimated that Colonel Wellmere was an old acquaintance of the +family. Sarah had been so long absent from the city, that she had in some +measure been banished from the remembrance of the gentleman; but the +recollections of Sarah were more vivid. There is a period in the life of every +woman when she may be said to be predisposed to love; it is at the happy age +when infancy is lost in opening maturity—when the guileless heart beats +with those anticipations of life which the truth can never realize—and +when the imagination forms images of perfection that are copied after its own +unsullied visions. At this happy age Sarah left the city, and she had brought +with her a picture of futurity, faintly impressed, it is true, but which gained +durability from her solitude, and in which Wellmere had been placed in the +foreground. The surprise of the meeting had in some measure overpowered her, +and after receiving the salutations of the colonel, she had risen, in +compliance with a signal from her observant aunt, to withdraw. +</p> + +<p> +“Then, sir,” observed Miss Peyton, after listening to the +surgeon’s account of his young patient, “we may be flattered with +the expectation that he will recover.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis certain, madam,” returned the doctor, endeavoring, out +of respect to the ladies, to replace his wig; “’tis certain, with +care and good nursing.” +</p> + +<p> +“In those he shall not be wanting,” said the spinster, mildly. +“Everything we have he can command, and Major Dunwoodie has dispatched an +express for his sister.” +</p> + +<p> +“His sister!” echoed the practitioner, with a meaning look. +“If the major has sent for her, she will come.” +</p> + +<p> +“Her brother’s danger would induce her, one would imagine.” +</p> + +<p> +“No doubt, madam,” continued the doctor, laconically, bowing low, +and giving room to the ladies to pass. The words and the manner were not lost +on the younger sister, in whose presence the name of Dunwoodie was never +mentioned unheeded. +</p> + +<p> +“Sir,” cried Dr. Sitgreaves, on entering the parlor, addressing +himself to the only coat of scarlet in the room, “I am advised you are in +want of my aid. God send ’tis not Captain Lawton with whom you came in +contact, in which case I may be too late.” +</p> + +<p> +“There must be some mistake, sir,” said Wellmere, haughtily. +“It was a surgeon that Major Dunwoodie was to send me, and not an old +woman.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis Dr. Sitgreaves,” said Henry Wharton, quickly, though +with difficulty suppressing a laugh. “The multitude of his engagements, +to-day, has prevented his usual attention to his attire.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your pardon, sir,” added Wellmere, very ungraciously proceeding to +lay aside his coat, and exhibit what he called a wounded arm. +</p> + +<p> +“If, sir,” said the surgeon dryly, “the degrees of +Edinburgh—walking your London hospitals—amputating some hundreds of +limbs—operating on the human frame in every shape that is warranted by +the lights of science, a clear conscience, and the commission of the +Continental Congress, can make a surgeon, I am one.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your pardon, sir,” repeated the colonel stiffly. “Captain +Wharton has accounted for my error.” +</p> + +<p> +“For which I thank Captain Wharton,” said the surgeon, proceeding +coolly to arrange his amputating instruments, with a formality that made the +colonel’s blood run cold. “Where are you hurt, sir? What! is it +then this scratch in your shoulder? In what manner might you have received this +wound, sir?” +</p> + +<p> +“From the sword of a rebel dragoon,” said the colonel, with +emphasis. +</p> + +<p> +“Never. Even the gentle George Singleton would not have breathed on you +so harmlessly.” He took a piece of sticking plaster from his pocket, and +applied it to the part. “There, sir; that will answer your purpose, and I +am certain it is all that is required of me.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you take to be my purpose, then, sir?” +</p> + +<p> +“To report yourself wounded in your dispatches,” replied the +doctor, with great steadiness; “and you may say that an old woman dressed +your hurts—for if one did not, one easily might!” +</p> + +<p> +“Very extraordinary language,” muttered the Englishman. +</p> + +<p> +Here Captain Wharton interfered; and, by explaining the mistake of Colonel +Wellmere to proceed from his irritated mind and pain of body, he in part +succeeded in mollifying the insulted practitioner, who consented to look +further into the hurts of the other. They were chiefly bruises from his fall, +to which Sitgreaves made some hasty applications, and withdrew. +</p> + +<p> +The horse, having taken their required refreshment, prepared to fall back to +their intended position, and it became incumbent on Dunwoodie to arrange the +disposal of his prisoners. Sitgreaves he determined to leave in the cottage of +Mr. Wharton, in attendance on Captain Singleton. Henry came to him with a +request that Colonel Wellmere might also be left behind, under his parole, +until the troops marched higher into the country. To this the major cheerfully +assented; and as all the rest of the prisoners were of the vulgar herd, they +were speedily collected, and, under the care of a strong guard, ordered to the +interior. The dragoons soon after marched; and the guides, separating in small +parties, accompanied by patrols from the horse, spread themselves across the +country, in such a manner as to make a chain of sentinels from the waters of +the Sound to those of the Hudson.<a href="#linknote-7" name="linknoteref-7" +id="linknoteref-7"><sup>[7]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie had lingered in front of the cottage, after he paid his parting +compliments, with an unwillingness to return, that he thought proceeded from +his solicitude for his wounded friends. The heart which has not become callous, +soon sickens with the glory that has been purchased with a waste of human life. +Peyton Dunwoodie, left to himself, and no longer excited by the visions which +youthful ardor had kept before him throughout the day, began to feel there were +other ties than those which bound the soldier within the rigid rules of honor. +He did not waver in his duty, yet he felt how strong was the temptation. His +blood had ceased to flow with the impulse created by the battle. The stern +expression of his eye gradually gave place to a look of softness; and his +reflections on the victory brought with them no satisfaction that compensated +for the sacrifices by which it had been purchased. While turning his last +lingering gaze on the Locusts, he remembered only that it contained all that he +most valued. The friend of his youth was a prisoner, under circumstances that +endangered both life and honor. The gentle companion of his toils, who could +throw around the rude enjoyments of a soldier the graceful mildness of peace, +lay a bleeding victim to his success. The image of the maid who had held, +during the day, a disputed sovereignty in his bosom, again rose to his view +with a loveliness that banished her rival, glory, from his mind. +</p> + +<p> +The last lagging trooper of the corps had already disappeared behind the +northern hill, and the major unwillingly turned his horse in the same +direction. Frances, impelled by a restless inquietude, now timidly ventured on +the piazza of the cottage. The day had been mild and clear, and the sun was +shining brightly in a cloudless sky. The tumult, which so lately disturbed the +valley, was succeeded by the stillness of death, and the fair scene before her +looked as if it had never been marred by the passions of men. One solitary +cloud, the collected smoke of the contest, hung over the field; and this was +gradually dispersing, leaving no vestige of the conflict above the peaceful +graves of its victims. All the conflicting feelings, all the tumultuous +circumstances of the eventful day, appeared like the deceptions of a troubled +vision. Frances turned, and caught a glimpse of the retreating figure of him +who had been so conspicuous an actor in the scene, and the illusion vanished. +She recognized her lover, and, with the truth, came other recollections that +drove her to the room, with a heart as sad as that which Dunwoodie himself bore +from the valley. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-7">[7]</a> +The scene of this tale is between these two waters, which are but a few miles +from each other. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap09"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +A moment gazed adown the dale,<br/> +A moment snuffed the tainted gale,<br/> +A moment listened to the cry,<br/> +That thickened as the chase drew nigh;<br/> +Then, as the headmost foe appeared,<br/> +With one brave bound the copse he cleared,<br/> +And, stretching forward free and far,<br/> +Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Lady of the Lake.</i> +</p> + +<p> +The party under Captain Lawton had watched the retiring foe to his boats with +the most unremitting vigilance, without finding any fit opening for a charge. +The experienced successor of Colonel Wellmere knew too well the power of his +enemy to leave the uneven surface of the heights, until compelled to descend to +the level of the water. Before he attempted this hazardous movement, he threw +his men into a compact square, with its outer edges bristling with bayonets. In +this position, the impatient trooper well understood that brave men could never +be assailed by cavalry with success, and he was reluctantly obliged to hover +near them, without seeing any opportunity of stopping their slow but steady +march to the beach. A small schooner, which had been their convoy from the +city, lay with her guns bearing on the place of embarkation. Against this +combination of force and discipline, Lawton had sufficient prudence to see it +would be folly to contend, and the English were suffered to embark without +molestation. The dragoons lingered on the shore till the last moment, and then +they reluctantly commenced their own retreat back to the main body of the +corps. +</p> + +<p> +The gathering mists of the evening had begun to darken the valley, as the +detachment of Lawton made its reappearance, at its southern extremity. The +march of the troops was slow, and their line extended for the benefit of ease. +In the front rode the captain, side by side with his senior subaltern, +apparently engaged in close conference, while the rear was brought up by a +young cornet, humming an air, and thinking of the sweets of a straw bed after +the fatigues of a hard day’s duty. +</p> + +<p> +“Then it struck you too?” said the captain. “The instant I +placed my eyes on her I remembered the face; it is one not easily forgotten. By +my faith, Tom, the girl does no discredit to the major’s taste.” +</p> + +<p> +“She would do honor to the corps,” replied the lieutenant, with +some warmth. “Those blue eyes might easily win a man to gentler +employments than this trade of ours. In sober truth, I can easily imagine such +a girl might tempt even me to quit the broadsword and saddle, for a +darning-needle and pillion.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mutiny, sir, mutiny,” cried the other, laughing. “What, you, +Tom Mason, dare to rival the gay, admired, and withal rich, Major Dunwoodie in +his love! You, a lieutenant of cavalry, with but one horse, and he none of the +best! whose captain is as tough as a pepperidge log, and has as many lives as a +cat!” +</p> + +<p> +“Faith,” said the subaltern, smiling in his turn, “the log +may yet be split, and grimalkin lose his lives, if you often charge as madly as +you did this morning. What think you of many raps from such a beetle as laid +you on your back to-day?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! don’t mention it, my good Tom; the thought makes my head +ache,” replied the other, shrugging up his shoulders. “It is what I +call forestalling night.” +</p> + +<p> +“The night of death?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, sir, the night that follows day. I saw myriads of stars, things +which should hide their faces in the presence of the lordly sun. I do think +nothing but this thick cap saved me for your comfort a little longer, maugre +the cat’s lives.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have much reason to be obliged to the cap,” said Mason dryly. +“That or the skull must have had a reasonable portion of thickness, I +admit.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come, come, Tom, you are a licensed joker, so I’ll not feign anger +with you,” returned the captain, good-humoredly. “But +Singleton’s lieutenant, I am fearful, will fare better than yourself for +this day’s service.” +</p> + +<p> +“I believe both of us will be spared the pain of receiving promotion +purchased by the death of a comrade and friend,” observed Mason kindly. +“It was reported that Sitgreaves said he would live.” +</p> + +<p> +“From my soul I hope so,” exclaimed Lawton. “For a beardless +face, that boy carries the stoutest heart I have ever met with. It surprises +me, however, that as we both fell at the same instant, the men behaved so +well.” +</p> + +<p> +“For the compliment, I might thank you,” cried the lieutenant with +a laugh; “but modesty forbids. I did my best to stop them, but without +success.” +</p> + +<p> +“Stop them!” roared the captain. “Would you stop men in the +middle of a charge?” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought they were going the wrong way,” answered the subaltern. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! our fall drove them to the right about?” +</p> + +<p> +“It was either your fall, or apprehensions of their own; until the major +rallied us, we were in admirable disorder.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dunwoodie! the major was on the crupper of the Dutchman.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! but he managed to get off the crupper of the Dutchman. He came in, +at half speed, with the other two troops, and riding between us and the enemy, +with that imperative way he has when roused, brought us in line in the +twinkling of an eye. Then it was,” added the lieutenant, with animation, +“that we sent John Bull to the bushes. Oh! it was a sweet +charge—heads and tails, until we were upon them.” +</p> + +<p> +“The devil! What a sight I missed!” +</p> + +<p> +“You slept through it all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” returned the other, with a sigh; “it was all lost to +me and poor George Singleton. But, Tom, what will George’s sister say to +this fair-haired maiden, in yonder white building?” +</p> + +<p> +“Hang herself in her garters,” said the subaltern. “I owe a +proper respect to my superiors, but two such angels are more than justly falls +to the share of one man, unless he be a Turk or a Hindoo.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes,” said the captain, quickly, “the major is ever +preaching morality to the youngsters, but he is a sly fellow in the main. Do +you observe how fond he is of the cross roads above this valley? Now, if I were +to halt the troops twice in the same place, you would all swear there was a +petticoat in the wind.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are well known to the corps.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, Tom, a slanderous propensity is incurable—but,” +stretching forward his body in the direction he was gazing, as if to aid him in +distinguishing objects through the darkness, “what animal is moving +through the field on our right?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis a man,” said Mason, looking intently at the suspicious +object. +</p> + +<p> +“By his hump ’tis a dromedary!” added the captain, eying it +keenly.<br/> +Wheeling his horse suddenly from the highway he exclaimed, “Harvey<br/> +Birch!—take him, dead or alive!” +</p> + +<p> +Mason and a few of the leading dragoons only understood the sudden cry, but it +was heard throughout the line. A dozen of the men, with the lieutenant at their +head, followed the impetuous Lawton, and their speed threatened the pursued +with a sudden termination of the race. +</p> + +<p> +Birch prudently kept his position on the rock, where he had been seen by the +passing glance of Henry Wharton, until evening had begun to shroud the +surrounding objects in darkness. From this height he had seen all the events of +the day, as they occurred. He had watched with a beating heart the departure of +the troops under Dunwoodie, and with difficulty had curbed his impatience until +the obscurity of night should render his moving free from danger. He had not, +however, completed a fourth of his way to his own residence, when his quick ear +distinguished the tread of the approaching horse. Trusting to the increasing +darkness, he determined to persevere. By crouching and moving quickly along the +surface of the ground, he hoped yet to escape unseen. Captain Lawton was too +much engrossed with the foregoing conversation to suffer his eyes to indulge in +their usual wandering; and the peddler, perceiving by the voices that the enemy +he most feared had passed, yielded to his impatience, and stood erect, in order +to make greater progress. The moment his body arose above the shadow of the +ground, it was seen, and the chase commenced. For a single instant, Birch was +helpless, his blood curdling in his veins at the imminence of the danger, and +his legs refusing their natural and necessary office. But it was only for a +moment. Casting his pack where he stood, and instinctively tightening the belt +he wore, the peddler betook himself to flight. He knew that by bringing himself +in a line with his pursuers and the wood, his form would be lost to sight. This +he soon effected, and he was straining every nerve to gain the wood itself, +when several horsemen rode by him but a short distance on his left, and cut him +off from this place of refuge. The peddler threw himself on the ground as they +came near him, and was passed unseen. But delay now became too dangerous for +him to remain in that position. He accordingly rose, and still keeping in the +shadow of the wood, along the skirts of which he heard voices crying to each +other to be watchful, he ran with incredible speed in a parallel line, but in +an opposite direction, to the march of the dragoons. +</p> + +<p> +The confusion of the chase had been heard by the whole of the men, though none +distinctly understood the order of Lawton but those who followed. The remainder +were lost in doubt as to the duty that was required of them; and the aforesaid +cornet was making eager inquiries of the trooper near him on the subject, when +a man, at a short distance in his rear, crossed the road at a single bound. At +the same instant, the stentorian voice of Lawton rang through the valley, +shouting,— +</p> + +<p> +“Harvey Birch—take him, dead or alive!” +</p> + +<p> +Fifty pistols lighted the scene, and the bullets whistled in every direction +round the head of the devoted peddler. A feeling of despair seized his heart, +and in the bitterness of that moment he exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“Hunted like a beast of the forest!” +</p> + +<p> +He felt life and its accompaniments to be a burden, and was about to yield +himself to his enemies. Nature, however, prevailed. If taken, there was great +reason to apprehend that he would not be honored with the forms of a trial, but +that most probably the morning sun would witness his ignominious execution; for +he had already been condemned to death, and had only escaped that fate by +stratagem. These considerations, with the approaching footsteps of his +pursuers, roused him to new exertions. He again fled before them. A fragment of +a wall, that had withstood the ravages made by war in the adjoining fences of +wood, fortunately crossed his path. He hardly had time to throw his exhausted +limbs over this barrier, before twenty of his enemies reached its opposite +side. Their horses refused to take the leap in the dark, and amid the confusion +of the rearing chargers, and the execrations of their riders, Birch was enabled +to gain a sight of the base of the hill, on whose summit was a place of perfect +security. The heart of the peddler now beat high with hope, when the voice of +Captain Lawton again rang in his ears, shouting to his men to make room. The +order was obeyed, and the fearless trooper rode at the wall at the top of his +horse’s speed, plunged the rowels in his charger, and flew over the +obstacle in safety. The triumphant hurrahs of the men, and the thundering tread +of the horse, too plainly assured the peddler of the emergency of his danger. +He was nearly exhausted, and his fate no longer seemed doubtful. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop, or die!” was uttered above his head, and in fearful +proximity to his ears. +</p> + +<p> +Harvey stole a glance over his shoulder, and saw, within a bound of him, the +man he most dreaded. By the light of the stars he beheld the uplifted arm and +the threatening saber. Fear, exhaustion, and despair seized his heart, and the +intended victim fell at the feet of the dragoon. The horse of Lawton struck the +prostrate peddler, and both steed and rider came violently to the earth. +</p> + +<p> +As quick as thought, Birch was on his feet again, with the sword of the +discomfited dragoon in his hand. Vengeance seems but too natural to human +passions. There are few who have not felt the seductive pleasure of making our +injuries recoil on their authors; and yet there are some who know how much +sweeter it is to return good for evil. +</p> + +<p> +All the wrongs of the peddler shone on his brain with a dazzling brightness. +For a moment the demon within him prevailed, and Birch brandished the powerful +weapon in the air; in the next, it fell harmless on the reviving but helpless +trooper. The peddler vanished up the side of the friendly rock. +</p> + +<p> +“Help Captain Lawton, there!” cried Mason, as he rode up, followed +by a dozen of his men; “and some of you dismount with me, and search +these rocks; the villain lies here concealed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hold!” roared the discomfited captain, raising himself with +difficulty on his feet. “If one of you dismount, he dies. Tom, my good +fellow, you will help me to straddle Roanoke again.” +</p> + +<p> +The astonished subaltern complied in silence, while the wondering dragoons +remained as fixed in their saddles, as if they composed part of the animals +they rode. +</p> + +<p> +“You are much hurt, I fear,” said Mason, with something of +condolence in his manner, as they reentered the highway, biting off the end of +a cigar for the want of a better quality of tobacco. +</p> + +<p> +“Something so, I do believe,” replied the captain, catching his +breath, and speaking with difficulty. “I wish our bonesetter was at hand, +to examine into the state of my ribs.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sitgreaves is left in attendance on Captain Singleton, at the house +of<br/> +Mr. Wharton.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then there I halt for the night, Tom. These rude times must abridge +ceremony; besides, you may remember the old gentleman professed a +kinsman’s regard for the corps. I can never think of passing so good a +friend without a halt.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I will lead the troop to the Four Corners; if we all halt there, we +shall breed a famine in the land.” +</p> + +<p> +“A condition I never desire to be placed in. The idea of that graceful +spinster’s cakes is no bad solace for twenty-four hours in the +hospital.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! you won’t die if you can think of eating,” said Mason, +with a laugh. +</p> + +<p> +“I should surely die if I could not,” observed the captain, +gravely. +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Lawton,” said the orderly of his troop, riding to the side +of his commanding officer, “we are now passing the house of the peddler +spy; is it your pleasure that we burn it?” +</p> + +<p> +“No!” roared the captain, in a voice that startled the disappointed +sergeant. “Are you an incendiary? Would you burn a house in cold blood? +Let but a spark approach, and the hand that carries it will never light +another.” +</p> + +<p> +“Zounds!” muttered the sleepy cornet in the rear, as he was nodding +on his horse, “there is life in the captain, notwithstanding his +tumble.” +</p> + +<p> +Lawton and Mason rode on in silence, the latter ruminating on the wonderful +change produced in his commander by his fall, when they arrived opposite to the +gate before the residence of Mr. Wharton. The troop continued its march; but +the captain and his lieutenant dismounted, and, followed by the servant of the +former, they proceeded slowly to the door of the cottage. +</p> + +<p> +Colonel Wellmere had already sought a retreat in his own room; Mr. Wharton and +his son were closeted by themselves; and the ladies were administering the +refreshments of the tea table to the surgeon of the dragoons, who had seen one +of his patients in his bed, and the other happily enjoying the comforts of a +sweet sleep. A few natural inquiries from Miss Peyton had opened the soul of +the doctor, who knew every individual of her extensive family connection in +Virginia, and who even thought it possible that he had seen the lady herself. +The amiable spinster smiled as she felt it to be improbable that she should +ever have met her new acquaintance before, and not remember his singularities. +It however greatly relieved the embarrassment of their situation, and something +like a discourse was maintained between them; the nieces were only listeners, +nor could the aunt be said to be much more. +</p> + +<p> +“As I was observing, Miss Peyton, it was merely the noxious vapors of the +lowlands that rendered the plantation of your brother an unfit residence for +man; but quadrupeds were—” +</p> + +<p> +“Bless me, what’s that?” said Miss Peyton, turning pale at +the report of the pistols fired at Birch. +</p> + +<p> +“It sounds prodigiously like the concussion on the atmosphere made by the +explosion of firearms,” said the surgeon, sipping his tea with great +indifference. “I should imagine it to be the troop of Captain Lawton +returning, did I not know the captain never uses the pistol, and that he +dreadfully abuses the saber.” +</p> + +<p> +“Merciful providence!” exclaimed the agitated maiden, “he +would not injure one with it, certainly.” +</p> + +<p> +“Injure!” repeated the other quickly. “It is certain death, +madam; the most random blows imaginable; all that I can say to him will have no +effect.” +</p> + +<p> +“But Captain Lawton is the officer we saw this morning, and is surely +your friend,” said Frances, hastily, observing her aunt to be seriously +alarmed. +</p> + +<p> +“I find no fault with his want of friendship; the man is well enough if +he would learn to cut scientifically. All trades, madam, ought to be allowed to +live; but what is to become of a surgeon, if his patients are dead before he +sees them!” +</p> + +<p> +The doctor continued haranguing on the probability and improbability of its +being the returning troop, until a loud knock at the door gave new alarm to the +ladies. Instinctively laying his hand on a small saw, that had been his +companion for the whole day, in the vain expectation of an amputation, the +surgeon, coolly assuring the ladies that he would stand between them and +danger, proceeded in person to answer the summons. +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Lawton!” exclaimed the surgeon, as he beheld the trooper +leaning on the arm of his subaltern, and with difficulty crossing the +threshold. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! my dear bonesetter, is it you? You are here very fortunately to +inspect my carcass; but do lay aside that rascally saw!” +</p> + +<p> +A few words from Mason explained the nature and manner of his captain’s +hurts, and Miss Peyton cheerfully accorded the required accommodations. While +the room intended for the trooper was getting ready, and the doctor was giving +certain portentous orders, the captain was invited to rest himself in the +parlor. On the table was a dish of more substantial food than ordinarily +adorned the afternoon’s repast, and it soon caught the attention of the +dragoons. Miss Peyton, recollecting that they had probably made their only meal +that day at her own table, kindly invited them to close it with another. The +offer required no pressing, and in a few minutes the two were comfortably +seated, and engaged in an employment that was only interrupted by an occasional +wry face from the captain, who moved his body in evident pain. These +interruptions, however, interfered but little with the principal business in +hand; and the captain had got happily through with this important duty, before +the surgeon returned to announce all things ready for his accommodation in the +room above stairs. +</p> + +<p> +“Eating!” cried the astonished physician. “Captain Lawton, do +you wish to die?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have no particular ambition that way,” said the trooper, rising, +and bowing good night to the ladies, “and, therefore, have been providing +materials necessary to preserve life.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon muttered his dissatisfaction, while he followed Mason and the +captain from the apartment. +</p> + +<p> +Every house in America had, at that day, what was emphatically called its best +room, and this had been allotted, by the unseen influence of Sarah, to Colonel +Wellmere. The down counterpane, which a clear frosty night would render +extremely grateful over bruised limbs, decked the English officer’s bed. +A massive silver tankard, richly embossed with the Wharton arms, held the +beverage he was to drink during the night; while beautiful vessels of china +performed the same office for the two American captains. Sarah was certainly +unconscious of the silent preference she had been giving to the English +officer; and it is equally certain, that but for his hurts, bed, tankard, and +everything but the beverage would have been matters of indifference to Captain +Lawton, half of whose nights were spent in his clothes, and not a few of them +in the saddle. After taking possession, however, of a small but very +comfortable room, Doctor Sitgreaves proceeded to inquire into the state of his +injuries. He had begun to pass his hand over the body of his patient, when the +latter cried impatiently,— +</p> + +<p> +“Sitgreaves, do me the favor to lay that rascally saw aside, or I shall +have recourse to my saber in self-defense; the sight of it makes my blood +cold.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Lawton, for a man who has so often exposed life and limb, you +are unaccountably afraid of a very useful instrument.” +</p> + +<p> +“Heaven keep me from its use,” said the trooper, with a shrug. +</p> + +<p> +“You would not despise the lights of science, nor refuse surgical aid, +because this saw might be necessary?” +</p> + +<p> +“I would.” +</p> + +<p> +“You would!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; you shall never joint me like a quarter of beef, while I have life +to defend myself,” cried the resolute dragoon. “But I grow sleepy; +are any of my ribs broken?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Any of my bones?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Tom, I’ll thank you for that pitcher.” As he ended his +draft, he very deliberately turned his back on his companions, and +good-naturedly cried, “Good night, Mason; good night, Galen.” +</p> + +<p> +Captain Lawton entertained a profound respect for the surgical abilities of his +comrade, but he was very skeptical on the subject of administering internally +for the ailings of the human frame. With a full stomach, a stout heart, and a +clear conscience, he often maintained that a man might bid defiance to the +world and its vicissitudes. Nature provided him with the second, and, to say +the truth, he strove manfully himself to keep up the other two requisites in +his creed. It was a favorite maxim with him, that the last thing death assailed +was the eyes, and next to the last, the jaws. This he interpreted to be a clear +expression of the intention of nature, that every man might regulate, by his +own volition, whatever was to be admitted into the sanctuary of his mouth; +consequently, if the guest proved unpalatable, he had no one to blame but +himself. The surgeon, who was well acquainted with these views of his patient, +beheld him, as he cavalierly turned his back on Mason and himself, with a +commiserating contempt, replaced in their leathern repository the phials he had +exhibited, with a species of care that was allied to veneration, gave the saw, +as he concluded, a whirl of triumph, and departed, without condescending to +notice the compliment of the trooper. Mason, finding, by the breathing of the +captain, that his own good night would be unheard, hastened to pay his respects +to the ladies—after which he mounted and followed the troop at the top of +his horse’s speed. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap10"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +On some fond breast the parting soul relies,<br/> +Some pious drops the closing eye requires,<br/> +E’en from the tomb the voice of nature cries,<br/> +E’en in our ashes live their wonted fires. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—GRAY. +</p> + +<p> +The possessions of Mr. Wharton extended to some distance on each side of the +house in which he dwelt, and most of his land was unoccupied. A few scattered +dwellings were to be seen in different parts of his domains, but they were fast +falling to decay, and were untenanted. The proximity of the country to the +contending armies had nearly banished the pursuits of agriculture from the +land. It was useless for the husbandman to devote his time and the labor of his +hands, to obtain overflowing garners, that the first foraging party would +empty. None tilled the earth with any other view than to provide the scanty +means of subsistence, except those who were placed so near to one of the +adverse parties as to be safe from the inroads of the light troops of the +other. To these the war offered a golden harvest, more especially to such as +enjoyed the benefits of an access to the royal army. Mr. Wharton did not +require the use of his lands for the purposes of subsistence; and he willingly +adopted the guarded practice of the day, limiting his attention to such +articles as were soon to be consumed within his own walls, or could be easily +secreted from the prying eyes of the foragers. In consequence, the ground on +which the action was fought had not a single inhabited building, besides the +one belonging to the father of Harvey Birch. This house stood between the place +where the cavalry had met, and that where the charge had been made on the party +of Wellmere. +</p> + +<p> +To Katy Haynes it had been a day fruitful of incidents. The prudent housekeeper +had kept her political feelings in a state of rigid neutrality; her own friends +had espoused the cause of the country, but the maiden herself never lost sight +of that important moment, when, like females of more illustrious hopes, she +might be required to sacrifice her love of country on the altar of domestic +harmony. And yet, notwithstanding all her sagacity, there were moments when the +good woman had grievous doubts into which scale she ought to throw the weight +of her eloquence, in order to be certain of supporting the cause favored by the +peddler. There was so much that was equivocal in his movements and manner, that +often, when, in the privacy of their household, she was about to offer a +philippic on Washington and his followers, discretion sealed her mouth, and +distrust beset her mind. In short, the whole conduct of the mysterious being +she studied was of a character to distract the opinions of one who took a more +enlarged view of men and life than came within the competency of his +housekeeper. +</p> + +<p> +The battle of the Plains had taught the cautious Washington the advantages his +enemy possessed in organization, arms, and discipline. These were difficulties +to be mastered by his own vigilance and care. Drawing off his troops to the +heights, in the northern part of the county, he had bidden defiance to the +attacks of the royal army, and Sir William Howe fell back to the enjoyment of +his barren conquest—a deserted city. Never afterwards did the opposing +armies make the trial of strength within the limits of Westchester; yet hardly +a day passed, that the partisans did not make their inroads; or a sun rise, +that the inhabitants were spared the relation of excesses which the preceding +darkness had served to conceal. Most of the movements of the peddler were made +at the hours which others allotted to repose. The evening sun would frequently +leave him at one extremity of the county, and the morning find him at the +other. His pack was his never-failing companion; and there were those who +closely studied him, in his moments of traffic, and thought his only purpose +was the accumulation of gold. He would be often seen near the Highlands, with a +body bending under its load; and again near the Harlem River, traveling with +lighter steps, with his face towards the setting sun. But these glances at him +were uncertain and fleeting. The intermediate time no eye could penetrate. For +months he disappeared, and no traces of his course were ever known. +</p> + +<p> +Strong parties held the heights of Harlem, and the northern end of Manhattan +Island was bristling with the bayonets of the English sentinels, yet the +peddler glided among them unnoticed and uninjured. His approaches to the +American lines were also frequent; but generally so conducted as to baffle +pursuit. Many a sentinel, placed in the gorges of the mountains, spoke of a +strange figure that had been seen gliding by them in the mists of the evening. +These stories reached the ears of the officers, and, as we have related, in two +instances the trader had fallen into the hands of the Americans. The first time +he had escaped from Lawton, shortly after his arrest; but the second he was +condemned to die. On the morning of his intended execution, the cage was +opened, but the bird had flown. This extraordinary escape had been made from +the custody of a favorite officer of Washington, and sentinels who had been +thought worthy to guard the person of the commander in chief. Bribery and +treason could not be imputed to men so well esteemed, and the opinion gained +ground among the common soldiery, that the peddler had dealings with the dark +one. Katy, however, always repelled this opinion with indignation; for within +the recesses of her own bosom, the housekeeper, in ruminating on the events, +concluded that the evil spirit did not pay in gold. Nor, continued the wary +spinster in her cogitations, does Washington; paper and promises were all that +the leader of the American troops could dispense to his servants. After the +alliance with France, when silver became more abundant in the country, although +the scrutinizing eyes of Katy never let any opportunity of examining into the +deerskin purse pass unimproved, she was never able to detect the image of Louis +intruding into the presence of the well-known countenance of George III. In +short, the secret hoard of Harvey sufficiently showed in its contents that all +its contributions had been received from the British. +</p> + +<p> +The house of Birch had been watched at different times by the Americans, with a +view to his arrest, but never with success; the reputed spy possessing a secret +means of intelligence, that invariably defeated their schemes. Once, when a +strong body of the continental army held the Four Corners for a whole summer, +orders had been received from Washington himself, never to leave the door of +Harvey Birch unwatched. The command was rigidly obeyed, and during this long +period the peddler was unseen; the detachment was withdrawn, and the following +night Birch reentered his dwelling. The father of Harvey had been greatly +molested, in consequence of the suspicious character of the son. But, +notwithstanding the most minute scrutiny into the conduct of the old man, no +fact could be substantiated against him to his injury, and his property was too +small to keep alive the zeal of patriots by profession. Its confiscation and +purchase would not have rewarded their trouble. Age and sorrow were now about +to spare him further molestation, for the lamp of life had been drained of its +oil. The recent separation of the father and son had been painful, but they had +submitted in obedience to what both thought a duty. The old man had kept his +dying situation a secret from the neighborhood, in the hope that he might still +have the company of his child in his last moments. The confusion of the day, +and his increasing dread that Harvey might be too late, helped to hasten the +event he would fain arrest for a little while. As night set in, his illness +increased to such a degree, that the dismayed housekeeper sent a truant boy, +who had shut up himself with them during the combat, to the Locusts, in quest +of a companion to cheer her solitude. Caesar, alone, could be spared, and, +loaded with eatables and cordials by the kind-hearted Miss Peyton, the black +had been dispatched on his duty. The dying man was past the use of medicines, +and his chief anxiety seemed to center in a meeting with his child. The noise +of the chase had been heard by the group in the house, but its cause was not +understood; and as both the black and Katy were apprised of the detachment of +American horse being below them, they supposed it to proceed from the return of +that party. They heard the dragoons, as they moved slowly by the building; but +in compliance with the prudent injunction of the black, the housekeeper forbore +to indulge her curiosity. The old man had closed his eyes, and his attendants +believed him to be asleep. The house contained two large rooms and as many +small ones. One of the former served for kitchen and sitting room; in the other +lay the father of Birch; of the latter, one was the sanctuary of the vestal, +and the other contained the stock of provisions. A huge chimney of stone rose +in the center, serving, of itself, for a partition between the larger rooms; +and fireplaces of corresponding dimensions were in each apartment. A bright +flame was burning in that of the common room, and within the very jambs of its +monstrous jaws sat Caesar and Katy, at the time of which we write. The African +was impressing his caution on the housekeeper, and commenting on the general +danger of indulging an idle curiosity. +</p> + +<p> +“Best nebber tempt a Satan,” said Caesar, rolling up his eyes till +the whites glistened by the glare of the fire. “I berry like heself to +lose an ear for carrying a little bit of a letter; dere much mischief come of +curiosity. If dere had nebber been a man curious to see Africa, dere would be +no color people out of dere own country; but I wish Harvey get back.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is very disregardful in him to be away at such a time,” said +Katy, imposingly. “Suppose now his father wanted to make his last will in +the testament, who is there to do so solemn and awful an act for him? Harvey is +a very wasteful and very disregardful man!” +</p> + +<p> +“Perhap he make him afore?” +</p> + +<p> +“It would not be a wonderment if he had,” returned the housekeeper; +“he is whole days looking into the Bible.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then he read a berry good book,” said the black solemnly. +“Miss Fanny read in him to Dinah now and den.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are right, Caesar. The Bible is the best of books, and one that +reads it as often as Harvey’s father should have the best of reasons for +so doing. This is no more than common sense.” +</p> + +<p> +She rose from her seat, and stealing softly to a chest of drawers in the room +of the sick man, she took from it a large Bible, heavily bound, and secured +with strong clasps of brass, with which she returned to the negro. The volume +was eagerly opened, and they proceeded instantly to examine its pages. Katy was +far from an expert scholar, and to Caesar the characters were absolutely +strangers. For some time the housekeeper was occupied in finding out the word +Matthew, in which she had no sooner succeeded than she pointed out the word, +with great complacency, to the attentive Caesar. +</p> + +<p> +“Berry well, now look him t’rough,” said the black, peeping +over the housekeeper’s shoulder, as he held a long lank candle of yellow +tallow, in such a manner as to throw its feeble light on the volume. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but I must begin with the very beginning of the book,” +replied the other, turning the leaves carefully back, until, moving two at +once, she lighted upon a page covered with writing. “Here,” said +the housekeeper, shaking with the eagerness of expectation, “here are the +very words themselves; now I would give the world itself to know whom he has +left the big silver shoe buckles to.” +</p> + +<p> +“Read ’em,” said Caesar, laconically. +</p> + +<p> +“And the black walnut drawers; for Harvey could never want furniture of +that quality, as long as he is a bachelor!” +</p> + +<p> +“Why he no want ’em as well as he fader?” +</p> + +<p> +“And the six silver tablespoons; Harvey always uses the iron!” +</p> + +<p> +“P’r’ap he say, without so much talk,” returned the +sententious black, pointing one of his crooked and dingy fingers at the open +volume. +</p> + +<p> +Thus repeatedly advised, and impelled by her own curiosity, Katy began to read. +Anxious to come to the part which most interested herself, she dipped at once +into the center of the subject. +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Chester Birch, born September 1st, 1755,</i>”—read the +spinster, with a deliberation that did no great honor to her scholarship. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what he gib him?” +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Abigail Birch, born July 12th, 1757,</i>” continued the +housekeeper, in the same tone. +</p> + +<p> +“I t’ink he ought to gib her ’e spoon.” +</p> + +<p> +“<i>June 1st, 1760. On this awful day, the judgment of an offended God +lighted on my house.</i>” A heavy groan from the adjoining room made the +spinster instinctively close the volume, and Caesar, for a moment, shook with +fear. Neither possessed sufficient resolution to go and examine the condition +of the sufferer, but his heavy breathing continued as usual. Katy dared not, +however, reopen the Bible, and carefully securing its clasps, it was laid on +the table in silence. Caesar took his chair again, and after looking timidly +round the room, remarked,— +</p> + +<p> +“I t’ought he time war’ come!” +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said Katy, solemnly, “he will live till the tide is +out, or the first cock crows in the morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Poor man!” continued the black, nestling still farther into the +chimney corner, “I hope he lay quiet after he die.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Twould be no astonishment to me if he didn’t; for they say +an unquiet life makes an uneasy grave.” +</p> + +<p> +“Johnny Birch a berry good man in he way. All mankind can’t be a +minister; for if he do, who would be a congregation?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! Caesar, he is good only who does good. Can you tell me why honestly +gotten gold should be hidden in the bowels of the earth?” +</p> + +<p> +“Grach!—I t’ink it must be to keep t’e Skinner from +findin’ him; if he know where he be, why don’t he dig him +up?” +</p> + +<p> +“There may be reasons not comprehensible to you,” said Katy, moving +her chair so that her clothes covered the charmed stone, underneath which lay +the secret treasures of the peddler, unable to refrain from speaking of what +she would have been very unwilling to reveal; “but a rough outside often +holds a smooth inside.” Caesar stared around the building, unable to +fathom the hidden meaning of his companion, when his roving eyes suddenly +became fixed, and his teeth chattered with affright. The change in the +countenance of the black was instantly perceived by Katy, and turning her face, +she saw the peddler himself, standing within the door of the room. +</p> + +<p> +“Is he alive?” asked Birch, tremulously, and seemingly afraid to +receive the answer. +</p> + +<p> +“Surely,” said Katy, rising hastily, and officiously offering her +chair.<br/> +“He must live till day, or till the tide is down.” +</p> + +<p> +Disregarding all but the fact that his father still lived, the peddler stole +gently into the room of his dying parent. The tie which bound the father and +son was of no ordinary kind. In the wide world they were all to each other. Had +Katy but read a few lines further in the record, she would have seen the sad +tale of their misfortunes. At one blow competence and kindred had been swept +from them, and from that day to the present hour, persecution and distress had +followed their wandering steps. Approaching the bedside, Harvey leaned his body +forward, and, in a voice nearly choked by his feelings, he whispered near the +ear of the sick,— +</p> + +<p> +“Father, do you know me?” +</p> + +<p> +The parent slowly opened his eyes, and a smile of satisfaction passed over his +pallid features, leaving behind it the impression of death, more awful by the +contrast. The peddler gave a restorative he had brought with him to the parched +lips of the sick man, and for a few minutes new vigor seemed imparted to his +frame. He spoke, but slowly, and with difficulty. Curiosity kept Katy silent; +awe had the same effect on Caesar; and Harvey seemed hardly to breathe, as he +listened to the language of the departing spirit. +</p> + +<p> +“My son,” said the father in a hollow voice, “God is as +merciful as He is just; if I threw the cup of salvation from my lips when a +youth, He graciously offers it to me in mine age. He has chastised to purify, +and I go to join the spirits of our lost family. In a little while, my child, +you will be alone. I know you too well not to foresee you will be a pilgrim +through life. The bruised reed may endure, but it will never rise. You have +that within you, Harvey, that will guide you aright; persevere as you have +begun, for the duties of life are never to be neglected and”—a +noise in the adjoining room interrupted the dying man, and the impatient +peddler hastened to learn the cause, followed by Katy and the black. The first +glance of his eye on the figure in the doorway told the trader but too well his +errand, and the fate that probably awaited himself. The intruder was a man +still young in years, but his lineaments bespoke a mind long agitated by evil +passions. His dress was of the meanest materials, and so ragged and unseemly, +as to give him the appearance of studied poverty. His hair was prematurely +whitened, and his sunken, lowering eye avoided the bold, forward look of +innocence. There was a restlessness in his movements, and an agitation in his +manner, that proceeded from the workings of the foul spirit within him, and +which was not less offensive to others than distressing to himself. This man +was a well-known leader of one of those gangs of marauders who infested the +county with a semblance of patriotism, and who were guilty of every grade of +offense, from simple theft up to murder. Behind him stood several other figures +clad in a similar manner, but whose countenances expressed nothing more than +the indifference of brutal insensibility. They were well armed with muskets and +bayonets, and provided with the usual implements of foot soldiers. Harvey knew +resistance to be vain, and quietly submitted to their directions. In the +twinkling of an eye both he and Caesar were stripped of their decent garments, +and made to exchange clothes with two of the filthiest of the band. They were +then placed in separate corners of the room, and, under the muzzles of the +muskets, required faithfully to answer such interrogatories as were put to +them. +</p> + +<p> +“Where is your pack?” was the first question to the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“Hear me,” said Birch, trembling with agitation; “in the next +room is my father, now in the agonies of death. Let me go to him, receive his +blessing, and close his eyes, and you shall have all—aye, all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Answer me as I put the questions, or this musket shall send you to keep +the old driveler company: where is your pack?” +</p> + +<p> +“I will tell you nothing, unless you let me go to my father,” said +the peddler, resolutely. +</p> + +<p> +His persecutor raised his arm with a malicious sneer, and was about to execute +his threat, when one of his companions checked him. +</p> + +<p> +“What would you do?” he said. “You surely forget the reward. +Tell us where are your goods, and you shall go to your father.” +</p> + +<p> +Birch complied instantly, and a man was dispatched in quest of the booty; he +soon returned, throwing the bundle on the floor, swearing it was as light as +feathers. +</p> + +<p> +“Aye,” cried the leader, “there must be gold somewhere for +what it did contain. Give us your gold, Mr. Birch; we know you have it; you +will not take continental, not you.” +</p> + +<p> +“You break your faith,” said Harvey. +</p> + +<p> +“Give us your gold,” exclaimed the other, furiously, pricking +the<br/> +peddler with his bayonet until the blood followed his pushes in streams.<br/> +At this instant a slight movement was heard in the adjoining room, and<br/> +Harvey cried,— +</p> + +<p> +“Let me—let me go to my father, and you shall have all.” +</p> + +<p> +“I swear you shall go then,” said the Skinner. +</p> + +<p> +“Here, take the trash,” cried Birch, as he threw aside the purse, +which he had contrived to conceal, notwithstanding the change in his garments. +</p> + +<p> +The robber raised it from the floor with a hellish laugh. +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, but it shall be to your father in heaven.” +</p> + +<p> +“Monster! have you no feeling, no faith, no honesty?” +</p> + +<p> +“To hear him, one would think there was not a rope around his neck +already,” said the other, laughing. “There is no necessity for your +being uneasy, Mr. Birch; if the old man gets a few hours the start of you in +the journey, you will be sure to follow him before noon to-morrow.” +</p> + +<p> +This unfeeling communication had no effect on the peddler, who listened with +gasping breath to every sound from the room of his parent until he heard his +own name spoken in the hollow, sepulchral tones of death. Birch could endure no +more, but shrieking out,— +</p> + +<p> +“Father! hush—father! I come—I come!” he darted by his +keeper and was the next moment pinned to the wall by the bayonet of another of +the band. Fortunately, his quick motion had caused him to escape a thrust aimed +at his life, and it was by his clothes only that he was confined. +</p> + +<p> +“No, Mr. Birch,” said the Skinner, “we know you too well to +trust you out of sight—your gold, your gold!” +</p> + +<p> +“You have it,” said the peddler, writhing with agony. +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, we have the purse, but you have more purses. King George is a +prompt paymaster, and you have done him many a piece of good service. Where is +your hoard? Without it you will never see your father.” +</p> + +<p> +“Remove the stone underneath the woman,” cried the peddler, +eagerly—“remove the stone.” +</p> + +<p> +“He raves! he raves!” said Katy, instinctively moving her position +to a different stone from the one on which she had been standing. In a moment +it was torn from its bed, and nothing but earth was seen beneath. +</p> + +<p> +“He raves! You have driven him from his right mind,” continued the +trembling spinster. “Would any man in his senses keep gold under a +hearth?” +</p> + +<p> +“Peace, babbling fool!” cried Harvey. “Lift the corner stone, +and you will find that which will make you rich, and me a beggar.” +</p> + +<p> +“And then you will be despisable,” said the housekeeper bitterly. +“A peddler without goods and without money is sure to be +despisable.” +</p> + +<p> +“There will be enough left to pay for his halter,” cried the +Skinner, who was not slow to follow the instructions of Harvey, soon lighting +upon a store of English guineas. The money was quickly transferred to a bag, +notwithstanding the declarations of the spinster, that her dues were +unsatisfied, and that, of right, ten of the guineas were her property. +</p> + +<p> +Delighted with a prize that greatly exceeded their expectations, the band +prepared to depart, intending to take the peddler with them, in order to give +him up to the American troops above, and to claim the reward offered for his +apprehension. Everything was ready, and they were about to lift Birch in their +arms, for he resolutely refused to move an inch, when a form appeared in their +midst, which appalled the stoutest heart among them. The father had arisen from +his bed, and he tottered forth at the cries of his son. Around his body was +thrown the sheet of the bed, and his fixed eye and haggard face gave him the +appearance of a being from another world. Even Katy and Caesar thought it was +the spirit of the elder Birch, and they fled the house, followed by the alarmed +Skinners in a body. +</p> + +<p> +The excitement which had given the sick man strength, soon vanished, and the +peddler, lifting him in his arms, reconveyed him to his bed. The reaction of +the system which followed hastened to close the scene. +</p> + +<p> +The glazed eye of the father was fixed upon the son; his lips moved, but his +voice was unheard. Harvey bent down, and, with the parting breath of his +parent, received his dying benediction. A life of privation, and of wrongs, +embittered most of the future hours of the peddler. But under no sufferings, in +no misfortunes, the subject of poverty and obloquy, the remembrance of that +blessing never left him; it constantly gleamed over the images of the past, +shedding a holy radiance around his saddest hours of despondency; it cheered +the prospect of the future with the prayers of a pious spirit; and it brought +the sweet assurance of having faithfully discharged the sacred offices of +filial love. +</p> + +<p> +The retreat of Caesar and the spinster had been too precipitate to admit of +much calculation; yet they themselves instinctively separated from the +Skinners. After fleeing a short distance they paused, and the maiden commenced +in a solemn voice,— +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Caesar, was it not dreadful to walk before he had been laid in his +grave! It must have been the money that disturbed him; they say Captain Kidd +walks near the spot where he buried gold in the old war.” +</p> + +<p> +“I never t’ink Johnny Birch hab such a big eye!” said the +African, his teeth yet chattering with the fright. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m sure ’twould be a botherment to a living soul to lose so +much money. Harvey will be nothing but an utterly despisable, poverty-stricken +wretch. I wonder who he thinks would even be his housekeeper!” +</p> + +<p> +“Maybe a spook take away Harvey, too,” observed Caesar, moving +still nearer to the side of the maiden. But a new idea had seized the +imagination of the spinster. She thought it not improbable that the prize had +been forsaken in the confusion of the retreat; and after deliberating and +reasoning for some time with Caesar, they determined to venture back, and +ascertain this important fact, and, if possible, learn what had been the fate +of the peddler. Much time was spent in cautiously approaching the dreaded spot; +and as the spinster had sagaciously placed herself in the line of the retreat +of the Skinners, every stone was examined in the progress in search of +abandoned gold. But although the suddenness of the alarm and the cry of Caesar +had impelled the freebooters to so hasty a retreat, they grasped the hoard with +a hold that death itself would not have loosened. Perceiving everything to be +quiet within, Katy at length mustered resolution to enter the dwelling, where +she found the peddler, with a heavy heart, performing the last sad offices for +the dead. A few words sufficed to explain to Katy the nature of her mistake; +but Caesar continued to his dying day to astonish the sable inmates of the +kitchen with learned dissertations on spooks, and to relate how direful was the +appearance of that of Johnny Birch. +</p> + +<p> +The danger compelled the peddler to abridge even the short period that American +custom leaves the deceased with us; and, aided by the black and Katy, his +painful task was soon ended. Caesar volunteered to walk a couple of miles with +orders to a carpenter; and, the body being habited in its ordinary attire, was +left, with a sheet thrown decently over it, to await the return of the +messenger. +</p> + +<p> +The Skinners had fled precipitately to the wood, which was but a short distance +from the house of Birch, and once safely sheltered within its shades, they +halted, and mustered their panic-stricken forces. +</p> + +<p> +“What in the name of fury seized your coward hearts?” cried their +dissatisfied leader, drawing his breath heavily. +</p> + +<p> +“The same question might be asked of yourself,” returned one of the +band, sullenly. +</p> + +<p> +“From your fright, I thought a party of De Lancey’s men were upon +us.<br/> +Oh! you are brave gentlemen at a race!” +</p> + +<p> +“We follow our captain.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then follow me back, and let us secure the scoundrel, and receive the +reward.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; and by the time we reach the house, that black rascal will have the +mad Virginian upon us. By my soul I would rather meet fifty Cowboys than that +single man.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fool,” cried the enraged leader, “don’t you know +Dunwoodie’s horse are at the Corners, full two miles from here?” +</p> + +<p> +“I care not where the dragoons are, but I will swear that I saw Captain +Lawton enter the house of old Wharton, while I lay watching an opportunity of +getting the British colonel’s horse from the stable.” +</p> + +<p> +“And if he should come, won’t a bullet silence a dragoon from the +South as well as from old England?” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, but I don’t choose a hornet’s nest about my ears; rase +the skin of one of that corps, and you will never see another peaceable +night’s foraging again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” muttered the leader, as they retired deeper into the wood, +“this sottish peddler will stay to see the old devil buried; and though +we cannot touch him at the funeral (for that would raise every old woman and +priest in America against us), he’ll wait to look after the movables, and +to-morrow night shall wind up his concerns.” +</p> + +<p> +With this threat they withdrew to one of their usual places of resort, until +darkness should again give them an opportunity of marauding on the community +without danger of detection. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap11"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +O wo! O woful, woful, woful day!<br/> +Most lamentable day; most woful day,<br/> +That ever, ever, I did yet behold!<br/> +O day! O day! O day! O hateful day!<br/> +Never was seen so black a day as this;<br/> +O woful day! O woful day! +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—SHAKESPEARE. +</p> + +<p> +The family at the Locusts had slept, or watched, through all the disturbances +at the cottage of Birch, in perfect ignorance of their occurrence. The attacks +of the Skinners were always made with so much privacy as to exclude the +sufferers, not only from succor, but frequently, through a dread of future +depredations, from the commiseration of their neighbors also. Additional duties +had drawn the ladies from their pillows at an hour somewhat earlier than usual; +and Captain Lawton, notwithstanding the sufferings of his body, had risen in +compliance with a rule from which he never departed, of sleeping but six hours +at a time. This was one of the few points, in which the care of the human frame +was involved, on which the trooper and the surgeon of horse were ever known to +agree. The doctor had watched, during the night, by the side of the bed of +Captain Singleton, without once closing his eyes. Occasionally he would pay a +visit to the wounded Englishman, who, being more hurt in the spirit than in the +flesh, tolerated the interruptions with a very ill grace; and once, for an +instant, he ventured to steal softly to the bed of his obstinate comrade, and +was near succeeding in obtaining a touch of his pulse, when a terrible oath, +sworn by the trooper in a dream, startled the prudent surgeon, and warned him +of a trite saying in the corps, “that Captain Lawton always slept with +one eye open.” This group had assembled in one of the parlors as the sun +made its appearance over the eastern hill, dispersing the columns of fog which +had enveloped the lowland. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton was looking from a window in the direction of the tenement of the +peddler, and was expressing a kind anxiety after the welfare of the sick man, +when the person of Katy suddenly emerged from the dense covering of an earthly +cloud, whose mists were scattering before the cheering rays of the sun, and was +seen making hasty steps towards the Locusts. There was that in the air of the +housekeeper which bespoke distress of an unusual nature, and the kind-hearted +mistress of the Locusts opened the door of the room, with the benevolent +intention of soothing a grief that seemed so overwhelming. A nearer view of the +disturbed features of the visitor confirmed Miss Peyton in her belief; and, +with the shock that gentle feelings ever experience at a sudden and endless +separation from even the meanest of their associates, she said hastily,— +</p> + +<p> +“Katy, is he gone?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, ma’am,” replied the disturbed damsel, with great +bitterness, “he is not yet gone, but he may go as soon as he pleases now, +for the worst is done. I do verily believe, Miss Peyton, they haven’t so +much as left him money enough to buy him another suit of clothes to cover his +nakedness, and those he has on are none of the best, I can tell you.” +</p> + +<p> +“How!” exclaimed the other, astonished, “could anyone have +the heart to plunder a man in such distress?” +</p> + +<p> +“Hearts,” repeated Katy, catching her breath. “Men like them +have no bowels” at all. Plunder and distress, indeed! Why, ma’am, +there were in the iron pot, in plain sight, fifty-four guineas of gold, besides +what lay underneath, which I couldn’t count without handling; and I +didn’t like to touch it, for they say that another’s gold is apt to +stick—so, judging from that in sight, there wasn’t less than two +hundred guineas, besides what might have been in the deerskin purse. But Harvey +is little better now than a beggar; and a beggar, Miss Jeanette, is the most +awfully despisable of all earthly creatures.” +</p> + +<p> +“Poverty is to be pitied, and not despised,” said the lady, still +unable to comprehend the extent of the misfortune that had befallen her +neighbor during the night. “But how is the old man? And does this loss +affect him much?” +</p> + +<p> +The countenance of Katy changed, from the natural expression of concern, to the +set form of melancholy, as she answered,— +</p> + +<p> +“He is happily removed from the cares of the world; the chinking of the +money made him get out of his bed, and the poor soul found the shock too great +for him. He died about two hours and ten minutes before the cock crowed, as +near as we can say.” She was interrupted by the physician, who, +approaching, inquired, with much interest, the nature of the disorder. Glancing +her eye over the figure of this new acquaintance, Katy instinctively adjusting +her dress, replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas the troubles of the times, and the loss of property, that +brought him down; he wasted from day to day, and all my care and anxiety were +lost; for now Harvey is no better than a beggar, and who is there to pay me for +what I have done?” +</p> + +<p> +“God will reward you for all the good you have done,” said Miss +Peyton, mildly. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” interrupted the spinster hastily, and with an air of +reverence that was instantly succeeded by an expression that denoted more of +worldly care; “but then I have left my wages for three years past in the +hands of Harvey, and how am I to get them? My brothers told me, again and +again, to ask for my money; but I always thought accounts between relations +were easily settled.” +</p> + +<p> +“Were you related, then, to Birch?” asked Miss Peyton, observing +her to pause. +</p> + +<p> +“Why,” returned the housekeeper, hesitating a little, “I +thought we were as good as so. I wonder if I have no claim on the house and +garden; though they say, now it is Harvey’s, it will surely be +confiscated.” Turning to Lawton, who had been sitting in one posture, +with his piercing eyes lowering at her through his thick brows, in silence, +“Perhaps this gentleman knows—he seems to take an interest in my +story.” +</p> + +<p> +“Madam,” said the trooper, bowing very low, “both you and the +tale are extremely interesting”—Katy smiled +involuntarily—“but my humble knowledge is limited to the setting of +a squadron in the field, and using it when there. I beg leave to refer you to +Dr. Archibald Sitgreaves, a gentleman of universal attainments and unbounded +philanthropy; the very milk of human sympathies, and a mortal foe to all +indiscriminate cutting.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon drew up, and employed himself in whistling a low air, as he looked +over some phials on a table; but the housekeeper, turning to him with an +inclination of the head, continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose, sir, a woman has no dower in her husband’s property, +unless they be actually married.” +</p> + +<p> +It was a maxim with Dr. Sitgreaves, that no species of knowledge was to be +despised; and, consequently, he was an empiric in everything but his +profession. At first, indignation at the irony of his comrade kept him silent; +but, suddenly changing his purpose, he answered the applicant with a +good-natured smile,— +</p> + +<p> +“I judge not. If death has anticipated your nuptials, I am fearful you +have no remedy against his stern decrees.” +</p> + +<p> +To Katy this sounded well, although she understood nothing of its meaning, but +“death” and “nuptials.” To this part of his speech, +then, she directed her reply. +</p> + +<p> +“I did think he only waited the death of the old gentleman before he +married,” said the housekeeper, looking on the carpet. “But now he +is nothing more than despisable, or, what’s the same thing, a peddler +without house, pack, or money. It might be hard for a man to get a wife at all +in such a predicary—don’t you think it would, Miss Peyton?” +</p> + +<p> +“I seldom trouble myself with such things,” said the lady gravely. +</p> + +<p> +During this dialogue Captain Lawton had been studying the countenance and +manner of the housekeeper, with a most ludicrous gravity; and, fearful the +conversation would cease, he inquired, with an appearance of great +interest,— +</p> + +<p> +“You think it was age and debility that removed the old gentleman at +last?” +</p> + +<p> +“And the troublesome times. Trouble is a heavy pull down to a sick bed; +but I suppose his time had come, and when that happens, it matters but little +what doctor’s stuff we take.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let me set you right in that particular,” interrupted the surgeon. +“We must all die, it is true, but it is permitted us to use the lights of +science, in arresting dangers as they occur, until—” +</p> + +<p> +“We can die <i>secundem artem</i>,” cried the trooper. +</p> + +<p> +To this observation the physician did not deign to reply; but, deeming it +necessary to his professional dignity that the conversation should continue, he +added,— +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps, in this instance, judicious treatment might have prolonged the +life of the patient. Who administered to the case?” +</p> + +<p> +“No one yet,” said the housekeeper, with quickness. “I expect +he has made his last will and testament.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon disregarded the smile of the ladies, and pursued his inquiries. +</p> + +<p> +“It is doubtless wise to be prepared for death. But under whose care was +the sick man during his indisposition?” +</p> + +<p> +“Under mine,” answered Katy, with an air of a little importance. +“And care thrown away I may well call it; for Harvey is quite too +despisable to be any sort of compensation at present.” +</p> + +<p> +The mutual ignorance of each other’s meaning made very little +interruption to the dialogue, for both took a good deal for granted, and +Sitgreaves pursued the subject. +</p> + +<p> +“And how did you treat him?” +</p> + +<p> +“Kindly, you may be certain,” said Katy, rather tartly. +</p> + +<p> +“The doctor means medically, madam,” observed Captain Lawton, with +a face that would have honored the funeral of the deceased. +</p> + +<p> +“I doctored him mostly with yarbs,” said the housekeeper, smiling, +as if conscious of error. +</p> + +<p> +“With simples,” returned the surgeon. “They are safer in the +hands of the unlettered than more powerful remedies; but why had you no regular +attendant?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m sure Harvey has suffered enough already from having so much +concerns with the rig’lars,” replied the housekeeper. “He has +lost his all, and made himself a vagabond through the land; and I have reason +to rue the day I ever crossed the threshold of his house.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dr. Sitgreaves does not mean a rig’lar soldier, but a regular +physician, madam,” said the trooper. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” cried the maiden, again correcting herself, “for the +best of all reasons; there was none to be had, so I took care of him myself. If +there had been a doctor at hand, I am sure we would gladly have had him; for my +part, I am clear for doctoring, though Harvey says I am killing myself with +medicines; but I am sure it will make but little difference to him, whether I +live or die.” +</p> + +<p> +“Therein you show your sense,” said the surgeon, approaching the +spinster, who sat holding the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet to +the genial heat of a fine fire, making the most of comfort amid all her +troubles. “You appear to be a sensible, discreet woman, and some who have +had opportunities of acquiring more correct views might envy you your respect +for knowledge and the lights of science.” +</p> + +<p> +Although the housekeeper did not altogether comprehend the other’s +meaning, she knew he used a compliment, and as such was highly pleased with +what he said. With increased animation, therefore, she cried, “It was +always said of me, that I wanted nothing but opportunity to make quite a +physician myself; so long as before I came to live with Harvey’s father, +they called me the petticoat doctor.” +</p> + +<p> +“More true than civil, I dare say,” returned the surgeon, losing +sight of the woman’s character in his admiration of her respect for the +healing art. “In the absence of more enlightened counselors, the +experience of a discreet matron is frequently of great efficacy in checking the +progress of disease; under such circumstances, madam, it is dreadful to have to +contend with ignorance and obstinacy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Bad enough, as I well know from experience,” cried Katy, in +triumph. “Harvey is as obstinate about such things as a dumb beast; one +would think the care I took of his bedridden father might learn him better than +to despise good nursing. But some day he may know what it is to want a careful +woman in his house, though now I am sure he is too despisable himself to have a +house.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed, I can easily comprehend the mortification you must have felt in +having one so self-willed to deal with,” returned the surgeon, glancing +his eyes reproachfully at his comrade. “But you should rise superior to +such opinions, and pity the ignorance by which they are engendered.” +</p> + +<p> +The housekeeper hesitated a moment, at a loss to comprehend all that the +surgeon expressed, yet she felt it was both complimentary and kind; therefore, +suppressing her natural flow of language a little, she replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“I tell Harvey his conduct is often condemnable, and last night he made +my words good; but the opinions of such unbelievers is not very consequential; +yet it is dreadful to think how he behaves at times: now, when he threw away +the needle—” +</p> + +<p> +“What!” said the surgeon, interrupting her, “does he affect +to despise the needle? But it is my lot to meet with men, daily, who are +equally perverse, and who show a still more culpable disrespect for the +information that flows from the lights of science.” +</p> + +<p> +The doctor turned his face towards Captain Lawton while speaking, but the +elevation of the head prevented his eyes from resting on the grave countenance +maintained by the trooper. Katy listened with admiring attention, and when the +other had done, she added,— +</p> + +<p> +“Then Harvey is a disbeliever in the tides.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not believe in the tides!” repeated the healer of bodies in +astonishment. “Does the man distrust his senses? But perhaps it is the +influence of the moon that he doubts.” +</p> + +<p> +“That he does!” exclaimed Katy, shaking with delight at meeting +with a man of learning, who could support her opinions. “If you was to +hear him talk, you would think he didn’t believe there was such a thing +as a moon at all.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is the misfortune of ignorance and incredulity, madam, that they feed +themselves. The mind, once rejecting useful information, insensibly leans to +superstition and conclusions on the order of nature, that are not less +prejudicial to the cause of truth, than they are at variance with the first +principles of human knowledge.” +</p> + +<p> +The spinster was too much awe-struck to venture an undigested reply to this +speech; and the surgeon, after pausing a moment in a kind of philosophical +disdain, continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“That any man in his senses can doubt of the flux of the tides is more +than I could have thought possible; yet obstinacy is a dangerous inmate to +harbor, and may lead us into any error, however gross.” +</p> + +<p> +“You think, then, they have an effect on the flux?” said the +housekeeper, inquiringly. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton rose and beckoned her nieces to give her their assistance in the +adjoining pantry, while for a moment the dark visage of the attentive Lawton +was lighted by an animation that vanished by an effort, as powerful and as +sudden, as the one that drew it into being. +</p> + +<p> +After reflecting whether he rightly understood the meaning of the other, the +surgeon, making due allowance for the love of learning, acting upon a want of +education, replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“The moon, you mean; many philosophers have doubted how far it affects +the tides; but I think it is willfully rejecting the lights of science not to +believe it causes both the flux and reflux.” +</p> + +<p> +As reflux was a disorder with which Katy was not acquainted, she thought it +prudent to be silent; yet burning with curiosity to know the meaning of certain +portentous lights to which the other so often alluded, she ventured to +ask,— +</p> + +<p> +“If them lights he spoke of were what was called northern lights in these +parts?” +</p> + +<p> +In charity to her ignorance, the surgeon would have entered into an elaborate +explanation of his meaning, had he not been interrupted by the mirth of Lawton. +The trooper had listened so far with great composure; but now he laughed until +his aching bones reminded him of his fall, and the tears rolled over his cheeks +in larger drops than had ever been seen there before. At length the offended +physician seized an opportunity of a pause to say,— +</p> + +<p> +“To you, Captain Lawton, it may be a source of triumph, that an +uneducated woman should make a mistake in a subject on which men of science +have long been at variance; but yet you find this respectable matron does not +reject the lights—does not reject the use of proper instruments in +repairing injuries sustained by the human frame. You may possibly remember, +sir, her allusion to the use of the needle.” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye,” cried the delighted trooper, “to mend the +peddler’s breeches.” +</p> + +<p> +Katy drew up in evident displeasure, and prompt to vindicate her character for +more lofty acquirements, she said,— +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas not a common use that I put that needle to—but one of +much greater virtue.” +</p> + +<p> +“Explain yourself, madam,” said the surgeon impatiently, +“that this gentleman may see how little reason he has for +exultation.” +</p> + +<p> +Thus solicited, Katy paused to collect sufficient eloquence to garnish her +narrative. The substance of her tale was, that a child who had been placed by +the guardians of the poor in the keeping of Harvey, had, in the absence of its +master, injured itself badly in the foot by a large needle. The offending +instrument had been carefully greased, wrapped in woolen, and placed in a +certain charmed nook of the chimney; while the foot, from a fear of weakening +the incantation, was left in a state of nature. The arrival of the peddler had +altered the whole of this admirable treatment; and the consequences were +expressed by Katy, as she concluded her narrative, by saying,— +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas no wonder the boy died of a lockjaw!” +</p> + +<p> +Doctor Sitgreaves looked out of the window in admiration of the brilliant +morning, striving all he could to avoid the basilisk’s eyes of his +comrade. He was impelled, by a feeling that he could not conquer, however, to +look Captain Lawton in the face. The trooper had arranged every muscle of his +countenance to express sympathy for the fate of the poor child; but the +exultation of his eyes cut the astounded man of science to the quick; he +muttered something concerning the condition of his patients, and retreated with +precipitation. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton entered into the situation of things at the house of the peddler, +with all the interest of her excellent feelings; she listened patiently while +Katy recounted, more particularly, the circumstances of the past night as they +had occurred. The spinster did not forget to dwell on the magnitude of the +pecuniary loss sustained by Harvey, and in no manner spared her invectives, at +his betraying a secret which might so easily have been kept. +</p> + +<p> +“For, Miss Peyton,” continued the housekeeper, after a pause to +take breath, “I would have given up life before I would have given up +that secret. At the most, they could only have killed him, and now a body may +say that they have slain both soul and body; or, what’s the same thing, +they have made him a despisable vagabond. I wonder who he thinks would be his +wife, or who would keep his house, For my part, my good name is too precious to +be living with a lone man; though, for the matter of that, he is never there. I +am resolved to tell him this day, that stay there a single woman, I will not an +hour after the funeral; and marry him I don’t think I will, unless he +becomes steadier and more of a home body.” +</p> + +<p> +The mild mistress of the Locusts suffered the exuberance of the +housekeeper’s feelings to expend itself, and then, by one or two +judicious questions, that denoted a more intimate knowledge of the windings of +the human heart in matters of Cupid than might fairly be supposed to belong to +a spinster, she extracted enough from Katy to discover the improbability of +Harvey’s ever presuming to offer himself, with his broken fortunes, to +the acceptance of Katharine Haynes. She therefore mentioned her own want of +assistance in the present state of her household, and expressed a wish that +Katy would change her residence to the Locusts, in case the peddler had no +further use for her services. After a few preliminary conditions on the part of +the wary housekeeper, the arrangement was concluded; and making a few more +piteous lamentations on the weight of her own losses and the stupidity of +Harvey, united with some curiosity to know the future fate of the peddler, Katy +withdrew to make the necessary preparations for the approaching funeral, which +was to take place that day. +</p> + +<p> +During the interview between the two females, Lawton, through delicacy, had +withdrawn. Anxiety took him to the room of Captain Singleton. The character of +this youth, it has already been shown, endeared him in a peculiar manner to +every officer in the corps. The singularly mild deportment of the young dragoon +had on so many occasions been proved not to proceed from want of resolution +that his almost feminine softness of manner and appearance had failed to bring +him into disrepute, even in that band of partisan warriors. +</p> + +<p> +To the major he was as dear as a brother, and his easy submission to the +directions of his surgeon had made him a marked favorite with Dr. Sitgreaves. +The rough usage the corps often received in its daring attacks had brought each +of its officers, in succession, under the temporary keeping of the surgeon. To +Captain Singleton the man of science had decreed the palm of docility, on such +occasions, and Captain Lawton he had fairly blackballed. He frequently +declared, with unconquerable simplicity and earnestness of manner, that it gave +him more pleasure to see the former brought in wounded than any officer in the +squadron, and that the latter afforded him the least; a compliment and +condemnation that were usually received by the first of the parties with a +quiet smile of good nature, and by the last with a grave bow of thanks. On the +present occasion, the mortified surgeon and exulting trooper met in the room of +Captain Singleton, as a place where they could act on common ground. Some time +was occupied in joint attentions to the comfort of the wounded officer, and the +doctor retired to an apartment prepared for his own accommodation; here, within +a few minutes, he was surprised by the entrance of Lawton. The triumph of the +trooper had been so complete, that he felt he could afford to be generous, and +commencing by voluntarily throwing aside his coat, he cried carelessly,— +</p> + +<p> +“Sitgreaves, administer a little of the aid of the lights of science to +my body, if you please.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon was beginning to feel this was a subject that was intolerable, but +venturing a glance towards his comrade, he saw with surprise the preparations +he had made, and an air of sincerity about him, that was unusual to his manner +when making such a request. Changing his intended burst of resentment to a tone +of civil inquiry, he said,— +</p> + +<p> +“Does Captain Lawton want anything at my hands?” +</p> + +<p> +“Look for yourself, my dear sir,” said the trooper mildly. +“Here seem to be most of the colors of the rainbow, on this +shoulder.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have reason for saying so,” said the other, handling the part +with great tenderness and consummate skill. “But happily nothing is +broken. It is wonderful how well you escaped!” +</p> + +<p> +“I have been a tumbler from my youth, and I am past minding a few falls +from a horse; but, Sitgreaves,” he added with affection, and pointing to +a scar on his body, “do you remember this bit of work?” +</p> + +<p> +“Perfectly well, Jack; it was bravely obtained, and neatly extracted; but +don’t you think I had better apply an oil to these bruises?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly,” said Lawton, with unexpected condescension. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, my dear boy,” cried the doctor, exultantly, as he busied +himself in applying the remedy to the hurts, “do you not think it would +have been better to have done all this last night?” +</p> + +<p> +“Quite probable.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Jack, but if you had let me perform the operation of phlebotomy +when I first saw you, it would have been of infinite service.” +</p> + +<p> +“No phlebotomy,” said the other, positively. +</p> + +<p> +“It is now too late; but a dose of oil would carry off the humors +famously.” +</p> + +<p> +To this the captain made no reply, but grated his teeth, in a way that showed +the fortress of his mouth was not to be assailed without a resolute resistance; +and the experienced physician changed the subject by saying,— +</p> + +<p> +“It is a pity, John, that you did not catch the rascal, after the danger +and trouble you incurred.” +</p> + +<p> +The captain of dragoons made no reply; and, while placing some bandages on the +wounded shoulder, the surgeon continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“If I have any wish at all to destroy human life, it is to have the +pleasure of seeing that traitor hanged.” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought your business was to cure, and not to slay,” said the +trooper, dryly. +</p> + +<p> +“Aye! but he has caused us such heavy losses by his information, that I +sometimes feel a very unsophistical temper towards that spy.” +</p> + +<p> +“You should not encourage such feelings of animosity to any of your +fellow creatures,” returned Lawton, in a tone that caused the operator to +drop a pin he was arranging in the bandages from his hand. He looked the +patient in the face to remove all doubts of his identity; finding, however, it +was his old comrade, Captain John Lawton, who had spoken, he rallied his +astonished faculties, and proceeded by saying,— +</p> + +<p> +“Your doctrine is just, and in general I subscribe to it. But, John, my +dear fellow, is the bandage easy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Quite.” +</p> + +<p> +“I agree with you as a whole; but as matter is infinitely divisible, so +no case exists without an exception. Lawton, do you feel easy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Very.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is not only cruel to the sufferer, but sometimes unjust to others, to +take human life where a less punishment would answer the purpose. Now, Jack, if +you were only—move your arm a little—if you were only—I hope +you feel easier, my dear friend?” +</p> + +<p> +“Much.” +</p> + +<p> +“If, my dear John, you would teach your men to cut with more discretion, +it would answer you the same purpose—and give me great pleasure.” +</p> + +<p> +The doctor drew a heavy sigh, as he was enabled to get rid of what was nearest +to the heart; and the dragoon coolly replaced his coat, saying with great +deliberation as he retired,— +</p> + +<p> +“I know no troop that cut more judiciously; they generally shave from the +crown to the jaw.” +</p> + +<p> +The disappointed operator collected his instruments, and with a heavy heart +proceeded to pay a visit to the room of Colonel Wellmere. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap12"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +This fairy form contains a soul as mighty,<br/> +As that which lives within a giant’s frame;<br/> +These slender limbs, that tremble like the aspen<br/> +At summer evening’s sigh, uphold a spirit,<br/> +Which, roused, can tower to the height of heaven,<br/> +And light those shining windows of the face<br/> +With much of heaven’s own radiance. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—Duo. +</p> + +<p> +The number and character of her guests had greatly added to the cares of Miss +Jeanette Peyton. The morning found them all restored, in some measure, to their +former ease of body, with the exception of the youthful captain of dragoons, +who had been so deeply regretted by Dunwoodie. The wound of this officer was +severe, though the surgeon persevered in saying that it was without danger. His +comrade, we have shown, had deserted his couch; and Henry Wharton awoke from a +sleep that had been undisturbed by anything but a dream of suffering amputation +under the hands of a surgical novice. As it proved, however, to be nothing but +a dream, the youth found himself much refreshed by his slumbers; and Dr. +Sitgreaves removed all further apprehensions by confidently pronouncing that he +would be a well man within a fortnight. +</p> + +<p> +During all this time Colonel Wellmere did not make his appearance; he +breakfasted in his own room, and, notwithstanding certain significant smiles of +the man of science, declared himself too much injured to rise from his bed. +Leaving him, therefore, endeavoring to conceal his chagrin in the solitude of +his chamber, the surgeon proceeded to the more grateful task of sitting an hour +by the bedside of George Singleton. A slight flush was on the face of the +patient as the doctor entered the room, and the latter advanced promptly and +laid his fingers on the pulse of the youth, beckoning to him to be silent, +while he muttered,— +</p> + +<p> +“Growing symptoms of a febrile pulse—no, no, my dear George, you +must remain quiet and dumb; though your eyes look better, and your skin has +even a moisture.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, my dear Sitgreaves,” said the youth, taking his hand, +“you see there is no fever about me; look, is there any of Jack +Lawton’s hoarfrost on my tongue?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, indeed,” said the surgeon, clapping a spoon in the mouth of +the other, forcing it open, and looking down his throat as if disposed to visit +the interior in person. “The tongue is well, and the pulse begins to +lower again. Ah! the bleeding did you good. Phlebotomy is a sovereign specific +for southern constitutions. But that madcap Lawton absolutely refused to be +blooded for a fall he had from his horse last night. Why, George, your case is +becoming singular,” continued the doctor, instinctively throwing aside +his wig. “Your pulse even and soft, your skin moist, but your eye fiery, +and cheek flushed. Oh! I must examine more closely into these symptoms.” +</p> + +<p> +“Softly, my good friend, softly,” said the youth, falling back on +his pillow, and losing some of that color which alarmed his companion. “I +believe, in extracting the ball, you did for me all that is required. I am free +from pain and only weak, I do assure you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Singleton,” said the surgeon, with heat, “it is +presumptuous in you to pretend to tell your medical attendant when you are free +from pain. If it be not to enable us to decide in such matters, of what avail +the lights of science? For shame, George, for shame! Even that perverse fellow, +John Lawton, could not behave with more obstinacy.” +</p> + +<p> +His patient smiled, as he gently repulsed his physician in an attempt to undo +the bandages, and with a returning glow to his cheeks, inquired,— +</p> + +<p> +“Do, Archibald,”—a term of endearment that seldom failed to +soften the operator’s heart,—“tell me what spirit from heaven +has been gliding around my apartment, while I lay pretending to sleep?” +</p> + +<p> +“If anyone interferes with my patients,” cried the doctor, hastily, +“I will teach them, spirit or no spirit, what it is to meddle with +another man’s concerns.” +</p> + +<p> +“Tut—my dear fellow, there was no interference made, nor any +intended. See,” exhibiting the bandages, “everything is as you left +it,—but it glided about the room with the grace of a fairy and the +tenderness of an angel.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon, having satisfied himself that everything was as he had left it, +very deliberately resumed his seat and replaced his wig, as he inquired, with a +brevity that would have honored Lieutenant Mason,— +</p> + +<p> +“Had it petticoats, George?” +</p> + +<p> +“I saw nothing but its heavenly eyes—its bloom—its majestic +step—its grace,” replied the young man, with rather more ardor than +his surgeon thought consistent with his debilitated condition; and he laid his +hand on his mouth to stop him, saying himself,— +</p> + +<p> +“It must have been Miss Jeanette Peyton—a lady of fine +accomplishments, with—hem—with something of the kind of step you +speak of—a very complacent eye; and as to the bloom, I dare say offices +of charity can summon as fine a color to her cheeks, as glows in the faces of +her more youthful nieces.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nieces? Has she nieces, then? The angel I saw may be a daughter, a +sister, or a niece,—but never an aunt.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hush, George, hush; your talking has brought your pulse up again. You +must observe quiet, and prepare for a meeting with your own sister, who will be +here within an hour.” +</p> + +<p> +“What, Isabella! And who sent for her?” +</p> + +<p> +“The major.” +</p> + +<p> +“Considerate Dunwoodie!” murmured the exhausted youth, sinking +again on his pillow, where the commands of his attendant compelled him to +remain silent. +</p> + +<p> +Even Captain Lawton had been received with many and courteous inquiries after +the state of his health, from all the members of the family, when he made his +morning entrance; but an invisible spirit presided over the comforts of the +English colonel. Sarah had shrunk with consciousness from entering the room; +yet she knew the position of every glass, and had, with her own hands, supplied +the contents of every bowl, that stood on his table. +</p> + +<p> +At the time of our tale, we were a divided people, and Sarah thought it was no +more than her duty to cherish the institutions of that country to which she yet +clung as the land of her forefathers; but there were other and more cogent +reasons for the silent preference she was giving to the Englishman. His image +had first filled the void in her youthful fancy, and it was an image that was +distinguished by many of those attractions that can enchain a female heart. It +is true, he wanted the personal excellence of Peyton Dunwoodie, but his +pretensions were far from contemptible. Sarah had moved about the house during +the morning, casting frequent and longing glances at the door of +Wellmere’s apartment, anxious to learn the condition of his wounds, and +yet ashamed to inquire; conscious interest kept her tongue tied, until her +sister, with the frankness of innocence, had put the desired question to Dr. +Sitgreaves. +</p> + +<p> +“Colonel Wellmere,” said the operator, gravely, “is in what I +call a state of free will, madam. He is ill, or he is well, as he pleases. His +case, young lady, exceeds my art to heal; and I take it Sir Henry Clinton is +the best adviser he can apply to; though Major Dunwoodie has made the +communication with his leech rather difficult.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances smiled, but averted her face, while Sarah moved, with the grace of an +offended Juno, from the apartment. Her own room, however, afforded her but +little relief, and in passing through the long gallery that communicated with +each of the chambers of the building, she noticed the door of Singleton’s +room to be open. The wounded youth seemed sleeping, and was alone. She had +ventured lightly into the apartment, and busied herself for a few minutes in +arranging the tables, and the nourishment provided for the patient, hardly +conscious of what she was doing, and possibly dreaming that these little +feminine offices were performed for another. Her natural bloom was heightened +by the insinuation of the surgeon, nor was the luster of her eye in any degree +diminished. The sound of the approaching footsteps of Sitgreaves hastened her +retreat down a private stairway, to the side of her sister. The sisters then +sought the fresh air on the piazza; and as they pursued their walk, arm in arm, +the following dialogue took place:— +</p> + +<p> +“There is something disagreeable about this surgeon of Dunwoodie,” +said<br/> +Sarah, “that causes me to wish him away most heartily.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances fixed her laughing eyes on her sister; but forbearing to speak, the +other readily construed their expression, and hastily added, “But I +forget he is one of your renowned corps of Virginians, and must be spoken of +reverently.” +</p> + +<p> +“As respectfully as you please, my dear sister; there is but little +danger of exceeding the truth.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not in your opinion,” said the elder, with a little warmth. +“But I think Mr. Dunwoodie has taken a liberty that exceeds the rights of +consanguinity; he has made our father’s house a hospital.” +</p> + +<p> +“We ought to be grateful that none of the patients it contains are dearer +to us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your brother is one.” +</p> + +<p> +“True, true,” interrupted Frances, blushing to the eyes; “but +he leaves his room, and thinks his wound lightly purchased by the pleasure of +being with his friends. If,” she added, with a tremulous lip, “this +dreadful suspicion that is affixed to his visit were removed, I could consider +his wound of little moment.” +</p> + +<p> +“You now have the fruits of rebellion brought home to you; a brother +wounded and a prisoner, and perhaps a victim; your father distressed, his +privacy interrupted, and not improbably his estates torn from him, on account +of his loyalty to his king.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances continued her walk in silence. While facing the northern entrance to +the vale, her eyes were uniformly fastened on the point where the road was +suddenly lost by the intervention of a hill; and at each turn, as she lost +sight of the spot, she lingered until an impatient movement of her sister +quickened her pace to an even motion with that of her own. At length, a single +horse chaise was seen making its way carefully among the stones which lay +scattered over the country road that wound through the valley, and approached +the cottage. The color of Frances changed as the vehicle gradually drew nearer; +and when she was enabled to see a female form in it by the side of a black in +livery, her limbs shook with an agitation that compelled her to lean on Sarah +for support. In a few minutes the travelers approached the gate. It was thrown +open by a dragoon who followed the carriage, and who had been the messenger +dispatched by Dunwoodie to the father of Captain Singleton. Miss Peyton +advanced to receive their guest, and the sisters united in giving her the +kindest welcome; still Frances could with difficulty withdraw her truant eyes +from the countenance of their visitor. She was young, and of a light and +fragile form, but of exquisite proportions. Her eyes were large, full, black, +piercing, and at times a little wild. Her hair was luxuriant, and as it was +without the powder it was then the fashion to wear, it fell in raven blackness. +A few of its locks had fallen on her cheek, giving its chilling whiteness by +the contrast a more deadly character. Dr. Sitgreaves supported her from the +chaise; and when she gained the floor of the piazza, she turned an expressive +look on the face of the practitioner. +</p> + +<p> +“Your brother is out of danger and wishes to see you, Miss +Singleton,” said the surgeon. +</p> + +<p> +The lady burst into a flood of tears. Frances had stood contemplating the +action and face of Isabella with a kind of uneasy admiration, but she now +sprang to her side with the ardor of a sister, and kindly drawing her arm +within her own, led the way to a retired room. The movement was so ingenuous, +so considerate, and so delicate, that even Miss Peyton withheld her +interference, following the youthful pair with only her eyes and a smile of +complacency. The feeling was communicated to all the spectators, and they +dispersed in pursuit of their usual avocations. Isabella yielded to the gentle +influence of Frances without resistance; and, having gained the room where the +latter conducted her, wept in silence on the shoulder of the observant and +soothing girl, until Frances thought her tears exceeded the emotion natural to +the occasion. The sobs of Miss Singleton for a time were violent and +uncontrollable, until, with an evident exertion, she yielded to a kind +observation of her companion, and succeeded in suppressing her tears. Raising +her face to the eyes of Frances, she rose, while a smile of beautiful radiance +passed over her features; and making a hasty apology for the excess of her +emotion, she desired to be conducted to the room of the invalid. +</p> + +<p> +The meeting between the brother and sister was warm, but, by an effort on the +part of the lady, more composed than her previous agitation had given reason to +expect. Isabella found her brother looking better, and in less danger than her +sensitive imagination had led her to suppose. Her spirits rose in proportion; +from despondency, she passed to something like gayety; her beautiful eyes +sparkled with renovated brilliancy; and her face was lighted with smiles so +fascinating, that Frances, who, in compliance with her earnest entreaties, had +accompanied her to the sick chamber, sat gazing on a countenance that possessed +so wonderful variability, impelled by a charm that was beyond her control. The +youth had thrown an earnest look at Frances, as soon as his sister raised +herself from his arms, and perhaps it was the first glance at the lovely +lineaments of our heroine, when the gazer turned his eyes from the view in +disappointment. He seemed bewildered, rubbed his forehead like a man awaking +from a dream, and mused. +</p> + +<p> +“Where is Dunwoodie, Isabella?” he said. “The excellent +fellow is never weary of kind actions. After a day of such service as that of +yesterday, he has spent the night in bringing me a nurse, whose presence alone +is able to raise me from my couch.” +</p> + +<p> +The expression of the lady’s countenance changed; her eye roved around +the apartment with a character of wildness in it that repelled the anxious +Frances, who studied her movements with unabated interest. +</p> + +<p> +“Dunwoodie! Is he then not here? I thought to have met him by the side of +my brother’s bed.” +</p> + +<p> +“He has duties that require his presence elsewhere; the English are said +to be out by the way of the Hudson, and they give us light troops but little +rest. Surely nothing else could have kept him so long from a wounded friend. +But, Isabella, the meeting has been too much for you; you tremble.” +</p> + +<p> +Isabella made no reply; she stretched her hand towards the table which held the +nourishment of the captain, and the attentive Frances comprehended her wishes +in a moment. A glass of water in some measure revived the sister, who was +enabled to say,— +</p> + +<p> +“Doubtless it is his duty. ’Twas said above, a royal party was +moving on the river; though I passed the troops but two miles from this +spot.” The latter part of the sentence was hardly audible, and it was +spoken more in the manner of a soliloquy, than as if for the ears of her +companions. +</p> + +<p> +“On the march, Isabella?” eagerly inquired her brother. +</p> + +<p> +“No, dismounted, and seemingly at rest,” was the reply. +</p> + +<p> +The wondering dragoon turned his gaze on the countenance of his sister, who sat +with her eye bent on the carpet in unconscious absence, but found no +explanation. His look was changed to the face of Frances, who, startled by the +earnestness of his expression, arose, and hastily inquired if he would have any +assistance. +</p> + +<p> +“If you can pardon the rudeness,” said the wounded officer, making +a feeble effort to raise his body, “I would request to have Captain +Lawton’s company for a moment.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances hastened instantly to communicate his wish to that gentleman, and +impelled by an interest she could not control, she returned again to her seat +by the side of Miss Singleton. +</p> + +<p> +“Lawton,” said the youth, impatiently, as the trooper entered, +“hear you from the major?” +</p> + +<p> +The eye of the sister was now bent on the face of the trooper, who made his +salutations to the lady with ease, blended with the frankness of a soldier. +</p> + +<p> +“His man has been here twice,” he said, “to inquire how we +fared in the lazaretto.” +</p> + +<p> +“And why not himself?” +</p> + +<p> +“That is a question the major can answer best; but you know the redcoats +are abroad, and Dunwoodie commands in the county; these English must be looked +to.” +</p> + +<p> +“True,” said Singleton, slowly, as if struck with the other’s +reasons.<br/> +“But how is it that you are idle, when there is work to do?” +</p> + +<p> +“My sword arm is not in the best condition, and Roanoke has but a +shambling gait this morning; besides, there is another reason I could mention, +if it were not that Miss Wharton would never forgive me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Speak, I beg, without dread of my displeasure,” said Frances, +returning the good-humored smile of the trooper, with the archness natural to +her own sweet face. +</p> + +<p> +“The odors of your kitchen, then,” cried Lawton bluntly, +“forbid my quitting the domains, until I qualify myself to speak with +more certainty concerning the fatness of the land.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Aunt Jeanette is exerting herself to do credit to my father’s +hospitality,” said the laughing girl, “and I am a truant from her +labors, as I shall be a stranger to her favor, unless I proffer my +assistance.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances withdrew to seek her aunt, musing deeply on the character and extreme +sensibility of the new acquaintance chance had brought to the cottage. +</p> + +<p> +The wounded officer followed her with his eyes, as she moved, with infantile +grace, through the door of his apartment, and as she vanished from his view, he +observed,— +</p> + +<p> +“Such an aunt and niece are seldom to be met with, Jack; this seems a +fairy, but the aunt is angelic.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are doing well, I see; your enthusiasm for the sex holds its +own.” +</p> + +<p> +“I should be ungrateful as well as insensible, did I not bear testimony +to the loveliness of Miss Peyton.” +</p> + +<p> +“A good motherly lady, but as to love, that is a matter of taste. A few +years younger, with deference to her prudence and experience, would accord +better with my fancy.” +</p> + +<p> +“She must be under twenty,” said the other, quickly. +</p> + +<p> +“It depends on the way you count. If you begin at the heel of life, well; +but if you reckon downward, as is most common, I think she is nearer +forty.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have mistaken an elder sister for the aunt,” said Isabella, +laying her fair hand on the mouth of the invalid. “You must be silent! +Your feelings are beginning to affect your frame.” +</p> + +<p> +The entrance of Dr. Sitgreaves, who, in some alarm, noticed the increase of +feverish symptoms in his patient, enforced this mandate; and the trooper +withdrew to pay a visit of condolence to Roanoke, who had been an equal +sufferer with himself in their last night’s somersault. To his great joy, +his man pronounced the steed to be equally convalescent with the master; and +Lawton found that by dint of rubbing the animal’s limbs several hours +without ceasing, he was enabled to place his feet in what he called systematic +motion. Orders were accordingly given to be in readiness to rejoin the troop at +the Four Corners, as soon as his master had shared in the bounty of the +approaching banquet. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime, Henry Wharton entered the apartment of Wellmere, and by his +sympathy succeeded in restoring the colonel to his own good graces. The latter +was consequently enabled to rise, and prepared to meet a rival of whom he had +spoken so lightly, and, as the result had proved, with so little reason. +Wharton knew that their misfortune, as they both termed their defeat, was owing +to the other’s rashness; but he forbore to speak of anything except the +unfortunate accident which had deprived the English of their leader, and to +which he good-naturedly ascribed their subsequent discomfiture. +</p> + +<p> +“In short, Wharton,” said the colonel, putting one leg out of bed, +“it may be called a combination of untoward events; your own ungovernable +horse prevented my orders from being carried to the major, in season to flank +the rebels.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very true,” replied the captain, kicking a slipper towards the +bed. “Had we succeeded in getting a few good fires upon them in flank, we +should have sent these brave Virginians to the right about.” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, and that in double-quick time,” cried the colonel, making the +other leg follow its companion. “Then it was necessary to rout the +guides, you know, and the movement gave them the best possible opportunity to +charge.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said the other, sending the second slipper after the first, +“and this Major Dunwoodie never overlooks an advantage.” +</p> + +<p> +“I think if we had the thing to do over again,” continued the +colonel, raising himself on his feet, “we might alter the case very +materially, though the chief thing the rebels have now to boast of is my +capture; they were repulsed, you saw, in their attempt to drive us from the +wood.” +</p> + +<p> +“At least they would have been, had they made an attack,” said the +captain, throwing the rest of his clothes within reach of the colonel. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, that is the same thing,” returned Wellmere, beginning to +dress himself. “To assume such an attitude as to intimidate your enemy, +is the chief art of war.” +</p> + +<p> +“Doubtless, then, you may remember in one of their charges they were +completely routed.” +</p> + +<p> +“True—true,” cried the colonel, with animation. “Had I +been there to have improved that advantage, we might have turned the table on +the Yankees”; saying which he displayed still greater animation in +completing his toilet; and he was soon prepared to make his appearance, fully +restored to his own good opinion, and fairly persuaded that his capture was +owing to casualties absolutely beyond the control of man. +</p> + +<p> +The knowledge that Colonel Wellmere was to be a guest at the table in no degree +diminished the preparations which were already making for the banquet; and +Sarah, after receiving the compliments of the gentleman, and making many kind +inquiries after the state of his wounds, proceeded in person to lend her +counsel and taste to one of those labored entertainments, which, at that day, +were so frequent in country life, and which are not entirely banished from our +domestic economy at the present moment. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap13"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +I will stand to and feed,<br/> +Although my last. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—Tempest. +</p> + +<p> +The savor of preparation which had been noticed by Captain Lawton began to +increase within the walls of the cottage; certain sweet-smelling odors, that +arose from the subterranean territories of Caesar, gave to the trooper the most +pleasing assurances that his olfactory nerves, which on such occasions were as +acute as his eyes on others, had faithfully performed their duty; and for the +benefit of enjoying the passing sweets as they arose, the dragoon so placed +himself at a window of the building, that not a vapor charged with the spices +of the East could exhale on its passage to the clouds, without first giving its +incense to his nose. Lawton, however, by no means indulged himself in this +comfortable arrangement, without first making such preparations to do meet +honor to the feast, as his scanty wardrobe would allow. The uniform of his +corps was always a passport to the best tables, and this, though somewhat +tarnished by faithful service and unceremonious usage, was properly brushed and +decked out for the occasion. His head, which nature had ornamented with the +blackness of a crow, now shone with the whiteness of snow; and his bony hand, +that so well became the saber, peered from beneath a ruffle with something like +maiden coyness. The improvements of the dragoon went no further, excepting that +his boots shone with more than holiday splendor, and his spurs glittered in the +rays of the sun, as became the pure ore of which they were composed. +</p> + +<p> +Caesar moved through the apartments with a face charged with an importance +exceeding even that which had accompanied him in his melancholy task of the +morning. The black had early returned from the errand on which he had been +dispatched by the peddler, and, obedient to the commands of his mistress, +promptly appeared to give his services where his allegiance was due; so +serious, indeed, was his duty now becoming, that it was only at odd moments he +was enabled to impart to his sable brother, who had been sent in attendance on +Miss Singleton to the Locusts, any portion of the wonderful incidents of the +momentous night he had so lately passed. By ingeniously using, however, such +occasions as accidentally offered, Caesar communicated so many of the heads of +his tale, as served to open the eyes of his visitor to their fullest width. The +gusto for the marvelous was innate in these sable worthies; and Miss Peyton +found it necessary to interpose her authority, in order to postpone the residue +of the history to a more befitting opportunity. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! Miss Jinnett,” said Caesar, shaking his head, and looking all +that he expressed, “’twas awful to see Johnny Birch walk on a feet +when he lie dead!” +</p> + +<p> +This concluded the conversation; though the black promised himself the +satisfaction, and did not fail to enjoy it, of having many a gossip on the +subject at a future period. +</p> + +<p> +The ghost thus happily laid, the department of Miss Peyton flourished; and by +the time the afternoon’s sun had traveled a two hours’ journey from +the meridian, the formal procession from the kitchen to the parlor commenced, +under the auspices of Caesar, who led the van, supporting a turkey on the palms +of his withered hands, with the dexterity of a balance master. +</p> + +<p> +Next followed the servant of Captain Lawton, bearing, as he marched stiffly, +and walking wide, as if allowing room for his steed, a ham of true Virginian +flavor; a present from the spinster’s brother in Accomac. The supporter +of this savory dish kept his eye on his trust with military precision; and by +the time he reached his destination, it might be difficult to say which +contained the most juice, his own mouth or the Accomac bacon. +</p> + +<p> +Third in the line was to be seen the valet of Colonel Wellmere, who carried in +either hand chickens fricasseed and oyster patties. +</p> + +<p> +After him marched the attendant of Dr. Sitgreaves, who had instinctively seized +an enormous tureen, as most resembling matters he understood, and followed on +in place, until the steams of the soup so completely bedimmed the spectacles he +wore, as a badge of office, that, on arriving at the scene of action, he was +compelled to deposit his freight on the floor, until, by removing the glasses, +he could see his way through the piles of reserved china and plate warmers. +</p> + +<p> +Next followed another trooper, whose duty it was to attend on Captain +Singleton; and, as if apportioning his appetite to the feeble state of his +master, he had contented himself with conveying a pair of ducks, roasted, until +their tempting fragrance began to make him repent his having so lately +demolished a breakfast that had been provided for his master’s sister, +with another prepared for himself. +</p> + +<p> +The white boy, who belonged to the house, brought up the rear, groaning under a +load of sundry dishes of vegetables, that the cook, by way of climax, had +unwittingly heaped on him. +</p> + +<p> +But this was far from all of the preparations for that day’s feast; +Caesar had no sooner deposited his bird, which, but the week before, had been +flying amongst the highlands of Dutchess, little dreaming of so soon heading +such a goodly assemblage, than he turned mechanically on his heel, and took up +his line of march again for the kitchen. In this evolution the black was +imitated by his companions in succession, and another procession to the parlor +followed in the same order. By this admirable arrangement, whole flocks of +pigeons, certain bevies of quails, shoals of flatfish, bass, and sundry +woodcock, found their way into the presence of the company. +</p> + +<p> +A third attack brought suitable quantities of potatoes, onions, beets, +coldslaw, rice, and all the other minutiae of a goodly dinner. +</p> + +<p> +The board now fairly groaned with American profusion, and Caesar, glancing his +eye over the show with a most approving conscience, after readjusting every +dish that had not been placed on the table with his own hands, proceeded to +acquaint the mistress of the revels that his task was happily accomplished. +</p> + +<p> +Some half hour before the culinary array just recorded took place, all the +ladies disappeared, much in the same unaccountable manner that swallows flee +the approach of winter. But the springtime of their return had arrived, and the +whole party were collected in an apartment that, in consequence of its +containing no side table, and being furnished with a chintz coverlet settee, +was termed a withdrawing-room. +</p> + +<p> +The kind-hearted spinster had deemed the occasion worthy, not only of +extraordinary preparations in the culinary department, but had seen proper to +deck her own person in garments suited to the guests whom it was now her +happiness to entertain. +</p> + +<p> +On her head Miss Peyton wore a cap of exquisite lawn, which was ornamented in +front with a broad border of lace, that spread from the face in such a manner +as to admit of a display of artificial flowers, clustered in a group on the +summit of her fine forehead. +</p> + +<p> +The color of her hair was lost in the profusion of powder with which it was +covered; but a slight curling of the extremities in some degree relieved the +formality of its arrangement, and gave a look of feminine softness to the +features. +</p> + +<p> +Her dress was a rich, heavy silk, of violet color, cut low around the bust, +with a stomacher of the same material, that fitted close to the figure, and +exhibited the form, from the shoulders to the waist in its true proportions. +Below, the dress was full, and sufficiently showed that parsimony in attire was +not a foible of the day. A small loop displayed the beauty of the fabric to +advantage, and aided in giving majesty to the figure. +</p> + +<p> +The tall stature of the lady was heightened by shoes of the same material with +the dress, whose heels added more than an inch to the liberality of nature. +</p> + +<p> +The sleeves were short, and close to the limb, until they fell off at the +elbows in large ruffles, that hung in rich profusion from the arm when +extended; and duplicates and triplicates of lawn, trimmed with Dresden lace, +lent their aid in giving delicacy to a hand and arm that yet retained their +whiteness and symmetry. A treble row of large pearls closely encircled her +throat; and a handkerchief of lace partially concealed that part of the person +that the silk had left exposed, but which the experience of forty years had +warned Miss Peyton should now be veiled. +</p> + +<p> +Thus attired, and standing erect with the lofty grace that distinguished the +manners of that day, the maiden would have looked into nothingness a bevy of +modern belles. +</p> + +<p> +The taste of Sarah had kept even pace with the decorations of her aunt; and a +dress, differing in no respect from the one just described, but in material and +tints, exhibited her imposing form to equal advantage. The satin of her robe +was of a pale bluish color. Twenty years did not, however, require the screen +that was prudent in forty, and nothing but an envious border of exquisite lace +hid, in some measure, what the satin left exposed to view. The upper part of +the bust, and the fine fall of the shoulders, were blazing in all their native +beauty, and, like the aunt, the throat was ornamented by a treble row of +pearls, to correspond with which were rings of the same quality in the ears. +The head was without a cap, and the hair drawn up from the countenance so as to +give to the eye all the loveliness of a forehead as polished as marble and as +white as snow. A few straggling curls fell gracefully on the neck, and a +bouquet of artificial flowers was also placed, like a coronet, over her brow. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Singleton had resigned her brother to the advice of Dr. Sitgreaves, who +had succeeded in getting his patient into a deep sleep after quieting certain +feverish symptoms that followed the agitation of the interview. The sister was +persuaded, by the observant mistress of the mansion, to make one of the party, +and she sat by the side of Sarah, differing but little in appearance from that +lady, except in refusing the use of powder on her raven locks, and that her +unusually high forehead and large, brilliant eyes gave an expression of +thoughtfulness to her features, that was possibly heightened by the paleness of +her cheek. +</p> + +<p> +Last and least, but not the most unlovely, in this display of female charms, +was the youngest daughter of Mr. Wharton. Frances, we have already mentioned, +left the city before she had attained to the age of fashionable womanhood. A +few adventurous spirits were already beginning to make inroads in those customs +which had so long invaded the comforts of the fair sex; and the youthful girl +had ventured to trust her beauty to the height which nature had bestowed. This +was but little, but that little was a masterpiece. Frances several times had +determined, in the course of the morning, to bestow more than usual pains in +the decoration of her person. Each time in succession, as she formed this +resolution, she spent a few minutes in looking earnestly towards the north, and +then she as invariably changed it. +</p> + +<p> +At the appointed hour, our heroine appeared in the drawing-room, clothed in a +robe of pale blue silk, of a cut and fashion much like that worn by her sister. +Her hair was left to the wild curls of nature, its exuberance being confined to +the crown of her head by a long, low comb, made of light tortoise shell; a +color barely distinguishable in the golden hue of her tresses. Her dress was +without a plait or a wrinkle, and fitted the form with an exactitude that might +lead one to imagine the arch girl more than suspected the beauties it +displayed. A tucker of rich Dresden lace softened the contour of the figure. +Her head was without ornament; but around her throat was a necklace of gold +clasped in front with a rich cornelian. +</p> + +<p> +Once, and once only, as they moved towards the repast, did Lawton see a foot +thrust itself from beneath the folds of her robe, and exhibit its little +beauties encased in a slipper of blue silk, clasped close to the shape by a +buckle of brilliants. The trooper caught himself sighing as he thought, though +it was good for nothing in the stirrup, how enchantingly it would grace a +minuet. +</p> + +<p> +As the black appeared on the threshold of the room, making a low reverence, +which has been interpreted for some centuries into “dinner waits,” +Mr. Wharton, clad in a dress of drab, bedecked with enormous buttons, advanced +formally to Miss Singleton, and bending his powdered head nearly to the level +of the hand he extended, received hers in return. +</p> + +<p> +Dr. Sitgreaves offered the same homage to Miss Peyton, and met with equal +favor; the lady first pausing to draw on her gloves. +</p> + +<p> +Colonel Wellmere was honored with a smile from Sarah, while performing a +similar duty; and Frances gave the ends of her taper fingers to Captain Lawton +with maiden bashfulness. +</p> + +<p> +Much time, and some trouble were expended before the whole party were, to the +great joy of Caesar, comfortably arranged around the table, with proper +attention to all points of etiquette and precedence. The black well knew the +viands were not improving; and though abundantly able to comprehend the +disadvantage of eating a cold dinner, it greatly exceeded his powers of +philosophy to weigh all the latent consequences to society which depend on +social order. +</p> + +<p> +For the first ten minutes all but the captain of dragoons found themselves in a +situation much to their liking. Even Lawton would have been perfectly happy, +had not excess of civility on the part of his host and Miss Jeanette Peyton +kept him from the more agreeable occupation of tasting dishes he did want, in +order to decline those he did not. At length, however, the repast was fairly +commenced, and a devoted application to the viands was more eloquent than a +thousand words in favor of Dinah’s skill. +</p> + +<p> +Next came drinking with the ladies; but as the wine was excellent, and the +glasses ample, the trooper bore this interruption with consummate good nature. +Nay, so fearful was he of giving offense, and of omitting any of the nicer +points of punctilio, that having commenced this courtesy with the lady who sat +next him, he persevered until not one of his fair companions could, with +justice, reproach him with partiality in this particular. +</p> + +<p> +Long abstemiousness from anything like generous wine might plead the excuse of +Captain Lawton, especially when exposed to so strong a temptation as that now +before him. Mr. Wharton had been one of a set of politicians in New York, whose +principal exploits before the war had been to assemble, and pass sage opinions +on the signs of the times, under the inspiration of certain liquor made from a +grape that grew on the south side of the island of Madeira, and which found its +way into the colonies of North America through the medium of the West Indies, +sojourning awhile in the Western Archipelago, by way of proving the virtues of +the climate. A large supply of this cordial had been drawn from his storehouse +in the city, and some of it now sparkled in a bottle before the captain, +blushing in the rays of the sun, which were passing obliquely through it, like +amber. +</p> + +<p> +Though the meat and vegetables had made their entrance with perfect order and +propriety, their exeunt was effected much in the manner of a retreat of +militia. The point was to clear the board something after the fabled practice +of the harpies, and by dint of scrambling, tossing, breaking, and spilling, the +remnants of the overflowing repast disappeared. And now another series of +processions commenced, by virtue of which a goodly display of pastry, with its +usual accompaniments, garnished the table. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Wharton poured out a glass of wine for the lady who sat on his right hand, +and, pushing the bottle to a guest, said with a low bow,— +</p> + +<p> +“We are to be honored with a toast from Miss Singleton.” +</p> + +<p> +Although there was nothing more in this movement than occurred every day on +such occasions, yet the lady trembled, colored, and grew pale again, seemingly +endeavoring to rally her thoughts, until, by her agitation, she had excited the +interest of the whole party; when by an effort, and in a manner as if she had +striven in vain to think of another, Isabella said, faintly,— +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie.” +</p> + +<p> +The health was drunk cheerfully by all but Colonel Wellmere, who wet his lips, +and drew figures on the table with some of the liquor he had spilled. +</p> + +<p> +At length Colonel Wellmere broke silence by saying aloud to Captain<br/> +Lawton,— +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose, sir, this Mr. Dunwoodie will receive promotion in the rebel +army, for the advantage my misfortune gave him over my command.” +</p> + +<p> +The trooper had supplied the wants of nature to his perfect satisfaction; and, +perhaps, with the exception of Washington and his immediate commander, there +was no mortal whose displeasure he regarded a tittle. First helping himself, +therefore, to a little of his favorite bottle, he replied with admirable +coolness,— +</p> + +<p> +“Colonel Wellmere, your pardon; Major Dunwoodie owes his allegiance to +the confederated states of North America, and where he owes it he pays it. Such +a man is no rebel. Promoted I hope he may be, both because he deserves it, and +because I am next in rank in the corps; and I know not what you call a +misfortune, unless you deem meeting the Virginia horse as such.” +</p> + +<p> +“We will not differ about terms, sir,” said the colonel, haughtily. +“I spoke as duty to my sovereign prompted; but do you not call the loss +of a commander a misfortune to a party?” +</p> + +<p> +“It certainly may be so,” said the trooper, with emphasis. +</p> + +<p> +“Miss Peyton, will you favor us with a toast?” cried the master of +the house, anxious to stop this dialogue. +</p> + +<p> +The lady bowed her head with dignity, as she named “General +Montrose”; and the long-absent bloom stole lightly over her features. +</p> + +<p> +“There is no term more doubtful than that word misfortune,” said +the surgeon, regardless of the nice maneuvers of the host. “Some deem one +thing a misfortune, others its opposite; misfortune begets misfortune. Life is +a misfortune, for it may be the means of enduring misfortune; and death is a +misfortune, as it abridges the enjoyments of life.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is a misfortune that our mess has no such wine as this,” +interrupted the trooper. +</p> + +<p> +“We will pledge you a sentiment in it, sir, as it seems to suit your +taste,” said Mr. Wharton. +</p> + +<p> +Lawton filled to the brim, and drank, “A speedy peace, or a stirring +war.” +</p> + +<p> +“I drink your toast, Captain Lawton, though I greatly distrust your +construction of activity,” said the surgeon. “In my poor judgment, +cavalry should be kept in the rear to improve a victory, and not sent in front +to gain it. Such may be said to be their natural occupation, if the term can be +used in reference to so artificial a body; for all history shows that the horse +have done most when held in reserve.” +</p> + +<p> +This dissertation, uttered in a sufficiently didactic manner, was a hint that +Miss Peyton did not neglect. She arose and retired, followed by her juniors. +</p> + +<p> +Nearly at the same moment, Mr. Wharton and his son made an apology for their +absence, which was required on account of the death of a near neighbor, and +withdrew. +</p> + +<p> +The retreat of the ladies was the signal for the appearance of the +surgeon’s cigar, which, being established in a corner of his mouth, in a +certain knowing way, caused not the slightest interruption to his discourse. +</p> + +<p> +“If anything can sweeten captivity and wounds, it must be the happiness +of suffering in the society of the ladies who have left us,” gallantly +observed the colonel, as he resumed his seat after closing the door. +</p> + +<p> +“Sympathy and kindness have their influence on the human system,” +returned the surgeon, knocking the ashes from his cigar, with the tip of a +little finger, in the manner of an adept. “The connection is intimate +between the moral and physical feelings; but still, to accomplish a cure, and +restore nature to the healthy tone it has lost from disease or accident, +requires more than can flow from unguided sympathies. In such cases, the +lights—” the surgeon accidentally caught the eye of the trooper and +he paused. Taking two or three hasty puffs, he essayed to finish the sentence, +“In such cases, the knowledge that flows from the lights—” +</p> + +<p> +“You were saying, sir,” said Colonel Wellmere, sipping his +wine,— +</p> + +<p> +“The purport of my remark went to say,” continued Sitgreaves, +turning his back on Lawton, “that a bread poultice would not set a broken +arm.” +</p> + +<p> +“More is the pity,” cried the trooper, “for next to eating, +the nourishment could not be more innocently applied.” +</p> + +<p> +“To you, Colonel Wellmere,” said the surgeon, “as a man of +education, I can with safety appeal.” The colonel bowed. “You must +have observed the dreadful havoc made in your ranks by the men who were led by +this gentleman”; the colonel looked grave, again; “how, when blows +lighted on their frames, life was invariably extinguished, beyond all hope of +scientific reparation; how certain yawning wounds were inflicted, that must set +at defiance the art of the most experienced practitioner; now, sir, to you I +triumphantly appeal, therefore, to know whether your detachment would not have +been as effectually defeated, if the men had all lost a right arm, for +instance, as if they had all lost their heads.” +</p> + +<p> +“The triumph of your appeal is somewhat hasty, sir,” said Wellmere. +</p> + +<p> +“Is the cause of liberty advanced a step by such injudicious harshness in +the field?” continued the surgeon, bent on the favorite principle of his +life. +</p> + +<p> +“I am yet to learn that the cause of liberty is in any manner advanced by +the services of any gentleman in the rebel army,” rejoined the colonel. +</p> + +<p> +“Not liberty! Good God, for what then are we contending?” +</p> + +<p> +“Slavery, sir; yes, even slavery; you are putting the tyranny of a mob on +the throne of a kind and lenient prince. Where is the consistency of your +boasted liberty?” +</p> + +<p> +“Consistency!” repeated the surgeon, looking about him a little +wildly, at hearing such sweeping charges against a cause he had so long thought +holy. +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, sir, your consistency. Your congress of sages have published a +manifesto, wherein they set forth the equality of political rights.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis true, and it is done most ably.” +</p> + +<p> +“I say nothing of its ability; but if true, why not set your slaves at +liberty?” This argument, which is thought by most of the colonel’s +countrymen a triumphant answer to a thousand eloquent facts, lost none of its +weight by the manner in which it was uttered. +</p> + +<p> +Every American feels humbled at the necessity of vindicating his country from +the apparent inconsistency and injustice of the laws alluded to. His feelings +are much like those of an honorable man who is compelled to exonerate himself +from a disgraceful charge, although he may know the accusation to be false. At +the bottom, Sitgreaves had much good sense, and thus called on, he took up the +cudgels of argument in downright earnest. +</p> + +<p> +“We deem it a liberty to have the deciding voice in the councils by which +we are governed. We think it a hardship to be ruled by the king of a people who +live at a distance of three thousand miles, and who cannot, and who do not, +feel a single political interest in common with ourselves. I say nothing of +oppression; the child was of age, and was entitled to the privileges of +majority. In such cases, there is but one tribunal to which to appeal for a +nation’s rights—it is power, and we now make the appeal.” +</p> + +<p> +“Such doctrines may suit your present purposes,” said Wellmere, +with a sneer; “but I apprehend it is opposed to all the opinions and +practices of civilized nations.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is in conformity with the practices of all nations,” said the +surgeon, returning the nod and smile of Lawton, who enjoyed the good sense of +his comrade as much as he disliked what he called “his medical +talk.” “Who would be ruled when he can rule? The only rational +ground to take is, that every community has a right to govern itself, so that +in no manner it violates the laws of God.” +</p> + +<p> +“And is holding your fellow creatures in bondage in conformity to those +laws?” asked the colonel, impressively. +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon took another glass, and hemming once, returned to the combat. +</p> + +<p> +“Sir,” said he, “slavery is of very ancient origin, and it +seems to have been confined to no particular religion or form of government; +every nation of civilized Europe does, or has held their fellow creatures in +this kind of <i>duresse</i>.” +</p> + +<p> +“You will except Great Britain,” cried the colonel, proudly. +</p> + +<p> +“No, sir,” continued the surgeon, confidently, feeling that he was +now carrying the war out of his own country, “I cannot except Great +Britain. It was her children, her ships, and her laws, that first introduced +the practice into these states; and on her institutions the judgment must fall. +There is not a foot of ground belonging to England, in which a negro would be +useful, that has not its slave. England herself has none, but England is +overflowing with physical force, a part of which she is obliged to maintain in +the shape of paupers. The same is true of France, and most other European +countries. So long as we were content to remain colonies, nothing was said of +our system of domestic slavery; but now, when we are resolute to obtain as much +freedom as the vicious system of metropolitan rule has left us, that which is +England’s gift has become our reproach. Will your master liberate the +slaves of his subjects should he succeed in subduing the new states, or will he +condemn the whites to the same servitude as that in which he has been so long +content to see the blacks? It is true, we continue the practice; but we must +come gradually to the remedy, or create an evil greater than that which we +endure at present. Doubtless, as we advance, the manumission of our slaves will +accompany us, until happily these fair regions shall exist, without a single +image of the Creator that is held in a state which disqualifies him to judge of +that Creator’s goodness.” +</p> + +<p> +It will be remembered that Doctor Sitgreaves spoke forty years ago, and<br/> +Wellmere was unable to contradict his prophetic assertion. +</p> + +<p> +Finding the subject getting to be knotty, the Englishman retired to the +apartment in which the ladies had assembled; and, seated by the side of Sarah, +he found a more pleasing employment in relating the events of fashionable life +in the metropolis, and in recalling the thousand little anecdotes of their +former associates. Miss Peyton was a pleased listener, as she dispensed the +bounties of the tea table, and Sarah frequently bowed her blushing countenance +to her needlework, as her face glowed at the flattering remarks of her +companion. +</p> + +<p> +The dialogue we have related established a perfect truce between the surgeon +and his comrade; and the former having paid a visit to Singleton, they took +their leave of the ladies, and mounted; the former to visit the wounded at the +encampment, and the latter to rejoin his troop. But their movements were +arrested at the gate by an occurrence that we shall relate in the next chapter. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap14"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +I see no more those white locks thinly spread<br/> +Round the bald polish of that honored head:<br/> +No more that meek, that suppliant look in prayer,<br/> +Nor that pure faith that gave it force, are there:<br/> +But he is blest, and I lament no more,<br/> +A wise good man, contented to be poor. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—CRABBE. +</p> + +<p> +We have already said that the customs of America leave the dead but a short +time in sight of the mourners; and the necessity of providing for his own +safety had compelled the peddler to abridge even this brief space. In the +confusion and agitation produced by the events we have recorded, the death of +the elder Birch had occurred unnoticed; but a sufficient number of the +immediate neighbors were hastily collected, and the ordinary rites of sepulture +were now about to be paid to the deceased. It was the approach of this humble +procession that arrested the movements of the trooper and his comrade. Four men +supported the body on a rude bier; and four others walked in advance, ready to +relieve their friends from their burden. The peddler walked next the coffin, +and by his side moved Katy Haynes, with a most determined aspect of woe, and +next to the mourners came Mr. Wharton and the English captain. Two or three old +men and women, with a few straggling boys, brought up the rear. Captain Lawton +sat in his saddle, in rigid silence, until the bearers came opposite to his +position, and then, for the first time, Harvey raised his eyes from the ground, +and saw the enemy that he dreaded so near him. The first impulse of the peddler +was certainly flight; but recovering his recollection, he fixed his eye on the +coffin of his parent, and passed the dragoon with a firm step but swelling +heart. The trooper slowly lifted his cap, and continued uncovered until Mr. +Wharton and his son had moved by, when, accompanied by the surgeon, he rode +leisurely in the rear, maintaining an inflexible silence. +</p> + +<p> +Caesar emerged from the cellar kitchen of the cottage, and with a face of +settled solemnity, added himself to the number of the followers of the funeral, +though with a humble mien and at a most respectful distance from the horsemen. +The old negro had placed around his arm, a little above the elbow, a napkin of +unsullied whiteness, it being the only time since his departure from the city +that he had enjoyed an opportunity of exhibiting himself in the garniture of +servile mourning. He was a great lover of propriety, and had been a little +stimulated to this display by a desire to show his sable friend from Georgia +all the decencies of a New York funeral; and the ebullition of his zeal went +off very well, producing no other result than a mild lecture from Miss Peyton +at his return, on the fitness of things. The attendance of the black was +thought well enough in itself; but the napkin was deemed a superfluous +exhibition of ceremony, at the funeral of a man who had performed all the +menial offices in his own person. +</p> + +<p> +The graveyard was an inclosure on the grounds of Mr. Wharton, which had been +fenced with stone and set apart for the purpose, by that gentleman, some years +before. It was not, however, intended as a burial place for any of his own +family. Until the fire, which raged as the British troops took possession of +New York, had laid Trinity in ashes, a goodly gilded tablet on its walls +proclaimed the virtues of his deceased parents, and beneath a flag of marble, +in one of the aisles of the church, their bones were left to molder in +aristocratical repose. Captain Lawton made a movement as if he was disposed to +follow the procession, when it left the highway, to enter the field which +contained the graves of the humble dead, but he was recalled to recollection by +a hint from his companion that he was taking the wrong road. +</p> + +<p> +“Of all the various methods which have been adopted by man for the +disposal of his earthly remains, which do you prefer, Captain Lawton?” +said the surgeon, as they separated from the little procession. “In some +countries the body is exposed to be devoured by wild beasts; in others it is +suspended in the air to exhale its substance in the manner of decomposition; in +other regions it is consumed on the funeral pile, and, again, it is inhumed in +the bowels of the earth; every people have their own particular fashion, and to +which do you give the preference?” +</p> + +<p> +“All are agreeable,” said the trooper, following the group they had +left with his eyes; “though the speediest interments give the cleanest +fields. Of which are you an admirer?” +</p> + +<p> +“The last, as practiced by ourselves, for the other three are destructive +of all the opportunities for dissection; whereas, in the last, the coffin can +lie in peaceful decency, while the remains are made to subserve the useful +purposes of science. Ah! Captain Lawton, I enjoy comparatively but few +opportunities of such a nature, to what I expected on entering the army.” +</p> + +<p> +“To what may these pleasures numerically amount in a year?” said +the captain, withdrawing his gaze from the graveyard. +</p> + +<p> +“Within a dozen, upon my honor; my best picking is when the corps is +detached; for when we are with the main army, there are so many boys to be +satisfied, that I seldom get a good subject. Those youngsters are as wasteful +as prodigals, and as greedy as vultures.” +</p> + +<p> +“A dozen!” echoed the trooper, in surprise. “Why, I furnish +you that number with my own hands.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! Jack,” returned the doctor, approaching the subject with great +tenderness of manner, “it is seldom I can do anything with your patients; +you disfigure them woefully. Believe me, John, when I tell you as a friend that +your system is all wrong; you unnecessarily destroy life, and then you injure +the body so that it is unfit for the only use that can be made of a dead +man.” +</p> + +<p> +The trooper maintained a silence, which he thought would be the most probable +means of preserving peace between them; and the surgeon, turning his head from +taking a last look at the burial, as they rode around the foot of the hill that +shut the valley from their sight, continued with a suppressed sigh,— +</p> + +<p> +“One might get a natural death from that graveyard to-night, if there was +but time and opportunity! The patient must be the father of the lady we saw +this morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“The petticoat doctor!—she with the aurora borealis +complexion,” said the trooper, with a smile, that began to cause +uneasiness to his companion. “But the lady was not the gentleman’s +daughter, only his medico-petticoat attendant; and the Harvey, whose name was +made to rime with every word in her song, is the renowned peddler spy.” +</p> + +<p> +“What? He who unhorsed you?” +</p> + +<p> +“No man ever unhorsed me, Dr. Sitgreaves,” said the dragoon, +gravely. “I fell by mischance of Roanoke; rider and beast kissed the +earth together.” +</p> + +<p> +“A warm embrace, from the love spots it left on your cuticle; ’tis +a thousand pities that you cannot find where the tattling rascal lies +hid.” +</p> + +<p> +“He followed his father’s body.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you let him pass!” cried the surgeon, checking his horse. +“Let us return immediately, and take him; to-morrow you shall have him +hanged, Jack,—and, damn him, I’ll dissect him!” +</p> + +<p> +“Softly, softly, my dear Archibald. Would you arrest a man while paying +the last offices to a dead father? Leave him to me, and I pledge myself he +shall have justice.” +</p> + +<p> +The doctor muttered his dissatisfaction at any postponement of vengeance, but +he was compelled to acquiesce, from a regard to his reputation for propriety; +and they continued their ride to the quarters of the corps, engaged in various +discussions concerning the welfare of the human body. +</p> + +<p> +Birch supported the grave and collected manner that was thought becoming in a +male mourner, on such occasions, and to Katy was left the part of exhibiting +the tenderness of the softer sex. There are some people, whose feelings are of +such nature that they cannot weep unless it be in proper company, and the +spinster was a good deal addicted to this congregational virtue. After casting +her eyes around the small assemblage, the housekeeper found the countenances of +the few females, who were present, fixed on her in solemn expectation, and the +effect was instantaneous; the maiden really wept, and she gained no +inconsiderable sympathy, and some reputation for a tender heart, from the +spectators. The muscles of the peddler’s face were seen to move, and as +the first clod of earth fell on the tenement of his father, sending up that +dull, hollow sound that speaks so eloquently the mortality of man, his whole +frame was for an instant convulsed. He bent his body down, as if in pain, his +fingers worked while the hands hung lifeless by his side, and there was an +expression in his countenance that seemed to announce a writhing of the soul; +but it was not unresisted, and it was transient. He stood erect, drew a long +breath, and looked around him with an elevated face, that even seemed to smile +with a consciousness of having obtained the mastery. The grave was soon filled; +a rough stone, placed at either extremity, marked its position, and the turf, +whose faded vegetation was adapted to the fortunes of the deceased, covered the +little hillock with the last office of seemliness. This office ended, the +neighbors, who had officiously pressed forward to offer their services in +performing their solemn duty, paused, and lifting their hats, stood looking +towards the mourner, who now felt himself to be really alone in the world. +Uncovering his head also, the peddler hesitated a moment, to gather energy, and +spoke. +</p> + +<p> +“My friends and neighbors,” he said, “I thank you for +assisting me to bury my dead out of my sight.” +</p> + +<p> +A solemn pause succeeded the customary address, and the group dispersed in +silence, some few walking with the mourners back to their own habitation, but +respectfully leaving them at its entrance. The peddler and Katy were followed +into the building by one man, however, who was well known to the surrounding +country by the significant term of “a speculator.” Katy saw him +enter, with a heart that palpitated with dreadful forebodings, but Harvey +civilly handed him a chair, and evidently was prepared for the visit. +</p> + +<p> +The peddler went to the door, and, taking a cautious glance about the valley, +quickly returned, and commenced the following dialogue:— +</p> + +<p> +“The sun has just left the top of the eastern hill; my time presses me: +here is the deed for the house and lot; everything is done according to +law.” +</p> + +<p> +The other took the paper, and conned its contents with a deliberation that +proceeded partly from his caution, and partly from the unlucky circumstance of +his education having been much neglected when a youth. The time occupied in +this tedious examination was employed by Harvey in gathering together certain +articles which he intended to include in the stores that were to leave the +habitation with himself. Katy had already inquired of the peddler whether the +deceased had left a will; and she saw the Bible placed in the bottom of a new +pack, which she had made for his accommodation, with a most stoical +indifference; but as the six silver spoons were laid carefully by its side, a +sudden twinge of her conscience objected to such a palpable waste of property, +and she broke silence. +</p> + +<p> +“When you marry, Harvey, you may miss those spoons.” +</p> + +<p> +“I never shall marry.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, if you don’t there’s no occasion to make rash +promises, even to yourself. One never knows what one may do, in such a case. I +should like to know, of what use so many spoons can be to a single man; for my +part, I think it is a duty for every man who is well provided, to have a wife +and family to maintain.” +</p> + +<p> +At the time when Katy expressed this sentiment, the fortune of women in her +class of life consisted of a cow, a bed, the labors of their own hands in the +shape of divers pillowcases, blankets, and sheets, with, where fortune was +unusually kind, a half dozen silver spoons. The spinster herself had obtained +all the other necessaries by her own industry and prudence, and it can easily +be imagined that she saw the articles she had long counted her own vanish in +the enormous pack, with a dissatisfaction that was in no degree diminished by +the declaration that had preceded the act. Harvey, however, disregarded her +opinions and feelings, and continued his employment of filling the pack, which +soon grew to something like the ordinary size of the peddler’s burden. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m rather timersome about this conveyance,” said the +purchaser, having at length waded through the covenants of the deed. +</p> + +<p> +“Why so?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m afraid it won’t stand good in law. I know that two of +the neighbors leave home to-morrow morning, to have the place entered for +confiscation; and if I should give forty pounds, and lose it all, ’twould +be a dead pull back to me.” +</p> + +<p> +“They can only take my right,” said the peddler. “Pay me two +hundred dollars, and the house is yours; you are a well-known Whig, and you at +least they won’t trouble.” As Harvey spoke, there was a strange +bitterness of manner, mingled with the shrewd care he expressed concerning the +sale of his property. +</p> + +<p> +“Say one hundred, and it is a bargain,” returned the man, with a +grin that he meant for a good-natured smile. +</p> + +<p> +“A bargain!” echoed the peddler, in surprise. “I thought the +bargain already made.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing is a bargain,” said the purchaser, with a chuckle, +“until papers are delivered, and the money paid in hand.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have the paper.” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, and will keep it, if you will excuse the money. Come, say one +hundred and fifty, and I won’t be hard; here—here is just the +money.” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler looked from the window, and saw with dismay that the evening was +fast advancing, and knew well that he endangered his life by remaining in the +dwelling after dark; yet he could not tolerate the idea of being defrauded in +this manner, in a bargain that had already been fairly made; he hesitated. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said the purchaser, rising, “mayhap you can find +another man to trade with between this and morning, but if you don’t, +your title won’t be worth much afterwards.” +</p> + +<p> +“Take it, Harvey,” said Katy, who felt it impossible to resist a +tender like the one before her; for the purchase money was in English guineas. +Her voice roused the peddler, and a new idea seemed to strike him. +</p> + +<p> +“I agree to the price,” he said; and, turning to the spinster, he +placed part of the money in her hand, as he continued, “Had I other means +to pay you, I would have lost all, rather than suffer myself to be defrauded of +part.” +</p> + +<p> +“You may lose all yet,” muttered the stranger, with a sneer, as he +rose and left the building. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said Katy, following him with her eyes, “he knows your +failing, Harvey; he thinks with me, now the old gentleman is gone, you will +want a careful body to take care of your concerns.” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler was busied in making arrangements for his departure, and he took no +notice of this insinuation, while the spinster returned again to the attack. +She had lived so many years in expectation of a termination to her hopes, so +different from that which now seemed likely to occur, that the idea of +separation began to give her more uneasiness than she had thought herself +capable of feeling, about a man so destitute and friendless. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you another house to go to?” inquired Katy. +</p> + +<p> +“Providence will provide me with a home.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said the housekeeper, “but maybe ’twill not be +to your liking.” +</p> + +<p> +“The poor must not be difficult.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m sure I’m anything but a difficult body,” cried the +spinster, very hastily; “but I love to see things becoming, and in their +places; yet I wouldn’t be hard to persuade to leave this place myself. I +can’t say I altogether like the ways of the people hereabouts.” +</p> + +<p> +“The valley is lovely,” said the peddler, with fervor, “and +the people like all the race of man. But to me it matters nothing; all places +are now alike, and all faces equally strange.” As he spoke he dropped the +article he was packing from his hand, and seated himself on a chest, with a +look of vacant misery. +</p> + +<p> +“Not so, not so,” said Katy, shoving her chair nearer to the place +where the peddler sat. “Not so, Harvey, you must know me at least; my +face cannot be strange to you.” +</p> + +<p> +Birch turned his eyes slowly on her countenance, which exhibited more of +feeling, and less of self, than he had ever seen there before; he took her hand +kindly, and his own features lost some of their painful expression, as he +said,— +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, good woman, you, at least, are not a stranger to me; you may do me +partial justice; when others revile me possibly your feelings may lead you to +say something in my defense.” +</p> + +<p> +“That I will; that I would!” said Katy, eagerly. “I will +defend you, Harvey, to the last drop; let me hear them that dare to revile you! +You say true, Harvey, I am partial and just to you; what if you do like the +king? I have often heard it said he was at the bottom a good man; but +there’s no religion in the old country, for everybody allows the +ministers are desperate bad!” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler paced the floor in evident distress of mind; his eyes had a look of +wildness that Katy had never witnessed before, and his step was measured, with +a dignity that appalled the housekeeper. +</p> + +<p> +“While my father lived,” murmured Harvey, unable to smother his +feelings, “there was one who read my heart, and oh! what a consolation to +return from my secret marches of danger, and the insults and wrongs that I +suffered, to receive his blessing and his praise; but he is gone,” he +continued, stopping and gazing wildly towards the corner that used to hold the +figure of his parent, “and who is there to do me justice?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, Harvey! Harvey!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, there is one who will, who must know me before I die! Oh! it is +dreadful to die, and leave such a name behind me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t talk of dying, Harvey,” said the spinster, glancing +her eye around the room, and pushing the wood in the fire to obtain a light +from the blaze. +</p> + +<p> +The ebullition of feeling in the peddler was over. It had been excited by the +events of the past day, and a vivid perception of his sufferings. It was not +long, however, that passion maintained an ascendency ever the reason of this +singular man; and perceiving that the night had already thrown an obscurity +around objects without doors, he hastily threw his pack over his shoulders, and +taking Katy kindly by the hand, in leavetaking,— +</p> + +<p> +“It is painful to part with even you, good woman,” he said, +“but the hour has come, and I must go. What is left in the house is +yours; to me it could be of no use, and it may serve to make you more +comfortable. Farewell—we shall meet hereafter.” +</p> + +<p> +“In the regions of darkness!” cried a voice that caused the peddler +to sink on the chest from which he had risen, in despair. +</p> + +<p> +“What! another pack, Mr. Birch, and so well stuffed so soon!” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you not done evil enough?” cried the peddler, regaining his +firmness, and springing on his feet with energy. “Is it not enough to +harass the last moments of a dying man—to impoverish me; what more would +you have?” +</p> + +<p> +“Your blood!” said the Skinner, with cool malignity. +</p> + +<p> +“And for money,” cried Harvey, bitterly. “Like the ancient +Judas, you would grow rich with the price of blood!” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, and a fair price it is, my gentleman; fifty guineas; nearly the +weight of that carcass of yours in gold.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here,” said Katy, promptly, “here are fifteen guineas, and +these drawers and this bed are all mine; if you will give Harvey but one +hour’s start from the door, they shall be yours.” +</p> + +<p> +“One hour?” said the Skinner, showing his teeth, and looking with a +longing eye at the money. +</p> + +<p> +“But a single hour; here, take the money.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hold!” cried Harvey. “Put no faith in the miscreant.” +</p> + +<p> +“She may do what she pleases with her faith,” said the Skinner, +with malignant pleasure, “but I have the money in good keeping; as for +you, Mr. Birch, we will bear your insolence, for the fifty guineas that are to +pay for your gallows.” +</p> + +<p> +“Go on,” said the peddler, proudly; “take me to Major +Dunwoodie; he, at least, may be kind, although just.” +</p> + +<p> +“I can do better than by marching so far in such disgraceful company; +this Mr. Dunwoodie has let one or two Tories go at large; but the troop of +Captain Lawton is quartered some half mile nearer, and his receipt will get me +the reward as soon as his major’s. How relish you the idea of supping +with Captain Lawton, this evening, Mr. Birch?” +</p> + +<p> +“Give me my money, or set Harvey free,” cried the spinster in +alarm. +</p> + +<p> +“Your bribe was not enough, good woman, unless there is money in this +bed.” Thrusting his bayonet through the ticking and ripping it for some +distance, he took a malicious satisfaction in scattering its contents about the +room. +</p> + +<p> +“If,” cried the housekeeper, losing sight of her personal danger in +care for her newly-acquired property, “there is law in the land, I will +be righted!” +</p> + +<p> +“The law of the neutral ground is the law of the strongest; but your +tongue is not as long as my bayonet; you had, therefore, best not set them at +loggerheads, or you might be the loser.” +</p> + +<p> +A figure stood in the shadow of the door, as if afraid to be seen in the group +of Skinners; but a blaze of light, raised by some articles thrown in the fire +by his persecutors, showed the peddler the face of the purchaser of his little +domain. Occasionally there was some whispering between this man and the Skinner +nearest him, that induced Harvey to suspect he had been the dupe of a +contrivance in which that wretch had participated. It was, however, too late to +repine; and he followed the party from the house with a firm and collected +tread, as if marching to a triumph, and not to a gallows. In passing through +the yard, the leader of the band fell over a billet of wood, and received a +momentary hurt from the fall; exasperated at the incident, the fellow sprang on +his feet, filling the air with execrations. +</p> + +<p> +“The curse of heaven light on the log!” he exclaimed. “The +night is too dark for us to move in; throw that brand of fire in yon pile of +tow, to light up the scene.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hold!” roared the speculator; “you’ll fire the +house.” +</p> + +<p> +“And see the farther,” said the other, hurling the brand in the +midst of the combustibles. In an instant the building was in flames. +“Come on; let us move towards the heights while we have light to pick our +road.” +</p> + +<p> +“Villain!” cried the exasperated purchaser, “is this your +friendship—this my reward for kidnapping the peddler?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Twould be wise to move more from the light, if you mean to +entertain us with abuse, or we may see too well to miss our mark,” cried +the leader of the gang. The next instant he was as good as his threat, but +happily missed the terrified speculator and equally appalled spinster, who saw +herself again reduced from comparative wealth to poverty, by the blow. Prudence +dictated to the pair a speedy retreat; and the next morning, the only remains +of the dwelling of the peddler was the huge chimney we have already mentioned. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap15"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Trifles, light as air,<br/> +Are to the jealous confirmations strong<br/> +As proofs of holy writ. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Othello</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The weather, which had been mild and clear since the storm, now changed with +the suddenness of the American climate. Towards evening the cold blasts poured +down from the mountains, and flurries of snow plainly indicated that the month +of November had arrived; a season whose temperature varies from the heats of +summer to the cold of winter. Frances had stood at the window of her own +apartment, watching the slow progress of the funeral procession, with a +melancholy that was too deep to be excited by the spectacle. There was +something in the sad office that was in unison with her feelings. As she gazed +around, she saw the trees bending to the force of the wind, that swept through +the valley with an impetuosity that shook even the buildings; and the forest, +that had so lately glittered in the sun with its variegated hues, was fast +losing its loveliness, as the leaves were torn from the branches, and were +driving irregularly before the eddies of the blast. A few of the Southern +dragoons, who were patrolling the passes which led to the encampment of the +corps, could be distinguished at a distance on the heights, bending to their +pommels as they faced the keen air which had so lately traversed the great +fresh-water lakes, and drawing their watch coats about them in tighter folds. +</p> + +<p> +Frances witnessed the disappearance of the wooden tenement of the deceased, as +it was slowly lowered from the light of day; and the sight added to the +chilling dreariness of the view. Captain Singleton was sleeping under the care +of his own man, while his sister had been persuaded to take possession of her +room, for the purpose of obtaining the repose of which her last night’s +journeying had robbed her. The apartment of Miss Singleton communicated with +the room occupied by the sisters, through a private door, as well as through +the ordinary passage of the house; this door was partly open, and Frances moved +towards it, with the benevolent intention of ascertaining the situation of her +guest, when the surprised girl saw her whom she had thought to be sleeping, not +only awake, but employed in a manner that banished all probability of present +repose. The black tresses, that during the dinner had been drawn in close folds +over the crown of the head, were now loosened, and fell in profusion over her +shoulders and bosom, imparting a slight degree of wildness to her countenance; +the chilling white of her complexion was strongly contrasted with eyes of the +deepest black, that were fixed in rooted attention on a picture she held in her +hand. Frances hardly breathed, as she was enabled, by a movement of Isabella, +to see that it was the figure of a man in the well-known dress of the Southern +horse; but she gasped for breath, and instinctively laid her hand on her heart +to quell its throbbings, as she thought she recognized the lineaments that were +so deeply seated in her own imagination. Frances felt she was improperly prying +into the sacred privacy of another; but her emotions were too powerful to +permit her to speak, and she drew back to a chair, where she still retained a +view of the stranger, from whose countenance she felt it to be impossible to +withdraw her eyes. Isabella was too much engrossed by her own feelings to +discover the trembling figure of the witness to her actions, and she pressed +the inanimate image to her lips, with an enthusiasm that denoted the most +intense passion. The expression of the countenance of the fair stranger was so +changeable, and the transitions were so rapid, that Frances had scarcely time +to distinguish the character of the emotion, before it was succeeded by +another, equally powerful and equally attractive. Admiration and sorrow were +however the preponderating passions; the latter was indicated by large drops +that fell from her eyes on the picture, and which followed each other over her +cheek at such intervals, as seemed to pronounce the grief too heavy to admit of +the ordinary demonstrations of sorrow. Every movement of Isabella was marked by +an enthusiasm that was peculiar to her nature, and every passion in its turn +triumphed in her breast. The fury of the wind, as it whistled round the angles +of the building, was in consonance with those feelings, and she rose and moved +to a window of her apartment. Her figure was now hid from the view of Frances, +who was about to rise and approach her guest, when tones of a thrilling melody +chained her in breathless silence to the spot. The notes were wild, and the +voice not powerful, but the execution exceeded anything that Frances had ever +heard; and she stood, endeavoring to stifle the sounds of her own gentle +breathing, until the following song was concluded:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +Cold blow the blasts o’er the tops of the mountain,<br/> +    And bare is the oak on the hill;<br/> +Slowly the vapors exhale from the fountain,<br/> +    And bright gleams the ice-bordered rill;<br/> +All nature is seeking its annual rest,<br/> +But the slumbers of peace have deserted my breast.<br/> +<br/> +Long has the storm poured its weight on my nation,<br/> +    And long have her braves stood the shock;<br/> +Long has her chieftain ennobled his station,<br/> +    A bulwark on liberty’s rock;<br/> +Unlicensed ambition relaxes its toil,<br/> +Yet blighted affection represses my smile.<br/> +<br/> +Abroad the wild fury of winter is lowering,<br/> +    And leafless and drear is the tree;<br/> +But the vertical sun of the south appears pouring<br/> +    Its fierce, killing heats upon me:<br/> +Without, all the season’s chill symptoms begin—<br/> +But the fire of passion is raging within. +</p> + +<p> +Frances abandoned her whole soul to the suppressed melody of the music, though +the language of the song expressed a meaning, which, united with certain events +of that and the preceding day, left a sensation of uneasiness in the bosom of +the warm-hearted girl, to which she had hitherto been a stranger. Isabella +moved from the window as her last tones melted on the ear of her admiring +listener, and, for the first time, her eye rested on the pallid face of the +intruder. A glow of fire lighted the countenance of both at the same instant, +and the blue eye of Frances met the brilliant black one of her guest for a +single moment, and both fell in abashed confusion on the carpet; they advanced, +however, until they met, and had taken each other’s hand, before either +ventured again to look her companion in the face. +</p> + +<p> +“This sudden change in the weather, and perhaps the situation of my +brother, have united to make me melancholy, Miss Wharton,” said Isabella, +in a low tone, and in a voice that trembled as she spoke. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis thought you have little to apprehend for your brother,” +said Frances, in the same embarrassed manner. “Had you seen him when he +was brought in by Major Dunwoodie—” +</p> + +<p> +Frances paused, with a feeling of conscious shame, for which she could not +account; and, in raising her eyes, she saw Isabella studying her countenance +with an earnestness that again drove the blood tumultuously to her temples. +</p> + +<p> +“You were speaking of Major Dunwoodie,” said Isabella, faintly. +</p> + +<p> +“He was with Captain Singleton.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you know Dunwoodie? Have you seen him often?” +</p> + +<p> +Once more Frances ventured to look her guest in the face, and again she met the +piercing eyes bent on her, as if to search her inmost heart. “Speak, Miss +Wharton; is Major Dunwoodie known to you?” +</p> + +<p> +“He is my relative,” said Frances, appalled at the manner of the +other. +</p> + +<p> +“A relative!” echoed Miss Singleton; “in what +degree?—speak, Miss<br/> +Wharton, I conjure you to speak.” +</p> + +<p> +“Our parents were cousins,” faintly replied Frances. +</p> + +<p> +“And he is to be your husband?” said the stranger, impetuously. +</p> + +<p> +Frances felt shocked, and all her pride awakened, by this direct attack upon +her feelings, and she raised her eyes from the floor to her interrogator a +little proudly, when the pale cheek and quivering lip of Isabella removed her +resentment in a moment. +</p> + +<p> +“It is true! My conjecture is true! Speak to me, Miss Wharton; I conjure +you, in mercy to my feelings, to tell me—do you love Dunwoodie?” +There was a plaintive earnestness in the voice of Miss Singleton that disarmed +Frances of all resentment, and the only answer she could make was to hide her +burning face between her hands, as she sank back in a chair to conceal her +confusion. +</p> + +<p> +Isabella paced the floor in silence for several minutes, until she had +succeeded in conquering the violence of her feelings, when she approached the +place where Frances yet sat, endeavoring to exclude the eyes of her companion +from reading the shame expressed in her countenance, and, taking the hand of +the other, she spoke with an evident effort at composure. +</p> + +<p> +“Pardon me, Miss Wharton, if my ungovernable feelings have led me into +impropriety; the powerful motive—the cruel reason”—she +hesitated. Frances now raised her face, and their eyes once more met; they fell +in each other’s arms, and laid their burning cheeks together. The embrace +was long—was ardent and sincere—but neither spoke; and on +separating, Frances retired to her own room without further explanation. +</p> + +<p> +While this extraordinary scene was acting in the room of Miss Singleton, +matters of great importance were agitated in the drawing-room. The disposition +of the fragments of such a dinner as the one we have recorded was a task that +required no little exertion and calculation. Notwithstanding several of the +small game had nestled in the pocket of Captain Lawton’s man, and even +the assistant of Dr. Sitgreaves had calculated the uncertainty of his remaining +long in such good quarters, still there was more left unconsumed than the +prudent Miss Peyton knew how to dispose of to advantage. Caesar and his +mistress had, therefore, a long and confidential communication on this +important business; and the consequence was, that Colonel Wellmere was left to +the hospitality of Sarah Wharton. All the ordinary topics of conversation were +exhausted, when the colonel, with a little of the uneasiness that is in some +degree inseparable from conscious error, touched lightly on the transactions of +the preceding day. +</p> + +<p> +“We little thought, Miss Wharton, when I first saw this Mr. Dunwoodie in +your house in Queen Street, that he was to be the renowned warrior he has +proved himself,” said Wellmere, endeavoring to smile away his chagrin. +</p> + +<p> +“Renowned, when we consider the enemy he overcame,” said Sarah, +with consideration for her companion’s feelings. “’Twas +unfortunate, indeed, in every respect, that you met with the accident, or +doubtless the royal arms would have triumphed in their usual manner.” +</p> + +<p> +“And yet the pleasure of such society as this accident has introduced me +to, would more than repay the pain of a mortified spirit and wounded +body,” added the colonel, in a manner of peculiar softness. +</p> + +<p> +“I hope the latter is but trifling,” said Sarah, stooping to hide +her blushes under the pretext of biting a thread from the work on her knee. +</p> + +<p> +“Trifling, indeed, compared to the former,” returned the colonel, +in the same manner. “Ah! Miss Wharton, it is in such moments that we feel +the full value of friendship and sympathy.” +</p> + +<p> +Those who have never tried it cannot easily imagine what a rapid progress a +warm-hearted female can make in love, in the short space of half an hour, +particularly where there is a predisposition to the distemper. Sarah found the +conversation, when it began to touch on friendship and sympathy, too +interesting to venture her voice with a reply. She, however, turned her eyes on +the colonel, and saw him gazing at her fine face with an admiration that was +quite as manifest, and much more soothing, than any words could make it. +</p> + +<p> +Their tête-à -tête was uninterrupted for an hour; and although nothing that +would be called decided, by an experienced matron, was said by the gentleman, +he uttered a thousand things that delighted his companion, who retired to her +rest with a lighter heart than she had felt since the arrest of her brother by +the Americans. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap16"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +And let me the canakin clink, clink,<br/> +And let me the canakin clink.<br/> +A soldier’s a man;<br/> +A life’s but a span;<br/> +Why, then, let a soldier drink. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Othello</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The position held by the corps of dragoons, we have already said, was a +favorite place of halting with their commander. A cluster of some half dozen +small and dilapidated buildings formed what, from the circumstance of two roads +intersecting each other at right angles, was called the village of the Four +Corners. As usual, one of the most imposing of these edifices had been termed, +in the language of the day, “a house of entertainment for man and +beast.” On a rough board suspended from the gallows-looking post that had +supported the ancient sign, was, however, written in red chalk, +“Elizabeth Flanagan, her hotel,” an ebullition of the wit of some +of the idle wags of the corps. The matron, whose name had thus been exalted to +an office of such unexpected dignity, ordinarily discharged the duties of a +female sutler, washerwoman, and, to use the language of Katy Haynes, petticoat +doctor to the troops. She was the widow of a soldier who had been killed in the +service, and who, like herself, was a native of a distant island, and had early +tried his fortune in the colonies of North America. She constantly migrated +with the troops; and it was seldom that they became stationary for two days at +a time but the little cart of the bustling woman was seen driving into the +encampment loaded with such articles as she conceived would make her presence +most welcome. With a celerity that seemed almost supernatural, Betty took up +her ground and commenced her occupation. Sometimes the cart itself was her +shop; at others the soldiers made her a rude shelter of such materials as +offered; but on the present occasion she had seized on a vacant building, and, +by dint of stuffing the dirty breeches and half-dried linen of the troopers +into the broken windows, to exclude the cold, which had now become severe, she +formed what she herself had pronounced to be “most illigant +lodgings.” The men were quartered in the adjacent barns, and the officers +collected in the “Hotel Flanagan,” as they facetiously called +headquarters. Betty was well known to every trooper in the corps, could call +each by his Christian or nickname, as best suited her fancy; and, although +absolutely intolerable to all whom habit had not made familiar with her +virtues, was a general favorite with these partisan warriors. Her faults were, +a trifling love of liquor, excessive filthiness, and a total disregard of all +the decencies of language; her virtues, an unbounded love for her adopted +country, perfect honesty when dealing on certain known principles with the +soldiery, and great good nature. Added to these, Betty had the merit of being +the inventor of that beverage which is so well known, at the present hour, to +all the patriots who make a winter’s march between the commercial and +political capitals of this great state, and which is distinguished by the name +of “cocktail.” Elizabeth Flanagan was peculiarly well qualified, by +education and circumstances, to perfect this improvement in liquors, having +been literally brought up on its principal ingredient, and having acquired from +her Virginian customers the use of mint, from its flavor in a julep to its +height of renown in the article in question. Such, then, was the mistress of +the mansion, who, reckless of the cold northern blasts, showed her blooming +face from the door of the building to welcome the arrival of her favorite, +Captain Lawton, and his companion, her master in matters of surgery. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! by my hopes of promotion, my gentle Elizabeth, but you are +welcome!” cried the trooper, as he threw himself from his saddle. +“This villainous fresh-water gas from the Canadas has been whistling +among my bones till they ache with the cold, but the sight of your fiery +countenance is as cheery as a Christmas fire.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now sure, Captain Jack, ye’s always full of your +complimentaries,” replied the sutler, taking the bridle of her customer. +“But hurry in for the life of you, darling; the fences hereabouts are not +so strong as in the Highlands, and there’s that within will warm both +sowl and body.” +</p> + +<p> +“So you have been laying the rails under contribution, I see. Well, that +may do for the body,” said the captain coolly; “but I have had a +pull at a bottle of cut glass with a silver stand, and I doubt my relish for +your whisky for a month to come.” +</p> + +<p> +“If it’s silver or goold that ye’re thinking of, it’s +but little I have, though I’ve a trifling bit of the continental,” +said Betty, with a look of humor; “but there’s that within +that’s fit to be put in vissils of di’monds.” +</p> + +<p> +“What can she mean, Archibald?” asked Lawton. “The animal +looks as if it meant more than it says!” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis probably a wandering of the reasoning powers, created by the +frequency of intoxicating drafts,” observed the surgeon, as he +deliberately threw his left leg over the pommel of the saddle, and slid down on +the right side of his horse. +</p> + +<p> +“Faith, my dear jewel of a doctor, but it was this side I was expicting +you; the whole corps come down on this side but yeerself,” said Betty, +winking at the trooper; “but I’ve been feeding the wounded, in yeer +absence, with the fat of the land.” +</p> + +<p> +“Barbarous stupidity!” cried the panic-stricken physician, +“to feed men laboring under the excitement of fever with powerful +nutriment. Woman, woman, you are enough to defeat the skill of +Hippocrates!” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh!” said Betty, with infinite composure, “what a +botheration ye make about a little whisky; there was but a gallon betwixt a +good dozen of them, and I gave it to the boys to make them sleep asy; sure, +jist as slumbering drops.” +</p> + +<p> +Lawton and his companion now entered the building, and the first objects which +met their eyes explained the hidden meaning of Betty’s comfortable +declaration. A long table, made of boards torn from the side of an outbuilding, +was stretched through the middle of the largest apartment, or the barroom, and +on it was a very scanty display of crockery ware. The steams of cookery arose +from an adjoining kitchen, but the principal attraction was in a demijohn of +fair proportions, which had been ostentatiously placed on high by Betty as the +object most worthy of notice. Lawton soon learned that it was teeming with the +real amber-colored juice of the grape, and had been sent from the Locusts, as +an offering to Major Dunwoodie, from his friend Captain Wharton of the royal +army. +</p> + +<p> +“And a royal gift it is,” said the grinning subaltern, who made the +explanation. “The major gives us an entertainment in honor of our +victory, and you see the principal expense is borne as it should be, by the +enemy. Zounds! I am thinking that after we have primed with such stuff, we +could charge through Sir Henry’s headquarters, and carry off the knight +himself.” +</p> + +<p> +The captain of dragoons was in no manner displeased at the prospect of +terminating so pleasantly a day that had been so agreeably commenced. He was +soon surrounded by his comrades, who made many eager inquiries concerning his +adventures, while the surgeon proceeded, with certain quakings of the heart, to +examine into the state of his wounded. Enormous fires were snapping in the +chimneys of the house, superseding the necessity of candles, by the bright +light which was thrown from the blazing piles. The group within were all young +men and tried soldiers; in number they were rather more than a dozen, and their +manners and conversation were a strange mixture of the bluntness of the +partisan with the manners of gentlemen. Their dresses were neat, though plain; +and a never-failing topic amongst them was the performance and quality of their +horses. Some were endeavoring to sleep on the benches which lined the walls, +some were walking the apartments, and others were seated in earnest discussion +on subjects connected with the business of their lives. Occasionally, as the +door of the kitchen opened, the hissing sounds of the frying pans and the +inviting savor of the food created a stagnation in all other employments; even +the sleepers, at such moments, would open their eyes, and raise their heads, to +reconnoiter the state of the preparations. All this time Dunwoodie sat by +himself, gazing at the fire, and lost in reflections which none of his officers +presumed to disturb. He had made earnest inquiries of Sitgreaves after the +condition of Singleton, during which a profound and respectful silence was +maintained in the room; but as soon as he had ended, and resumed his seat, the +usual ease and freedom prevailed. +</p> + +<p> +The arrangement of the table was a matter of but little concern to Mrs. +Flanagan; and Caesar would have been sadly scandalized at witnessing the +informality with which various dishes, each bearing a wonderful resemblance to +the others, were placed before so many gentlemen of consideration. In taking +their places at the board, the strictest attention was paid to precedency; for, +notwithstanding the freedom of manners which prevailed in the corps, the points +of military etiquette were at all times observed, with something approaching to +religious veneration. Most of the guests had been fasting too long to be in any +degree fastidious in their appetites; but the case was different with Captain +Lawton; he felt an unaccountable loathing at the exhibition of Betty’s +food, and could not refrain from making a few passing comments on the condition +of the knives, and the clouded aspect of the plates. The good nature and the +personal affection of Betty for the offender, restrained her, for some time, +from answering his innuendoes, until Lawton, having ventured to admit a piece +of the black meat into his mouth, inquired, with the affectation of a spoiled +child,— +</p> + +<p> +“What kind of animal might this have been when living, Mrs. +Flanagan?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure, captain, and wasn’t it the ould cow?” replied the +sutler, with a warmth that proceeded partly from dissatisfaction at the +complaints of her favorite, and partly from grief at the loss of the deceased. +</p> + +<p> +“What!” roared the trooper, stopping short as he was about to +swallow his morsel, “ancient Jenny!” +</p> + +<p> +“The devil!” cried another, dropping his knife and fork, “she +who made the campaign of the Jerseys with us?” +</p> + +<p> +“The very same,” replied the mistress of the hotel, with a piteous +aspect of woe; “a gentle baste, and one that could and did live on less +than air, at need. Sure, gentlemen, ’tis awful to have to eat sitch an +ould friend.” +</p> + +<p> +“And has she sunk to this?” said Lawton, pointing with his knife, +to the remnants on the table. +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, captain,” said Betty, with spirit, “I sould two of her +quarters to some of your troop; but divil the word did I tell the boys what an +ould frind it was they had bought, for fear it might damage their +appetites.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fury!” cried the trooper, with affected anger, “I shall have +my fellows as limber as supple-jacks on such fare; afraid of an Englishman as a +Virginian negro is of his driver.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said Lieutenant Mason, dropping his knife and fork in a +kind of despair, “my jaws have more sympathy than many men’s +hearts. They absolutely decline making any impression on the relics of their +old acquaintance.” +</p> + +<p> +“Try a drop of the gift,” said Betty, soothingly, pouring a large +allowance of the wine into a bowl, and drinking it off as taster to the corps. +“Faith, ’tis but a wishy-washy sort of stuff after all!” +</p> + +<p> +The ice once broken, however, a clear glass of wine was handed to Dunwoodie, +who, bowing to his companions, drank the liquor in the midst of a profound +silence. For a few glasses there was much formality observed, and sundry +patriotic toasts and sentiments were duly noticed by the company. The liquor, +however, performed its wonted office; and before the second sentinel at the +door had been relieved, all recollection of the dinner and their cares was lost +in the present festivity. Dr. Sitgreaves did not return in season to partake of +Jenny, but he was in time to receive his fair proportion of Captain +Wharton’s present. +</p> + +<p> +“A song, a song from Captain Lawton!” cried two or three of the +party in a breath, on observing the failure of some of the points of +good-fellowship in the trooper. “Silence, for the song of Captain +Lawton.” +</p> + +<p> +“Gentlemen,” returned Lawton, his dark eyes swimming with the +bumpers he had finished, though his head was as impenetrable as a post; +“I am not much of a nightingale, but, under the favor of your good +wishes, I consent to comply with the demand.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, Jack,” said Sitgreaves, nodding on his seat, “remember +the air I taught you, and—stop, I have a copy of the words in my +pocket.” +</p> + +<p> +“Forbear, forbear, good doctor,” said the trooper, filling his +glass with great deliberation; “I never could wheel round those hard +names. Gentlemen, I will give you a humble attempt of my own.” +</p> + +<p> +“Silence, for Captain Lawton’s song!” roared five or six at +once; when the trooper proceeded, in a fine, full tone, to sing the following +words to a well-known bacchanalian air, several of his comrades helping him +through the chorus with a fervor that shook the crazy edifice they were +in:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +Now push the mug, my jolly boys,<br/> +    And live, while live we can;<br/> +To-morrow’s sun may end your joys,<br/> +    For brief’s the hour of man.<br/> +And he who bravely meets the foe<br/> +His lease of life can never know.<br/> +        Old mother Flanagan<br/> +        Come and fill the can again!<br/> +        For you can fill, and we can swill,<br/> +        Good Betty Flanagan.<br/> +<br/> +If love of life pervades your breast,<br/> +    Or love of ease your frame,<br/> +Quit honor’s path for peaceful rest,<br/> +    And bear a coward’s name;<br/> +For soon and late, we danger know,<br/> +And fearless on the saddle go.<br/> +        Old mother, etc.<br/> +<br/> +When foreign foes invade the land,<br/> +    And wives and sweethearts call,<br/> +In freedom’s cause we’ll bravely stand<br/> +    Or will as bravely fall;<br/> +In this fair home the fates have given<br/> +We’ll live as lords, or live in heaven.<br/> +        Old mother, etc. +</p> + +<p> +At each appeal made to herself, by the united voices of the choir, Betty +invariably advanced and complied literally with the request contained in the +chorus, to the infinite delight of the singers, and with no small participation +in the satisfaction on her account. The hostess was provided with a beverage +more suited to the high seasoning to which she had accustomed her palate, than +the tasteless present of Captain Wharton; by which means Betty had managed, +with tolerable facility, to keep even pace with the exhilaraton of her guests. +The applause received by Captain Lawton was general, with the exception of the +surgeon, who rose from the bench during the first chorus, and paced the floor, +in a flow of classical indignation. The bravos and bravissimos drowned all +other noises for a short time; but as they gradually ceased, the doctor turned +to the musician, and exclaimed with heat,— +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Lawton, I marvel that a gentleman, and a gallant officer, can +find no other subject for his muse, in these times of trial, than in such +beastly invocations to that notorious follower of the camp, the filthy +Elizabeth Flanagan. Methinks the goddess of Liberty could furnish a more noble +inspiration, and the sufferings of your country a more befitting theme.” +</p> + +<p> +“Heyday!” shouted the hostess, advancing towards him in a +threatening attitude; “and who is it that calls me filthy? Master Squirt! +Master Popgun—” +</p> + +<p> +“Peace!” said Dunwoodie, in a voice that was exerted but a little +more than common, but which was succeeded by the stillness of death. +“Woman, leave the room. Dr. Sitgreaves, I call you to your seat, to wait +the order of the revels.” +</p> + +<p> +“Proceed, proceed,” said the surgeon, drawing himself up in an +attitude of dignified composure. “I trust, Major Dunwoodie, I am not +unacquainted with the rules of decorum, nor ignorant of the by-laws of +good-fellowship.” Betty made a hasty but somewhat devious retreat to her +own dominions, being unaccustomed to dispute the orders of the commanding +officer. +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie will honor us with a sentimental song,” said +Lawton, bowing to his leader, with the collected manner he so well knew how to +assume. +</p> + +<p> +The major hesitated a moment, and then sang, with fine execution, the following +words:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +Some love the heats of southern suns,<br/> +Where’s life’s warm current maddening runs,<br/> +    In one quick circling stream;<br/> +But dearer far’s the mellow light<br/> +Which trembling shines, reflected bright<br/> +    In Luna’s milder beam.<br/> +<br/> +Some love the tulip’s gaudier dyes,<br/> +Where deepening blue with yellow vies,<br/> +    And gorgeous beauty glows;<br/> +But happier he, whose bridal wreath,<br/> +By love entwined, is found to breathe<br/> +    The sweetness of the rose. +</p> + +<p> +The voice of Dunwoodie never lost its authority with his inferiors; and the +applause which followed his song, though by no means so riotous as that which +succeeded the effort of the captain, was much more flattering. +</p> + +<p> +“If, sir,” said the doctor, after joining in the plaudits of his +companions, “you would but learn to unite classical allusions with your +delicate imagination you would become a pretty amateur poet.” +</p> + +<p> +“He who criticizes ought to be able to perform,” said Dunwoodie +with a smile. “I call on Dr. Sitgreaves for a specimen of the style he +admires.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dr. Sitgreaves’ song! Dr. Sitgreaves’ song!” echoed +all at the table with delight; “a classical ode from Dr. +Sitgreaves!” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon made a complacent bow, took the remnant of his glass, and gave a +few preliminary hems, that served hugely to delight three or four young cornets +at the foot of the table. He then commenced singing, in a cracked voice, and to +anything but a tune, the following ditty:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +Hast thou ever felt love’s dart, dearest,<br/> +    Or breathed his trembling sigh—<br/> +Thought him, afar, was ever nearest,<br/> +    Before that sparkling eye?<br/> +Then hast thou known what ’tis to feel<br/> +The pain that Galen could not heal. +</p> + +<p> +“Hurrah!” shouted Lawton. “Archibald eclipses the Muses +themselves; his words flow like the sylvan stream by moonlight, and his melody +is a crossbreed of the nightingale and the owl.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Lawton,” cried the exasperated operator, “it is one +thing to despise the lights of classical learning, and another to be despised +for your own ignorance!” +</p> + +<p> +A loud summons at the door of the building created a dead halt in the uproar, +and the dragoons instinctively caught up their arms, to be prepared for the +worst. The door was opened, and the Skinners entered, dragging in the peddler, +bending beneath the load of his pack. +</p> + +<p> +“Which is Captain Lawton?” said the leader of the gang, gazing +around him in some little astonishment. +</p> + +<p> +“He waits your pleasure,” said the trooper dryly. +</p> + +<p> +“Then here I deliver to your hands a condemned traitor. This is +Harvey<br/> +Birch, the peddler spy.” +</p> + +<p> +Lawton started as he looked his old acquaintance in the face, and, turning to +the Skinner with a lowering look, he asked,— +</p> + +<p> +“And who are you, sir, that speak so freely of your neighbors? +But,” bowing to Dunwoodie, “your pardon, sir; here is the +commanding officer; to him you will please address yourself.” +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said the man, sullenly, “it is to you I deliver the +peddler, and from you I claim my reward.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you Harvey Birch?” said Dunwoodie, advancing with an air of +authority that instantly drove the Skinner to a corner of the room. +</p> + +<p> +“I am,” said Birch, proudly. +</p> + +<p> +“And a traitor to your country,” continued the major, with +sternness. “Do you know that I should be justified in ordering your +execution this night?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis not the will of God to call a soul so hastily to His +presence,” said the peddler with solemnity. +</p> + +<p> +“You speak truth,” said Dunwoodie; “and a few brief hours +shall be added to your life. But as your offense is most odious to a soldier, +so it will be sure to meet with the soldier’s vengeance. You die +to-morrow.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis as God wills.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have spent many a good hour to entrap the villain,” said the +Skinner, advancing a little from his corner, “and I hope you will give me +a certificate that will entitle us to the reward; ’twas promised to be +paid in gold.” +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie,” said the officer of the day, entering the room, +“the patrols report a house to be burned near yesterday’s battle +ground.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas the hut of the peddler,” muttered the leader of the +gang. “We have not left him a shingle for shelter; I should have burned +it months ago, but I wanted his shed for a trap to catch the sly fox in.” +</p> + +<p> +“You seem a most ingenious patriot,” said Lawton. “Major +Dunwoodie, I second the request of this worthy gentleman, and crave the office +of bestowing the reward on him and his fellows.” +</p> + +<p> +“Take it; and you, miserable man, prepare for that fate which will surely +befall you before the setting of to-morrow’s sun.” +</p> + +<p> +“Life offers but little to tempt me with,” said Harvey, slowly +raising his eyes, and gazing wildly at the strange faces in the apartment. +</p> + +<p> +“Come, worthy children of America!” said Lawton, “follow, and +receive your reward.” +</p> + +<p> +The gang eagerly accepted the invitation, and followed the captain towards the +quarters assigned to his troop. Dunwoodie paused a moment, from reluctance to +triumph over a fallen foe, before he proceeded. +</p> + +<p> +“You have already been tried, Harvey Birch; and the truth has proved you +to be an enemy too dangerous to the liberties of America to be suffered to +live.” +</p> + +<p> +“The truth!” echoed the peddler, starting, and raising himself in a +manner that disregarded the weight of his pack. +</p> + +<p> +“Aye! the truth; you are charged with loitering near the continental +army, to gain intelligence of its movements, and, by communicating them to the +enemy, to enable him to frustrate the intentions of Washington.” +</p> + +<p> +“Will Washington say so, think you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Doubtless he would; even the justice of Washington condemns you.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, no,” cried the peddler, in a voice and with a manner that +startled Dunwoodie. “Washington can see beyond the hollow views of +pretended patriots. Has he not risked his all on the cast of a die? If a +gallows is ready for me, was there not one for him also? No, no, no, +no—Washington would never say, ‘Lead him to a +gallows.’” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you anything, wretched man, to urge to the commander in chief why +you should not die?” said the major, recovering from the surprise created +by the manner of the other. +</p> + +<p> +Birch trembled, for violent emotions were contending in his bosom. His face +assumed the ghastly paleness of death, and his hand drew a box of tin from the +folds of his shirt; he opened it, showing by the act that it contained a small +piece of paper. On this document his eye was for an instant fixed—he had +already held it towards Dunwoodie, when suddenly withdrawing his hand he +exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“No—it dies with me. I know the conditions of my service, and will +not purchase life with their forfeiture—it dies with me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Deliver that paper, and you may possibly find favor,” cried +Dunwoodie, expecting a discovery of importance to the cause. +</p> + +<p> +“It dies with me,” repeated Birch, a flush passing over his pallid +features, and lighting them with extraordinary brilliancy. +</p> + +<p> +“Seize the traitor!” cried the major, “and wrest the secret +from his hands.” +</p> + +<p> +The order was immediately obeyed; but the movements of the peddler were too +quick; in an instant he swallowed the paper. The officers paused in +astonishment; but the surgeon cried eagerly,— +</p> + +<p> +“Hold him, while I administer an emetic.” +</p> + +<p> +“Forbear!” said Dunwoodie, beckoning him back with his hand. +“If his crime is great, so will his punishment be heavy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Lead on,” cried the peddler, dropping his pack from his shoulders, +and advancing towards the door with a manner of incomprehensible dignity. +</p> + +<p> +“Whither?” asked Dunwoodie, in amazement. +</p> + +<p> +“To the gallows.” +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said the major, recoiling in horror at his own justice. +“My duty requires that I order you to be executed, but surely not so +hastily; take until nine to-morrow to prepare for the awful change.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie whispered his orders in the ear of a subaltern, and motioned to the +peddler to withdraw. The interruption caused by this scene prevented further +enjoyment around the table, and the officers dispersed to their several places +of rest. In a short time the only noise to be heard was the heavy tread of the +sentinel, as he paced the frozen ground in front of the Hotel Flanagan. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap17"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +There are, whose changing lineaments<br/> +Express each guileless passion of the breast;<br/> +Where Love, and Hope, and tender-hearted Pity<br/> +Are seen reflected, as from a mirror’s face;<br/> +But cold experience can veil these hues<br/> +With looks, invented shrewdly to encompass<br/> +The cunning purposes of base deceit. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—Duo. +</p> + +<p> +The officer to whose keeping Dunwoodie had committed the peddler transferred +his charge to the custody of the regular sergeant of the guard. The gift of +Captain Wharton had not been lost on the youthful lieutenant; and a certain +dancing motion that had taken possession of objects before his eyes, gave him +warning of the necessity of recruiting nature by sleep. After admonishing the +noncommissioned guardian of Harvey to omit no watchfulness in securing the +prisoner, the youth wrapped himself in his cloak, and, stretched on a bench +before a fire, soon found the repose he needed. A rude shed extended the whole +length of the rear of the building, and from off one of its ends had been +partitioned a small apartment, that was intended as a repository for many of +the lesser implements of husbandry. The lawless times had, however, occasioned +its being stripped of everything of value; and the searching eyes of Betty +Flanagan selected this spot, on her arrival, as the storehouse for her movables +and a sanctuary for her person. The spare arms and baggage of the corps had +also been deposited here; and the united treasures were placed under the eye of +the sentinel who paraded the shed as a guardian of the rear of the +headquarters. A second soldier, who was stationed near the house to protect the +horses of the officers, could command a view of the outside of the apartment; +and, as it was without window or outlet of any kind, excepting its door, the +considerate sergeant thought this the most befitting place in which to deposit +his prisoner until the moment of his execution. Several inducements urged +Sergeant Hollister to this determination, among which was the absence of the +washerwoman, who lay before the kitchen fire, dreaming that the corps was +attacking a party of the enemy, and mistaking the noise that proceeded from her +own nose for the bugles of the Virginians sounding the charge. Another was the +peculiar opinions that the veteran entertained of life and death, and by which +he was distinguished in the corps as a man of most exemplary piety and holiness +of life. The sergeant was more than fifty years of age, and for half that +period he had borne arms. The constant recurrence of sudden deaths before his +eyes had produced an effect on him differing greatly from that which was the +usual moral consequence of such scenes; and he had become not only the most +steady, but the most trustworthy soldier in his troop. Captain Lawton had +rewarded his fidelity by making him its orderly. +</p> + +<p> +Followed by Birch, the sergeant proceeded in silence to the door of the +intended prison, and, throwing it open with one hand, he held a lantern with +the other to light the peddler to his prison. Seating himself on a cask, that +contained some of Betty’s favorite beverage, the sergeant motioned to +Birch to occupy another, in the same manner. The lantern was placed on the +floor, when the dragoon, after looking his prisoner steadily in the face, +observed,— +</p> + +<p> +“You look as if you would meet death like a man; and I have brought you +to a spot where you can tranquilly arrange your thoughts, and be quiet and +undisturbed.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis a fearful place to prepare for the last change in,” +said Harvey, gazing around his little prison with a vacant eye. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, for the matter of that,” returned the veteran, “it can +reckon but little in the great account, where a man parades his thoughts for +the last review, so that he finds them fit to pass the muster of another world. +I have a small book here, which I make it a point to read a little in, whenever +we are about to engage, and I find it a great strengthener in time of +need.” While speaking, he took a Bible from his pocket, and offered it to +the peddler. Birch received the volume with habitual reverence; but there was +an abstracted air about him, and a wandering of the eye, that induced his +companion to think that alarm was getting the mastery of the peddler’s +feelings; accordingly, he proceeded in what he conceived to be the offices of +consolation. +</p> + +<p> +“If anything lies heavy on your mind, now is the best time to get rid of +it—if you have done any wrong to anyone, I promise you, on the word of an +honest dragoon, to lend you a helping hand to see them righted.” +</p> + +<p> +“There are few who have not done so,” said the peddler, turning his +vacant gaze once more on his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“True—’tis natural to sin; but it sometimes happens that a +man does what at other times he may be sorry for. One would not wish to die +with any very heavy sin on his conscience, after all.” +</p> + +<p> +Harvey had by this time thoroughly examined the place in which he was to pass +the night, and saw no means of escape. But as hope is ever the last feeling to +desert the human breast, the peddler gave the dragoon more of his attention, +fixing on his sunburned features such searching looks, that Sergeant Hollister +lowered his eyes before the wild expression which he met in the gaze of his +prisoner. +</p> + +<p> +“I have been taught to lay the burden of my sins at the feet of my<br/> +Savior,” replied the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, yes—all that is well enough,” returned the other. +“But justice should be done while there is opportunity. There have been +stirring times in this country since the war began, and many have been deprived +of their rightful goods I oftentimes find it hard to reconcile even my lawful +plunder to a tender conscience.” +</p> + +<p> +“These hands,” said the peddler, stretching forth his meager, bony +fingers, “have spent years in toil, but not a moment in pilfering.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is well that it is so,” said the honest-hearted soldier, +“and, no doubt, you now feel it a great consolation. There are three +great sins, that, if a man can keep his conscience clear of, why, by the mercy +of God, he may hope to pass muster with the saints in heaven: they are +stealing, murdering, and desertion.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank God!” said Birch, with fervor, “I have never yet taken +the life of a fellow creature.” +</p> + +<p> +“As to killing a man in lawful battle, that is no more than doing +one’s duty. If the cause is wrong, the sin of such a deed, you know, +falls on the nation, and a man receives his punishment here with the rest of +the people; but murdering in cold blood stands next to desertion as a crime in +the eye of God.” +</p> + +<p> +“I never was a soldier, therefore never could desert,” said the +peddler, resting his face on his hand in a melancholy attitude. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, desertion consists of more than quitting your colors, though that +is certainly the worst kind; a man may desert his country in the hour of +need.” +</p> + +<p> +Birch buried his face in both his hands, and his whole frame shook; the +sergeant regarded him closely, but good feelings soon got the better of his +antipathies, and he continued more mildly,— +</p> + +<p> +“But still that is a sin which I think may be forgiven, if sincerely +repented of; and it matters but little when or how a man dies, so that he dies +like a Christian and a man. I recommend you to say your prayers, and then to +get some rest, in order that you may do both. There is no hope of your being +pardoned; for Colonel Singleton has sent down the most positive orders to take +your life whenever we met you. No, no—nothing can save you.” +</p> + +<p> +“You say the truth,” cried Birch. “It is now too late—I +have destroyed my only safeguard. But <i>he</i> will do my memory justice at +least.” +</p> + +<p> +“What safeguard?” asked the sergeant, with awakened curiosity. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis nothing,” replied the peddler, recovering his natural +manner, and lowering his face to avoid the earnest looks of his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“And who is he?” +</p> + +<p> +“No one,” added Harvey, anxious to say no more. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing and no one can avail but little now,” said the sergeant, +rising to go. “Lay yourself on the blanket of Mrs. Flanagan, and get a +little sleep; I will call you betimes in the morning; and from the bottom of my +soul I wish I could be of some service to you, for I dislike greatly to see a +man hung up like a dog.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then <i>you</i> might save me from this ignominious death,” said +Birch, springing to his feet, and catching the dragoon by the arm. “And, +oh! what will I not give you in reward!” +</p> + +<p> +“In what manner?” asked the sergeant, looking at him in surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“See,” said the peddler, producing several guineas from his person; +“these are nothing to what I will give you, if you will assist me to +escape.” +</p> + +<p> +“Were you the man whose picture is on the gold, I would not listen to +such a crime,” said the trooper, throwing the money on the floor with +contempt. “Go—go, poor wretch, and make your peace with God; for it +is He only that can be of service to you now.” +</p> + +<p> +The sergeant took up the lantern, and, with some indignation in his manner, he +left the peddler to sorrowful meditations on his approaching fate. Birch sank, +in momentary despair, on the pallet of Betty, while his guardian proceeded to +give the necessary instructions to the sentinels for his safe-keeping. +</p> + +<p> +Hollister concluded his injunctions to the man in the shed, by saying, +“Your life will depend on his not escaping. Let none enter or quit the +room till morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“But,” said the trooper, “my orders are, to let the +washerwoman pass in and out, as she pleases.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, let her then; but be careful that this wily peddler does not get +out in the folds of her petticoats.” He then continued his walk, giving +similar orders to each of the sentinels near the spot. +</p> + +<p> +For some time after the departure of the sergeant, silence prevailed within the +solitary prison of the peddler, until the dragoon at his door heard his loud +breathings, which soon rose into the regular cadence of one in a deep sleep. +The man continued walking his post, musing on an indifference to life which +could allow nature its customary rest, even on the threshold of the grave. +Harvey Birch had, however, been a name too long held in detestation by every +man in the corps, to suffer any feelings of commiseration to mingle with these +reflections of the sentinel; for, notwithstanding the consideration and +kindness manifested by the sergeant, there probably was not another man of his +rank in the whole party who would have discovered equal benevolence to the +prisoner, or who would not have imitated the veteran in rejecting the bribe, +although probably from a less worthy motive. There was something of +disappointed vengeance in the feelings of the man who watched the door of the +room on finding his prisoner enjoying a sleep of which he himself was deprived, +and at his exhibiting such obvious indifference to the utmost penalty that +military rigor could inflict on all his treason to the cause of liberty and +America. More than once he felt prompted to disturb the repose of the peddler +by taunts and revilings; but the discipline he was under, and a secret sense of +shame at the brutality of the act, held him in subjection. +</p> + +<p> +His meditations were, however, soon interrupted by the appearance of the +washerwoman, who came staggering through the door that communicated with the +kitchen, muttering execrations against the servants of the officers, who, by +their waggery, had disturbed her slumbers before the fire. The sentinel +understood enough of her maledictions to comprehend the case; but all his +efforts to enter into conversation with the enraged woman were useless, and he +suffered her to enter her room without explaining that it contained another +inmate. The noise of her huge frame falling on the bed was succeeded by a +silence that was soon interrupted by the renewed respiration of the peddler, +and within a few minutes Harvey continued to breathe aloud, as if no +interruption had occurred. The relief arrived at this moment. +</p> + +<p> +The sentinel, who felt nettled at the contempt of the peddler, after +communicating his orders, while he was retiring, exclaimed to his +successor,— +</p> + +<p> +“You may keep yourself warm by dancing, John; the peddler spy has tuned +his fiddle, you hear, and it will not be long before Betty will strike up, in +her turn.” +</p> + +<p> +The joke was followed by a general laugh from the party, who marched on in +performance of their duty. At this instant the door of the prison was opened, +and Betty reappeared, staggering back again toward her former quarters. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop,” said the sentinel, catching her by her clothes; “are +you sure the spy is not in your pocket?” +</p> + +<p> +“Can’t you hear the rascal snoring in my room, you dirty +blackguard?” sputtered Betty, her whole frame shaking with rage. +“And is it so ye would sarve a dacent famale, that a man must be put to +sleep in the room wid her, ye rapscallion?” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh! Do you mind a fellow who’s to be hanged in the morning? You +see he sleeps already; to-morrow he’ll take a longer nap.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hands off, ye villain,” cried the washerwoman, relinquishing a +small bottle that the trooper had succeeded in wresting from her. “But +I’ll go to Captain Jack, and know if it’s orders to put a +hang-gallows spy in my room; aye, even in my widowed bed, you tief!” +</p> + +<p> +“Silence, old Jezebel!” said the fellow with a laugh, taking the +bottle from his mouth to breathe, “or you will wake the gentleman. Would +you disturb a man in his last sleep?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll awake Captain Jack, you reprobate villain, and bring him here +to see me righted; he will punish ye all, for imposing on a dacent widowed +body, you marauder!” +</p> + +<p> +With these words, which only extorted a laugh from the sentinel, Betty +staggered round the end of the building, and made the best of her way towards +the quarters of her favorite, Captain John Lawton, in search of redress. +Neither the officer nor the woman, however, appeared during the night, and +nothing further occurred to disturb the repose of the peddler, who, to the +astonishment of the different sentinels, continued by his breathing to manifest +how little the gallows could affect his slumbers. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap18"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +A Daniel come to judgment; yea, a Daniel!<br/> +O wise young judge, how I do honor thee! +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Merchant of Venice.</i> +</p> + +<p> +The Skinners followed Captain Lawton with alacrity, towards the quarters +occupied by the troop of that gentleman. The captain of dragoons had on all +occasions manifested so much zeal for the cause in which he was engaged, was so +regardless of personal danger when opposed to the enemy, and his stature and +stern countenance contributed so much to render him terrific, that these +qualities had, in some measure, procured him a reputation distinct from the +corps in which he served. His intrepidity was mistaken for ferocity; and his +hasty zeal, for the natural love of cruelty. On the other hand, a few acts of +clemency, or, more properly speaking, of discriminating justice, had, with one +portion of the community, acquired for Dunwoodie the character of undue +forbearance. It is seldom that either popular condemnation or popular applause +falls, exactly in the quantities earned, where it is merited. +</p> + +<p> +While in the presence of the major the leader of the gang had felt himself +under that restraint which vice must ever experience in the company of +acknowledged virtue; but having left the house, he at once conceived that he +was under the protection of a congenial spirit. There was a gravity in the +manner of Lawton that deceived most of those who did not know him intimately; +and it was a common saying in his troop, that “when the captain laughed, +he was sure to punish.” Drawing near his conductor, therefore, the leader +commenced a confidential dialogue. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis always well for a man to know his friends from his +enemies,” said the half-licensed freebooter. +</p> + +<p> +To this prefatory observation the captain made no other reply than a sound +which the other interpreted into assent. +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose Major Dunwoodie has the good opinion of Washington?” +continued the Skinner, in a tone that rather expressed a doubt than asked a +question. +</p> + +<p> +“There are some who think so.” +</p> + +<p> +“Many of the friends of Congress in this county,” the man +proceeded, “wish the horse was led by some other officer. For my part, if +I could only be covered by a troop now and then, I could do many an important +piece of service to the cause, to which this capture of the peddler would be a +trifle.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed! such as what?” +</p> + +<p> +“For the matter of that, it could be made as profitable to the officer as +it would be to us who did it,” said the Skinner, with a look of the most +significant meaning. +</p> + +<p> +“But how?” asked Lawton, a little impatiently, and quickening his +step to get out of the hearing of the rest of the party. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, near the royal lines, even under the very guns of the heights, +might be good picking if we had a force to guard us from De Lancey’s<a +href="#linknote-8" name="linknoteref-8" id="linknoteref-8"><sup>[8]</sup></a> +men, and to cover our retreat from being cut off by the way of King’s +Bridge.” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought the Refugees took all that game to themselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“They do a little at it; but they are obliged to be sparing among their +own people. I have been down twice, under an agreement with them: the first +time they acted with honor; but the second they came upon us and drove us off, +and took the plunder to themselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“That was a very dishonorable act, indeed; I wonder that an honorable man +will associate with such rascals.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is necessary to have an understanding with some of them, or we might +be taken; but a man without honor is worse than a brute. Do you think Major +Dunwoodie is to be trusted?” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean on honorable principles?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly; you know Arnold was thought well of until the royal major was +taken.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, I do not believe Dunwoodie would sell his command as Arnold wished +to do; neither do I think him exactly trustworthy in a delicate business like +this of yours.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s just my notion,” rejoined the Skinner, with a +self-approving manner that showed how much he was satisfied with his own +estimate of character. +</p> + +<p> +By this time they had arrived at a better sort of farmhouse, the very extensive +outbuildings of which were in tolerable repair, for the times. The barns were +occupied by the men of the troop, while the horses were arranged under the long +sheds which protected the yard from the cold north wind. The latter were +quietly eating, with saddles on their backs and bridles thrown on their necks, +ready to be bitted and mounted at the shortest warning. Lawton excused himself +for a moment, and entered his quarters. He soon returned, holding in his hand +one of the common, stable lanterns, and led the way towards a large orchard +that surrounded the buildings on three sides. The gang followed the trooper in +silence, believing his object to be facility of communicating further on this +interesting topic, without the danger of being overheard. +</p> + +<p> +Approaching the captain, the Skinner renewed the discourse, with a view of +establishing further confidence, and of giving his companion a more favorable +opinion of his own intellects. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think the colonies will finally get the better of the +king?” he inquired, with a little of the importance of a politician. +</p> + +<p> +“Get the better!” echoed the captain with impetuosity. Then +checking himself, he continued, “No doubt they will. If the French will +give us arms and money, we will drive out the royal troops in six +months.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, so I hope we shall soon; and then we shall have a free government, +and we, who fight for it, will get our reward.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” cried Lawton, “your claims will be indisputable; while +all these vile Tories who live at home peaceably, to take care of their farms, +will be held in the contempt they merit. You have no farm, I suppose?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not yet—but it will go hard if I do not find one before the peace +is made.” +</p> + +<p> +“Right; study your own interests, and you study the interests of your +country; press the point of your own services, and rail at the Tories, and +I’ll bet my spurs against a rusty nail that you get to be a county clerk +at least.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you think Paulding’s<a href="#linknote-9" +name="linknoteref-9" id="linknoteref-9"><sup>[9]</sup></a> party were fools in +not letting the royal adjutant general escape?” said the man, thrown off +his guard by the freedom of the captain’s manner. +</p> + +<p> +“Fools!” cried Lawton, with a bitter laugh. “Aye, fools +indeed; King George would have paid them better, for he is richer. He would +have made them gentlemen for their losses. But, thank God! there is a pervading +spirit in the people that seems miraculous. Men who have nothing, act as if the +wealth of the Indies depended on their fidelity; all are not villains like +yourself, or we should have been slaves to England years ago.” +</p> + +<p> +“How!” exclaimed the Skinner, starting back, and dropping his +musket to the level of the other’s breast; “am I betrayed, and are +you my enemy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Miscreant!” shouted Lawton, his saber ringing in its steel +scabbard, as he struck the musket of the fellow from his hands, “offer +but again to point your gun at me, and I’ll cleave you to the +middle.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you will not pay us, then, Captain Lawton?” said the Skinner, +trembling in every joint, for just then he saw a party of mounted dragoons +silently encircling the whole party. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! pay you—yes, you shall have the full measure of your reward. +There is the money that Colonel Singleton sent down for the captors of the +spy,” throwing a bag of guineas with disdain at the other’s feet. +“But ground your arms, you rascals, and see that the money is truly +told.” +</p> + +<p> +The intimidated band did as they were ordered; and while they were eagerly +employed in this pleasing avocation, a few of Lawton’s men privately +knocked the flints out of their muskets. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” cried the impatient captain, “is it right? Have you +the promised reward?” +</p> + +<p> +“There is just the money,” said the leader; “and we will now +go to our homes, with your permission.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hold! so much to redeem our promise—now for justice; we pay you +for taking a spy, but we punish you for burning, robbing, and murdering. Seize +them, my lads, and give each of them the law of Moses—forty save +one.” +</p> + +<p> +This command was given to no unwilling listeners; and in the twinkling of an +eye the Skinners were stripped and fastened, by the halters of the party, to as +many of the apple trees as were necessary to furnish one to each of the gang. +Swords were quickly drawn, and fifty branches were cut from the trees, like +magic; from these were selected a few of the most supple of the twigs, and a +willing dragoon was soon found to wield each of the weapons. Captain Lawton +gave the word, humanely cautioning his men not to exceed the discipline +prescribed by the Mosaic law, and the uproar of Babel commenced in the orchard. +The cries of the leader were easily to be distinguished above those of his men; +a circumstance which might be accounted for, by Captain Lawton’s +reminding his corrector that he had to deal with an officer, and he should +remember and pay him unusual honor. The flagellation was executed with great +neatness and dispatch, and it was distinguished by no irregularity, excepting +that none of the disciplinarians began to count until they had tried their +whips by a dozen or more blows, by the way, as they said themselves, of finding +out the proper places to strike. As soon as this summary operation was +satisfactorily completed, Lawton directed his men to leave the Skinners to +replace their own clothes, and to mount their horses; for they were a party who +had been detached for the purpose of patrolling lower down in the county. +</p> + +<p> +“You see, my friend,” said the captain to the leader of the +Skinners, after he had prepared himself to depart, “I can cover you to +some purpose, when necessary. If we meet often, you will be covered with scars, +which, if not very honorable, will at least be merited.” +</p> + +<p> +The fellow made no reply. He was busy with his musket, and hastening his +comrades to march; when, everything being ready, they proceeded sullenly +towards some rocks at no great distance, which were overhung by a deep wood. +The moon was just rising, and the group of dragoons could easily be +distinguished where they had been left. Suddenly turning, the whole gang +leveled their pieces and drew the triggers. The action was noticed, and the +snapping of the locks was heard by the soldiers, who returned their futile +attempt with a laugh of derision, the captain crying aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! rascals, I knew you, and have taken away your flints.” +</p> + +<p> +“You should have taken away that in my pouch, too,” shouted the +leader, firing his gun in the next instant. The bullet grazed the ear of +Lawton, who laughed as he shook his head, saying, “A miss was as good as +a mile.” One of the dragoons had seen the preparations of the +Skinner—who had been left alone by the rest of his gang, as soon as they +had made their abortive attempt at revenge—and was in the act of plunging +his spurs into his horse as the fellow fired. The distance to the rocks was but +small, yet the speed of the horse compelled the leader to abandon both money +and musket, to effect his escape. The soldier returned with his prizes, and +offered them to the acceptance of his captain; but Lawton rejected them, +telling the man to retain them himself, until the rascal appeared in person to +claim his property. It would have been a business of no small difficulty for +any tribunal then existing in the new states to have enforced a restitution of +the money; for it was shortly after most equitably distributed, by the hands of +Sergeant Hollister, among a troop of horse. The patrol departed, and the +captain slowly returned to his quarters, with an intention of retiring to rest. +A figure moving rapidly among the trees, in the direction of the wood whither +the Skinners had retired, caught his eye, and, wheeling on his heel, the +cautious partisan approached it, and, to his astonishment, saw the washerwoman +at that hour of the night, and in such a place. +</p> + +<p> +“What, Betty! Walking in your sleep, or dreaming while awake?” +cried the trooper. “Are you not afraid of meeting with the ghost of +ancient Jenny in this her favorite pasture?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah, sure, Captain Jack,” returned the sutler in her native accent, +and reeling in a manner that made it difficult for her to raise her head, +“it’s not Jenny, or her ghost, that I’m saaking, but some +yarbs for the wounded. And it’s the vartue of the rising moon, as it jist +touches them, that I want. They grow under yon rocks, and I must hasten, or the +charm will lose its power.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fool, you are fitter for your pallet than for wandering among those +rocks; a fall from one of them would break your bones; besides, the Skinners +have fled to those heights, and should you fall in with them, they would +revenge on you a sound flogging they have just received from me. Better return, +old woman, and finish your nap; we march in the morning.” +</p> + +<p> +Betty disregarded his advice, and continued her devious route to the hillside. +For an instant, as Lawton mentioned the Skinners, she had paused, but +immediately resuming her course, she was soon out of sight, among the trees. +</p> + +<p> +As the captain entered his quarters, the sentinel at the door inquired if he +had met Mrs. Flanagan, and added that she had passed there, filling the air +with threats against her tormentors at the “Hotel,” and inquiring +for the captain in search of redress. Lawton heard the man in +astonishment—appeared struck with a new idea—walked several yards +towards the orchard, and returned again; for several minutes he paced rapidly +to and fro before the door of the house, and then hastily entering it, he threw +himself on a bed in his clothes, and was soon in a profound sleep. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime, the gang of marauders had successfully gained the summit of +the rocks, and, scattering in every direction, they buried themselves in the +depths of the wood. Finding, however, there was no pursuit, which indeed would +have been impracticable for horse, the leader ventured to call his band +together with a whistle, and in a short time he succeeded in collecting his +discomfited party, at a point where they had but little to apprehend from any +enemy. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said one of the fellows, while a fire was lighting to +protect them against the air, which was becoming severely cold, “there is +an end to our business in Westchester. The Virginia horse will make the county +too hot to hold us.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll have his blood,” muttered the leader, “if I die +for it the next instant.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, you are very valiant here, in the wood,” cried the other, with +a savage laugh. “Why did you, who boast so much of your aim, miss your +man, at thirty yards?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas the horseman that disturbed me, or I would have ended this +Captain Lawton on the spot; besides, the cold had set me a-shivering, and I had +no longer a steady hand.” +</p> + +<p> +“Say it was fear, and you will tell no lie,” said his comrade with +a sneer. “For my part, I think I shall never be cold again; my back burns +as if a thousand gridirons were laid on it.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you would tamely submit to such usage, and kiss the rod that beat +you?” +</p> + +<p> +“As for kissing the rod, it would be no easy matter. Mine was broken into +so small pieces, on my own shoulders, that it would be difficult to find one +big enough to kiss; but I would rather submit to lose half my skin, than to +lose the whole of it, with my ears in the bargain. And such will be our fates, +if we tempt this mad Virginian again. God willing, I would at any time give him +enough of my hide to make a pair of jack boots, to get out of his hands with +the remainder. If you had known when you were well off, you would have stuck to +Major Dunwoodie, who don’t know half so much of our evil doings.” +</p> + +<p> +“Silence, you talking fool!” shouted the enraged leader; +“your prating is sufficient to drive a man mad. Is it not enough to be +robbed and beaten, but we must be tormented with your folly? Help to get out +the provisions, if any is left in the wallet, and try and stop your mouth with +food.” +</p> + +<p> +This injunction was obeyed, and the whole party, amidst sundry groans and +contortions, excited by the disordered state of their backs, made their +arrangements for a scanty meal. A large fire of dry wood was burning in the +cleft of a rock, and at length they began to recover from the confusion of +their flight, and to collect their scattered senses. Their hunger being +appeased, and many of their garments thrown aside for the better opportunity of +dressing their wounds, the gang began to plot measures of revenge. An hour was +spent in this manner, and various expedients were proposed; but as they all +depended on personal prowess for their success, and were attended by great +danger, they were of course rejected. There was no possibility of approaching +the troops by surprise, their vigilance being ever on the watch; and the hope +of meeting Captain Lawton away from his men, was equally forlorn, for the +trooper was constantly engaged in his duty, and his movements were so rapid, +that any opportunity of meeting with him, at all, must depend greatly on +accident. Besides, it was by no means certain that such an interview would +result happily for themselves. The cunning of the trooper was notorious; and +rough and broken as was Westchester, the fearless partisan was known to take +desperate leaps, and stone walls were but slight impediments to the charges of +the Southern horse. Gradually, the conversation took another direction, until +the gang determined on a plan which should both revenge themselves, and at the +same time offer some additional stimulus to their exertions. The whole business +was accurately discussed, the time fixed, and the manner adopted; in short, +nothing was wanting to the previous arrangement for this deed of villainy, when +they were aroused by a voice calling aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“This way, Captain Jack—here are the rascals ’ating by a +fire—this way, and murder the t’ieves where they sit—quick, +l’ave your horses and shoot your pistols!” +</p> + +<p> +This terrific summons was enough to disturb all the philosophy of the gang. +Springing on their feet, they rushed deeper into the wood, and having already +agreed upon a place of rendezvous previously to their intended expedition, they +dispersed towards the four quarters of the heavens. Certain sounds and +different voices were heard calling on each other, but as the marauders were +well trained to speed of foot, they were soon lost in the distance. +</p> + +<p> +It was not long before Betty Flanagan emerged from the darkness, and very +coolly took possession of what the Skinners had left behind them; namely, food +and divers articles of dress. The washerwoman deliberately seated herself, and +made a meal with great apparent satisfaction. For an hour, she sat with her +head upon her hand, in deep musing; then she gathered together such articles of +the clothes, as seemed to suit her fancy, and retired into the wood, leaving +the fire to throw its glimmering light on the adjacent rocks, until its last +brand died away, and the place was abandoned to solitude and darkness. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-8">[8]</a> +The partisan corps called Cowboys in the parlance of the country, was commanded +by Colonel De Lancey. This gentleman, for such he was by birth and education, +rendered himself very odious to the Americans by his fancied cruelty, though +there is no evidence of his being guilty of any acts unusual in this species of +warfare. Colonel De Lancey belonged to a family of the highest consequence in +the American colonies, his uncle having died in the administration of the +government of that of New York. He should not be confounded with other +gentlemen of his name and family, many of whom served in the royal army. His +cousin, Colonel Oliver De Lancey, was, at the time of our tale, adjutant +general of the British forces in America, having succeeded to the unfortunate +André. The Cowboys were sometimes called Refugees, in consequence of their +having taken refuge under the protection of the crown. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-9" id="linknote-9"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-9">[9]</a> +The author must have intended some allusion to an individual, which is too +local to be understood by the general reader. André, as is well known, was +arrested by three countrymen, who were on the lookout for predatory parties of +the enemy; the principal man of this party was named Paulding. The +disinterested manner in which they refused the offers of their captive is +matter of history. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap19"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +No longer then perplex the breast—<br/> +When thoughts torment, the first are best;<br/> +’Tis mad to go, ’tis death to stay!<br/> +Away, to Orra, haste away. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—Lapland Love Song. +</p> + +<p> +While his comrades were sleeping, in perfect forgetfulness of their hardships +and dangers, the slumbers of Dunwoodie were broken and unquiet. After spending +a night of restlessness, he arose, unrefreshed, from the rude bed where he had +thrown himself in his clothes, and, without awaking any of the group around +him, he wandered into the open air in search of relief. The soft rays of the +moon were just passing away in the more distinct light of the morning; the wind +had fallen, and the rising mists gave the promise of another of those autumnal +days, which, in this unstable climate, succeed a tempest with the rapid +transitions of magic. The hour had not yet arrived when he intended moving from +his present position; and, willing to allow his warriors all the refreshment +that circumstances would permit, he strolled towards the scene of the +Skinners’ punishment, musing upon the embarrassments of his situation, +and uncertain how he should reconcile his sense of duty with his love. Although +Dunwoodie himself placed the most implicit reliance on the captain’s +purity of intention, he was by no means assured that a board of officers would +be equally credulous; and, independently of all feelings of private regard, he +felt certain that with the execution of Henry would be destroyed all hopes of a +union with his sister. He had dispatched an officer, the preceding evening, to +Colonel Singleton, who was in command of the advance posts, reporting the +capture of the British captain, and, after giving his own opinion of his +innocence, requesting orders as to the manner in which he was to dispose of his +prisoner. These orders might be expected every hour, and his uneasiness +increased, in proportion as the moment approached when his friend might be +removed from his protection. In this disturbed state of mind, the major +wandered through the orchard, and was stopped in his walk by arriving at the +base of those rocks which had protected the Skinners in their flight, before he +was conscious whither his steps had carried him. He was about to turn, and +retrace his path to his quarters, when he was startled by a voice, bidding +him,— +</p> + +<p> +“Stand or die!” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie turned in amazement, and beheld the figure of a man placed at a +little distance above him on a shelving rock, with a musket leveled at himself. +The light was not yet sufficiently powerful to reach the recesses of that +gloomy spot, and a second look was necessary before he discovered, to his +astonishment, that the peddler stood before him. Comprehending, in an instant, +the danger of his situation, and disdaining to implore mercy or to retreat, had +the latter been possible, the youth cried firmly,— +</p> + +<p> +“If I am to be murdered, fire! I will never become your prisoner.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, Major Dunwoodie,” said Birch, lowering his musket, “it +is neither my intention to capture nor to slay.” +</p> + +<p> +“What then would you have, mysterious being?” said Dunwoodie, +hardly able to persuade himself that the form he saw was not a creature of the +imagination. +</p> + +<p> +“Your good opinion,” answered the peddler, with emotion. “I +would wish all good men to judge me with lenity.” +</p> + +<p> +“To you it must be indifferent what may be the judgment of men; for you +seem to be beyond the reach of their sentence.” +</p> + +<p> +“God spares the lives of His servants to His own time,” said the +peddler, solemnly. “A few hours ago I was your prisoner, and threatened +with the gallows; now you are mine; but, Major Dunwoodie, you are free. There +are men abroad who would treat you less kindly. Of what service would that +sword be to you against my weapon and a steady hand? Take the advice of one who +has never harmed you, and who never will. Do not trust yourself in the skirts +of any wood, unless in company and mounted.” +</p> + +<p> +“And have you comrades, who have assisted you to escape, and who are less +generous than yourself?” +</p> + +<p> +“No—no, I am alone truly—none know me but my God and +<i>him.</i>” +</p> + +<p> +“And who?” asked the major, with an interest he could not control. +</p> + +<p> +“None,” continued the peddler, recovering his composure. “But +such is not your case, Major Dunwoodie; you are young and happy; there are +those that are dear to you, and such are not far away—danger is near them +you love most—danger within and without—double your +watchfulness— strengthen your patrols—and be silent. With your +opinion of me, should I tell you more, you would suspect an ambush. But +remember and guard them you love best.” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler discharged the musket in the air, and threw it at the feet of his +astonished auditor. When surprise and the smoke allowed Dunwoodie to look again +on the rock where he had stood, the spot was vacant. +</p> + +<p> +The youth was aroused from the stupor, which had been created by this strange +scene, by the trampling of horses, and the sound of the bugles. A patrol was +drawn to the spot by the report of the musket, and the alarm had been given to +the corps. Without entering into any explanation with his men, the major +returned quickly to his quarters, where he found the whole squadron under arms, +in battle array, impatiently awaiting the appearance of their leader. The +officer whose duty it was to superintend such matters, had directed a party to +lower the sign of the Hotel Flanagan, and the post was already arranged for the +execution of the spy. On hearing from the major that the musket was discharged +by himself, and was probably one of those dropped by the Skinners (for by this +time Dunwoodie had learned the punishment inflicted by Lawton, but chose to +conceal his own interview with Birch), his officers suggested the propriety of +executing their prisoner before they marched. Unable to believe that all he had +seen was not a dream, Dunwoodie, followed by many of his officers, and preceded +by Sergeant Hollister, went to the place which was supposed to contain the +peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, sir,” said the major to the sentinel who guarded the door, +“I trust you have your prisoner in safety.” +</p> + +<p> +“He is yet asleep,” replied the man, “and he makes such a +noise, I could hardly hear the bugles sound the alarm.” +</p> + +<p> +“Open the door and bring him forth.” +</p> + +<p> +The order was obeyed; but to the utter amazement of the honest veteran who +entered the prison, he found the room in no little disorder—the coat of +the peddler where his body ought to have been, and part of the wardrobe of +Betty scattered in disorder on the floor. The washerwoman herself occupied the +pallet, in profound mental oblivion, clad as when last seen, excepting a little +black bonnet, which she so constantly wore, that it was commonly thought she +made it perform the double duty of both day and night cap. The noise of their +entrance, and the exclamations of their party, awoke the woman. +</p> + +<p> +“Is it the breakfast that’s wanting?” said Betty, rubbing her +eyes. “Faith, ye look as if ye would ate myself—but patience, a +little, darlings, and ye’ll see sich a fry as never was.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fry!” echoed the sergeant, forgetful of his religious philosophy, +and the presence of his officers. “We’ll have you roasted, +Jezebel!—you’ve helped that damned peddler to escape.” +</p> + +<p> +“Jezebel back ag’in in your own teeth, and damned piddler too, Mr. +Sargeant!” cried Betty, who was easily roused. “What have I to do +with piddlers, or escapes? I might have been a piddler’s lady, and wore +my silks, if I’d had Sawny M’Twill, instead of tagging at the heels +of a parcel of dragooning rapscallions, who don’t know how to trate a +lone body with dacency.” +</p> + +<p> +“The fellow has left my Bible,” said the veteran, taking he book +from the floor. “Instead of spending his time in reading it to prepare +for his end like a good Christian, he has been busy in laboring to +escape.” +</p> + +<p> +“And who would stay and be hanged like a dog?” cried Betty, +beginning to comprehend the case. “’Tisn’t everyone +that’s born to meet with sich an ind—like yourself, Mr. +Hollister.” +</p> + +<p> +“Silence!” said Dunwoodie. “This must be inquired into +closely, gentlemen; there is no outlet but the door, and there he could not +pass, unless the sentinel connived at his escape, or was asleep at his post. +Call up the guard.” +</p> + +<p> +As these men were not paraded, curiosity had already drawn them to the place, +and they one and all, with the exception of him before mentioned, denied that +any person had passed out. The individual in question acknowledged that Betty +had gone by him, but pleaded his orders in justification. +</p> + +<p> +“You lie, you t’ief—you lie!” shouted Betty, who had +impatiently listened to his exculpation. “Would ye slanderize a lone +woman, by saying she walks a camp at midnight? Here have I been slaping the +long night, swaatly as the sucking babe.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here, sir,” said the sergeant, turning respectfully to Dunwoodie, +“is something written in my Bible that was not in it before; for having +no family to record, I would not suffer any scribbling in the sacred +book.” +</p> + +<p> +One of the officers read aloud: “<i>These certify, that if suffered to +get free, it is by God’s help alone, to whose divine aid I humbly +riccommind myself. I’m forced to take the woman’s clothes, but in +her pocket is a ricompinse. Witness my hand—Harvey Birch.</i>” +</p> + +<p> +“What!” roared Betty, “has the t’ief robbed a lone +woman of her all! Hang him—catch him and hang him, major; if +there’s law or justice in the land.” +</p> + +<p> +“Examine your pocket,” said one of the youngsters, who was enjoying +the scene, careless of the consequences. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! faith,” cried the washerwoman, producing a guinea, “but +he is a jewel of a piddler! Long life and a brisk trade to him, say I; he is +wilcome to the duds—and if he is ever hanged, many a bigger rogue will go +free.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie turned to leave the apartment, and he saw Captain Lawton standing +with folded arms, contemplating the scene with profound silence. His manner, so +different from his usual impetuosity and zeal, struck his commander as +singular. Their eyes met, and they walked together for a few minutes in close +conversation, when Dunwoodie returned, and dismissed the guard to their place +of rendezvous. Sergeant Hollister, however, continued along with Betty, who, +having found none of her vestments disturbed but such as the guinea more than +paid for, was in high good humor. The washerwoman had for a long time looked on +the veteran with the eyes of affection; and she had determined within herself +to remove certain delicate objections which had long embarrassed her peculiar +situation, as respected the corps, by making the sergeant the successor of her +late husband. For some time past the trooper had seemed to flatter this +preference; and Betty, conceiving that her violence might have mortified her +suitor, was determined to make him all the amends in her power. Besides, rough +and uncouth as she was, the washerwoman had still enough of her sex to know +that the moments of reconciliation were the moments of power. She therefore +poured out a glass of her morning beverage, and handed it to her companion as a +peace offering. +</p> + +<p> +“A few warm words between fri’nds are a trifle, ye must be knowing, +sargeant,” said the washerwoman. “It was Michael Flanagan that I +ever calumn’ated the most when I was loving him the best.” +</p> + +<p> +“Michael was a good soldier and a brave man,” said the trooper, +finishing the glass. “Our troop was covering the flank of his regiment +when he fell, and I rode over his body myself during the day. Poor fellow! he +lay on his back, and looked as composed as if he had died a natural death after +a year’s consumption.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Michael was a great consumer, and be sartin; two such as us make +dreadful inroads in the stock, sargeant. But ye’re a sober, discrate man, +Mister Hollister, and would be a helpmate indeed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, Mrs. Flanagan, I’ve tarried to speak on a subject that lies +heavy at my heart, and I will now open my mind, if you’ve leisure to +listen.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is it listen?” cried the impatient woman; “and I’d +listen to you, sargeant, if the officers never ate another mouthful. But take a +second drop, dear; ’twill encourage you to spake freely.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am already bold enough in so good a cause,” returned the +veteran, rejecting her bounty. “Betty, do you think it was really the +peddler spy that I placed in this room the last night?” +</p> + +<p> +“And who should it be else, darling?” +</p> + +<p> +“The evil one.” +</p> + +<p> +“What, the divil?” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, even Beelzebub, disguised as the peddler; and them fellows we +thought to be Skinners were his imps.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well sure, sargeant dear, ye’re but little out this time, anyway; +for if the divil’s imps go at large in the county Westchester, sure it is +the Skinners, themselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mrs. Flanagan, I mean in their incarnate spirits; the evil one knew +there was no one we would arrest sooner than the peddler Birch, and he took on +his appearance to gain admission to your room.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what should the divil be wanting of me?” cried Betty, tartly. +“And isn’t there divils enough in the corps already, without +one’s coming from the bottomless pit to frighten a lone body?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas in mercy to you, Betty, that he was permitted to come. You +see he vanished through the door in your form, which is a symbol of your fate, +unless you mend your life. Oh! I noticed how he trembled when I gave him the +good book. Would any Christian, think you, my dear Betty, write in a Bible in +this way; unless it might be the matter of births and deaths, and such lawful +chronicles?” +</p> + +<p> +The washerwoman was pleased with the softness of her lover’s manner, but +dreadfully scandalized at his insinuation. She, however, preserved her temper, +and with the quickness of her own country’s people, rejoined, “And +would the divil have paid for the clothes, think ye?—aye, and +overpaid.” +</p> + +<p> +“Doubtless the money is base,” said the sergeant, a little +staggered at such an evidence of honesty in one of whom, as to generals, he +thought so meanly. “He tempted me with his glittering coin, but the Lord +gave me strength to resist.” +</p> + +<p> +“The goold looks well; but I’ll change it, anyway, with Captain +Jack, the day. He is niver a bit afeard of any divil of them all!” +</p> + +<p> +“Betty, Betty,” said her companion, “do not speak so +disreverently of the evil spirit; he is ever at hand, and will owe you a +grudge, for your language.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh! if he has any bowels at all, he won’t mind a fillip or two +from a poor lone woman; I’m sure no other Christian would.” +</p> + +<p> +“But the dark one has no bowels, except to devour the children of +men,” said the sergeant, looking around him in horror; “and +it’s best to make friends everywhere, for there is no telling what may +happen till it comes. But, Betty, no man could have got out of this place, and +passed all the sentinels, without being known. Take awful warning from the +visit therefore—” +</p> + +<p> +Here the dialogue was interrupted by a peremptory summons to the sutler to +prepare the morning’s repast, and they were obliged to separate; the +woman secretly hoping that the interest the sergeant manifested was more +earthly than he imagined; and the man, bent on saving a soul from the fangs of +the dark spirit that was prowling through their camp in quest of victims. +</p> + +<p> +During the breakfast several expresses arrived, one of which brought +intelligence of the actual force and destination of the enemy’s +expedition that was out on the Hudson; and another, orders to send Captain +Wharton to the first post above, under the escort of a body of dragoons. These +last instructions, or rather commands, for they admitted of no departure from +their letter, completed the sum of Dunwoodie’s uneasiness. The despair +and misery of Frances were constantly before his eyes, and fifty times he was +tempted to throw himself on his horse and gallop to the Locusts; but an +uncontrollable feeling prevented. In obedience to the commands of his superior, +an officer, with a small party, was sent to the cottage to conduct Henry +Wharton to the place directed; and the gentleman who was intrusted with the +execution of the order was charged with a letter from Dunwoodie to his friend, +containing the most cheering assurances of his safety, as well as the strongest +pledges of his own unceasing exertions in his favor. Lawton was left with part +of his own troop, in charge of the few wounded; and as soon as the men were +refreshed, the encampment broke up, the main body marching towards the Hudson. +Dunwoodie repeated his injunctions to Captain Lawton again and +again—dwelt on every word that had fallen from the peddler, and +canvassed, in every possible manner that his ingenuity could devise, the +probable meaning of his mysterious warnings, until no excuse remained for +delaying his own departure. Suddenly recollecting, however, that no directions +had been given for the disposal of Colonel Wellmere, instead of following the +rear of the column, the major yielded to his desires, and turned down the road +which led to the Locusts. The horse of Dunwoodie was fleet as the wind, and +scarcely a minute seemed to have passed before he gained sight, from an +eminence, of the lonely vale, and as he was plunging into the bottom lands that +formed its surface, he caught a glimpse of Henry Wharton and his escort, at a +distance, defiling through a pass which led to the posts above. This sight +added to the speed of the anxious youth, who now turned the angle of the hill +that opened to the valley, and came suddenly on the object of his search. +Frances had followed the party which guarded her brother, at a distance; and as +they vanished from her sight, she felt deserted by all that she most prized in +this world. The unaccountable absence of Dunwoodie, with the shock of parting +from Henry under such circumstances, had entirely subdued her fortitude, and +she had sunk on a stone by the roadside, sobbing as if her heart would break. +Dunwoodie sprang from his charger, threw the reins over the neck of the animal, +and in a moment he was by the side of the weeping girl. +</p> + +<p> +“Frances—my own Frances!” he exclaimed, “why this +distress? Let not the situation of your brother create any alarm. As soon as +the duty I am now on is completed, I will hasten to the feet of Washington, and +beg his release. The Father of his Country will never deny such a boon to one +of his favorite pupils.” +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie, for your interest in behalf of my poor brother, I thank +you,” said the trembling girl, drying her eyes, and rising with dignity; +“but such language addressed to me, surely, is improper.” +</p> + +<p> +“Improper! are you not mine—by the consent of your +father—your aunt—your brother—nay, by your own consent, my +sweet Frances?” +</p> + +<p> +“I wish not, Major Dunwoodie, to interfere with the prior claims that any +other lady may have to your affections,” said Frances, struggling to +speak with firmness. +</p> + +<p> +“None other, I swear by Heaven, none other has any claim on me!” +cried<br/> +Dunwoodie, with fervor. “You alone are mistress of my inmost +soul.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have practiced so much, and so successfully, Major Dunwoodie, that +it is no wonder you excel in deceiving the credulity of my sex,” returned +Frances, attempting a smile, which the tremulousness of her muscles smothered +at birth. +</p> + +<p> +“Am I a villain, Miss Wharton, that you receive me with such language? +When have I ever deceived you, Frances? Who has practiced in this manner on +your purity of heart?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why has not Major Dunwoodie honored the dwelling of his intended father +with his presence lately? Did he forget it contained one friend on a bed of +sickness, and another in deep distress? Has it escaped his memory that it held +his intended wife? Or is he fearful of meeting more than one that can lay a +claim to that title? Oh, Peyton—Peyton, how have I been deceived in you! +With the foolish credulity of my youth, I thought you all that was brave, +noble, generous, and loyal.” +</p> + +<p> +“Frances, I see how you have deceived yourself,” cried Dunwoodie, +his face in a glow of fire. “You do me injustice; I swear by all that is +most dear to me, that you do me injustice.” +</p> + +<p> +“Swear not, Major Dunwoodie,” interrupted Frances, her fine +countenance lighting with the luster of womanly pride. “The time is gone +by for me to credit oaths.” +</p> + +<p> +“Miss Wharton, would you have me a coxcomb—make me contemptible in +my own eyes, by boasting with the hope of raising myself in your +estimation?” +</p> + +<p> +“Flatter not yourself that the task is so easy, sir,” returned +Frances, moving towards the cottage. “We converse together in private for +the last time; but—possibly—my father would welcome my +mother’s kinsman.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, Miss Wharton, I cannot enter his dwelling now; I should act in a +manner unworthy of myself. You drive me from you, Frances, in despair. I am +going on desperate service, and may not live to return. Should fortune prove +severe, at least do my memory justice; remember that the last breathings of my +soul will be for your happiness.” So saying, he had already placed his +foot in the stirrup, but his youthful mistress, turning on him an eye that +pierced his soul, arrested the action. +</p> + +<p> +“Peyton—Major Dunwoodie,” she said, “can you ever +forget the sacred cause in which you are enlisted? Duty both to your God and to +your country forbids your doing anything rashly. The latter has need of your +services; besides”—but her voice became choked, and she was unable +to proceed. +</p> + +<p> +“Besides what?” echoed the youth, springing to her side, and +offering to take her hand in his own. Frances having, however, recovered +herself, coldly repulsed him, and continued her walk homeward. +</p> + +<p> +“Is this our parting!” cried Dunwoodie, in agony. “Am I a +wretch, that you treat me so cruelly? You have never loved me, and wish to +conceal your own fickleness by accusations that you will not explain.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances stopped short in her walk, and turned on him a look of so much purity +and feeling, that, heart-stricken, Dunwoodie would have knelt at her feet for +pardon; but motioning him for silence, she once more spoke:— +</p> + +<p> +“Hear me, Major Dunwoodie, for the last time: it is a bitter knowledge +when we first discover our own inferiority; but it is a truth that I have +lately learned. Against you I bring no charges—make no accusations; no, +not willingly in my thoughts. Were my claims to your heart just, I am not +worthy of you. It is not a feeble, timid girl, like me, that could make you +happy. No, Peyton, you are formed for great and glorious actions, deeds of +daring and renown, and should be united to a soul like your own; one that can +rise above the weakness of her sex. I should be a weight to drag you to the +dust; but with a different spirit in your companion, you might soar to the very +pinnacle of earthly glory. To such a one, therefore, I resign you freely, if +not cheerfully; and pray, oh, how fervently do I pray! that with such a one you +may be happy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Lovely enthusiast!” cried Dunwoodie, “you know not yourself, +nor me. It is a woman, mild, gentle, and dependent as yourself, that my very +nature loves; deceive not yourself with visionary ideas of generosity, which +will only make me miserable.” +</p> + +<p> +“Farewell, Major Dunwoodie,” said the agitated girl, pausing for a +moment to gasp for breath; “forget that you ever knew me—remember +the claims of your bleeding country; and be happy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Happy!” repeated the youthful soldier, bitterly, as he saw her +light form gliding through the gate of the lawn, and disappearing behind its +shrubbery, “Yes, I am happy, indeed!” +</p> + +<p> +Throwing himself into the saddle, he plunged his spurs into his horse, and soon +overtook his squadron, which was marching slowly over the hilly roads of the +county, to gain the banks of the Hudson. +</p> + +<p> +But painful as were the feelings of Dunwoodie at this unexpected termination of +the interview with his mistress, they were but light compared with those which +were experienced by the fond girl herself. Frances had, with the keen eye of +jealous love, easily detected the attachment of Isabella Singleton to +Dunwoodie. Delicate and retiring herself, it never could present itself to her +mind that this love had been unsought. Ardent in her own affections, and +artless in their exhibition, she had early caught the eye of the young soldier; +but it required all the manly frankness of Dunwoodie to court her favor, and +the most pointed devotion to obtain his conquest. This done, his power was +durable, entire, and engrossing. But the unusual occurrences of the few +preceding days, the altered mien of her lover during those events, his unwonted +indifference to herself, and chiefly the romantic idolatry of Isabella, had +aroused new sensations in her bosom. With a dread of her lover’s +integrity had been awakened the never-failing concomitant of the purest +affection, a distrust of her own merits. In the moment of enthusiasm, the task +of resigning her lover to another, who might be more worthy of him, seemed +easy; but it is in vain that the imagination attempts to deceive the heart. +Dunwoodie had no sooner disappeared, than our heroine felt all the misery of +her situation; and if the youth found some relief in the cares of his command, +Frances was less fortunate in the performance of a duty imposed on her by +filial piety. The removal of his son had nearly destroyed the little energy of +Mr. Wharton, who required all the tenderness of his remaining children to +convince him that he was able to perform the ordinary functions of life. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap20"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Flatter and praise, commend, extol their graces,<br/> +Though ne’er so black, say they have angels’ faces,<br/> +That man who hath a tongue I say is no man,<br/> +If with that tongue he cannot win a woman. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Two Gentlemen of Verona</i>. +</p> + +<p> +In making the arrangements by which Captain Lawton had been left, with Sergeant +Hollister and twelve men, as a guard over the wounded, and heavy baggage of the +corps, Dunwoodie had consulted not only the information which had been conveyed +in the letter of Colonel Singleton, but the bruises of his comrade’s +body. In vain Lawton declared himself fit for any duty that man could perform, +or plainly intimated that his men would never follow Tom Mason to a charge with +the alacrity and confidence with which they followed himself; his commander was +firm, and the reluctant captain was compelled to comply with as good a grace as +he could assume. Before parting, Dunwoodie repeated his caution to keep a +watchful eye on the inmates of the cottage; and especially enjoined him, if any +movements of a particularly suspicious nature were seen in the neighborhood, to +break up from his present quarters, and to move down with his party, and take +possession of the domains of Mr. Wharton. A vague suspicion of danger to the +family had been awakened in the breast of the major, by the language of the +peddler, although he was unable to refer it to any particular source, or to +understand why it was to be apprehended. +</p> + +<p> +For some time after the departure of the troops, the captain was walking before +the door of the “Hotel,” inwardly cursing his fate, that condemned +him to an inglorious idleness, at a moment when a meeting with the enemy might +be expected, and replying to the occasional queries of Betty, who, from the +interior of the building, ever and anon demanded, in a high tone of voice, an +explanation of various passages in the peddler’s escape, which as yet she +could not comprehend. At this instant he was joined by the surgeon, who had +hitherto been engaged among his patients in a distant building, and was +profoundly ignorant of everything that had occurred, even to the departure of +the troops. +</p> + +<p> +“Where are all the sentinels, John?” he inquired, as he gazed +around with a look of curiosity, “and why are you here alone?” +</p> + +<p> +“Off—all off, with Dunwoodie, to the river. You and I are left here +to take care of a few sick men and some women.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am glad, however,” said the surgeon, “that Major Dunwoodie +had consideration enough not to move the wounded. Here, you Mrs. Elizabeth +Flanagan, hasten with some food, that I may appease my appetite. I have a dead +body to dissect and am in haste.” +</p> + +<p> +“And here, you Mister Doctor Archibald Sitgreaves,” echoed Betty, +showing her blooming countenance from a broken window of the kitchen, +“you are ever a-coming too late; here is nothing to ate but the skin of +Jenny, and the body ye’re mentioning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Woman!” said the surgeon, in anger, “do you take me for a +cannibal, that you address your filthy discourse to me, in this manner? I bid +you hasten with such food as may be proper to be received into the stomach +fasting.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I’m sure it’s for a popgun that I should be taking you +sooner than for a cannon ball,” said Betty, winking at the captain; +“and I tell ye that it’s fasting you must be, unless ye’ll +let me cook ye a steak from the skin of Jenny. The boys have ate me up +intirely.” +</p> + +<p> +Lawton now interfered to preserve the peace, and assured the surgeon that he +had already dispatched the proper persons in quest of food for the party. A +little mollified with this explanation, the operator soon forgot his hunger, +and declared his intention of proceeding to business at once. +</p> + +<p> +“And where is your subject?” asked Lawton. +</p> + +<p> +“The peddler,” said the other, glancing a look at the signpost. +“I made Hollister put a stage so high that the neck would not be +dislocated by the fall, and I intend making as handsome a skeleton of him as +there is in the states of North America; the fellow has good points, and his +bones are well knit. I will make a perfect beauty of him. I have long been +wanting something of this sort to send as a present to my old aunt in Virginia, +who was so kind to me when a boy.” +</p> + +<p> +“The devil!” cried Lawton. “Would you send the old woman a +dead man’s bones?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why not?” said the surgeon. “What nobler object is there in +nature than the figure of a man—and the skeleton may be called his +elementary parts. But what has been done with the body?” +</p> + +<p> +“Off too.” +</p> + +<p> +“Off! And who has dared to interfere with my perquisites?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure, jist the divil,” said Betty; “and who’ll be +taking yeerself away some of these times too, without asking yeer lave.” +</p> + +<p> +“Silence, you witch!” said Lawton, with difficulty suppressing a +laugh.<br/> +“Is this the manner in which to address an officer?” +</p> + +<p> +“Who called me the filthy Elizabeth Flanagan?” cried the +washerwoman, snapping her fingers contemptuously. “I can remimber a frind +for a year and don’t forgit an inimy for a month.” +</p> + +<p> +But the friendship or enmity of Mrs. Flanagan was alike indifferent to the +surgeon, who could think of nothing but his loss; and Lawton was obliged to +explain to his friend the apparent manner in which it had happened. +</p> + +<p> +“And a lucky escape it was for ye, my jewel of a doctor,” cried +Betty, as the captain concluded. “Sargeant Hollister, who saw him face to +face, as it might be, says it’s Beelzeboob, and no piddler, unless it may +be in a small matter of lies and thefts, and sich wickedness. Now a pretty +figure ye would have been in cutting up Beelzeboob, if the major had hanged +him. I don’t think it’s very ’asy he would have been under +yeer knife.” +</p> + +<p> +Thus doubly disappointed in his meal and his business, Sitgreaves suddenly +declared his intention of visiting the Locusts, and inquiring into the state of +Captain Singleton. Lawton was ready for the excursion; and mounting, they were +soon on the road, though the surgeon was obliged to submit to a few more jokes +from the washerwoman, before he could get out of hearing. For some time the two +rode in silence, when Lawton, perceiving that his companion’s temper was +somewhat ruffled by his disappointments and Betty’s attack, made an +effort to restore the tranquillity of his feelings. +</p> + +<p> +“That was a charming song, Archibald, that you commenced last evening, +when we were interrupted by the party that brought in the peddler,” he +said. “The allusion to Galen was much to the purpose.” +</p> + +<p> +“I knew you would like it, Jack, when you had got the fumes of the wine +out of your head. Poetry is a respectable art, though it wants the precision of +the exact sciences, and the natural beneficence of the physical. Considered in +reference to the wants of life, I should define poetry as an emollient, rather +than as a succulent.” +</p> + +<p> +“And yet your ode was full of the meat of wit.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ode is by no means a proper term for the composition; I should term it a +classical ballad.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very probably,” said the trooper. “Hearing only one verse, +it was difficult to class the composition.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon involuntarily hemmed, and began to clear his throat, although +scarcely conscious himself to what the preparation tended. But the captain, +rolling his dark eyes towards his companion, and observing him to be sitting +with great uneasiness on his horse, continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“The air is still, and the road solitary—why not give the +remainder? It is never too late to repair a loss.” +</p> + +<p> +“My dear John, if I thought it would correct the errors you have imbibed, +from habit and indulgence, nothing could give me more pleasure.” +</p> + +<p> +“We are fast approaching some rocks on our left; the echo will double my +satisfaction.” +</p> + +<p> +Thus encouraged, and somewhat impelled by the opinion that he both sang and +wrote with taste, the surgeon set about complying with the request in sober +earnest. Some little time was lost in clearing his throat, and getting the +proper pitch of his voice; but no sooner were these two points achieved, than +Lawton had the secret delight of hearing his friend commence— +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“‘Hast thou ever’”— +</p> + +<p> +“Hush!” interrupted the trooper. “What rustling noise is that +among the rocks?” +</p> + +<p> +“It must have been the rushing of the melody. A powerful voice is like +the breathing of the winds. +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“‘Hast thou ever’”— +</p> + +<p> +“Listen!” said Lawton, stopping his horse. He had not done +speaking, when a stone fell at his feet, and rolled harmlessly across the path. +</p> + +<p> +“A friendly shot, that,” cried the trooper. “Neither the +weapon, nor its force, implies much ill will.” +</p> + +<p> +“Blows from stones seldom produce more than contusions,” said the +operator, bending his gaze in every direction in vain, in quest of the hand +from which the missile had been hurled. “It must be meteoric; there is no +living being in sight, except ourselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“It would be easy to hide a regiment behind those rocks,” returned +the trooper, dismounting, and taking the stone in his hand. “Oh! here is +the explanation along with the mystery.” So saying, he tore a piece of +paper that had been ingeniously fastened to the small fragment of rock which +had thus singularly fallen before him; and opening it, the captain read the +following words, written in no very legible hand: “<i>A musket bullet +will go farther than a stone, and things more dangerous than yarbs for wounded +men lie hid in the rocks of Westchester. The horse may be good, but can he +mount a precipice?</i>” +</p> + +<p> +“Thou sayest the truth, strange man,” said Lawton. “Courage +and activity would avail but little against assassination and these rugged +passes.” Remounting his horse, he cried aloud, “Thanks, unknown +friend; your caution will be remembered.” +</p> + +<p> +A meager hand was extended for an instant over a rock, in the air, and +afterwards nothing further was seen, or heard, in that quarter, by the +soldiers. +</p> + +<p> +“Quite an extraordinary interruption,” said the astonished +Sitgreaves, “and a letter of very mysterious meaning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! ’tis nothing but the wit of some bumpkin, who thinks to +frighten two of the Virginians by an artifice of this kind,” said the +trooper, placing the billet in his pocket. “But let me tell you, Mr. +Archibald Sitgreaves, you were wanting to dissect, just now, a damned honest +fellow.” +</p> + +<p> +“It was the peddler—one of the most notorious spies in the +enemy’s service; and I must say that I think it would be an honor to such +a man to be devoted to the uses of science.” +</p> + +<p> +“He may be a spy—he must be one,” said Lawton, musing; +“but he has a heart above enmity, and a soul that would honor a +soldier.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon turned a vacant eye on his companion as he uttered this soliloquy, +while the penetrating looks of the trooper had already discovered another pile +of rocks, which, jutting forward, nearly obstructed the highway that wound +directly around its base. +</p> + +<p> +“What the steed cannot mount, the foot of man can overcome,” +exclaimed the wary partisan. Throwing himself again from his saddle, and +leaping a wall of stone, he began to ascend the hill at a pace which would soon +have given him a bird’s-eye view of the rocks in question, together with +all their crevices. This movement was no sooner made, than Lawton caught a +glimpse of the figure of a man stealing rapidly from his approach, and +disappearing on the opposite side of the precipice. +</p> + +<p> +“Spur, Sitgreaves—spur,” shouted the trooper, dashing over +every impediment in pursuit, “and murder the villain as he flies.” +</p> + +<p> +The former part of the request was promptly complied with, and a few moments +brought the surgeon in full view of a man armed with a musket, who was crossing +the road, and evidently seeking the protection of the thick wood on its +opposite side. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop, my friend—stop until Captain Lawton comes up, if you +please,” cried the surgeon, observing him to flee with a rapidity that +baffled his horsemanship. But as if the invitation contained new terrors, the +footman redoubled his efforts, nor paused even to breathe, until he had reached +his goal, when, turning on his heel, he discharged his musket towards the +surgeon, and was out of sight in an instant. To gain the highway, and throw +himself into his saddle, detained Lawton but a moment, and he rode to the side +of his comrade just as the figure disappeared. +</p> + +<p> +“Which way has he fled?” cried the trooper. +</p> + +<p> +“John,” said the surgeon, “am I not a noncombatant?” +</p> + +<p> +“Whither has the rascal fled?” cried Lawton, impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +“Where you cannot follow—into that wood. But I repeat, John, am I +not a noncombatant?” +</p> + +<p> +The disappointed trooper, perceiving that his enemy had escaped him, now turned +his eyes, which were flashing with anger, upon his comrade, and gradually his +muscles lost their rigid compression, his brow relaxed, and his look changed +from its fierce expression, to the covert laughter which so often distinguished +his countenance. The surgeon sat in dignified composure on his horse; his thin +body erect, and his head elevated with the indignation of one conscious of +having been unjustly treated. +</p> + +<p> +“Why did you suffer the villain to escape?” demanded the captain. +“Once within reach of my saber, and I would have given you a subject for +the dissecting table.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas impossible to prevent it,” said the surgeon, pointing +to the bars, before which he had stopped his horse. “The rogue threw +himself on the other side of this fence, and left me where you see; nor would +the man in the least attend to my remonstrances, or to an intimation that you +wished to hold discourse with him.” +</p> + +<p> +“He was truly a discourteous rascal; but why did you not leap the fence, +and compel him to a halt? You see but three of the bars are up, and Betty +Flanagan could clear them on her cow.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon, for the first time, withdrew his eyes from the place where the +fugitive had disappeared, and turned his look on his comrade. His head, +however, was not permitted to lower itself in the least, as he replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“I humbly conceive, Captain Lawton, that neither Mrs. Elizabeth Flanagan, +nor her cow, is an example to be emulated by Doctor Archibald Sitgreaves. It +would be but a sorry compliment to science, to say that a doctor of medicine +had fractured both his legs by injudiciously striking them against a pair of +barposts.” While speaking, the surgeon raised the limbs in question to a +nearly horizontal position, an attitude which really appeared to bid defiance +to anything like a passage for himself through the defile; but the trooper, +disregarding this ocular proof of the impossibility of the movement, cried +hastily,— +</p> + +<p> +“Here was nothing to stop you, man; I could leap a platoon through, boot +and thigh, without pricking with a single spur. Pshaw! I have often charged +upon the bayonets of infantry, over greater difficulties than this.” +</p> + +<p> +“You will please to remember, Captain John Lawton, that I am not the +riding master of the regiment—nor a drill sergeant—nor a crazy +cornet; no, sir—and I speak it with a due respect for the commission of +the Continental Congress—nor an inconsiderate captain, who regards his +own life as little as that of his enemies. I am only, sir, a poor humble man of +letters, a mere doctor of medicine, an unworthy graduate of Edinburgh, and a +surgeon of dragoons; nothing more, I do assure you, Captain John Lawton.” +So saying, he turned his horse’s head towards the cottage, and +recommenced his ride. +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, you speak the truth,” muttered the dragoon. “Had I but +the meanest rider of my troop with me, I should have taken the scoundrel, and +given at least one victim to the laws. But, Archibald, no man can ride well who +straddles in this manner like the Colossus of Rhodes. You should depend less on +your stirrup, and keep your seat by the power of the knee.” +</p> + +<p> +“With proper deference to your experience, Captain Lawton,” +returned the surgeon, “I conceive myself to be no incompetent judge of +muscular action, whether in the knee, or in any other part of the human frame. +And although but humbly educated, I am not now to learn that the wider the +base, the more firm is the superstructure.” +</p> + +<p> +“Would you fill a highway, in this manner, with one pair of legs, when +half a dozen might pass together in comfort, stretching them abroad like the +scythes of the ancient chariot wheels?” +</p> + +<p> +The allusion to the practice of the ancients somewhat softened the indignation +of the surgeon, and he replied, with rather less hauteur,— +</p> + +<p> +“You should speak with reverence of the usages of those who have gone +before us, and who, however ignorant they were in matters of science, and +particularly that of surgery, yet furnished many brilliant hints to our own +improvements. Now, sir, I have no doubt that Galen has operated on wounds +occasioned by these very scythes that you mention, although we can find no +evidence of the fact in contemporary writers. Ah! they must have given dreadful +injuries, and, I doubt not, caused great uneasiness to the medical gentlemen of +that day.” +</p> + +<p> +“Occasionally a body must have been left in two pieces, to puzzle the +ingenuity of those gentry to unite. Yet, venerable and learned as they were, I +doubt not they did it.” +</p> + +<p> +“What! unite two parts of the human body, that have been severed by an +edged instrument, to any of the purposes of animal life?” +</p> + +<p> +“That have been rent asunder by a scythe, and are united to do military +duty,” said Lawton. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis impossible—quite impossible,” cried the surgeon. +“It is in vain, Captain Lawton, that human ingenuity endeavors to baffle +the efforts of nature. Think, my dear sir; in this case you separate all the +arteries—injure all of the intestines—sever all of the nerves and +sinews, and, what is of more consequence, you—” +</p> + +<p> +“You have said enough, Dr. Sitgreaves, to convince a member of a rival +school. Nothing shall ever tempt me willingly to submit to be divided in this +irretrievable manner.” +</p> + +<p> +“Certes, there is little pleasure in a wound which, from its nature, is +incurable.” +</p> + +<p> +“I should think so,” said Lawton, dryly. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you think is the greatest pleasure in life?” asked the +operator suddenly. +</p> + +<p> +“That must greatly depend on taste.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all,” cried the surgeon; “it is in witnessing, or +rather feeling, the ravages of disease repaired by the lights of science +cooperating with nature. I once broke my little finger intentionally, in order +that I might reduce the fracture and watch the cure: it was only on a small +scale, you know, dear John; still the thrilling sensation excited by the +knitting of the bone, aided by the contemplation of the art of man thus acting +in unison with nature, exceeded any other enjoyment that I have ever +experienced. Now, had it been one of the more important members, such as the +leg, or arm, how much greater must the pleasure have been!” +</p> + +<p> +“Or the neck,” said the trooper; but their desultory discourse was +interrupted by their arrival at the cottage of Mr. Wharton. No one appearing to +usher them into an apartment, the captain proceeded to the door of the parlor, +where he knew visitors were commonly received. On opening it, he paused for a +moment, in admiration at the scene within. The person of Colonel Wellmere first +met his eye, bending towards the figure of the blushing Sarah, with an +earnestness of manner that prevented the noise of Lawton’s entrance from +being heard by either of the parties. Certain significant signs which were +embraced at a glance by the prying gaze of the trooper, at once made him a +master of their secret; and he was about to retire as silently as he had +advanced, when his companion, pushing himself through the passage, abruptly +entered the room. Advancing instantly to the chair of Wellmere, the surgeon +instinctively laid hold of his arm, and exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“Bless me!—a quick and irregular pulse—flushed cheek and +fiery eye—strong febrile symptoms, and such as must be attended +to.” While speaking, the doctor, who was much addicted to practicing in a +summary way,—a weakness of most medical men in military +practice,—had already produced his lancet, and was making certain other +indications of his intentions to proceed at once to business. But Colonel +Wellmere, recovering from the confusion of the surprise, arose from his seat +haughtily, and said,— +</p> + +<p> +“Sir, it is the warmth of the room that lends me the color, and I am +already too much indebted to your skill to give you any further trouble. Miss +Wharton knows that I am quite well, and I do assure you that I never felt +better or happier in my life.” +</p> + +<p> +There was a peculiar emphasis on the latter part of this speech, that, however +it might gratify the feelings of Sarah, brought the color to her cheeks again; +and Sitgreaves, as his eye followed the direction of those of his patient, did +not fail to observe it. +</p> + +<p> +“Your arm, if you please, madam,” said the surgeon, advancing with +a bow. “Anxiety and watching have done their work on your delicate frame, +and there are symptoms about you that must not be neglected.” +</p> + +<p> +“Excuse me, sir,” said Sarah, recovering herself with womanly +pride; “the heat is oppressive, and I will retire and acquaint Miss +Peyton with your presence.” +</p> + +<p> +There was but little difficulty in practicing on the abstracted simplicity of +the surgeon; but it was necessary for Sarah to raise her eyes to return the +salutation of Lawton, as he bowed his head nearly to a level with the hand that +held open the door for her passage. One look was sufficient; she was able to +control her steps sufficiently to retire with dignity; but no sooner was she +relieved from the presence of all observers, than she fell into a chair and +abandoned herself to a feeling of mingled shame and pleasure. +</p> + +<p> +A little nettled at the contumacious deportment of the British colonel, +Sitgreaves, after once more tendering services that were again rejected, +withdrew to the chamber of young Singleton, whither Lawton had already preceded +him. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap21"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Oh! Henry, when thou deign’st to sue,<br/> +Can I thy suit withstand?<br/> +When thou, loved youth, hast won my heart,<br/> +Can I refuse my hand? +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Hermit of Warkevorth.</i> +</p> + +<p> +The graduate of Edinburgh found his patient rapidly improving in health, and +entirely free from fever. His sister, with a cheek that was, if possible, paler +than on her arrival, watched around his couch with tender care; and the ladies +of the cottage had not, in the midst of their sorrows and varied emotions, +forgotten to discharge the duties of hospitality. Frances felt herself impelled +towards their disconsolate guest, with an interest for which she could not +account, and with a force that she could not control. She had unconsciously +connected the fates of Dunwoodie and Isabella in her imagination, and she felt, +with the romantic ardor of a generous mind, that she was serving her former +lover most by exhibiting kindness to her he loved best. Isabella received her +attentions with gratitude, but neither of them indulged in any allusions to the +latent source of their uneasiness. The observation of Miss Peyton seldom +penetrated beyond things that were visible, and to her the situation of Henry +Wharton seemed to furnish an awful excuse for the fading cheeks and tearful +eyes of her niece. If Sarah manifested less of care than her sister, still the +unpracticed aunt was not at a loss to comprehend the reason. Love is a holy +feeling with the virtuous of the female sex, and it hallows all that come +within its influence. Although Miss Peyton mourned with sincerity over the +danger which threatened her nephew, she well knew that an active campaign was +not favorable to love, and the moments that were thus accidentally granted were +not to be thrown away. +</p> + +<p> +Several days now passed without any interruption of the usual avocations of the +inhabitants of the cottage, or the party at the Four Corners. The former were +supporting their fortitude with the certainty of Henry’s innocence, and a +strong reliance on Dunwoodie’s exertions in his behalf, and the latter +waiting with impatience the intelligence, that was hourly expected, of a +conflict, and their orders to depart. Captain Lawton, however, waited for both +these events in vain. Letters from the major announced that the enemy, finding +that the party which was to coöperate with them had been defeated, and was +withdrawn, had retired also behind the works of Fort Washington, where they +continued inactive, threatening constantly to strike a blow in revenge for +their disgrace. The trooper was enjoined to vigilance, and the letter concluded +with a compliment to his honor, zeal, and undoubted bravery. +</p> + +<p> +“Extremely flattering, Major Dunwoodie,” muttered the dragoon, as +he threw down this epistle, and stalked across the floor to quiet his +impatience. “A proper guard have you selected for this service: let me +see—I have to watch over the interests of a crazy, irresolute old man, +who does not know whether he belongs to us or to the enemy; four women, three +of whom are well enough in themselves, but who are not immensely flattered by +my society; and the fourth, who, good as she is, is on the wrong side of forty; +some two or three blacks; a talkative housekeeper, that does nothing but +chatter about gold and despisables, and signs and omens; and poor George +Singleton. Well, a comrade in suffering has a claim on a man,—so +I’ll make the best of it.” +</p> + +<p> +As he concluded this soliloquy, the trooper took a seat and began to whistle, +to convince himself how little he cared about the matter, when, by throwing his +booted leg carelessly round, he upset the canteen that held his whole stock of +brandy. The accident was soon repaired, but in replacing the wooden vessel, he +observed a billet lying on the bench, on which the liquor had been placed. It +was soon opened, and he read: <i>“The moon will not rise till after +midnight—a fit time for deeds of darkness.”</i> There was no +mistaking the hand; it was clearly the same that had given him the timely +warning against assassination, and the trooper continued, for a long time, +musing on the nature of these two notices, and the motives that could induce +the peddler to favor an implacable enemy in the manner that he had latterly +done. That he was a spy of the enemy, Lawton knew; for the fact of his +conveying intelligence to the English commander in chief, of a party of +Americans that were exposed to the enemy was proved most clearly against him on +the trial for his life. The consequences of his treason had been avoided, it is +true, by a lucky order from Washington, which withdrew the regiment a short +time before the British appeared to cut it off, but still the crime was the +same. “Perhaps,” thought the partisan, “he wishes to make a +friend of me against the event of another capture; but, at all events, he +spared my life on one occasion, and saved it on another. I will endeavor to be +as generous as himself, and pray that my duty may never interfere with my +feelings.” +</p> + +<p> +Whether the danger, intimated in the present note, threatened the cottage or +his own party, the captain was uncertain; but he inclined to the latter +opinion, and determined to beware how he rode abroad in the dark. To a man in a +peaceable country, and in times of quiet and order, the indifference with which +the partisan regarded the impending danger would be inconceivable. His +reflections on the subject were more directed towards devising means to entrap +his enemies, than to escape their machinations. But the arrival of the surgeon, +who had been to pay his daily visit to the Locusts, interrupted his +meditations. Sitgreaves brought an invitation from the mistress of the mansion +to Captain Lawton, desiring that the cottage might be honored with his presence +at an early hour on that evening. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha!” cried the trooper; “then they have received a letter +also.” +</p> + +<p> +“I think nothing more probable,” said the surgeon. “There is +a chaplain at the cottage from the royal army, who has come out to exchange the +British wounded, and who has an order from Colonel Singleton for their +delivery. But a more mad project than to remove them now was never +adopted.” +</p> + +<p> +“A priest, say you!—is he a hard drinker—a real +camp-idler—a fellow to breed a famine in a regiment? Or does he seem a +man who is earnest in his trade?” +</p> + +<p> +“A very respectable and orderly gentleman, and not unreasonably given to +intemperance, judging from the outward symptoms,” returned the surgeon; +“and a man who really says grace in a very regular and appropriate +manner.” +</p> + +<p> +“And does he stay the night?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, he waits for his cartel; but hasten, John, we have but little +time to waste. I will just step up and bleed two or three of the Englishmen who +are to move in the morning, in order to anticipate inflammation, and be with +you immediately.” +</p> + +<p> +The gala suit of Captain Lawton was easily adjusted to his huge frame, and his +companion being ready, they once more took their route towards the cottage. +Roanoke had been as much benefited by a few days’ rest as his master; and +Lawton ardently wished, as he curbed his gallant steed, on passing the +well-remembered rocks, that his treacherous enemy stood before him, mounted and +armed as himself. But no enemy, nor any disturbance whatever, interfered with +their progress, and they reached the Locusts just as the sun was throwing his +setting rays on the valley, and tingeing the tops of the leafless trees with +gold. It never required more than a single look to acquaint the trooper with +the particulars of every scene that was not uncommonly veiled, and the first +survey that he took on entering the house told him more than the observations +of a day had put into the possession of Doctor Sitgreaves. Miss Peyton accosted +him with a smiling welcome, that exceeded the bounds of ordinary courtesy and +which evidently flowed more from feelings that were connected with the heart, +than from manner. Frances glided about, tearful and agitated, while Mr. Wharton +stood ready to receive them, decked in a suit of velvet that would have been +conspicuous in the gayest drawing-room. Colonel Wellmere was in the uniform of +an officer of the household troops of his prince, and Isabella Singleton sat in +the parlor, clad in the habiliments of joy, but with a countenance that belied +her appearance; while her brother by her side looked, with a cheek of flitting +color, and an eye of intense interest, like anything but an invalid. As it was +the third day that he had left his room, Dr. Sitgreaves, who began to stare +about him in stupid wonder, forgot to reprove his patient for imprudence. Into +this scene Captain Lawton moved with all the composure and gravity of a man +whose nerves were not easily discomposed by novelties. His compliments were +received as graciously as they were offered, and after exchanging a few words +with the different individuals present, he approached the surgeon, who had +withdrawn, in a kind of confused astonishment, to rally his senses. +</p> + +<p> +“John,” whispered the surgeon, with awakened curiosity, “what +means this festival?” +</p> + +<p> +“That your wig and my black head would look the better for a little of +Betty Flanagan’s flour; but it is too late now, and we must fight the +battle armed as you see.” +</p> + +<p> +“Observe, here comes the army chaplain in his full robes, as a +Doctor<br/> +Divinitatis; what can it mean?” +</p> + +<p> +“An exchange,” said the trooper. “The wounded of Cupid are to +meet and settle their accounts with the god, in the way of plighting faith to +suffer from his archery no more.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon laid a finger on the side of his nose, and he began to comprehend +the case. +</p> + +<p> +“Is it not a crying shame, that a sunshine hero, and an enemy, should +thus be suffered to steal away one of the fairest plants that grow in our +soil,” muttered Lawton; “a flower fit to be placed in the bosom of +any man!” +</p> + +<p> +“If he be not more accommodating as a husband than as a patient, John, I +fear me that the lady will lead a troubled life.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let her,” said the trooper, indignantly; “she has chosen +from her country’s enemies, and may she meet with a foreigner’s +virtues in her choice.” +</p> + +<p> +Further conversation was interrupted by Miss Peyton, who, advancing, acquainted +them that they had been invited to grace the nuptials of her eldest niece and +Colonel Wellmere. The gentlemen bowed; and the good aunt, with an inherent love +of propriety, went on to add, that the acquaintance was of an old date, and the +attachment by no means a sudden thing. To this Lawton merely bowed still more +ceremoniously; but the surgeon, who loved to hold converse with the virgin, +replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“That the human mind was differently constituted in different +individuals. In some, impressions are vivid and transitory; in others, more +deep and lasting: indeed, there are some philosophers who pretend to trace a +connection between the physical and mental powers of the animal; but, for my +part, madam, I believe that the one is much influenced by habit and +association, and the other subject altogether to the peculiar laws of +matter.” +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton, in her turn, bowed her silent assent to this remark, and retired +with dignity, to usher the intended bride into the presence of the company. The +hour had arrived when American custom has decreed that the vows of wedlock must +be exchanged; and Sarah, blushing with a variety of emotions, followed her aunt +to the drawing-room. Wellmere sprang to receive the hand that, with an averted +face, she extended towards him, and, for the first time, the English colonel +appeared fully conscious of the important part that he was to act in the +approaching ceremony. Hitherto his air had been abstracted, and his manner +uneasy; but everything, excepting the certainty of his bliss, seemed to vanish +at the blaze of loveliness that now burst on his sight. All arose from their +seats, and the reverend gentleman had already opened the sacred volume, when +the absence of Frances was noticed! Miss Peyton withdrew in search of her +youngest niece, whom she found in her own apartment, and in tears. +</p> + +<p> +“Come, my love, the ceremony waits but for us,” said the aunt, +affectionately entwining her arm in that of her niece. “Endeavor to +compose yourself, that proper honor may be done to the choice of your +sister.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is he—can he be, worthy of her?” +</p> + +<p> +“Can he be otherwise?” returned Miss Peyton. “Is he not a +gentleman?—a gallant soldier, though an unfortunate one? and certainly, +my love, one who appears every way qualified to make any woman happy.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances had given vent to her feelings, and, with an effort, she collected +sufficient resolution to venture to join the party below. But to relieve the +embarrassment of this delay, the clergyman had put sundry questions to the +bridegroom; one of which was by no means answered to his satisfaction. Wellmere +was compelled to acknowledge that he was unprovided with a ring; and to perform +the marriage ceremony without one, the divine pronounced to be canonically +impossible. His appeal to Mr. Wharton, for the propriety of this decision, was +answered affirmatively, as it would have been negatively, had the question been +put in a manner to lead to such a result. The owner of the Locusts had lost the +little energy he possessed, by the blow recently received through his son, and +his assent to the objection of the clergyman was as easily obtained as had been +his consent to the premature proposals of Wellmere. In this stage of the +dilemma, Miss Peyton and Frances appeared. The surgeon of dragoons approached +the former, and as he handed her to a chair, observed,— +</p> + +<p> +“It appears, madam, that untoward circumstances have prevented Colonel +Wellmere from providing all of the decorations that custom, antiquity, and the +canons of the church have prescribed, as indispensable to enter into the +honorable state of wedlock.” +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton glanced her quiet eye at the uneasy bridegroom, and perceiving him +to be adorned with what she thought sufficient splendor, allowing for the time +and the suddenness of the occasion, she turned her look on the speaker, as if +to demand an explanation. +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon understood her wishes, and proceeded at once to gratify them. +</p> + +<p> +“There is,” he observed, “an opinion prevalent, that the +heart lies on the left side of the body, and that the connection between the +members of that side and what may be called the seat of life is more intimate +than that which exists with their opposites. But this is an error which grows +out of an ignorance of the organic arrangement of the human frame. In obedience +to this opinion, the fourth finger of the left hand is thought to contain a +virtue that belongs to no other branch of that digitated member; and it is +ordinarily encircled, during the solemnization of wedlock, with a cincture or +ring, as if to chain that affection to the marriage state, which is best +secured by the graces of the female character.” While speaking, the +operator laid his hand expressively on his heart, and he bowed nearly to the +floor when he had concluded. +</p> + +<p> +“I know not, sir, that I rightly understand your meaning,” said +Miss<br/> +Peyton, whose want of comprehension was sufficiently excusable. +</p> + +<p> +“A ring, madam—a ring is wanting for the ceremony.” +</p> + +<p> +The instant that the surgeon spoke explicitly, the awkwardness of the situation +was understood. She glanced her eyes at her nieces, and in the younger she read +a secret exultation that somewhat displeased her; but the countenance of Sarah +was suffused with a shame that the considerate aunt well understood. Not for +the world would she violate any of the observances of female etiquette. It +suggested itself to all the females, at the same moment, that the wedding ring +of the late mother and sister was reposing peacefully amid the rest of her +jewelry in a secret receptacle, that had been provided at an early day, to +secure the valuables against the predatory inroads of the marauders who roamed +through the county. Into this hidden vault, the plate, and whatever was most +prized, made a nightly retreat, and there the ring in question had long lain, +forgotten until at this moment. But it was the business of the bridegroom, from +time immemorial, to furnish this indispensable to wedlock, and on no account +would Miss Peyton do anything that transcended the usual reserve of the sex on +this solemn occasion; certainly not until sufficient expiation for the offense +had been made, by a due portion of trouble and disquiet. This material fact, +therefore, was not disclosed by either; the aunt consulting female propriety; +the bride yielding to shame; and Frances rejoicing that an embarrassment, +proceeding from almost any cause, should delay her sister’s vow. It was +reserved for Doctor Sitgreaves to interrupt the awkward silence. +</p> + +<p> +“If, madam, a plain ring, that once belonged to a sister of my +own—” He paused and hemmed—“If, madam, a ring of that +description might be admitted to this honor, I have one that could be easily +produced from my quarters at the Corners, and I doubt not it would fit the +finger for which it is desired. There is a strong resemblance +between—hem—between my late sister and Miss Wharton in stature and +anatomical figure; and, in all eligible subjects, the proportions are apt to be +observed throughout the whole animal economy.” +</p> + +<p> +A glance of Miss Peyton’s eye recalled Colonel Wellmere to a sense of his +duty, and springing from his chair, he assured the surgeon that in no way could +he confer a greater obligation on himself than by sending for that very ring. +The operator bowed a little haughtily, and withdrew to fulfill his promise, by +dispatching a messenger on the errand. The aunt suffered him to retire; but +unwillingness to admit a stranger into the privacy of their domestic +arrangements induced her to follow and tender the services of Caesar, instead +of those of Sitgreaves’ man, who had volunteered for this duty. Katy +Haynes was accordingly directed to summon the black to the vacant parlor, and +thither Miss Peyton and the surgeon repaired, to give their several +instructions. +</p> + +<p> +The consent to this sudden union of Sarah and Wellmere, and especially at a +time when the life of a member of the family was in such imminent jeopardy, was +given from a conviction that the unsettled state of the country would probably +prevent another opportunity to the lovers of meeting, and a secret dread on the +part of Mr. Wharton, that the death of his son might, by hastening his own, +leave his remaining children without a protector. But notwithstanding Miss +Peyton had complied with her brother’s wish to profit by the accidental +visit of a divine, she had not thought it necessary to blazon the intended +nuptials of her niece to the neighborhood, had even time been allowed; she +thought, therefore, that she was now communicating a profound secret to the +negro, and her housekeeper. +</p> + +<p> +“Caesar,” she commenced, with a smile, “you are now to learn +that your young mistress, Miss Sarah, is to be united to Colonel Wellmere this +evening.” +</p> + +<p> +“I t’ink I see him afore,” said Caesar, chuckling. “Old +black man can tell when a young lady make up he mind.” +</p> + +<p> +“Really, Caesar, I find I have never given you credit for half the +observation that you deserve; but as you already know on what emergency your +services are required, listen to the directions of this gentleman, and observe +them.” +</p> + +<p> +The black turned in quiet submission to the surgeon, who commenced as +follows:— +</p> + +<p> +“Caesar, your mistress has already acquainted you with the important +event about to be solemnized within this habitation; but a cincture or ring is +wanting to encircle the finger of the bride; a custom derived from the +ancients, and which has been continued in the marriage forms of several +branches of the Christian church, and which is even, by a species of typical +wedlock, used in the installation of prelates, as you doubtless +understand.” +</p> + +<p> +“P’r’aps Massa Doctor will say him over ag’in,” +interrupted the old negro, whose memory began to fail him, just as the other +made so confident an allusion to his powers of comprehension. “I +t’ink I get him by heart dis time.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is impossible to gather honey from a rock, Caesar, and therefore I +will abridge the little I have to say. Ride to the Four Corners, and present +this note to Sergeant Hollister, or to Mrs. Elizabeth Flanagan, either of whom +will furnish the necessary pledge of connubial affection; and return +forthwith.” +</p> + +<p> +The letter which the surgeon put into the hands of his messenger, as he ceased, +was conceived in the following terms:— +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“If the fever has left Kinder, give him nourishment. Take three ounces +more of blood from Watson. Have a search made that the woman Flanagan has left +none of her jugs of alcohol in the hospital. Renew the dressings of Johnson, +and dismiss Smith to duty. Send the ring, which is pendent from the chain of +the watch, that I left with you to time the doses, by the bearer. +</p> + +<p class="right"> +“ARCHIBALD SITGREAVES, M. D.”,<br/> +<i>“Surgeon of Dragoons.”</i> +</p> + +<p> +“Caesar,” said Katy, when she was alone with the black, “put +the ring, when you get it, in your left pocket, for that is nearest your heart; +and by no means endeavor to try it on your finger, for it is unlucky.” +</p> + +<p> +“Try um on he finger?” interrupted the negro, stretching forth his +bony knuckles. “T’ink a Miss Sally’s ring go on old Caesar +finger?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis not consequential whether it goes on or not,” said the +housekeeper; “but it is an evil omen to place a marriage ring on the +finger of another after wedlock, and of course it may be dangerous +before.” +</p> + +<p> +“I tell you, Katy, I neber t’ink to put um on a finger.” +</p> + +<p> +“Go, then, Caesar, and do not forget the left pocket; be careful to take +off your hat as you pass the graveyard, and be expeditious; for nothing, I am +certain, can be more trying to the patience, than thus to be waiting for the +ceremony, when a body has fully made up her mind to marry.” +</p> + +<p> +With this injunction Caesar quitted the house, and he was soon firmly fixed in +the saddle. From his youth, the black, like all of his race, had been a hard +rider; but, bending under the weight of sixty winters, his African blood had +lost some of its native heat. The night was dark, and the wind whistled through +the vale with the dreariness of November. When Caesar reached the graveyard, he +uncovered his grizzled head with superstitious awe, and threw around him many a +fearful glance, in momentary expectation of seeing something superhuman. There +was sufficient light to discern a being of earthly mold stealing from among the +graves, apparently with a design to enter the highway. It is in vain that +philosophy and reason contend with early impressions, and poor Caesar was even +without the support of either of these frail allies. He was, however, well +mounted on a coach horse of Mr. Wharton’s and, clinging to the back of +the animal with instinctive skill, he abandoned the rein to the beast. +Hillocks, woods, rocks, fences, and houses flew by him with the rapidity of +lightning, and the black had just begun to think whither and on what business +he was riding in this headlong manner, when he reached the place where the +roads met, and the “Hotel Flanagan” stood before him in its +dilapidated simplicity. The sight of a cheerful fire first told the negro that +he had reached the habitation of man, and with it came all his dread of the +bloody Virginians; his duty must, however, be done, and, dismounting, he +fastened the foaming animal to a fence, and approached the window with cautious +steps, to reconnoiter. +</p> + +<p> +Before a blazing fire sat Sergeant Hollister and Betty Flanagan, enjoying +themselves over a liberal potation. +</p> + +<p> +“I tell ye, sargeant dear,” said Betty, removing the mug from her +mouth, “’tis no r’asonable to think it was more than the +piddler himself; sure now, where was the smell of sulphur, and the wings, and +the tail, and the cloven foot? Besides, sargeant, it’s no dacent to tell +a lone famale that she had Beelzeboob for a bedfellow.” +</p> + +<p> +“It matters but little, Mrs. Flanagan, provided you escape his talons and +fangs hereafter,” returned the veteran, following the remark by a heavy +draft. +</p> + +<p> +Caesar heard enough to convince him that little danger from this pair was to be +apprehended. His teeth already began to chatter, and the cold without and the +comfort within stimulated him greatly to enter. He made his approaches with +proper caution, and knocked with extreme humility. The appearance of Hollister +with a drawn sword, roughly demanding who was without, contributed in no degree +to the restoration of his faculties; but fear itself lent him power to explain +his errand. +</p> + +<p> +“Advance,” said the sergeant, throwing a look of close scrutiny on +the black, as he brought him to the light; “advance, and deliver your +dispatches. Have you the countersign?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t t’ink he know what dat be,” said the black, +shaking in his shoes, “dough massa dat sent me gib me many t’ings +to carry, dat he little understand.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who ordered you on this duty, did you say?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, it war he doctor, heself, so he come up on a gallop, as he always +do on a doctor’s errand.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas Doctor Sitgreaves; he never knows the countersign himself. +Now, blackey, had it been Captain Lawton he would not have sent you here, close +to a sentinel, without the countersign; for you might get a pistol bullet +through your head, and that would be cruel to you; for although you be black, I +am none of them who thinks niggers have no souls.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure a nagur has as much sowl as a white,” said Betty. “Come +hither, ould man, and warm that shivering carcass of yeers by the blaze of this +fire. I’m sure a Guinea nagur loves hate as much as a soldier loves his +drop.” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar obeyed in silence, and a mulatto boy who was sleeping on a bench in the +room, was bidden to convey the note of the surgeon to the building where the +wounded were quartered. +</p> + +<p> +“Here,” said the washerwoman, tendering to Caesar a taste of the +article that most delighted herself, “try a drop, smooty, ’twill +warm the black sowl within your crazy body, and be giving you spirits as you +are going homeward.” +</p> + +<p> +“I tell you, Elizabeth,” said the sergeant, “that the souls +of niggers are the same as our own; how often have I heard the good Mr. +Whitefield say that there was no distinction of color in heaven. Therefore it +is reasonable to believe that the soul of this here black is as white as my +own, or even Major Dunwoodie’s.” +</p> + +<p> +“Be sure he be,” cried Caesar, a little tartly, whose courage had +revived by tasting the drop of Mrs. Flanagan. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a good sowl that the major is, anyway,” returned the +washerwoman; “and a kind sowl—aye, and a brave sowl too; and +ye’ll say all that yeerself, sargeant, I’m thinking.” +</p> + +<p> +“For the matter of that,” returned the veteran, “there is One +above even Washington, to judge of souls; but this I will say, that Major +Dunwoodie is a gentleman who never says, Go, boys—but always says, Come, +boys; and if a poor fellow is in want of a spur or a martingale, and the +leather-whack is gone, there is never wanting the real silver to make up the +loss, and that from his own pocket too.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, then, are you here idle when all that he holds most dear are in +danger?” cried a voice with startling abruptness. “Mount, mount, +and follow your captain; arm and mount, and that instantly, or you will be too +late!” +</p> + +<p> +This unexpected interruption produced an instantaneous confusion amongst the +tipplers. Caesar fled instinctively into the fireplace, where he maintained his +position in defiance of a heat that would have roasted a white man. Sergeant +Hollister turned promptly on his heel, and seizing big saber, the steel was +glittering by the firelight, in the twinkling of an eye; but perceiving the +intruder to be the peddler, who stood near the open door that led to the +lean-to in the rear, he began to fall back towards the position of the black, +with a military intuition that taught him to concentrate his forces. Betty +alone stood her ground, by the side of the temporary table. Replenishing the +mug with a large addition of the article known to the soldiery by the name of +“choke-dog,” she held it towards the peddler. The eyes of the +washerwoman had for some time been swimming with love and liquor, and turning +them good-naturedly on Birch, she cried,— +</p> + +<p> +“Faith, but ye’re wilcome, Mister Piddler, or Mister Birch, or +Mister Beelzeboob, or what’s yeer name. Ye’re an honest divil +anyway, and I’m hoping that you found the pitticoats convanient. Come +forward, dear, and fale the fire; Sergeant Hollister won’t be hurting +you, for the fear of an ill turn you may be doing him hereafter—will ye, +sargeant dear?” +</p> + +<p> +“Depart, ungodly man!” cried the veteran, edging still nearer to +Caesar, but lifting his legs alternately as they scorched with the heat. +“Depart in peace! There is none here for thy service, and you seek the +woman in vain. There is a tender mercy that will save her from thy +talons.” The sergeant ceased to utter aloud, but the motion of his lips +continued, and a few scattering words of prayer were alone audible. +</p> + +<p> +The brain of the washerwoman was in such a state of confusion that she did not +clearly comprehend the meaning of her suitor, but a new idea struck her +imagination, and she broke forth,— +</p> + +<p> +“If it’s me the man saaks, where’s the matter, pray? Am I not +a widowed body, and my own property? And you talk of tinderness, sargeant, but +it’s little I see of it, anyway. Who knows but Mr. Beelzeboob here is +free to speak his mind? I’m sure it is willing to hear I am.” +</p> + +<p> +“Woman,” said the peddler, “be silent; and you, foolish man, +mount—arm and mount, and fly to the rescue of your officer, if you are +worthy of the cause in which you serve, and would not disgrace the coat you +wear.” The peddler vanished from the sight of the bewildered trio, with a +rapidity that left them uncertain whither he had fled. +</p> + +<p> +On hearing the voice of an old friend, Caesar emerged from his corner, and +fearlessly advanced to the spot where Betty had resolutely maintained her +ground, though in a state of utter mental confusion. +</p> + +<p> +“I wish Harvey stop,” said the black. “If he ride down a +road, I should like he company; I don’t t’ink Johnny Birch hurt he +own son.” +</p> + +<p> +“Poor, ignorant wretch!” exclaimed the veteran, recovering his +voice with a long-drawn breath; “think you that figure was made of flesh +and blood?” +</p> + +<p> +“Harvey ain’t fleshy,” replied the black, “but he berry +clebber man.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh! sargeant dear,” exclaimed the washerwoman, “talk +r’ason for once, and mind what the knowing one tells ye; call out the +boys and ride a bit after Captain Jack; remimber, darling, that he told ye, the +day, to be in readiness to mount at a moment’s warning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, but not at a summons from the foul fiend. Let Captain Lawton, or +Lieutenant Mason, or Cornet Skipwith, say the word, and who is quicker in the +saddle than I?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, sargeant, how often is it that ye’ve boasted to myself that +the corps wasn’t a bit afeard to face the divil?” +</p> + +<p> +“No more are we, in battle array, and by daylight; but it’s +foolhardy and irreverent to tempt Satan, and on such a night as this. Listen +how the wind whistles through the trees; and hark! there is the howling of evil +spirits abroad.” +</p> + +<p> +“I see him,” said Caesar, opening his eyes to a width that might +have embraced more than an ideal form. +</p> + +<p> +“Where?” interrupted the sergeant, instinctively laying his hand on +the hilt of his saber. +</p> + +<p> +“No, no,” said the black, “I see a Johnny Birch come out of +he grave—Johnny walk afore he buried.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! then he must have led an evil life indeed,” said Hollister. +“The blessed in spirit lie quiet until the general muster, but wickedness +disturbs the soul in this life as well as in that which is to come.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what is to come of Captain Jack?” cried Betty, angrily. +“Is it yeer orders that ye won’t mind, nor a warning given? +I’ll jist git my cart, and ride down and tell him that ye’re afeard +of a dead man and Beelzeboob; and it isn’t succor he may be expicting +from ye. I wonder who’ll be the orderly of the troop the morrow, +then?—his name won’t be Hollister, anyway.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, Betty, nay,” said the sergeant, laying his hand familiarly on +her shoulder; “if there must be riding to-night, let it be by him whose +duty it is to call out the men and set an example. The Lord have mercy, and +send us enemies of flesh and blood!” +</p> + +<p> +Another glass confirmed the veteran in a resolution that was only excited by a +dread of his captain’s displeasure, and he proceeded to summon the dozen +men who had been left under his command. The boy arriving with the ring, Caesar +placed it carefully in the pocket of his waistcoat next his heart, and, +mounting, shut his eyes, seized his charger by the mane, and continued in a +state of comparative insensibility, until the animal stopped at the door of the +warm stable whence he had started. +</p> + +<p> +The movements of the dragoons, being timed to the order of a march, were much +slower, for they were made with a watchfulness that was intended to guard +against surprise from the evil one himself. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap22"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Be not your tongue thy own shame’s orator,<br/> +Look sweet, speak fair, become disloyalty,<br/> +Apparel vice like virtue’s harbinger. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Comedy of Errors.</i> +</p> + +<p> +The situation of the party in Mr. Wharton’s dwelling was sufficiently +awkward, during the hour of Caesar’s absence; for such was the +astonishing rapidity displayed by his courser, that the four miles of road was +gone over, and the events we have recorded had occurred, somewhat within that +period of time. Of course, the gentlemen strove to make the irksome moments fly +as swiftly as possible; but premeditated happiness is certainly of the least +joyous kind. The bride and bridegroom are immemorially privileged to be dull, +and but few of their friends seemed disposed, on the present occasion, to +dishonor their example. The English colonel exhibited a proper portion of +uneasiness at this unexpected interruption of his felicity, and he sat with a +varying countenance by the side of Sarah, who seemed to be profiting by the +delay to gather fortitude for the solemn ceremony. In the midst of this +embarrassing silence, Doctor Sitgreaves addressed himself to Miss Peyton, by +whose side he had contrived to procure a chair. “Marriage, madam, is +pronounced to be honorable in the sight of God and man; and it may be said to +be reduced, in the present age, to the laws of nature and reason. The ancients, +in sanctioning polygamy, lost sight of the provisions of nature, and condemned +thousands to misery; but with the increase of science have grown the wise +ordinances of society, which ordain that man should be the husband of but one +woman.” +</p> + +<p> +Wellmere glanced a fierce expression of disgust at the surgeon, that indicated +his sense of the tediousness of the other’s remarks; while Miss Peyton, +with a slight hesitation, as if fearful of touching on forbidden subjects, +replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“I had thought, sir, that we were indebted to the Christian religion for +our morals on this subject.” +</p> + +<p> +“True, madam, it is somewhere provided in the prescriptions of the +apostles, that the sexes should henceforth be on an equality in this +particular. But in what degree could polygamy affect holiness of life? It was +probably a wise arrangement of Paul, who was much of a scholar, and probably +had frequent conferences, on this important subject, with Luke, whom we all +know to have been bred to the practice of medicine—” +</p> + +<p> +There is no telling how far the discursive fancy of Sitgreaves might have led +him, on this subject, had he not been interrupted. But Lawton, who had been a +close though silent observer of all that passed, profited by the hint to ask +abruptly,— +</p> + +<p> +“Pray, Colonel Wellmere, in what manner is bigamy punished in +England?” +</p> + +<p> +The bridegroom started, and his lip blanched. Recovering himself, however, on +the instant, he answered with a suavity that became so happy a man,— +</p> + +<p> +“Death!—as such an offense merits,” he said. +</p> + +<p> +“Death and dissection,” continued the operator. “It is seldom +that law loses sight of eventual utility in a malefactor. Bigamy, in a man, is +a heinous offense!” +</p> + +<p> +“More so than celibacy?” asked Lawton. +</p> + +<p> +“More so,” returned the surgeon, with undisturbed simplicity. +“One who remains in a single state may devote his life to science and the +extension of knowledge, if not of his species; but the wretch who profits by +the constitutional tendency of the female sex to credulity and tenderness, +incurs the wickedness of a positive sin, heightened by the baseness of +deception.” +</p> + +<p> +“Really, sir, the ladies are infinitely obliged to you, for attributing +folly to them as part of their nature.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Lawton, in man the animal is more nobly formed than in woman. +The nerves are endowed with less sensibility; the whole frame is less pliable +and yielding; is it therefore surprising, that a tendency to rely on the faith +of her partner is more natural to woman than to the other sex?” +</p> + +<p> +Wellmere, as if unable to listen with any degree of patience to so ill-timed a +dialogue, sprang from his seat and paced the floor in disorder. Pitying his +situation, the reverend gentleman, who was patiently awaiting the return of +Caesar, changed the discourse, and a few minutes brought the black himself. The +billet was handed to Dr. Sitgreaves; for Miss Peyton had expressly enjoined +Caesar not to implicate her, in any manner, in the errand on which he was +dispatched. The note contained a summary statement of the several subjects of +the surgeon’s directions, and referred him to the black for the ring. The +latter was instantly demanded, and promptly delivered. A transient look of +melancholy clouded the brow of the surgeon, as he stood a moment, and gazed +silently on the bauble; nor did he remember the place, or the occasion, while +he mournfully soliloquized as follows:— +</p> + +<p> +“Poor Anna! gay as innocence and youth could make thee was thy heart, +when this cincture was formed to grace thy nuptials; but ere the hour had come, +God had taken thee to Himself. Years have passed, my sister, but never have I +forgotten the companion of my infancy!” He advanced to Sarah, and, +unconscious of observation, placing the ring on her finger, continued, +“She for whom it was intended has long been in her grave, and the youth +who bestowed the gift soon followed her sainted spirit; take it, madam, and God +grant that it may be an instrument in making you as happy as you +deserve!” +</p> + +<p> +Sarah felt a chill at her heart, as this burst of feeling escaped the surgeon; +but Wellmere offering his hand, she was led before the divine, and the ceremony +began. The first words of this imposing office produced a dead stillness in the +apartment; and the minister of God proceeded to the solemn exhortation, and +witnessed the plighted troth of the parties, when the investiture was to +follow. The ring had been left, from inadvertency and the agitation of the +moment, on the finger where Sitgreaves had placed it; the slight interruption +occasioned by the circumstance was over, and the clergyman was about to +proceed, when a figure gliding into the midst of the party, at once put a stop +to the ceremony. It was the peddler. His look was bitter and ironical, while a +finger, raised towards the divine, seemed to forbid the ceremony to go any +further. +</p> + +<p> +“Can Colonel Wellmere waste the precious moments here, when his wife has +crossed the ocean to meet him? The nights are long, and the moon bright; a few +hours will take him to the city.” +</p> + +<p> +Aghast at the suddenness of this extraordinary address, Wellmere for a moment +lost the command of his faculties. To Sarah, the countenance of Birch, +expressive as it was, produced no terror; but the instant she recovered from +the surprise of his interruption, she turned her anxious gaze on the features +of the man to whom she had just pledged her troth. They afforded the most +terrible confirmation of all that the peddler affirmed; the room whirled round, +and she fell lifeless into the arms of her aunt. There is an instinctive +delicacy in woman, that seems to conquer all other emotions; and the insensible +bride was immediately conveyed from sight, leaving the room to the sole +possession of the other sex. +</p> + +<p> +The confusion enabled the peddler to retreat with a rapidity that would have +baffled pursuit, had any been attempted, and Wellmere stood with every eye +fixed on him, in ominous silence. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis false—’tis false as hell!” he cried, +striking his forehead. “I have ever denied her claim; nor will the laws +of my country compel me to acknowledge it.” +</p> + +<p> +“But what will conscience and the laws of God do?” asked Lawton. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis well, sir,” said Wellmere, haughtily, and retreating +towards the door, “my situation protects you now; but a time may +come—” +</p> + +<p> +He had reached the entry, when a slight tap on his shoulder caused him to turn +his head; it was Captain Lawton, who, with a smile of peculiar meaning, +beckoned him to follow. The state of Wellmere’s mind was such, that he +would gladly have gone anywhere to avoid the gaze of horror and detestation +that glared from every eye he met. They reached the stables before the trooper +spoke, when he cried aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“Bring out Roanoke!” +</p> + +<p> +His man appeared with the steed caparisoned for its master. Lawton, coolly +throwing the bridle on the neck of the animal, took his pistols from the +holsters, and continued, “Here are weapons that have seen good service +before to-day—aye, and in honorable hands, sir. These were the pistols of +my father, Colonel Wellmere; he used them with credit in the wars with France, +and gave them to me to fight the battles of my country with. In what better way +can I serve her than in exterminating a wretch who would have blasted one of +her fairest daughters?” +</p> + +<p> +“This injurious treatment shall meet with its reward,” cried the +other, seizing the offered weapon. “The blood lie on the head of him who +sought it!” +</p> + +<p> +“Amen! but hold a moment, sir. You are now free, and the passports of +Washington are in your pocket; I give you the fire; if I fall, there is a steed +that will outstrip pursuit; and I would advise you to retreat without much +delay, for even Archibald Sitgreaves would fight in such a cause—nor will +the guard above be very apt to give quarter.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you ready?” asked Wellmere, gnashing his teeth with rage. +</p> + +<p> +“Stand forward, Tom, with the lights; fire!” +</p> + +<p> +Wellmere fired, and the bullion flew from the epaulet of the trooper. +</p> + +<p> +“Now the turn is mine,” said Lawton, deliberately leveling his +pistol. +</p> + +<p> +“And mine!” shouted a voice, as the weapon was struck from his +hand. “By all the devils in hell, ’tis the mad +Virginian!—fall on, my boys, and take him; this is a prize not hoped +for!” +</p> + +<p> +Unarmed, and surprised as he was, Lawton’s presence of mind did not +desert him; he felt that he was in the hands of those from whom he was to +expect no mercy; and, as four of the Skinners fell upon him at once, he used +his gigantic strength to the utmost. Three of the band grasped him by the neck +and arms, with an intent to clog his efforts, and pinion him with ropes. The +first of these he threw from him, with a violence that sent him against the +building, where he lay stunned with the blow. But the fourth seized his legs; +and, unable to contend with such odds, the trooper came to the earth, bringing +with him all of his assailants. The struggle on the ground was short but +terrific; curses and the most dreadful imprecations were uttered by the +Skinners, who in vain called on more of their band, who were gazing on the +combat in nerveless horror, to assist. A difficulty of breathing, from one of +the combatants, was heard, accompanied by the stifled moanings of a strangled +man; and directly one of the group arose on his feet, shaking himself free from +the wild grasp of the others. Both Wellmere and the servant of Lawton had fled: +the former to the stables, and the latter to give the alarm, leaving all in +darkness. The figure that stood erect sprang into the saddle of the unheeded +charger; sparks of fire, issuing from the armed feet of the horse, gave a +momentary light by which the captain was seen dashing like the wind towards the +highway. +</p> + +<p> +“By hell, he’s off!” cried the leader, hoarse with rage and +exhaustion.<br/> +“Fire!—bring him down—fire, or you’ll be too +late.” +</p> + +<p> +The order was obeyed, and one moment of suspense followed, in the vain hope of +hearing the huge frame of Lawton tumbling from his steed. +</p> + +<p> +“He would not fall if you had killed him,” muttered one. +“I’ve known these Virginians sit their horses with two or three +balls through them; aye, even after they were dead.” +</p> + +<p> +A freshening of the wind wafted the tread of a horse down the valley, which, by +its speed, gave assurance of a rider governing its motion. +</p> + +<p> +“These trained horses always stop when the rider falls,” observed +one of the gang. +</p> + +<p> +“Then,” cried the leader, striking his musket on the ground in a +rage, “the fellow is safe!—to your business at once. A short half +hour will bring down that canting sergeant and the guard upon us. ’Twill +be lucky if the guns don’t turn them out. Quick, to your posts, and fire +the house in the chambers; smoking ruins are good to cover evil deeds.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is to be done with this lump of earth?” cried another, +pushing the body that yet lay insensible, where it had been hurled by the arm +of Lawton; “a little rubbing would bring him to.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let him lie,” said the leader, fiercely. “Had he been half a +man, that dragooning rascal would have been in my power; enter the house, I +say, and fire the chambers. We can’t go amiss here; there is plate and +money enough to make you all gentlemen—and revenge too.” +</p> + +<p> +The idea of silver in any way was not to be resisted; and, leaving their +companion, who began to show faint signs of life, they rushed tumultuously +towards the dwelling. Wellmere availed himself of the opportunity, and, +stealing from the stable with his own charger, he was able to gain the highway +unnoticed. For an instant he hesitated, whether to ride towards the point where +he knew the guard was stationed, and endeavor to rescue the family, or, +profiting by his liberty and the exchange that had been effected by the divine, +to seek the royal army. Shame, and a consciousness of guilt, determined him to +take the latter course, and he rode towards New York, stung with the reflection +of his own baseness, and harassed with the apprehension of meeting with an +enraged woman, that he had married during his late visit to England, but whose +claims, as soon as his passion was sated, he had resolved never willingly to +admit. In the tumult and agitation of the moment, the retreat of Lawton and +Wellmere was but little noticed; the condition of Mr. Wharton demanding the +care and consolation of both the surgeon and the divine. The report of the +firearms at first roused the family to the sense of a new danger, and but a +moment elapsed before the leader, and one more of the gang, entered the room. +</p> + +<p> +“Surrender! you servants of King George,” shouted the leader, +presenting his musket to the breast of Sitgreaves, “or I will let a +little tory blood from your veins.” +</p> + +<p> +“Gently—gently, my friend,” said the surgeon. “You are +doubtless more expert in inflicting wounds than in healing them; the weapon +that you hold so indiscreetly is extremely dangerous to animal life.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yield, or take its contents.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why and wherefore should I yield?—I am a noncombatant. The +articles of capitulation must be arranged with Captain John Lawton; though +yielding, I believe, is not a subject on which you will find him particularly +complying.” +</p> + +<p> +The fellow had by this time taken such a survey of the group, as convinced him +that little danger was to be apprehended from resistance, and, eager to seize +his share of the plunder, he dropped his musket, and was soon busy with the +assistance of his men, in arranging divers articles of plate in bags. The +cottage now presented a singular spectacle. The ladies were gathered around +Sarah, who yet continued insensible, in one of the rooms that had escaped the +notice of the marauders. Mr. Wharton sat in a state of perfect imbecility, +listening to, but not profiting by, the meaning words of comfort that fell from +the lips of the clergyman. Singleton was lying on a sofa, shaking with +debility, and inattentive to surrounding objects; while the surgeon was +administering restoratives, and looking at the dressings, with a coolness that +mocked the tumult. Caesar and the attendant of Captain Singleton, had retreated +to the wood in the rear of the cottage, and Katy Haynes was flying about the +building, busily employed in forming a bundle of valuables, from which, with +the most scrupulous honesty, she rejected every article that was not really and +truly her own. +</p> + +<p> +But to return to the party at the Four Corners. When the veteran had got his +men mounted and under arms, a restless desire to participate in the glory and +dangers of the expedition came over the washerwoman. Whether she was impelled +to the undertaking by a dread of remaining alone, or a wish to hasten in person +to the relief of her favorite, we will not venture to assert but, as Hollister +was giving the orders to wheel and march, the voice of Betty was heard, +exclaiming,— +</p> + +<p> +“Stop a bit, sargeant dear, till two of the boys get out the cart, and +I’ll jist ride wid ye; ’tis like there’ll be wounded, and it +will be mighty convanient to bring them home in.” +</p> + +<p> +Although inwardly much pleased with any cause of delay to a service that he so +little relished, Hollister affected some displeasure at the detention. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing but a cannon ball can take one of my lads from his +charger,” he said; “and it’s not very likely that we shall +have as fair fighting as cannon and musketry, in a business of the evil +one’s inventing; so, Elizabeth, you may go if you will, but the cart will +not be wanting.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, sargeant dear, you lie, anyway,” said Betty, who was somewhat +unduly governed by her potations. “And wasn’t Captain Singleton +shot off his horse but tin days gone by? Aye, and Captain Jack himself too; and +didn’t he lie on the ground, face uppermost and back downwards, looking +grim? And didn’t the boys t’ink him dead, and turn and l’ave +the rig’lars the day?” +</p> + +<p> +“You lie back again,” cried the sergeant, fiercely; “and so +does anyone who says that we didn’t gain the day.” +</p> + +<p> +“For a bit or so—only I mane for a bit or so,” said the +washerwoman; “but Major Dunwoodie turned you, and so you licked the +rig’lars. But the captain it was that fell, and I’m thinking that +there’s no better rider going; so, sargeant, it’s the cart will be +convanient. Here, two of you, jist hitch the mare to the tills, and it’s +no whisky that ye’ll be wanting the morrow; and put the piece of +Jenny’s hide under the pad; the baste is never the better for the rough +ways of the county Westchester.” The consent of the sergeant being +obtained, the equipage of Mrs. Flanagan was soon in readiness to receive its +burden. +</p> + +<p> +“As it is quite uncertain whether we shall be attacked in front, or in +rear,” said Hollister, “five of you shall march in advance, and the +remainder shall cover our retreat towards the barrack, should we be pressed. +’Tis an awful moment to a man of little learning, Elizabeth, to command +in such a service; for my part, I wish devoutly that one of the officers were +here; but my trust is in the Lord.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh! man, away wid ye,” said the washerwoman, who had got herself +comfortably seated. “The divil a bit of an inimy is there near. March on, +hurry-skurry, and let the mare trot, or it’s but little that Captain Jack +will thank ye for the help.” +</p> + +<p> +“Although unlearned in matters of communicating with spirits, or laying +the dead, Mrs. Flanagan,” said the veteran, “I have not served +through the old war, and five years in this, not to know how to guard the +baggage. Doesn’t Washington always cover the baggage? I am not to be told +my duty by a camp follower. Fall in as you are ordered, and dress, men.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, march, anyway,” cried the impatient washerwoman. “The +black is there already, and it’s tardy the captain will think ye.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you sure that it was really a black man that brought the +order?” said the sergeant, dropping in between the platoons, where he +could converse with Betty, and be at hand, to lead on an emergency, either on +an advance or on a retreat. +</p> + +<p> +“Nay—and I’m sure of nothing, dear. But why don’t the +boys prick their horses and jog a trot? The mare is mighty un’asy, and +it’s no warm in this cursed valley, riding as much like a funeral party +as old rags is to continental.”<a href="#linknote-10" +name="linknoteref-10" id="linknoteref-10"><sup>[10]</sup></a> “Fairly and +softly, aye, and prudently, Mrs. Flanagan; it’s not rashness that makes +the good officer. If we have to encounter a spirit, it’s more than likely +he’ll make his attack by surprise; horses are not very powerful in the +dark, and I have a character to lose, good woman.” +</p> + +<p> +“Caractur! and isn’t it caractur and life too that Captain Jack has +to lose!” +</p> + +<p> +“Halt!” cried the sergeant. “What is that lurking near the +foot of the rock, on the left?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure, it’s nothing, unless it be a matter of Captain Jack’s +sowl that’s come to haunt ye, for not being brisker on the march.” +</p> + +<p> +“Betty, your levity makes you an unfit comrade for such an expedition. +Advance, one of you, and reconnoiter the spot; draw swords!—rear rank, +close to the front!” +</p> + +<p> +“Pshaw!” shouted Betty, “is it a big fool or a big coward +that ye are? Jist wheel from the road, boys, and I’ll shove the mare down +upon it in the twinkling of an eye—and it’s no ghost that I +fear.” +</p> + +<p> +By this time one of the men had returned, and declared there was nothing to +prevent their advancing, and the party continued their march, but with great +deliberation and caution. +</p> + +<p> +“Courage and prudence are the jewels of a soldier, Mrs. Flanagan,” +said the sergeant; “without the one, the other may be said to be good for +nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Prudence without courage: is it <i>that</i> you mane?—and +it’s so that I’m thinking myself, sargeant. This baste pulls tight +on the reins, any way.” +</p> + +<p> +“Be patient, good woman; hark! what is that?” said Hollister, +pricking up his ears at the report of Wellmere’s pistol. +“I’ll swear that was a human pistol, and one from our regiment. +Rear rank, close to the front!—Mrs. Flanagan, I must leave you.” So +saying, having recovered all his faculties, by hearing a sound that he +understood, he placed himself at the head of his men with an air of military +pride, that the darkness prevented the washerwoman from beholding. A volley of +musketry now rattled in the night wind, and the sergeant exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“March!—quick time!” +</p> + +<p> +The next instant the trampling of a horse was heard coming up the road, at a +rate that announced a matter of life or death; and Hollister again halted his +party, riding a short distance in front himself, to meet the rider. +</p> + +<p> +“Stand!—who goes there?” shouted Hollister. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! Hollister, is it you?” cried Lawton, “ever ready and at +your post; but where is the guard?” +</p> + +<p> +“At hand, sir, and ready to follow you through thick and thin,” +said the veteran, relieved at once from responsibility, and as eager as a boy +to be led against his enemy. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis well!” said the trooper, riding up to his men; then, +speaking a few words of encouragement, he led them down the valley at a rate +but little less rapid than his approach. The miserable horse of the sutler was +soon distanced, and Betty, thus thrown out in the chase, turned to the side of +the road, and observed,— +</p> + +<p> +“There—it’s no difficult to tell that Captain Jack is wid +’em, anyway; and away they go like so many nagur boys to a +husking-frolic; well, I’ll jist hitch the mare to this bit of a fence, +and walk down and see the sport afoot—it’s no r’asonable to +expose the baste to be hurted.” +</p> + +<p> +Led on by Lawton, the men followed, destitute alike of fear and reflection. +Whether it was a party of the refugees, or a detachment from the royal army, +that they were to assail, they were profoundly ignorant; but they knew that the +officer in advance was distinguished for courage and personal prowess; and +these are virtues that are sure to captivate the thoughtless soldiery. On +arriving near the gates of the Locusts, the trooper halted his party, and made +his arrangements for the assault. Dismounting, he ordered eight of his men to +follow his example, and turning to Hollister, said,— +</p> + +<p> +“Stand you here, and guard the horses; if anything attempt to pass, stop +it, or cut it down, and—” +</p> + +<p> +The flames at this moment burst through the dormer windows and cedar roof of +the cottage, and a bright light glared on the darkness of the night. +“On!” shouted the trooper “on!—give quarter when you +have done justice!” +</p> + +<p> +There was a startling fierceness in the voice of the trooper that reached to +the heart, even amid the horrors of the cottage. The leader of the Skinners +dropped his plunder, and, for a moment, he stood in nerveless dread; then +rushing to a window, he threw up the sash; at this instant Lawton entered, +saber in hand, into the apartment. +</p> + +<p> +“Die, miscreant!” cried the trooper, cleaving a marauder to the +jaw; but the leader sprang into the lawn, and escaped his vengeance. The +shrieks of the females restored Lawton to his presence of mind, and the earnest +entreaty of the divine induced him to attend to the safety of the family. One +more of the gang fell in with the dragoons, and met his death; but the +remainder had taken the alarm in season. Occupied with Sarah, neither Miss +Singleton, nor the ladies of the house, had discovered the entrance of the +Skinners, though the flames were raging around them with a fury that threatened +the building with rapid destruction. The shrieks of Katy and the terrified +consort of Caesar, together with the noise and uproar in the adjacent +apartment, first roused Miss Peyton and Isabella to a sense of their danger. +</p> + +<p> +“Merciful Providence!” exclaimed the alarmed aunt; “there is +a dreadful confusion in the house, and there will be blood shed in consequence +of this affair.” +</p> + +<p> +“There are none to fight,” returned Isabella, with a face paler +than that of the other. “Dr. Sitgreaves is very peaceable in his +disposition, and surely Captain Lawton would not forget himself so far.” +</p> + +<p> +“The Southern temper is quick and fiery,” continued Miss Peyton; +“and your brother, feeble and weak as he is, has looked the whole +afternoon flushed and angry.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good heaven!” cried Isabella, with difficulty supporting herself +on the couch of Sarah; “he is gentle as the lamb by nature, though the +lion is not his equal when roused.” +</p> + +<p> +“We must interfere: our presence will quell the tumult, and possibly save +the life of a fellow creature.” +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton, excited to attempt what she conceived a duty worthy of her sex and +nature, advanced with the dignity of injured female feeling, to the door, +followed by Isabella. The apartment to which Sarah had been conveyed was in one +of the wings of the building, and it communicated with the principal hall of +the cottage by a long and dark passage. This was now light, and across its +termination several figures were seen rushing with an impetuosity that +prevented an examination of their employment. +</p> + +<p> +“Let us advance,” said Miss Peyton, with a firmness her face +belied; “they must respect our sex.” +</p> + +<p> +“They shall,” cried Isabella, taking the lead in the enterprise. +Frances was left alone with her sister. A few minutes were passed in silence, +when a loud crash, in the upper apartments, was succeeded by a bright light +that glared through the open door, and made objects as distinct to the eye as +if they were placed under a noonday sun. Sarah raised herself on her bed, and +staring wildly around, pressed both her hands on her forehead, endeavoring to +recollect herself. +</p> + +<p> +“This, then, is heaven—and you are one of its bright spirits. Oh! +how glorious is its radiance! I had thought the happiness I have lately +experienced was too much for earth. But we shall meet again; +yes—yes—we shall meet again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sarah! Sarah!” cried Frances, in terror; “my sister—my +only sister—Oh! do not smile so horridly; know me, or you will break my +heart.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hush,” said Sarah raising her hand for silence; “you may +disturb his rest—surely, he will follow me to the grave. Think you there +can be two wives in the grave? No—no—no; +one—one—one—only one.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances dropped her head into the lap of her sister, and wept in agony. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you shed tears, sweet angel?” continued Sarah, soothingly. +“Then heaven is not exempt from grief. But where is Henry? He was +executed, and he must be here too; perhaps they will come together. Oh! how +joyful will be the meeting!” +</p> + +<p> +Frances sprang on her feet, and paced the apartment. The eye of Sarah followed +her in childish admiration of her beauty. +</p> + +<p> +“You look like my sister; but all good and lovely spirits are alike. Tell +me, were you ever married? Did you ever let a stranger steal your affections +from father, and brother, and sister? If not, poor wretch, I pity you, although +you may be in heaven.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sarah—peace, peace—I implore you to be silent,” +shrieked Frances, rushing to her bed, “or you will kill me at your +feet.” +</p> + +<p> +Another dreadful crash shook the building to its center. It was the falling of +the roof, and the flames threw their light abroad, so as to make objects +visible around the cottage, through the windows of the room. Frances flew to +one of them, and saw the confused group that was collected on the lawn. Among +them were her aunt and Isabella, pointing with distraction to the fiery +edifice, and apparently urging the dragoons to enter it. For the first time she +comprehended their danger; and uttering a wild shriek, she flew through the +passage without consideration, or object. +</p> + +<p> +A dense and suffocating column of smoke opposed her progress. She paused to +breathe, when a man caught her in his arms, and bore her, in a state of +insensibility, through the falling embers and darkness, to the open air. The +instant that Frances recovered her recollection, she perceived that she owed +her life Lo Lawton, and throwing herself on her knees, she cried,— +</p> + +<p> +“Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! save my sister, and may the blessing of God await +you!” +</p> + +<p> +Her strength failed, and she sank on the grass, in insensibility. The trooper +pointed to her figure, motioned to Katy for assistance, and advanced once more +to the building. The fire had already communicated to the woodwork of the +piazzas and windows, and the whole exterior of the cottage was covered with +smoke. The only entrance was through these dangers, and even the hardy and +impetuous Lawton paused to consider. It was for a moment only, when he dashed +into the heat and darkness, where, missing the entrance, he wandered for a +minute, and precipitated himself back, again, upon the lawn. Drawing a single +breath of pure air, he renewed the effort, and was again unsuccessful. On a +third trial, he met a man staggering under the load of a human body. It was +neither the place, nor was there time, to question, or to make distinctions; +seizing both in his arms, with gigantic strength, he bore them through the +smoke. He soon perceived, to his astonishment, that it was the surgeon, and the +body of one of the Skinners, that he had saved. +</p> + +<p> +“Archibald!” he exclaimed, “why, in the name of justice, did +you bring this miscreant to light again? His deeds are rank to heaven!” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon, who had been in imminent peril, was too much bewildered to reply +instantly, but wiping the moisture from his forehead, and clearing his lungs +from the vapor he had inhaled, he said piteously,— +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! it is all over! Had I been in time to have stopped the effusion from +the jugular, he might have been saved; but the heat was conducive to +hemorrhage; life is extinct indeed. Well, are there any more wounded?” +</p> + +<p> +His question was put to the air, for Frances had been removed to the opposite +side of the building, where her friends were collected, and Lawton had once +more disappeared in the smoke. +</p> + +<p> +By this time the flames had dispersed much of the suffocating vapor, so that +the trooper was able to find the door, and in its very entrance he was met by a +man supporting the insensible Sarah. There was but barely time to reach the +lawn again, before the fire broke through the windows, and wrapped the whole +building in a sheet of flame. +</p> + +<p> +“God be praised!” ejaculated the preserver of Sarah. “It +would have been a dreadful death to die.” +</p> + +<p> +The trooper turned from gazing at the edifice, to the speaker, and to his +astonishment, instead of one of his own men, he beheld the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! the spy,” he exclaimed; “by heavens, you cross me like a +specter.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Lawton,” said Birch, leaning in momentary exhaustion +against the fence, to which they had retired from the heat, “I am again +in your power, for I can neither flee, nor resist.” +</p> + +<p> +“The cause of America is dear to me as life,” said the trooper, +“but she cannot require her children to forget gratitude and honor. Fly, +unhappy man, while yet you are unseen, or it will exceed my power to save +you.” +</p> + +<p> +“May God prosper you, and make you victorious over your enemies,” +said Birch, grasping the hand of the dragoon with an iron strength that his +meager figure did not indicate. +</p> + +<p> +“Hold!” said Lawton. “But a word—are you what you +seem?—can you—are you—” +</p> + +<p> +“A royal spy,” interrupted Birch, averting his face, and +endeavoring to release his hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Then go, miserable wretch,” said the trooper, relinquishing his +grasp.<br/> +“Either avarice or delusion has led a noble heart astray!” +</p> + +<p> +The bright light from the flames reached a great distance around the ruins, but +the words were hardly past the lips of Lawton, before the gaunt form of the +peddler had glided over the visible space, and plunged into the darkness +beyond. +</p> + +<p> +The eye of Lawton rested for a moment on the spot where he had last seen this +inexplicable man, and then turning to the yet insensible Sarah, he lifted her +in his arms, and bore her, like a sleeping infant, to the care of her friends. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-10" id="linknote-10"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-10">[10]</a> +The paper money issued by congress was familiarly called continental money. +This term “continental” was applied to the army, the congress, the +ships of war, and in short, to almost everything of interest which belonged to +the new government. It would seem to have been invented as the opposite of the +insular position of the mother country. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap23"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +And now her charms are fading fast,<br/> +Her spirits now no more are gay:<br/> +Alas! that beauty cannot last!<br/> +That flowers so sweet so soon decay!<br/> +How sad appears<br/> +The vale of years,<br/> +How changed from youth’s too flattering scene!<br/> +Where are her fond admirers gone?<br/> +Alas! and shall there then be none<br/> +On whom her soul may lean? +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Cynthia’s Grave</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The walls of the cottage were all that was left of the building; and these, +blackened by smoke, and stripped of their piazzas and ornaments, were but +dreary memorials of the content and security that had so lately reigned within. +The roof, together with the rest of the woodwork, had tumbled into the cellars, +and a pale and flitting light, ascending from their embers, shone faintly +through the windows. The early flight of the Skinners left the dragoons at +liberty to exert themselves in saving much of the furniture, which lay +scattered in heaps on the lawn, giving the finishing touch of desolation to the +scene. Whenever a stronger ray of light than common shot upwards, the composed +figures of Sergeant Hollister and his associates, sitting on their horses in +rigid discipline, were to be seen in the background of the picture, together +with the beast of Mrs. Flanagan, which, having slipped its bridle, was quietly +grazing by the highway. Betty herself had advanced to the spot where the +sergeant was posted, and, with an incredible degree of composure, witnessed the +whole of the events as they occurred. More than once she suggested to her +companion, that, as the fighting seemed to be over, the proper time for plunder +had arrived, but the veteran acquainted her with his orders, and remained +inflexible and immovable; until the washerwoman, observing Lawton come round +the wing of the building with Sarah, ventured amongst the warriors. The +captain, after placing Sarah on a sofa that had been hurled from the building +by two of his men, retired, that the ladies might succeed him in his care. Miss +Peyton and her niece flew, with a rapture that was blessed with a momentary +forgetfulness of all but her preservation, to receive Sarah from the trooper; +but the vacant eye and flushed cheek restored them instantly to their +recollection. +</p> + +<p> +“Sarah, my child, my beloved niece,” said the former, folding the +unconscious bride in her arms, “you are saved, and may the blessing of +God await him who has been the instrument.” +</p> + +<p> +“See,” said Sarah, gently pushing her aunt aside, and pointing to +the<br/> +glimmering ruins, “the windows are illuminated in honor of my +arrival.<br/> +They always receive a bride thus—he told me they would do no less.<br/> +Listen, and you will hear the bells.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here is no bride, no rejoicing, nothing but woe!” cried Frances, +in a manner but little less frantic than that of her sister. “Oh! may +heaven restore you to us—to yourself!” +</p> + +<p> +“Peace, foolish young woman,” said Sarah, with a smile of affected +pity; “all cannot be happy at the same moment; perhaps you have no +brother, or husband, to console you. You look beautiful, and you will yet find +one; but,” she continued, dropping her voice to a whisper, “see +that he has no other wife—’tis dreadful to think what might happen, +should he be twice married.” +</p> + +<p> +“The shock has destroyed her mind,” cried Miss Peyton; “my +child, my beauteous Sarah is a maniac!” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, no,” cried Frances, “it is fever; she is +lightheaded—she must recover—she shall recover.” +</p> + +<p> +The aunt caught joyfully at the hope conveyed in this suggestion, and +dispatched Katy to request the immediate aid and advice of Dr. Sitgreaves. The +surgeon was found inquiring among the men for professional employment, and +inquisitively examining every bruise and scratch that he could induce the +sturdy warriors to acknowledge they had received. A summons, of the sort +conveyed by Katy, was instantly obeyed, and not a minute elapsed before he was +by the side of Miss Peyton. +</p> + +<p> +“This is a melancholy termination to so joyful a commencement of the +night, madam,” he observed, in a soothing manner. “But war must +bring its attendant miseries; though doubtless it often supports the cause of +liberty, and improves the knowledge of surgical science.” +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton could make no reply, but pointed to her niece. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis fever,” answered Frances; “see how glassy is her +eye, and look at her cheek, how flushed.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon stood for a moment, deeply studying the outward symptoms of his +patient, and then he silently took her hand in his own. It was seldom that the +hard and abstracted features of Sitgreaves discovered any violent emotion; all +his passions seemed schooled, and his countenance did not often betray what, +indeed, his heart frequently felt. In the present instance, however, the eager +gaze of the aunt and sister quickly detected his emotions. After laying his +fingers for a minute on the beautiful arm, which, bared to the elbow and +glittering with jewels, Sarah suffered him to retain, he dropped it, and +dashing a hand over his eyes, turned sorrowfully away. +</p> + +<p> +“Here is no fever to excite—’tis a case, my dear madam, for +time and care only; these, with the blessing of God, may effect a cure.” +</p> + +<p> +“And where is the wretch who has caused this ruin?” exclaimed +Singleton, rejecting the support of his man, and making an effort to rise from +the chair to which he had been driven by debility. “It is in vain that we +overcome our enemies, if, conquered, they can inflict such wounds as +this.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dost think, foolish boy,” said Lawton, with a bitter smile, +“that hearts can feel in a colony? What is America but a satellite of +England—to move as she moves, follow where she wists, and shine, that the +mother country may become more splendid by her radiance? Surely you forget that +it is honor enough for a colonist to receive ruin from the hand of a child of +Britain.” +</p> + +<p> +“I forget not that I wear a sword,” said Singleton, falling back +exhausted; “but was there no willing arm ready to avenge that lovely +sufferer—to appease the wrongs of this hoary father?” +</p> + +<p> +“Neither arms nor hearts are wanting, sir, in such a cause,” said +the trooper, fiercely; “but chance oftentimes helps the wicked. By +heavens, I’d give Roanoke himself, for a clear field with the +miscreant!” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay! captain dear, no be parting with the horse, anyway,” said +Betty. “It is no trifle that can be had by jist asking of the right +person, if ye’re in need of silver; and the baste is sure of foot, and +jumps like a squirrel.” +</p> + +<p> +“Woman, fifty horses, aye, the best that were ever reared on the banks of +the Potomac, would be but a paltry price, for one blow at a villain.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come,” said the surgeon, “the night air can do no service to +George, or these ladies, and it is incumbent on us to remove them where they +can find surgical attendance and refreshment. Here is nothing but smoking ruins +and the miasma of the swamps.” +</p> + +<p> +To this rational proposition no objection could be raised, and the necessary +orders were issued by Lawton to remove the whole party to the Four Corners. +</p> + +<p> +America furnished but few and very indifferent carriage-makers at the period of +which we write, and every vehicle, that in the least aspired to that dignity, +was the manufacture of a London mechanic. When Mr. Wharton left the city, he +was one of the very few who maintained the state of a carriage; and, at the +time Miss Peyton and his daughters joined him in his retirement, they had been +conveyed to the cottage in the heavy chariot that had once so imposingly rolled +through the windings of Queen Street, or emerged, with somber dignity, into the +more spacious drive of Broadway. This vehicle stood, undisturbed, where it had +been placed on its arrival, and the age of the horses alone had protected the +favorites of Caesar from sequestration by the contending forces in their +neighborhood. With a heavy heart, the black, assisted by a few of the dragoons, +proceeded to prepare it for the reception of the ladies. It was a cumbrous +vehicle, whose faded linings and tarnished hammer-cloth, together with its +panels of changing color, denoted the want of that art which had once given it +luster and beauty. The “lion couchant” of the Wharton arms was +reposing on the reviving splendor of a blazonry that told the armorial bearings +of a prince of the church; and the miter, that began to shine through its +American mask, was a symbol of the rank of its original owner. The chaise which +conveyed Miss Singleton was also safe, for the stable and outbuildings had +entirely escaped the flames; it certainly had been no part of the plan of the +marauders to leave so well-appointed a stud behind them, but the suddenness of +the attack by Lawton, not only disconcerted their arrangements on this point, +but on many others also. A guard was left on the ground, under the command of +Hollister, who, having discovered that his enemy was of mortal mold, took his +position with admirable coolness and no little skill, to guard against +surprise. He drew off his small party to such a distance from the ruins, that +it was effectually concealed in the darkness, while at the same time the light +continued sufficiently power ful to discover anyone who might approach the lawn +with an intent to plunder. +</p> + +<p> +Satisfied with this judicious arrangement, Captain Lawton made his dispositions +for the march. Miss Peyton, her two nieces, and Isabella were placed in the +chariot, while the cart of Mrs. Flanagan, amply supplied with blankets and a +bed, was honored with the person of Captain Singleton. Dr. Sitgreaves took +charge of the chaise and Mr. Wharton. What became of the rest of the family +during that eventful night is unknown, for Caesar alone, of the domestics, was +to be found, if we except the housekeeper. Having disposed of the whole party +in this manner, Lawton gave the word to march. He remained himself, for a few +minutes, alone on the lawn, secreting various pieces of plate and other +valuables, that he was fearful might tempt the cupidity of his own men; when, +perceiving nothing more that he conceived likely to overcome their honesty, he +threw himself into the saddle with the soldierly intention of bringing up the +rear. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop, stop,” cried a female voice. “Will you leave me alone +to be murdered? The spoon is melted, I believe, and I’ll have +compensation, if there’s law or justice in this unhappy land.” +</p> + +<p> +Lawton turned an eye in the direction of the sound, and perceived a female +emerging from the ruins, loaded with a bundle that vied in size with the +renowned pack of the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“Whom have we here,” said the trooper, “rising like a phoenix +from the flames? Oh! by the soul of Hippocrates, but it is the identical +she-doctor, of famous needle reputation. Well, good woman, what means this +outcry?” +</p> + +<p> +“Outcry!” echoed Katy, panting for breath. “Is it not +disparagement enough to lose a silver spoon, but I must be left alone in this +lonesome place, to be robbed, and perhaps murdered? Harvey would not serve me +so; when I lived with Harvey, I was always treated with respect at least, if he +was a little close with his secrets, and wasteful of his money.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, madam, you once formed part of the household of Mr. Harvey<br/> +Birch?” +</p> + +<p> +“You may say I was the whole of his household,” returned the other; +“there was nobody but I, and he, and the old gentleman. You didn’t +know the old gentleman, perhaps?” +</p> + +<p> +“That happiness was denied me. How long did you live in the family +of<br/> +Mr. Birch?” +</p> + +<p> +“I disremember the precise time, but it must have been hard on upon nine +years; and what better am I for it all?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure enough; I can see but little benefit that you have derived from the +association, truly. But is there not something unusual in the movements and +character of this Mr. Birch?” +</p> + +<p> +“Unusual is an easy word for such unaccountables!” replied Katy, +lowering her voice and looking around her. “He was a wonderful +disregardful man, and minded a guinea no more than I do a kernel of corn. But +help me to some way of joining Miss Jinitt, and I will tell you prodigies of +what Harvey has done, first and last.” +</p> + +<p> +“You will!” exclaimed the trooper, musing. “Here, give me +leave to feel your arm above the elbow. There—you are not deficient in +bone, let the blood be as it may.” So saying, he gave the spinster a +sudden whirl, that effectually confused all her faculties, until she found +herself safely, if not comfortably, seated on the crupper of Lawton’s +steed. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, madam, you have the consolation of knowing that you are as well +mounted as Washington. The nag is sure of foot, and will leap like a +panther.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let me get down,” cried Katy, struggling to release herself from +his iron grasp, and yet afraid of falling. “This is no way to put a woman +on a horse; besides, I can’t ride without a pillion.” +</p> + +<p> +“Softly, good madam,” said Lawton; “for although Roanoke +never falls before, he sometimes rises behind. He is far from being accustomed +to a pair of heels beating upon his flanks like a drum major on a field day; a +single touch of the spur will serve him for a fortnight, and it is by no means +wise to be kicking in this manner, for he is a horse that but little likes to +be outdone.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let me down, I say,” screamed Katy; “I shall fall and be +killed.<br/> +Besides, I have nothing to hold on with; my arms are full of +valuables.” +</p> + +<p> +“True,” returned the trooper, observing that he had brought bundle +and all from the ground. “I perceive that you belong to the baggage +guard; but my sword belt will encircle your little waist, as well as my +own.” +</p> + +<p> +Katy was too much pleased with this compliment to make any resistance, while he +buckled her close to his own herculean frame, and, driving a spur into his +charger, they flew from the lawn with a rapidity that defied further denial. +After proceeding for some time, at a rate that a good deal discomposed the +spinster, they overtook the cart of the washerwoman driving slowly over the +stones, with a proper consideration for the wounds of Captain Singleton. The +occurrences of that eventful night had produced an excitement in the young +soldier, that was followed by the ordinary lassitude of reaction and he lay +carefully enveloped in blankets, and supported by his man, but little able to +converse, though deeply brooding over the past. The dialogue between Lawton and +his companion ceased with the commencement of their motions, but a footpace +being more favorable to speech, the trooper began anew: +</p> + +<p> +“Then, you have been an inmate in the same house with Harvey +Birch?” +</p> + +<p> +“For more than nine years,” said Katy, drawing her breath, and +rejoicing greatly that their speed was abated. +</p> + +<p> +The deep tones of the trooper’s voice were no sooner conveyed to the ears +of the washerwoman, than, turning her head, where she sat directing the +movements of the mare, she put into the discourse at the first pause. +</p> + +<p> +“Belike, then, good woman, ye’re knowing whether or no he’s +akin to Beelzeboob,” said Betty. “It’s Sargeant Hollister +who’s saying the same, and no fool is the sargeant, anyway.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a scandalous disparagement” cried Katy, vehemently, +“no kinder soul than Harvey carries a pack; and for a gownd or a tidy +apron, he will never take a king’s farthing from a friend. Beelzebub, +indeed! For what would he read the Bible, if he had dealings with the evil +spirit?” +</p> + +<p> +“He’s an honest divil, anyway; as I was saying before, the guinea +was pure. But then the sargeant thinks him amiss, and it’s no want of +l’arning that Mister Hollister has.” +</p> + +<p> +“He’s a fool!” said Katy tartly. “Harvey might be a man +of substance, were he not so disregardful. How often have I told him, that if +he did nothing but peddle, and would put his gains to use, and get married, so +that things at home could be kept within doors, and leave off his dealings with +the rig’lars, and all incumberments, that he would soon become an +excellent liver. Sergeant Hollister would be glad to hold a candle to him, +indeed!” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh!” said Betty, in her philosophical way; “ye’re no +thinking that Mister Hollister is an officer, and stands next the cornet, in +the troop. But this piddler gave warning of the brush the night, and it’s +no sure that Captain Jack would have got the day, but for the +reënforcement.” +</p> + +<p> +“How say you, Betty,” cried the trooper, bending forward on his +saddle, “had you notice of our danger from Birch?” +</p> + +<p> +“The very same, darling; and it’s hurry I was till the boys was in +motion; not but I knew ye’re enough for the Cowboys any time. But wid the +divil on your side, I was sure of the day. I’m only wondering +there’s so little plunder, in a business of Beelzeboob’s +contriving.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m obliged to you for the rescue, and equally indebted to the +motive.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is it the plunder? But little did I t’ink of it till I saw the +movables on the ground, some burnt, and some broke, and other some as good as +new. It would be convanient to have one feather bed in the corps, +anyway.” +</p> + +<p> +“By heavens, ’twas timely succor! Had not Roanoke been swifter than +their bullets, I must have fallen. The animal is worth his weight in +gold.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s continental, you mane, darling. Goold weighs heavy, and is no +plenty in the states. If the nagur hadn’t been staying and frighting the +sargeant with his copper-colored looks, and a matter of blarney ’bout +ghosts, we should have been in time to have killed all the dogs, and taken the +rest prisoners.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is very well as it is, Betty,” said Lawton. “A day will +yet come, I trust, when these miscreants shall be rewarded, if not in judgments +upon their persons, at least in the opinions of their fellow citizens. The time +must arrive when America will distinguish between a patriot and a +robber.” +</p> + +<p> +“Speak low,” said Katy; “there’s some who think much of +themselves, that have doings with the Skinners.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s more they are thinking of themselves, then, than other people +thinks of them,” cried Betty. “A t’ief’s a t’ief, +anyway; whether he stales for King George or for Congress.” +</p> + +<p> +“I know’d that evil would soon happen,” said Katy. “The +sun set to-night behind a black cloud, and the house dog whined, although I +gave him his supper with my own hands; besides, it’s not a week +sin’ I dreamed the dream about the thousand lighted candles, and the +cakes burnt in the oven.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said Betty, “it’s but little I drame, anyway. +Jist keep an ’asy conscience and a plenty of the stuff in ye, and +ye’ll sleep like an infant. The last drame I had was when the boys put +the thistle tops in the blankets, and then I was thinking that Captain +Jack’s man was currying me down, for the matter of Roanoke, but +it’s no trifle I mind either in skin or stomach.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m sure,” said Katy, with a stiff erectness that drew +Lawton back in his saddle, “no man shall ever dare to lay hands on bed of +mine; it’s undecent and despisable conduct.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh! pooh!” cried Betty; “if you tag after a troop of +horse, a small bit of a joke must be borne. What would become of the states and +liberty, if the boys had never a clane shirt, or a drop to comfort them? Ask +Captain Jack, there, if they’d fight, Mrs. Beelzeboob, and they no clane +linen to keep the victory in.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m a single woman, and my name is Haynes,” said Katy, +“and I’d thank you to use no disparaging terms when speaking to +me.” +</p> + +<p> +“You must tolerate a little license in the tongue of Mrs. Flanagan, +madam,” said the trooper. “The drop she speaks of is often of an +extraordinary size, and then she has acquired the freedom of a soldier’s +manner.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh! captain, darling,” cried Betty, “why do you bother the +woman? Talk like yeerself, dear, and it’s no fool of a tongue that +ye’ve got in yeer own head. But jist here-away that sargeant made a halt, +thinking there might be more divils than one stirring, the night. The clouds +are as black as Arnold’s heart, and deuce the star is there twinkling +among them. Well, the mare is used to a march after nightfall, and is smelling +out the road like a pointer slut.” +</p> + +<p> +“It wants but little to the rising moon,” observed the trooper. He +called a dragoon, who was riding in advance, issued a few orders and cautions +relative to the comfort and safety of Singleton, and speaking a consoling word +to his friend himself, gave Roanoke the spur, and dashed by the car, at a rate +that again put to flight all the philosophy of Katharine Haynes. +</p> + +<p> +“Good luck to ye, for a free rider and a bold!” shouted the +washerwoman, as he passed. “If ye’re meeting Mister Beelzeboob, +jist back the baste up to him, and show him his consort that ye’ve got on +the crupper. I’m thinking it’s no long he’d tarry to chat. +Well, well, it’s his life that we saved, he was saying so +himself—though the plunder is nothing to signify.” +</p> + +<p> +The cries of Betty Flanagan were too familiar to the ears of Captain Lawton to +elicit a reply. Notwithstanding the unusual burden that Roanoke sustained, he +got over the ground with great rapidity, and the distance between the cart of +Mrs. Flanagan and the chariot of Miss Peyton was passed in a manner that, +however it answered the intentions of the trooper, in no degree contributed to +the comfort of his companion. The meeting occurred but a short distance from +the quarters of Lawton, and at the same instant the moon broke from a mass of +clouds, and threw its light on objects. +</p> + +<p> +Compared with the simple elegance and substantial comfort of the Locusts, the +“Hotel Flanagan” presented but a dreary spectacle. In the place of +carpeted floors and curtained windows, were the yawning cracks of a +rudely-constructed dwelling, and boards and paper were ingeniously applied to +supply the place of the green glass in more than half the lights. The care of +Lawton had anticipated every improvement that their situation would allow, and +blazing fires were made before the party arrived. The dragoons, who had been +charged with this duty, had conveyed a few necessary articles of furniture, and +Miss Peyton and her companions, on alighting, found something like habitable +apartments prepared for their reception. The mind of Sarah had continued to +wander during the ride, and, with the ingenuity of the insane, she accommodated +every circumstance to the feelings that were uppermost in her own bosom. +</p> + +<p> +“It is impossible to minister to a mind that has sustained such a +blow,” said Lawton to Isabella Singleton. “Time and God’s +mercy can alone cure it, but something more may be done towards the bodily +comfort of all. You are a soldier’s daughter, and used to scenes like +this; help me to exclude some of the cold air from these windows.” +</p> + +<p> +Miss Singleton acceded to his request, and while Lawton was endeavoring, from +without, to remedy the defect of broken panes, Isabella was arranging a +substitute for a curtain within. +</p> + +<p> +“I hear the cart,” said the trooper, in reply to one of her +interrogatories. “Betty is tender-hearted in the main; believe me, poor +George will not only be safe, but comfortable.” +</p> + +<p> +“God bless her, for her care, and bless you all,” said Isabella, +fervently. “Dr. Sitgreaves has gone down the road to meet him, I know. +What is that glittering in the moon?” +</p> + +<p> +Directly opposite the window where they stood, were the outbuildings of the +farm, and the quick eye of Lawton caught at a glance the object to which she +alluded. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis the glare of firearms,” said the trooper, springing +from the window towards his charger, which yet remained caparisoned at the +door. His movement was quick as thought, but a flash of fire was followed by +the whistling of a bullet, before he had proceeded a step. A loud shriek burst +from the dwelling, and the captain sprang into his saddle; the whole was the +business of but a moment. +</p> + +<p> +“Mount—mount, and follow!” shouted the trooper; and before +his astonished men could understand the cause of alarm, Roanoke had carried him +in safety over the fence which lay between him and his foe. The chase was for +life or death, but the distance to the rocks was again too short, and the +disappointed trooper saw his intended victim vanish in their clefts, where he +could not follow. +</p> + +<p> +“By the life of Washington,” muttered Lawton, as he sheathed his +saber, “I would have made two halves of him, had he not been so nimble on +the foot—but a time will come!” So saying, he returned to his +quarters, with the indifference of a man who knew his life was at any moment to +be offered a sacrifice to his country. An extraordinary tumult in the house +induced him to quicken his speed, and on arriving at the door, the +panic-stricken Katy informed him that the bullet aimed at his own life had +taken effect in the bosom of Miss Singleton. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap24"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Hushed were his Gertrude’s lips; but still their bland<br/> +And beautiful expression seemed to melt<br/> +With love that could not die! and still his hand<br/> +She presses to the heart no more that felt. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Gertrude of Wyoming</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The brief arrangements of the dragoons had prepared two apartments for the +reception of the ladies, the one being intended as a sleeping room, and +situated within the other. Into the latter Isabella was immediately conveyed, +at her own request, and placed on a rude bed by the side of the unconscious +Sarah. When Miss Peyton and Frances flew to her assistance, they found her with +a smile on her pallid lip, and a composure in her countenance, that induced +them to think her uninjured. +</p> + +<p> +“God be praised!” exclaimed the trembling aunt. “The report +of firearms, and your fall, had led me into error. Surely, surely, there was +enough horror before; but this has been spared us.” +</p> + +<p> +Isabella pressed her hand upon her bosom, still smiling, but with a ghastliness +that curdled the blood of Frances. +</p> + +<p> +“Is George far distant?” she asked. “Let him +know—hasten him, that I may see my brother once again.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is as I apprehended!” shrieked Miss Peyton. “But you +smile—surely you are not hurt!” +</p> + +<p> +“Quite well—quite happy,” murmured Isabella; “here is a +remedy for every pain.” +</p> + +<p> +Sarah arose from the reclining posture she had taken, and gazed wildly at her +companion. She stretched forth her own hand, and raised that of Isabella from +her bosom. It was dyed in blood. +</p> + +<p> +“See,” said Sarah, “but will it not wash away love? Marry, +young woman, and then no one can expel him from your heart, +unless,”—she added, whispering, and bending over the +other,—“you find another there before you; then die, and go to +heaven—there are no wives in heaven.” +</p> + +<p> +The lovely maniac hid her face under the clothes, and continued silent during +the remainder of the night. At this moment Lawton entered. Inured as he was to +danger in all its forms, and accustomed to the horrors of a partisan war, the +trooper could not behold the ruin before him unmoved. He bent over the fragile +form of Isabella, and his gloomy eye betrayed the workings of his soul. +</p> + +<p> +“Isabella,” he at length uttered, “I know you to possess a +courage beyond the strength of women.” +</p> + +<p> +“Speak,” she said, earnestly; “if you have anything to say, +speak fearlessly.” +</p> + +<p> +The trooper averted his face as he replied, “None ever receive a ball +there, and survive.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have no dread of death, Lawton,” returned Isabella. “I +thank you for not doubting me; I felt it from the first.” +</p> + +<p> +“These are not scenes for a form like yours,” added the trooper. +“’Tis enough that Britain calls our youth to the field; but when +such loveliness becomes the victim of war, I sicken of my trade.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hear me, Captain Lawton,” said Isabella, raising herself with +difficulty, but rejecting aid. “From early womanhood to the present hour +have I been an inmate of camps and garrisons. I have lived to cheer the leisure +of an aged father, and think you I would change those days of danger and +privation for any ease? No! I have the consolation of knowing, in my dying +moments, that what woman could do in such a cause, I have done.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who could prove a recreant, and witness such a spirit! Hundreds of +warriors have I witnessed in their blood, but never a firmer soul among them +all.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis the soul only,” said Isabella. “My sex and +strength have denied me the dearest of privileges. But to you, Captain Lawton, +nature has been more bountiful; you have an arm and a heart to devote to the +cause; and I know they are in arm and a heart that will prove true to the last. +And George—and—” she paused, her lip quivered, and her eye +sank to the floor. +</p> + +<p> +“And Dunwoodie!” added the trooper. “Would you speak of +Dunwoodie?” +</p> + +<p> +“Name him not,” said Isabella, sinking back, and concealing her +face in her garments. “Leave me, Lawton—prepare poor George for +this unexpected blow.” +</p> + +<p> +The trooper continued for a little while gazing, in melancholy interest, at the +convulsive shudderings of her frame, which the scanty covering could not +conceal, and withdrew to meet his comrade. The interview between Singleton and +his sister was painful, and, for a moment, Isabella yielded to a burst of +tenderness; but, as if aware that her hours were numbered, she was the first to +rouse herself to exertion. At her earnest request, the room was left to +herself, the captain, and Frances. The repeated applications of the surgeon, to +be permitted to use professional aid, were steadily rejected, and, at length, +he was obliged unwillingly to retire. +</p> + +<p> +“Raise me,” said the dying young woman, “and let me look on a +face that I love, once more.” Frances silently complied, and Isabella +turned her eyes in sisterly affection upon George. “It matters but +little, my brother—a few hours must close the scene.” +</p> + +<p> +“Live, Isabella, my sister, my only sister!” cried the youth, with +a burst of sorrow that he could not control. “My father! my poor +father—” +</p> + +<p> +“There is the sting of death; but he is a soldier and a Christian. Miss +Wharton, I would speak of what interests you, while yet I have strength for the +task.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay,” said Frances, tenderly, “compose yourself; let no +desire to oblige me endanger a life that is precious to—to—so +many.” The words were nearly stifled by her emotions, for the other had +touched a chord that thrilled to her heart. +</p> + +<p> +“Poor, sensitive girl!” said Isabella, regarding her with tender +interest; “but the world is still before you, and why should I disturb +the little happiness it may afford! Dream on, lovely innocent! and may God keep +the evil day of knowledge far distant!” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, there is even now little left for me to enjoy,” said Frances, +burying her face in the clothes. “I am heartstricken in all that I most +loved.” +</p> + +<p> +“No!” interrupted Isabella; “you have one inducement to wish +for life, that pleads strongly in a woman’s breast. It is a delusion that +nothing but death can destroy—” Exhaustion compelled her to pause, +and her auditors continued in breathless suspense, until, recovering her +strength, she laid her hand on that of Frances, and continued more mildly, +“Miss Wharton, if there breathes a spirit congenial to Dunwoodie’s, +and worthy of his love, it is your own.” +</p> + +<p> +A flush of fire passed over the face of the listener, and she raised her eyes, +flashing with an ungovernable look of delight, to the countenance of Isabella; +but the ruin she beheld recalled better feelings, and again her head dropped +upon the covering of the bed. Isabella watched her emotion with a look that +partook both of pity and admiration. +</p> + +<p> +“Such have been the feelings that I have escaped,” she continued. +“Yes,<br/> +Miss Wharton, Dunwoodie is wholly yours.” +</p> + +<p> +“Be just to yourself, my sister,” exclaimed the youth; “let +no romantic generosity cause you to forget your own character.” +</p> + +<p> +She heard him, and fixed a gaze of tender interest on his face, but slowly +shook her head as she replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“It is not romance, but truth, that bids me speak. Oh! how much have I +lived within an hour! Miss Wharton, I was born under a burning sun, and my +feelings seem to have imbibed its warmth; I have existed for passion +only.” +</p> + +<p> +“Say not so—say not so, I implore you,” cried the agitated +brother. “Think how devoted has been your love to our aged father; how +disinterested, how tender, your affection to me!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said Isabella, a smile of mild pleasure beaming on her +countenance, “that, at least, is a reflection which may be taken to the +grave.” +</p> + +<p> +Neither Frances nor her brother interrupted her meditations, which continued +for several minutes; when, suddenly recollecting herself, she continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“I remain selfish even to the last; with me, Miss Wharton, America and +her liberties were my earliest passion, and—” Again she paused, and +Frances thought it was the struggle of death that followed; but reviving, she +proceeded, “Why should I hesitate, on the brink of the grave! Dunwoodie +was my next and my last. But,” burying her face in her hands, “it +was a love that was unsought.” +</p> + +<p> +“Isabella!” exclaimed her brother, springing from the bed, and +pacing the floor in disorder. +</p> + +<p> +“See how dependent we become under the dominion of worldly pride; it is +painful to George to learn that one he loves had not feelings superior to her +nature and education.” +</p> + +<p> +“Say no more,” whispered Frances; “you distress us +both—say no more, I entreat you.” +</p> + +<p> +“In justice to Dunwoodie I must speak; and for the same reason, my +brother, you must listen. By no act or word has Dunwoodie ever induced me to +believe he wished me more than a friend; nay, latterly, I have had the burning +shame of thinking that he avoided my presence.” +</p> + +<p> +“Would he dare?” said Singleton, fiercely. +</p> + +<p> +“Peace, my brother, and listen,” continued Isabella, rousing +herself with an effort that was final. “Here is the innocent, the +justifiable cause. We are both motherless; but that aunt—that mild, +plain-hearted, observing aunt, has given you the victory. Oh! how much she +loses, who loses a female guardian to her youth. I have exhibited those +feelings which you have been taught to repress. After this, can I wish to +live?” +</p> + +<p> +“Isabella! my poor Isabella! you wander in your mind.” +</p> + +<p> +“But one word more—for I feel that blood, which ever flowed too +swiftly, rushing where nature never intended it to go. Woman must be sought to +be prized; her life is one of concealed emotions; blessed are they whose early +impressions make the task free from hypocrisy, for such only can be happy with +men like—like Dunwoodie.” Her voice failed, and she sank back on +her pillow in silence. The cry of Singleton brought the rest of the party to +her bedside; but death was already upon her countenance; her remaining strength +just sufficed to reach the hand of George, and pressing it to her bosom for a +moment, she relinquished her grasp, and, with a slight convulsion, expired. +</p> + +<p> +Frances Wharton had thought that fate had done its worst, in endangering the +life of her brother, and destroying the reason of her sister; but the relief +conveyed by the dying declaration of Isabella taught her that another sorrow +had aided in loading her heart with grief. She saw the whole truth at a glance; +nor was the manly delicacy of Dunwoodie lost upon her—everything tended +to raise him in her estimation; and, for mourning that duty and pride had +induced her to strive to think less of him, she was compelled to substitute +regret that her own act had driven him from her in sorrow, if not in +desperation. It is not in the nature of youth, however, to despair; and Frances +now knew a secret joy that gave a new spring to her existence. +</p> + +<p> +The sun broke forth, on the morning that succeeded this night of desolation, in +unclouded luster, and seemed to mock the petty sorrows of those who received +his rays. Lawton had early ordered his steed, and was ready to mount as the +first burst of light broke over the hills. His orders were already given, and +the trooper threw his leg across the saddle, in silence; and, casting a glance +of fierce chagrin at the narrow space that had favored the flight of the +Skinner, he gave Roanoke the rein, and moved slowly towards the valley. +</p> + +<p> +The stillness of death pervaded the road, nor was there a single vestige of the +scenes of the night, to tarnish the loveliness of a glorious morn. Struck with +the contrast between man and nature, the fearless trooper rode by each pass of +danger, regardless of what might happen; nor did he rouse himself from his +musing, until the noble charger, snuffing the morning air, greeted the steeds +of the guard under Sergeant Hollister. +</p> + +<p> +Here, indeed, was to be seen sad evidence of the midnight fray, but the trooper +glanced his eye over it with the coolness of one accustomed to such sights. +Without wasting the moments in useless regrets, he proceeded, at once, to +business. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you seen anything?” he demanded of the orderly. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing, sir, that we dared to charge upon,” returned Hollister; +“but we mounted once, at the report of distant firearms.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis well,” said Lawton, gloomily. “Ah! Hollister, I +would give the animal I ride, to have had your single arm between the wretch +who drew that trigger and these useless rocks, which overhang every bit of +ground, as if they grudged pasture to a single hoof.” +</p> + +<p> +“Under the light of day, and charging man to man, I am as good as +another; but I can’t say that I’m overfond of fighting with those +that neither steel nor lead can bring down.” +</p> + +<p> +“What silly crotchet is uppermost, now, in that mystified brain of thine, +Deacon Hollister?” +</p> + +<p> +“I like not the dark object that has been maneuvering in the skirt of the +wood since the first dawn of day; and twice, during the night, it was seen +marching across the firelight, no doubt with evil intent.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is it yon ball of black, at the foot of the rock maple, that you +mean?<br/> +In truth it moves.” +</p> + +<p> +“But without mortal motion,” said the sergeant, regarding it with +awful reverence. “It glides along, but no feet have been seen by any who +watch here.” +</p> + +<p> +“Had it wings,” cried Lawton, “it is mine; stand fast, until +I join.” The words were hardly uttered before Roanoke was flying across +the plain, and apparently verifying the boast of his master. +</p> + +<p> +“Those cursed rocks!” ejaculated the trooper, as he saw the object +of his pursuit approaching the hillside; but, either from want of practice or +from terror, it passed the obvious shelter they offered, and fled into the open +plain. +</p> + +<p> +“I have you, man or devil!” shouted Lawton, whirling his saber from +its scabbard. “Halt, and take quarter!” +</p> + +<p> +His proposition was apparently acceded to; for, at the sound of his powerful +voice, the figure sank upon the ground, exhibiting a shapeless ball of black, +without life or motion. +</p> + +<p> +“What have we here?” cried Lawton, drawing up by its side. “A +gala suit of the good maiden, Jeanette Peyton, wandering around its birthplace, +or searching in vain for its discomfited mistress?” He leaned forward in +his stirrups, and placing the point of his sword under the silken garment, by +throwing aside the covering, discovered part of the form of the reverend +gentleman who had fled from the Locusts, the evening before, in his robes of +office. +</p> + +<p> +“In truth, Hollister had some ground for his alarm; an army chaplain is, +at any time, a terror to a troop of horse.” +</p> + +<p> +The clergyman had collected enough of his disturbed faculties, to discover that +it was a face he knew, and somewhat disconcerted at the terror he had +manifested, and the indecent attitude in which he had been found, he endeavored +to rise and offer some explanation. Lawton received his apologies +good-humoredly, if not with much faith in their truth; and, after a short +communication upon the state of the valley, the trooper courteously alighted, +and they proceeded towards the guard. +</p> + +<p> +“I am so little acquainted, sir, with the rebel uniform, that I really +was unable to distinguish, whether those men, whom you say are your own, did or +did not belong to the gang of marauders.” +</p> + +<p> +“Apology, sir, is unnecessary,” replied the trooper, curling his +lip. “It is not your task, as a minister of God, to take note of the +facings of a coat. The standard under which you serve is acknowledged by us +all.” +</p> + +<p> +“I serve under the standard of his gracious Majesty, George III,” +returned the priest, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. “But really the +idea of being scalped has a strong tendency to unman a new-beginner, like +myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Scalped!” echoed Lawton, stopping short in his walk. Then +recollecting himself, he added, with composure, “If it is to +Dunwoodie’s squadron of Virginia light dragoons that you allude, it may +be well to inform you that they generally take a bit of the skull with the +skin.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I can have no apprehensions of gentlemen of your appearance,” +said the divine, with a smirk. “It is the natives that I +apprehend.” +</p> + +<p> +“Natives! I have the honor to be one, I assure you, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, I beg that I may be understood—I mean the Indians; they who +do nothing but rob, and murder, and destroy.” +</p> + +<p> +“And scalp!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir, and scalp too,” continued the clergyman, eying his +companion a little suspiciously; “the copper-colored, savage +Indians.” +</p> + +<p> +“And did you expect to meet those nose-jeweled gentry in the neutral +ground?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly; we understand in England that the interior swarms with +them.” +</p> + +<p> +“And call you this the interior of America?” cried Lawton, again +halting, and staring the other in the face, with a surprise too naturally +expressed to be counterfeited. +</p> + +<p> +“Surely, sir, I conceive myself to be in the interior.” +</p> + +<p> +“Attend,” said Lawton, pointing towards the east. “See you +not that broad sheet of water which the eye cannot compass? Thither lies the +England you deem worthy to hold dominion over half the world. See you the land +of your nativity?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis impossible to behold objects at a distance of three thousand +miles!” exclaimed the wondering priest, a little suspicious of his +companion’s sanity. +</p> + +<p> +“No! what a pity it is that the powers of man are not equal to his +ambition. Now turn your eyes westward; observe that vast expanse of water which +rolls between the shores of America and China.” +</p> + +<p> +“I see nothing but land,” said the trembling priest; “there +is no water to be seen.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis impossible to behold objects at a distance of three thousand +miles!” repeated Lawton, pursuing his walk. “If you apprehend the +savages, seek them in the ranks of your prince. Rum and gold have preserved +their loyalty.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing is more probable than my being deceived,” said the man of +peace, casting furtive glances at the colossal stature and whiskered front of +his companion; “but the rumors we have at home, and the uncertainty of +meeting with such an enemy as yourself, induced me to fly at your +approach.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas not judiciously determined,” said the trooper, +“as Roanoke has the heels of you greatly; and flying from Scylla, you +were liable to encounter Charybdis. Those woods and rocks cover the very +enemies you dread.” +</p> + +<p> +“The savages!” exclaimed the divine, instinctively placing the +trooper in the rear. +</p> + +<p> +“More than savages; men who, under the guise of patriotism, prowl through +the community, with a thirst for plunder that is unsatiable, and a love of +cruelty that mocks the ingenuity of the Indian—fellows whose mouths are +filled with liberty and equality, and whose hearts are overflowing with +cupidity and gall—gentlemen that are yclep’d the Skinners.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have heard them mentioned in our army,” said the frightened +divine, “and had thought them to be the aborigines.” +</p> + +<p> +“You did the savages injustice.” +</p> + +<p> +They now approached the spot occupied by Hollister, who witnessed with surprise +the character of the prisoner made by his captain. Lawton gave his orders, and +the men immediately commenced securing and removing such articles of furniture +as were thought worthy of the trouble; and the captain, with his reverend +associate, who was mounted on a mettled horse, returned to the quarters of the +troop. +</p> + +<p> +It was the wish of Singleton that the remains of his sister should be conveyed +to the post commanded by his father, and preparations were early made to this +effect. The wounded British were placed under the control of the chaplain; and +towards the middle of the day Lawton saw all the arrangements so far completed, +as to render it probable that in a few hours he would be left with his small +party, in undisturbed possession of the Corners. +</p> + +<p> +While leaning in the doorway, gazing in moody silence at the ground which had +been the scene of the last night’s chase, his ear caught the sound of a +horse, and the next moment a dragoon of his own troop appeared dashing up the +road, as if on business of the last importance. The steed was foaming, and the +rider had the appearance of having done a day’s service. Without +speaking, he placed a letter in the hand of Lawton, and led his charger to the +stable. The trooper knew the hand of the major, and ran his eye over the +following:— +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“I rejoice it is the order of Washington, that the family of the Locusts +are to be removed above the Highlands. They are to be admitted to the society +of Captain Wharton, who waits only for their testimony to be tried. You will +communicate this order, and with proper delicacy I do not doubt. The English +are moving up the river; and the moment you see the Whartons in safety, break +up and join your troop. There will be good service to be done when we meet, as +Sir Henry is reported to have sent out a real soldier in command. Reports must +be made to the commandant at Peekskill, for Colonel Singleton is withdrawn to +headquarters, to preside over the inquiry upon poor Wharton. Fresh orders have +been sent to hang the peddler if we can take him, but they are not from the +commander in chief. Detail a small guard with the ladies, and get into the +saddle as soon as possible.” +</p> + +<p class="right"> +Yours sincerely,<br/> +“PEYTON DUNWOODIE.” +</p> + +<p> +This communication entirely changed the whole arrangement. There was no longer +any motive for removing the body of Isabella, since her father was no longer +with his command, and Singleton reluctantly acquiesced in an immediate +interment. A retired and lovely spot was selected, near the foot of the +adjacent rocks, and such rude preparations were made as the time and the +situation of the country permitted. A few of the neighboring inhabitants +collected from curiosity and interest, and Miss Peyton and Frances wept in +sincerity over her grave. The solemn offices of the church were performed by +the minister, who had so lately stood forth to officiate in another and very +different duty; and Lawton bent his head, and passed his hand across his brow, +while the words that accompanied the first clod were uttered. +</p> + +<p> +A new stimulus was given to the Whartons by the intelligence conveyed in the +letter of Dunwoodie; and Caesar, with his horses, was once more put in +requisition. The relics of the property were intrusted to a neighbor, in whom +they had confidence; and, accompanied by the unconscious Sarah, and attended by +four dragoons and all of the American wounded, Mr. Wharton’s party took +their departure. They were speedily followed by the English chaplain, with his +countrymen, who were conveyed to the waterside, where a vessel was in waiting +to receive them. Lawton joyfully witnessed these movements; and as soon as the +latter were out of sight, he ordered his own bugle to sound. Everything was +instantly in motion. The mare of Mrs. Flanagan was again fastened to the cart; +Dr. Sitgreaves exhibited his shapeless form once more on horseback; and the +trooper appeared in the saddle, rejoicing in his emancipation. +</p> + +<p> +The word to march was given; and Lawton, throwing a look of sullen ferocity at +the place of the Skinner’s concealment, and another of melancholy regret +towards the grave of Isabella, led the way, accompanied by the surgeon in a +brown study; while Sergeant Hollister and Betty brought up the rear, leaving a +fresh southerly wind to whistle through the open doors and broken windows of +the “Hotel Flanagan,” where the laugh of hilarity, the joke of the +hardy partisan, and the lamentations of the sorrowing, had so lately echoed. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap25"></a>CHAPTER XXV.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +No vernal blooms their torpid rocks array,<br/> +But winter, lingering, chills the lap of May;<br/> +No zephyr fondly sues the mountain’s breast,<br/> +But meteors glare, and stormy glooms invest. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—GOLDSMITH. +</p> + +<p> +The roads of Westchester are, at this hour, below the improvements of the +country. Their condition at the time of the tale has already been alluded to in +these pages; and the reader will, therefore, easily imagine the task assumed by +Caesar, when he undertook to guide the translated chariot of the English +prelate through their windings, into one of the less frequented passes of the +Highlands of the Hudson. +</p> + +<p> +While Caesar and his steeds were contending with these difficulties, the +inmates of the carriage were too much engrossed with their own cares to attend +to those who served them. The mind of Sarah had ceased to wander so wildly as +at first; but at every advance that she made towards reason, she seemed to +retire a step from animation; from being excited and flighty, she was gradually +becoming moody and melancholy. There were moments, indeed, when her anxious +companions thought that they could discern marks of recollection; but the +expression of exquisite woe that accompanied these transient gleams of reason, +forced them to the dreadful alternative of wishing that she might forever be +spared the agony of thought. The day’s march was performed chiefly in +silence, and the party found shelter for the night in different farmhouses. +</p> + +<p> +The following morning the cavalcade dispersed. The wounded diverged towards the +river, with the intention of taking water at Peekskill, in order to be +transported to the hospitals of the American army above. The litter of +Singleton was conveyed to a part of the Highlands where his father held his +quarters, and where it was intended that the youth should complete his cure; +the carriage of Mr. Wharton, accompanied by a wagon conveying the housekeeper +and what baggage had been saved, and could be transported, resumed its route +towards the place where Henry Wharton was held in duress, and where he only +waited their arrival to be put on trial for his life. +</p> + +<p> +The country which lies between the waters of the Hudson and Long Island Sound, +is, for the first forty miles from their junction, a succession of hills and +dales. The land bordering on the latter then becomes less abrupt, and gradually +assumes a milder appearance, until it finally melts into the lovely plains and +meadows of the Connecticut. But as you approach the Hudson, the rugged aspect +increases, until you at length meet with the formidable barrier of the +Highlands. Here the neutral ground ceased. The royal army held the two points +of land that commanded the southern entrance of the river into the mountains; +but all the remaining passes were guarded by the Americans. +</p> + +<p> +We have already stated that the pickets of the continental army were sometimes +pushed low into the country, and that the hamlet of the White Plains was +occasionally maintained by parties of its troops. At other times, the advanced +guards were withdrawn to the northern extremity of the country, and, as has +been shown, the intermediate country was abandoned to the ravages of the +miscreants who plundered between both armies, serving neither. +</p> + +<p> +The road taken by our party was not the one that communicates between the two +principal cities of the states, but was a retired and unfrequented pass, that +to this hour is but little known, and which, entering the hills near the +eastern boundary, emerges into the plain above, many miles from the Hudson. +</p> + +<p> +It would have been impossible for the tired steeds of Mr. Wharton to drag the +heavy chariot up the lengthened and steep ascents which now lay before them; +and a pair of country horses were procured, with but little regard to their +owner’s wishes, by the two dragoons who still continued to accompany the +party. With their assistance, Caesar was enabled to advance, by slow and +toilsome steps, into the bosom of the hills. Willing to relieve her own +melancholy by breathing a fresher air, and also to lessen the weight, Frances +alighted as they reached the foot of the mountain. She found that Katy had made +similar preparations, with the like intention of walking to the summit. It was +near the setting of the sun, and, from the top of the mountain, their guard had +declared that the end of their journey might be discerned. Frances moved +forward with the elastic step of youth; and, followed by the housekeeper at a +little distance, she soon lost sight of the sluggish carriage, that was slowly +toiling up the hill, occasionally halting to allow the cattle to breathe. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, Miss Fanny, what dreadful times these be!” said Katy, when +they paused for breath themselves. “I know’d that calamity was +about to befall, ever sin’ the streak of blood was seen in the +clouds.” +</p> + +<p> +“There has been blood upon earth, Katy, though but little is ever seen in +the clouds.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not blood in the clouds!” echoed the housekeeper. “Yes, that +there has, often, and comets with fiery, smoking tails. Didn’t people see +armed men in the heavens, the year the war began? And, the night before the +battle of the Plains, wasn’t there thunder, like the cannon themselves? +Ah! Miss Fanny, I’m fearful that no good can follow rebellion against the +Lord’s anointed!” +</p> + +<p> +“These events are certainly dreadful,” returned Frances, “and +enough to sicken the stoutest heart. But what can be done, Katy? Gallant and +independent men are unwilling to submit to oppression; and I am fearful that +such scenes are but too common in war.” +</p> + +<p> +“If I could but see anything to fight about,” said Katy, renewing +her walk as the young lady proceeded, “I shouldn’t mind it so much. +’Twas said the king wanted all the tea for his own family, at one time; +and then again, that he meant the colonies should pay over to him all their +earnings. Now this is matter enough to fight about—for I’m sure +that no one, however he may be lord or king, has a right to the hard earnings +of another. Then it was all contradicted, and some said Washington wanted to be +king himself; so that, between the two, one doesn’t know which to +believe.” +</p> + +<p> +“Believe neither—for neither is true. I do not pretend to +understand, myself, all the merits of this war, Katy; but to me it seems +unnatural, that a country like this should be ruled by another so distant as +England.” +</p> + +<p> +“So I have heard Harvey say to his father, that is dead and in his +grave,” returned Katy, approaching nearer to the young lady, and lowering +her voice. “Many is the good time that I’ve listened to them +talking, when all the neighborhood was asleep; and such conversations, Miss +Fanny, that you can have no idea on! Well, to say the truth, Harvey was a +mystified body, and he was like the winds in the good book; no one could tell +whence he came, or whither he went.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances glanced her eye at her companion with an apparent desire to hear more. +</p> + +<p> +“There are rumors abroad relative to the character of Harvey,” she +said, “that I should be sorry were true.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis a disparagement, every word on’t,” cried Katy, +vehemently. “Harvey had no more dealings with Beelzebub than you or I +had. I’m sure if Harvey had sold himself, he would take care to be better +paid; though, to speak the truth, he was always a wasteful and disregardful +man.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, nay,” returned the smiling Frances, “I have no such +injurious suspicion of him; but has he not sold himself to an earthly +prince—one too much attached to the interests of his native island to be +always just to this country?” +</p> + +<p> +“To the king’s majesty!” replied Katy. “Why, Miss +Fanny, your own brother that’s in jail serves King George.” +</p> + +<p> +“True,” said Frances, “but not in secret—openly, +manfully, and bravely.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis said he is a spy, and why ain’t one spy as bad as +another?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis untrue; no act of deception is worthy of my brother; nor of +any would he be guilty, for so base a purpose as gain or promotion.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I’m sure,” said Katy, a little appalled at the manner +of the young lady, “if a body does the work, he should be paid for it. +Harvey is by no means partic’lar about getting his lawful dues; and I +dar’st to say, if the truth was forthcoming, King George owes him money +this very minute.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then you acknowledge his connection with the British army,” said +Frances. “I confess there have been moments when I have thought +differently.” +</p> + +<p> +“Lord, Miss Fanny, Harvey is a man that no calculation can be made on. +Though I lived in his house for a long concourse of years, I have never known +whether he belonged above or below<a href="#linknote-11" name="linknoteref-11" +id="linknoteref-11"><sup>[11]</sup></a>. The time that Burg’yne was taken +he came home, and there was great doings between him and the old gentleman, but +for my life I couldn’t tell if ’twas joy or grief. Then, here, the +other day, when the great British general—I’m sure I have been so +flurried with losses and troubles, that I forget his name—” +</p> + +<p> +“André,” said Frances. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Ondree; when he was hanged, acrost the Tappan, the old gentleman +was near hand to going crazy about it, and didn’t sleep for night nor +day, till Harvey got back; and then his money was mostly golden guineas; but +the Skinners took it all, and now he is a beggar, or, what’s the same +thing, despisable for poverty and want.” +</p> + +<p> +To this speech Frances made no reply, but continued her walk up the hill, +deeply engaged in her own reflections. The allusion to André had recalled her +thoughts to the situation of her own brother. +</p> + +<p> +They soon reached the highest point in their toilsome progress to the summit, +and Frances seated herself on a rock to rest and to admire. Immediately at her +feet lay a deep dell, but little altered by cultivation, and dark with the +gloom of a November sunset. Another hill rose opposite to the place where she +sat, at no great distance, along whose rugged sides nothing was to be seen but +shapeless rocks, and oaks whose stunted growth showed a meager soil. +</p> + +<p> +To be seen in their perfection, the Highlands must be passed immediately after +the fall of the leaf. The scene is then the finest, for neither the scanty +foliage which the summer lends the trees, nor the snows of winter, are present +to conceal the minutest objects from the eye. Chilling solitude is the +characteristic of the scenery; nor is the mind at liberty, as in March, to look +forward to a renewed vegetation that is soon to check, without improving, the +view. +</p> + +<p> +The day had been cloudy and cool, and thin fleecy clouds hung around the +horizon, often promising to disperse, but as frequently disappointing Frances +in the hope of catching a parting beam from the setting sun. At length a +solitary gleam struck on the base of the mountain on which she was gazing, and +moved gracefully up its side, until reaching the summit, it stood for a minute, +forming a crown of glory to the somber pile. So strong were the rays, that what +was before indistinct now clearly opened to the view. With a feeling of awe at +being thus unexpectedly admitted, as it were, into the secrets of that desert +place, Frances gazed intently, until, among the scattered trees and fantastic +rocks, something like a rude structure was seen. It was low, and so obscured by +the color of its materials, that but for its roof, and the glittering of a +window, it must have escaped her notice. While yet lost in the astonishment +created by discovering a habitation in such a spot, on moving her eyes she +perceived another object that increased her wonder. It apparently was a human +figure, but of singular mold and unusual deformity. It stood on the edge of a +rock, a little above the hut, and it was no difficult task for our heroine to +fancy it was gazing at the vehicles that were ascending the side of the +mountain beneath her. The distance, however, was too great to distinguish with +precision. After looking at it a moment in breathless wonder, Frances had just +come to the conclusion that it was ideal, and that what she saw was a part of +the rock itself, when the object moved swiftly from its position, and glided +into the hut, at once removing every doubt as to the nature of either. Whether +it was owing to the recent conversation that she had been holding with Katy, or +to some fancied resemblance that she discerned, Frances thought, as the figure +vanished from her view, that it bore a marked likeness to Birch, moving under +the weight of his pack. She continued to gaze towards the mysterious residence, +when the gleam of light passed away, and at the same instant the tones of a +bugle rang through the glens and hollows, and were reechoed in every direction. +Springing on her feet, the alarmed girl heard the trampling of horses, and +directly a party in the well-known uniform of the Virginians came sweeping +round the point of a rock near her, and drew up at a short distance. Again the +bugle sounded a lively strain, and before the agitated Frances had time to +rally her thoughts, Dunwoodie dashed by the party of dragoons, threw himself +from his charger, and advanced to her side. +</p> + +<p> +His manner was earnest and interested, but in a slight degree constrained. In a +few words he explained that he had been ordered up, with a party of +Lawton’s men, in the absence of the captain himself, to attend the trial +of Henry, which was fixed for the morrow; and that, anxious for their safety in +the rude passes of the mountain, he had ridden a mile or two in quest of the +travelers. Frances explained, with trembling voice, the reason of her being in +advance, and taught him momentarily to expect the arrival of her father. The +constraint of his manner had, however, unwillingly on her part, communicated +itself to her own deportment, and the approach of the chariot was a relief to +both. The major handed her in, spoke a few words of encouragement to Mr. +Wharton and Miss Peyton, and, again mounting, led the way towards the plains of +Fishkill, which broke on their sight, on turning the rock, with the effect of +enchantment. A short half hour brought them to the door of the farmhouse which +the care of Dunwoodie had already prepared for their reception, and where +Captain Wharton was anxiously expecting their arrival. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-11" id="linknote-11"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-11">[11]</a> +The American party was called the party belonging ‘above,’ and the +British that of ‘below.’ The terms had reference to the course of +the Hudson. +</p> +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap26"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +These limbs are strengthened with a soldier’s toil,<br/> +Nor has this cheek been ever blanched with fear—<br/> +But this sad tale of thine enervates all<br/> +Within me that I once could boast as man;<br/> +Chill trembling agues seize upon my frame,<br/> +And tears of childish sorrow pour, apace,<br/> +Through scarred channels that were marked by wounds. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Duo.</i> +</p> + +<p> +The friends of Henry Wharton had placed so much reliance on his innocence, that +they were unable to see the full danger of his situation. As the moment of +trial, however, approached, the uneasiness of the youth himself increased; and +after spending most of the night with his afflicted family, he awoke, on the +following morning, from a short and disturbed slumber, to a clearer sense of +his condition, and a survey of the means that were to extricate him from it +with life. The rank of André, and the importance of the measures he was +plotting, together with the powerful intercessions that had been made in his +behalf, occasioned his execution to be stamped with greater notoriety than the +ordinary events of the war. But spies were frequently arrested; and the +instances that occurred of summary punishment for this crime were numerous. +These were facts that were well known to both Dunwoodie and the prisoner; and +to their experienced judgments the preparations for the trial were indeed +alarming. Notwithstanding their apprehensions, they succeeded so far in +concealing them, that neither Miss Peyton nor Frances was aware of their +extent. A strong guard was stationed in the outbuilding of the farmhouse where +the prisoner was quartered, and several sentinels watched the avenues that +approached the dwelling. Another was constantly near the room of the British +officer. A court was already detailed to examine into the circumstances; and +upon their decision the fate of Henry rested. +</p> + +<p> +The moment at length arrived, and the different actors in the approaching +investigation assembled. Frances experienced a feeling like suffocation, as, +after taking her seat in the midst of her family, her eyes wandered over the +group who were thus collected. The judges, three in number, sat by themselves, +clad in the vestments of their profession, and maintained a gravity worthy of +the occasion, and becoming in their rank. In the center was a man of advanced +years, and whose whole exterior bore the stamp of early and long-tried military +habits. This was the president of the court; and Frances, after taking a hasty +and unsatisfactory view of his associates, turned to his benevolent countenance +as to the harbinger of mercy to her brother. There was a melting and subdued +expression in the features of the veteran, that, contrasted with the rigid +decency and composure of the others, could not fail to attract her notice. His +attire was strictly in conformity to the prescribed rules of the service to +which he belonged; but while his air was erect and military, his fingers +trifled with a kind of convulsive and unconscious motion, with a bit of crape +that entwined the hilt of the sword on which his body partly reclined, and +which, like himself, seemed a relic of older times. There were the workings of +an unquiet soul within; but his military front blended awe with the pity that +its exhibition excited. His associates were officers selected from the eastern +troops, who held the fortresses of West Point and the adjacent passes; they +were men who had attained the meridian of life, and the eye sought in vain the +expression of any passion or emotion on which it might seize as an indication +of human infirmity. In their demeanor there was a mild, but a grave, +intellectual reserve. If there was no ferocity nor harshness to chill, neither +was there compassion nor interest to attract. They were men who had long acted +under the dominion of a prudent reason, and whose feelings seemed trained to a +perfect submission to their judgments. +</p> + +<p> +Before these arbiters of his fate Henry Wharton was ushered under the custody +of armed men. A profound and awful silence succeeded his entrance, and the +blood of Frances chilled as she noted the grave character of the whole +proceedings. There was but little of pomp in the preparations, to impress her +imagination; but the reserved, businesslike air of the whole scene made it +seem, indeed, as if the destinies of life awaited the result. Two of the judges +sat in grave reserve, fixing their inquiring eyes on the object of their +investigation; but the president continued gazing around with uneasy, +convulsive motions of the muscles of the face, that indicated a restlessness +foreign to his years and duty. It was Colonel Singleton, who, but the day +before, had learned the fate of Isabella, but who stood forth in the discharge +of a duty that his country required at his hands. The silence, and the +expectation in every eye, at length struck him, and making an effort to collect +himself, he spoke, in the tones of one used to authority. +</p> + +<p> +“Bring forth the prisoner,” he said, with a wave of the hand. +</p> + +<p> +The sentinels dropped the points of their bayonets towards the judges, and +Henry Wharton advanced, with a firm step, into the center of the apartment. All +was now anxiety and eager curiosity. Frances turned for a moment in grateful +emotion, as the deep and perturbed breathing of Dunwoodie reached her ears; but +her brother again concentrated all her interest in one feeling of intense care. +In the background were arranged the inmates of the family who owned the +dwelling, and behind them, again, was a row of shining faces of ebony, +glistening with pleased wonder. Amongst these was the faded luster of Caesar +Thompson’s countenance. +</p> + +<p> +“You are said,” continued the president, “to be Henry +Wharton, a captain in his Britannic Majesty’s 60th regiment of +foot.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am.” +</p> + +<p> +“I like your candor, sir; it partakes of the honorable feelings of a +soldier, and cannot fail to impress your judges favorably.” +</p> + +<p> +“It would be prudent,” said one of his companions, “to advise +the prisoner that he is bound to answer no more than he deems necessary; +although we are a court of martial law, yet, in this respect, we own the +principles of all free governments.” +</p> + +<p> +A nod of approbation from the silent member was bestowed on this remark, and +the president proceeded with caution, referring to the minutes he held in his +hand. +</p> + +<p> +“It is an accusation against you, that, being an officer of the enemy, +you passed the pickets of the American army at the White Plains, in disguise, +on the 29th of October last, whereby you are suspected of views hostile to the +interests of America, and have subjected yourself to the punishment of a +spy.” +</p> + +<p> +The mild but steady tones of the speaker, as he slowly repeated the substance +of this charge, were full of authority. The accusation was so plain, the facts +so limited, the proof so obvious, and the penalty so well established, that +escape seemed impossible. But Henry replied, with earnest grace,— +</p> + +<p> +“That I passed your pickets in disguise, is true; but—” +</p> + +<p> +“Peace!” interrupted the president. “The usages of war are +stern enough in themselves; you need not aid them to your own +condemnation.” +</p> + +<p> +“The prisoner can retract that declaration, if he please,” remarked +another judge. “His confession, if taken, goes fully to prove the +charge.” +</p> + +<p> +“I retract nothing that is true,” said Henry proudly. +</p> + +<p> +The two nameless judges heard him in silent composure, yet there was no +exultation mingled with their gravity. The president now appeared, however, to +take new interest in the scene. +</p> + +<p> +“Your sentiment is noble, sir,” he said. “I only regret that +a youthful soldier should so far be misled by loyalty as to lend himself to the +purposes of deceit.” +</p> + +<p> +“Deceit!” echoed Wharton. “I thought it prudent to guard +against capture from my enemies.” +</p> + +<p> +“A soldier, Captain Wharton, should never meet his enemy but openly, and +with arms in his hands. I have served two kings of England, as I now serve my +native land; but never did I approach a foe, unless under the light of the sun, +and with honest notice that an enemy was nigh.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are at liberty to explain what your motives were in entering the +ground held by our army in disguise,” said the other judge, with a slight +movement of the muscles of his mouth. +</p> + +<p> +“I am the son of this aged man before you,” continued Henry. +“It was to visit him that I encountered the danger. Besides, the country +below is seldom held by your troops, and its very name implies a right to +either party to move at pleasure over its territory.” +</p> + +<p> +“Its name, as a neutral ground, is unauthorized by law; it is an +appellation that originates with the condition of the country. But wherever an +army goes, it carries its rights along, and the first is the ability to protect +itself.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am no casuist, sir,” returned the youth; “but I feel that +my father is entitled to my affection, and I would encounter greater risks to +prove it to him in his old age.” +</p> + +<p> +“A very commendable spirit,” cried the veteran. “Come, +gentlemen, this business brightens. I confess, at first, it was very bad, but +no man can censure him for desiring to see his parents.” +</p> + +<p> +“And have you proof that such only was your intention?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes—here,” said Henry, admitting a ray of hope. “Here +is proof—my father, my sister, Major Dunwoodie, all know it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, indeed,” returned his immovable judge, “we may be able +to save you. It would be well, sir, to examine further into this +business.” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly,” said the president, with alacrity. “Let the +elder Mr.<br/> +Wharton approach and take the oath.” +</p> + +<p> +The father made an effort at composure, and, advancing with a feeble step, he +complied with the necessary forms of the court. +</p> + +<p> +“You are the father of the prisoner?” said Colonel Singleton, in a +subdued voice, after pausing a moment in respect for the agitation of the +witness. +</p> + +<p> +“He is my only son.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what do you know of his visit to your house, on the 29th day of<br/> +October last?” +</p> + +<p> +“He came, as he told you, to see me and his sisters.” +</p> + +<p> +“Was he in disguise?” asked the other judge. +</p> + +<p> +“He did not wear the uniform of the 60th.” +</p> + +<p> +“To see his sisters, too!” said the president with great emotion. +“Have you daughters, sir?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have two—both are in this house.” +</p> + +<p> +“Had he a wig?” interrupted the officer. +</p> + +<p> +“There was some such thing I do believe, upon his head.” +</p> + +<p> +“And how long had you been separated?” asked the president. +</p> + +<p> +“One year and two months.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did he wear a loose greatcoat of coarse materials?” inquired the +officer, referring to the paper that contained the charges. +</p> + +<p> +“There was an overcoat.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you think that it was to see you, only, that he came out?” +</p> + +<p> +“Me, and my daughters.” +</p> + +<p> +“A boy of spirit,” whispered the president to his silent comrade. +“I see but little harm in such a freak; ’twas imprudent, but then +it was kind.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you know that your son was intrusted with no commission from Sir +Henry Clinton, and that the visit to you was not merely a cloak to other +designs?” +</p> + +<p> +“How can I know it?” said Mr. Wharton, in alarm. “Would Sir +Henry intrust me with such a business?” +</p> + +<p> +“Know you anything of this pass?” exhibiting the paper that +Dunwoodie had retained when Wharton was taken. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing—upon my honor, nothing,” cried the father, shrinking +from the paper as from contagion. +</p> + +<p> +“On your oath?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you other testimony? This does not avail you, Captain Wharton. You +have been taken in a situation where your life is forfeited; the labor of +proving your innocence rests with yourself. Take time to reflect, and be +cool.” +</p> + +<p> +There was a frightful calmness in the manner of this judge that appalled the +prisoner. In the sympathy of Colonel Singleton, he could easily lose sight of +his danger; but the obdurate and collected air of the others was ominous of his +fate. He continued silent, casting imploring glances towards his friend. +Dunwoodie understood the appeal, and offered himself as a witness. He was +sworn, and desired to relate what he knew. His statement did not materially +alter the case, and Dunwoodie felt that it could not. To him personally but +little was known, and that little rather militated against the safety of Henry +than otherwise. His account was listened to in silence, and the significant +shake of the head that was made by the silent member spoke too plainly what +effect it had produced. +</p> + +<p> +“Still you think that the prisoner had no other object than what he has +avowed?” said the president, when he had ended. +</p> + +<p> +“None other, I will pledge my life,” cried the major, with fervor. +</p> + +<p> +“Will you swear it?” asked the immovable judge. +</p> + +<p> +“How can I? God alone can tell the heart; but I have known this gentleman +from a boy; deceit never formed part of his character. He is above it.” +</p> + +<p> +“You say that he escaped, and was retaken in open arms?” said the +president. +</p> + +<p> +“He was; nay, he received a wound in the combat. You see he yet moves his +arm with difficulty. Would he, think you, sir, have trusted himself where he +could fall again into our hands, unless conscious of innocence?” +</p> + +<p> +“Would André have deserted a field of battle, Major Dunwoodie, had he +encountered such an event, near Tarrytown?” asked his deliberate +examiner. “Is it not natural to youth to seek glory?” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you call this glory?” exclaimed the major: “an +ignominious death and a tarnished name.” +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie,” returned the other, still with inveterate +gravity, “you have acted nobly; your duty has been arduous and severe, +but it has been faithfully and honorably discharged; ours must not be less +so.” +</p> + +<p> +During the examination, the most intense interest prevailed among the hearers. +With that kind of feeling which could not separate the principle from the +cause, most of the auditors thought that if Dunwoodie failed to move the hearts +of Henry’s judges, no other possessed the power. Caesar thrust his +misshapen form forward and his features, so expressive of the concern he felt, +and so different from the vacant curiosity pictured in the countenance of the +other blacks, caught the attention of the silent judge. For the first time he +spoke:— +</p> + +<p> +“Let that black be brought forward.” +</p> + +<p> +It was too late to retreat, and Caesar found himself confronted with a row of +rebel officers, before he knew what was uppermost in his thoughts. The others +yielded the examination to the one who suggested it, and using all due +deliberation, he proceeded accordingly. +</p> + +<p> +“You know the prisoner?” +</p> + +<p> +“I t’ink he ought,” returned the black, in a manner as +sententious as that of his examiner. +</p> + +<p> +“Did he give you the wig when he threw it aside?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t want ’em,” grumbled Caesar; “got a berry +good hair heself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Were you employed in carrying any letters or messages of any kind +while<br/> +Captain Wharton was in your master’s house?” +</p> + +<p> +“I do what a tell me,” returned the black. +</p> + +<p> +“But what did they tell you to do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sometime a one ting—sometime anoder.” +</p> + +<p> +“Enough,” said Colonel Singleton, with dignity. “You have the +noble acknowledgment of a gentleman, what more can you obtain from this +slave?—Captain Wharton, you perceive the unfortunate impression against +you. Have you other testimony to adduce?” +</p> + +<p> +To Henry there now remained but little hope; his confidence in his security was +fast ebbing, but with an indefinite expectation of assistance from the +loveliness of his sister, he fixed an earnest gaze on the pallid features of +Frances. She arose, and with a tottering step moved towards the judges; the +paleness of her cheek continued but for a moment, and gave place to a flush of +fire, and with a light but firm tread, she stood before them. Raising her hand +to her polished forehead, Frances threw aside her exuberant locks, and +displayed a picture of beauty and innocence to their view that might have moved +even sterner natures. The president shrouded his eyes for a moment, as if the +wild eye and speaking countenance recalled the image of another. The movement +was transient, and recovering himself, with an earnestness that betrayed his +secret wishes,— +</p> + +<p> +“To you, then, your brother previously communicated his intention of +paying your family a secret visit?” +</p> + +<p> +“No!—no!” said Frances, pressing her hand on her brain, as if +to collect her thoughts; “he told me nothing—we knew not of the +visit until he arrived; but can it be necessary to explain to gallant men, that +a child would incur hazard to meet his only parent, and that in times like +these, and in a situation like ours?” +</p> + +<p> +“But was this the first time? Did he never even talk of doing so +before?” inquired the colonel, leaning towards her with paternal +interest. +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly—certainly,” cried Frances, catching the expression +of his own benevolent countenance. “This is but the fourth of his +visits.” +</p> + +<p> +“I knew it!” exclaimed the veteran, rubbing his hands with delight. +“An adventurous, warm-hearted son—I warrant me, gentlemen, a fiery +soldier in the field! In what disguises did he come?” +</p> + +<p> +“In none, for none were then necessary; the royal troops covered the +country, and gave him safe passage.” +</p> + +<p> +“And was this the first of his visits out of the uniform of his +regiment?” asked the colonel, in a suppressed voice, avoiding the +penetrating looks of his companions. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! the very first,” exclaimed the eager girl. “His first +offense, I do assure you, if offense it be.” +</p> + +<p> +“But you wrote him—you urged the visit; surely, young lady, you +wished to see your brother?” added the impatient colonel. +</p> + +<p> +“That we wished it, and prayed for it,—oh, how fervently we prayed +for it!—is true; but to have held communion with the royal army would +have endangered our father, and we dared not.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did he leave the house until taken, or had he intercourse with any out +of your own dwelling?” +</p> + +<p> +“With none—no one, excepting our neighbor, the peddler +Birch.” +</p> + +<p> +“With whom!” exclaimed the colonel, turning pale, and shrinking as +from the sting of an adder. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie groaned aloud, and striking his head with his hand, cried in piercing +tones, “He is lost!” and rushed from the apartment. +</p> + +<p> +“But Harvey Birch,” repeated Frances, gazing wildly at the door +through which her lover had disappeared. +</p> + +<p> +“Harvey Birch!” echoed all the judges. The two immovable members of +the court exchanged looks, and threw an inquisitive glance at the prisoner. +</p> + +<p> +“To you, gentlemen, it can be no new intelligence to hear that Harvey +Birch is suspected of favoring the royal cause,” said Henry, again +advancing before the judges; “for he has already been condemned by your +tribunals to the fate that I now see awaits myself. I will therefore explain, +that it was by his assistance I procured the disguise, and passed your pickets; +but to my dying moments, and with my dying breath, I will avow, that my +intentions were as pure as the innocent being before you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Wharton,” said the president, solemnly, “the enemies +of American liberty have made mighty and subtle efforts to overthrow our power. +A more dangerous man, for his means and education, is not ranked among our foes +than this peddler of Westchester. He is a spy—artful, delusive, and +penetrating, beyond the abilities of any of his class. Sir Henry could not do +better than to associate him with the officer in his next attempt. He would +have saved André. Indeed, young man, this is a connection that may prove fatal +to you!” +</p> + +<p> +The honest indignation that beamed on the countenance of the aged warrior was +met by a look of perfect conviction on the part of his comrades. +</p> + +<p> +“I have ruined him!” cried Frances, clasping her hands in terror. +“Do you desert us? then he is lost, indeed!” +</p> + +<p> +“Forbear! lovely innocent, forbear!” said the colonel, with strong +emotion; “you injure none, but distress us all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is it then such a crime to possess natural affection?” said +Frances wildly. “Would Washington—the noble, upright, impartial +Washington, judge so harshly? Delay, till Washington can hear his tale.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is impossible,” said the president, covering his eyes, as if to +hide her beauty from his view. +</p> + +<p> +“Impossible! oh! but for a week suspend your judgment. On my knees I +entreat you, as you will expect mercy yourself, when no human power can avail +you, give him but a day.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is impossible,” repeated the colonel, in a voice that was +nearly choked. “Our orders are peremptory, and too long delay has been +given already.” +</p> + +<p> +He turned from the kneeling suppliant, but could not, or would not, extricate +that hand that she grasped with frenzied fervor. +</p> + +<p> +“Remand your prisoner,” said one of the judges to the officer who +had the charge of Henry. “Colonel Singleton, shall we withdraw?” +</p> + +<p> +“Singleton! Singleton!” echoed Frances. “Then you are a +father, and know how to pity a father’s woes; you cannot, will not, wound +a heart that is now nearly crushed. Hear me, Colonel Singleton; as God will +listen to your dying prayers, hear me, and spare my brother!” +</p> + +<p> +“Remove her,” said the colonel, gently endeavoring to extricate his +hand; but none appeared disposed to obey. Frances eagerly strove to read the +expression of his averted face, and resisted all his efforts to retire. +</p> + +<p> +“Colonel Singleton! how lately was your own son in suffering and in +danger! Under the roof of my father he was cherished-under my father’s +roof he found shelter and protection. Oh! suppose that son the pride of your +age, the solace and protection of your infant children, and then pronounce my +brother guilty, if you dare!” +</p> + +<p> +“What right has Heath to make an executioner of me!” exclaimed the +veteran fiercely, rising with a face flushed like fire, and every vein and +artery swollen with suppressed emotion. “But I forget myself; come, +gentlemen, let us mount, our painful duty must be done.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mount not! go not!” shrieked Frances. “Can you tear a son +from his parent—a brother from his sister, so coldly? Is this the cause I +have so ardently loved? Are these the men that I have been taught to reverence? +But you relent, you do hear me, you will pity and forgive.” +</p> + +<p> +“Lead on, gentlemen,” said the colonel, motioning towards the door, +and erecting himself into an air of military grandeur, in the vain hope of +quieting his feelings. +</p> + +<p> +“Lead not on, but hear me,” cried Frances, grasping his hand +convulsively. “Colonel Singleton, you are a +father!—pity—mercy—mercy for the son! mercy for the daughter! +Yes—you had a daughter. On this bosom she poured out her last breath; +these hands closed her eyes; these very hands, that are now clasped in prayer, +did those offices for her that you condemn my poor, poor brother, to +require.” +</p> + +<p> +One mighty emotion the veteran struggled with, and quelled; but with a groan +that shook his whole frame. He even looked around in conscious pride at his +victory; but a second burst of feeling conquered. His head, white with the +frost of seventy winters, sank upon the shoulder of the frantic suppliant. The +sword that had been his companion in so many fields of blood dropped from his +nerveless hand, and as he cried, “May God bless you for the deed!” +he wept aloud. +</p> + +<p> +Long and violent was the indulgence that Colonel Singleton yielded to his +feelings. On recovering, he gave the senseless Frances into the arms of her +aunt, and, turning with an air of fortitude to his comrades, he said,— +</p> + +<p> +“Still, gentlemen, we have our duty as officers to discharge; our +feelings as men may be indulged hereafter. What is your pleasure with the +prisoner?” +</p> + +<p> +One of the judges placed in his hand a written sentence, that he had prepared +while the colonel was engaged with Frances, and declared it to be the opinion +of himself and his companion. +</p> + +<p> +It briefly stated that Henry Wharton had been detected in passing the lines of +the American army as a spy, and in disguise. That thereby, according to the +laws of war, he was liable to suffer death, and that this court adjudged him to +the penalty; recommending him to be executed by hanging, before nine +o’clock on the following morning. +</p> + +<p> +It was not usual to inflict capital punishments, even on the enemy, without +referring the case to the commander in chief, for his approbation; or, in his +absence, to the officer commanding for the time being. But, as Washington held +his headquarters at New Windsor, on the western bank of the Hudson, there was +sufficient time to receive his answer. +</p> + +<p> +“This is short notice,” said the veteran, holding the pen in his +hand, in a suspense that had no object; “not a day to fit one so young +for heaven?” +</p> + +<p> +“The royal officers gave Hale<a href="#linknote-12" name="linknoteref-12" +id="linknoteref-12"><sup>[12]</sup></a> but an hour,” returned his +comrade; “we have granted the usual time. But Washington has the power to +extend it, or to pardon.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then to Washington will I go,” cried the colonel, returning the +paper with his signature; “and if the services of an old man like me, or +that brave boy of mine, entitle me to his ear, I will yet save the +youth.” +</p> + +<p> +So saying, he departed, full of his generous intentions in favor of<br/> +Henry Wharton. +</p> + +<p> +The sentence of the court was communicated, with proper tenderness, to the +prisoner; and after giving a few necessary instructions to the officer in +command, and dispatching a courier to headquarters with their report, the +remaining judges mounted, and rode to their own quarters, with the same unmoved +exterior, but with the consciousness of the same dispassionate integrity, that +they had maintained throughout the trial. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-12" id="linknote-12"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-12">[12]</a> +An American officer of this name was detected within the British lines, in +disguise, in search of military information. He was tried and executed, as +stated in the text, as soon as the preparations could be made. It is said that +he was reproached under the gallows with dishonoring the rank he held by his +fate. ‘What a death for an officer to die!’ said one of his +captors. ‘Gentlemen, any death is honorable when a man dies in a cause +like that of America,’ was his answer. André was executed amid the tears +of his enemies; Hale died unpitied and with reproaches in his ears; and yet one +was the victim of ambition, and the other of devotion to his country. Posterity +will do justice between them. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap27"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Have you no countermand for Claudio yet,<br/> +But he must die to-morrow? +</p> + +<p class="left"> +<i>—Measure for Measure.</i> +</p> + +<p> +A few hours were passed by the prisoner, after his sentence was received, in +the bosom of his family. Mr. Wharton wept in hopeless despondency over the +untimely fate of his son; and Frances, after recovering from her insensibility, +experienced an anguish of feeling to which the bitterness of death itself would +have been comparatively light. Miss Peyton alone retained a vestige of hope, or +presence of mind to suggest what might be proper to be done under their +circumstances. The comparative composure of the good aunt arose in no degree +from any want of interest in the welfare of her nephew, but it was founded in a +kind of instinctive dependence on the character of Washington. He was a native +of the same colony with herself; and although his early military services, and +her frequent visits to the family of her sister, and subsequent establishment +at its head, had prevented their ever meeting, still she was familiar with his +domestic virtues, and well knew that the rigid inflexibility for which his +public acts were distinguished formed no part of his reputation in private +life. He was known in Virginia as a consistent but just and lenient master; and +she felt a kind of pride in associating in her mind her countryman with the man +who led the armies, and in a great measure controlled the destinies, of +America. She knew that Henry was innocent of the crime for which he was +condemned to suffer, and, with that kind of simple faith that is ever to be +found in the most ingenuous characters, could not conceive of those +constructions and interpretations of law that inflicted punishment without the +actual existence of crime. But even her confiding hopes were doomed to meet +with a speedy termination. Towards noon, a regiment of militia, that were +quartered on the banks of the river, moved to the ground in front of the house +that held our heroine and her family, and deliberately pitched their tents, +with the avowed intention of remaining until the following morning, to give +solemnity and effect to the execution of a British spy. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie had performed all that was required of him by his orders, and was at +liberty to retrace his steps to his expectant squadron, which was impatiently +waiting his return to be led against a detachment of the enemy that was known +to be slowly moving up the banks of the river, in order to cover a party of +foragers in its rear. He was accompanied by a small party of Lawton’s +troop, under the expectation that their testimony might be required to convict +the prisoner; and Mason, the lieutenant, was in command. But the confession of +Captain Wharton had removed the necessity of examining any witnesses on behalf +of the people.<a href="#linknote-13" name="linknoteref-13" +id="linknoteref-13"><sup>[13]</sup></a> The major, from an unwillingness to +encounter the distress of Henry’s friends, and a dread of trusting +himself within its influence, had spent the time we have mentioned in walking +by himself, in keen anxiety, at a short distance from the dwelling. Like Miss +Peyton, he had some reliance on the mercy of Washington, although moments of +terrific doubt and despondency were continually crossing his mind. To him the +rules of service were familiar, and he was more accustomed to consider his +general in the capacity of a ruler, than as exhibiting the characteristics of +the individual. A dreadful instance had too recently occurred, which fully +proved that Washington was above the weakness of sparing another in mercy to +himself. While pacing, with hurried steps, through the orchard, laboring under +these constantly recurring doubts, enlivened by transient rays of hope, Mason +approached, accoutered completely for the saddle. +</p> + +<p> +“Thinking you might have forgotten the news brought this morning from +below, sir, I have taken the liberty to order the detachment under arms,” +said the lieutenant, very coolly, cutting down with his sheathed saber the +mullein tops that grew within his reach. +</p> + +<p> +“What news?” cried the major, starting. +</p> + +<p> +“Only that John Bull is out in Westchester, with a train of wagons, +which, if he fills, will compel us to retire through these cursed hills, in +search of provender. These greedy Englishmen are so shut up on York Island, +that when they do venture out, they seldom leave straw enough to furnish the +bed of a Yankee heiress.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where did the express leave them, did you say? The intelligence has +entirely escaped my memory.” +</p> + +<p> +“On the heights above Sing Sing,” returned the lieutenant, with no +little amazement. “The road below looks like a hay market, and all the +swine are sighing forth their lamentations, as the corn passes them towards +King’s Bridge. George Singleton’s orderly, who brought up the +tidings, says that our horses were holding consultation if they should not go +down without their riders, and eat another meal, for it is questionable with +them whether they can get a full stomach again. If they are suffered to get +back with their plunder, we shall not be able to find a piece of pork at +Christmas fat enough to fry itself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Peace, with all this nonsense of Singleton’s orderly, Mr. +Mason,” cried Dunwoodie, impatiently; “let him learn to wait the +orders of his superiors.” +</p> + +<p> +“I beg pardon in his name, Major Dunwoodie,” said the subaltern; +“but, like myself, he was in error. We both thought it was the order of +General Heath, to attack and molest the enemy whenever he ventured out of his +nest.” +</p> + +<p> +“Recollect yourself, Lieutenant Mason,” said the major, “or I +may have to teach you that your orders pass through me.” +</p> + +<p> +“I know it, Major Dunwoodie—I know it; and I am sorry that your +memory is so bad as to forget that I never have yet hesitated to obey +them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Forgive me, Mason,” cried Dunwoodie, taking both his hands. +“I do know you for a brave and obedient soldier; forget my humor. But +this business—had you ever a friend?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, nay,” interrupted the lieutenant, “forgive me and my +honest zeal. I knew of the orders, and was fearful that censure might fall on +my officer. But remain, and let a man breathe a syllable against the corps, and +every sword will start from the scabbard of itself; besides, they are still +moving up, and it is a long road from Croton to King’s Bridge. Happen +what may, I see plainly that we shall be on their heels before they are housed +again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! that the courier was returned from headquarters!” +exclaimed<br/> +Dunwoodie. “This suspense is insupportable.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have your wish,” cried Mason. “Here he is at the moment, +and riding like the bearer of good news. God send it may be so; for I +can’t say that I particularly like myself to see a brave young fellow +dancing upon nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie heard but very little of this feeling declaration; for, ere half of +it was uttered, he had leaped the fence and stood before the messenger. +</p> + +<p> +“What news?” cried the major, the moment that the soldier stopped +his horse. +</p> + +<p> +“Good!” exclaimed the man; and feeling no hesitation to intrust an +officer so well known as Major Dunwoodie, he placed the paper in his hands, as +he added, “but you can read it, sir, for yourself.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie paused not to read; but flew, with the elastic spring of joy, to the +chamber of the prisoner. The sentinel knew him, and he was suffered to pass +without question. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Peyton,” cried Frances, as he entered the apartment, +“you look like a messenger from heaven! Bring you tidings of +mercy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here, Frances—here, Henry—here, dear cousin Jeanette,” +cried the youth, as with trembling hands he broke the seal; “here is the +letter itself, directed to the captain of the guard. But listen—” +</p> + +<p> +All did listen with intense anxiety; and the pang of blasted hope was added to +their misery, as they saw the glow of delight which had beamed on the +countenance of the major give place to a look of horror. The paper contained +the sentence of the court, and underneath was written these simple +words,— +</p> + +<p> +“Approved—GEO. WASHINGTON.” +</p> + +<p> +“He’s lost, he’s lost!” cried Frances, sinking into the +arms of her aunt. +</p> + +<p> +“My son! my son!” sobbed the father, “there is mercy in +heaven, if there is none on earth. May Washington never want that mercy he thus +denies to my innocent child!” +</p> + +<p> +“Washington!” echoed Dunwoodie, gazing around him in vacant horror. +“Yes, ’tis the act of Washington himself; these are his characters; +his very name is here, to sanction the dreadful deed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Cruel, cruel Washington!” cried Miss Peyton. “How has +familiarity with blood changed his nature!” +</p> + +<p> +“Blame him not,” said Dunwoodie; “it is the general, and not +the man; my life on it, he feels the blow he is compelled to inflict.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have been deceived in him,” cried Frances. “He is not the +savior of his country; but a cold and merciless tyrant. Oh! Peyton, Peyton! how +have you misled me in his character!” +</p> + +<p> +“Peace, dear Frances; peace, for God’s sake; use not such language. +He is but the guardian of the law.” +</p> + +<p> +“You speak the truth, Major Dunwoodie,” said Henry, recovering from +the shock of having his last ray of hope extinguished, and advancing from his +seat by the side of his father. “I, who am to suffer, blame him not. +Every indulgence has been granted me that I can ask. On the verge of the grave +I cannot continue unjust. At such a moment, with so recent an instance of +danger to your cause from treason, I wonder not at Washington’s unbending +justice. Nothing now remains but to prepare for that fate which so speedily +awaits me. To you, Major Dunwoodie, I make my first request.” +</p> + +<p> +“Name it,” said the major, giving utterance with difficulty. +</p> + +<p> +Henry turned, and pointing to the group of weeping mourners near him, he +continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“Be a son to this aged man; help his weakness, and defend him from any +usage to which the stigma thrown upon me may subject him. He has not many +friends amongst the rulers of this country; let your powerful name be found +among them.” +</p> + +<p> +“It shall.” +</p> + +<p> +“And this helpless innocent,” continued Henry, pointing to where +Sarah sat, unconscious of what was passing, “I had hoped for an +opportunity to revenge her wrongs;” a flush of excitement passed over his +features; “but such thoughts are evil—I feel them to be wrong. +Under your care, Peyton, she will find sympathy and refuge.” +</p> + +<p> +“She shall,” whispered Dunwoodie. +</p> + +<p> +“This good aunt has claims upon you already; of her I will not speak; but +here,” taking the hand of Frances, and dwelling upon her countenance with +an expression of fraternal affection, “here is the choicest gift of all. +Take her to your bosom, and cherish her as you would cultivate innocence and +virtue.” +</p> + +<p> +The major could not repress the eagerness with which he extended his hand to +receive the precious boon; but Frances, shrinking from his touch, hid her face +in the bosom of her aunt. +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, no!” she murmured. “None can ever be anything to me +who aid in my brother’s destruction.” +</p> + +<p> +Henry continued gazing at her in tender pity for several moments, before he +again resumed a discourse that all felt was most peculiarly his own. +</p> + +<p> +“I have been mistaken, then. I did think, Peyton, that your worth, your +noble devotion to a cause that you have been taught to revere, that your +kindness to our father when in imprisonment, your friendship for me,—in +short, that your character was understood and valued by my sister.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is—it is,” whispered Frances, burying her face still +deeper in the bosom of her aunt. +</p> + +<p> +“I believe, dear Henry,” said Dunwoodie, “this is a subject +that had better not be dwelt upon now.” +</p> + +<p> +“You forget,” returned the prisoner, with a faint smile, “how +much I have to do, and how little time is left to do it in.” +</p> + +<p> +“I apprehend,” continued the major, with a face of fire, +“that Miss Wharton has imbibed some opinions of me that would make a +compliance with your request irksome to her—opinions that it is now too +late to alter.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, no,” cried Frances, quickly, “you are exonerated, +Peyton—with her dying breath she removed my doubts.” +</p> + +<p> +“Generous Isabella!” murmured Dunwoodie; “but, still, Henry, +spare your sister now; nay, spare even me.” +</p> + +<p> +“I speak in pity to myself,” returned the brother, gently removing +Frances from the arms of her aunt. “What a time is this to leave two such +lovely females without a protector! Their abode is destroyed, and misery will +speedily deprive them of their last male friend,” looking at his father; +“can I die in peace with the knowledge of the danger to which they will +be exposed?” +</p> + +<p> +“You forget me,” said Miss Peyton, shrinking at the idea of +celebrating nuptials at such a moment. +</p> + +<p> +“No, my dear aunt, I forget you not, nor shall I, until I cease to +remember; but you forget the times and the danger. The good woman who lives in +this house has already dispatched a messenger for a man of God, to smooth my +passage to another world. Frances, if you would wish me to die in peace, to +feel a security that will allow me to turn my whole thoughts to heaven, you +will let this clergyman unite you to Dunwoodie.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances shook her head, but remained silent. +</p> + +<p> +“I ask for no joy—no demonstration of a felicity that you will not, +cannot feel, for months to come; but obtain a right to his powerful +name—give him an undisputed title to protect you—” +</p> + +<p> +Again the maid made an impressive gesture of denial. +</p> + +<p> +“For the sake of that unconscious sufferer”—pointing to +Sarah, “for your sake—for my sake—my sister—” +</p> + +<p> +“Peace, Henry, or you will break my heart,” cried the agitated +girl. “Not for worlds would I at such a moment engage in the solemn vows +that you wish. It would render me miserable for life.” +</p> + +<p> +“You love him not,” said Henry, reproachfully. “I cease to +importune you to do what is against your inclinations.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances raised one hand to conceal her countenance, as she extended the other +towards Dunwoodie, and said earnestly,— +</p> + +<p> +“Now you are unjust to me—before, you were unjust to +yourself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Promise me, then,” said Wharton, musing awhile in silence, +“that as soon as the recollection of my fate is softened, you will give +my friend that hand for life, and I am satisfied.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do promise,” said Frances, withdrawing the hand that Dunwoodie +delicately relinquished, without even presuming to press it to his lips. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, then, my good aunt,” continued Henry, “will you leave +me for a short time alone with my friend? I have a few melancholy commissions +with which to intrust him, and would spare you and my sister the pain of +hearing them.” +</p> + +<p> +“There is yet time to see Washington again,” said Miss Peyton, +moving towards the door; and then, speaking with extreme dignity, she +continued, “I will go myself; surely he must listen to a woman from his +own colony!—and we are in some degree connected with his family.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why not apply to Mr. Harper?” said Frances, recollecting the +parting words of their guest for the first time. +</p> + +<p> +“Harper!” echoed Dunwoodie, turning towards her with the swiftness +of lightning; “what of him? Do you know him?” +</p> + +<p> +“It is in vain,” said Henry, drawing him aside; “Frances +clings to hope with the fondness of a sister. Retire, my love, and leave me +with my friend.” +</p> + +<p> +But Frances read an expression in the eye of Dunwoodie that chained her to the +spot. After struggling to command her feelings, she continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“He stayed with us for two days—he was with us when Henry was +arrested.” +</p> + +<p> +“And—and—did you know him?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay,” continued Frances, catching her breath as she witnessed the +intense interest of her lover, “we knew him not; he came to us in the +night, a stranger, and remained with us during the severe storm; but he seemed +to take an interest in Henry, and promised him his friendship,” +</p> + +<p> +“What!” exclaimed the youth in astonishment. “Did he know +your brother?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly; it was at his request that Henry threw aside his +disguise.” +</p> + +<p> +“But,” said Dunwoodie, turning pale with suspense, “he knew +him not as an officer of the royal army?” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed he did,” cried Miss Peyton; “and he cautioned us +against this very danger.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie caught up the fatal paper, that still lay where it had fallen from +his own hands, and studied its characters intently. Something seemed to +bewilder his brain. He passed his hand over his forehead, while each eye was +fixed on him in dreadful suspense—all feeling afraid to admit those hopes +anew that had been so sadly destroyed. +</p> + +<p> +“What said he? What promised he?” at length Dunwoodie asked, with +feverish impatience. +</p> + +<p> +“He bid Henry apply to him when in danger, and promised to requite the +son for the hospitality of the father.” +</p> + +<p> +“Said he this, knowing him to be a British officer?” +</p> + +<p> +“Most certainly; and with a view to this very danger.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then,” cried the youth aloud, and yielding to his rapture, +“then you are safe—then will I save him; yes, Harper will never +forget his word.” +</p> + +<p> +“But has he the power to?” said Frances. “Can he move the +stubborn purpose of Washington?” +</p> + +<p> +“Can he? If he cannot,” shouted the youth, “if he cannot, who +can?<br/> +Greene, and Heath, and young Hamilton are nothing compared to this<br/> +Harper. But,” rushing to his mistress, and pressing her hands<br/> +convulsively, “repeat to me—you say you have his +promise?” +</p> + +<p> +“Surely, surely, Peyton; his solemn, deliberate promise, knowing all the +circumstances.” +</p> + +<p> +“Rest easy,” cried Dunwoodie, holding her to his bosom for a +moment, “rest easy, for Henry is safe.” +</p> + +<p> +He waited not to explain, but darting from the room, he left the family in +amazement. They continued in silent wonder until they heard the feet of his +charger, as he dashed from the door with the speed of an arrow. +</p> + +<p> +A long time was spent after this abrupt departure of the youth, by the anxious +friends he had left, in discussing the probability of his success. The +confidence of his manner had, however, communicated to his auditors something +of his own spirit. Each felt that the prospects of Henry were again +brightening, and with their reviving hopes they experienced a renewal of +spirits, which in all but Henry himself amounted to pleasure; with him, indeed, +his state was too awful to admit of trifling, and for a few hours he was +condemned to feel how much more intolerable was suspense than even the +certainty of calamity. Not so with Frances. She, with all the reliance of +affection, reposed in security on the assurance of Dunwoodie, without harassing +herself with doubts that she possessed not the means of satisfying; but +believing her lover able to accomplish everything that man could do, and +retaining a vivid recollection of the manner and benevolent appearance of +Harper, she abandoned herself to all the felicity of renovated hope. +</p> + +<p> +The joy of Miss Peyton was more sobered, and she took frequent occasions to +reprove her niece for the exuberance of her spirits, before there was a +certainty that their expectations were to be realized. But the slight smile +that hovered around the lips of the virgin contradicted the very sobriety of +feeling that she inculcated. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, dearest aunt,” said Frances, playfully, in reply to one of +her frequent reprimands, “would you have me repress the pleasure that I +feel at Henry’s deliverance, when you yourself have so often declared it +to be impossible that such men as ruled in our country could sacrifice an +innocent man?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, I did believe it impossible, my child, and yet think so; but still +there is a discretion to be shown in joy as well as in sorrow.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances recollected the declaration of Isabella, and turned an eye filled with +tears of gratitude on her excellent aunt, as she replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“True; but there are feelings that will not yield to reason. Ah! here are +those monsters, who have come to witness the death of a fellow creature, moving +around yon field, as if life was, to them, nothing but a military show.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is but little more to the hireling soldier,” said Henry, +endeavoring to forget his uneasiness. +</p> + +<p> +“You gaze, my love, as if you thought a military show of some +importance,” said Miss Peyton, observing her niece to be looking from the +window with a fixed and abstracted attention. But Frances answered not. +</p> + +<p> +From the window where she stood, the pass that they had traveled through the +Highlands was easily to be seen; and the mountain which held on its summit the +mysterious hut was directly before her. Its side was rugged and barren; huge +and apparently impassable barriers of rocks presenting themselves through the +stunted oaks, which, stripped of their foliage, were scattered over its +surface. The base of the hill was not half a mile from the house, and the +object which attracted the notice of Frances was the figure of a man emerging +from behind a rock of remarkable formation, and as suddenly disappearing. The +maneuver was several times repeated, as if it were the intention of the +fugitive (for such by his air he seemed to be) to reconnoiter the proceedings +of the soldiery, and assure himself of the position of things on the plain. +Notwithstanding the distance, Frances instantly imbibed the opinion that it was +Birch. Perhaps this impression was partly owing to the air and figure of the +man, but in a great measure to the idea that presented itself on formerly +beholding the object at the summit of the mountain. That they were the same +figure she was confident, although this wanted the appearance which, in the +other, she had taken for the pack of the peddler. Harvey had so connected +himself with the mysterious deportment of Harper, within her imagination, that +under circumstances of less agitation than those in which she had labored since +her arrival, she would have kept her suspicions to herself. Frances, therefore, +sat ruminating on this second appearance in silence, and endeavoring to trace +what possible connection this extraordinary man could have with the fortunes of +her own family. He had certainly saved Sarah in some degree, from the blow that +had partially alighted on her, and in no instance had he proved himself to be +hostile to their interests. +</p> + +<p> +After gazing for a long time at the point where she had last seen the figure, +in the vain expectation of its reappearance, she turned to her friends in the +apartment. Miss Peyton was sitting by Sarah, who gave some slight additional +signs of observing what passed, but who still continued insensible either to +joy or grief. +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose, by this time, my love, that you are well acquainted with the +maneuvers of a regiment,” said Miss Peyton. “It is no bad quality +in a soldier’s wife, at all events.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am not a wife yet,” said Frances, coloring to the eyes; +“and we have little reason to wish for another wedding in our +family.” +</p> + +<p> +“Frances!” exclaimed her brother, starting from his seat, and +pacing the floor in violent agitation. “Touch not the chord again, I +entreat you. While my fate is uncertain, I would wish to be at peace with all +men.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then let the uncertainty cease,” cried Frances, springing to the +door, “for here comes Peyton with the joyful intelligence of your +release.” +</p> + +<p> +The words were hardly uttered, before the door opened, and the major entered. +In his air there was the appearance of neither success nor defeat, but there +was a marked display of vexation. He took the hand that Frances, in the +fullness of her heart, extended towards him, but instantly relinquishing it, +threw himself into a chair, in evident fatigue. +</p> + +<p> +“You have failed,” said Wharton, with a bound of his heart, but an +appearance of composure. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you seen Harper?” cried Frances, turning pale. +</p> + +<p> +“I have not. I crossed the river in one boat as he must have been coming +to this side, in another. I returned without delay, and traced him for several +miles into the Highlands, by the western pass, but there I unaccountably lost +him. I have returned here to relieve your uneasiness, but see him I will this +night, and bring a respite for Henry.” +</p> + +<p> +“But saw you Washington?” asked Miss Peyton. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie gazed at her a moment in abstracted musing, and the question was +repeated. He answered gravely, and with some reserve,— +</p> + +<p> +“The commander in chief had left his quarters.” +</p> + +<p> +“But, Peyton,” cried Frances, in returning terror, “if they +should not see each other, it will be too late. Harper alone will not be +sufficient.” +</p> + +<p> +Her lover turned his eyes slowly on her anxious countenance, and dwelling a +moment on her features, said, still musing,— +</p> + +<p> +“You say that he promised to assist Henry.” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, of his own accord and in requital for the hospitality he had +received.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie shook his head, and began to look grave. +</p> + +<p> +“I like not that word hospitality—it has an empty sound; there must +be something more reasonable to tie Harper. I dread some mistake; repeat to me +all that passed.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances, in a hurried and earnest voice, complied with his request. She related +particularly the manner of his arrival at the Locusts, the reception that he +received, and the events that passed as minutely as her memory could supply her +with the means. As she alluded to the conversation that occurred between her +father and his guest, the major smiled but remained silent. She then gave a +detail of Henry’s arrival, and the events of the following day. She dwelt +upon the part where Harper had desired her brother to throw aside his disguise, +and recounted, with wonderful accuracy, his remarks upon the hazard of the step +that the youth had taken. She even remembered a remarkable expression of his to +her brother, “that he was safer from Harper’s knowledge of his +person, than he would be without it.” Frances mentioned, with the warmth +of youthful admiration, the benevolent character of his deportment to herself, +and gave a minute relation of his adieus to the whole family. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie at first listened with grave attention; evident satisfaction followed +as she proceeded. When she spoke of herself in connection with their guest, he +smiled with pleasure, and as she concluded, he exclaimed, with delight,— +</p> + +<p> +“We are safe!—we are safe!” +</p> + +<p> +But he was interrupted, as will be seen in the following chapter. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-13" id="linknote-13"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-13">[13]</a> +In America justice is administered in the name of “the good +people,” etc., etc., the sovereignty residing with them. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap28"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +The owlet loves the gloom of night,<br/> +The lark salutes the day,<br/> +The timid dove will coo at hand—<br/> +But falcons soar away. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Song in Duo</i>. +</p> + +<p> +In a country settled, like these states, by a people who fled their native land +and much-loved firesides, victims of consciences and religious zeal, none of +the decencies and solemnities of a Christian death are dispensed with, when +circumstances will admit of their exercise. The good woman of the house was a +strict adherent to the forms of the church to which she belonged; and having +herself been awakened to a sense of her depravity, by the ministry of the +divine who harangued the people of the adjoining parish, she thought it was +from his exhortations only that salvation could be meted out to the short-lived +hopes of Henry Wharton. Not that the kind-hearted matron was so ignorant of the +doctrines of the religion which she professed, as to depend, theoretically, on +mortal aid for protection; but she had, to use her own phrase, “sat so +long under the preaching of good Mr.——,” that she had +unconsciously imbibed a practical reliance on his assistance, for that which +her faith should have taught her could come from the Deity alone. With her, the +consideration of death was at all times awful, and the instant that the +sentence of the prisoner was promulgated, she dispatched Caesar, mounted on one +of her husband’s best horses, in quest of her clerical monitor. This step +had been taken without consulting either Henry or his friends; and it was only +when the services of Caesar were required on some domestic emergency, that she +explained the nature of his absence. The youth heard her, at first, with an +unconquerable reluctance to admit of such a spiritual guide; but as our view of +the things of this life becomes less vivid, our prejudices and habits cease to +retain their influence; and a civil bow of thanks was finally given, in +requital for the considerate care of the well-meaning woman. +</p> + +<p> +The black returned early from his expedition, and, as well as could be gathered +from his somewhat incoherent narrative, a minister of God might be expected to +arrive in the course of the day. The interruption that we mentioned in our +preceding chapter was occasioned by the entrance of the landlady. At the +intercession of Dunwoodie, orders had been given to the sentinel who guarded +the door of Henry’s room, that the members of the prisoner’s family +should, at all times, have free access to his apartment. Caesar was included in +this arrangement, as a matter of convenience, by the officer in command; but +strict inquiry and examination was made into the errand of every other +applicant for admission. The major had, however, included himself among the +relatives of the British officer; and one pledge, that no rescue should be +attempted, was given in his name, for them all. A short conversation was +passing between the woman of the house and the corporal of the guard, before +the door that the sentinel had already opened in anticipation of the decision +of his noncommissioned commandant. +</p> + +<p> +“Would you refuse the consolations of religion to a fellow creature about +to suffer death?” said the matron, with earnest zeal. “Would you +plunge a soul into the fiery furnace, and a minister at hand to point out the +straight and narrow path?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll tell you what, good woman,” returned the corporal, +gently pushing her away; “I’ve no notion of my back being a highway +for any man to walk to heaven upon. A pretty figure I should make at the +pickets, for disobeying orders. Just step down and ask Lieutenant Mason, and +you may bring in a whole congregation. We have not taken the guard from the +foot soldiers, but an hour, and I shouldn’t like to have it said that we +know less than the militia.” +</p> + +<p> +“Admit the woman,” said Dunwoodie, sternly, observing, for the +first time, that one of his own corps was on post. +</p> + +<p> +The corporal raised his hand to his cap, and fell back in silence; the soldier +stood to his arms, and the matron entered. +</p> + +<p> +“Here is a reverend gentleman below, come to soothe the parting soul, in +the place of our own divine, who is engaged with an appointment that could not +be put aside; ’tis to bury old Mr.——” +</p> + +<p> +“Show him in at once,” said Henry, with feverish impatience. +</p> + +<p> +“But will the sentinel let him pass? I would not wish a friend of<br/> +Mr.—to be rudely stopped on the threshold, and he a stranger.” +</p> + +<p> +All eyes were now turned on Dunwoodie, who, looking at his watch, spoke a few +words with Henry, in an undertone, and hastened from the apartment, followed by +Frances. The subject of their conversation was a wish expressed by the prisoner +for a clergyman of his own persuasion, and a promise from the major, that one +should be sent from Fishkill town, through which he was about to pass, on his +way to the ferry to intercept the expected return of Harper. Mason soon made +his bow at the door, and willingly complied with the wishes of the landlady; +and the divine was invited to make his appearance accordingly. +</p> + +<p> +The person who was ushered into the apartment, preceded by Caesar, and followed +by the matron, was a man beyond the middle age, or who might rather be said to +approach the downhill of life. In stature he was above the size of ordinary +men, though his excessive leanness might contribute in deceiving as to his +height; his countenance was sharp and unbending, and every muscle seemed set in +rigid compression. No joy or relaxation appeared ever to have dwelt on features +that frowned habitually, as if in detestation of the vices of mankind. The +brows were beetling, dark, and forbidding, giving the promise of eyes of no +less repelling expression; but the organs were concealed beneath a pair of +enormous green goggles, through which they glared around with a fierceness that +denounced the coming day of wrath. All was fanaticism, uncharitableness, and +denunciation. Long, lank hair, a mixture of gray and black, fell down his neck, +and in some degree obscured the sides of his face, and, parting on his +forehead, fell in either direction in straight and formal screens. On the top +of this ungraceful exhibition was laid impending forward, so as to overhang in +some measure the whole fabric, a large hat of three equal cocks. His coat was +of a rusty black, and his breeches and stockings were of the same color; his +shoes without luster, and half-concealed beneath huge plated buckles. He +stalked into the room, and giving a stiff nod with his head, took the chair +offered him by the black, in dignified silence. For several minutes no one +broke this ominous pause in the conversation; Henry feeling a repugnance to his +guest, that he was vainly endeavoring to conquer, and the stranger himself +drawing forth occasional sighs and groans, that threatened a dissolution of the +unequal connection between his sublimated soul and its ungainly tenement. +During this, deathlike preparation, Mr. Wharton, with a feeling nearly allied +to that of his son, led Sarah from the apartment. His retreat was noticed by +the divine, in a kind of scornful disdain, who began to hum the air of a +popular psalm tune, giving it the full richness of the twang that distinguishes +the Eastern<a href="#linknote-14" name="linknoteref-14" +id="linknoteref-14"><sup>[14]</sup></a> psalmody. +</p> + +<p> +“Caesar,” said Miss Peyton, “hand the gentleman some +refreshment; he must need it after his ride.” +</p> + +<p> +“My strength is not in the things of this life,” said the divine, +speaking in a hollow, sepulchral voice. “Thrice have I this day held +forth in my Master’s service, and fainted not; still it is prudent to +help this frail tenement of clay, for, surely, ‘the laborer is worthy of +his hire.’” +</p> + +<p> +Opening a pair of enormous jaws, he took a good measure of the proffered +brandy, and suffered it to glide downwards, with that sort of facility with +which man is prone to sin. +</p> + +<p> +“I apprehend, then, sir, that fatigue will disable you from performing +the duties which kindness has induced you to attempt.” +</p> + +<p> +“Woman!” exclaimed the stranger, with energy, “when was I +ever known to shrink from a duty? But ‘judge not lest ye be +judged,’ and fancy not that it is given to mortal eyes to fathom the +intentions of the Deity.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay,” returned the maiden, meekly, and slightly disgusted with his +jargon, “I pretend not to judge of either events, or the intentions of my +fellow creatures, much less of those of Omnipotence.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis well, woman,—’tis well,” cried the +minister, moving his head with supercilious disdain; “humility becometh +thy sex and lost condition; thy weakness driveth thee on headlong like +‘unto the bosom of destruction.’” +</p> + +<p> +Surprised at this extraordinary deportment, but yielding to that habit which +urges us to speak reverently on sacred subjects, even when perhaps we had +better continue silent, Miss Peyton replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“There is a Power above, that can and will sustain us all in well-doing, +if we seek its support in humility and truth.” +</p> + +<p> +The stranger turned a lowering look at the speaker, and then composing himself +into an air of self-abasement, he continued in the same repelling tones,— +</p> + +<p> +“It is not everyone that crieth out for mercy, that will be heard. The +ways of Providence are not to be judged by men—‘Many are called, +but few chosen.’ It is easier to talk of humility than to feel it. Are +you so humble, vile worm, as to wish to glorify God by your own damnation? If +not, away with you for a publican and a Pharisee!” +</p> + +<p> +Such gross fanaticism was uncommon in America, and Miss Peyton began to imbibe +the impression that her guest was deranged; but remembering that he had been +sent by a well-known divine, and one of reputation, she discarded the idea, +and, with some forbearance, observed,— +</p> + +<p> +“I may deceive myself, in believing that mercy is proffered to all, but +it is so soothing a doctrine, that I would not willingly be undeceived.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mercy is only for the elect,” cried the stranger, with an +unaccountable energy; “and you are in the ‘valley of the shadow of +death.’ Are you not a follower of idle ceremonies, which belong to the +vain church that our tyrants would gladly establish here, along with their +stamp acts and tea laws? Answer me that, woman; and remember, that Heaven hears +your answer; are you not of that idolatrous communion?” +</p> + +<p> +“I worship at the altars of my fathers,” said Miss Peyton, +motioning to<br/> +Henry for silence; “but bow to no other idol than my own +infirmities.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes, I know ye, self-righteous and papal as ye are—followers +of forms, and listeners to bookish preaching; think you, woman, that holy Paul +had notes in his hand to propound the Word to the believers?” +</p> + +<p> +“My presence disturbs you,” said Miss Peyton, rising. “I will +leave you with my nephew, and offer those prayers in private that I did wish to +mingle with his.” +</p> + +<p> +So saying, she withdrew, followed by the landlady, who was not a little +shocked, and somewhat surprised, by the intemperate zeal of her new +acquaintance; for, although the good woman believed that Miss Peyton and her +whole church were on the highroad to destruction, she was by no means +accustomed to hear such offensive and open avowals of their fate. +</p> + +<p> +Henry had with difficulty repressed the indignation excited by this unprovoked +attack on his meek and unresisting aunt; but as the door closed on her retiring +figure, he gave way to his feelings. +</p> + +<p> +“I must confess, sir,” he exclaimed with heat, “that in +receiving a minister of God, I thought I was admitting a Christian; and one +who, by feeling his own weaknesses, knew how to pity the frailties of others. +You have wounded the meek spirit of an excellent woman, and I acknowledge but +little inclination to mingle in prayer with so intolerant a spirit.” +</p> + +<p> +The minister stood erect, with grave composure, following with his eyes, in a +kind of scornful pity, the retiring females, and suffered the expostulation of +the youth to be given, as if unworthy of his notice. A third voice, however, +spoke,— +</p> + +<p> +“Such a denunciation would have driven many women into fits; but it has +answered the purpose well enough, as it is.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who’s that?” cried the prisoner, in amazement, gazing around +the room in quest of the speaker. +</p> + +<p> +“It is I, Captain Wharton,” said Harvey Birch, removing the +spectacles, and exhibiting his piercing eyes, shining under a pair of false +eyebrows. +</p> + +<p> +“Good heavens—Harvey!” +</p> + +<p> +“Silence!” said the peddler, solemnly. “’Tis a name not +to be mentioned, and least of all here, within the heart of the American +army.” Birch paused and gazed around him for a moment, with an emotion +exceeding the base passion of fear, and then continued in a gloomy tone, +“There are a thousand halters in that very name, and little hope would +there be left me of another escape, should I be again taken. This is a fearful +venture that I am making; but I could not sleep in quiet, and know that an +innocent man was about to die the death of a dog, when I might save him.” +</p> + +<p> +“No,” said Henry, with a glow of generous feeling on his cheek, +“if the risk to yourself be so heavy, retire as you came, and leave me to +my fate. Dunwoodie is making, even now, powerful exertions in my behalf; and if +he meets with Mr. Harper in the course of the night, my liberation is +certain.” +</p> + +<p> +“Harper!” echoed the peddler, remaining with his hands raised, in +the act of replacing the spectacles. “What do you know of Harper? And why +do you think he will do you service?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have his promise; you remember our recent meeting in my father’s +dwelling, and he then gave an unasked promise to assist me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes—but do you know him? That is—why do you think he has the +power?<br/> +Or what reason have you for believing he will remember his word?” +</p> + +<p> +“If there ever was the stamp of truth, or simple, honest benevolence, in +the countenance of man, it shone in his,” said Henry. “Besides, +Dunwoodie has powerful friends in the rebel army, and it would be better that I +take the chance where I am, than thus to expose you to certain death, if +detected.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Wharton,” said Birch, looking guardedly around and +speaking with impressive seriousness of manner, “if I fail you, all fail +you. No Harper nor Dunwoodie can save your life; unless you get out with me, +and that within the hour, you die to-morrow on the gallows of a murderer. Yes, +such are their laws; the man who fights, and kills, and plunders, is honored; +but he who serves his country as a spy, no matter how faithfully, no matter how +honestly, lives to be reviled, or dies like the vilest criminal!” +</p> + +<p> +“You forget, Mr. Birch,” said the youth, a little indignantly, +“that I am not a treacherous, lurking spy, who deceives to betray; but +innocent of the charge imputed to me.” +</p> + +<p> +The blood rushed over the pale, meager features of the peddler, until his face +was one glow of fire; but it passed quickly away, as he replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“I have told you truth. Caesar met me, as he was going on his errand this +morning, and with him I have laid the plan which, if executed as I wish, will +save you—otherwise you are lost; and I again tell you, that no other +power on earth, not even Washington, can save you.” +</p> + +<p> +“I submit,” said the prisoner, yielding to his earnest manner, and +goaded by the fears that were thus awakened anew. +</p> + +<p> +The peddler beckoned him to be silent, and walking to the door, opened it, with +the stiff, formal air with which he had entered the apartment. +</p> + +<p> +“Friend, let no one enter,” he said to the sentinel. “We are +about to go to prayer, and would wish to be alone.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know that any will wish to interrupt you,” returned +the soldier, with a waggish leer of his eye; “but, should they be so +disposed, I have no power to stop them, if they be of the prisoner’s +friends. I have my orders, and must mind them, whether the Englishman goes to +heaven, or not.” +</p> + +<p> +“Audacious sinner!” said the pretended priest, “have you not +the fear of God before your eyes? I tell you, as you will dread punishment at +the last day, to let none of the idolatrous communion enter, to mingle in the +prayers of the righteous.” +</p> + +<p> +“Whew-ew-ew—what a noble commander you’d make for Sergeant +Hollister! You’d preach him dumb in a roll call. Harkee, I’ll thank +you not to make such a noise when you hold forth, as to drown our bugles, or +you may get a poor fellow a short horn at his grog, for not turning out to the +evening parade. If you want to be alone, have you no knife to stick over the +door latch, that you must have a troop of horse to guard your +meetinghouse?” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler took the hint, and closed the door immediately, using the +precaution suggested by the dragoon. +</p> + +<p> +“You overact your part,” said young Wharton, in constant +apprehension of discovery; “your zeal is too intemperate.” +</p> + +<p> +“For a foot soldier and them Eastern militia, it might be,” said +Harvey, turning a bag upside down, that Caesar now handed him; “but these +dragoons are fellows that you must brag down. A faint heart, Captain Wharton, +would do but little here; but come, here is a black shroud for your +good-looking countenance,” taking, at the same time, a parchment mask, +and fitting it to the face of Henry. “The master and the man must change +places for a season.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t t’ink he look a bit like me,” said Caesar, +with disgust, as he surveyed his young master with his new complexion. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop a minute, Caesar,” said the peddler, with the lurking +drollery that at times formed part of his manner, “till we get on the +wool.” +</p> + +<p> +“He worse than ebber now,” cried the discontented African. “A +t’ink colored man like a sheep! I nebber see sich a lip, Harvey; he most +as big as a sausage!” +</p> + +<p> +Great pains had been taken in forming the different articles used in the +disguise of Captain Wharton, and when arranged, under the skillful +superintendence of the peddler, they formed together a transformation that +would easily escape detection, from any but an extraordinary observer. +</p> + +<p> +The mask was stuffed and shaped in such a manner as to preserve the +peculiarities, as well as the color, of the African visage; and the wig was so +artfully formed of black and white wool, as to imitate the pepper-and-salt +color of Caesar’s own head, and to exact plaudits from the black himself, +who thought it an excellent counterfeit in everything but quality. +</p> + +<p> +“There is but one man in the American army who could detect you, Captain +Wharton,” said the peddler, surveying his work with satisfaction, +“and he is just now out of our way.” +</p> + +<p> +“And who is he?” +</p> + +<p> +“The man who made you prisoner. He would see your white skin through a +plank. But strip, both of you; your clothes must be exchanged from head to +foot.” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar, who had received minute instructions from the peddler in their morning +interview, immediately commenced throwing aside his coarse garments, which the +youth took up and prepared to invest himself with; unable, however, to repress +a few signs of loathing. +</p> + +<p> +In the manner of the peddler there was an odd mixture of care and humor; the +former was the result of a perfect knowledge of their danger, and the means +necessary to be used in avoiding it; and the latter proceeded from the +unavoidably ludicrous circumstances before him, acting on an indifference which +sprang from habit, and long familiarity with such scenes as the present. +</p> + +<p> +“Here, captain,” he said, taking up some loose wool, and beginning +to stuff the stockings of Caesar, which were already on the leg of the +prisoner; “some judgment is necessary in shaping this limb. You will have +to display it on horseback; and the Southern dragoons are so used to the +brittle-shins, that should they notice your well-turned calf, they’d know +at once it never belonged to a black.” +</p> + +<p> +“Golly!” said Caesar, with a chuckle, that exhibited a mouth open +from ear to ear, “Massa Harry breeches fit.” +</p> + +<p> +“Anything but your leg,” said the peddler, coolly pursuing the +toilet of Henry. “Slip on the coat, captain, over all. Upon my word, +you’d pass well at a pinkster frolic; and here, Caesar, place this +powdered wig over your curls, and be careful and look out of the window, +whenever the door is open, and on no account speak, or you will betray +all.” +</p> + +<p> +“I s’pose Harvey t’ink a colored man ain’t got a tongue +like oder folk,” grumbled the black, as he took the station assigned to +him. +</p> + +<p> +Everything now was arranged for action, and the peddler very deliberately went +over the whole of his injunctions to the two actors in the scene. The captain +he conjured to dispense with his erect military carriage, and for a season to +adopt the humble paces of his father’s negro; and Caesar he enjoined to +silence and disguise, so long as he could possibly maintain them. Thus +prepared, he opened the door, and called aloud to the sentinel, who had retired +to the farthest end of the passage, in order to avoid receiving any of that +spiritual comfort, which he felt was the sole property of another. +</p> + +<p> +“Let the woman of the house be called,” said Harvey, in the solemn +key of his assumed character; “and let her come alone. The prisoner is in +a happy train of meditation, and must not be led from his devotions.” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar sank his face between his hands; and when the soldier looked into the +apartment, he thought he saw his charge in deep abstraction. Casting a glance +of huge contempt at the divine, he called aloud for the good woman of the +house. She hastened at the summons, with earnest zeal, entertaining a secret +hope that she was to be admitted to the gossip of a death-bed repentance. +</p> + +<p> +“Sister,” said the minister, in the authoritative tones of a +master, “have you in the house `The Christian Criminal’s last +Moments, or Thoughts on Eternity, for them who die a violent +Death’?” +</p> + +<p> +“I never heard of the book!” said the matron in astonishment. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis not unlikely; there are many books you have never heard of: +it is impossible for this poor penitent to pass in peace, without the +consolations of that volume. One hour’s reading in it is worth an age of +man’s preaching.” +</p> + +<p> +“Bless me, what a treasure to possess! When was it put out?” +</p> + +<p> +“It was first put out at Geneva in the Greek language, and then +translated at Boston. It is a book, woman, that should be in the hands of every +Christian, especially such as die upon the gallows. Have a horse prepared +instantly for this black, who shall accompany me to my brother—, and I +will send down the volume yet in season. Brother, compose thy mind; you are now +in the narrow path to glory.” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar wriggled a little in his chair, but he had sufficient recollection to +conceal his face with hands that were, in their turn, concealed by gloves. The +landlady departed, to comply with this very reasonable request, and the group +of conspirators were again left to themselves. +</p> + +<p> +“This is well,” said the peddler; “but the difficult task is +to deceive the officer who commands the guard—he is lieutenant to Lawton, +and has learned some of the captain’s own cunning in these things. +Remember, Captain Wharton,” continued he with an air of pride, +“that now is the moment when everything depends on our coolness.” +</p> + +<p> +“My fate can be made but little worse than it is at present, my worthy +fellow,” said Henry; “but for your sake I will do all that in me +lies.” +</p> + +<p> +“And wherein can I be more forlorn and persecuted than I now am?” +asked the peddler, with that wild incoherence which often crossed his manner. +“But I have promised <i>one</i> to save you, and to him I have never yet +broken my word.” +</p> + +<p> +“And who is he?” said Henry, with awakened interest. +</p> + +<p> +“No one.” +</p> + +<p> +The man soon returned, and announced that the horses were at the door. Harvey +gave the captain a glance, and led the way down the stairs, first desiring the +woman to leave the prisoner to himself, in order that he might digest the +wholesome mental food that he had so lately received. +</p> + +<p> +A rumor of the odd character of the priest had spread from the sentinel at the +door to his comrades; so that when Harvey and Wharton reached the open space +before the building, they found a dozen idle dragoons loitering about with the +waggish intention of quizzing the fanatic, and employed in affected admiration +of the steeds. +</p> + +<p> +“A fine horse!” said the leader in this plan of mischief; +“but a little low in flesh. I suppose from hard labor in your +calling.” +</p> + +<p> +“My calling may be laborsome to both myself and this faithful beast, but +then a day of settling is at hand, that will reward me for all my outgoings and +incomings,” said Birch, putting his foot in the stirrup, and preparing to +mount. +</p> + +<p> +“You work for pay, then, as we fight for’t?” cried another of +the party. +</p> + +<p> +“Even so—is not the laborer worthy of his hire?” +</p> + +<p> +“Come, suppose you give us a little preaching; we have a leisure moment +just now, and there’s no telling how much good you might do a set of +reprobates like us, in a few words. Here, mount this horseblock, and take your +text where you please.” +</p> + +<p> +The men now gathered in eager delight around the peddler, who, glancing his eye +expressively towards the captain, who had been suffered to mount, +replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“Doubtless, for such is my duty. But, Caesar, you can ride up the road +and deliver the note—the unhappy prisoner will be wanting the book, for +his hours are numbered.” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, aye, go along, Caesar, and get the book,” shouted half a +dozen voices, all crowding eagerly around the ideal priest, in anticipation of +a frolic. +</p> + +<p> +The peddler inwardly dreaded, that, in their unceremonious handling of himself +and garments, his hat and wig might be displaced, when detection would be +certain; he was therefore fain to comply with their request. Ascending the +horseblock, after hemming once or twice, and casting several glances at the +captain, who continued immovable, he commenced as follows:— +</p> + +<p> +“I shall call your attention, my brethren, to that portion of Scripture +which you will find in the second book of Samuel, and which is written in the +following words:—‘<i>And the king lamented over Abner, and said. +Died Abner as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into +fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the +people wept again over him</i>.’ Caesar, ride forward, I say, and obtain +the book as directed; thy master is groaning in spirit even now for the want of +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“An excellent text!” cried the dragoons. “Go on—go +on—let the snowball stay; he wants to be edified as well as +another.” +</p> + +<p> +“What are you at there, scoundrels?” cried Lieutenant Mason, as he +came in sight from a walk he had taken to sneer at the evening parade of the +regiment of militia. “Away with every man of you to your quarters, and +let me find that each horse is cleaned and littered, when I come round.” +The sound of the officer’s voice operated like a charm, and no priest +could desire a more silent congregation, although he might possibly have wished +for one that was more numerous. Mason had not done speaking, when it was +reduced to the image of Caesar only. The peddler took that opportunity to +mount, but he had to preserve the gravity of his movements, for the remark of +the troopers upon the condition of their beasts was but too just, and a dozen +dragoon horses stood saddled and bridled at hand, ready to receive their riders +at a moment’s warning. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, have you bitted the poor fellow within,” said Mason, +“that he can take his last ride under the curb of divinity, old +gentleman?” +</p> + +<p> +“There is evil in thy conversation, profane man,” cried the priest, +raising his hands and casting his eyes upwards in holy horror; “so I will +depart from thee unhurt, as Daniel was liberated from the lions’ +den.” +</p> + +<p> +“Off with you, for a hypocritical, psalm-singing, canting rogue in +disguise,” said Mason scornfully. “By the life of Washington! it +worries an honest fellow to see such voracious beasts of prey ravaging a +country for which he sheds his blood. If I had you on a Virginia plantation for +a quarter of an hour, I’d teach you to worm the tobacco with the +turkeys.” +</p> + +<p> +“I leave you, and shake the dust off my shoes, that no remnant of this +wicked hole may tarnish the vestments of the godly.” +</p> + +<p> +“Start, or I will shake the dust from your jacket, designing knave! A +fellow to be preaching to my men! There’s Hollister put the devil in them +by his exhorting; the rascals were getting too conscientious to strike a blow +that would raze the skin. But hold! Whither do you travel, Master Blackey, in +such godly company?” +</p> + +<p> +“He goes,” said the minister, hastily speaking for his companion, +“to return with a book of much condolence and virtue to the sinful youth +above, whose soul will speedily become white, even as his outwards are black +and unseemly. Would you deprive a dying man of the consolation of +religion?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, poor fellow, his fate is bad enough; a famous good breakfast his +prim body of an aunt gave us. But harkee, Mr. Revelation, if the youth must die +<i>secundum arlem</i>, let it be under a gentleman’s directions, and my +advice is, that you never trust that skeleton of yours among us again, or I +will take the skin off and leave you naked.” +</p> + +<p> +“Out upon thee for a reviler and scoffer of goodness!” said Birch, +moving slowly, and with a due observance of clerical dignity, down the road, +followed by the imaginary Caesar. “But I leave thee, and that behind me +that will prove thy condemnation, and take from thee a hearty and joyful +deliverance.” +</p> + +<p> +“Damn him,” muttered the trooper. “The fellow rides like a +stake, and his legs stick out like the cocks of his hat. I wish I had him below +these hills, where the law is not over-particular, +I’d——” +</p> + +<p> +“Corporal of the guard!—corporal of the guard!” shouted the +sentinel in the passage to the chambers, “corporal of the +guard!—corporal of the guard!” +</p> + +<p> +The subaltern flew up the narrow stairway that led to the room of the prisoner, +and demanded the meaning of the outcry. +</p> + +<p> +The soldier was standing at the open door of the apartment, looking in with a +suspicious eye on the supposed British officer. On observing his lieutenant, he +fell back with habitual respect, and replied, with an air of puzzled +thought,— +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know, sir; but just now the prisoner looked queer. Ever +since the preacher has left him, he don’t look as he used to +do—but,” gazing intently over the shoulder of his officer, +“it must be him, too! There is the same powdered head, and the darn in +the coat, where he was hit the day we had the last brush with the enemy.” +</p> + +<p> +“And then all this noise is occasioned by your doubting whether that poor +gentleman is your prisoner, or not, is it, sirrah? Who the devil do you think +it can be, else?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know who else it can be,” returned the fellow, +sullenly; “but he has grown thicker and shorter, if it is he; and see for +yourself, sir, he shakes all over, like a man in an ague.” +</p> + +<p> +This was but too true. Caesar was an alarmed auditor of this short +conversation, and, from congratulating himself upon the dexterous escape of his +young master, his thoughts were very naturally beginning to dwell upon the +probable consequences to his own person. The pause that succeeded the last +remark of the sentinel, in no degree contributed to the restoration of his +faculties. Lieutenant Mason was busied in examining with his own eyes the +suspected person of the black, and Caesar was aware of the fact, by stealing a +look through a passage under one of his arms, that he had left expressly for +the purpose of reconnoitering. Captain Lawton would have discovered the fraud +immediately, but Mason was by no means so quick-sighted as his commander. He +therefore turned rather contemptuously to the soldier, and, speaking in an +undertone, observed, +</p> + +<p> +“That anabaptist, methodistical, quaker, psalm-singing rascal has +frightened the boy, with his farrago about flames and brimstone. I’ll +step in and cheer him with a little rational conversation.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have heard of fear making a man white,” said the soldier, +drawing back, and staring as if his eyes would start from their sockets, +“but it has changed the royal captain to a black!” +</p> + +<p> +The truth was, that Caesar, unable to hear what Mason uttered in a low voice, +and having every fear aroused in him by what had already passed, incautiously +removed the wig a little from one of his ears, in order to hear the better, +without in the least remembering that its color might prove fatal to his +disguise. The sentinel had kept his eyes fastened on his prisoner, and noticed +the action. The attention of Mason was instantly drawn to the same object; and, +forgetting all delicacy for a brother officer in distress, or, in short, +forgetting everything but the censure that might alight on his corps, the +lieutenant sprang forward and seized the terrified African by the throat; for +no sooner had Caesar heard his color named, than he knew his discovery was +certain; and at the first sound of Mason’s heavy boot on the floor, he +arose from his seat, and retreated precipitately to a corner of the room. +</p> + +<p> +“Who are you?” cried Mason, dashing the head of the old man against +the angle of the wall at each interrogatory. “Who the devil are you, and +where is the Englishman? Speak, thou thundercloud! Answer me, you jackdaw, or +I’ll hang you on the gallows of the spy!” +</p> + +<p> +Caesar continued firm. Neither the threats nor the blows could extract any +reply, until the lieutenant, by a very natural transition in the attack, sent +his heavy boot forward in a direction that brought it in direct contact with +the most sensitive part of the negro—his shin. The most obdurate heart +could not have exacted further patience, and Caesar instantly gave in. The +first words he spoke were— +</p> + +<p> +“Golly! massa, you t’ink I got no feelin’?” +</p> + +<p> +“By heavens!” shouted the lieutenant, “it is the negro +himself! Scoundrel! where is your master, and who was the priest?” While +speaking, he made a movement as if about to renew the attack; but Caesar cried +aloud for mercy, promising to tell all that he knew. +</p> + +<p> +“Who was the priest?” repeated the dragoon, drawing back his +formidable leg, and holding it in threatening suspense. “Harvey, +Harvey!” cried Caesar, dancing from one leg to the other, as he thought +each member in turn might be assailed. +</p> + +<p> +“Harvey who, you black villain?” cried the impatient lieutenant, as +he executed a full measure of vengeance by letting his leg fly. +</p> + +<p> +“Birch!” shrieked Caesar, falling on his knees, the tears rolling +in large drops over his shining face. +</p> + +<p> +“Harvey Birch!” echoed the trooper, hurling the black from him, and +rushing from the room. “To arms! to arms! Fifty guineas for the life of +the peddler spy—give no quarter to either. Mount, mount! to arms! to +horse!” +</p> + +<p> +During the uproar occasioned by the assembling of the dragoons, who all rushed +tumultuously to their horses, Caesar rose from the floor, where he had been +thrown by Mason, and began to examine into his injuries. Happily for himself, +he had alighted on his head, and consequently sustained no material damage. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="linknote-14" id="linknote-14"></a> <a href="#linknoteref-14">[14]</a> +By “Eastern” is meant the states of New England, which, being +originally settled by Puritans, still retain many distinct shades of character. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap29"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Away went Gilpin, neck or nought,<br/> +Away went hat and wig;<br/> +He little dreamt, when he set out,<br/> +Of running such a rig. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—COWPER. +</p> + +<p> +The road which it was necessary for the peddler and the English captain to +travel, in order to reach the shelter of the hills, lay, for a half mile, in +full view from the door of the building that had so recently been the prison of +the latter; running for the whole distance over the rich plain, that spreads to +the very foot of the mountains, which here rise in a nearly perpendicular +ascent from their bases; it then turned short to the right, and was obliged to +follow the windings of nature, as it won its way into the bosom of the +Highlands. +</p> + +<p> +To preserve the supposed difference in their stations, Harvey rode a short +distance ahead of his companion, and maintained the sober, dignified pace, that +was suited to his assumed character. On their right, the regiment of foot, that +we have already mentioned, lay, in tents; and the sentinels who guarded their +encampment were to be seen moving with measured tread under the hills +themselves. +</p> + +<p> +The first impulse of Henry was, certainly, to urge the beast he rode to his +greatest speed at once, and by a coup de main not only accomplish his escape, +but relieve himself from the torturing suspense of his situation. But the +forward movement that the youth made for this purpose was instantly checked by +the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“Hold up!” he cried, dexterously reining his own horse across the +path of the other. “Would you ruin us both? Fall into the place of a +black, following his master. Did you not see their blooded chargers, all +saddled and bridled, standing in the sun before the house? How long do you +think that miserable Dutch horse you are on would hold his speed, if pursued by +the Virginians? Every foot that we can gain, without giving the alarm, counts a +day in our lives. Ride steadily after me, and on no account look back. They are +as subtle as foxes, aye, and as ravenous for blood as wolves!” +</p> + +<p> +Henry reluctantly restrained his impatience, and followed the direction of the +peddler. His imagination, however, continually alarmed him with the fancied +sounds of pursuit, though Birch, who occasionally looked back under the +pretense of addressing his companion, assured him that all continued quiet and +peaceful. +</p> + +<p> +“But,” said Henry, “it will not be possible for Caesar to +remain long undiscovered. Had we not better put our horses to the gallop, and +by the time they can reflect on the cause of our flight, we can reach the +corner of the woods?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! you little know them, Captain Wharton,” returned the peddler. +“There is a sergeant at this moment looking after us, as if he thought +all was not right; the keen-eyed fellow watches me like a tiger lying in wait +for his leap. When I stood on the horseblock, he half suspected that something +was wrong. Nay, check your beast—we must let the animals walk a little, +for he is laying his hand on the pommel of his saddle. If he mounts, we are +gone. The foot-soldiers could reach us with their muskets.” +</p> + +<p> +“What does he now?” asked Henry, reining his horse to a walk, but +at the same time pressing his heels into the animal’s sides, to be in +readiness for a spring. +</p> + +<p> +“He turns from his charger, and looks the other way, now trot on +gently—not so fast—not so fast. Observe the sentinel in the field, +a little ahead of us—he eyes us keenly.” +</p> + +<p> +“Never mind the footman,” said Henry, impatiently, “he can do +nothing but shoot us—whereas these dragoons may make me a captive again. +Surely, Harvey, there are horse moving down the road behind us. Do you see +nothing particular?” +</p> + +<p> +“Humph!” ejaculated the peddler. “There is something +particular, indeed, to be seen behind the thicket on our left. Turn your head a +little, and you may see and profit by it too.” +</p> + +<p> +Henry eagerly seized this permission to look aside, and the blood curdled to +his heart as he observed that they were passing a gallows, which unquestionably +had been erected for his own execution. He turned his face from the sight, in +undisguised horror. +</p> + +<p> +“There is a warning to be prudent,” said the peddler, in the +sententious manner that he often adopted. +</p> + +<p> +“It is a terrific sight, indeed!” cried Henry, for a moment veiling +his eyes with his hand, as if to drive a vision from before him. +</p> + +<p> +The peddler moved his body partly around, and spoke with energetic but gloomy +bitterness, “And yet, Captain Wharton, you see it where the setting sun +shines full upon you; the air you breathe is clear, and fresh from the hills +before you. Every step that you take leaves that hated gallows behind; and +every dark hollow, and every shapeless rock in the mountains, offers you a +hiding place from the vengeance of your enemies. But I have seen the gibbet +raised, when no place of refuge offered. Twice have I been buried in dungeons, +where, fettered and in chains, I have passed nights in torture, looking forward +to the morning’s dawn that was to light me to a death of infamy. The +sweat has started from limbs that seemed already drained of their moisture; and +if I ventured to the hole that admitted air through grates of iron to look out +upon the smiles of nature, which God has bestowed for the meanest of His +creatures, the gibbet has glared before my eyes, like an evil conscience +harrowing the soul of a dying man. Four times have I been in their power, +besides this last; but—twice—did I think my hour had come. It is +hard to die at the best, Captain Wharton; but to spend your last moments alone +and unpitied, to know that none near you so much as think of the fate that is +to you the closing of all that is earthly; to think that, in a few hours, you +are to be led from the gloom, which, as you dwell on what follows, becomes dear +to you, to the face of day, and there to meet all eyes fixed upon you, as if +you were a wild beast; and to lose sight of everything amidst the jeers and +scoffs of your fellow creatures—that, Captain Wharton, that indeed is to +die!” +</p> + +<p> +Henry listened in amazement, as his companion uttered this speech with a +vehemence altogether new to him; both seemed to have forgotten their danger and +their disguises. +</p> + +<p> +“What! were you ever so near death as that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Have I not been the hunted beast of these hills for three years +past?” resumed Harvey; “and once they even led me to the foot of +the gallows itself, and I escaped only by an alarm from the royal troops. Had +they been a quarter of an hour later, I must have died. There was I placed in +the midst of unfeeling men, and gaping women and children, as a monster to be +cursed. When I would pray to God, my ears were insulted with the history of my +crimes; and when, in all that multitude, I looked around for a single face that +showed me any pity, I could find none—no, not even one; all cursed me as +a wretch who would sell his country for gold. The sun was brighter to my eyes +than common—but it was the last time I should see it. The fields were gay +and pleasant, and everything seemed as if this world was a kind of heaven. Oh, +how sweet life was to me at that moment! ’Twas a dreadful hour, Captain +Wharton, and such as you have never known. You have friends to feel for you, +but I had none but a father to mourn my loss, when he might hear of it; but +there was no pity, no consolation near, to soothe my anguish. Everything seemed +to have deserted me. I even thought that HE had forgotten that I lived.” +</p> + +<p> +“What! did you feel that God Himself had forgotten you, Harvey?” +</p> + +<p> +“God never forsakes His servants,” returned Birch, with reverence, +and exhibiting naturally a devotion that hitherto he had only assumed. +</p> + +<p> +“And whom did you mean by HE?” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler raised himself in his saddle to the stiff and upright posture that +was suited to his outward appearance. The look of fire, that for a short time +glowed on his countenance, disappeared in the solemn lines of unbending +self-abasement, and, speaking as if addressing a negro, he replied,— +</p> + +<p> +“In heaven there is no distinction of color, my brother, therefore you +have a precious charge within you, that you must hereafter render an account +of;” dropping his voice—“this is the last sentinel near the +road; look not back, as you value your life.” +</p> + +<p> +Henry remembered his situation, and instantly assumed the humble demeanor of +his adopted character. The unaccountable energy of the peddler’s manner +was soon forgotten in the sense of his own immediate danger; and with the +recollection of his critical situation, returned all the uneasiness that he had +momentarily forgotten. +</p> + +<p> +“What see you, Harvey?” he cried, observing the peddler to gaze +towards the building they had left, with ominous interest. “What see you +at the house?” +</p> + +<p> +“That which bodes no good to us,” returned the pretended priest. +“Throw aside the mask and wig; you will need all your senses without much +delay; throw them in the road. There are none before us that I dread, but there +are those behind who will give us a fearful race!” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, then,” cried the captain, casting the implements of his +disguise into the highway, “let us improve our time to the utmost. We +want a full quarter to the turn; why not push for it, at once?” +</p> + +<p> +“Be cool; they are in alarm, but they will not mount without an officer, +unless they see us fly—now he comes, he moves to the stables; trots +briskly; a dozen are in their saddles, but the officer stops to tighten his +girths; they hope to steal a march upon us; he is mounted; now ride, Captain +Wharton, for your life, and keep at my heels. If you quit me, you will be +lost!” +</p> + +<p> +A second request was unnecessary. The instant that Harvey put his horse to his +speed Captain Wharton was at his heels, urging the miserable animal he rode to +the utmost. Birch had selected his own beast; and although vastly inferior to +the high-fed and blooded chargers of the dragoons, still it was much superior +to the little pony that had been thought good enough to carry Caesar Thompson +on an errand. A very few jumps convinced the captain that his companion was +fast leaving him, and a fearful glance thrown behind informed the fugitive that +his enemies were as speedily approaching. With that abandonment that makes +misery doubly grievous, when it is to be supported alone, Henry cried aloud to +the peddler not to desert him. Harvey instantly drew up, and suffered his +companion to run alongside of his own horse. The cocked hat and wig of the +peddler fell from his head the moment that his steed began to move briskly, and +this development of their disguise, as it might be termed, was witnessed by the +dragoons, who announced their observation by a boisterous shout, that seemed to +be uttered in the very ears of the fugitives; so loud was the cry, and so short +the distance between them. +</p> + +<p> +“Had we not better leave our horses,” said Henry, “and make +for the hills across the fields, on our left? The fence will stop our +pursuers.” +</p> + +<p> +“That way lies the gallows,” returned the peddler. “These +fellows go three feet to our two, and would mind the fences no more than we do +these ruts; but it is a short quarter to the turn, and there are two roads +behind the wood. They may stand to choose until they can take the track, and we +shall gain a little upon them there.” +</p> + +<p> +“But this miserable horse is blown already,” cried Henry, urging +his beast with the end of his bridle, at the same time that Harvey aided his +efforts by applying the lash of a heavy riding whip he carried. “He will +never stand it for half a mile farther.” +</p> + +<p> +“A quarter will do; a quarter will do,” said the peddler, “a +single quarter will save us, if you follow my directions.” +</p> + +<p> +Somewhat cheered by the cool and confident manner of his companion, Henry +continued silently urging his horse forward. A few moments brought them to the +desired turn, and as they doubled round a point of low underbrush, the +fugitives caught a glimpse of their pursuers scattered along the highway. Mason +and the sergeant, being better mounted than the rest of the party, were much +nearer to their heels than even the peddler thought could be possible. +</p> + +<p> +At the foot of the hills, and for some distance up the dark valley that wound +among the mountains, a thick underwood of saplings had been suffered to shoot +up, where the heavier growth was felled for the sake of the fuel. At the sight +of this cover, Henry again urged the peddler to dismount, and to plunge into +the woods; but his request was promptly refused. The two roads, before +mentioned, met at very sharp angles at a short distance from the turn, and both +were circuitous, so that but little of either could be seen at a time. The +peddler took the one which led to the left, but held it only a moment, for, on +reaching a partial opening in the thicket, he darted across into the right-hand +path and led the way up a steep ascent, which lay directly before them. This +maneuver saved them. On reaching the fork, the dragoons followed the track and +passed the spot where the fugitives had crossed to the other road, before they +missed the marks of the footsteps. Their loud cries were heard by Henry and the +peddler, as their wearied and breathless animals toiled up the hill, ordering +their comrades in the rear to ride in the right direction. The captain again +proposed to leave their horses and dash into the thicket. +</p> + +<p> +“Not yet, not yet,” said Birch, in a low voice. “The road +falls from the top of this hill as steep as it rises; first let us gain the +top.” While speaking, they reached the desired summit, and both threw +themselves from their horses, Henry plunging into the thick underwood, which +covered the side of the mountain for some distance above them. Harvey stopped +to give each of their beasts a few severe blows of his whip, that drove them +headlong down the path on the other side of the eminence, and then followed his +example. +</p> + +<p> +The peddler entered the thicket with a little caution, and avoided, as much as +possible, rustling or breaking the branches in his way. There was but time only +to shelter his person from view when a dragoon led up the ascent, and on +reaching the height, he cried aloud,— +</p> + +<p> +“I saw one of their horses turning the hill this minute.” +</p> + +<p> +“Drive on, spur forward, my lads,” shouted Mason; “give the +Englishman quarter, but cut down the peddler, and make an end of him.” +</p> + +<p> +Henry felt his companion grip his arm hard, as he listened in a great tremor to +this cry, which was followed by the passage of a dozen horsemen, with a vigor +and speed that showed too plainly how little security their overtired steeds +could have afforded them. +</p> + +<p> +“Now,” said the peddler, rising from the cover to reconnoiter, and +standing for a moment in suspense, “all that we gain is clear gain; for, +as we go up, they go down. Let us be stirring.” +</p> + +<p> +“But will they not follow us, and surround this mountain?” said +Henry, rising, and imitating the labored but rapid progress of his companion. +“Remember, they have foot as well as horse, and, at any rate, we shall +starve in the hills.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fear nothing, Captain Wharton,” returned the peddler, with +confidence; “this is not the mountain that I would be on, but necessity +has made me a dexterous pilot among these hills. I will lead you where no man +will dare to follow. See, the sun is already setting behind the tops of the +western mountains, and it will be two hours to the rising of the moon. Who, +think you, will follow us far, on a November night, among these rocks and +precipices?” +</p> + +<p> +“Listen!” exclaimed Henry; “the dragoons are shouting to each +other; they miss us already.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come to the point of this rock, and you may see them,” said +Harvey, composedly setting himself down to rest. “Nay, they can see +us—observe, they are pointing up with their fingers. There! one has fired +his pistol, but the distance is too great even for a musket.” +</p> + +<p> +“They will pursue us,” cried the impatient Henry, “let us be +moving.” +</p> + +<p> +“They will not think of such a thing,” returned the peddler, +picking the checkerberries that grew on the thin soil where he sat, and very +deliberately chewing them, leaves and all, to refresh his mouth. “What +progress could they make here, in their heavy boots and spurs, and long swords? +No, no—they may go back and turn out the foot, but the horse pass through +these defiles, when they can keep the saddle, with fear and trembling. Come, +follow me, Captain Wharton; we have a troublesome march before us, but I will +bring you where none will think of venturing this night.” +</p> + +<p> +So saying, they both arose, and were soon hid from view amongst the rocks and +caverns of the mountain. +</p> + +<p> +The conjecture of the peddler was true. Mason and his men dashed down the hill, +in pursuit, as they supposed, of their victims, but, on reaching the bottom +lands, they found only the deserted horses of the fugitives. Some little time +was spent in examining the woods near them, and in endeavoring to take the +trail on such ground as might enable the horse to pursue, when one of the party +descried the peddler and Henry seated on the rock already mentioned. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s off,” muttered Mason, eying Harvey, with fury; +“he’s off, and we are disgraced. By heavens, Washington will not +trust us with the keeping of a suspected Tory, if we let the rascal trifle in +this manner with the corps; and there sits the Englishman, too, looking down +upon us with a smile of benevolence! I fancy that I can see it. Well, well, my +lad, you are comfortably seated, I will confess, and that is something better +than dancing upon nothing; but you are not to the west of the Harlem River yet, +and I’ll try your wind before you tell Sir Henry what you have +seen.” +</p> + +<p> +“Shall I fire and frighten the peddler?” asked one of the men, +drawing his pistol from the holster. +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, startle the birds from their perch—let us see how they can +use the wing.” The man fired the pistol, and Mason +continued—“’Fore George, I believe the scoundrels laugh at +us. But homeward, or we shall have them rolling stones upon our heads, and the +royal gazettes teeming with an account of a rebel regiment routed by two +loyalists. They have told bigger lies than that, before now.” +</p> + +<p> +The dragoons moved sullenly after their officer, who rode towards their +quarters, musing on the course it behooved him to pursue in the present +dilemma. It was twilight when Mason’s party reached the dwelling, before +the door of which were collected a great number of the officers and men, busily +employed in giving and listening to the most exaggerated accounts of the escape +of the spy. The mortified dragoons gave their ungrateful tidings with the +sullen air of disappointed men; and most of the officers gathered round Mason, +to consult of the steps that ought to be taken. Miss Peyton and Frances were +breathless and unobserved listeners to all that passed between them, from the +window of the chamber immediately above their heads. +</p> + +<p> +“Something must be done, and that speedily,” observed the +commanding officer of the regiment, which lay encamped before the house. +“This English officer is doubtless an instrument in the great blow aimed +at us by the enemy lately; besides, our honor is involved in his escape.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let us beat the woods!” cried several at once. “By morning +we shall have them both again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Softly, softly, gentlemen,” returned the colonel. “No man +can travel these hills after dark, unless used to the passes. Nothing but horse +can do service in this business, and I presume Lieutenant Mason hesitates to +move without the orders of his major.” +</p> + +<p> +“I certainly dare not,” replied the subaltern, gravely shaking his +head, “unless you will take the responsibility of an order; but Major +Dunwoodie will be back again in two hours, and we can carry the tidings through +the hills before daylight; so that by spreading patrols across, from one river +to the other, and offering a reward to the country people, their escape will +yet be impossible, unless they can join the party that is said to be out on the +Hudson.” +</p> + +<p> +“A very plausible plan,” cried the colonel, “and one that +must succeed; but let a messenger be dispatched to Dunwoodie, or he may +continue at the ferry until it proves too late; though doubtless the runaways +will lie in the mountains to-night.” +</p> + +<p> +To this suggestion Mason acquiesced, and a courier was sent to the major with +the important intelligence of the escape of Henry, and an intimation of the +necessity of his presence to conduct the pursuit. After this arrangement, the +officers separated. +</p> + +<p> +When Miss Peyton and her niece first learned the escape of Captain Wharton, it +was with difficulty they could credit their senses. They both relied so +implicitly on the success of Dunwoodie’s exertions, that they thought the +act, on the part of their relative, extremely imprudent; but it was now too +late to mend it. While listening to the conversation of the officers, both were +struck with the increased danger of Henry’s situation, if recaptured, and +they trembled to think of the great exertions that would be made to accomplish +this object. Miss Peyton consoled herself, and endeavored to cheer her niece, +with the probability that the fugitives would pursue their course with +unremitting diligence, so that they might reach the neutral ground before the +horse would carry down the tidings of their flight. The absence of Dunwoodie +seemed to her all-important, and the artless lady was anxiously devising some +project that might detain her kinsman, and thus give her nephew the longest +possible time. But very different were the reflections of Frances. She could no +longer doubt that the figure she had seen on the hill was Birch, and she felt +certain that, instead of flying to the friendly forces below, her brother would +be taken to the mysterious hut to pass the night. +</p> + +<p> +Frances and her aunt held a long and animated discussion by themselves, when +the good spinster reluctantly yielded to the representation of her niece, and +folding her in her arms, she kissed her cold cheek, and, fervently blessing +her, allowed her to depart on an errand of fraternal love. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap30"></a>CHAPTER XXX.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +And here, forlorn and lost, I tread,<br/> +With fainting steps, and slow;<br/> +Where wilds, immeasurably spread,<br/> +Seem length’ning as I go. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—GOLDSMITH. +</p> + +<p> +The night had set in dark and chilling, as Frances Wharton, with a beating +heart but light step, moved through the little garden that lay behind the +farmhouse which had been her brother’s prison, and took her way to the +foot of the mountain, where she had seen the figure of him she supposed to be +the peddler. It was still early, but the darkness and the dreary nature of a +November evening would, at any other moment, or with less inducement to +exertion, have driven her back in terror to the circle she had left. Without +pausing to reflect, however, she flew over the ground with a rapidity that +seemed to bid defiance to all impediments, nor stopped even to breathe, until +she had gone half the distance to the rock that she had marked as the spot +where Birch made his appearance on that very morning. +</p> + +<p> +The good treatment of their women is the surest evidence that a people can give +of their civilization; and there is no nation which has more to boast of, in +this respect, than the Americans. Frances felt but little apprehension from the +orderly and quiet troops who were taking their evening’s repast on the +side of the highway, opposite to the field through which she was flying. They +were her countrymen, and she knew that her sex would be respected by the +Eastern militia, who composed this body; but in the volatile and reckless +character of the Southern horse she had less confidence. Outrages of any +description were seldom committed by the really American soldiery; but she +recoiled, with exquisite delicacy, from even the appearance of humiliation. +When, therefore, she heard the footsteps of a horse moving slowly up the road, +she shrank, timidly, into a little thicket of wood which grew around the spring +that bubbled from the side of a hillock near her. The vidette, for such it +proved to be, passed her without noticing her form, which was so enveloped as +to be as little conspicuous as possible, humming a low air to himself, and +probably thinking of some other fair that he had left on the banks of the +Potomac. +</p> + +<p> +Frances listened anxiously to the retreating footsteps of his horse, and, as +they died upon her ear, she ventured from her place of secrecy, and advanced a +short distance into the field, where, startled at the gloom, and appalled with +the dreariness of the prospect, she paused to reflect on what she had +undertaken. Throwing back the hood of her cardinal, she sought the support of a +tree, and gazed towards the summit of the mountain that was to be the goal of +her enterprise. It rose from the plain like a huge pyramid, giving nothing to +the eye but its outlines. The pinnacle could be faintly discerned in front of a +lighter background of clouds, between which a few glimmering stars occasionally +twinkled in momentary brightness, and then gradually became obscured by the +passing vapor that was moving before the wind, at a vast distance below the +clouds themselves. Should she return, Henry and the peddler would most probably +pass the night in fancied security upon that very hill towards which she was +straining her eyes, in the vain hope of observing some light that might +encourage her to proceed. The deliberate, and what to her seemed cold-blooded, +project of the officer for the recapture of the fugitives, still rang in her +ears, and stimulated her to go on; but the solitude into which she must +venture, the time, the actual danger of the ascent, and the uncertainty of her +finding the hut, or what was still more disheartening, the chance that it might +be occupied by unknown tenants, and those of the worst description—urged +her to retreat. +</p> + +<p> +The increasing darkness was each moment rendering objects less and less +distinct, and the clouds were gathering more gloomily in the rear of the hill, +until its form could no longer be discerned. Frances threw back her rich curls +with both hands on her temples, in order to possess her senses in their utmost +keenness; but the towering hill was entirely lost to the eye. At length she +discovered a faint and twinkling blaze in the direction in which she thought +the building stood, that, by its reviving and receding luster, might be taken +for the glimmering of a fire. But the delusion vanished, as the horizon again +cleared, and the star of evening shone forth from a cloud, after struggling +hard, as if for existence. She now saw the mountain to the left of the place +where the planet was shining, and suddenly a streak of mellow light burst upon +the fantastic oaks that were thinly scattered over its summit, and gradually +moved down its side, until the whole pile became distinct under the rays of the +rising moon. Although it would have been physically impossible for our heroine +to advance without the aid of the friendly light, which now gleamed on the long +line of level land before her, yet she was not encouraged to proceed. If she +could see the goal of her wishes, she could also perceive the difficulties that +must attend her reaching it. +</p> + +<p> +While deliberating in distressing incertitude, now shrinking with the timidity +of her sex and years from the enterprise, and now resolving to rescue her +brother at every hazard, Frances turned her looks towards the east, in earnest +gaze at the clouds which constantly threatened to involve her again in +comparative darkness. Had an adder stung her, she could not have sprung with +greater celerity than she recoiled from the object against which she was +leaning, and which she for the first time noticed. The two upright posts, with +a crossbeam on their tops, and a rude platform beneath, told but too plainly +the nature of the structure; even the cord was suspended from an iron staple, +and was swinging to and fro, in the night air. Frances hesitated no longer, but +rather flew than ran across the meadow, and was soon at the base of the rock, +where she hoped to find something like a path to the summit of the mountain. +Here she was compelled to pause for breath, and she improved the leisure by +surveying the ground about her. The ascent was quite abrupt, but she soon found +a sheep path that wound among the shelving rocks and through the trees, so as +to render her labor much less tiresome than it otherwise would have been. +Throwing a fearful glance behind, the determined girl commenced her journey +upwards. Young, active, and impelled by her generous motive, she moved up the +hill with elastic steps, and very soon emerged from the cover of the woods, +into an open space of more level ground, that had evidently been cleared of its +timber, for the purpose of cultivation. But either the war or the sterility of +the soil had compelled the adventurer to abandon the advantages that he had +obtained over the wilderness, and already the bushes and briers were springing +up afresh, as if the plow had never traced furrows through the mold which +nourished them. Frances felt her spirits invigorated by these faint vestiges of +the labor of man, and she walked up the gentle acclivity with renewed hopes of +success. The path now diverged in so many different directions, that she soon +saw it would be useless to follow their windings, and abandoning it, at the +first turn, she labored forward towards what she thought was the nearest point +of the summit. The cleared ground was soon past, and woods and rocks, clinging +to the precipitous sides of the mountain, again opposed themselves to her +progress. Occasionally, the path was to be seen running along the verge of the +clearing, and then striking off into the scattering patches of grass and +herbage, but in no instance could she trace it upward. Tufts of wool, hanging +to the briers, sufficiently denoted the origin of these tracks, and Frances +rightly conjectured that whoever descended the mountain, would avail himself of +their existence, to lighten the labor. Seating herself on a stone, the wearied +girl again paused to rest and to reflect; the clouds were rising before the +moon, and the whole scene at her feet lay pictured in softest colors. +</p> + +<p> +The white tents of the militia were stretched in regular lines immediately +beneath her. The light was shining in the window of her aunt, who, Frances +easily fancied, was watching the mountain, racked with all the anxiety she +might be supposed to feel for her niece. Lanterns were playing about in the +stable yard, where she knew the horses of the dragoons were kept, and believing +them to be preparing for their night march, she again sprang upon her feet, and +renewed her toil. +</p> + +<p> +Our heroine had to ascend more than a quarter of a mile farther, although she +had already conquered two thirds of the height of the mountain. But she was now +without a path or any guide to direct her in her course. Fortunately, the hill +was conical, like most of the mountains in that range, and, by advancing +upwards, she was certain of at length reaching the desired hut, which hung, as +it were, on the very pinnacle. Nearly an hour did she struggle with the +numerous difficulties that she was obliged to overcome, when, having been +repeatedly exhausted with her efforts, and, in several instances, in great +danger from falls, she succeeded in gaining the small piece of tableland on the +summit. +</p> + +<p> +Faint with her exertions, which had been unusually severe for so slight a +frame, she sank on a rock, to recover her strength and fortitude for the +approaching interview. A few moments sufficed for this purpose, when she +proceeded in quest of the hut. All of the neighboring hills were distinctly +visible by the aid of the moon, and Frances was able, where she stood, to trace +the route of the highway, from the plains into the mountains. By following this +line with her eyes, she soon discovered the point whence she had seen the +mysterious dwelling, and directly opposite to that point she well knew the hut +must stand. +</p> + +<p> +The chilling air sighed through the leafless branches of the gnarled and +crooked oaks, as with a step so light as hardly to rustle the dry leaves on +which she trod, Frances moved forward to that part of the hill where she +expected to find this secluded habitation; but nothing could she discern that +in the least resembled a dwelling of any sort. In vain she examined every +recess of the rocks, or inquisitively explored every part of the summit that +she thought could hold the tenement of the peddler. No hut, nor any vestige of +a human being could she trace. The idea of her solitude struck on the terrified +mind of the affrighted girl, and approaching to the edge of a shelving rock, +she bent forward to gaze on the signs of life in the vale, when a ray of keen +light dazzled her eyes, and a warm ray diffused itself over her whole frame. +Recovering from her surprise, Frances looked on the ledge beneath her, and at +once perceived that she stood directly over the object of her search. A hole +through its roof afforded a passage to the smoke, which, as it blew aside, +showed her a clear and cheerful fire crackling and snapping on a rude hearth of +stone. The approach to the front of the hut was by a winding path around the +point of the rock on which she stood, and by this, she advanced to its door. +</p> + +<p> +Three sides of this singular edifice, if such it could be called, were composed +of logs laid alternately on each other, to a little more than the height of a +man; and the fourth was formed by the rock against which it leaned. The roof +was made of the bark of trees, laid in long strips from the rock to its eaves; +the fissures between the logs had been stuffed with clay, which in many places +had fallen out, and dried leaves were made use of as a substitute, to keep out +the wind. A single window of four panes of glass was in front, but a board +carefully closed it, in such a manner as to emit no light from the fire within. +After pausing some time to view this singularly constructed hiding place, for +such Frances well knew it to be, she applied her eye to a crevice to examine +the inside. There was no lamp or candle, but the blazing fire of dry wood made +the interior of the hut light enough to read by. In one corner lay a bed of +straw, with a pair of blankets thrown carelessly over it, as if left where they +had last been used. Against the walls and rock were suspended, from pegs forced +into the crevices, various garments, and such as were apparently fitted for all +ages and conditions, and for either sex. British and American uniforms hung +peaceably by the side of each other; and on the peg that supported a gown of +striped calico, such as was the usual country wear, was also depending a +well-powdered wig: in short, the attire was numerous and as various as if a +whole parish were to be equipped from this one wardrobe. +</p> + +<p> +In the angle against the rock, and opposite to the fire which was burning in +the other corner, was an open cupboard, that held a plate or two, a mug, and +the remains of some broken meat. Before the fire was a table, with one of its +legs fractured, and made of rough boards; these, with a single stool, composed +the furniture, if we except a few articles of cooking. A book, that by its size +and shape, appeared to be a Bible, was lying on the table, unopened. But it was +the occupant of the hut in whom Frances was chiefly interested. This was a man, +sitting on the stool, with his head leaning on his hand, in such a manner as to +conceal his features, and deeply occupied in examining some open papers. On the +table lay a pair of curiously and richly mounted horseman’s pistols, and +the handle of a sheathed rapier, of exquisite workmanship, protruded from +between the legs of the gentleman, one of whose hands carelessly rested on its +guard. The tall stature of this unexpected tenant of the hut, and his form, +much more athletic than that of either Harvey or her brother, told Frances, +without the aid of his dress, that it was neither of those she sought. A close +surtout was buttoned high in the throat of the stranger, and parting at his +knees, showed breeches of buff, with military boots and spurs. His hair was +dressed so as to expose the whole face; and, after the fashion of that day, it +was profusely powdered. A round hat was laid on the stones that formed a paved +floor to the hut, as if to make room for a large map, which, among the other +papers, occupied the table. +</p> + +<p> +This was an unexpected event to our adventurer. She had been so confident that +the figure twice seen was the peddler, that on learning his agency in her +brother’s escape, she did not in the least doubt of finding them both in +the place, which, she now discovered, was occupied by another and a stranger. +She stood, earnestly looking through the crevice, hesitating whether to retire, +or to wait with the expectation of yet meeting Henry, as the stranger moved his +hand from before his eyes, and raised his face, apparently in deep musing, when +Frances instantly recognized the benevolent and strongly marked, but composed +features of Harper. +</p> + +<p> +All that Dunwoodie had said of his power and disposition, all that he had +himself promised her brother, and all the confidence that had been created by +his dignified and paternal manner, rushed across the mind of Frances, who threw +open the door of the hut, and falling at his feet, clasped his knees with her +arms, as she cried,— +</p> + +<p> +“Save him—save him—save my brother; remember your promise, +and save him!” +</p> + +<p> +Harper had risen as the door opened, and there was a slight movement of one +hand towards his pistols; but it was cool and instantly checked. He raised the +hood of the cardinal, which had fallen over her features, and exclaimed, with +some uneasiness,— +</p> + +<p> +“Miss Wharton! But you cannot be alone?” +</p> + +<p> +“There is none here but my God and you; and by His sacred name, I conjure +you to remember your promise, and save my brother!” +</p> + +<p> +Harper gently raised her from her knees, and placed her on the stool, begging +her at the same time to be composed, and to acquaint him with the nature of her +errand. This Frances instantly did, ingenuously admitting him to a knowledge of +all her views in visiting that lone spot at such an hour, and by herself. +</p> + +<p> +It was at all times difficult to probe the thoughts of one who held his +passions in such disciplined subjection as Harper, but still there was a +lighting of his thoughtful eye, and a slight unbending of his muscles, as the +hurried and anxious girl proceeded in her narrative. His interest, as she dwelt +upon the manner of Henry’s escape, and the flight to the woods, was deep +and manifest, and he listened to the remainder of her tale with a marked +expression of benevolent indulgence. Her apprehensions, that her brother might +still be too late through the mountains, seemed to have much weight with him, +for, as she concluded, he walked a turn or two across the hut, in silent +musing. +</p> + +<p> +Frances hesitated, and unconsciously played with the handle of one of the +pistols, and the paleness that her fears had spread over her fine features +began to give place to a rich tint, as, after a short pause, she added,— +</p> + +<p> +“We can depend much on the friendship of Major Dunwoodie, but his sense +of honor is so pure, that—that—notwithstanding +his—his—feelings—his desire to serve us—he will +conceive it to be his duty to apprehend my brother again. Besides, he thinks +there will be no danger in so doing, as he relies greatly on your +interference.” +</p> + +<p> +“On mine,” said Harper, raising his eyes in surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, on yours. When we told him of your kind language, he at once +assured us all that you had the power, and, if you had promised, would have the +inclination, to procure Henry’s pardon.” +</p> + +<p> +“Said he more?” asked Harper, who appeared slightly uneasy. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing but reiterated assurances of Henry’s safety; even now he +is in quest of you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Miss Wharton, that I bear no mean part, in the unhappy struggle between +England and America, it might now be useless to deny. You owe your +brother’s escape, this night, to my knowledge of his innocence, and the +remembrance of my word. Major Dunwoodie is mistaken when he says that I might +openly have procured his pardon. I now, indeed, can control his fate, and I +pledge to you a word which has some influence with Washington, that means shall +be taken to prevent his recapture. But from you, also, I exact a promise, that +this interview, and all that has passed between us, remain confined to your own +bosom, until you have my permission to speak upon the subject.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances gave the desired assurance, and he continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“The peddler and your brother will soon be here, but I must not be seen +by the royal officer, or the life of Birch might be the forfeiture.” +</p> + +<p> +“Never!” cried Frances, ardently. “Henry could never be so +base as to betray the man who saved him.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is no childish game that we are now playing, Miss Wharton. +Men’s lives and fortunes hang upon slender threads, and nothing must be +left to accident that can be guarded against. Did Sir Henry Clinton know that +the peddler had communion with me, and under such circumstances, the life of +the miserable man would be taken instantly; therefore, as you value human +blood, or remember the rescue of your brother, be prudent, and be silent. +Communicate what you know to them both, and urge them to instant departure. If +they can reach the last pickets of our army before morning, it shall be my care +that there are none to intercept them. There is better work for Major Dunwoodie +than to be exposing the life of his friend.” +</p> + +<p> +While Harper was speaking, he carefully rolled up the map he had been studying, +and placed it, together with sundry papers that were also open, into his +pocket. He was still occupied in this manner, when the voice of the peddler, +talking in unusually loud tones, was heard directly over their heads. +</p> + +<p> +“Stand farther this way, Captain Wharton, and you can see the tents in +the moonshine. But let them mount and ride; I have a nest here, that will hold +us both, and we will go in at our leisure.” +</p> + +<p> +“And where is this nest? I confess that I have eaten but little the last +two days, and I crave some of the cheer you mention.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hem!” said the peddler, exerting his voice still more. +“Hem—this fog has given me a cold; but move slow—and be +careful not to slip, or you may land on the bayonet of the sentinel on the +flats; ’tis a steep hill to rise, but one can go down it with +ease.” +</p> + +<p> +Harper pressed his finger on his lip, to remind Frances of her promise, and, +taking his pistols and hat, so that no vestige of his visit remained, he +retired deliberately to a far corner of the hut, where, lifting several +articles of dress, he entered a recess in the rock, and, letting them fall +again, was hid from view. Frances noticed, by the strong firelight, as he +entered, that it was a natural cavity, and contained nothing but a few more +articles of domestic use. +</p> + +<p> +The surprise of Henry and the peddler, on entering and finding Frances in +possession of the hut, may be easily imagined. Without waiting for explanations +or questions, the warm-hearted girl flew into the arms of her brother, and gave +a vent to her emotions in tears. But the peddler seemed struck with very +different feelings. His first look was at the fire, which had been recently +supplied with fuel; he then drew open a small drawer of the table, and looked a +little alarmed at finding it empty. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you alone, Miss Fanny?” he asked, in a quick voice. “You +did not come here alone?” +</p> + +<p> +“As you see me, Mr. Birch,” said Frances, raising herself from her +brother’s arms, and turning an expressive glance towards the secret +cavern, that the quick eye of the peddler instantly understood. +</p> + +<p> +“But why and wherefore are you here?” exclaimed her astonished +brother; “and how knew you of this place at all?” +</p> + +<p> +Frances entered at once into a brief detail of what had occurred at the house +since their departure, and the motives which induced her to seek them. +</p> + +<p> +“But,” said Birch, “why follow us here, when we were left on +the opposite hill?” +</p> + +<p> +Frances related the glimpse that she had caught of the hut and peddler, in her +passage through the Highlands, as well as her view of him on that day, and her +immediate conjecture that the fugitives would seek the shelter of this +habitation for the night. Birch examined her features as, with open +ingenuousness, she related the simple incidents that had made her mistress of +his secret; and, as she ended, he sprang upon his feet, and, striking the +window with the stick in his hand, demolished it at a blow. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis but little luxury or comfort that I know,” he said, +“but even that little cannot be enjoyed in safety! Miss Wharton,” +he added, advancing before Frances, and speaking with the bitter melancholy +that was common to him, “I am hunted through these hills like a beast of +the forest; but whenever, tired with my toils, I can reach this spot, poor and +dreary as it is, I can spend my solitary nights in safety. Will you aid to make +the life of a wretch still more miserable?” +</p> + +<p> +“Never!” cried Frances, with fervor; “your secret is safe +with me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie”—said the peddler, slowly, turning an eye +upon her that read her soul. +</p> + +<p> +Frances lowered her head upon her bosom, for a moment, in shame; then, +elevating her fine and glowing face, she added, with enthusiasm,— +</p> + +<p> +“Never, never, Harvey, as God may hear my prayers!” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler seemed satisfied; for he drew back, and, watching his opportunity, +unseen by Henry, slipped behind the screen, and entered the cavern. +</p> + +<p> +Frances and her brother, who thought his companion had passed through the door, +continued conversing on the latter’s situation for several minutes, when +the former urged the necessity of expedition on his part, in order to precede +Dunwoodie, from whose sense of duty they knew they had no escape. The captain +took out his pocketbook, and wrote a few lines with his pencil; then folding +the paper, he handed it to his sister. +</p> + +<p> +“Frances,” he said, “you have this night proved yourself to +be an incomparable woman. As you love me, give that unopened to Dunwoodie, and +remember that two hours may save my life.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will—I will; but why delay? Why not fly, and improve these +precious moments?” +</p> + +<p> +“Your sister says well, Captain Wharton,” exclaimed Harvey, who had +reentered unseen; “we must go at once. Here is food to eat, as we +travel.” +</p> + +<p> +“But who is to see this fair creature in safety?” cried the +captain. “I can never desert my sister in such a place as this.” +</p> + +<p> +“Leave me! leave me!” said Frances. “I can descend as I came +up. Do not doubt me; you know not my courage nor my strength.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have not known you, dear girl, it is true; but now, as I learn your +value, can I quit you here? Never, never!” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Wharton,” said Birch, throwing open the door, “you +can trifle with your own lives, if you have many to spare; I have but one, and +must nurse it. Do I go alone, or not?” +</p> + +<p> +“Go, go, dear Henry,” said Frances, embracing him; “go; +remember our father; remember Sarah.” She waited not for his answer, but +gently forced him through the door, and closed it with her own hands. +</p> + +<p> +For a short time there was a warm debate between Henry and the peddler; but the +latter finally prevailed, and the breathless girl heard the successive plunges, +as they went down the sides of the mountain at a rapid rate. +</p> + +<p> +Immediately after the noise of their departure had ceased, Harper reappeared. +He took the arm of Frances in silence, and led her from the hut. The way seemed +familiar to him; for, ascending to the ledge above them, he led his companion +across the tableland tenderly, pointing out the little difficulties in their +route, and cautioning her against injury. +</p> + +<p> +Frances felt, as she walked by the side of this extraordinary man, that she was +supported by one of no common stamp. The firmness of his step, and the +composure of his manner, seemed to indicate a mind settled and resolved. By +taking a route over the back of the hill, they descended with great expedition, +and but little danger. The distance it had taken Frances an hour to conquer, +was passed by Harper and his companion in ten minutes, and they entered the +open space already mentioned. He struck into one of the sheep paths, and, +crossing the clearing with rapid steps, they came suddenly upon a horse, +caparisoned for a rider of no mean rank. The noble beast snorted and pawed the +earth, as his master approached and replaced the pistols in the holsters. +</p> + +<p> +Harper then turned, and, taking the hand of Frances, spoke as follows:— +</p> + +<p> +“You have this night saved your brother, Miss Wharton. It would not be +proper for me to explain why there are limits to my ability to serve him; but +if you can detain the horse for two hours, he is assuredly safe. After what you +have already done, I can believe you equal to any duty. God has denied to me +children, young lady; but if it had been His blessed will that my marriage +should not have been childless, such a treasure as yourself would I have asked +from His mercy. But you are my child: all who dwell in this broad land are my +children, and my care; and take the blessing of one who hopes yet to meet you +in happier days.” +</p> + +<p> +As he spoke, with a solemnity that touched Frances to the heart, he laid his +hand impressively upon her head. The guileless girl turned her face towards +him, and the hood again falling back, exposed her lovely features to the +moonbeams. A tear was glistening on either cheek, and her mild blue eyes were +gazing upon him in reverence. Harper bent and pressed a paternal kiss upon her +forehead, and continued: “Any of these sheep paths will take you to the +plain; but here we must part—I have much to do and far to ride; forget me +in all but your prayers.” +</p> + +<p> +He then mounted his horse, and lifting his hat, rode towards the back of the +mountain, descending at the same time, and was soon hid by the trees. Frances +sprang forward with a lightened heart, and taking the first path that led +downwards, in a few minutes she reached the plain in safety. While busied in +stealing through the meadows towards the house, the noise of horse approaching +startled her, and she felt how much more was to be apprehended from man, in +some situations, than from solitude. Hiding her form in the angle of a fence +near the road, she remained quiet for a moment, and watched their passage. A +small party of dragoons, whose dress was different from the Virginians, passed +at a brisk trot. They were followed by a gentleman, enveloped in a large cloak, +whom she at once knew to be Harper. Behind him rode a black in livery, and two +youths in uniform brought up the rear. Instead of taking the road that led by +the encampment, they turned short to the left and entered the hills. +</p> + +<p> +Wondering who this unknown but powerful friend of her brother could be, Frances +glided across the fields, and using due precautions in approaching the +dwelling, regained her residence undiscovered and in safety. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap31"></a>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Hence, bashful cunning!<br/> +And prompt me, plain and holy innocence;<br/> +I am your wife, if you will marry me. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Tempest</i>. +</p> + +<p> +On joining Miss Peyton, Frances learned that Dunwoodie was not yet returned; +although, with a view to relieve Henry from the importunities of the supposed +fanatic, he had desired a very respectable divine of their own church to ride +up from the river and offer his services. This gentleman was already arrived, +and had been passing the half hour he had been there, in a sensible and +well-bred conversation with the spinster, that in no degree touched upon their +domestic affairs. +</p> + +<p> +To the eager inquiries of Miss Peyton, relative to her success in her romantic +excursion, Frances could say no more than that she was bound to be silent, and +to recommend the same precaution to the good maiden also. There was a smile +playing around the beautiful mouth of Frances, while she uttered this +injunction, which satisfied her aunt that all was as it should be. She was +urging her niece to take some refreshment after her fatiguing expedition, when +the noise of a horseman riding to the door, announced the return of the major. +He had been found by the courier who was dispatched by Mason, impatiently +waiting the return of Harper to the ferry, and immediately flew to the place +where his friend had been confined, tormented by a thousand conflicting fears. +The heart of Frances bounded as she listened to his approaching footsteps. It +wanted yet an hour to the termination of the shortest period that the peddler +had fixed as the time necessary to effect his escape. Even Harper, powerful and +well-disposed as he acknowledged himself to be, had laid great stress upon the +importance of detaining the Virginians during that hour. She, however, had not +time to rally her thoughts, before Dunwoodie entered one door, as Miss Peyton, +with the readiness of female instinct, retired through another. +</p> + +<p> +The countenance of Peyton was flushed, and an air of vexation and +disappointment pervaded his manner. +</p> + +<p> +“’Twas imprudent, Frances; nay, it was unkind,” he cried, +throwing himself in a chair, “to fly at the very moment that I had +assured him of safety! I can almost persuade myself that you delight in +creating points of difference in our feelings and duties.” +</p> + +<p> +“In our duties there may very possibly be a difference,” returned +his mistress, approaching, and leaning her slender form against the wall; +“but not in our feelings, Peyton. You must certainly rejoice in the +escape of Henry!” +</p> + +<p> +“There was no danger impending. He had the promise of Harper; and it is a +word never to be doubted. O Frances! Frances! had you known the man, you would +never have distrusted his assurance; nor would you have again reduced me to +this distressing alternative.” +</p> + +<p> +“What alternative?” asked Frances, pitying his emotions deeply, but +eagerly seizing upon every circumstance to prolong the interview. +</p> + +<p> +“What alternative! Am I not compelled to spend this night in the saddle +to recapture your brother, when I had thought to lay my head on its pillow, +with the happy consciousness of having contributed to his release? You make me +seem your enemy; I, who would cheerfully shed the last drop of blood in your +service. I repeat, Frances, it was rash; it was unkind; it was a sad, sad +mistake.” +</p> + +<p> +She bent towards him and timidly took one of his hands, while with the other +she gently removed the curls from his burning brow. +</p> + +<p> +“Why go at all, dear Peyton?” she asked. “You have done much +for your country, and she cannot exact such a sacrifice as this at your +hand.” +</p> + +<p> +“Frances! Miss Wharton!” exclaimed the youth, springing on his +feet, and pacing the floor with a cheek that burned through its brown covering, +and an eye that sparkled with wounded integrity. “It is not my country, +but my honor, that requires the sacrifice. Has he not fled from a guard of my +own corps? But for this, I might have been spared the blow! But if the eyes of +the Virginians are blinded to deception and artifice, their horses are swift of +foot, and their sabers keen. We shall see, before to-morrow’s sun, who +will presume to hint that the beauty of the sister furnished a mask to conceal +the brother! Yes, yes, I should like, even now,” he continued, laughing +bitterly, “to hear the villain who would dare to surmise that such +treachery existed!” +</p> + +<p> +“Peyton, dear Peyton,” said Frances, recoiling from his angry eye, +“you curdle my blood—would you kill my brother?” +</p> + +<p> +“Would I not die for him!” exclaimed Dunwoodie, as he turned to her +more mildly. “You know I would; but I am distracted with the cruel +surmise to which this step of Henry’s subjects me. What will Washington +think of me, should he learn that I ever became your husband?” +</p> + +<p> +“If that alone impels you to act so harshly towards my brother,” +returned Frances, with a slight tremor in her voice, “let it never happen +for him to learn.” +</p> + +<p> +“And this is consolation, Frances!” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, dear Dunwoodie, I meant nothing harsh or unkind; but are you not +making us both of more consequence with Washington than the truth will +justify?” +</p> + +<p> +“I trust that my name is not entirely unknown to the commander in +chief,” said the major, a little proudly; “nor are you as obscure +as your modesty would make you. I believe you, Frances, when you say that you +pity me, and it must be my task to continue worthy of such feelings. But I +waste the precious moments; we must go through the hills to-night, that we may +be refreshed in time for the duty of to-morrow. Mason is already waiting my +orders to mount. Frances, I leave you with a heavy heart; pity me, but feel no +concern for your brother; he must again become a prisoner, but every hair of +his head is sacred.” +</p> + +<p> +“Stop! Dunwoodie, I conjure you,” cried Frances, gasping for +breath, as she noticed that the hand of the clock still wanted many minutes to +the desired hour. “Before you go on your errand of fastidious duty, read +this note that Henry has left for you, and which, doubtless, he thought he was +writing to the friend of his youth.” +</p> + +<p> +“Frances, I excuse your feelings; but the time will come when you will do +me justice.” +</p> + +<p> +“That time is now,” she answered, extending her hand, unable any +longer to feign a displeasure that she did not feel. +</p> + +<p> +“Where got you this note?” exclaimed the youth, glancing his eyes +over its contents. “Poor Henry, you are indeed my friend! If anyone +wishes me happiness, it is you!” +</p> + +<p> +“He does, he does,” cried Frances, eagerly; “he wishes you +every happiness; believe what he tells you; every word is true.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do believe him, lovely girl, and he refers me to you for its +confirmation. Would that I could trust equally to your affections!” +</p> + +<p> +“You may, Peyton,” said Frances, looking up with innocent +confidence towards her lover. +</p> + +<p> +“Then read for yourself, and verify your words,” interrupted +Dunwoodie, holding the note towards her. +</p> + +<p> +Frances received it in astonishment, and read the following: +</p> + +<p> +<i>“Life is too precious to be trusted to uncertainties. I leave you, +Peyton, unknown to all but Caesar, and I recommend him to your mercy. But there +is a care that weighs me to the earth. Look at my aged and infirm parent. He +will be reproached for the supposed crime of his son. Look at those helpless +sisters that I leave behind me without a protector. Prove to me that you love +us all. Let the clergyman whom you will bring with you, unite you this night to +Frances, and become at once, brother, son, and husband.”</i> +</p> + +<p> +The paper fell from the hands of Frances, and she endeavored to raise her eyes +to the face of Dunwoodie, but they sank abashed to the floor. +</p> + +<p> +“Am I worthy of this confidence? Will you send me out this night, to meet +my own brother? or will it be the officer of Congress in quest of the officer +of Britain?” +</p> + +<p> +“And would you do less of your duty because I am your wife, Major<br/> +Dunwoodie? In what degree would it better the condition of Henry?” +</p> + +<p> +“Henry, I repeat, is safe. The word of Harper is his guarantee; but I +will show the world a bridegroom,” continued the youth, perhaps deceiving +himself a little, “who is equal to the duty of arresting the brother of +his bride.” +</p> + +<p> +“And will the world comprehend this refinement?” said Frances, with +a musing air, that lighted a thousand hopes in the bosom of her lover. In fact, +the temptation was mighty. Indeed, there seemed no other way to detain +Dunwoodie until the fatal hour had elapsed. The words of Harper himself, who +had so lately told her that openly he could do but little for Henry, and that +everything depended upon gaining time, were deeply engraved upon her memory. +Perhaps there was also a fleeting thought of the possibility of an eternal +separation from her lover, should he proceed and bring back her brother to +punishment. It is difficult at all times to analyze human emotions, and they +pass through the sensitive heart of a woman with the rapidity and nearly with +the vividness of lightning. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you hesitate, dear Frances?” cried Dunwoodie, who was +studying her varying countenance. “A few minutes might give me a +husband’s claim to protect you.” +</p> + +<p> +Frances grew giddy. She turned an anxious eye to the clock, and the hand seemed +to linger over its face, as if with intent to torture her. +</p> + +<p> +“Speak, Frances,” murmured Dunwoodie; “may I summon my good +kinswoman?<br/> +Determine, for time presses.” +</p> + +<p> +She endeavored to reply, but could only whisper something that was inaudible, +but which her lover, with the privilege of immemorial custom, construed into +assent. He turned and flew to the door, when his mistress recovered her +voice:— +</p> + +<p> +“Stop, Peyton! I cannot enter into such a solemn engagement with a fraud +upon my conscience. I have seen Henry since his escape, and time is +all-important to him. Here is my hand; if, with this knowledge of the +consequences of delay, you will not reject it, it is freely yours.” +</p> + +<p> +“Reject it!” cried the delighted youth. “I take it as the +richest gift of heaven. There is time enough for us all. Two hours will take me +through the hills; and by noon to-morrow I will return with Washington’s +pardon for your brother, and Henry will help to enliven our nuptials.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then meet me here, in ten minutes,” said Frances, greatly relieved +by unburdening her mind, and filled with the hope of securing Henry’s +safety, “and I will return and take those vows which will bind me to you +forever.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie paused only to press her once to his bosom, and flew to communicate +his wishes to the priest. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton received the avowal of her niece with infinite astonishment, and a +little displeasure. It was violating all the order and decorum of a wedding to +get it up so hastily, and with so little ceremony. But Frances, with modest +firmness, declared that her resolution was taken; she had long possessed the +consent of her friends, and their nuptials, for months, had only waited her +pleasure. She had now promised Dunwoodie; and it was her wish to comply; more +she dare not say without committing herself, by entering into explanations that +might endanger Birch, or Harper, or both. Unused to contention, and really much +attached to her kinsman, the feeble objections of Miss Peyton gave way to the +firmness of her niece. Mr. Wharton was too completely a convert to the doctrine +of passive obedience and nonresistance, to withstand any solicitation from an +officer of Dunwoodie’s influence in the rebel armies; and the maid +returned to the apartment, accompanied by her father and aunt, at the +expiration of the time that she had fixed. Dunwoodie and the clergyman were +already there. Frances, silently, and without the affectation of reserve, +placed in his hand the wedding ring of her own mother, and after some little +time spent in arranging Mr. Wharton and herself, Miss Peyton suffered the +ceremony to proceed. +</p> + +<p> +The clock stood directly before the eyes of Frances, and she turned many an +anxious glance at the dial; but the solemn language of the priest soon caught +her attention, and her mind became intent upon the vows she was uttering. The +ceremony was quickly over, and as the clergyman closed the words of +benediction, the clock told the hour of nine. This was the time that Harper had +deemed so important, and Frances felt as if a mighty load was at once removed +from her heart. +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie folded her in his arms, saluted the mild aunt again and again, and +shook Mr. Wharton and the divine repeatedly by the hands. In the midst of the +felicitation, a tap was heard at the door. It was opened, and Mason appeared. +</p> + +<p> +“We are in the saddle,” said the lieutenant, “and, with your +permission, I will lead on; as you are so well mounted, you can overtake us at +your leisure.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes, my good fellow; march,” cried Dunwoodie, gladly seizing +an excuse to linger. “I will reach you at the first halt.” +</p> + +<p> +The subaltern retired to execute these orders; he was followed by Mr.<br/> +Wharton and the divine. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, Peyton,” said Frances, “it is indeed a brother that you +seek; I am sure I need not caution you in his behalf, should you unfortunately +find him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Say fortunately,” cried the youth, “for I am determined he +shall yet dance at my wedding. Would that I could win him to our cause. It is +the cause of his country; and I could fight with more pleasure, Frances, with +your brother by my side.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! mention it not! You awaken terrible reflections.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will not mention it,” returned her husband; “but I must +now leave you. But the sooner I go, Frances, the sooner I shall return.” +</p> + +<p> +The noise of a horseman was heard approaching the house, and Dunwoodie was yet +taking leave of his bride and her aunt, when an officer was shown into the room +by his own man. +</p> + +<p> +The gentleman wore the dress of an aid-de-camp, and the major at once knew him +to be one of the military family of Washington. +</p> + +<p> +“Major Dunwoodie,” he said, after bowing to the ladies, “the +commander in chief has directed me to give you these orders.” +</p> + +<p> +He executed his mission, and, pleading duty, took his leave immediately. +</p> + +<p> +“Here, indeed!” cried the major, “is an unexpected turn in +the whole affair; but I understand it: Harper has got my letter, and already we +feel his influence.” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you news affecting Henry?” cried Frances, springing to his +side. +</p> + +<p> +“Listen, and you shall judge.” +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“SIR,—Upon the receipt of this, you will concentrate your squadron, +so as to be in front of a covering party which the enemy has sent up in front +of his foragers, by ten o’clock to-morrow, on the heights of Croton, +where you will find a body of foot to support you. The escape of the English +spy has been reported to me, but his arrest is unimportant, compared with the +duty I now assign you. You will, therefore, recall your men, if any are in +pursuit, and endeavor to defeat the enemy forthwith.” +</p> + +<p class="right"> +Your obedient servant,<br/> +GEO. WASHINGTON. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank God!” cried Dunwoodie, “my hands are washed of +Henry’s recapture;<br/> +I can now move to my duty with honor.” +</p> + +<p> +“And with prudence, too, dear Peyton,” said Frances, with a face as +pale as death. “Remember, Dunwoodie, you leave behind you new claims on +your life.” +</p> + +<p> +The youth dwelt on her lovely but pallid features with rapture; and, as he +folded her to his heart, exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“For your sake, I will, lovely innocent!” Frances sobbed a moment +on his bosom, and he tore himself from her presence. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Peyton retired with her niece, to whom she conceived it necessary, before +they separated for the night, to give an admonitory lecture on the subject of +matrimonial duty. Her instruction was modestly received, if not properly +digested. We regret that history has not handed down to us this precious +dissertation; but the result of all our investigation has been to learn that it +partook largely of those peculiarities which are said to tincture the rules +prescribed to govern bachelors’ children. We shall now leave the ladies +of the Wharton family, and return to Captain Wharton and Harvey Birch. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap32"></a>CHAPTER XXXII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Allow him not a parting word;<br/> +Short be the shrift, and sure the cord! +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Rokeby</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The peddler and his companion soon reached the valley, and after pausing to +listen, and hearing no sounds which announced that pursuers were abroad, they +entered the highway. Acquainted with every step that led through the mountains, +and possessed of sinews inured to toil, Birch led the way, with the lengthened +strides that were peculiar to the man and his profession; his pack alone was +wanting to finish the appearance of his ordinary business air. At times, when +they approached one of those little posts held by the American troops, with +which the Highlands abounded, he would take a circuit to avoid the sentinels, +and plunge fearlessly into a thicket, or ascend a rugged hill, that to the eye +seemed impassable. But the peddler was familiar with every turn in their +difficult route, knew where the ravines might be penetrated, or where the +streams were fordable. In one or two instances, Henry thought that their +further progress was absolutely at an end, but the ingenuity, or knowledge, of +his guide, conquered every difficulty. After walking at a great rate for three +hours, they suddenly diverged from the road, which inclined to the east, and +held their course directly across the hills, in a due south direction. This +movement was made, the peddler informed his companion, in order to avoid the +parties who constantly patrolled in the southern entrance of the Highlands, as +well as to shorten the distance, by traveling in a straight line. After +reaching the summit of a hill, Harvey seated himself by the side of a little +run, and opening a wallet, that he had slung where his pack was commonly +suspended, he invited his comrade to partake of the coarse fare it contained. +Henry had kept pace with the peddler, more by the excitement natural to his +situation, than by the equality of his physical powers. The idea of a halt was +unpleasant, so long as there existed a possibility of the horse getting below +him in time to intercept their retreat through the neutral ground. He therefore +stated his apprehensions to his companion, and urged a wish to proceed. +</p> + +<p> +“Follow my example, Captain Wharton,” said the peddler, commencing +his frugal meal. “If the horse have started, it will be more than man can +do to head them; and if they have not, work is cut out for them, that will +drive all thoughts of you and me from their brains.” +</p> + +<p> +“You said yourself, that two hours’ detention was all-important to +us, and if we loiter here, of what use will be the advantage that we may have +already obtained?” +</p> + +<p> +“The time is past, and Major Dunwoodie thinks little of following two +men, when hundreds are waiting for him on the banks of the river.” +</p> + +<p> +“Listen!” interrupted Henry, “there are horse at this moment +passing the foot of the hill. I hear them even laughing and talking to each +other. Hist! there is the voice of Dunwoodie himself; he calls to his comrade +in a manner that shows but little uneasiness. One would think that the +situation of his friend would lower his spirits; surely Frances could not have +given him the letter.” +</p> + +<p> +On hearing the first exclamation of the captain, Birch arose from his seat, and +approached cautiously to the brow of the hill, taking care to keep his body in +the shadow of the rocks, so as to be unseen at any distance, and earnestly +reconnoitered the group of passing horsemen. He continued listening, until +their quick footsteps were no longer audible, and then quietly returned to his +seat, and with incomparable coolness resumed his meal. +</p> + +<p> +“You have a long walk, and a tiresome one, before you, Captain Wharton; +you had better do as I do—you were eager for food at the hut above +Fishkill, but traveling seems to have worn down your appetite.” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought myself safe, then, but the information of my sister fills me +with uneasiness, and I cannot eat.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have less reason to be troubled now than at any time since the night +before you were taken, when you refused my advice, and an offer to see you in +safety,” returned the peddler. “Major Dunwoodie is not a man to +laugh and be gay when his friend is in difficulty. Come, then, and eat, for no +horse will be in our way, if we can hold our legs for four hours longer, and +the sun keeps behind the hills as long as common.” +</p> + +<p> +There was a composure in the peddler’s manner that encouraged his +companion; and having once determined to submit to Harvey’s government, +he suffered himself to be persuaded into a tolerable supper, if quantity be +considered without any reference to the quality. After completing their repast, +the peddler resumed his journey. +</p> + +<p> +Henry followed in blind submission to his will. For two hours more they +struggled with the difficult and dangerous passes of the Highlands, without +road, or any other guide than the moon, which was traveling the heavens, now +wading through flying clouds, and now shining brightly. At length they arrived +at a point where the mountains sank into rough and unequal hillocks, and passed +at once from the barren sterility of the precipices, to the imperfect culture +of the neutral ground. +</p> + +<p> +The peddler now became more guarded in the manner in which they proceeded, and +took divers precautions to prevent meeting any moving parts of the Americans. +With the stationary posts he was too familiar to render it probable he might +fall upon any of them unawares. He wound among the hills and vales, now keeping +the highways and now avoiding them, with a precision that seemed instinctive. +There was nothing elastic in his tread, but he glided over the ground with +enormous strides, and a body bent forward, without appearing to use exertion, +or know weariness. +</p> + +<p> +The moon had set, and a faint streak of light was beginning to show itself in +the east. Captain Wharton ventured to express a sense of fatigue, and to +inquire if they were not yet arrived at a part of the country where it might be +safe to apply at some of the farmhouses for admission. +</p> + +<p> +“See here,” said the peddler, pointing to a hill, at a short +distance in the rear, “do you not see a man walking on the point of that +rock? Turn, so as to bring the daylight in the range—now, see, he moves, +and seems to be looking earnestly at something to the eastward. That is a royal +sentinel; two hundred of the rig’lar troops lay on that hill, no doubt +sleeping on their arms.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then,” cried Henry, “let us join them, and our danger is +ended.” +</p> + +<p> +“Softly, softly, Captain Wharton,” said the peddler, dryly, +“you’ve once been in the midst of three hundred of them, but there +was a man who could take you out; see you not yon dark body, on the side of the +opposite hill, just above the cornstalks? There are the—the rebels (since +that is the word for us loyal subjects), waiting only for day, to see who will +be master of the ground.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, then,” exclaimed the fiery youth, “I will join the +troops of my prince, and share their fortune, be it good or be it bad.” +</p> + +<p> +“You forget that you fight with a halter round your neck; no, no—I +have promised one whom I must not disappoint, to carry you safe in; and unless +you forget what I have already done, and what I have risked for you, Captain +Wharton, you will turn and follow me to Harlem.” +</p> + +<p> +To this appeal the youth felt unwillingly obliged to submit; and they continued +their course towards the city. It was not long before they gained the banks of +the Hudson. After searching for a short time under the shore, the peddler +discovered a skiff, that appeared to be an old acquaintance; and entering it +with his companion he landed him on the south side of the Croton. Here Birch +declared they were in safety; for the royal troops held the continentals at +bay, and the former were out in too great strength for the light parties of the +latter to trust themselves below that river, on the immediate banks of the +Hudson. +</p> + +<p> +Throughout the whole of this arduous flight, the peddler had manifested a +coolness and presence of mind that nothing appeared to disturb. All his +faculties seemed to be of more than usual perfection, and the infirmities of +nature to have no dominion over him. Henry had followed him like a child in +leading strings, and he now reaped his reward, as he felt a bound of pleasure +at his heart, on hearing that he was relieved from apprehension, and permitted +to banish every doubt of security. +</p> + +<p> +A steep and laborious ascent brought them from the level of the tidewaters to +the high lands that form, in this part of the river, the eastern banks of the +Hudson. Retiring a little from the highway, under the shelter of a thicket of +cedars, the peddler threw his form on a flat rock, and announced to his +companion that the hour for rest and refreshment was at length arrived. The day +was now opened, and objects could be seen in the distance, with distinctness. +Beneath them lay the Hudson, stretching to the south in a straight line, as far +as the eye could reach. To the north, the broken fragments of the Highlands +threw upwards their lofty heads, above masses of fog that hung over the water, +and by which the course of the river could be traced into the bosom of hills +whose conical summits were grouping togather, one behind another, in that +disorder which might be supposed to have succeeded their gigantic, but +fruitless, efforts to stop the progress of the flood. Emerging from these +confused piles, the river, as if rejoicing at its release from the struggle, +expanded into a wide bay, which was ornamented by a few fertile and low points +that jutted humbly into its broad basin. On the opposite, or western shore, the +rocks of Jersey were gathered into an array that has obtained for them the name +of the “Palisades,” elevating themselves for many hundred feet, as +if to protect the rich country in their rear from the inroads of the conqueror; +but, disdaining such an enemy, the river swept proudly by their feet, and held +its undeviating way to the ocean. A ray of the rising sun darted upon the +slight cloud that hung over the placid river, and at once the whole scene was +in motion, changing and assuming new forms, and exhibiting fresh objects in +each successive moment. At the daily rising of this great curtain of nature, at +the present time, scores of white sails and sluggish vessels are seen +thickening on the water, with that air of life which denotes the neighborhood +to the metropolis of a great and flourishing empire; but to Henry and the +peddler it displayed only the square yards and lofty masts of a vessel of war, +riding a few miles below them. Before the fog had begun to move, the tall spars +were seen above it, and from one of them a long pennant was feebly borne abroad +in the current of night air, that still quivered along the river; but as the +smoke arose, the black hull, the crowded and complicated mass of rigging, and +the heavy yards and booms, spreading their arms afar, were successively brought +into view. +</p> + +<p> +“There, Captain Wharton,” said the peddler, “there is a safe +resting place for you; America has no arm that can reach you, if you gain the +deck of that ship. She is sent up to cover the foragers, and support the +troops; the rig’lar officers are fond of the sound of cannon from their +shipping.” +</p> + +<p> +Without condescending to reply to the sarcasm conveyed in this speech, or +perhaps not noticing it, Henry joyfully acquiesced in the proposal, and it was +accordingly arranged between them, that, as soon as they were refreshed, he +should endeavor to get on board the vessel. +</p> + +<p> +While busily occupied in the very indispensable operation of breaking their +fast, our adventurers were startled with the sound of distant firearms. At +first a few scattering shots were fired, which were succeeded by a long and +animated roll of musketry, and then quick and heavy volleys followed each +other. +</p> + +<p> +“Your prophecy is made good,” cried the English officer, springing +upon his feet. “Our troops and the rebels are at it! I would give six +months’ pay to see the charge.” +</p> + +<p> +“Umph!” returned his companion, without ceasing his meal, +“they do very well to look at from a distance; I can’t say but the +company of this bacon, cold as it is, is more to my taste, just now, than a hot +fire from the continentals.” +</p> + +<p> +“The discharges are heavy for so small a force; but the fire seems +irregular.” +</p> + +<p> +“The scattering guns are from the Connecticut militia,” said +Harvey, raising his head to listen; “they rattle it off finely, and are +no fools at a mark. The volleys are the rig’lars, who, you know, fire by +word—as long as they can.” +</p> + +<p> +“I like not the warmth of what you call a scattering fire,” +exclaimed the captain, moving about with uneasiness; “it is more like the +roll of a drum than skirmishers’ shooting.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no; I said not skrimmagers,” returned the other, raising +himself upon a knee, and ceasing to eat; “so long as they stand, they are +too good for the best troops in the royal army. Each man does his work as if +fighting by the job; and then, they think while they fight, and don’t +send bullets to the clouds, that were meant to kill men on earth.” +</p> + +<p> +“You talk and look, sir, as if you wished them success,” said +Henry, sternly. +</p> + +<p> +“I wish success to the good cause only, Captain Wharton. I thought you +knew me too well, to be uncertain which party I favored.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! you are reputed loyal, Mr. Birch. But the volleys have +ceased!” +</p> + +<p> +Both now listened intently for a little while, during which the irregular +reports became less brisk, and suddenly heavy and repeated volleys followed. +</p> + +<p> +“They’ve been at the bayonet,” said the peddler; “the +rig’lars have tried the bayonet, and the rebels are driven.” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, Mr. Birch, the bayonet is the thing for the British soldier, after +all. They delight in the bayonet!” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, to my notion,” said the peddler, “there’s but +little delight to be taken in any such fearful weapon. I dare say the militia +are of my mind, for half of them don’t carry the ugly things. Lord! Lord! +captain, I wish you’d go with me once into the rebel camp, and hear what +lies the men will tell about Bunker Hill and Burg’yne; you’d think +they loved the bayonet as much as they do their dinners.” +</p> + +<p> +There was a chuckle, and an air of affected innocency about his companion, that +rather annoyed Henry, and he did not deign to reply. +</p> + +<p> +The firing now became desultory, occasionally intermingled with heavy volleys. +Both of the fugitives were standing, listening with much anxiety, when a man, +armed with a musket, was seen stealing towards them, under the shelter of the +cedar bushes, that partially covered the hill. Henry first observed this +suspicious-looking stranger, and instantly pointed him out to his companion. +Birch started, and certainly made an indication of sudden flight; but +recollecting himself, he stood, in sullen silence, until the stranger was +within a few yards of them. +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis friends,” said the fellow, clubbing his gun, but +apparently afraid to venture nearer. +</p> + +<p> +“You had better retire,” said Birch; “here are rig’lars +at hand. We are not near Dunwoodie’s horse now, and you will not find me +an easy prize to-day.” +</p> + +<p> +“Damn Major Dunwoodie and his horse!” cried the leader of the +Skinners (for it was he); “God bless King George! and a speedy end to the +rebellion, say I. If you would show me the safe way in to the refugees, Mr. +Birch, I’ll pay you well, and ever after stand your friend, in the +bargain.” +</p> + +<p> +“The road is as open to you as to me,” said Birch, turning from him +in ill-concealed disgust. “If you want to find the refugees, you know +well where they lay.” +</p> + +<p> +“Aye, but I’m a little doubtful of going in upon them by myself; +now, you are well known to them all, and it will be no detriment to you just to +let me go in with you.” +</p> + +<p> +Henry here interfered, and after holding a short dialogue with the fellow, he +entered into a compact with him, that, on condition of surrendering his arms, +he might join the party. The man complied instantly, and Birch received his gun +with eagerness; nor did he lay it upon his shoulder to renew their march, +before he had carefully examined the priming, and ascertained, to his +satisfaction, that it contained a good, dry, ball cartridge. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as this engagement was completed, they commenced their journey anew. By +following the bank of the river, Birch led the way free from observation, until +they reached the point opposite to the frigate, when, by making a signal, a +boat was induced to approach. Some time was spent, and much precaution used, +before the seamen would trust themselves ashore; but Henry having finally +succeeded in making the officer who commanded the party credit his assertions, +he was able to rejoin his companions in arms in safety. Before taking leave of +Birch, the captain handed him his purse, which was tolerably well supplied for +the times; the peddler received it, and, watching an opportunity, he conveyed +it, unnoticed by the Skinner, to a part of his dress that was ingeniously +contrived to hold such treasures. +</p> + +<p> +The boat pulled from the shore, and Birch turned on his heel, drawing his +breath, like one relieved, and shot up the hills with the strides for which he +was famous. The Skinner followed, and each party pursued the common course, +casting frequent and suspicious glances at the other, and both maintaining a +most impenetrable silence. +</p> + +<p> +Wagons were moving along the river road, and occasional parties of horse were +seen escorting the fruits of the inroad towards the city. As the peddler had +views of his own, he rather avoided falling in with any of these patrols, than +sought their protection. But, after traveling a few miles on the immediate +banks of the river, during which, notwithstanding the repeated efforts of the +Skinner to establish something like sociability, he maintained a most +determined silence, keeping a firm hold of the gun, and always maintaining a +jealous watchfulness of his associate, the peddler suddenly struck into the +highway, with an intention of crossing the hills towards Harlem. At the moment +he gained the path, a body of horse came over a little eminence, and was upon +him before he perceived them. It was too late to retreat, and after taking a +view of the materials that composed this party, Birch rejoiced in the +rencounter, as a probable means of relieving him from his unwelcome companion. +There were some eighteen or twenty men, mounted and equipped as dragoons, +though neither their appearance nor manners denoted much discipline. At their +head rode a heavy, middle-aged man, whose features expressed as much of animal +courage, and as little of reason, as could be desired for such an occupation. +He wore the dress of an officer, but there was none of that neatness in his +attire, nor grace in his movements, that was usually found about the gentlemen +who bore the royal commission. His limbs were firm, and not pliable, and he sat +his horse with strength and confidence, but his bridle hand would have been +ridiculed by the meanest rider amongst the Virginians. As he expected, this +leader instantly hailed the peddler, in a voice by no means more conciliating +than his appearance. +</p> + +<p> +“Hey! my gentlemen, which way so fast?” he cried, “Has +Washington sent you down as spies?” +</p> + +<p> +“I am an innocent peddler,” returned Harvey meekly, “and am +going below, to lay in a fresh stock of goods.” +</p> + +<p> +“And how do you expect to get below, my innocent peddler? Do you think we +hold the forts at King’s Bridge to cover such peddling rascals as you, in +your goings in and comings out?” +</p> + +<p> +“I believe I hold a pass that will carry me through,” said the +peddler, handing him a paper, with an air of indifference. +</p> + +<p> +The officer, for such he was, read it, and cast a look of surprise and +curiosity at Harvey, when he had done. +</p> + +<p> +Then turning to one or two of his men, who had officiously stopped the way, he +cried,— +</p> + +<p> +“Why do you detain the man? Give way, and let him pass in peace. But whom +have we here? Your name is not mentioned in the pass!” +</p> + +<p> +“No, sir,” said the Skinner, lifting his hat with humility. +“I have been a poor, deluded man, who has been serving in the rebel army; +but, thank God, I’ve lived to see the error of my ways, and am now come +to make reparation, by enlisting under the Lord’s anointed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Umph! a deserter—a Skinner, I’ll swear, wanting to turn +Cowboy! In the last brush I had with the scoundrels, I could hardly tell my own +men from the enemy. We are not over well supplied with coats, and as for +countenances, the rascals change sides so often, that you may as well count +their faces for nothing; but trudge on, we will contrive to make use of you, +sooner or later.” +</p> + +<p> +Ungracious as was this reception, if you could judge of the Skinner’s +feelings from his manner, it nevertheless delighted him. He moved with alacrity +towards the city, and really was so happy to escape the brutal looks and +frightful manner of his interrogator, as to lose sight of all other +considerations. But the man who performed the functions of orderly in the +irregular troop, rode up to the side of his commander, and commenced a close +and apparently a confidential discourse with his principal. They spoke in +whispers, and cast frequent and searching glances at the Skinner, until the +fellow began to think himself an object of more than common attention. His +satisfaction at this distinction was somewhat heightened, at observing a smile +on the face of the captain, which, although it might be thought grim, certainly +denoted satisfaction. This pantomime occupied the time they were passing a +hollow, and concluded as they rose another hill. Here the captain and his +sergeant both dismounted, and ordered the party to halt. The two partisans each +took a pistol from his holster, a movement that excited no suspicion or alarm, +as it was a precaution always observed, and beckoned to the peddler and the +Skinner to follow. A short walk brought them to a spot where the hill overhung +the river, the ground falling nearly perpendicularly to the shore. On the brow +of the eminence stood a deserted and dilapidated barn. Many boards of its +covering were torn from their places, and its wide doors were lying, the one in +front of the building, and the other halfway down the precipice, whither the +wind had cast it. Entering this desolate spot, the refugee officer very coolly +took from his pocket a short pipe, which, from long use, had acquired not only +the hue but the gloss of ebony, a tobacco box, and a small roll of leather, +that contained steel, flint, and tinder. With this apparatus, he soon furnished +his mouth with a companion that habit had long rendered necessary to +reflection. So soon as a large column of smoke arose from this arrangement, the +captain significantly held forth a hand towards his assistant. A small cord was +produced from the pocket of the sergeant, and handed to the other. The refugee +threw out vast puffs of smoke, until nearly all of his head was obscured, and +looked around the building with an inquisitive eye. At length he removed the +pipe, and inhaling a draft of pure air, returned it to its domicile, and +proceeded at once to business. A heavy piece of timber lay across the girths of +the barn, but a little way from the southern door, which opened directly upon a +full view of the river, as it stretched far away towards the bay of New York. +Over this beam the refugee threw one end of the rope, and, regaining it, joined +the two parts in his hand. A small and weak barrel, that wanted a head, the +staves of which were loose, and at one end standing apart, was left on the +floor, probably as useless. The sergeant, in obedience to a look from his +officer, placed it beneath the beam. All of these arrangements were made with +composure, and they now seemed completed to the officer’s perfect +satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +“Come,” he said coolly to the Skinner, who, admiring the +preparations, had stood a silent spectator of their progress. He obeyed; and it +was not until he found his neckcloth removed, and hat thrown aside, that he +took the alarm. But he had so often resorted to a similar expedient to extort +information, or plunder, that he by no means felt the terror an unpracticed man +would have suffered, at these ominous movements. The rope was adjusted to his +neck with the same coolness that formed the characteristic of the whole +movement, and a fragment of board being laid upon the barrel, he was ordered to +mount. +</p> + +<p> +“But it may fall,” said the Skinner, for the first time beginning +to tremble. “I will tell you anything—even how to surprise our +party at the Pond, without all this trouble, and it is commanded by my own +brother.” +</p> + +<p> +“I want no information,” returned his executioner (for such he now +seemed really to be), throwing the rope repeatedly over the beam, first drawing +it tight so as to annoy the Skinner a little, and then casting the end from +him, beyond the reach of anyone. +</p> + +<p> +“This is joking too far,” cried the Skinner, in a tone of +remonstrance, and raising himself on his toes, with the vain hope of releasing +himself from the cord, by slipping his head through the noose. But the caution +and experience of the refugee officer had guarded against this escape. +</p> + +<p> +“What have you done with the horse you stole from me, rascal?” +muttered the officer of the Cowboys, throwing out columns of smoke while he +waited for a reply. +</p> + +<p> +“He broke down in the chase,” replied the Skinner quickly; +“but I can tell you where one is to be found that is worth him and his +sire.” +</p> + +<p> +“Liar! I will help myself when I am in need; you had better call upon God +for aid, as your hour is short.” On concluding this consoling advice, he +struck the barrel a violent blow with his heavy foot, and the slender staves +flew in every direction, leaving the Skinner whirling in the air. As his hands +were unconfined, he threw them upwards, and held himself suspended by main +strength. +</p> + +<p> +“Come, captain,” he said, coaxingly, a little huskiness creeping +into his voice, and his knees beginning to shake with tremor, “end the +joke; ’tis enough to make a laugh, and my arms begin to tire—I +can’t hold on much longer.” +</p> + +<p> +“Harkee, Mr. Peddler,” said the refugee, in a voice that would not +be denied, “I want not your company. Through that door lies your +road—march! offer to touch that dog, and you’ll swing in his place, +though twenty Sir Henrys wanted your services.” So saying, he retired to +the road with the sergeant, as the peddler precipitately retreated down the +bank. +</p> + +<p> +Birch went no farther than a bush that opportunely offered itself as a screen +to his person, while he yielded to an unconquerable desire to witness the +termination of this extraordinary scene. +</p> + +<p> +Left alone, the Skinner began to throw fearful glances around, to espy the +hiding places of his tormentors. For the first time the horrid idea seemed to +shoot through his brain that something serious was intended by the Cowboy. He +called entreatingly to be released, and made rapid and incoherent promises of +important information, mingled with affected pleasantry at their conceit, which +he would hardly admit to himself could mean anything so dreadful as it seemed. +But as he heard the tread of the horses moving on their course, and in vain +looked around for human aid, violent trembling seized his limbs, and his eyes +began to start from his head with terror. He made a desperate effort to reach +the beam; but, too much exhausted with his previous exertions, he caught the +rope in his teeth, in a vain effort to sever the cord, and fell to the whole +length of his arms. Here his cries were turned into shrieks. +</p> + +<p> +“Help! cut the rope! captain!—Birch! good peddler! Down with +the<br/> +Congress!—sergeant! for God’s sake, help! Hurrah for the +king!—O God!<br/> +O God!—mercy, mercy—mercy!” +</p> + +<p> +As his voice became suppressed, one of his hands endeavored to make its way +between the rope and his neck, and partially succeeded; but the other fell +quivering by his side. A convulsive shuddering passed over his whole frame, and +he hung a hideous corpse. +</p> + +<p> +Birch continued gazing on this scene with a kind of infatuation. At its close +he placed his hands to his ears, and rushed towards the highway. Still the +cries for mercy rang through his brain, and it was many weeks before his memory +ceased to dwell on the horrid event. The Cowboys rode steadily on their route, +as if nothing had occurred; and the body was left swinging in the wind, until +chance directed the wandering footsteps of some lonely straggler to the place. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap33"></a>CHAPTER XXXIII.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Green be the turf above thee,<br/> +Friend of my better days;<br/> +None knew thee but to love thee,<br/> +None named thee but to praise. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—HALLECK. +</p> + +<p> +While the scenes and events that we have recorded were occurring, Captain +Lawton led his small party, by slow and wary marches, from the Four Corners to +the front of a body of the enemy; where he so successfully maneuvered, for a +short time, as completely to elude all their efforts to entrap him, and yet so +disguised his own force as to excite the constant apprehension of an attack +from the Americans. This forbearing policy, on the side of the partisan, was +owing to positive orders received from his commander. When Dunwoodie left his +detachment, the enemy were known to be slowly advancing, and he directed Lawton +to hover around them, until his own return, and the arrival of a body of foot, +might enable him to intercept their retreat. +</p> + +<p> +The trooper discharged his duty to the letter but with no little of the +impatience that made part of his character when restrained from the attack. +</p> + +<p> +During these movements, Betty Flanagan guided her little cart with +indefatigable zeal among the rocks of Westchester, now discussing with the +sergeant the nature of evil spirits, and now combating with the surgeon sundry +points of practice that were hourly arising between them. But the moment +arrived that was to decide the temporary mastery of the field. A detachment of +the eastern militia moved out from their fastnesses, and approached the enemy. +</p> + +<p> +The junction between Lawton and his auxiliaries was made at midnight, and an +immediate consultation was held between him and the leader of the foot +soldiers. After listening to the statements of the partisan, who rather +despised the prowess of his enemy, the commandant of the party determined to +attack the British, the moment daylight enabled him to reconnoiter their +position, without waiting for the aid of Dunwoodie and his horse. So soon as +this decision was made, Lawton retired from the building where the consultation +was held, and rejoined his own small command. +</p> + +<p> +The few troopers who were with the captain had fastened their horses in a spot +adjacent to a haystack, and laid their own frames under its shelter, to catch a +few hours’ sleep. But Dr. Sitgreaves, Sergeant Hollister, and Betty +Flanagan were congregated at a short distance by themselves, having spread a +few blankets upon the dry surface of a rock. Lawton threw his huge frame by the +side of the surgeon, and folding his cloak about him, leaned his head upon one +hand, and appeared deeply engaged in contemplating the moon as it waded through +the heavens. The sergeant was sitting upright, in respectful deference to the +surgeon, and the washerwoman was now raising her head, in order to vindicate +some of her favorite maxims, and now composing it to sleep. +</p> + +<p> +“So, sergeant,” continued Sitgreaves, following up a previous +position, “if you cut upwards, the blow, by losing the additional +momentum of your weight, will be less destructive, and at the same time effect +the true purpose of war, that of disabling your enemy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh! pooh! sergeant dear,” said the washerwoman, raising her head +from the blanket, “where’s the harm of taking a life, jist in the +way of battle? Is it the rig’lars who’ll show favor, and they +fighting? Ask Captain Jack there, if the country could get free, and the boys +no strike their might. I wouldn’t have them disparage the whisky so +much.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is not to be expected that an ignorant female like yourself, Mrs. +Flanagan,” returned the surgeon, with a calmness that only rendered his +contempt more stinging to Betty, “can comprehend the distinctions of +surgical science; neither are you accomplished in the sword exercise; so that +dissertations upon the judicious use of that weapon could avail you nothing +either in theory or in practice.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s hut little I care, anyway, for such botherment; but fighting +is no play, and a body shouldn’t be particular how they strike, or who +they hit, so it’s the inimy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are we likely to have a warm day, Captain Lawton?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis more than probable,” replied the trooper; “these +militia seldom fail of making a bloody field, either by their cowardice or +their ignorance, and the real soldier is made to suffer for their bad +conduct.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you ill, John?” said the surgeon, passing his hand along the +arm of the captain, until it instinctively settled on his pulse; but the +steady, even beat announced neither bodily nor mental malady. +</p> + +<p> +“Sick at heart, Archibald, at the folly of our rulers, in believing that +battles are to be fought and victories won, by fellows who handle a musket as +they would a flail; lads who wink when they pull a trigger, and form a line +like a hoop pole. The dependence we place on these men spills the best blood of +the country.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon listened with amazement. It was not the matter, but the manner that +surprised him. The trooper had uniformly exhibited, on the eve of battle, an +animation, and an eagerness to engage, that was directly at variance with the +admirable coolness of his manner at other times. But now there was a +despondency in the tones of his voice, and a listlessness in his air, that was +entirely different. The operator hesitated a moment, to reflect in what manner +he could render this change of service in furthering his favorite system, and +then continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“It would be wise, John, to advise the colonel to keep at long shot; a +spent ball will disable—” +</p> + +<p> +“No!” exclaimed the trooper, impatiently, “let the rascals +singe their whiskers at the muzzles of the British muskets, if they can be +driven there. But, enough of them. Archibald, do you deem that moon to be a +world like this, containing creatures like ourselves?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing more probable, dear John; we know its size and, reasoning from +analogy, may easily conjecture its use. Whether or not its inhabitants have +attained to that perfection in the sciences which we have acquired, must depend +greatly on the state of its society, and in some measure upon its physical +influences.” +</p> + +<p> +“I care nothing about their learning, Archibald; but ’tis a +wonderful power that can create such worlds, and control them in their +wanderings. I know not why, but there is a feeling of melancholy excited within +me as I gaze on that body of light, shaded as it is by your fancied sea and +land. It seems to be the resting place of departed spirits!” +</p> + +<p> +“Take a drop, darling,” said Betty, raising her head once more, and +proffering her own bottle. “’Tis the night damp that chills the +blood—and then the talk with the cursed militia is no good for a fiery +temper. Take a drop, darling, and ye’ll sleep till the morning. I fed +Roanoke myself, for I thought ye might need hard riding the morrow.” +</p> + +<p> +“’Tis a glorious heaven to look upon,” continued the trooper, +in the same tone, disregarding the offer of Betty, “and ’tis a +thousand pities that such worms as men should let their vile passions deface +such goodly work.” +</p> + +<p> +“You speak the truth, dear John; there is room for all to live and enjoy +themselves in peace, if each could be satisfied with his own. Still, war has +its advantages; it particularly promotes the knowledge of surgery; +and—” +</p> + +<p> +“There is a star,” continued Lawton, still bent on his own ideas, +“struggling to glitter through a few driving clouds; perhaps that too is +a world, and contains its creatures endowed with reason like ourselves. Think +you that they know of war and bloodshed?” +</p> + +<p> +“If I might be so bold,” said Sergeant Hollister, mechanically +raising his hand to his cap, “’tis mentioned in the good book, that +the Lord made the sun to stand still while Joshua was charging the enemy, in +order, sir, as I suppose, that they might have daylight to turn their flank, or +perhaps make a feint in the rear, or some such maneuver. Now, if the Lord would +lend them a hand, fighting cannot be sinful. I have often been nonplused, +though, to find that they used them chariots instead of heavy dragoons, who +are, in all comparison, better to break a line of infantry, and who, for the +matter of that, could turn such wheel carriages, and getting into the rear, +play the very devil with them, horse and all.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is because you do not understand the construction of those ancient +vehicles, Sergeant Hollister, that you judge of them so erroneously,” +said the surgeon. “They were armed with sharp weapons that protruded from +their wheels, and which broke up the columns of foot, like dismembered +particles of matter. I doubt not, if similar instruments were affixed to the +cart of Mrs. Flanagan, that great confusion might be carried into the ranks of +the enemy thereby, this very day.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s but little that the mare would go, and the rig’lars +firing at her,” grumbled Betty, from under her blanket. “When we +got the plunder, the time we drove them through the Jarseys it was, I had to +back the baste up to the dead; for the divil the foot would she move, fornent +the firing, wid her eyes open. Roanoke and Captain Jack are good enough for the +redcoats, letting alone myself and the mare.” +</p> + +<p> +A long roll of the drums, from the hill occupied by the British, announced that +they were on the alert; and a corresponding signal was immediately heard from +the Americans. The bugle of the Virginians struck up its martial tones; and in +a few moments both the hills, the one held by the royal troops and the other by +their enemies, were alive with armed men. Day had begun to dawn, and +preparations were making by both parties, to give and to receive the attack. In +numbers the Americans had greatly the advantage; but in discipline and +equipment the superiority was entirely with their enemies. The arrangements for +the battle were brief, and by the time the sun rose the militia moved forward. +</p> + +<p> +The ground did not admit of the movements of horse; and the only duty that +could be assigned to the dragoons was to watch the moment of victory, and +endeavor to improve the success to the utmost. Lawton soon got his warriors +into the saddle; and leaving them to the charge of Hollister, he rode himself +along the line of foot, who, in varied dresses, and imperfectly armed, were +formed in a shape that in some degree resembled a martial array. A scornful +smile lowered about the lip of the trooper as he guided Roanoke with a skillful +hand through the windings of their ranks; and when the word was given to march, +he turned the flank of the regiment, and followed close in the rear. The +Americans had to descend into a little hollow, and rise a hill on its opposite +side, to approach the enemy. +</p> + +<p> +The descent was made with tolerable steadiness, until near the foot of the +hill, when the royal troops advanced in a beautiful line, with their flanks +protected by the formation of the ground. The appearance of the British drew a +fire from the militia, which was given with good effect, and for a moment +staggered the regulars. But they were rallied by their officers, and threw in +volley after volley with great steadiness. For a short time the fire was warm +and destructive, until the English advanced with the bayonet. This assault the +militia had not sufficient discipline to withstand. Their line wavered, then +paused, and finally broke into companies and fragments of companies, keeping up +at the same time a scattering and desultory fire. +</p> + +<p> +Lawton witnessed these operations in silence, nor did he open his mouth until +the field was covered with parties of the flying Americans. Then, indeed, he +seemed stung with the disgrace thus heaped upon the arms of his country. +Spurring Roanoke along the side of the hill, he called to the fugitives in all +the strength of his powerful voice. He pointed to the enemy, and assured his +countrymen that they had mistaken the way. There was such a mixture of +indifference and irony in his exhortations that a few paused in +surprise—more joined them, until, roused by the example of the trooper, +and stimulated by their own spirit, they demanded to be led against their foe +once more. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on, then, my brave friends!” shouted the trooper, turning his +horse’s head towards the British line, one flank of which was very near +him; “come on, and hold your fire until it will scorch their +eyebrows.” +</p> + +<p> +The men sprang forward, and followed his example, neither giving nor receiving +a fire until they had come within a very short distance of the enemy. An +English sergeant, who had been concealed by a rock, enraged with the audacity +of the officer who thus dared their arms, stepped from behind his cover, and +leveled his musket. +</p> + +<p> +“Fire and you die!” cried Lawton, spurring his charger, which +leaped forward at the instant. The action and the tone of his voice shook the +nerves of the Englishman, who drew his trigger with an uncertain aim. Roanoke +sprang with all his feet from the earth, and, plunging, fell headlong and +lifeless at the feet of his destroyer. Lawton kept his feet, standing face to +face with his enemy. The latter presented his bayonet, and made a desperate +thrust at the trooper’s heart. The steel of their weapons emitted sparks +of fire, and the bayonet flew fifty feet in the air. At the next moment its +owner lay a quivering corpse. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on!” shouted the trooper, as a body of English appeared on +the rock, and threw in a close fire. “Come on!” he repeated, and +brandished his saber fiercely. Then his gigantic form fell backward, like a +majestic pine yielding to the ax; but still, as he slowly fell, he continued to +wield his saber, and once more the deep tones of his voice were heard uttering, +“Come on!” +</p> + +<p> +The advancing Americans paused aghast, and, turning, they abandoned the field +to the royal troops. +</p> + +<p> +It was neither the intention nor the policy of the English commander to pursue +his success, for he well knew that strong parties of the Americans would soon +arrive; accordingly he only tarried to collect his wounded, and forming in a +square, he commenced his retreat towards the shipping. Within twenty minutes of +the fall of Lawton, the ground was deserted by both English and Americans. When +the inhabitants of the country were called upon to enter the field, they were +necessarily attended by such surgical advisers as were furnished by the low +state of the profession in the interior at that day. Dr. Sitgreaves entertained +quite as profound a contempt for the medical attendants of the militia as the +captain did of the troops themselves. He wandered, therefore, around the field, +casting many a glance of disapprobation at the slight operations that came +under his eye; but when, among the flying troops, he found that his comrade and +friend was nowhere to be seen, he hastened back to the spot at which Hollister +was posted, to inquire if the trooper had returned. Of course, the answer was +in the negative. Filled with a thousand uneasy conjectures, the surgeon, +without regarding, or indeed without at all reflecting upon any dangers that +might lie in his way, strode over the ground at an enormous rate, to the point +where he knew the final struggle had been. Once before, the surgeon had rescued +his friend from death in a similar situation; and he felt a secret joy in his +own conscious skill, as he perceived Betty Flanagan seated on the ground, +holding in her lap the head of a man whose size and dress he knew could belong +only to the trooper. As he approached the spot, the surgeon became alarmed at +the aspect of the washerwoman. Her little black bonnet was thrown aside, and +her hair, which was already streaked with gray, hung around her face in +disorder. +</p> + +<p> +“John! dear John!” said the doctor, tenderly, as he bent and laid +his hand upon the senseless wrist of the trooper, from which it recoiled with +an intuitive knowledge of his fate. “John! where are you hurt?—can +I help you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ye talk to the senseless clay,” said Betty, rocking her body, and +unconsciously playing with the raven ringlets of the trooper’s hair; +“it’s no more will he hear, and it’s but little will he mind +yeer probes and yeer med’cines. Och hone,” och hone!—and +where will be the liberty now? or who will there be to fight the battle, or +gain the day?” +</p> + +<p> +“John!” repeated the surgeon, still unwilling to believe the +evidence of his unerring senses. “Dear John, speak to me; say what you +will, that you do but speak. Oh, God! he is dead; would that I had died with +him!” +</p> + +<p> +“There is but little use in living and fighting now,” said Betty. +“Both him and the baste! see, there is the poor cratur, and here is the +master! I fed the horse with my own hands, the day; and the last male that +<i>he</i> ate was of my own cooking. Och hone! och hone!—that Captain +Jack should live to be killed by the rig’lars!” +</p> + +<p> +“John! my dear John!” said the surgeon, with convulsive sobs, +“thy hour has come, and many a more prudent man survives thee; but none +better, nor braver. O John, thou wert to me a kind friend, and very dear; it is +unphilosophical to grieve; but for thee I must weep, in bitterness of +heart.” +</p> + +<p> +The doctor buried his face in his hands, and for several minutes sat yielding +to an ungovernable burst of sorrow; while the washerwoman gave vent to her +grief in words, moving her body in a kind of writhing, and playing with +different parts of her favorite’s dress with her fingers. +</p> + +<p> +“And who’ll there be to encourage the boys now?” she said. +“O Captain Jack! ye was the sowl of the troop, and it was but little we +knowed of the danger, and ye fighting. Och! he was no maly-mouthed, that +quarreled wid a widowed woman for the matter of a burn in the mate, or the want +of a breakfast. Taste a drop, darling, and it may be, ’twill revive ye. +Och! and he’ll niver taste ag’in; here’s the doctor, honey, +him ye used to blarney wid, waping as if the poor sowl would die for ye. Och! +he’s gone, he’s gone; and the liberty is gone with him.” +</p> + +<p> +A thundering sound of horses’ feet came rolling along the road which led +near the place where Lawton lay, and directly the whole body of Virginians +appeared, with Dunwoodie at their head. The news of the captain’s fate +had reached him, for the instant that he saw the body he halted the squadron, +and, dismounting, approached the spot. The countenance of Lawton was not in the +least distorted, but the angry frown which had lowered over his brow during the +battle was fixed even in death. His frame was composed, and stretched as in +sleep. Dunwoodie took hold of his hand, and gazed a moment in silence; his own +dark eye kindled, and the paleness which had overspread his features was +succeeded by a spot of deep red in either cheek. +</p> + +<p> +“With his own sword will I avenge him!” he cried, endeavoring to +take the weapon from the hand of Lawton; but the grasp resisted his utmost +strength. “It shall be buried with him. Sitgreaves, take care of our +friend, while I revenge his death.” +</p> + +<p> +The major hastened back to his charger, and led the way in pursuit of the +enemy. +</p> + +<p> +While Dunwoodie had been thus engaged, the body of Lawton lay in open view of +the whole squadron. He was a universal favorite, and the sight inflamed the men +to the utmost: neither officers nor soldiers possessed that coolness which is +necessary to insure success in military operations; they spurred after their +enemies, burning for vengeance. +</p> + +<p> +The English were formed in a hollow square, which contained their wounded, who +were far from numerous, and were marching steadily across a very uneven country +as the dragoons approached. The horse charged in column, and were led by +Dunwoodie, who, burning with revenge, thought to ride through their ranks, and +scatter them at a blow. But the enemy knew their own strength too well, and, +standing firm, they received the charge on the points of their bayonets. The +horses of the Virginians recoiled, and the rear rank of the foot throwing in a +close fire, the major, with a few men, fell. The English continued their +retreat the moment they were extricated from their assailants; and Dunwoodie, +who was severely, but not dangerously wounded, recalled his men from further +attempts, which must be fruitless. +</p> + +<p> +A sad duty remained to be fulfilled. The dragoons retired slowly through the +hills, conveying their wounded commander, and the body of Lawton. The latter +they interred under the ramparts of one of the Highland forts, and the former +they consigned to the tender care of his afflicted bride. +</p> + +<p> +Many weeks were gone before the major was restored to sufficient strength to be +removed. During those weeks, how often did he bless the moment that gave him a +right to the services of his beautiful nurse! She hung around his couch with +fond attention, administered with her own hands every prescription of the +indefatigable Sitgreaves, and grew each hour in the affections and esteem of +her husband. An order from Washington soon sent the troops into winter +quarters, and permission was given to Dunwoodie to repair to his own +plantation, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, in order to complete the +restoration of his health. Captain Singleton made one of the party; and the +whole family retired from the active scenes of the war, to the ease and plenty +of the major’s own estate. Before leaving Fishkill, however, letters were +conveyed to them, through an unknown hand, acquainting them with Henry’s +safety and good health; and also that Colonel Wellmere had left the continent +for his native island, lowered in the estimation of every honest man in the +royal army. +</p> + +<p> +It was a happy winter for Dunwoodie, and smiles once more began to play around +the lovely mouth of Frances. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap34"></a>CHAPTER XXXIV.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +’Midst furs, and silks, and jewels’ sheen,<br/> +He stood, in simple Lincoln green,<br/> +The center of the glittering ring;<br/> +And Snowdon’s knight is Scotland’s king! +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—<i>Lady of the Lake</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The commencement of the following year was passed, on the part of the +Americans, in making great preparations, in conjunction with their allies, to +bring the war to a close. In the South, Greene and Rawdon made a bloody +campaign, that was highly honorable to the troops of the latter, but which, by +terminating entirely to the advantage of the former, proved him to be the +better general of the two. +</p> + +<p> +New York was the point that was threatened by the allied armies; and +Washington, by exciting a constant apprehension for the safety of that city, +prevented such reënforcements from being sent to Cornwallis as would have +enabled him to improve his success. +</p> + +<p> +At length, as autumn approached, every indication was given that the final +moment had arrived. +</p> + +<p> +The French forces drew near to the royal lines, passing through the neutral +ground, and threatened an attack in the direction of King’s Bridge, while +large bodies of Americans were acting in concert. By hovering around the +British posts, and drawing nigh in the Jerseys, they seemed to threaten the +royal forces from that quarter also. The preparations partook of the nature of +both a siege and a storm. But Sir Henry Clinton, in the possession of +intercepted letters from Washington, rested within his lines, and cautiously +disregarded the solicitations of Cornwallis for succor. +</p> + +<p> +It was at the close of a stormy day in the month of September, that a large +assemblage of officers was collected near the door of a building that was +situated in the heart of the Americans troops, who held the Jerseys. The age, +the dress, and the dignity of deportment of most of these warriors, indicated +them to be of high rank; but to one in particular was paid a deference and +obedience that announced him to be of the highest. His dress was plain, but it +bore the usual military distinctions of command. He was mounted on a noble +animal, of a deep bay; and a group of young men, in gayer attire, evidently +awaited his pleasure and did his bidding. Many a hat was lifted as its owner +addressed this officer; and when he spoke, a profound attention, exceeding the +respect of mere professional etiquette, was exhibited on every countenance. At +length the general raised his own hat, and bowed gravely to all around him. The +salute was returned, and the party dispersed, leaving the officer without a +single attendant, except his body servants and one aid-de-camp. Dismounting, he +stepped back a few paces, and for a moment viewed the condition of his horse +with the eye of one who well understood the animal, and then, casting a brief +but expressive glance at his aid, he retired into the building, followed by +that gentleman. +</p> + +<p> +On entering an apartment that was apparently fitted for his reception, he took +a seat, and continued for a long time in a thoughtful attitude, like one in the +habit of communing much with himself. During this silence, the aid-de-camp +stood in expectation of his orders. At length the general raised his eyes, and +spoke in those low, placid tones that seemed natural to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Has the man whom I wished to see arrived, sir?” +</p> + +<p> +“He waits the pleasure of your excellency.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will receive him here, and alone, if you please.” +</p> + +<p> +The aid bowed and withdrew. In a few minutes the door again opened, and a +figure, gliding into the apartment, stood modestly at a distance from the +general, without speaking. His entrance was unheard by the officer, who sat +gazing at the fire, still absorbed in his own meditations. Several minutes +passed, when he spoke to himself in an undertone,— +</p> + +<p> +“To-morrow we must raise the curtain, and expose our plans. May Heaven +prosper them!” +</p> + +<p> +A slight movement made by the stranger caught his ear, and he turned his head, +and saw that he was not alone. He pointed silently to the fire, toward which +the figure advanced, although the multitude of his garments, which seemed more +calculated for disguise than comfort, rendered its warmth unnecessary. A second +mild and courteous gesture motioned to a vacant chair, but the stranger refused +it with a modest acknowledgment. Another pause followed, and continued for some +time. At length the officer arose, and opening a desk that was laid upon the +table near which he sat, took from it a small, but apparently heavy bag. +</p> + +<p> +“Harvey Birch,” he said, turning to the stranger, “the time +has arrived when our connection must cease; henceforth and forever we must be +strangers.” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler dropped the folds of the greatcoat that concealed his features, and +gazed for a moment earnestly at the face of the speaker; then dropping his head +upon his bosom, he said, meekly,— +</p> + +<p> +“If it be your excellency’s pleasure.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is necessary. Since I have filled the station which I now hold, it +has become my duty to know many men, who, like yourself, have been my +instruments in procuring intelligence. You have I trusted more than all; I +early saw in you a regard to truth and principle, that, I am pleased to say, +has never deceived me—you alone know my secret agents in the city, and on +your fidelity depend, not only their fortunes, but their lives.” +</p> + +<p> +He paused, as if to reflect in order that full justice might be done to the +peddler, and then continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“I believe you are one of the very few that I have employed who have +acted faithfully to our cause; and, while you have passed as a spy of the +enemy, have never given intelligence that you were not permitted to divulge. To +me, and to me only of all the world, you seem to have acted with a strong +attachment to the liberties of America.” +</p> + +<p> +During this address, Harvey gradually raised his head from his bosom, until it +reached the highest point of elevation; a faint tinge gathered in his cheeks, +and, as the officer concluded, it was diffused over his whole countenance in a +deep glow, while he stood proudly swelling with his emotions, but with eyes +that sought the feet of the speaker. +</p> + +<p> +“It is now my duty to pay you for these services; hitherto you have +postponed receiving your reward, and the debt has become a heavy one—I +wish not to undervalue your dangers; here are a hundred doubloons; remember the +poverty of our country, and attribute to it the smallness of your pay.” +</p> + +<p> +The peddler raised his eyes to the countenance of the speaker; but, as the +other held forth the money, he moved back, as if refusing the bag. +</p> + +<p> +“It is not much for your services and risks, I acknowledge,” +continued the general, “but it is all that I have to offer; hereafter, it +may be in my power to increase it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Does your excellency think that I have exposed my life, and blasted my +character, for money?” +</p> + +<p> +“If not for money, what then?” +</p> + +<p> +“What has brought your excellency into the field? For what do you daily +and hourly expose your precious life to battle and the halter? What is there +about me to mourn, when such men as you risk their all for our country? No, no, +no—not a dollar of your gold will I touch; poor America has need of it +all!” +</p> + +<p> +The bag dropped from the hand of the officer, and fell at the feet of the +peddler, where it lay neglected during the remainder of the interview. The +officer looked steadily at the face of his companion, and continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“There are many motives which might govern me, that to you are unknown. +Our situations are different; I am known as the leader of armies—but you +must descend into the grave with the reputation of a foe to your native land. +Remember that the veil which conceals your true character cannot be raised in +years—perhaps never.” +</p> + +<p> +Birch again lowered his face, but there was no yielding of the soul in the +movement. +</p> + +<p> +“You will soon be old; the prime of your days is already past; what have +you to subsist on?” +</p> + +<p> +“These!” said the peddler, stretching forth his hands, that were +already embrowned with toil. +</p> + +<p> +“But those may fail you; take enough to secure a support to your age. +Remember your risks and cares. I have told you that the characters of men who +are much esteemed in life depend on your secrecy; what pledge can I give them +of your fidelity?” +</p> + +<p> +“Tell them,” said Birch, advancing and unconsciously resting one +foot on the bag, “tell them that I would not take the gold!” +</p> + +<p> +The composed features of the officer relaxed into a smile of benevolence, and +he grasped the hand of the peddler firmly. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, indeed, I know you; and although the same reasons which have +hitherto compelled me to expose your valuable life will still exist, and +prevent my openly asserting your character, in private I can always be your +friend; fail not to apply to me when in want or suffering, and so long as God +giveth to me, so long will I freely share with a man who feels so nobly and +acts so well. If sickness or want should ever assail you and peace once more +smile upon our efforts, seek the gate of him whom you have so often met as +Harper, and he will not blush to acknowledge you.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is little that I need in this life,” said Harvey; “so +long as God gives me health and honest industry, I can never want in this +country; but to know that your excellency is my friend is a blessing that I +prize more than all the gold of England’s treasury.” +</p> + +<p> +The officer stood for a few moments in the attitude of intense thought. He then +drew to him the desk, and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, and gave it to +the peddler. +</p> + +<p> +“That Providence destines this country to some great and glorious fate I +must believe, while I witness the patriotism that pervades the bosoms of her +lowest citizens,” he said. “It must be dreadful to a mind like +yours to descend into the grave, branded as a foe to liberty; but you already +know the lives that would be sacrificed, should your real character be +revealed. It is impossible to do you justice now, but I fearlessly intrust you +with this certificate; should we never meet again, it may be serviceable to +your children.” +</p> + +<p> +“Children!” exclaimed the peddler, “can I give to a family +the infamy of my name?” +</p> + +<p> +The officer gazed at the strong emotion he exhibited with pain, and he made a +slight movement towards the gold; but it was arrested by the expression of his +companion’s face. Harvey saw the intention, and shook his head, as he +continued more mildly,— +</p> + +<p> +“It is, indeed, a treasure that your excellency gives me: it is safe, +too. There are men living who could say that my life was nothing to me, +compared to your secrets. The paper that I told you was lost I swallowed when +taken last by the Virginians. It was the only time I ever deceived your +excellency, and it shall be the last; yes, this is, indeed, a treasure to me; +perhaps,” he continued, with a melancholy smile, “it may be known +after my death who was my friend; but if it should not, there are none to +grieve for me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Remember,” said the officer, with strong emotion, “that in +me you will always have a secret friend; but openly I cannot know you.” +</p> + +<p> +“I know it, I know it,” said Birch; “I knew it when I took +the service. ’Tis probably the last time that I shall ever see your +excellency. May God pour down His choicest blessings on your head!” He +paused, and moved towards the door. The officer followed him with eyes that +expressed deep interest. Once more the peddler turned, and seemed to gaze on +the placid, but commanding features of the general with regret and reverence, +and, bowing low, he withdrew. +</p> + +<p> +The armies of America and France were led by their illustrious commander +against the enemy under Cornwallis, and terminated a campaign in triumph that +had commenced in difficulties. Great Britain soon after became disgusted with +the war; and the States’ independence was acknowledged. +</p> + +<p> +As years rolled by, it became a subject of pride among the different actors in +the war, and their descendants, to boast of their efforts in the cause which +had confessedly heaped so many blessings upon their country; but the name of +Harvey Birch died away among the multitude of agents who were thought to have +labored in secret against the rights of their countrymen. His image, however, +was often present to the mind of the powerful chief, who alone knew his true +character; and several times did he cause secret inquiries to be made into the +other’s fate, one of which only resulted in any success. By this he +learned that a peddler of a different name, but similar appearance, was toiling +through the new settlements that were springing up in every direction, and that +he was struggling with the advance of years and apparent poverty. Death +prevented further inquiries on the part of the officer, and a long period +passed before he was again heard of. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap35"></a>CHAPTER XXXV.</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Some village Hampden, that with dauntless breast<br/> +The village tyrant of his fields withstood—<br/> +Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest;<br/> +Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country’s blood. +</p> + +<p class="left"> +—GRAY. +</p> + +<p> +It was thirty-three years after the interview which we have just related that +an American army was once more arrayed against the troops of England; but the +scene was transferred from Hudson’s banks to those of the Niagara. +</p> + +<p> +The body of Washington had long lain moldering in the tomb; but as time was +fast obliterating the slight impressions of political enmity or personal envy, +his name was hourly receiving new luster, and his worth and integrity each +moment became more visible, not only to his countrymen, but to the world. He +was already the acknowledged hero of an age of reason and truth; and many a +young heart, amongst those who formed the pride of our army in 1814, was +glowing with the recollection of the one great name of America, and inwardly +beating with the sanguine expectation of emulating, in some degree, its renown. +In no one were these virtuous hopes more vivid than in the bosom of a young +officer who stood on the table rock, contemplating the great cataract, on the +evening of the 25th of July of that bloody year. The person of this youth was +tall and finely molded, indicating a just proportion between strength and +activity; his deep black eyes were of a searching and dazzling brightness. At +times, as they gazed upon the flood of waters that rushed tumultuously at his +feet, there was a stern and daring look that flashed from them, which denoted +the ardor of an enthusiast. But this proud expression was softened by the lines +of a mouth around which there played a suppressed archness, that partook of +feminine beauty. His hair shone in the setting sun like ringlets of gold, as +the air from the falls gently moved the rich curls from a forehead whose +whiteness showed that exposure and heat alone had given their darker hue to a +face glowing with health. There was another officer standing by the side of +this favored youth; and both seemed, by the interest they betrayed, to be +gazing, for the first time, at the wonder of the western world. A profound +silence was observed by each, until the companion of the officer that we have +described suddenly started, and pointing eagerly with his sword into the abyss +beneath, exclaimed,— +</p> + +<p> +“See! Wharton, there is a man crossing in the very eddies of the +cataract, and in a skiff no bigger than an eggshell.” +</p> + +<p> +“He has a knapsack—it is probably a soldier,” returned the +other. “Let us meet him at the ladder, Mason, and learn his +tidings.” +</p> + +<p> +Some time was expended in reaching the spot where the adventurer was +intercepted. Contrary to the expectations of the young soldiers, he proved to +be a man far advanced in life, and evidently no follower of the camp. His years +might be seventy, and they were indicated more by the thin hairs of silver that +lay scattered over his wrinkled brow, than by any apparent failure of his +system. His frame was meager and bent; but it was the attitude of habit, for +his sinews were strung with the toil of half a century. His dress was mean, and +manifested the economy of its owner, by the number and nature of its repairs. +On his back was a scantily furnished pack, that had led to the mistake in his +profession. A few words of salutation, and, on the part of the young men, of +surprise, that one so aged should venture so near the whirlpools of the +cataract, were exchanged; when the old man inquired, with a voice that began to +manifest the tremor of age, the news from the contending armies. +</p> + +<p> +“We whipped the redcoats here the other day, among the grass on the +Chippewa plains,” said the one who was called Mason; “since when, +we have been playing hide and go seek with the ships: but we are now marching +back from where we started, shaking our heads, and as surly as the +devil.” +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps you have a son among the soldiers,” said his companion, +with a milder demeanor, and an air of kindness; “if so, tell me his name +and regiment, and I will take you to him.” +</p> + +<p> +The old man shook his head, and, passing his hand over his silver locks, with +an air of meek resignation, he answered,— +</p> + +<p> +“No; I am alone in the world!” +</p> + +<p> +“You should have added, Captain Dunwoodie,” cried his careless +comrade, “if you could find either; for nearly half our army has marched +down the road, and may be, by this time, under the walls of Fort George, for +anything that we know to the contrary.” +</p> + +<p> +The old man stopped suddenly, and looked earnestly from one of his companions +to the other; the action being observed by the soldiers, they paused also. +</p> + +<p> +“Did I hear right?” the stranger uttered, raising his hand to +screen his eyes from the rays of the setting sun. “What did he call +you?” “My name is Wharton Dunwoodie,” replied the youth, +smiling. The stranger motioned silently for him to remove his hat, which the +youth did accordingly, and his fair hair blew aside like curls of silk, and +opened the whole of his ingenuous countenance to the inspection of the other. +“’Tis like our native land!” exclaimed the old man with +vehemence, “improving with time; God has blessed both.” “Why +do you stare thus, Lieutenant Mason?” cried Captain Dunwoodie, laughing a +little. “You show more astonishment than when you saw the falls.” +“Oh, the falls!—they are a thing to be looked at on a moonshiny +night, by your Aunt Sarah and that gay old bachelor, Colonel Singleton; but a +fellow like myself never shows surprise, unless it may be at such a touch as +this.” The extraordinary vehemence of the stranger’s manner had +passed away as suddenly as it was exhibited, but he listened to this speech +with deep interest, while Dunwoodie replied, a little +gravely,—“Come, come, Tom, no jokes about my good aunt, I beg; she +is kindness itself, and I have heard it whispered that her youth was not +altogether happy.” “Why, as to rumor,” said Mason, +“there goes one in Accomac, that Colonel Singleton offers himself to her +regularly every Valentine’s day; and there are some who add that your old +great-aunt helps his suit.” “Aunt Jeanette!” said Dunwoodie, +laughing. “Dear, good soul, she thinks but little of marriage in any +shape, I believe, since the death of Dr. Sitgreaves. There were some whispers +of a courtship between them formerly, but it ended in nothing but civilities, +and I suspect that the whole story arises from the intimacy of Colonel +Singleton and my father. You know they were comrades in the horse, as indeed +was your own father.” +</p> + +<p> +“I know all that, of course; but you must not tell me that the +particular, prim bachelor goes so often to General Dunwoodie’s plantation +merely for the sake of talking old soldier with your father. The last time I +was there, that yellow, sharp-nosed housekeeper of your mother’s took me +into the pantry, and said that the colonel was no despisable match, as she +called it, and how the sale of his plantation in Georgia had brought +him—oh, Lord! I don’t know how much.” +</p> + +<p> +“Quite likely,” returned the captain, “Katy Haynes is no bad +calculator.” +</p> + +<p> +They had stopped during this conversation, in uncertainty whether their new +companion was to be left or not. +</p> + +<p> +The old man listened to each word as it was uttered, with the most intense +interest; but, towards the conclusion of the dialogue, the earnest attention of +his countenance changed to a kind of inward smile. He shook his head, and, +passing his hands over his forehead, seemed to be thinking of other times. +Mason paid but little attention to the expression of his features, and +continued,— +</p> + +<p> +“To me, she is selfishness embodied!” +</p> + +<p> +“Her selfishness does but little harm,” returned Dunwoodie. +“One of her greatest difficulties is her aversion to the blacks. She says +that she never saw but one she liked.” +</p> + +<p> +“And who was he?” +</p> + +<p> +“His name was Caesar; he was a house servant of my late grandfather +Wharton. You don’t remember him, I believe; he died the same year with +his master, while we were children. Katy yearly sings his requiem, and, upon my +word, I believe he deserved it. I have heard something of his helping my +English uncle, as we call General Wharton, in some difficulty that occurred in +the old war. My mother always speaks of him with great affection. Both Caesar +and Katy came to Virginia with my mother when she married. My mother +was—” +</p> + +<p> +“An angel!” interrupted the old man, in a voice that startled the +young soldiers by its abruptness and energy. +</p> + +<p> +“Did you know her?” cried the son, with a glow of pleasure on his +cheek. +</p> + +<p> +The reply of the stranger was interrupted by sudden and heavy explosions of +artillery, which were immediately followed by continued volleys of small arms, +and in a few minutes the air was filled with the tumult of a warm and +well-contested battle. +</p> + +<p> +The two soldiers hastened with precipitation towards the camp, accompanied by +their new acquaintance. The excitement and anxiety created by the approaching +fight prevented a continuance of the conversation, and the three held their way +to the army, making occasional conjectures on the cause of the fire, and the +probability of a general engagement. During their short and hurried walk, +Captain Dunwoodie, however, threw several friendly glances at the old man, who +moved over the ground with astonishing energy for his years, for the heart of +the youth was warmed by an eulogium on a mother that he adored. In a short time +they joined the regiment to which the officers belonged, when the captain, +squeezing the stranger’s hand, earnestly begged that he would make +inquiries after him on the following morning, and that he might see him in his +own tent. Here they separated. +</p> + +<p> +Everything in the American camp announced an approaching struggle. At a +distance of a few miles, the sound of cannon and musketry was heard above the +roar of the cataract. The troops were soon in motion, and a movement made to +support the division of the army which was already engaged. Night had set in +before the reserve and irregulars reached the foot of Lundy’s Lane, a +road that diverged from the river and crossed a conical eminence, at no great +distance from the Niagara highway. The summit of this hill was crowned with the +cannon of the British, and in the flat beneath was the remnant of Scott’s +gallant brigade, which for a long time had held an unequal contest with +distinguished bravery. A new line was interposed, and one column of the +Americans directed to charge up the hill, parallel to the road. This column +took the English in flank, and, bayoneting their artillerists, gained +possession of the cannon. They were immediately joined by their comrades, and +the enemy was swept from the hill. But large reenforcements were joining the +English general momentarily, and their troops were too brave to rest easy under +the defeat. Repeated and bloody charges were made to recover the guns, but in +all they were repulsed with slaughter. During the last of these struggles, the +ardor of the youthful captain whom we have mentioned urged him to lead his men +some distance in advance, to scatter a daring party of the enemy. He succeeded, +but in returning to the line missed his lieutenant from the station that he +ought to have occupied. Soon after this repulse, which was the last, orders +were given to the shattered troops to return to the camp. The British were +nowhere to be seen, and preparations were made to take in such of the wounded +as could be moved. At this moment Wharton Dunwoodie, impelled by affection for +his friend, seized a lighted fusee, and taking two of his men went himself in +quest of his body, where he was supposed to have fallen. Mason was found on the +side of the hill, seated with great composure, but unable to walk from a +fractured leg. Dunwoodie saw and flew to the side of his comrade, +saying,— +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! dear Tom, I knew I should find you the nearest man to the +enemy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Softly, softly; handle me tenderly,” replied the lieutenant. +“No, there is a brave fellow still nearer than myself, and who he can be +I know not. He rushed out of our smoke, near my platoon, to make a prisoner or +some such thing, but, poor fellow, he never came back; there he lies just over +the hillock. I have spoken to him several times, but I fancy he is past +answering.” +</p> + +<p> +Dunwoodie went to the spot, and to his astonishment beheld the aged stranger. +</p> + +<p> +“It is the old man who knew my mother!” cried the youth. “For +her sake he shall have honorable burial; lift him, and let him be carried in; +his bones shall rest on native soil.” +</p> + +<p> +The men approached to obey. He was lying on his back, with his face exposed to +the glaring light of the fusee; his eyes were closed, as if in slumber; his +lips, sunken with years, were slightly moved from their natural position, but +it seemed more like a smile than a convulsion which had caused the change. A +soldier’s musket lay near him; his hands were pressed upon his breast, +and one of them contained a substance that glittered like silver. Dunwoodie +stooped, and removing the limbs, perceived the place where the bullet had found +a passage to his heart. The subject of his last care was a tin box, through +which the fatal lead had gone; and the dying moments of the old man must have +passed in drawing it from his bosom. Dunwoodie opened it, and found a paper in +which, to his astonishment, he read the following:— +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“Circumstances of political importance, which involve the lives and +fortunes of many, have hitherto kept secret what this paper now reveals. Harvey +Birch has for years been a faithful and unrequited servant of his country. +Though man does not, may God reward him for his conduct!” +</p> + +<p class="right"> +GEO. WASHINGTON. +</p> + +<p> +It was the SPY OF THE NEUTRAL GROUND, who died as he had lived, devoted to his +country, and a martyr to her liberties. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spy, by James Fenimore Cooper + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPY *** + +***** This file should be named 9845-h.htm or 9845-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/8/4/9845/ + +Produced by PG Distributed Proofreading Team + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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