■ BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 FROM THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWNENT FUND . 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 HenrQ^ W. Sage 
 
 1891 
 
 A-.IAl^i^'! /^.^Jjpo 
 
B. PETERSO.^ & BBOTIIERS' PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 The Books on this Page are the Best and Latest Publications by 
 
 the most Popular and Celebrated Writers in the World. They are 
 
 also the most Readable and Entertaining Books published. 
 
 Suitable for tlie Parlor, Library, SitliHg-fioom, Railraad, -Steamhial, or Chaialier Reading. 
 
 PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE BY 
 
 T, B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 AIRS. ANN S. STEPHKNS' ^VORKS. 
 
 M.ary Dertvent. This is Mrs. Ana 
 S. BtepUens* new work. Complete 
 in two volumes, paper cover. Price 
 One Dollar ; or in one vol., cloth^ $1.25. 
 
 FasUion and Famine* Two vol- 
 nmes, p -per cover. Price One Dol lar ; 
 or in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 Tlie Old Homestead. Two vol- 
 umes, paper cover. Price One Dollar ; 
 or in one volume, cloth, for $1.25, 
 
 Tlie Gipsy's Legacy; or, tUe 
 Heiress of Greenliurst. TWo 
 volumes, paper cover. Price One Dol- 
 lar; or in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 COOK BOOKS. 
 
 Bliss Iieslle's New Cookery 
 
 Boole. Being tlie tnrgest, best, and 
 moHt complete Cook Book ever got up 
 by Ulss Leslie. Bound. Price $1.25. 
 Airs. Hale's Ne^y Cook Book. 
 By Mrs. Sarah J. Hale. One volume, 
 bound. Price One Collar. 
 
 BKST IN THE TTORIiO. 
 
 AIlss Ijeslle's Ne-w Receipts 
 for Cooking'. Complete in one 
 volume, bouud. Price One Dollar. 
 
 -Widdifield's New Cook Book, 
 
 or, Practical Keceipts for the House- 
 wife. Kecommeaded by all. One vol- 
 ume, cloth. Price One Dollar. 
 
 AIRS. HAIiE'S RKCEIPTS. 
 
 Airs. Hale's Receipts for tke 
 Aim Ion. Containing Four Thou- 
 sand Five Hundred and Forty-five Ke- 
 ceipts, Facts, Directions, and Know- 
 ledge for All, ia the Useful, Orna- 
 
 mental, and Domestic Arts. Being a 
 complete Family Directory and House- 
 hold Guide for the Million. By Mrs. 
 Sarah J. Hale. .One volume, SOG pages, 
 strongly bouud. Price,. $^.25. 
 
 MISS FARDOG'S W^ORKS. 
 
 Confessions of a Pretty "Wo- 
 uiau. By Miss Pardee. Complete 
 la oae large octavo volume. 50 ceuts. 
 
 The Jealous "Wife. ByMlssPar- 
 doe. Complete ia one large octavo 
 volume. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Tlie 'Wife's Trials, By Miss Par- 
 doe. Complete ia one large octavo 
 volume. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 JAS. A. AIAITLAND'I 
 The Diary of an Old Doctor. 
 
 Complete in two vols,, paper cover. 
 Price One Dollar ; or in cloth, $1.25. 
 
 The TVatchman. Complete in two 
 large vols., papqr cover. Price One 
 Dollar ; or in one volume, cloth, $1,95. 
 
 The Wanderer. Complete in two 
 voiomes, paper cover. Price One Dol- 
 lar ; or in. one vol., cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The Rival Beauties. By Miss 
 Pardoe. Complete in one large octavo 
 volume. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Rontauce of the Harem. By 
 
 Miss Pardoe. Complete in ene large 
 octavo volume. Price Fifty cents. 
 The whole of the c^ove Five works are 
 
 also bound in cloth, gilt, in one large 
 
 octavo volume. Price $2.50. 
 
 S GREAT. WORKS. 
 The La^vyer's Story; or, The 
 
 Orphan's Wrongs. Two vols., paper 
 cover. Price One Dollar ; or bound in 
 one volume, cloth, for $1,25, 
 
 Sartaroe* A Tale of Norvray. 
 
 Highly recommended by Washington 
 Irving. Complete in two volumes, pa- 
 per cover. Price One Dollar ; or htfund 
 in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 (>) Copies of any of the above Worlis will be sent by Mail to any one, Free (^ 
 ' of Postage, on mailing the Price in a letter to Peterson & Brothers. ^ 
 
 i>G^@ 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92402201 3886 
 
Cornell University Library 
 PS 2151.J34W6 1861 
 
 Secession, coercion, and civil war.Thes 
 
 3 1924 022 013 886 
 
SECESSION, COERCION, 
 
 AND 
 
 CIVIL WAR. 
 
 STORY OF 1861. 
 
 "This work cannot fail to create a deep sensation among all claaEes of the commanity, 
 toth on account of the topics of which it treats, and the thrilling* interest that maken 
 the reader reluctant to lay it down till he has read it quite through. Every body will 
 read it, and the effect It will hare will he of the most salutary kind, and, by showing the 
 ill effects of Coercion and Disunion, will draw the bands of Fraternity yet closer midst 
 the various sections of our great Republic. Everything in the work is of an elevating 
 character in a moral sense, and abounding in passages of rare merit and extraordinary 
 beauty, it does credit to the head and heart of the author. The stirring events and hair- 
 breadth escapes — the ups and downs — the scenes full of Joy, sorrow, hope, fear, love, 
 hatred, and In short, all the emotions of the mind — takd full possession of the reader and 
 enchain him ; while the author, like a potent magician, is perfect master of the passions 
 by one single wave of Ms enchanting wand. The work will have an immense sale. Wa 
 cordially recommend the work to the public In general, and our friends in particular. It 
 will be found a rich treat, and will not fail to improve the reader. Booksellers need 
 not be afraid of ordering this volume in quantities, as the popularity of the author's 
 other books, will produce a large sale for the new one." 
 
 J)l)UairiClj)|)ta: 
 T. B. PBTEB80N AND BROTHERS, 
 
 806 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
Batered according to Act of Coagross, in the year 1861 by 
 
 T. B. PBTEKSON & BROTHERS, 
 
 Is tlM Clwk'a Ottc* at the Diatrlot Csmt of the Unltea Aate( In Ml for t&« 
 Sutetin DldCriiSt of Pennsyltaida. 
 
Contents. 
 
 -o- 
 
 CHAPTER I. PAOB 
 
 The Eve of the Wedding, IX 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 A Midnight Conspiracy, X9 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 The Eve of Battle, 29 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 The Attack and JRepuIae, 36 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 "Wiry Willy's Pledge, 38 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 Horrors of Civil War, 44 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Edith's Disguise and Flight, 54 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 A Mob of Destructiyea, 68 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Edith at the Black Bear, ...... 7& 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Edith's Adventores, ... 80 
 
 CHAPTER- XL 
 Wiry Willy and Jack Bim - . 8T 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 Insurrection of theSlares, 93 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 A Death Scene, gg 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. PAOB 
 
 Tlie Battle of Bladenaburg, . 106 
 
 CHAPTEE XT. 
 Wiry "Willy's Strange Adventure, IIT 
 
 CIIAPTBE XVI. 
 Meeting of Blount aud Alice, 121 
 
 CHAPTER XYIL 
 Rescue of Wiry Willy, ........ 139 
 
 CHAPTER XTIIL 
 Alice and Edith, . . 14^6 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Gold, Glittering Gold 154 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Nocturnal Visitors 164 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Interview between General Blount and Edith, .... 174 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 The Invasion of the North, 178 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Excitement in the Convention 187 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Suspension of Hostilities, 194 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 The Treasure, . . 199 
 
 CHAPTER XXVL 
 Hudson's Successor, . . 205 
 
 CHAPTER 'XXVII. 
 Impending Perils, 208 
 
 ' CHAPTER XXVm. 
 
 Negotiations, .......... 214 
 
 CHAPTER T^TY . 
 Negotiations with Randolph, 217 
 
co:^TEirrs. vii 
 
 CHAPTER XXX page 
 
 The Eve of Battle, 227 
 
 CHAPTI'lR XXXI. 
 The Battle, . . 230 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 Attempted AssassinatioD ' 237 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIIl. 
 Promotion, . . . 243 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 Lord Slysir'a Captivity, 247 
 
 CHAPTER XXXT. 
 Cessation of the Bombardment, 250 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVL 
 Preparations for a Naval Battle 252 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVn. 
 Lord Slysir in Captivity, 253 
 
 CHAPTER XXXTin. 
 The Cannonade Resumed, 255 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 The Kaval Battle, 256 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 Return of the Chieftains, 259 
 
 CHAPTER XLL 
 Tlie TTnderground Bridal Chamber, 265 
 
 CHAPTER XLIL 
 Young Summers, 2V5 
 
 CHAPTER XLHL 
 The Soiree, 278 
 
 CHAPTER XMV, 
 Edith and Summers, 281 
 
 CHAPTER XLT. 
 The Council Board at Midnight, 282 
 
yiU CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLTI. paob 
 
 Wiry Wmy in New York 287 
 
 CHAPTER XLTII. 
 The Executions, ... 392 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 Startling Intelligence, 307 
 
 CHAPTER' XLIX. 
 Advance of the Invading Army, 316 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 Battle at the Bridges,' 820 
 
 CHAPTER U. 
 BuiBeton's Generalship, . 324 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 The Junction, ' 327 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 Head Quarters at Havre De Grace, 329 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 Afiaira at the Capital, 333 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 Reception at the White House, 336 
 
 CHAPTER LTI. 
 A Dark Conspiracy, 343 
 
 CHAPTER LTIL 
 The Scouts, 846 
 
 CHAPTER LYUI. 
 Last Sc^ne at the White House, 341J 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 Temptation, 350 
 
 CHAPTER LX 
 Ruffleton in the WJiite House, 854 
 
 CHAPTER LXr. 
 Mount Vernon, 355 
 
COSITENTS. IX 
 
 CHAPTER LXir. pagb 
 
 Bloimt'a Head-Quarters, 363 
 
 CHAPTER LXUL 
 The Protector in his Palace 364 
 
 CHAPTER LXrV. 
 An Alarm and a Cat>ture, 370 
 
 CHAPTER LXY. 
 The Announcement, 316 
 
 CHAPTER LXVL 
 TheMysterjr, 378 
 
 CHAPTER LXVn. 
 Nocturnal Adrenturea, 388 
 
 CHAPTER LXVni. 
 Purtlier Adventure^ 391 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX 
 Peidcral Head-Quarters, 397 
 
 CHAPTER LXX. 
 Diplomatic Categories, 401 
 
 CHAPTER LXXI. 
 The Minister of Justice, 412 
 
 CHAPTER Lrsil. 
 A Centre Temps, 416 
 
 CHAPTER LXXHL 
 The March to Richmond, . . • 450 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIT. 
 Amheist Castle, 425 
 
 CHAPTER LXXV. 
 An Esichange, , 432 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVI. 
 Arrival of the Enemy, 485 
 
 CHAPTER LXXTn. 
 Desertions to Randolph, 441 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVin 
 Koctumal Expedition, ... 441 
 
CHAPTBB, LXXIX. page 
 
 G«neralB Toler and Pell, 451 
 
 CHAPTER L2XX 
 The Prisoners, 463 
 
 CHAPTBB LXXXt 
 Startling News, 460 
 
 GHAPTBE LXXXII. 
 Balatrum in Randolph's Camp 465 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXnL 
 News from the Capital, .... . . 46T 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXIY. 
 Battle and Stampede, . . 4*12 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXT. 
 Flora's Intrepidity, 41 '7 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVL 
 Scenes at the Castle 48T 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXYIL 
 The Fugitive 492 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVm. 
 The Underground Bridal Chamber, 496 
 
 •CHAPTER LXXXIX 
 The Restoration, . . 493 
 
 Coudusion, 601 
 
CHAPTER L 
 
 THE EVB OF THB WEDDING. 
 
 Old Maud Cluskt, the cook, had repeatedly looked out 
 from the basement of a stately mansion, in the Federal 
 City, impatiently awaiting her master's return from the 
 Capitol. The hour for dinner had struck, and the punctual 
 Senator Langdon had not taken his seat at the table. And, 
 that day, of all others, the President's daughter, Alice 
 Randolph, was to dine with Miss Edith Langdon ; and the 
 day following, Miss Randolph was to be Miss Langdon's 
 pi-incipal bridesmaid. The Honorable Heniy Blount — ^for 
 he was a member of the House of Representatives, whilst 
 bis venerable father occupied a seat in the Senate — was on 
 that day to espouse the beautiful Edith in St. John's Holy 
 Church. And the daughter of the President of the United 
 States was now with the aflSanced maiden in her boudoir. 
 
 To say nothing of the honor of preparing a dinner for 
 the President's daughter, it was veiy natural for Maud to 
 evince some impatience to have it served precisely at the 
 appointed time. Her son Dick, the coachman and gardener, 
 had been despatched to the Capitol at the usual hour — and 
 now it was full twenty minutes past the ordinary time of 
 serving the first course ! 
 
 " The bad boy !" she exclaimed, vainly peering through 
 the iron railing, and evidently disposed to vent her wrath 
 on her innocent son. "He's got a watch," she continued. 
 
12 THE ETE OP THE WEDDING. 
 
 her face red with vexation, " and he ought to know the 
 things 'II be spoilt." And, just as she was in the act of re- 
 entering the door under the marble steps, her ear caught 
 the sound of wheels ; and, pausing, she beheld the gold 
 band on the hat of her boy. But he was driving most 
 furiously. " You Dick !" she exclaimed, " the Senator '11 
 kill you for such conduct. Stop, I say !" Dick did not 
 stop. He kept up an incessant fusillade with his whip on 
 the spirited horses, and, turning the corner, vanished from 
 sight. " Crazy as a loon !" cried Maud, staring wildly. 
 " What is the matter ? He's gone to the stable, and I'll 
 run through and catch him there." She did attempt it ; 
 but being extremely corpulent and short-winded, by the 
 time she was ready to enter the door of the coach-house 
 Dick emerged from it into the garden. His face was very 
 pale, and all his limbs were trembling. 
 
 " Tou Dick !" cried his mother, seizing him by the collar, 
 " Where's Senator Langdon ?" 
 
 " He's at the Capitol, in concus." 
 
 "In what?" 
 
 "In the Vice-President's room, in 'portant consulteration. 
 He told me to come home and put up the horses quietly. 
 He'll come in a hack when he's done in concus. He said 
 I musn't 'larm Miss Edith — and she and Miss Kandolph is 
 to dine together alone without him. And they musn't know 
 what's the niatter yet awhile. Then I'm to give this note, 
 and^" 
 
 "You Dick!" cried his mother, seizing him with both 
 hands, " what is the matter ?" 
 
 " Let go, or I can't speak! You choke me ! Oh Lord ! 
 I'll fa,int! I'm frightened half to death! Give me some 
 brandy, mother." 
 
 " Not a drop till you tell me I "What's happened ? 
 Come, now !" 
 
 "They've dissolved the Union !" 
 
 " Hey ! How ! What's that ?» 
 
 " These United States are all knocked into flinders '" 
 
 "Who done it?" 
 
 "Both sides. Mr. Langdon's no Senator now. Mr. 
 Randolph's no P^-eaidenl, and Miss Alice is no President's 
 daughter." 
 
 " That's a lie, Di<di ! Mr. Langdon's elected for six years, 
 
THE BVB OB" THE 'WEDDIlfS. 13 
 
 and his grandfether made the Constitution ! Taint so. 1 
 know better. There's the bell — 'run !" Dick darted for- 
 ward, leaving hia mother to follow. 
 
 Alice and Edith, unconscious of the flight of time, held 
 consultation over the rich trousseau displayed before them. 
 Satins, and laces, and flowers, and jewels, have still their 
 attractions for the sex, even while governments may be 
 crumbling into their original elements. And yet Edith and 
 Alice were not of that giddy and flippabt class which deem 
 the vanities of worldly fashion paramount to thedther objects 
 of existence. They had been schoolmates at St. Mary's Hall, 
 New Jersey, where the duties as well as' the adornments 
 of American ladies were inculcated. The bride of the mor- 
 row was rather above the medium height, though not 
 robust in form. Her pale and expressive face was regular 
 in its features, thtfugh perhaps not Sufficiently o'Val for the 
 prevailiflg taste. But her briUiaat dark eyfes, with theit long 
 silken lashes, betrayed the happy emotions of an innocent 
 heart to the beholder. With a similar stature, and equal 
 loveliness, Alice's light flaxen hair and sky-blue eyes, con- 
 trasted pleasantly with the opposite hues of those of her 
 friend. 
 
 " To-morrow, Edith, oh, to-morrow !" she exclaimed, as 
 die again surveyed the magnificent vestments spread out 
 before them. "O&e short day, and then — why are you so 
 sad, and so suddenly ?" 
 
 "Ah, Alice! you remember what the Bishop used to 
 say of the aiiti6ipations of to-morrow ! But this to-morrow 
 may colne as well as any morrow. You know I am not 
 fearfill ; indeed they call me brave ; and yet, I don't know 
 why it waS — ^but when you mentioned that word, a pang 
 seemed to shoot across my breast, atid there was a sensible 
 check of respiration. If I should know no moiTow, I would 
 be incapable of lamentation. As for Harry, I know his 
 truth and constancy. If he lives, he will come with the 
 morrow I" 
 
 " It is not to be doubted. And yet — " 
 
 " AECe, speak on. Our thoughts have ever been freely 
 shared. We are alone." 
 
 " 1 was siaying-^and yet the tlraes are perDous. Those 
 fearful resolves, so fiercely discussed, both in the country 
 and in the Capitol ; the menacing action of the State Legisla^ 
 
14 THE BTVB OB" THE WEDDIITG. 
 
 tures ; the thunders of the journals and the threats of the 
 Senators ; these, Edith, when considered in connexion with 
 the measured step of my father in the chamber directly 
 over my own, sometimes till early morn, induce the belief 
 that we may be upon the eve of some great political con- 
 vulsion." 
 
 " And what would be the fate of the President ?» 
 
 " He apprehends no perils for himself. Nor do I believe 
 he could be made very unhappy by any of the events which 
 have been prognosticated." 
 
 " Why do you not believe so ?" 
 
 "Because, once, when I supposed him ill, and rushed 
 into his presence, at the hour of two in the morning, he 
 turned quickly round, gazed a moment at my ghostly ha- 
 biliments, and then merely vented hearty peals of laughter. 
 There were no traces of vexation on his brow. He kissed 
 me, said he was never in better health or spirits, and that 
 I might slumber securely, never dreaming of loss of posi- 
 tion. He emphasized the words. And there was meaning 
 in them, Edith." 
 
 " What could he mean ?" 
 
 " I could only conjecture, for I durst not interrogate 
 him. But he who has wrought so boldly and so successfully 
 hitherto is not likely to be a loser in the political game 
 hereafter. He is not troubled, else I should see it, and I do 
 feel tolerably secure. The clock strikes." 
 
 Edith started. 
 
 " And father is not here," said she. " He should have 
 arrived fifteen minutes ago. I hear the carriage now. No ; 
 it is not his. He is never driven so furiously. But some 
 one rings," she added soon after. The ring was repeated 
 several times before Dick, released from the grasp of his 
 mother, could reach the door. 
 
 Dick, however, presently made his appearance, with two 
 notes and a card on a silver salver. 
 
 " Who left this ?" asked Alice, recognising her father's 
 handwriting. 
 
 " The gentleman's name is on the card," said Dick, stam- 
 mering, bowing, and then withdrawing. 
 
 Edith read as follows :— « My dear chUd, be not impa- 
 tient for my return. Dine with Alice, and be of good 
 cheer. I have had a lunch brought me. We have voted 
 
THE EVE OP THE WEDDIXG. 15 
 
 on the 'Abstraction Resolution,' and there is some commo- 
 tion in consequence of the result, requiring consultation. 
 Henry's father and I voted differently. I will see you in 
 an hour. Your affectionate father," etc. 
 
 " Now listen to mine," said Alice : — " J5e marble. Great 
 events are about to transpire. JSdith could furnish an ea- 
 ample of imperturbability if it were not for her approach- 
 ing nuptials and the variance between Slount and her 
 father, which may involve a temporary estranffement. Tell 
 her it will be only temporary ; and beseech her to impart 
 a portion of her native courage to her friend Alice. I 
 send this by Wiry Will, my trusty messenger. When he 
 returns from the Capitol, you may accompany him home. 
 All goes well !" 
 
 A brief pause ensued. 
 
 " You sigh, Edith," said Alice, taking the hand of her 
 pale companion. * • 
 
 " I did ; but that is past. And the tear is not followed 
 by another. The President-— your father, foresees cor- 
 rectly. BQs words were designed partly for me. His eagle 
 glance penetrates hearts, and his great mind comprehends 
 characters. If a wife, I must obey my husband — I am sure 
 I shall love him ! A daughter, my father shall command. 
 They must decide raiy course ; and once decided, Alice, 
 your friend, if not indeed marble, will not be fearful and 
 vacillating. Even you, Alice, the President's daughter, 
 may lean upon me amidst the direst convulsions that can 
 happen." 
 
 " Dear Edith, I know it well ! " said Alice, throwing her- 
 self in the arms of her fiiend. 
 
 " And there may be horrors to try us all. We may 
 suffer many pangs : but let us not forget we are capable of 
 much suffering. There is Maud. Let us dine, if not for 
 the sake of ow appetites, to please the cook, you know. 
 Come." 
 
 They repaired to the dining-room, and tasted the viands 
 and delicacies prepared with such great care and solicitude, 
 and moistened their lips with the generous wine. 
 
 " Who is this Mr. William Wire ?" asked Edith, gazing 
 at the enamelled card which had accompanied the ilotes. 
 
 " rhey call him Wiry WiUy ; and many suppose him 
 half-witted. But my father employs not, trusts not, half 
 2 
 
16 THE EVB OF THE WEDDING. 
 
 witted men. I have seen, from my chamber window, this 
 tall, pale, cadaverous youth, stride across the lawn in the 
 rear of the mansion, at late and solemn hours of the night ; 
 and he obtained ready access to my father. Once I alluded, 
 inquiringly, to these mysterious visits. My father smiled, 
 and said the youth was in love. And 'immediately after 
 added that the object of his affection was the beautiful 
 Mary Penford. She had repulsed him, in obedience to the 
 command of her grandfather, the old clerk about whom the 
 papers have said so much. And, strangely enough, it was 
 Wiry Will who obtained from the President a peremptory 
 order for the old man's restoration to the desk from which 
 the Secretary had removed him." 
 
 " And then, of course, there was gratitude, and a re- 
 moval of the cruel " 
 
 " No, Edith. Do you not know there is no such thing 
 as gratitude in politics ? You should read some of the let- 
 ters to the President. Nor yet is it the want of gratitude 
 on the old man's part. He deems himself an important 
 dignitary, and has determined to bestow the hand of Mary 
 on the Hon. Mr. Ruffleton, who is some day to be Presi- 
 dent, and then the superannuated clerk is to be promoted 
 — ^to be the chief of a bureau, if not the head of a depart- 
 ment. But why should you listen to this idle prattle ?" 
 
 " It interested me. I know Mary, and have never 
 believed the stories malignantly circulated concerning her. 
 But if we, who have parents possessing wealth and power, 
 shrink from the dark future, whose shadows are upon us, 
 what must be the meditations and the fate of poor Mary, 
 pursued, as I believe her to be, by one incapable of a good 
 design ?» 
 
 "You speak thus of General Ruffleton ! " 
 
 Just then a carriage stopped at the door, and Mr. Lang- 
 don and the two Blounts, the father and son, entered the 
 mansion. They proceeded into the parlor, whither the 
 young ladies awaited in vain a summons to join them. 
 Without such summons they would not present themselves. 
 The gentlemen, however, had hardly been seated, before 
 AUce was called for by Wiry Willy, and departed for the 
 Presidential Mansion. 
 
 We will introduce the reader to the gentlemen. Mr. 
 Langdon was corpulent, and presented an imposing appear- 
 
THE EVB OP THE WEDDING. 17 
 
 ance, as he stood with his hands behind him, hidden under 
 the skirts of his coat. His features, full and handsome, and 
 his head surmoimted by a wig of very dark grey hair, one 
 might have supposed him a vigorous gentleman of fifty, 
 whereas he was not less than seventy years of age. The 
 elder Blount, facing the Iforthern Senator, was his junior 
 by several years, and his antipodes in almost every thing. 
 He was tall and thin : his long hair was very white : his face 
 was pale, and his clothes evinced his contempt for the pre- 
 vailing fashion. Henry, his son, who sat apart on a sofa, 
 was a perfect model in stature and manly beauty. He had 
 served four years in Congress, having been elected the first 
 time 'a few weeks before he became eligible, according to 
 the Constitution. He was now in his twenty-ninth year. 
 
 " I tell you, sir," said Mr. Langdon, with much emphasis, 
 " this is a very serious, if not an irremediable rupture. A 
 majority of the Representatives and Senators of thirteen 
 States to abandon their places, and then solemnly resolve 
 never to resume them ! And it was this, as might have 
 been foreseen, when the animosity was mutual, for it is 
 ii-resistibly contagious, Mr. Blount, led to the withdrawal of 
 an equal number of Republicans !" 
 
 " And for my part," responded the Southern Senator, 
 with sang froid, " I am not sure that I shall ever regret the 
 occurrence. You would not pass the resolution deolara- 
 toiy of our right to erect additional slave States ; and of 
 course we could not look for any other guarantee. In the 
 Union all must be equals; equality denied, the Union 
 ends. My son and myself were among the first to relin- 
 quish our seats. I glory in it." 
 
 " But, sir, it was a mere abstraction ! " rejoined Mr. 
 Langdon. " I would have voted for the admission of a 
 new slave State, being satisfied a majority of its inhabitants 
 desired the institution of slavery ; but I voted nay on this 
 measure. It was one of supererogation, and of no practi- 
 cal use whatever ; and history will condemn you for the 
 step you have taken." 
 
 " Sir," said Mr. Blount, " when my judgment and my 
 conscience teU me I am right, history may say what it 
 pleases. The historians, however, often utter falsehoods, 
 like irresponsible editors and reckless orators ! " 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the younger Blount, who rose from 
 
18 THE EVE OF THE ■WEDDING. 
 
 the sofa, and promenaded to and fro in front of the excited 
 Senators, " you forget that you are no longer in the Senate 
 Chamber, and that the Federal Senate has ceased to exist. 
 That is past. The object of this meeting " 
 
 " True, Harry," said the elder Blount. _" If the politi- 
 cal confederacy be dissolved, as I believe it is, and for ever, 
 that may be no suiEcient reason why domestic ties should 
 be severed, and no more matrimonial unions be contracted. 
 Edith's mother was a daughter of the South, and yours a 
 native of the North. The match has my cordial approba- 
 tion. Still, it may be a question whether the nuptials ought 
 not, under existing circumstances, to be postponed." 
 
 " I, too, most heartily approve the alliance," said Mr. 
 Langdon ; " and I agree with your fathei-, that it might, 
 perhaps, be well to postpone the ceremony until a more 
 quiet time." 
 
 " Your apparent accord, gentlemen," said Henry, with 
 the faintest shadow of a smile, as he recollected that for 
 them to agree on any subject was an almost unprecedented 
 occurrence, " is, I confess, greatly adverse to my hopes. 
 If you differed, as usual, on the point of time, I might have 
 some weight in the decision. But should we not consult 
 Edith, the other party interested? "We know not, we can- 
 not know, what storms and convulsions the inflammable 
 elements may engender ; and what may be deemed a post- 
 ponement for merely a short space of time, might prove an 
 eternal separation." 
 
 " True, sir," said Mr. Langdon. " And if I may credit 
 the assurances of divers members from your section, it is 
 not unlikely, if the union be consummated now, the youth- 
 ful bride may very soon be a young widow. They tell me 
 that you will be made a military chieftain ; that war wUl be 
 declared ; and much other nonsense." 
 
 I' How, sir! how nonsense?" asked the elder Blount, 
 quickly. " Can any man in his senses suppose our differ- 
 ences may be adjusted without the intervention of the 
 sword ? I tell you our negroes will be at work on our for- 
 tifications in forty-eight hours." 
 
 " Would they not join us 1" asked Mr. Langdon, impru- 
 dently. 
 
 " No, sir ! » was the reply, in almost startling tones, 
 while the usually pale forehead of the aged Senator was 
 
A MIDNIGHT CON'SPIEACT. 19 
 
 momentarily flushed with crimson. " The lying Abolition- 
 ists have propagated that idea. They will be undeceived. 
 The slaves will defend their masters, and when opportunity 
 serves, will avenge them. The time at length has arrived, 
 when the &natics of the North " 
 
 " Remember," said Mr. Langdon, interrupting him, 
 " that all the Northern people are not fanatics. I am not 
 one, though opposed to slavery. Nor am I a Republican, 
 bat " 
 
 " Gentlemen," again interposed the younger Blount, " re- 
 collect the Senatorial debate is concluded. It is my affair, 
 now, upon the tapis. And pray let us confine ourselves to 
 the question, for time presses." 
 
 " Very well, Harry," said Mr. Langdon, slightly an- 
 noyed at the interruption, though conceding its justice — 
 " you are right, no doubt. And as there are some matters 
 I would confer about with your father — ^not at all political 
 — I suggest that you find Edith, and confer with her. 
 Whatever conclusion you may arrive at — since the matter 
 has gone to this extremity — will be ratified, I trust, by both 
 your father and myself." 
 
 " Go, Harry, and with plenary powers," added the elder 
 Blount. 
 
 Harry, heartily concurring in the proposition, withdrew 
 immediately, and in the space of fifteen minutes reappeared, 
 conducting Edith, who had promptly acquiesced in his .de- 
 sire that their fates should be united at the altar on the 
 morrow. Their opportune presence also served to suppress 
 an incipient renewal of the debate which had been brought 
 to so abrupt a conclusion in the Senate. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 A inDOTGHT COITSPIEACT. 
 
 Os the lefbT)ank of the Potomac, a few miles distant from 
 the Federal City, at the still hour of midnight, some two 
 hundred men were assembled under a gigantic sycamore. 
 
20 A MIDNIGHT CONSPIItACT. 
 
 They were all armed. Save the low hum of earnest voices, 
 a profound silence brooded over the scene. The canopy 
 above was radiant with stars, and ever and anon a shooting 
 meteor traversed the heavens with its dissolving light. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said one of the M'atchers, who seemed to 
 be the leader, " if we succeed in this enterprise we shall be 
 the fixed lights of the age, like the stars; if we fail, we 
 shall be merely ephemeral scintillations, fading into utter 
 darkness, leaving no enduring rays of glory behind. If 
 there be one present, therefore, whose heart is not decided, 
 let him depart." 
 
 No one moved during the pause that ensued. Then a 
 simultaneous clapping of hands followed, in token of the 
 unanimity of sentiment and purjiose which prevailed. 
 
 " We will succeed or die," was uttered by nearly aU 
 present. 
 
 " Success oe Death, shall be the watchword," said the 
 first speaker. 
 
 " But, General," said the Hon. Mr. Steel, who stood on 
 the General's left, enveloped in a cloak, " do you think 
 there will be serious resistance on the part of the President ? 
 He is a Southern man." 
 
 " Unquestionably ! It is true he is a Southern man — ^but 
 he is also the Peesidbnt." 
 
 " Not of the United States !" said the honorable gentle- 
 man. 
 
 " Not now — not by a great deal !" responded many 
 voices. 
 
 " That's to be tested, gentlemen," said General Crook, 
 the leader of the band. " I know Randolph's character. 
 He is Southern by birth, and cannot be Northern by incli- 
 nation or interest. He believes the Constitution a sufficient 
 jprotection for both sections, and he does not intend to re- 
 linquish it. "Without regarding him either as a friend or 
 an enemy, our purpose is to possess ourselves of that por- 
 tion of the archives, and of the arms and treasure, to which 
 our section is justly entitled, at all hazards, and at any 
 sacrifice. You have chosen me your leader, and I have un- 
 dertaken to perform the service. The only regret I feel is, 
 that the men I am to command are not all Southerners. 
 One half are from the North, as I learn, and many of them 
 have been the followers of General W. The difficulty will 
 
A MIDNIGHT CONSPIKACT. 21 
 
 be in restraining them. They ai-e brave, no doubt ; but it 
 is to be feared they are actuated too much by the hope of 
 immediate reward, and too little by considerations of patri- 
 otic devotion. But no matter. I am an Alabamian, and 
 this is an enterprise in behalf of the South. The paramount 
 object is, to strike a blow — a terrible blow — which will be 
 retorted by the other side, and render compromise, recon- 
 ciliation, and reunion impracticable. For many years I 
 have longed for an opportunity such as this.. The South 
 will throw off her degrading vassalage. "We shall have 
 great cities and fleets, and factories of our own." 
 
 "But we are almost naked, and will soon be hungry," 
 said a swarthy and gigantic individual, named Bim, a New 
 Yorker, and a leader of a club of one hundred, whose ar- 
 rival was momentarily expected. " I bargained for a share 
 of defunct Uncle Sam's treasure." 
 
 " Your services shall be recompensed, Jack Bim, accord- 
 ing to contract. You shall have everything promised ; but 
 you must receive it from the paymaster, not seize it. And 
 everything, you know, was to depend upon success." 
 
 " Success is certain," observed the Hon. Mr. Steel. 
 
 " I hope so," replied the General. " Nevertheless, we 
 should not expect a triumph without blows given and re- 
 ceived. The steamer now nearly due; will land eight hun- 
 dred men, and six or eight pieces of artillery. We shall 
 have one thousand against I know not how many on the 
 side of the President. Small detachments of troops and 
 marines have been daily arriving in Washington from differ- 
 ent quarters. Such is my information. But I hope he can 
 have no intelligence of this expedition. We will fall upon 
 him suddenly — by ten o'clock to-morrow, at the latest — 
 and in the consternation of the moment, our purpose must 
 be accomplished. Who goes there ? — stop that man !" 
 
 A tall individual enveloped in a long frock coat, was ob- 
 served gliding out from under the branches of the tree. 
 
 " Who are you ?" demanded the General, when the per- 
 son was brought before him. 
 
 " Wiry Willy," was the response. 
 
 " And pray who is Wiry Willy ? Be careful what you 
 say. If I deem you a spy, I shall order a bowie-knife to 
 your throat, to avoid the report of gunpowder." 
 
 "Willy's a friend — Willy's everybody's friend. Why, 
 
22 A MIDNIGHT CONSPIBACY. 
 
 General, "Willy was only going out yonder on the gi-ass_to 
 get you a horse. Generals ought to have horses, and white 
 ones too." 
 
 " It is a half-witted fellow ; I know him very .well," said 
 the Hon. Mr. Steel. " He used to bore me in behalf of an 
 old clerk who had been removed, and with whose daughter 
 he was in love." 
 
 " Mary Penford," said Wiry Willy, turning towards the 
 ex-member, " is old John Penford's grand-daughter. If 
 you'll listen, I'll tell you the whole story, and all about 
 General Ruffleton's conduct, too. General Ruffleton's a 
 villain ; and as he's to -be the general on the other side, of 
 course I'll fight under General Crook." 
 
 " Enough," said the General. " I will trust you. Gene- 
 ral Ruffleton, I learn, intends really to organize a rabble 
 army in the North, on his own responsibility, and, I pre- 
 sume, for his own aggrandizement; and, truly, I see a white 
 Korse yonder. Secure him for me, WUly." 
 
 Wiry Willy vanished instantly, and in a few brief mo- 
 ments returned, leading the horse. 
 
 " General," said he, " may I have leave of absence till I 
 can find you a saddle and bridle ?" 
 
 " Ye.s, Willy." Then turning and addressing the gentle- 
 men nearest him, the leader said : " President Randolph 
 possesses the greatest mind and the bravest heart in Ame- 
 rica. He was born on Southern soil, and when the Federal 
 Chair is engulfed in destruction, he will join us, and be our 
 commander-in-chief. Therefore, I desire it to be made 
 known to every man who shall march with me to-morrow, 
 that under no cii'cumstances is the President to be slain. A 
 magnificent reward will be paid those who may capture 
 him_ ; but he who kills him shall be hung. Does this pro- 
 position meet your approbation, gentlemen ?" 
 
 " It does," was the unanimous reply. 
 
 A moment after the steamer hove in sight, and the whole 
 party moved down to the brink of the water. 
 
 As for Wiry Willy, instead of approaching any of the 
 country houses to obtain a bridle and saddle for the Gene- 
 ral, he glided through the bushes in the vicinity, until his 
 ear was saluted by a low whinny, and turning to the left, he 
 placed his hand on a black pony, which he mounted. He 
 pi-oceeded at an easy pace until he emerged into a well 
 
A MIDNIGHT CONSPIBACT. 23 
 
 beaten road, and then, plying his hickory switch, seemed to 
 fly upon the wings of the wind. 
 
 During the same solemn hour of midnight, the great east 
 room of the presidential mansion was as brilliantly illumi- 
 nated as it had ever been on any former occasion. Presi- 
 dent Randolph, with folded arms, promenaded slowly to 
 and fro with measured and deliberate step. His cabinet 
 ministers sat round a table, under the full glare of an im- 
 mense chandelier. Other groups were scattered in differ- 
 ent parts of the large saloon, either silent or conversing in 
 suppressed tones, as if awed by the majestic brow of the 
 chief executive. The President, though slightly stricken 
 in years, betrayed none of the infirmities of age. Of mid- 
 dle stature, and erect frame — an eye that seemed to pene- 
 trate the thoughts of aU — a commanding mien, and features 
 indicating firmness of purpose and decision of character, no 
 one living, perhaps, was better qualified to inspire the re- 
 spect and win the confidence of mankind. Vigilant and 
 indefatigable in his incessant labors — endowed by his Crea- 
 tor with the highest gifts of genius, and his mind improved 
 by the attainment of every species of knowledge impai-ted 
 by books, or derived from association with the best intel- 
 lects of bis country, he had merited and received the suf- 
 frages of a majority of his fellow-citizens for the high posi- 
 tion he then occupied, and he resolved not to abandon it 
 until satisfied that such waS the will of those who Jiad ex- 
 alted him. 
 
 The folding-doors were thrown open, and there entered 
 from the great hall, the diplomatic representatives of aU 
 the nations, followed by some forty Senators and members 
 of the House, who still lingered in the Federal City. 
 
 " My Lords and Gentlemen of the Diplomatic Corps, and 
 Senators and Representatives of the States and the People," 
 said the President, when encircled by that distinguished 
 auditory, " I have desired your presence for a brief inter- 
 val, at this unseasonable hour, because I felt quite certain 
 that the request would be granted with alacrity, and that 
 the extraordinary event which has just transpired would 
 render any apology unnecessary for the temporary incon- 
 venience to which you would be subjected. And yet, my 
 Lords and G-entlemen, I should not have imposed this trou- 
 ble upon you, if I had not been advised of the destruction 
 
24 A SXIDNIGHT CONSPIEACY. 
 
 of the telegraphic wires leading from the different points 
 of the country to this city. I understand that many of 
 you have it in contemplation to depart presently from this 
 seat of government, and I have deemed it my duty to see 
 that you shall be provided with authentic information of a 
 portion, at least, of the purposes of the Chief Executive. 
 It is, then, to be distinctly understood, that, although the 
 Legislative Department has seen proper to indulge in an 
 abrupt and an irregular abandonment of its duties, the 
 Executive and Judicial Functionaries will remain intact, 
 and endeavor to fulfil the obligations imposed by the 
 Solemn oath they have taken to support the Constitution 
 of the United States. On my part, there shall be no re- 
 cognition of a dissolution of the Union. The means at my 
 command, to maintain the position I have indicated, will 
 be apparent when the emergency shall arise for their 
 employment. My Lords and Gentlemen of the Diplomatic 
 Corps, you are aware that the Constitution forbids any 
 State making treaties, or maintaining direct diplomatic 
 correspondence with foreign powers. You will therefore 
 excuse me when I say, that in pursuance of my duty as 
 the Chief Magistrate of the Federal Union, I shall hold to 
 a strict accountability any parties that may attempt an 
 infraction of that provision of the fundamental instrument 
 of this governmeni;. This information, my Lords and 
 Gentlemen, I deemed it necessary to impart in this inforr 
 mal manner, because of the peculiar exigencies existing 
 at the present moment." 
 
 The President having been bowed to repeatedly during 
 the delivery of his speech, made, at its termination, a very 
 emphatic bow himself. 
 
 But the Lords and Gentlemen were not quite satisfied 
 to be dismissed in so summary a manner; and, to pro- 
 long the audience, which seemed fraught with much in- 
 terest to them, they lingered for many minutes, and 
 stammered out numerous protestations of respect for the 
 distinguished functionary, whom they really supposed to 
 hare been effectually despoiled of his power, and diploma- 
 tic assurances of high consideration, etc., etc. 
 
 And when the foreign gentlemen had finally taken their 
 departure, the President, resuming the frank and social de- 
 meanor among his own countrymen, for which he was so 
 
A inDxiGnx coNSPntACT. 25 
 
 justly celebrated, mingled cheerfully and even gaily among 
 his personal friends, precisely as he had been in the habit 
 of doing when no cause of alarm existed. 
 
 " I think," said he, " that those agents of the great mo- 
 narchical powers, instead of enjoying a scramble for the 
 Iragments of a shattered empire, may find that we have 
 stni a government, both de facto and dejure. My friends," 
 he continued, in a more serious tone, " and my enemies — 
 if there be any such present — I would impress upon your 
 minds, before you return to your respective homes, that 
 I still regai-d the Federal Constitution as the paramount 
 authority. I have sworn to defend it — and I do not doubt 
 my ability to do so. I could not prevent a dissolution of 
 Congress, and perhaps, my proclamations, calling the mem- 
 bers together again, may long be disregarded. I believe I 
 have no legal power of forcing a compliance. But what 
 then ? Cannot the government exist in the absence of 
 Congress ? Has it not done so, at least one half the tifne, 
 since its creation ? Depend upon it, gentlemen, it will con- 
 tinue to exist, whatever the diSorgaiiizers and traitors may 
 do. I shall collect the revenue. I may not disburse it 
 without appropriations by Congress ; but I wUl keep it 
 in safety, and issue audited certificates of dues. If I can- 
 not increase the army, I may call out the militia. I 
 shall make appointments and remova,ls, as usual, in the 
 civil sei-vice. In short, gentlemen, I doubt not I shall ad- 
 minister the affaii's of the people quite satisfactorily. There- 
 fore, I beg that it may be made known to the Quixotic 
 Disunionists, North and South, that the Federal Govern- 
 ment does not intend to succumb until its abandonment 
 is decreed by the people. Whenever a majority of all 
 the voters of the United States shall demand a relinquish- 
 ment of my functions, I will then be absolved from my 
 oath — and not till then. A moment, gentlemen," he 
 added, stepping aside, on beholding Wiry Willy stand- 
 ing a few paces apart. Glancing over the few lines handed 
 him by Wiry Willy, his eagle eye sparkled with- anima- 
 tion, and a joyous smile, for an instant, illuminated his 
 expressive features. " Breathe it to no one, sir," said he, 
 in a whisper. 
 
 " Not even to Maiy, sir ? She would listen to that, 
 and it might save her grandfather's life." 
 
 2 
 
26 A MIDNIGHT CONSPIEACT. 
 
 " To no one before nine o'clock. There !" he continued, 
 writing two words with his pencil on Willy's scrajj of 
 paper, " take this to General Valiant, and then go to bed." 
 
 " My friends," he continued, resuming his position, " I 
 have, I believe, communicated everything I had intended 
 to say. There are other matters of great moment, I must 
 not reveal. Those who shall adhere to me, will, I think, 
 be on the side of the people. But enough of this. I have 
 only to add, that those who do not intend to abide perma- 
 nently at the Capital, would do well to leave it immediately 
 — even by the trains that depart before the dawn of day — 
 else, from the information in my possession, they may be 
 liable to molestation on the road." 
 
 These words produced a most wonderful commotion. 
 They were hardly uttered before a general dispersion com- 
 menced. Many rushed away without even taking leave of 
 the President ; but others, with tears, assured him that they 
 would, if necessary, perish in the maintenance of his 
 cause. 
 
 The President's brow, however, exhibited a most terri- 
 ble expression upon witnessing the withdrawal of the 
 Secretary of State, from the North, and of the Post- 
 master General, from the South. 
 
 "I desire not one word of explanation, gentlemen. Go ! 
 I am not at all surprised. Yesterday you professed to be 
 my friends. I doubted it, but could not deny it. If you 
 should become my enemies, all I ask is a candid avowal of 
 it at the time of the decision." Saying this, he not only 
 bowed them out, but closed the door behind them with his 
 own hands. 
 
 All had departed but five faithful confidential advisers of 
 the President, the two Blounts, and Mr. Langdon. The 
 President taking each of the Senators by the arm, and 
 beckoning Henry Blount to follow, led them into the em- 
 brasure of one of the Southern windows, where the lawn 
 and the distant river were made visible by the rising moon. 
 
 " How peaceful the scene!" said he, "but, alas! how soon 
 the scene may be changed !" 
 
 " That does not seem so penceful," remarked the younger 
 Blount, perceiving some workmen not far distant, throwmg 
 up the earth with spades. " And there are cannon," he 
 added, " commaadiiig the avenue." 
 
A MTDiaGnT COKSPIEACT. 11 
 
 " A precaution," said the President. " The whole country- 
 may be one battle-field ; and there must be many bloody 
 conflicts here before the Federal Government can be over- 
 thrown." 
 
 "It is already destroyed, sir," said the elder Blount, 
 " and no one can reconstruct it. Come with us South, and 
 you may be our President still." 
 
 "Better come North," said Mr. Langdon, "for the most 
 ultra tire-eaters have denounced you." 
 
 "Neither North nor South, gentlemen, until suiEcient 
 force can be brought to drive me from my constitutional 
 entrenchment." 
 
 " And that might not be so difficult a matter," rejoined 
 Mr. Langdon. " More than once I have heard Crook, 
 from Alabama, declare that with one thousand men he 
 would take possession of the government, capture the Pre- 
 sident, and bear away the arms and munitions from the 
 arsenal." 
 
 The President, after a momentary but penetrating glance 
 at the speaker, turned to the younger Blount, and asked 
 his opinion. 
 
 " You will be safe. You have a heavy purse — ^it is said 
 twenty millions — and that will command the sword. I 
 know of no place of greater security. It may be the only 
 neutral ground. And if Mr. Langdon persists in his objec- 
 tions— " 
 
 " I do, Henry. I will not consent for Edith to go 
 South, until it is first ascertained that she may do so with 
 safety." 
 
 " Gentlemen," interposed the President, " it was in relar 
 tion to this very thing that I desired to see you. For the 
 sake of gratifying the dearest wish of my daughter Alice, 
 if you are not permitted, politically, to accord any favor to 
 the President, I have to beg that you will permit Edith to 
 be a cherished guest in this mansion until the dangers we all 
 anticipate shall have passed away. It will not be a great 
 many months before the tempest will have expended itself, 
 and then there will be a resuscitation of the Union " 
 
 " Never !" said the elder Blount. 
 
 " I fear the broken bowl can never be mended," said Mr. 
 Langdon. 
 
 " I think differently," pursued .the Presidents " It will 
 
28 A MIDNIGHT CONSPIEACT, 
 
 be like the rupture of lovers. Men do not sometimes appre- 
 ciate a blessing until it is apparently lost, or at least in peril. 
 The glorious traditions of the past, wherein a common 
 ancestry mingled their tears and blood in a common cause ; 
 the fame of Washington, and Jefferson, and Adams, and 
 Hancock ; the renown achieved at Bunker Hill, at Prince- 
 ton, at Trenton, and Yorktown ; our gigantic dimensions as 
 a nation of thirty millions of freemen and the consideration 
 we inspire throughout the civilized world — can all these be 
 sacrificed at the demand of the ephemeral factions always 
 incident to a republic ? No. Believe it not." 
 
 " But I do not admit them to be factions," said the elder 
 Blount. " They are sections, and the difference ii-reconcila- 
 ble." 
 
 " You err, sir," continued the -President. " The imme- 
 diate pretext for the dissolution of your co-ordinate branch 
 of the government, was merely the refusal of oije section to 
 comply with a capricious, if not an arbitrary demand of the 
 other. And what was the resolution but an abstraction ? 
 It might have been observed by a succeeding Congress and 
 it might have been repudiated. Sir, the Constitution is a 
 suiEcient guarantee for both sections, and that I had sworn 
 to support. If a State had been repulsed from the Union 
 because a majority of its inhabitants desired to possess slave- 
 property, that would have been the proper time 'for action. 
 If the Supreme Law had been violated, in defiance of the 
 intervention of the Executive and the Judiciary, and the 
 infraction had been sanctioned by the people of the stronger 
 section, then I should have been false to every principle of 
 honor and justice, if I had not cast my weight in the scale 
 of the weakest party, not only because it was the section of 
 my nativity, but because it was in the right, and menaced 
 with oppression. But such was not the case." 
 
 " Would to God you had spoken thus in the Senate !" 
 exclaimed Mr. Langdon. " But now it is too late. The 
 majority of the Northern members have solemnly asseve- 
 rated that they will never permit the Southern people to 
 add another slave State to the Union." 
 
 " I crave your pardon, gentlemen," said the younger 
 Blount, mterposing. " It was not the purpose, I believe, 
 either to discuss or to lament the past " 
 
 "True, sir," said the President. "Li brieT, then, ia it 
 
THE ETB OF BATTLE. 29 
 
 determined that these nuptials shall be celebrated to-mor- 
 row ?» 
 
 " Quite," said the younger Blount. 
 
 " And it is Ukewise decided that my daughter is not to 
 go Southward at present," said Mr. Langdon. 
 
 " Neither must she go to the North," said Henry Blount. 
 
 " Then she will remain here," added the President, 
 " and, after the lapse of a few days, it will be a place of 
 security. As bride or maiden, you may trust her in my 
 keeping. Nevertheless, gentlemen, let the ceremony be 
 despatched as early in the morning as possible. I have a 
 reason for it." 
 
 " Harry," said Mr. Langdon, " do you acquiesce ?" 
 
 " I do, sir. And, having consigned her to the protection 
 of the President, I shall, an hour afterwards, be on my way 
 to the Sunny South. If we meet no more, one, at least, 
 who knew me well, will mourn my fate. Sir," he continued, 
 grasping the tendered hand of the President, " will you not 
 be present ?" 
 
 " If possible — ^but it may not be possible. My daughter 
 will be Tvith you. Let me see you again before you depart 
 from the city. Farewell I" The two Senator^ and Harry 
 withdrew immediately. 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 THE EVE OF BATTLE. 
 
 The sun resembled a great blood-red ball of fire as seen 
 through the vapor that curtained the Eastern horizon. But 
 the air was motionless, and the booming of the morning gun 
 at the arsenal, reverberated far up the valley of the Poto- 
 mac ; and the screams of peacocks could be distinctly heard 
 from the villas on the surrounding heights, betokening, as 
 was believed by the curious villagers, the speedy advent of 
 foul weather. 
 
 At that early hour ah individual rode along the main 
 street of Georgetown, whose long drab coat, reaching down 
 
so THE ETE OP BATTLE. 
 
 to his heels when standing on terra firma, now, by reason 
 of the diminutive stature of the animal be bestrode, nearly 
 brushed the earth. And the pony being very black, the 
 contrast was so distinct, if not ludicrous, as to attract the 
 attention and elicit the gibes of the servant girls who 
 awaited the baker and milkman at the doors of the dwell- 
 ings. But Wiry Will was not disturbed by such exhibi- 
 tions of innocent curiosity. He proceeded on his way, 
 without looking to the right or the left, until he turned a 
 corner and dismounted in front of an humble wooden tene- 
 ment, inclosed with whitewashed palings, and scented with 
 every variety of bud and blossom and creeper that gladden 
 the senses in the balmy month of May. We need not pre- 
 mise that one of the inhabitants of that lowly abode was a 
 tasteful maiden. But we can testify that the heart of Willy 
 palpitated most violently when he beheld the mistress of 
 that paradise in the little front area, watering the flowers, 
 for she had already discovered that no dew that night had 
 fallen from heaven. 
 
 " Mary," said Wiry Willy, throwing the reins over a 
 post at the gate, " I have not come to annoy you with the 
 old story. It is business with your grandpa — ^business of 
 the utmost importance — a matter of life and death." 
 
 " Oh, the scene of yesterday ! It is concerning that. 
 But enter, Willy. Grandpa told me not to disturb him 
 until breakfast was served. He is examining some papers 
 which the new Secretary permitted him to bring home. 
 And, Willy, I said the old story was not annoying to me — 
 but to him. I have promised obedience, as was my duty, 
 and — must perform it — while he lives. And when he is 
 gone, I shall have no one on earth to — " 
 
 "Mary, I am yours till death. Your grandfather may 
 command you to wed General Ruffleton — and you may be his 
 — ^but I am thine. I will watch over you, protect you, die for 
 you — ^for I well know that Ruffleton will not be your friend !" 
 
 " I fear he will not, and he knows I fear it. His jewels 
 and fine coaches and mansions, would have no attractions 
 for me, equal to the humble dwelling of my grandpa — or — 
 I will say it, Willy — the plain farm-house of your grandma, 
 near the Brandywine." And it needed not the pearls that 
 stood on the long, black lashes of the beautiful girl, to bear 
 witness to the sincerity of her declaration. " But, Willy," 
 
THB JSV£! OF BATTLE. 31 
 
 she asked, placing her Uttle hand on his arm, " what is this 
 about life and death ?" 
 
 " Oh, Mary, I had forgotten it ! I must be brief, and 
 return to my duty. I must hasten away. There is danger, 
 Mary, and that is all I am permitted to say, for the greatest 
 calamity would be a panic among the people. Your grand- 
 father calls. Let us go together." 
 
 They entered a small parlor, where the gaunt, grey, and 
 palsied old John Penford sat before a table covered with 
 tape-tied files of papers brought from the War Department, 
 where his duties as a lower idass clerk had been diligently 
 performed, with a single brief intermission, for the space 
 of fifty years. Peering through his spectacles a moment at 
 the visitor, he arose abruptly and extended his hand, which 
 was heartily grasped. 
 
 " Mary, bring hither my journal," he said, turning to his 
 daughter. " It was for that I called you. I want to see if 
 I made any note of Mr. Grubb's claim against the United 
 States. Now, sit you down, William Wire," addressing 
 the visitor upon the withdrawal of Mary. " You are my 
 kinsman. Your mother and I were second cousins — " 
 
 " My grandmother, you mean," said Willy. 
 
 "Yes — your father's mother. How the time passes! 
 And yet I recollect everything. Your father and mother 
 died of the epidemic. And your grandmother — does she 
 still live ?" 
 
 " Certainly, sir. You were her guest last winter, when 
 they removed you irom office." 
 
 "True, true! I had forgotten it. But occurrences of 
 fifty years ago seem as recent as yesterday. Well, William 
 Wire, you may live to see your kinsman a Cabinet Minister ! 
 General Ruffleton will surely be President! Be a good 
 boy, and you shall have the post I now hold. Ha ! ha ! ha ! 
 Family connexions, in our RepubUc, as in other govern- 
 ments, sometimes wield a vast influence." 
 
 "But, sir, I have come to announce the certain and. 
 instant dissolution of the Union." 
 
 " Impossible ! I tell you it is a nonsensical impossibility ! 
 It is a mere scarecrow! A humbug, sir! I have heard 
 such threats before. Don't name it, sir! It is a treason, 
 and I am a sworn officer of the Government. I have taken 
 an oath to support the Constitution, as well as the President, 
 3 
 
32 THE ETE or BATTLE. 
 
 and we will support it, sir. Disunion ! Impossible, sir ! 
 And now, William, I have a great secret for you. In two 
 or three days you will again see my name in the papers. 1 
 am on the eve of a discovery which would do any officer 
 honor. I am going to produce such documents as will 
 establish the claim of Grubb against the Government for 
 cannon furnished the army seventy or eighty years ago 1 
 These papers were sent up to Little Falls, when the British 
 came, and have never been untied since then, until I over- 
 hauled them ! I have calculated the amount of the claim 
 with interest — and it must be paid. So much for the vigi- 
 lance of a faithful officer." 
 
 " But, sir, I fear the establishment of such a claim against 
 the Government, may not be considered meritorious con- 
 duct." 
 
 " What do you mean ? Can figures lie ? These figures, 
 and facts, and the records, prove this demand to be just. 
 What difference can it make whether it is for or against the 
 government ? Does it not prove in either case the capa- 
 bility of the officer ?" 
 
 " Very true, sir ; but merit is not always followed by pro- 
 motion, else you would have been at the top of the ladder 
 long ago." 
 
 _ " That is a verity, William," said the old man, rubbing 
 his hands with delight. "But family influence can accom- 
 plish anything. I shall mount up — ^never fear ! And you, 
 William Wire, where are you ? Before this strange malady 
 seized you — and all about my Mary — they sent you to the 
 Legislature. Foolish boy! why did -you fall in love, go 
 mad, and resign. You might have come to Congress, been 
 Governor, a Cabinet Minister, and finally President ! I wish 
 I were a young man again !" 
 
 " My dear, sir," said Willy, looking up, his head having 
 fallen on his breast, " this is no time for such speculations. 
 I came to_ request that you would not go to the Department 
 this morning. The President himself says there will proba- 
 bly be disturbance and danger." 
 
 "Does he say so officially? Does he order the Depart- 
 ments to be closed ? It is not in the official organ." 
 
 " N"o, sir. But he told me so." 
 
 "Iippossible. All folly. They may threaten— and that 
 is aU. Abandon my post without official orders ? Not I. 
 
THE EVE OF BATTLE. 33 
 
 Why the most essential document in the Grubb case is in a 
 pigeon-hole of my office ! I have been in pursuit of it for 
 twenty years. To-day my eyes will be gladdened by the 
 consummation of my great achievement." 
 
 " I beg that you will stay away till noon — ^Lf no longer." 
 
 "I shall do no such thing!" 
 
 " Sir, you wiU be in danger. You may lose your life." 
 
 "Impossible. But I must not lose my claim for the 
 cannon which won our liberty." 
 
 " Your papers cannot be molested, but — " 
 
 " How do you know that ? If the enemy would destroy 
 the officer, of course they would take possession of the office. 
 I shall not permit my duties to be interfered with." 
 
 " My dear sir, the rabble that may attempt to carry away 
 the archives, would not respect the Secretary, or the Presi- 
 dent himself, much less an old and faithful officer like your 
 self." 
 
 " Seizing the archives ! Good heaven ! Mary ! Mary I 
 Hurry breakfast. Carry ofi'.the archives! Not while 
 breath is in the body of John Penford ! He'll die at his 
 post. Sit down,, sir !" 
 
 "No. I must depart immediately. Think of what I 
 have said." And Willy, seeing Mary again among the 
 flowers, rejoined her there. " Farewell, Mary," said he, 
 sadly. " But be sure and keep your grandpa at home till 
 noon." 
 
 " Oh, Willy, they would not injure him !" 
 
 " Not intentionally. But a bullet or a cannon ball is no 
 respecter of persons." 
 
 " God can direct the course of a cannon ball, as well as 
 avert the lightning. In him we put our trust ! I will dis- 
 suade him, Willy, if possible; but if not, I will accompany 
 him !" 
 
 " No ! Do not, I beseech you, Mary ! Breathe it not to 
 any one — ^but there will be a battle — and oh, keep beyond 
 the reach of destruction." 
 
 "And, Willy, where shall such a place be found ! Yes, it 
 is in heaven — and only there. Adieu !" 
 
 Willy mounted his pony, with moistened eyes, and sped 
 away. He had scarcely passed the last house in the town 
 before a clatter of hoofs attracted his attention. Lifting his 
 eyes he beheld a horseman under whip and spur riding 
 
 2* 
 
34 THE EVE 03? BATTLE. 
 
 towards him. It was a young man he had seen more than 
 once at the White House. " Halt !" he cried. 
 
 The young man reined in his steed and grasped the pistol 
 half hidden in his side-pocket. 
 
 "Don't shoot me," said Willy; "I'm a friend." 
 
 " Then make if known," said the other. 
 
 " Oh, I'm on the right side— that is, I'm in the centre, 
 with the President." 
 
 " Then make it known, sir ! I have no time for jestmg." 
 
 " I forgot. The Uniost eoe evbe !" 
 
 "That will do," replied the young man, relinquishing the 
 pistol and extending his hand. " Now what have you to 
 say ?" 
 
 " You go to Col. Carleton in the valley ?" 
 
 " Yes. He has two hundred and fifty dragoons concealed 
 there." 
 
 " Is he to move immediately ?" 
 
 " I am not to know the order. But orders have been 
 dispatched to all troops, in every direction, to concentrate in 
 the President's grounds behind the Treasury building. 
 Adieu." 
 
 " Farewell, sir," said Willy, " and may God prosper the 
 right !" And as Willy proceeded on his way, he observed, 
 on the opposite side of the river, a body of infantry, perhaps 
 one hundred and fifty in number, slowly approaching the 
 southern end of the bridge. 
 
 Every preparation had been completed by the President 
 to repel any assault on the Executive Departments ; and so 
 skilfully had the arrangements been made under the imme- 
 diate superintendence of Gen. Valiant, that none of the 
 inhabitants of the city had the remotest idea that within an 
 hour an army of 4,000 well-drilled men could be mustered 
 in their defence. The President himself had a caparisoned 
 steed in readiness, resolved, in the capacity of Commander- 
 in-Chief, to take the field. None of his predecessors had 
 practically illustrated that prerogative conferred by the 
 Constitution. But Randolph acted from his convictions of 
 duty, irrespective of precedents, and none doubted his 
 qualifications to become a great military commander. 
 
THE ATTACK AND KEPULSE. 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ATTACK AKD EEPULSE. 
 
 At the appointed hour the bridal company had assembled 
 in St. John's Church. If the military preparations for 
 battle had been kept a secret from the inhabitants of the 
 city, it was very different with the hymeneal preparations. 
 For weeks the contemplated wedding had been the theme 
 of Washington correspondents for the press, and the nuptial 
 day had been repeatedly announced in the newspapers, from 
 Boston to New Orleans. From her glossy black hair to the 
 very hem of her garment, the vigilant reporters haji omitted 
 nothing in the descriptions of the charming bride ; and the 
 fact that the President's daughter was to be present on the 
 occasion, in the capacity of bridesmaid, had likewise been 
 ascertained and duly promulgated. It was no wonder, then, 
 that the church contained quite a congregation of witnesses. 
 
 The bridal party, upon descending from the carriages, lost 
 no tinie in proceeding to the altar, where they were met by 
 the priest in the vestments of his office. The holy man, after 
 seeing that all were in their appropriate places, cast his eyes 
 down on the book in his hand, and his lips began to move, 
 when they were all startled by the report of musketry, at 
 no great distance from the church ; and during the pause 
 vhich ensued, the rush of horsemen was distinctly heard. 
 Turning his eyes towards the door, Henry Blount recognised 
 the well known form of General Crook, followed by a com- 
 pany of mounted men, dashing furiously in the direction of 
 the White House. 
 
 " Pray be brief, sir !" exclaimed the bridegroom, address- 
 mg the minister, who stood pale and trembling, whilst the 
 occupants of the pews had all risen to their feet. 
 
 Again the priest cast his eyes on the page, and advanced 
 a step in the chancel, — when aU were amazed by the shrill 
 cry of Maud Clusky in the gallery. 
 
 " Laws a' mercy !" she screamed, " they're shooting real 
 balls and bullets 1 Tonder's some people killed in the street !" 
 
36 THE ATTACK AND KEPCXSIS. 
 
 Alice, instead of supporting the bride, took refuge on the 
 breast of her friend. Edith alone was composed, but very- 
 pale. The two Senators stood like marble statues, looking 
 at each other. 
 
 " Is this your work ?" asked Mr. Langdon. 
 
 " No, sir ; nor Harry's." 
 
 " Proceed !" once more said the younger Blount to the 
 minister, in an urgent tone, which attested his anxiety ; for 
 now the vibrations of rapid discharges of cannon, in the 
 vicinity, were causing the glass to fall from the windows. 
 
 " They're fighting !" exclaimed Dick Clusky, springing 
 in at the door, and rushing quite up to the altar. 
 
 "Where is the carriage?" demanded Henry. 
 
 " Near the door, sir. I was afraid to stay there, sir. Gen. 
 Crook told me to tell you all you shouldn't be hurt — but he 
 can't stop the cannon balls, and they're flying everywhere. 
 His foot soldiers have left the Avenue, and now they're 
 shooting right past the church at the White House. Boo !" 
 and the frightened youth gave vent to sobs and tears. 
 
 " Return to your horses, or I will take your life !" said 
 Henry, with so ferocious an aspect, that poor Dick, believ- 
 ing death imminent anywhere, resolved to die at his post, 
 and so withdrew, without paying the slightest attention to 
 his mother, who vehemently forbade his departure. 
 
 " Now, sir !" said Henry, once more turning to the priest. 
 But at that moment an eight-pound projectile struck the 
 roof of the church, ploughing through the arch of the ceil- 
 ing, and precipitating a quantity of lime and clouds of dust. 
 
 " God save us !" ejaculated the priest, the book falling 
 from his hands. Henry sprang forward and restored it. 
 
 "It must be postponed!" said Mr. Langdon, drawing his 
 daughter's arm through his own. 
 
 " 'Tis well, perhaps," said the elder Blount to his son. 
 
 " And you, Edith ! Do you renounce me at the altar ?" 
 
 " No, Harry," said she, in a voice singularly distinct and 
 calm ; " I shall never renounce you anywhere ; but my 
 father commands on the present fearful occasion. Wo 
 must submit." 
 
 " Come with me to the mansion," said Alice, still cling- 
 ing to her friend, and vainly striving to emulate her 
 composure. 
 
 A moment after the minister had vanished, and the peo- 
 
XnE ATTACK AND EEPULSE. 37 
 
 pie -were rushing out and dispersing in all directions. The 
 bridal party were the last to reach the door, half suffocated 
 by the dust which still descended from the breach made by 
 the "ball; and before they had all ascended the steps of 
 the President's coach, which Dick had driven on the occa- 
 sion. General Crook came thundering back, discomfited, at 
 the head of his diminished troop. His brow was dark with 
 rage and disappointment, and he spurred forward without 
 glancing to the right or the left. He was followed imme- 
 diately by some dragoons, led by Col. Carleton ; and gallop- 
 ing at his side was the President himself, in full military 
 costume, and with a sword in his hand, stained with blood. 
 
 " Give them no opportunity to rally, Colonel !" said he, 
 as he drew rein at the window of the coach. 
 
 "Oh! father!" exclaimed Alice, in tears. 
 
 "What! tears, Alice?" he rejoined, smiling blandly. 
 " The danger is over. A few discharges swept them out of 
 the Avenue ! Why, daughter, we are victorious. It is an 
 exhilarating triumph ; and henceforth remember you are a 
 soldier's daughter." 
 
 " True !" whispered Henry to Edith, as he regarded the 
 animated features of the President. 
 
 " Joy, Edith !" continued the President, kissing his hand. 
 Then addressing Dick, he said: "Drive to the mansion. 
 Gentlemen, by your leave, the bridal festivity shall be under 
 my roof." 
 
 " There has been no wedding, sir !" said Mr. Langdon. 
 " I forbade it. >But we will accept your hospitality and pro- 
 tection. I still hear the discharges of cannon." 
 
 " They have one battery yet," said the President. And 
 just then several branches of one of the trees in front of 
 the Church fell to the earth; " but Carleton will soon silence 
 that. Come !" And saying this he led the way through 
 the grounds to the mansion. As they alighted at the portico, 
 the gentlemen were surprised to see the premises abounding 
 with soldiers. 
 
 "This resembles a regular encampment!" said Henry, 
 lingering and looking round, after the ladies had entered. 
 
 " They are mostly regulars," said the President, indif- 
 ferently. 
 
 " I was not aware that such a force was in the vicinity of 
 the Capitol," said the elder Blount. 
 
38 WIET WILLY'S PLEDGE. 
 
 " Not exceeding four thousand," said the President, with 
 a signiiicant look. 
 
 "I understand!" said Mr. Langdon. "And this, after 
 all, Randolph, may be the most congenial pursuit. I have 
 had such intimations. And you have been a calm spectator 
 during our extraordinary proceedings !" 
 
 "It was incumbent on the Chief Executive to provide for 
 any emergency," said the President, with determination. 
 "And, gentlemen," he added, with a flashing eye and a 
 contracted brow, " rely upon it, the Federal authority will 
 be maintained, if forty, or even eighty thousand troops will 
 suffice." 
 
 The elder Blount shook his head as he followed the Presi- 
 dent, who led the way into the hall. Harry, in silence, his 
 Up slightly compressed, was the last to foUow. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WIET WniT'S PLEDGE. 
 
 Maet Penfoed used her utmost endeavors to prevent her 
 grandfather from repairing to his office as usual that morn- 
 ing. The claim of Mr. Grubb, a most respectable and 
 worthy iron-master of the preceding century, which he was 
 resurrecting, was deemed of vital importance, not only to 
 the cause of justice and patriotism, but to his own fame as 
 an officer of the government. In vain, therefore, were the 
 exertions of Mary ; and so, when the omnibus came, she 
 resolved to accompany her aged relative to the post of 
 danger. 
 
 "Everything is in its place!" exclaimed the old man, 
 when they had ascended to his narrow and dingy office in 
 the Department. "Not a paper has been molested," he 
 continued, unlocking the case and surveying with dehght 
 the formidable array of paper-stuffed pigeon-holes. 
 
 "And, grandpa," said Mary, brushing away the dust 
 with her handkerchief, "if an enemy of the government 
 should determine ito destroy these precious papers, how 
 could you prevent it ?" 
 
wiET willy's pledge. 39 
 
 " Prevent it ? I would die at my post in defence of the 
 charge committed to my custody !" 
 
 "You might die, grandpa; but would that save the 
 papers ? Oh, mercy !" she cried, seizing the old man's 
 hand, as the discharge of firearms was heard. 
 
 " It is nothing, child," said the old man, intently perusing 
 a letter which a messenger had placed on his table. 
 
 " Nothing, grandpa ! It is a battle !" 
 
 "Impossible! A battle in the Capital of the Federal 
 Union! Don't interrupt me, child — ^this letter concerns 
 you — and, indeed, Ae seems to think a disturbance is 
 probable " 
 
 " Oh, gi-andpa !" ejaculated Mary. 
 
 The sound of cannon now shook the building to its 
 foundations, and yet old John Penford paid not the slightest 
 heed to it. The voices of men, the rattle of iron ramrods, 
 and the , tramp of horses in the immediate vicinity, did not 
 seem to attract his attention. 
 
 "Mary, my child, we will determine about this 1-etter 
 when we get home," said the old. man, folding it and 
 placing it in his pocket. " You shall now witness the con- 
 summation of my labors in the Grubb case. The remain- 
 ing voucher, the copy of the receipt given for the cannon, 
 completes the establishment of the claim." 
 
 " Oh, grandpa !" cried Mary, convulsively clinging to his 
 hand, as the stunning discharges of artiUery assailed the 
 ear in rapid succession. " Do not go in front of that win- 
 dow, dear grandpa ! It is a dreadful battle." 
 
 "It is impossible, child! They are merely practising. 
 It is the flying artillery. Tut, Mary! do you suppose they 
 would cfere to fire balls at the War Department? They 
 would be cashiered, every one of them." 
 
 "Don't you hear the crash among the trees and fences?" 
 
 " No, no ! Release my hand, and let me get the voucher." 
 
 Mary struggled to prevent him, and her guardian angel 
 assisted. For, a moment after, a cannon ball shattered the 
 window and buried itself in the opposite wall. The con- 
 cussion prostrated them both. 
 
 Col. Carleton succeeded in silencing the small batteiy 
 which had thrown so many balls into the city, but without 
 capturing the guns. General Crook, who had certainly 
 
40 wiEY willy's pledge, 
 
 conducted the assault with skill and bi'avery, but had been 
 met with equal address and by superior numbers, superin- 
 tended the retreat/ His men retired in pretty good order 
 towards the steamer; and more than one well directed 
 shower of grape made frightful chasms in the ranks of Col. 
 Carleton's pursuing dragoons. It was duriag this pursuit 
 Wiry Willy was despatched with a message to General 
 Valiant, who remamed in the city, and was to dine, by invi- 
 tation, with the President ; so confidently and correctly had 
 the result been calculated. 
 
 Wiry Willy dashed into the Avenue, at its extremity near 
 the foot of Capitol Hill, and glided along with wonderful 
 swiftness on his black pony, whilst his long white skirts 
 streamed out behind on the wind. And now, for the first 
 time, he beheld the scene of death wrought by the Presi- 
 dent's cannon. More than three hundred of the assailants 
 had been swept down in the broad street leading to the 
 executive mansion. The screams and groans of the 
 wounded assailed his ears as he sped past, and many a cold 
 corpse was spurned by the feet of his pony. 
 
 Willy, on reaching the White House, delayed not a mo- 
 ment in delivering his note, for the doorkeeper had orders 
 to admit him at all times. 
 
 " Sit down and lunch with us," said the President. "The 
 day's work is finished, Willy, and I desire to make known 
 your meritorious conduct to this company. He certainly 
 saved me from being taken prisoner by that auda,cious Ge- 
 neral Crook. I was completely surrounded, and somewhat 
 pressed, for a moment, by three or four of the enemy, when 
 Willy cried out, ' Here's the President !' and pointed to- 
 wards the garden. Crook sprang in that direction, not 
 recognising me in my uniform, and the next moment my 
 ambushed guards were with me, and then the odds were 
 on my side. You saw what followed from the church, 
 Alice." 
 
 Alice cast a grateful look at Willy's modest face, and 
 pointed to a chair besid? her own. But Willy begged to 
 be excused, and was permitted to retire. 
 
 _ He hastened away towards the War Department ; and 
 his heart palpitated painfully when, on casting his eyes in 
 the direction of old John Penford's ofiice, he beheld the 
 condition of the window. He rushed up the deserted stair- 
 
WIRY willy's pledse. 41 
 
 way and entered the office just as Maiy was recovering 
 animation. Her first movement was to throw her arms 
 around the neck of her aged grandfather, who sat amidst 
 fragments of glass, bricks, lime and papers, staring as if 
 suddenly awakened from sleep. 
 
 " Oh, grandpa !" exclaimed Mary, " God saved us, when 
 one step more would have hrought us directly before the 
 cannon ball !" 
 
 " Before what ?" asked he. 
 
 " A cannon ball," said Wiry Willy, who stepped forward 
 for the purpose of assisting him to rise. 
 
 " Impossible !" was the emphatic denial. " Don't tell me 
 they would dare to fire at the War Department." 
 
 "But they did, sir!" said Mary. " Kise and see for 
 -yourself." 
 
 " Im — " The word was suppressed by a gasp of agony, 
 when the old man, on turning his eyes towards the wall 
 that had been perforated, beheld the scene of destruction. 
 He sprang to his feet, and with both hands raised, stared 
 in silence at the pulverized debris of his dear papers. 
 
 " Impossible !" he uttered at length, imconsciously. " My 
 Touchers, my duplicate receipt, my all, in the claim of 
 Grubb for cannon, swept away by a cannon ball !" 
 
 The ball had first passed through the papers on the table, 
 and then demolished the pigeon-hole containing the copy 
 of the receipt referred to so often by the faithful old clerk. 
 
 " Perhaps, sir," said WiUy, " they may be found unin- 
 jured." 
 
 " William Wire," said the old man, " you will bear wit- 
 ness that it was no act of mine : that it was not for lack of 
 fidelity on my part, that this destruction occurred." 
 
 " Very freely, sir," said Willy ; " if necessary I will tes- 
 tify on oath to it. But if you had taken my advice this 
 morning " 
 
 " Reproach him not, Willy !" said Mary, interposing ; 
 " the past cannot be recalled, and sufiicient for the present 
 is his misery." « 
 
 " Pardon, Mary," said Willy, rebuked ; " and believe me 
 that rather than inflict an additional pang, I would cheer- 
 fully, if possible, bear all his sufferings." 
 
 During these remarks the old man continued to stare at 
 the demolished pigeon-hole. 
 
42 wiET -willy's pledge. 
 
 " Grandpa !" said Mary, endeavoring to divert him from 
 the grievous contemplation, " let us leave this place." Not 
 replying to the request, the poor girl took his hand, and 
 gently led him away from the scene of his sorrow. " You 
 know, grandpa," she continued, " you have not told me the 
 contents of the letter, which you said had something con- 
 cerning me." 
 
 " True, child," said he, with unwonted animation. " I 
 forgot it. Yes, that is of most importance. And here is 
 William Wire to take you to his mother's house." - 
 
 " His mother's house ?" asked Mary, astonished. 
 
 " He meant my grandmother's," said WiUy, delighted at 
 the suggestion. 
 
 "True-r-his grandmother's," said the old man. "The 
 letter was written by General Ruffleton " 
 
 " Ah !" gasped Willy, and his head sank dejectedly on 
 his breast. 
 
 "What means that?" asked the old man. "He says 
 there may be danger here, and that Grandma Wire's 
 farm-house would be a place of safety. Is that not con- 
 siderate ?" 
 
 " It is cool impudence, sir," said Willy. 
 
 " Do not fret him, Willy," whispered Mary. 
 
 " What have you to say against it, William Wire ?" pur- 
 sued the old man. ' " Will your grandmother, think you, 
 decline receiving the granddaughter of her own blood rela- 
 tion ?" 
 
 ) " No, sir, no !" said Willy. " And if you desire it, I will 
 ijonduct Mary thither this night, for I shall return home 
 immediately. I have been too long away, and ^" 
 
 " I cannot go," said Mary. 
 
 " Why not ?" asked the old man. 
 
 " I will not leave you." 
 
 "And I hardly know what I should do without my 
 Mary," said he. 
 
 " Then," said Willy, " I propose that you both accom- 
 pany me." 
 
 "Impossible!" said the old man. "The General says 
 that he will soon be in Washington, and will desire to have 
 the benefit of my experience in certain matters connected 
 with this department." 
 
 " The villain !" said Willy, in a low tone, which, however. 
 
WIET WILLY'S PLEDGE. 43 
 
 reached the ear of Mary ; but she made no Remark upon it. 
 She merely exerted her ingenuity to convince her aged 
 relative that it would be utterly impossible for him to dwell 
 in Georgetown without his granddaughter, and succeeded. 
 
 WiUy accompanied them home, and, on the way thither, 
 riveted the attention of the faithful old public servant by a 
 recital of the thrilling incidents of the day. And John 
 Penford, when listening to the details of the battle, was 
 forced to admit that such a thing as an assault on the Fede- 
 ral authorities was by no means " impossible." 
 
 And during the brief hours before Willy bade them adieu 
 that day, not knowing when, if ever, they would meet 
 again, it was not strange that he should repeat his warning 
 to Mary to beware of the insidious wiles of General Ruffleton. 
 
 When Willy returned to the President's mansion, he 
 was met near the entrance by the Blounts, who had just 
 taken leave of their friends within, and were on the eve of 
 departure for the sunny South. 
 
 " Come here, WiUy," said Henry ; " I have heard your 
 history, and shall remember your meritorious conduct to- 
 day. Here is something which may be of service to you 
 in the scenes that will probably occur hereafter." 
 
 " Money, si>' ?" asked Willy, somewhat haughtily. 
 
 " No, Willy. But if that were needed, my purse would 
 be at your service," said Henry, folding a piece of paper on 
 which he had written a few lines with his pencil. "Take 
 this, and keep it, till you hear of me again, and then you 
 may know its value." 
 
 " Sir," said Willy, "if you should lead a Southern army 
 against the President " 
 
 " Think not of that, WUly," said Henry ; " my object is 
 to serve you, even if we should be enemies. And now I 
 would request a favor. It may not be in your power to 
 serve me, in the matter I refer to, but if it should be, I 
 think you would not hesitate to perform the generous 
 oflBce." 
 
 " Name it," said WiUy. 
 
 " Edith !" 
 
 " God bless hert" said WUly, clasping Henry's extended 
 hand. " She has been Mary's friend. Rely on me ! Fare- 
 well." Henry wrung his hand, and hastened to overtake 
 his father. 
 
44 HORKOES OF CIVIL WAB. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOKEOES OF CIVIL WAE. 
 
 All the State Legislatures, north and south, east and 
 ■west, were immediately convened; and the first measure 
 brought forward in most of them was an act ordering the 
 election of delegates to meet in State Conventions, or in 
 Conventions of Southern and Northern Confederated States. 
 Public meetings abounded everywhere, and the press 
 sounded its thunders. In the large cities ungovernable 
 mobs swept through the streets by day and by night, com- 
 mitting every species of violence, and often indiscrimi- 
 nately, on friend and foe. The Demon of Faction was un- 
 chained, and in many places ruled supreme. In the North, 
 the Republicans demanded the utter subjugation of the 
 Southern people, and an unconditional enfranchisement of 
 the slaves. In the South, many of the Democracy urged 
 the invasion of the North ; and, incited by British agents, 
 proposed the destruction of factories, the razing of cities, 
 and the conflagration of shipping at the wharves. 
 
 Nevertheless, the bold and dashing conduct of the Presi- 
 dent in the repulse of General Crook, speedily engendered 
 a formidable party in almost every State, favorable to the 
 maintenance of the Federal authority. The brave always 
 inspire confidence; and President Randolph seemed to 
 know exactly what he was fighting for. In the North, 
 the strictly conservative men of substance, who deprecated 
 a violent collision of the opposing sections, embraced every 
 opportunity of manifesting their approbation of the action 
 , of the Executive, and of indicating their design of adhe- 
 sion to his cause. In the South, likewise, the less excita- 
 ble citizens who desired peace, and an amicable adjust- 
 ment of the difierences between the sections, in the event, 
 now pretty generally conceded, of a perpetual separation, 
 instinctively regarded the President as a mediator and 
 protector. 
 
 Meanwhile the President's policy had been perfectly 
 
HOBBOES OF CITIL WAE. 46 
 
 conceived, and his measures, in some respects, indubitably 
 indicated. He had issued several proclamations, which 
 were disseminated throughout the country. In these, 
 without in the shghtest degree identifying himself with 
 either of the parties to the disruption, "he labored to de- 
 monstrate the advantage to be reaped by a general ac- 
 quiescence in the Federal authority — as a pis oiler, at 
 least, for a Provisional Government — ^and which seemed 
 to be demanded for the convenience, if not for the se- 
 curity of the whole American family, distracted by inter- 
 nal dissension. And in response to his suggestions, it 
 was almost universally agreed that the operations of the 
 Post Office and Revenue systems should not be inter- 
 rupted. As for the collection and safe-keeping of the 
 public money. President Randolph had made ample pro- 
 vision by the powers conferred on him as the Chief Ma- 
 gistrate. With inconceivable promptitude, he had secured 
 the fidelity of the best officers of the Army and Navy 
 to the Government from which their commissions had 
 been derived. It was even conjectured by some that he 
 had sounded these commanders long before the occur- 
 rences at the Capital. But if such were really the case, 
 it could only be cited as one of the many evidences of 
 his superior judgment and foresight. It was certain, how- 
 ever, that not a ship or a regiment refused to obey his 
 orders ; and besides having an ample naval force stationed 
 oflF the principal ports of entry, to insure the collection 
 of duties, it was immediately apparent that notwithstand- 
 ing the troops concentrated in Washington, there were 
 ample military forces likewise in all the cities, to guard 
 the Federal treasure. In New York and Philadelphia 
 mobs were foiled in their attempts to piUage the mint, 
 the custom-houses, and post-offices. Cannon, charged to 
 the muzzle, commanded every avenue of approach to the 
 public edifices, and the duty of defending them had been 
 confided to officers of fidelity, skill, and determination. 
 
 It was different in the country. , Predatory bands crossed 
 the borders from both sides, and maintained a guerilla war- 
 fare for plunder. In the North, strangers and sojourners, 
 natives of the South, as well as citizens suspected or 
 known to sympathize with the pro-slavery party, were sub- 
 jected to many cruelties and sacrifices. Nor was it the 
 
46 H0EE0R3 OP CIVIL WAE. 
 
 guilty alone that comprisod the victims. Advantage vrai 
 taken of the prevailing exasperation by profligate, revenge- 
 ful, and grasping wretches, to consummate the ruin of the 
 rich, the exalted, and the "purest members of society, who 
 had unconsciously incurred their envy or hatred. Tlie 
 gutters ran with blood, and the waysides were strewn with 
 the dead. Banks were pillaged, daring burglaries and re- 
 morseless assassinations were of frequent occurrence, and 
 the vault of heaven was every night illuminated with the 
 glare of conflagrations. And such frightful scenes were 
 not confined to the North. They were, if possible, excelled 
 by the retaliatory measures adopted in the South. If there 
 were no ungovernable mobs, and no instances of indiscrimi- 
 nate destruction of great magnitude, it was owing to the 
 fact that no large cities existed to harbor any formidable 
 number of the degraded class of population, ever infesting 
 dense communities, whose demoniac delight consists in the 
 misfortunes of others. But there were not wanting the 
 " suspected," or even the guilty, among them. For the 
 first, it was suiEcient to have been bom on Northern soil ; 
 for the last, any former expression of aversion to slavery 
 was conclusive against them. Confiscations, executions, 
 imprisonments, and every conceivable mode of punishment 
 or annoyance seemed to be employed. 
 
 Not many days after the occurrences described at the 
 Capital, Mr. Langdon received an account of the ravage of 
 one of his estates in the country by his own neighbors and 
 constituents. The reason alleged was his alliance with the 
 " slave-driving" Blounts of the South. In disregard to the 
 entreaties of Edith and Alice, and the earnest solicitations 
 of the President himself, the indignant Senator resolved to 
 set out immediately for the North ; and, when the hour 
 ■was fixed for his departure, Edith announced her purpose 
 of accompE^nying him. No opposition could ava,il, what- 
 ever her reluctance might be to a separation from her dear- 
 est female friend. She had a presentiment of danger 
 menacing her father, and it was her duty to attend him, 
 through evil as well as good report. 
 
 There were but two cars in the train that conveyed them 
 away from the Federal City, and these were not half filled 
 ■with passengers, and but few of these were destined to cross 
 the border — the line separating Delaware from Pennsylva- 
 
HOBEOES OF Ciyih WAS. 4:1 
 
 ma. Although "little Delaware" had long been regarded 
 as almost a free State, and for many years the chief mar 
 nagers of what was known as the "underground rail- 
 road" had an office in Wilmington, yet it was a singular 
 fact, that this diminutive State, exposed as she was to the 
 first fury of the insane and fanatical invaders, had adopted 
 the most decided position of hostility to the North. Her 
 Senators and Representatives had been among the first to 
 abandon their seats in Congress, and her Legislature, the 
 first assembled, had immediately passed resolutions inviting 
 her sisters of the South to send an unlimited number of 
 volxmteers within her limits, to hurl back the anticipated 
 hordes of Northern invaders. Already thousands from 
 Maryland and Virginia were on their march to occupy the 
 Northern line of brave " little Delaware." And a majority 
 of the passengers in the cars, it was observed by Edith, 
 were either in military uniform or bore some of the instru- 
 ments of deadly warfare. 
 
 It was not vsrithout reason, therefore, that the daughter 
 indulged forebodings of evil in crossing the line separating 
 two hostile sections ; or that the parent should muse in 
 painfid abstraction, when vainly striving to penetrate the 
 future through the tempest of civil war so insanely inaugu- 
 rated by the xmfaithful agents of the people. 
 
 The sun had set in a cloudless sky, golden and gorgeous, 
 and the silver stars twinkled in joyous mockery of the fan- 
 tastic tricks of wicked man, making an earthly paradise a 
 hideous spectacle. The fields were deserted, the fences 
 thrown down, and here and there small parties of men were 
 seen with various implements of destruction in their hands. 
 
 At the first stopping-place after passing through Wilming- 
 ton, several persons warned the conductor of danger ahead, 
 and advised him to remain where he was imtil the enemy 
 should retire. To this the conductor turned a deaf ear, 
 and jestingly remarked that he would like to " see a fight." 
 He added that if " the d — d Abolitionists" got in his way, he 
 would charge through them on his iron horse. This might 
 have inspired confidence, hadnot the remark of the bar-tender 
 of the inn been overheard. It was to the effect that when 
 he had once crossed the line, he would say to the Abolition- 
 ists that he had charged through the d — d slave drivers on 
 his iron horse. 
 4 
 
48 HOREOES OF CIVIL "WAE, 
 
 " Father," said Edith in a whisper, " had we not better 
 get out and endeavor to reach the city some other w;iy ?" 
 
 " No, child," said he. " Fear nothing. We are natives 
 of the North returning home. They will not molest us. 
 Besides, the mails are transported in these cars, and both 
 parties have agreed to let them pass. We shall be in Phila- 
 delphia in an hour. It is but little over twenty miles." 
 
 The whistle sounded, and the locomotive was soon ca- 
 reering at full speed. But they had not proceeded more 
 than ten minutes in this manner, when discharges of firearms 
 were heard, and the train suddenly slackened its speed, 
 and soon after stood perfectly still. The conductor, upon 
 being questioned by Mr. Langdon, said the track was 
 obstructed by a breastwork of fence rails, behind which 
 one of the parties, probably the Northern, was posted. 
 Meanwhile, the fire, now perceived as well by the flashes as 
 by the reports, seemed to be slackened, and finally ceased 
 altogether. There was a rush of both pai-ties to the. train, 
 and after a hand-to-hand contest, which continued for seve- 
 ral minutes, around the cars and within them, the tide flow- 
 ing to and fro, sometimes one party expelling the other, 
 Edith became separated from her father in the melee, and 
 being run against by a large man, was precipitated down 
 a gravel embankment among the rank weeds on the road 
 side. 
 
 Recovering from the concussion of the fall, the poor girl, 
 bewildered, and partly blinded by the dust, essayed to 
 climb the steep embankment, but in vain, and fell back 
 again to the bottom of the ditch, fortunately, at that time, 
 quite dry. 
 
 "Father! father!" she cried. But no one answered. 
 The cars were gone ; and Edith supposed she must have 
 lain some time in a swoon. The moon had risen, and cast a 
 flood of light over the now silent scene. She arose once 
 more, and ran along the margin of the ditch until she came 
 to where the rails were level with the plain. She stood 
 nnon the track and str.iined her eyes in both directions. 
 Neither cars nor living beings were seen. But several dead 
 bodies, weltering in their gore, were left upon the ground. 
 The wounded had been taken away. The horror-stricken 
 girl, summoning all her resolution, approached with breath- 
 less haste and paljatating heart the fallen victims. A single 
 
HOEEOES 01" CIVIL WAE. 49 
 
 glance sufficed. Her father was not there ; and she uttered 
 thanks to heaven that he had, in all probability, escaped 
 with his life. But where was he ? Had he been taken 
 away in the cars, or was he, like herself, a wanderer on the 
 heath ? She had no means of solving the question, and 
 knew not where to go or what to do. In the confusion of 
 the scene she had become unconscious of the direction in 
 which they had been travelling, and was unable to decide 
 which course led towards the city. Long and motionless 
 she stood uttering fervent prayers to heaven for guidance 
 in that hour of dread dismay. 
 
 " Father !" she at length cried aloud, hoping her parent 
 might be in hearing; but no response was made, save the 
 barking of a watch-dog in the distance. " Oh, merciful 
 God!" she exclaimed, "what will become of me!" and 
 stooping down, she buried her face in her hands. How 
 long she remained in this attitude, she could not tell ; but 
 when she again lifted her tearful eyes, the form of a tall 
 man was before her. " Oh !" cried she, " have pity on a 
 dutiful daughter, cruelly separated from her father, who 
 may be wounded or even dead — " 
 
 "No! heaven forbid!" said the stranger. "But come 
 with me, and you shall find a friendly shelter, no matter 
 whether you be Southern or Northern-bom. We are all 
 brothers and sisters in the eyes of the Heavenly Parent." 
 
 " Oh, sir ! will you not aid me, then ?" said Edith, em- 
 boldened by the words she had heard, and the tone of the 
 voice, which seemed to be not altogether strange to her ear. 
 
 " To the utmost of my ability," said the stranger. " But 
 who are you ? Have we not met before ?" 
 
 " I do not know ; until this morning I have been residijig 
 in "Washington-, with my father, for many months." 
 
 " Miss Edith Langdon ! The constant friend of one 
 dearer to me than life itself, Mary Penford !" 
 
 " And you are Wiry Willy ! Yes, Willy, I will trust to 
 your guidance, believing that heaven sent you hither as my 
 deliverer." 
 
 " And if I prove unfaithful, may heaven smite me with 
 its scathing lightnings. Besides, I am solemnly pledged to 
 serve you." He then related the promise which Henry 
 Blount had exacted from him, and she believed in the over- 
 ruling Providence that shapes our actions. 
 
 3 
 
50 HOEEOES OP CIVIL WAE. 
 
 " I will go with you, Willy," said she, taldng his -arm 
 and leaning on it for support. "You say your grandmother 
 lives near this place." 
 
 " That was the friendly shelter I meant, before I knew 
 the one to whom it was tendered. But now you will be 
 doubly welcome, for Mary, when a sojourner beneath our 
 humble roof, often described her friend and protector to 
 my aged grandma, and made her love you." 
 
 " And it was there that Mary culled the beautiful wild 
 flowers for me ? Oh, if my father were only with me, or if 
 I could only know he was unharmed and in safety, how 
 contented could I be to dwell in the peaceful little vale so 
 fondly painted by the truthful Maiy !" 
 
 Wiry Willy led the way across a meadow, and by a nar- 
 row path through a dense growth of sapling oaks; and 
 there they beheld the humble cottage by a winding brook. 
 Passing through a wicker gate, they approached the tene- 
 ment between trellises of grape-vines which scented the air 
 with their blossoms. They were met by a large black If ew- 
 foundland dog, whose baying Edith had heard, but which 
 now seemed to welcome her with manifestations of friendship. 
 
 Lifting the latch, Willy conducted his charge into a 
 capacious room, illuminated with a lamp on a plain table, 
 and warmed by a bright blaze in the broad fire-place. Mrs. 
 Wire was knitting, seated on a low chair at the corner of 
 the hearth. She was in her ninety-seventh year, small of 
 stature, thin, and her face a mass of wrinkles. Yet her 
 features were regular, and must have been handsome. She 
 rose up without difficulty on perceiving the entrance of her 
 grandson and the stranger. 
 
 " Who is this, Willy ?" she asked, with curiosity, but not 
 displeasure, and perhaps the secret of her longevity consisted 
 in the uniform amiability of her nature. 
 
 " It is Miss Edith Langdon, grandma, that Mary Penford 
 used to speak so much about." 
 
 " I am sure she will have a hearty welcome, then," said 
 the old lady, approaching Edith, and gently taking her 
 hand. " Come, sit down before the fire, my sweet child ; 
 the night is chiU and damp. You seem distressed, and no 
 wonder, for the times are stormy, as in the days of the 
 Revolution, when I, too, was young. Give me your bonnet 
 and mantilla, and warm your feet. Then you shall have 
 
HOEEOES OF CIVIL WAE. 61 
 
 tea, or milk, and sach bread and butter as the poor house 
 affords." 
 
 " I leave you, grandma, for a short time," said Willy ; 
 " I must saddle my pony, and — " 
 
 " And what, Willy ? Whither are you going ?" 
 
 " I will explain everything before I depart. I will see 
 you again before I mount." 
 
 " It is right and proper, no doubt," said the old lady, 
 gazing at the door which the young man had closed behind 
 him. 
 
 Edith, while partaking moderately of the repast set be- 
 fore her, explained the ckcumstances of her condition to 
 the attentive old lady, who retained not only the faculty of 
 hearing, but of seeing without the use of glasses. 
 
 "Now I know Willy's purpose without another word 
 from him," said the grandame. " He wiU leave us under 
 the protection of Bruce, the faithful dog, and seek informa- 
 tion regarding your parent." 
 
 " Bless him ! And may heaven prosper his endeavors !" 
 exclaimed Edith. 
 
 " Oh, he is a blessed boy — and yet he has been stricken 
 with affliction. His love for Mary Penford has unsettled 
 his reason a little, at times ; but he is not a lunatic, as some 
 have said. The boy was well educated, for we own a hun- 
 dred acres of good land, which have been well tilled, and 
 yielded their profits. He was even elected to the Legisla- 
 ture, but resigned his seat, when he received the terrible 
 announcement that General Ruffleton was an accepted suitor 
 for the hand of Mary." 
 
 " And does General Ruffleton really propose to marry 
 Mary ?" asked Edith. 
 
 "That is the point. He makes John Penford believe so ; 
 but Willy is convinced that he has no such intention. That 
 thought has robbed him of sleep, and at times almost bereft 
 him of reason. The neighbors call him a poor harmless 
 demented young man. But he is not demented on any 
 subject but the one. It is true that, living here on the Une 
 between the free and the slave states, Willy, being once a 
 politician, takes sometimes one side and sometimes the 
 other ; but in whateiier he does, I can see a good motive, 
 and both parties have become accustomed to his eccentri- 
 cities, and permit him to pass and repass at pleasure. Oh, 
 
62 HOEEOES OF CIVIL WAE. 
 
 he can serve you better than any of the violent partisans, 
 And he will do it. You may have the most perfect reliance 
 on his honor and his judgment !" 
 
 "I certainly have !" said Edith. " He came to me as if 
 in answer to my prayer for aid !" 
 
 " God sent him — depend upon it ! I am now nearly one 
 hundred years old, and when I look back through the 
 long vista of time, I can recognise the hand of a special 
 Providence in a thousand fortunate occurrences. Have 
 faith in God, my daughter, send He will not desert you. 
 He will lead thee forth, by such instruments as He may be 
 pleased to select, out of every difficulty, if you trust impli- 
 citly in his goodness and wisdom." 
 
 "I will endeavor to do so, to the utmost of my ability !" 
 
 " And that is a right kind of resolution, for we cannot be 
 sure what temptations may beset us. But, as for Willy, 
 although in politics, and in these civil strifes, there may be 
 no seeming consistency in his words or acts (fov he appears 
 very willing that they should deem him but half-witted), 
 you will find all his promises and engagements in your 
 behalf will be redeemed, if human wit and exertion, with 
 approbation from above, can accomplish them." 
 
 "Now!" said Willy, throwing open the door, "farewell 
 grandma — farewell. Miss Langdon. I am going in quest of 
 the Senator. Slumber peacefully, both of you. The nighiy 
 is fair, my pony eager for a race, and I could not rest on 
 my pillow, if I sought it, knowing that the father is sepa- 
 rated from the daughter, and that daughter the friend and 
 protector of Mary ! I will see Mary's approving smile as 
 she flits through the air before me. Do not fear for me. 
 None wUl molest Wiry Willy ; and none durst disturb the 
 last surviving matron of the Revolution, who dressed the 
 wounds of both friends and enemies brought hither from 
 Chadds' Ford. Farewell. In three hours I wiU be in Phi- 
 ladelphia. And you may look for me back in the morning. 
 I will leave the pony at the Black Bear, and return in the 
 cars." He then closed the door, and a moment after the 
 clatter of the pony's hoofs was heard. 
 
 " He will do all he says, my child," said the grandame, 
 proudly. "And I see he has removed a load of anxiety 
 from you." 
 
 " He has, indeed ! He cannot fall to get some tidings of 
 
HOEEOES OF CIVH, WAE. 53 
 
 my father, for many in the city know him well, and his 
 reputation for moderation in all things, together with his 
 vote against the Declaratory Resolution, will surely shield 
 him from harm in a Northern city. Oh, yes ; I shall slum- 
 ber sweetly, dreaming all the time that Willy has returned 
 with my father, or with good news of him. But, grandame, 
 did you really dress the wounds of the sufferers at the battle 
 of Brandy wine ?" 
 
 " Indeed I did, my child. The battle-ground was not far 
 from this place." She then entertained Edith with the 
 recital of the incidents of that terrible day ; and among the 
 rest mentioned the fact that at the urgent solicitation of 
 Washington, La Fayette dismounted, and rested a few 
 moments in her humble domicil. But he had not time to 
 permit her to dress his wound. The British were in pur- 
 suit ; and so, drinking a cup of fresh milk, and taking a few 
 biscuits in his pocket, the wounded General remounted his 
 horse and sped away, until faint with the loss of blood, they 
 placed him in a carriage. She described the sufferings of 
 the officers and men of both armies left wounded on the 
 field ; and the gratitude they expressed for the kindness and 
 care bestowed on them. Yet, she added, that a great many 
 people in Delaware, at that day, were reluctant to give up 
 their King. But God liad so willed it, and the country had 
 prospered ever since, until the coming of the present troubles, 
 the issue of which was in the hands of One mightier than any 
 earthly King. 
 
 And thus the hours sped. The grandame smoking her 
 pipe in the chimney corner, relating anecdotes of a past 
 generation; the listening maiden transported in fancy to 
 scenes of the dim and distant past, while the cricket chirped 
 upon the hearth, until the demands of nature admonished 
 them of the arrival of the hour for repose. 
 
64 EDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER Vn, 
 
 EDITH'S DISGUISE AOT) PLIGHT. 
 
 WiET Willy was familiar with the highways and cross- 
 roads between Chadd's Ford and Philadelphia ; hut more 
 than once he found it prudent to diverge from the direction 
 he was pursuing to avoid an encounter with the predatory- 
 parties prowling at such unseasonable hours. On one 
 occasion he was hailed by several ill-looldng men ; and, not 
 choosing to waste his precious time in nocturnal conferences 
 with strangers, he was fired upon and pursued. He merely 
 laughed at the fruitless efforts to arrest his progress, know- 
 ing his pony could distance pursuit, and that there were a 
 thousand chances to one he would escape the bullets. 
 
 As he drew near the Schuylkill, however, he was con- 
 fronted by a man who stepped into the road before him and 
 presented a bayoneted musket at his breast. 
 
 " Who goes there ?" demanded the man. 
 
 " Wiry Willy," was the prompt reply, the pony halting 
 suddenly. 
 
 " On which side ?" 
 
 " Sometimes one, sometimes the other." 
 
 " Well, on which side now ?" 
 
 " On your side, I think," said WiUy, perceiving himself 
 surrounded by armed men rising up on all sides, and 
 emboldened by the conviction flashing upon him that these 
 were men in the service of the President, although not in 
 martial uniform. He suspected correctly ; for it was a con- 
 voy of specie. The President did not suffer the public funds 
 to accumulate in places where riots prevailed ; and every 
 day considerable amounts of the precious metals, guarded 
 by trusty agents, arrived at Washington. 
 
 "We must know that," said the commander of the 
 detachment, stepping forward, " or else you will have to 
 return with us towards Wilmington." 
 
 " Strike a light !" said Willy, " and I'll convince you ;" 
 and drawing a paper from the lining of his boot-leg, placed 
 
EDITH'S DISG0ISE AND FLIGHT. 55 
 
 it in the hands of the officer. It was brief, and a single 
 match sufficed for its perusal. 
 
 " Enough !" said the officer, returning the paper, " Pass 
 on. And yet, if you have not been ordered thither, I would 
 advice you to keep out of the city. There are fifty thousand 
 rioters in the streets. Houses have been burnt, and horrible 
 murders are committed." 
 
 " Did you see or hear anything of Senator Langdon ?" 
 asked Willy. 
 
 "Yes. He is a prisoner of the Abolitionists. They con- 
 demn him as a Doughface for having permitted his daughter 
 to mari-y a Southerner. But I do not think they will kill 
 him, because he voted in opposition to the Blounts." 
 
 " Where is he confined ?" 
 
 " Nowhere as yet. The prisons have been broken open 
 and blown up. They keep their prisoners in their midst as 
 they move about the city." 
 
 " Thank you. Farewell." And saying this, Willy urged 
 his pony towards the city, the glare of whose burning dwel- 
 lings was now plainly perceptible. 
 
 He proceeded through the very heart of the city, avoid- 
 ing the mob on one or two occasions, by cutting through an 
 alley and emerging again into the same street in the rear of 
 the multitude. At the Black Bear he was well known, and 
 his panting pony was placed in safe hands. 
 
 Willy, on foot, plunged into the first mob he could find, 
 and this was in Chestnut street. Some thousands of men, 
 armed with every conceivable weapon, from the blunderbuss 
 to a brickbat, were pushing forward those before them to- 
 wards the Custom House. 
 
 " Down with the President !" cried many. 
 
 " D n Uncle Sam !" shouted others. 
 
 "Hurrah for General Ruffleton!" screeched one just at 
 Willy's elbow. And this was responded to by deafening 
 cheers. 
 
 ~" Where is General RilSston ?" asked Willy, in a low, 
 familiar voice, of the one who had^nriHtfid. him. 
 
 " Don't you know ? Where have youbecn afl day ? In 
 Southwark ?" - ^ 
 
 " South," said Willy. ^ - 
 
 " I thought so, or else you wouldn't have asked the ques- 
 tion, because he made a great speech in Independence 
 
66 EDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 
 
 Square, and we all heard him. Didn't he give it to the 
 South ? And we're all going to march under him to 
 Washington, and seize the government." 
 
 " Good !" said Willy. " But when do you march ?" 
 
 " In a few days ; as soon as we can get arms enough. The 
 General's rich, and we won't have to ^vait long. He is to go 
 before, and we are to join him at the Delaware line. We're 
 going to wipe out all the niggers as we go ! Won't you 
 join ?"' 
 
 " Yes, by George ! But how many are to go ?" 
 
 " At least a hundred thousand. They're coming from the 
 free States every hour. But what's your name? I'm a 
 recruiting sergeant." 
 
 " William Wire," said Willy, after some hesitation, and 
 concluding that it might be policy to give his true name. 
 
 " That's recorded," said the other, writing in a small 
 book, with a pencil, by lamplight, the moon having gone 
 down. 
 
 " Now, your name, sergeant — the higher officers, I sup- 
 pose, are to be elected, and if we improve on acquaintance, 
 I may desire to nominate you for captain." 
 
 " True, Wire, and I shall be much obUged to you. Recol- 
 lect my name is Punt." 
 
 " I won't forget it. Can you tell me where I'll find the 
 General ?" 
 
 " He goes down to the Delaware line in the morning — 
 and may be on his way there now." 
 
 " Then can you tell me what they have done with the 
 Hon. Mr. Langdon ?" 
 
 "I can. They've got him in a cage hereabouts some- 
 where. It's on wheels. They exhibit him as a Doughface, 
 according to the request of the Rev. Mr. Fire, who has been 
 preaching so long against slavery. They don't intend.-4o^ 
 hurt him, though; it's just to make an extiiapl^e for the 
 benefit of some other public menjv^hohgve been too fond 
 of Southern associates." _^— 
 
 About this time a^nurtiber of pistol shots were fired from 
 the head of tho dense throng, without the word of command, 
 andjjy Nvhom no one could tell, at the soldiers guarding the 
 Custom House. The officer in command ordered a com- 
 pany to disperse the assailants by a discharge of musketry 
 at their feet. More than forty fell, and ten, thousand were 
 
EDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 67 
 
 put to flight. Willy seized this opportunity to abandon his 
 sergeant for the purpose ofseeldng Mr. Langdon. Directing 
 his course towards the square in the rear of Independence 
 Hall, always a common centre in times of commotion, his 
 diligence was soon rewarded with a sight of the Honorable 
 Senator's cage, at the head of a long row of similar im- 
 promptu contrivances made of wood, in imitation of a 
 menagerie. There were several persons acting as showmen, 
 and their language and manners as they goaded the animals 
 or fed them, produced immense laughter. 
 
 Willy recognised in the keeper of Mr. Langdon the 
 same Jack Bim who had volunteered under General Crook 
 to seize the Federal treasure, and he was not quite certain 
 whether it would be prudent to make himself known to 
 him. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen and ladies," said Jack Bim, and by 
 the glare of the torches it could be seen that hundreds, if 
 not thousands, of females were on the ground, " let me ex- 
 hibit this wonderful nondescript Aammal when he's Aeating. 
 You shall see that he's carnivorous, herbivorous, and grani- 
 vorous. Now, sir," he continued, addressing Mr. Langdon, 
 " I desire that you wUl eat this leg of a chicken." The 
 grave Senator, thinking submission the best line of conduct, 
 under the circumstances, complied with the request. " Very 
 good, sir," said Bim. " Now you will oblige me by masti- 
 cating a few ground nuts. Very good. Now take a bite 
 of the celery. Done most meekly." That was the appro- 
 priate word, and it struck a sympathetic chord in the breasts 
 of even that hardened mob. 
 
 " Shame !" said one of the better costumed women, who 
 had seen the dignified Senator at Washington. " Shame !" 
 repeated many voices. 
 
 " What do you mean ?" asked Jack Bim, who looked for 
 plaudits instead of reproaches. 
 
 " I say it's a great mistake to put such an indignity 
 upon a great man," exclaimed a portly gentleman, in a 
 dress coat with metal buttons, urging his way through the 
 crowd. 
 
 " Who are you ?" demanded Bim. 
 
 " I, sir, am D P B !" , And a hundred 
 
 voices cheered him, " Do you know the name, sir ?" 
 
 " I do." 
 
 3* 
 
88 EDITH'S DISGUISE AND PLIGHT. 
 
 " Then release that man !" Several persons sprang for- 
 ward and tore off the wooden slats of the cage. 
 
 " I thank you, sir," said Mr. Langdon, addressing his 
 deliverer. " But I do not think it was their design to 
 injure me, and I doubt if they can he induced to release me 
 yet. I see thousands of copies of the Censor in their hands, 
 and that sheet contains a most villanous calumny on ine. I 
 had intended to address the multitude the first opportunity ; 
 but their fury was not sufficiently modified. May I retire 
 with this friend ?" This was addressed to Bim. 
 
 " No, by !" was the response. Bim had just re- 
 ceived information that some forty of 'the rioters had been 
 shot down in front of the Custom House. " If I were to 
 release you now, they would tear me to pieces. But if your 
 friend, who seems to be a pet of the sovereign people, will 
 pledge his word that you will not escape, he may conduct 
 you into the room of the ' Signers ' yonder, where you may 
 enjoy such comforts as your purse can command. I have 
 
 no money, as yet^" he added, between his teeth. Mr. B 
 
 Avithout hesitation, complied with the condition ; and taking 
 the arm of the Senator, led him into the sacred chamber 
 where the Declaration of Independence had been signed, 
 and where the Convention which framed the Constitution, 
 over which Washington himself presided, and of which an 
 ancestor of Mr. Langdon had been a member, had assem- 
 bled in the first days of the Kepublic ! Willy had whis- 
 pered to Mr. B that the Senator's daughter was safe. 
 
 " Do you not remember me ?" asked Willy, turning and 
 add^-essing Bim, when Mr. Langdon was led away. 
 
 " By George, I do ! " said Jack, fixing his fierce grey 
 eyes on him. " I thought I had seen that long-tailed coat 
 somewhere. Why, you were one of us at Washington ! I 
 thought they had peppered you. Only fifteen of my club 
 escaped — and we had to walk back— didn't get enough 
 money to buy railroad tickets, and we were too few to seize 
 the train. Well, how goes it, old fellow ?" 
 
 " I've not received a dime, either. General Crook either 
 had no money, or else he gave it only to his Southern 
 men." 
 
 " I suppose that is exactly what he did. But, my friend, 
 What's-your-name, the less we say about having fought 
 under Crook, in this crowd, the better." 
 
BDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 6!) 
 
 " I understand," said Willy. Then giving way to an 
 impulse which seemed ii'resistible, he continued : " It's a 
 pity, Jack, that we brave fellows should fight and bleed, 
 and get no pay. I think I know where there is some trea- 
 sure ; but then it may be the property of friends." 
 
 " D n the friends !" said Bim. " Where is it ? I can 
 
 easily make them enemies. I don't care who they are — all 
 I have to do is to whisper a few words in the ears of my 
 brother leaders, and there will be ten thousand men at our 
 backs." 
 
 " But I mean the Rev. Mr. Fire. It is in the basement 
 of his church. He has the safe-keeping of the plate of 
 many of his congregation — and he has much treasure of his 
 own." 
 
 " Why he's an infernal Puritan. And it was him who 
 made them attack the Custom -House, before — ^no, that 
 won't do. But, I have it ! Come on. I'U swear he's 
 hiding the plate of the Southerners in the city. That'll do. 
 Come on !" And Bim led the way in quest of his brother 
 chieftains. But Willy embraced the first opportunity of 
 losing himself -in the dense crowd. He was impelled 
 down the avenue in front of the line of cages where there 
 was the most brilliant glare of torches, and the loudest 
 laughter. A man seated on a three-legged stool, in the 
 largest cage, attracted his attention. He was a fine-looking 
 individual, of large dimensions, and upon inquiry, WUly 
 learned he was the publisher of a Democratic journal which 
 had always been very bitter in its strictures against the 
 Abolitionists. And the Rev. Mr. Fire, with a torch in one 
 hand and a newspaper in the other, was reading an article 
 advisiog the incarceration of clerical fanatics, who were 
 denounced as traitors. 
 
 " Thus," said the parson, " is the chalice commended to 
 your own lips," and the crowd applauded, and asked the 
 prisoner how he liked the taste of his own prescriptions. 
 
 " I didn't write a line of it," said he. 
 
 " But you know who did; and you published 'it," said 
 the Rev. Mr. Fire. 
 
 " Who wrote it ? Make him tell !" cried several. 
 
 " I'll see you d d first, Dick Dodge !" replied the 
 
 gigantic publisher, foaming with rage ; and recognising one 
 of his persecutors. 
 
60 EDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 
 
 " He's pluck, any how," said several. 
 
 " That infernal rascal," said the publisher, pointing at 
 Dick, " was one of my compositors, and set up the manu- 
 script. If I was the publisher, he was the printer." 
 
 " That's enough !" cried the keeper. " Get in, Dick ! 
 You set up the type. Is it a sentence, fellow-citizens ?" 
 This was decided affirmatively, and Dick was no sooner 
 "thrust into the cage than the publisher fell upon him with 
 his tremendous fists, amidst the delighted shouts of the 
 populace. 
 
 In the next cage was a lawyer, of similar politics, and 
 one supposed to be a contributor to the journal so obnox- 
 ious to the partizans of the reverend gentlemen which 
 seemed then to preponderate, although amongst these a 
 large number were never Republicans or Abolitionists, 
 and had really no conscientious scruples with regard to 
 African slavery. The greatest annoyance perpetrated on 
 the lawyer was the compelling him to chew tobacco, for 
 which he had a mortal aversion. And what added to the 
 poignancy of this exaction was, that the suggestion came, 
 very innocently, from the publisher, who had asked one of 
 the bystanders for a " chew." 
 
 Another cage contained a jackass eating hay, with an 
 imprisoned politician brushing the flies from its ears with 
 his handkerchief. ■ It was a most singular freak of the 
 mob. The politician had been either bora in the South, or 
 had been a very noisy advocate of the fire-eating doctrines. 
 He had been a candidate for Congress, and seemed to have 
 been made half crazy by defeat. He was very profane, 
 cursing the ass, an ill-natured, kicking, and biting animal, 
 and the mob. But just in proportion tp the excess of his 
 profanity, was the laughter of the spectators. 
 
 Next to the politician's cage was one containing the 
 
 editor of the . He had been caught early 
 
 the morning before, and now exhibited evidences of loss of 
 rest. His hands were tied behind him, and although forced 
 to stand, his eyes frequently closed involuntarily, and his 
 head fell down in fitful naps on his breast. 
 
 " Brighten up dar !" said the negro boy who attended 
 him, pulling an end of the rope violently. " Now, gem- 
 men !" said he, " I ofiers a likely sound fellow, ob de Cau- 
 cus tribe, to the highest bidder. How much you bid ? 
 
EDITH'S DISGUISE AND PLIGHT. 61 
 
 Give a bid, gemmen ! He is a great worter, and can see 
 without specks, sir, and dat's what his age is. Only please 
 him, and h^'ll sarve you well. But don't show him blood, 
 and den he's not dang'rous. He never hurt a mortal living 
 ciittur, 'less dey tried to hurt him fust. He's been shot at, 
 and worked de next minute same as ever." 
 
 " What sort of work ?" asked one of the spectators. 
 
 " You're too hard for me, dar ! " said the auctioneer. 
 " I don't understand it — but 'spose de man who buys him 
 will make de most he kin oif of him. How much ? Bid 
 for him, gemmen !" There being no bidders, the exhausted 
 editor sank down on the straw and fell asleep. 
 
 It was now early dawn, and Willy, alarmed at the news 
 of General. Ruffleton's presence in the vicinity of his mo- 
 ther's cottage, hastened his preparations for departure. He 
 considered Mr. Langdon's condition one of safety, but he 
 had fearful misgivings as to the fate of Edith, if she 
 should be seen at his mother's humble dwelling by the pro- 
 fligate Ruifleton. The latter, no doubt, supposed Mary 
 Penford had been sent thither in compliance with his re- 
 quest ; and his disappointment and rage on finding the 
 contrary, might augur ill for the security of Edith. And 
 he learned that measures had been taken to subject every 
 one passing into the city to a strict scrutiny. To obviate 
 this difficulty, and to insure the meeting of the daughter 
 with her father, it occurred to Willy that it would be pro- 
 per for the former to assume some sort of disguise. There- 
 fore, after taking some food at the Black Bear, he wan- 
 dered up Market street, and entered the first clothing store 
 he found open at that early hour. He then lost no time in 
 haggling, but selected a suit of boy's apparel, such as he 
 supposed would suit the height and shape of Edith. Then, 
 hastening away to the depot, he was soon flying at railroad 
 speed towards the Delaware line. 
 
 At the station nearest his, grandmother's residence, and 
 just when, having descended from the car, he was in the 
 act of starting across the country, Willy heard his name 
 uttered by some one at the inn. He paused, and beheld 
 General Ruffleton approaching. 
 
 " WUly," said the general, " I am about to be at the head 
 of a great army. The whole country will be under my 
 command. I believe you have never taken any part in 
 
62 EDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 
 
 these sectional quarrels. It is well. I can trust you. Old 
 Penford has given me his daughter, and you love her. 
 Serve me well, and you shall have her. Do you understand? 
 "Why don't you answer ? Do you not want riches ? Stupid 
 fellow ! But how fares Mary ? She is now at your gran- 
 dame's ?" 
 
 " She is not, sir," said Willy. 
 
 "If you lie, su-," said the general, "you shall be confined 
 In a dungeon ! But why not be frank with me ?" he added, 
 in a lower tone, for many of his staff were standing near. 
 " You must know that if she has been there recently I will 
 find it out, and that neither she nor you could possibly 
 escape me." 
 
 " I tell the truth, sir. Her grandfather desired her to 
 come, but she would not leave him." 
 
 " That seems probable," said Ruffleton. " The old in- 
 cumbrance must be put out of the way," he continued, 
 aside, but WUly heard it. " Well, sir," added the general, 
 turning once more to WiUy, " see that you do not attempt 
 to deceive me, or to thwart my plans. Go — but remember 
 my eyes are upon you !" 
 
 Willy did go. And when an orchard hid him from view 
 he mended his pace, and never paused until he reached the 
 door of his own domicil ; then he stopped on the outside to 
 take breath and to compose his features, for the considerate 
 young man did not desire to alarm the friend of Mary, or 
 his good grandame, by any symptoms of peril or panic in 
 his physiognomy. 
 
 So, when WiUy entered the cottage there was a pleasant 
 smile on his Up, and this was instantly interpreted aright by 
 Edith. 
 
 "He is safe, Willy ?" she cried. 
 
 " Quite safe," said Willy. 
 
 " And I can see him — go to him ?" 
 
 " I hope so," said Willy, seriously ; " but you will have 
 to be very careful." He then detailed enough of that which 
 he had seen and heard, to make both Edith and his grand- 
 mother fully comprehend the condition of affairs. 
 
 " I must go !" said Edith. " My father can neither eat 
 nor sleep until he knows of my safety." 
 
 " He knows you are safe," said WUly, " if Mr, B 
 
 told him what I whispered in his ear." 
 
EDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 63 
 
 **Theii," said the grandame, "I think this is the best 
 piaee for Edith. I know how it was travelling in 111*!. In 
 such troublous times it is best for maidens to keep under 
 shelter." 
 
 "I cannot answer for Miss Edith's safety here," said 
 Willy. 
 
 "And why not, WUly?" asked the grandame, while 
 Edith was all attention. WiUy described what had passed 
 iu his interview with General Ruffleton, and Edith grew 
 very pale. She knew Ruffleton quite well enough, and had 
 once repulsed his marked advances as a lover. 
 
 " Yes, I must go," said she ; " and the sooner the better. 
 He is a bold bad man, and I shall not be happy until re- 
 moved beyond the atmosphere in which he breathes. But 
 how can I go ?" 
 
 " Willy will go with you, if you must leave our house," 
 said the grandame. 
 
 " I will, with pleasure," responded Willy ; " but the next 
 train will not pass for some hours ; and I learn that the 
 army under Ruffleton is collecting in great numbers on this 
 side of the Schuylkill. There might be difficulty in passing. 
 The men are rude, and many of them utterly without scru- 
 ples." 
 
 " I will disguise myself, and travel as a servant," said Edith. 
 
 " No, my child," said the old lady, " that would be the 
 worst thing you could do. As the daughter of Senator 
 Langdon, some of the officers might be respectful ; but as 
 a chambermaid, none would hesitate to insult you." 
 
 " I have provided this disguise," said WiUy, exhibiting 
 the apparel he had brought home in his handkerchief; " and 
 I do sincerely believe it would be the most effectual that 
 Miss Edith could adopt." 
 
 Edith expressed her reluctance to assume any disguise 
 whatever, and above all, that of male attii-e ; nevertheless, 
 she would submit to any ordeal in the performance of a 
 duty. And this determination was strengthened whea 
 Bruce, the faithful dog, gave notice of the approach of 
 strangers. 
 
 " There are two young men," said the grandame, looking 
 out of the window. 
 
 " And they are armed," said Willy, " with swords and 
 pistols, and " 
 
64 ' EDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 
 
 " What else ?» asked Edith. 
 
 " They are the aides of General Ruffleton ! Could yon 
 not keep out of their view ?" 
 
 "It is too late," said Edith, joining the others at the win- 
 dow. " They have seen me. But they do not seem to ba 
 meditating evil." 
 
 Willy called back the dog, and stepped forward to meet 
 the strangers, who had entered the gate. 
 
 " We are merely walking for exercise and amusement," 
 said one of them, " and being thirsty, we ventured hither 
 to crave a little water." 
 
 Without uttering any reply, Willy stepped back and pre- 
 Bented them a pitcher and glasses. They drank slowly, 
 casting glances towards the window from which Edith had 
 retired. After lingering a few moments they withdrew. 
 
 " Now, for heaven's sake !" said Willy, re-entering and 
 addressing Edith, " let us depart as soon as possible. These 
 men have been sent hither by Ruffleton. He did not be- 
 lieve me when I told him Mary had not arrived at the cot- 
 tage in obedience to his request; and these men, not 
 knowing you from Mary, will confii-m his suspicions." 
 
 Edith snatched up the male attire, and hastened into the 
 chamber where she had slept the preceding night, and 
 hastily donned the clothes, which, thanks to Willy's judg- 
 ment, were of the proper dimensions. Then tying up her 
 hair on the summit of her head, and surmounting it with a 
 cloth cap, the transformation was complete. She had worn 
 her heavy travelling shoes on the journey, and these being 
 the only essential articles that Willy had omitted, she now 
 felt convinced that her sex was in no danger of discovery. 
 
 " Upon my word, I don't think they'll find you out," said 
 the grandame, when Edith re-entered, confident and self- 
 possessed, but without the slightest shadow of merri- 
 ment. 
 
 " Now, grandame," said she, " give mo pen, ink, and 
 paper. I wUl leave a note addressed to you, expressing my 
 thanks for your kind hospitality, and intimating the cause 
 of my unexpected sojourn under your roof, &c., which must 
 be left on this table ; so that General Ruffleton, if he comes, 
 may see it." 
 
 " There is woman's wit in that," said the grandame, while 
 Edith was writing. 
 
EDITH'S DISGUISE AND TLIGHT. 65 
 
 " Yes, grandma," said Willy, " it will serve as a ptoteo- 
 tion to you, and may also shield me from harm." 
 
 The note was written, and Edith then announced herself 
 in readiness to depart. They set out, after brief but smcero 
 adieus to the helpless one they left behind. But she said 
 she trusted in the strength of the Lord. 
 
 Our travellers arrived at the dep6t without encountering 
 any one on the way. But when they were seated in the car, 
 they were startled by the voice of General Ruffleton him- 
 self, who thrust his head in the side door and gazed very 
 steadily for an instant at Edith. She had the sagacity not 
 to attempt to conceal her face. 
 
 "So, "Willy," said he, averting his eyes, "you have a 
 great deal of running backwards and forwards to do ?" 
 
 " I forgot my grandma's coffee," said Willy. 
 
 " Ha, ha ! and perhaps that was the very thing she sent 
 you for. SiUy fellow !" 
 
 " Euripides ! General ! Wasn't it enough to knock coffee 
 out of any one's head ?" 
 
 " There were some striking scenes, it is true, and there 
 may be more of them. But then, I don't see why you 
 should return to them so soon." 
 
 "I'm afraid to go to Wilmington, sir. They say the 
 Southerners are getting as thick as hops there." 
 
 "And that's true. You prefer, then, to take your 
 chances among the free state men ? But what pretty boy 
 is that ?" 
 
 " A young friend from College." 
 
 " He seems to be a very delicate lad. See that you take 
 good care of him. And be sure you told me the truth this 
 morning — else when you return, you may be called to an 
 account. Good bye !" and glancing once more at Edith, he 
 withdrew his head. Soon after the whistle was sounded, 
 and the cars rattled away towards the city. 
 
 "Willy," said Edith, after sitting some time in silence, 
 " that man doubted your story. His eyes were full of sus- 
 picion. He did not recognise me, however, and he knew 
 it was not Mary. He will see my note, and then the 
 mystei-y will be explained. He cannot, I think, sate his 
 vengeance on you. For anything done by me, he surely ^ 
 would not hold you accountable." 
 
 "Do not fear for me," said Willy. " Half-witted as they 
 
66 EDITH'S DISGUISE AND FLIGHT. 
 
 deem me, I shall outwit them all. I feel no apprehension 
 on my own account. But here we are at the bridge." 
 
 "That is cannon," remarked a stranger, sitting just 
 behind our travellers, as several rumbling reports, in quick 
 succession, were heard in the direction of the city. 
 
 " That is one of the men to whom you gave the water," 
 whispered Edith, recognising the voice, and looking round. 
 
 " It is so !" said WUly, " and there may be some danger 
 going the usual way in the omnibus." 
 
 " Perhaps we had better hire a coach," said the stranger. 
 
 " Would that diminish the danger ?" asked Edith. 
 
 "Wo could go a circuitous route," said he, and then, 
 after a little hesitation, and addressing Willy, he continued : 
 "You were kind enough to give me a glass of deUcious 
 water this morning. A friend and myself were walking 
 through the country. I am famiUar with the city, and will 
 conduct you and your young friend to any part of it; with- 
 out the slightest danger of encountering a cannon ball." 
 
 Willy thanked him, but remai-ked that he was weU 
 acquainted with the streets himself, neither declining nor 
 accepting the tender. And when they arrived at the dep6t 
 the stranger hastened to employ a hackney coach, which 
 drew up near the place Avhere Willy and Edith were stand- 
 ing. Most fortunately Willy happened to be acquainted 
 with the driver, and urging Edith to enter, and then whis- 
 pering a word in the ear of his old acquaintance, sprang in 
 himself and closed the door. The driver cracked his whip, 
 and the horses bounded away, leaving the gentleman in 
 semi-military costume standing like a fool looking after 
 them. 
 
 Not really apprehending any danger from the cannon, 
 which indeed had now ceased to be heard, Willy, with the 
 concurrence of Edith, told the driver to go by the shortest 
 way to the Black Bear, a place, as Willy observed, to which 
 be would not have taken Edith in any other costume than 
 that she was then in. Although, in its line, the inn was 
 quite respectable, as a place of resort for farmers from the 
 neighborhood ; yet it was not quite up to the fashionable 
 hotels to which Edith had been accustomed. The chief 
 recommendation was, that General Ruffleton would not be 
 likely to think of such a place, if he were determined to 
 pursue her ; and pursuit seemed very probable, since one 
 
bdith's disguise and plight, 6'? 
 
 of his aides had evidently been directed to accompany them 
 to the city. 
 
 Arrived without accident at the Black Bear, Edith strode 
 into tlie parlor and sat among the few market women and 
 the rosy daughters of honest farmers, awaiting the return 
 of their husbands and parents who had ventured out to 
 transact business among the shop-keepers. It was deemed 
 best for Willy to go forth alone, and endeavor to obtain 
 tidings of Mr. Langdon. The city was terribly agitated ; 
 and the landlord said nearly a thousand men had been killed 
 since sunrise, in fruitless attempts to storm the Mint and 
 the Custom House. But he could give no information of 
 Mr. Langdon, having heard nothing of him whatever. 
 This, negative as it was, nevertheless afforded some comfort 
 to Edith ; for, thought she, if anything dreadful had hap- 
 pened to him, it would certainly have been bruited over the 
 dty. She therefore promised to await the report of Willy, 
 and requested him not to precipitate his return on her 
 account, unless, indeed, his inquiries were quickly crowned 
 with success. 
 
 WiUy, therefore, after seeing that his pony had not been 
 molested by any of the roving recruiting sergeants, set out 
 alone. But he had not gone twenty paces before he 
 observed with some concern that he was followed by the 
 gentleman whom he had so unceremoniously abandoned at 
 the depot! At first he resolved to stride on very briskly, 
 and thus shake off this persistent companionship. But 
 finding his follower likewise quickened his steps, Willy 
 slackened his pace, and resolutely awaited the result. 
 
 " That was rather a shabby trick you served me, com- 
 rade," said the stranger, coming up ; " but we'll say nothing 
 more about it. I was a stranger, and in times like these 
 one cannot be too prudent in selecting his companions. 
 But where is the lady ?" 
 
 " Lady !" uttered WiUy, pausing abruptly. 
 
 " I meant boy ! The youth's complexion being as fair as 
 a lady's, made me say lady. But where is he ?" 
 
 " It would be difficult for me to say. I parted with him 
 at a place where he wished to be, and did not ask him 
 where he was going." 
 
 " And it is no business of mine, you might add. And 
 indeed I ought not to be so inquisitive." 
 
68 A MOB OP DESTKD-CriVBS. 
 
 They were now in front of the State House, whicTi had 
 been made a hospital for the wounded. Surgeons, and the 
 nursing wives and sisters of the mutilated rioters, were seen 
 in the hall and in the rooms on either hand above and 
 below. A glance sufficed to convince Willy that Mr. 
 Langdon had been conveyed to some other place ; and then, 
 striving to elude his unpleasant companion, he directed his 
 
 steps towards the mansion of Mr. B . But before he 
 
 had gone fifty paces he was seized by two strong men, and 
 dragged into a house in Sixth street, fronting Independence 
 Square. The building was occupied by the recruiting 
 officers of General Ruffleton, and all the lower rooms were 
 filled -with boisterous men, mostly armed. Willy, glancing 
 back as he was hurried up the marble steps, beheld the 
 stranger, who had followed him, smiling significantly, if not 
 tauntingly ; and then poor Willy's heart experienced a pain- 
 ful sensation. His captors, imposing silence "with menacing 
 gestures, led him up several winding stairways and turned 
 him into an attic room. 
 
 " What is this done for ?" asked WUly, when the men 
 were about to leave him. 
 
 " Don't know," said one of them. 
 
 " We're only obeying orders," said the other. 
 
 " Whose orders ?" continued Willy. 
 
 " Major Trapp's," was the reply. They then withdrew," 
 locking the door behiad them. 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 A MOB 03? DESTEtrcnVES. 
 
 Retueotng to Senator Langdon, it is necessary that the 
 reader should be apprised of some of the changing scenes 
 of the awful panorama. Jack Bim, in pursuance of the' 
 hint he had received from Wiry Willy, lost not a moment! 
 in organizing a select party for a demonstration on the Rev. 
 Mr. Fire's church. The assault was completely successful. 
 More than $100,000 in plate and coin had been deposited 
 
A MOB OF DESTEUCITVES, 69 
 
 in the safe-keeping of the clerical party leader, and the 
 assailants were not only no respecters of persons, but had, 
 in reality, no party predilections. This predatory expedi- 
 tion, and its remunerative result, when made known, pro- 
 duced a wonderful effect upon the desperate rioters through- 
 out the city, as well as on the revengeful instigators of the 
 mob. It was perceived that the reckless sword of popular 
 violence, bloody and ungovernable, was liable to be turned 
 in any direction, and that those who wielded it one hour 
 might become its victims the next. 
 
 The Abolitionists were astounded. They beheld tho 
 wind they had sown converted already into a whirlwind, 
 and directed against themselves. Tens of thousands of 
 rioters, incapable of comprehending a principle, floated with 
 every capricious current, or turned with every circling eddy. 
 Hundreds of free negroes, who had but a few hours before 
 participated freely in the demoniacal saturnalia, were now 
 lying dead and gory in the gutters, while the survivors of 
 that miserable I'ace were flying for refuge into the forests 
 of New Jersey. 
 
 No doubt this great change in the popular sentiment 
 was partly owing to the vast numbers of desperate free-soil 
 recruits withdrawn from the city by General Rufileton, for 
 his Southern invasion ; and it was, in some degree, superin- 
 duced by a spontaneous concert of action on the part of 
 the wealthy citizens and men of business for the protection 
 of their property ; but the controlling causes were terror 
 and cupidity — apprehension that the party so audaciou.sly 
 and so successfully despoiling the leaders of the Abolition- 
 ists, might be the preponderating power, and if so, an ii-re- 
 sistible impulse to participate in its gains. 
 
 Meetings of the more substantial and respectable citizens 
 were held in every wai-d — but in such hurricanes of popular 
 phrensy, whatever may be the wisdom of the measures 
 recommended, it is often difficult to realize their adoption. 
 One thing, however, was quite apparent to all. The insane 
 populace had been taught by experience a proper respect 
 for the resolution and military skill of the adherents of the 
 President, guarding the Federal buildings. No less than, 
 seven assaults of the mob had been promptly repulsed by 
 the comparatively small numbers of troops detailed for this 
 service J and all the bitter denunciations of the "tyrant" 
 
10 A MOB OP DESTEUCTITES. 
 
 at "Washington uttered in mass meetings and in the streets, 
 had as yet amounted to nothing more than tlie expenditure 
 of so much idle breath. On the other hand, it was re- 
 marked that the better classes, who desired the prevalence 
 of law and order in the city, however much they might be 
 exasperated against the Secessionists of the South, seemed 
 to regard with approbation the firm and resolute stand so 
 courageously maintained by the Federal Executive. 
 
 During the progress of this reaction and of these events 
 
 Mr. B had been called away from the State House to 
 
 make speeches to the people in diiferent quarters of the 
 city, and to exert his eloquence for the purpose of calming 
 the surges of the wild ocean of human passions. He had 
 been the friend of the colored man, and he boldly avowed 
 it ; but, at the same time, he implored the mob to refrain 
 from acts of unlawful violence. All, except the colored 
 people themselves, listened with patience, and some with 
 favor. And it was on one of these occasions that the great 
 champion of the Africans endured the bitter penalty of 
 their native inferiority and ingratitude. Some five hundred 
 of this degraded class, who had on one occasion assembled 
 before his door, in Locust street, and made themselves 
 hoarse with cheers, because he had succeeded in the libera- 
 tion of a fugitive, now surrounded him with an intent to 
 inflict summary punishment for an alleged abandonment of 
 their cause, which merely consisted in his condemnation of 
 pillage, conflagration, and murder ! And it was this very 
 act which caused the massacre of the free negroes. 
 
 Mr. B returned to his charge, the unhappy Senatoi*, 
 
 whom he found seated in the chair of Washington, a vic- 
 tim of deep dejection. He thought of the Olustrious men 
 who had once congregated in that hall to found a glorious 
 Republic — and such was the result ! He, a descendant of 
 one of the worthies who had ushered into existence the inap- 
 preciable boon of constitutional liberty, was now the cap- 
 tive of ail unfettered mob, composed of the ofiscouring of 
 all the nations ! 
 
 " You are now at liberty, sir," said Mr. B . " N"one 
 
 are guarding the door. All are gone." 
 
 " Then vi^hat means that uproar in the square ?" asked 
 Mr. Langdon. 
 
 "It is a new set entirely — and mostly Democrats. The 
 
A MOB OF DESTETJCmVES. 7] 
 
 reign of the fanatics is over ; at least for the time being. 
 They are dispersed hy enlistments, frightened away, or pre- 
 paring for another attack on the custom-honse. But this 
 new brood now in possesion of the Square, although they 
 belong to your party, have been quite as sanguinary as 
 their predecessors. They have been robbing churches and 
 cutting the throats of the free negroes. I have been re- 
 quested to address them ; but it occurs to me that one of 
 their own politics could be more effective." 
 
 " Mr. B , my politics never sanctioned the burning of 
 
 churches and the cutting of throats. No ; I cannot make 
 a speech ! But I will go among them, hoping to hear some- 
 thing of my daughter." 
 
 They passed through the rear door of the State House, 
 and were in the midst of some ten thousand boisterous men, 
 cursing, laughing, hallooing, and disputing, while several 
 hundred carpenters were completing an immense row of 
 cages. The huge publisher had broken his bars, and was 
 now vowing vengeance ; the profane pohtician had turned 
 his ass's heels to the front of his cage, and made him kick 
 off the timbers. And, when liberated, the first thing he 
 did was to cut the poor ass's throat ! The editor of the 
 
 had gone to his oflSce, followed by his negro keeper, 
 
 who begged his protection, and promised to serve him. All 
 the world might come to an end, but the paper must go to 
 press at the .appointed time. 
 
 Large handbills were posted on the trees and walls, inform- 
 mg the public that there would be a grand " gratis exhi- 
 bition" in the Square that night. And the incensed pub- 
 lisher and profane politician were appointed to act as the 
 master showmen. The latter, indeed, could hardly be 
 
 restrained from thrusting the benevolent Mr. B into 
 
 one of the half-finished cages — accused him of being a Know 
 Nothing, half Abolitionist, and cheek by jowl with the 
 infernal rowdies who had put him in the cage. But the 
 fact, which had really occurred in the presence of this irasci- 
 ble Democrat, of Mr. B ^"s interposition in behalf of 
 
 Senator Langdon, saved him. 
 
 Not being able to learn anything in relation to his 
 daughter in the Square, and being convinced that no good 
 could be accomplished by making speeches to the multi- 
 tude before him, Mr. L proceeded to the Musical Fund' 
 
72 A MOB OP DESTEUCTIVES. 
 
 Hall, where a large meeting of merchants and capitalists 
 had assembled. Sir. Langdon, the distinguished Senator 
 from a State still further north, was well known to many 
 of them, and he was requested to occupy a seat on the 
 stand. This he acceded to, and soon after, his name 
 being called by many who desired to hear him speak, he 
 rose to his feet, and announced his inability to comply fully 
 with the request, incapacitated as he was by the grief of being 
 separated from his daughter. He then narrated the man- 
 ner of the separation, and invoked the aid of his friends. 
 This was promised him, for his narrative excited their sym- 
 pathy. 
 
 But nearly every one present had met with bereavements, 
 and all seemed to deplore the calamity which had befallen 
 the country. The jobbers estimated that not less than fifty 
 million of dollars were owing them in the South and South- 
 west, a greater sum than the capital invested in their busi- 
 ness. They were ruined irrevocably in the event of con- 
 tinued separation and civil war. 
 
 The commission merchants said their " Bills Receivable " 
 consisted of the notes of the jobbers, and they, too, must 
 be ruined if payments were not made. 
 
 The manufacturers said the goods sold by the com- 
 mission merchants to the jobbers had been consigned by 
 them, and they, too, would be hopeless losers. 
 
 The presidents of the banks said their " Bills Discounted" 
 consisted of notes of these three classes, and the stock- 
 holders would be sacrified. 
 
 Several millionaires and lesser capitalists declared that 
 their collaterals consisted of the notes of country merchants, 
 mostly Southern and Western, which would be so much 
 worthless paper. All — all would be involved in a common 
 ruin ! 
 
 And many individuals among these lamenting citizens 
 had encouraged the abolition lecturers and newspaper^ by 
 expending large sums of money in their behalf — and such 
 were a few of the bitter fruits of sectional agitation and 
 alienation of one portion of the people against the rest ! 
 
 " But what remedy is proposed, gentlemen ?" asked Mr. 
 Langdon. 
 
 " Do you suggest one," cried several ; "for we are unable 
 to propose anything whatever," 
 
A MOB OF DESTEUCrriTES. 73 
 
 " I doubt," he continued, " whether anything effectual 
 can he accomplished in the present excited condition of the 
 country. Elections have been ordered by the Legislatures 
 for delegates to conventions to devise a remedy; but I 
 learn that but few of the people are disposed to vote. I 
 take it that public sentiment is not yet formed, and there- 
 fore the wishes of the States, either North or South, can- 
 not now be ascertained. I think it well, however, that we 
 should, at least for the present, regard the existing Federal 
 authority as neutral between the contending parties. Ran- 
 dolph is a man of ample mind, and it cannot be his policy 
 to promote the destruction of our interests. I think it his 
 design to hold the balance of power between the sections, 
 and I can see no objection to it." Here there was a hum of 
 approbation, followed a moment after by decided applause. 
 " But, above all things," continued Mr. Langdon, " I con- 
 sider it our duty to frown upon aU military expeditions 
 against the Southern States." 
 
 " Will our frowns prevent them ?" asked a millionaire. 
 
 " You can refuse them money." 
 
 " That v/o have already done. Nevertheless, Ruffleton 
 finds men." 
 
 " True. And the object is to find money by plvmdering thB 
 enemy, or the people who will thus be made our eternal ene- 
 mies ! It is a sad business, gentlemen ! Both sections should 
 have paid more regard to the warnings of Washington. Com- 
 merce, trade, all employments will cease, if this separation 
 continues, and millions will have nothing to do but to 
 engage in deadly conflict ! But I must find my daughter. 
 And, alas ! gentlemen, how many thousands of happy fami- 
 lies must be cruelly divided !" 
 
 The distressed Senator retired from the meeting, still 
 
 attended by Mr. B , who dispatched every one he met, 
 
 over whom he had sufficient influence, in - quest of Edith 
 Langdon. They visited many collections of people, in the 
 usual places of public meetings, in the streets and in the 
 squares, and still nothing was heard of the missing one. At 
 the depots and at the wharves no satisfactory intelligence 
 could be obtained. All they knew of her was that some 
 
 one, the preceding night, had whispered in Mr. B 's ear 
 
 that she was in safety. And there was some consolation in 
 this — ^for how could the individual have known that a 
 
 4 
 
74 A MOB OF DESTEFCTIVES. 
 
 daughter existed, or that she had been separated from her 
 father, ^yithout likewise knowing that she was in some 
 filace of security ? There could be no motive for imparting 
 incorrect information on such a subject and under such cir- 
 cumstances ; and this was the comforting deduction of Mr. 
 Langdon, although he would not for a moment abandon 
 the search. 
 
 Having made the round of the hotels, they entered the 
 Exchange just when the chandeliers were lighted in the 
 evening. There was an immense crowd within and around 
 the building. With a dolefiil countenance an auctioneer 
 was selling stocks and real estate, and Jews, mostly, were 
 the purchasers. They seemed like greedy vultures, snatch- 
 ing, scrambling for the scattered fragments of ruined for- 
 tunes. They were incessantly bargaining, chaffering, quar- 
 relling. Buying one moment and selling the next, on an 
 advance or a decline, there was something in the scene that 
 reminded one of the gaming-house. 
 
 Dwellings and stores had already fallen fifty per cent, in 
 value. Federal securities were at an awful discount. City 
 Sixes brought only $40. State Fives, but $30. Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad, $20. Reading, $5 ; and even the Camden 
 and Amboy shares were sold for $21. Bank stocks could 
 find no purchasers, even among the Jews, for several of 
 them had been pillaged. 
 
 Turning from this wretched spectacle, Mr. Langdon 
 descended the broad stairs, and on Third street found his 
 way impeded by a dense throng of rioters. 
 
 " These are desperate fellows," said Mr. B , reading 
 
 the mottoes on several of their illuminated transparencies, 
 " and there will be sad work. They will attack the party 
 now in Independence Square. I had intimations that they 
 were rallying for that purpose." 
 
 " What party do they belong to ?" asked Mr. Langdon. 
 
 " The party of demons," was the whispered reply. " They 
 never had any prmciples, only impulses; sometimes they 
 voted on one side, and as often on the other. Such is and 
 must be the history of the very lowest class of citizens in 
 all Republics. If they are not rewarded for their work, 
 whatever it may be, they will pay themselves. Their gains 
 are the losses of others. They create nothing. Such is the 
 profligate rabble of the great cities." 
 
EDITH AT THE BLACK BEAE. 15 
 
 Women were -with them in great numbers, some on foot, 
 bearing loaves of bread on poles, and others drawn in open 
 carriages, covered with fantastic decorations. Mr. Langdon 
 gazed at the frightful procession, and sickened at the thought 
 that his own delicate Edith might possibly be forced to par- 
 ticipate in some such terrible pageant. Taking the arm of 
 his friend, he turned away. And his abhorrence of the 
 scene was increased, if possible, by hearing the piteous cry 
 of a child in quest of its parent. " Poor boy ! take him 
 home !" said the senator, placing a purse in the hand of a 
 plain man of honest countenance, into whose arms the faint- 
 ing youth had fallen. And even little gii'ls, not five years 
 old, were seen wandering about at such an hour and in such 
 a place, in search of parents perhaps no more among the 
 living. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 EDITH AT THE BLACK BEAE. 
 
 Seveeal hours had passed, and yet Wiry Willy had not 
 returned. Edith, strong in mind and bold in heart, endea* 
 vored to repress the perturbations natural to one in her for- 
 lorn condition ; and for a long time she struggled bravely 
 against the approaches of despair. She read the papers, or 
 rather the extras, issued from the newspaper offices in nar- 
 row slips ; for there had ceased to be any regular editions, 
 inasmuch as a vast number of printers had abandoned .their 
 cases. But in these slips, which she purchased from the 
 newsboys as they ran screaming past the window, she 
 learned much that had occurred, and was occurring in the 
 city, as weU as something of the political and warlike news 
 at a distance. The President had detached a thousand men 
 to guard the telegraphic wires, now repaired, running north 
 and south from Washington. And she read, with throb- 
 bing heart, the proceedings of the Convention in Richmond. 
 Pale and trembling, but with her cap obscuring as much of 
 her face as possible, she learned that her own affianced lord 
 had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Southern 
 
16 EDITH AT THE BLACK BEAE. 
 
 armies ! But — and she perused it with joy — ^the Conven- 
 tion had resolved that the Southern people, while prepared 
 to repel aggression, did not design immediately to act on 
 the offensive against the North. The attempt of General 
 Crook at Washington was disavowed ; nevertheless, he was 
 not punished for it. There was, indeed, considerable hesi- 
 tation on the part of the Convention to adopt extreme 
 measures ; for the reason, as it was alleged, that the South- 
 ern, like the Northern people, had manifested a reluctance 
 to vote for Delegates, and it was apparent that a large ma- 
 jority had neglected or refused to exercise the elective 
 franchise. 
 
 " Here's a later slip, sir," said a handsome, smiling lass, 
 seeing Edith's abstraction after finishing the perusal of the 
 extra Ledger that lay upon her knee. 
 
 " Thank you," said Edith, and then eagerly devoured the 
 contents. This bulletin referred exclusively to incidents 
 "within the city. It contained an account of the captivity 
 
 of the editor of the by a party of Abolitionists, and 
 
 his confinement in a wooden cage. It likewise dwelt to 
 some extent on a sad mistake committed by the same party. 
 It appeared that they had burned down a very large print- 
 ing establishment west of the Square, supposing it to be the 
 property of the editor, when, in fact, it was the property of 
 one belonging to the Anti-slavery party. Edith could not 
 avoid smiling at this blunder; and the hearty maiden, 
 whose brilliant dark eyes had long been riveted on her, 
 moved closer and said : — 
 
 " I'm glad to see any one smile in such times as these. It 
 is a great comfort to me ; and, indeed, I was atVaid to let 
 my father go out alone ; but he said I must stay here tiU he 
 came back. I don't know a single soul in this room, but I 
 suppose they all live in the neighborhood of the city, as we 
 do, and are waiting for their fathers, or brothers, or hus- 
 bands. I have no brother nor — " 
 
 "Husband?" 
 
 " Fy, no !" said she, blushing. *' I never thought of such 
 a thing. But really, it makes me melancholy to see you 
 looking out of the window so often, and sighing so — " 
 
 " Have you seen that ?" 
 
 " I thought so. ; but I might 've been mistaken. And I 
 couldn't help thinking that perhaps your friends were killed, 
 
EDITH AT THE BLACK BEAE. 7V 
 
 or your home destroyed, and there might be no place for 
 you to go to in such dreadful times ; and if such Avere the case, 
 I'm sure my good-natured father would be glad if you 
 would go home with him. We live only five miles from 
 Camden. We have a good house, and one of the finest 
 farms in the State." 
 
 " I'm sure I feel very grateful," said Edith, somewhat 
 vexed at the impetuous earnestness of the damsel, who was 
 probably inclined to fall in love with her, a complication she 
 by no means desired ; " but I have a friend, whose return I 
 am^ looking for every moment." 
 
 And when the maiden was, soon after, departing with her 
 father, she found an oppoi-tunity to indicate precisely where 
 she dwelt, and to intimate that the supposed young man 
 would at any time be a welcome visitor. 
 
 Another bulletin, purchased by Edith, contained the joy- 
 ful intelligence that Senator Langdon had appeared at the 
 meeting of merchants and others in the Musical Fund Hall, 
 and the few remarks he uttered on the occasion were 
 printed in the extra. A weight was removed from Edith's 
 heart, and she felt greatly relieved. But her impatience 
 for the return of Wiry Willy increased. She strode back- 
 wards and forwards in the parlor, repressing as much aa 
 possible her eagerness to fly to her father, and innocently 
 exerting, at the same time, her powers of imitation in acting 
 the part of one of the opposite sex. And she did this with 
 decided success, for no one seemed to suspect her present- 
 ment might be a counterfeit. 
 
 It was during this promenade that Edith, on turning, was 
 •confronted by Major Trapp, the stranger who had begged 
 a glass of water in the country, and subsequently appeared 
 in the tars. He bowed to her, and, in return, had a haughty 
 and scarcely perceptible nod. 
 
 " Pardon me," said he,, advancing to Edith's side, who 
 strove in vain to elude him ; " but your friend parted from 
 me veiy abruptly at the dep6t." He did not add that he 
 had been revenged. 
 
 "That may be, sir," said Edith, with a cold averted 
 look; "but I presume he can make a satisfactory explana- 
 tion." 
 
 " But he is not here," said he, " and I am very desirous 
 of having an explanation," 
 
"78 EDITH AT THB BLACK BEAB. 
 
 " And I have none to offer !" said Edith, courageously 
 turning on her heel and walking away. He followed. 
 
 " You must know, most valiant youth," continued he, 
 " that i am Major Trapp, and aide-de-camp to the General- 
 in-Chief of the army of invasion." 
 
 " And what then, sir ?" said Edith, almost fiercely. " Do 
 you hold me responsible for the act of my friend ? If so, 
 sir, according to etiquette, any further conferences should 
 be maintained by our mutual friends." 
 
 " Exactly ; that is precisely what I wish. And I desired 
 only an opportunity of intimating that the address I am to 
 place in the possession of my friend, has not yet been com- 
 municated to me." 
 
 This not only embarrassed Edith, but diverted her. She 
 had not thought of an assumed name ; and the idea of being 
 engaged in an affair of honor, and with one of the military 
 profession, was, in her case, anything but a grave matter. 
 
 " You seem to hesitate," said the officer ; " and, to be 
 sure, in times like these, one may have a motive for con- 
 cealing his real name. But any cognomen will answer — 
 pray choose any that may suit your fancy ; one is just as 
 good as another to fight under." 
 
 "Su-," said Edith, weary of his presence, "you say you 
 are an officer; an officer ought to be a gentleman — 
 and " 
 
 " I will finish the sentence," said he, in a low voice, " a 
 gentleman should not quarrel with a lady !" 
 
 Edith's face was now crimsoned with anger. 
 
 " Sir," said she, " if what you seem to suspect be true, 
 and the sentence be correctly concluded, what am I to 
 think of the one who, admitting such conclusions, and sup- 
 posing he addresses a lady, still j)ersists in his offensive 
 demeanor ?" 
 
 " Excuse me, I pray. Miss Langdon," said he, with appa- 
 rent seriousness ; " but fearing one in your unprotected 
 condition might, in a time like the present, bo subjected to 
 rudeness, if not liable to injury, I have been sent here for 
 the purpose of warding off any danger that might menace 
 the daughter of the friend of my General." 
 
 " I am to suppose, then, that your General detached you 
 on this service ?" 
 
 " You have rightly conjectured," said he, bowing ; « and 
 
EDITH AT THE BLACK BEAE. 19 
 
 I am happy to inform you that the General himself is now 
 entering the door." 
 
 This was true. Edith turned, and cast an oflfended look 
 at the General. 
 
 " I saw your note at the old grandame's," said Ruffleton, 
 bowing familiarly, " and I deemed it my duty to assist in 
 restoring you to your father. These are perilous times, 
 Miss Langdon," said he, in an under tone ; " and I should 
 have been censurable if I had not taken some pains to miti- 
 gate your unhappiness." 
 
 " I know not what thanks to express, sir, for the pains 
 thus endured on my account — and will not attempt any, 
 since I should consider myself meriting any disparaging 
 estimate you might be pleased to form of my understand- 
 ing, or sense of maidenly behavior, if I did not resent the 
 unworthy stratagem resorted to for the production of this 
 interview. Sir, can you be ignorant that my fiither ia at 
 this moment in my immediate vicinity ?" 
 
 " You do me great injustice, Edith, by such suspicions. 
 I am aware that your father is in the city. He has just 
 requested me to conduct you to his hotel." 
 
 « General Ruffleton ! Is this so ?» 
 
 " Upon my honor." 
 
 Edith mused ia silence. The hope that Ruffleton's words 
 were true, had but a momentary existence. The design he 
 had conceived, must have been antecedent to the interview 
 with her father, if indeed they had met at all. Believing 
 herself now reduced to a desper^e strait, she resolved to 
 dissemble. 
 
 " General," said she, with an assumed gladness, " I will 
 go to my fether immediately. But I must see the landlord 
 first. He is now in the hall. Excuse me a moment." 
 Then approaching the host, she asked him if he was not 
 Willy's friend. 
 
 " Yes, indeed, to the death !" said he. " I owe him more 
 than I'll mention — but enough to " 
 
 " Did he not say he was my friend ?" 
 
 " He did. And I promised to do anything you desii'ed." 
 
 " Then show me how I may get away from those men in 
 the parlor." 
 
 "If you can run fest, you might slip roimd the comer 
 into Market street. It is getting dark, and you could hide. 
 6 
 
80 EDITH'S ADVENTUBES. 
 
 I will go in where they are and look the door after me, 
 I'll drop the key, and be long enough finding it to let you 
 run a whole square. Go !" 
 
 And poor Edith sprang into the street, and ran, she 
 knew not whither. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 EDITH'S ADVENTUEES. 
 
 PoOE Edith sped into Market street, and turning to the 
 right, ran down towards the river until her course was ob- 
 structed by a dense crowd of men and women in the market- 
 house. Some were dancing, some singing, and most of 
 them laughing. The contents of a large confectionery 
 store, recently rifled, were spread out before them, and the 
 contributions of a neighboring wine establishment were being 
 added to the entertainment. No man's property was any 
 longer his own. " Everything," said the mob, was " free." 
 
 Edith was seized by a gaudUy-dressed young woman and 
 held securely by the wrist. 
 
 " Whither away so fast, fair sir ?" said she. 
 
 " Release me ! exclaimed the poor girl, for an instant 
 forgetful of the part she was acting. This attracted much 
 notice, and produced a great deal of merriment. 
 
 " Why, where did this bird come from ?" continued the 
 young woman. "He's neither a specimen of nature or 
 philosophy. He really trembles like some poor frightened 
 maiden. What sort of boy are you? Where did you 
 come from? You must take courage. Here! Swallow 
 this. It is good. You must drink it !" 
 
 She presented a glass of wine to Edith's lips, and poor 
 Edith, exhausted and thirsty, drank of it, and soon felt 
 renewed courage and strength. 
 
 " Now, wont you be my partner ?" asked* the young 
 woman. "We will waltz down between the rows. Music!" 
 
 "No — ^not now!" said Edith, with a decision which 
 inspired respect. " I am on an errand of life and death, and 
 .you must await my return, if indeed I shall ever return." 
 
EDITH'S ADTKNTUEES. 81 
 
 "He's in earnest," said the young woman, "and we 
 must let him go. Can I assist you ? If 1 say the word, a 
 hundred men will back you ! And if that won't do, I have 
 but to see General Ruffleton, and you shall have a thou- 
 sand !" 
 
 " No — ^thank you," said Edith, shivering at the mention 
 of the hated name. "That would spoil all — I mean I 
 must go alone, or else my plan will be defeated." 
 
 " Go, then ; but come back when your errand is done. 
 Remember Flora Summers. If I am not here, ask for me. 
 Oho ! yonder comes the General, now ; and he, too, seems 
 on some hasty errand !" 
 
 Edith, released, did not pause to behold her pursuer. 
 But it occurred to her that she must soon be overtaken, if 
 Flora Summers's men should be sent in pursuit, a thing by 
 no means improbable. And therefore, when she supposed 
 no one observed her, she stooped down and concealed her- 
 self under one of the counters used by the butchers. And 
 this was most fortunate; for, not many moments after. 
 General Ruffleton, Major Trapp, and several others came 
 running past. They did not pause, and poor Edith breathed 
 freer. There were fragments of old carpets under the 
 counter, and her position was not uncomfortable. Know- 
 ing the necessity of bearing her ills with all the resolution 
 she could command, whilst hiding thus, she eat heartily of 
 the store of sweetmeats the Hberal Flora had forced upon 
 her. For many minutes she remained in this situation, and 
 never ventured to peep out until, from the comparative 
 silence in the vicinity, she became aware that the market- 
 house had been deserted. Then she ventured to thrust 
 forth her head and reconnoitre. All was silent and still, 
 and she resolved to abandon her hiding-place. But her cap 
 had Mien off, and that being indispensable, she crawled 
 back in quest of it. At the farthest extremity of the shel- 
 ter, whilst groping in the dark, and after having just 
 recovered the cap, her hand was seized by another 
 ftigitive. 
 
 " In the name of God !" said a tremulous voice, " have 
 pity on a poor old man !" 
 
 This speech served to dispel the affright at first experi- 
 enced by Edith. 
 
 " What can I do for you ?" she asked. 
 4* 
 
82 EDITH'S ADVENTURES. 
 
 " You are a boy, and will not hurt me," said the old man, 
 for such it was, still grasping Edith's hand, and loading her 
 into the centre of the deserted market-place, where the 
 rays of the distant lamp enabled him to see her features. 
 " And you are not one of the had boys, who prowl about 
 of nights. You are lost, or have been driven into the 
 streets. That's well. And I am an old man who has not 
 tasted food for forty hours. Thank you ! thank you !" he 
 oried, eagerly seizing and devouiing the cakes and candy 
 tendered him by Edith, whose pity was excited in his 
 behalf. He was indeed an old man, but yet not so tall as 
 Edith. His small face Avas sharp and cadaverous, and bis 
 bent neck and narrow shoulders were enveloped in an old 
 blue cloth cloak. 
 
 " Now I must leave you, sir," said Edith, preparing to 
 resume her flight. 
 
 " No ! no !" said he, in piteous tones. " Don't leave me. 
 I shall be robbed and ruined. There is one, Moses Abra- 
 hams, over yonder, in the upper story, where I will be safe. 
 I will pay you to help me — how much will you charge ?" 
 
 " I want no reward," said Edith, 
 
 " Not want money ? Good boy ! Don't leave me." 
 
 " I must leave you, sir. I could not protect you." 
 
 " No ! no ! Don't go. Good boy ! You can help me 
 carry my little trunk." 
 
 " Where is it, sir ?" 
 
 " "Wait a minute." Saying this the diminutive old man 
 crept under the counter, and dragged forth a small trunk, 
 which, however, seemed weighty. " There now !" said he, 
 breathing rapidly from exhaustion, as he rose. " Do you 
 take one end and I will the other. It's some old scraps 
 1 can sell for bread. Just help me into the alley and 
 this silver coin shall be yours." He exhibited a half 
 dime! 
 
 Edith knew not what to do. But the idea occurring that 
 she, who required assistance, ought, not, perhaps, to refuse 
 her aid to this trembling old man, she stooped down and 
 raised one end of the trunk. It was very heavy, and both 
 staggered under the burden while crossing the street. The 
 old man indicated the com-se in fearful whispers: — ^but, to no 
 purpose ; for just when they were gliding round the corner 
 they were suddenly met by a. numbeu of Ul-lDoking men 
 
EDITH'S ADVENTUEES, 83 
 
 running rapidly. The trunk was knocked from the feeble 
 hands that held it, and breaking to pieces, a large amount 
 of gold coins rolled out, glittering and ringing upon the 
 pavement. The men threw themselves upon the treasure, 
 while the old Jew begged, and struggled, and cursed in vain. 
 He called upon Edith to save his treasure, and reproached 
 her for not fulfilling her bargain. 
 
 Edith ran away as fast as possible, and never cast a look 
 behind until she entered Second street. Here the massacre 
 of the negroes had commenced, and many of the victims 
 still lay where they had fallen. It was a horrible spectacle, 
 and the poor ^rl averted her eyes and hastened past. In 
 Walnut street she encountered an immense mob, vowing 
 vengeance against the " pro-slavery" Democracy. She 
 was irresistibly swept onward by the throng. In vain 
 were her endeavors to extricate herself; and in addition to 
 a natural aversion for such companions, she thought she 
 might be dragged in this manner to some bloody battle- 
 field. But suddenly her eyes rested upon the revered 
 features of her father ! Not anticipating so joyful a reali- 
 zation of her hopes in such a place, the revulsion was too 
 much for the poor girl. It was impossible to repress her 
 pent up feelings ; and she sprang forward, struggling with 
 all her might, and called aloud, " Father ! father !" He 
 heard the voice, and his heart was smitten with a tender 
 pang ; but on beholding merely a boy fainting in the arms 
 of a bystander, he gave him some money, and requei^ted 
 that the lad might be tenderly cared for. A moment after, 
 and the father and child were pursuing different directions ! 
 
 " What is the matter, boy ?" asked the man who bore 
 the fainting Edith, when he perceived symptoms of return- 
 ing animation. - 
 
 " Where is my father ?" asked she, springing from his 
 arms, and looking wildly. 
 
 " That is more than I can tell," said the man. 
 
 " Was it a dream then ? or merely the imagination ?" 
 
 " I cannot tell that, either," was the reply. 
 
 The head of the dense column soon came in view of the 
 rear of Independence Square-^the conflict commenced. 
 The assailants had no shelter, and suffered the most. The 
 other party fired briskly from behind the wall, with small- 
 arms, and Edith conld see that they were likewise prepar- 
 
54 EDITH'S ADVENTUEES, 
 
 ing to discharge cannon. People were falling around her, 
 and yet she could not retrace her steps, or escape to the 
 right or the left. She therefore took refuge in the ruins of 
 the block of houses that had been burned. Several voices 
 warned her against seeking such a refuge, and it was sup- 
 posed she would be suffocated or burnt to death. She 
 heeded them not, but sprang down and ran under an arch- 
 way of brick, where she found a clearer atmosphere than 
 that she had abandoned, and where she suffered no inconve- 
 nience from the heat. The only source of alarm was thfi 
 many rats running about, seeking egress from the ruins. 
 But they did not molest her, except with their cries. 
 
 Meanwhile the cannon made such havoc that the attack 
 was soon repulsed. But Edith remained until the firing 
 ceased and the crowd dispersed. She then abandoned the 
 arch, and directed her steps towards the square, where all 
 was joy and hilarity. She learned, as she followed some 
 men towards the State House, that many speakers were 
 expected to address the meeting that night, and among the 
 rest Senator Langdon ! Her first impulse was to proclaim 
 herself the Senator's daughter. But this was overcome by 
 a reluctance to attract attention to her disguise, and by the 
 rational conclusion that when her father should appear 
 there would be no necessity for the aid of any of his 
 friends. And if he did not come, circumstances might ren- 
 der a preservation of her incognito still necessary. 
 
 She was borne by the dense throng slowly up the main 
 avenue, and in front of the row of cages which had been 
 prepared for retaliating on the Abolitionists the outrages of 
 the preceding evening. The profane politician and the fat 
 publisher were the managers. 
 
 " Take care, boy !" said the former, addressing Edith. 
 " Don't venture too near these animals." Poor Edith was 
 so hemmed in that she could neither advance nor retire but 
 with the crowd. But she lifted her eyes and gazed at the 
 contents of the cage. Her astonishment was great on 
 beholding a middle-aged Quaker, of low stature, but large 
 calves, reached by the ample skirts of his coat, standing in 
 front of Frederick Douglas, who was seated in a barber's 
 chair. The Quaker was an apothecary who had come from 
 a town in Ifew Jersey, where his sect greatly abounded, to 
 rescue the negroes from the avenging hands of their enemies. 
 
KDITH'S ADVENTirBES. 85 
 
 He was now forced by the goad of the profane politician to 
 read W 's poems to Frederick, an unmixed African ! 
 
 As she gazed, Edith did not think the warning of the 
 profane politician at all necessary. The Quaker was one of 
 the class of conscientious Abolitionists, like the poet him- 
 self; and so far from being angry at the indignities to which 
 he was subjected, he seemed to read, with much feeling, the 
 finest passages the volume contained, with the faintest hope 
 it might be, but yet with hope, that the hearts of his ene- 
 mies would be touched. But Fred, sat uneasily in his chair, 
 whilst large drops of perspiration ran down his dusky 
 cheeks. Nevertheless, he had the address to beseech hia 
 keeper to permit him to resign his seat to the Quaker. 
 This, at last, was granted ; and then the profane politician 
 cited the voluntary exchange as a proper demonstration of 
 the relative positions of the two races. 
 
 The next cage contained a huge monster frightful to be- 
 hold. Edith gazed long before she could be convinced that 
 the being before her was really of the human race. But he 
 too was a Quaker. It was the same who had been incar- 
 cerated for his complicity with a gang of ruffians in depriv- 
 ing a Southern citizen of his slaves. His corporeal dimen- 
 sions filled the cage. He had been immersed several times 
 in tar, and overwhelmed with feathers. 
 
 Another cage held a colored specimen from Biistol, 
 named Purvis, and three white men from the same town, 
 his constant admirers. The AboUtionists were required to 
 kiss the negro every third minute by the State House clock. 
 This was a great torture to them all, and it would have been 
 difficult to decide which was the most disgusted, the negro 
 or the white men. 
 
 There was also a literaiy cage, containing several ex- 
 judges, anti-slavery biographers, editors, and j)ublishers, 
 upon whom no greater severity was inflicted than the forced 
 exhibition of their faces to the prying multitude. 
 
 And next to this was the cynosure of all eyes — a cage of 
 mammoth dimensions, from which there proceeded a med- 
 ley of discordant sounds, and before which the crowd, ever 
 and anon, fell suddenly back as if in fear of the claws or 
 fengs of wild beasts. It was, therefore, with no slight tre- 
 pidation that Edith found herself impelled in that direction. 
 But the matter was soon explained. The cage contained at 
 
86 EDITH'S ADVENTUIEES. 
 
 least a dozen distinguished -women, Abby K., Lucy S., L 
 M., Mrs. S., etc., etc. No wonder there was a Babel of 
 voices ! These prisoners gesticulated most frantically, and 
 uttered every conceivable defiance. To each of the ques- 
 tions the keeper or spectators propounded there were a 
 dozen answers, in every key of the gamut ; and in every 
 controversy that arose they invariably assumed the offen- 
 sive. And when they ceased to speak from very weariness, 
 the keeper had the inhumanity to sprinkle them with vine- 
 gar, using a large watering pot and sponge. And it was 
 on such occasions as these that the tempest of invectives 
 produced an involuntary falling back of the spectators. 
 
 One more surge of that multitudinous sea of human 
 beings brought Edith in front of the stand erected for the 
 speakers who were to address the meeting. Not less than 
 fifty were seated on it, but their faces could not all be 
 seen. Among these Edith did not recognise her father. 
 Nor could she change her position to be enabled to survey 
 the rest. She could only hear the announcement of his 
 name, and that he was certainly to address the meeting. 
 
 The first Avho rose to address the multitude was the son 
 of a distinguished Southern statesman who had occupied 
 the highest position in the government. This popular pva^ 
 tor was hailed with repeated and prolonged applause, for in 
 addition to the elevated rank of his family, he was possessed 
 of a high order of genius, and endowed with a power of elo- 
 quence that never failed to captivate the masses. And 
 when he resumed his seat, cries were heard for many of 
 the distinguished men then in the city, and among the rest, 
 Senator Langdon. 
 
 Edith held her breath and gazed in painful suspense. 
 The calls for speakers continued, and, as it seemed it had 
 not been exactly arranged who should be the second orator, 
 there ensued a competition among the audience which of 
 several names should be demanded by the greatest number. 
 And while this incertitude prevailed, poor Edith swooned 
 again ! One who stood near bore her away from the crowd, 
 room being made for him to pass. And when he had ex- 
 tricated himself, he conveyed his burden towards the iron 
 gate on the western side of the enclosure. 
 
WIBT WILLT AUD JACK BIM. 87 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ■WIEY WnXY AUD JACK Bni. 
 
 When Wiry Willy found himself alone in the attic, a 
 prisoner, and thought of the painM anxiety of Edith for 
 his return, her disappointment, and her probable fate, if she 
 fell into the hands of the creatures of Ruffleton, a result to 
 be anticipated, he became a victim of the most excruciating 
 misery. His first impulse was to burst open the door, when 
 he reflected that every passage was strictly guarded. His 
 next was to throw up the window opening on the roof; but 
 his escape by day seemed impossible. He threw himself on 
 a bed in the corner of the room to rally his energies and 
 concentrate his wits for the emergency. He remained per- 
 fectly motionless for many minutes, when he remembered 
 what Edith had done in her extremity. Springing fi-om 
 the bed he fell down on his knees, and uttered a long and 
 fervent prayer for the intervention of Divine assistance in 
 behalf of Edith — ^the Edith who had already been once de- 
 livered by Providence. ' 
 
 When Willy arose his eyes rested on the partly opened 
 door of a closet beside the window. He gazed steadfastly, 
 for he thought he had seen it move on its hinges ; he recol- 
 lected that he had once essayed unsuccessfully to open it. 
 He strode forward, and thrusting it wide open, beheld a 
 man seated on the floor within, presenting a pistol at his 
 breast. 
 
 "Why should you kill me?" said the young man, in 
 amazement, but not endeavoring to elude the aim. 
 
 " I don't exactly know," said the other. " But if I must 
 kill you I will. No ! You're my friend. It's Wiry Willy !" 
 Saying this he thrust the pistol in his belt and sprang out 
 of the dark hole. 
 
 " Jack Bim !" exclaimed Willy. " And you heard my 
 prayer !" 
 
 " Heard it, and /eft it too 1 I never had such queer feel- 
 ings in my Mfe." 
 
88 WIET WILLT AND JACK BIM. 
 
 " Still, you were ready to shoot me." 
 
 " That was after you were done, and my natural feelings 
 returned." 
 
 " But why were you hiding there, Jack ? "What have 
 you done ?" 
 
 " I've done just what you advised." 
 
 "What I advised?" asked Willy, forgetful of his ad- 
 vice. 
 
 " Yes. We've done it. The church was a perfect mint. 
 All sorts of plate, as well as chests of gold eagles. The 
 parson prayed — ^but it was no go. He didn't pray to 
 God, like you, but to us, and we were pretty much devils. 
 There were casks of wine, also, and we helped ourselves." 
 
 " And what did you do with the money ?" 
 
 " It made a big pile, and each of us are pretty well off, 
 if we can only keep from being robbed. I have not slept 
 a wink since this business was done. Where will you put 
 your share ?" 
 
 " My share ?" 
 
 " Yes. It is with mine in the closet. I demanded an 
 equal share for you — " 
 
 " I will not touch it !" said Willy. 
 
 " You can do as you please. And I confess my part 
 has not made me feel better. I have been hiding with 
 it, and starving over it. I have been afraid to leave it, 
 and it's too heavy to carry with me. My pockets and 
 belt are filled, and yet they don't hold a quarter of my 
 share." 
 
 " Why did you come here ?" 
 
 " Oh, I live here, at present. I'm a captain in General 
 Ruffleton's army, on leave ; but he says we'll have fight- 
 ing to do in about a week. Then, suppose I should be 
 liUledf What's to become of this confounded gold?" 
 
 "But, Jack, Kufiieton's army is not here." 
 
 " But his headquarters are. He's had doors cut through 
 the walls, so he can go from one end of this block to 
 the other. This whole square was reserved." 
 
 "And I suppose I'm his prisoner." 
 
 " You may be quite sure of it ! But what have you 
 done ?" 
 
 " Nothing e;£cept strive to protect a young lady — " 
 
 "That's it. I thought so. But why should I be only 
 
■WIEY WILLY AND JACK BIM. 89 
 
 a captain ? Hang me if I will ! I've got enough monej 
 to rise. I'll get you off from here, Willy, when it's a 
 little darker." 
 
 " Do, Jack, and you may have my share of the money." 
 
 "N"o, sir! I have had trouble enough with my own. 
 If you take your share, it'll be some comfort to me. I 
 won't have all the care and trouble myself. So make up 
 your mind to stay here, or else to take the money." 
 
 " I'll do anything, almost, to be released from this con- 
 finement." 
 
 " Willy, all you have to do is to say South, and they'll 
 let you pass." 
 
 " But how am I to get out of this room ?" 
 
 " Do you ask such a question ? See here !" and with hia 
 bowie knife Jack removed the lock ia a few minutes. " But 
 you'd better not venture down just now. Wait till this 
 battle's over, and if the Democrats whip the others, our 
 folks won't like to be kicking up rows. Just listen ! That's 
 pretty smart fighting." It was the battle in which Edith 
 became involved. 
 
 " It's a bad business !" said Willy. 
 
 " I like it !" responded Bim, looMng out of the window at 
 the flashes. " They've got a cannon in the Square, and when 
 it's rigged up and fired, the others will run. A big noise 
 frightens the men. 'Twas so at Washington. As soon as 
 the batteries opened upon us, we couldn't keep the men in 
 the Avenue. I cut down some cowards for running away. 
 Wiry WiUy, where were you ?" 
 
 " I was running about with messages." 
 
 " For the General, I suppose. Crook is brave — ^but he 
 ought not to 've divided his forcbs. It was wrong to mount 
 some on horses, and think to cany off the President. But 
 there goes the cannon ! and yonder run the cowards. 
 How they are getting pinked in their backs I Pools ! They 
 don't know anything about war. It's always best to go 
 right through and take the cannon. If they turn tail 
 and run they're sure to suffer more. It was so at Lodi. 
 If the little Corporal and his men hadn't crossed the 
 biidge, after getting on it, they'd have suffered more 
 than they did. I've been reading, Wiry Willy, and I've 
 soen some service, too. It's all over now, and I'm as 
 hungry as a shark. Do you stay here, Willy, and watch 
 
90 WIET WTLLT AND JACK BIM. 
 
 the money, till I can snatch a loaf and a bottle ; and when 
 I come back you can go." 
 
 " I will remain if you desire it, Jack ; but I would 
 rather go with you. Why not leave the gold where it 
 is ? It is not probable, after all your care and watching, 
 it will be lost ? Why not be content with what you 
 have about your person, and aid me in restoring a poor 
 distressed daughter to her father?" 
 
 " What daughter ? What father ?» 
 
 Willy told him everything connected with the misfol*- 
 tunes of Edith. Jack was strangely agitated. He had 
 read of the heroic gallantry of soldiers, and all at once 
 conceived the idea of becoming a champion of the beauti- 
 ful maiden. And when he turned again towards the trea- 
 sure, as if his conscience smote him for the manner in which 
 he had obtained it, he justified himself by condemning the 
 wime of ministers preaching jjolitics, and philanthropic 
 Abolitionists stealing slave property from the Southerners. 
 The treasure being wrested from these two classes, it 
 seemed a just retribution. 
 
 " I am with you, Willy !" said he, grasping the young 
 man's hand, " and now we will hunt in couples, and will 
 be too much for all the Trapps." 
 
 Jack boldly led the way down stairs, and at every 
 turning jested with the sentinel that hailed him. But when 
 they were passing through the hall, Willy's blood ran 
 cold on recognising the angry voice of General Ruffleton in 
 the parlor, and before the open door of which it was ne- 
 cessary to pass in order to reach the street. 
 
 " Jack Bim ! come here, sir !" cried the General. Willy 
 held his breath and paused. 
 
 " When I sneeze you must pass," whispered Jack 
 
 " Captain Bim," continued the General, when Jack en- 
 tered and made the military salute, " I request tha;t yoti 
 will take a trusty man and scour the city for me. I want 
 you to find a slender boy, with black eyes, about fifteen 
 years of age, in black pantaloons and roundabout, with a 
 blue cap on his head. Call him Langdon, and if he starts, 
 bring him hither. I have sworn to have him, and rather 
 than be balked, I would see this whole city in flames." 
 
 Jack sneezed. Willy passed the parlor door, gave the word 
 to tbe sentry in the vestibule, and descended to the street. 
 
"WIET WILLY AND JACK BUT. 91 
 
 " All right !" said Bim, overtaking Mm : " when I sneezed 
 the General's back was towards you. I managed to get 
 round him. Now let us go into the Square." 
 
 Having entered the western gate, and proceeded a few 
 steps, Willy paused and listened an instant to the one who 
 then addressed the people. 
 
 " That's Senator Langdon," said he. 
 
 " But who is this ?" cried Jack Bim, seeing a boy answer- 
 ing the G^jneral's description, struggling in the arms of Ma- 
 jor Trapp, under one of the trees. 
 
 " Merciful Heaven !» said Willy, " it is Edith !" 
 
 " Then we'll have her, Willy," said Bun : " but that's 
 Major Trapp! He's my superior officer, and I don't want 
 him to recognise me, unless it's to be my luck to kill 
 him !" 
 
 " And Jack," said Willy, " I want him to recognise me. 
 I want him to see the man he so deeply offended." And 
 Willy approached the tree where the Major was striving to 
 pacify the now recovered Edith. 
 
 " Ob, Willy !" cried she. " Heaven sends you to be 
 my deliverer. Save me! save me!" and she held out her 
 hands towards him. 
 
 " I will, or die !" said WUly, springing forward. 
 
 " Then die !" said the Major, presenting a pistol. He 
 fired, and Willy fell, 
 
 " Now or never !" cried Bim, springing forward, with 
 hia bowie-knife. He plunged it into the Major's breast, 
 who fell without a groan. 
 
 Edith, without pausing to witness the whole of the fear- 
 ful tragedy, ran towards the stand. She pushed forward 
 with the determination not to be bereft of consciousness again. 
 Having reached the front of the stand, and recognised both 
 her Other's voice and features, she uttered no word — ^no 
 shriek escaped her ; she did not even strive to attract his 
 attention ; but working diligently round to the oppoMte 
 aide, where there were steps leading to the summit, she 
 mounted them, and struggling through the chairs oc- 
 eapiedby the distinguished citizens, she reached the goal 
 which had so often baffled her, and thi^ofwiog her arms 
 ax"ound the surprised Senator's ne&k, said, "Ob, father, I 
 2^ Edi«Ii !" 
 
 KacoguisJng the beautiful features of his cluld, the happy 
 
92 INSUEEECmON OF THE -SLAVES. 
 
 father folded her to his heart, and announced to the asto- 
 nished multitude that he had found his daughter. The 
 cap had fallen from Edith's head, and her long dark hair 
 rolled down in waves over her shoulders. 
 
 Senator Langdon, of course, could speak no more ; but 
 he was succeeded by Mr. B . 
 
 The Senator descended with Edith, and conducted her to 
 his hotel, nearly opposite, in Chestnut street. But even 
 before Edith had reached her chamber, she had related the 
 manner of her deliverance, and almost frantically insisted 
 that poor Willy, stunned, not fatally w^ounded, whose fall 
 she had witnessed, should be removed from the Square, and 
 taken to his aged grandmother. Soon after the poor girl 
 succumbed to her many trials. A fever seized her, and 
 delirium ensued. 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 INStTEEECTIOK OE THE SLAVES. 
 
 The excitement and consternation in all sections of the 
 country increased in intensity. One-fourth of the great city 
 of New York was in ashes, and Boston was the scene of a 
 Reign of Terror never surpassed in Paris. The Unitarians 
 had assailed the Catholics ; and after a number of sangui- 
 nary battles, the city fell completely into the hands of the 
 
 foreign population. The Rev. T e P ^r, W ^11 
 
 P s, Wm. Lloyd G n, Senators S r and W n, 
 
 and the chivalrous B e, with sundry masculine women, 
 
 and lesser clerical abolition lecturers, including Mr. K — ^11 — ^h, 
 had been shipped on a vessel, chartered for the purpose, to 
 Liberia. Nevertheless, the Northern States, with some 
 show of concert of action, if not unanimity of sentiment, 
 proceeded to appoint delegates to a Northern Convention, 
 : and Philadelphia was designated as the place for the ses- 
 sions. Senator Langdon was chosen one of the delegates, 
 whilst nursing his sick daughter. But he accepted the 
 honor, if such it might be called, that had been conferred 
 
INSUEEKCnON OF THE SLATES. 93 
 
 an liim. He deemed it a duty to contribute his energies for 
 the public good in such an exigency. 
 
 In the South, while all were ready to defend the soil, 
 there was a manifest reluctance on the part of the people to 
 adopt final measures. The Convention, in which all the 
 Southern States were represented, had assembled at Rich- 
 mond, and appointed Henry Blount commander-in-chief of 
 the armies to be raised for their defence. Blount was 
 the possessor of vast wealth, of distinguished extraction, 
 endowed with genius of a high order, and had been edu- 
 cated in one of the best mihtary schools in the country. 
 But there was no military organization, and months would 
 be required to place a well-appointed army in the jSeld. 
 Money, arms, ammunition would have to be procured, and 
 contributions exacted from the people. There were, how- 
 ever, some forty or fifty thousand volunteers, recognising 
 General Crook as their leader, composed in part of enthusi- 
 astic patriots, who defrayed their own expenses, and as 
 many destitute adventurers, who deemed anything they 
 could lay their hands on fair prize. This promiscuous army 
 was concentrating in Delaware to oppose the progress of 
 General RufBeton. Neither of these generals was acting 
 in pursuance of authority derived from the sections or peo- 
 ple they professed to represent ; but there existed no means, 
 for the time being, in either section, of controUing their 
 operations or of annulling their action. It was supposed, 
 however, that a few engagements, the fatigues of a short 
 campaign, and, above all, the absence of a military chest, 
 would render them subservient to the civil authority. 
 
 At all the important points the agents of the central 
 government at Washington were surrounded and protected 
 by the soldiers of the United States ; and so far, in every 
 instance, the picked men of the President had vindicated 
 his wisdom and foriesight. Not a dollar of the Federal 
 money had been lost. Not a cargo had been landed with- 
 out paying duty ; and aU the forts, and arsenals, and ships, 
 with a few exceptions in the South, were still held by Ran- 
 dolph. Several incumbents, in the civil service, who sympa- 
 thized with the sectional factions, were summarily removed, 
 and even then no difficulty was experienced in finding other 
 men to take their places. Nor were these the most extra- 
 ordinary achievements of the President. In the very teeth 
 
94 INSUEKBCTTION OF THE SLAVES. 
 
 of the disruption of the sections, and in despite of the con- 
 tempt of law and order that prevailed, this great man had 
 issued a proclamation, calling out a certain portion of the 
 militia of all the States for the " suppression of domestic 
 violence;" and every State in some degree responded, or, 
 at all events, more or less of the militia promptly joined 
 the Federal standard. Missouri, Dlinois, Kentucky, and 
 Indiana furnished seventy thousand men and fifteen thou- 
 sand horses. In those great "Western States the sentiment 
 against disunion was nearly unanimous, and Southern Fire- 
 eaters and Northern Abolitionists were seized alike in any 
 of them and incarcerated in the same prison. 
 
 Alabama, and all the cotton States, were in a perfect 
 blaze ; and no wonder, for a vast conspiracy for the enfran- 
 chisement of the slaves and the massacre of the white popu- 
 lation had been discovered, and the accomplishment of the 
 fiendish purpose had been prevented with difficulty, and not 
 till after the efiusion of much blood. Several thousand of 
 the whites fell victims to the servile insurrection, and a still 
 greater number of the deluded slaves paid the penalty of 
 following the evil counsels of their woi'st foes in the disguise 
 of friends. But the slaughter was not confined to the mas- 
 ter and slave. More than three hundred, fenatics, or the 
 rash agents of fenatios, were arrested, . tried, condemned, 
 and executed on the scafibld. 
 
 So great was the indignation in these States, that their 
 journals teemed with the most urgent appeals to the Con- 
 vention at Richmond to cut the Gordian knot, and sever all 
 intercourse, of whatever nature, with the North. They 
 likewise demanded the appointment of Greneral Crook to 
 the head of the Southern armies. And when it was an- 
 nounced that the appointment had been conferred on Henry 
 Blount, and that a subordinate position had been tendered 
 Crook, then at the bead of the only Southern ai-^my in the 
 field, there arose a very great outburst of dissatisfaction. 
 
 Under such circumstances, the controlling spiiits in the 
 Convention advised a postponement of decisive action, until 
 events should unite the Southeirn people in opinion^ in 
 policy, and in destiny. 
 
CHAPTER Xin. 
 
 A DEATH SCENE. 
 
 The President was sitting in one of the offices of the exe- 
 cutive mansion, smiling affectionately on his daughter, 
 whose arm encu-cled his neck. It was at a late hour of the 
 night, and all seemed still and silent witTiout, save the raea- 
 Bured tramp of the sentinels. 
 
 " And so, you would go with me on the field of battle ?" 
 asked the President. " What a change from the timid and 
 fearful Alice of a few short weeks ago ! And this, too, 
 after reading an account of the painful adventures of 
 Edith!" 
 
 " True, father, I am changed," said she, distinctly and 
 seriously. " And this, too, after reading the thrilling recital 
 of poor Edith." 
 
 " I really believe you have become more courageous, or, 
 it may be, reckless of your safety, than you were formerly. 
 And what has produced the change? It cannot be a 
 desire for such m^A^rrantry as Edith's ?" 
 
 " No— no !" 
 
 " And yet it must proceed from some extraordinary cause. 
 Can it be love ?» 
 
 " Would that be extraordinary ?" she responded, with 
 a sad smile, while the color entirely faded from her cheeks. 
 
 This was too apparent to escape the notice of Randolph. 
 He rose up and confronted his daughter, and gazed upon 
 her pale forehead for several moments in silence. Her eyes 
 were cast down, and she stood motionless before him, with 
 folded arms. 
 
 "Without my knowledge, Alice," said he, his voice 
 slightly tremulous, " or without my concurrence, it would 
 be extraordinary. In the field, in the closet, on my pillow, 
 Alice, the only unpleasant thought ever connected with my 
 destiny, was the vision, or the fear, — " 
 
 " Fear not, father !" said she. " The man does not live 
 who will be the husband or the lover of Alice." This was 
 7 
 
93 A DEATH SCENE. 
 
 said in a low and almost plaintive voice. "And yet, father, 
 I love." 
 
 " And this is an enigma. Alice ! the day may come wh en 
 kings and emperoi-s will sue at thy feet ! How, then, can 
 you love, and not be loved in turn ?" 
 
 " I did not say so, father." 
 
 " You said you loved." 
 
 "Father," said she, again twining her arm round his 
 neck, " I LOVE my Cogntky !" 
 
 Randolph, disengaging himself, strode rapidly backwards 
 and forwards across the room, his forehead pale, his lips 
 compressed, and his eye gleaming with unwonted fierce- 
 ness. 
 
 " You love your country ?" he reiterated, after a silence 
 of many moments, and jjausing abruptly in front of his pale 
 daughter. 
 
 " And would save it !" said she. 
 
 " And would save it ! Why, what nonsense is this ?" 
 
 " It is not nonsense, father." 
 
 " Then, pray, how could you save your country ?" 
 
 " By invoking the aid of heaven to touch my father's 
 heart." 
 
 " Alice ! Nay, stait not, my child — although it was 
 harshly uttered, it was not in anger. But, my pure Alice, 
 you will tell me who has been whispering an insinuation 
 that I would either destroy the country, or would not strive 
 to save it ?" 
 
 " No one, father." 
 
 " An angel from heaven, Alice, could not be more truth- 
 ful than my daughter. I need not say I believe you. And 
 So you discovered it yourself?" 
 
 " I feared so, father. And now will you not tell me I was 
 mistaken ?" 
 
 " Have I not served the country," said he, again walking 
 rapidly to and fro, " all the best years of my life ? My labors 
 by day, and my thoughts by night, have all been devoted 
 to the welfare of the country. And what is the result ? 
 What do we behold ? The intrigues of factions, sectional 
 animosities,_ disruption of the Legislature, destruction of 
 property, civil war, and the contempt of nations less in 
 magnitude, in ]population, in prowess, wealth, and intelli- 
 gence. Not strive to save such a country as this ? I will 
 
A DEATH SCENE. 97 
 
 save it, Alice — ay, in spite of itself! The IJnion shall be 
 preserved !" 
 
 " And the Republic, father ? The glorious Republic of 
 Washington ?" cried Alice, running to the President and 
 seizing both his hands. 
 
 " Why, certainly, Alice, if it be possible," said he gravely. 
 
 " But if it be not possible ?" 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! Would you have me promise impossibili- 
 ties ? We v,-ill sit down," he continued, leading her to the 
 chair beside his own, " and argue this matter. We can 
 confide in each other. I fear our people — any people — are, 
 after all, incapable of self-government. Where, under hea- 
 ven, has a larger liberty been enjoyed ? Have we not pros- 
 pered by land and by sea abundantly ? All religions have 
 been tolerated. Churches in every village ; colleges in the 
 cities ; newspapers, with infinite license, everywhere. From 
 thirteen, we have expanded to thirty odd States, and from 
 three millions of inhabitants to thirty millions. Our fields 
 have been cultivated, and no famine ever cursed the land. 
 Our commerce has spread its sails in every sea. We have 
 a monopoly of the greatest staple the earth produces ; inex- 
 haustible mines ; scores of thousands of miles of railroads ; 
 immense cities, factories, and all the comforts and luxuries 
 known to civilized man ; — and yet, what is the condition of 
 the people ? Survey them now, Alice. Must I permit 
 them to be divided into petty States, independent of and 
 hostile to each other? Shall the people be sufiered to 
 inflict irremediable evil on themselves — to degenerate into 
 semi-barbarism, and become the easy, if not the willing, 
 prey of the efieminate monarchs of Europfe ? That is the 
 question. Are we. Republicans, worthy of the Republic 
 of Washington ?" 
 
 " We will be, father ! Why not !" exclaimed Alice, with 
 great animation, and with recovered color. "Are we not 
 the descendants of the people for whom Washington fought 
 and prayed ? Are we spoiled children ? Then chastise, 
 but do not destroy. We will see our folly, and reform. 
 The North will confess that they had no right to meddle 
 either with the consciences of the Southern people, or the 
 property of the South ; and the South will acknowledge 
 that the JTorth is indispensable for the consummation of 
 the national destiny." 
 
 5 
 
98 A DEATH SCEND. 
 
 " That ia very fine in theory, Alice ; but we behold the 
 body politic desperately, if not fatally, diseased. It must 
 be phlebotomized !" 
 
 " Be it so — ^but may that not eifect a cure ? Doubtless 
 the people have transgressed, and must be punished. Men 
 in arms with angry passions, will certainly fight. The fall 
 of thousands is inevitable. But oh, father ! is not death, a 
 speedy death, the lot of all? If we must die, still our 
 country may survive. Dust returns to dust, but the glori- 
 ous actions of the good and great are imperishable. Father ! 
 I would have you live in bronze and marble, like the im- 
 mortal "Washington !" 
 
 " And would you not survive to see it ? Or, Alice, is it 
 Fame with which you are in love ? Fy, daughter, that 
 none of the gallant sons of our great country could inflame 
 thy cold fancy !" 
 
 " Father !" 
 
 "Well? Have you a secret? Silent! Who is he? 
 Where is he ?» 
 
 " He lives not for me !" said Alice, again as pale as monu- 
 mental marble. 
 
 " Does he live at all ? Did he die ?" 
 
 "Father! think that once a bright object flitted for a 
 moment athwart the vision of your daughter — and — when 
 he crossed it again another claimed him ; he another. But 
 likewise think he never knew, could never know " 
 
 " Enough, my child ! What ! pale and in tears !" 
 
 " Before none but you and my Heavenly Parent. 
 Father, do you not remember the note you sent me on that 
 eventful day ? You said, '-Se marble.' And now I can be. 
 There is not a living thing I hate ; and but two objects to 
 love — you and my country. But, father, is it not probable 
 these Conventions may decree an irrevocable separation ?" 
 
 " No — it is not probable. I have partisans in both." 
 
 " I might have known it !" 
 
 " And I have still more adherents out of them, and in 
 both sections." 
 
 " But not in these armies about to engage ?" 
 
 " No. They are more like mobs than armies, and can- 
 not be restrained by their respective sections. It may be 
 different when they shall have weakened each other. ~ This 
 spasmodic patriotism will be mitigated Avhen the hardships 
 
A DEATU SCEJTE. 99 
 
 and dangers of a campaign are experienced. Both promis- 
 cuous hosts are maintained by private contributions, or en- 
 forced levies. This will not last long; but iu the meantime 
 much may be accomplished. There will be a battle." 
 
 " And, father, why should you take part in it ? On which 
 side will you fight ?" 
 
 " Perhaps neither. It may not be meant as an insurrec- 
 tion : but it would be domestic violence, and it is my duty 
 to suppress it. I shall forbid the collision ; then when they 
 engage, the aggressor must be punished." 
 
 A servant entered and announced a messenger from 
 Delaware. It was Wiry WUly, recovered from his wound. 
 
 " Willy !" exclaimed Alice, running to the faithful mes- 
 senger and receiving a letter from his hand. " But speak !" 
 said she. " Just one word of Edith, before you proceed to 
 business." 
 
 " She has entirely recovered." 
 
 " That is sufficient," said the President. " Read your 
 letter, daughter. Now, Willy, I see important news in 
 your face. Ruffleton has not destroyed your little farm, I 
 hope ?" 
 
 "No, sir. He turned to the right and avoided Dela- 
 ware." 
 
 "Ah, indeed!" 
 
 " He has crossed the Susquehanna, sir." 
 
 " That menaces us in this district ! But he will find the 
 Caudine forks between the Chesapeake and the Potomac!" 
 
 " He intends to enter Virginia, sir, by crossing the Long 
 Bridge." 
 
 " How do you know that ?" 
 
 " He told me so himself. We are friends again." 
 
 " I understand. The fool ! But enough of him. What 
 of Crook ? I have not received intelligence from him since 
 he permitted the wires to be demolished." 
 
 " Two hours after I left General Ruffleton, I was in the 
 camp of General Crook !" 
 
 "Then there was a night march — or else Crook was 
 an ignoramus." 
 
 "There was, sir. He marched all night, and is now 
 between this city and the Northern army. But he is 
 retreating, sir. They say, and my own eyes confirmed it, 
 that the Eastern recruits or volunteers received within the 
 
100 A DEATH SCENE. 
 
 last week by RuiHeton, amount to 100,000 men. His army 
 is 150,000 strong, sir." 
 
 " His rabble, you mean. Still, they must make a very 
 formidable appearance, and might even penetrate the Old 
 Dominion. Crook has not one-third the number of his 
 opponent, but he has better men — men, who if they do not 
 know how to fight, will be willing to die in defence of their 
 native soil. Go to Mary Penford, Willy, she is in distress. 
 You may conduct her hither if she desires it." Willy's 
 eyes were dilated with surprise, but he did not pause tor 
 further information. 
 
 , " Poor old man !" said Alice, after Willy had departed ; 
 " I fear it is over with him. But Mary will find protection 
 here." 
 
 The President had Genei-al Valiant summoned ; and 
 then Alice, having kissed her father again, retired for the 
 night. 
 
 When the General entered, he found the President 
 absorbed in study, with a map spread out before him. 
 
 " I have sent for you. General," said the President, " to 
 impart some rather alarming news." 
 
 " I doubt very much, sir, whether there is any necessity 
 for alarm, although I do not question the accuracy of your 
 information." 
 
 Valiant was a young general, in whose genius and fidelity 
 the President had great confidence. 
 
 " We may not be in danger. General," pursued the Presi- 
 dent, his finger resting on the map ; " but here are two 
 armies, at this moment probably within twenty miles of ns. 
 Crook is retreating in this direction, followed by Rufileton 
 with 150,000 men." 
 
 " Men and boys, sir — all novices. It is just as I predicted. 
 And both armies are hemmed in between the Chesapeake 
 and the Potomac. We might destroy them both." 
 
 " No ! that is not our policy. But ought Ruffieton to be 
 permitted to pass through the District of Columbia ? That's 
 the question. I know he would be overwhelmed by Blount 
 before he could penetrate far into Virginia. But is it not 
 my duty to arrest the invasion ?" 
 
 "You may do so very easily. The whole District is now 
 ■a military encampment. Sixty thousand infantry, twenty 
 thousand cavalry, and six hundred cannon. And they 
 
A DEATH SCENE. 101 
 
 have been drilled day and night by the very best officers ic 
 the service. "Why the d — 1 don't Crook select a good posi- 
 tion and give Ruffleton battle ?" 
 
 " He b not deficient in courage, or he would never have 
 made his bold dash at me. I like him, Valiant. He is the 
 soul of honor, when his word is plighted. And, between 
 us, I have some overtures from him. If he can cut l\w 
 Gordian knot, he will — bnt you know he can't — and if not, 
 he will co-operate with us, if we give him an opportunity 
 to beat the Northern people, whom he hates so heartily. 
 But he is not to fight a pitched battle without apprising 
 me of his purpose. I desire to ascertain, General, if we 
 could not so m.infleuvre as to give Crook a victory without 
 being directly implicated ourselves." 
 
 " I can easily make RufBeton attack us, and then, in our 
 own defence, you know, we can destroy him." 
 
 " I should be reluctant — ^very reluctant to be the instru- 
 ment of the destruction of such a host of Northern people, 
 whose ostensible pm-pose was not an assault on the Fedei-al 
 authority. Crook must do it ! There is a messenger," 
 
 An aide came in with a sealed letter. 
 
 " This is from Crook 1" said the President. " He asks an 
 interview, and I will grant it. Let the one who brought 
 this be conducted hither. I must interrogate him. My 
 position, Valiant," he continued, "is certainly an anomalous 
 one. It is an exceedingly difficult game." 
 
 " But you are a good player," said the General. 
 
 " That must be proven by the event. But whom have 
 we here ?" said he, starting up on beholding the entrance 
 of the supposed messenger from General Crook. He was 
 enveloped in a cloak, and wore a broad-brimmed hat, such 
 as is used in a Southern clime. Randolph gazed a moment 
 at the clear grey eye of the stranger, and then advanced and 
 grasped his hand. "Throw off your disguise, General," 
 said he. "This is General Valiant, who will not betray us." 
 
 " I am in your hands, gentlemen," said General Crook, 
 declining to sit. "But I am now about defending the 
 Capital instead of attacking it. It is your policy, Ran- 
 dolph, either as President, tlsurper, Emperor— or whatever 
 it may be — to see that the invaders be rolled back from the 
 Federal City. All I ask is a battery of fifty pieces of 
 artilleiy and a few thousand horse — ^the last merely foi 
 
102 A DEATH SCENE. 
 
 show, and not to fight. I want them to appear on an emi- 
 nence and menace the enemy's flank and rear. That is all. 
 I will do the rest." 
 
 " And so you intend to offer battle ?" asked the President. 
 
 " Ay, I intend to give it, and that too before we enter 
 your exclusive territory of some seven miles square. We 
 will fight at Bladensburg." 
 
 " Provided you have a few thousand of my cavalry, and 
 the battery ?" 
 
 " Ay, the former only for show ; and the latter can be trans- 
 ported under cover of the darkness, so that the country 
 will never know whence I obtained them. I pledge my 
 honor that it shall never be known, contrary to your wishes, 
 how they were obtained." 
 
 "Enough, General. Valiant will furnish the cannon. 
 The horse I will lead myself. Where will you make a stand ?" 
 
 " At Bladensburg." 
 
 " Then I know the eminence for the horse. You need 
 take no further thought about the matter. I will be there 
 at the critical moment. And if Ruffleton should be deter- 
 mined to beat you in spite of your artUlery, I will interpose 
 and require him to retrace his steps. It is my duty to pre- 
 vent one section from invading the other, and that duty 
 shall be performed !" 
 
 " But, sir !" said Crook, with much earnestness, " I hope 
 you will not deprive me of the opportunity of beating him. 
 Don't interpose unless you see the day about to be lost." 
 
 " Very well. If you can vanquish him, I shall be con- 
 tent. But, recollect, the victor must not cross the line in 
 pursuit. You must not invade them in turn." 
 
 Crook smiled, and, turning, followed General Valiant to 
 
 his quarters. The President then recUned on a sofa, and 
 
 was soon steeped in quiet slumber. 
 
 ****** 
 
 Wiry Willy hastened away at that late hour to George- 
 town. He bore the infatuated old clerk a letter from 
 General RufHeton, who, believing Willy little better than a 
 mere simpleton, had not destroyed him. 
 
 Perceiving lights in several of the rooms, Willy knew 
 that Mary was watching, and that he could obtain admit- 
 tance. The servant giii who answered the bell, conducted 
 him into the little parlor, where he beheld Mary, pale, and 
 
A PEATH SCEXE. 103 
 
 with traces of recent tears on her lovely face. She was sit- 
 ting beside the physician, but immediately arose, and taking 
 the hand of Willy, conducted him in silence to a chau-. The 
 doctor, after a few brief words, departed. 
 
 " Willy," said Mary, " my poor grandpa is about to leave 
 me." 
 
 " Let US hope not, Mary," said he. " But if it mnst be 
 so, we should not be- unprepared for the event. He has 
 been spared to an extreme old age, and his life has been 
 without guile." 
 
 " That is true, Willy. I do not think it was ever his design 
 to inflict injury on any human being. And he is now about 
 to be at rest." 
 
 " Is it so certain, Mary ?" 
 
 " The doctor has just told me that his pulse is failing, and 
 that he cannot possibly survive more than a few hours." 
 
 " And you, Mary — what will be your condition ?" 
 
 " The neighbors are kind, and we have many good friends. 
 There are two nurses with him now. Oh, Willy — that 
 dreadful day ! It was a fatal blow, the loss of those 
 papers! But come ^vith me — he will know you. He is 
 more rational as he approaches his end." 
 
 " I have a letter for him, Mary — shall I deliver it ?" 
 
 "FromRuflaeton?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " I do not know. Oh, Willy, I fear him more than ever, 
 since his abominable conduct to Edith ! She has written 
 me aU — and warned me against his machinations. But still 
 the letter may do no harm." 
 
 They ascended to the chamber of the dying man. He 
 recognised Willy. 
 
 " William Wire," said he, " what news do you bring of 
 General Ruffleton 1" 
 
 Willy presented the letter. At a signal from Mary the 
 kind women who had been watching, withdrew into an 
 adjoining chamber. With difficulty the old man broke the 
 seal, but his vision was too dim to see. 
 
 " Read it for me, William Wire," said he. 
 
 The letter announced that the General would, in two 
 or three days, be in possession of the Capital,'and occupy 
 the Executive Mansion. 
 
 "Impossible!" exclaimed the old man. "He has not 
 
104 A DEATH SCENE. 
 
 been elected. Randolpli's term has not expired. Impos- 
 sible !" 
 
 The letter went on to say that Mary would be made the 
 mistress of the Presidential Mansion. 
 
 " Oh, grandpa !" said Mary, observing that the old man 
 did not manifest as much interest in this communication as 
 in preceding ones from the same source, " now,- when it may 
 be God's will that you must abandon all earthly pursuits, I 
 beseech you to revoke that frightful pledge exacted from 
 the lone companion of your declining years, that she would 
 unite her destiny with the one, above all others, she could 
 not help most disliking." 
 
 The old man gazed a moment at her sweet face, and then 
 succeeded by a violent effort in turning on his pillow. He 
 caught her hand and kissed it, and then placed it tenderly 
 in Willy's. 
 
 " William Wire !" said he, " she is thine. Guard her well. 
 Defend her if I should die. But if I survive, and consum- 
 mate that claim for cannon — " 
 
 " Alas, grandpa !" said Mary, " you forget the destruction 
 of the papers !" 
 
 " True, my cherub ! And if they should be mad enough 
 really to dissolve the Union, what a universal destruction 
 of papers will ensue. My eyes grow dim when I think of 
 it, and I pray God not to let me see it. But President 
 Randolph is a great man— have faith in him, adhere to his 
 fortunes. Call in the woihen and light the lamps. I feel 
 better. To-morrow I will endeavor to see the President." 
 
 " Oh, grandpa !" said the weeping Mary, who, with the 
 rest, observed the fearful change rapidly spreading over his 
 features, " to-morrow you may be called into the presence 
 of your heavenly father!" 
 
 " God is my judge and my savior," said he. " But 
 what says the doctor ?" 
 
 " He says the end is near," said Willy ; for Mary was 
 
 incapable of utterance. 
 
 " Impossible !" said the old man, and instantly expired. 
 ****** 
 
 Pale, though composed, Mary sat at one end of the 
 breakfast table, and Willy occupied the other. During the 
 repast they were startled by the sound of cannon in the 
 distance. 
 
A DEATH SCENE. , 105 
 
 " That is the coinraeneement of the battle I" said "Willy. 
 
 " And when will battles end, "Willy ?" 
 
 " God knows. But I have faith in the President. And, 
 Mary, last night he said you must remove to the Mansion, ■ 
 after the obsequies of your grandfather." 
 
 "Alice was here yesterday, and said the same thing. 
 And I will go there." 
 
 The thunder of the distant cannon increased. And soon 
 the clatter of the hoofs of horses was heard. To the utter 
 consternation of both Mary and "Willy, the door was thrown 
 violently open, and several armed men rushed in. 
 
 " There she is," said the leader, who was instantly recog- 
 nised by "Willy as one of the aides of Ruffleton, Major 
 Snare. 
 
 " Pray what is your business with me, sir ?" demanded 
 Mary, confronting the red-faced and apparently inebria,ted 
 Major. 
 
 " My orders are to remove you to a place of security." 
 
 " Am I not secure here ?" 
 
 " No — not by a great deal ! But I am to be gentle and 
 careful, and all that. You need not be alarmed." 
 
 " I cannot leage this place, sir. My grandfather — " 
 
 " Never mind him. We must obey orders." 
 
 "Her grandfather is dead!" said Willy, approaching the 
 officer. " His corpse is now up-stairs." 
 
 "Thed— 1! That's something we didn't look for. But 
 snch things in time of war ai'e not novelties. The neighbors 
 will bury the old man. Come, Miss, I must execute the 
 order of my superior or be executed. We have a light 
 carriage, and the road is not rough. You can remain, 
 Willy.'' 
 
 " But if you mean to take Mary, I would prefer going." 
 
 "As you please. But you must find your own horse. 
 You can't go in the carriage. Come, Miss ; my orders are 
 to use expedition." 
 
 " I must see my grandpa, first !" said Mary, weeping, and 
 passing up-stairs. She ran forward, and seizing the cold 
 hand of her dead parent, fell upon her knees. The few 
 neighbors who were present, endeavored to assuage her 
 grief. But as the voice of Major Snare was heard below, 
 demanding the return of the aggrieved girl, she clung the 
 closer to the corpse. 
 
 5* 
 
106 THE BATTLE OP BLADBNSBDE&. 
 
 " I can wait no longer !" said the Major, ascending the 
 stairs, and entering the chamber of death. " Come !" he 
 continued, "there is a crowd collecting in the street, and 
 we may have to kill some of the good people. The d — 1 !" 
 said he, on perceiving the body of John Penford. " That's 
 more than I expected — and it's a spectacle not to my taste. 
 Still, orders must be obeyed. Cora-e !" - 
 
 " Oh, sir !" said Mary, " you cannot be so hard-hearted 
 as to drag me away from my grandpa — now so cold and 
 still." 
 
 " It is not to my taste, Miss Mary ; but I must execute 
 the order, or I shall be dead myself." 
 
 " Then I obey. I would not have a worm suffer death on 
 my account," said she, rising. "Excuse me but a few 
 moments, sir, until I can get some additional apparel, and 
 then I will attend you." 
 
 "Oh, very well!" said the Major, "I will wait two 
 minutes." 
 
 When the neighbors learned the nature of the Major's 
 mission, they were very indignant, and would have resisted 
 the execution of the inhuman order, if they had possessed 
 the ability. ^ 
 
 Mary appeared before the Major, and in the presence of 
 the people declared her departure was ia obedience to a 
 demand which she possessed no ability to resist. She then 
 requested to see Wiry Willy — ^but he could nowhere be 
 found. Then they led her to the light carriage, and having 
 thrust her in, drove away at a furious rate. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE BATTLE OP BLADESTSBUEG. 
 
 General Ceook began the cannonade at sunrise, and 
 when the two armies were yet some twelve or fifteen hun- 
 dred yards apart. This was quite an unexpected occur- 
 rence to Ruffleton. That some fifty thousand men would 
 make a stand against three times their number, seemed the 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBUEG, 107 
 
 very madness of teraerity. When informed that morning 
 that the Southern army was drawn up in battle array, his 
 own forces were much scattered. They had encamped in a 
 line extending some six; miles in length, and the van and 
 rear were now that distance apart, while>the flanks were, as 
 usual, in much disorder, for about one-fourth of his men 
 were robbing hen-houses, killing pigs, and hunting forage. 
 Crook had his troops in good position, and well concen- 
 trated; his left extending to a steep hill, and his right 
 defended by a stream of water, then considerably swollen 
 by the recent rains. 
 
 President Randolph, at the head of five thousand horse, 
 was hidden from view by the crest of a hill, in readiness to 
 appear on the field at any moment, if it should be requisite 
 for him to take any active part in the engagement. And 
 Alice was at the side of her father, mounted on a spirited 
 charger. She wore a velvet cap, and her riding dress was 
 confined by a silken scarf, en militaire. 
 
 " We have a fine view, here," said Randolph, as his 
 steed and Alice's stood on the summit of the hill, whence 
 they could behold the greater portion of both armies. 
 
 "And GeneraljCrook is firing his cannon! See the white 
 smoke!" said Alice. "There!" she continued, when their 
 thunder was heard; "how long between the smoke and 
 report! And, father, it is not so frightful as I sup- 
 posed. See ! Sir Arohy merely curves his neck and snuffs 
 the breeze. He did not lift a hoof to paw the earth. Brave 
 Sir Arehy !" ' 
 
 " I have had him trained, Alice. But there is a different 
 scene over yonder. Take my glass and view the meadow 
 to the left of the grove." 
 
 Alice did so — and uttered no more points of admiration. 
 Some forty thousand of Rufiieton's rabble were crowded 
 in a meadow of about five acres in extent, and through 
 these the cannon balls were ploughing fearfully. The com- 
 motion was indesciibable ; and in a few minutes the place 
 was almost entirely deserted. 
 
 " Father !" said Alice, returning the glass, " you are the 
 President of the United States !" 
 
 " I understand, daughter," said Randolph, again survey- 
 ing the field. "It is my duty, if possible, to prevent 
 domestic violence and suppress insurrection. These men 
 
108 THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBITEG. 
 
 Trill not regard my authority, and I would, if possible, avoid 
 shedding their blood. But you shall be my witness that I 
 strove to prevent the collision." He then beckoned an 
 officer, stationed some twenty paces in the rear,-to advance. 
 
 " Take a flag, sir, and go to Raffleton. Deliver this note, 
 and return with an answer." The officer spurred down the 
 hill in view of both armies, regardless of the cannon balls 
 and bombs now discharged from both sides, the distance 
 separating them being still too great for the effective use 
 of small arms. The flag was respected, and the officer 
 passed the lines in safety. The message was delivered, and 
 an answer promptly returned. 
 
 " What does he say, father ?" inquired Alice, when the 
 officer had retired to his original position. 
 
 " He is impudent and defiant !" said Randolph, in tones 
 of anger. " He says the Federal Government has ceased 
 to exist, and that I have no more authority to require him 
 to retire and dismiss his forces than he has to demand my 
 abandonment of the city and the functions of the Presi- 
 dency." 
 
 " Alas ! I know you will not brook such language." 
 
 " I can smile at him, Alice, until forced to act. But if 
 I should pounce upon him, he will find it a different matter 
 than merely withstanding this lazy assault of Crook. Not 
 so slothful either, by Jupiter !" he exclaimed, again looking 
 through his glass. "Well done, and worthy a military 
 genius !" 
 
 General Crook, while attracting attention to his batteries 
 in the centre, had detached ten thousand men from his right 
 wing; they marched by a circuitous route, and were entirely 
 unperceived, until they fell perpendicularly upon the left 
 flank of the enemy. The effect was tremendous. One-half 
 the invading army fell back instantly, panic-stricken, while 
 the other half was impelled forward. The ten thousand 
 , Southern men were between them, and, for a time, did great 
 execution. That portion of the Northern army precipitated 
 forward, was, for a considerable length of time, subjected 
 to two fires, in front and rear, and much slaughter was the 
 result. The field seemed lost, and doubtless would have 
 been with disciplined armies. But it has occurred more 
 than once, that novices in war, unable to appreciate the 
 advantages of a superior position, or the fatal effects of a 
 
THE BATTLE OP BLADEXSBUEG. 109 
 
 blundering movement, have failed to realize success with 
 victory in their grasp, or refused to retire, when completely- 
 beaten, according to all the precepts of military science. 
 Men inexperienced in battle, are unable to conceive how 
 an army can be defeated until all the soldiers are killed ! 
 And Ruffleton's army, although cut in twain, still presented 
 two mighty hosts, each more formidable in numbers than 
 the enemy. Ruffleton, perceiving this, soon rallied his 
 forces, and then the detachment often thousand, which had 
 performed so great a manoeuvre, was subjected in turn to a 
 fire both in front and rear. There was no alternative but for 
 the Hon. Mr. — ^now General — Steel, to retrace his steps, and 
 endeavor to reunite his column with the main body of the 
 army, now menaced by overwhelming numbers. 
 
 Ruffleton had contrived to secure the services of a num- 
 ber of experienced officers, always to be found in New 
 York, travellers, or exiles from many nations. These gentle- 
 men, who at one time supposed everything lost, now dis- 
 posed their columns with alacrity as for certain victory. 
 But they were deficient in artillery, and almost destitute of 
 horse. 
 
 Crook stood his ground manfully, and continued to make 
 frightful chasms in the ranks of the foe, both with his well- 
 served cannon and with one thousand minie rifles he had 
 borrowed from General Valiant. But still the mighty wave 
 of invaders continued to roll on, threatening to inundate or 
 sweep away every opposing obstacle. 
 
 " Now, father !" exclaimed Alice. " If you do not inter- 
 pose, that multitude will annihilate the little army of the 
 defenders of the South !" 
 
 " The moment has not yet arrived, my daughtei"," said 
 the President, calmly and deliberately, a distinguishing 
 trait of his character, always evinced in moments of peril, 
 and whenever any species of panic seized upon those by 
 whom he was surrounded. " But how is it, Alice, that you 
 manifest so sudden and so decided a sympathy for Crook 
 and his followers ? Is it your Southern blood instinctively 
 pulsating in behalf of your countrymen ?" 
 
 " No, father !" said Alice, resuming her statue-like patriot- 
 ism. "The South is but an integral portion of the Union. 
 Maine and Texas are alike my country. To you I confess 
 the cause of the solicitude I felt and expressed. It was a 
 
110 THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBUEG. 
 
 woman^s pity for the -weaker party. But now I am Mak- 
 BLE. Call me, if yoix please, a statue of Liberty, or of 
 Ameeica. All I ask, father, is that you will preserve the 
 whole Union, as one country, one Republic, as Washington 
 and his compatriots formed it. If it be necessary that yon- 
 der little army, now struggling in defence of their native 
 soil, should perish a few years before their allotted time in 
 the course of nature, that the Great Repitblic may survive 
 for generations, be it so ! Man cannot live beyond a limited 
 term — ^but the republic may be immortal." 
 
 " It is not necessary, Alice. Now gentlemen !" he con- 
 tinued, in a loud voice, to his aides, awaiting his commands 
 a few paces apart, "sound the charge! Blow all your 
 bugles! We will rush down like a torrent towards the 
 plain. But not a shot must be fired, not a sword bathed in 
 blood. I will lead the van myself, as soon as we shall have 
 attracted the attention of Ruffleton." 
 
 But this was not accomplished in a moment, although a 
 vast number of bugles and kettle-drums did their utmost. 
 The reason was that General Steel, whether from accident 
 or design, in executing the detour which was to accomplish 
 a junction with the main body of the army, fell somewhat 
 short of the contemplated march, and was once more pre- 
 cipitated on the left flank of the advancing enemy. This 
 time he did not attempt to sever the van from the rear, but 
 his well-directed fire, now that his men had recovered from 
 the first trepidation of the battle, did much havoc, and 
 created great consternation. Ruffleton himself spurred 
 towards the menaced point, and in the confusion of sounds 
 the charge of the bugles did not reach his ear. With diffi- 
 culty he succeeded in restoring some degree of order, and 
 in impelling forward the columns whose progress had been 
 arrested. 
 
 It was at this moment that he received intelligence of the 
 demonstration on his right. Several of his most experienced 
 generals despatched very urgent messages to him to the 
 effect that if the formation of squares were delayed a mo- 
 ment all would be lost. That a charge of 5,000 cavalry, at 
 such a juncture, on their right, would be fraught with the 
 most fatal consequences. He then spurred to the other 
 side of the field, and assisted in the vain endeavor to form 
 bis undisciplined rabble into hollow and solid squares. 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBHEG. HI 
 
 Meanwhile, Steel kept up an incessant fire from the fine 
 position so fortunately occupied, while Crook's batteries in 
 front, like so many volcanoes, belched forth destruction. 
 And President Randolph, placing himself at the head of his 
 glittering cavalry, thundered down the hill on the right. 
 The effect was complete. More than 100,000 men, deaf to 
 the commands of their officers, simultaneously wheeled and 
 fled away. Randolph, infinitely diverted at the scene, in- 
 clined to the right, and swept along in the opposite direc- 
 tion to that pursued by the fugitives ; and as none of them 
 turned their eyes behind, they naturally supposed the ca- 
 valry were cutting down their comrades, who had been the 
 farthest advanced on the bloody field. But Randolph led 
 his horse without striking a blow, into the first valley he 
 encountered, and wheeling once more, conducted his entire 
 column back to the position they had occupied early in the 
 morning, and where his daughter, guarded by a select 
 troop, awaited the result. 
 
 "I witnessed everything, father," said Alice. ."The in- 
 vaders are routed. But, see ! The terrible Crook pursues ! 
 "What slaughter ! And yonder dark mass of horse ! Fa- 
 ther, they are yours ! Was that right ?" 
 
 " The horses are mine, Alice, but not the men. Valiant, 
 it seems, has loaned General Crook some 8,000 animals, 
 and Crook has mounted his own followers on their backs. 
 No doubt I shall be charged with having, fought this battle 
 in conjunction with the Southerners. But to-morrow, or 
 next week, the South may accuse me of throwing my weight 
 into the Northern scale. My duty is to prevent aggression, 
 to punish offences, and support the Constitution. But who 
 comes hither from the woods ? It is Wiry "Willy !" 
 
 This was true. "Willy emerged in view, urging his pony 
 to the top of his speed, while his long coat floated out on 
 the breeze. 
 
 "What news now, Willy?" demanded the President, as 
 the young man halted in his presence. 
 
 "Willy, with mingled pain and consternation, by speech 
 and gesture succeeded in making known the catastrophe 
 which bad befallen Mary. 
 
 " Father 1" exclaimed Alice, " let me be her rescuer I" 
 
 " Then be my Knight of the Velvet Cap !" said the Pre- 
 sident, drawing his sword and striking her gently on the 
 8 
 
112 THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBUBG. 
 
 shoulder. " Colonel Carleton," he added, " consider your- 
 self ilnder the command of the Knight of the Velvet Cap. 
 Take one hundred of your best dragoons — hereafter let them 
 be known as tlie Blue Caps — and rescue this fair maiden. 
 "Willy will show you the way to intercept Major Sn.are. Do 
 not kill him ; merely ensnare him. I must shod no blood, 
 unless compelled to do so to preserve, protect, and defend 
 the Constitution, in obedience to my oath. I entrust my 
 daughter to you, sir '" he added, in a lower tone. 
 
 Alice touched her noble steed with her whip. He sprang 
 forward- proudly, with curved neck, distended nostrils, and 
 flashing eye, as if eager for the service demanded of him. 
 
 "■ I want one hundred volunteers !" said she. Three hun- 
 dred came forward. It was necessary to select every third 
 man, and the fortunate ones were heartily cheered by the 
 rest. 
 
 "Wiry "Willy indicated the road by which Major Snare 
 would be likely to attempt to form a junction with the main 
 body of Ruffleton's army, then in full retreat, with Crook 
 thundering in the rear. The squadron set off at a rapid 
 pace, in a line parallel with the flying army. They con- 
 tinued in this manner for several miles, when the carriage 
 containing the cajjtive, and the escort under the command 
 of Major Snare, were discovered at some distance to the 
 left, making almost superhuman exertions to join the rear 
 guard of their Northern friends. Alice and Carleton, per- 
 ceiving the object, made every effort to intercept them; 
 and this they certainly should have done, if they had not 
 been unexpectedly confronted by a deep chasm, oi^er which 
 it was deemed impossible or hazardous to leap the horses. 
 Thus their career was momentarily checked, but only mo- 
 mentarily, for Alice, supposing it might be solicitude for her 
 safety which deterred the Colonel from attempting the pas- 
 sage, spoke the word to Sir Archy, and with a bound he 
 cleared the ditch. The rest followed, of course, excepting 
 poor "Wiry Willy, whose pony fell short of the opposite 
 side, and rolled down to the bottom, landing, however, 
 Avithout injui-y to horse or rider, in a bed of leaves. 
 
 Carleton, placing Alice in the centre of the troop, renewed 
 the chase, and reached the extreme left flank of the now 
 fugitive army just in time to prevent Snare from dashing 
 into it. There was no alternative but to surrender, and 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADE^fSETJEG. 113 
 
 Major Snare yielded to the summons ; and this, too, within 
 sixty paces of the Northern army I But the poor infantry, 
 defeated, fatigued, hacked, and pelted, had no disposition to 
 pause and turn aside for the relief of the abducting party 
 of horsemen. 
 
 Alice, giving the reins to her attending servant, sprang 
 into the carriage beside the half-fainting Mary, who uttered 
 many heartfelt thanks for the timely interposition. Carle- 
 ton, embarrassed by the presence of his prisoners, for it was 
 not known by what authority he could detain them, lost no 
 time in separating his charge and his men from the Hne of 
 march of the armies, for General Steel was roaring in pur- 
 suit like a tornado. Finding that Snare and his men stiil 
 followed, though guarded very loosely, Carleton, after hav- 
 ing proceeded about a mile on the way back to the position 
 occupied by the President, liberated his prisoners. 
 
 When the Blue Caps, for by this name were they to be 
 afterwards known, returned to their disappointed if not 
 envious comrades, the President was holding a conference 
 with General Crook, who had sent General Steel in pursuit 
 of the fugitives. 
 
 "Very well done. Sir Velvet Cap!" said Randolph, when 
 the result was made known to him. "Perhaps, in time, 
 you may win a regiment. But where is Willy ?" he con- 
 tinued, observing that Mary, notwithstanding his congratu- 
 lations, was very pale, and ever and anon looked round La 
 quest of some one evidently not then present. 
 
 "WUly! and true enough, where is he?" exclaimed 
 Alice. 
 
 " He is not here — nor was he present when you released 
 me," said Mary ; and surely she must have looked for him. 
 
 " He must be found," said the President, in a confident 
 tone to Mary. "I would send a thousand men to bring 
 him back, if it were necessary. Therefore be not uneasy. 
 Return with Alice. The battle is over, and no further dan- 
 gers can menace us." Then, kissing his hand to the ladies 
 as they departed, he resumed his conversation with 
 Crook. 
 
 " General," said he, " you should not have taken so 
 many prisoners." 
 
 " If you advise it," said the General, very coolly, " I'll 
 have every rascal of them shot !" 
 
114 THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBUEG. 
 
 ""No, sir, that is not what I mean. Too many have 
 already fallen, and, I fear, are falling still. But you might 
 have released them on parole. You can do so yefc" 
 
 "Do you know how many abolition members of Con- 
 gress and editors we have taken ?" 
 
 "No ; I have not heard the quality of any of your pri- 
 soners ; but the quantity is enormous. It cannot be short 
 of thirty thousand." 
 
 " On the contrary, it is rather longer than that. But 
 these gentlemen alluded to put in a plea that they are non- 
 combatants, and claim both an exemption from duress and 
 from a forfeiture of the horses and other property taken 
 with them." 
 
 " Were they taken with arms in their hands?" 
 
 " No — they had thrown them away." 
 
 " How many of this non-combating class have you ?" 
 
 " Four hundred." 
 
 " Four hundred members of Congress, abolition preach- 
 ers, and editors ?" 
 
 " Such is the report to me. If they are non-combatants — 
 and I must confess they were captured when huddled to- 
 gether where bullets could not reach them, and where it 
 would have been impossible for them to inflict injury on us 
 — I would like to know what they were doing in the midst 
 of Ruffleton's invading army, and on the slave-soil of the 
 South?" 
 
 " Oh, merely missionaries and reporters. Political and 
 spiritual guides, and inoffensive chroniclers of the events of 
 the campaign for the delectation of the world, at three 
 cents per copy. I suppose you mean to dismiss them as the 
 Roman Emperor's Proconsul did the first vagabond Chris- 
 tians — with pity and contempt ?" 
 
 " If I do, may I be ! Why, sir, these miscreants 
 
 have produced all the mischiefs which have afflicted the 
 country, or are likely to afflict it. If it had not been for 
 them, I should have been a peaceful citizen on my cotton 
 plantation, in the midst of my family, instead of skulking 
 about of nights, forming plots to seize the archives and 
 
 carry off the President. Yes, sir, these same rascals 
 
 are the originators of all the slaughter and destruction now 
 cursing the land, and likely to scourge it hereafter. Dis- 
 miss them, with pity and contempt ! Why, sir, if I were to 
 
THE BATTLE OP BLADENSBUEG. 115 
 
 let one of these scoundrels escape, I would be denounced 
 from the Gulf to the Potomac !" 
 
 " But what can be done with them ?" 
 
 " That's the difficulty. I don't know. I won't kill them; 
 and, besides, according to the military code, if not the code 
 of honor, perhaps I have no authority." 
 
 " But you have authority, General Crook, it seems," said 
 the President, with irony, " to wage war \yithout the sanc- 
 tion of either the Federal or the State governments ?" 
 
 " In a case of emergency. The people are the source of 
 all authority. We were invaded, and " 
 
 " Self-defence is the first law of nature," said the Presi- 
 dent. " We will say nothing more about these agitators 
 and non-combatants ! Do nothing cruel or unjustifiable — 
 nothing that may not be sanctioned hereafter — and what- 
 ever you do, let m.e know nothing about it until it be done. 
 But now, General Crook, that you have repelled the invar 
 ders, — " 
 
 " Mr. President," said the General, interrupting him, " a 
 very large share of the glory belongs to you." 
 
 " You are welcome to all. And, I assure you, it will be 
 inscribed in our annals as a very great victory. Bubvthe 
 thing I desire to impress upon you is this — ^that if it was a 
 duty to hurl back an invader, the merit of the achievement 
 may be easily extinguished by becoming, in turn, an invader 
 yourself. You understand me. Whoever becomes the ag- 
 gressor must be defeated. To-day I have assisted you in 
 driving Ruffleton out of Maryland. To-morrow it might 
 be my duty to assist Ruffleton in driving you out of Penn- 
 sylvania." 
 
 " Who could have thus misrepresented me to your Excel- 
 lency ?" exclaimed Crook, in apparent earnestness ; for he 
 well knew that Randolph was a man of his word, and possessed 
 the ability to perform all his promises, and to execute all his 
 threats. " I give you my word, sir, that when our men reach 
 the Pennsylvania line they will relinquish the pursuit. But 
 Blount, who is now advancing with another Southern army, 
 spontaneously levied since the announcement of this inva- 
 sion, will not find many laurels to reap, unless your Excel- 
 lency should prove a partial mediator, and permit him to 
 cross over the border." 
 
 "No — I shall not prove a^ partial mediator; nor shall I 
 
116 THE BATTLE OP BLADENSBtTEG. ' 
 
 appi ove an invasion of the North, under any circumstances 
 likely to arise — never, unless the North, in a confederated 
 capacity, should declare war against the South. But this 
 will not be done. General Crook, if the South, in the same 
 capacity, does not first set the example." 
 
 " And why not ?" 
 
 " Because it would he wrong ?" 
 
 " Wrong ! And which section has suflFered the most 
 wrong ? Have not the Southern pe'ople been despoiled of 
 their property to the amount of fifty millions of dollars ? 
 Have they not been denied the equal rights of citizens, and 
 j)recluded from taking their lawful private property into 
 territories won by the common blood and treasure of the 
 Union ? When have the Southern people ever pillaged the 
 North of her property? When have they ever decreed 
 that Northern citizens should be deprived of their right to 
 settle on the public domain, carrying with them every de- 
 scription of property they possessed, or might choose to 
 possess ?" 
 
 " These are grievances, sir, I admit, demanding a remedy ; 
 and if nothing else sufficed, I. would not be averse to the 
 arbitrament of the sword. The first has grown oiit of the 
 forbearance of the Executive power, which will forbear no 
 longer ; the last is a mere menace of these very gentlemen 
 you have now in captivity, whose fate it is so difficult to 
 determine. No, sir; I am satisfied that a large majority of 
 the Northern people are quite willing to accord the South 
 all the rights and privileges guaranteed by the Constitution. 
 Let us affiard them a fair opportunity of manifesting it. 
 The Union is necessary to them — to us — to all." 
 
 " The Union !" said General Crook, sighing deeply. 
 " May Heaven forgive me if I err — ^but I shall deem it the 
 happiest day of my life when I can see the last link of it 
 severed. You, Randolph, are that link !" 
 
 " If that be so, sir," said the President, with an erect 
 form and noble expression of face, " the last link was made 
 of stubborn metal. But, General, I have detained you long 
 enough. Restrain the sanguinary steel. I shall rely on 
 your pledge not to cross over the line. Farewell !" 
 
 They separated, the President returning to the head 
 of his splendid cavalry, and the General spurring his steed 
 over the bloody plain. 
 
CHAPTER XV, 
 
 WTBT WXLLT'S STKAKGE ADTENTirEB. 
 
 When Wiry Willy and his pony fell into the chasm, they 
 were so completely buried in the leaves which had been 
 wafted thither by the winds of autumn, that neither were 
 perceived by the hundred horsemen who passed over their 
 prostrate bodies. And when Willy, extricating himself from 
 his pony, endeavored to rise on his feet, he was clasped in 
 the arms of a powerful man, and all attempts at resistance 
 were utterly vain. 
 
 " I've got him, Sergeant," said the gigantic man who had 
 seized Willy. " Now do you hug the horse, so's not to 
 make any noise." 
 
 " I'm on him, Captain," said the Sergeant, embracing the 
 neck of the pony as he lay in the leaves ; " but he. bites like 
 the !" 
 
 " Never mind that — but hold him. My man here is as 
 gentle as a lamb." 
 
 "I make no resistance, gentlemen," said Wiry Willy, 
 " because I feel you have me in your power. But why am 
 I thus used ? I don't think I ever injured either of you. I 
 am no man's enemy." 
 
 " And he asks why he's thus used in battle ! And then 
 he says he's no man's enemy, when he's fighting ! Lord, if 
 our powder hadn't given out I Stranger, my sword flew 
 off its handle the very first blow, and I've nothing left to 
 fight with but my hands, and nobody to follow me but the 
 Sergeant. They peppered every man of my company, of 
 upwards of a 'hundred, except the Sergeant, there. And 
 80 we two retreated into this place, resolved to sell our lives 
 as dearly as we could." 
 
 " But, gentlemen, as I don't want your lives, I think you 
 might release me." 
 
 " No, sir ! We want to surrender to you, and save our 
 own lives." 
 
118 ■wiET willy's stkange adventceb. 
 
 " Surrender to me !" said Willy in amazement. 
 
 " Yes, sir I And if we were to let you escape, the next 
 squad of the enemy might blow our brains out." 
 
 " But which army do you belong to ?" demanded Willy. 
 
 " We fought under General Ruffleton, because he pledged 
 us there should be plenty of fighting." 
 
 " And for my part," said the Sergeant, " I have had about 
 enough. And many others are sick enough of it." 
 
 " Oh, if you come to that,;' said the Captain, " there are 
 plenty of 'em dead of it. But see here, stranger, which 
 side are you on ?" 
 
 " I'm a private in General Ruffleton's army," said Willy. 
 
 " Then our cake's all dough," said the Captain, in disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 " He may be lying," said the Sergeant. " Question him." 
 
 " In whose company, sir ?" 
 
 " Captain Bim's." 
 
 " What ? Well, that must be a lie !" 
 
 " Stop I" cried the Sergeant, springing up from the pony, 
 " What's your name ? Here's my book, I saved it. 
 Captain, though all the men in it's lost." 
 
 " William Wire." 
 
 " By the smoking nostrils of the dragon !" cried Captain 
 Bim, " it is Wiry Willy !" and he turned Willy around and 
 embraced him. 
 
 " And give me your hand, comrade !" cried the Sergeant, 
 joining them. " Don't you recollect Sergeant Punt ? See, 
 here's your name writ in my book by gas-light. But how 
 can we surrender to you ?" 
 
 "I'll arrange it," said WiUy. " I belong to all three of 
 the armies. Jack Bim, have you spent your money ?" 
 
 " Every coin in the world, except that — you know 
 where." 
 
 " Then here, take mine. It was this gold that pitched 
 me into the ditch. It was the last feather that broke my 
 pony's back." 
 
 " I'll take a few pieces, Willy — but not all. If it was 
 unfortunate for you, it was lucky for us. I got you out of 
 prison, and you're bound to clear me of this scrape." 
 
 " That's true, Jack. Follow me. I'll walk with you and 
 lead the pony. Come along. Sergeant Punt." 
 
 They succeeded, after some labor, in extricating the pony, 
 
■WIET willy's STKANGE ADVENTirEB. 119 
 
 and then Willy directed his steps towai-ds the eminence 
 lately in possession of the President and his fine cavalry. 
 But they had not proceeded more than a mile before Ser- 
 geant Punt, who had been silent while the others conversed 
 incessantly, came to a sudden halt. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said he, " I intend to give up fighting, and 
 go to work. I'm a ship carpenter by trade. I've got a wife 
 and three children in Philadelphia, and I'm getting home- 
 sick. If I go any further with you, I may fall into the 
 hands of General Crook, and what'll become of me then ?" 
 
 " You're a fool, Punt !" said Bim, contemptuously. 
 "He'd release you on parole, and then you might join 
 your wife. But if you were to go to her without binding 
 yourself not to serve again, what'd become of you if you 
 fell into the hands of Ruffleton ? Why, he'd shoot you as 
 a deserter." 
 
 " That would be worse than all," said the Sergeant, going 
 forward again. "But, Willy, wouldn't General Crook 
 take me into his service ?" 
 
 " General Crook will not enlist N"orthern men," said 
 Willy. 
 
 " That's a mistake," said Bim, " for I fought under him 
 once." 
 
 "Then," said the Sergeant, "won't he shoot you as a 
 deserter ?" 
 
 " I never thought of that !" said Bim, pausing. 
 
 " Never fear," said Willy. " I'U arrange everything for 
 you both. On my recommendation the President will take 
 you into his service. He has a regular army, and millions 
 of money." 
 
 " Do you think there'll be any fighting ?" asked Bim. 
 
 " After a while — abundance of it." 
 
 " Then I'm in, if he wants a real man ! And when we 
 have the first battle, I can say I've fought on all sides. 
 And you, Willy, who have been on all sides, have fought on 
 none." 
 
 "The Bible says thou shalt not kill," said Willy. 
 
 " But ain't there a sight of fighting in the Bible ?" asked 
 Bim. 
 
 Willy acknowledged there was. He believed the Pre- 
 sident was right, however, in his endeavors to save the 
 Union. 
 
120 "WIEY "WXLLY'S STEANGB ADVENTtTEE. 
 
 " But where are all the niggei-s ?" asked Punt, suddenly, 
 after being silent again for many minutes. 
 
 " They have been taken to tlie other side of the Potomac," 
 said Willy. " They make them work on the fortifications." 
 
 " Ruffleton deceived me," said Punt. " He said I might 
 get rich catching niggers, and that they were as plenty as 
 crows in Jersey, and every one I caught would sell for a 
 thousand dollars." 
 
 " Punt, they called you an abolitionist at home," said 
 Bim. 
 
 "I know it. I said I was one. But I was electioneering 
 for votes. I confess I never knew anything about the right 
 or wrong of holding such property ; and I made up my 
 mind to catch a few and seU. 'em for a thousand dollars 
 apiece." 
 
 In this manner they discussed their own affairs and the 
 affairs of the natioft, until they arrived before the President, 
 in the great East Room of the Executive Mansion. 
 
 " Whom have you here. Will ?" demanded the President. 
 
 " Two prisoners, sir." 
 
 "Prisoners? You had no authority to take prisoners. 
 I want no prisoners." 
 
 " He'll put us to the sword, I'm afraid," whispered Punt. 
 
 " But he couldn't help taking us, sir," said Bim, " be- 
 cause we seized him, and 
 
 " Seized him, and became his prisoners. Explain this 
 matter, WUl," said the President, with impatience. 
 
 Willy easily made him comprehend everything. 
 
 " Bim," said the President, " will you enrol among the 
 militia ? I have no authority to increase the regular army, 
 in- the absence of Congress." 
 
 " Wiry Willy," said Bim, casting a ferocious glance at the 
 one addressed, " you have deceived me. You said I could 
 get into the regular army. No, sir, I can't join the militia 
 — I want to be wheve fighting is done." 
 
 " Is that it ?" said the President, smUing. 
 
 " Yes, sir, that's it. And I thought from the looks of your 
 soldiers as we came here, that you had been increasing the 
 regular army." 
 
 " Militia, nearly all militia, Bim. But they are trained to 
 fight, and no doubt there will be abundance of fighting." 
 
 "That's enough, sir," said Bim, comprehending the Pro 
 
MEETIjS& of BLOUNT AND ALICE. 121 
 
 sident. " I'll enrol, sii-. And if fighting can bring promo- 
 tion, I'll rise." 
 
 " And yoM, sir," said the President, turning to Punt. 
 
 " I'm a ship carpenter by trade, sir ; and from what I've 
 seen in this campaign, I think I'd rather work with my 
 adze." 
 
 " Very good, sir. I must have a militia navy as well 
 as a militia army. CondClct them to General Valiant, 
 Will, and then hasten to Georgetown." Saying this, the 
 President turned away and resumed his contemplative exer- 
 cises. 
 
 " By George, Willy !" said Bim, as they withdrew, " I 
 didn't think you were on such intimate terms with the Pre- 
 sident. His eyes command as well as his words. He's the 
 leader for me ! I'll never change sides again." 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MEETING OP BLOUNT AND ALICE. 
 
 The battle of Bladen sburg, and the events which succeeded 
 it, produced intense excitement both in the South and in 
 the North. The fact that the soil of Maryland had been 
 invaded by a Northern army, although that army had met 
 with defeat, removed much of the repugnance to decisive 
 measures in the Convention at Richmond. From Mason 
 and Dixon's Line to Texas, there were rejoicings and illumi- 
 nations in honor of the victory ; while the victor. General 
 Crook, was hailed as a hero and a deliverer. Nevertheless, 
 the Convention still adhered to the general of their choice,' 
 and Blount was invested with almost dictatorial powers. 
 He might, at discretion, retaliate on the enemy by an inva- 
 sion of the North. 
 
 In the North, although Ruffleton had not acted with the 
 sanction of the representatives of the people, yet something 
 more than fifty thousand Northern men, under his command, 
 had been either killed or taken prisoners on the plains of 
 Bladensburg. The cruelties alleged to have been inflicted 
 
 6 
 
122 MEETING OP BLOTINT AJSO ALICE. 
 
 by the Soutliemers, seemed to shook the sensibilities and 
 rouse the indignation of the population. And it was under 
 the influence of this state of public feeling, that the Con- 
 vention in Philadelphia decreed the establishment of a vast 
 military organization, and placed the distinguished General 
 Hudson at its head. Ruffleton was commissioned as his 
 second in command. 
 
 But, perhaps, the greatest sensation succeeding the as- 
 tounding disaster at Bladensburg, was caused by the singu- 
 lar conduct of General Crook, in regard to his prisoners. 
 He marched them to Annapolis, and separating the three or 
 four abolition members of Congress, the many political par- 
 sons, and the editors and reporters, from the rest, the larger 
 number, consisting of many' thousands, were confined in 
 Maryland and Delaware ; while the others, in imitation of 
 the mob at Boston, were shipped to Liberia in one of the 
 emigrant vessels sailing from the Chesapeake. The mem- 
 bers of Congress attempted in vain an escape under the plea 
 of privilege ; the preachers prayed to no purpose ; and the 
 editors and reporters drew up fruitless remonitrances. 
 General Crook was inexorable ; and he became more im- 
 placable stUl when it was ascertained that W ^11 P s, 
 
 who had escaped from the Boston mob, instead of being on 
 his way to Liberia, was among the prisoners. The Rev. Mr. 
 
 Blood, Rev. Mr. Carp, Rev. Mi-. F e. Rev. Mr. Cleaver, 
 
 and Rev. Mr. Aaron, were among the hundreds of clergy- 
 men taken on the field of battle. Among the editors and 
 reporters were some of the ablest journalists and scholars 
 of the North. All were banished by the inflexible Crook 
 to the distant coast of Africa, where, as he remarked, when 
 they were about to sail, they might be satiated %yith the 
 " negro without annoying decent white people." 
 
 Having disposed of his captives, General Crook marched 
 up the country to Havre de Gi'ace, where General Steel 
 was resting after having thrust the invaders out of Mary- 
 land. True to his promise. Crook did not follow Ruffleton 
 into Pennsylvania; but he wheeled to the right, and 
 marched through the northern part of Delaware and occu- 
 pied the town of Newcastle. Here it was not long before 
 his intentions became known. Blount, whose army had 
 been transported across tl:ig Chesapeake, to the eastern 
 shore of Virginia, was marching up the country through 
 
MEETING OF BLOUNT AND ALICE. 123 
 
 eastern Maryland and Delaware, to form a junction and 
 assume the chief command. And from the vast number of 
 boats which had been collected, no one could doubt the 
 purpose to enter New Jersey. And this seemed the move 
 manifest from the fact that an army from New York and 
 New England was landing at Amboy, on the opposite side 
 of the same State. 
 
 Simultaneously with the junction of the Southern armies 
 at Newcastle, was the arrival in the same vicinity of Presi- 
 dent Randolph, at the head of seventy-five thousand men, 
 one-third of whom were superb cavalry. He had likewise 
 one hundred and fifty cannon, with ammunition and pro- 
 visions in abundance, and all the equipments of a regular 
 army for a protracted campaign. 
 
 It was a pleasant moonlight night in June. The Presi- 
 dent, having established his headquarters at an ancient farm- 
 house a few miles from Newcastle, awaited the arrival of 
 General Blount, who had solicited an interview. The only 
 guards in the immediate vicinity were the troop of Blue 
 Caps, and among these fighting Jack Bim had been incor- 
 porated by the President, at the desire of Alice, upon learn- 
 ing from Wiry Willy the generous conduct of the Captain 
 in Philadelphia. 
 
 "Alice," said Randolph, striding to and fro across the 
 apartment, while his daughter sat in silence at the window, 
 her cheek resting on her hand, and the gold tassel of her 
 velvet cap touching her shoulder, " Alice, why are you so 
 pensive ? Whence this dejection? There can be no neces- 
 sity for painful forebodings. From the day that the Execu- 
 tive Power was left to take care of the Government, I have 
 never been so strong as at the present moment, and never 
 had more confidence in my ability to accomplish my pur- 
 pose." 
 
 " And that purpose, father ?" 
 
 " Have not my words and actions manifested sufficiently 
 my intention to fulfil my oath ? Did I not swear to pre- 
 serve, protect, and defend the Constitution ?" 
 
 " But, father, what if that Constitution should cease to 
 exist. What would be that purpose then, father ?" 
 
 " Alice, how could I be prepared for such a catechism as 
 this ? You imagine impossible, or at least improbable 
 events, and then demand what will be my course in such 
 
124 MEETING OF BLOtTNT AND ALICE. 
 
 and such a contingency. Is it dutiful conduct on your 
 part ?" 
 
 "Father!" cried she, running to him and seizing his 
 hand, " forgive me ! It did really seem like impertinence, 
 but it was not meant so." 
 
 " I know it, Alice. And I knew it at the time, and should 
 
 not have expressed any doubt of the motive. But how can 
 
 •I penetrate the dim and distant future ? How foretell what 
 
 may be my thoughts and actions if this rupture becomes 
 
 incurable ?" 
 
 " Will it not cure itself, if the hostile armies be kept 
 asunder ?" 
 
 " I will endeavor to keep them asunder. Have I not 
 commanded the peace between the sections, or when an in- 
 vasion was accomplished, secured the defeat of the invader ? 
 The only way to effect a cure is to punish every aggressor. 
 They will soon abandon such enterprises when only disaster 
 attends them. Both sections will grow weary of the strife, 
 so unprofitable and exhausting, and. then — " 
 
 " And then, father ? You pause." 
 
 " The Executive Power will be vindicated. "We are in- 
 terrupted. Here is Wiry Willy." 
 
 The faithful messenger entered at that moment, wearing 
 a serious visage. 
 
 " And Edith, Willy !" exclaimed Alice ; " where is she ?" 
 
 " In Philadelphia." 
 
 "Well? Is she well?" 
 
 " Quite well." 
 
 " And would not come ?" asked the President, pausing in 
 his walk. 
 
 " This letter, sir, to Miss Alice, will probably explain 
 everything," said Willy, delivering the lett*. 
 
 " But why are you so sad, sir ?" continued the President. 
 
 " Because, sir, when I called at Mr. Langdon's hotel, I 
 met General Ruffleton there." 
 
 " And that produced unpleasant feelings, did it ?" 
 
 '■' Miss Edith took his arm, sir, when they descended to 
 " dinner." 
 
 "Ha! ha! And that grieved you? What would have 
 been your feelings, Will, if it had been Mary instead of 
 Edith ?" 
 
 " God knows, sir ! But I do not think I could have been 
 
MEETING- OF BLOUNT AISTD ALICE. 125 
 
 more surprised, knowing as I do Miss Edith's recent aver- 
 sion." 
 
 " There seems to have been a mistake, Willy," said Alice, 
 " and it is iitting that you should know it. Edith writes that 
 the General has produced letters, signed by Major Trapp, 
 in which it is confessed it was the purpose of the Major 
 himself to abduct hei-. And she says the General lias 
 offered a mass of testimony to prove he could have had no 
 other object than her preservation. Why do you smile, 
 father?" 
 
 " I was thinking what an intricate web all this will be for 
 Blount to unravel! And no doubt he expects to see his 
 affianced here, while she is dining with his enemy ! Oh, 
 woman ! Utterly enigmatical ! And Edith knows that 
 Blount is near this place, and a meeting would be not at all 
 impracticable." 
 
 " You did not hear all," said Alice. " She adds that it 
 would be impossible to esteem the character of General 
 Ruffleton, however innocent he-might be of any complicity 
 in the designs against herself; but that, in obedience to her 
 father's desire, it is necessary to evince some show of re- 
 spect for the General, who, she says, was slightly wounded 
 in the battle, and for whom much sympathy is felt by the 
 public. Nor is that all. She says that her father, like a 
 great many others in the North, cannot applaud the Presi- 
 dent?s partiality for the Southern side on the occasion re- 
 ferred to ; and, for that reason, she has failed to obtain per- 
 mission to meet me here." 
 
 " Does she say anything of Blount ? Willy, see who has 
 just arrived." 
 
 " Yes, sir. She laments that he has not responded to any 
 of her recent letters—" 
 
 " Ha ! The deputy postmaster at Philadelphia then, as 
 I have had reason to suspect, has joined the Northern party. 
 But I know the remedy !" 
 
 " And she implores me, if I can exert any influence over 
 General Blount, to dissuade him from a career of warfare 
 against her native country. She prays for him, and that's 
 all!" 
 
 " No — ^not all. She loves him, and he her, and they are 
 worthy of each other. They shaU be reconciled. Never 
 fear, Alice. It is a great achievement on your part, my 
 
126 MEETING OF BLOUNT AND ALICE. 
 
 child, to rise superior to your own woe, and feel only soli- 
 citude for the happiness of your friend. Fie ! be not so 
 pale — or is it the mahblb again ? I have spared you the 
 confession of the name. I will not demand it. Let it pass. 
 You shall see Edith in Philadelphia. And so they do not 
 applaud me for standmg by Crook when the South was in- 
 vaded ? That was foreseen. And I foresee that the South 
 will not applaud me for standing by General Hudson, when 
 the North is invaded. But no matter. I will be just !" 
 
 " And so may heaven prosper you, my dearest father !" 
 exclaimed Alice. 
 
 " Yes, I will be just, and fear not. And all my ends shall 
 be my country's — and that, too, Alice, whether the Consti- 
 tution stands or falls. But of this I am sure — when the 
 present Constitution is destroyed, there will never be an- 
 other securing a^larger liberty to the people. Enough of 
 that. Willy, who is it ?" he asked, seeing his faithful mes- 
 senger at the door, awaiting permission to announce some 
 one. 
 
 " Commodore Stout and Captain Early, with some pri- 
 soners," said Willy. 
 
 " What can this mean ? Alice, if Blount arrives, you 
 must detain him while I am engaged with these gentlemen." 
 
 Alice retired, and the visitors were admitted. 
 
 The President welcomed his faithful officers, but stared 
 in astonishment at Lord Slysir, accompanied by several of 
 the attaches of the British Legation. 
 
 " Pray be seated, gentlemen," said he. " And now, 
 Commodore, can it be true, as my messenger informs me, 
 that his Lordship and these gentlemen are your prisoners ?" 
 
 " It is so, sir !" responded the officer. 
 
 " But, Commodore," continued the President, " are you 
 not aware that the representatives of foreign nations are 
 exempted from arrest ?" 
 
 " But this is an extraordinary case, sir," said Captain 
 Early. 
 
 " To cut the matter short, Mr. President," said the Com- 
 modore, " we took him on our own responsibility. If we 
 have done wrong, we can very easily be dropped from the 
 service, you know." 
 
 "But what is the case, gentlemen?" demanded the 
 President. 
 
MEETING OP BLOUHT AUD ALICE. 127 
 
 " Making overtures to the South, sir, for an alliance, ot 
 fensive and defensive !" said the Commodore. 
 
 " And that is a violation of the Constitution, Mr. Presi- 
 dent," said the Captain. 
 
 " What proof have you of this, gentlemen ?" 
 
 "They need not produce any, sir," said his Lordship, 
 ■with an air of unconcern. " I have no hesitation in saying 
 that my government, in view of the probable separation of 
 the sections of this Union, is desirous of cultivating friendly 
 relations with the governments of both the new confedera- 
 cies." 
 
 " That may be the diplomatic mode of expressing it," 
 said the Commodore ; " but we have intercepted messen- 
 gers from the British fleet in the bay with dispatches to the 
 Commander-in-chief of the Southern army, tendeiing assist- 
 ance, &c." 
 
 " Of course we can have no aversion to an alliance," said 
 his Lordship, " since the Northern politicians have been in 
 communication with some of Her Majesty's turbulent sub- 
 jects in Canada." 
 
 " These are very grave matters, gentlemen," said the 
 President, glancing at the papers. " You have done well, 
 my friends," he continued, addressing the officers. 
 
 " We know our duty, sir," said the old Commodore. 
 
 " And we shall endeavor to perform it," added the Cap- 
 tain. 
 
 " My Lord, you will excuse me for a brief space," said 
 the President. Then rising, he led the naval oiEcers into a 
 private closet, where they remained some time in confiden- 
 tial consultation. 
 
 Alice sat alone in the parlor, the large glass doors of 
 which, at the southern extremity, opened on a narrow vine- 
 clad piazza. The moon floated in a cloudless sky, and 
 streamed her vestal light across the rich carpet at the 
 maiden's feet. She gazed out upon the lawn, with a fore-*" 
 head as pale,if not as cold, as the marble vase at her elbow 
 redolent of flowers. 
 
 "They come!" said Wiry Willy, who sat in the pi- 
 azza. 
 
 " He does not come alone then ?" asked AJiee. 
 
 " There are three horses," said Willy. " But I can see 
 9 
 
128 MEETINQ OF BLOUNT AND ALICE. 
 
 that Ills two attendants are not officers of high rank — per- 
 haps they are common soldiers." 
 
 "Admit him, Willy," said Alice, adjusting the ample 
 folds of satin at her feet. 
 
 Willy walked out upon the lawn. Blount gave the 
 reins to one of his attendants and dismounted. The next 
 niomeut his tall form was seen by Alice advancing alone. 
 Willy met him, and was recognised. Blount, with a pale, 
 and almost haggard countenance, received his proffered 
 hand in silence, and they proceeded several paces together 
 before a word was uttered. 
 
 "Willy," at length said the lofty son of the South, 
 " your pledge was nobly fulfilled. I have had an account 
 of your magnanimous exertions in my — in her behalf, up 
 to the time of your departure from the city. I thank you, 
 and win not forget your meritorious conduct." 
 
 " I was in the city to-day, sir," said WUly. 
 
 " To-day ! Is Edith here, or does she remain in the 
 city ?" 
 
 " Her father detains her in the city." 
 
 " Her father ! But no matter. Tell President Randolph 
 I am here, with the two attendants stipulated." 
 
 " He is at this moment engaged on business of import- 
 ance with — " 
 
 " Proceed, without naming those with whom he is en- 
 gaged." 
 
 " He desired Miss Alice to receive you in the sonth- 
 ern parlor, yonder. You enter from the piazza. When 
 he can dismiss his company he will join you there." 
 
 " Enough, Willy," said Blount, striding on alone. When 
 he ascended the steps of the piazza, his glance caught the 
 glitter of a diamond on the alabaster forehead of Alice. 
 She arose and offered her hand, which was almost cold to 
 his touch. But her words expressed a warmer greeting. 
 And Blount, with the respectful demeanor of the high- 
 toned gentleman, occupied the chair to which she pointed. 
 
 "General," said Alice, " the field does not seem so con- 
 genial as the halls of legislation. You are paler, and seem 
 older, than formerly." 
 
 " I am older, Alice — and may be paler. I have learned 
 more of evil, and that itself might blanch a ruddier cheek 
 than mine." 
 
MEEHNG OF BLOUNT AND ALICE. 129 
 
 "The world is fiill of evil. But a knowledge of its ex. 
 istence does not often appal the militaiy chieftain. A fail 
 tire to consummate the projects of ambition — ambition, 
 which is too often itself an evil — ^would be more likely to 
 east a sickly hue over the face of a leader, than the mere 
 knowledge of the wickedness of the world. It was not 
 that, sir." / 
 
 " No — not that, in the sense you put it. Not the gene 
 ral infidelity of mankind, but the — " 
 
 "Let me end the sentence — but the infidelity of one 
 woman. Is it not so ?" 
 
 " I fear so !» 
 
 " You are mistaken." 
 
 " Did she authorize you to say that ?" 
 
 " No. But I say it on my own responsibility. Here ia 
 a letter which I received this morning. Read it by moon- 
 light." 
 
 And as Blount did so, the eyes of Alice were steadily 
 fixed on his noble features. Having completed the perusal, 
 Henry's hand holding the letter sank down at his side, and 
 he gazed some moments in silence at the stars. 
 
 " I am incapable of doubting her words," said he, 
 mournfully. "But, before heaven, she does me injustice. I 
 have written her many pages — " 
 
 "They were intercepted!" said Alice, quickly. "My 
 father intimated as much. He seems to suspect the fidelity 
 of the deputy postmaster, and I think has decreed his dis- 
 niissal." 
 
 " He, I mean your father, would be incapable of winking 
 at oificial misconduct. But what could be his motive ?" 
 
 " To serve General Ruffleton." 
 
 " Rufiieton ! What need has he of the service of a third 
 party? Alice, I have correspondents in Philadelphia 
 whose letters have not been intercepted ; and they inform 
 nie that Rufiieton, once so repugnant to her, and so re- 
 cently defeated on Southern soil, is an almost inseparable 
 companion of Edith ! AJioe, you know we stood together 
 at the holy altar. You were present and a witness — and 
 now you behold the change !" 
 
 " I have not beheld a change of Edith's heart, General 
 Blount, if it be that you mean. And oh ! be careful that 
 you do not cast a priceless jewel away, and become your- 
 
 6* 
 
130 MEETING OF BLOtTNT AND ALICE, 
 
 self poor indeed. Think that although the words were 
 not uttered at the holy altar, your espousals were regis- 
 tered in heaven where angels were the witnesses. Edith 
 false! Oh! speak not the word, conceive not the thought! 
 We were as sisters — ^but I the least worthy. Henry Blount, 
 Edith Langdon is true, if truth ever abideth in woman ! 
 She is worthy of you, you of her, if yoa prove incapable 
 of wrong. For ray part, I have often envied her — her 
 superiority — but if that were wrong, I could never — " 
 
 " Enough, Alice. The fates have severed us ; and if it 
 be the will of heaven that we shall never meet again, then 
 heaven will be my witness how I loved !" 
 
 " You love her still ! -Else whence that pallid cheek, that 
 mournful tone, that sunken eye ?" 
 
 "Alas! I love my country, and there is enough in the 
 ills it suffers, and is likely to suffer, to make her sons 
 weep tears of blood." 
 
 "Henry! You have touched a sympathetic chord in 
 this poor breast of mine ! Save my fatlier,'there remains 
 no object on earth for me to love, but my country. 
 And oh, I love it with all a fond woman's devotion ! Henry, 
 save our country !" 
 
 "Would I had the power! But why not address your 
 father ?" 
 
 " I have — and the answer, though satisfactory to the ear, 
 is stUl oracular to the sense. But great as he is — and good 
 — may not he be mistaken or unable — " 
 
 " 'No, Alice. Such men as your father do not commit 
 mistakes, though both friends and enemies may censure 
 them. They may be overcome by circumstances, but their 
 fall must involve the engineers of the ruin. May God pro- 
 tect and guide that man of destiny ! How willingly, were 
 he not President, would I, and all the South, glory in fol- 
 lowing his triumphant banner." 
 
 " Oh, man — thou Sphynx-like riddle ! You tell me this, 
 and yet you are upon th« eve of inflicting an incurable wound 
 on the bosom of your country ! What greater triumph than 
 the reign of peace, and yet you are panting to become an 
 invader." 
 
 " Have we not been invaded ?" 
 
 "'But that is past, and the aggressor punished." 
 
 " The ISTorth is arming again. In war, the State which 
 
MEETmG OF BLOXTNT AND AlIOE. 131 
 
 awaits the enemy's blow is both ignominious and doomed. 
 We shall probably strike them on their own soil, and thus 
 avert many blows in future." 
 
 " No — no ! Every battle is but another dividing wedge 
 driven into the Union. The cruelties of war must inevitably 
 inflame the already excited animosities of the opposing 
 sections. Why not stand on the defensive ?" 
 
 " And leave unavenged the ignominy peri^etrated in Mary- 
 land. The track of the invaders resembles the pathway of 
 a hurricane. The only way to prevent a recurrence of such 
 scenes, is to return the chalice to their own lips. And then 
 the time may come when both sections wiU realize the con- 
 viction that they are too terrible and destructive to remain 
 apart and in hostility. Then they may be reconciled. But, 
 in the meantime, the sovereignty of the people, so wantonly 
 trifled with by their imfaithful agents, may vanish for ever." 
 
 " That is what I fear," said Alice, half abstractedly, and 
 through her tears. " And if strong men deem such a result 
 inevitable, what can weak woman do ? We might suffer — 
 ay, woman can vie with man in that — but it is not those 
 who suffer, who accomplish most. My father comes. Pro- 
 mise me that you wiLl not cross over into the enemy's 
 country." 
 
 " For my part, I had no such design," said Blount, just 
 as the President entered the parlor, a lighted candle in one 
 hand, and a map in the other. 
 
 " General," said the President, after a frank and hearty 
 salutation, " I hope I have not detained you long. I am 
 now entirely at your service." 
 
 " I have sought this interview," said Blount, as Alice 
 withdrew, " for the purpose of a free and friendly consulta- 
 tion with you. You cannot be inimical to your native South, 
 and I know you are my friend. Your partisans in the Con- 
 vention proposed my name for the position to which I have 
 been exalted, and for this I must be grateful." 
 
 "I am your friend, and of course I love my native land. 
 But the whole Union, as it was, and as it must be again, is 
 my country — " and seeing Blount startled at this phraseo- 
 logy, he added — " my native land. You are quite correct 
 in attributing your nomination to my friends, and I will liave 
 the candor to say that one motive was the apprehension 
 that another, more inimical, might be chosen, if they did 
 
132 MEETING OF BLOUNT AND ALICE. 
 
 not unite on you. But in regard to this qualification they 
 have attached to your command, — what is your determina- 
 tion about it ? I learn they desire Crook to retaliate on 
 the I^orth. If he chooses to invade New Jersey, and unless 
 you see jsroper to accompany him, he is not to be under 
 your authority." 
 
 " Your advice in relation to this matter is the object of 
 this interview." 
 
 " Without your aid, Crook cannot cross the Delaware, or 
 rather he would not venture to do so. Therefore you can 
 prevent it." 
 
 " Shall I prevent it ?" 
 
 "I cannot answer," said the President, after a pause. 
 " But I would counsel you not to accompany him. Your 
 men are all true Southerners, and ought not to leave this bar- 
 rier defenceless. Crook's army is composed of men of all 
 the nations of the earth." 
 
 " And yours ?" asked Blount. 
 
 " Mine are pretty equally divided between the ISTorlh and 
 the South, and I assure you they agree very well together, 
 just as all the sections would have remained harmoniously 
 united, if the Executive Power had been exerted for other 
 purposes than the distribution of patronage. I mean the 
 Executive Power antecedent to my election." 
 
 " Subsequently to that event," said Blount, with a faint 
 smile, " the Executive has not been distinguished for maid- 
 enly timidity." 
 
 " And it is not likely to be," added the President. " Let 
 Crook lose his laurels in the sands of New Jersey if he sees 
 proper. . You will not be reproached. Ruffleton is collect- 
 ing the remains of his rabble army for the purpose of cut- 
 ting off his retreat. He will menace this position, and may 
 invade Delaware." 
 
 " Would you permit it ?" 
 
 '■'■My time has not yet come. But, if you remain on this 
 side of the river, I think you will be strong enough to 
 measure swords with him — provided you have any disposition 
 for the encounter." 
 
 " ^Disposition ! Let me once have an opportunity ! " 
 
 " I think you will some day meet this Bombastes face to 
 face. But, Blount, how is this matter with the British 
 envoy ? Take care you do not go too far I" 
 
MEETING OP BLOUNT AND ALICE. 133 
 
 "In the event of an irrevocable separation, sii, vre should 
 certainly cultivate friendly relations with England. By 
 consuming her manufactures we would be aiming a blow at 
 the North." 
 
 " But the separation is not to be irrevocable, sir. And 
 Great Britain, at all events, must take no part in our domes- 
 tic quarrels. She must wait until she can treat with inde- 
 pendent sovereignties. But it seems she is not willing to 
 be an idle spectator. Before many days, perhaps, I may 
 find some employment for her !" 
 
 " I do not understand you, sir," said Blount. 
 
 " True. I acquit you of any complicity. I intercepted 
 the overtures. Here they are." 
 
 Blount read them. They were addressed to him. He 
 then said : 
 
 " I should have responded to them in a friendly manner, 
 because I believe it would be in accordance with Southern 
 sentiment." 
 
 "It is premature. But I do not wonder at the impa- 
 tience of England. She would have, for a time, at least, a 
 monopoly of the great staple, as well as of manufactures 
 and commerce. But the project has been defeated. My 
 Lord Slysir, with quite a number of his attaches, has fallen 
 into the hands of the old Commodore. They have just 
 departed for our ships, and not Her Majesty's fleet, at 
 anchor down the bay. The old Commodore says they shall 
 be his guests, and you are not likely to receive any commu- 
 nication from his lordship while Stout is treating him." 
 
 Here the President was interrupted by the unceremoni- 
 ous entrance of Wiry Willy. He panted for breath, and 
 had evidently been running. 
 
 " What is the matter ?" demanded Randolph. 
 
 " As I was walking, sir, about a mile hence, to the left of 
 the encampment, I heard the approach of a body of horse. 
 I concealed myself in a hedge, and presently overheard the 
 guide who rode with the commander of the party, promise to 
 lead it hither, sir, without encountering any of the sentinels 
 of the army, provided no pistols were fired. The guide 
 was Samuel Carlisle, who brought General Blount's letter 
 to you, sir." The President's quarters were a mile distant 
 from the army, and only one hundred of the Blue Caps were 
 on duty at the farm-house. 
 
134 MEETING OF BLOUNT AND ALICE. 
 
 " What number of men followed ?" 
 
 " Not less than eight hundred, sir," answered Willy. 
 
 " Ho, there !" said the President, throwing open an oppo- 
 site window, and addressing a sentinel. " Inform Carleton 
 that we are about to be assailed by a detachment of Gene- 
 ral RuiBeton's army — say they will be upon us in a few 
 minutes !" 
 
 Immediately the Blue Caps were in the saddle, and the 
 commotion having been observed by Alice, she re-entered 
 the parlor. 
 
 "Had we not better fly, father?" she asked, upon learn- 
 ing the great superiority of the approaching force. 
 
 "It is me they seek," said General Blount. "That 
 Quaker guide has betrayed me. They told me he was a 
 descendant of the Carlisle of the Revolution, a tory, who 
 was hung. But I will not fly." 
 
 " We shall ensnare this Major," said the President, Willy 
 having added that the leader of the party was the same 
 Major Snare who had abducted Mary Penford. He then 
 wrote a few words to General Valiant, and despatched 
 them by Willy, who proceeded thither under cover of the 
 hedges. 
 
 " We must surrender, General," he added, smiling, " and 
 you may be marble, Alice, in perfect safety. Here is Gol. 
 Carleton. Colonel, do you hear them yet ?" 
 
 " Distinctly, sir." 
 
 " They are eight to one." 
 
 " But the Blue Caps will give them a hearty reception." 
 
 " I will assist at the ceremony. Colonel," said Blount. 
 
 " No — nor you, father !" said Alice, with great energy. 
 " Why should your lives be put in jeopardy with such odds 
 against you? Neither duty nor honor can require the 
 hazard. If the object be the possession of the person of 
 General Blount, it cannot be the design to destroy his life. 
 Then why should he rush upon certain death ? You, father, 
 are not in arms against the North, and they durst not 
 molest you." 
 
 " My brave little Knight of the Velvet Cap, General, has 
 theTjetter part of valor." 
 
 "Her discretion, sir, is by no means preposterous, when 
 we consider the odds. Still I do not despair. I see my 
 attendants approaching. I will mount." 
 
MEBrriua of blount and Alice. 135 
 
 " No !" exclaimed Alice, interposing. " Rely upon my 
 father. His eye is too calm now for imminent danger to be 
 encompassing us." 
 
 " What say you, Colonel ?" demanded the President. 
 
 " If you, sir," said the Colonel, " and Alice, and General 
 Blount, will permit me to encompass you with the Blue 
 Caps, I'll answer for your safety uutU we are in the lines of 
 our army." 
 
 " No, Colonel ; it is a mere foray led hither by a treach- 
 erous guide — and led into a labyrinth from which there 
 can be no extrication. We wiU remain until forced to 
 yield ourselves prisoners to superior numbers. They come ! 
 If we surrender, mark me ! our captors will soon after sue 
 for mercy ! Carleton, surrcTund the house with your Blue 
 Caps, and await the result. They may deem it prudent to 
 retire without striking a blow." 
 
 Major Snare, deficient in military experience, but proud 
 of his epaulettes, without pausing a moment to ascertain 
 ■what might be the effect of a peremptory summons, dashed 
 into the midst of the little band of defenders. Carleton's 
 men, better instructed in the use of the sword, soon cut 
 down several of the assailants. But they were borne 
 aside at last by the irresistible weight of numbers. The 
 assailants then formed a circle round the house, and 
 facing outward, became in turn the assailed, for the Blue 
 Caps, rallying, charged them repeatedly at several points, 
 but nothing less than superhuman power seemed capable 
 of penetrating so dense a mass of horses and men. And 
 that power appeared to be possessed by one — Jack Bim — 
 •who, in several charges, never failed to cut his way through 
 the writhing mass ; and he emerged as often unscathed on 
 the opposite side. 
 
 " Cease this strife ! Forbear !" cried President Randolph, 
 from a window. It was the tone of command, and Carle- 
 ton's men obeyed the order. 
 
 " Now, what is your purpose, sir ?" continued the Pre- 
 sident, addressing Major Snare. 
 
 "We demand the surrender of General Blount and 
 Colonel Carleton, sir," said Snare. 
 
 " The Blue Caps never surrender !" said Colonel Carleton. 
 
 " Not unless it be my pleasure, Colonel," said the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
136 MEETING OF BLOUNT AND ALICE. 
 
 "We shall obey you, sir," said the Colonel. 
 
 " It is my will and pleasure, then, that the Blue Caps 
 sheathe their swords. Now, sir," he continued, again 
 addressing Major Snare, " since we have a cessation of 
 hostilities, we can confer more deliberately. In whose name 
 is this demand made ?" 
 
 " In the name of the People of the North, the demand 
 for General Blount. The demand for Colonel Carleton is 
 my own." 
 
 " Will you ride mth me to the end of the lawn, and 
 assert your manhood, point to point, sir — or do. you stUl 
 prefer encountering helpless women ?" said Carleton. 
 
 " Silence !" said the President. 
 
 " Is my demand to be complied with ? I cannot delay," 
 said Snare. 
 
 " Major Snare," said the President, " General Blount is 
 my guest. If you take him you must likewise take me, and 
 all who are with me, else an ineffaceable stigma will sully 
 my honor. Will you assume that responsibility, sir ?" 
 
 "I will. My orders were to capture General Blount, 
 regardless of consequences." 
 
 " Very well, sir. We shall attend you presently." 
 
 And in a brief space of time the President, his daughter, 
 and General Blount, were mounted on horseback. They 
 were surrounded, however, according to stipulation, by the 
 faithful Blue Caps ; and in this manner they were conducted 
 in a north-western direction towards the Pennsylvania line. 
 But they had not proceeded far before the solution of the 
 President's " calm eye" and perfect equanimity became 
 apparent. 
 
 The word was given to halt, when they had advanced 
 about two miles. On the moonlit plain, and directly before 
 him, Major Snare beheld a dark line of horsemen, extend- 
 ing as far as the eye could reach to the right and the left. 
 The Major, panic-stricken, wheeled to the right, and in a 
 few minutes the same spectacle of an interminable line of 
 cavalry confronted bis vision. Again he j)aused, and wheel- 
 ing about, proceeded at a brisk pace to the south, and lo ! 
 the same barrier of sabres arrested his progress. 
 
 "Turn back, Major!" said the President, with one of his 
 taunting Bmiles, so well understood by Alice, who rode at 
 his side. " Dismiss us with proper apologies and you may 
 
MEETING OF BLOUNT AKD AXICB. 137 
 
 escape. Are you prepared to pronounce our liberar 
 tion ?" 
 
 " No, sir ! There is one course left." He then attempted 
 to retrace his steps towards the farm-house, from which 
 there was a road leading up the river. Bat here, too, an 
 impenetrable hedge of horsemen hemmed him in ! 
 
 The President, calling a bugler of the Blue Caps to his 
 side, ordered him to sound a charge. This was answered 
 by more than a hundred bugles. Then was heard the rush 
 of thousands of horses, coming from all directions towards 
 a common centre. In vain Major Snare galloped round 
 his men, seeking some avenue of escape. He was environed 
 on every side, and finally reined up his steed in despair. 
 
 "ISTow, Major," said the President, "will you relinquish 
 your prisoners ?" 
 
 " I submit, sii'," said the discomfited oflicer. " Here is 
 my sword." 
 
 " Throw it away, sir, and buy a lath. This is the second 
 time you have been disarmed, and in both instances your 
 expeditions involved the liberty of a woman. If you must 
 be a warrior, learn to cope with men. Colonel Carleton, 
 send him under an escort to Georgetown, where he will be 
 tried by the civil authority for the abduction of Mary Pen- 
 ford." 
 
 " A just decision," said General Blount. " Nevertheless 
 the same exemption does not embrace the people of foreign 
 nations." 
 
 "You allude to my Lord Slysir," said Alice. "But 
 remember he is only a guest of the Commodore." 
 
 "A guest under restraint. And I am a guest." 
 
 " But under no such restraint, sir," said Alice, " else we 
 had not shared your captivity." 
 
 "General Valiant," said the President, addressing his 
 faithful lieutenant, who commanded the splendid cavalry, 
 " you have convinced these gentlemen, I trust," turning to 
 the followers of Snare, " that the Executive power of the 
 Federal Union is neither extinct, nor likely to be circum- 
 vented. Take them beyond our lines, and dismiss them 
 unharmed. Then send a detachment of surgeons to my 
 head-quarters to heal the wounded which my mad caps— — " 
 
 " Blue Caps, father !" said Alice. 
 
 " Blue and mad — ^left lying on the ground. But see that 
 
138 MEETING OP BLOUNT AND ALICE. 
 
 no more expeditions of this nature pass between me and tta 
 army." 
 
 " And now, Mr. President," said Blount, when the mighty 
 host had vanished, " I will take my leave of you here. I 
 see the camp fires of the Southern army, and they are 
 burning low. I shall be looked for at early dawn. Fare- 
 well." 
 
 " I cannot detain you, sir," said Randolph, grasping the 
 proffered hand. 
 
 " What shall I say to Edith ?" demanded Alice when the 
 General turned to her. 
 
 " I do not know. Pray tell me — what should I say ?" 
 
 " Have you a heart, and it does not prompt you ?" 
 
 " I have a heart, but it is very sad. Take this ring. You 
 know the reason it was not placed upon her finger. Per- 
 haps the deed should have been accomplished amidst the 
 roar of cannon. It was not done — and lamentation cannot 
 avail. Say to her — Oh, AUce ! what shall I say ?" 
 
 " The ring !" 
 
 " Yes ; if you know — if you see she is unchanged, and 
 has been wronged by me — give it her. If she weai-s it on 
 the finger I would have encircled with it, it will, at least — 
 I mean it might, if she desires it, signify — Alice, are you 
 ill ?" he asked, seeing her lean forward and clasp her fore- 
 head. 
 
 " A slight pain, produced by the excitement," said she. 
 "Proceed, I pray you. The ring!" 
 
 "Be you the judge. Give it, or retain it, as you deem 
 her worthy or unworthy. Tell her what your discretion 
 may suggest, and forbear what may seem imprudent. But 
 say I daily and nightly invoke heaven's blessings on her — 
 whether she be true or — Adieu. God bless you !" 
 
 And when Alice lifted her head he was gone, and the 
 hoofs of his steed, madly spurning the earth, were dying 
 away in the direction of the camp-fires, near the river. 
 
 " Ah, Willy," said Alice, seeing the faithful messenger 
 of her father approaching on his pony, "I hope this 
 Northern General has ceased to mar your happiness." 
 
 " No, Miss Alice. Mary only detests and tears him, it is 
 true ; but I cannot be happy whilst he has access to any 
 whom I esteem. And when you go to the city, he will 
 appear before even you with .many flattering speeches and 
 
EEScrns OF -wiry willt. 139 
 
 professions of profound respect for Edith, for Mary, and 
 for General Blount, against whom, he doubtless planned 
 this base attack." 
 
 "That may be, Willy — but I shall not be uneasy or 
 annoyed. He can grieve no one by his flatteries to me, 
 Willy, and I shall know their value." 
 
 They were now in front of the farm-house, where several 
 of the wounded were still groaning in pain. Alice's sym- 
 pathies were excited, and the greatest part of the night 
 was devoted to the alleviation of the sufferings of those 
 who might have been considered her enemies. 
 
 CHAPTER XVn. 
 
 EESCUE OF WIET WILLY. 
 
 It was just as the first streaks of morning appeared in the 
 East that Wiry Willy rode along the highway near the 
 Delaware river. The place was at no great distance from 
 New Castle, and his destination seemed a few miles below 
 the encampment of General Crook, where the naval officers, 
 who were with the President the preceding evening, had 
 been landed. 
 
 Willy, supposing he had passed the last sentinels in that 
 direction, which he desired to avoid merely because he might 
 be temporarily detained by them, and not that he appre- 
 hended serious molestation from the Southerners, began to 
 Avhistle a lively tune, for his affairs seemed in a prosperous 
 condition. Mary was at his grandame's, and he had seen 
 her the day before, on his return from Philadelphia ; and, if 
 nothing untoward occurred to disappoint his expectation, 
 he would be likely to see her again the day following. He 
 v.'as bearing a despatch from the President to Commodore 
 Stout, which he had been told was of an important charac- 
 ter, as it related to a matter of startling moment just com- 
 municated to the President by an express from Washington. 
 
 But just when WUly was passing a dilapidated barn on 
 the wayside, four men, armed with muskets, rushed out 
 
140 EBSCUE OF WIET WILLY. 
 
 and seized his pony, wMch strove in vain to elude their 
 grasp by dint of kicking and biting. 
 
 " Dismount, sir !" said one of the men. 
 
 " Willy hasn't time," said "Willy. 
 
 " Willy ! Wiry Willy ! The very man Ave want. Come, 
 sir !" And the soldiers led him in the direction of the 
 Southern encampment. 
 
 " Gentlemen !" said Willy, " I hope you will not detain 
 me. I am on important business for the President." 
 
 " ISTo doubt of it !" said the other. " And we are on im- 
 portant business for General Crook." 
 
 " Very well," rejoined Willy ; " and is General Crook 
 an enemy of the President? Did we not assist him at 
 Bladensburg ?" 
 
 " Very true — ^but now we're afraid you'll assist the other 
 side. You say you are now on the President's business. 
 Well, what business can he have in this direction ?" 
 
 " His fleet is down yonder." 
 
 "And the British fleet is only a little lower down. We 
 are just returning from it. The British are our friends, and 
 the President is their enemy. Admiral Bang says the 
 President has taken Lord Slysir prisoner." 
 
 " Can I see General Crook ?" 
 
 " Most assuredly, if you have the use of your eyes. He 
 is in yonder mansion, and we shall conduct you into his 
 presence." 
 
 In the course of fifteen or twenty minutes they arrived 
 at the mansion indicated, the orchard and out-houses around 
 it being filled with soldiers preparing their breakfast. But 
 no sooner was Willy recognised by several of the subordi- 
 nate officers, who recollected having seen hira at Bla- 
 densburg, than they began to express sorrow for his 
 fate. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said Willy, "I cannot see why you should 
 be so very sorry for me, since I am sure General Crook will 
 order my release immediately." 
 
 " I hope so," said one of the officers, " but I doubt it 
 very much, for within the last half hour we have received 
 news of the attempt to capture General Blount." 
 
 " Well — did I not assist in his escape ?" said Willy. 
 
 " Carlisle tells quite a different story. He says you were 
 in the city yesterday and gave information of the intended 
 
EESCUE OF WIKT WILLY. 141 
 
 intervie-w between the President and the General to 4;he 
 infamous Snare." 
 
 " Yes, sir !" said General Crook himself, approaching from 
 the house, " that is the story, and an ugly one it is. I fear 
 you are a spy. Wiry Willy. You vanished very mysteri- 
 ously the night before ray attack on the Federal Depart- 
 ments ; and several of my wounded men left on the ground 
 have testified that they saw you enter the White House 
 after the engagement." 
 
 " That is true, sir ; I do not deny it," said Willy ; " but 
 did I not serve you afterwards, when the President was not 
 your enemy ?" 
 
 " He did, gentlemen," said Crook, turning to the oiBcers 
 that had collected around them. " N'evertheless this last 
 act merits death. Willy, you shall have a fair trial, but it 
 must necessarily be a brief one." 
 
 " General, I hope you will not credit the story of Carlisle. 
 He has always been my enemy, because Mary Penford dis- 
 liked his attentions. Let him be brought before me, face 
 to face." 
 
 " That shall be done. You sliall confront the witness, 
 and if innocent, I shall be truly rejoiced. But if guilty, 
 Willy, I cani\pt save you." 
 
 "If I could see General Blount himself," said Willy, ap- 
 prehensive of the effect of Carlisle's testimony, " I am sure 
 he would acquit me." 
 
 " No, Willy ; he might pardon you, but how could he ac- 
 quit you ? How could he know that you did not betray 
 him ? No — ^no ! He has released several under the death 
 sentence already, who proved ungrateful afterwards, and 
 wrought us injury; and, when informed of the evil effects 
 of his ill-judged clemency, he requested that no more such 
 cases might be referred to him. Let us enter, and Carlisle 
 shall be brought in." 
 
 A drum-head court-martial was summoned, before whom 
 Cai'lisle testified, with great circumstantiality, to the guilt 
 of Willy. It was in vain that the prisoner solemnly pro- 
 tested his, innocence, and asserted that every material parti- 
 cle of the testimony was without foundation in truth. Al- 
 though accused of deliberate perjury, Carlisle affected to 
 maintain an even and amiable temper, theeing and thouing 
 his victim with imperturbable gravity. Poor Willy was 
 
142 EESCUE OP WIET WHXY. 
 
 condemned to die upon the gallows within the space of three 
 hours ! 
 
 "General," said he, "will you permit me to send a note 
 to General Blount ? I have served him likevs'ise." 
 
 " I cannot, Willy." 
 
 " Or to the President ?" 
 
 "Impracticable. His authority would not be acknow- 
 ledged. Besides, it is doubtful whether the messenger 
 could return before the hour of execution. I would pardon 
 you myself, had I not declared that all such sentences as 
 these should be executed. And I mnst say, though reluc- 
 tantly, I cannot avoid believing you guilty." 
 
 " Mary ! Oh, sir ! it will break her heart ! And she could 
 save me !" 
 
 " How, sir ?" 
 
 " She possesses a paper, which I left in her keeping, writ- 
 ten by General Blount, in which he desires any one friendly 
 to him to render me protection." 
 
 " The validity of such a document would be acknow- 
 ledged," said the General. " Look round and select any one 
 to go on this errand for you. If he can return before the 
 exjjiration of the third hour, with the paper you mention, 
 you will be saved." 
 
 Willy selected the one most familiar with the country, 
 by whom he sent a few lines, written with a pencil. In the 
 meantime the gallows was erected, and every preparation 
 made for the execution ; for no one supposed that such a 
 paper as Willy had mentioned could be produced. 
 
 It was during these hours of agonizing suspense that 
 several communications were received by General Crook 
 from Admiral Bang ;^nd these, if anything, operated greatly 
 to the prejudice of the prisoner, who had intimated that his 
 destination, when taken, was the American fleet, which the 
 British, anxious to co-operate with Crook, desired to have 
 removed. 
 
 "Wiry Willy," said General Crook, "you must deliver 
 into my hands the despatches for Commodore Stout." 
 
 " Pardon me. General," said Wiry Willy. " If it were 
 true that I have such despatches, they would not, I think, 
 be subject to your inspection. They would be from the 
 President, with whom you are not at war." 
 
 " In times of Revolution the strongest arm is the high- 
 
BESCUE OP WIET WrCLT. 143 
 
 est authority, and the will of every commander is the 
 law. Search him, gentlemen," he continued, addressing 
 those who attended him. This was done carefully and 
 thoroughly, but without success. 
 
 " Willy," said the general, " I cannot break my word by 
 pardoning you. But deliver up the despatch, or tell where 
 it can be found, and you may regain your liberty." 
 
 "General," said Willy, his eyes steadily fixed on the 
 floor, " I have neither destroyed any despatch, nor thrown 
 it away since my arrest. And you have searched me in 
 vain. If I were to say that none had been sent by me, 
 would you credit my word ?" 
 
 " Will you say so ?" 
 
 " I say I am innocent of the charge for which I am con- 
 demned to die." 
 
 " This is trifling with me ! But if the messenger returns 
 not with the paper from Mary Penford, Commodore Stout 
 will behold you swinging between heaven and earth near 
 the brink of the water." 
 
 Saying this, the General shook Willy's hand, and mount- 
 ing his horse, rode away after the troops, all of whom, with 
 the exception of a small party, were now marching towards 
 the main body of the army in the immediate vicinity of 
 New Castle. 
 
 The scaffold was near the water, in full view of the 
 American frigates. 
 
 " There are no signs of salvation, Willy," said the Ser- 
 geant, " and only five minutes remain. I would give this 
 hand to save you, but I fear it is impossible." 
 
 " Must you be punctual to the moment. Sergeant ?" asked 
 Willy, casting down his eyes on the watch in the Sergeant's 
 hand. 
 
 "I must obey the order or take the consequences. You 
 must forgive me, Willy." 
 
 " As freely as I hope to be forgiven. I can reproach no 
 one but Carlisle, who bore false testimony against me." 
 
 " You still deny the charge. Remember, Willy, that 
 although I may delay the execution a few minutes, there 
 is no probability that you will escape the death penalty. 
 Learn, Willy, that the messenger was intercepted on the 
 way and captured by some of General Ruffleton's men. This 
 news I did not intend to impart, for I thought I would 
 10 
 
144 BESCtJK Off WIEY WIIXT. 
 
 spare you as much pain as possible. But such is the fact. 
 Now, when there is no hope, do you stUl persist in asserting 
 your innocence ?" 
 
 "Before God, I do ! I would as soon have betrayed the 
 President hunself as General Blount !" 
 
 " It is strange. And will you deny having been a spy in 
 General Crook's camp the night before his attack on the 
 Government ?" 
 
 " That I will not deny. Sergeant. But then it was not 
 war, but a conspiracy. The President sanctioned my act. 
 And since then I have rendered good service in General 
 Crook's behalf." 
 
 " True !" 
 
 " Your reluctance to take my life, Sergeant, and pity for 
 my condition," said Willy, ''•ia some alleviation. And the 
 messenger did not reach his destination ?" 
 
 " No — ^Ruffleton's men intercepted him." 
 
 " Did you learn where this happened ?'■' 
 
 " It was near the railroad station. K he had not been 
 taken, there would have been ample time for him to have 
 returned ere now." As the Sergeant said this he held the ' 
 watch before Willy's face. The hour had arrived. 
 
 " A few minutes more. Sergeant," said WiUy. 
 
 " Five more, Willy ; but hope not." 
 
 They were standing imder the gallows, and the Sergeant 
 beckoned one of the men to adjust the rope. 
 
 " Hangman ahoy !" cried one from under the river bank, 
 a little below. " Stay your tackle. What are you going to 
 hoist that man for ?" And the next moment a midshipman 
 sprang up and approached the party. 
 
 " What right have you to know, sir ?" was the Sergeant's 
 reply. 
 
 "The Commodore's orders," said the youthful officer, 
 pausing. 
 
 " What right has he to order ?" continued the Sergeant, 
 motioning his men, just eight in number, to present arms. 
 
 " That's a matter I've never thought about once," said 
 the young man. " All I have to do is to execute his orders. 
 ^^'!)y, it's Wiry Willy!" cried the midshipman, recognising 
 Willy. " Sergeant !" he added, " if he were even guilty of 
 the assassioation of General Crook, you should not hang 
 him !" 
 
EESCUE OP WIEY WILLY. 145 
 
 " That's brave language, sir," said the Sergeant, " but my 
 duty must be done, however irksome it may be. Therefore, 
 men, take hold of the rope, and when my hat falls, hoist 
 him up." The Sergeant took off his hat and held out his 
 arm. 
 
 The midshipman gave a signal, and twelve marines sprang 
 up the bank and presented their Muiie rifies. 
 
 " Sergeant," said the young man, " will this force suf- 
 fice ?" 
 
 " I think not, sir. It may prevent the execution at the 
 present time, but not save the prisoner. But if you attack 
 us, -we'll fight !" 
 
 "I like that fellow !" said the old Commodore himself, 
 scrambling up the bank a short distance above, followed by 
 some halt-dozen more men. " You're a brave lad. Ser- 
 geant," he continued, advancing, "but we ai'e too many for 
 you." 
 
 " I will surrender now, Commodore, if you demand it," 
 said: the Sergeant. 
 
 " You must surrender the prisoner^ — that's all we demand. 
 Throw off that tackle, Willy," he said, turning to the pri- 
 soner. But Willy's hands were tied, and the Commodore 
 dashed off the halter himself, and then cut the cord that 
 bound his hands. "Now, sir, you are free. But what 
 brought you here ?" 
 
 "I have a dispatch for you, sir." 
 
 " Let me have it ! I have been waiting for it." 
 
 " Pardon me. Commodore," said Willy ; " but the Ser- 
 geant and his men saw the search ordered by General 
 Crook—" 
 
 " They searched you, and found, it ?" 
 
 " No, sir ; they did not find it. But if they were now 
 to see where I conceal it, at some future day they 
 might " 
 
 " I understand. Come on board. Sergeant, give the old 
 Commodore's respects to General Crook, and say the guest 
 on the flag-ship expects his company soon." 
 
 The boats, for there were two, returned to the ship, 
 while the Sergeant, not at aU distressed at the occurrence, 
 gazed after them. 
 
 " Now, sir," said the Commodore, when Willy was con- 
 ducted into the cabin, " let me see how you contrived to 
 
 ■ r 
 
146 AilCE AND EDITH. 
 
 conceal the despatch, so that the land-liibbers couldn't 
 find it." 
 
 Willy ran his fingers through his hair, and touching some 
 hidden springs, removed the scalp from his crown. Between 
 that and the shaven skin the paper was concealed. 
 
 " Oh, you wear a wig !" said the Commodore. " But 
 how the could one so young have " 
 
 " I had it shaved off, sir, by a barber," said Willy, " ex- 
 pressly for the purpose of carrying despatches." 
 
 " And you v/ere going to let them run you up to the 
 yard-arm, when the production of these few lines would 
 have saved your life ! They are very important. Up 
 anchor!" he continued to the first Lieutenant. "I must 
 run up to the city. The rest of the squadron is to 
 remain." 
 
 The Commodore, after making signals, got under way 
 and steamed up the Delaware. He passed through a fleet 
 of barges and small boats engaged in the transportation of 
 Southern troops across the river. He had no orders to 
 interfere with these; but his eye flashed every time he 
 gazed in the direction of the British ships anchored down 
 the river. 
 
 CHAPTER XVm. 
 
 ALICE AND EDITH. 
 
 Peesident Randolph, at the head of an army of 80,000 
 men, entered the city of Philadelphia. There were no de- 
 monstrations of hostility on the part of the citizens. On 
 the contrary, it resembled a grand parade in celebration of 
 the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, for it 
 occurred on the Fourth of July. Every regiment that 
 defiled through Chestnut street, uttered enthusiastic cheers 
 when opposite Independence Hall. They marched down 
 to the river, and were transported into New Jersey, receiv- 
 ing a national salute from the Commodore. 
 
 The President himself remained in the city, retaining the 
 Blue Caps, some battalions of horse, and a few pieces of 
 
ALICE ASU MJITU. 147 
 
 artillery. But the city was quite calm, and he learned that 
 New York was in the same condition. The deportation of 
 a few members of Congress, and some hundreds of politi- 
 cal parsons and newspaper scribblers, had acted like a 
 charm, and the effect was wonderful. 
 
 Although General Ruffleton remained in the city, the 
 fragments of his broken army were concentrating at a 
 point on the Pennsylvania border, west of the Delaware 
 line. 
 
 Meantime the Convention held its regular sittings in 
 the old Independence Hall, and Senator Langdon had been 
 elected its President, so that in this official capacity he now 
 occupied the chair into which he had been thrust as a 
 prisoner and fugitive but a few weeks before. It was the 
 same that had been occupied by Washington, and had ever 
 been regarded with patriotic reverence. Although this 
 body of the representatives of the Northern States and people 
 labored diUgently in the organization of a military force 
 commensurate with the population and the great interests 
 involved, they had hitherto refrained, like the representatives 
 of the Southern people assembled at Richmond, from any 
 formal declaration of war, or an unconditional purpose of 
 erecting a separate -confederacy. And until this final step 
 should be taken, neither of the sections was prepared to 
 aim a blow at the Federal Government ; and the position 
 of armed neutrality, maintained" by the President, and his 
 invincible reluctance to embark in offensive operations 
 against either of the sections, seemed to have the approba- 
 tion of vast numbers of both Northern and Southern peoj)le, 
 whilst in the far West, his adherents comprised an over- 
 whelming majority of all classes of the population. 
 
 When the carriage containing President Randolph and 
 AUce arrived in front of the hotel in which lodgings had 
 been taken, the street was so much thronged that it was with 
 difficulty an avenue could be made by the Blue Caps, to 
 pass to the entrance of the house. There was cheering and 
 some hissing. While the conservative classes applauded, 
 there were many others, who had lost friends and relatives 
 on the fatal field of Bladensburg, uttered only curses. 
 Nevertheless, in response to the calls, the President re-ap- 
 peared at the window of the parlor, and made a short 
 speech, which was followed by hearty applause, for he Avas 
 
148 ALICE AND EDITH. 
 
 an orator. And, besides, Senator Langdon, the President 
 of the Convention, that body having adjourned to witness 
 the reception, was standing at the President's side, and 
 seemed to pay him every honor. 
 
 After the speech, thousands rushed in and took the Presi- 
 dent by the hand. Among these Randolph recognised 
 many of his adlierents. 
 
 Alice had no sooner entered the hotel than she was clasped 
 in the arms of Edith. Without delay they repaired to a 
 private apartment, and unbosomed themselves without 
 restraint. 
 
 " Edith," said Alice, " you do not even look pale after 
 your perilous adventures." 
 
 "And during the progress of them, Alice, so far from 
 being pale, I assure you I could sometimes feel the scalding 
 blood that must have crimsoned my cheeks. But you seem 
 strangely composed after the j)erils of that dreadful night, 
 when the infamous Major bore you off a prisoner." 
 
 "Edith," said Alice sadly, "I have indeed experienced 
 a change ; your friend is no longer the timid hare. She has 
 become enamored of her country, and vehemently longs for 
 its salvation, as the most cherished object of devoted 
 woman. My father and my country, now are all that 
 remain for me. With you it is different. You have your 
 father, your country, and still another object." 
 
 "I had!" said Edith. 
 
 " You have. It cannot be that vows registered in heaven, 
 and almost repeated at the altar, may be annihilated by the 
 machinations of wicked man, or the caprices of — " 
 
 "Foolish woman, you would say. JSTo, Alice, it is no 
 caprice of mine. Do you not remember my words on that 
 eve when we spoke of the eventful morrow ? As wife, I 
 would obey my husband; as daughter, obedience should be 
 rendered my father. And now, Alice, my father demands 
 an indefinite suspension, if not, indeed, a total cancellation 
 of the engagement." 
 
 "Why, Edith?" 
 
 " Because Henry is invading the North. Such, Alice, is 
 the prudence of the parent, and resignation is the duty of 
 the chUd. Henry and I may meet no more !" 
 
 " But Henry — General Blount is not invading the North. 
 
ALICE AND EDITH. 149 
 
 He remains at New Castle, and I am very sure he will not 
 pass over the river." 
 
 "That may be so — and I said as much to my father. 
 But he replied it was a mere device, or subterfuge, or 
 something else unworthy the husband of his daughter. Ho 
 assured me that he had reliable authority tor saying that 
 although Henry himself remained on the Southern territory, 
 yet the greater portion of his men had joined the army of 
 invasion under General Crook." 
 
 " And even that might not be with his consent, or with- 
 in his control." 
 
 " StUl, my father is inexorable. But you know, even were 
 this obstacle removed, Heni-y himself has interposed an- 
 other. Oh, Alice, he distrusts my plighted faith !" 
 
 " BeUeve it rather the intensity of his love, which cannot 
 •brook the approach of another — and especially of an enemy. 
 Edith, I did not write you all. He was pale and worn with 
 care. His words faltered on his lips. A tear ! You can- 
 not eradicate him from your heart. Well ! by every obli- 
 gation, human and divine, you are his and he yours. 
 Whatever trials may be in reserve for you, bear them with 
 a brave heart, Edith ; and never hesitate to throw yourself 
 on your constant friend for sympathy. Yes, Edith, I am 
 changed. The words of my father were the words of Fate : 
 ' Be marble,' said he. Edith, I am maeble! Nay, start 
 not. As unyielding, as unchangeable as a statue, I am still 
 thy friend. But the trivial alarms of life, which arc wont 
 to banish the blood from the timid maiden's cheek, can 
 never again obstruct or quicken the pulsations of this poor 
 heart of mine. On earth, my father, my countiy, the friend 
 of my girlhood, are all that may claim the thoughts and 
 sympathy of Alice." 
 
 " Oh, Alice !" cried her friend, " this is a change, indeed. 
 I will not ask, nor even conjecture, what has produced it." 
 
 " Nay, it were bootless, Edith ; I am calm. If sympathy, 
 or aught else within thy power could avail, surely I would 
 seek it. You have confided in me, and I in you. And I do 
 so still, when I declare to you that the veil must not be lifted. 
 Think of me as ever your constant friend — ^to others, save 
 my father and my country, as maeble. Prophetic word ! 
 And long ere that the petrifying alembic had encompassed 
 me. But the process of crystallization was imperceptible, 
 
150 ALICE AND EDITH. 
 
 Now the work is done ! No more of this, Edith ! There 
 is the ring !" 
 
 " That ring ! It is the same !" 
 
 " The same. He bade me give it thee, if I deemed thee 
 constant." 
 
 " Constant ! And you deem me so ?" 
 
 " Come to my arms ! Now take the ring!" 
 
 " No ! not yet ! Keep it till he too deems me worthy. 
 And he spurred away in desperation. No ! When lie 
 renews the tender, if ever, it must be done with delibera^ 
 tion and confidence. No, I must not take it — ^not now — it 
 would be disobedience to my father." 
 
 And thus the meeting of the friends was characterized 
 until evening, when they were summoned to appear in the 
 saloon. 
 
 The President was the centre of attraction; but Mr. 
 Langdon also occupied a high place in the public estimation. 
 And but few of that throng of visitors retired without pay- 
 ing their respects to Alice and Edith. Among these, the 
 gallant old Commodore was by no means the least conspi- 
 cuous ; and he was followed by Wiry Willy, who had just 
 landed from the frigate, under the protection of whose guns 
 the President's army was crossing over to Camden. 
 
 As soon as the young ladies perceived Willy, they dis- 
 tinguished him above all others by the cordiality of their 
 reception. 
 
 " That is a heartier welcome," said the old Commodore, 
 "than any of us old salts could look for; or than any one 
 could expect after having seen the predicament in which 1 
 found Willy this morning." 
 
 " And pray what was that ?" asked Alice. 
 
 " With a halter round his neck, standing under the gal- 
 lows." 
 
 The astonishment of the young ladies was natural. And 
 when all the circumstances were made known, they over- 
 whelmed the modest young man with expressions of sympa- 
 thy, and earnest congratulations on his escape. 
 
 " They would have swung him the next minute," said the 
 Commodore, " if I had not interfered. But I should have 
 -brought young May, the middy, along. I see how it is." 
 
 " Good, great Commodore !" said Alice. • 
 
 " Now I will sail to leeward," said he, passing on, " Here 
 
ALICE AND EDITH. 151 
 
 comes a General, some forty years my junior, and this is 
 not the place I would choose to encounter him. But I 
 leave with you the gallows-bird. I must look afler my gulls." 
 
 And WiUy shrank back on turning his head and recog- 
 nising General Ruffleton. His purpose was, instinctively, 
 to avoid him ; but it was too late. The General's hand was 
 'on his shoulder before he could extricate himself from the 
 crowd. 
 
 " Willy," said the General, a mocking smile playing on 
 his broad features, "you told me the truth. Mary Pen- 
 ford was not there. But you might have told me the whole 
 truth, and saved Miss Edith a world of painful apprehension. 
 But Trapp was a bad man, and deserved his fate. Never 
 conceal anything from me again, "Willy. And now, where 
 is Mary? At your grandmother's ?" 
 
 " She — she was there, sir — but " 
 
 " Is there no longer. How do you Icnow that, Willy ?" 
 asked the General. 
 
 "I do not know it, sir. I have not been there myself 
 since Major Snare " 
 
 " Oho ! Never mind. It is of no consequence. She is 
 safe. And Snare was another fool to be meddling in mat- 
 ters above his comprehension. You did perfectly right to 
 ensnare him." 
 
 "I, sir?" 
 
 " Yes — you did your share. You see I have a little bird 
 that tells me everything. Never attempt to deceive me, 
 WUly, and you may have your Mary." The General then 
 strode foi-ward towards the ladies, who awaited his inevita- 
 ble presence. 
 
 "Ah! Miss Alice, it has been long since I had the plea- 
 sure of seeing you ! And the vicissitudes of the country 
 have wrought no change in your appearance. I congratu- 
 late you." 
 
 ' "General," said she, "you will permit me to reciprocate 
 the compliment. Vicissitude has not effected the slightest 
 alteration in your bearing. Nevertheless, it might not be 
 a reciprocity of compliments to congi'atulate you !" 
 
 "There it is! There, Edith! A sharp wit is to finish 
 what the sword left undone." 
 
 " Edith !" muttered Wiiy Willy, who overheard the fa- 
 miliar term. 
 
152 ALICE AND EDITH. 
 
 "I think not, sir," said Edith. "I cannot believe that 
 woman's Avit will pursue the vanquished." 
 
 "Ah, me! I must be avictoi-, Miss Alice; I see it plainly. 
 And when we meet again, perhaps the fortune of war will 
 have made amends." 
 
 "I am sure I Avish you no misfortune, sir, unless you 
 should stand against the right. With right and merit on 
 your side, if you should be unfortunate, it would be unlucky 
 indeed. But they say fortune favors the bold — and " 
 
 " No more of that, I beseech you. But where is Blount ? 
 I expected to meet him here ; and I am sure that Edith 
 would have hailed the chief who advanced too late for the 
 triumph." 
 
 " He relinquishes the laurels to his second in command," 
 said Alice, seeing the embarrassment of Edith ; " and I can 
 assure you he does it very cheerfully. I saw him but re- 
 cently, and he did not express a word of regret." 
 
 " No. Blount does not regret that he was absent. I 
 should have been most happy to have met him on this joy- 
 ous occasion. But, no matter ; I shall see him where he is, 
 and will be happy to deliver any message Edith may intrust 
 me with." 
 
 " If Edith has none to send, pray say to him that the 
 Knight of the Velvet Cap requires a fulfilment of his pledge, 
 and that the laurels he is to wear must be gathered on 
 Southern soil. He will understand me, sir. And say to 
 him that I chose this mode of transmitting the message, 
 since he is aware that the post-office has become an insecure 
 medium of communication." 
 
 "It shall be done !" said the General, in some confusion. 
 But instantly recovering Ms impudence, he added, "The 
 postmaster was ray friend ; and, since the arrival of your 
 father, he has been suspended ! I have besought the Pre- 
 sident to restore him, and pledged myself to produce testi- 
 mony — ■ — " 
 
 " It is in vain. General," said Alice. " My father, first 
 convinced of the sufficiency of the evidence against an un- 
 faithful agent, acts with decision — and the case is then 
 decided." 
 
 " So it seems. However, all this is merely temporary. 
 When the great event of separation is completed, my friend 
 will be replaced. Adieu." And the General moved on. 
 
ALICE AND EDITU. 153 
 
 " Come here, "Willy !" said Edith, iu a low voice. " Fly ! 
 Say that he meditates an attack " 
 
 " Pray, go on, Miss Edith," said Willy. 
 
 " Do yon not understand ?" 
 
 " Not clearly," said he, for he did not hear the words 
 which had alarmed Edith. 
 
 " General Ruffleton intends to surprise General Blount at 
 'New Castle." 
 
 "That I can, and will prevent, by informing General 
 Blount of his purpose. And when he demands my au- 
 thority, I will say my information comes from Miss Edith." 
 
 "Stay! No. I fear " 
 
 "Say, then, it comes from Alice," said Edith's friend. 
 " But why did you hesitate, Edith ?" continued Alice, when 
 Willy had departed. 
 
 "Alas, Alice ! I did not know how he might construe it 
 — whether as a friendly warning, or a hostile menace." 
 
 " Be composed. All will be well. Your good father and 
 mine are coming this way." 
 
 The President and Mr. Langdon approached, attended 
 by Mr. B., when an ill-featured man sprang forward, and 
 uttering a curse on the President for permitting his soldiers 
 to fire on the mob at the Custom House, drew a pistol and 
 aimed it at his breast. But the President's steady eye un- 
 nerved the miscreant, and the contents of the weapon did 
 no farther mischief than shattering a chandelier. And be- 
 fore he could repeat the fire, the revolver was wrested from 
 his hand by one of the Blue Caps that mingled in the crowd. 
 A moment after, the assassin sank down lifeless, for the 
 stalwart arm that held the pistol had crushed in his skull 
 with it. It was Jack Bim. 
 
 "Do not slay him, Bim!" said the President. 
 
 " It's too late, your Excellency," said Bim. " If you had 
 only given the order a moment sooner " 
 
 " Remove him," said the President. It was done. 
 
 " Oh, father !" cried Alice, recovering from the shoclc, 
 and throwing her arms around her parent's neck. 
 
 "Be not alarmed. There is no danger, and was none. I 
 saw his hand tremble when I caught his eye. Be maeble, 
 Alice !" he whispered, smiling calmly. 
 
 And Alice, resuming her composure, returned to her 
 place at the side of the frightened Edith. The saloon was 
 
 7* 
 
Ib4 GOLD, GLITl'ERING GOLD. 
 
 soon after filled with the Blue C.ips, and if there had been 
 tweaty assassins present, the infamous attempt would not 
 have been repeated. 
 
 Without paying further heed to the occurrence, the Pre- 
 sident led his daughter and Edith round the room, avoi.ling 
 the spot where the man had fallen, which was stained N\'ith 
 blood. He assured them that he felt quite as secui-e in 
 Philadelphia as in Washington. He then rallied Edith on 
 her flight from General liuf&eton, who had subsequently 
 fled before her Southern avengers. 
 
 " Rely on your Southern champions, Edith," said he, in 
 conclusion. 
 
 " Alas, sir !" said she, " how can I, if the reliance be not 
 mutual ?" 
 
 " There are risks," ho added, " it is true ; but I think, 
 Avith patience, prudence, and forbearance, you may both be 
 guaranteed against loss. I have hopes of your father. 
 You understand. I am for the Union!" Then bidding 
 them good-night, at the door, the young ladies, being the 
 last of their sex remaining, retired to rest. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GOLD, GLITTEEING GOLD. 
 
 WiET Willy made preparations to set out immediately 
 on his mission. 
 
 The first person he encountered in the street, when 
 looking for a hack, was the tall form of Sergeant Bim, who 
 had just been relieved from duty at the President's lodg- 
 ings. 
 
 " Oh, it's you. Sergeant !" said Willy. " I am glad to 
 meet you. What is this rumor about some one attempting 
 to kill the President ?" 
 
 " It's no rumor, Wiry Willy," said the Sergeant, throw- 
 ing an arm round his friend's neck, for he was in excellent 
 humor, having repeatedly drunk the President's health 
 after saving his life. He detailed the particulars of the 
 
GOLD, GLITTERING GOLD, 165 
 
 occurrence in the greedy ears of Willy. " Now, "Willy," 
 he continued, " can you spare another half-eagle or so 1" 
 
 " Gladly, Sergeant ! Here, take the whole belt." 
 
 " 'No, indeed. I've just borrowed an X or so. It'd be 
 stealing to rob you. I had my share and lost it at — in one 
 of the hells. But I'm going to rummage the old closet for 
 the rest. If I find it still there, you shall take your share 
 of it, or I'll serve your head hke an egg ! But what are 
 you after ? Where are you going ?" 
 
 " On important business to General Blount." 
 
 " Speed and good luck to you ! Manage things, WUly, 
 so I shall never be obliged to fight against him. I like his 
 eagle eye. And, besides, you know, I cracked some skulls 
 in defending him. Good-bye !" 
 
 Sergeant Bim plunged into one of those gambling esta- 
 blishments where so much of his money had gravitated ; and 
 in less than fifteen minutes all that he had obtained from 
 Wu'y Willy passed the same inexorable boui-n. Without 
 drinking any more, Bim turned away and left the place, 
 uttering no word of malediction. He directed his steps 
 towards Independence Square. Entering the inclosure, he 
 sat down on a stool near the spot where Major Trapp had 
 fallen, and gazed at the row of buildings opposite. They 
 seemed dark and deserted, although it was known that 
 General Ruffleton and his staff resorted thither. Fixing in 
 his mind the locality of the treasure he had abandoned, 
 Bim could perceive no evidences of present occupation. 
 
 " I'll try it, any how !" said he, rising and directing his 
 steps in that direction. Having ascended to the Jiall door 
 of a tenement, he placed his shoulder against it. The fraU 
 barrier yielded, and he stepped in. Closing the door be- 
 hind him, he stood in such impenetrable darkness that 
 before advancing another step he struck a light with a 
 match, and ignited the wick of a sperm candle with which 
 he had provided himself. This done, he ascended the stair- 
 way. 
 
 " Go to the d — ^1 !" he muttered, at the second turning, 
 when a large rat attempted to pass between his feet. He 
 kicked the squeaking animal down to the bottom of the 
 stairs, where it still continued its cries. " But it's a sign," 
 he continued, " that no person's in the house." Neverthe- 
 less, at every taraing ho reconnoitred somewhat carefully, 
 
156 GOLD, GLITl'ERING GOLD. 
 
 for the walls between the houses had been cut through at 
 each of the landings. 
 
 Meeting no one to dispute his progress, the Sergeant 
 soon arrived at the attic room, where he had concealed his 
 treasure. The door was fast, although the lock did not 
 seem to have been rej)aired. "It is fastened on the inside," he 
 muttered, " and that looks like some one might be within. 
 Hallo, there! open the door!" Saying this he stooped 
 down and listened. He thought he could distinguish a 
 slight noise, made by one moving lightly across the floor, 
 but he was not certain. " If there is mortal man or woman 
 in here, I demand admittance," said Bim. " I have busi- 
 ness in this room, and must enter. I don't fear flesh and 
 blood, and my trade is fighting. My- name is Sergeant 
 Bim, and you may have heard it — because I've sent more 
 than one man to his long account, and one of them this very 
 night. But if you are a ghost, just say so, and I'll retire." 
 He was awfully afraid of ghosts. But no one responding, 
 Bim placed his knee against the door and it flew open, 
 sending the bolt into the middle of the room. " Who was 
 that?" he exclaimed, when his light was suddenly extin- 
 guished. Receiving no answer, he stooped down and 
 rasped a match on the sole of his shoe, and relighted the 
 candle. " Now face me !" he said, standing erect, and 
 gazing round, not aware that the rush of wind had blown 
 out the light. No one met his view. The place seemed 
 quite deserted. The bed, the fractured chairs, and the old 
 table, appeared to have been unmolested since he and Wiry 
 Willy abandoned the premises. And there was the same 
 closet with its low door shut quite closely, as he had left it. 
 
 Placing the candle in the neck of a bottle on the table, 
 the Sergeant approached the place where he had concealed 
 the treasure. But when he applied his fingers to the door, 
 it resisted his endeavors to open it. It had neither lock nor 
 bolt, and it seemed most extraordinary that it should refuse 
 to turn on its hinges. At length the mystery was solved. 
 The sleeve of an old shirt was wedged tightly between it 
 and the floor. Seizing this with his fingers, the door yielded 
 to his strength. It was dark within, and he arose from his 
 stooping posture to fetch the light ; but his impatience to 
 clutch the treasure overcame his purpose, and so he stooped 
 down and crawled in. Groping to the extrenuty of the 
 
GOI-D, GLITTEEING GOLD. 157 
 
 closet over the fragments of old clothes, cast-off boots, and 
 stove-pipes, he reached the comer where he remembered to 
 have deposited the gold. Here his hand encoimtered a sub- 
 stance like the hair of a man's head ; and the next moment 
 a most awful groan assailed his ear. He fell back, rolled 
 over, and retreated precipitately until he attained the centre 
 of the room, when he sprung up and faced the closet, with 
 a pistol in one hand, and his sword in the other. 
 
 " K you are flesh and blood, come out and have a fair 
 fight ! If you are the devil, my time hasn't come yet. If 
 you are a ghost, just make it known, and I'll give you a 
 wide birth. But if you don't give me some sort of satis- 
 fection, I'U send a few bullets in there after you." 
 
 " In the name of heaven, have pity on a poor old man, who 
 has not tasted bread for forty-eight hours," was the response, 
 and in such squeaking tones that Bim believed his tale. 
 
 " Then come out, old Tuppenny, and let me see your phiz. 
 If you're actually hungry, I'U get you something to eat. Let 
 me see your phiz, I say."' 
 
 "As God is my judge it is true," said the little old man, 
 who made his appearance. 
 
 " Why, you are that infernal little, old, bill-broking sharp- 
 faced, screw-flint Jew, Solomon Mouser ! What the d — ^I 
 are you doing here !" 
 
 " Oh, brave captain !" said the Jew, crawling to the Ser- 
 geant's feet, " if you will listen, you shall learn my sad his- 
 tory since these terrible times began. I was rich, but now 
 I am poor indeed — ^robbed of my last dollar — on that dread- 
 ful night — and ruined by a boy I hired to carry my trunk 
 to Moses Abrahams. He ran away with it, and I have not 
 put eyes on him since." 
 
 " That's a lie, Solomon. I know all about it. Wiry 
 Willy related to me wliat Miss — I mean the boy — said had 
 happened. I knew it was you, from the description, and I 
 was glad to hear you had lost your money — ^no, not your 
 money, but the earnings of poor men and women you had 
 shaved from them. Begone, you lying vannint ! Go, I say, 
 or I'll make mince meat for the rats, and that's all you are 
 fit for !" 
 
 " Let me die, then, in the place I have chosen. Leave 
 me to my miserable fate, and I wiU be a trouble to no one !" 
 Saying this, he was about to re-enter the closet ; but the 
 
158 GOLD, GLITTERING GOLD. 
 
 Sergeant, catching his heel, threw him to the opposite side 
 of the room. 
 
 " N"o, you don't !" said Bim. " Tell me, is my money safe ?" 
 
 " It is my treasm-e !" said the Jew. " I have been watch- 
 ing and starving over it for days and nights ! Oh, father 
 Abraham !" 
 
 " You are welcome to all the aid you can get from any of 
 the Abrahams in this city — and the Moseses too. But if 
 you really have been watching my gold for me, I'll pay 
 you fair wages. How much can you make a day commit- 
 ting usury for the religious misers and millionaires ?" 
 
 " As God is my judge — " 
 
 " If you must lie, don't call upon God to judge you. Stay 
 there, till I see if all's safe." 
 
 The Sergeant re-entered the closet and ascertained that 
 the treasure had not been removed. It was in an old cof- 
 fee bag, which he dragged to the door, bacldng out like a 
 crab. But just as he emerged from the closet, his quick 
 eye caught the glitter of descending steel, and throwing up 
 Lis left hand, he seized the wrist of the Jew, and arrested 
 the murderous blow. 
 
 " See here, old Tuppenny !" he exclaimed, rising, but still 
 holding the Jew by the wrist, " do you think my back was 
 made to be stung by such a weak Isi-aelitish wasp as you ? 
 How much will you pay me for every stab I'll let you have 
 at my back ? If you'll take the job at fair wages, I'll stand 
 with my face to the wall and let you cut away all day. You 
 caricature of London Punch, do you think there's no differ- 
 ence between bleeding hard-up merchants, run-down editors, 
 and distressed widows, and a six-feet-seven man, whose 
 trade is war? Hold on, sir — ^I don't want your knife. 
 Clasp it tight, and you shall have blood." Saying this, 
 Bim so turned the Jew's wrist that the point of the steel 
 was opposite the assassin's own breast. But before he could 
 plunge it in, the Jew straightened his fingers and the wea- 
 pon fell to the floor. 
 
 "Mercy! mercy!" cried the Jew. " Let me live, and 1 
 will serve you faithfully as " 
 
 " Well, live. I should be ashamed to kill such a speci- 
 men as you. Solomon Mouser, I'll trust you. If you 
 deceive me, you know very well that I can MU you. Will 
 you take care of my money for me ?" 
 
GOLD, GLTTTEEING GOLD. 159 
 
 " It shall be sacred in my keeping." 
 
 " I don't believe your words, old fellow, but I know your 
 instincts. You nosed out my treasure just as naturally as a 
 buzzard finds carrion. Xot to eat, like the sensible buzzard, 
 but to watch and starve over it for others. What a fool 
 you are, old Tuppenny ! You can lie in rags all yOar life 
 and hug a pile of gold, and when you die you can't even 
 take it to the devil with you. But here — I'll leave the 
 greater part of the money. I'm not afraid you'll spend it ; 
 but remember, if you hide it when I want it, or refuse to 
 honor any order I may send for any portion of it, less than 
 one-half the sum before I filled my belt this time " 
 
 " Twenty-eight thousand, nine hundred and fourteen dol- 
 lars and nineteen cents " 
 
 " No doubt you've counted it a thousand times, and I'll 
 take your word for it. But stay — I see you have writing 
 tools, and here is a sheet of paper on which you have been 
 compounding interest for several hundred years ahead, until 
 the amount is many tons beyond my arithmetic. Now sign 
 me a receipt for the deposit." 
 
 "But I don't know how much you have taken out of the 
 bag." 
 
 " No matter ; guess at it. Say two or three thousand 
 dollars." 
 
 " Three thousand and fourteen." 
 
 " Well, give me a receipt for the balance. By George, 
 but you can write ! Stick to the pen, Shylock, and let the 
 dagger alone. You can wound enough with your tongue. 
 Let me read it — ^I'm no lawyer ; but I think that'll do. I 
 haven't time to calculate whether you've subtracted it right ; 
 but I know you'U never spend anything. If' you steal a 
 portion you'll hide it — not spend it, and so I'm safe. And 
 if you don't pay me, I shan't take the law of you — ^I'U cut 
 your throat ! Harkee, though — ^take a few dollars and buy 
 enough bread and ham " 
 
 " I don't eat pork." 
 
 " True ! you're too religious for that. Then buy what 
 you please, so as to keep life in you — ^and take care of my 
 gold. I'm off!" and Bim strode out of the room and 
 descended the stairway. But when he reached the hall, it 
 occurred that it might be good policy not to be seen issuing 
 from the same door he had entered. He had no bodily 
 11 
 
160 GOLD, GLirrEKiirG gold. 
 
 fear ; but some one might discover his hidden treasure. 
 Therefore, he turned to the right and passed through the 
 hole cut in the partition wall, and here the same reason 
 moved him to continue on some distance down the block. 
 When he had reached the sixth house he was brought 
 abruptly to a pause. The sound of voices was heard in the 
 parlor where he was about to plunge. He extinguished the 
 light in his hand, and then the rays of a chandelier within 
 illuminated the opening through which he had been on the 
 eve of passing. 
 
 The persons speaking were females, and two in number. 
 The Sergeant peeped in cautiously from his hiding-place, 
 and beheld a lovely dark-haired maiden, and a woman of 
 middle age, who seemed to exercise some control over her 
 young companion. 
 
 "Why did they bring me here?" asked the beautiful 
 girl, while tears stood on her long, black eyelashes. 
 
 " It was to save you, they said," replied the other. 
 
 " Save me from whom ?" 
 
 " Why, from the Southerners, of course. Didn't they 
 take a man prisoner who was going after you ? That was 
 the way they found you out. When they showed the paper 
 to the General, he ordered some of his men to bring you to 
 the city, where none of the Southerners come. I have the 
 paper, and you may see it." 
 
 " Oh, good woman ! Oh, madam !" exclaimed the young 
 girl, on perusing the writing, " these lines were written to 
 me by a dear friend, for a paper he left in my keeping. No 
 doubt he was in trouble. Oh, pray assist me to return ! 
 You are a woman, and no doubt feel the duty a wife owes 
 her husband. I am his affianced bride " 
 
 " I'm a widow. Miss, not a wife. My husband must go 
 to the wars ! He was killed at Bladenshfurg. And he left 
 three poor little children for me to support !" And the 
 widow seemed to weep. 
 
 " I sympathize with you, madam. Oh, that man's inhu- 
 manity to man " 
 
 " Yes, though he's gone, he was inhuman to leave me 
 alone in such dreadful times as these ! And if it hadn't 
 been for the kindness and nobleness of General Ruffleton, 
 in making me his housekeeper-^ — .*' 
 
 " General Ruffleton's housekeeper I Is this his house ?» 
 
GOLD, GLrf^i-EEEfSJ GOLD. 161 
 
 ^ 
 
 " He comes here every now and then. He leaves all hia 
 fine things in my keeping, and supplies me with money, 
 which Sergeant Punt left me without." 
 
 " But, oh, assist me to return to my home ! Poor Willy 
 may lose his life for the want of the paper !" 
 
 "Who? Wiry Willy? I didn't read his name." 
 
 " Tes, madam." 
 
 " Then you needn't give yourself any more trouhle about 
 him. He's ' dead. They hung him this morning as a spy. 
 I heard the General say so." 
 
 " Oh, my God !" exclaimed poor Mary, clasping her hands 
 and falling prostrate at the feet of the woman. 
 
 " It's a lie ! It's an infernal lie !" said Sergeant Bim, 
 stalking into the room. Mrs. Punt, unheeding Mary, began 
 to scream with ear-splitting intensity ; but Bim seized her 
 by the waist with one arm, and employed the other in 
 stopping her mouth. " Be easy !" said he, " and bring the 
 girl to life. Willy escaped, and I saw him not two hours 
 ago. I'm no burglar, and so you needn't be frightened ; 
 and, besides, I have good news for you, too. I'm — I mean 
 I was Captain Bim, and Sergeant Punt was my Sergeant. 
 They said we were both killed. Punt has joined the Presi- 
 dent, and is now working on a ship. So behave yourself, 
 and help me to bring this beautiful maiden to life again." 
 
 Bim released the woman after delivering himself of his 
 speech, and taking Mary in his arms, sprinkled her face with 
 some water he found in a pitcher. 
 
 Meantime, Mrs. Punt, recovering her speech, cried : 
 
 " It's not good news, sir. He's never been worth a cent 
 to me since he took to politics. And here I'm left to sup- 
 port the family! And they've put up sugar to twenty 
 cents, and rice to fifteen. Levy shiiting is now a quar- 
 ter of a dollar ; a&d they say it'll soon be fifty cents, be- 
 cause they cant make it in the North, and the Southerners 
 won't let us have any more !" 
 
 Duiing this tirade Mary revived. 
 
 " Oh, sir !" said she, " who are you ?" 
 
 " Wiry Willy's friend — andno friend of GeneralRuffleton." 
 
 " Then you'd better be gettmg away fi"om here," said 
 Mrs. Punt. 
 
 " I'm Jack Bim. You can't marry again." 
 
 " Pray release me, sir. I am stronger now, I thank you 
 
162 GOLD, GLITTEEIITG GOLD. 
 
 I have heard him speak of your bravery and generosity. 
 But did not some one say poor Willy was dead ?" 
 
 "Yes, Miss, that h — 1 cat did say so, but it's a lie! 
 Wiry Willy was in this city, alive and well, this very night. 
 He loaned me twenty dollars not more than two hours ago." 
 
 "Thank heaven! Oh, Sergeant Bim, please take me 
 where I can see him." 
 
 "That can't be done immediately, because Miss Edith 
 sent him to New Castle with a message " 
 
 "Miss Edith? Oh, yes! She's in the city. Take me to her!" 
 
 "I will, in spite of a whole regiment of Ruflletons!" 
 
 "No, you won't!" cried Mrs. Punt. "That's the Gene- 
 ral's walk in the hall. I thought I heard a deadlatch key ! 
 Now, down on your marrow-bones, for you haven't got two 
 minutes to live !" 
 
 Bim hstened an instant, and distinguishing voices, and the 
 tread of several men approaching hurriedly, he cast a 
 glance of inquiry at Mary. The response was satisfactory, 
 and lifting her in his arms again, he vanished through the 
 aperture in the wall. He could not expect to find his way 
 readily from one aperture to another, and he knew pursuit 
 would be made, therefore when he had passed the second 
 wall, he turned aside one step, and stood perfectly still in 
 the darkness. 
 
 " Breathe easy !" said he in a whisper to Mary, " and they 
 will pass us." 
 
 " Then place me on my feet. If we must fly again, I can 
 keep pace with you. I will hold your hand. There." 
 
 "Take my other — ^the left. They come!" 
 
 There was just sufficient light from the distant chandelier 
 for Bim to see the forms of the pursuers. The foremost of 
 the party, from his portly dimensions, he supposed to be 
 the General. He awaited, in perfect composure, his arrival. 
 
 " These holes must be made larger or closed up entirely," 
 said Ruffleton, making an eifort to squeeze through. " Ah !" 
 he cried, and fell back at full length on the floor, from the 
 effect of a tremendous blow, dealt by the Sergeant. 
 
 " Alas, why did you not sufier them to pass ?" whispered 
 Mary. 
 
 " Just to make 'em cautious," was Bim's reply ; and then 
 he prostrated the second, and the third, as they successively 
 filled the orifice. " Now," said he, " let us retreat behind 
 
GOLD, GLITTEEISG GOLD. 163 
 
 the next wall." This was accomplished, and just in time, 
 for a moment after the pursuers fired their pistols through 
 the aperture. 
 
 " Can we not get into the street ?" asked Mary. 
 
 " Oh, yes — ^but that might be fallhig out of the frying- 
 pan into the fire." 
 
 " Could we not escape through the yard ?" 
 
 " Possibly. Are you willing to risk it ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes ! There can be no more danger than to remain 
 here." 
 
 Bim found the back door locked, but the key was in it. 
 This he turned, and the door came open. They now stood 
 in the diminutive yard, in the brilliant light of the moon. 
 Locking the door behind him, the Sergeant led the way to 
 a dingy gate opening into a narrow alley. This likewise, 
 on being unbolted, turned on its rusty hinges. They pro- 
 ceeded along the alley, and were about to emerge into the 
 street, when the sounds of feet and voices arrested their 
 progress. 
 
 "Do you watch up that way and I'll look this," said one. 
 
 " But didn't he say we must not use our pistols ?" 
 
 " Yes. The report of fire-arms might bring upon us the 
 President's men. Besides, we won't need the shooting 
 irons. There is but one of the enemy, and a single sword 
 or dagger will do for him." 
 
 " I'd like to know how many there are of you ^" said the 
 Sergeant, stooping down and peeping out. In doing this, 
 some of the spangles with which he had decorated his velvet 
 cap, sparkled in the moonbeams. 
 
 "What's that?" cried one of the men in the street. "It 
 moves, and there must be life in it. Let's see." And he 
 approached. 
 
 " Stand back against the wall, Miss !" said Bim, drawing 
 his sword. " They've found me out, and I must fight. I've 
 got a keen appetite, and I won't detain you long. Ahem !" 
 he continued aloud, and then stepped forth. 
 
 " Yield or die !" exclaimed the foremost of the men. 
 
 <■<■ pii be if I do !" said Bim. " So come on." He 
 
 was assailed by them both, but he was a capital fencer. " I 
 don't murmur, gentlemen," he continued, " at having two 
 against me, so longas you keep in front, and I'll try to take 
 care of my back. This is mere child's play, and I can talk 
 
164 NOCTURNAL VISITOKS. 
 
 and fence with svicli as you. There, sir ! Pick it np again, 
 Now for yours," he added to the other, whose sword flew 
 into the middle of the street. " So, if you beg for quarter, 
 I'll let you go. No ? Very well ! And here comes 
 another. Two to one was the bargain, and the third's an 
 interlopei'. However, he's fresh, and I'll give him one of 
 your places." As he said this, Bim thrust one of the com- 
 batants between 'the ribs. He staggered ofi" a few stepa 
 and fell. " Now, gentlemen, it's only two to one again," 
 said he, " and if there are any more recruits on the way, let 
 'em come — ^but for every fresh one that appears, an old one 
 must disappear." 
 
 " Oh, sir !" said Mary, " do not shed blood on my 
 account." 
 
 " Very well !" said Bim, and the next moment the swords 
 of both his antagonists flew out of their hands. " Now, 
 gentlemen," said he, " you may retire. My blood is getting 
 warm, and you might find me dangerous. If you will take 
 a friend's advice, stay where you are, and kedp your points 
 down. If I were not in somewhat of a hurry, and had no 
 precious charge in my keeping, it would afibrd me consider- 
 able amusement to play till morning. Come, Miss Mary." 
 He lifted her with his left arm, and holding his sword in his 
 right hand, walked briskly away. But, hearing the approach 
 of many footsteps, and finding himself pursued by his two 
 antagonists, he paused a moment with the resolution to 
 dispatch them — but they hesitated to trust themselves 
 within, his reach. And now, seeing he must soon be over- 
 whelmed by numbers, if he remained on the ground, the 
 Sergeant again lifted his burden and fled away. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 IfOCTUENAI, VISITOES. 
 
 The hotel in which the President had taken lodgings was 
 opposite old Independence Hall. 
 After the guests in the great saloon had retired, the 
 
NOCTUEXAIi TISITOBS. 165 
 
 attempted assassination induced Genei'al Valiant to adopt a 
 measure of precaution likely to deter others from venturing 
 on so hazardous an experiment. In the streets surrounding 
 the hotel, opposite its front, and in the square behind the 
 State House, he silently posted some 5,000 picked men, of 
 very quiet demeanor, but of reliable fidelity. 
 
 The President himself retired to his private parlor for 
 the transaction of business. His hours for rest were usually 
 between 3 and 10 o'clock a. m. After perusing a great 
 number of letters with inconceivable rapidity, and noting 
 briefly the replies to be written by his Secretary the next 
 day, he rose from the table, and with folded arms prome- 
 naded backwards and forwards as was his custom when 
 plunged in profound meditation. But he had not been 
 thus engaged many moments, before he heard the signal of 
 the doorkeeper announcing a visitor. He glanced at his 
 watch which lay upon the table, and seemed surprised that 
 any one should be approaching. Beside the watch was a 
 memorandum in pencil marks of his appointments; but full 
 twenty minutes remained before the time for the admission 
 of the first visitor. 
 
 " Ah 1 It is your fairy foot then !" said he, turning, and 
 seeing his daughter glide in. 
 
 "Light fantastic toe, father," said Alice, pausing and 
 beckoning Edith, who lingered behind and hesitated to 
 enter. 
 
 " Come in — come one, come all !" said the President, in 
 his blandest tone and manner. " I have some minutes on 
 my hands for idle gossip," he continued, giving each of the 
 girls an arm, and promenading round the room. 
 
 "Idle gossip!" said Edith. "What a word! But we 
 will not criticise it, for we did not mean to tarry." 
 
 " Ay, you have no time to waste on one who never has 
 any leisure, save in such unseasonable hours as these. But 
 your errand. Is it to pardon the assassin ? Freely he has 
 my forgiveness !" 
 
 " No, no, father!" said Alice. " "We merely came to wish 
 you a hearty good-night, and to receive the kiss you 
 neglected in the saloon." 
 
 "True, God bless you both" — said he, kissing them — 
 " and he will bless you. But stay. It may be necessary 
 for you, one or both, to see a certain visitor, who shall be 
 
166 iTOCTUENAL \asrroES. 
 
 nameless, before the dawn of morning. Nay, do not stara 
 so, nor plead with mute lips for a solution of the mystery. 
 The individual — male or female, I say not which — may not 
 come, or, coming, may not demand — mind, I say demand 
 — an interview. I think, now, when summoned — if sum- 
 moned — you will be found with wakeful eyes. Adieu." 
 
 The girls withdrew, wondering who this visitor could be, 
 and they had but just disappeared, when some one else was 
 announced by the doorkeeper. He came with a heavy 
 tread, and when the door was opened, the President beheld 
 his faithful Blue Cap, fighting Jack Bim, bearing in his arms 
 the almost inanimate Mary Penford. 
 
 " Bim ! What is this ? Why are you here ?" demanded 
 the President, gazing at the poor girl, and at the bloody 
 hands and garments of the Sergeant. 
 
 " Tfiis is Miss Mary Penford, sir, that I've rescued from 
 General Ruffleton's people." 
 
 " Is it possible ? Poor child ! That bold bad man — " 
 
 " I have not seen General Ruffleton, sir — it was his people. 
 They had just brought me to the city, when this brave man 
 rescued me." 
 
 " I am glad it is no worse, Mary," said the President, 
 ringing a bell. " Take this young lady to your mistress," he 
 continued, to the chambermaid, a mulatto slave. "Relate 
 your story to Alice, Mary. You are now in perfect 
 security." 
 
 " But poor Wiry Willy, when he finds out that they have 
 taken her away from his grandmother's," said Bim, " will 
 be perfectly miserable." 
 
 " That is probable," said the President, "but it will not 
 last long. Do you be at the wharf, some two hours hence, 
 when the Wabash comes up the river " 
 
 " Pardon me, sir, but the Wabash is now anchored " 
 
 " The Wabash was anchored there, and will be again — 
 but at this moment she is down the riven Be there at the 
 time I haveindicated, and you will see Willy, to whom you 
 can deliver your glad tidings. But, Jack, I'm afraid ithis 
 nighterrSLntrj of yours will prove fatal on some desperate 
 occasion, and I shall lose a stout-hearted and strong-armed 
 guardsman. There are gashes on you now, and some of 
 them have bled pretty freely. Dress your wounds and 
 change your clothing before morning. Here is my purse." 
 
NOCrUEXAl VISITORS. 167 
 
 " Forgive me, Mr. President. It ain't pay-day — and I 
 have plenty of money." 
 
 " Very well, sir. I will not question you as to the man- 
 ner in which your treasure was obtained " 
 
 " From the wine vault of the roaring Rev. Mr. Fu-e's 
 abolition church, sir." 
 
 " I have heard of no such robbery, Jack ; and, remem- 
 ber, I do not intend to learn anything in relation to it. But 
 have your wounds attended to." 
 
 " Mere scratches, sir — only flearbites." 
 
 " And change your clothes." 
 
 " I'd change my skin, sir, to please you !" responded Jack, 
 bowing and departing. 
 
 The Pi-esident glanced again at his watch, and then put 
 the written list of expected visitors in his pocket. This had 
 hardly been done before the door opened, and Mr. Langdon 
 entered. 
 
 " Well, Langdon," said the President, " it appears that 
 your Committee are averse to a Northern Confederacy." 
 
 " And partial to the present Federal Executive. Every 
 one is surprised that you should have so many partisans in 
 the Convention." 
 
 " None can be more gratified than myself to learn it," 
 said the President. 
 
 " And the wonder is, how you should have contrived it." 
 
 " Contrived it ! No matter. You are convinced, then, 
 that I have a majority — no, perhaps not a majority " 
 
 "I think a majority, Randolph; and my desire is to 
 know what you intend they shall do." 
 
 " Nothing — nothing decisive. Be not precipitate. Try 
 the effect of a little ' masterly inactivity.' There must be a 
 season of painful apprehension, and some suffering, or else a 
 rupture of the sections might be repeated. The second 
 revolt would be final and fatal." 
 
 " But we are invaded ! What remedy do you propose 
 for that ?" 
 
 " It will cure itself. Crook and Steel have thrown them- 
 selves between the Delaware and the Hudson, as Ruffleton 
 threw himself between the Susquehanna and the Potomac. 
 They will return to their own country with greater precipi- 
 tation than they left it." 
 
 " I hope so. Then you would have no extreme measures 
 
168 NOCrUBNAL VISITOES. 
 
 on the part of the Convention ? But why need I ask ? I 
 see plainly that whatever may be done will be in accordance 
 with your will." 
 
 " That is conceding a great deal. But do we understand 
 each other ? There are to be no separate Confederacies, at 
 least for the present, and until other remedies fail." 
 
 " We agree in that. But shall we go on under the old 
 Constitution ? And if not, what kind of an Executive are 
 we to have ? 
 
 " Let us first save the Union. And that reminds me of 
 Edith. Blount will rise to the head of aifairs some day " 
 
 " When another's head lies low," said Langdon, smiling. 
 
 " I am younger than you by twenty years. But why not 
 have this knot tied at once ? Blount is a mere shadow, and 
 the great spirit within him cannot be roused." 
 
 " It must be delayed." 
 
 "Do you object to a meeting, and a reconciliation?" 
 
 " I would not desire it — nor would I oppose it." 
 
 "Then Edith herself must decide." 
 
 "Is Blount in the city?" 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Adieu." Langdon, suffering from loss of rest, repaired 
 to his apartment. 
 
 The next visitor was a man in the prime of physical and 
 intellectual vigor, medium stature, dark hair mixed with 
 gray, and a lustrous, clear, and calm black eye. This was 
 General Hudson. 
 
 "Hudson, you are punctual to the minute," said the 
 President, exhibiting his watch to his visitor. 
 
 " I was impatient, sir, to express my thanks to the one to 
 whom I was indebted for the distinction bestowed on me 
 by the Convention. Your friends — " 
 
 " No more of that, Hudson. You, I supposed, were an 
 adherent of the Union — " 
 
 " Supposed ! You must have known it, Randolph." 
 
 " Well. And I supposed you would remain so with the 
 sword in your hand." 
 
 " It was a safe supposition. But I must fight this hot- 
 spur Crook." 
 
 "Yes — ^but not yet. Let him pass to the Hudson 
 river — " 
 
 " And intercept my communications ?" 
 
NOCTUBNAL TISITOES. 169 
 
 " Will you not intercept his ? Will you not fall upon his 
 rear ? And will he not be in an enemy's country ?" 
 
 " You would have me, then, retire uj) the Hudson river, 
 or fall back towards the mountains, as Washington did, 
 when Cornwallis or Clinton invaded New Jersey ?" 
 
 " Precisely. The example of Washington shall be cited 
 in the newspapers." 
 
 " Crook's army and mine are nearly equal in numbers, 
 but his has the advantage of experience on the field of bat- 
 tle, and the prestige of success." 
 
 "I understand. But he is in an enemy's country, and 
 danger lurks in every bush. You must not destroy him — 
 only demoralize his army as he did Ruffleton's ; and when 
 I interpose, you must cease the pursuit." 
 
 " That is presupposing a victoiy, which would be ample 
 retaliation for the drubbing he dealt us at Bladensburg." 
 
 "Exactly. It would be balancing accounts between the 
 North and the South. Both would be losers, and that, 
 you know, for you understand me, would be a striking 
 argument against dissolution." 
 
 " But why let him penetrate so far as the Hudson ?" 
 
 "I have Crook's pledge that he will not wreak his 
 vengeance on any but the Abolitionists, and it will do no 
 harm to demonstrate to these fanatics that they are liable 
 to be called to an account for the mischief they have 
 wrought. Hudson, you have often confessed that the 
 North was the aggressor in this quarrel of the sections. 
 The Southern people, besides the abuse and indignities they 
 have long endured, have been robbed by thes& pious philan- 
 thropists of some $50,000,000. Such things should not 
 pass with impunity, and then they would cease. The South 
 .does not even criticise the domestic policy of the Noi'thern 
 people, much less attempt to deprive them of any portion 
 of their inheritance. The mischievous and wicked med- 
 dling has been altogether on the part of the North. Not 
 the whole Northern people, or the case would be hopeless ; 
 but a class of fools and traitors of just sufficient numbers 
 and influence to engender deadly prejudices between the 
 sections. A rebuke to these meddlesome fanatics will 
 afford as much gratification to the conservative and patriotic 
 citizens of the free States as any others." 
 
 "That is true, sir! And if Crook would confine his 
 
 8 
 
170 NOCTURNAL VISITORS. 
 
 blows to tbem, 1 would rather assist than oppose him — were 
 it not indispensable that a Southern invader should be 
 driven from our soil." 
 
 " Oh, you shall have a crop of laurels ! But where are 
 your head-quarters ?" 
 
 "At Trenton." 
 
 " Very well. Keep your army out of his way for the 
 present, and let him dash forward." 
 
 " But where is he now?" 
 
 "He is now marching towards the Raritan, and will 
 march all night. He will make a push for Jersey City — " 
 
 " What ! And assail New York ?" 
 
 " No matter what his design may be, I'll answer for it 
 that he does not cross over into the city. Were it not for 
 me, he would be revelling /lere." 
 
 General Hudson looked at his watch, rose rather hastily, 
 and saying that he must be at his head-quarters before the 
 dawn, took leave of the President. 
 
 The next arrival was one not in the President's pro- 
 gramme. It was Mr. B , the good friend of Senator 
 
 Langdon ; and he had been permitted to pass the sentry on 
 the ground of having some very important intelligence to 
 communicate to the President. 
 
 " Excuse me, Mr. President," said he, "for this unseason- 
 able visit. But I have received what I deem an important 
 letter from Burlington, which I will read to you. It is from 
 my friend, Mrs. Kinsey." The letter stated that the head of 
 General Crook's army was passing through the town of Bur- 
 lington, New Jersey, in the direction of New York ; that 
 the General had seized a train of burden cars, thrown off 
 the freight and put in its place his mortars and cannon; 
 that quite a number of Abolitionists had been made prison- 
 ers ; and finally, pursuit had been made after one of the 
 Banks, which escaped in a Tuckerton oyster wagon. 
 
 The President, of course, appreciated his zeal for the ser- 
 vice, and thanked Mr. B very cordially. He had not 
 
 the heart to seem to have been already apprised of General . 
 Crook's movement. 
 
 When Ml-. B retired. General Ruffleton was ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 " So, General, you are determined to try your fortune 
 again ?" said the President, with a slight smile. 
 
NOCTUENAL VISITOKS. l*?! 
 
 " I must retiieve my reputation, sii-." 
 
 "And you think that can he done on Southern soil? 
 Very well." 
 
 " All I ask is that you will not interfere again, Mr. Presi- 
 dent." 
 
 " I struck no blow at Bladensburg." 
 
 " No ; but we could not tell what moment you might 
 strike. Your manoeuvre amounted to the same thing. It 
 was that which decided the day." 
 
 " I win not be at Newcastle." 
 
 " Nor any of your horses and cannon ?" 
 
 " Neither." 
 
 " Then I'll thi-o-vr Blount into the river, or be food for 
 worms myself" 
 
 " That is a mattei", General, for your own consideration. 
 But why not unite your forces with Hudson's, and be re- 
 venged on Crook and Steel ?" 
 
 "I wUl not be the subordinate of Hudson," 
 
 " That, then, is the reasqn. General, there is blood on 
 your ruffles. I hope r^o assassin has been trying experiments 
 on you." 
 
 " I have been assailed in my own house, and by one of 
 Blount's creatures " 
 
 " No, General." 
 
 " Yes, Mr. President." 
 
 " An assassin ?" 
 
 "What else?" 
 
 " I will tell you what else. General Ruffleton !" said Ran- 
 dolph, fixing his eagle gaze on the visitor, who quailed 
 under it. " It was one of my Blue Caps, sir, engaged in 
 the commendable duty of rescuing poor Mary Penford from 
 your infamous harem !" 
 
 " By George, then, it was one of your men !" 
 
 "Well." 
 
 " Oh, you have learned the story. But the girl herself 
 will tell you that she had not seen me at all. I have no 
 harem, sir; and this assailant was altogether mistaken." 
 Then with an awkward inclination of the head he de- 
 parted. 
 
 A carriage rolled through the street, and stopped in front 
 of the hotel. Words were uttered which gave those with- 
 in it the privilege of access to the President ; and soon 
 
172 NOcruEjfAL visrroES. 
 
 after two gentlemen, one very tall and erect, the othei low 
 and corpulent, enveloped in cloaks, were admitted. 
 
 " I am glad to see you, gentlemen," said Randolph, shak- 
 ing each of them by the hand. " But," he continued, when 
 they were seated, "we must he brief, else the stars may 
 desert their posts. I rejoice, my lord, that you acceded to 
 my request ; and you, Blount, have again ventured within 
 my power." 
 
 " Go, where I will," said General Blount, the slow Eng- 
 lishman having no response in readiness, " it seems that I 
 cannot escape your power. It is almost without limit." 
 
 " As for unlimited power. General," said the President, 
 '' none but women may wield it ; and if you will enter yon- 
 der anteroom, my daughter will, I think, at your request, 
 summon a divinity who can impose fetters on the stoutest 
 general." 
 
 Blount entered the room indicated without a moment's 
 delay. 
 
 " I see there is partiality in your American hospitality," 
 said his Lordship, looking after Blount. But the instant the 
 door closed, his manner changed. "And now, Mr. Presi- 
 dent," he continued, in a low, earnest, and rather hurried 
 voice, " I desire to make the utmost use of my time. My 
 overtures to the South were based upon a contingency 
 which I am apprehensive is not destined to happen. But I 
 have plenary powers to treat with you ; and I am prepared 
 to stipulate for a loan of £20,000,000, a fleet of twenty-five 
 ships, and the junction with your forces of fifteen thousand 
 men from Canada." 
 
 "And then, my Lord, what equivalent do >you re- 
 quire ?" 
 
 " Only some minor commercial advantages, and a govern- 
 ment of greater stability." 
 
 " The head of which, no doubt, to be a British Prince ?" 
 
 " No matter where the prince comes from, so the monarch 
 ,be of our race. "We would be perfectly willing to maintain 
 the President on a throne. The object is to arrest the pro- 
 gress of Republicanism, which menaces all the kingdoms 
 of the earth ! Assume the crown, sir, and all the monar- 
 chies will support you. You will be acknowledged by 
 every civilized government immediately. You can create 
 a peerage, making the Senators and their descendants 
 
NOCTUENAl VISITOES. 173 
 
 and other distinguished individuals, the Patrician order, 
 and " 
 
 " Enough, sir," said the President, emphatically. " If I 
 were desirous of wielding a sceptre, I should not seek the 
 approbation of the present crowned heads of Europe. That 
 would not he the way to retain it. Their intervention 
 would be of no benefit whatever. Therefore, my Lord, I 
 would urge you, by every consideration of policy, to refrain 
 from diplomatic correspondence with the contending sec- 
 tions, as well as with the mediatorial central power, until 
 our internal difficulties are adjusted. These matters which 
 now engage our attention must be settled exclusively by 
 ourselves. They are affairs with which your government 
 can have no concern. As for myself — ^if I were capable of 
 betraying the trust reposed in me, I have millions of money 
 and arms, and men and ships in abundance. Therefore, my 
 Lord, our conference is ended." 
 
 " Certainly, sir, on that subject. But, Mr. President, I 
 hope it will not be deemed unreasonable for me to demand 
 a release from this restraint imposed for obeying the instruc- 
 tions of my government in tendering the alliance of Great 
 Biitain to the Cotton States of the " 
 
 " Union, you were about to say ; and it would have been 
 a diplomatic blunder. But, my Lord, the demand would 
 be both unreasonable and impolitic." 
 
 " K so, it is beyond my comprehension. Nevertheless, 
 Admiral Bang has found means to commimicate with me, 
 and hostilities will certainly ensue unless you set me at 
 liberty immediately !" 
 
 "My Lord, you may easily perceive that the menace 
 does not affect my nerves. The means the Admiral found 
 to communicate with you, and you with him, were supplied 
 by myself. Moreover, an American ship will transmit the 
 tidings across the ocean to your government. My Lord, a 
 war with England is an alternative which I most particularly 
 desire ; and I have taken the means to prevent our commer- 
 cial people from suffering by it. The vessels of our mer- 
 chant marine will be converted into vessels of war. For your 
 orders in council we will be prepared to retaliate with our 
 Berlin and Milan decrees. Your Lordship seems incredulous. 
 It is a case of necessity. I am sorry, however, to be com- 
 pelled to use a diplomatist of your distinction, when any 
 
1^4 l:!JTEEVIE-W BETWEEN GENERAL BLOUNT AND EDITH. 
 
 Other subject of Her Majesty might have answered the pur- 
 pose. Our iiitei-view is at an end. General Blount is re- 
 turning. Youi- Lordship will oblige me by becoming the 
 guest of my daughter for a brief interval. Be seated, Gene- 
 ral," said the President, when his Lordship closed the door 
 of the anteroom, and vanished from view. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 INTERVIEW BETWEEN GENERAL BLOUNT AND EDITH. 
 
 The hour struck for Sergeant Bim to go on duty, and 
 Wiry Willy, parting from his friend, was met by Mary in 
 the passage between the President's and Mr. Langdon's 
 suites of apartments. Intelligence of his arrival had been 
 commimicated by General Blount, and hence Mary's vigi- 
 lance. The meeting was, without doubt, a happy one. 
 Once more they were together in spite of the obstacles and 
 dangers interposed by capricious fortune, and the evil ma- 
 chinations of man. 
 
 At the same hour, and during the interview between the 
 President and Lord Slysir, Blount was standing at the 
 south end of a long drawing-room, holding the hand of 
 Edith. The single jet of gas which illuminated the cen- 
 tre of the room, paled before the flood of moonbeams that 
 came in at the extremity. 
 
 Alice, attired magnificently, moved to and fro with folded 
 arms, at some distance from the lovers ; and whenever a 
 stream of light fell upon her pale forehead, the lustrous dia- 
 mond on her brow radiated a thousand prismatic hues. 
 
 " And now, Edith," said Blount, " I am convinced that 
 Ruffleton — we are both convinced — has been exerting his 
 evil ingenuity to estrange us from each other. These are 
 the intrigues of city life, the stratagems of civilization, the 
 artifices of superior society. Oh, Edith, honor, purity, reli- 
 gion, happiness, may be found only in the rural districts. 
 Abandon the dense population of the North, and cast youi 
 lot at once with muie. Among my people, there will be no 
 
USTESVIKW BEnVEEK GENEEAl BLOUNT AND KDITH. 1 75 
 
 Rnifletons, nor Trapps, nor Snares. All is quiet now in 
 the South " 
 
 " To-day all may be quiet — but to-morrow ?" 
 
 " You would be ever safe. No invasion or civil tumult 
 would subject you to such distressing ordeals as you have 
 passed through in this city. Here, even the presence of 
 your fether was not sufficient to exempt you from insnlt. 
 There, every true son of the South would be a champion 
 and a protector." 
 
 " Harry, I know you could not approve infidelity on the 
 part of a daughter to a father, any more than you could 
 applaud the falsehood of a wife to her husband." 
 
 " The words trembled on our lips at the altar, which if 
 once uttered, our union would have been indissoluble. 
 Why were they not pronounced ? Was it destiny ? Oh, 
 Edith, I should have seized the priest, and, perforce, ex- 
 torted from him a performance of his duty. And yet, the 
 solemn pledge, the sacred vow, what are they but merely 
 words ? — and why should not their sanctity be the same, 
 when we repeat them to each other, and call heaven, every- 
 where above us, to attest the obligation voluntarily as- 
 sumed ?" 
 
 " You forget the Church. Authority is given its minis- 
 ters, which must not be disregarded." 
 
 " Certainly not, when it is available. There are minis- 
 lers now present in this city " 
 
 " Nay, Harry, cease. In God's time, if it be His will, 
 every impediment will be removed. There must be peace 
 between the North and the South before my father wHL 
 consent to our union. We can pray for a speedy recon- 
 ciliation of the diflferences which now distract our country 
 
 " Ay, axii Jlffht to end them. Edith, I fear many a sword 
 will be bathed in fratricidal blood before these differences 
 can be adjusted. And fate, which has thrown us together 
 (again, if we neglect the opportunity, may sever us for ever 
 hereafter." 
 
 I " Not if we live, and be faithful. The vows you spoke 
 of, disunited though we be, might suffice for us. United, 
 even according to all the forms and ceremonies of the 
 Church, the present scenes of peril and destruction would 
 sever us. I could not dwell in camps, nor could I be with 
 12 
 
176 INTBEVIE-W BETWEEN GENEEAL BLOUNT AND EDITH. 
 
 my father, whose lot it might be to war against my husband, 
 No, Harry— it is better thus ; but if it were not better, still 
 it is a duty. Only let us confide in each other. Let us 
 blame the post-masters, or censure the negligence of mes- 
 sengers, but never reproach each other, when communica- 
 tions are not received ; and, above all, let us never harbor 
 the thought that other attachments can be engendered." 
 
 "I stand rebuked — self-condemned, Edith — but it was 
 not the thought that you could possibly listen to the ser- 
 pent-hisses of Ruflfleton. It was his presumption, his unchas- 
 tised impudence — but I will meet him yet. No, Edith, it 
 was not jealousy, or fear of rivalry, but an ardor of affec- 
 tion that would engross all the thoughts, all the time and 
 attention of the object upon which it is lavished." 
 
 "And you supposed," responded Edith, smiling, "it 
 might not be possible for me to listen to the flatteries of 
 Ruffleton and think of you at the same time ?" 
 
 "No. But I would not have him present when you 
 think of me ! He contaminates the atmosphere in which 
 he breathes; a moral leprosy follows him wherever he 
 goes " 
 
 "A monster, truly ! And in truth I would willingly ex- 
 pel him from my presence if it might be done without dis- 
 obedience to my father. Think not of him !" 
 
 " Your father, Edith, I fear » 
 
 " Nay, do not blame him. Let us quarrel with each other, 
 rather." 
 
 " Well. And where is the ring I sent you ?" 
 
 " It was the fatal wedding ring." 
 
 "Why sa.j fatal? But where is it ? Why not wear it 
 on this finger?" 
 
 " Because you did not place it there." 
 
 " But I sent it by Alice." 
 
 " And Alice keeps it." 
 
 " Keeps it ? What does that mean ?» 
 
 " It means that she keeps the ring you gave her." 
 
 " I gave it her for you. Did she not say so ?" 
 
 " She did. And, faithful to her trust, she offered it, to 
 me." 
 
 " And you refused it ?" 
 
 " It was when I was offended at your apparent sus- 
 picions." 
 
DiTJUtViKW BETWEEN' GENERAL BLOXTNT AOTD EDITH. 177 
 
 " Oh, Edith, a world in anns could not unman me as you 
 have the power to do. To you I must seem as a capri- 
 cious child, or an enthusiast without mental ballast. I am 
 now very angry — but you, too, were offended ?" 
 
 " Very much — and I am not yet appeased. Such gifts as 
 that should be presented by the donor." 
 
 " I will get it now, and place it on your finger." 
 
 " No. Not yet. The probation is not ended. Alice is 
 a safe depository. Let us call her hither. See how inces- 
 santly she glides to and fro. How beautiful !" 
 
 " It is too late ! I have lingered too long !" said Blount, 
 as the clock struck four. "Farewell ! but come with me to 
 Alice and take the ring." 
 
 " No ; not till you have done sufiicient penance. Tou 
 frown ! But go — go in anger, if you will ! I will not wear 
 the ring until you are worthy, and " 
 
 " Forbear, Edith ! Adieu !" And pressing her hand to his 
 lips he hastened to Alice. 
 
 " Here is the ring !" said she, the light falling at the 
 same time on her pallid brow, where the diamond sparkled 
 like a star. 
 
 " You are very pale, Alice, and grave," said Blount, tak- 
 ing her hand. " What a change ! But I must be brief. I 
 have quarrelled with Edith about this ring. I leave you as 
 my mediator. Tell her it is the excess of my love which 
 makes me capricious, exacting, impatient, jealous. Tell her 
 Hove " 
 
 " Nay, say that or write it yourself. Take back the ring." 
 
 " No, no, no ! keep it !" and he forced it on her finger, 
 " Adieu, now ! — one word with your imperial — ^I mean im- 
 perious — ^father, and then away. If I linger a moment 
 longer my word will be broken " 
 
 " Tour word broken ?" 
 
 "His Lordship and myself pledged " 
 
 "True; adieu!" 
 
 Blount a moment after was alone with the President, 
 
 "General," said the latter, "his Lordship will bear no 
 order of release to Commodore Stout, and we shall probably 
 have some rather startling reports from Admiral Bang 
 before long." 
 
 " That is a matter for your Excellency's consideration. 
 My business is with Ruffleton." 
 
 ' 8* 
 
118 THE INVASION OF THE NORTH. 
 
 " My advices convince me that he is preparing to heat 
 you up in your quarters." 
 
 " I desire nothing better. Only one word. You will not 
 interpose ?" 
 
 " You have carte blanche." 
 
 " Enough ! Let him come ! Farewell, sir." 
 
 The President, observing the excited condition of the 
 General, and attributing it to the right cause, did not seek 
 to prolong the interview. • 
 
 CHAPTER XXn. 
 
 THE INVASION OF THE NOETH. 
 
 Gbneeal Crook, with augmented forces, his army 
 amounting to over 100,000 men, rapidly traversed the 
 State of New Jersey. Much to his astonishment and grati- 
 fication, at least one-third of his regiments were made up 
 of recruits from Philadelphia and its vicinity ; and it was 
 observed that in most localities in the country, where the 
 anti-slavery party had triumphed at the polls, a vast pro- 
 portion of the defeated Democrats seemed strongly inclined 
 to espouse the cause of the Southern people. It was quite 
 the reverse in the South. There, when the soil was invaded 
 by a Northern army, all classes and parties, without excep- 
 tion, united for the expulsion of the enemy. 
 
 As might have been expected, great consternation pre- 
 vailed along the line of march; and this was some miles in 
 breadth. Nor were there wanting guides' and informers ia 
 the several counties through which the sweeping host pur- 
 sued its devastating course. General Crook, though natu- 
 rally disposed to clemency, became, when the question of 
 slavery was on the tapis, perfectly inflexible. His first 
 thought was to send out parties to capture all the fugitive 
 slaves they could find, and his next was to inflict a fearful 
 retribution on all who had participated in stealing or har- 
 boring that species of property. And in this category he 
 included, rather indiscriminately, the people called QuakerSj 
 
THE rSVASIOK OF THE UOETH. 179 
 
 and they fared very badly. Forage for the horses, and 
 bread and meat for the men, under a compidsory process, 
 were furnished by them without charge. And whenever 
 one peculiarly obnoxious was taken, everything movable in 
 his possession was confiscated, and everything combustible 
 was consumed. He was painted black, tarred and fear 
 thered, and then turned loose in the woods. 
 
 At JBurlington, the General was anxious to cash a draft, 
 for several of his own negroes that had escaped from Ala- 
 bama, at one of the banks, of which a Republican was the 
 president. But this bank, as Mrs. K. had written to Mr, 
 B., had escaped to Tuekerton. With the rich men. of the 
 town, who were either Democrats or Constitutionalists, 
 General Crook had no quaiTel; but from others, he was 
 determined to get what indemnity he could for the fifty 
 million dollars' worth of slave property the South had been 
 despoiled of since the formation of the Federal Union. 
 
 lu many places the militia had been called out by the 
 Governor ; but such defenders never assembled in sufficient 
 strength to make the slightest resistance. Besides, it was 
 known that General Hudson was concentrating his army in 
 the neighborhood of Trenton, where it was supposed the 
 tide of invasion would be arrested. 
 
 But General Hudson, contrary to the wishes and antici- 
 pations of many of the inhabitants, who had ridiculed the 
 idea of a Southern army penetrating the free States, seemed 
 to avoid encountering General Crook, and fell back on the 
 Delaware River. 
 
 Without turning to the left for the pui^ose of offering 
 battle. General Crook pushed forward with expedition, 
 seeming more intent upon intercepting the communications 
 of Hudson with his base of operations, than upon preserv- 
 ing his own. During the heat of the day he permitted his 
 men to rest and refresh themselves; but at night the march 
 was continued. As he approached the Hudson River^ he 
 received many accessions to his ranks. From these he 
 obtained such information in relation to the defences of the 
 metropolis, as induced him, by forced marches, to fall upon 
 Jersey City without delay. Not the least resistance was 
 made. On the contrary, a sufficient number of boats were 
 procured to have transported the entire army to the oppo- 
 site side of the river in a few hours. But this was not 
 
180 THE INVASION OF THE NORTH. 
 
 deemed expedient. Captain S., of the Navy, forbade it, 
 More than one hundred thousand men had arrived in the 
 city of New York within forty-eight hours, and prepara- 
 tions were in progress for a resohite defence. Therefore 
 General Crook contented himself by erecting batteries 
 which menaced the city. More than one hundred and fifty 
 guns and mortars were in readiness for the destruction of 
 the great commercial emporium, when a deputation of 
 Councilmen, bearing a flag of truce, waited upon the Ge- 
 neral. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Crook, " at the expiration of three 
 hours send me four millions of dollars, and I will retrace 
 my steps, and fight Hudson. You have some thirty mil- 
 lions in your banks, and you can easily produce the amount 
 I demand. It is less than one-tenth the value of the slaves 
 your negro-stealers have deprived us of. It is a moderate 
 quota for New York." 
 
 " It is a large sum, sir," said the President, " and we 
 might not be able to negotiate the loan." 
 
 " Seize it, then, and tax the citizens to pay it ! Two 
 millions for our stolen slaves, and two millions for harboring 
 the political parsons and Abolition editors who have pro- 
 duced the separation of the States and civil war. I would 
 have demanded the surrender of the preachers, had I not 
 shipped them to Liberia. And as for your fanatical editors, 
 I think you will punish them sufficiently yourselves for 
 having subjected your city to such enormous sacrifices. 
 Go, gentlemen, and send me the money at the time specified, 
 else be prepared for the consequences. The injury I can 
 inflict would be not less than a million an hour — and I 
 should not cease at the fourth hour. I have one hundred 
 thousand red hot balls in my furnaces, and as many bombs 
 in the boats. If my demand be not complied with, you 
 will, of course, see that the women and children are 
 removed beyond the reach of my projectiles." 
 
 At the time mentioned the money was delivered. Then 
 Crook, learning that General Hudson had intercepted his 
 communications, made preparations for battle, with a des- 
 perate resolve to preserve his treasure. 
 
 On the night succeeding the day of General Crook's 
 financial coup de main, the Southern army was encamped 
 upon the magnificent lands of the anti-slavery Quakers, and 
 
THE INVASION OF THE NOBTH. 181 
 
 feasted abundantly without expense. But the camp-fires of 
 General Hudson gleamed in a few miles of them, and in the 
 line of their retreat. Crook and Steel were seated together 
 in the best parlor of a neat Quaker mansion, the messuage 
 of a noted Abolitionist, condemned to the flames the next 
 morning. In war fire either follows or precedes the sword. 
 
 The Generals were interrupted in the examination of the 
 maps spread out before them, by the entrance of Samuel 
 C , the Quaker proprietor of the mansion. 
 
 " Well, Samuel," said General Crook, " thee is still here. 
 I ara bound to tar and feather thee, thee knows." 
 
 " No, General, thee wiU not tar and feather me." 
 
 " That is saying a great deal, Samuel, and saying it posi- 
 tively." 
 
 " I am positive. I tell thee that I wiU not be tarred or 
 feathered — ^but I may be plucked." 
 
 " Plucked ? Samuel, this is facetious, and I like thee none 
 the worse for it. But be brief." 
 
 " Then, in a word, what will be an equivalent in money 
 for omitting the tar and feathers, and for sparing my 
 house ?" 
 
 " 'Now I understand thee. How mnch did thy house cost ?" 
 
 " Eight thousand dollars." 
 
 "Very good. No doubt you have a heavy purse. Next, 
 how many negroes have you assisted to escape from their 
 masters ; how many have you harbored, hidden, stolen ? 
 How many pamphlets have you circulated in the South in- 
 citing servile insurrections ? How many anti-slavery news- 
 papers have you supported ? Ah, Samuel 1 You see how 
 painful a thing it is, when the iron enters your own soul ! 
 How bitter the draught you have been concocting, when 
 the chalice is commended to your own lips! We have 
 been robbed of property to the amount of fifty million 
 dollars ; and, until this moment, no recompense has been 
 demanded. We have borne much and long without retri- 
 bution, until, at last, the cup is overflowing! You must 
 acknowledge that the Southern people never interfered with 
 any of your domestic arrangements; they never despoiled 
 you of any of your propertjr ; and, above all, they never 
 placed torches and knives in the hands of the debased 
 among you to consume your dwellings and to cut the throats 
 of your wives and children !" 
 
182 THE INVASION OF THE NOETH. 
 
 " Name the sum that will content thee, General, and then 
 I will tell thee a secret." 
 
 " Ten thousand dollars. 'Now the secret." 
 
 " I am a hypocrite." 
 
 " That is no secret, Samuel !" 
 
 " But I was a slave-trader, and made my money in Brazil. 
 There are papers at Washington, sent thither by our Mi- 
 nister at Rio, which establish the fact that one of the most 
 successful traders between the coast of Africa and the Bra^ 
 zilian empire was a New Jersey Quaker. I am that man." 
 
 " I remember it. And here, at home, you will consume 
 only ' free ' sugar, ' free ' rice, and ' free ' cofiee. Ah, 
 Samuel, the devil will make you dance on red-hot dollars !" 
 
 "And, near Trenton, if thee should meet with one George 
 
 K-^ , do not molest him. He is a Democrat, and preaches 
 
 ■against interference with slavery." 
 
 " Very well. Thee shall drink the health of King Cotton. 
 But thy money, Samuel ! If thee had not been a hypocrite, 
 I would have remitted everything. The money shall be 
 judiciously expended in halters." 
 
 " Thee shall have thy money in an hour." 
 
 '■'■■ K not, thy house wiU be a bonfire, Samuel." 
 
 The two Generals then resumed the examination of the 
 . maps. 
 
 "Let us commence the battle before daylight," said 
 Steel, 
 
 "No, General." 
 
 "Then, perhaps, we had better await Hudson's attack; 
 our position is a good one for defence Who is that ? 
 
 A tumult arose among the sentinels without, and shortly 
 after a Sergeant appeared at the door conducting a pri- 
 soner. 
 
 "Here is a spy of the enemy. General," said the Ser- 
 geant. 
 
 " Make short shiift of him I We have no time for court- 
 martials now." 
 
 " He's been condemned already, sir. He's the same man 
 that was rescued from under the gallows by Commodore 
 Stout's men." 
 
 " Indeed !" exclaimed General Crook. " Willy, I'm sorry 
 to see you in my clutches again. There is now no appeal 
 to Blount." 
 
THE INVASION OT THE NOETH. 183 
 
 " General, I have this for you," said Willy, delivering a 
 diminutive scrap of paper. 
 
 "Ha!" cried Crook, sprin^ng to his feet. "Go, Ser- 
 geant," said he, " we have been mistaken. Wiry WUly is 
 not an enemy. Let that be made known. WUly," he con- 
 tinued, shaking the hand of the faithful messenger, " I'm. 
 glad we didn't hang you !" 
 
 " So am I, General," said Willy, with a very serious coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 " Steel," said Crook, " see all the Generals. We must be 
 under full march in an hour. There will be no battle 
 to-morrow." 
 
 "Does he say so?" 
 
 " No — ^the assurance is from S , who knows what he 
 
 says. We will, at aU events, leave the enemy behind us. 
 If he desires a battle, of course he wiU follow. Wiry 
 WUly," he continued, " can you tell me what Blount was 
 doing?" 
 
 "He was preparing to fight General Ruffleton, whose 
 attack was looked for daily." 
 
 "And the fleets? Did they remain in the same posi- 
 tions? Hudson being in our rear, we have had no ad- 
 vices." 
 
 "Both had moved further up the river, and it was 
 rumored that the British Admiral would attack the Ameri- 
 can ships, unless Lord Slysir were given up." 
 
 " I don't wonder at it. But does the President remain in 
 the city?" 
 
 " No, sir ; he has joined the army which is encamped 
 near the old battle-field at Red Bank." 
 
 " Mount and ride with me, WUly ; I have more to say 
 to you. Come." 
 
 Within the hour specified, the Southern army was in mo- 
 tion ; and, as anticipated by Crook, there was no attempt 
 on the part of Hudson to arrest his march. By sunrise the 
 former had passed several miles beyond the dim camp-fires 
 of the latter, and was now in fuU retreat, but with flying 
 colors and laden with treasure. 
 
 But many of the ardent volunteers under General Crook 
 began to murmur at his inglorious retrograde movement, 
 and demanded a battle. SulRciently versed in mUitary 
 affairs to be aware that in the event of defeat, with a broad 
 
184 THE INVASIOIT OF THE NORTH. 
 
 river to pass before he could evacuate the enemy's country, 
 his army might be exposed to total destruction, the General 
 would have been content to retire in good order with his 
 booty ; but still he was not prejsared to resist the demands 
 - and reproaches of his chivalrous followers. Therefore, when 
 he had crossed the bridge of the marshy creek on the east 
 of the town of BurUngton, he faced about on the common, 
 and resolved to await the attack of his pursuers. 
 
 Hudson was not slow in making his dispositions. A bat- 
 tery was established on a neck of land near the river, which 
 raked the invading host in that direction ; and one was 
 erected on the Mount Holly road, which assailed them on 
 the right. These two concentric fires w ere replied to by 
 divergent batteries with spirit, but not with the same fatal 
 effect. 
 
 For a long time the combatants remained so far asunder, 
 that the few thousand Mini6 rifles in their possession were 
 the only small arms employed. But the terrible batteries 
 of round shot and bomb-shells dealt destruction in their 
 ranks, and went crashing among the houses in the vicinity. 
 The building near the bridge, used as a Catholic church, 
 was perforated in so many places that the east end of the 
 house fell down, and the priest, who had been devoutly 
 praying, fled away with the candlesticks. The building 
 next to the church, occupied by a spirituaUst, was blown to 
 pieces by a bomb, and it was said that screams were uttered 
 by invisible beings in the air. 
 
 But the iron projectiles flew through every portion of the 
 town, and most of the citizens hastened out of their range. 
 Many took refuge in St. Mary's Church, whose massive 
 walls were cannoii. proof; and these wei'e saved. Mr. W. 
 stood in the street and pointed with his cane to the places 
 where he said the population would be in perfect safety ; 
 and he assured the panic-stricken, with vehemence and ges- 
 ticulation, that in dodging in the alleys they were liable to 
 run into the "jaws of destruction." The Bishop, mindful 
 of the precious charge committed to his parental protec- 
 tion, conveyed the three hundred girls at the Hall over to 
 Bristol, beyond the possibility of injury; and then he 
 returned, scatheless, amidst the roar of cannon and the 
 whistling of balls, to that portion of his flock which had 
 taken sanctuary in St. Mary's holy church. A solemn ser- 
 
THE INTASION OP THE UOETH. 185 
 
 Vice was performed, during which angelic voices floated on 
 the air. 
 
 Ever and anon the wind hurled clouds of smoke from the 
 battle-field throngh the streets, and the sun was completely 
 darkened. And, to add to the horror of the scene, a homb 
 burst in the apothecary shop of Friend Alison, among the 
 gallipots and gums and essences, and the suffocating effluvia 
 drove hundreds from the walls, where they had taken shel- 
 ter, in obedience to the commands of Mr. W. The banks 
 were broken to pieces, but the officers escaped unhurt ; and 
 several of the tallest houses on Main street were damaged 
 in their upper stories. The host of a hotel stood his ground 
 manfully on a balcony at the corner, and escaped unhurt. 
 But, while there, a cannon ball struck the neck of a lame 
 free negro, who attempted to limp across the street. His 
 head flew a great distance up in the air, and curving over 
 the flag-staff in front of the hotel, descended to the balcony, 
 and remained crown up, snapping its eyelashes in astonish- 
 ment, but apparently not in pain. 
 
 In the meantime, General Hudson was projecting a ter- 
 rible charge on Crook's centi-e at the bridge. For this pur- 
 pose he had obtained a locomotive from the outer dep6t, 
 and generating a full head of steam, set it in motion with- 
 out engineer or conductor. It rushed down the track and 
 passed the bridge in spite of the shells and balls aimed for 
 the purpose of disabling it. It thundered onward, and the 
 lilies opened as it rushed through the Southern army. It 
 passed through the town of Burlington, whizzed by Beverly, 
 over the Rancocas bridge, and on to Camden, at the rate of 
 a mile a minute, smashing every opposing obstacle, and 
 finally plunged into the river, just as the steamer " State 
 Rights" had left the landing. 
 
 It was during the commotion produced by the charge of 
 this novel engine of war, that Hudson led forward the 
 attack at the bridge. A column of forty thousand men 
 advanced, while the fire of all the batteries converged to the 
 same point; and in return. Crook concentrated all his fire 
 on the head of the assailing column. The bravery was 
 equal on both sides. The dark mass of advancing men 
 made no perceptible progress, after the head of the column 
 had reached within a hundred paces of the guns of the 
 enemy. At that point, every discharge swept down scores 
 
186 THE INVASION OP THE NORTH. 
 
 of the foremost ; and although those in the rear continued 
 to push forward, the front melted away at the point indi- 
 cated. At length the heaps of slain were converted into 
 breastworks, and the mangled remains of the dead were 
 used as protecting shelters for the living. On both sides 
 the slaughter was frightful ; but the assailants, as usual, suf- 
 fered the most, being more fully exposed to the aim of the 
 infantry, and incapable, from the compact order of their 
 approach, of returning the fire. 
 
 For a long time this immense sacrifice of human life con- 
 tinued ; but the attack was repulsed, for it seemed a physi- 
 cal impossibility, under such a murderous volcano as that 
 belched forth by the Southern army, for any number of 
 living men to pass the bridge. Hudson, leaving one-fourth 
 of the column on the ground, drew off the rest. But he 
 was not dismayed, and immediately organized a second 
 assaulting column, to be preceded by eighty pieces of can- 
 non. Under cover of these field-pieces, hurling cannister 
 and grape, another corps was pushed forward, but not in 
 so dense a mass as to prevent the use of their arms. 
 
 Crook now in turn suffered the most severely. He was 
 assailed by superior numbers in the centre, and per- 
 ceived with some uneasiness, that a strong detachment 
 had passed over the Mount Holly bridge for the purpose 
 of turning his right wing. To provide against such a 
 contingency as ultimate defeat, he started off a locomo- 
 tive and one car with his specie. 
 
 The battle continued until after sunset, when an immense 
 force, supposed to be not less than fifty thousand horse and 
 infantry, was observed descending Gallows Hill, on the right, 
 and in the rear of the Southern army. This produced great 
 confusion. 
 
 " Give me a glass," cried Crook. " It's Randolph," he 
 exclaimed, after intently regarding the menacing host. 
 " He wiU not attack us." 
 
 "True," said Steel. "Neither did he attack Gen. Ruffle- 
 ton. But his presence decided the battle." 
 
 " And I fear it will decide this," said Crook. " Gentle- 
 men," he continued, addressing several of the Generals 
 standing near, " if we can only persuade our men that Ran- 
 dolph will not assault us, I think Hudson wiU be beaten 
 yet." 
 
EscrrEarENT rw teds coirvEfmox, 187 
 
 " But they cannot be persuaded," was the reply. And, 
 indeed, many of the regiments were aheady retreating 
 precipitately. 
 
 Crook exerted himself, but in vain, to inspire confidence. 
 His line gave way at all points, and the only thing he 
 could do was to cover the retreat with his artillery. This 
 he did with such promptitude and resolution, that Hud- 
 son was for a long time kept at bay. Then, burning 
 the bridge, and compelling his pursuers to make the cir- 
 cuit of the marshes on the south, the rear-guard of the 
 defeated host reluctantly abandoned the town. 
 
 President Randolph disappeared mysteriously. None of 
 his men were seen from the time that the Southern army 
 was in fiill retreat. Some conjectured that he had with 
 drawn behind the hills, to reappear somewhere on the- line 
 of march between Burlington and Red Bank. But Crook 
 had no apprehension of being intercepted by the Federal 
 troops ; and vented his chagrin at the manoeuvre of the 
 President, with an ill grace, since, on Southern soU, a simi- 
 lar manoeuvre had enabled him to gain a great victory. 
 
 CHAPTER XXm. 
 
 ExciTEaaaiT is the con vention. 
 
 On the same day of the battle of Burlington, General 
 Ruffleton had attacked General Blount in the neighborhood 
 of New Castle. The forces were abont equal in numbers, 
 but the Generals and the men engaged were unequal in the 
 qualities of sldU and bravery. Blount's volunteers were 
 mostly the sons of Southern planters who fought for glory, 
 whilst those against whom they contended, in many instan- 
 ces, struggled mainly for plunder. Blount gained a victory 
 over his assailant, at the expense of some five thousand men 
 on either side ; and Ruffleton retired towards Philadelphia, 
 chagrined at the consciousness of a second defeat, but boU- 
 ing with rage, and intent on direful revenge. Blount did 
 
188 EXCITEMENT IN THE CONTENTIOK. 
 
 not pursue the enemy, contenting himself with a successful 
 defence of Southern soil. 
 
 His army being encamped near Gray's Ferry, some two 
 or three miles from the city, General Ruffleton proceeded 
 with one or two attendants to his head-quarters opposite 
 Independence Square. The first thing that arrested his 
 attention on entering the city, was the illumination of a 
 'great many buildings in the vicinity of Independence Hall, 
 where he learned the Convention was still in session. It 
 could not be popular exultation over his defeat, in a 
 Northern city — ^nor in celebration of Hudson's victory, for 
 the citizens of Pennsylvania had not been characterized for 
 their zeal in behalf of that General. But Ruffleton was not 
 long in doubt. He had many partisans and agents in the 
 city, who usually kept him advised of every occurrence 
 likely to be of interest. They filled his apartments as soon 
 as it was known he had arrived in the city ; and then he 
 learned that the rejoicing was produced by the news from 
 Richmond. The Southern Convention had made a formal 
 rejection of the overtures of the British Government, and 
 had passed a resolution recalling General Crook from New 
 Jersey, and proposing terms of reconciliation with the 
 North. 
 
 Ruffleton was thrown into a great rage, and foamed at 
 the mouth. His friends could not pacify him, or mitigate 
 his fury, until, at length, he received information of the 
 arrival of Lord Slysir, whom Commodore Stout had 
 embraced the first opportunity — and for which he had long 
 been impatient — to set at liberty. 
 
 His Lordship, at the special request of Ruffleton, waited 
 upon the General at his lodgings. 
 
 "My Lord," said Ruffleton, "the play of Disunion is ndt 
 ended yet !" 
 
 " The play. General ? Why not say farce ?" 
 
 " Because I prefer tragedy, my Lord. It would be a 
 farce, indeed, if it were brought to so lame and impotent a 
 , conclusion as the adherents of Randolph in the two — yes, 
 in both of the Conventions — would have it. But I shall say 
 nay to that !" 
 
 " I would say nay, myself, if it would avail anything." 
 
 " It would avail much. Aid us in dethroning King Cot- 
 ton, and we wiU share his dominions. If you do not un- 
 
BXCIXEITENT IX THE COJrTENTION. 189 
 
 I 
 
 crown him, he will subjugate the world. Why not uniie 
 with us ?" 
 
 " I am prepared to do so whenever you are united among 
 yourselves. But the demonstrations in this city, on the receipt 
 of the news from Richmond, would lead one to suppose 
 that the North was languishiug to be reunited with the 
 South." 
 
 " Your Lordship will soon think differently. This infernal 
 city and State, and perhaps New Jersey, which runs down 
 beyond the Southern border, always have sympathized with 
 the slave States, and always will. Philadelphia is jealous of 
 New York, and New Jersey is fed by Southern travel. 
 We shall have the Convention in New York, and then its 
 action will be different." 
 
 " But it will be too late ! They tell me the Convention 
 will respond to the Richmond movement this very night." 
 
 " Let them tell you what they please ! They shaU not 
 respond!" 
 
 " That is decisive language, at aU events !" 
 
 " And it will be followed by decisive action ! North of 
 the river Hudson, the whole country wiU soon be in a blaze 
 of indignation, that Crook should have been permitted to 
 transport his specie in safety to the Delaware shore. No, 
 my Lord ! There will be no reconcihation ! General Hud- 
 son will be removed. I shall be the commander-in-chief. 
 And the Convention wiU be under my influence, instead of 
 this intriguing President's !" 
 
 " Convince me of this, and I will treat with you on such 
 a basis as wiU effectually prevent a readjustmunt of the 
 difficulties. I will stipulate to furnish in money ten millions 
 sterling, twenty steam frigates, and, if needed, fifty thousand 
 men. The equivalents — " 
 
 " Will be granted, if territory in a Southern chme, and 
 the emancipation of the slaves, will embrace all your 
 demands." 
 
 " These will be quite sufficient, provided a stronger Govern- 
 ment or Governments, guaranteeing greater stabiKty in 
 policy, be added." 
 
 " Oh, if you will stand by me, the Government shall be 
 strong enough ! My Lord, I have said enough. With the 
 aid of Great Britain, I will undertake to put an end to this 
 Republican Government I" 
 
190 EXCITEirENT IN THE CONTENTION', 
 
 " Satisfy tis of that, and most assuredly our aid will not 
 be withheld." 
 
 "Then be patient,. my Lord, and await events." _ 
 
 " Very well, General. But there is not much time now 
 for patience. If the resolutions should pass the Convention, 
 our negotiations will be nipped in the bud." 
 
 " They will not pass, my Lord." 
 
 " Then, General, I take my leave, so that your time for 
 counteraction may not be interfered with. Adieu, tiU morn- 
 ing." 
 
 When his lordship had gone. General Ruffleton rose up, 
 and gazed steadfastly at a large mirror. 
 
 " I see no change," said he, " in the expression of my 
 face ; and yet I am thinking of a bloody deed. My cheeks 
 have still their color, my brows are not knit together, and my 
 lips do not press against my teeth, as those are painted who 
 deliberately resolve to cut the thread of hfe ! No ; it is all 
 a lie ! Blood is merely a highly colored fluid, whether it 
 flows from a calf or a man. The color is the same, and so 
 is the temperature. Then why should we be more horrified 
 at the one than the other ? Popoli !" said he, rapping at a 
 closet door. " Signor," he continued, when a dark-visaged 
 Italian came forth and confronted him, "the time we looked 
 for has arrived. You heard the promise made me. It was 
 his Lordship, the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo- 
 tentiary of her Britannic Majesty." 
 
 " Ten mUhons sterling," said the Italian. 
 
 " Yes. And it is nearly equal to fifty millions of dollars." 
 
 " How much, General, shall Popoli and Gardini have ?" 
 
 " When I receive it, you shall have ten thousand dollars 
 each — in addition to the sum originally named. Go then ! 
 
 Lose not a moment. An hour going, an hour to , and 
 
 an hour to return. Three hours hence I shall be master of 
 the new world. Go !" 
 
 " Three hours hence, and you may look for one of us, 
 with good news." Saying this the dark Italian turned and 
 glided out of the door. 
 
 " Ha !" exclaimed Ruffleton, starting back on again be- 
 holding his features in the glass; " I was premature ! The 
 devil himself could not have presented a more savage 
 scowl ! But the hue ! Why so dark ? It is the same 
 blood and the same surface. It must have been the im- 
 
EXCITEMENT IH" THE CONTENTION. 191 
 
 pression of the Italian's countenance daguerreotyped on the 
 retina. No matter ! Summers," he continued, throwing 
 open a door in the rear of the room, " come in. I want 
 you." A fair-faced youth glided in at the door, and threw 
 his arm familiarly on the General's shoulder. 
 
 " I thought you had forgotten me. General," said the 
 youth, almost reproachfully. " Here have I been caged 
 like some neglected bird, and fearful eveiy moment of hear- 
 ing bad tidings from the battle-field ! You must take me 
 with you next time." 
 
 " Perhaps. But I am busy now. Go to Brigadier Bala- 
 trum in the next building, and say I desire to see him im- 
 mediately. You need not return. But tell Mrs. Punt to 
 have refreshments in readiness when the clock strikes 
 twelve." 
 
 Summers withdrew, and soon after General Balatrum 
 came in through the door cut in the partition wall. 
 
 " Balatrum," said Ruffleton, " has your brigade arrived 
 in the city ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. The companies are dispersed so as not to at- 
 tract attention and create alann. lu ten minutes they could 
 be concentrated in the Square." 
 
 " That is well. I may not have need of them ; but if I 
 should desire to use them, can I rely upon their fidelity ?" 
 
 " I will answer it with my head. They are your parti- 
 sans to a man." 
 
 " I have treated them well, and hereafter will be more 
 liberal still. Let one of your officers attend me at Inde 
 pendenee Hall to-night, to receive and transmit the order, 
 if I find it necessary to issue it. Balatrum, you are bold, I 
 know. Nevertheless, the consequences of the action 1 
 have in contemplation may be serious " 
 
 " Fear me not, my General ! If you should require it, 
 I would throw President Langdon out of the window !" 
 
 " I may require something of the kind, if nothing less 
 will suflBce. Go, General, and promenade the Square. 4i 
 Have with you one hundred men, in citizens' attire ; and 
 when any members of the Convention go out among them, 
 let them not return." 
 
 " You shall be obeyed. Shall they be despatched ?" 
 
 " No — not necessarily — ^that is, if they be not refractory. 
 It is a dreadful thing to shed human blood ! Nothing but 
 13 
 
192 jEXCITEMEST IJf THK CONTSNTICMr. 
 
 the most urgent aeoessity may justify it. And yet th^ best 
 of men, when treason stalks abroad, and the fate of millions 
 is suspended by a hair, may destroy a few lives to save a 
 great many. This would be patriotism. Remember my 
 words, BaLatrum. Can you tell me why those rockets are 
 fio continually sent up from the river ?" 
 
 "The President's ships are rejoicing over the news from 
 Kichmond. The rockets are answered by others at Ran- 
 dolph's head-quarters. The President, they say, as well as 
 Iludson, and Crook, and Steel, are in high spirits. They 
 will visit the city to-morrow, and be received by the Con- 
 vention." 
 
 " Balatrum, you know the old adage ?" 
 
 "A great many. General. But which do you allude 
 to?" 
 
 " This — ^The best laid schemes of men and mice aft gang 
 awry." 
 
 " Ila ! ha ! Adieu, General." 
 
 Ruffleton followed soon after, attended by a retinue of 
 aides. At the moment of his appearance in the Convention, 
 the members were considering a series of resolutions which 
 had just been reported. The speakers seemed to be all in 
 favor of aa amicable response to the sentiments transmitted 
 by telegraph from Richmond, and Ruffleton began- to 
 despair of the practicability of his scheme. Turning his 
 head aside, and whispering to a member from Massachu- 
 , setts, he asked if Crook had restored the money taken from 
 the city of New York. As if startled from a dream, the 
 member sprang to his feet, and put the question to the chair- 
 man of the committee, who had the iloor, and was urging 
 a prompt adoption of his resolutions. He seemed embar- 
 rassed, and replied that he had no infonnation on the sub- 
 ject. And then a general awakening from the apparent 
 lethargy seemed to ensue among the most Northern mem- 
 bers, and a great deal of bitterness was expressed. Then an 
 amendment was proposed to the resolutions, and a vote de- 
 manded, as a test question, and it was found that the report 
 and resolutions of the committee would probably be adopted 
 by a very small majority. When this was ascertained, Ge- 
 neral Ruffleton had risen and gone into the lobby, where he 
 was surrounded by a number of his friends. A moment 
 :after it was observed that several of the leading friends of 
 
EXCITEMENT IN THE CONTENTION. 193 
 
 President Randolph, and among them the chairman of the 
 committee, were beckoned aside, and led out of the Hall, 
 on pretence of business, or important intelligence, by urgent 
 messengers. Tliis produced a pause in the proceedings of 
 the Convention, supposed to be but momentary. But these 
 gentlemen did not return, as was expected. They were sent 
 for, but" could nowhere be found. 
 
 In the meantime, Ruffleton resumed his seat, and the 
 opponents of the measure of the Committee on Federal 
 Relations renewed their opposition to the report and reso- 
 lutions with increased zeal and determination. They read 
 despatches from the New England States, to the effect that 
 any yielding on the part of the committee, or amicable 
 arrangement with the slave States, which did not make the 
 return of the money taken from New York by General 
 Crook a sine qud non, would be repudiated with scorn by 
 the people. 
 
 At the end of the boldest speech of this character, the 
 member having the floor moved the previous question. 
 Great excitement ensued, and pages were seen running in 
 different directions in quest of the absent members. But 
 they did not return, and the measure of conciliation was lost. 
 
 It was during this scene that a member from Boston 
 rose in his place and demanded a vote on a resolution he 
 had offered in the morning, expressing the thanks of the 
 Convention to General Ruffleton for his zeal and bravery in 
 the cause of the Northern States. There being no opposi- 
 tion to it, the resolution was adopted nemine contradi- 
 cente. 
 
 Then the General himselfj by the permission of the Con- 
 vention, rose up, and briefly, though with honied words, 
 returned his thanks for the expressions of coniidence and 
 approbation contained in the resolution. 
 
 The applause that followed the speech could not be stifled 
 until the General rose to withdraw. But just when he was 
 on the eve of retiring from the Hall, a prodigious uproar 
 was heard in the street. Men were seen moving hastily to 
 and fro with consternation on their faces. 
 
 " What is the matter ?" asked the President, turning to 3 
 member. 
 
 " I have not heard," was the reply. The member was 
 one of the partisans of Ruffleton. 
 
 9 
 
194 strsrENSiox of hostilities. 
 
 "Move to adjourn," pursued the President. 
 
 " No," said the other. " It may be business reqalrmg 
 action. And, Mr. President," he continued in a whisper, 
 '• if it be a matter demanded by the North, however dis- 
 tasteful to your Blount ears, it will be best not to throw any 
 obstacle in the way." 
 
 " You are impertinent, sir," said Mr. Langdon, re-adjust- 
 ing himself in his chair. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 SUSPENSION OF HOSTILITIES. 
 
 The President's head-quarters in New Jei'sey were ir a 
 country mansion near Red Bank, between the Northern 
 and Southern encampments. Randolph was in high spirits, 
 sui'rounded not only by his own Generals and Commodores, 
 but by several of the most distinguished officers of the hos- 
 tile armies. Hudson, Crook and Steel were present. 
 
 " Commodore," said the President, addressing his senior 
 naval officer, " will not Blount unite with us in a toast to 
 the Union ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. He'll be here." 
 
 " He makes it a point to go round with the surgeons," 
 said Commodore Early. " Three thousand of his men were 
 wounded, and he nurses them like brothers." 
 
 "And they will be as brothers to him hereafter!" said 
 the President. " But can it be true that Ruffleton aban- 
 doned his wounded on the field ?" 
 
 " I am sorry to say the information is correct," remarked 
 General Hudson. " He did not even propose a suspension 
 of hostilities after the battle, for the purpose of burying his 
 dead." 
 
 "He suspended hostilities himself," said General Crook, 
 " by abandoning the field. Still the fellow fought for more 
 than an hour like a lion." 
 
 " Who," said Commodore Stout, " wouldn't fight like a 
 lion for four millions of dollars ?" 
 
SUSPENSION OF HOSTILlTtES. 195 
 
 ' But it was not solely in defence of the treasure that 
 Blount achieved his victory," said the President. 
 
 " Nor was it necessary," said General Hudson. " Your 
 Excellency, will, I think, award a restitution of the money. 
 On no other terms will the North lay aside her arms." 
 
 " We will pass it to your credit," said General Crook. 
 
 "But, General," said Hudson, "this contrihution was 
 levied on friend and foe alike." ^ 
 
 " The B.ichmond Convention says nothing coneeming the 
 money." 
 
 " The Cotton States would not sanction its restitution," 
 said General Steel. 
 
 " Then, it is probable, the North wUl require an equiva- 
 lent," said Hudson, with a smile. 
 
 '• And what would that be ?' asked the President. 
 
 " Metal for metal. Iron for gold." 
 
 " I understand," said Crook. " It is my cannon and mor- 
 tars they want. They may have the bombs and balls, but 
 not the tubes." 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the President, " let us not discuss 
 these matters too closely. Recollect, no unpleasant words 
 are to be uttered this night ; or if any should escape us, 
 they are to be promptly retracted. How now, Willy ?" he 
 continued, directing the attention of his comjjany to Willy. 
 " The wonder is, or rather would be with any other, why 
 you should have the temerity to present yourself before so 
 many of the recently opposing Generals." 
 
 "They have defeated the resolutions, sir," whispered 
 Willy. 
 
 " Ah ! " responded the President, with gravity. A 
 moment after the approach of General Blount was an- 
 nounced. 
 
 " Peace and Union !" cried Alice on the porch, as Blount 
 ascended the steps. 
 
 " And happiness !" was his response, as he cordially kissed 
 the fair hand of the President's daughter. " If I may exert 
 any influence over the councils of the nation, Alice, you 
 may be certain it will be for peace, union, and happiness." 
 
 " Go on, then, and may Heaven aid you !" 
 
 " But here is still my ring !" said Blount, lingering, and 
 detaining her hand. 
 
 " She wiU not take it yet — ^from me," said Alice, the dia- 
 
196 6USPKNSI0N OF HOSTILITTES. 
 
 mond on her forehead again twinkling like a star in the 
 firmament. 
 
 " Nor from me, it seems. But where is she ? Is she not 
 here ? " 
 
 " No — but will be to-morrow. Rufiieton has returned to 
 the city." 
 
 "True! And I do not think he will pay me another 
 visit soon. But you think Edith will leave the city because 
 he has returned to it ?" 
 
 " Partly because of his pi-esence, and partly " 
 
 " Because I am here ? I hope so !" 
 
 " But your business here is with the sterner sex. There 
 Hes your way. But yonder is one of the Generals beckoned 
 out. Merciful God ! " 
 
 This was uttered upon beholding some one spring from a 
 dark corner and aim a blow at the General who had been 
 called out of the apartment. 
 
 The one stricken fell heavily on the porch. There was a 
 rush to the place with many lights. 
 
 "General!" cried the President, "are you wounded?" 
 
 "To the death, Randolph !" said General Hudson, as the 
 arterial blood issued in jets from his neck. 
 
 " Who did this dastardly act ?" demanded the President, 
 endeavoring to raise the wounded General. 
 
 "The Italian," said General Hudson, in a feeble voice. 
 
 "The Italian ! Seize the Italian !" cried the President to 
 the Blue Caps, then arriving from all directions. 
 
 "Here's one!" cried Sergeant Bim, dragging Popoli for- 
 ward. Popoli had been standing near the General. 
 
 " Not him — he was talking to me — and the other — 
 another Italian, struck the blow — it was one of your Blue 
 Caps, Randolph, a traitor — ah !" GeneralHudson, uttering 
 these words ^^■ith difiiculty, sank back, and died in the arms 
 of the President. 
 , "He's gone!" said the President. 
 
 " Secure the assassin," cried General Blount, " or we shall 
 be branded as murderers! Where are his aids? Where 
 are the officers who attended him ? " 
 
 " Fled !" said Crook. 
 
 " The rascals were capable of supposing we could do such 
 an infamous deed !" said the old Commodore. 
 
 " Where is Sergeant Bim ?" asked the President, 
 
BUSPKNSIOSr OP HOSTILITIKS. 107 
 
 "Gone in pursuit of Cardini," said Col. Caileton; "No 
 doubt he was the assassin. To-night he begged to be on 
 duty an extra term. And now he is missing !" 
 
 " Colonel !" said the President, "send others in pursuit ! 
 Hasten ! or Bim -will slay the wretch ! There may be papers 
 in his possession — he might confess — you understand! 
 Some one else had the motive — he was but the hireling 
 slave — dispatch!" Then addressing the people crowding 
 round, he continued, "Bear Hudson into the house, my 
 friends. He was brave, and noble, and patriotici Alaaj 
 Blount ! the country has met with an irreparable loss !" 
 
 " Do not be distressed, sir," said Blount. " It is over. 
 No one can censure you." 
 
 " Censure me ! Certainly not. I fear not the breath^ of 
 calumny. He was my fiiend and I his. The success of my 
 most cherished designs depended, in some measure, on the 
 preservation of his Efe. So far from desiring his destruc- 
 tion, I here declare that the one who caused this deed to b* 
 perpetrated was my worst enemy." 
 
 " Here is a paper which fell from his hand as we bore 
 him in," said General Steel. " It was probably deliv^ed 
 just as the blow was struck." 
 
 It was from Ruffleton, and ran as follows : — 
 
 " Dear General^ — ^I think it probable the Ilesolutionsr will 
 not pass the Convention. Be upon your guard. It may 
 not be safe to leave your o^vn lines. An attempt has been 
 mjide on my life. Be careful. General. I wUl join you in a> 
 few days, and shall be happy to serve, the second in com- 
 mand, under the first General and the first man of the 
 country. These, by ray honest and faithful messenger, 
 Signer Popoli. ' " Ruffleton." 
 
 " I am Popoli, gentlemen," said the Italian, when the 
 note was read, " and I hope you wUl believe me inno- 
 cent." 
 
 " Who admitted you within the yard, sir ?" demanded 
 the President. 
 
 " One of the guards, sir. I said I had a letter for the 
 General." 
 
 " Willy," said the President, " come to my closet for 
 letters as soon as you are in readiness to start for the city. 
 
198 SUSPENSION OB' nOSTILITIES. 
 
 I will send a communication to President Langdon, and in- 
 close the note from Ruffleton." 
 
 When the President withdrew, General Blount sought 
 Alice, who promenaded a balcony on the side of the house 
 opposite to that where the assassination had been com- 
 mitted. 
 
 " I am glad," said he, " to find you calm on such a night 
 as this." 
 
 " I am calm, General Blount," she replied ; " but ill at 
 ease. I cannot conceive why the attendants of Hudson fled 
 so precipitately, unless they apprehended danger them- 
 selves from the hand that struck down their leader. And 
 if this he so, they must suppose my father had some com- 
 plicity in the guilt, and such a supposition — Oh, it is too 
 dreadful to think that half the people should believe him 
 guilty !" 
 
 " Nay ; it is too absui-d. Why should they not be quite 
 as likely to suppose Crook or myself planned the infamous 
 butchery ?" 
 
 " Alas ! they may ! At all events there -will not be want- 
 ing accusers of the South, who will make use of this occur- 
 rence for the accomplishment of their pecuniary or political 
 purposes. But here is my father. He, too, is calm." 
 
 "Alice," said he, taking his daughter's hand tenderly, 
 " be not distressed at this event. It will, in time, be mani-- 
 fest who was the guilty party. I can derive no benefit, 
 nor you. General, nor the South, from General Hudson's 
 faU ?" 
 
 " On the contrary," said Blount, " if my suspicions prove 
 well founded, it may result in evil to us all." 
 
 " Who is suspected ?" asked Alice. 
 
 " I suspect Ruflleton," said Blount. 
 
 " If it should be Ruffleton," continued Alice, " what 
 would become of Edith ? And jjoor Mary is with her !" 
 
 "I have written Langdon," said Randolph, "in the 
 event of insecurity in the city, to send Edith and Mary 
 hither." 
 
 " And I," said Blount, " if the truce be ruptured, will 
 transport my army hither, and share the fate of brave 
 Crook !" 
 
 " Nay, mine also;" said the President. " If the truce be 
 broken, I shall no longer forbear to resist the aggressor. 
 
THE TEEASUKE, 199 
 
 But let US return to the parlor. I have ordered the removal 
 of poor Hudson to his own head-quarters. They will hardly 
 run away from their General — and he lifeless." 
 
 They descended from the halcony, and rejoined the com- 
 pany iu the parlor, where intelligence was impatiently 
 awaited from the city. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE TEEASITEB. 
 
 Jack Bim distanced all other pursuers. But Cardini 
 sprang into a boat and pushed out from shore, just when 
 Bim had arrived in haUing and pistol-shot distance. Bim, 
 abandoning his horse, plunged into the water, firing at 
 every step, until his pistols were empty. Then he was 
 under the necessity of retracing his steps, for he could not 
 swim. He soon found another skiff, however, and without 
 demanding permission of the owner, took possession and 
 rowed after the fugitive. It was too late. But still the Ser- 
 geant rowed on, resolved to overtake the dastardly assassin. 
 
 When Jack landed, he proceeded to the head-quarters of 
 General RufSeton. Bold as a lion, he disdained any dis- 
 guise, notwithstanding his recent exploit in Sixth street 
 must have constituted him a marked man. He recharged 
 his revolvers under a tree in Independence Square and 
 escaped the observation of General Balatrum's brigade, then 
 dispersed in groups in the grounds of the Square. 
 
 Watching an opportunity, he crossed over, and obtained 
 easy access, for the lock had not been repaired. Closing 
 the door behind him, he had recourse to his match and 
 candle, implements always in his possession. But he had 
 not proceeded many steps before it struck him that instead 
 of finding the object of his search with a lighted candle in 
 his hand, he might be exposed to discovery himself. 
 
 " Out you go !" said he, blowing out the candle. " I 
 know every foot of the way by heart. Gad, this is a lucky 
 affair ! I'm out of money !" 
 
 He turned to the left and felt for the orifice in the wall. 
 
200 THE TRKA.3UKE. 
 
 Having passed it, stepping cautiously, he pursued his way 
 through several others, until he came to the apartment 
 where he had found the imprisoned Mary. Here there was 
 a dim light burning, and, sitting in a great chair near the 
 centre table, he btheld the murderer panting from the 
 effects of his recent exertions. Mrs. Punt was moving 
 about the room. 
 
 Thj'ee times the Sergeant raised his pistol and aimed it 
 steadily at the assassin's breast ; but finally replaced it in 
 his belt, imable to reconcile his conscience to the idea of 
 taking life without giving his victim a chance to defend 
 himself. And besides, he did not like to make a disturbance 
 with the report of fire-arms. So he remained perfectly 
 still in his place of concealment, to reconnoitre and await a 
 more favorable opportunity of securing an equal combat 
 with the assassin. 
 
 " Where is the General ?" asked Cardini. 
 
 " At the State House," said Mrs. Punt. " If you want 
 to see the Genei'al, why not go to Independence Hall ?" 
 
 " I have reasons, Mrs. Punt." 
 
 "And you know my name. I never saw you before. 
 But it must be all right. You got the card of admission 
 from Signor Popoli ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "You know I must be careful in admitting strangers. 
 They threatened to confine me in the General's underground 
 chamber because a great desperado and vagabond, named 
 Jack Bim, once got in and carried off a crying girl." 
 
 "Has no one inquired for me?" 
 
 "Yes. General Balatrum asked if any one had come 
 from the camp of General Hudson." 
 
 " How long since ?" 
 
 " Not two minutes before you scratched at the front door." 
 
 " He will return soon. Give me some wine." 
 
 "What sort?" 
 
 " Let it be brandy. That's stronger." 
 
 "La's a mercy!" said Mrs. Punt, seeing blood on the 
 hand and garments of the Italian, when placing the brandy 
 on the table. 
 
 " What's the matter ?" cried Cardini, springing up, and 
 placing his hand on his dagger. 
 
 " The blood I You're covered with blood !" 
 
THE TREASURE. 201 
 
 " Is that all ! A little water -will wash it off. Show me 
 to a basin, and then give me one of the General's shirts." 
 
 "La! How you order! But you do it in such a com- 
 manding way, I'm afraid to refuse. I hope, sir, the blood 
 ain't — " 
 
 " Yes, it is. Ask no questions." 
 
 " The w.'iter's in the next house, in the hall, to the left of 
 that opening. Shall I light the gas ?" 
 
 " No ; I can wash in the dark. Have the shirt ready." 
 Saying this, he rose from the chair and passed through the 
 aperture in the wall. 
 
 " Be easy, and don't make a fuss," said Bim, encircling 
 the slight form of the Italian with one of his gigantic arms, 
 and gagging bim with the other. Not the slightest noise 
 ensued. Cardini trembled in submission when Bim whis- 
 pered his name in his ear. 
 
 The Sergeant lifted up his victim, and bore him to a room' 
 at the northern end of the row. Here he paused, and stood 
 the little man on his feet. 
 
 " Now, Signer," said he, " I'm going to strike a light ; 
 but while I'm doing it, you might stab me in the dark. So, 
 I'll just hold both your hands in one of mine, and with the 
 other take your pistols and dagger." This accomplished, 
 Jack drew his match and ignited his candle. 
 
 " Sergeant, what are you going to do with me ?" asked 
 Cardini. 
 
 " Signor, the first thing I must do is to takean oath that 
 I won't kill you — at this time. If I don't, I can't answer 
 for the consequences. Before this looking-glass, I do solemnly 
 swear that I will not kill Signor Cardini this night, unless 
 I'm compelled, to save my own life, or to prevent his escape 
 
 — so help me ! Signor, now you're safe. One of the 
 
 Blue Caps to be a traitor ! D you ! it's well I took 
 
 that oath. But I'll forget you ever were a Blue Cap ;" he 
 continued, snatching the cap from the Italian's head and 
 throwing it into a corner. " Let it be a bed for rats ! And 
 you have the devilish impudence to look me in the face and 
 ask what I intend to do with you ! — ^you, who have been 
 pretending to seiwe two masters !" 
 
 " Sergeant," said the Italian, " you did the same thing. 
 You served both Ruffleton and the President." 
 
 " But not at the same time, Signor. That makes aU the 
 
202 THE TEEAStJEB. 
 
 dijeference in the world. But why did Ruffleton hire you to 
 kill General Hudson ?" 
 
 " I haven't said he did, Sergeant." 
 
 " But you will say so, because it is so." 
 
 '■ I will say nothing about it." 
 
 " But you shall ! Confess the whole truth in a minute, 
 or I'll strangle you." 
 
 " Remember your oath, Sergeant." 
 
 " I ought not to have sworn aloud ! Very well ; I can 
 put you where nobody will find you till this night is past. 
 Can you tell me whether anybody's down there ?" pointing 
 at the hearth. 
 
 " Down where ?" 
 
 " Oh, you don't know anything about it. Luckily, I am 
 one who helped to dig the dungeon, and know all about its 
 twistings and turnings." Saying this, Bim touched a spring 
 in the fireplace and the hearth-stone flew up in front, turn- 
 ing on hidden hinges, and disclosed a dark and dismal vault, 
 in which there was a ladder. " Go down first," said Bim. 
 " Obey me, or I'll pitch you down, and that won't be break- 
 ing my oath ; if you die it will be killing yourself." 
 
 Cardini descended very reluctantly. When they reached 
 the bottom, Bim, with the candle in his hand, led the way 
 imtil they entered a dry chamber, supposed to be under the 
 centre of the street. This room was walled round with 
 massive stone, to which there was an iron door that could 
 only be fastened and unfastened on the outside. It was 
 perforated at the top for the admission of air, but no parti- 
 cle of the light of heaven penetrated it. Bim ignited the 
 wick of an iron lamp suspended from the ceiling, and 
 pointed to a barrel of crackers and a keg of smoked 
 herrings. 
 
 " There, Cardini," said he, " is provision for two months. 
 In the corner you will find a leaden pipe that will supply 
 water. Here are some old clothes. There is a stool to sit 
 on and meditate. Think^of your crimes and repent." 
 
 "Sergeant," said Cardini, "have you not taken the Uves 
 of many men?" 
 
 " In fair fight, I grant you ; but never one in any 
 other way. I confess I killed Major Trapp without giving 
 him a chance to shoot me. But he had a revolver in hia 
 hand, and had just scaled the temple of my friend. And 
 
THE TEEAStTRE. 2 OS 
 
 now, good night, Cardini. You will not need a jailor. 
 There is some straw in one of the corners, and there would 
 have been a bible if the general- had permitted." Saying 
 this, Bim fastened the door and departed. 
 
 "And now," said he, as he closed the trap-stone at the 
 hearth, " I must replenish my finances. I have only three 
 cents remaining." He proceeded without delay to the attic 
 room where he had left Solomon Mouser to watch his gold. 
 And having some curiosity to see how the old Jew passed 
 his time, he endeavored to make his appearance before him 
 without any premonition of his approach. It was in vain, 
 for when he burst into the room he saw the closet door 
 close quickly after the retreating Jew. 
 
 "Come out, old Tuppenny!" said he — "it's nobody but 
 me. I thought I'd just slip up softly to see how my affairs 
 were attended to in my absence. Come out, I say — ^it's me 
 — Jack Bim." 
 
 " As I am a mortal man," said the Jew, coming forth. 
 " I feared it was a burglar !" 
 
 " I suppose the Bank is all right ?" 
 
 " ISTo — no — ^no ! "We made an error." 
 
 " What ? See here — Tuppenny ! If any of my money 
 is gone — " 
 
 " Gone ? All that is gone you took away yourself, except 
 a few cents — I mean dimes — I bought bread and cheese 
 with, and a pitchfork to fight off the rats." 
 
 " Oh d — the dimes ! I -don't care for even a few dol- 
 lars. But what did you mean by ' no ! no ! no !' and ' an 
 error ?' " demanded Bim, imitating the Jew's voice. 
 
 "I'll show you," said the Jew, exhibiting several sci-aps 
 of paper covered with figures. " If j'ou will sit down and 
 go through these calculations, you will see that we failed to 
 carry one, and that it made a difference of one hundred 
 dollars. So you have my receipt for that amount over and 
 above the actual sum in my custody." 
 
 "Figui-es and calculations! Why, it would take me a whole 
 day. I won't look at them. But I'll correct the error." 
 
 " I thought you would ! I knew you would give me back 
 ten eagles." , 
 
 " You didn't know any such thing. But I will do this : 
 I'll credit you on the receipt with a hundred dollars more 
 than I take this time." 
 
204 THE TRKASUEB. 
 
 " Mercy on me ! And is all that gold gone ?" 
 
 " Shell out !" said Bim. 
 
 "It stabs me to the heart — hut you must have your 
 will." 
 
 " Of course I'U have my will, and it's my will to have 
 my money. But what difference does it make to you ?" 
 
 " What difference ? I'll tell you. I charge the slightest 
 commission for the safe custody of the treasure, and the 
 more the sum is diminished the less will be my compensa- 
 tion. Don't you understand ?" 
 
 " Not very clearly. But was that in the bargain ?" 
 
 " It was the same thing." 
 
 " I don't remember it. But what do you call the slight- 
 est commission ?" 
 
 " Only the one-tenth of one per cent., per diem." 
 
 " One-tenth of one per cent ! That's only ten cents on 
 the hundred dollars." 
 
 " Exactly." 
 
 " How many hundred years would it take, at that rate, 
 to eat up the whole ?" 
 
 " Thrifty Jacob ! Would you wait till I made the cal- 
 culation ?" 
 
 " No — and I've no time to spare — so shell out ! I'll take 
 care that you don't get it all." 
 
 " How much will you take from me ?" 
 
 " Take from you. I don't like the word, old Tuppenny. 
 It's too soon to talk that way. Wait till my capital is con- 
 sumed, and when I come to borrow your money " 
 
 " I'll lend you as much as you want ! I'll accommodate 
 you now ! You shall have thousands ! And without 
 usury !" 
 
 " Well, there is warm blood in a Jew, after all !" 
 
 " We are a persecuted race ! Borrow of me, sir, and 
 then your deposit won't be diminished at all — and you won't 
 have to alter the receipt you hold. You will just sign me a 
 little note, and that will be all. No security will be de- 
 manded " 
 
 " That sounds Kke nonsense to me, Tuppenny — security, 
 -when you have my gold ! But no matter — I'll try it for a 
 thousand. Shell out, for, I repeat, I'm in a hurry !" 
 
 This was done with alacrity, very much apparently to 
 their mutual satisfaction. But Bim, pausing suddenly when 
 
HUDSON'S 8UCCE880B. ^6 
 
 departing, as if struck by a new idea, asked the Jew if the 
 thousand dollars were not taken from the gold deposited in 
 the coffee bag. The Jew confessed they were, bnt reminded 
 the Sergeant that the receipt in his possession was for the 
 whole sum, and not minus the amount subtracted. He 
 said he would replace the thousand dollars immediately from 
 his funds deposited with Moses Abrahams. This, although 
 it puzzled the rather obtuse Bim, seemed to satisfy him, and 
 he strode away with a grave physiognomy. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 HUDSON'S SUCCESSOK. 
 
 Tbe uproar in the vicinity of Independence Hall arose 
 from a rumor that General Hudson had been assassinated in 
 the camp of President Randolph. It soon reached the Con- 
 vention, and produced, as was natural, a very great com- 
 motion. Colonel Mallei", an officer who had accompanied 
 General Hudson to the quarters of President Randolph, 
 came in, and beckoned to General Ruffleton, then sur- 
 rounded by many of his friends and partisans. And about 
 the same time Wiry Willy obtained admission, and placed a 
 communication from President Randolph in the hand of 
 the President of the Convention. 
 
 For several minutes the proceedings of the Convention 
 were completely interrupted. President Laugdon was 
 observed to change color, and to, clasp his forehead with his 
 hand. But a moment after his composure was recovered, 
 and despatching a brief note by Willy to Edith, his official 
 demeanor was resumed with dignity. Calling the Conven- 
 tion to order, he stood up and read a brief narrative of the 
 melancholy occurrence at lied Bank, as written by Presi- 
 dent Randolpli, as well as the letter found in the hand of 
 the dying General. 
 
 During the reading of these papers General Ruffleton 
 returned to his seat, followed by several of his partisans, 
 
206 HUDSON'S STJCOESSOE. 
 
 A pause ensued, and for a long time no one seemed bold 
 enough to make a motion, or to suggest any action. 
 
 At length Mr. Monmouth, a delegate from 'New Jersey, 
 moved an adjournment. This was followed by an extraor- 
 dinary ebullition of derisive opposition, and the motion was 
 lost by a majority of five votes. 
 
 " Mr. President," said Monmouth, " I move an adjourn- 
 ment, because I see no disposition to institute any action." 
 
 " You will see a disposition to act !" said Mr. Virus, a 
 zealous partisan of General Ruffleton. " I can well under- 
 stand why the partisans of the Southern Randolph in this 
 body should desire an adjournment " 
 
 " Sir!" said Monmouth, " do not insinuate that this foul 
 deed had the privity and sanction of President Randolph !'' 
 
 " I judge him by the evidences of his guUt ! Of that here- 
 after." 
 
 " The , gentlemen will confine themselves to the business 
 before the Convention," said President Langdon. 
 
 " Mr. President," said Mr. V., " that business will come 
 legitimately before us. But, in the meantime, let us proceed 
 to the nomination of General Hudson's successor. I propose 
 General Ruffleton." 
 
 " Mr. President," said Monmouth, " I again move an ad- 
 journment." 
 
 " No ! no !" cried many voices, and nearly half the mem- 
 bers sprang to their feet. 
 
 " Then let there be a call of the house," said Monmouth. 
 " Several of my friends are absent — mysteriously absent." 
 
 " "Whom do you accuse," asked Mr. Virus, at the insti- 
 gation of General Rufiieton. 
 
 " I accuse General Ruffleton !" cried Mr. Carbon, one of 
 the members whose absence had been alluded to, rushing 
 forward with torn garments. " Yes, I accuse you, sir !"' 
 -he continued, pointing to Ruffleton, whose face was red 
 with anger. " It was your messenger that summoned me 
 away, and it was your soldiers who withheld me, and who 
 now prevent my colleagues from returning to their seats." 
 
 Here the President's hammer imposed order. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said he, " let us remember that we assume 
 to be the representatives of virtuous ireemen. The motion 
 now pending is for an adjournment, and it must have pre- 
 cedence. But before I put the question, I would remark, 
 
HtJDSON'S SUCCESSOR. 207 
 
 m view of the proposition to nominate a General-in-Chief in 
 place of the one who has just fallen, that it is not clear to 
 my mind, nor v/as it at the time of General Hudsoij's selec- 
 tion, that any power has heen conferred upon us to appoint 
 military officers. I think we were sent here merely to re- 
 present public opinion. At aU events, let us not act with 
 precipitation." 
 
 " I demand the vote on my question," said Monmouth. 
 
 It was decided in the negative by a majority of four. 
 
 " I ask a vote on the nomination of General Hudson's 
 successor," said Mr. Virus. 
 
 "Excuse me," said the President. " I would rather not 
 put it to the vote — at least to-night, and in any other than 
 a full house. I know this proceeding is not in accordance 
 with parliamentary rules ; but if I cannot be gratified, I will 
 resign." 
 
 " It is not in accordance with your duty, sir," said Col. 
 Mailer. " You are the tool of Randolph " 
 
 "Order! order!" cried many. 
 
 " Remove that man !" said the President to the door- 
 keeper. 
 
 "At your peril !" said the Colonel, drawing his sword. 
 
 " The chair is unoccupied," said President Langdon, ris- 
 ing, and retiring from the chamber with dignity. A mo- 
 ment after, aU the members who coincided with Langdon 
 rose up, and were about to follow their President, when 
 General Ruffleton stamped violently on the floor, and this 
 was immediately followed by the entrance of a body of 
 soldiers, with fixed bayonets, led by General Balatrum. 
 
 "And yoxi would be the Commander-in-Chief?" said 
 Monmouth, turning to Ruffleton. " Say, Dictator or Ty- 
 rant !" 
 
 " I am a true ISTorthern man," said Ruffleton, smiling in 
 his blandest manner ; " and will not see the people sold to 
 the Southern assassin, Randolph !" 
 
 " It is false !" cried Monmouth. " Randolj)h is no assas- 
 sin. But j'ou — ^" 
 
 " Die, d — d traitor ! " cried Mailer, rushing forward and 
 stabbing Monmouth to the heart. He fell and expired be- 
 side his chair, while consternation seized tlje rest. 
 
 "The vote ! The vote !" cried Virus. " All in favor of 
 General Ruffleton succeeding to the chief command, say aye 1" 
 14 
 
208 IMPENDING PERILS. 
 
 This was responded to unanimously by all who voted. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Euffleton, " I thank you. I will im- 
 mediately repair to the head-quarters of my murdered 
 predecessor, and either avenge his death or share his 
 fate." 
 
 "I move, next," said Virus, "that this Convention do 
 now adjourn, to meet again as soon as practicable, in the 
 city of New York." This, too, was carried by a similar vote. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 IMPENDING PERILS. 
 
 It was high tide. A skiff containing three persons lay 
 upon the water at the Chestnut street wharf. A cloud of 
 inky hue was rising in the west, and the lightning ever and 
 anon revealed the sad and palhd countenances of the occu- 
 pants of the boat. 
 
 " Father," said Edith, for the three consisted of Langdon, 
 his daughter, and Mary Penford, " I fear they wiU not per- 
 mit Willy to return." Mr. Langdon had sent him to the 
 State House for intelligence. 
 
 " They might not, Edith, if they knew him ; but he will 
 escape observation." 
 
 " I do not fear for Willy," said Mary, " for his Maker, in 
 whom we trust, will guard him." 
 
 " Mercy ! oh, what terrific lightning !" exclaimed Edith, 
 as several brilliant flashes, in quick succession, illuminated 
 the scene. 
 
 " Pray let me have the oars," said Mary, " and I will row 
 out a few yards from the shore. I saw several ill-looking 
 men near the bow of yonder ship." And while she did so, 
 a loud peal of thunder smote upon her ears, and poor Edith 
 took refuge in the arms of her father. 
 
 " Edith," said he, " where is your courage ? My brave 
 child, now is the trying time. Brace yourself to withstand 
 the worst possible alarms of anarchy on earth and of tempests 
 in the sky." 
 
IMPENDING fEEILS. 209 
 
 " I will, father," said she. 
 
 "There they are!" said some one, in a full, manly 
 voice. 
 
 " Who was that ?" whispered Mary, peering in vain to 
 wards the shore, now ohscured in darkness. 
 
 " Xo matter," said Langdon. " It could not have bad 
 reference to us. Probably it was a fisherman." 
 
 Another flash of lightning, while their eyes were directed 
 towards the shore, did not reveal any human being. 
 
 "Here we are," said the same voice, and the next in- 
 stant the prow of another skiff touched their boat at the 
 stern. 
 
 Willy !" exclaimed Mary. " How you frightened 
 
 us 
 
 I" 
 
 " Who is that with you ?" asked Mr. Langdon, another 
 flash of lightning showing the herculean form that accom- 
 panied Willy. 
 
 " It is Sergeant Bim," said Willy, " as true a friend as 
 ever lived." 
 
 " Or died," said Bim ; " and I would die to save or serve 
 any here." 
 
 "We thought we were watched and followed," said 
 Willy ; " and so we determined not to come down Chestnut 
 street. At the Arch street wharf we found this boat, which 
 is larger and stronger than the one you are in." 
 
 " You did well," said Langdon, " and we will get into it. 
 Our baggage can remain in this, and we will tow it over. 
 Let us go to the shore — and do you keep watch, Bim, 
 whilst the transfer is made." 
 
 " I'll answer for your safety," said Bim. " I have two 
 revolvers, a sword and a bowie knife." 
 
 " They are assaulting the Federal troops at the Mint and 
 Custom House," said Willy, in reply to an interrogatory 
 of Mr. Langdon, upon hearing discharges of fire-arms. 
 
 The party was soon bounding out from the shore, under 
 the impulsion of the strong arms of Bim and Willy. The 
 tide was on a stand, and the water smooth and motionless. 
 The dark cloud loomed up nearer the zenith, and its forked 
 lightnings were succeeded by stunning explosions of thunder 
 at shorter inteiTals. But yet there was no wind to ruffle 
 the surface of the river. 
 
 And in such a moment Wiry Willy naiTated the occur- 
 
210 IMPENDIXG PERILS. 
 
 rences in the Convention, subsequently to the abandonment 
 of the chair by Mr. Langdon. He said that Ruffleton had 
 dispatched a tile of soldiers to the hotel for the purpose of 
 seizing liim, and that his escape had been eflected just in 
 time to avoid, perhaps, the tate of Mr. Monmouth. 
 
 "Alas! what would have been your lot, father," said 
 Edith, " if you had remained in the city ?" 
 
 "I know not, my child. But I would have remained in 
 the city, if you had not been there. If you were only in 
 some place of security I should not care much what my 
 fate might be, since I behold the people bent on the destruc- 
 tion of the finest Government that ever existed under 
 heaven." 
 
 "And now we are wanderers, fugitives fi-om our own 
 countrymen !" said Edith. "We, father, around whom so 
 many friends and flatterers used to throng ! A Senator of 
 the United States, and his daughter, flying in the night 
 from the people who once delighted to honor them ! Oh, 
 my country !" 
 
 " May heaven save it and us !" said Mary. 
 
 " Yes, fugitives, on the waste of waters, without shelter, 
 and exposed to the pitiless storm !" continued Edith. 
 
 " I wUl be revenged on 'em !" said Bira. 
 
 "Do you not think, sir," asked Willy, addressing Mr. 
 Langdon, "that we had better row to the Jersey shore 
 before the heavy rain comes on?" 
 
 " ISTo, Willy," said he, " we might fall into the hands of 
 Ruffleton's myrmidons, far more cruel than the raging ele- 
 ments !" 
 
 " We'll do our best, sir," said Bim, exerting his gigantic 
 powers, " to row you down before the worst of the storm 
 reaches us." 
 
 " Oh, yes — never mind the rain," said Edith. 
 
 " It ma^ not rain at all — or very little," said Mary. " I 
 have often seen such dark clouds expend themselves before 
 they spread over the sky." 
 
 Soon after a few large drops pattered on the surface of 
 the river ; and as they fell, the incessant flashes of lightning 
 caused them to resemble showers of sparkling diamonds. 
 
 " Father," said Edith, " if our lot would have been un- 
 certain, remaining in the city, is it not equally dubious fly. 
 ing to the army menaced by General Ruliieton ?" 
 
IMPENDING PEKILS. 211 
 
 "We are not flying to the Southern armv, my child. It 
 is the c&mp of President Randolph we are approaching. I 
 will not be identified with either section. 1 have de- 
 termined upon my course. I shall adhere to the Govern- 
 ment of the United States." 
 
 "But will not Ruffleton attack the Pi-esident him- 
 self?" 
 
 "It may be so — but all the Northern people are not 
 fanatics. If they were we should be ruined irretrievably. 
 Rufiieton may attack the President, but Randolph will 
 triumph in the end." 
 
 " Amen !" said Bim. " And all I ask is to have an oppor- 
 tunity to strike his enemies." 
 
 " We are approaching the landing," said Willy; " and I 
 saw a boat push out from shore, i-owed by sailors. There it 
 is again. I saw the uniform of the Commodores. We might 
 go with them to one of the United States steamers." 
 
 "No," said Mr. Langdon. "Mary was right. The cloud 
 is passing round the horizon, and we shall have no rain. 
 Keep straight on unless they hail us." These words had 
 hardly been uttered before they were hailed, and a few 
 moments after the Commodores were near them, and de- 
 manded the news from the city. 
 
 " D — n me," said the old Commodore, " if Ruffleton is 
 not acting in concert with the British ! We'll soon have 
 work enough on our hands. That explains the motions of 
 John Bull down yonder." 
 
 " They have signalled us," said Commodore Early to Mr. 
 Langdon, " that the British ships seem preparing for action, 
 and hence our return to the fleet at this hour." 
 
 The tars resumed their labor, and the boats were imme- 
 diately flying asunder. The fugitives soon after landed in 
 safety. They proceeded without delay to the house occu- 
 pied by the President, situated midway between the hostUe 
 armies. An oflicer of the guard dispatched informatjjon in 
 advance, so that when the fugitives arrived, Randolph, Alice, 
 Blount, and Crook, came forth and received them on the 
 porch, and conducted them into the parlor. Alice and 
 Edith long remained locked, in each other's arms, and the 
 poor orphan, Mary, was not less cordially received. 
 
 " Langdon," said the President, after hearing a recital of 
 the transactions in the city, " you have done well to aban- 
 
212 iMPENDi>'G rsniLS. 
 
 don the conspirators. Twelve months will not elapse before 
 a large majority of the Northern people will condemn them, 
 precisely as the conservative citizens of the South withhold 
 their approbation from the invasion of the North by our 
 friend Crook." 
 
 "I'm a fire-eater," said Crook, "and represent fire-eaters 
 alone. Blount represents the majority. I am satisfied with 
 what I have accomplished, and am now willing to abandon 
 this free soil for ever, according to my instructions and tl)e 
 stipulations with Hudson." 
 
 " You will not be permitted to retire peaceably," said 
 Blount. " Rufilcton will not let you off on such terms." 
 
 " Then I'll fight !" said Crook. 
 
 " I fear there is no other alternative," continued Blount. 
 " Ah ! do you not hear the shouts in the Northern camp ? 
 Doubtless General Rufiieton, their usurping leader, has 
 arrived ! The war is only about to begin. And, Crook, 
 when he ruptures the truce, I am with you !" 
 
 "Before me, General !" said Crook. " I will follow and 
 obey you !" 
 
 " And I cannot be an idle spectator !" said the President. 
 "I have been a mediator between the sections, and if 
 pledges be violated by either of them, I shall be absolved 
 from my neutrality. I will either keep the peace, or endea- 
 vor to repel the aggressor !" 
 
 "Mr. President," said Blount, "Rufiieton's purpose can- 
 not be doubtful. Before the expiration of twenty-four 
 hours, he will commence the attack upon us all. Plis 
 numerical force is superior to ours combined, and every 
 hour will bring him accessions. The calumny in relation to 
 the death of Hudson will be used to precipitate upon us 
 all the prejudiced combatants in the North. And neither 
 you nor Crook can evacuate Jersey with impunity. I will 
 set out immediately and transport my army hither. I will 
 relieve you, or die with you !" 
 
 " And what will become of you, Alice, Edith, and Mary ?" 
 said the President. " I have decided what must be done. 
 Langdon, I confide my daughter to your care. Take her 
 with Edith and Mai-y to the District of Columbia. You 
 can occupy the Presidential mansion, or your own, which- 
 ever you may prefer." 
 
 "Father," said Alice, "you have commanded, and I obey. 
 
IMPENDING PERILS. 213 
 
 But I should have been content to partake of your penis and 
 successes." 
 
 " I know it, Alice. But you could be of no service in the 
 scenes about to ensue. Blount will see that you are landed 
 in safety on the Southern shore of the Delaware, and one 
 hundred of the Blue Caps shall accompany you, and remain 
 under your command." 
 
 Not many hours afterwards Blount and Langdon con- 
 ducted the ladies to the barge provided for their reception ; 
 and they were landed in safety on the friendly soil of the 
 South just as the first rosy streaks of morning ^Ided the 
 sky. 
 
 Mr. Langdon, at the solicitation of Alice, determined to 
 occupy the country mansion, which had been the Presi- 
 dent's head-quarters. The purpose was two-fold ; first, to 
 recover from the effects of the recent fatigues, loss of rest, 
 and painful excitement ; and second, to await the issue of 
 the fearful collision in New Jersey. 
 
 Having first embarked his forces on the immense flotilla 
 which he had long been accumulating, either for the purpose 
 of facilitating the withdrawal of General Crook from New 
 Jersey, or promptly to fly to his relief, General Blount 
 mounted his horse, with an intention of making a hasty 
 visit to the mansion, before leaving, perhaps for ever, the 
 friendly soil of his nativity. And it was likewise his pur- 
 pose, if circumstances should favor his suit, to renew the 
 proposition for an immediate union with Edith. But just 
 when he was setting out, a messenger arrived from Red 
 Bank, with demands for his immediate presence. He turned 
 the head of his war-horse towards the steamer in waiting, 
 and with a sigh relinquished the new-born hope that had 
 just sprung into existence. And before the boat had 
 pushed out from land. Sergeant Bim came galloping from 
 the mansion, flourishing AUce's leave of absence for five 
 days, during which he had a presentiment that there would 
 be a harvest of fighting. 
 
214 NBGOTIATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 NEG0TIATIO]S^S. 
 
 PiiEsiDBNT Randolph sat alone in his chamber at the farm- 
 house. He was in the act of breaking the seal of a lettei 
 just received from a friendly correspondent in the camp ot 
 
 the enemy. This was Major S , an aide-de-camp of the 
 
 late General Hudson. Major S resolved to dissemble 
 
 for the purpose of serving his benefactor and his country, 
 and Ruffleton besought the Major to retain his position in 
 the staff. The letter ran as follows : 
 
 " Ruffleton has conspired with the JBritish Government 
 for the overthroio of the -Republic. The latter has stipulated 
 to furnish money, ships, and men, if need be. JBut time 
 will be required to consummate the treaty. More British 
 ships are daily expected. Ituffleton will temporize with 
 you. He must gain time. Many thousands of fanatics are 
 on the way hither to join him,. Although fie will be appa- 
 rently reasonable in his demands, he has no intention to 
 permit either Qroolc or yourself to withdraw without a 
 battle. Sis purpose is to destroy you both, and he will be 
 in readiness at any hour to begin the assault. He has sent 
 agents to charter or seize the shipping at the wharves, and 
 the steam ferry boats." 
 
 This was written in characters, for which the President 
 alone had the key. 
 
 " General Valiant," said the President, in a low voice. 
 A door opened, and the General entered from an adjoining ' 
 room. " General," continued the President, with his usual 
 calm smile, " I want a spy or deserter." 
 
 " "Wiry Willy ?" asked the General. 
 
 " Did he not go with Mary Penford and the rest ?" 
 
 " No, sir. He said you did not name him as one of the 
 party." 
 
 " I did not ; but I thought he would go. Yes ; be will 
 answer." 
 
NEGOTIATIOKS. 215 
 
 " I will have him sent immediately." 
 
 The General retm-ned to his apartment. The Proclama- 
 tions had been struck off in the camp, a press being kept 
 by Randolph for such purposes. The. President, having 
 been applied to by the Governor of New Jersey, who was 
 conservative in his politics, and it being impracticable to 
 assemble the Legislature, for aid in the suppression of domes- 
 tic violence, now required all insurgents to return to their 
 homes, and to abstain from the commission of unlawful acts, 
 or else they would be declared the enemies of the country, 
 and proceeded against in accordance with the powers con- 
 ferred on him by the Constitution of the United States. 
 
 And in a supplementary notification, the country was in- 
 formed that in pursuance of the decree of the Richmond 
 Convention, General Crook was upon the eve of retiring 
 from the State of New Jersey ; and, thi'ough the mediation 
 of the Federal Executive, General Hudson had agreed upon 
 a basis for an armistice, having that object in view, when 
 an assassin, supposed to have been employed by some one 
 averse to measures of pacification, put an end to his existence. 
 
 " Willy," said the President, when the faithful messenger 
 appeared, " can you go, without risk, into Ruffleton's camp ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, sii*. A friend of muie in his army has told him 
 how near they came to hanging me at New Castle.'' 
 
 " And that event, that lucky event, will serve you now ?" 
 
 " I think so, sir. I am willing to make the venture." 
 
 " Very well. You can give Ruffleton some intelligence 
 that will please him, and mspire his confidence. Say to 
 him the 30,000 prisoners taken in Maryland are now in 
 Sussex county, Delaware, loosely guarded, and with the 
 slightest assistance from the British fleet they could be 
 landed in a few hours on the Jersey side of the water. 
 Why do you stare, Will ?" 
 
 " Because, sir, what you have said is precisely so !" 
 ^ " Certainly. My diplomacy is without falsehood. I have 
 two objects, WiUy. One to get rid of a troublesome mob 
 of useless vagabonds ; the other, to tempt the British to 
 commit an act of intervention. And, further, it will serve 
 to convince the Northern people that the prisoners have not 
 been massacred, as the newspapers report." 
 
 "I will start immediately, sir," responded Willy, with- 
 drawing. 
 
216 NBGOTIATIOlfS. 
 
 A moment after, General Valiant returned, accompanied 
 by General Crook. 
 
 " Well, General," said Randolph, " everything conspires 
 to convince me that we are on the eve of a battle. In the 
 course of two or three days more, RuiHeton wiU have an 
 immense force — perhaps 300,000 men !" 
 
 " We shall beat them," said Valiant. 
 
 " Certainly we shall," said Crook, "with the aid of Ran- 
 dolph's horse and artillery. But Hudson's men fought like 
 the d — ^1 ! My killed and wounded, disabled and missing, 
 amounted to 25,000." 
 
 " And Hudson's loss was equally as great," said the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 " I should have beaten him, Randolph, if it had not been 
 for you." 
 
 " His apparition !" said Valiant. " He struck not a blow 
 — ^fired not a gun." 
 
 " Neither did he strike at Bladensburg." 
 
 " Crook," said the President, " I interposed, partly, to 
 save you fi'om destruction. If you had beaten Hudson that 
 day, the next week you would have been enveloped by half 
 a million of Northern avengers, and then I should not have 
 been able to save you. Now, the conservative men of the 
 North, who approved my conduct, will be influenced by 
 me. They will regard my proclamations, and keep aloof. 
 Nine-tenths of Ruffleton's host of warriors are desperate 
 fanatics, but they will fight like demons." 
 
 " All except the Quakers," said Crook. " I have five 
 hundred of them prisoners, and all the morning we have 
 been trying to organize them into a regiment ; but in vain. 
 They would die first." 
 
 " Have you tried to make them work on the entrench- 
 ments ?" asked the President. 
 
 " No, sir, I didn't think of that. Excuse me a few mi- 
 nutes." Saying this. Crook hastened put. 
 
 " The cotton lords," said Randolph, " can never forgive 
 the Quakers. And the Quakers of New Jersey wUl remem- 
 ber Crook. But here is Wiry Willy, returned already. 
 Well ? They did not hang you ?" 
 
 " No, sir," said Willy. " General Ruffleton was in too 
 fine a humor for that. He has sent off an express to the 
 British Admiral ; and he said, in my hearing, that in a day 
 
NEGOTIATIOIfS WITH RANDOLPH. 217 
 
 or two he would withdraw the Northern army from 'New 
 Jersey, and confirm the agreement subscribed by General 
 Hudson." 
 
 "Enough!" said the President. "Here is a note for 
 General Blount. Lose no time, Willy, in placing it in his 
 hands, and he will not delay in coming to our aid. We 
 must be prepared to fight like hons," he added, as Crook 
 returned and Willy departed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 NEGOTIATIONS WITH EAND0I.PH, 
 
 * 
 
 Genekal Ruefleton's head-quarters were not more than 
 two miles distant from Randolph's. He was now in posses- 
 sion of the chief command of the Northern army — the 
 largest body of armed men ever before collected on the 
 Continent, and its volume was swelling every hour by the 
 arrival of the enemies of the South and of slavery, from the 
 densely populated New England States. 
 
 The General-in-Chief was seated in a magnificent tent, 
 comprising many apartments. He was reading one of the 
 proclamations of the President. These documents were 
 nailed to the trees, the walls, and the telegraph posts. But 
 Ruffleton had no fear of the patriotic people. 
 
 " Summers, " said he, when his fair attendant appeared 
 before him, " say to his lordship that I have received impor- 
 tant intelligence, and would be glad to see him." Summers 
 drew aside a gorgeous curtain and vanished. A moment 
 after Lord Slysir entered. 
 
 " I attend you. General," said his Lordship, occupying the 
 seat at the table pointed to by Ruffleton. 
 
 " I have just learned," said the General, with a triumphant 
 smile, " that all the prisoners taken by Crook at Bladeris- 
 burg are on the coast of Sussex county, Delaware, and 
 within sight of the British fieet. Now, your Lordship can 
 permit me to dispatch an order to Adniiral Bang, for their 
 transference across the bay." 
 
 10 
 
218 NEGOTIATIONS WITH KANDOLPH. 
 
 " My dear sir," said his Lordship, much startled, " have 
 you reflected that such a step would rupture our web of 
 diplomacy ? Is it not determined that the release of these 
 prisoners is to be a conditio sine qud non in the prolonga- 
 tion of the armistice ? And as it would be impossible for 
 the demand to be granted, you know the" retention of the 
 prisoners is to be the pretext and justification for a renewal 
 of hostilities." 
 
 " That is all very true, my Lord, as it regards the nego- 
 tiations ; but in point oi' fact, the escape of the prisoners 
 will not only be a personal triumph for myself, and gratify- 
 ing to the country, but it will serve as an indubitable mani- 
 festation of the co-operation of Great Britain." 
 
 "Unquestionably. It would be a most palpable demon- 
 stration ; a deliberate laying aside of the mast ; it would 
 be, in short, a very bold initiative, and henceforth the iden- 
 tification of He^Britannic Majesty with your cause would 
 be apparent to the whole world." 
 
 " True. And does your Lordship hesitate to make it so ?" 
 
 " By no means ! But what would become of the requisi- 
 tion for a release of the prisoners, after their escape had 
 been effected ?" 
 
 " Neither Randolph nor Crook will know anything about 
 their escape until after the battle. If your lordship will 
 co-operate in this matter, well ; if not " 
 
 "I will write the order immediately. In two minutes 
 your messenger shall have it." Saying this Lord Slysir, 
 overruled by the General, withdrew to his- own apartment. 
 
 When this business was disposed of. Summers again 
 glided in, and announced the jjresence of a deputation of 
 Quakers. The committee was introduced, at the head of 
 which appeared the victim of General Crook, Samuel C .. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen," said Rufiieton, " I have not a moment 
 to spare." 
 
 "Thee should remember," said Samuel, "that it is in 
 answer to the prayers of good philanthropists that this 
 mighty host has been gathered together for the liberation 
 of the enslaved." 
 
 " Very well — grant .all that. What next ?" 
 
 "The Lord will surely prosper tliee according to thy 
 merits. We have to say the spirit mourns over the vi:. lent 
 death of John Monmouth." 
 
NEGOTIATIONS WITH EANDOLPH. 219 
 
 " This is nonsense. Can you allege that I ordered or 
 sanctioned the act ?" 
 
 " Thee still keeps Colonel Mailer in thy employ. John 
 was one of our most worthy citizens, and his murder is 
 causing many people to slacken their zeal." 
 
 "This is ill-timed, gentlemen, when, perhaps, we are on 
 the eve of a decisive battle. But why have you said nothing 
 about the assassination of General Hudson ?" 
 
 " The hand which dealt the fatal blow on that good man, 
 has not been made manifest, as in thp case of thy officer ; 
 but still the spirit grieves. Yet other matters brought us 
 hither. We ask protection from thy soldiers. Wherever 
 they have passed over the land it is a waste — a desolation. 
 Our farms are destroyed, our smoke houses pillaged, and 
 our animals driven off." 
 
 " The soldiers of Liberty must eat," said Ruffleton. 
 
 " They have burned our fences — " ,^ 
 
 "And they must cook their victuals," continued the 
 General. "But have they not receipted for everything? 
 All will be paid for." 
 
 " And so they told our fathers during the revolutionary 
 war." 
 
 " The country was poor then — it is rich now. Send ua 
 your horses; and if you will not fight yourselves, your 
 shot guns." 
 
 " Another grievance we have to complain to thee about," 
 pursued Samuel, " is the tyrannical conduct of thy General 
 Balatrum, who forces our young people into the ranks of 
 his brigade, and swears, in vile language, that they shall 
 fight against the slave-driving Southerners, when our people 
 never did and never will lift a deadly weapon in mortal 
 strife." 
 
 " Have not your people repeatedly said," asked RufHeton, 
 " that even if blood should cover the face of the earth, the 
 enslaved must be set free ?" 
 
 " Thee quotes us correctly." 
 
 " Then how is blood to flow without fighting ? You say 
 the negro slave must be set at liberty, even if it costs oceans 
 of blood ; but when the moment comes to strike for the 
 freedom of the slave, you are not willing to fi^ht ! Fools t 
 do you not know that slavery itself is the conclusion of con- 
 quest, and that only those who fight can ever be masters ? 
 
220 NEGOTIATIOJS'S WITH RANDOLPH. 
 
 Having stimtilatecl a civil war, if you will not fight, depend 
 upon it, you will become the slaves of the uncompunctious 
 combatants !" 
 
 "Thee cannot terrify us. We may suffer, but we cannot 
 be made afraid. Another grievance is the conduct of thy 
 Colonel Mailer in organizing a regiment of the free colored 
 people — " 
 
 " What ! and you object to that, too ?" 
 
 "Thee must know that these people, having been liberated 
 by our agents, are under our training, to become members 
 of our society." 
 
 " But they are eager enough to fight ! Come with nle," 
 said the General ; "this is the hour I was to review them. 
 Colonel MaUer will put them through their paces." 
 
 Saying this he led the Quakers into a meadow where 
 there were a thousand negroes on parade. 
 
 The sun shone down from a cloudless sky, and the day was 
 the hottest of summer. The effects of the heat were soon 
 visible on the countenances of the General and the deputa- 
 tion of Quakers ; and the effluviicm in the vicinity of the 
 negroes was so dense that they involuntarily retreated a 
 distance from the regiment. 
 
 "And such are the specimens of humanity," said Ruffle- 
 ton to Samuel, " that you would put on an equal footing 
 with the white man ! It was not their masters, but their 
 Maker that made them thus." 
 
 " I agree with thee. General," said Samuel, in a low voice, 
 turning aside his face. 
 
 " The d— 1 you do ! And yet—" 
 
 "Pray do not speak so loud, General. But I tell 
 thee that I differ with our people about the equality of 
 races." 
 
 And as they gazed at the sooty regiment, performing 
 their military exercises, several crows, that were flying over 
 the meadow, upon entering the deleterious atmosphere, 
 flapped their wings wildly, and fell to the earth quite dead. 
 
 " Thee is not aware, perhaps. General," said Samuel, 
 " that the odor of the negro is fatal to crows. I have seen 
 them die from that cause several times." 
 
 " I hope it may prove equally fatal to the enemy," said 
 Ruffleton, abruptly dismissing the deputation and returning 
 to his tent. 
 
NEGOTIATIONS WITH RANDOLPH. 221 
 
 He had Mr. Virus summoned. Mr. V. was his proteg6 
 and dependent, an oleaginous lawyer, who, with the helping 
 hand of his patron, had graduated in all the courts, from 
 the lowest to the highest, maldng money, and finally achiev- 
 ing that species of influence and importance which the no- 
 toriety of success never fails to confer in large cities. He 
 was now the General's chief diplomatist — his Talleyrand — 
 and his services were to be immediately put in requisition. 
 
 " Virus," said Ruffleton, " we understand each other. 
 I am to be the master of this new world, and you my chief 
 minister." 
 
 " You will succeed, sir," said Virus. 
 
 "If so, you will be the first in my confidence, and my 
 second in power. The service now required will test your 
 diplomacy. You will have to cope with Randolph, a man 
 of universal genius. The grand object of your mission is 
 to keep the Southern army on this side of the river until 1 
 am ready to annihilate it, and all its allies and defenders. For 
 this purpose it will be necessary to meet Randolph, Crook, 
 and Blount, and disavow any authority to treat with either 
 of them separately. The demand for the restitution of the 
 specie must be urged, and restitution of the prisoners taken 
 at Bladensburg must be insisted on. The first, you know, 
 is impracticable, and the last will be obviated in a few hours. 
 jSTevertheless these are secrets of which they are not to 
 suppose you can have any knowledge. The object is to 
 protract the truce until my arrangements are completed. 
 If, however, Randolph can be detached from his Southern 
 friends, we shall make speedy work of the latter. He has 
 now 25,000 splendid horse, and '75,000 well drilled in- 
 fantry, besides many cannon ! Bring him and Crook iti col- 
 lision. Why not ? It seems to me that a skilful diploma- 
 tist might produce a quarrel between Randolph and Crook. 
 What do you think?" 
 
 " With any other than Randolph, success would be cer- 
 tain. Crook would quarrel, but — " 
 
 "Do your utmost. Blount is a listener — b'jt terrible in 
 the field. Be plausible and conoiliatory. We must not 
 forget the public, with whom Randolph has still some 
 influence. You may intimate to Randolph, that nothing 
 less than the total annihilation of the Southern armies, will 
 be likely to aveit an alliance between the North and Great 
 
222 NEGOTIATIONS •WITH KANDOLPH. 
 
 Britain, ■which would result in universal emancipation and 
 the adoption of another form of Government. Tell him. 
 that I, alone, have the ability to adjust amicably the affair 
 of the capture and detention of the British Minister. And 
 whatever they propose, whatever may be agreed on, 
 remember nothing is to be consummated. The object is to 
 protract the negotiations until I am in readiness to act." 
 
 Virus, beanng a flag, vras, an hour afterwards, conducted 
 to the head-quarters oi^ Randolph, where Blount and Crook 
 joined the Conference. 
 
 " Well, sir," said Randolph, " I see your General is not 
 inclined to pay attention to the President's Proclamation." 
 
 " I assure you," responded Virus, " he was attentively 
 perusing it when I left the head-quarters." 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Crook, " the President's messages are 
 read everywhere." 
 
 " But who regards them ?" added the President. " Let , 
 us proceed to business, gentlemen ; and, as you seem to 
 desire it, I will open the case. Here are we, the Southern 
 and the Federal armies, some two hundred thousand strong, 
 facing the Northern army of three, and perhaps soon to be 
 four hundred thousand men ; and, what is worse, perhaps, 
 the parties of the first part have a broad river in their rear, 
 to attempt. a passage of which, without the forbearance or 
 permission of the party of the second part, might subject 
 them to great sacrifices. In the next place, the parties of 
 the first part are desirous of withdrawing beyond the liver, 
 and they await the announcement of the conditions imposed 
 by the party of the second part, to wit :" 
 
 " Now proceed. Virus," said Crook, laughing heartily. 
 
 " By your leave, gentlemen," said Blount, " I would ask 
 the negotiator, whether it is the purpose of his principal to 
 disavow the agreement signed by his predecessor." 
 
 " I am glad the question is propounded," said Virus : 
 " and am happy to say that General Ruffleton has not the 
 slightest purpose to annul any of the stipulations agreed to 
 by his lamented predecessor. But — " 
 
 " I thought there would be a but," said Crook. 
 
 " But the Convention was not completed. It was not 
 ratified." 
 
 " Are you prepared, then," asked the President, " to re- 
 affirm the stipulations ?" 
 
ITEaOTIATIONS WITH RANDOLPH. 223 
 
 " So far as I know tbem, I am." 
 
 "It was mutually agreed," s^d Randolph, "that the 
 Southern troops should be withdrawn from the free States, 
 and they were to be exempted from molestation by the 
 Northern ai'my." 
 
 " Very true," said Virus ; " and it remained only for the 
 Convention to ratify the agreement." 
 
 " The Southern Convention," said Blount, " had already 
 agreed to it, and actually instructed General Crook to retu'e 
 from New Jersey." 
 
 "And," said Crook, "the Northern Convention would 
 have responded aflSrmatively had it not been for the lobby 
 influence." 
 
 " In the course of a day or two," said Virus, " the North- 
 em Convention, now assembling in New York, will express 
 their sentiments. If I am not misinformed, however, it was 
 the expectation of the Convention that the contribution 
 levied in New York would be reimbursed." 
 
 " To that I should make no objection," said the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 " We deem it but fair repris.il for a portion of the slave 
 property of which the South has been despoiled by the 
 abolitionists who have been harbored in New York," said 
 Blount. 
 
 " And," said Crook, " as that point has been deferred to 
 me ; as I levied the fine and collected it ; and have it in my 
 possession ; all I have to say is, if it be made an ultimatum, 
 hostilities must recommence immediately." 
 
 " I have not said — ^nor am I prepared to say — ^it is an 
 ultimatum," responded Vii'us. 
 
 " If you should be prepared to say it," said Crook, " you 
 ought also to be prepared to fight." 
 
 " Enough blood has been shed already," said Virus ; 
 " and I tnist my mission is to be one of peace. Neverthe- 
 less I must report the answer to my principal. The next 
 thing demanded is the liberation of the prisoners taken at 
 Bladensburg." 
 
 " That matter, too," said Crook, " is placed exclusively 
 in my hands. The Governors of Maryland and Delaware 
 did not make a requisition on the Federal Executive to 
 repel an invasion, or to suppress domestic violence — but 
 gave me authority to do it. I did it, then, in the name of 
 . 15 
 
224 NEGOTIATIONS WITH EANDOtPH, 
 
 Maryland, and have received a commission from her Legis- 
 lature, in addition to the one conferred by the Convention. 
 Therefore, the prisoners are in the custody of Maryland 
 and Delaware. "Without a violation of the principle of 
 State-Rights, as enunciated in the resolutions of '98 and 
 '99, the President cannot interfere ; and with all proper 
 respect for General Ruffleton, I'll see him before I do." 
 
 " But, my dear General," said Virus, " what will you do 
 with them ?" 
 
 " I have counted the cost," said Crook, " and have drawn 
 the funds from New York. But that money, I think, had 
 better be expended for powder and ball. The prisoners 
 shall support themselves. I can incorporate them with the 
 niggers and make them work on our plantations. The sun 
 wUl tan them, and, Ln time, nX) doubt they will be absorbed. 
 They say a nigger is as good as a white man — and I intend 
 to demonstrate that such white men are no better than 
 niggers. At all events, if we must lose our slaves, it will 
 be well to teach these political economists how to grow cot- 
 ton, sugar, and rice." 
 
 Virus laughed very heartily at this sally. 
 
 " How long, Virus," said the President, "will it be before 
 we may expect your attack ?" 
 
 "I hope there will be no necessity for expecting it at 
 all." 
 
 "There may be a necessity for this evasion. But you 
 should not be ignorant that we are quite as well prepared 
 to receive it now as we will be at any future time." 
 
 "Mr. President," responded Virus, "we are upon North- 
 ern soil, which has been invaded by a Southern army." 
 
 " In retaliation for an invasion of Southern soil, and, for- 
 tunately, planned and executed by your present Com- 
 mander-in-Chief," replied Randolph. 
 
 " But, on that occasion, the Federal Executive did not 
 deem it incumbent to participate directly in the strife. And 
 if he should do so on this occasion, will he not be charged 
 with partiality ? "Will it not be said that he abandoned the 
 functions of President of the United States to become the 
 champion of a mere section, and at a moment, too, when 
 that section was an aggressor and an invader ?" 
 
 " No, sir !" responded the President. " The Executive 
 of the sovereign State of New Jersey has officially in- 
 
NESOTIATIONS WITH EANDOLPH. 225 
 
 Toked my intervention. The Southern army has signified 
 its willingness to yield to my authority, and retire beyond 
 the limits of the State. But its commanders say, what is 
 apparent to every one, that to attempt an evacuation under 
 the fire of an enemy would be certain destruction. Hence 
 it was that I issued my proclamation, commanding the 
 peace ; and hence I have resolved to repel any assault with 
 all the military force I can bring into the field." 
 
 " And that there may be no possible misconception," said 
 Blount, " on the part of General Ruffleton, and no misre- 
 presentation to the Northern people, I, as Commander-in- 
 Chief of the Southern armies, have determined, in the con- 
 tingency of a recommencement of hostilities, to place all 
 the troops at the disposal of the President, as a posse co- 
 mitatus to vindicate the laws and preserve the pubUc peace." 
 
 " And for my part," said General Crook, " while submit- 
 ting to my superiors in rank, I disclaim and despise the 
 whole vocabulary of diplomacy. And, according to a pre- 
 sentiment I cannot repress, I am quite si^re there will be 
 
 but small regard for the laws, and d little public peace 
 
 preserved after the next gun is fired !" 
 
 Blount and Crook then withdrew to prosecute the work 
 going on with spades preparatory to resist the storm now 
 daily anticipated. 
 
 " Virus," said Randolph, " have you no secret overtures 
 for me ?" 
 
 " I am authorized to say if the Federal troops be with- 
 drawn from this contest, the British government will over- 
 look the detention of Lord Slysir, and " 
 
 " Pause there. If I do not forbear to defend the weaker 
 party, and if I shall identify myself with the section to be 
 assailed, then Great Britain will unite with Ruffleton. 
 England, if not jealous, is fearful of us. The example of 
 a successful Republic is inimical to monarchies ; and Ruffle- 
 ton would gladly achieve power, and hold it by a more 
 stable tenure than the mere caprice of the multitude. Let 
 the war come. Let England unite with Ruffleton to over- 
 throw the Republic, and to subjugate the South. They will 
 fail. But our shipping, owned exclusively in the North, 
 will escape destruction. Say to Ruffleton that I am not at 
 all chagrined at his alliance with the old enemy of his coun- 
 tiy, because the merchant marine of the United States will 
 
 10* 
 
226 NEGOTIATIONS WITH EANDOLPH, 
 
 Ibe preserved. The navy is with me. Tell him, moreover, 
 that I am well aware of the design to rescue Crook's prison- 
 ers. I understand his motive. It is his purpose to become 
 a popular military chieftain. He may succeed in this ; but 
 it will be at a fearful price. Ho may accumulate such 
 overwhelming numbers as to insure a victory — but it will 
 be a bloody one. By this time to-morrow, when we shall 
 all know — and it will not improve the amiability of Crook's 
 temper — that the prisoners are at liberty, I trust you wiU 
 be prepared to announce Ruffleton's final determination. 
 We shall not embark till then. If we do not hear from 
 him, it will be regarded as the signal for action. And let it 
 be distinctly understood that not a shot can be fired at the 
 Southern army without first passing through mine. One- 
 fourth of my ti'oops consist of horse ; and I have naarked 
 the ground for them to occupy. They shall not be circum- 
 scribed. Any intrusion on the prescribed limits will be war 
 on the United States. Adieu, sir." 
 
 Vii-us, much astonished at the result of his first interview 
 with the President, and altogether unable to felicitate him- 
 self on any achievement in the field of diplomacy, returned 
 somewhat crest-fallen to his patron. 
 
 "There is but one other mode of treating with Ran- 
 dolph !" exclaimed RuflSicton, upon learning the result of 
 the mission. " Where is Popoli ?" 
 
 " He attends at the entrance of the tent," said Virus. 
 " I will send him in," and, glad to escape the gathering 
 storm, he embraced the opportunity to retire. 
 
 " Popoli," said Ruffleton, " I have use for Cardini. 
 " Where is he ?" 
 
 " It is a mystery, sir. Mrs. Punt left him but for a fcAV 
 minutes, and when she returned to the parlor he was gone. 
 He has not since been heard of." 
 
 " The craven dog ! But you shall have his reward. If 
 I could be assured he had departed, never to return — you 
 understand — I would be satisfied. You must ascertain 
 where he is, and what became of him. If alive, bring him 
 to me — if dead, furnish me evidence of it. Popoli, could 
 you not find access to Randolph ?" 
 
 "He fixed his eagle eye on me, sir, for more than a 
 minute without speaking. Then he warned me never to 
 appear in his presence again." 
 
THE EVE OF BATTLE, 227 
 
 " Could you not approach him in the davk ? "When he is 
 asleep ? But are there no disguises ? If you can serve 
 me, I shall hear of it — if not, call to-morrow or the next 
 day for the reward due for services already rendered." 
 
 The Italian, bowing, withdrew from the presence of his :■ 
 taskmaster. 
 
 CELAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE EVE OP BATTLE. 
 
 It was the night preceding the battle. General Blount, 
 attended only by Wiry Willy, had left the camp as soon aa 
 the troops were steeped in slumber, and embarked on a 
 small steamer of great swiftness. They had landed opposite 
 the mansion occupied by Mr. Langdon and the ladies under 
 his charge, where horses awaited them. Arrived in front 
 of the mansion, they found the vigilant Blue Caps faithfully 
 guarding the premises. Upon dismounting, Willy, familiar 
 ■with aU the entrances, abandoned the General to the 
 guidance of Alice, who received him on the vine-clad porch 
 at the southern extremity of the house. Again she "was 
 arrayed in great magnificence, and the star of diamonds 
 sparkled brUliantly on her smooth, pale forehead. 
 
 " It is before the hour," said Alice, " and Edith is not 
 here." 
 
 " And you, alone, looked for my coming ?" 
 
 " I heard the hoofs of your horse, as I sat alone in the 
 parlor. Edith will come soon. She is with her father, 
 striving to alleviate his distress, and prognosticating victory 
 to-morrow. And alas ! vcho can tell whether victory or 
 defeat would be the greater misfortune for the country !" 
 
 " Which, Alice, would be the greater misfortune for you 
 and Edith ?» 
 
 " Our sympathies — our prayers — ^are for you ; and my 
 father. Oh ! that he too had come ! and if I should never 
 see him again !" 
 
 " Fear it not. The fearless are never in danger. Such a 
 
228 THE EVE OP BATTLE. 
 
 contingency as defeat or death never seems to cross his 
 mind." 
 
 " Still, it may be his destiny to fall on this great field. 
 And you, Henry, by this time to-morrow night, may be 
 among the slain. Does not the thought sometimes appal 
 you ?" 
 
 " Perhaps it should — but it does not. I can only think 
 of the victory, the plaudits of the world, and the security 
 of the South." 
 
 " Henry, if it should be the will of heaven for my father 
 to fall on this bloody field, and you should survive, will you 
 not recall the sunny days when we were children together 
 ' — when we followed the corses of our sainted mothers to 
 the same peaceful churchyard — and when we addressed 
 each other as brother and sister ?" 
 
 " Alice," said he, taking the maiden's hand, " I never see 
 you that I do not recall those early days. If God spares 
 me and not your father, I will be your brother." 
 
 " And I your sister. But promise, in any event, that you 
 ■will preserve the Union." 
 
 " Most assuredly I will do all in my power to preserve it ; 
 but these are themes too grave and melancholy. Your 
 great father bears a charmed life — Providence designs him 
 to be the preserver of his country. He bade me convey to 
 you his blessing, and with his accustomed smile, he said at 
 parting, ' Alice must be marble until this battle be fought 
 and won.' " 
 
 " Marble !" said Alice, placing her hand upon her breast. 
 "Statues have not aching hearts. Go, Henry — I have 
 detained you too long." 
 
 " ISTo, Alice," said he, " I will await her coming. I sup- 
 posed she would be the first to greet me." 
 
 " Beware, Henry. Do not accuse hei'. Remember the 
 injustice you have done her. Where, now, are the images 
 of the rivals your fruitful imagination once conjured into 
 existence ?" 
 
 " How can I know," said he, smiling, "^that some one, 
 more favored than myself, does not at this moment with- 
 hold her from me ?" 
 
 "By believing me. Her father is iU, and requires her 
 constant attendance." 
 
 " That has escaped my memory — and I fear he would not 
 
THE ETE OF BATTLE. 229 
 
 be disposed to second the request I had iii contemplation. 
 On you I am sure I can rely." 
 
 " What is it ?" 
 
 " I did purpose imploring your aid in obtaining his con- 
 sent to the performance of the marriage ceremony this 
 night, for, Alice, it may be my fate to fall to-morrow." 
 
 " Oh, do not urge it ! If you should fall, indeed, what 
 avail would it be ? A mourning widow ! Think you she 
 would not mourn as well without the mockery of an empty 
 ceremonial ? Or is man so selfish, that, dying, he would 
 have certain survivors under obligations, signed and sealed, 
 to lament him ? Without a solemn pledge, would no one 
 be inclined to mourn your loss ? You turn aside, Harry — 
 be hot offended. Believe me, there are those who would 
 shed bitter tears over your corse." 
 
 " Yes, Alice, you, for one, I am sure, would mourn the 
 death |0f a brother." He kissed her hand, and started. 
 " Why, Alice !" he continued, " you are ill. Your hand is 
 cold, your face is pale. I will call some one." 
 
 " No, Harry, I beseech you. I am not iU — it was a mere 
 passing cloud — a spectre, now vanished — it was a mere 
 fancy — and now it's gone. I wUl, if you desire it, speak to 
 Mr. Langdon. I wiU not advise you or Edith. I shall not, 
 will not, be responsible for any omission or commission. 
 Edith and I are sisters in all but blood. I would not have 
 her reproach me — nor incur your censure for opposing your 
 will." 
 
 " You will not. Ah, Alice, if I might have aspired to 
 this hand " 
 
 " Did you not hear some one ?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 "I thought it was the step of Edith, and the rustle of satin." 
 
 " No ; but still she does not come, and the minutes fly. 
 Alice, there can be but few remaining for me. The Com- 
 modore, whom I saw in coming hither, warned me against 
 what he called a protracted dalliance here, and said that when 
 the time arrived for my departure, he would make a signal. 
 I fear her father is worse." 
 
 " I will go to him, and send Edith hither." 
 
 Alice sped through the dimly lighted apartments, and 
 Blount promenaded the veranda, where he was joined by 
 Wiry Willy. 
 
230 THE BATTLE. 
 
 " Are you ready to return, Willy ?" he asked, with a sad 
 tone. 
 
 " Quite ready, sir." 
 
 " There is the signal," said Blount. 
 
 " It was a blue rocket from the Commodore's ship, sir." 
 
 "And the signal for our departure. Mount, Willy — I 
 will overtake you." 
 
 Willy had hardly passed out of view when Alice returned, 
 agitated and almost breathless. 
 
 " She is not there. Mr. Langdon sleeps. The maid says 
 Edith descen,ded some few minutes after your arrival. I 
 am alarmed at her absence. Where can she be?" 
 
 " Certainly no evil could have befallen her. Ah, Alice, 
 can it be mere caprice ?" 
 
 " No, no." 
 
 " Farewell !" He kissed her hand, and her fair forehead. 
 
 " Oh, do not go until you have seen her," said Alice. 
 
 " Did you not see the signal ? It illuminated the heavens. 
 I cannot delay. Tell her all, and utter my adieus. Fare- 
 well, and may heaven bless you both." 
 
 Alice gazed after him, and never turned her straining 
 eyes away until the last echoes of the hoofs of las steed died 
 upon the ear. Then she felt the breath of Edith' on her 
 cheek, and the next moment her friend was sobbing in her 
 arms. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE BATTLE. 
 
 The signal of battle was given by Ruffleton. Supposing 
 himself able, from his overwhelming and hourly-increasing 
 numbers, to destroy all his opponents, and afterwards to 
 assume the supreme military and civil authority of the na- 
 tion, he ordered the attack to be commenced. 
 
 More than five hundred field-pieces were discharged almost 
 simultaneously by Ruffleton, and not a single ball reached 
 the Southern columns. The President alone had to bear the 
 brunt, and this he did with calmness. His horses suffered 
 
THB BATTLE, 231 
 
 a great deal from the first discharges. The men were dis- 
 mounted, and partially sheltered by the breastwork of sand 
 and tm"f covering the entire position. 
 
 For a considerable length of time, Randolph bore the in- 
 fliction, whilst his impatient generals surrounded him, await- 
 ing his orders. 
 
 " General," said he, addressing the recently-promoted 
 Carleton, " will your column go into the jaws of that volcano ?" 
 
 " They await the order, sir." 
 
 " The slaughter of horses, then, does not appal them ?" 
 
 " It inspires them with a desire of revenge." 
 
 "Revenge, I suppose, is desired by many. Bat we want 
 only victory, so we can put an end to the strife, by with- 
 drawing from the field. I desire it to be understood that 
 I have no projects of conquest, and am engaged only in a 
 defensive war. I would this day, and on this field; unite 
 •with Ruffleton, if he desired peace, and acted on the defen- 
 sive against Blount and Crook." 
 
 "And I," said Blount, " as the commander-in-chief of the 
 Southern armies, have never contemplated ofiensive mea- 
 sures; and the States represented by me would be con- 
 tent merely to repel aggression. But since I am not per- 
 mitted to withdraw in peace, no other alternative remains 
 but to accept the gage of battle." 
 
 "D it, let us give as well as receive," said General 
 
 Crook. " They have killed a thousand horses and five hun- 
 dred men, and we have not fired a shot." 
 
 " The matter demonstrated, then," said Randolph, " is, 
 that my army can stand fire ; but they have stood it long 
 enought. Valiant, let all our batteries fire twice towards 
 the centre, then once at the wings. Under the smoke, 
 Carleton, chai'ge upon the. enemy's centre with your ten 
 thousand men, and let me see how many of their guns you 
 can take or silence." 
 
 A few minutes afterwards the earth was shaken by a ter- 
 'rific discharge, and General Carleton issued from behind the 
 breastworks, and charged the enemy's batteries. These not 
 being protected by any sort of breastwork, were immediately 
 carried. But the fanatics, whom Ruffleton had posted in 
 front, could stand fire as well as the Federal troops. AU of 
 them seemed to expect death or victory ; and they were of 
 course prepared to die, in the event of defeat. Therefore, 
 
232 THE BATTLE. 
 
 although they were swept down by hundreds, still the sur- 
 vivors would not run away. Carleton seeing this, seized 
 some forty guns, and wheeling them round, struck down 
 whole multitudes of Abolitionists with their own engines. 
 Then, dividing his column, he swept along the right and 
 left from the centre, in the rear of the enemy''s batteries, 
 sabreuig the gunners and spiking the cannon. With the 
 enemy on either hand, the contest Avas for many minutes 
 maintained with the sword and the bayonet. Neither mus- 
 ketry nor cannon could be used by RufHeton, who was 
 prompt to afford succor to his menaced divisions ; and it 
 Was the celerity of Carleton's movements which saved him 
 from immediate destruction. 
 
 Sergeant Jack Bim distinguished himself as usual in this 
 charge. Northern born as he was, he had a mortal aversion 
 for the negro ; and so, when he encountered the Black 
 Regiment, he could not forbear. He plunged in their midst, 
 parying their thrusts, and laid about him with such terrible 
 effect, that his horse was soon knee deep in the slain, and 
 his progress so much obstructed, that the witnesses of his 
 explpit began to fear he would never be able to extricate 
 himself from the labyrinth of his own creation. Never- 
 theless, General Carleton, who had paused scarcely a mo- 
 ment in his furious career, was gratified to see Bim leap- 
 ing his fiery steed after him in the avenue made by the irre- 
 sistible charge of the squadrons. Bim had sheathed his 
 sword, and was clasping his nose ! 
 
 Carleton, having executed his charge in accordance with 
 the orders of Randolph, returned with the forty cannon 
 which he had taken. But this was at the expense of nearly 
 a thousand men, and there was but little effect produced on 
 the determined front of the enemy. A great many had 
 fallen, but these were the zealous enthusiasts in the cause 
 of negro emancipation, whom RufHeton had thrust forward 
 to be killed. 
 
 The ordnance taken and spiked by Carleton was soon 
 replaced from the vast supply m Ruffleton's rear, brought 
 from New York and New England. They not only con- 
 tinued to thunder along the whole extent of the line, but 
 advanced, unsheltered as they were, in the face of the inces- 
 sant fire of more than three hundred guns, discharging 
 round shot, grape, and canister. 
 
THE BATTLE. 233 
 
 The tide continued toToll onward, and it became neces- 
 Bary for Randolph's artillery to withdraw behind the second 
 line of defences thrown up by Blount and Crook. This was 
 done without the loss of a gun, under the superintendence 
 of General Valiant. When this was completed, Randolph, 
 placing himself at the head of twenty thousand horse, kept 
 in readiness under the river bank, charged the rear of the 
 right wing of the enemy. jKTothing could oppose a force of 
 such magnitude. It swept over the plain like a toi'nado. 
 The scene was appalling. Thousands upon thousands fell, 
 and were trampled in the dust, but none fled away, for the 
 reason that the interminable host behind, still advancing, 
 prevented the escape of fugitives. Many who attempted to 
 fly were cut down by their own friends, in obedience to the 
 orders of Rufileton. Twice he had been defeated by the 
 Southern Generals, and now he was resolved to be revenged 
 upon them both, or perish in the most horrible conflict 
 known in the annals of warfare. 
 
 The President several times cut his way through the 
 dense ranks, and severed the right wing from the maia body 
 of the enemy. With regular troops, according to the 
 science of war, this would have been decisive ; but here, as 
 at Bladensburg, the enemy remained unconscious of the 
 danger of defeat, and when the destroying cavalry passed 
 away, the amputated wing was immediately re-united to the 
 advancing trunk ; and perceiving that nothing could be 
 accomplished by this mode of assault, Randolph drew off his 
 column, now blown and bathed in blood, and occupied a 
 position in the rear of the Southern encampment. 
 
 Several times the enemy charged to the very muzzles 
 of the cannon, and were swept down rather than driven 
 back. This murderous and appaUing spectacle continued 
 until night, when the Northern host diverged a little to the 
 east, where a depression in the earth sheltered them, and 
 encamped upon the field of battle. 
 
 As soon as the enemy ceased to menace the position of 
 the combined armies, the batteries, which had so long been 
 vomiting their destructive fires, became suddenly silent, and 
 their recent startling explosions were succeeded by sounds 
 stiU more horrible to the human ear. These were the groans 
 of the wounded, and tli e shrieks of the dying. 
 
234 THE SATTUE. 
 
 Generals Blount and Crook met in the tent of President 
 Randolph. Steel, and many other officers of high rank, on 
 both sides, had fallen. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said Randolph, " I desire your opinion in 
 the present emergency. I know Ruifieton's purpose. He 
 is determined to crush us by his physical superiority. Never 
 were men so imperturbable. But such is the idiosyncrasy 
 of fanatics. A month hence, when the people shall have 
 reflected on the horrors of this monstrous lield, they will not 
 be so resolute to plunge into the jaws of destruction. Shall 
 we retire ?" 
 
 " It would be madness to attempt an embarkation in the 
 presence of such an enemy," said Blount. 
 
 " Certainly," replied Randolph, " that is out of the ques- 
 tion. But we might retire a few hours before day, and suc- 
 ceed, with the aid of the fleet, in regaining a footing on 
 Southern soil." 
 
 "And Ruffleton, then, would claim the victory," said 
 Crook. 
 
 " Oh, he has done that already," said Randolph. " Here 
 is a note brought me by a deserter. It was written by a 
 friend of mine in Rufileton's camp, in whom I have confi- 
 dence." The note stated that Ruflleton had telegraphjed 
 the Convention in New York, that he had beaten the Presi- 
 dent's army, which had taken refuge in the camp of the 
 invaders, and that in the course of a few hours more he 
 would overwhelm all opposition. A subsequent despatch 
 indicated that Ruffleton's intrigues and machinations had 
 been far more extensive in their ramifications than had been 
 suspected. His partisans in the Convention had seized the 
 occasion to move and carry some extraordinary measures. 
 They invested him with almost unlimited power forfiva 
 years. The assassination of Monmouth, in Philadelphia, 
 had induced many of the conservative members of the Con- 
 vention to resign their seats, and that body was now under 
 the control of Ruflleton, whose creatures comprised a vast 
 majority. 
 
 "There will be a reaction, gentlemen," said Randolph, 
 " This thing of popular sentiment ebbs and flow's, like the 
 ocean. But we must await the subsidence of the waters ; we 
 cannot oppose them. How now?" he added, upon the 
 introduction of a messenger. This was followed by the 
 
THB BATTLE. 235 
 
 unexpected appearance of Virus, Ruffleton's negotiator. 
 " You are welcome, sir," said Randolph, " if your mission 
 be one of peace." , 
 
 " That is the object of my coming," said Virus, and his 
 pale visage indicated that he might be in earnest. 
 
 " Then unfold your propositions," said Randolph. "One 
 of Ruffleton's propositions has been obviated by the escape 
 of the prisoners taken at Bladensburg and " 
 
 "Is that so?" demanded Crook, springing up from a 
 corner of the tent, where he had been reclining. 
 
 " It is true," said Blount. 
 
 "No matter," said Crook. "I shall take twice the 
 number to-morrow." 
 
 " Then a renewal of the terrific butchery," said Virus, 
 " seems a foregone conclusion." 
 
 " Certainly," said Crook. 
 
 " Your proposal, sir," said Randolph, addressing Virus. 
 
 " Either a surrender aS prisoners of war, or the restitution 
 of the money taken from New York, an abandonment of all 
 arms, and an immediate evacuation of New Jersey, Dela- 
 ware, and Maryland." 
 
 "D me, if I subscribe to any one of the stipulations," 
 
 said Crook, his face crimsoned with rage. 
 
 " Return to your principal, Virus," said Randolph, " and 
 say that we regard his demands as the vauntings of a too 
 confident adventurer." 
 
 " To-morrow," said Blount, " the fortune of war may 
 make RufQeton a suppliant, and in that event we shall not 
 mock him with preposterous demands." 
 
 " General," said Virus, " I assui-e you, since this battle 
 commenced, the recruits we have received, exceed the 
 amount of our slain. If the contest be prolonged, your 
 destruction is inevitable." 
 
 " That is an unwarrantable assumption," said Blount. 
 
 " Nothing short of demonstration, however," said Ran- 
 dolph, " will convince Ruffleton. Crook is right. We must 
 fight it out. When the fanatics are all destroyed, the rest 
 will not be insensible to fear. Virus, we were anxious to 
 avoid the effusion of blood; as Ruffleton knows, and as the 
 whole country will soon know, notwithstanding the efforts 
 to suppress my proclamation ; and we proposed to abandon 
 the sod of the free States, stipulating never to invade them 
 
236 THE BATTLE. 
 
 again. But this was not a sufficient humiliation to satisfy 
 youi" Imperator. He desired revenge, and the eclat of a 
 great victory, for his personal gratification, or his individual 
 aggrandizement. The result is before him. If he is not 
 satisfied with it, of course he will gratify his inclination in 
 the prosecution of the war; but he must be accountable for 
 the blood unnecessarily expended. We act on the defen- 
 sive." 
 
 Virus Avithdrew without another word, accompanied by 
 an officer to the outposts. Both Blount and Crook advanced 
 to the President, each taking one of his hands. 
 
 " Sir," said Blount, " we would rather die with you than 
 surrender to that man." 
 
 " My friends, we will not surrender, nor will we die on this 
 field. But we must retire further down the river, and find 
 another strong position for defence. I will send a messenger 
 to Commodore Stout, and we may embark under cover of 
 his batteries. I have fifteen ships in the river " 
 
 " And," said Crook, " the British have eighteen." 
 
 "True, but the metal and men are nearly equal. Let 
 your flotilla glide quietly down the tide, gentlemen, and it 
 is possible we may get away without serious damage. If 
 the British Admiral has no order to assail us, we can manage 
 Ruffleton." 
 
 This was agreed to, and at midnight the march com- 
 menced. The groans of the wounded lying between the 
 armies prevented the trampling of horses and the creaking 
 of the artUlery carriages from being heard. Nevertheless, 
 information of the movement was soon conveyed to Ruffle- 
 ton by his spies, and before the combined armies had pro- 
 ceeded two miles, the enemy was in full pm-suit. At this dis- 
 tance apart, they continued to march with all the rapidity of 
 which they were capable, until about four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, when the guides announced to Randolph that a swampy 
 creek, over which they were crossing, would be impassable 
 for man or horse, if the several bridges were destroyed. 
 The creek ran in a semicircular line, its base being the 
 river, and the tide ebbed and flowed through it. The 
 extent of country enclosed was sufficiently -ample as a de- 
 fensive position for the retreating armies, but not for the 
 operations of cavalry. And here they were met by a mes- 
 senger from the Commodore, with the information that 
 
ATTEMPTED ASSASSmATIOIT, 237 
 
 below this point, for many miles, there would not be a suf- 
 ficient depth of water for the frigates to approach them. 
 
 At this point Randolph made dispositions to receive the 
 enemy. An embankmemt of turf was hastily thrown up along 
 the entire length of the ci-eek ; and just before daybreak, 
 the bridges were blown up, as the heads of the hostile co- 
 lumns were beginning to pass over them. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATIOK'. 
 
 DtTErsTG the whole of the succeeding day the battle raged 
 without intermission, but it was mostly a battle of artillery. 
 The Northern army, destitute of pontoon trains, were 
 unable to pass the ci'eek in sufficient numbers to eifect a 
 lodgment on the opposite side. But the cannon did awful 
 execution on both sides, and an incessant flight of bombs 
 wrought a dreadful carnage in all directions. 
 
 Towards evening the attention of General Crook was 
 attracted by a cloud of dust in the South ; this body of 
 men, he learned, upon inquiry, were the escaped prisoners, 
 and he found it difficult to resist the temptation to recap- 
 ture them. He suggested the idea to Randolph. 
 
 "I will undertake to drive them across the creek and 
 within our lines, with 5,000 horse." 
 
 "And Ruffleton's fanatics might come in with them," 
 said Randolph. "No, General — ^let them alone. They 
 would consume our rations, and we have not a superabun- 
 dance. Let them prey upon the enemy." 
 
 "Very well," said Crook. "But I shall give them a 
 parting salute when they reach the meadow in their line of 
 march." He had a battery of ten guns erected to sweep 
 the meadow ; and when the dark mass reached the desig- 
 nated point, he played upon them with a vengeance ! They 
 were not all fanatics, and by no means insensible to fear. 
 Abandoning their guides, they fled in all directiods, and 
 very soon produced a panic, for such is the influence of ex- 
 
238 ATTBITPTED ASSASSOTATION. 
 
 ample, in the left wing of Ruffleton's army, where they fled 
 for fshelter. And Randolph, perceivhig this, seized the 
 opportunity to throw bridges (he possessed an excellent 
 pontoon train) over the lower end of the creek, and dashed 
 out with 5,000 horse. Before the extremity of the loft 
 wing of the adverse army could recover from the confusion 
 produced by the presence of the panic-stricken fugitives, he 
 was upon them, dealing right and left. This time they 
 threw down their arms and fell back upon the rear guard, 
 where they rallied again. Then, without exposing his men 
 unnecessarily, and after having administered a salutary 
 chastisement on the fanatics, Randolph returned to his 
 friends, who greeted him with hearty cneers. 
 
 Sergeant Bim, who of course had been one of this party, 
 and had performed his share of the execution, as if he had 
 grown weary of slaying the enemy, resolved to make a 
 
 Erisoner. So he snatched a man from his horse and placed 
 im before him on his own ; and in that manner conveyed 
 him into camp. 
 
 " Whom have you there, Bim ?" demanded President 
 Randolph, when they repassed the bridge, attracted by the 
 novelty of the burden. 
 
 "It's Popoli, sir," said Bim. "I found him aiming a 
 rifle at you, sir. I killed a Colonel near him, and then the 
 monkey mounted his horse, and tried to get away. It was 
 an old plough horse with a Quaker-looking face. Popoli 
 begged me to spare his life and I brought him in as a show. 
 I've found a blank passport in his pocket signed by General 
 Ruffleton, which I will fill up with my own name," 
 
 " Did you find any other papers, Bim ?" 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " But I have more, Mr. President." 
 
 Popoli produced several dispatches from Admiral Bang, 
 which he was bearing to the camp of Ruffleton, when taken 
 by Bim. 
 
 They were important, and Randolph perused them with' 
 interest as he rode towards his head-quarters, unmindful of 
 the cannon balls ever and anon ploughing up the earth near 
 the feet of his horse. 
 
 " Gentlemen^" said Randolph, when Blount and Crook 
 joined him in his tent, " here is some interesting informa- 
 tjop. A British cruiser, it seems, boarded the Boston ves- 
 
ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION. 239 
 
 sel on the coast of Africa, supposing it to be a slaver, when 
 they found only a cargo of Abolitionists ! The officers and 
 crew were put in ii-ons, and the vessel sent back to 
 Boston." 
 
 " That is bad news !" said Crook. 
 
 " But not the worst," continued the President. " Your 
 ship fi'om Annapolis was intercepted by the same cruiser, 
 and, returning, has landed its contents in New York." 
 
 " Then there will be no peace on this mundane sphere !" 
 
 said Crook. " All the devils in could not foment so 
 
 much discord and strife on earth, as those two cargoes of 
 wicked preachers, fanatics, and fools !" 
 
 "You must be merciful, if you would obtain mercy," 
 said Randolph. " But I have anoth-er project for the delec- 
 tation of Ruffleton. I think some impression was made by 
 this last charge, and that another, on a larger scale, will 
 make the enemy more respectful, at least more circum- 
 spect." What this was, the foUo-vving events will sufficiently 
 indicate. 
 
 Commodore Stout, leading with the Wabash, steamed 
 along the shore as near the right wing of the enemy as the 
 depth of water would permit, and poured broadside after 
 broadside into the flank and rear of them. This demon- 
 stration swept away almost every man in the hostile ranks 
 within a half mile of the river ; and under the rolling clouds 
 of smoke, Randolph, throwing his bridges over the creek, 
 sallied out at the head of nearly twenty thousand horse, and 
 fell like an avalanche on their disordered columns. The 
 charge was irresistible. And so many terrible examples of 
 the fatality of these quadrupedal apparitions in their midst, 
 had begun to produce their natural effect upon all who 
 looked forward to any other object in this life besides the 
 abolition of Afiican slavery. The entire right wing of 
 Ruffleton'3 army was soon folded against the centre, where, 
 perforce, its retrograde movement was arrested by the im- 
 penetrable wall of steel. Having penetrated to the very 
 centre of the enemy's camp, Randolph turned upon them 
 all the cannon he had taken, some eighty in number, and 
 fired one round of their own missiles into their ranks! 
 Then spiking the guns, he led back his cavalry without 
 serious diminution, just as the dusk of eve fell upon the 
 scene. 
 
 16 
 
240 ATTEMFEBD ASSASSINATION. 
 
 " What sort of a burden is that ?" asked Randolph, wheu 
 returning to his tent, and observing an enormous object, en- 
 veloped in a coarse canvas, which Bim carried before him 
 on his horse. 
 
 " I don't know exactly, sir," said Bim ; " but I hope it'a 
 General Ruffleton himself. This is part of his tent, I know. 
 We swept over his head-quarters, and I saw this thing roll- 
 ing itself in the canvas, and snatched it up. I think it must 
 be General Ruffleton, for it's pot-bellied like him, and heavy 
 as lead." 
 
 " Bring him to my tent," said Randolph. 
 
 It was Lord Slysir. 
 
 "My bones are broken!" said his lordship, when Bim 
 unrolled him from his mummy-like covering. " I am bruised 
 to a jelly! Mr. President, I demand the punishment of 
 your ill-mannered dragoon !" 
 
 " Your lordship forgets that my dragoon was merely dis- 
 charging his duty." 
 
 " Duty ! Is cruelty to prisoners — if you regard me such 
 —a duty ?" 
 
 "I declare, sir," said Bim, addressing the President, 
 " when I first saw the canvas move, I thought it was a pig, 
 and wrapped him up so he couldn't bite me." 
 
 " Begone ! you unmannered hound ! — you untutored 
 boor !^' said Slysir. 
 
 " If I'm to be mistaken for a pig, sir," said Bim, stepping 
 back, " let it be a boar pig. But I'm no manner of a hqjind, 
 sir ! I repel the imputation. And if your rank would only 
 permit you to fight a Sergeant of dragoons, I think I could 
 give you abundant satisfaction." 
 
 " My Lord," said Randolph, when Bim withdrew, " 1 
 trust you will be immediately restored to health and useful- 
 ness." 
 
 " Health and usefulness ! and from an enemy !" 
 
 " I am perfectly aware of that, my lord. And, really, I 
 am delighted at your alliance with Ruffleton, for it will 
 guarantee the security of our merchant marine, belonging 
 almost exclusively to the free States. But, instead of an- 
 nexing New England to the British crown, be careful that 
 Canada is not annexed to 'New England." 
 
 " Your Excellency seems to possess a vast amount of 
 information." 
 
ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION'. 241 
 
 " Would your Lordship be prepared to listen to a propo- 
 sition — " 
 
 " I am not at liberty — ^I mean I am a prisoner, Mr. Presi- 
 dent, and any negotiations — " 
 
 " Would be an infraction of the convention with the mili- 
 taiy, if not the civil, head of the Northern confederacy !'^ 
 
 " That is not what I desired to say, Mr. President. But 
 a stroke of your pen would restore me my hberty, and 
 then—" 
 
 " And then the words of warning I uttered on the night 
 of the dissolution of Congress, would prove to have been 
 without meaning. My lord, whatever others may do, I 
 always mean what I say. You have espoused the cause of 
 a traitor, and we are enemies. My war with England will 
 rally, sooner or later, all the patriotism and republicanism 
 of the Union under my standard. I repeat, that a war with 
 England is regarded by me as a most fortunate event. 
 Therefore, there need be no hesitation on your part to begin 
 hostilities. And, indeed, your cruisers have already taken 
 the initiative — '' 
 
 " How ? When ?" asked Slysir. 
 
 "These papers will enlighten your Lordship," said Ran- 
 dolph, placing in his hands the intercepted dispatches. 
 
 " Ah ! these were intercepted," said his lordship. " But 
 were these all ? Was nothuig said about — " 
 
 " About what ?" 
 
 "If your Excellency has in your possession other dis- 
 patches — " 
 
 " I have no other." 
 
 " Then, of course, there were no others, and I cannot 
 imagine — " 
 
 His Lordship was interrupted by the entrance of a mes- 
 senger, who placed a letter in the President's hand. By 
 the light of a lamp, Randolph recognised the characters of 
 Major S . 
 
 " Who brought this ?" he demanded. 
 
 " A deserter, sir," said the messenger. 
 
 While the President was reading, Popoli, who had been 
 lying concealed among a number of flags taken by the ca- 
 valry, sprang up and aimed a blow with his dagger at the 
 heart of the President. The President stumbled backwards, 
 and fell into the chair from which he had risen. And Bim, 
 
 11 
 
242 ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION". 
 
 who stood near the entrance, seeing Popoli glide out into 
 the darkness, ran in pursuit of him. 
 
 " That was an assassin, with whom I protest I had no 
 complicity !" said Slysir. " I hope your Excellency is not 
 seriously wounded." 
 
 The President ]3ressed one hand against his heart, and 
 without replying to his lordship, waved him away with the 
 other. The officer having his Lordship in custody hurried 
 him oif towards the river. 
 
 The guards in the immediate vicinity of the President's 
 tent having informed Generals Blount and Crook of the 
 occurrence, they repaired instantly to Randolph's quarters, 
 where, to their joyful surprise, they found him quietly pe- 
 rusing a communication from Major S , his dissembling 
 
 partisan in the camp of the enemy. 
 
 " Not dead, by Jupiter !" cried Crook. 
 
 " No, thank heaven !■" said Blount, pale and fearfully ex- 
 cited. 
 
 "Not even scratched," said Randolph. "It was well 
 aimed, but Providence interposed my heavy-cased hunting 
 watch. Now, gentlemen, that little matter blown over, 
 we enter upon affailrs of the greatest magnitude. My cor- 
 respondent, on whose information you are aware we may 
 always rely, says that Ruffleton and Bang have determined 
 to make a simultaneous attack on us by land and by water. 
 Our flotilla cannot be reached by the enemy at low tide; 
 and it seems to me that the time has arrived for us to take 
 our departure from this shore, provided we succeed in re- 
 pulsing the attack by land." 
 
 " I concur fully," said Blount. 
 
 " Good ! So long as there is no such word as surrender," 
 said Crook. " And," he continued, with an uplifted hand, 
 " when that alternative is contemplated, I desire it to be 
 understood that I am not to be consulted. I will 7iever 
 surrender. I will escape in the old Roman manner." 
 
 "My brave brother in arms!" said Randolph, taking the 
 General's hand, " your life is too valuable to be lost in that 
 way. Such an alternative as a suiTender is certainly not to 
 be contemplated ; but if it were, of what avail would be 
 self-destruction ? Think not of it. And remember I have 
 Lord Slysir, whose equivalent in an exchange would be at 
 least a GeneraL" 
 
PROMOTION, 243 
 
 " Tour last charge," said Blount to Randolph, " must 
 have heen seriously felt by the enemy, and was a great re- 
 lief to us. There is a very perceptible diminution of pro- 
 jectiles thrown into our camp. But in accordance with the 
 information derived from your correspondent, the fire had 
 not ceased at nightfall." 
 
 "Let us double the guard at those places on the creek j 
 where they will be most likely to attempt a passage ; and 
 at the same time we will redouble the fire from our mor- 
 tars," said the President. 
 
 " Yes," said Blount ; " and the amount of metal thus 
 expended, will be a diminution to that extent of the burden 
 to be transported in the flotilla." And at the same time that 
 these measures were put in execution, every preparation 
 was made to embark. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXin, 
 
 PBOIIOTION'. 
 
 Bin never lost sight of the flying Italian until the latter 
 plunged into the river and dived beneath the surface. The 
 Sei'geant sprang into a light skiff and awaited the rising of 
 his victim. 
 
 "By George!" said he, after sitting some time in silence, 
 " I believe he's drowned himself. No mortal man could 
 hold his breath this long, unless he was first cousin to a 
 maremaid. And this fellow may be a poUywog — or at 
 most a man muskrat. HeUo ! what's that !" said he, leaping 
 up and rubbing his back. Popoli had risen softly under 
 the stern of the boat, with the design of despatching the 
 Sergeant with the same dagger used against the President. 
 But he proved too weak to execute his purpose. " You 
 infernal water-mosquito !" cried Bim, seizing the wrist of 
 Popoii as he attempted to strike a second blow, " or gally- 
 nipper, or craw-fish ! You're done biting now ! I don't 
 believe you brought blood, but yon are a double murderer, 
 although you've killed nobody, and — " 
 
244 PEOMOTIOK. 
 
 "Sergeant," said Popoli, "is President Randolpl not 
 dead ?" 
 
 " Can a flea-bite kill ? If not, how could such a con- 
 temptible toad as you kill such an exalted and glorious 
 genius as President Randolph ? Why, the point of your 
 dagger didn't go through the gold case of his -watch I" 
 
 "I thought so," said the Italian, with a low maledic- 
 tion. " But it broke the point off, and that's the reason 1 
 could not " 
 
 " Stick me, I suppose you meant to say," added Bim ; 
 and at the same time lifting Popoli, like a fish, into the 
 boat, and forcing him to lie down on his back. " Popoli," 
 he continued, " if you had killed the President, or even bled 
 him pretty freely, do you suppose I'd be merciful enough to 
 be indulging you in this way ? No, indeed ! I could not 
 have restrained my hand. Now, listen to me and bear wit- 
 ness all the stars : I do hereby solemnly swear that I will 
 not kUl this Mr. Signer Popoli, this night, unless he at- 
 tempts again to kill me, tries to escape, or I am ordered to 
 do so by a superior officer." 
 
 " Then what do you intend to do with me. Sergeant ?" 
 asked the culprit. 
 
 " I intend to introduce you to the society of your loving 
 friend, Cardini." 
 
 " Cardini ? Oh, Sergeant, he's the one I wish to see ! 
 Take me to him, and you'll bind me to you for life ! Give 
 me the name and location of any enemy, and he will cease 
 to live!" 
 
 "Thank you, Popoli, — but I'd prefer to do my own 
 killing." 
 
 " But where is he ?" 
 
 " He's — I don't know that I'm under obligations to 
 tell you — thought I should have done so, no doubt, if you 
 hadn't been so eager to find it out." 
 
 " But, Sergeant, is he alive ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, I suppose so — at least he was quite well when I 
 saw him last, and I haven't heard of his being taken ill 
 since." 
 
 " Sergeant ! if you'll only take me to him, I'll give 
 you — " 
 
 " Silence, fool ! or I'll forget my oath, perhaps. I'm out 
 of money again, it is true ; but I know where more is to be 
 
PKOMOTIOK. 245 
 
 had. I prefer glory to the filthy lucre ; and now I'm in a 
 fair way of being promoted. By to-morrow, if President 
 Randolph and I both live, I think I'U be a live captain in 
 the Blue Caps, the most magnificent body of men in these 
 United States — or, perhaps, just about this hour, I should 
 say, disunited States." 
 
 Bun, hearing his name caUed, rowed to the shore, where 
 he was met by General Carleton, who announced that the 
 President had promoted him to the rank of Captain, in con- 
 sideration of his gallant conduct on divers recent occasions, 
 but especially for his meritorious service in the capture of 
 Lord Slysir. The General further stated that the President 
 desired Captain Bim to proceed with four rowers, having 
 his Lordship in custody, to the flag-ship of Commodore 
 Stout. 
 
 " General," said Bim, " is there to be no more fight- 
 ing ?" 
 
 " Quite enough, I apprehend. Captain," said Carleton. 
 " But the probability is that the most desperate conflict will 
 be between the fleets." 
 
 " Then I'm in, that is. General, if I may be allowed to 
 fight in a ship !" 
 
 "Tou may fight anywhere for your country and your 
 President." 
 
 Captain Bim, having first conducted Lord Slysir into the 
 boat which was to convey him to the ship, next ordered the 
 men, for he now appi-eciated the importance attached to a 
 commissioned officer, to transfer Fopoli to the same boat. 
 This acoompUshed,' the crew rowed briskly away from the 
 shore, whilst Bim voluntarily performed the lighter duty 
 of helmsman. 
 
 " Bim !" said his Lordship, as they glided out into the 
 current. 
 
 " Captain Bim, at your Lordship's service, sir," said the 
 Captain. 
 
 " You have served me a cruel turn — ^you have done my 
 business, sir, I fear. I shall not recover from my bruises 
 for a month, if 1 get over them at all 1" 
 
 " My Lord, I was doing a little business of my own, at 
 the same time, and you answered the purpose exactly. It 
 was that feat which brought promotion." 
 
 " Well, I suppose I ought to congratulate you ; but I do 
 
246 PEOMOXIOK, 
 
 80 in great agony of body. However, you have done a good 
 service for your employers. In this game they are playing, 
 they have obtained by your blundering luck a very high 
 trump card." 
 
 " Sir — your Lordship — that reminds me of the game 1 
 had last night. I had two bullets and a bragger, when a 
 bomb scattered the cards and the money, and all the men 
 
 but myself, to the d ^1. Wasn't that an unlucky 
 
 blunder?" 
 
 " I desire none of your familiarity, sir," said his Lord- 
 ship. 
 
 " Then don't speak to me, sir !" said Bim, assuming an 
 erect posture. 
 
 " I hope your Lordship," said Popoli, lying in the bottom 
 of the boat, " will report my conduct to the General." 
 
 " Who are you ?" demanded his lordship. 
 
 " I am Popoli." 
 
 " As a rascal as ever went unhung !" said Bim. 
 
 "Ah, the assassin!" said Slysir. "Yes, I will report 
 your conduct, and if I have any influence, you shall swing 
 on the nearest tree. To attack the President in such a 
 ruffianly manner, and in my presence !" 
 
 " Oh, he has no manners, sir," said Bim. 
 
 " Captain Bim," resumed his Lordship, " I agree with you 
 in abhorrence of the dastardly crime of assassination, and 
 particularly when perpetrated on persons of rank and dis- 
 tinction." 
 
 " The rascal tried his hand on me," said Bim. 
 
 " You ! Nonsense. But here we are under the ship. I 
 hope they can contrive some means of hoisting me, for I 
 cannot climb up the ladder. All, Commodore," he con- 
 tinued, seeing that officer above, "I'm not a guest this 
 time." 
 
 " No, sir," said Bim ; " he's a prisoner of war." 
 
 " Commodore," continued Slysir, " is there not some way 
 of getting up besides ascending these steep steps ?" 
 
 "Yes, my Lord," said the Commodore. "I wUl have 
 a rope thrown over, which you can pass under your arms, 
 and be lifted up." This was done. 
 
LOED SLTSIK'S CAPTIVITT. 247 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 LORD SLTSIB'S captivity. 
 
 SuDDEacLT a great consternation prevailed at the head 
 quarters of Ruffleton. Lord Slysir could nowhere be found, 
 and the rumor that he had been captured by Randolph 
 was credited by the Commander-in-Chief. All at once the 
 batteries of the Northern army were silenced. This, of 
 course, induced a corresponding cessation of the fire from 
 the besieged. 
 
 "Balatrum!" said RufQeton, "they have taken the 
 British minister ! Everything depends upon his recovery. 
 Without his orders, we shall have no assistance from the 
 British forces, unless, indeed. Admiral Bang should act on 
 his previous instructions. And Slysir alone can commit 
 his government to our cause. Call Virus !" And when that 
 astute diplomat made his appeai'ance, Ruffleton continued 
 thus : " Go, Virus, into the camp of the enemy, with a flag, 
 and propose a conference. Let Randolph send hither his 
 chief General, Valiant, and I will send him mine, Balatrum. 
 Haste, Vii'us !" To this Balatrum made no objection, and 
 Virus departed without loss of time. 
 
 " General," said Randolj)h, when Valiant reported the 
 very singular conduct of the besiegers, " we can only await 
 an elucidation." 
 
 " I hope their Commander-in-Chief has been nipped in the 
 bud !" said Crook. 
 
 " No ; it is not that," said Randolph. " He keeps a bank 
 of sand bags, ten feet through, on the south side of his tent." 
 
 "We have been in a desperate strait," said Randolph. 
 " At present, however, we may congratulate ourselves on 
 this grateful respite, after the hard pounding we have en- 
 dured." 
 
 As this speech was concluded. Virus, blindfolded, was 
 ushered into the tent. 
 
248 LORD slysib's captititt, 
 
 " Now," said the President, " for the elucidation. Virus, 
 has yqur ammunition given out ?" 
 
 " It has not even been diminished, sir." 
 
 " What brings you hither ?" 
 
 " General Rnffleton proposes an exchange of prisoners." 
 
 "An exchange of prisoners !" cried Crook. " He has no 
 prisoners, if it be true, as the deserters allege, that all our 
 wounded taken by him are summarily killed." 
 
 " That is not true," said Virus. 
 
 " Then will he return my prisoners ?" This question of 
 Crook produced a burst of laughter. 
 
 " If you mean the 30,000 transported across the bay by 
 the British fleet," said Virus, " I have to say that the num- 
 ber was seriously diminished by your batteries, in the mea- 
 dow on our left, and that the remainder have dispersed 
 themselves in so many directions it would be impossible to 
 restore them." 
 
 "We have several of your men," said the President, 
 willing to protract the cessation of hostilities, while his 
 horses were being quietly taken on board the flotilla, " which 
 we do not think can be matched by any captives in your pos- 
 session. We do not think we had any assassins in our camp ; 
 but one of the prisoners taken in yours aimed a dagger at 
 my heart. It was Popoli. Next, we have a Lord " 
 
 " Is he living? We understood he died !" It was thus 
 Virus fendeavored to mask the interest he felt in the an- 
 nouncement. 
 
 " So far he has escaped death," said Randolph. " But 
 several shells have exploded in his presence, and it is a mira-' 
 cle that he lives." 
 
 " In a word, then, would any consideration induce your 
 Excellency to restore his Lordship to liberty ? If so, Gene- 
 ral Ruffleton will send you his chief ofScer as a hostage for 
 the safe return of General Valiant, whom he would desire 
 to be bearer of your conditions, etc." 
 
 " I think I may be induced to set his Lordship at liberty, 
 since I am not clear that the circumstances warrant his de- 
 tention. This you may say to Ruffleton ; and further — if 
 General Valiant should not make his appearance in the 
 space of an hour, he may recommence hostilities." 
 
 Virus was conducted back within the lines of the ISTorth- 
 ern army ; and Randolph, resolved to make the best possi- 
 
LOED SLTSIK'S CAPTITITT. 249 
 
 ble use of the time, retained Valiant until the hour specified 
 had nearly expired. And when the General was at length 
 conducted into the presence of Ruffleton, every art was 
 employed to compass the restitution of Slysir. 
 
 " The only difficulty likely to arise," said Valiant, " is 
 the matter of time. Randolph has no disposition to use 
 his Lordship ill, and is quite willing to hberate him when the 
 last of our forces shall be safely embarked, to-morrow or 
 the next day." 
 
 " And why not immediately ? General Balatrum will re- 
 main with you, if it be desired, as a guarantee of the ful- 
 filment of the stipulation that not another gun will be fired 
 from our side of the quicksand creek — the creek which, 
 Valiant, was all that saved you from destruction." 
 
 " And now, with the addition of Her Britannic Majesty's 
 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary inter- 
 posed between us, we deem ourselves doubly safe. I do 
 not think Randolph will consent to yield up his Lordship 
 until we shall be prepared to begin the evacuation." 
 
 Ruffleton saw that Valiant was conscious of his advan- 
 tage ; but he never suspected the evacuation was already in 
 progress, or that Lord Slysir had been conveyed to the 
 Commodore's ship. He was quite willing, then, to treat for 
 the restoration of his Lordship on the basis suggested by 
 Valiant ; and it was agreed that the convention should be 
 signed at sunrise the next morning; that the Generals 
 should return to their respective armies ; and that hostili 
 ties were not to be resumed by either party, before the 
 landing of the troops on the Delaware side of the river, 
 unless there should occur an infraction of the articles oi 
 agreement. 
 
 To these stipulations Randolph and his colleagues hear- 
 tily agreed ; and, moreover, it was their purpose to fulfil 
 the main stipulation, the rendition of his Lordship, to the 
 letter. But they were not aware of the fact that Virus 
 had overheard, though blindfolded very securely, as he re- 
 turned to his General's head-quarters, some one say that 
 Lord Slysir had been sent away, and that all President 
 Randolph's cavalry, under the command of General Carle- 
 ton, had been landed on the opposite shore of the broad 
 river ! 
 
 11* 
 
250 CESSATION OF THE BOMBAEDMENT. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV, 
 
 CESSATION OF THE BOMBAEDMENT.] 
 
 Me. Langdon was suffering with a severe fit of the gout, 
 but had been wheeled in a great chair out on the balcony, 
 where, with his telescope, he watched the progress of the 
 protracted battle. 
 
 Willy had just arri%'-ed from the battle-field. 
 
 "Miss Edith!" said he, "General Blount has not been 
 wounded, and his health is perfect — and his spirits good." 
 
 " I am rejoiced to hear of his health, Willy," said Edith ; 
 " and if his good spirits may be indicative of a speedy ter- 
 mination of this horrible strife, I shall be happy indeed. He 
 did not write ?" 
 
 " No, Miss ; but he sent his heartiest greeting. Presi- 
 dent Randolph did not write — I mean to Miss Alice — but 
 here is a large packet for Mr. Langdon." 
 
 " Wheel me back into the chamber," said Mr. Langdon, 
 " and bring a candle." 
 
 This was done by the tender hands of Edith and Mary, 
 who had been his constant nurses. He broke the seal and 
 read the letter aloud, while the rest stood around. 
 
 Randolph's lines were in the bold legible hand of calm 
 deliberation, and, as usual, without blot or interlineation. 
 The President announced the startling intelligence that a 
 free-soil army was approaching from the West through the 
 State of Pennsylvania, for the purpose, probably, of cutting 
 off the retreat of the Southern and Federal forces in New 
 Jersey. But this project would probably be defeated in the 
 course of a few hours — ^but if not, Mr. Langdon, if sufii- 
 ciently recovered to travel, was advised to set out in the 
 course of two or three days, with the ladies under his care 
 for Washington city. Randolph, however, assured him and 
 his daughter that they need be under no apprehension for 
 his, safety, and for his own part, he had not at all lost confi- 
 dence in the virtue and patriotism of the American people. 
 
 " But Zhave," said the heart-stricken statesman, the let- 
 
CESSATION OF THE BOMBAEDMENT. 25] 
 
 ter falling from his relaxed grasp, and his head sinking 
 down in dejection. 
 
 " Oh, sir !" said Alice, " let us have faith in the wisdom 
 and energy of my father." 
 
 "I fear I shall not have the heart, even if I have the 
 strength," said Langdon, "to fly from my countrymen. I 
 would be content now to take refuge in a peaceful grave ! 
 My daughter ! and my young friends ! if it w^ere not a duty 
 incumbent on us to take thought for the Government, it 
 would be far better to dwell in humble obscurity, in peace 
 and plenty, than mount the topmost round of ambition's 
 ladder. Willy, when the fratricidal strife is over, do thou 
 never emerge from the peaceful vale where my daughter 
 found a hospitable shelter, on the purling Brandywine !" 
 
 "The firing has ceased!" exclaimed Mary, with hands 
 uplifted. 
 
 " Wheel me out again !" said Mr. Langdon, with a more 
 cheerful expression of countenance. 
 
 When they were re-assembled on the balcony, a solemn 
 silence brooded over the scene, where so lately the earth 
 vibrated with the continual discharges of great guns, and 
 the frequent explosions of shells. 
 
 On the lawn surrounding the mansion, there were groups 
 of Blue Caps, conjecturing the probable causes of such an 
 unexpected occurrence. 
 
 " It cannot be a surrender !" said Alice. 
 
 " No — ^not that," said Mr. Langdon, " after the confident 
 letter he wrote me." 
 
 " Nor his fall — nor the fall of any of the Generals," said 
 Mary, " if my prayers have been heard." 
 
 " It may be the fall of Ruffleton himself," said Edith. 
 
 " No, daughter !" said Mr. Langdon ; " and even that 
 would not put an end to the strife. There are others eager 
 always to succeed in the chief command. If he were a king, 
 It might be different." 
 
 " No doubt he aspires to be king," said Alice, 
 
 For a long time, on that summer's night, they sat on 
 ■.he balcony and gazed at the darkened scene which had 
 tucceeded the fires of furious warfare. 
 
252 PEEPAEATIONS FOE A NAVAl BATTLB. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 PEEPAKATIONS FOE A NATAL BATTLE. 
 
 JtJST about the time of the suspension of the fire between 
 the land forces, Commodore Stout perceived evidences of 
 an intention on the part of Admiral Bang, to intercept 
 the flotilla. Already an immense fleet of transports had 
 succeeded in landing on the Delaware fiats the President's 
 superb corps of cavalry ; but the positions assumed by the 
 British ships, if maintained, would enable them to interfere 
 with the passage of the artillery and infantry. 
 
 Under these circiamstances the Commodore sent an officer 
 to the Admiral with the announcement that his menacing 
 attitude would, if persisted in, be construed as the signal 
 of battle. To this message, the Admiral, a Shakespearian 
 wag, returned no other response than " I bite my thumb, 
 sir !" 
 
 " Then I'll powder it with saltpetre, brimstone, and char- 
 coal !" said the Commodore, and he ordered an immediate 
 preparation for action. 
 
 "Commodore — Commodore!" said Lord Slysir, limping 
 up to the old ofiicer, " are you going to fight ?" 
 
 " My Lord, there will be a fight or a foot race, and yon 
 may judge how likely the last is in seven fathom water." 
 
 " But, Commodore, this is no place for me ! It is my 
 province to make war — ^not to expose myself in battle. I 
 swore, when that herculean Bim was jolting me to death in 
 the bag, that I would never be caught in such a predica- 
 ment again — and now I find myself about to be exposed to 
 the furious fire of Her Majesty's ship Vesuvius ! I protest 
 against it. Commodore !" 
 
 " Then protest to Bang, and not to me ! I don't intend 
 to shoot you. But I mean to see which can vomit the hot- 
 test fire, the Wabash or the Vesuvius!" 
 
 " But, Commodore, I must not stay here !" 
 
 " Then go below." 
 
 "WiU I be safe there?" 
 
XOED SLTSIE IN CAPTITITT. 253 
 
 f 
 
 " Tolerably, under the water-line. A horizontal ball can't 
 reach you. A perpendicular one, going through the decks, 
 might crack your head. A bomb descending to the bottom 
 would make mince meat for the rats ; if the ship sinks, you 
 "wiU go down first, being nearest the bottom ; and if the 
 magazine should explode, of course we would all be pulver- 
 ized in a twinkling." 
 
 " Can't you put me ashore ?" 
 
 " Then Rufileton, when rested, and his guns cooled, may 
 resume the cannonade, and you might be pounded to a 
 jelly. So you see if it be a pleasant amusement to make 
 war, it is no pastime to be in it." 
 
 " Commodore, why can't you send me to the Delaware 
 shore ? " 
 
 " Bim wants to fight on my ship. He is your custodian." 
 
 " I could be back in fifteen minutes," said Bim. " And 
 even if the battle begins before that time, I'll be sure 
 to board you. I hope you will permit me to place his Lord- 
 ship in the custody of the Blue Caps, sir, as I have a special 
 reason for it." 
 
 "I am disposed to accommodate you, Bim," said the 
 Commodore ; " but do you think his Lordship can be trusted 
 with the ladies ? " 
 
 "Miss Alice's guards will protect them, sir. But my 
 special reason, sir, is that I wish to place Signer PopoU in a 
 secure place. He might be killed here, and that would be 
 too mild a punishment." 
 
 " Go — ^but see that neither of the prisoners escapes." 
 
 "I'll answer for that, sir !" said Bim ; and a few moments 
 after a boat put out from the ship, containing Slysir, Bim, 
 and Popoli, the latter still in chains. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVn. 
 
 LORD SLTSIB IN CAPTmTT. 
 
 While the party at the mansion were still sitting on the 
 balcony, Captam Bim made hia appearance in the lawn below, 
 
254 LORD SLTSIK IN CAPTTVITT. 
 
 reporting what he had done, as in duty bound, to his supe- 
 rior officer. Major Milnor, and to Alice. 
 
 " I propose," said Lord Slysir, " being the captive of the 
 President's daughter. And if she will permit me to repose 
 my bruised body in a soft chair beside Mr. Langdon's, I 
 pledge my word not to escape." 
 
 " And I think you may trust him. Miss Alice," said Bim, 
 " for I have been obliged to help him along every step since 
 we left the boat." 
 
 " Assist him up the stairway, Sergeant " 
 
 " Captain, if you please, Miss Alice," said Bim. " The 
 President, your father, promoted me on the field of battle." 
 
 " Then I am sure it was for meritorious conduct, and I 
 am rejoiced at it." 
 
 " Thank you. Miss," said Bim, bowing rather awkwardly, 
 but it was too dark to perceive it. "Now, fellow Blue 
 Caps," said he, addressing his comrades standing near, 
 " guard Popoli till I return." Then encircling his Lordship 
 with his gigantic arms, he lifted him with perfect ease, and 
 carried him to the balcony. A chair being in readiness, he 
 placed him in it tenderly. " Good-bye, sir !" said he, 
 shaking hands with his Lordship ; " you will be safe in this 
 place." 
 
 "Farewell, my friend!" said Slysir, heartily. "You are 
 a little rough, sometimes, but really a true man. I am 
 much indebted to you for your generous care. Wear my 
 watch in token of my gratitude." 
 
 " No, sir — I mean my Lord. I might lose it — it might 
 get sunk with my body. And, besides, officers of the 
 United States, it seems to me, are not allowed to accept 
 presents from foreign powers. Good night — I must hurry 
 back 1" 
 
 " Do you return. Captain ?" asked Alice. 
 
 " Oh, yes ; my leave's not up yet. You promised me 
 five days." 
 
 " Then say to my father " 
 
 " Pardon me for interrupting you, Miss, but I do not re- 
 turn to Jersey. They will all be here soon, if the British 
 don't whip us. Your father's magnificent cavalry are all 
 over, and browsing in the flats down yonder ; and they are 
 as ravenous as wolves. Not a spear of grass could they get 
 in Jersey — it was all dry sand, except where the blood 
 
THE CANNONADE RESUMED. 255 
 
 moistened it. Farewell! I'm in for another figlit before 
 morning !" 
 
 " Another battle ?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed. I've promised the Commodore. I've 
 fought every sort of an enemy but the British. The battle 
 Avill begin very soon, by starlight. But the Commodore 
 says there will be plenty of light — for he intends to pour 
 liot shot into the Vesuvius " 
 
 " What's that ?" exclaimed Lord Slysir. 
 
 " All the furnaces are in full blast, and we intend to shoot 
 red-hot balls." 
 
 " Tell Commodore Stout that such a mode of warfare is 
 not tolerated among Christian nations. I I'jrotest against it !" 
 
 " I'll tell him, sir ; but I don't think he'll hear me. I 
 thought all was fair in war. We fight on our own grounds, 
 sir — or rather in our own waters ; and if Admiral Bang — 
 bang ! there goes the signal gun ! — don't like it, why don't 
 he tm-n tail and run away ?" A few minutes after, and Bim 
 was rowing towards the Wabash. Popoli, in chains, was 
 confined in the barracks. 
 
 CHAFrER XXXVIII. 
 
 THE CANNONADE EESUMED. 
 
 ViEus did not fail to inform his patron of the remarks he 
 heard in the camp of the enemy regarding the disposition 
 that had been made of Lord Slysir ; but for a long time he 
 paid no heed to it, supposing the words to have been ut- 
 tered by some one for the purpose of misleading him. Af- 
 ter the departure of Valiant, however, and the return of 
 Balatrum, although the latter did not confirm the suspicions 
 which Virus might have excited, several messengers from 
 the Western outpost reported the departure of many trans- 
 ports from the Southern camp, having horses on board, 
 supposed to be cavalry, and several deserters were brought 
 in who confirmed the statement that his Lordship had been 
 sent on board the flag-ship of the Commodore* 
 17 
 
250 TB£ KAYXL BATTLB. 
 
 »' Then," said Ruffleton, " there can be no danger of kill- 
 ing him "by resuming the cannonade ! See to it, Balatrum. 
 Let our batteries re-open on them. What is that ?" he con- 
 tinued, as the booming of distant guns struck upon his ear. 
 
 " By St. George, General !" said Balatrum, " it conies 
 from the fleet ! It is Bang's cannon ! And theie goes a 
 liroadside from the Wabash ! They are at it, General, at 
 last !" 
 
 " And we are idle ! They have discovered the attempt of 
 these Southern herdfes to steal away ! Sound the alarm I Fly 
 to-arms ! Let all the batteries re-open upon the encampment 
 of the enemy. Balatrum, suppose you attempt once more 
 to penetrate their lines with a column of infantry ?" 
 
 " I shall be happy to do so, General, and will set about it 
 without delay." 
 
 In a very. few minutes the roar of cannon was again re- 
 sounding thx'ough the forests of New Jersey, and the heavens 
 were illuminated with the incessant bursting of bombs. 
 
 But Balatrum was unfortunate in his attempt to lead a 
 column of infantry across the creek. His hastily constructed 
 bridges were immediately destroyed, and ho found liimself, 
 and nearly half his men, suddenly struggling in the treach- 
 erous sand and mud, an easy prey to the foe. Many sank 
 never to rise again ; and those that succeeded in extricating 
 themselves were in no condition to resume the offensive. 
 They fled back, numbers falling by the way, the victims of 
 their own batteries. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 THE NAVAX BAITLE. 
 
 " God bless us !" said Mr. Langdon, upon beholding the 
 fii-e of the American ships of war illuminating the heavens, 
 the earth, and the water. A great crashing of timbers 
 followed, and was succeeded by a deafening detonation. 
 This was replied to by the British shipw, and then the fire 
 became general, and without intermission ; and, save the 
 partial obscurity, fitfully produced by the rolling volumes 
 
THE NAVAt BATTLE. i57 
 
 of smoke, the whole scene, by reason of the streams of fire 
 belched forth, was painfully visible. 
 
 " Father !" said Edith, " it's the British with whom the 
 brave Commodore is contending. And he is defending our 
 soil, our homos, and liberties, assaulted by a foreign enemy. 
 God 10 ill bless us, as he has ever done when our cause was 
 just." 
 
 " There goes another broadside from the old Vesuvius !" 
 said Lord Slysir, leaning forward with intense interest. 
 " And there tails the old Commodore's flag ! And he would 
 have kept me on board with him." 
 
 " Our flag is still there /" cried Alice. " It was shot 
 down, but the Commodore has replaced it." 
 
 " Oh, merciful Parent !" said Mary, " save their lives and 
 put an end to this strife." 
 
 " Nonsense, chUd !" said Slysir. " It is in this way the fate 
 of empires is determined. Diplomacy first— that is thought, 
 calculation ; action next — that is demonstration, and then 
 follow the results. Regard it as merely a game of chess, and 
 those who fall, the pawns, knights, rooks, etc., removed. 
 The fruits of victory are reaped by many generations — as for 
 instance, that of Hastings ; but those who "win them, or 
 those who fall in the game, could not, under any circum- 
 stances, survive their allotted three score and ten years. 
 Such is the importance of diplomacy — such the necessity of 
 thinking men devoting themselves to the afiairs of the 
 'world. By St. George ! thei-e goes the Persia ! Down, 
 head foremost !" 
 
 This was true. 
 
 " They have recommenced the cannonade on the land," 
 said Wiry Willy. 
 
 " Alas !" said Alice, " how can my father and his fiiends 
 return to this side of the river, while thus assailed on land 
 by the fanatics, and intercepted by a hostile fleet on the 
 water !" 
 
 " President Randolph is a great player," said Lord Slysir : 
 "he is bold, and boldness is greatness both in war and 
 diplomacy. There is always danger of checkmate, playing 
 with such men." 
 
 "Look!" exclaimed Edith. 
 
 One of the ships of the enemy had taken fire, and bright 
 flames were leaping from its hatches. 
 
268 THE NAVAL BATTLE. 
 
 " That is the Combustible," said his Lordship. " It is the 
 farthest off, too, and seems to be aground. Ah! your 
 infernal Commodore is firing red-hot shot, sure enough. I 
 thought he was not in earnest." 
 
 " Not in earnest !" exclaimed Alice ; " and when the hos- 
 tile fleet of England presumes to menace the Chief Magis- 
 trate of this country ! And that, too, in our own waters. 
 Brave and glorious Commodore ! Long may the Star- 
 Spangled Banner wave triumphantly over your venerable 
 head !" 
 
 " The British are retiring," said Edith, seeing the distance 
 widening between the fleets. 
 
 " No !" said Lord Slysir. " It is only a manoeuvre. Ad- 
 miral Bang is brave ; and besides, he is aware I am a wit- 
 ness of his conduct. It must be those red-hot balls. He 
 could not suppose such barbarous missiles would be used 
 by a civilized and Christian nation." 
 
 " And can any species of carnage be consistent with civi- 
 lization and Christianity ?" asked Mary. 
 
 " All the gi'eat improvements in the art of war, as well 
 as in the other arts," said his Lordshijj, " have kept pace 
 with the progress of civilization. As to the amicable effect 
 Christianity should produce upon the nations, it is true its 
 mission is alleged to be one of peace and love ; but, it can- 
 not be denied, if history be credited, that more wars and 
 bloodshed have been produced by the disputes of religion- 
 ists than by any other causes." 
 
 " And, my Lord," said Mr. Langdon, " the very wars you 
 allude to were mostly the work of designing diplomacy. 
 But war is the history of man — peace is the dream of the 
 wise." 
 
 "See!" exclaimed Edith, "there are two more ships on 
 fire ! And one on our side." 
 
 "Alas, it is true!" said Alice. "But the British flag 
 has been lowered, while the American Stars and Stripes are 
 still flying." 
 
 " The fire has ceased on both," said Willy, " and I can 
 see the small boats plying between them and the other 
 ships. They are saving the crews." 
 
 This was true. And there seemed to be a diminution of 
 the work of destruction. Nevertheless, this flagging of the 
 strife was only of short dui-ation, Some of the steamships 
 
EETUBN OP THE CHIEFTAINS. 259 
 
 had drawn off to repair damaged machinery, and others to 
 turn, or to tow into better position the ships that had no 
 propelling power. These ai-rangemonts completed, the 
 battle was renewed with desperate resolution. 
 
 The Wabash continued to belch forth its red-hot balls ; 
 and the Vesuvius, although a large number of the men wore 
 constantly employed extinguishing the flames, that burst 
 forth in many places, fired broadside after broadside with 
 surprising rapidity. And, over all, and in the height of the 
 conflict, there arose a dark cloud in the sultry south, emit- 
 ting brilliant flashes from heaven, and stunning the earth 
 with its jarring thunders. Above and below, the slaughter 
 of man by man, and the war of the elements, presented a 
 spectacle that awed the beholders into silence. It seemed 
 as if the hour of doom, the era of universal destruction, 
 had arrived. Ship after ship either burst into flames, or 
 went down beneath the wreck-covered waters. The light- 
 ning flashed, the thunder pealed, and the rain fell in fitful 
 showers. 
 
 And during this awful scene, two frightful calamities 
 occurred. The magazine of the Vesuvius became ignited 
 by a red-hot ball, and the ship was blown to atoms. Men, 
 and bombs, and cannon, were hurled a great distance in the 
 air, and were distinctly visible by the lightnings in the hea^ 
 vens. One of the guns, it was afterwards asserted, explod- 
 ed in the clouds; and it was declared that human beings, 
 at the height of a thousand fathoms, gesticulated franti- 
 cally. 
 
 This catastrophe put an end to the naval battle. A soli- 
 tary British ship, the Antelope, escaped. The rest were 
 either destroyed or captured. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 EETOEK OF THE CHIEFTAINS, 
 
 Ten of the American ships had sustained but Uttle injury, 
 and not half of the red-hot balls of the Wabash had been 
 expended. Therefore in obedience to an order from the 
 
260 MUTURN OP THIS CHIEFTAINS. 
 
 President, who had witnessed the triumph of the stars and 
 stripe?, the old Commodore led his fleet, flushed with vic- 
 tory, to the assistance of the besieged. Again the ships 
 poured a destructive fire into the camp of the enemy, and 
 this time the besiegers were to experit/nce the consternation 
 of having red-hot shot liurled amongst their ranks. Tlie 
 effect produced surj)assed all expectations. Ruffleton vfns 
 under the necessity of di-avving back his men and batteries 
 beyond the range of the insupportable missiles thrown from 
 the fleet, which, sailing up and down the river, discharged 
 larboard and starboard broadsides without intermission. 
 
 It was under cover of this bombardment that Randolph 
 and the Southern Generals urged forward the work of em- 
 barkation ; and by the dawn of day the evacuation was 
 completed. 
 
 "Run, Willy!" exclaimed Alice, upon learning the ar- 
 mies had landed on the Delaware shore — for the party at the 
 mansion watched through the night — " and if my father and 
 his friends, I mean our friends, the several commanders, 
 have escaped unharmed, give us a signal — let it be the pro- 
 longed blast of a bugle." 
 
 " But Rufiieton's word is lav/ in New Jersey," said Lord 
 Slysir, musinij. " He is abso'nte there. And if this is the 
 case in New Jersey, notwithstanding the Governor invoked 
 and obtained the aid of the Federal Government, backed 
 by two Southern armies, what resistance can be looked for 
 in any other free State without such auxiliaries ?" 
 
 " Oh, land of Washington !" said Alice. 
 
 " Where are the guardian spirits of the Revolution ?" 
 exclaimed Edith. 
 
 " God will preserve us !" said Mary. 
 
 " Nonsense !" pursued his Lordship. "It will be only a 
 change of form. A monarchy is the Anglo-Saxon's heredi- 
 tary government. If the first Cromwell had lived a year 
 longei- he would have been king. This second Cromwell 
 Mill either be king himself, or make one of somebody else. 
 Then you will be united again, like England and Scotland. 
 You will have Lords and Ladies — and a magnificent Court. 
 It was from such civil and military convulsions as these, that 
 my ancestor derived his patent of nobility." Turning his 
 eyes on Edith, he then added, " What a magnificent coun- 
 tess you would make !" 
 
KETUEN OF THE CHIEFTAINS. 261 
 
 "A Senator's daughter would be suflicicnt distinction for 
 me," said she. 
 
 " Yoa might be both the one and the other. Your father, 
 by espousing the cause of his native North, would unques- 
 tionably have an elevated seat assigned him in Parlia 
 ment " 
 
 " I pray your Lordship not to amnse my daughter with 
 any such illusory sketches of the imagination !" said Mr. 
 Langdon. 
 
 "They are merely fancy sketches, father," said Edith. 
 
 " Fancy sketches ! I am a bachelor, and, by St. George, 
 J) 
 
 They were interrupted by the bugle-blast annouiiciiig the 
 arrival in safety of the chieftains. 
 
 " Saved ! all saved !" cried Alice — and the next i&oment 
 she and Edith were locked in each other's arms. 
 
 " They are coming !" said Mary. 
 
 Alice and Edith hastened below to greet them at the 
 threshhold. 
 
 " My MARBLE !" said Randolph, embracing his child. 
 
 " No — father — say your daughter. Not marble, now I" 
 
 " Edith ! dearest Edith !" said Blount, folding the unre- 
 sisting maiden in his arms. 
 
 " Good !" said Crook. " I have a wife and nine children 
 at home ; but since sach greeting is the reward of valor, I 
 don't see ■ft'hy I may not claim my share of it I" and before 
 the young ladies could escape, he had embraced and kissed 
 them both. 
 
 They repaired without delay to the apartment above, in 
 ' which lights were gleaming, and into which Mr. Langdon 
 had been wheeled, upon the announcement of the arrival 
 of the President and the Generals. 
 
 " I congratulate you, Randolph," said the venerable Sena- 
 tor, " and you. Generals, on your escape from the toils of 
 the arch-fiend, who supposed he had compassed your de- 
 struction !" 
 
 " And will no one congratulate me on my victory over 
 the British ?" said the President, affectionately taking the 
 hand of Mary. 
 
 " That would I do, were I not an Englishman," said Lord 
 Slysir, " And if I may not congratulate you, nevertheless 
 I dd not hegitat* to say tliat fdui* iron-sided — ^peAaps I 
 
262 EETUEN OF THE CHIEFTAINS. 
 
 should say infernal — Commodore, has gained a great naval 
 victory over my countrymen. The only advantage he had 
 ■was superior pilots and his inexcusable red-hot balls." 
 
 " Oh, we'll excuse them, my Lord," said Randolpn, 
 " since it was Bang's good fortune to escape." 
 
 " To escape ?" cried his Lordship. " Can it be possible 
 that Admiral Bang escaped from the blowing up of the 
 Vesuvius ?" 
 
 " Such is the fact," said the President ; " and not only 
 the Admii-al, but nearly all his oflBcers and crew. Thoy 
 took refuge in the small boats, or sprang overboard into 
 the river, and were saved by the Commodore. The Com- 
 modore and the Admiral are now decapitating champagne 
 bottles in the cabin of the Wabash." 
 
 " Ay, and Bang can beat him at that," said Slysir. 
 
 " Aiid now, my Lord," said Randolph, " I have joyful 
 news for you." 
 
 "I stand in need of something to cheer me," said his 
 Lordship. 
 
 "You are free. You were to be liberated upon our 
 evacuation ; and I am not prepared to forfeit my word. You 
 can go at any moment, sir, under the safe conduct of two 
 of Alice's Blue Caps." 
 
 " I must crave your permission, Mr. President," repUed 
 his Lordship, " to remain where I am until I am somewhat 
 recovered. Miss Edith has fed me and nursed me kindly 
 during the few hours I have enjoyed the hospitality of this 
 mansion ; but I am not yet in a fit condition to walk, to 
 ride, or to swim. And, therefore, I beg to be detained a 
 little longer." 
 
 " Edith," said Blount, " like any American lady, makes 
 no distinction between friend and foe, in healing the wounds 
 received in battle." 
 
 " But for the kind offices I have experienced, I shall ever 
 protest, although it may not be permitted to aspire to be 
 classed among the former, that I am not, and never can 
 become, one of the latter." 
 
 " I am sure I cannot perceive why we may not be 
 friends," said Edith. 
 
 " I trust you may never perceive it," said his Lord- 
 ship. 
 
 " My Lord," said Blount, " are you not the enemy of 
 
EETUEN OF THE CHIEFTAINS. 263 
 
 her country ? Have you not caused Her Majesty's ships to 
 assail those of her Government ?" 
 
 " By no means, General," said his Lordship, with viva- 
 city. " Her country, according to my interpretation, is the 
 North, against which Her Majesty's forces do not meditate 
 any hostile enterprises." 
 
 " No politics I" said Alice, interposing. 
 
 " See here," said Crook, standing before a mirror. " Come, 
 Randolph — come, Blount, behold yourselves in this glass. 
 For my part, I confess I resemble my own Pompey, an 
 African I purchased on Pearl river." 
 
 The Generals and Randolph were much blackened by the 
 smoke of gunpowder ; and some merriment was caused by the 
 detection of sooty marks on the faces of the young ladies. 
 
 "Let us all seek the repose we so much need," said Mr. 
 Langdon. "For my part, although I have been distant 
 from the scene of conflict, I have slumbered as little as any 
 of the combatants. Ah, Randolph," he continued, when 
 the President held him by the hand, and bade him adieu 
 before retiring to his chamber, "although you have per- 
 formed the great feat of regaining a friendly soil after so 
 many perils, yet, believe me, the Rubicon has been crossed ! 
 I may not live to see the end" of this business " 
 
 " Oh, father !" said Edith, " be not so desponding." 
 
 "Nay, be cheerful, my dear friend," said Randolph. 
 " There may be more disasters in store for us ; but we shall 
 yet have brilliant days. The darkest clouds must pass 
 away. Believe me, there are clear blue skies beyond." 
 
 " Oh, yes — and may God p.ermit me to be an inhabitant 
 of them ! Nevertheless, go on, Randolph ! You are right. 
 Save the country, and posterity wUl bless you." 
 
 During the forenoon all the slumberers rose much re- 
 freshed, with the exception of Mr. Langdon and Lord Sly- 
 sir. Tlie former was too ill to leave his couch. The latter 
 was stiff and sore from the exercises and bruises of the pre- 
 ceding day and night. 
 
 Alice and Edith, arrayed in spotless white, were travers- 
 ing the parterres of the garden among the refreshing roses, 
 when Bim appeared on the opposite side of the hedge, 
 mounted on a spirited steed the President had given him. 
 His military salute attracted the attention of the ladies, and, 
 walking in that direction, Alice accosted him. 
 
264 KETUEN OF THE CniEFTAIITS. 
 
 "Captain Bim," said she, "whither are you going?" 
 
 " With youi- permission, Miss, to PhilaSelphia." 
 
 "To Philadelphia! That might be hazardous. But, I 
 believe, danger is your delight." She alluded to the motto 
 ■worked with threads of gold on Bim's cap. It was, 
 " Danger is my delight." 
 
 " In a good cause I do love it, Miss Alice. But fearing 
 my leave of absence might expire before I could get bade, 
 I thought it my duty to beg another day or two, in case of 
 accident." 
 
 " "What good cause takes you to the city, Captain ? An 
 affair of honor, or of love ?" 
 
 " Everything in the service of President Randolph, Miss, 
 is An affair of honor." 
 
 " Very well answered," said Edith, " as to the point of 
 honor; but the other point of the inteiTogatory is evaded." 
 
 "Postponed is the word. I am determined not to be a 
 lover until I am a General." 
 
 " There, Edith," said Alice. " It is answered, now. But 
 he can hardly be serious." 
 
 " I am, upon my word," said Bim. " I don't know but 
 one woman in Philadelphia, and she's a Tartar. Oh, she's 
 more terrible thnn a hundred batteries !" 
 
 " Indeed ! Will you tell us hor name. Captain ?" 
 
 " Certainly. It's Mrs. Punt. Miss Mary knows her. She 
 was the hag I rescued her from." 
 
 "Then it is not likely you will again venture in reach of 
 such a terrible creature. You have my perrnission to go, 
 .Captain." 
 
 "Then, with your permission I will retire. I see the 
 President and at least a dozen Generals approaching." 
 And gathering up -the reins, which had been loosened to 
 permit his steed to crop the luxuriant grass, Bim turned and 
 rode briskly away. The young ladies, not caring to confront 
 the Generals in their peripatetic Council of War, vanished 
 under cover of a row of altheas, and returned by another 
 avenue to the mansion. 
 
THB UNDEKGEOUND BRIDAL CHAMBEB. 266 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 THE rNDEEGEOUND BEIDAL CHAMBEE. 
 
 Captain Bim conducted Popoli down to the river side, 
 and through the encampment of the combinecl armies. 
 
 Entering a light boat, Bim took the helm, and Popoli 
 unfurled the sail to the breeze, he being an expert sailor, 
 and they were soon going at the rate of four miles an hour. 
 
 "Popoli," said Bim, "it would be unfortunate for you if 
 any of the enemy's boats should board us." 
 
 " Why, Captain ?" asked the Italian, whose eyes had 
 been fixed on the various sail crossing above. 
 
 "Because, Signor, my oath expired last night: and I 
 don't intend to renew it till we are where I mean to leave 
 you, according to promise, with your friend Cardiiii." 
 
 "I shall be glad to see him. Captain. I wouldn't escape 
 if I had an opportunity ; it would prevent my meeting with 
 my friend." 
 
 " Only be patient, Signor, and you shall see him, if he 
 still lives." 
 
 " Was he not well ?" 
 
 " Oh, quite well, but not in very good spirits. Confound 
 the fish !" Bim made this exclamation when a large stur- 
 geon leaped over his head and splashed a quantity of water 
 into the boat. " That fellow, Signor," he continued, " w-aa 
 heavy enough to have knocked a man overboard. If he 
 had struck me in the breast, you might have been free." 
 
 " Can't you swim ?" asked Popoli, eagerly. 
 
 " Suppose you try me, Signor ?" was Bim's response, 
 not choosing to confess the truth. "If you have any 
 curiosity that way, just flap the boat over with the sail at 
 the next tack, and well see who can dive the longest. 
 Speaking of divhig, I thought you were gone last night 
 when you didn't come up where I was looking ; and all the 
 time your nose was above water behind me. I shall say 
 nothing about your attempt to stab me, because I don't 
 wish to lose my temper, and miss the satisfaction of wit- 
 
 12 
 
2lJt$ THE UNDEBGEOUND BEIDAL CHAMBER. 
 
 nessing your meeting Tvith CardinL You asked me where 
 Cardini was, I think, and I believe I'll tell you." 
 
 " If you please. Captain." 
 
 " lie's at General Ruffleton's head-quarters." 
 
 " How can that be, Captain, since the General has sent 
 messengers in all directions to find him ?" 
 
 " Oh, they didn't look in the right chamber." 
 
 " But don't you think he's gone by this time?" 
 
 " Never fear it. I'll answer for it he remains till he gets 
 my permission to leave. And you must do the same. 
 Will you not promise ?" 
 
 " Yes, Captain, if you insist." 
 
 " I won't insist, Signer. So you see what a kind captor 
 you have. And yet you determined to kill me ! But I 
 won't think of that. There goes another fish. Take 
 care!" The warning was too late; for the sturgeon 
 striking the Italian's shoulder, carried him overboard. But 
 Popoli rose immediately, and without difficulty clambered 
 into the boat again. " They must be curious to s6e what's 
 going on out of the water," continued Bim, seeing a great 
 many sturgeons leaping above the surface, "and I don't 
 wonder at it, after all the bombarding and bombursting we 
 have had in this neighborhood." 
 
 In this familiar manner the captor and the captive ap- 
 proached the city, and landed in one of the slips just after 
 nightfall. Having secured the boat to one of the rings at 
 the wharf, Bim, taking the right arm of Popoli, led the 
 way cautiously in a westerly direction. 
 
 Not half the lamps were burning, the shoj)s were closed 
 as on a Sunday night, and but few persons were seen prome- 
 nading the streets. 
 
 Having thrown off his military costume it was not diffi- 
 cult for Bim, with his free and easy bearing, and familiar 
 speech, to pass without hindrance to the Square in the 
 rear of Independence Hall. Here there were several thou- 
 sand loungers around the platform under the trees, whence 
 the news fioni all quarters were promulgated by a com- 
 mittee appointed for that purpose. 
 
 Bim did not wait to hear any more news of the operations 
 of the Dictator, but proceeded without further delay to the 
 row of buildings on Sixth street, which he had so often re- 
 sorted to previously. He found but slight impediment to 
 
THE XTNTDEEGEOUND BRIDAL CHAMBEE. 267 
 
 his entrance at the same door ho had forced on several 
 occasions. Closing this carefully behind him, he struck 
 a light. Then turning to Popoli, he said, with uplifted 
 hand : 
 
 "I do hereby swear that I will not kill you, Signor 
 Popoli, this night, provided you do not attempt to escape, 
 don't try to give any alarm, don't try to kill me, and don't 
 give me more provocation than common flesh and blood 
 
 can bear — so help me ! Now, Signor, you are entirely 
 
 safe, as it concerns the things you have committed here- 
 tofore ; and you have only to be governed by the conditions 
 of my oath to-night, to preserve your body in a whole skin." 
 
 " Take me to Cardini, Captain. Where is he ?" 
 
 " Don't be impatient ! You will find him soon enough. 
 Did you ever hear of the Underground Bridal Chamber in 
 these parts ?" 
 
 "Never. It would be strange, indeed, to put a bride 
 underground anywhere." 
 
 "But it might be convenient, sometimes; and particu- 
 larly when a man has more brides than he can manage con- 
 veniently, or a single one that annoys him. This Under- 
 ground Bridal Chamber was ordered to be constructed by 
 a certain very powerful man, whose name it would do no 
 one in this company any good to use, for the purpose, as it 
 was thought, of holding one or more of his troublesome 
 wives — " 
 
 " Is it a prison— a dungeon. Captain Bim ?" 
 
 " What's the use of inquiring so particularly about your 
 lodgings after you have engaged them, and when you will 
 be occupying them in a few minutes ?" 
 
 "And can it be possible, Captain Bim, that Cardini is 
 confined in this locality." 
 
 " It is not only possible, Signor, but exactly so. Of course 
 the General would go from home to look for a lost child. 
 Of all the places in the world, it was the most secure one 
 for Cardini's concealment. I will not say I had the genius 
 to perceive this at first. But I see it now. Come, Signor, 
 take a full breath of the upper air, and then we'll descend." 
 Saying this Bim touched the spring, and the hearth-stone 
 flew up. Popoli started back. "Oh! you mustn't flinch 
 at that," said Bim ; " it's nothing to the other sights you 
 must see. Go down, Signor — there's the ladder — and I'll 
 
238 THE UXSIlBQBOtTND BBIDAL CBAMBSB. 
 
 bring up the rear. Remember mj oath. If you break it, 
 it wou't be my fault. Reflect one moment — it's the last I'll 
 allow you. If you go dowu quietly, and do everything I 
 order obediently, it will be an easier and more comfortable 
 way to meet Cardini, than to be knocked down and dragged 
 in — won't it ?" 
 
 " Yes, Captain !" said Popoli, convinced there was no 
 other altei-native. He descended, and was followed by 
 Bim with the light. And in this manner they proceeded to 
 the iron door of the chamber. 
 
 " The bars and bolts are just as I left them," said Bim, 
 "black and rusty. Signer Cardini!" he continued, rapping 
 with the hilt of his bovvie knife. "Wake up! I've brought 
 you an agreeable companion. Why don't you answer ? 
 I've got Signer Popoli here for you — and if you don't give 
 me a signal of approbation, I'll take him somewhere else !" 
 
 " No ! no !" cried Cardini. 
 
 "That is his voice !" said Popoli. 
 
 " To be sure it is," said Bim. He opened the door, and 
 the Italians rushed into each other's arms. 
 
 " Oh, Signor!" cried Cardini. "Do you come to set me 
 free, or as a fellow prisoner ?" 
 
 "The latter, Signor!" said Popoli. 
 
 " Stop a moment !" cried Bim, gazing at Cardini. " Stand 
 apart ! Are you the same Signor Cardini I put in here for 
 murdering General Hudson ?" 
 
 " The same. Sergeant — " 
 
 " Stop ! Say Captain. I've been promoted." 
 
 "Then, noble Captain, I am the same unhappy man. 
 But do not call me a murderer. It was only a blow of 
 policy, to serve — " 
 
 " Never mind who it served. I know all about it. But 
 the reason I didn't know you was that your hair has 
 changed. It was black when I chucked you in this place, 
 and now it's white !" 
 
 " Captain !" said Popoli, " you have a generous heart !" 
 
 "Not a bit! Don't believe it!" said Bim, gazing at the 
 prisoners, who again embraced each other. 
 
 "Captain!" said Popoli — "I will make a confession to 
 you ! Signor Cardini is my father !" 
 
 " He is ? But it may be a lie. Then what if he is ? It 
 only goes to show that assassination is hereditary." 
 
THE XTNDEEGROUin) BRIDAL CHAMBER. 268 
 
 " Will you not release him ?" 
 
 "Release the d — ■■ — 1! What mercy did he show to 
 General Hudson ? And what mercy did you show to the 
 Pri'sident ?" 
 
 '■ I ask no favor for myself, Captain. But you know the 
 man my father slew was at the' head of the army which you 
 have been fightino;. Would you not kUl the head of that 
 same hostile army novv, if you could?" 
 
 "In fair fight. But I would not stab the d 1 himself 
 
 in the dark. Xo, Signor ; you must both remain in this 
 Underground Bridal Chamber until called for. But you 
 shan't starve. I'll roll in another barrel of crackers, and 
 more smoked fish. You have abundance of water. All I 
 can say is to advise you to put yourselves on short allowance, 
 and pray morning, noon, and night ; for I can't say when I 
 shall be able to see you again." Saying this, Bim threw in 
 the food he promised, and fastening the door securely, re- 
 turned to the upper region. 
 
 AH was perfectly still and silent in the chambers. Not 
 even a rat was heard; and Bim really felt-lonely after the 
 separation from his Italian captive. Nothing, however, 
 could frighten him but a ghost. He slowly ascended the 
 stairs. When he approached the door of the attic chamber 
 containing his treasure, he was surprised to find the door - 
 partly open, and a light in the room. 
 
 "Hello! Old Tuppenny," said he, "I'm afi-aid you're 
 
 fetting extravagant. How could you afibrd to buy a can- 
 le ? Where are you ?" he continued, stepping in, and 
 turning his face towards the closet, which was closed, and 
 no Jew Mouser appearing before him. But behind him, in 
 a corner, there was an awful spectacle. The Jew, having 
 heard Bim confess his horror of ghosts, and his quick ear 
 having warned him of his arrival, he resolved to put in 
 execution a plan he had conceived of personating a spectre. 
 The difficulty was how to present a resemblance of a ghost, 
 Solomon having never seen one himself. Nevertheless, pre- 
 suming it must have a frightful aspect, old Mouser had put 
 on a mask, representing the face of a corpse, and envelop- 
 ing himself in a sheet that reached the floor, notwithstand- 
 ing he was mounted on a high stool, he awaited the re- 
 sult. 
 
 " Don't you hear ?" continued Bim, stoopinp- down before 
 
270 THE UNDEEGEOUND EEIDAL CHAMBEE. 
 
 the closet. "Answer me, or I'll get mad. You woi't? 
 Then I'll go in after you !" 
 
 He pulled the door open and entered, taking his candle 
 with liim. 
 
 " By George, he's not here !" said he. " But here's the 
 coffee-bag, and the gold jingles in it. The old dog is get- 
 ting negligent. I thought he would die with his eyes set 
 on the gold, rather than live and go to heaven without it. 
 So, my old Mouser, I will not trust you any longer with 
 my purse — and I won't pay you, either, for deserting your 
 post. I'll take the whole concern along with me, and let 
 him nose it out again if he can. So, come along !" 
 
 This time he left the closet head foremost, dragging the 
 bag after him. And when he rose, his eyes rested on the 
 chalky face of the apparition. 
 
 " What's that ?" said he, letting the coffee-bag fall with 
 a great crash. " By George ! I'm afraid I've met with 
 my match at last! I never heard my teeth clatter this way 
 before. I'll run." He did so ; but before he had descended 
 many steps, he paused and looked back. " I don't like to 
 leave my gold," said he, " nor do I fancy showing the white 
 feather before I'm hurt. I wouldn't mind killing, if that 
 would be the last of it ; but who can tell what an infernal 
 spirit might do with one after death ? Still, I ought to be 
 satisfied that it is a ghost. It's not human, I think ; neither 
 flesh, fish, nor common red herring ; but still it may not be a 
 ghost. Suppose it's a mere trick ? A corpse some one has 
 been propping there to frighten me ? or to frighten the 
 Jew ? I'll go back ! I never was, and never will be, a 
 coward !" 
 
 The Captain, turning about, retraced his steps. And 
 when he re-entered the room, the ghost was still there ; but 
 the sheet which enveloped it had been evidently readjusted 
 since his exit. 
 
 " It's alive anyhow," said Bim, staring with his great 
 round eyes. " It's moved its covering, and I see the leg 
 of the stool. That's queer. I thought a ghost could stand 
 on nothing. By George ! I think I see the toe of a boot ! 
 I never heard of ghosts wearing boots. See here, Mr. 
 Ghost, or hobgoblin, or whatever you are, I want an expla- 
 nation. You've injured me cruelly. You've made my 
 blood run cold ; you've made my cap too little for my head; 
 
THE UNDEEGKOtTND BEIDAL CHAMBEE. 271 
 
 you've made my teeth bite my tongne ; and you've caused 
 my knee bones to smite each other as if they were not twins, 
 but enemies. I'm a badly used man ! Now, let me hear 
 your explanation for such malignities and aggressions !" 
 
 The lips of the mask seemed to move, but no sound issued 
 from them. 
 
 " Speuk louder," said Bim ; and speak English — for I 
 don't understand the lingoes of the infernal regions." 
 
 The only response to this was a motion of the arm, which 
 pointed to the door. 
 
 " That, I suppose, said Bim, " is meant for a polite way 
 of ordeiing me out !" 
 
 To this the ghost nodded assent. 
 
 " By George ! he understands English, if he can't speak 
 it. I believe I'll go. But I'll take the bag." He cast his 
 eyes down at the sack, and then looked again at the ghost. 
 The ghost shook his head violently in dissent. 
 
 " That's singular," said Bim. " What can it want with 
 money ? It begins to shake my belief iu ghosts — or in this 
 one anyhow. Suppose I try him ? If it's only the ghost 
 of the Jew, who may be dead, I don't wonder at its love 
 for money, and I oughtn't to be afraid of it. See here, sir ! 
 Everybody who ever saw a ghost, says neither steel nor lead 
 can hurt it. What do you say ?" 
 
 The ghost, who had been looking over its right shoulder, 
 turned its face quickly in front, for Bim had placed his 
 hand on one of the pistols in his belt. 
 
 " If you have any objection to my trying the experiment, 
 signify it by saying no. The ball's lead, as you well know, 
 if you are a true ghost. No answer ? By George ! his 
 knees are knocking together like mine did ! Why, a ghost 
 can't be afraid ! No matter ; I'll make a buU's eye of his 
 nose!" 
 
 " Don't shoot !" said the ghost. 
 
 " Ha !" said Bim, lowering the muzzle of the pistol, and 
 stepping back against the wall. " That was good enough 
 English ! But if he's afraid of a bullet, how can he be a 
 ghost ?" 
 
 ' "I was only amusing myself!" said Solomon, throw- 
 ing oflf the mask and sheet, and stepping down from the stool. 
 
 Bim, placing his arms akimbo, gazed for a long time in 
 silence and with perfect gravity at the Jew. 
 18 
 
272 XHS TJNDEBGBOUJJD BRIDAL CHAMBaB. 
 
 " It was only a little fun," said Solomon. 
 
 Bitn continued to stare in silence. 
 
 " A little innocent amusement !" continued Solomon. 
 
 "Mr. Solomon Mouser," said Biin at length, "you haVQ 
 done that which mortal humanity never did before. You 
 have made my strong joints tremble, and my hot blood Uirn 
 cold like a frog's. I would certainly kill you, if I didn't 
 think I might be ashamed of it afterwards. Perhaps it's a 
 good thing for me. It may cure my fear of ghosts. I'll 
 certainly fire at the next I see before I run. You may live, 
 if you'll get down on your knees and swear never to tell 
 anybody that you frightened Jack Bim." 
 
 He did so without the least hesitation. 
 
 " And, Captain," said Mouser, " I swear I will never be 
 a ghost again." 
 
 " No. You needn't swear to that. If you have any 
 taste for the fun, I shan't object to it. Now to business. 
 Gome, Old Tuppenny, I dreamt the other night you were 
 cheating me." 
 
 " Cheating you ! I'll show you the figures !" 
 
 " No doubt. And I know figures can't lie — but those 
 who make them can. I've seen it done at elections. You 
 have some $26,000 — " 
 
 " No, sir ! Here's the sum, on this paper. It is only 
 $25,900 19." 
 
 " Well, what's the difference ?" 
 
 " Why ninety-nine dollars and eighty-one cents !" 
 
 " Say twenty-five thousand, then, to make it even " 
 
 " Very good ! I'll alter it." 
 
 " You are a skinflint — and you won't gain by your ava- 
 riciousness !" said Bim, snatching the pen out of the Jew's 
 hand. " One tenth of one per cent, for keeping the de- 
 posit, would bo some twenty-five dollars a day ! That's 
 r.:ore than the pay of a member of Congress, whose board 
 costs him as much in one week as yours does in twelve 
 months. Twenty-five dollars was too mach to ask, old Tup- 
 p.uny — " 
 
 '' You agreed to it ! You agreed to it ! It was a fair 
 oargain ! And it's upwards of twenty-five dollars and ninety 
 cents — " 
 
 " I shan't dispute about the cents, Solomon, nor fly from 
 my contract, cither, because I've found out how you in- 
 
THE UXDEEGEOUND BRIDAL CHAMBER. 273 
 
 tended to s^vindle me in time to prevent it. You know well 
 enough that I had no idea of the amount it would come to. 
 It was unjust, and if you had been a Christian instead of a 
 Jew, you would not have accepted an unfair compensation 
 for your service. But that was not all. You loaned me a 
 thousand dollars, at I don't know what rate of interest, to 
 keep from lessening the deposit, and of course the commis- 
 sion. So I am paying you a dollar a day commission for 
 keeping my thousand dollars, and you are charging me inter- 
 est on yours. That's the true statement of the case, Solo 
 mon !" 
 
 " It was a contract— a fair contract !" said the Jew. 
 
 " But I did not bind myself to let the deposit remain any 
 particular length of time." 
 
 " That's true. But the law requires notice — " 
 
 "The law! Don't name it, Jew. This right arm is my 
 law in such times as these — beware it does not become your 
 executioner ! Count out the amount due to you up to this 
 minute, and take your pay." 
 
 " Oh, Captain — don't remove the deposit. In these law- 
 less times it will be lost." 
 
 " Take your pay, Tuppenny ! Then, perhaps, I'U make 
 another bargniii with you." 
 
 "Well ! I will do so !"and Solomon counted out his money. 
 
 "Now, Tuppenny," said Bim, "I'm going to leave just 
 twenty thousand with you, and will allow you no commis- 
 sion except on the sums I draw out. You shall have ten 
 per cent, on all payments. Don't object, or I'll take it all, 
 and you shall have nothing !" 
 
 " Captain, won't you allow me commission on the six 
 thousand — " 
 
 " Six thousand ! Why Solomon, you said yourself it was 
 only $25,900 19 — then deducting the thousand I borrowed, 
 only tsventy-four thousand nine hundred remained. Surely 
 it must be a pleasure for you to cheat, besides the love of 
 gain ! No — I will not pay you a cent for nothing. If you 
 asked it as charity — " 
 
 " I'm no beggar. Captain !" 
 
 " I know that, well enough — but I came near saying yoxi 
 were a robber. However, I'm not ^.fraid to trust you ; and 
 you can make some sort of calculation of youv gains by our 
 new contract. But I'm going to make a will- — so if I die, 
 
 12* 
 
274 THE UNDERGROUND BEIDAt, CHASTBEE, 
 
 or if you hire any one to murder me, you needn't think to 
 get my money." 
 
 The Jew durst not demur to Bim's dictation. And the 
 Captain, after settling with his banker, and leaving in his 
 custody an unincumbered deposit of |20,000, departed with 
 the remainder of the treasure. 
 
 Bim could not resist an inclination to explore the build- 
 ings further down the row, where he had already met with 
 so many adventures ; and so he passed through the several 
 apertures until he came to the parlor in which he had found 
 Mary Penford, and, subsequently, captured the assassin Car- 
 dini. Again he found the parlor illuminated ; and, sitting 
 in the large luxuriously-cushioned chair, was Mrs. Punt. 
 She was reading the New York , in which were pub- 
 lished the proceedings of the Convention, and General Ruf- 
 fleton appeared in almost every paragraph. 
 
 The Captain strode in and stood before the astonished 
 woman. She let the paper fall to the floor, rose up, and 
 was just opening her mouth to utter a piercing scream, 
 when Bim stepped forward and placed his hand on it. 
 
 " Don't scream, Mrs. Punt," said he ; " there's no occa- 
 sion for it. You know me, and I know you. And I 
 know your husband. IsTow wUl you be quiet if I release 
 you ?" 
 
 She nodded assent, and Bim replaced her in the chair. 
 Then sitting down beside her, he cooUy inquired after her 
 health since his last visit. 
 
 " I've been well enough," said she. 
 
 " But what are you in mourning for ?' 
 
 " I'm sure there's enough to mourn for in this wicked 
 world. I thought Punt had been kiUed at Bladensburg — " 
 
 " But you were disappointed." 
 
 " He might as well be dead, for I haven't got a cent from 
 him yet." 
 
 "There has been no one to send it by. I merely called 
 to lat you know I'm going to Washington soon, and will 
 deliver any message you may wish to send." 
 
 " All the message I have to send is, that I'd like to 
 have the money he earns to support his children with. 
 I don't know when I'm to see the General again, and 
 he's left nobody here to pay me my wages. He's left 
 plenty of wines, cigars, and such things " 
 
TOUNG SXJMMBES. 215 
 
 " Mrs. Punt," said Bim, interrapting her, " I'm thirsty. 
 Get me some wrae and cake, or anything else that's con- 
 venient, if you please." 
 
 " It's not mine, and I don't care who drinks it," said she, 
 rising and producing a waiter and decanters fi'om a closet. 
 Bim helped himself, and invited Mrs. Punt to drink, which 
 she accepted. 
 
 " Now a cigar," said he, " and I'll be in good condition 
 to travel." This, likewise, was produced ; and the Captain 
 igniting it, shook hands with the hostess and departed. 
 
 CHAPTER XLH. 
 
 TOTING SUMMEBS. 
 
 When Randolph returned from the garden, he fomid a 
 
 despatch awaiting him from Major S . It was borne by 
 
 a smooth-visaged messenger, as the Major wrote, who had 
 been employed by Ruffleton in the capacity of confidential 
 messenger, but now, from some pique, had resolved to 
 abandon the service of the tyrant. He had volunteered to 
 deliver any message in writing or otherwise to Ih-esident 
 Randolph ; and hoped that,his success in doing so might 
 recommend him to a situation in the President's family. 
 
 The letter informed the President, that although Ruf- 
 fleton's absence from the army might be of some dura- 
 tion, as he was engaged in the stujjendous work of orga- 
 nizing a military despotism, yet there would be no pause 
 in the preparations for an invasion of the South. It was 
 RufBeton's design, after retaining just suiBcient forces to 
 keep any species of opposition in subjection, to concentrate 
 the anti-slavery hosts on the border ; and it was probable, 
 half a million combatants would soon be in readiness to 
 pass the southern line of Pennsylvania. 
 
 At dinner it was announced that both Mr. Langdon 
 and Lord Slysir were too unwell to leave their chambers; 
 and the former at that hour required the presence and 
 constant attention of Edith. 
 
276 TOUHG SUM3IE11S. 
 
 A long table was set in the capacious hall of the old man 
 sion, at which many of the highest officers of the Federal 
 and Southern armies, as well as several captains of the 
 Nav)', were present. It was the only really good dinner 
 most of them had partaken of for several days; and for a 
 considerable length of time the viands wei'e discussed almost 
 exclnsiveljr. But, as the wine flowed freely, and the ladies 
 seemed diverted, the time soon came for the flow of convui- 
 sation. 
 
 " General," said Randolph, to Blount, who sat on his left, 
 " I was on the eve of observing that this company had 
 completely succeeded in dismissing from their thoughts all 
 matters of serious import, or profound gravity, when my 
 eye chanced to catch the melancholy expression of your 
 covintenance." 
 
 Blount looked up, and most of the guests in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of the speaker were attentive during the 
 deliberate utterance of this speech ; and when it was ended, 
 Blount himself, as well as the rest, gave vent to hearty 
 laughter. 
 
 " And even that, Mr. President, it seems," said Blount, 
 "was provocative of mirth." 
 
 " Be men-y, then, General," said Valiant, " and we will 
 cease to laugh at your expense." 
 
 " What say you, Crook ?" demanded the President. 
 
 " I say, he who wins may laugh — and he who carves may 
 eat." The General had been active with the carver in filling 
 the plates of the ladies. 
 
 " Help yourself. General," said Alice. 
 
 _" I will," said he ; and he did. " But do you know that 
 it is a most ungrateful and cruel speech ? After heaping 
 favors on others, to be told by them to help myself ?" 
 
 Alice drew the attention of Mary to the smooth-faced 
 young man, the messenger from the Northern camp, sitting 
 beside Willy. 
 
 " Did you ever see him before ?" asked Alice. 
 
 " Never, to my recollection." 
 
 " Nor I. But Edith, on seeing him from the balcony, 
 was quite sure she had met him somewhere." 
 
 " They may have met," continued Mary, again looking 
 at the stranger ; " but I have no recollection — " 
 
 " Why do you pause ?" 
 
YOBNG SUMMSRS. 277 
 
 " It does seem to me now that I have seen his face some- 
 where. It must have been in the city ; and, I think, it was 
 on that terrible night — yes ! I am sure of it. But where, I 
 cannot remember." 
 
 " It must be so. And he, too, I think, has some recollec- 
 tion of it. Several times he has paused in his conversation 
 with Willy, and looked steadily at you. Father," con- 
 tinued she, in a whisper, " what is the name of this new 
 messenger ?" 
 
 " Summers — Charley, they call him. Why ?" 
 
 " Nothing — merely curiosity. We shall not fall in loVO 
 with him. Has he entered your service ?" 
 
 "He proposes to do so. But he is a mere boy. I'm 
 afraid he's too young." 
 
 " He may not be so young as he seems. There are marks 
 of mature decision on his face." 
 
 " And beauty ?" 
 
 " No, sir. General," she continued, addresang Blount, 
 the dialogue having become audible, " what do you think 
 of his beauty ?" 
 
 "Really I do not see any to think about," was the reply, 
 after glancing in the direction indicated. 
 
 The President, accompanied by several of the Generals, 
 soon after retired to the chamber used as an office, to learn the 
 contents of certain despatches, which proved to be, in seve- 
 ral instances, official communications from the Governors 
 of States. Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, were still 
 attached to the Federal Union, though many of the inha- 
 bitants had embraced the cause of the Abolitionists. On the 
 other hand, resolutions were transmitted by a majority of 
 the Governors of the Southern states (adopted since the 
 interposition of the President in New Jersey, by the re- 
 spective Legislatures), sanctioning the action of the South- 
 ern Generals in placing their forces at the disposal of the 
 Chief Magistrate, as a posse comitatus, for the purpose of 
 suppressing domestic violence. 
 
 But startling intelligence was mingled with the good. 
 The van of the great Western army of fanatics, led by 
 General Line, had reached Cumberland, Maryland, and that 
 town had yielded without resistance, having no means of 
 defence. 
 
2^8 THX SOIBEB. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 THE SOIEEE. 
 
 Theeb was a splendid reception in the evening. Many 
 of the officers had been joined by their wives, and several 
 belles from the- city were present. The eye of Randolph 
 was calm and clear ; a benign dignity seemed enthroned on 
 his brow, and a placid smile rested on his lips. And Alice 
 stood beside him, pale though beautiful. Majestic in stature, 
 graceful in attitude, animated in expression ; her eye vying 
 in cerulian with the cloudless sky, and her crescent forehead 
 illuminated with its star-like diamond; the daughter of the 
 President, in the Executive palace, never inspired greater 
 admiration. And Edith, who stood beside her, shared the 
 homage lavished by the multitude. Nor was the unas- 
 suming Mary, the gentle and cherished companion of the 
 high-born maidens, obscured by the glitter of fashion. 
 
 Blount, himself the centre of a group of admirers, when 
 the saloons were filled, nevertheless could not wholly with- 
 draw his eyes from his affianced bride ; and Edith, and even 
 Alice observed it. 
 
 And Lord Slysir, unable either to walk or to stand without 
 pain, was borne in by two of his servants, who had been 
 permitted to join him, seated iu a great chair that moved 
 on rollers. He, too, seemed to gaze at Edith, as one under 
 the spell of an irresistible i'ascination. 
 
 Blount, having long been waiting an opportunity to utter 
 all he felt in the ear of Edith, embraced the earliest moment 
 to seek a tete-d-tSte. But when he approached, unperceived 
 by Edith, young Summers appeared at her elbow on the 
 opposite side. Twice before he had attracted her notice in 
 the same manner ; and this time he seemed disposed to linger. 
 
 " Have we not met somewhere ?" asked Edith, unable 
 any longer to resist an utterance of the interrogatory which 
 rose so often to her lips. 
 
 " Yes, lady," said Summers. 
 
 "Where?" 
 
THE SOIEEE. 279 
 
 " I ought not, perhaps, to say, if other ears might hear 
 me," was the very mysterious reply. 
 
 " I am quite certain, sir, I should have no objection to 
 hear it mentioned in the presence of any auditor. But we 
 will go into yonder corner, now partially deserted." 
 
 As they moved away, Blount joined the circle round the 
 President and Alice. 
 
 "Who is that?" asked he, after exchanging renewed 
 greetings with Alice, and at the same time indicating by a 
 nod, and perhaps rather an imperious one, the individual 
 who had walked aside with Edith. 
 
 " Were I not maeblb. General, the manner and tone of 
 your demand might have startled me." 
 
 " Was it startling ? Forgive me." 
 
 " Was it not ? But you were not conscious of it. That 
 is one of the President's clerks." 
 
 " One of the President's clerks ?" 
 
 " One of the President's clerks ! Is that so very remark- 
 able ?" 
 
 " N"o. Perhaps not," sjud he, half abstractedly. " I can 
 wait — " 
 
 " General Blount !" 
 
 " Nay, fear me not. We have been reconciled." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! How often, Harry ?" 
 
 " Upon my word I do not remember," said he, partaking 
 of Alice's merriment. 
 
 " General ! " said the President, placing his hand on 
 Blount's shoulder, and whispering in his ear, "follow me 
 presently into the office. Let your eyes cease to follow that 
 provoking magnet. She is her own mistress yet, and com- 
 petent to take care care of herself. Be not uneasy or sus- 
 picious, or — what you will — " 
 
 "I am all attention, sir," said Blount. "Pray go on." 
 ^ " Lead Alice round once or twice, and give me an oppor- 
 tunity to escape. I have important despatches." Saying 
 this, Randolph offered his arm to one of the glittering 
 dames from the city, and led the promenade. But, before 
 the circle of the saloon was completed, he had uttered his 
 apologies, and vanished through a door communicating 
 with the library, then occupied as his office. 
 
 " You still have the ring," said Blount, looking down at 
 the fair hand of Alice, reposing on his ai-m. 
 
280 THE SOIEfeB. 
 
 " Yes. Here, let me return it." 
 
 " 'No." 
 
 "Edith will never receive it from me." 
 
 " Nor from me, except at the altan" 
 
 "Where else should she receive it?" 
 
 " I cannot tell. Keep it until then. Wliat better reposi 
 tory could we have ? And, Alice, the day may be distant 
 when the transfer can be made at the altar." 
 
 " Is it not your purpose to urge the completion — ?" 
 
 " Not now." 
 
 " And why not ? Her father has abandoned the position 
 he held, if not, indeed, the cause of those with whom he was 
 identified, and — and — he might consent." 
 
 "It were bootless!" said Blount, mournfully. *'I could 
 not now, consistently with my regard for Edith, ask her to 
 brave with me the dark and terrible future looming up in 
 the horizon. If I survive — if the cloud should be riven, 
 and a single ray of sunshine beam upon our pathway, 
 then—" 
 
 " Harry, you believe, then, that this storm, instead of 
 speedily abating, is destined to increase ?" 
 
 " Frankly, I do." 
 
 " And so does my father. Alas, for the Republic !" 
 
 " It will survive — though the heads of many of its de- 
 fenders and champions may lie low." 
 
 " But think not Edith would be appalled. Woman can 
 be' true even when the strongest man proves false ; can 
 share the ills of life, its fearful tempests, as well as its peace- 
 ful sunshine, with the one she loves. Has she not confessed 
 as much ?" 
 
 " I have not questioned her." 
 
 " And why not ? Her father might signify his approba- 
 tion, and she might consent. Then all this suspense, these 
 fearful forebodings, these cruel doubts " 
 
 " Nay — I would not link my uncertain fate, in such a mo- 
 ment, with the one I have loved and cherished. Not only 
 the pang of separation, but the fear of disaster and death, 
 would be too much to add to her present cares. Her vene- 
 rable father will require her undivided attention." 
 
 " How weak and fragile we are, in the estimation of the 
 stern lords of creation ! Will she not care for you absent, 
 though im wedded, and fear disaster and death? Plarry, 
 
EDITH AND SUililEES. 281 
 
 the thought of an absent husband, battling fov his country, 
 and achieving glory in the path of duty, would be a sustain 
 ing thought, rather than a source of additional uuhappiness, 
 whilst she watched beside her parent's couch!" 
 
 " It might be so. But the thought that I had irrevoca- 
 bly bound her, and left her, would rankle in my breast. 
 But what in the name of woman's caprice can so enchain her 
 to the side of that stripling ?" he continued, momentarily 
 pausing, and casting a glance at the corner where Edith 
 and Summers still remained in earnest conversation. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 EDITH AND SUMMERS. 
 
 When Edith and Charles Summers were separated from 
 the company, the former demanded a reply to her question. 
 
 " I am sure I cannot be mistaken," said he ; " for Wiry 
 Willy has informed me of the incidents in the city, wherein 
 you were an involuntary actor. It was in the market-place 
 I saw you. You were then flying from an implacable 
 enemy — from the most hideous and remorseless of monsters 
 that the earth has produced !" 
 
 " Surely you mean General Ruffleton ! And it was there 
 I beheld you — it must be so. I recollect your features dis- 
 tinctly—but — " 
 
 " You have difficulty in recalling the part I bore, and I 
 do not wonder at it. You, then, were in male attire, and 
 I in the habiliments of my sex. I supposed it a boy I ad- 
 di-essed, and now you suppose one is addressing you." 
 
 " Indeed ! And is it not so ? Now I remember, per- 
 fectly ! Summers— the same name ! And you are a wo- 
 man !" 
 
 " Even so. And, like yourself, a fugitive from the same 
 demon! I could not do much in your behalf — ^but your 
 condition inspired only feelings of kindness. May I hope 
 that in you I will find a protector ?" 
 
282 THE COUNCIL BOAJID AT MIDNIGHT. 
 
 " Ceilainly. But — were you not a voluntary participant iri 
 the scene — a jovial companion of the lawless mob?" 
 
 " True. Alas I I have only to confess my errors and la- 
 ment the sad fate which that man — oh, have pity !" 
 
 " I do pity you. And that man was your enemy ?" 
 
 " The worst that ever an unprotected maiden had. My 
 mother, the only parent I could ever remember, sank into 
 the grave. I was left alone." 
 
 "Yes! I pity you! And you fled the first opportuni- 
 ty?" 
 
 " After I learned his wickedness — I mean the dnplicity 
 
 and wickedness of which he was capable. Yes, I have 
 abandoned him for ever ! You must hate him as " 
 
 " No. I hate no one, because it may not be justifiable. 
 But I would avoid him as some venomous reptile, and guard 
 others against his fangs." 
 
 "And you will not betray my secret ?" 
 
 " No — unless I deem it a duty." 
 
 " Oh, I could tell you much — ^but not now. I hope it 
 may not be sinful to hate so great a monster! I have even 
 longed for an opportunity to be revenged — to see him ex- 
 pire — " 
 
 " Vengeance belongs not to us. Forgive, that you may 
 be forgiven." 
 
 " Forgive Ruffleton ?" 
 
 " Even him, if— but I am beckoned away." And Edith 
 hastened to Alice, who had just separated from Blount at 
 the door of the President's office. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 THE COUNCIL BOARD AT MIDNIGHT. 
 
 Without an interruption of the festivities of the occa- 
 sion, the President, several members of his cabinet, and the 
 Gener.als, had quietly withdrawn from the saloon and met 
 in council. 
 
 " Here, gentlemen," said Randolph, seated at the head of 
 
THE COUNCIL BOAED AT MIDNIGHT. 283 
 
 an oval table, round which the rest were ranged, and upon 
 which lay numerous letters, " is matter for business. In 
 this little conclave, affairs of such gigantic importance as 
 were never before pai'alleled in this country, must be deter- 
 mined, and determined quickly. I will state the present 
 condition of our affairs. General Line, instead of prosecuting 
 the contemplated invasion, is resting at Cumberland, and 
 has fortified the place. Next, and which is the solution of 
 Line's change of purpose, we have information of the ap- 
 proach, by way of the lakes, of an army of 50,000 British 
 troops, under Sir Charles Hunt, the object being a junction 
 with General Line ; and then the two armies will be united 
 with the Northern host under RufiBeton, perhaps in this 
 vicinity, or at Harford, or Havre de Grace. So, although 
 we may leave some garrisons in Delaware and Maryland, 
 we can have no tenable positions in either." 
 
 " And so my field of victory is to be captured by the 
 enemy !" said General Crook. 
 
 " Not only that. General," said Valiant, " but Baltimore 
 must surrender. It is indefensible." 
 
 "The Federal Capital, also, will fall into their hands!" 
 said Blount. 
 
 "Inevitably," said Randolph. " But, gentlemen, let me 
 proceed. The wire of the Ocean Telegraph has been re- 
 united, and my correspondent at Halifax infonns me that 
 the British Cabinet have not only sanctioned the stipula- 
 tions of Lord Slysir, but have resolved even to exceed 
 them. They have ordered a large fleet to sail immediately. 
 I have, in regard to this matter, for the exigency admitted 
 no delay, ordered a concentration of our naval forces at 
 Hampton Roads — " 
 
 Here the President was interrupted by a simultaneous 
 clapping of hands. 
 
 " It was the only alternative, gentlemen," said Randolph, 
 " Our policy is to save, the security of that which we pos- 
 sess, when circumstances prevent us from embarking in 
 enterprises of acquisition. I felt no scruples in directing 
 the concentration in a Southern harbor, of all the armed 
 ships of the United States, since it is the avowed purpose 
 of a foreign enemy to attempt their capture. But, remem- 
 ber, I save the Navy, not for the South, not for the North, 
 but for the United States. It is in that capacity I am to 
 
284 THE COUNCIL BOARD AT illDNIGHT. 
 
 co-operate with the South. I will .add, however, that my 
 instructions to the Commanders embraced the privilege of 
 capturing British vessels in any of our port's." 
 
 Here there was another demonstration of applause. 
 
 " But when shall we make a demonstration ?" asked 
 Crook. 
 
 " The first great battle," said Randolph, slowly, " will 
 probably be — and Blount coincides with me in opinion — " 
 
 " Where ? where ?" cried several, impatient to hear the 
 announcement, for all regarded the President's opinions as 
 prophecies. 
 
 " At We[.doi^, beyond the Roanoke, in North Carolina ; 
 the second, if we fail on that field — " 
 
 " Weldon !" cried several. '.' And the second ?" 
 
 " Beyond the Pedee !" 
 
 "My God!" exclaimed Crook. 
 
 " Be not cast down, brave Crook !" said Randolph. 
 " There will be a reflux of the tide. But, I fear it is to be 
 even as I have predicted. With fifty British ships of war 
 on our Southern coast, and a Northern .army of perhaps 
 half, and it may be three-quarters of a million men surging 
 over our Northern barriers, there can be no alternative but 
 to retiie befoi-e them. But there must be a termination of 
 their march, and then " 
 
 " And then !" cried several. 
 
 "And then their backs will be exposed to our blows. In 
 the meantime, while we should be prepared to look such a 
 picture steadily in the face, it is no less a duty to leave no 
 stone unturned in the endeavor to avert it. I have there- 
 fore directed messengers to be in readiness to distribute 
 proclamations in every county, warning the people to pro- 
 vide for the emergency. A certain portion of the militia 
 will conduct the slaves to places of security, and keep 
 them in subjection; and engineers will be dispatched to 
 supeiintend the construction of fortifications at such places 
 as may be fixed upon. These great works can be done by 
 the able-bodied slaves. I do not think the fanatics will 
 accomplish a great deal towards emancipation." 
 
 To this the assent was unanimous. And Randolph next 
 intimated what was to be his policy in regard to the loyal 
 people of the North. Ruffleton and his Convention had 
 decreed that no more proclamations of the Federal Execu- 
 
THE COUNCIL BOAKD AT MIDNIGHT. 285 
 
 tive should be printed or circulated in the Fi-ee States, under 
 certain pains and penalties ; but Randolph had prepared a 
 secret circular for distribution amongst his friends, and the 
 friends of the Union in all the Northern States. It was 
 marked, " strictly confidential," and was to be placed in the 
 possession of none but those whose fideUty was unimpeach- 
 able. 
 
 Everything the President had done, and all he proposed 
 to do, seemed to meet the entire concurrence of the Council 
 of advisers. Such is the unanimity sometimes f)roduced by 
 imminent peril ! 
 
 But the difficulty was to find the means of disseminating 
 the President's circulars among the partisans of the Union 
 in the North, 
 
 " Wheel in Lord Slysir !" at length exclaimed the Pre- 
 sident. 
 
 " What !" said the Secretary of State, " admit the British 
 Diplomatist to our Council Board ?" 
 
 " Why not ? It seems to me that the most effectual 
 mode of deceiving his Lordship, is to utter nothing but 
 verities in his presence. He will, of course, believe them 
 to be falsehoods, or r.ather diplomatic deception.?, and thus 
 deceive himself. I know he is desirous of communicating 
 with liuffleton, and hitherto all his couriers have been inter- 
 cepted. My plan is to procure passports from him for my 
 messenger with the circulars." 
 
 His Lordship, who was at that moment uttering his never- 
 ceasing acknowledgments to Edith for her kind attentions 
 in his helpless condition, obeyed the summons with some 
 show of reluctance, as it ruptured the agreeable interview 
 with his " guardian angel," as he was constantly calling 
 Edith. 
 
 " My Lord," said the President, when the Diplomatist 
 was placed in the midst of the Council, " we have some 
 important intelligence for you." 
 
 " I am glad to hear it, Mr. President ; for although I am 
 no longer a prisoner, I am incapable of departing from your 
 camp ; and no doubt everything sent me is intercepted, and 
 I admit, justifiably, by your Excellency's agents. You have 
 permitted some of my servants to attend me, I must confess ; 
 but certainly a most skilful discrimination has been exer- 
 cised in admitting none but stupid loons." 
 
286 THE COUNCIL BOAED AT MIDNIGHT. 
 
 "My Lord," said Crook, "if you dismiss yonr -white 
 servants, and have a few smart black nigger slaves, it would 
 save us the annoyance of instituting a scrutiny the next time." 
 
 " Well ! If I ever fall into your hands again. General, 
 I will take your advice." 
 
 "I have a presentiment that we shall capture you 
 again." 
 
 " I have sent for you, my Lord," said Randolph, "for the 
 purpose of placing in your possession all the despatches we 
 have intercepted " 
 
 "Ah, your Excellency! You mean to be merry at my 
 expense." 
 
 " By no means. My object is a little convention with the 
 enemy. You will desire, when you shall have examined 
 the advices I am about to deliver into your hands, to com- 
 municate with your ally. General Ruffieton. I propose to 
 furnish the messenger. Your despatches will be in plain 
 English, and ray messenger will be provided by you and 
 Ruffleton with passports and protection." 
 
 " Conceded. I agree to everything." 
 
 " You are not to intimate — that is for twenty days — that 
 the messenger was furnished by me." 
 
 " I will agree to that, also — although I do not compre- 
 hend its import." 
 
 "Then, my Lord, Willy will wait on you and receive, 
 and faithfully deliver, any letters you may prepare this night. 
 Here are the despatches superscribed with your address." 
 
 The President placed sundry documents in the hands of 
 his Lordship ; and among these was a despatch from 
 Canada, informing him of the concurrence of his Govern- 
 ment in his agreement with Ruffleton, and advices of the 
 sailing of the fleet ; also letters from General Sir Charles 
 Hunt, who was approaching'- by way of the lakes, the 
 rendezvous appointed for the allied armies ; and quite a 
 number of notes from General Ruffleton. 
 
 His Lordship was wheeled back into the saloon and 
 thence borne, without delay, to his own apartment, whither 
 Wiry Willy was summoned to attend him at a late hour of 
 the night. 
 
 After this, the President, with a placid countenance, 
 appeared again among the guests in the saloons, surrounded 
 by his Generals. 
 
WIET "WILLY IN KEW TOEK. 287 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 WIET WILLY IN NEW YORK. 
 
 WiEY Willy, having changed his coat, which had be- 
 come known in the several armies, set out from the Presi- 
 dent's head-quarters, early in'the morning, on his double 
 mission. 
 
 As he passed through Philadelphia, poor Willy beheld, 
 with a sad heart, the evidences of desolation produced by 
 civil war. Not half the stores were open, and these' had 
 but few customers. Many of the mansions were deserted, 
 and grass was springing up between the bricks of the un- 
 frequented pavements. 
 
 Upon landing in Camden, Willy was under the necessity 
 of exhibiting his passport ; and it was frequently inspected 
 in the cars. New Jersey, from the Hudson to the Dela- 
 ware, and along the left side of that river down to Red 
 Bank, was one military encampment. The sounds of the 
 drum and fife and bugle; the creaking of artillery car- 
 riages, the rattle of sabres, and the tramp of armed men, 
 prevailed everywhere. 
 
 Upon landing at the Battery in New York, the first spec- 
 tacle which greeted the vision of Willy, was the glitter of 
 innumei-able bayonets. The city seemed in possession of 
 the military followers of Ruffleton. 
 
 Willy, in obedience to the instructions of Randolph, pro- 
 ceeded first in quest of Mr. Lex, a gentleman of lortune, a 
 patriot, but one of the friends of the President, 
 
 At the stately mansion of Mr. Lex, Willy was confronted 
 by a grey-haired negro porter. 
 
 " I desire to see Mr. Lex," said Willy- 
 
 " What business have you with him ?" 
 
 " Important business. I come from the President." 
 
 " Follow me !" said the aged servant, closing the door 
 and leading the way into the library, where Mr. L. was 
 sitting amidst his books and papers. 
 
 This patriot was then past the middle age, but still in the 
 19 
 
288 -WIET WILLY IN KEW TOEK. 
 
 zenith of physical and intellectual vigor. When it was an- 
 nounced that the messenger came from the President, ho 
 rose with alacrity, and taking "Willy's hand between his 
 own, in silence, led him to a chair. Then turning his be- 
 nevolent countenance full upon him, awaited the communi- 
 cation he had to^deliver. 
 
 Willy removed the scalp from his head and placed two 
 documents in the hands of the patriot. One was a manu- 
 script copy of the secret circular, to which allusion has been 
 made, and the other a letter of instructions in regard to the 
 mode of distribution. Being deemed hazardous to send 
 any of the .printed copies by Willy, the President requested 
 Mr. Lex to have a certain number printed in the city, and 
 to furnish Willy with a list of names of faithful friends in 
 the Northern States to whom they might be delivered. 
 
 " Come again at midnight," said Mr. Lex, after perusing 
 the President's letter, " and you shall have a few circulars 
 and the names of the persons to whom they are to be de- 
 livered. You have dispatches from Lord Slysir to General 
 Ruflaieton, and the latter wiU probably furnish you with new 
 passports. You wiU then be facilitated in the discharge of 
 the perilous duty you have assumed. I need not warn 
 you of the dangers on every hand. You will perceive that 
 the Reign of Terror has commenced. Already one of the 
 faithful friends of the President is doomed to death. Ma- 
 jor S 's blood has been demanded by the Tribunal of 
 
 Thbbe, a Court created by the Convention to try and con- 
 demn without appeal those whom they call the enemies of 
 Liberty. Endeavor to see the Major after your interview 
 with Ruffleton, and deliver him this." Mr. Lex placed a 
 bank, note in Willy's hand. 
 
 The Tribunal of Three, to which Mr. Lex alluded, and 
 
 which had sentenced Major S , was the most monstrous 
 
 and fearful engine ever erected in any country, for the pur- 
 pose of striking terror in, the hearts of the people. The 
 Convention had decreed that one of these courts should 
 hold its sessions in every county twice a moth. They were 
 to investigate alleged offences against the Worth ; and 
 therefore all who sympathized with slavery or slaveholders ; 
 gave aid and comfort to the enemy ; held secret or open 
 correspondence with the Southern or Federal armies.; op- 
 posed the acts of the Northern Convention, or conspired 
 
WIET WILLY nr NirW TOEK. 289 
 
 against the authority of General Ruffleton, who was en- 
 titled ThePbotectoe — were to be adjudged guilty of trea- 
 son, and condsmujd to die. A majority of the three judges 
 could condemn or acquit. There Was no appeal for the 
 condemned, nor preliminary inTCstigation before trial ; and 
 execution was to fdllow sentence almost immediately. These 
 courts were to be surrounded and protected by the military 
 creatures of Ruffleton ; and so, in an inconceivably brief 
 space of time, the Usurper had become absolute ; for all 
 power, civil and military, reposed in his hands. 
 
 Wiry WiUy, after leaving the mansion of Mr. Lex, pro- 
 ceeded to the City Hall, now jocularly called the Lion's 
 Den. In it the Convention held its sessions, and there the 
 Protector issued his decrees. As he was passing near the 
 Park, Willy's eyes were almost blinded by an object glit- 
 tei-ing in the sun ; and this, when he drew nearer, he dis- 
 covered to be the polished blade of a guillotine just erected. 
 There were hundreds standing round, gazing at the new in- 
 strument of death, the first of the kind ever erected in this 
 country. Willy shivered with dread, and passed on through 
 the Guards which surrounded the Hall. He demanded 
 access to the General or Protector, avowing that he was 
 the bearer of despatches from the British Minister, and no 
 one sought to impede his progress. He was conducted into 
 an anteroom where many were in attendance, waiting to 
 be admitted. Ruffleton, now, was the disposer of fortune 
 and honor, as well as the arbiter of life ; and if he had 
 been the d — 1 himself, he would have been surrounded with 
 flatterers. 
 
 Upon the announcement of the arrival of despatches fi-om 
 the British Minister, Ruffleton dismissed every one from 
 his presence and ordered the messenger to be admitted with- 
 out delay. 
 
 "Willy!" he exclaimed, on beholding his old acquaint- 
 ance. " Is it possible ? Can you have deserted Randolph, 
 or Crook, or Blount ? No ! You care not a fig for any of us. 
 But is it true that you have brought me lettersfrom Slysii' ?" 
 
 " Let the letters speak for themselves, if you won't believe 
 Wiry Willy !" and, having said this in his former simple 
 manner, he placed the letters in Ruffletoh'&hand, and turned 
 aside and sat down, while the abstracted General hastily 
 perused them, 
 
 13 
 
290 WIET WILLT IS NEW YORK. 
 
 "Good! Capital!" exclaimed Ruffleton, quivering with 
 delight. "Willy!" he cried, "what reward do you de- 
 mand ? Here, take my purse, and call again to-morrow." 
 
 Willy was afraid to refuse the gold ; but he declared that 
 he demanded no additional recompense, except a passport 
 to go wherever he pleased. 
 
 "You shall have it! Here!" said Ruffleton, writing 
 with great rapidity. " But do you intend returning imme- 
 diately ?" 
 
 " Wiry Willy is not fool enough for that ! General Crook 
 was going to hang him once I The next time they might 
 do it ! They know I was with Lord Slysir." 
 
 "Ay — they would suspect something. And his Lord- 
 ship is not yet ahle to travel ?" 
 
 " Lord ! no, sir ! He's all black and blue from the rough 
 usage of fighting Jack Bim." 
 
 " Bim ! I'll Bim him ! But how did it happen that you 
 ofiered to come hither ?" 
 
 " I wanted to travel." 
 
 " And leave Mary ?" 
 
 "She won't be married now, when there's nobody to 
 object." 
 
 "A quarrel. She's a pretty girl, Willy — ^but I have 
 other matters to think about now. I suppose you met 
 with Summers at Randolph's head-quarters ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes." 
 
 " He's a skilful penman, but an unfaithful clerk I Tell 
 Randolph not to trust him. Is he much in Randolph's 
 presence ?" 
 
 " A great deal. He's writing almost all the time." 
 
 " He did the same for me, and then ran away the first 
 chance he had. But if you do not return immediately, 
 where are you going ?" 
 
 " To get out of these troubles. Wiry WiUy is resolved to 
 see Niagara, Saratoga, Newport, and Boston. But he saw 
 one thing yonder in the Court-house yard such as he never 
 laid eyes on before. It shines like a looking-glass !" 
 
 " You mean the guillotine. But the blade will be red 
 with the blood of a traitor before sunset ?" 
 
 " Oh ! It's the machine they cut heads off with in France, 
 ain't it?" 
 
 " The same kind. If you linger in the Park an hour or so, 
 
WIET WILLY IN NEW TOEK. 291 
 
 Willy, you may see the operation, and then you can tell the 
 people all about it in your travels." 
 
 " I will, by jingo ! But, General, how I would like to see 
 the traitor first, and notice how he looks, and hear what he 
 says !" 
 
 " Well, you may. You see I can be in a good humor. 
 Take this line to the keeper of the prison — the Tombs — and 
 you will see the prisoner. Tour hand — good-by, WUly." 
 
 And Willy hastened away. 
 
 Ruffleton opened a door communicating with a capacious 
 room in which were seated Virus, General Balatrum, Smiley, 
 the new President of the Convention, and several politicians, 
 who followed the rising fortunes of the Protector. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Ruffleton, as aU rose to their feet, 
 " here is cheering intelligence from Lord Slysir. The desti- 
 nation of the British army under Sir Charles Hunt, is the 
 Federal Capital ! Sir Charles is to form a junction with us, 
 and to be under my command. Nor is that all. A large 
 number of ships of war have sailed from England to co- 
 operate with us against the South. The Ministry have 
 ratified the conditions agreed upon, and no doubt the money 
 has been sent by the fleet !" 
 
 "Then, sir!" said Virus, exultingly, "you are not only 
 our Protector, but our Lord Pboteotoe !" ' 
 
 " There is one thing, gentlemen, one thing wanting, 
 before I can feel that I stand on firm ground ; and that 
 thing I am sure you might procure." 
 
 " Name it !" cried they. 
 
 " A sanction by the people, of the powers vested in me 
 by the Convention." 
 
 " It shall be done !" said Virus. 
 
 "If the people could be induced to vote at all," said 
 Smiley, " they would not dare to vote against you." 
 
 " They shall vote !" said Virus. 
 
 " I cannot conceive why they are so averse to voting," 
 said Ruffleton, walking to and fro, and musmg. "They 
 are hostile to the Slave Democracy, and to the South, and 
 I propose to liberate the slaves, and to exterminate the 
 Democracy !" 
 
 "Recollect, General," said Virus, "that an immense 
 number have joined the army; and that accounts for the 
 diminutive vote polled for the delegates. Besides, the 
 
292 THE EXECUTIONS. 
 
 candidates nominated by your friends, rarely have any 
 opposition." 
 
 " But not a day passes that we do not have resignations. 
 This must be checked. Smiley, the delegate who abandons 
 his post, unless under urgent necessity, must be denounced 
 as an enemy. Let one or two of them be condemned and 
 decapitated! That will put an end to resignations !" 
 
 " It shall be done," said Smiley. 
 
 " And, General," said Virus, " within ten days I under- 
 take to say, the authority conferred on you by the Conven- 
 tion, shall be ratified by a unanimous vote of the people." 
 
 " Let that be done. Virus," said Ruffleton, " and then we 
 shall all be secure in the positions we have assumed." 
 
 " All I require is a little work from the instrument put 
 up in the Park." 
 
 " Let it work !" said Ruffleton, stamping the floor. 
 
 "And let a few gentlemen of the press be among the 
 first victims." 
 
 "Are they not condemned? Why delay?" continued 
 Ruffleton. 
 
 The General then returned to his Cabinet. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVn. 
 
 THE EXECUTIONS. 
 
 In front of the sombre prison-house Willy beheld a vast 
 multitude of men, women, and children, impatiently await- 
 ing the hour for the prisoners to be led forth to execution. 
 
 Willy urged his way through the crowd. Presenting 
 the card with the awful autograph of Ruffleton, iron gates 
 and triple-nailed doors flew open before him. 
 
 The room in which Major S was confined, likewise 
 
 contained other persons condemned to die for political 
 offences. The Major was sitting at the extremity of the 
 room, in deep abstraction, and did not observe the entrance 
 of Willy. The other prisoners were not so quiescent 
 One of them, an editor, althoueh he certainly did not look 
 
THB EXBODTIONS. 295 
 
 like a man of letters, sobbed convulsively, and blubbered 
 like a great school boy. 
 
 " Has it come to this ?" he cried. " Keeper !" he con- 
 tinued, " you know I have labored for the North against 
 the slave-driving South ?" 
 
 " Yes, I know it," said the attendant. 
 
 " Then why should I be a Arictim ?" 
 
 " It's a hard case, I own ; but then they say you were 
 opposed to making General Ruffleton Protector." 
 
 " Because it conferred civil authority as well as military. 
 I never dreamed of a despotism, or an absolutism — " 
 
 "Excuse me — but it may not be safe to listen to such 
 things. I don't intend to meddle in politics, so long as there 
 are guillotines about !" 
 
 " The guillotine ! And must Xdie, and by the guillotine ?" 
 
 " The time's been fixed, and the people outside are get- 
 ting impatient to see it." 
 
 " And my ftiends ; where are they ?" 
 
 " Most of them are non est in times of danger. I thought, 
 when they brought you here, your friends would soon have 
 yon out again. But it was no go. I have a brother sta- 
 tioned at the door of the Protector's office, and he says not 
 even one of your 'prentices has ventured to beg your 
 life." 
 
 " They abandon me ; because to interfere in behalf of 
 the condemned might seem to involve them in his guilt. 
 But I am not guilty. My good friend, can I not write to 
 General Ruffleton ?" 
 
 " You are allowed pen, ink, and paper." 
 
 " But will you not have the letter conveyed to him ?" 
 
 " If possible. But it may not be possible before it's too 
 late. My brother says he has bushels of letters, received 
 several days ago, not yet opened." 
 
 " I'll jUt my name on the envelope ! He must see it." 
 
 " It'll do no good. The bit is in the horse's mouth, and 
 his master bestrides him, booted and spurred. That's what 
 I heard the Reverend Mr. Blood say." 
 
 " And he f Why is he not here ?" 
 
 " He ? He's too smart for that ! He's joined the Pro- 
 tector, and says he shall be a lord, if not a king. Oh, he 
 goes the whole thing, guillotine and all. And he makes out 
 lists of the suspected, to be arrested hereafter." 
 
294 THE EXBCUnONS. 
 
 " I will do the same ! Run to General Ruffleton ! Say 
 I will support him in everything. I can rally the masses." 
 
 " That's exactly what my brother heard Mr. Virus say. 
 But the Protector said the man who could do the most 
 good might also be able to do the greatest injury. He said 
 the good had been done already, and all they had to guard 
 against was the injury. In short, he said you had been used^ 
 quite enough in getting up the animosity, and that there 
 was no further use for you." 
 
 Hearing this the editor set up a sort of howling lamen- 
 tation, and went about wringing his hands distractedly. 
 
 Willy proceeded to the corner where Major S re- 
 mained, unmindful of everything said and done by his fel- 
 low-prisoners. : 
 
 " Major," said Willy, placing his hand on the prisoner's 
 shoulder, and speaking in a low tone, " do you not know 
 me?" 
 
 " Wiry Willy !" said the Major, starting up. " Tes, I 
 know you — and I am glad to see you, for I feared I should 
 never see another friend in this world. Oh, will you not 
 hear the words of a dying man ? One who, although the 
 acts for which his life is forfeited may be termed an igno- 
 minious crime, performed only what he supposed a duty to 
 his country. I regarded Ruffleton as a traitor, and the 
 duplicity I practised was meant to benefit the Republic. 
 As God is my judge, I expected not, desired not, any other 
 recompense but to witness the salvation of the Union, 
 Willy, repeat my words to President Randolph." * 
 
 "I will faithfully, Major," said Willy. 
 
 " I have seen Mr. Lex," continued Willy, " and he sent 
 you this." He placed the note in the Major's hand. It 
 was a one thousand dollar bank note. 
 
 " Return it, Willy. I understand his meaning. But my 
 guards prefer life to money. I have tried them. There is 
 no escape for me. The Reign of Terror, so long predicted, 
 has been inaugurated." 
 
 Willy repaired to the Park, when the prisoners were 
 taken thither, and, by exhibiting the signature of the 
 dreaded General, was permitted to stand at the side of the 
 Majoi-, who promptly announced his readiness to submit 
 to his fate. 
 
 " I thank heaven," said he, as he surveyed the glittering 
 
THE EXECunoirs. 295 
 
 instrument of death, " that the guillotine, and not the igno- 
 minious rope, is to terminate my existence. Willy, say to 
 the President that I did not shrink from my fate ; and that 
 I died believing my death would contribute, sooner or later, 
 to rescue the country from the hands of the usurpipg des- 
 pots and traitors. Say that I died with the consoling con- 
 sciousness that the guillotine has often put a period to the 
 existence of patriots and Christians ; and that I go to my 
 God, believing in the efficacy of the merits of our Re- 
 deemer. Now, headsman ! Why do you hesitate ?" 
 
 " We have sent to know which is to be served first, you 
 or the editor," said one of the masked executioners. 
 
 " I would prefer to be first," said S . 
 
 " Oh, let me not be first !" cried the editor. 
 
 " You're a fool !" said the second executioner. " It will 
 be twice as bad after seeing his head fall." 
 
 " But General Rufflelon may spare my life, when he gets 
 the proposition I have sent him," said the editor. 
 
 " No doubt he will. But he will not get it on this side 
 of Jordan. The General is up yonder at the window of the 
 hotel, looking on with an opera-glass. The messenger has 
 
 fone to the Tbibunal of Theee, in the Court-room. The 
 udges will decide who must die first ; but they dare not 
 spare your life. The Protector has too many soldiers here 
 to have his pleasure interfered with. Here comes our mes- 
 senger." 
 
 The President of The Three sent back word that the 
 condemned might settle the question of precedence among 
 themselves, by lot or otherwise. 
 
 "Do you contest the Major's claim to precedence?" 
 demanded the chief executioner. 
 
 " No-o-o !" cried the editor. 
 
 The Major, after giving his watch to Wiry Willy, and 
 clasping his hand briefly while he whispered something in 
 his ear, ascended the platform with a steady step. It was 
 not necessary to pull him down forcibly. He adjusted him- 
 self in the necessary position, and the knife descended. His 
 head fell into a basket, and his blood was absorbed by a 
 profusion of sawdust. 
 
 " Now it is your turn," said the executioner, placing his 
 hand on the editor's shoulder. 
 
 " No-o-o !" said the editor, " there's another." 
 
296 THE EXECtmOlS'S. 
 
 This was Samuel , the Quaker, wIlo was to suffer 
 
 death because General Crook had spared his house. That 
 fact had been suiBcient for his condemnation by Tub Theee. 
 
 " Very well," said the second executioner ; " but you are 
 the politest man I ever saw. Come, Samuel, thee must 
 stand on the Republican platform." 
 
 Placed on the platform, Samuel was bereft of the power 
 of speech. But he resisted with desperation, and it required 
 the exertions of four men to drag him forward and place 
 his neck under the dripping steel, which, descending quick- 
 ly, relieved him of his terrors. 
 
 " Now !" said the first of the masked executioners, whis- 
 pering in the ear of the editor, "you must ascend; the 
 platform is of your own construction. The engines pro- 
 jected for the unjust destruction of others, have never yet 
 failed to torment their inventors. I have assumed this dis- 
 guise for the purpose of putting an end to one of the 
 world's mischief-makers. I am not only your enemy, but 
 the deadly foe of the Tyrant, and the next time I don these 
 habiliments, it will be for the purpose of beheading hiiTi. 
 You know me — my name is ." 
 
 The editor sank to the earth in a swoon. Before he had 
 time to revive, he was dragged upon the platform, and his 
 head was severed from his body. Then, all too late, he 
 seemed to recover his consciousness. His legs began to 
 play with wonderful rapidity, as if running away. He 
 kicked himself off the platform, and bounced about with 
 such violence that the headsmen had to hold him. And 
 even then, for nearly a minute, the motion of the legs con- 
 tinued, and no doubt the poor fellow imagined he had es- 
 caped, and was flying from his enemies. 
 
 Willy, by the exhibition of the Protector's signature — 
 and but few took the pains to read further — had no difficulty 
 in obtaining possession of the remains of the ill-fated Major, 
 He had them conducted to an undertaker's establishment, 
 and contracted for their deposit in one of the cemeteries. 
 
 More than once, Willy, in passing that night the groups 
 of armed men — and but few others then ventured into the 
 streets — at the crossings, was compelled to show his pass- 
 port. And in every instance the beholder started back in 
 awe at the consciousness of the high authority under which 
 the pedestrian moved. 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 297 
 
 He was admitted without words or delay by the ancient 
 porter, and was conducted into the presence of the patriotic 
 friend of the President. 
 
 " And poor S could not escape ?" said Mr. Lex, after 
 
 inviting Willy to be seated. 
 
 " No, sir, it was impossible," said Willy. " I have had his 
 
 remains deposited in a vault in cemetery. Here is 
 
 the bank note, sir, for which he thanked you, but which he 
 could not use. He had, besides, a considerable sum of his 
 own. He had deposited funds, likewise, with the humane 
 keeper of the prison, to meet the expenses of his burial." 
 
 " Will you not have use for money ? If so, keep it." 
 
 " No, sir ; I am well provided." 
 
 " If you should need funds, by reason of accident or rob- 
 bery, apply to me. You have seen RufEeton ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, and here is the passport he gave me." 
 
 " It is well," said Mr. Lex, reading it. " It will serve 
 you perfectly, provided it does not expose you to assassina- 
 tion. But there is a sign by which the patriots may know 
 each other ; and the third man, whose name is on the list I 
 am to give you presently, will initiate you. There are the 
 circulars on the table. They are printed on bank-note pa- 
 per, and in such characters that none but the initiated can 
 render into intelligible English. The contents cannot be 
 made known to the enemy through any medium but a trai- 
 tor to the cause." 
 
 Provided with the necessary instructions, Willy lost no 
 time in setting out on his journey. In the cars, where 
 there were always the secret spies of Ruffleton, Willy 
 ceased to be the subject of suspicious scrutiny whenever 
 he produced the awful signature of the Protector. But 
 when he ceased to meet the military and other partisans of 
 Ruffleton, in the less frequented lines of travel, the secret 
 sign of the patriots availed him most. Nor was it long 
 before he discovered to his great joy, that even in New 
 England, a majoiity of the population had become inimical 
 to the designs of those who now usurped the direction of 
 public affairs in the North. Still, the work of the despot 
 had been too effectually done for resistance, and it was ne- 
 cessary for the friends of the Union to dissemble. All the 
 arms, public and private, were in the hands of the Protec- 
 tDr's partisans; and there was a military organization in 
 
 13* 
 
298 THE EXECOnONS. 
 
 every county, ordered and paid by the Convention. And 
 now the Theek — the most terrible tribunal ever created 
 — ^had its ramifications in every neighborhood, and its in- 
 strument of death in every town of any magnitude ! 
 
 At Boston, Garrott, Phijaps, and Palter were the Three. 
 They had returned from the Liberian voyage breathing 
 vengeance against their enemies. The first victims were 
 the Catholics ; and not satisfied with cutting off their heads, 
 the awful Tribunal stretched its authority even to the tear- 
 ing down of the churches. Willy lingered several days 
 in the city, for there were many patriots there who sighed 
 for the restoration of the Union and re-establishment of 
 the Federal authority. But they had to conceal their sen- 
 timents. 
 
 The prosecutor before the Tribunal of Thkee, was a 
 lawyer in desperate circumstances, but who subsequently 
 became affluent. He was accessible to the bribes of the 
 guilty, and his cupidity induced the fabrication of charges 
 against the innocent. The terrors of the guillotine were 
 successfully wielded against the rich in the exaction pf 
 large sums of money; and the poor, rather than die, en- 
 rolled themselves in the army. 
 
 It was not deemed necessary for the members of the ter- 
 rible Ti-ibunal of Three to be versed in the law ; and per- 
 haps half the judges in the New England States had not 
 been lawyers ; but they were very frequently parsons of 
 the dissenting sects, famous for their abolition propensities, 
 and admirably qualified to try and execute the Catholics 
 and Episcopalians. During the sojourn of Willy in Boston 
 a Catholic bishop was condemned to die. The charge 
 against him was that he had enjoined upon his clergy the 
 duty of abstaining from participation in discussions on the 
 subject of slavery. The prelate admitted without hesita- 
 tion that he delivered such a charge ; but pleaded in justificar 
 tion that both himself and clergy had taken solemn vows to 
 devote themselves exclusively to the service of their God. 
 Such a reply confused, momentarily, both the prosecutor 
 and the Court. In the printed instruction s sent them by 
 Virus, the offence of serving one's God exclusively, had 
 been omitted. Nevertheless the Prelate had been marked 
 for destruction ; and upon being questioned as to his fel- 
 lowship with Southern slave-owners, he frankly admitted 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 299 
 
 that he fraternized with all pious Catholics in the Southern, 
 as well as in the Northern States, and that the tenure by 
 which they held their man-servants or their maid-servants 
 was never made the subject of investigation. This, too, 
 might have confounded his accusers, if he had been content 
 to stop there. But he added a quotation from Scripture, 
 viz. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his 
 servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass," etc. ; and 
 this was construed both as a personal affront — for the 
 Three had all been notorious servant stealers — and a con- 
 fession of the crime of justifying slavery. He was there- 
 fore sentenced to be decapitated. 
 
 When returning from the scene of his execution, Willy 
 felt the weight of some one's hand on his shoulder. Turn- 
 ing, he was thunderstruck on beholding the sharp and swar- 
 thy features of Phipps, one of the Three ! 
 
 " What are you doing here, young man ?" he asked. 
 
 " I — I am on business for the — ^the — " He paused, hav- 
 ing almost divulged the secret of his mission before recover- 
 ing his wits. 
 
 " Business for whom ? Whose business ?" 
 
 " That's Willy's business — and none of yours !" replied 
 he, fortified with the recollection that he bore none of the 
 circulars or other documents about his person. 
 
 " I saw you in Maryland with General Crook," said Phipps, 
 " and that isprimd facie evidence of your guilt. The court 
 is about to assemble again. Withhold your reply to my 
 question, if you see proper. You are not bound to crimi- 
 nate yourself," Saying this Phipps strode on, while two of 
 the secret officers of the Inquisition, who seemed to have 
 been standing near in readiness, seized Willy and dragged 
 him along, unmindful of his protestations of innocence, and 
 of the assertion that he bore a passport from the'Protector 
 himself. 
 
 Arriving before the Three, Willy gazed at the accuser 
 and the judges with an indifferent calmness, which only 
 seemed to increase their thirst for his blood. 
 
 The prosecutor recapitulated all that Phipps had alleged ; 
 and then Willy was called upon to answer the charges of 
 identification with the slave-driving enemy, and of being a 
 
 spy. 
 Willy stood up, and very deliberately unfolding the pass- 
 
300 THE EXECUTIONS. 
 
 port, read it aloud to the court. For more than a minute a 
 profound silence ensued. 
 
 " Will you allow me, Mr. Wire," at length said the pro- 
 secutor, " to look at that remarkable document ?" 
 
 " Certainly, sir," said Willy, imitating the attorney's po- 
 liteness. 
 
 The attorney, having satisfied himself of the authenticity 
 of the signature, handed the passport to the judges, when 
 both the signature and the lines to which it was appended 
 were recognised. The passport was returned to Willy. 
 Its validity was not only acknowledged, but its bearer was 
 invited to dinner ; an honor he declined. 
 
 Willy attended diligently to the objects of his mission, 
 and hastened from point to point making a faithful distri- 
 bution of the secret circulars. At Hartford, they were 
 just putting up the guillotine, amidst a crowd of men and 
 boys — the women always appearing on the scene when blood 
 was to flow. But Willy was astonished to meet a familiar 
 face on the ground, superintending the erection of the en- 
 gine of death. This was Mr. Rook, formerly an agent of 
 the Post Office Department, and subsequently the deputy 
 postmaster at Hartford. Willy had seen him in the ante- 
 rooms of the President and of the Postmaster General, at 
 Washington ; and it was somewhat notorious that he con- 
 trived to hold office under different administrations of dif- 
 ferent politics. But whatever might have been his princi- 
 ples, he had certainly professed to be an admirer of Presi- 
 dent Randolph, and a supporter of his administration up to 
 the period of the rupture of the sections ; and, therefore, 
 Willy's amazement was great on beholding this politician 
 directing the construction of one of the Protector's guillo- 
 tines on Hartford common. Upon inquiry he learned that 
 Rook had abandoned the Federal cause immediately after 
 the battle of Burlington, and being among the first appli- 
 cants for office under the new regime, he had obtained a 
 commission from the Northern Convention when it re-Sa- 
 sambled in New York, and so congratulated himself on his 
 ability to retain his position. He had gone further, and 
 opened a correspondence with Virus, as soon as he learned 
 he was high in the favor of Ruffleton, and proposed to fur- 
 nish the names of such of his neighbors as had sympathized 
 with the Democracy. That he had acted with the same 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 301 
 
 p^rty himself, he admitted ; but he asseverated very vehe 
 mently that he was never sincere in his professions of sym- 
 pathy with the Slave Power, but used a justifiable deceit for 
 the purpose of injuring the party. To him, therefore, the 
 guillotine was consigned, and also the commissions for the 
 members of the Tribunal of Tiieeb, and for the prosecutor. 
 These commissions were still retained in his office unopened, 
 and he did not doubt the ones he recommended had been ap- 
 pointed, and from whom it was his intention to exact a large 
 bonus for the effectual exertion of his influence in the pro- 
 curation of such lucrative appointments. 
 
 " Mr. Rook," said Willy, when the former recognised 
 him, and grasped his hand in a friendly manner, " have you 
 turned against the President ?" 
 
 " Pooh ! Don't you know the jig's up ? If you can't 
 go the whole for Ruffleton and the North, don't name poli- 
 tics here, or your head'll be off before you can wink 
 twice." 
 
 " But are you not a Democrat ?" 
 
 "Demo-devil! I'm a Northerner, and dead against 
 slavery! Come! I'm going to deliver the commissions, 
 and a Court will be held and some heads cut off in an hour. 
 They want me to say who's to be judges and prosecutor, 
 before the package is broken open, but — ^you understand — 
 I wunt do't ! I want a little private chat with some on 'em 
 fii"St. Come ! a large crowd will meet at my office to learn 
 who's got the appointments." Willy followed, and ob- 
 served that Rook called aside the men who he supposed 
 were to be commissioned, with whom, doubtless, satisfac- 
 tory agreements were made in relation to the bonuses or 
 -commissions; and then, at the hour appointed by Virus,, 
 the seals were broken in the midst of the assembled poUr 
 t^cians. 
 
 But the Judges — ^The Three — ^were very different men 
 from those designated by Rook ; and the Prosecutor was 
 his most bitter enemy. A death-like silence prevailed, and 
 was only interrupted by one of the Judges, who read from 
 his instructions, that he was required to repair immediately 
 to the Court-room, and being first sworn in by any magis- 
 trate, the Tribunal was to proceed instantly to arrest and 
 try certain individuals whose names were in the possession 
 of the Prosecutor ! 
 
302 THE KXECUTIOXS. 
 
 All eyes were directed towards the Prosecutor. With a 
 pale face, and globules of persiju-ation projecting from his 
 forehead, he stared at the paper clutched convulsively ia 
 his hand. 
 
 " Come, Rook !" said he, at length, placing his hand on 
 the Postmaster's shoulder. 
 
 " What for ? Where to ?" asked the time-serving func- 
 tionary. 
 
 " To the Court." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 " To be tried. Your name is first on the list. Come !" 
 
 " I wunt ! I'm Mr. Virus's confidential correspondent." 
 
 ' But, unfortunately for you, he has other correspondents 
 here whose statements are better worthy of belief. So ha 
 thinks." 
 
 " I know better ! No one's written him from Hartford 
 but myself. No letter has been mailed " 
 
 "True, at Hartford. But they were sent to Norwich, 
 You are caught, Rook ! Come along." 
 
 " I wunt !" 
 
 "Gentlemen !" said the Prosecutor, "I call upon you to 
 aid me in dragging this ofiender to justice. You can now 
 prove whether you are the friends or the enemies of the 
 new Government ! Mr. Virus says that Rook has attempted 
 a deception. He has recommended only traitors to the 
 North for exalted positions, and marked none but its 
 friends for destruction. The three Judges and myself were 
 proscribed by him. We see, now, how dangerous a thing 
 it is to practise any species of deception !" 
 
 Within an hour the Theee had condemned Rook to die. 
 He was the first to sufier by the instrument he had erected 
 for the destruction of others. And even when they drag- 
 ged him upon the platform, and placed his neck beneath 
 the glittering steel, he did nothing but repeat the words, 
 " I wunt ! I wunt !" 
 
 Amidst such scenes of summary punishment and terror, 
 there could be no open manifestations of patriotism in New 
 England ; and Willy did not linger long in it. But he ob- 
 served with many painful forebod^gs that the lives and the 
 fortunes of the entire population were completely at the 
 disposal of the despot, Ruffleton, who would use them for the 
 destruction of the Republic and the subjugation of the South. 
 
THE EXBCUnOXS. 303 
 
 Upon his return to New York, Willy hastened to Mr. 
 Lex and reported all he had seen and done. His mis- 
 sion had been performed with judgment and effect, and 
 elieited the encomiums of the patriot. 
 
 Willy next repaired to the City Hall. 
 
 " Well, sir," said ,Ruffleton, " have you finished your 
 travels ? I suppose you have seen all the sights ?" 
 
 "Wiry Willy has seen a great many; and he's tired of 
 seeing men's heads chopped off." 
 
 "Ay — that appalled you. And did it not others?" 
 
 "Yes, indeed! There ain't a man between here and 
 Boston fool enough to wag his tongue against General Ruf 
 fleton." 
 
 " Aha ! And it will soon be the same thing between hare 
 and New Orleans, and between the Atlantic and the 
 Pacific," 
 
 "Are there to be guillotines in the South, too ?" 
 
 " Yes, and bayonets ! Do you intend returning to the 
 South ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, right off— for I'm getting homesick, and sick 
 of the guillotine. It's a horrible thing, sir !" 
 
 " Just the reverse, Willy, " said Rufflleton, laughing 
 heartily. " It is a capital invention to keep men in order. 
 Since I had the editor's head cut off, not a newspaper has 
 printed a word against my government, or an offensive 
 allusion to myself. Tell Mary I shall not have the time, if 
 I had the disposition to annoy her more. All the pretty 
 women in the city are attendants at my levees. Be my 
 friend, Willy, and I will take care of you. All power is in 
 my hands ; all patronage is at my disposal ; and all fortunes 
 at my feet." 
 
 "All I ask. General," said Willy, "is to be permitted to 
 live in peace with my good grandame on the Brandywine." 
 
 " And with Mary ! Tell her, if she don't marry you im- 
 mediately, I'll give her away to one of my officers." 
 
 " And your soldiers wUl never trouble us on the Brandy- 
 wine ?" 
 
 "No_. Or tf they do they shall die for it. Holdl I 
 will write a protection for you that will suffice. They tell 
 me that my signature is regarded with reverence every- 
 where." 
 
 "Awful reverence!" said Willy. And, while the Pro 
 20 
 
304 THB EXBCUnONS. 
 
 tector was about to write, Willy described the loots ana 
 actions of those to whom he had exhibited the Dictator's 
 autograph ; and the despot seemed pleased and amused. 
 
 " There, Willy 1 That will be ample protection for you 
 and Mary. Exhibit this to any one, and you'll acknowledge 
 that Ruffleton is truly a Protector. But, in return, you 
 must do me a favor. I cannot hear from Lord Slysir, and 
 perhaps my despatches to him are intercepted. Can you go 
 to him ?" 
 
 "Certainly, sir; nobody troubles Willy, since General 
 Crook was going to hang him. I can go where I please and 
 come when I please. I'll take any letter to Lord Slysir, for 
 you ; and, if he asks me, I'll bring back here to you his 
 answer." 
 
 " Thank you, Willy ; but it -vvill not be necessary to come 
 this far back. I shall move closer to him in a few days." 
 
 " And will you put up a guillotine in Philadelphia, too ?" 
 asked Willy, quickly. 
 
 " No, I think not. The Philadelphians have agreed to 
 let the army pass through the city ; and I have promised not 
 to disarm their military. I shall not molest them imme- 
 diately, if they do not oppose my measures. Call again an 
 hour hence, Willy, when my letters will be ready. But 
 will they not search you ?" 
 
 " Search Wiry Willy ? No indeed. If they search me, 
 I won't take any letters for them when they want me." 
 
 " True — you serve all." 
 
 " I do so — and that's the reason nobody hurts me. If I 
 don't deliver your letter safely into Lord Slysir's hand, you 
 may cut off Wiry Willy's head, and he'll never think hard 
 of it. That is, if his Lordship is stiU there — at the mansion." 
 
 " No doubt he's there. Besides his bruises, I'm inclined 
 to think he has a wound of the heart, from one of his ex- 
 pressions." 
 
 "Won't that kill him, sir ?" 
 
 " No — ^no ! Call an hour hence." 
 
 Willy withdrew, and loitered an hour in the Park, where 
 he witnessed the decapitation of eleven victims. 
 
 Returning to the Protector's closet at the time appointed, 
 the heart-sick messenger received the letters directed to 
 Lord Slysir with trembling hands, and then hurried away 
 from the terrible city. ' 
 
TBS ExxcunoiTS. 805 
 
 In New Jersey Willy experienced no dimimition of his 
 terrors. The raUroads and canals had been seized for the 
 use of the Protector, and in his name ; and the freight 
 transported southward consisted exclusively of military 
 stores, arms, and ammunition. 
 
 Willy hastened to the head-quarters of Randolph. He 
 was admitted into the office, where he found Summers 
 writing, and the President dictating. The clerk seemed 
 startled on beholding Willy ; and a moment after, by per- 
 mission, he withdrew. 
 
 " This day, Willy," said Randolph, " I looked for your 
 return. You need not tell me what you have seen and 
 heard. I have been apprised of everything — even to the 
 heroism of poor S . But you have rendered good ser- 
 vice in distributing the circulars." 
 
 "/You certainly could not have heard what Major S 
 
 wh^pcred in my ear just before he suffered," said WiUy. 
 
 " No. But it was observed by my correspondent. Was 
 it a message for me ?" ' 
 
 " It was a warning, sir — ^he told me to say that he doubted 
 the fidelity of Summers." 
 
 " Summers ! He is the most expeditious penman I ever 
 saw." 
 
 " Therefore, it was supposed he might find employment 
 near your person. The Major died believing he had been 
 betrayed by Summers. Still General Ruffleton denounces 
 him, and likewise warns you against trusting him." 
 
 "Indeed! Well. Deliver your letters, Willy. You 
 will find Lord Slysir in his chamber, not yet quite recovered." 
 
 "WUl you not inspect them, sir? General Ruffleton 
 never hesitates to break your seals." 
 
 " No. I care not what they contain." 
 
 The President resumed his labors, calling in another 
 Secretary, while Willy repaired to his Lordship's chamber. 
 As he was about to enter the door, he was met by Summers, 
 and his suspicions were confirmed. 
 
 " Summers," said he, pausing, when the Secretary had - 
 closed the door behind him, "you do not seem curious to 
 hear tidings fi-om the Lord Protector." 
 
 "The Lord protect us from such a Protector ! No. If 
 I could only be deprived of the power of thinking of such 
 a monster I would be happier." 
 
306 THE EXKUUTlOirS, 
 
 " And do you know, Charley, that he swears vengeance 
 against you, if it should ever be in his power to " 
 
 " You frighten me to death ! But, Willy, he shall never 
 have me in his power again ! I will die first !" 
 
 "I suppose, Charley, you have heard of the death of 
 Majors ?" 
 
 " No !" said Summers, starting back, in apparent amaze- 
 ment. " I am sorry. I am sorry, because he was the Pre- 
 sident's fi'iend, and my friend, and a patriot. Was he guil- 
 lotined ?» 
 
 " He was." 
 
 " Another victim ! What punishment will be adequate 
 for the crimes of the tyrant ! And, Willy, it may be pos- 
 sible that poor S supposed I had some agency in pre- 
 cipitating his doom ! But the letter he gave me for the 
 President was perused by nobody before it was delivered 
 to the one to whom it was directed." 
 
 Willy mused in doubt. And then abruptly entered the 
 apartment of Lord Slysir. 
 
 " Ah ! I was expecting you !" said his Lordship, eagerly 
 seizing the sealed packet. " This has not been opened, I 
 think! Has it, Willy?" 
 
 " 'No, sir, upon my honor. The President declined pe- 
 rusing it." 
 
 " He is a most extraordinary man ! And the most impor- 
 tant dispatches from my government intercepted by his 
 agents, after perusal, nevertheless, are punctually delivered. 
 By St. George ! it is well for me to have my residence in the 
 camp of the enemy. Such documents would not come into 
 my possession at all, if I dwelt elsewhere. Stay, Willy. How 
 dqes the General look? Does he seem in health and 
 spirits ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir ! The guillotine has made him complete 
 master of all the Northern people. He is Protector, and 
 some call him Lord Protector." 
 
 " That is as good a name as any. But if I had been with 
 him, I should have protested against that Frenchified instru- 
 ment. It will not do for Anglo-Saxons. Cromwell had 
 nothing of the sort. But he seemed determined to pro- 
 secute the war, did he ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, sir ! And he has the largest army, so they say, 
 in the world. New Jersey is alive with soldiers. And I 
 
BTAETLING INTELLIGBKCK. 807 
 
 heard a Quaker declare it would be a desert when they 
 left it with their trains of provisions." 
 
 " That is likely." 
 
 "Every .hoi-se and waggon ; every ox, cow, pig ; and 
 all the poultry, the Quaker said, had been taken. --Not 
 even the vegetables are spared 1 And there is not a fence 
 standing between Amboy and Camden." 
 
 " "What have they done with the fences ? Could they eat 
 them ?" 
 
 " No, sir — but they burnt them — ^burnt them as firewood. 
 In the encampments they can't nse coal — and there are 
 thousands of bakers making biscuits for the army." 
 
 " Incidents — ^the mere incidents of war ! Come to me 
 again, Willy, for your reward." 
 
 "I desii'e none, sii-," said Willy, withdrawing. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVin. 
 
 STAETLING INTELLIGENCE. 
 
 It was late at night, and the company which usually as- 
 sembled at the mansion occupied by the President, had 
 departed. But Randolph was still laboring in his oflSce, 
 alone, for one after another the secretaries had retired ex- 
 hausted to their couches. 
 
 At length he threw down the pen, and rising erect, strode 
 backwards and forwards, pausing occasionally at the differ- 
 ent windows and gazing out at the moonlit lawn, redolent 
 of the perfiime of roses. The scene was silent and peaceful, 
 
 " How calm and quiet, now !" said he, while a melancholy 
 smile rested on his manly lip. "But soon the incessant 
 tramping of armed men, and the rumbling of artillery car- 
 riages, will frighten peace from the land ! I did my utmost 
 to avert it. When the tempest is expended, the trees that 
 are not riven rise again. Our young Republic is flexible : 
 and it is the mission of our race to rule the world. We 
 have too much intelligence to destroy ourselves. Yes — ^this 
 hurricane will expend itself, and only sweep away the nox. 
 
308 STAETLIXO INTELLIGEtfCE. 
 
 xous plants among ua. We will rise again ! Ha !" he con- 
 tinned, hearing footsteps behind him, and on turning he was 
 confronted by Alice and Edith. " Come, fairies !" said he, 
 taking each by the hand, " my labor for the day, or night, is 
 at an end. Give me your smiles, as a guerdon — I have been 
 working for you and for all. But your father, Edith — ^how 
 is he?" 
 
 " Much better, sir. The doctor thinks he may venture to 
 travel in a day or two." 
 
 " It is well. For we must all abandon this place before 
 many days." 
 
 " Ah, father, I feared so !" said Alice, " But I had con- 
 ceived a project in the event of the prolonged illness of Mr. 
 Langdon " 
 
 " "What project was that ?" 
 
 " Oh, merely to defend him with my troop !" 
 
 "A project that, for the commander of the Caps!" said 
 Randolph, smiling. " Why, Alice, this place — I mean our 
 encampment — would be untenable with three hundred thou- 
 sand men to defend it." 
 
 " But would they molest Mr. Langdon ?" 
 
 " It would not be well to tempt them." 
 
 "Tempt them!" said Edith. 
 
 "Ay, you baggage !" said Randolph. "And ^vho would 
 not be tempted that saw you ?" 
 
 "Edith!" said Alice, "that is the first gallant speech I' 
 have heard my father utter for a whole week. But do not 
 fear him !" 
 
 " Fear him. I love him !" 
 
 " Then I will be your father, while my friend is ill. And 
 you must obey me." 
 
 " Oh, I will be as obedient as a daughter !" 
 
 " Then follow my example," said Alice, 
 
 "No," said Randolph, "not exactly. This is the first 
 injunction — weigh well the arguments that may be advanced 
 by a certain General, who loyally acknowledges the autho- 
 rity of the Chief Magistrate of his country, in favor of a 
 speedy union." 
 
 " I am very attentive," said Edith. 
 
 "The difficulty, father," said Alice, "may be this: the 
 loyal General does not " 
 
 " Peace !" cried Edith, placing her hand on the lips of 
 
STAETLING INTBLLISBKCB, 809 
 
 her friend. " I shall remember all you have said, sir ; and 
 ■will certainly listen very respectfully to whatever he may 
 have to allege on his own motion. But pray do not incite 
 him to anything !" 
 
 " 'No, Let him fight his own battles, say I !" was the 
 mocking response of Randolph. 
 
 " But, father'," said Alice, very gravely, " we come to im- 
 part a very serious matter. The words whispered in the 
 ear of Wiry Willy by Major S " 
 
 " And so you have learned that secret. But did not 
 Willy say he had previously imparted it to me ? So you 
 see it is no secret at all." 
 
 " But there is a secret, father, of which you have had no 
 intimation." 
 
 "I doubt it. Listen to me. I am perfectly aware of 
 the treasonable pui-poses of Summers on coming hither. I 
 have intercepted all his secret despatches for the despot, 
 which I have here in my private drawer," he continued, 
 taking a key from his vest pocket and exhibiting the papers. 
 " Nevertheless, I have continued to employ liim, for he is 
 an intelligent and expeditious penman. But I had another 
 object, which I confess has not been attained. I cannot un- 
 derstand his real chai-acter. He will not look at the future. 
 I cannot tempt him by the glittering inducements of a lofty 
 career." 
 
 " The secret, father, which we came to impart, will eluci- 
 date the mystery." 
 
 " Then what is this secret ?" 
 
 " Summers is a woman ?" 
 
 "A woman ! That, then, is the solution! I thought it 
 remarkable that I should be so baffled in the discovery of 
 the motives of a man. A woman !" 
 
 " Yes, father — he confessed the secret to Edith." 
 
 " And I promised not to divulge it," said Edith, "unless 
 it should seem to be demanded as an imperative duty. The 
 
 words of Major S at the guillotine have convinced me 
 
 that I ought not to withhold it longer. And since you have 
 incontestable evidence of his treachery, I unburden my bosom 
 without the slightest remorse." 
 
 "A woman! Ha! ha!" continued the President, laugh- 
 ing heartily. "I confess she was more than a match for 
 mel" 
 
SIO BTAETLrSfG INTELLIGENCB. 
 
 " And, father," said Alice, " you have been keeping her in 
 your employ when you had proof of her guilt 1 Every day 
 you were exposed to her murderous steel, or still more dia- 
 bolical poison !" 
 
 " I was interested in my experiment I But I was never 
 in danger. Her purpose of mischief was circumvented. 
 Our old friend Dr. Durnell confederated with me, and after ,• 
 administering chloroform, her pockets were searched, and 
 the poison discovered — " 
 
 " The wicked creature !" said Alice. 
 
 "The infamous wretch!" exclaimed Edith. "And to 
 make me a confidante !" 
 
 " For what purpose she carried the poison," continued 
 the President, "we could not know; and you can do nothing 
 more than conjecture. It might be her intention to commit 
 suicide. No matter. It was certain the poison could do 
 no one any possible good ; and so our wag of a doctor 
 emptied the vial of its deleterious contents, and substituted 
 a veiy innocent powder. Nevertheless, she is a woman ! 
 I will dismiss her immediately. There shall be no women, 
 no such women, about my offices. Let her be sent for." 
 
 The doorkeeper, answering the bell, was despatched to 
 the clerk's apartment with a peremptory summons, and soon 
 after Summers came in, and seemed surprised to find tha 
 young ladies with the President. 
 
 " Summers," said the President, handing him the inter- 
 cepted notes, " make me a copy of these in intelligibls 
 English." 
 
 " Sir — your Excellency — these — are in characters, invent- 
 ed for the purpose of baffling all not in possession of the 
 key." 
 
 " I will furnish the key," said Randolph, which he did, in 
 a moment, with his pen. 
 
 Then Summers felt that her pei-fidy was exposed. Tlnable 
 to utter another word, she folded her arms on her breast 
 and fixed her eyes on the floor. 
 
 '•I know not what to say. Summers," continued Ran- 
 dolph. " That you are my enemy, may be proof of your 
 fidelity to Ruffleton ; and fidelity is a quality I admire. I 
 have known your purpose to betray me for some time, and 
 was content to forestall your attempts, still hoping that 
 interest, if not inclination, would produce a change. It was 
 
STABTLINQ INTEIXISEITCB. 311 
 
 withoat avail. Your life is forfeited, but I pardon you on 
 account of your sex." 
 
 At the last word Summers started, and fixed her eyes re- 
 proachftilly, if not fiercely, on Edith. 
 
 " I have kept your secret," said Edith, " as long as I 
 could do so without self-reproach." 
 
 "Your pocket-book — give me your pocket-book, Sum- 
 mers !" demanded the President. 
 
 It was delivered promptly, while a half contemptuous 
 Bcowl seemed to animate the features of the culprit. 
 
 " Oh, don't suppose I mean to deprive you of your money," 
 said Randolph, smiling. " You shaU have your wages. I 
 am in quest of something else," he continued, examining the 
 book. " But I find nothing here. Yes ! what is this in the 
 vial? Silent! I will find out!" Turning to the salver, 
 Kandolph emptied the contents of the vial into a glass, and 
 pouring in some water, raised the tumbler to his lips and 
 swallowed the mixture. 
 
 " Dead ! dead !" cried Summers. " Nothing on earth can 
 save him ! You may kill me — ^but I have destroyed the 
 enemy of the man I love! Yes! I love Ruffleton!" she 
 continued, confronting Edith. "You may betray that 
 secret also ! And if he should love others, no other can 
 serve him so weU as the lost Flora has done ! Call in the 
 guards ! Let me die — I fear not death. Edith Langdon ! 
 once I thought you were the cause of Ruffleton's cold- 
 ness. If it had been so, ere this you would have been cold in 
 the grave. But the first hour convinced me of the mis- 
 take " 
 
 "I am obliged to you !» said Edith. " Your keen pene- 
 tration was not at fault. Without at all meaning to put an 
 estimate on your standard of appreciation, you will al- 
 low me to say thati would much rather be cold in my grave 
 than to have my afiections centred on Ruffleton — ^the dia- 
 bolical monster !" 
 
 " Enough of this !" said the President. " Summers, the 
 venom was extracted by the good Dr. Dumcl. I have 
 swallowed only a dose of sugar. Return to your room. 
 In the morning I will send you beyond the lines, so that 
 you may go in safety to your paramour. Tell him my time 
 has not yet come, if, indeed, he counselled my assassination." 
 
 The young ladies lingered some time after the depai-ture 
 
312 STAETLING IKTKIJ,IGENCB. 
 
 of Summers, promenading with the Pi'csident, when sud 
 deiily the hoofs of approaching Iiorses were heard. 
 
 "At this houi-," said Randolph, pausing and listening, 
 " the approach of horsemen is a little extraordinary. It 
 must be some of the Generals." 
 
 " It may be an attack," said Alice. " It was here that 
 Major Snare perpetrated his attempt. We will remain, 
 father, with your permission." 
 
 " Which predominates — fear or curiosity ? Answer me 
 that, before I respond to your very ingenuous petition." 
 
 " The former," said Alice. 
 
 " For my part, the latter," said Edith. 
 
 A moment after the door was thrown open, and Generals 
 Blount, Crook, and Valiant entered. 
 
 " I hope your Excellency, and the fairest of the fair," 
 said Crook, " will pardon our intrusion. This is the second 
 time we have gallopped up to the mansion to-night." 
 
 " General Crook," said Alice, " was never yet accused 
 of an intrusion by any fair lady. He may scourge the Abo- 
 litionists, quarter himself upon the hypocritical Quakers, or 
 demand millions of indemnity from a city that harbors cle- 
 rical negro-stealers and licentious editors ; but, in war, all 
 this is very fair !" 
 
 " Cease, parrot !" said the President. " Now, General, 
 the news !" he added, turning to Blount, who, with less 
 gallantry than gravity, remained mute under the fire of 
 Edith's eyes, beaming now with curiosity. 
 
 " Messengers have arrived with intelligence that a junc- 
 tion of the Westei'n armies has been formed at Cumber- 
 land: and that the combined British and Abolition forces 
 are marching eastward along the Pennsylvania line. They 
 are, at this moment, nearer to Washington than ourselves." 
 
 " Where are they ?" asked the President. 
 
 " General Line was at Emmitsburg, some fifteen hours 
 ago, when the express started." 
 
 " How far is that ?" asked Edith. 
 
 " Nearly a hundred miles," said Blount. 
 
 "They will hardly reach us to-night," said the President. 
 "General," he continued, "this movement indicates that 
 Ruffleton intends to put his army in motion immediately. 
 Sir Charles Hunt and General Line would not expose them- 
 selves to our blows without an assurance of succor from the 
 
STARTLING INTELUGENCE. 813 
 
 mam ai-my of fanatics, Never I We might beat them, it 
 is true^ before the succor could arrive ; but then Ruffleton 
 would interpose between us and the Capital." 
 
 "Do you hear?" said Valiant, addressing Crook, "we 
 shall be overruled !" 
 
 Valiant and Crook had been decidedly in favor of an 
 attack upon Sir Charles Hunt and General Line, without 
 awaiting the motions of Ruffleton. 
 
 " I do not say, gentlemen," continued Randolph, " that 
 we wiU not fight these "Western foes ; they may begin the 
 attack, and then, with anything like equal numbers, it would 
 not do to yield them the prestige of success. My opinion 
 is, that you should march away with all expedition, and 
 occupy Westnainster. That position will be a temporary 
 defence of the Capital. I will retain 50,000 men with which 
 to watch Ruffleton." 
 
 "I Concur fully with your Excellency," said Blount. 
 " Not a moment must be lost, Generals. Brief adieus and 
 then away." 
 
 "I'll begin here," said Crook, kissing both the maidens, 
 and then hurrying up stairs to take leave of Mr. Langdon. 
 He was followed by Valiant, while Blount remained with 
 the President. 
 
 " General," said the President, " prompt action is quite 
 as imperative now as prompt decision. I had, however, 
 anticipated such an exigency in the event of this manoeu- 
 vre. In ten minutes I will have the necessary orders signed ; 
 and in the meantime you can utter your adieus to the 
 ladies." Saying this, Randolph turned to his papers. 
 
 Blount, giving an arm to each of the ladies, led them into 
 the great saloon, then silent and deserted, but Uluminated 
 by the silver rays of the moon, streaming in from several 
 windows. 
 
 " Is it to be a sad or merry parting ?" asked Alice. " If 
 the former, pray take leave of us singly, that we may not 
 witness each other's tears." 
 
 "You are in a merry mood," said Edith. 
 
 " And you ?" said Blount. 
 
 "My equanimity remains. There have been so many 
 partings and meetings during the hurly-burly of the last 
 few weeks, that I am becoming accustomed to them. I 
 doubt not we shall meet again." 
 
 14 
 
314 STAETLINa INTELLIGEITCE. 
 
 " And in sunshine, I trust." 
 
 " I predict in thunder, lightning, and in rain," said Alice. 
 " Ruffleton is on the other side of an impassable gulf, but 
 on this side of it we have stUl a formidable suitor." 
 
 " His Lordship ?" asked Blount. 
 
 " Yes — his Lordship !" said Edith ; " he has proposed to 
 open negotiations for my hand. My heart is not thought 
 o£ He has intimated a disposition to treat on the basis of 
 an alliance of interests. Imprimis : My father is to throw 
 his weight in the Northern scale, and I am to relinquish all 
 predilections for the Republic. The equivalent is to have 
 conferred on me the title of her Ladyship immediately, with 
 the presumptive reversion of her Grace, if a certain uncle 
 over the wide water should happen to die without' heirs. 
 Think of that, Master Brook !" 
 
 " Oh, that is only half the story !" said Alice. " His 
 Lordship's Machiavelism is infinite in resources. He has 
 tempted me with a glimpse of one of the most magnificent , 
 phantoms that ever flitted athwart the dreams of an Ame- 
 rican maiden. If I will bring my father to the relief of the 
 crumbling monarchies, he shall not only reign himself, but 
 my liege Lord, who is to be one of the heavy-cheeked 
 Princes of England, will succeed! Think of that and 
 tremble, ye champions of American liberty ! The insensate 
 fool !" she continued, her lip trembling with momentary 
 passion. " But with him, as with others, diplomacy is a 
 game, and all the objects of life are made subsidiary. Ar- 
 mies, people, states, and even poor simple maidens, are 
 coldly advanced on the board, or remorselessly removed 
 from it, like so many pawns and rooks. I told his Lordship 
 as much ; and I said he had confronted one American lady 
 at least, who could not be moved in that manner !" 
 ' " And did he not say that you were not the ordi/ one ?" 
 asked Edith. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! He called you, too, incorrigible, Edith. But 
 mind you, he made no accusation against the sensibility/ of 
 either of us. He attributed everything to our education. 
 He charged the Bishop with making heroines, Republican 
 matrons. Spartan dames, and everything else which we had 
 been taught to consider grand and glorious." 
 
 " Nor did he slander him," said Edith. 
 
 " Farewell— farewell I" said Blount, upon hearing Crook 
 
STAETUNG ESTEIilGENCE. 815 
 
 and Valiant promenading impatiently on the porch. " The 
 President calls. We shall meet again before the lapse of 
 many days. But not here. Yes, let us be merry, if we can, 
 in the midst of disasters, if they must come." 
 
 " And come they must," said Alice. 
 
 " But they will pass away," said Edith, " and we shall 
 then have a clearer atmosphere." 
 
 " God grant it !" said Blount. " And I think he will. 
 And you will be the priestesses at the altar of Patriotism, 
 to keep alive the holy flame. Adieu !" 
 
 The ladies retired to their apartments, and the General 
 retmned to the President's cabinet. 
 
 " Be seated a moment, General," said Randolph, upon 
 piacing in his hands the documents he had been preparing. 
 " I understand that you fully approve the policy of occupy- 
 ing Westminster?" 
 
 " I regard it as a necessity," said Blount. " Without 
 doing so our retreat would be cut off." 
 
 " True, General," said Randolph. " And by getting in 
 the rear of Ruffleton, we could not intercept his commu- 
 nications so long as he has fleets in the bays and along the 
 ocean coast. He would be rejoiced to leave us behind, on 
 the deserted Pennsylvania line ! He would proceed south- 
 ward, conquering and to conquer ! The North expects it 
 of him; and the South looks for us to face the invader. We 
 might, I think we would, gain one or two victories, by sud- 
 denly marching against Sir Charles and Line ; but then be- 
 fore we could reap the fruits of them, RuflSeton would be 
 thundeiing in our rear! He would be but a single march 
 behind us. No ! we are not prepared to meet the foe in a 
 decasive battle this far North, and particularly when there 
 is such a disparity of numbers. Our new levies are in the 
 dep6ts, drilling for the campaign; and if we can have 
 100,000 recruits in the District of Columbia, a week hence, 
 my expectations will be more than realized." 
 
 " In everything we agree !" said Blount. " It would be 
 madness to seek an engagement here with at least four to 
 one against us. A defeat would dampen the spirits of our 
 bra.Te men, and might lead to a long train of disasters. It 
 is bad enough at best. I see no other alternative but to 
 retire before a foe of such numerical superiority. When 
 Ruffleton shall have followed us into our coauitry, and 
 
316 ADVANCE OP THE INTADIS-G AEMT. 
 
 departed far from his own, we shall be better able to 
 strike him a fatal blow. The Capital must fall into his 
 hands!" 
 
 "It fell into the hands of the British. Rome, Paris, Vi- 
 enna, Berlin, Naples, Moscow, Lisbon, and Madrid have 
 shared the same fate. Abandoned by the Government, the 
 Capital is no more than any other untenable city. But 
 Ruffleton cannot hold it long, and we must not provoke 
 him to destroy it — or Baltimore. Go, General. I think 
 Hunt and Line will pause at Emmitsburg." 
 
 "I do not think they will attack me at Westminster. 
 But if they do, you wUl, of course, keep RuflSeton at bay 
 long enough to give me an opportunity to repel the assaiilt. 
 Adieu." 
 
 Blount was soon after gallopping away. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 ADVANCE OP THE INVADING AEMT. 
 
 Blount, and Crook, and Valiant led their columns, by 
 forced marches, to "Westminster, Maryland ; and Sir Charles 
 Hunt and General Line being indisposed to risk a battle be- 
 fore uniting with the host under Ruffleton, although they 
 had advanced several miles east of Emmitsburg, fell baci 
 on that town. The Southern generals did not pursue. 
 
 But the very next day after the departure of Blount from 
 Newcastle, the Northern army of New Jersey was put in 
 motion, and crossed the Delaware to Philadelphia. 
 
 President Randolph having no means of arresting the ad- 
 vance of such overwhelming numbers, retired across the 
 Susquehanna at Havre de Grace. 
 
 Lord Slysir, still alleging that he was sore and stiff from 
 the jolting inflicted by the hard-trotting horse of Captain 
 Bim, pleaded inability to travel, and Randolph left him in 
 possession of the mansion, at liberty to remain or to join his 
 ally. Senator Langdon, nearly recovered from his recent 
 iadisposition, had proceeded, with Edith, on the railroad to 
 
ADVANCK OP XHB INVADING AKMY. 317 
 
 Washington. Why Willy and Maiy were married by one 
 of the chaplains of the army ; and, after the ceremony, pro- 
 ceeded immediately to the peaceful cottage of Willy's gran- 
 dame on the Brandywine. Alice had prevailed on her 
 father to permit her to remain at his head-quarters, at 
 least until there should be a probability of a serious engage- 
 ment. 
 
 The most commodious mansion in the vicinity had been 
 tendered the President as his head-quarters — the proprietor 
 alleging his purpose to set fire to it whenever the invaders 
 succeeded in crossing the Susquehanna. 
 
 At a late hour, but while the President still prosecuted 
 his labors, Captain Bim made his appearance at the door. 
 Alice, who was the first to perceive the presence of the 
 embarrassed and bashful Captain, beckoned him to ad- 
 vance. 
 
 " Captain Bim," said Randolph, " I am glad to see 
 you, because there is a very dangerous service to be per- 
 lormed." 
 
 " I thank your Excellency," said the hearty Captain. 
 
 " I shall thank you if you perform this sei-vioe well." 
 
 "If it is to die, sir—" 
 
 " No — ^no ! K you die you cannot serve me." 
 
 " I mean, your Excellency," stammered Bim. 
 
 " He intended to say," observed Alice, " that he would 
 be willing to die to serve you. And he certainly would die 
 rather than refuse any service." 
 
 " That's it," said Bim, mentally blessing Alice. " I would 
 die with the greatest pleasure — " 
 
 " Not a word now about dying," said the President, smil- 
 ing. " But the service is this : I desire you to take a hun- 
 dred picked men to act as scouts, and give me the earliest m- 
 formation of the enemy's purpose to cross the river. If you 
 can defeat or frustrate the pioneers, the crossing of the army 
 will be retarded, and the delay may be of vast benefit to the 
 country." 
 
 "If you will only permit me to fight — " 
 
 " To fight ! Oh, you may have carte hlancJie as it regards 
 that." 
 
 " A cart, your Excellency — ^" 
 
 " Captain, he means fuU liberty to do your utmost. I 
 believe you are not conversant with the French language."^ 
 
818 ADVANCE OF THE INVADING AEMT. 
 
 " ifo — I confess I have no sort of education in the lan- 
 
 fuages. I thank you, Miss Alice ! Then, your Excellency, 
 ■wiU do my best ! But the errand I have come on — " 
 
 "True, I had not sent for you, although I intended doing 
 BO. What was your errand, Captain ?" 
 
 " It was to ask permission to introduce, at his own special 
 request. Captain Fink ?" 
 
 " Captain Fink ! Valiant declares I know the names of 
 aU the commissioned oflBcers in the army — ^but of this one I 
 confess I have no recollection. Have you, Alice ?" 
 
 " Captain Fink t Fink ! No — ^I don't recollect hearing 
 the name before." 
 
 "I'm sure you never did, either of you," said Bim, 
 "because he's just arrived." 
 
 " Just arrived ? And where from ?" demanded the 
 President. 
 
 " From the Lamine, sir." 
 
 " The Lamine ? Where is that ?" 
 
 " In Missouri, sir." 
 
 " In Missouri ? And do you intend to say that Captain 
 Fink has come all the way from Missouri to serve his coun- 
 try under my banner ?" 
 
 "I do, by — jing ! And J would go to the devil to serve 
 you! Oh, pardon me. Miss — ^I didn't think what I was 
 saying !" 
 
 " Show him in, Bim !" 
 
 " If this be so, father !" said Alice, " I hope you will 
 convince him that you appreciate such devotion !" 
 
 Bim re-entered, but Captain Fink still lingered outside. 
 
 " Where is he ?" asked the President. 
 
 "He wants me just to say, before he comes in," said 
 Bim, " that he's almost ashamed to appear without some 
 kind of uniform worn by other Captains, and he hopes 
 you'll excuse his wild Western shirt," 
 
 " Shirt ?" said Alice. 
 
 " Yes, Miss. His coat's a shirt ; and he says his men all 
 wear the same — ^I beg your pardon, Miss," — stammered 
 Bim, and at the same time blushing — "I didn't mean to 
 allude to his under-shirt — I mean the shirt under his other 
 clothes — ^but — " 
 
 " You mean a hunting-shirt," said Eandolph. " Call him 
 in." 
 
ADVANCE OF THE INVADING ARMY. 819 
 
 "Yes, your Excellency," said Bim, retiring again, "a 
 buckskin hunting-shirt." 
 
 At last Captain Fink was ushered in. He was full six 
 feet four inches in height, erect in stature, and although not 
 encumbered with flesh, was broad-shouldered and muscular. 
 Ilis hunting-shirt of dressed buckskin was encircled by an 
 old leather belt, in which was stuck a butcher knife. He 
 wore a coonskin cap with the tail of the animal standing 
 up in front, and his feet wore enclosed in moccasins. The 
 face of the Captain was benevolent — but in the centrp of 
 his right eye-brow there was a white spot. 
 
 " Captain Fink," said Randolph, " I understand you come 
 from Missouri." 
 
 "From the Lamine, in Missouri, an hour's trot above 
 BoonyiUe. Here is a letter for you, sir." 
 
 The President broke the seal, and recognised the hand 
 of a friend — ^the member of Congress representing the dis- 
 trict. He spoke in favorable terms of Captain Fink, and 
 of the men composing his company. 
 
 " Captain," said Randolph, " it appears that you have a 
 company of volunteers in Missouri." 
 
 " No, sir !" said the Captain. " They are here, and true 
 men, sir, as ever drew a tomahawk." 
 
 " Tomahawk ?" asked Alice. 
 
 "That means the same in Missouri," said Fink, "that 
 drawing the sword does in these parts." 
 
 " What is your company called, Captain ?" 
 
 " Called ? Oh, the Boonvillians used to call us the 'Wild 
 Western Scouts.' " 
 
 " The name will do very well. Captain," said the Presi- 
 dent, " and you are the very man I want at this particular 
 juncture !" 
 
 " How many men have you ?" 
 
 " Ninety-eight besides Lieutenant Click. I make up the 
 hundred." 
 
 " Go with them. Captain Bim, when they are refreshed,* 
 on the service I have indicated. Two hundred men will 
 not be superfluous." 
 
 " We're not tired, or hungry, or sleepy," said Captain 
 Fink. 
 
 " Then set out immediately." 
 
 " That's what I like !" said Fink. 
 21 
 
320 BATTLE AT THE BEIDGES. 
 
 " And send me word of all the movements of the enemy," 
 said Randolph. 
 The two Captains then departed. 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 BATTLE AT THE BRIDGES. 
 
 At sunrise, Bim and his men, and the Wild Western 
 Scouts, were posted up the river, watching every point 
 where the enemy would be likely to appear. ISTor did they 
 wait long before parties of the Northern army made their 
 appearance on the opposite shore. These were mounted on 
 horses, and rode backwards and forwards along the margin 
 of the river, until they decided upon the place of passage. 
 
 The place once chosen, operations began immediately. 
 More than fifty thousand men were soon upon the bank 
 engaged in putting together the bridges which Ruffleton 
 had provided. The first section (and three distinct bridges 
 were commenced at the same time) being launched and held 
 fast by stakes and anchors, the subsequent sections were 
 taken over them and thrust forth from the ends furthest 
 out in the stream, and secured in a similar manner. 
 
 This occurred some ten miles above Havre de Grace, and 
 Bim dispatched a messenger with the intelligence to the 
 President. Then he and Fink concentrated their men on 
 the southern shore, among the trees and bushes. As had 
 been foreseen, it was necessary to send a numjper of pioneers 
 to the southern shore, where the current was the swiftest 
 and the deepest, to make fast the cables or chains and to 
 provide a landing-place. And soon a number of small 
 boats, brought thither in wagons, containing two or three 
 hundred men, approached the grove where the Scouts lay 
 in ambush. t 
 
 " Captain Bim," said Fink, " my Scouts are all beef-win- 
 ning marksmen, and we have Minie rifles. Those hand- 
 somely dressed enemies are about nigh enough for us to 
 pink 'em over. Shall we begin the fun ?" 
 
BATTLE AT TIIE BRIDGES. 321 
 
 • "N"o, Captain," said Bim, who felt proud of his superior 
 knowledge of the military art. " Don't you see the bat- 
 tery ?" 
 
 " Yes — that is a battery !" replied Fink, gazing at a 
 formidable array of artillery carriages on the summit of the 
 opposite bank. 
 
 " Well, then. Captain," said Bim, " if we fire on this 
 party coming over to us before they land, we shall have a 
 salute or two from that row of cannon. But if we suffer 
 these gentlemen to land before we give them a welcome, 
 then the artillery can't fire on us without firing into them 
 also. Do you see ?" 
 
 "Exactly, Captain Bim! I have had no experience 
 fighting with the big guns. But now I see how it's to be 
 done. We must use our tomahawks and knives ; and we 
 must meet them out there in the grass." Between the 
 grove and the water there was a patch of high grass. 
 
 " But how can we get there without being seen ?" asked 
 Bim. 
 
 " How ? I'll give the order. Scouts !" said he, " Squat ! 
 Snake !" 
 
 His order was promptly obeyed, and the Wild Western 
 Scouts sank out of sight, and the tall grass was moved but 
 slightly as they glided through it like so many snakes. 
 
 " I and my men can't do that !" said Bim. "And they 
 wouldn't if they could. No, by George ! But we'll join 
 you when the battle begins. We'll dash in with our 
 swords. But you must excuse us if we can't approach the 
 enemy like snakes." 
 
 " Do as you like. Captain Bim," said Fink ; " But I'd 
 rather be taking Abolition scalps than talking .here." Say- 
 ing this, Fink joined his men in the grass, where they 
 awaited the arrival of the unconscious foe. 
 
 The Northern Pioneers and Engineers were soon landed 
 on the Southern shore. But they had not proceeded many 
 paces in the tall grass before Captain Fink yelled out " Into 
 'em Scouts, and give 'em " A moment after a hun- 
 dred tomahawks had stricken down that number of men. 
 Bim rushed forward at the head of his company and com- 
 pleted the work begun by the Scouts. A few pistol shots 
 only were fired ; and Ruffleton, who sat upon his white 
 horse, telescope in hand, could hardly distinguish the nature 
 
 14* 
 
322 BATTLE AT THE BRIDGES. 
 
 of the commotion in the grass. But the hoats which had 
 brought over the detachment, pushed out immediately and 
 returned with all possible expedition to the bridges. 
 
 " Captain Fink," said Bim, standing amid the slain, "I'm 
 afraid I shall be sick of this business ! What is that they 
 are doing with the enemy's heads ?" 
 
 " Scalping 'em !" said Fink. " And it aint right ! 
 Scouts ! stop that ! They've been used to fighting Indians." 
 
 But the order was too late. The Scouts had completed 
 the work effectually. They had, however, only shaved off 
 a small particle of skin, about an inch in diameter, from the 
 crown of each head. 
 
 This terrible blow had, unfortunately, fallen upon men of 
 science, and artisans, many of whom had not sympathized 
 with the project of invasion, but were, constrained by Ruf- 
 fleton's officers, in fear of the guillotine, to act as pioneers, 
 architects, etc. Among these was a gentleman of Southern 
 birth, who designed flying to the President's standard. 
 He had been the publisher of an Exploring Expedition, and 
 the ignorant multitude supposed he would make a good 
 explorer himself in the enemy's oountiy ! He was accord- 
 ingly seized, and forced to accompany the pioneers. He 
 fell before he could make known his condition. But the 
 Scout that killed him, got a barren scalp — for he was quite 
 bald. 
 
 It was not long before the fate of the detachment was 
 known on the opposite shore, and the keen eye of Bim 
 soon perceived that the battery was about to open its fire. 
 
 "Gopher!" cried Captain Fink to his Scouts, which 
 meant that they should disappear as the prairie animal of 
 that name is in the habit of doing when danger menaces. 
 In a twinkling the Scouts, and they were imitated this time 
 by Bim's men, had glided through the grass and the grove, 
 and found a shelter in a depression of the earth. 
 
 Then came a shower of cannon balls crashing through 
 the trees, followed quickly by such a stunning report as 
 the Wild Western Scouts had never heard before. For 
 some time there was no intermission of the fire, but battery 
 after battery was drawn up on the opposite bank and dis- 
 charged in quick succession. The very heavens seemed 
 rent with the explosions, and the poor Scouts, had they not 
 been possessed with more than ordinary courage, might 
 
BATTLE AT THE BEIDGIB. 323 
 
 have supposed the destrnction of the world was at hand. 
 None of them, howeveiv, having fallen, they soon recovered 
 their presence of mind — they lifted their heads and ventured 
 to survey the scene. The opposite side of the river was 
 enveloped in a cloud of smoke so dense, that it resembled 
 a thick fog. Not a man or a gun could be seen. But the 
 fire soon ceased. Not a shot being returned, the Protector 
 supposed the enemy had been either completely demolished 
 or had taken to flight. 
 
 Nevertheless there had been no relaxation in the work of 
 pushing forward the sections of the floating bridges ; and 
 Bim and Fink were a little surprised to behold the proximity 
 of the platforms to the Southern shore. 
 
 " Screw sights to four hundred yards !" said Fink. " Every 
 one of us can hit a button that distance." The order was 
 obeyed, and the sharp reports of the Minies rang through 
 the valley, and all the foremost workmen, at the end of the 
 wooden structures, fell upon the platforms of their own 
 construction. Others took their places, but shared a similar 
 fate. Thus, for many minutes, the work of thousands was 
 arrested by two hundred marksmen ; and Ruffleton, upon 
 learning the state of affairs, was thrown into an ungovern- 
 able rage, and ordered forward a thousand sharp-shooters to 
 fire upon the Scouts from the ends of the bridges. 
 
 " Gopher !" said Fink, when he saw the enemy raise their 
 muskets to fire. " Wait till they're tired of shooting ; as 
 long 'as they waste powder and ball at us, the bridge can't 
 grow, and when they stop firing, we'll begin." 
 
 "That's right. Captain!" said Bim. "And it won't be 
 long before we hear from the President." 
 
 But the Scouts were surprised to see that an expedient 
 had been adopted which would be likely to baffle their 
 attempts to stop the operations of the bridge builders. 
 Temporary defences of planks were erected on the extrem- 
 ity of each section, and the menacing platforms recommenced 
 growing in length. 
 
 "Captain Bim," said Fink, who had been some time 
 adjusting the sights of his rifle, as the wind swept the cloud 
 of smoke away, " I'm going to risk my reputation." 
 
 " Well, Captain Fink," responded Bim, " what does that 
 mean ?" 
 
 " It means exactly this — ^I'm going to firs at that head 
 
324 EUPFLETON'S GBNEKALSHIP. 
 
 chief over the river yonder on the white horse, hit or 
 miss." 
 
 "Then you'd better not fire, Captain," said Bim, "for 
 you will miss to a certainty. That man is at least one thou- 
 sand yards off." 
 
 "I have gauged my rifle for a thousand yards, and, hit or 
 miss, I must fire. There's something urging nie to do it." 
 
 " Stop a moment, Captain !" said Bim. " Here's a mes- 
 senger. What's the news, comrade ? Do you come from 
 the President ?" The Lieutennnt answered in the afiirma- 
 tive, and then placed a note in the Captain's hand. It was 
 from Randolph, directing the detachment under Bim and 
 Fink to oppose every obstacle to the landing of the enemy, 
 and promising speedy, succor. 
 
 Fink drew up his rifle, but after a prolonged and steady 
 aim, lowered the breech with a sigh. "It's a monstrous 
 risk !" said he. " But I'll do it presently. If I didn't, the 
 Scouts would tell the Indians I was afraid of missing. But 
 what's that ?" This question was occasioned by the deep 
 detonation of distant artillery. 
 
 " Hush !" cried Bim, listening attentively. " It is, by 
 thunder !" cried he. " Hasten back, Lieutenant, and say to 
 the President that Captain Bim has heard the roar of battle 
 far up the river. It must be Generals Blount and Crook 
 fighting Sir Charles Hunt and General Line. Now fire 
 away. Captain Fink!" he continued, when the Lieutenant 
 put spurs to his horse. 
 
 Captain Fink raised his rifle steadily, and aimed at the 
 distant target. 
 
 CHAFrER LI. 
 
 ETTFFLETON'S GENEEAI.SHIP. 
 
 General Ruppleton, the Protector and Commander-in- 
 Chief of the Northern armies, surrounded by his staff, sat 
 upon his magnificent white steed on the Northern bank of 
 the Susquehanna. Recovered fi-om his recent fit of passion, 
 
KXrFFLETON'S GENERALSHIP. 325 
 
 he witnessed with satisfaction theaow uninterrupted elonga- 
 tion of his bridges. The idea of shielding the workmen bj 
 a movable breastwork had originat(;d in his own prolific 
 brain, and he now beheld its successful operation with an air 
 of triumph. 
 
 " General Mailer," said he, addressing his newly-promo- 
 ted fi-iend, " I think the world is destined, after all, to give 
 me the credit of possessing as much military genius as Ran- 
 dolph. I have fought as many battles as he." 
 
 " Yes, Genei-al," said Mailer, " and gained as many vic- 
 tories. The only victory Randolph can claim, was the re- 
 pulse of Crook. Crook had some 1,200 men, and Randolph 
 4,000." 
 
 " Generalship, however," pursued Ruffleton, " does not 
 consist alone in fighting. Randolph fldth his pontoon train, 
 fifteen ships of war, and an immense flotilla, was for many 
 days cooped up in a contracted nook on the Delaware river. 
 Now I shall not be delayed six hours in crossing the Sus- 
 quehanna. What do you say. General?" he continued, 
 turning to Balatrum. 
 
 " If we are to meet with no fm-ther obstruction than the 
 few sharp-shooters over there," said Balatrum, " we shall 
 not only cross without serious delay, but we will gain a de- 
 cisive victory. The orders you dispatched last night to 
 Emmitsburg, if obeyed with promptitude, wiU enable us to 
 interpose between the Ex-President and the main body of 
 his army." 
 
 " Very true !" said Ruffleton, " such was the purpose — 
 and, by Jove ! it will be accomplished ! Do you not hear 
 the cannon of Hunt and Line ? I knew they would be fol- 
 lowed by Blount. Now, " His speech was cut short. 
 
 Fink's bullet perforated his white steed's forehead, and the 
 animal fell head-foremost to the earth, precipitating his 
 rider down the embankment into the impalpable quicksand. 
 Nothing but the General's heels was visible a moment 
 after ; but he was immediately rescued, puffing and blow- 
 ing through the mud which plastered over his mouth and 
 nose. His eyes were closed, and his ears stopped. His fine 
 dress, of which he was ever punctiliously careful, was 
 utterly marred. 
 
 " Wash me ! Wash me !" wei'e his first words. " Give 
 me my pistols !" said he, when his face was washed ; " I will 
 
326 eufflbton's genehaiship. 
 
 shoot the horse, and hang the swindlmg caitiff who cheated 
 me !" 
 
 " General," said Balatrum, " the horse is dead." 
 " Dead ? Who killed him without my order ?" 
 " One of the enemy, General. A Minie ball perforated 
 his head, and that caused him to fall." 
 
 " That explains all ! By Jove, I'm thankful it was no 
 worse ! If the marksman had aimed a few inches higher, 
 he might have put an end to the war ; and then some of 
 Ruffleton's friends might have heen the sufferers 1 I can- 
 not stand with this load on my garments ! Bear me to my 
 tent. I hear the artillery of Sir Charles and General Line ! 
 Moments are precious ! Push forward the bridges ! Bring 
 another horse. If we can interpose between Blount and 
 Randolph, the South wUl be compelled to submit." 
 
 The General was borne to his tent, where his ablutions 
 were repeated, and a new suit substituted for the coat of 
 mud. During the process an express arrived from Sir 
 Charles, confirming the conjectures of Ruffileton. Blount 
 and Crook had followed the "Western armies along the 
 Pennsylvania line. But in obedience to orders. Hunt and 
 Line had declined giving battle, and manoeuvred to entice 
 their pursuers as far northward as possible. 
 
 "By Jove!" cried Ruffleton, his good-humor restored, 
 " everything has gone prosperously, with the exception of 
 that unlucky fall, which hurt nobody ! Run out batteries 
 on the bridges, and sweep the opposite shore with a few 
 rounds of grape. The tide is ebbing. If the cannon should 
 be an obstruction to the passage of the cavalry, after a few 
 discharges, throw them overboard. We have abundance of 
 heavy metal — and if we gain a footing over there, we'U 
 soon have still more !" His order was promptly obeyed ; 
 and soon after he was mounted on another steed of spotless 
 white, elegantly caparisoned. 
 
THE JUNCTION. 327 
 
 CHAPTER LH. 
 
 THE JUNCTION. 
 
 " Huzza !" cried Captain Bim, when he saw Ruffleton 
 precipitated down the bank. " He's dead, hy Jupiter 1 
 And I'm afraid the fighting's all over." 
 
 " The line was true," said Bim gravely, " and the aim a 
 steady one, I own ; but there was a mistake in the distance, 
 or else the horse raised his head after I pulled trigger." 
 
 " But I tell you the centre's been driven !" continued 
 Bim. " The Tyrant has fallen !" 
 
 " Not a bit of it !" replied Fink. " You are too quick on 
 the trigger, and apt to go off at half-cock." 
 
 " Don't you see 'em carrying him on a htter ?" asked Bim. 
 
 " Yes, I see that. And I've seen a mud-turtle carried in 
 a wheelbarrow, and the varmint wasn't dead. Now, I'll 
 put a question to you. Where's the General's horse ?" 
 
 " His horse ? By George ! he fell in his tracks ! I see 
 him now." 
 
 " That's so. jBe's dead enough — and I hadn't any grudge 
 against the poor beast. Don't you see how it is? I've 
 killed the horse, and given the lider a ducking. That's all. 
 The shot will save my credit among the Indians ; but it 
 might have been better." 
 
 " You are right. Captain," said Bim. " The horse gave 
 way at the knees first, and the pot-bellied rider rolled over 
 his head. The bullet couldn't have killed them both. We 
 shall have plenty of fighting yet. What's that for ? Oh, I 
 see ! They're bringing some cannon out on the platforms, 
 and we shall have to 'squat' again." 
 
 And before the men could avail themselves of the friendly 
 shelter of the intervening earth, the batteries were discharged, 
 and the innumerable missiles seemed to strike the surface of 
 every tangible object exposed to view. Several of the 
 Scouts were killed and wounded. 
 
 But when the torrent of grape ceased, and the workmen 
 recommenced their operations, the Scouts resumed their 
 vigilance, and rarely missed any mark that tempted their 
 
328 wiE JUNCTio:^. 
 
 fatal aim. But still, the screen being i-eplaced, the bridges 
 grew rapidly ; and as the tide ran down, the width of the 
 stream was materially diminished. It became apparent that 
 the completion of the communication with the Southern 
 shore could not long be delayed. 
 
 While such thoughts occupied the minds of Bim and Fink, 
 anothel- messenger arrived from the President. Randolph 
 directed the Scouts to hold out at all hazards, until his 
 arrival, which would be in twenty minutes. 
 
 " Fire at the planks, Scouts !" said Fink. 
 
 " Will your bullets go through ?" asked Bim. 
 
 "Yes — that distance. Don't you see?" 
 
 Bim perceived the effect of the last fire of the Minims. A 
 great commotion ensued among the workmen ; and soon 
 after the nailing on of additional planks was heard distinctly. 
 
 "Go back and tell the President," said Bim, "that we 
 will defend this shore for twenty minutes ; but without 
 cannon, we shall not be able to keep them off much longer." 
 
 Bim and Fink, conscious of the responsibility imposed on 
 them, and aware of the importance of the service they were 
 performing, exerted all their powers to retard the comple- 
 tion of the bridges. 
 
 The last sections were about being thrust forward, where 
 the ends would fall in shallow water, and a thousand rifle- 
 men stood on each of the bridges in readiness to rush out 
 and be avenged on the handful of Scouts. 
 
 " We can't stand our ground against such a number," 
 said Bim. "But there's one thing we can do !" he added. 
 
 " What's that. Captain ?" asked Fink, as he discharged 
 his rifle, and brought down a Colonel. He picked out the 
 ofiioers. 
 
 " We can die in our tracks ! And I'd rather do it than 
 disappoint President Randolph !" 
 
 ."ISTever say die !" returned Fink. " We can pick 'em off" 
 as they land, and we can hang upon their flanks and rear as 
 they march. But hist !" he continued, stooping down, and 
 placing his ear near the earth. " I hear 'em ! I mean I 
 feel 'em ! They jar the ground !" 
 
 "Who?" asked Bim. 
 
 " I can't tell who. But there are horses and carriages." 
 
 " Perhaps artillery !" 
 
 " Shouldn't be surprised," said Fink. 
 
HEAD-QUARTERS AT HAVRE DE GRACE. 329 
 
 But they were surprised a moment after. For Randolph 
 had come up, and ranged a brass battery in position a short 
 distance below. The fire of twenty guns, screened by a 
 light curtain of bushes, startled friend and foe. 
 
 The three regiments of sharp-shooters were in the act of 
 rushing out on the shore when the first discharge burst upon 
 the ear. The bridges were broken behind them, and cut 
 off thgir retreat. A second discharge demolished many 
 other sections, and soon the surface of the river was covered 
 with the wreck of the bridges. The three regiments laid 
 down their arms. 
 
 Randolph, galloping forward, ordered the captives to be 
 removed immediately ; and then hastened to the aid of Blount, 
 whose artillery could be distinctly heard responding to the 
 fire of Hunt and Line, several miles further up the river. 
 
 But when the President was in readiness to succor his 
 brave Generals, it was observed that Ruffleton had likewise 
 marched to the assistance of his Western and British allies. 
 With the utmost expedition he arranged a battery of 500 
 heavy field pieces, which swept the battle-ground beyond 
 the lines of the Western armies. 
 
 Seeing no possibility of preventing the invasion, Ran- 
 dolph concentrated all his forces and retreated Southward 
 in good order. 
 
 CHAPTER LHI. 
 
 HEAD-QUARTERS AT HAVRE DE GRACE. 
 
 As the shades of evening fell upon the earth, Randolph 
 re-entered the village of Havre de G-race, and was met with 
 joyful smiles by his daughter at the mansion occupied as 
 his head-quarters. 
 
 " The Scouts did good service," said he, in reply to Alice's 
 inquiry, " they certainly defeated Ruffleton's design to inter- 
 pose between me and Blount, which, if it had been accom- 
 plished, would have prevented us from resting here one 
 more night." 
 
 " One more night !" said Alice. 
 
330 HEAD-QUAETEKS AT HATKE DE GBACE. 
 
 " This one night is all that is vouchsafed us, Alice. To- 
 morrow wc must resume the journey, and where our travels 
 will end, who knows? I know they will end — ^but not 
 where, or when. Some one said Wiry "Willy had arrived. 
 Where is he?" 
 
 "He awaits permission to enter. I will send him in. 
 None of our officers were killed or wounded, father?" 
 
 " None, I believe. Blount had a horse killed under him. 
 The animal's head was carried completely a^vay by a round 
 shot. And it may be as well to apprise you that the Gene- 
 ral is as bloody as a butcher." 
 
 " Well, Willy," said the President, presenting his hand 
 in a familiar manner, but without rising, for he was fatigued 
 after the exercises of the day. " You find me retreating 
 before the enemy ; but you have not abandoned what is 
 deemed by many a sinking cause." 
 
 " Oh — no, sir ! It cannot last. And when Ruffleton 
 falls, it will be like the fall of Lucifer ! Virus will be sent 
 to you." 
 
 " For what purpose ?" 
 
 " I think it will be in regard to Baltimore. A number 
 of Northern men, doing business in that city, have arrived 
 in the Protector's camp, no doubt to negotiate." 
 
 " No doubt, Willy. Well — perhaps it is the best thing 
 they can do. Ruffleton, then, has no misgivings as to the 
 result of the campaign ?" 
 
 " None, sir. Pie is certain of capturing Washington, and 
 is already importuned by the fanatics to destroy it. He 
 has given them no answer yet, I think, from their grumbling." 
 
 " Grumbling ? Do they grumble already ?" 
 
 " Not much yet, sir — but they will. Not only Washing 
 ton, but Richmond, Raleigh, and Charleston are to be taken, 
 before vengeance can be satisfie^d." 
 
 "It will be satisfied then, Willy!" 
 
 " They are in earnest, sir, and speak of the capture of 
 those cities as altogether jjracticable and probable." 
 
 " Three-quarters of a million of armed men may pene- 
 trate to Charleston, with the co-operation of the British 
 fleets in the Chesapeake, in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, 
 and on the ocean coast. They may penetrate that far before 
 the impetus is expended. Then — ^but, Willy, I will not 
 anticipate events." 
 
HEAD-QUAETBES AT HAVEE DK GEACE. 331 
 
 " It was in relation to the very fleets you mention, chiefly, 
 that I desired to speak. Lord Slysir ran over the whole 
 programme in my hearing, when forgetful of my presence. 
 I was waiting for a letter he was preparing to be delivered 
 to Miss Edith Langdon. Rufileton came in, and his Lord- 
 ship thrust me behind a screen — and — sir — " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " He had previously thrust a person there as I entered the 
 room." 
 
 "And that person, Willy, was probably no man." 
 
 " You are right, sir." 
 
 " And, at the same time, he was writing to Edith ! You 
 must tell her everything, Willy. Has his Lordship reco- 
 vered?" 
 
 "He is quite well, sir; and I am inclined to believe he 
 was entirely recovered before you left New Castle." 
 
 "Dr. Durnell intimated as much. How long do you 
 propose staying with us, Willy ?" 
 
 " As long as I can do anything to serve the cause. Such 
 was my compact with Mary ; and my grandame is patriotic, 
 and insists upon the fulfilment of my duty. I need not 
 add, I hope, that it is both my will and my pleasure to dis- 
 charge every obligation of a loyal citizen. Is there any- 
 thing you would have me do now, sir ?" 
 
 "I think you ought to go to Yorktown, and remove the 
 effects of the late Mr. Penford to a place of security. And, 
 
 Willy, by whispering into the ear of Mr. A , the words, 
 
 ' Randolph and the JJnion^ he will conduct you to a place 
 of safety where you may deposit them. I have authorized 
 
 Mr. A to have the exclusive custody of the Archives, 
 
 and none besides himself, you, and me, wiU have any know- 
 ledge of the place of their deposit." 
 
 Willy bowed with reverence, and lost not a moment in 
 departing on his important mission. 
 
 "Don't be alarmed! It's horse-blood! He has not re- 
 ceived a scratch !" said General Crook, without, upon seeing 
 Alice staring at the soiled vest Of Blount, as they entered 
 the hall. A moraent,after the Generals were ushered in by 
 Alice. 
 
 " Mr. President," said Crook, " I am as hungry as a shark. 
 I have eaten nothing since- dawn. But now I can distin- 
 guish a savory odor proceeding from your kitchen." 
 
332 AFFAIRS AT THE CAPITAL. 
 
 " Father, wliy don't you invite the General to dine with 
 you ?" said Alice. 
 
 " I will, as soon as I can find an opportunity." 
 
 " Oh, don't take the trouble," said Crook. " Just con- 
 sider it done! I shall have my fill, I hope, once more — and 
 it may be the last time. But we shall aU have leisure to 
 eat to-night." 
 
 " That is very true," said Blount ; " for RufBeton's forces 
 have encamped. The heavens are illuminated with their 
 fires, and no doubt many of them are as hungry as Crook. 
 They burn the fences; but have not, I believe, destroyed 
 any of the farm-houses." 
 
 " They have reserved them for their own accommodar 
 tions," said Crook, " when they return in the winter, a pack 
 of fugitives in need of shelter." 
 
 A moment after, dinner was announced. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 APFAIES AT THE CAPITAL. 
 
 When Wiry Willy reached Washington and whispered 
 
 the mysterious words into the ear of Mr. A that gen- . 
 
 tlemau's face was wreathed in smiles. And, late as it was, 
 he accompanied Willy up to the Little Falls of the Poto- 
 mac, where, among the immense wilderness of mossy rocks 
 strewn about by some convulsion of nature, the place of 
 deposit was revealed. 
 
 Returning to the Capital, Willy perceived with interest 
 that all the hotels were still open, and many men, in excited 
 conversation, were passing in and out, and alternately filling 
 and emptying the saloons. The ensuing day was the one 
 appointed_ weeks before, by the President, in one of his 
 proclamations, for the reassembling of Congress ; but no 
 one expected that any considerable number of members 
 would arrive. 
 
 But, at a late hour of the night, to the agreeable surprise 
 
AFFAIES AT THE CAPITAL. 333 
 
 of the friends of the Union, it was ascertained that a large 
 number of members had arrived within the last few 
 hours. 
 
 The work of computation was instituted, and a rumor 
 rah through the city that a quorum would in all probability 
 he present. This produced great rejoicing. Thousands who 
 had retired in quest of the oblivion of slumber, abandoned 
 their couches and repaired to the hotels. Willy, upon hear- 
 ing the news, hastened to the mansion of Senator Langdon, 
 and succeeded in rousing Dick Clusky. 
 
 " Now what do you want with me ?" said Dick. "■ Who 
 are you, that knows so well that I sleep in the vestibule ?" 
 
 " I am Wiiy Willy," said Willy. 
 
 " Wiry Willy ? Hey ? Why, you're a friend." 
 
 " To be sure I am." 
 
 " And you were here when the scary times began ?" 
 
 " Tes, Dick. I remember the day when the cannon balls 
 whizzed by the ears of the horses as you drove them from 
 the church." 
 
 " That's so ! But where do you come from, now ? What 
 do you want ?" 
 
 " I have news for Miss Edith and Senator Langdon." 
 
 " They've been in bed for hours, though I don't believe 
 they can sleep much. Are the British and Northerners 
 coming ? Ah, Lord ! I'm afraid they'll catch Mr. Senator 
 Langdon and his daughter, and kill me and mother—^" 
 
 " Never fear ; I have good news." 
 
 " Good news ? Then I'll wake 'em up." 
 
 " Do so, Dick. Say Wiry Willy has arrived, with good 
 news." 
 
 " I will. Come in !" 
 
 WUly stepped into the vestibule, then faintly illuminated 
 by a jet of gas kept constantly burning in the hall ; and 
 Dick sped up-stairs to the chambers occupied by the Sena- 
 tor and his daughter. 
 
 Edith was the first to appear. She met Willy with her 
 usual frank cordiality, and led him into the parlor, which 
 was soon brilliantly illuminated. 
 
 " Your news, Willy," said she ; " I am all impatience. My 
 father will be down in a few moments. He seems entirely 
 recovered." 
 
 " I am rejoiced to hear that !" said Willy, " for, I believe, 
 
334 ArrAiRS at the capital. 
 
 he will soon occupy the Cliair in the Senate, the Vice-Pre> 
 sident being still incapacitated." 
 
 " The Chair of the Senate ! That -(vould, indeed, be good 
 news." 
 
 " And I have brought this letter for you," said Willy, " in 
 accordance M'ith my promise. If it should displease you, 
 you will not, I am sure, reproach me with being its bearer." 
 
 " No," said she, taking the letter. " It bears Lord Sly- 
 sir's seal. I wOl not break it, Willy ; but will merely cer- 
 tify to its faithful delivery with my pencil, and then, if you 
 should see him again, you must return it into his own hand. 
 But here comes my father." 
 
 " Well, Willy," said the Senator, entering, and taking 
 the hand of the messenger. " What does Randolph say? 
 We have heard of his junction with Blount, and — " 
 
 " I have not a word from him, sir," said Willy. " But 
 he will arrive in the Capital, I think, before many hours. 
 Only one or two more members are wanting to make up a 
 quorum." 
 
 " Is that so, sir ? When I retired to my couch it was 
 supposed more than forty were wanting." 
 
 " They have been arriving every hour, sir ; and I heard 
 a Senator say there would certainly be a quorum. The 
 hotels are alive with people ; and many are hoping that you 
 will be well enough to take your place in the Senate." 
 
 "I am perfectly well ! Run to the hotels, Willy, and 
 say so. Say I will repair to the Capitol, immediately. It 
 is past the hour of midnight, and the day appointed has 
 arrived. Perhaps not a moment should be lost. The 
 President — " 
 
 "He's been sent for, sir. They have telegraphed for 
 him." 
 
 " That was well. The tidings will be joyfully received 
 by Randolph. Dick !" said he, turning to his coachman, 
 who, in disregard of all decorum, had been standing at the 
 parlor door with eyes, ears, and mouth open, " have the 
 coach in readiness immediately. But first see who knocks, 
 knocking and ringing both ! What urgent messengers !" 
 
 A moment after Dick ushered in several members of 
 Congress, and among them the elder Blount, who had just 
 reached the city. 
 
 Edith flew into his arms, for she had long regarded him 
 
AFFAIES AT THE CAPITAI-. 335, 
 
 as a second father. And Langdon embraced him. Tears 
 were shed hy every one present. 
 
 "We meet again, Langdon," said the white-haired 
 Southern Senator, " contrary to my expectations and pre- 
 dictions ; but we are embarked in a common cause. The 
 despatch I received, and which caused my return to the 
 Capital, assured me that the first business of the two 
 houses, in the event of a quorum assembling, would be a 
 re-consideration of the resolution " 
 
 " Oh, yes — anything for harmony !" said Langdon. " I 
 will vote your abstraction, if you insist on it ; and I will 
 vote in as many more Slave States as you wish, provided 
 the inhabitants of them have freely and fairly ratified their 
 Constitutions." 
 
 " Enough ! N'evertheless, Langdon, the resolution was 
 something more than an abstraction. Its rejection would 
 have the effect to deter slave-holders from taking their 
 
 property into new territories but^-God forgive me ! 
 
 We will not discuss it here. I see a tear swellmg in the 
 eye of my Edith !" 
 
 "Nor elsewhere, Blount!" said Langdon. "It will pass 
 nem. con. to avoid the consumption of time." 
 
 " Now brush away the tear !" said the aged Senator to 
 Edith. 
 
 " You must let me weep for my country," said Edith. 
 " Still, I shall be ready to perish with it, if it must be so." 
 
 " It will not perish, my daughter. Randolph will save 
 it. I tliought otherwise once — ^but now I am prepared to 
 sustain him. My son, too, follows his fortunes, and you, 
 daughter of the North, must be wedded to the fortunes of 
 my son. The North and the South, the East and the West, 
 must unite in the expulsion of the British, and then there 
 will be a season of fraternal concord." 
 
 " But, alas !" said Edith, " before the dawn of that happy 
 era, many a field, now quiet and peaceful, will be ensan- 
 guined with fiatiioidal blood !" 
 
 " True ! True ! But the world will then see that our 
 slaves did not augment our danger, or even embarrass us, 
 when the enemy came into our country. More than two 
 hundred thousand of our negi'oes are at this moment doing 
 valuable sei'vice in the construction of fortifications, and in 
 collecting provisions and materials for our armies. And 
 22 
 
836 EECKPTION AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 
 
 this they do most cheerfully, and even beg to fight for 
 us!" 
 
 " Come, gentlemen," said Langdon. " Enter my coach, 
 and we will repair to the Capitol. Let us remain there and 
 eat and sleep, and, if needs be, die in our chairs, like 
 Koman Senators I" They departed immediately. 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 EECEPTION AT THE WHITE HOXTSE. 
 
 Lights were gleaming in the Capitol, and the greater 
 portion of the population of the city had left their dwell- 
 mgs and repaired, at that unseasonable hour, to the Halls 
 of Legislation. The rotunda, the galleries, the porticos, 
 and even the grounds surrounding the building, were 
 crowded with anxious citizens. 
 
 When it was ascertained that a quorum had assembled 
 in each House, the manifestations of joy could not be con- 
 trolled. In the Senate, Mr. Langdon was chosen to preside, 
 and soon after a mighty uproar without announced the 
 arrival of President Randolph. Deafening huzzas hailed 
 his approach to the Capitol. He and Blount were met at 
 the threshold by the President of the Senate and the 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and conducted 
 into the Great Hall, where they were received by the 
 members of both Houses, standing. 
 
 When the plaudits had subsided, the President addressed 
 the Senators and Representatives, face to face, as Washing- 
 ton had done in the beginning. He described the extra- 
 ordinary condition of affairs briefly, but comprehensively, 
 and recommended such measures for their adoption as the 
 exigencies of the crisis seemed to demand. He then 
 retired to the Vice-President's room, accompanied by 
 Blount, where Alice and Edith awaited them. 
 
 " Tell me," said Edith, while Blount grasped her hand 
 and gazed upon her lovely countenance, "shall we be com- 
 pelled to fly from the Capital ?" 
 
RECEPTIOiT AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 837 
 
 "It cannot be successfully defended against such an 
 overwhelming multitude as Ruffleton is leading," was the 
 grave reply. 
 
 " But when will he be here ?" 
 
 " It may be a week. It might be longer— but the Presi- 
 dent inclines to the policy of non-resistance so far as the 
 Capital is concerned. If they destroy it, all the patriotism 
 in the nation will be outraged. If they spare it, we shall 
 re-possess it when the reflux of the tide wafts us back." 
 
 "And there xoill be such a tide in our affairs!" said 
 Alice. 
 
 " Certainly," said the President. " And we shall see such 
 unanimity in the views and< acts of this Congress as was 
 never witnessed before ! The country will be saved !" 
 
 " The Republic, father ?" asked Alice, in a low tone. 
 
 " Unquestionably, my Marble, if it be susceptible of 
 enduring vitality !" 
 
 " And now," said Blount, " farewell, until we meet 
 again !" 
 
 " Whither do you go ?" asked Edith. " You have but 
 just arrived, and now you announce your departure." 
 
 " There is a quorum without me, and my presence wiU 
 be required in the field. The glorious Crook is much bet- 
 ter in a charge than in a retreat. Every retrograde step 
 is a mortification to him. My resignation as a member of 
 Congress is in the hands of the Speaker. My father awaits 
 me in the committee-room. Farewell — brief adieus must 
 suffice in times like the present." And he hurried away to 
 the interview with his father. 
 
 The departure of Blount was followed by the entrance 
 of the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, 
 bearing Joint Resolutions, and sundry BiUs, already passed 
 by both Houses of Congress — the rules having been modi- 
 fied so as to dispense with the usual ceremony and 
 delay. 
 
 Almost dictatorial powers were conferred on President 
 Randolph : and all his previous acts were sanctioned. 
 Direct taxes were to be levied for revenue, and appropria- 
 tions were made to defray the expenses of the war for two 
 years, the duration of the terra specified for the exercise of 
 the extraordinary power given the Executive. All citizens 
 found in arms, and waging war against the United States, 
 
 15 
 
338 EECEPnON AT THE WniTE HOUSE. 
 
 ■were required to disperse and to return to their hones in 
 obedience to the command of the Federal Executive, on or 
 before a day to be specified in a Proclamation, under 
 penalty of being pronounced traitors, &c. The privilege 
 of the writ of Habeas Corpus might bo suspended at the 
 discretion of the President, ^¥ar was declared against 
 Great Uritain. 
 
 A few nights after the assembling of Congress, the doors 
 of the White House were thrown open for the reception 
 of visitors. The President, his Cabinet Ministers, his 
 daughter Alice, and her friend Edith, were standing in the 
 room where the visitors were usually received. The porter 
 then opened the door, and. — not twenty persons entered ! 
 Congress had not adjourned. The heads of bureaus, with 
 a few exceptions, and a vast majority of their subordinates, 
 had left the city. 
 
 " Be not so lugubrious, my Marble," said Randolph, in 
 a whisper to his daughter. 
 
 " I Avill not, father !" said she, " I could laugh, gentle- 
 men," she continued, addressing several members of the 
 Cabinet, men distinguished for their learning and admi- 
 nistrative abilities, " you are the more distinguished by the 
 desertion of others in the hour of peril. The historian wUl 
 record the incidents of this hour. The names, the attitudes, 
 and the very words of those who had the courage and fide- 
 lity to stand by the Chief Magistrate when the enemy was 
 approaching the Capital, will be recorded, remembered, and 
 admired !" 
 
 " Among the faithless, faithful only th-ese !" said the 
 President, smiUng. " But be of good cheer. We shall see 
 them back again when I have patronage to bestow. Now, 
 none so poor to do me reverence ! It is well. Why should 
 they remain here, when I am flying and the enemy advan- 
 cing ? In truth, my friends, many have left the city not 
 only by permission of their superiors in office, but in con- 
 sequence of my advice. Indeed, indeed, ladies, the man 
 has as many friends as the office." 
 
 The young ladies laughed outright, for the scene was 
 ludicrous enough. 
 
 " We are not even regaled with music, Mr. President^" 
 said Edith. 
 
 "No. Valiant would not leave me the band! And 
 
EECEPnOX AT THE WHITE HOrfSE. 339 
 
 Blount, too, deserted me ! And Senator Langdon, although 
 proscribed by Ruffleton, is not here to dignify this mirthM 
 occasion." 
 
 " But the Senator, you know, is engaged in the perform 
 ance of his duty, and, for that matter, the General — " 
 
 " Go on. Why do you pause ?" 
 
 "You said my father had been proscribed!" was the 
 reply of the maiden, now pale and agitated. 
 
 " And for that matter," continued the President, " I, and 
 Blount, and all who have been particeps criminis in resist- 
 ance to his treasonable usurpation, are in the same cate- 
 gory." 
 
 " And you see I am not alarmed, Edith," said Alice. 
 
 "Nor will I be," said Edith. "The tyrant will meet a 
 traitor's doom !" 
 
 " Bravely spoken," said the President. " But here comes 
 more company." 
 
 Congress having adjourned, the White House was soon 
 thronged with the patriotic Representatives of the States 
 and the People. They encircled the President, and renewed 
 their vows to sustain him in his endeavor to preserve the 
 Republic. 
 
 The President thanked them for their promptitude in 
 enacting the laws he had recommended, and he declared his 
 purpose to devote his energies to the salvation of his coun- 
 try and the overthrow of the enemies of the people. He 
 then led the way -towards the East Rqoni, walking between 
 Alice and Edith, and followed by his Cabinet, and the mem- 
 bers. The folding doors were thrown open, and, to the 
 astonishment of many, a magnificent banqueting-board 
 greeted their vision. 
 
 The President "sat down at one end of the table and Sena- 
 tor Langdon at the other. The ladies, and there were but 
 two, Alice and Edith, occupied seats respectively beside 
 their parents. 
 
 " Fall to, gentlemen, and help yourselves," said Ran- 
 dolph. " For a sufficient number of waiters could not be 
 obtained, to use a common phrase, for love or money ; and 
 so, perforce, we must be content with the cooks." 
 
 Randolph was obeyed with alacrity, for many present 
 had not enjoyed a good dinner for several days, and this was 
 truly an imperial feast. 
 
340 EECEPTION AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 
 
 And, in process of time, when a clatter of knife-handles 
 imposed silence, the President rose up with a brimming 
 glass in his hand, and his example was followed by all the 
 guests. 
 
 "The Uniox!" said he, "but no cheers, gentlemen. 
 Let us drink it in silence, if we drink it at all, with the 
 secret resolve in our hearts too sacred for utterance." This 
 was done. But many a tear jBowed down the manly cheeks 
 of the company. 
 
 The next toast was offered by Senator Langdon. 
 
 " Re-union of the North with the South !" said he. 
 "And that too,in mute resolve, gentlemen !" It was done. 
 
 " Now, Alice !" said Randolph. 
 
 " The Daughters of the Republic !" said she ; " May 
 they prove worthy of the patriotic sires who created it.'' 
 
 " Now, Edith !" said Langdon. 
 
 " And worthy the heroes who would preserve it !" was 
 the response. And then the sUence was ruptured. Cheers 
 and plaudits resounded from the basement to the gables of 
 the Federal Palace. Randolph rose again, his penetrating 
 eye fixed on the Senator's Daughter, and proposed " The 
 Hero Blount !" This was rapturously cheered, mingled 
 with some merriment, while Edith blushed under the many 
 glances directed towards her end of the table. 
 
 " And the Hero of Bladensburg, the brave Crook !" said 
 Langdon. And this was responded to as heartily as the 
 other. 
 
 " I propose the Knight of the Velvet Cap !" said the 
 elder IBlount ; and then, if she had not been Maeble, it was 
 Alice's turn to blush. But she only turned paler, while 
 acknowledging the compliment. 
 
 Soon after this the company, and particularly the ladies, 
 were startled by the appearance of Crazy Charlotte at the 
 door. This poor woman, not yet thirty years of age, was 
 well known in various sections of the country, for she tra- 
 velled much, but always re-appeared at Washington at the 
 assembling of Congress. She was tall and majestic in sta- 
 ture, and her pale oval face, retaining traces of former 
 beauty, and piercing eyes, usually inspired pity rather than 
 aversion in the beholder. But now her aspect was most 
 extraordinary. She had been to the theatre and obtained 
 a tinselled cuirass, and a painted helmet which she wore 
 
EECEPTIOIS- AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 341 
 
 ■with the ease of familiarity, aacl in her hand she waved a 
 light spear of tin culled from the same armory. 
 
 " Fly ! Fly !" said she in a loud but mournful voice. 
 " Fly to the mountains, or dive under the sea, for the de- 
 stroyer Cometh. And who is the destroyer ? Man ! inhu- 
 man man I" 
 
 " Sit down, dame Charlotte," said Randolph, " and feast 
 with us. It will be time enough to fly after we have eaten." 
 
 " ' Two women shall be grinding at the mill — one shall be 
 taken and the other left.' Nay, ladies," continued Charlotte, 
 advancing a step and then pausing, " I do not mean either 
 of you. You are the daughters of the Republic, and will 
 never die. But beware — beware of the perils menacing 
 your great sires ! Beware ! beware !" 
 
 " We will try and guard against them, ourselves, Char- 
 lotte," said, Randolph. 
 
 " How ! can the eye of the eagle penetrate the earth and 
 detect the secret mine? Can the breast of the proud lion 
 be mailed against the venomous fangs of the hidden serpent ? 
 Fly ! Fly ! I looked, and lo, the flag of my country fell 
 from the dome of the Capitol. The stars and stripes, the 
 symbols of glory, have vanished from the breeze, and the 
 wolves of oppression Avill lap our blood, and howl in the 
 sacred precincts of Freedom. Fly ! Fly !" 
 
 " That will do, Charlotte !" said Randolph. " Come ! if 
 you will not eat with us, let me pour you some wine !" 
 
 " Throw it to the earth ! pour libations on the groinid, 
 and bow your head at the desecrated Altar of Freedom ! 
 I will neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep, while the Republic 
 is perishing. Fly ! Fly ! and return victors — or remain 
 and die." 
 
 " Our army is between us and the enemy, Charlotte," said 
 Alice. 
 
 "Alas!" cried the crazy woman, striding forward and 
 standing at the back of Alice's chair, " we know not who 
 are our most deadly enemies. We often eat with thtem and 
 drink with them. Your great father, it is said, will be the 
 last to leave the Capital. Hear me !" she continued in a 
 deep voice, " let him be the first — see that he is sun-ounded 
 by a wall of spears ! Oh, I would die to save him. The 
 hopes of his country are centred on his head — " 
 
 " That is flattery, dame Charlotte," said Randolph. 
 
342 A DARK CONSPIRACY. 
 
 " Flattery ! and from a woman. No ! No ! Flattery 
 that kills is uttered only by man. Beware of the warning ! 
 Fly !" 
 
 " What have you heard, what do you know of danger 
 menacing my father ?" demanded Alice. 
 
 " Be not incredulous, daughter of the President !" said 
 Charlotte, " nor haughty, nor scornful. I go — ^but will 
 return to repeat the warning. Once more I will enter the 
 Presidential mansion before you leave it. Farewell ! Fare- 
 well!" And she hurried out as abruptly as she -had 
 entered. 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 A DARK COJTSPIEACT. 
 
 It was the night of the evacuation. For hours the Federal 
 troops, for all that now defended the South and the Go- 
 vernment of the United States, were thus denominated, 
 had been defiling over the Long Bridge into Virginia. 
 Baltimore had fallen into the hands of the invaders by 
 capitulation. Delaware and Maryland were subjugated 
 provinces ! 
 
 Propositions of a similar character had been made the 
 President, in regard to the District of Columbia and the 
 Federal city. But the only response was that the Federal 
 forces, unable to resist the approach of the invaders, would 
 retire, at a time specified, across the Potomac river. But, 
 until the time named, the President would resist any at- 
 tempts of the enemy to enter the capital. 
 
 In the meantime not only the army, but all the civilians 
 inimical to the invaders, were, day and night, crossing 
 the Potomac and taking refuge in Virginia. But it was 
 remarked that a very large proportion of the employes of 
 the Government had disappeared mysteriously, and that 
 many of them had not taken leave of the President, or 
 heads of their respective Departments. The White House 
 had suddenly lost its charm. 
 
A DAKK CONSPIEACT. 343 
 
 The public treasure, of course, was ynth the army ; and 
 Crook's four millions were safe in his military chest, to be 
 scrupulously divided among the brave soldiers who had 
 captured it. 
 
 In one of the offices of the deserted Treasury Building, 
 two men were conversing in low tones. It was quite dark, 
 and they did not invite observation. One was Mr. Wind- 
 vane, holding an important position under the Government. 
 The other individual was Virus, the Protector's confidential 
 negotiator. 
 
 "Wiudvane," said the latter, "I would not have this 
 spy of yours play us falsely, for all the money in the Presi- 
 dent's flying Treasury !" 
 
 " Be under no concern. For several years he has fur- 
 nished me information of the President's most secret inter- 
 views. To sweep the floor, to replenish the grate, to an- 
 nounce dinner, he has had access at all hours. He has long 
 been in my power. If he played me falsely, or even failed 
 to communicate inteUigence, he has been aware that a word 
 of mine would crush him !" 
 
 " And he is still at the White House ?" 
 
 " Still there, in obedience to my command, with an as- 
 surance that he will be promoted by General Ruffleton." 
 
 " The promise will be fulfilled, if he serves us." 
 
 " He will, assuredly. The coach is now standing at the 
 door of the mansion, and Abel (he was a freed mulatto) 
 will be here immediately after Randolph and his daughter 
 enter it. They will cross the canal, where your men are in 
 ambush, after the last soldier of the retiring army has passed 
 over. Randolph has said repeatedly that he would be the 
 last to abandon the Capital, and it is a point of honor to 
 comply literally with his word." 
 
 " His capture will be an important blow. And I do not 
 -see how he can escape us." 
 
 ' " He cannot fail to fall into your hands, if you have men 
 enough concealed in the boats to rush out and stop his 
 horses." 
 
 " There are nearly a hundred. And they wUl stop the 
 carriage on the bridge." 
 
 " That is right. If he passes over, he could never be 
 overtaken. But then. Virus, you think my affairs will pros- 
 per?" 
 
344 A DARK CONSPIKACT. 
 
 "You -will merit the Protector's unlimited confidence 
 That much he has authorized me to say. He remarked, 
 moreover, that your long experience in the Departments of 
 the Government, would be of invaluable benefit to him. If 
 he should determine to make this city the Capital of his 
 Empire, I think I am justifiable in saying you will be placed 
 at the head of one of the Executive Departments." 
 
 "Virus, I possess the qualifications to discharge the du- 
 ties. But what is that ?" he asked, as a rushing sound was 
 heard. 
 
 " It is the cavalry of Valiant, the rear guard of the army, 
 abandoning the city. "Within an hour the Protector will 
 occupy the Capital !" 
 
 "And win he occupy the White House ?" 
 
 " Will he not ? Of course he will ! And Randolph — 
 where will he be ?" 
 
 " In the power of the Protector ! But what will he do 
 with him ?" 
 
 " I have not heard him say, Windvane ; and, really, I can- 
 not conjecture what disposition will be made of him. But 
 where are his Blue Caps ?" 
 
 " His Blue Caps ? True ? Where are they ? I do not 
 know ! It is strange they should be absent at a time like 
 the present. It is their peculiar province to guard the per- 
 sons of the President and his romantic daughter. And Ran- 
 dolph does not commit blunders !" 
 
 "What is that !" Virus asked this question, upon being 
 startled by a shuffling of feet and a tapping of the marble 
 floor in the hall between the rows of offices. 
 
 "Fly! Fly! Romans! Fly to the mountains ! The 
 deluge is here ! The Goths and Vandals !" Such were the 
 words which greeted their ears. 
 
 " That is crazy Charlotte !" said Windvane. " Every day 
 for the last week she has passed our doors uttering such un- 
 meaning words. Everybody here has long been accustomed 
 to her senseless jargon. But how the d — 1 she contrived to 
 get into the building is past my comprehension. I saw that 
 the doors were closed and fastened myself." 
 
 " Perhaps she remained in the building as well as your- 
 self. I hope she has not been listening to our conversa- 
 tion !" 
 
 *' No fear of that. Or if she had, she could never retain 
 
A DARK CONSriEACY. 345 
 
 it in her memory. And if she could repeat it word for word, 
 no one would heed her. The other day she entered the 
 East Room when the President and his adherents were striv 
 ing to keep their spirits up at the magnificent banquet, and 
 uttered her maniacal incantations. Abel says the President 
 merely smiled, and invited her to eat and drink with the rest." 
 
 " And has she not gone to the President now ?" 
 
 " It is not improbable ; for she goes and comes as she 
 pleases, and at all hours. But no one heeds her. She was 
 here, with me, before she went to the banquet. But Abel 
 says she did not allude to me at all." 
 
 " Very well. I suppose you know all about her. Hear 
 how she slams the door ! She has certainly gone towards 
 the President's mansion." 
 
 " She has not done so clandestinely, at all events," said 
 "Windvane. 
 
 " The cavalry," said Virus, " must have nearly all gone 
 by. The sounds are diminishing." 
 
 " True. I think I hear the wheels of the artillery car- 
 riage — the last batteries. It cannot be long before the Pre- 
 sident and his daughter will enter the carriage. Then we 
 shall have Abel !" 
 
 "And then the signal! The rocket is prepared — " 
 
 "Yes. Three of them. All cannot possibly fail to ascend. 
 Our cigars are lighted, and lithey fail I have lucifer matches." 
 
 "And they are well named. The devil himself, they say, 
 is on our side ! But suppose that mad woman discovered 
 the rockets in the rear as she passed out, and removed or 
 destroyed them ?" 
 
 "I will see!" said Windvane, groping his way out. 
 " They have not been molested !" said he, returning a few 
 moments after. 
 
 " Windvane, the Protector will reward you. Did you 
 not hear the wheels of the coach ?" 
 
 " No. But the cavalry and artillery have gone by, and 
 all is silent in the deserted streets. Abel's appearance will 
 be the first intimation of the departure of Randolph. The 
 wheels of his coach will not be heard on the fine gravel of 
 the lawn. It cannot, be many moments before his arrival. 
 He knows where we are, and will come directly to us, ac- 
 companied by one or two of the servants he has won over. 
 Hist !" Footsteps were heard approaching. 
 
 15* 
 
346 THE SCOUTS. 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 THE SCOUTS. 
 
 " Captain Fistk ! Captain Fint !" said Captain Bim, " I 
 can't see tlie men, and I've turned round so much that I 
 don't know where to look for them." 
 
 " That's exactly what I wanted," replied Fink. " If we 
 can't see 'em or hear 'em, of course the enemy can't. 
 They've squatted." 
 
 " But the ground's wet, here ! Now, I'd have no ohjec- 
 tions in the world to stand chin deep in a slimy frog- 
 pond to serve President Randolph or his daughter ; but, for 
 the life of me, I can't see what we are posted among these 
 bulrushes for." 
 
 " To be hid, I suppose, from the enemy," said Fink. 
 
 " But, by George !" said Bim, "I don^t want to be hid 
 from the enemy. I want to meet him face to face." 
 
 " They'll want us," said Lieutenant Click. " Fighting's 
 our trade, and our commanders know it. When they want 
 us they'll send for us." 
 
 " Captain Bim," said Fink, " that is the opinion of my 
 silent Lieutenant ; and I've noticed that when he does speak 
 his opinion, it's worth listening to." 
 
 " Very true. Captain," said Bim. " I was too impatient, 
 and Click is right. A great French General once said the 
 army obeys and never deliberates. We are machines. 
 We act, and have no business to be thinking. The Pre- 
 sident thinks for the Generals, the Generals for the Colo- 
 nels, the Colonels for the Majors, the Majors for the 
 Captains — and Major Milnor thought proper to place us 
 here, under the exclusive command of Miss Alice. Still I 
 can't help thinking that this will be rather a queer place for 
 Miss Alice to command in person. The tide is rising, and 
 we'll soon have to take to the boats." 
 - " Hist !" said Pink, in a whisper. " Some one approaches." 
 
 And a few moments after they could distinguish the out- 
 lines of a man walking boldly towards them. 
 
LAST SCENE AT TILE WHITE HOUSE. 347 
 
 "There's only one," said Fink. 
 
 " Then I'll hail him," said Bim. " Who goes there ?" 
 
 " A friend," was the response. 
 
 " Give the word." 
 
 " The Stars and Stripes," said the stranger. 
 
 " Right. Advance," said Bim. 
 
 " I come from Miss Alice, Captain Bim," said WiUy. 
 
 "Wiry Willy !" said Bim. " Now I know it's all right." 
 
 " She wants you, Captain Bim, and five of your best and 
 discreetest men to follow me." 
 
 " To follow you ? But I beg her pardon, I have no right 
 to ask questions. I'll be her Italian greyhound's corporal, 
 if she orders me to follow him. But she meant nothing 
 derogatory, I know ! Go on. I'll foUow." 
 
 " Captain Fink," continued WiUy, " Miss Alice desires 
 that you will wait further orders." 
 
 " Tell her I'm comfortable." 
 
 Willy returned, followed by Bim and five of his men. 
 
 CHAPTER LVni. 
 
 LAST SCENE AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 
 
 " Father," said Alice, " you have sent away your friends, 
 so that none may witness and report the humiliating spec- 
 tacle of the Chief Magistrate driven from the Capital." 
 
 " But I am not melancholy," said the President with 
 one of his most confident smiles, as he stood in the glare 
 of the brilliant chandelier that illuminated the room. " I 
 am the last to leave, and wiU be the first to return. I 
 might keep this Northern horde of fanatics at bay, and 
 even prevent their entrance into the Capital ; but it would 
 be at the expense of many loyal lives, and might involve 
 the ultimate destruction of the city and the Union; Here- 
 after I shall be economical of the blood of the patriots. 
 Bat these blind followers of evil teachers — woe to them I 
 And you ! my Maeble ! You weep not — sorrow not — at the 
 
348 LAST BCKNE AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 
 
 absence of the crowd of flatterers, or at the thought of 
 departing from the scene of your many triumphs. Be of 
 good cheer. The worst of your trials are over." 
 
 " Unless, father, we should become the captives of Ruf- 
 fletou in our native South — or even here, before we can 
 escape ! Why do we tarry ?" 
 
 " It is not the hour," said Randolph, looking at his watch. 
 " The vanguard of the invaders have been taught the neces- 
 sity of circumspection, and when they do enter the city it 
 will be with fear and trembling." 
 
 " Fly ! Fly ! The precious moments are ebbing for 
 ever !" shouted Crazy Charlotte, striding in and con&ont- 
 ing the President and his daughter. 
 
 " I would not recall one of the precious moments, Char- 
 lotte," said Randolph. "They have been counted, and each 
 has its allotted function." i 
 
 " But is there any lurkiiig danger ?" asked Alice, placing 
 her hand on the arm of the woman, and gazing steadily in 
 her face. 
 
 " Lurking danger ? Death lurks at every corner, and 
 the owls are hooting from every tree. The snake is 
 gliding through the grass that was warmed into life : the 
 dog is whetting his teeth to bite the hand that fed him ! 
 Why not fly ? But do not go in the carriage !" 
 
 " It was never my purpose to depart in the carriage," 
 said the President. 
 
 "Indeed !" said Alice. 
 
 " I am glad of that !" said Charlotte. 
 
 " Why are you glad ? I thought you were the friend of 
 Ruffleton." 
 
 " He thought so, too ! I will now convince you that I am 
 your friend. Call your servant hither — your freed-man 
 Abel!" 
 
 " Abel !" said Randolph, beckoning the man who stood 
 in the hall, holding a portmanteau. " Now," he continued, 
 when Abel approached, " what, Charlotte, can you prove 
 by Abel ?" 
 
 " Down on your knees, you traitor ! gr I will turn you 
 into a spider and crush you beneath my heel !" 
 
 Abel, terrified, fell upon his knees, while his limbs trem 
 bled violently. He, like many others, believed Charlotte 
 a witch, or in league with the Evil One. 
 
LAST SCENE AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 349 
 
 " Now confess your sins ! Confess, and ask pardon 1 
 Where's your evil genius, Windvane ?" 
 
 At that word Abel fell prostrate at Randolph's feet. 
 
 "Windvane!" said the President. "He, no doubt, is 
 a traitor !" 
 
 Abel confessed everything; and Wiry Willy arriving 
 during the recital of the plan for the seizure of the Pre- 
 sident, was dispatched by Alice to summon Bim. 
 
 "But, Man of Destiny 1" said Charlotte, "why do you 
 keep your carriage waiting at the door?" 
 
 "You have gained my Avhole heart, Charlotte," said 
 Randolph, " and I will withhold no secrets from you. My 
 purpose is merely to deceive my enemies. Being the last 
 to depart, they cannot conceive any other mode of depar- 
 ture than that." 
 
 " Great and Gifted ! You would have been saved with- 
 out my interposition !" 
 
 " But that does not detract irom your merits, Charlotte, 
 and when I return to the Capital, I shall remember your 
 fidelity." 
 
 " You VTOLL return ! It is recorded by Destiny ! But, 
 now, fly ! Depart while you can do so in safety !" 
 
 " No, not yet. These conspirators in the Treasury 
 building must be arrested. And then I will, with my 
 own hand, give the signal. I have rockets here." 
 
 " And will the carriage depart, father ?" asked Alice. 
 
 " Certainly. They will not injure the driver.'' 
 
 Bim and his five men arrived shortly after. They were 
 sent to the Treasury building to apprehend Windvane and 
 Virus, with instructions to conduct them, bound, to the 
 boats. 
 
 "Now, Charlotte," said the President, "the time has 
 come for my departure.. Do you hasten to welcome the 
 Despot. He will not remain as long, nor, probably, be so 
 hospitable to the friendless Charlotte, as Randolph. You 
 have evinced your gratitude and fidelity, Charlotte — your 
 hand." 
 
 Crazy Charlotte shed tears when she grasped the Presi- 
 dent's hand; then turning to Alice, she embraced and 
 kissed her. 
 
 " God bless you both !" said she. " To think that poor 
 Crazy Charlotte, only, should be present to take leave of 
 
350 TEMPTATION. 
 
 the President and Ms daughter ! I am not always so wild 1 
 And, please God, I'U be of service to you!" She then 
 rushed away. 
 
 , "Abel," said the President, "get into the carriage. Willy, 
 see the driver and tell him when the rocket ascends to start, 
 but to proceed very slowly. He must make no resistance 
 at the bridge, and he need not endeavor to escape." 
 
 The President, then, after promenading the halls a moment 
 longer in perfect composure, stepped out on the balcony in 
 the rear, and ignited a rocket. It ascended high in the air, 
 and burst into innumerable brilliant st^-rs. 
 
 " Now, Alice ! Come Willy !" said he. " A race for 
 the boats!" And the three hastened through the lawn 
 towards the margin of the river. 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 TEJIPTATIOlSr. 
 
 "What is that?" demanded Virus, as a flash of light 
 ■illuminated the sky seen through the half-closed windows. 
 
 " It must be a rocket ?" said Windvane. 
 
 " Will it not mislead the men at the bridge ?" 
 
 " How can it ? They can do nothing before the carriage 
 arrives. Have they been instructed how to act in the event 
 of Randolph making resistance ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes. They are merely to capture him." 
 
 " Between us, I think they ought to put an end to him. 
 If they do not, I fear the business will not end here. Per- 
 haps a lucky shot or thrust may settle it — but if not, it is 
 too late to give other orders. Hark ! That is Abel ! From 
 the footsteps several others must be with him. Let us ignite 
 fresh cigars and meet them in the hall. Not a moment 
 should be lost !" , 
 
 And while Windvane was scratching his lucifer match 
 against the floor, Bim, just outside of the door, was doing 
 the same thing on the sole of his shoe, and was the first to 
 succeed in obtaining a light. 
 
TEMPTATION. 35] 
 
 " !N"ow, gentlemen conspirators," said he, thrusting open 
 the door, " by your leave we'll enter and take possession." 
 
 " Who are you ?" demanded Virus, drawing a pistol, and 
 the action was imitated by Windvane, who turned very 
 pale. 
 
 " I am Captain Bim, of the Blue Caps," said Bim. "And 
 unless you are prepared to kill six of us, you can't fail to seo 
 at a glance how much the odds are against you." 
 
 "We have no intention to assault you, Captain Bim," 
 said Virus. "It was our purpose merely to defend ourselves, 
 not knowing who you were, or what your purpose." 
 
 " That is a very satisfactory explanation. And now, as 
 we have no intention to injure a hair of your heads, and as 
 there can be no possible use for your pistols, we wiU very 
 gently relieve you of the burden !" 
 
 This said, Bim, without farther parley, wrenched the 
 weaj)ons from their hands. 
 
 " What does this mean ?" demanded Windvane. " I am 
 an officer of the Government!" 
 
 "And I," said Bim, "am an officer of the army. I don't 
 think, I merely obey. And I have no time even to talk. 
 So come along !" 
 
 " Captain Bim !" said Virus, " do you not know me ?" 
 
 "It is possible I may have had the pleasure of your 
 acquaintance, Mr. Virus ; but it was in times gone by. At 
 present I am not instructed to know anybody or anything 
 but my duty." 
 
 " I think it your duty. Captain Bim," said Virus, " and 
 likewise your interest, to make a friend of the Protector's 
 chief officer of State. I am Virus — one whose recommenda- 
 tion can make any man's fortune. General Ruffleton, the 
 Protector of his country, will be here in an hour, and Cap- 
 tain Bim might be Colonel Bim." 
 
 ' " Captain Bim means to be General Bim, under President 
 Randolph !" was the response. " So Mr. Virus, you didn't 
 bid high enough. But, once for all, I'd rather step back 
 and be only a Sergeant again, under Randolph, than to be 
 a Major General in the bogus array of the d — d infernal 
 despot, Ruffleton ! Now — if you think you can tamper 
 •with my fidelity after that, you are at liberty to try it !" 
 
 Virus was silent. There was no room for diplomacy on 
 that barren heath. And soon after they came to where the 
 23 
 
352 TEMPTATION, 
 
 President and Alice were seated in a boat, in readiness to 
 depart for the opposite shore of the Potomac. 
 
 " Bim," said Randolph, who evinced no recognition of 
 the prisoners, " your company has gone with Captain Fink's 
 to the Canal Bridge, to bring away some traitors lying there 
 in ambush. You have permission to join them in the expe- 
 dition." 
 
 " I thank your excellency," said Bim, " and — and, if Miss 
 Alice—" 
 
 " Oh yes — it has my concurrence. Captain," said Alice. 
 
 " Then I'll lose no time !" said Bim, vanishing immedi- 
 ately, and leaving the prisoners in charge of his subaltern, 
 who was to await further orders. 
 
 " Mr. President !" said Virus, " am I a prisoner ?" 
 
 " You ! who are you ? Is it possible ? Why, Virus, I 
 thought you had returned to Ruffleton with my ultimatum I 
 A prisoner ? No, sir. Negotiators with flags are not made 
 prisoners. And Presidents are not to be made prisoners. 
 So we have a mutual understanding, and you may put it in 
 a protocol. Excuse me, sir ; I am in haste, for the dew is 
 falling. Rowers ! bend to your oars !" 
 
 " Mr. President ! Mr. President !" cried Windvane, strid- 
 ing through the mud in his endeavors to keep pace with 
 the boat as it moved down the outlet. 
 
 " Who are you ? What do you want ?" asked the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 " I am — Mr. Windvane, your — " 
 
 " Windvane ? Really I don't know you. Sir. But this I 
 know, the wind does not blow in the right direction !" 
 
 " Gone !" said Windvane." 
 
 " Never mind, Windvane !" said Virus. " But we are in 
 a most uncomfortable predicament ! The mud is half way 
 up my legs. And must we wait, Sergeant, until an order 
 be transmitted from the other side of the river ?" 
 
 "You must wait till doomsday, sir, unless an order comes. 
 But there is a boat, which you might sit in, if you didn't 
 prefer standing." 
 
 " Prefer standing !" said Virus, leading the way into the 
 boat, where Wiry Willy, and four oarsmen, seemed to be 
 awaiting him. 
 
 " I hope there is room for both of ns ?" said Windvane, 
 crowding in. 
 
TBMPTATIOK. 353 
 
 " Oh, yes," said "Willy, " it was designed to hold us all." 
 
 " Designed ?" said Virus. 
 
 " Tes, sir ; an hour ago it was determined that you would 
 be here exactly at this time." 
 
 " Do you hear that, Windvane ? Randolph had informa 
 tion." 
 
 " He knows everything !" said Windvane. 
 
 " Gad, he didn't seem to know you, "Windvane." 
 
 " That was the unkindest cut of all, I had a speech in 
 teadiness, but forgot all about it !" 
 
 " A strange man ! But where are we going ? Rowers, 
 who told you to follow the other boat ?" 
 
 " They are obeying orders, sii-," said "Willy, as the boat 
 
 flided out into the river ; " but we are not to follow the 
 'resident far." 
 
 " Ifot to follow him far ? Then what is to become of us ? 
 We are pursuing the same direction. Is it the design to 
 pitch us outin the middle of the river ? If so, we shall resist !'-' 
 
 " Such is not the order, sir," said Willy ; " but if it were, 
 resistance would be vain. The rowers are dragoons, well- 
 armed, and the strongest men in the Blue Caps." 
 
 " But they are certainly rowing out into the middle of 
 the stream !" said Windvane. 
 
 "To the island," said Willy. 
 
 " But the tide is rising," said Windvane, " and the water 
 will be over it." 
 
 " Not more than knee deep," said Willy. 
 
 There was no alternative but submission ; and the two 
 conspirators were under the necessity of stepping out of 
 the boat into the slime among the spatterdocks ia the mid- 
 dle of the river. And soon after a whole fleet of little 
 boats glided out of the canal, bearing the entire detach- 
 ment that had been ordered to capture the President. 
 
 " Is that you. Wiry Willy ?" said Bim, who was at the 
 head of the aquatic procession, 
 
 " Yes, Captain," said Willy, " and I see that you have 
 executed the President's orders — ^" 
 
 " Miss Alice's, sir — ^yes, executed them to the letter, with- 
 out the loss of a man — ^I mean with the loss of but one 
 man, and that couldn't be prevented. It was the nigger in 
 the carriage, and he jumped into the canal and drowned 
 himself," 
 
354 EtrFFLETOir nr the ■wHrrB house, 
 
 "And what became of the can-iage, Captain?" 
 " It went over the long bridge." 
 
 Soon after all the captives were landed in the mud, and 
 abandoned to their fate. 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 EUTFLETOlir IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 
 
 The day after the evacuation of Washington City by the 
 President and the Federal army, Ruffleton promenaded the 
 saloons of the Presidential Mansion, now crowded with 
 exultant partisans. And it was observed that several of 
 the heads of bureaus and clerks of the departments, that 
 had vanished a few days before, were present on that inter- 
 esting occasion mingling their congratulations with the rest, 
 and urging the Despot to assume the functions of the Chief 
 Magistracy of the Union north of the Potomac river. And 
 Ruffleton yielded to the solicitations of his friends. He 
 issued a proclamation, requiiing the Representatives of the 
 People to convene at Washington on the 1st of the ensuing 
 November. Then he selected Cabinet Ministers, and re- 
 organized the Departments on the old basis, with the differ- 
 ence that none of his appointments were to be subject to 
 the advice and consent of the Senate. 
 
 " But where is Virus ?" was the question continually on 
 the lips of Ruffleton. 
 
 " Willy knows," was responded in the crowd. 
 
 " Willy'" said Ruffleton, his quick ear catching the words. 
 " Ah !" he continued, when his eye detected the very de- 
 mure face of Willy, "now I shall learn all about him. 
 Come, sir ; unfold !" 
 
 " General," said Willy, " if you will promise not to guil- 
 lotine me, I'll show you Mr. Virus, ' and also his friend 
 Windvane." 
 
 " Still in terror of the guillotine, eh ? It is a glorious 
 auxiliary, and wiU be erected to-day on the common. But 
 I promise, Willy, Now where are they ?" 
 
EUrFUBTTON IN THE WHITB HOUSE. 355 
 
 " General, if you'll get a telescope, and come with me 
 to the window, you shall see them." 
 
 The instrument was procured, and they were followed to 
 the window by a large number of officers. 
 
 " They are boys," said Ruffleton, looking at the distant 
 island. 
 
 " No, sir !" said "WUly. " They are up to their knees in 
 the mud and spatterdocks." 
 
 This announcement produced some merriment, 
 
 " Mud and spatterdocks!" said Ruffleton. " Who placed 
 them there ?" 
 
 " I did," said Willy, " and you've promised not to punish 
 me." 
 
 " You placed them there ? Tou, Willy ?" 
 
 "I did, sir, upon my honor! But it was because the 
 President ordered me." 
 
 " The President ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! Gentlemen," said Ruffle- 
 ton, turning to his Generals, " Virus and Windvane were 
 engaged in an enterprise for the capture of Randolph ; but 
 instead of placing the last of the Presidents in my hands, 
 the last of the Presidents — and by George ! he was about 
 the best of them — has placed them in the mud and spatter- 
 docks !" 
 
 An explosion of laughter followed. 
 
 " I thought at first," said Balatrum, " they were geese, 
 and came near firing on them !" 
 
 " But the impudence of the thing !" continued Ruffleton. 
 " To place them in full view of the White House ! Still 
 I admire the fellow's humor-^^-and a flying President should 
 be allowed a little .insolence. Nevertheless, the thing does 
 not look like despair. To place my Secretary of State in 
 the mud and spatterdocks !" 
 
 " He ordered Willy to do it," repeated Willy, upon per- 
 ceiving the rising anger of Ruffleton, the more he dwelt on 
 the practical joke of Randolph. 
 
 " I am not condemning you. Will ! General, order them 
 to be rescued from their ludicrous position with as little 
 delay as possible." 
 
 "There will be no delay at all, General," said Balatrum; 
 " and I am happy to inform you that the enemy will inter- 
 pose no obstacle. Randolph has withdrawn from the river, 
 without even destroying the bridges." 
 
856 MOUNT TEKNOK. 
 
 " He knew very -well that we could leap over at the Lit- 
 tle Falls. We shall soon be upon his track." 
 
 This announcement was followed by applause. 
 
 " Yes, gentlemen," continued Ruffleton, elated with his 
 success, and the fancied popularity of a prosecution of the 
 invasion, " we shall track him like a wolf to his lair, and he 
 cannot escape. He wiU. not fight, it seems, even on his 
 own dunghill, else he would show his teeth now, with three 
 hundred thousand men at his back. No ! these Southerners, 
 who have achieved such a terrible reputation for contempt 
 of danger and life, are arrant cowards after all !" 
 
 This was followed by a prodigious burst of applause. 
 And, indeed, successive messengers brought intelligence of 
 the retreat of the Federal forces towards Alexandria, and 
 the abandonment of several inviting positions, and particu- 
 larly one at Four Mile Run, where a superior force might 
 have been checked in its career by inferior numbers. 
 
 CHAPTER LXI. 
 
 MOUNT v:eenon'. 
 
 The President, weU informed of the movements of the 
 enemy, encamped his army in the vicinity of Alexandria, 
 and then repaired to Mount Vernon, where his head-quar- 
 ters were established. Alice and Edith, and Senator Lang- 
 don had preceded him thither ; and as the dusk of evening 
 fell upon the scene, Randolph, ever punctual to a minute in 
 aU his appointments, alighted from his horse. 
 
 " Everything reposes in quiet here," said the aged Sena- 
 tor, clasping the hand of the President as he stepped upon 
 the long piazza. 
 
 " And the twilight of this summer evening," said Edith, 
 presenting the President a rich bouquet, " is scented with 
 the perfume of roses." 
 
 " And you, my Maeble," said Randolph, turning to his 
 pale and silent daughter, "have nothing to utter, nothing 
 to give me ?" 
 
MOUNT TEENOHr. 351 
 
 " Have I not, father ?" said Alice, throwing her arms 
 around her parent's neck and kissing him. 
 
 " But why these tears ?" 
 
 " I thought, father, that on this consecrated gronnd, and 
 in the precincts of the sacred dust of the Father of his 
 Countiy, LiBEETY might be taking her flight from earth 
 for ever ! That the last of the Presidents, on the last day of 
 the Republic, might be a fugitive from the despot, and 
 vainly seeking an asylum under the roof of Washington!" 
 
 " No. Neither my fortunes, nor the fortunes of the Re- 
 public, have arrived at such a desperate ebb. This is not 
 the last night, perhaps, that a President, or a President's 
 daughter will tread the halls of Mount Vernon. But let us 
 in to tea." 
 
 And when they were seated around the table within, the 
 weather being sultry and the windows raised, the cry of a 
 solitary whippoorwill was heard in the_ distance, and Alice's 
 melancholy threatened to return. 
 
 " I do not think I ever laughed more heartily in my life," 
 said the President, during the repast, " than I have done 
 this evening." 
 
 " Then I am sure I need not be sad," said Alice, " be- 
 cause if there were not some promising enterprise afoot I 
 think you would at least have repressed the inclination to 
 laugh." 
 
 " He may laugh who wins," said Edith. 
 
 "Then I am quite certain," said Langdon, relaxing his 
 usually grave visage, " that Randolph's chief general may 
 laugh." 
 
 " That is as much as to say he has won. And yet Avho 
 knows how often it may be his fate to lose ? But, Mr. Pre- 
 sident, I have a woman's curiosity to learn the provocation 
 of your laughter." 
 
 " It was caused by the visage of my general, the valiant 
 Crook ! He came to me with tears in his eyes, begging to 
 have a fight with the British before we retreated down the 
 Potomac. He said his heart was breaking, and that he 
 would rather die and be buried in sight of the dome of the 
 Capitol, than retire without a blow out of sight of it." 
 
 "The brave Crook!" exclaimed Alice. "And, father, 
 may we know the response you gave him ?" 
 
 " I looked very grave, and merely pressed his hand. Sir 
 
358 MOtnrr tbenon. 
 
 Charles Hunt will know my determination before the hour 
 fov his next breakfast. My wild western scouts have proved 
 invaluable auxiliaries. Those Missourians are as true men as 
 the Boons, and Kentons, and Shelbys of the last century ! 
 Captain Fink keeps me as well informed of the movements 
 of the enemy as if I were in his camp." 
 
 " And it is the purpose, then," said Langdon, " to fall 
 upon Sir Charles ?" 
 
 " Yes. Sir Charles leads the van, and is encamping on 
 this side the river, separated from the main army, and never 
 dreaming of the possibility of an enemy in full retreat sud- 
 denly retracing his steps." 
 
 " I am glad," said Edith, " that the first battle south of 
 the Potomac will be with the British. It will serve to rouse 
 into activity all the patriotism in the country." 
 
 " True !" said Randolph, " whether we win or lose. But 
 we shall win, of course — that is, at first, and until over- 
 Avhelming succors are sent to the relief of Hunt. It will be 
 rather a check than a battle. Then we must resume our 
 journey. And the probability is that they will destroy 
 Mount Vernon, and desecrate the tomb of Washington." 
 
 " God forbid !" exclaimed Langdon. 
 
 " God's will be done !" said Randolph. " If, however, 
 such a thing should happen, it will be worth a dozen victo- 
 ries to the South. The Spirit of Washington, roused from 
 its repose, will animate every manly breast, and there will 
 be such a popular outburst throughout the country as has 
 never yet been known." After these words a pause en- 
 sued. 
 
 " Again the plaintive cry of the whippoorwill is heard," 
 said Alice. 
 
 " It seems to come from the direction of the Tomb," said 
 Edith, " as if bewailing the sad destiny of the country loved 
 and served so well by its founder and father." 
 
 " Father," said Alice, " let us go to the tomb of Wash- 
 ington. This may be the last opportunity." 
 
 " You have anticipated me. It was my purpose to take 
 you thither," he continued, glancing at his watch ; "and it 
 is the hour. And you, my friend," said he, addressing Lang- 
 don, "will accompany us. We will find Dr. Love, our 
 chaplain, awaiting us near the vault. And there you will 
 find your Blue Caps, Alice." 
 
MOUNT VEENON. 359 
 
 " Indeed ! I have been on the eve of asking why the 
 Blue Caps were not here." 
 
 " They are m the vicinity, with muffled drums and trail- 
 ing carbines, to bury a hero with the honors of war." 
 
 "To bury some one with the honors of war?" asked 
 Edith, in surpiise. " Who has fallen ?" 
 
 " It is General Steel, whose remains have been faithfully 
 transported by Crook, in obedience to the request of the 
 dying soldier, to Southern ground ; and we shall inter them 
 in the vicinity of the tomb of Washington. Hark ! It is 
 the signal." The drum was heard, and the party of four 
 hastened forth to witness the burial. 
 
 Near the tomb of Washington the Blue Caps were 
 drawn up in hollow square, every fifth man bearing a 
 torch. In the centre was the newly dug grave, and beside 
 it the coffin. When the President, Mr. Langdon, and the 
 maidens arrived on the ground, they wei"e conducted by 
 Major Milnor and Captain Bira within the enclosure, keep- 
 ing step to the solemn march played by the band. When 
 the plaintive strain had ceased, the grey-haired clergyman, 
 Dr. Love, read the burial service. And he took occasion 
 to descant on the merits of the fallen hero they were con- 
 signing to his final rest. He was a native of the same State, 
 and had known General Steel from his infancy. He was 
 impetuous, ardent, honorable, brave, and patriotic — and if 
 sometimes too hasty in his resentments, he never failed to 
 make amends for any appai-ent mjustice, in his mo'ments of 
 cool reflection. The Dr. had baptized the General, when a 
 boy, and the Bishop had confirmed him. Whatever his 
 errors, God was merciful ! The voice of the aged divine, 
 as he uttered the last sentences, was broken by his emotions, 
 and tears ran down his cheeks. 
 
 After the "dust to dust," Bim led forward a file of 
 soldiers, who fired their carabines over the grave. 
 
 "Away! Away!" cried one, after the last round was 
 fired, and when the gravediggers were throwing in the 
 earth. 
 
 All eyes were turned in the direction of the speaker, 
 and a moment after Crazy Charlotte emerged from the 
 clump of trees in the vicinity. 
 
 " Who is that ?" asked Mr. Langdon. 
 
 "It is a poor demented — but nevertheless a faithful 
 
360 MOUJST VEEITON. 
 
 friend," said Randolph, stepping aside, and clasping tlie 
 proffered hand of Charlotte, who still wore the theatrical 
 cuirass and helmet, and brandished the green spear with its 
 bright point of tin. 
 
 " And why is the tear in your eye, Man of Destiny ?" 
 exclaimed Charlotte. "Why weep over the dust of Wash- 
 ington, when there may be a living Washington, aye, and 
 more than one, in the South ! Rouse, O spirit of Freedom ! 
 and dart like an eagle upon the foe ! The British lion again 
 pollutes the soil of the Old Dominion, the mother of States ! 
 Away ! Away ! Strike him in his lair ! The sons of the 
 South cannot be restrained. They must fight, or else never 
 hold up their heads again! Randolph, away! I invoke 
 you, at the dread hour of midnight, in the sacred presence 
 of Washington, whose spirit j)ervades the atmosjDhere, to 
 fall upon the British foe. Remember Yorktown! If 
 Washington had delayed until succor had come to his 
 rescue, think you Cornwallis would have laid down his 
 arms ? Then rush with all your banners upon the Baronet, 
 who has detached himself so temptingly from the main body 
 of his traitorous allies !" 
 
 " Charlotte," said the President, " who has been telling 
 you these things ?" 
 
 " No one. I have looked with my own eyes." 
 
 " But who taught you the art of war — or how to know 
 when an enemy was temptingly exposed ?" 
 
 " Who ? Common sense !" 
 
 " Do you hear, Langdon ? and you, ladies ? The triumph 
 of art is merely the triumph of common sense ! All the 
 great achievements of man, by whatever process accom- 
 plished, are but the rational conclusions of adequate causes. 
 You should have been a man, Charlotte, and then you 
 would have made a General. Sir Charles will be beaten 
 up in his quarters before the dawn of day. Come with 
 us, Charlotte, and remain with the girls until this battle be 
 won." 
 
 " Willingly, if they will permit me !" said she, " for I am 
 weary and hungry, and my heart is sick from the scenes I 
 have witnessed on the green ! They have erected the guil- 
 lotine near the Washington Monument !" 
 
 " What !" exclaimed Alice, "have they begun the bloody 
 work already, and in the precincts of the Monument?" 
 
MOUNT TEENOIT. 361 
 
 "Eleven members of Congress were beheaded as the 
 sun went down !" 
 
 " Is it possible I" said Langdon. 
 
 " Charlotte never speaks falsely," said Randolph. 
 
 " No. I utter only what these eyes have beheld !" said 
 she, weeping. " One of the victims was my friend. Se 
 never spurned the unfortunate Charlotte from his pre^ 
 sence." 
 
 " Who was it, Charlotte ?» demanded Edith. 
 
 " A good old man. A noble Senator !" 
 
 "A Senator?" exclaimed Langdon. "Surely none re- 
 mained in the city — although I recollect several declared 
 they would stay — but surely, surely, they did not mean to 
 expose themselves — and, of aU men, the one who — " 
 
 " Who, father ?" demanded Edith. 
 
 "Charlotte!" said Randolph — "come with me!" and 
 leading her apai"t, he continued, "is Langdon right ? Did 
 the one he means, persist in remaining? And was he 
 slain?" 
 
 "He did! He was!" 
 
 "Then, Ruffleton, may an avenging God launch His 
 thunders at thy head ! Follow, Charlotte — but do not tell 
 them the worst. Leave that to me !" 
 
 Randolph, abandoning Charlotte to the interrogations of 
 the young ladies, who did not even suspect the one to whom 
 Langdon alluded, grasped the aged Senator's arm and led 
 Mm. along the sUent dale. 
 
 "Oh! Randolph," said the Senator, in broken tones, 
 *' has the despot dared — " 
 
 "The worst, Langdon! He has dared and done the 
 worst !" 
 
 " And Blount ?" 
 
 " Yes, Blount ! but do not speak so loud !" 
 
 They uttered not another- word untU they reached the 
 long piazza of the mansion, where Langdon sank in a chair, 
 and by the light of the moon Randolph beheld the tears 
 streaming down his aged cheeks. 
 
 " Father," said Edith, coming up soon after, " what is 
 that I heard you say about General Blount ?" 
 
 " Nothing, my child." 
 
 " But what has happened ? Why are you so cast down ?" 
 
 " Alice " said Randolph, turning to his daughter, " exert 
 16 
 
362 MOUNT TEKsroir. 
 
 your art to prepare Edith to hear a terrible announce- 
 ment." 
 
 " Ah !" said Edith, " I am now prepared ! But he was 
 here only a short time since, and I do not think anything 
 could have — " 
 
 " Nothing unfortunate has happened to General Blount," 
 said Randolph. 
 
 " I thought not !" exclaimed Alice. " Oh, yes I we can 
 hear it, father !" 
 
 " Senator Blount — ^his father." 
 
 " He !" cried Edith — " my second father, and what has 
 happened to him ?" 
 
 "The worst — the Avorst thing in the world!" cried 
 Charlotte. " Brace your nerves — steel your heart, bonny 
 bride of the Southern hero. Resolve to bear it !" 
 
 "He has been taken, then!" said Edith. "But that 
 would not distress my father so deeply. Dead ! he must 
 be dead ! Oh, they have guillotined him ! Still, still, I can 
 bear it ! But God will avenge it !" 
 
 " Yes, my dear child," said Randolph, taking her hand, 
 while she rested her head on his shoulder — " God wUl 
 avenge it. The monster shall pay the penalty ! But come 
 in. I must mount and away. The time is too precious for 
 words. My dear friend," he continued, as the good Dr. 
 Love joined them, " here is work for you among the living. 
 Comfort this little flock, and pray for our poor country, 
 whilst I am fighting for it !" 
 
 He then strode forth and mounted his steed, where seve- 
 ral of his aides had been awaiting him. But before he put 
 spurs to his horse. Captain Bim came up and begged to be 
 permitted to accompany him, if he were going forth to 
 battle. The President referred him to Alice and his major ; 
 and then sped away in the direction of the quarters of 
 General Blount. 
 
BLOUNT'S HBAD-QUAETEES, 863 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 BLOtTNT'S HEAD-QTJAETEES, 
 
 Raitdolph had not proceeded far before he encountered 
 Captain Fink of the Scouts. The Captain brought the im- 
 portant intelligence that, although Sir Charles Hunt occu- 
 pied an exposed position on the south side of the Potomac, 
 ne was nevertheless within reach of succor. The head of 
 a heavy column of the enemy had passed over the bridge 
 at Georgetown ; and General Line, with his Western host, 
 had ascended the river to the Little Falls, and would pass 
 the bridge at that place early in the morning. 
 
 The President rode on, musing in silence. 
 
 When he reached the mansion occupied by Blount and 
 Crook, he was met by the latter at the threshold. 
 
 " I have waited and watched for you," said Crook, in a 
 half whisper. ^'We have terrible news from the city, 
 brought by deserters and — " 
 
 "I suppose you refer to the bloody work of the guillo- 
 tine ?" said Randolph. 
 
 "But— but the—" 
 
 "Senator who was decapitated. You mean the elder 
 Blount?" 
 
 " The same ! It has been communicated to you then ?" 
 
 " Yes, but where is the General ?" 
 
 " He sleeps." 
 
 " Then he has not been informed of the butchery ?" 
 
 " No. None had the heart to tell him, and I resolved 
 not to communicate the news until your arrival." 
 
 " You have done well. General. Why should he be dis- 
 turbed ? Let him sleep on. Soon enough these evil tidings 
 will pierce his ear. And it is not, perhaps, on the eve of 
 battle that such an announcement should be made. Let us 
 all seek repose." 
 
 " I have no objection," said Crook, " and, indeed, I have 
 lost a great deal of rest lately, and will be the better for an 
 hour's slumber. But you, they say, never sleep." 
 
364 THE PEOTECTOE IN HIS PAUICE. 
 
 "It is a mistake; and even now a drowsiness weighs 
 upon my eyelids. I will share your couch, with your per- 
 mission." 
 
 " You shall have all of it. I have made a vow never to 
 sleep in a feather bed again until after the expulsion of the 
 enemy from the South. I shall sleep on the floor in my 
 cloak. But come with me and see how calmly poor Blount 
 is slumbering." 
 
 They entered the chamber. By the steady but diminu- 
 tive rays of a lamp, they beheld the form of Blount steeped 
 in profound slumber. He breathed as softly as an infant. 
 His manly brow was unclouded, and a gentle smUe rested 
 on his lip. Randolph and Crook, the one on a bed, the 
 other on the hard floor, reclined their weary limbs without 
 disturbing the slumberer. 
 
 CHAPTER LXin. 
 
 THE PEOTECTOE IN HIS PALACE. 
 
 The Protector was now an early riser, having the affairs 
 of State on his hands. He was sitting in the office on the 
 second floor of the White House, where so many of the 
 Presidents had been accustomed to meet their Cabinet 
 Ministers, and whither his Secretaries had been summoned 
 to assemble that morning. 
 
 Windvane was the first who made his appearance. 
 
 " Windvane," said the Despot, lifting his eyes from the 
 document he had been reading, " I find there is much oppo- 
 sition to your appointment. They say you will betray me, 
 and that you have betrayed others. Nay, man, don't turn 
 pale at such an announcement." 
 
 " Will your Excellency be pleased to inform me who my 
 enemies are ?" asked Windvane, now red with anger. 
 
 " No matter, Windvane, since I am your friend. You 
 shall be my Minister of Justice, and sign the death-war- 
 rants. You see at once, Windvane, I can have no fear Of 
 being betrayed by'you, because when you shall have signed 
 
THE PEOTECTOE IN HIS PALACE. 365 
 
 a few thousand death-warrants, there cannot possibly be 
 any party for you to join after abandoning mine, but the 
 party of the dead. That is my guarantee. For yourself, I 
 need not indicate the advantages of the position, and the 
 opportunities you will have to indemnify yourself for any 
 little annoyances you may be subjected to." 
 
 " I fear very much — " stammered Windvane, and then 
 paused, while a tremor agitated his frame. 
 
 " Fear nothing !" said Ruffleton. " You have only to 
 guard against giving rise to a suspicion that you prefer 
 the cause of Randolph to mine. And I shaU fear nothing 
 from my enemies, provided you keep the guillotines in 
 motion. Terror, Windvane, the fear of death, is the most 
 powerful lever with which to move mankind, or to keep 
 them still." 
 
 "I did not mean to intimate," said Windvane, "that 
 I feared my enemies. I shall not fear any one so long as 
 you are my friend. But I fear very much that I am not 
 competent to discharge the duties of the position you 
 have named. I have a horror of blood — " 
 
 " Pooh ! you will never see any, unless your curiosity, a 
 thing not improbable, shall lead you to witness an execu- 
 tion. You will soon become accustomed to it. Nonsense ! 
 You are the very best man for the place. You have 
 been a politician all your life, and wiU make a fortune ; 
 but beware that you do not jeopard mine in your deal- 
 ings with the rich I" 
 
 They were now joined by Vii"us and several other mem- 
 bers of the new Government. 
 
 " Ah, Vu'us !" said the Protector, " I see you have 
 removed the mud from your boots." 
 
 " Yes, your Excellency," returned Virus, " or rather my 
 shoes; and at the same time I have shaken the dust of 
 the old United States Government from my feet for ever I 
 I have now to announce jojrful tidings to your Highness — "' 
 
 " Highness !" said Ruffleton. 
 
 "Yes, sir, and Lord Protector! I bring sufficient 
 returns of the elections, held in thii-teen States, to war- 
 rant me in saying that, by the vote of the people, sove- 
 reign power has been conferred on your Highness. There- 
 fore, I repeat, long live His Highness, our Lord Protec- 
 tor, General Ruffleton." 
 
366 THE PROTBCTOE IN HIS PALACE. 
 
 Thi3 was quite heartily responded to by those present. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said liuffleton, rising to his feet, " I must 
 confess to some surprise at the turn events have taken. 
 But if the people have really done this, you may rely 
 upon it that whatever benefits may flow from a change of 
 Government, shall be liberally shared by my friends. I 
 shall never forget those who stood by me through evil 
 as well as good report. But sit down. Let there be no 
 ceremony between us. Now, Virus, let us have the par- 
 ticulars. Was there a full vote ? And what proportion 
 voted against the proposition of the Convention?" 
 
 "In some counties nearly every voter went to the 
 polls. None but the sick abstained from voting; and 
 there were no disturbances — no riots — and everywhere 
 the election was conducted with admirable propriety and 
 silence — " 
 
 "Silence?" 
 
 " Yes ; it must be confessed that no superfluous words 
 were uttered, and it is said, very little drinking was indulged 
 in ; but having quietly deposited their ballots, the people 
 returned immediately to their homes." 
 
 " Umph ! But what were the majorities, generally ?" 
 
 " In New York and New England, not a single vote 
 was cast against you. In the West they were more 
 divided, but your majority must be overwhelming !" 
 
 " It was the guillotine, gentlemen !" said Ruffleton, 
 leaning back in his great chair. " They durst not stay 
 away, and they feared to vote against me. Be it so ! 
 The charm shall be perpetuated ! If the guillotine has 
 been ray friend and ally, I will cherish it ! Let us not 
 loosen the reins, gentlemen, until the work be complete. 
 And you, Virus, will see that none but friends be returned 
 to fill the vacancies in the Convention. And when they 
 meet in the Capitol we must have a new Constitution in 
 readiness to be submitted. But first we must beat all our 
 enemies in the field." 
 
 During these transactions in the Cabinet, a scene of a 
 difierent character was enacted at the opposite end of 
 the Palace. A female of a rather robust stature, and quite 
 gorgeously arrayed, strode to and fro before a large miiTor. 
 She was attended by a somewhat elderly, but certainly a 
 very loquacious companion. 
 
THE PEOTECrOR IS HIS PAIACB. 367 
 
 "It is a triumph, Flora Summers!" said Mrs. Punt, 
 " and if your mother had only lived to see it, she would 
 never have regretted — " 
 
 " No more of that, Mrs. Pimt !" said Flora, hastily. 
 " It is the future we have to do with. And we must play 
 a skilful game to win !" 
 
 " If you don't win him the next time he sees you, my 
 name's not Punt !" said Mrs. Punt. 
 
 " Oh, he has seen me thus long, long ago ! But what does 
 it signify ? We were married, I know not by whom, noi 
 what became of the witnesses — " 
 
 " I was one ! The priest was an — but no matter — I tell 
 you it was a legal wedding ! He said he'd have you, and 
 you said you'd have him." 
 
 " Peace ! I agreed, hkewise, never to mention our mar- 
 riage to any one, until he gave me permission. And yoii 
 were threatened with his vengeance if you disclosed the 
 secret. He has never yet permitted me to proclaim it — 
 and, I fear, he never will !" 
 
 " Did he not tell you — tell us both, to follow him here ? 
 What did that mean ?" 
 
 " I know not — ^but wiH know, when he comes. You sent 
 him my note ?" 
 
 " Yes. And a very genteel man it was who took it. I 
 said you was kin to the General, and that I was his house- 
 keeper, and then he bowed to the very ground. He's a 
 handsome fellow, and his name's Ready — Jim Ready — and 
 he's to be the doorkeeper for the Protector." 
 
 " Are you setting your cap for him, already, Mrs. Punt ? 
 I thought you had news, not long since, from your hus- 
 band." 
 
 " He's dead^ow, I'm sure. I wrote him I'd be here this 
 very morning, and ordered him to meet me at the depot. But 
 no Pont was there. Excuse me, and I'll run to Mr. Ready 
 and hear what he says about the note — and what the Gene- 
 ral said — and how he looked." 
 
 Flora stood gazing at herself in the mirror, paying but 
 little heed to Mrs. Punt. But when left alone she thus 
 soliloquized : 
 
 . " And why not be his acknowledged wife ? Alas ! one 
 reason might be the recognition of the officers about his 
 head-quarters ! But might it not be attributed to my de- 
 24 
 
868 THE PEOTECTOE IN HIS PAIACB. 
 
 votion to his cause? And what else was it? Nothing 
 else ! And must I be cast away in the hour of triumph, 
 after adhering so faithfully to his fortunes ? No ! I am 
 here in obedience to his command — and wherefore did he 
 
 summon me ah!" she exclaimed, as the door opened, 
 
 and the General himself entered the room. 
 
 " Flora," said he, " I will tell you why I summoned you. 
 It was to maintain the old mystery. Long since many busy 
 gossips have been conjecturing the relation in which we stand 
 to each other. Be discreet. Say nothing about it. Let 
 them conjecture. But let us keep up the mystery." 
 
 " It is a mystery to me." 
 
 "To you? Is anything I do or require a mystery to 
 you ? You are not wont to murmur." 
 
 " I do not murmur. But it is a mystery to me why you 
 would maintain the mystery." 
 
 " Is that all ? Well, is not your sex addicted to myste- 
 ries? I know it wiU be a delightful idea. But — ^if any 
 one should whisper a breath of scandal — should insult or 
 injure — " 
 
 " I fear it not, sir. So long as I may have your appro- 
 l)ation, your affection, I care not what the world may say 
 or do. I have already braved its utmost enmity — " 
 
 " No more of that ! But, I repeat, if any one shall dare 
 to offend you, it wiU. be at the expense of my anger — and 
 the anger of the Master of an empire is not lightly to be 
 provoked. Let them suppose you a relation, protegee, or 
 what they will ; and if they become inquisitive, change the 
 subject ; if persistent, turn away from them ; and if they 
 cease to frequent the Palace — remember this is a Palace 
 henceforth — I shall be relieved of their importunities. But 
 do not create disturbances. I shall be absent for weeks, 
 perhaps ; but messengers will come to me daily. You will 
 be the mistress of the Palace, having mfluence. Exert 
 your power as a spirited woman should — ^but always with a 
 view to my advantage. Watch the Minister of Justice, 
 Windvane, and Virus, and all. If I fall, you are nothing 
 — if I stand, you shall share my greatness. Order break- 
 fast — ^make Mrs. Punt bustle about ! Here's my purse. 
 Now I must return to the Council-board. Adieu for the 
 present." And he hurried back, leaving Flora in a joyous 
 delirium. 
 
THB PEOTKCrOB IH HIS PALACE. 369 
 
 While Flora yet remained in this condition, Mrs. Punt 
 came staggering in, and leaning her head first on one 
 side and then the other, tottered across the room and sank 
 down on a sofa. 
 
 " What in the name of all the gods at once, is the mat- 
 ter ?" demanded Flora, staring at the panting woman. 
 
 " I was talking with Mr. Ready — standing in the vesti- 
 bule, and he said the General smiled and rose on receiving 
 your note — ^you will be a great lady — when some one rang 
 the bell. He stepped forward and opened it — and La's a' 
 mercy ! What do you think ?" 
 
 " What do I think ? 1 don't believe the devil himself 
 could have frightened you thus ; and therefore it must have 
 been your husband !" 
 
 " Punt ! 'Twas Punt ! Tou are right ! Yes, my hor- 
 rid Punt!" ***** 
 
 The gentlemen surrounding the council-board of the Pro- 
 tector were suddenly startled by the report of artiUery, 
 
 " That is Randolph, gentlemen !" said Ruffleton, who 
 retained his chair after the others had risen. "Balatrum, 
 urge forward all our forces to the succor of Sir Charles 
 Hunt. I warned him against exposing 'himself; but he 
 insisted on encamping at the other end of the bridge." 
 
 "Tour Excellency is quite right," said Lord Slysir. 
 " The enemy has doubled and fallen upon Sir Charles. I 
 hope the British troops will give a good account of them- 
 selves — ^but what can 50,000 do against five or six times 
 their number ?" 
 
 "Away, Balatrum!" exclaimed Ruffleton. "Drive the 
 blusterers into their own negro quarters! But save our 
 inen as much as possible. If the bridge itself be assailed, 
 open a fire irom a thousand cannon from this bank of the 
 river. I will send orders to Line to march down, and the 
 column in Georgetown will also cross over and hasten to 
 the scene of action. Virus, you will receive the foreign 
 despatches. Remember that all our ministers abroad, who 
 communicate with us, instead of Randolph, are to remain — 
 for the present. Those who adhere to the old Government 
 are to be simimarily dismissed. Perfect the lists as soon 
 as possible. Now, gentlemen, come with me to breakfast, ' 
 and then those for the field to horse, and those for the pen 
 to their offices. There is an immense amoimt of labor to 
 
 16* 
 
370 AN AlAEM AND A CAPTUEB. 
 
 be performed before the wheels- of Government can run 
 smoothly. But, my Lord," he added, in a low tone, as he 
 led the way out, " you must lecture Sir Charles on his in- 
 discretion. I will not yield to him again." His Lordship 
 nodded assent, and intimated that Hunt would be sufficiently 
 pxmished by the enemy. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV. 
 
 AK ALAEM AND A CAPTtTEE. 
 
 The inmates of Mount Yernon were roused by the same 
 sounds which had startled the bogus Cabinet at Washing- 
 ton; and a few moments after all had risen from their 
 couches and assembled in the parlor. 
 
 " It is the beginning of the battle," said Mr. Langdon, 
 meeting Alice and Edith, and taking a hand of each. 
 
 " And when will there be an end of it !" exclaimed the 
 Rev. Dr. Love. " He in Heaven must decide. And, my 
 dear friends," he continued, opening a prayer-book that lay 
 on the table, " let us address our petitions to Him, as the 
 Church prescribes on such occasions." 
 
 This was done, and aU united heartily in the supplication 
 foi; victory. And when the service was over, a more cheer- 
 ful expression rested on the faces of the group. 
 
 " Where is Charlotte ?" asked Edith, looking round.- 
 
 "She was here, and strangely calm and silent," said 
 AUce, " duiing the prayer." * 
 
 "And she responded punctually," said Dr. Love; "but 
 at the final Amen I observed that she rose up quickly and 
 glided out." 
 
 " I hope," said Edith, " she may return with good tid- 
 ings." 
 
 " I rely upon Captains Bim and Fink," said Alice, " for 
 early news." 
 
 "And where is Wiry WUly?" asked Mr. Langdon. 
 
 " I know not !" said Alice, with interest. " He was with 
 us when we escaped the toils Virus and the treacherous 
 
AST AIAEM AlTD A CAPT0EB. 371 
 
 Windvane had prepared. We left him in a boat on the 
 river, having those evU plotters in custody — ^but he was 
 directed to release them on the island bar. Ever before 
 Willy has been present in such critical times as the present ; 
 and if he lives, and is at liberty, I am sure he is now ren- 
 dering valuable services somewhere. I hear the approach 
 of a messenger. It may be Willy himself. It is !" she 
 continued, a moment after, having gone to the door and 
 returned on recognising the horseman. 
 
 " Your face is unclouded, Willy !" cried Edith, the first 
 speaker upon the entrance of the messenger, 
 
 " It is neither sad nor joyful. Miss Edith," said he. " The 
 President sends word that there will be no great battle ; 
 but that the enemy will be thrown into a panic, which will 
 induce them to march in compact masses." 
 
 "And that," said Langdon, " will be equivalent to, if not 
 better than a victory. The inhabitants will not snifer by a 
 wide-spread devastation, whUe the enemy will have to trans- 
 port from their own country the provisions they consume." 
 
 " But why, Willy," demanded Alice, " does he not think 
 there will be a great battle ? The thunders of the batte- 
 ries would seem to indicate that all the forces were en- 
 gaged." 
 
 " Ruffleton is finng nearly a thousand great guns across 
 the river. Sir Charles Hunt, at the very onset, took refuge 
 under the banks of the Potomac. And this is merely skir- 
 mishing, as I heard General Blount say." 
 
 " General Blount !" said Edith. " And had he heard the 
 terrible news ?" 
 
 "No," said WiUy, "The President would not permit 
 any one to tell him. I was with his father during his last 
 moments, and he gave me his watch, and other valuable 
 articles, and among them the portrait of the General's mo- 
 ther, to be delivered to his son ; but — " 
 
 " But what, WUly?" asked Edith, her eyes suflfused with 
 tears. 
 
 " The executioner claimed them and snatched them away, 
 I obtained an order from General Ruffleton himself for their 
 restitution, and he likewise dispatched an officer for the exe- 
 cution of the miscreant — one of the friends of Wind- 
 vane — " 
 
 " Was the executioner executed ?" asked Alice, 
 
372 AN AtAEM AND A CAPTUEE. 
 
 " He was ; but lie had already disposed of the articles, 
 and I was unable to find them. Nay, do not weep for him, 
 sir," continued Willy, observing the tears rolling down the 
 cheeks of Mr. Langdon. "He died happily, sir; and 
 proudly, and patriotically. Buthark! That's crazy Char- 
 lotte's voice !" 
 
 " Fly ! fly !" cried she ; and her startling warning became 
 more distinct as she approached the mansion. "Away, away ! 
 Lamb of America ! The shepherd is gone, the watch-dogs 
 are at play, and the wolf approaches ! Go, go ! Don't ask 
 me why — ^but go !" she continued, rushing in, and falling 
 down in the midst of the amazed company fi-om complete 
 exhaustion. 
 
 " Charlotte !" said Alice, " what is the meaning of this ?" 
 
 " Don't ask me ! Fly ! Your Blue Caps are not here ! 
 Away !" and, unable to utter another word, the panting 
 woman motioned her hands towards the rear door, foi 
 them to make their escape in that direction. 
 
 " Fly !" cried WUly himself, returning from the lawn, 
 whither he had gone to reconnoitre. " A fleet of British 
 steamers is in the river, and the crew of one has been land- 
 ed on this side !" 
 
 " Come — come with me !" cried Charlotte, springing up 
 from the floor. " I will lead you to a place of safety ! I 
 know every inch of these grounds. Come!" and seizing 
 the hand of Edith and of her father, she hastened away, not 
 doubting that Alice and Willy would follow. 
 
 " I will remain !" said Alice. 
 
 " No, do not !" said Willy. 
 
 " They do not war against women ! Nor will they dare 
 molest the home of Washington," said Alice. 
 
 " Oh, do not trust either Ruffleton or Lord Slysir !" 
 
 " I trust not, but defy them." 
 
 " They come ! It is yet time." 
 
 " Leave me ! Provide for your own security. The daugh- 
 ter of the President wUl not fly from the home of Wash- 
 ington !" 
 
 " No ; I will not leave you. I may serve you. I have no 
 fear, if they take you away, I will accompany you." 
 
 _ " Surround the house. Buzzards !" said Lieutenant Jun- 
 kins, the leader of some fifty men, just landed from the 
 British steamer Buzzard. 
 
AN ALAEM AKD A CAPTUEB. 8Y3 
 
 Alice stood perfectly composed when Junkins entered. 
 
 " Good morning to your ladyship," said the burly purple- 
 faced officer, advancing and extending his hand. 
 
 " I spurn your salutation, sir," said Alice, with indigna- 
 tion. 
 
 " I am Lieutenant JunMns, commander of Her Britannic 
 Majesty's ' Buzzard !' " 
 
 " No matter. Seek your prey elsewhere," said Alice. 
 
 " By your leave, madam, we seek our prey wherever we 
 can find it ; and if I am not mistaken we have fallen upon 
 a rich prize here. I cannot be mistaken. A few months 
 ago I bore a despatch to Washington, where I am sure I had 
 the honor of seeing your ladyship in the White House. It 
 will do no good to deny it — and, of course, resistance will 
 not be thought of." 
 
 " I deny nothing, sir, except your right to be impertinent. 
 But if you venture still further, and indulge a brutal pro- 
 pensity for vulgarity, I shall spit upon you, and upon the 
 flag disgraced by you." 
 
 " Pardon me, lady ! I shall not, I hope, be either rude or 
 brutal to the daughter of the late President of the United 
 States. But if it be necessary, I must use sufficient constraint 
 to conduct you on board my vessel, and to convey you to 
 the Lord Protector, or to Lord Slysir. I grant you that we 
 do not capture ladies, as a general rule — ^but I dare not 
 decline making the daughter of ex-President Randolph an 
 exception. If my conduct be not approved, I can repair 
 the wrong in a few hours, by restoring you to your father." 
 
 " If there can be a doubt whether or not your conduct 
 will be approved, why was the enterprise undertaken ?" 
 
 " I had another duty to perform — and did not know that 
 I would find you here." 
 
 " What other duty, sir ?" 
 
 " One which several of ray brother officers declined par- 
 ticipating in — ^that much must be confessed. The destruc- 
 tion of this house !" 
 
 " Is it possible ! No wonder the officers, being gentle- 
 men, declined such a service. The man who applies the 
 torch to this structure must reap an eternity of infamy, like 
 the incendiary who fired the Ephesian dome ! Let me be- 
 seech you, sir, to desist from such a diabolical purpose !" 
 
 " I should be deprived of my commission. No j I will 
 
374 AN ALAEM AND A CAPTtJEE. 
 
 not consider -vrhat posterity may say, and I shall not live to 
 hear it. The object is to render a reconciliation of the 
 sections impossible. But my time has expired. Come; you 
 need not behold it." 
 
 " Touch me not, sir," said Alice, starting back, when the 
 officer extended his hand to lead her away. " I must needs 
 obey, but will not be touched by the hand that fires the 
 dwelling of Washington. Come, "Willy, attend me to the 
 ship." 
 
 " Willy ! And pi-ay who are you, sir ?" 
 
 " These will show !" said Willy, exhibiting the passports 
 and protections of both Ruffleton and Slysir. 
 
 " By St. George !" said Junkins, " you belong to our side. 
 Suppose you fire the house ?" 
 
 " N"o, sir, I — I have no such ordersT' stammered WUly. 
 
 " Suppose I order you." 
 
 "Wiry Willy only obeys General Ruffleton and Lord 
 Slysir." 
 
 " If they say so, I suppose it must be so." 
 
 "Besides, I couldn't do it, sir; I love Mount Vernon, 
 and my tears would put the fire out." 
 
 " Come, Willy !" said Alice, leading the way out. " Mil- 
 lions will weep over the recollection of the dastardly profa-^ 
 nation ! Shall we proceed, sir ?" she continued, addressing 
 the officer. 
 
 " Yes ! but in the right direction. And to insure that, 
 I will go with you. Turn your eyes away a moment," said 
 he, igniting a match, as several of his men came in bearing 
 straw. 
 
 Alice needed not the suggestion. Her eyes were blinded 
 with tears ; and, taking Willy's arm, she urged him away 
 in the direction indicated by the Lieutenant. They were 
 overtaken in a few minutes by Junkins, •who, with all the 
 politeness of which he was capable, tendered his arm to the 
 captive, and was again repulsed. 
 
 " I do not desire your assistance, sir," said Alice. 
 
 " I will not enforce it upon you, madam," said the piqued 
 commander. " I have your word that you will go on board 
 my ship, and you have mine that I will conduct you to the 
 Palace for the decision of the Lord Protector and Lord 
 Slysir." 
 
 " I will comply with my promise, sir," said she. 
 
THE ANNOUITCEMENT. 375 
 
 " And I with mine. But if that cannonading is tept up, 
 I shall have to land you at the Navy Yard. And then we 
 will go in a carriage." 
 
 Soon they were at the margin of the river, and passed on 
 board the Buzzard, where they were joined by the men who 
 had been left temporarily at the mansion. And Alice, with 
 an aching heart, as the vessel started up the river, beheld a 
 dark column of vapor ascending from Mount Vernon. 
 
 CHAPTER LXV. 
 
 THE AJmOTOTCEMENT. 
 
 The heads of the columns of the invaders sent down the 
 right bank of the Potomac to the relief of Sir Charles Hunt, 
 were long kept in check by the skilful dispositions of Ran- 
 dolph and Blount, and the impetuosity of Crook. 
 
 " All is done that can be accomplished," observed Ran- 
 dolph, checking his horse at the side of Blount, in an elevated 
 position whence they surveyed the entire field. 
 
 "Yes, sir," said Blount; "and although we must retire 
 before irresistible numbers, it will not be without leaving 
 traces of our work behind. Many thousands of the enemy 
 have fallen, while our loss has been inconsiderable. The 
 Scouts are terrible men ! Why do they rush up to the 
 dead ? Surely they do not lifle them ?" 
 
 "I have observed the same thing, and could not conjec- 
 ture why it was done," said Randolph, with the glass to his 
 eye. " They whoop like Indians — ^I hope they do not hke- 
 •wlse scalp the enemy. General, call off Crook, or we shall 
 lose him. It would be madness to encounter that hurri 
 cane !" 
 
 Blount dispatched the order, while Randolph sent one of 
 his aides to Valiant and Carleton, with directions to retire 
 slowly, but in order, towards the grounds they had occu- 
 pied the preceding night, still keeping out of range of the 
 batteries o,n the northern side of the Potomac. 
 
 Just after these orders had been dispatched, and the hoofii 
 
3Y6 THE ANNOUNCEMENT. 
 
 of the horses of the aides-de-camp ceased to be heard, the 
 steeds of both the President and General Blount snorted 
 frantically and sprang apart, as an apparition rose up be- 
 tween them from the bushes obscuring an exhausted rivulet. 
 
 " Haste ! haste to the eyrie ! But the eaglet is gone ! 
 Gone ! Oh, Genius of Liberty !" cried crazy Charlotte, 
 now standing erect, while the hand that held the spiear 
 trembled violently. " Why sit ye here in idleness in the 
 midst of the inundating flood, that must overflow the tips 
 of the mountains ? Strike your rowels deep into your war- 
 horses, and fly upon the wings of the wind, oh, ye cham- 
 pions of the glorious South, made coruscant by the scintilla- 
 tions of the bright lights of the past !" 
 
 " What does all this mean, Charlotte ?" demanded Ran- 
 dolph, convinced that the erratic being before him always 
 mingled rational purposes with her extravagant ravings. 
 
 " Turn your eyes towards the Zion of the South, the holy 
 Mount of Freedom, and look for yourselves." 
 
 " Where can that proceed from ?" said Blount, quickly 
 perceiving the dark column of smoke still ascending from 
 the ruins of Mount Vernon. 
 
 " It is certainly in the direction of Mount Vernon," said 
 the President ; " but there is no enemy in our rear, and if 
 there had been, they durst not fire that sacred pile ! It 
 must be the result of accident — " 
 
 " No — no !" said Charlotte, " I was there ! My lips but 
 utter what these eyes beheld ! Oh, that my eyes had been 
 cannon balls ! It is Mount Vernon — now a heap of smoul- 
 dering ruins ! Fired by the hands of the British ! They 
 came up the river — a fleet of steamers ! Oh, watchful Ge- 
 nerals, where were your wits then ? Why were the Blue 
 Caps away from the presence of the President's daughter ? 
 Why? Why?" 
 
 "Ah, why, indeed?" exclaimed the President. "It was 
 Alice's own order, that every available man might be in the 
 field to resist the invader !" 
 
 " But, Charlotte," said Blount, " the inmates of the man- 
 sion must have had timely warning — had they not ?" 
 
 " I warned them — who but Charlotte ? But who heeds 
 the warning of the lost Charlotte ? Still they believed me. 
 The Senator and his daughter fled to the woods — but the 
 ministering vestal at the last fane of Liberty — " 
 
THE AinyOXTNCEMENT. S11 
 
 " Alice !" exclaimed the President — " what became of 
 her?" 
 
 " With folded arms, and the star of diamonds glitteiing 
 on her Parian brow, she confronted the vile creatures of the 
 tyrant !" 
 
 " Brave Alice !" said Randolph. " But what followed ?" 
 he continued, gathering up the reins, and bracing his nerves. 
 
 " They touched her not — ^they durst not pollute the last of 
 the vestals by an unholy touch ! But they led her away a 
 captive, and the steamer proceeded up the river. Wiry 
 Willy went with her." 
 
 " I breathe again !" said the President. " I fear nothing !" 
 
 " And we can do nothing !" said Blount. " We must 
 bear the ills that are inevitable. And, really, Randolph, 
 you do not seem to require commiseration !" 
 
 " No, Blount. Even now I am capable of condoling with 
 you." And saying this, he motioned the General to accom- 
 pany him, and they rode slowly away. 
 
 " But why do you utter such words to me, Randolph ?" 
 asked Blount, after they had proceeded some paces in silence. 
 " Twice to-day, I have been on the eve of demanding an 
 explanation from Crook, of his manner and speech — and now 
 I observe the same mysterious bearing in you. Pray ex 
 plain." 
 
 " We must bear the ills that are inevitable and irremedia- 
 ble, my friend," said Randolph. 
 
 " But what inevitable or irremediable ill has befallen me ?" 
 
 •' The appropriate time has arrived to make the disclosure. 
 I have lost a daughter — ^not irrecoverably, I think — and the 
 country has been bereft of one of its purest patriots and 
 wisest statesmen." 
 
 " I do not fully comprehend," said Blount, checking his 
 steed, and gazing steadfastly in the face of the President. 
 
 "You are prepared for the announcement — " 
 
 " Unquestionably !" 
 
 "Your father!" 
 
 " Has he fallen into the hands of the enemy ?" 
 
 " Into the merciful hands of his God." 
 
 " Then it is over ! Randolph, I know you are not mis- 
 taken. My father's father died before him, and in the ser- 
 vice of the country. My father dies before his son — ^liis son 
 remains to die before his posterity. It is the fate of all. It 
 
3'? 8 THE MTSTEEY. 
 
 is natural that these tears should flow — ^but they cannot 
 unman me. No — fear it not ! B ut the manner of his death ? 
 He was not ill when we parted." 
 
 " No, he was not ill when he died." 
 
 " Kot ill ? Ha ! Then all has not yet been told ! Ko 
 matter ! Death is the end of pain — and he was a hero ! 
 Proceed." 
 
 " He was the victim of RuiSeton." 
 
 " The guillotine — or assassination ?" 
 
 " The former." 
 
 The chin of the General fell upon his breast. He re- 
 mained perfectly silent — but the tears ceased to flow, Ran- 
 dolph gently grasped his hand, but did not break the silence. 
 They proceeded thus until they were met by a messenger 
 from Senator Langdon, 
 
 CHAPTER LXVI. 
 
 THE MTSTEET. 
 
 Whej^ the British steamer Buzzard landed at the Navy 
 Yard the sun had set, and the first stars were twinkling in 
 the East. The firing of the many batteries had ceased, and 
 a comparative silence reigned where all had been so lately 
 involved in the thunders and violences of furious war. 
 
 A carriage was procured, and the prisoner, still attended 
 by Willy, whose passport and protection from Rufl3.eton yet 
 served him, was driven into the city. Lieutenant Junkins sat 
 outside with the driver; and knowing not what else to do 
 Avith Alice, conducted her to the White House. 
 
 Jim Ready, at first, refused peremptorily to admit them. 
 But upon learning that the officer had led the expedition 
 against Mount Vernon, the destruction of which was al- 
 ready the subject of conversation in the city, and on seeing 
 Willy's credentials, the doorkeeper gave way, and conducted 
 the party into the Green Room, through which Flora Sum- 
 mers was just then gliding. She paused, and strove to pene- 
 trate the thick veil worn by Alice. Foiled in this, she re- 
 traced her steps, and accosted the maiden thus : 
 
THE MTSTEKT. 379 
 
 "Ah! the doorkeeper neglected to announce your name ! 
 Can I serve you — Is it possible ?" she cried, as Alice threw 
 aside the veil. 
 
 " Yes," said Alice, without the slightest evidence of per- 
 turbation, " we meet again. But it is not a voluntary act 
 on my part. I am a prisoner. It was fitting that the one 
 who applied the torch at Mount Vernon should be the one 
 to make a captive of the President's daughter !" 
 
 " It was wrong ! It was infamous !" said Flora, in a low 
 tone, and gently seizing the hand of Alice, led her into the 
 next room, saying, as she withdrew, to the Lieutenant and 
 Willy, "Remain until I return, and hold no communication 
 with any one." 
 
 " Flora," said Alice, " I cannot forget, neither of us can 
 ever forget, the manner of your expulsion from the Presi- 
 dent's mansion but a short time ago. And now the 
 daughter of the President is conducted into your presence 
 a prisoner, and you are the mistress of the Presidential 
 Mansion !" 
 
 " It is true !" said Flora, but not with an air of exulta- 
 tion. " Be seated — and deem me not your enemy." 
 
 " I do not think you are my enemy," responded Alice ; 
 " and although I could not approve your conduct, I could 
 not avoid respecting your motive. There was a self-abnega- 
 tion in the sacrifices you made, an abandonment of every 
 consideration but devotion to the one you loved. I could 
 not approbate your perfidy to my father ; but I could not 
 help admiring your fidelity to Kuffleton." 
 
 "Hush! speak lower!" said Flora, rising and tripping 
 lightly back to the door, which she locked. Then resuming 
 her seat near the sofa on which the weary »Alice reclined, 
 she continued: 
 
 " You have scanned the secrets of my soul ! Ruffleton 
 may be false, he may be wicked, he may be the vilest mon- 
 ster that ever existed: but he it was upon whom was 
 centred my fii-st young love ! And, oh ! Alice Randolph, 
 I implore you not to interpose your high-born beauty and 
 intellectual forehead between my love and me ! Do not, in 
 the hour of my triumph, snatch the prize from my grasp ! 
 I am more humble, or less polished than thou ; but not less 
 feithful than the highest-born maiden in the land ! I look 
 upoa thy starry brow, thy femininely classical features, and 
 
3 so THE MYSTERY. 
 
 perfect form, and admire them all. If I were a man I 
 would worship at your shrine ! But, being a woman, I 
 would not have my love worship thee! Oh, Alice Ran- 
 dolph! was it fate or destiny that brought thee hither? 
 Could yovi not have escaped ?" 
 
 " My word was passed. I promised to obey the monster's 
 orders, provided he touched me not with his polluted hand." 
 
 "And that word! Neither love, nor life, nor death, 
 would suffice to violate the simple pledge of the high-born 
 and high-bred maiden ! And I, too, admire, although I 
 have not practised such rigid virtue. But were there no 
 means of rescue ?" 
 
 " My guards were in the battle, and the arrival of these 
 British steamers was not anticipated. But, Flora Summers, 
 if my presence here is the occasion of such agonizing alarm, 
 why not send me back again? Women are not usually 
 made prisoners of war." 
 
 " I have thought of everything already. Thought, like 
 lightning, has been flashing through my brain ever since 
 we met. My first impulse was to kiU you. And you do 
 not start to hear it !" • 
 
 " No ; it would have been your love, not your nature." 
 
 " The next thought was instantaneous escape. But then 
 he would have attributed it to my jealousy, and perhaps I 
 should have atoned for it Avith my blood. But death would 
 be preferable to desertion !" 
 
 "Then what was the next thought? What was the 
 final conclusion ?" 
 
 "You must see him. He wiU know of your capture 
 and presence in the palace. I must dissemble, and seem to 
 exult over your calamity, and then he wLU not suspect me 
 of conniving at your escape." 
 
 "Escape?" 
 
 " Yes ; and you must escape within an hour, or else we 
 are both lost to all eternity ! Promise me, Alice Randolph ! 
 Pledge me your word that you will leave this palace, leave 
 this city, within the next sixty minutes !" 
 
 " I cannot promise anything without knowing I possess 
 the ability to perform it. I wS certainly make my escape 
 if I can ; and " 
 
 " Oh, promise ! Else my roused jealousy may cause me 
 to strike you dead, before the expiration of the horn- 1" 
 
THE MTSTEBT. 381 
 
 " If you doabt my anxiety to depart, you do rae great 
 injustice. If you deem me capable of— of— remaining for 
 the purpose of attracting the regards of Ruffleton " 
 
 "No! no! Do not knit your brows. I do not fear 
 anything of the sort ! You do not love him, and never 
 ■would or could love him! I would not kill you for any 
 wilful injury done to me, or for any act or fatdt of yours ; 
 but for your beauty, for your perfections, your superiority 
 in every respect, which would, however much he might 
 contend against them, if inclined to do so at all, certainly 
 weaken my hold upon him, and ultimately bereave me of 
 his affection. You must understand me !" 
 
 " I do. Flora ! And I have no hesitation in pledging my 
 word to escape from this place at the very earliest moment 
 possible. But I think you flatter me too much, in supposing 
 that I might attract the regards of Ruffleton ; on the con- 
 trary, I should certainly endeavor to be as repulsive as pos- 
 sible." 
 
 " Oh, but you know the more one is repulsed, in love, 
 the more he wiU pursue ! And yet you must see him ! Use 
 your own phraseology in a note announcing your captivity, 
 and I_ will deliver it into his hand. There are the writing 
 materials. I will return soon." Flora then hastened back 
 to the green room, where Junkins and Willy awaited her. 
 
 " Lieutenant Junkins," said she, " I will, with your per- 
 mission, take charge of your prisoner. It is not proper, you 
 know, for a captive lady to remain in the custody of an 
 officer." 
 
 " As for that matter. Miss," said Junkins, " I think she's 
 all of a Tartar, and I'm glad to be rid of her. But I thought 
 it my duty to bring her here ; and if not, that the Protector 
 would instruct me to deliver her over to Lord Slysir." 
 
 " Lord Slysir ! By no means ! He was once her father's 
 guest, and then he conceived no partiality for her, nor she 
 for him. But now — no ! you have done right. I will in- 
 form his Highness of your meritorious conduct. His High- 
 ness is at the present moment engaged, and will receive no 
 visitors at this hour. But to-morrow he will, himself, refer 
 to this matter." 
 
 The Lieutenant, bowing, withdrew from the presence of 
 one who seemed to exercise authority in the palace of the 
 Protector, 
 
382 THE JIYSTEET. 
 
 " 'Now, Willy," said Flora, " I know you are a friend of 
 Alice, of Randolph, and of the South " 
 
 " Be pleased to look at this," said Willy, interrupting 
 her, and presenting the passport and protection of Rut- 
 fleton. 
 
 " ISTo ! no ! What do they signify ? Put them away. 
 You are in no danger here. But you must hide from the 
 Bight of Ruffleton. Come with me." 
 
 " Why must I hide, Miss Flora ? And where would you 
 lead me ? he continued, inclined to extricate his arm from 
 the grasp of the woman. 
 
 " You must assist Alice to escape !" 
 
 " Assist her to escape ?" 
 
 " Yes. And it must not be known who fled with her. 
 There is a boat yonder at the end of the lawn, where Virus 
 and Windvane said they were taken. When I release you, 
 you must repair thither with Alice, and lose no time in 
 regaining the opposite shore, beyond the left wing of our 
 army " 
 
 " Oh, Miss Flora !" exclaimed Willy, now clasping her 
 hand and kissing it, "how I have injured you in my 
 thoughts ! In gratitude for your generous conduct, I shall 
 ever study how I may serve you !" 
 
 " It is not generous conduct, Willy ! It is the reverse ! 
 But I have no time for explanations. Still it is a good ser- 
 vice for your friend, and, possibly, some day you may have 
 it in your power to serve me. Be quick ; follow me. I 
 hear Lord Slysir's voice. He approaches ; and probably 
 he met that thick-skulled Lieutenant. Step into this closet, 
 and when I give the signal glide into the room, and away 
 through the window with Alice !" 
 
 The closet was near the door, and as dark within as 
 midnight ; but Willy, the door being slightly open for the 
 admission of air, had a partial view cf the passage, then 
 brilliantly illuminated, and migbu see into the room itself, 
 when the door was open. He had not been long in conceal- 
 ment before he heard the heavy tread of some one, who 
 he supposed might be Ruffleton, and held his breath in 
 terror. But a moment afterwards he recognised the well 
 remembered " Hem !" of Lord Slysir. His Lordship strode 
 forward directly to the door of the room ; but there he uttered 
 his usual ejaculation agaia on being foiled in his attempt to 
 
THE MYSTEET. 383 
 
 enter. Flora had taken the precaution to lock the door. 
 His Lordship strode back a few steps and paused to listen. 
 He recognised the step of Ruffleton. Willy, peeping 
 through the key-hole, having drawn the door quite close a 
 moment before, saw his Lordship take a pinch of snuff, and 
 then smile at a sudden conceit which occurred to him. But 
 Willy's terror may be imagined when he beheld his Lord- 
 ship approach the closet in which he was concealed ! His 
 Lordship pulled without, and Willy pulled within. 
 
 " Confound it !" said his Lordship. " Every place seems 
 locked against me ; and I have no diplomatic key to pene- 
 trate the mysteries of the palace ! And here is Ruffleton 
 himself, and I am discovered !" 
 
 "Ah, Slysir!" said Ruffleton. "I am rejoiced to see 
 you. Come and assist me in deciphering the reports I have 
 from the army. Randolph has taken to flight again, and I 
 must follow him to-morrow or the next day ; and I think 
 you had better accompany us. Diplomatic affairs of great 
 magnitude have often been consummated in the field and on 
 the water." 
 
 " Ay, and on the water," said Slysir. " I think I will 
 go with the fleet, if we can recover our good Admiral 
 Bang ! And it was in relation to an exchange that I came 
 hither." 
 
 " An exchange ? What prisoner have we for whom Ran- 
 dolph would exchange Admiral Bang ?" 
 
 " Ah ! I am happy to inform you. One of her Britan- 
 nic Majesty's officers has reported to me that an expedition, 
 which he had the honor to command, most unexpectedly, 
 and certainly most fortunately, made a prisoner which will 
 enable us to offer an equivalent for the Admiral. This is 
 good news, sir ! And I trust you are prepared to congratu- 
 late your faithful ally on the joyful event." 
 
 " Most sincerely do I congratulate you ! But what illus- 
 trious officer is this you have taken ? I find none in the 
 reports of Sir Charles, Balatrum, or Line." ^ 
 
 " The capture being by one of Her Majesty's officers, the 
 report was made to me." 
 
 " But that was irregular, and subversive of stipulations. 
 I am the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in this 
 country as well as the American ! I hope there is to be no 
 interference — ^no misunderstanding " 
 
384 THE MYSTEEY. 
 
 "Ifo — nothing of the kind! Bat doubtless you will 
 make every effort for the restitution of the Admiral." 
 
 " Unquestionably." 
 
 "Then you will permit me to open a negotiation for 
 the exchange of prisoners — the President's daughter for 
 Bang ?" 
 
 "The President's daughter! You mean the smart 
 American girl who humbugged Lieutenant Junkins ?" 
 
 " Smart — humbugged ! Was it not Alice Randolph ?" 
 
 "Pooh! nonsense! Windvane says she's the daughter 
 of an apothecary !" 
 
 " Then I have been mistaken, and grievously-disappointed ! 
 But, RuiHeton, I have a great curiosity to see this speci- 
 men of an apothecary's .daughter, so capable of personating 
 Miss Randolph. And, now I remember, Junkins had seen 
 Miss Randolph before, and it is very extraordinary that he 
 should be humbugged so egregiously ! The resemblance 
 must be very great. At all events, this captive, he says, is 
 quite beautiful. May I see her ?" 
 
 " J^can have no objection." 
 
 " Allans!" said Slysir, taking the Protector's arm. 
 
 " But she is not here. Flora thrust her out as soon as 
 she discovered the cheat. Flora will have no pretty im- 
 postors in the palace ! She is now in hysterics, and I am 
 sent for to appease her. We will have a scene ! Let 
 go my arm. There must be no witness of our inter- 
 view." 
 
 " By St. George !" exclaimed his Lordship, " your High- 
 ness is mistaken ! I had a glimpse of Flora's hoops as I 
 came hither. She is not in the green room." 
 
 " She will be there. She has no other means of access 
 besides this entrance. Good-night, Slysir! I wish you 
 happy dreams !" 
 
 And saying this, Ruffleton extricated himself from the 
 grasp of his companion, and applying the key, entered the 
 room and locked the door behind him. Slysir made one 
 more ineffectual effort to open the door of the closet, and 
 then turned away in despair. But he had not gone half-a- 
 dozen paces before ho was startled by the sneezmg of Wiry 
 Willy, who had imbibed some of his Lordship's snuff through 
 the key-hole. 
 
 "What the devil's that?" said Slysir, pausing. And 
 
THE KYSTKET. 386 
 
 when in the act of turning to investigate the matter, he 
 ■was confronted by Flora herself, who glided in suddenly. 
 
 " Excuse me, my Lord," said she. " I am in great haste, 
 A TOTctter of importance " * 
 
 " Pooh ! I know all about it. She is rightly my prisoner 
 — not RulHeton's. I want to exchange her for Admiral 
 Eaiig, and you ought to aid me. If we put our heads 
 together the thing can be accomplished." 
 
 "Wo cannot put our heads together, my Lord! I can 
 do nothinw without the countenance of his Highness. You 
 are aware of that. And it would not be expedient for 
 your Lordship to imdertake to thwart any of the Lord 
 Protector's plans. He could manage the affairs of the 
 country now without foreign aid — " 
 
 " Nonsense, child ! I have heard these intimations be- 
 fore. Let us not dabble in politics. But don't you see the 
 danger to yourself m these protracted interviews between 
 Ruffleton and the beautiful Alice ?" 
 
 " I am not aware of any such interviews, my Lord !" 
 said she, striving to stifle the agitation that tormented her, 
 " I — I know nothing of this matter ; and it will be well for 
 neither of us to meddle " 
 
 " Meddle ? Not I. It is nothing, then. We were all 
 mistaken. It was an apothecary's daughter, and not the 
 daughter of the President, captured by Junkins. It is a 
 mere counterfeit that RulHeton is confronting in the green 
 room — ^no one of any beauty, or pretensions — a mere bagar- 
 telle — and I shall go home and to bed. And I find lordly 
 lodgings in the magnificent mansion of Langdon ! Good- 
 night — good-night." 
 ■^Villy heard Slysir's departing steps, and soon after Flora 
 glided softly past the closet and placed her ear near the 
 door of the green room. After remaining in that attitude 
 some time, she turned away and approached the closet in 
 which Willy was concealed. 
 
 "Willy!" said she, in a low whisper. "Willy!" she 
 repeated, for he seemed reluctant to reply for fear of dis- 
 covery by Ruffleton. " Open the closet. Alice has de- 
 manded that the door of her room be thrown open, else she 
 ■will respond to nothing he says." 
 
 " What do you want ?" asked Willy, on hearing her 
 words. 
 
 17 
 
386 THE MTSTEEY. 
 
 " I want to hide in the closet," said Flora, impatiently 
 inserting her fingers in the slight opening. 
 
 " But where shall I go ?" demanded Willy. 
 
 " Stay where you are !" said she, pushing in with some 
 difficulty, destroying the shape of her crinoline, and crowd- 
 ing poor Willy without ceremony. This had hardly been 
 accomplished before the door of the room was thrown wide 
 open. 
 
 " l^ow," said Ruffleton, in a pretty distinct tone, " I have 
 complied with your imperative, if not capricious demand. 
 My proposition is made, and there is no constraint imposed 
 upon you. It remains for you to decide. Peace and per- 
 manent power, or a bloody war and final subjugation. 
 Your father shall exercise equal authority, and, if he sur- 
 vives me, shall be my successor." 
 
 "I answer no !" said Alice. 
 
 " But you do it faintly. Consider it well." 
 
 "It carmot be otherwise. My negiitive is calmly, not 
 faintly uttered. And I am frank to say there is no suitor 
 for ray hand — and probably there never will be. Yet 
 my refusal is deliberately considered, and will be firmly ad- 
 hered to. If you would enjoy my respect, sir, you will 
 lose no time in restoring me to my father." 
 
 " I am at war with your father, and you are a prisoner 
 of war. I will not abuse my advantage, in having posses- 
 sion of the most charming woman in the world " 
 
 "You dare not!" exclaimed Alice, her eyes flashing 
 fire. 
 
 " Be not too fast !" said Ruffleton. " I might dare, ad 
 infinitum. Hitherto my career has been a daring one — and 
 you see how I have succeeded. N^evertheless, I confess my 
 inclination to secure what I have gained, rather than to 
 increase my gains. Randolph, you, and I, might have un- 
 disputed possession of the American world " 
 
 "The Republic of Washington belongs to Godl" 
 
 " Nonsense, maiden ! The time has gone by for such pa- 
 triotic exhibitions. Fancies have given place to things. Re- 
 publics were always ephemeral, and now the whole brood is 
 extinct. But I mil not weary you now. Rest to-night in 
 peace. I will write to Randolph that you are in safety, and 
 pledge him my honor " 
 
 " Do not, I beseech you !" 
 
THB HTSTEKT. 387 
 
 "Why not ? Will not the consciousness that your father 
 has such assurances fi-om me be a relief, when you reflect 
 on your captive condition ? Will it not bring slumber to 
 your eyelids ?" 
 
 " iSTo ; I would depart without having the world know I 
 was ever in captivity." ' 
 
 "That is plainly unreasonable and inadmissible. The 
 very least advantage we can expect to reap from your cap- 
 ture would be the release of Admiral Bang." 
 
 " Release me, and he shall be liberated." 
 
 " It is easy for you to say so ; but would your father 
 ratify the agreement ?" 
 
 "He will redeem the pledge of his daughter, made 
 voluntarily, though in captivity." 
 
 "He might do so. But if he should not, what then? 
 There would be no remedy ; for he would violate no agree- 
 ment." 
 
 " My word would be violated ; and, rather than it should 
 be so, I would return to your custody. General Ruffleton, 
 you know I speak the truth. Why, then, do you hesi- 
 tate ?" 
 
 " I would do better. I would have you remain ; but 
 voluntarily, and share my power — be mistress of the 
 world — " 
 
 " I would die first !" 
 
 " Knit not your brows so disdainfully ; but even that ex- 
 pression becomes you. Oh, how I could adore her ! and 
 yet she spurns me." 
 
 " You promised not to insult me." 
 
 " And will keep ray word. But when was woman insulted 
 by the sincere homage of man?" 
 
 " A monster ! — a murderer !" 
 
 " A murderer ?" 
 
 "Ay; where is the aged Blount — the venerable Sena- 
 tor?" 
 
 " In heaven, I hope. But I am prepared to produce 
 proof of his guilt." 
 
 " Of what was he guilty ?" 
 
 " Of conspiring against my Government and my life." 
 
 " Your Government !" 
 
 " Yes, my Government ; and all the nations and peoples 
 shall respect it ! Call it usurpation, if you please — subvef- 
 
588 NOCrUKNAL ADVENTUEES. 
 
 Bion or revolution ; nevertheless^ it is de facto, and will be- 
 come de jure. Farewell, till morning. Think of what I 
 have said — dream on it, and perhaps your heart may relent, 
 as your reason must teach you that the best policy — " 
 
 " I care nothing for policy! Never mention the subject 
 again. Your best policy is to release me." 
 
 The last words ivere uttered in a loud tone, as the despot 
 retired from the room. 
 
 " Not yet," whispered Flora, after RufBeton strode past, 
 and when Willy manifested an impatience to escape from 
 his place of concealment. " Wait till he ascends the stairs. 
 I can hear him. Oh, the perfidious man !" 
 
 " And may she escape, as you promised ?" 
 
 " Escape ! If she remains under this roof a single night, 
 the next day she shall repose in the churchyard. Tell her 
 so, Willy. Tell her that to accede to Ruffleton's proposi- 
 tion will be both dishonor and death. Now hasten — be- 
 gone!" 
 
 " Oh, never fear us !" said Willy. " All we ask is an 
 opportunity to get away." 
 
 He then glided into the room, and immediately after the 
 prisoner escaped from the rear window, assisted by Willy. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVII. 
 
 NOCTUKWAL ADVENTUEES. 
 
 As the fugitives hurried past one of the lamps on the 
 lawn, they were hailed by a drunken officer, and a moment 
 after they were surrounded by a score of soldiers, with 
 presented bayonets. 
 
 " Stand !" said the officer, staggering up in front of Alice 
 and Willy. " You can't pass ; his Royal Highness, the 
 Grand Protector, will cut oif your heads — eh ! a petticoat ? 
 And where do you come from — and where are you going — 
 and who are you ?" 
 
 " Cast your eye on this!" said Willy, unfolding his pass- 
 port, and stepping aside with the officer, where tne rays of 
 
ITOCriTENAL ADVENTUKES. 389 
 
 the lamp enabled him to decipher the autograph of Ruffle- 
 ton. 
 
 " Tour pardon ! I beg your pardon, sir," said the officer, 
 tottering backwards. " All right ! And for heaven's sake," 
 he continued, apparently sobered in a moment, " do not 
 report this occurrence !" 
 
 Willy made no reply; but, with Alice clinging to his 
 arm, strode onward, while the soldiers fell back, right and 
 left, leaving a wide avenue. 
 
 " How did you obtain that, Willy ?" asked Alice. 
 
 " Oh, it is the old passport given me in New York. I do 
 not think that officer will be likely to make known our 
 escape. Yonder is the skiff; and I hope the oars are not of 
 the creaking sort, for we shall have to pass the British fleet 
 at anchor, and no doubt many boats are plying constantly 
 between the ships." 
 
 " Fortune favors the brave, Willy," said Alice, " and we 
 have prosi^ered so far. Can you row the boat ]" 
 
 " Oh, yes ; I am not very strong, but I am expert at it." 
 
 "I can aid you. I have often amused mysehf'with the 
 oars, until the blisters on my hands admonished me to de- 
 sist. And more than that, WUly : if needs be, in a despe- 
 rate case, I can swim — and the water is now warm and 
 pleasant. So be of good cheer, for I do not mean to be 
 retaken." 
 
 They were now at the brink of the water, and launching 
 the boat, which had been left on dry land by the receding 
 tide, they hastened to embark. All was quiet in the direc- 
 tion of the Palace, and they did not anticipate immediate 
 pursuit. Flora, at all events, would not give the alarm. Slie 
 could not desire the recapture of Alice, and would not 
 report the fact of her flight, perhaps, till morning. 
 
 Such were the thoughts of both Alice and Willy as they 
 both glided on silently, for the weather was calm and the 
 river smooth, near the island of rushes, where Virus and 
 Windvane had been landed on the night of the President's 
 evacuation of the Capital. But, when emerging fi-om be- 
 hind the lower point of the island, the fugitives were ter- ~ 
 ribly alarmed by the presence of more than twenty boats, 
 propelled by muffled oars, which shot out from the rushes 
 and spatterdocks, and completely surrounded them. 
 
 " What does tins mean ?" said Willy, and looking round 
 
390 NOCTUENAL ADVENTURES. 
 
 at the silent assemblage of boats, and yet perceiving no 
 human beings in them. 
 
 " It is strange," said Alice. " Where are the rowers ?" 
 
 " We'd squatted," said Captain Fink, rising, and placing 
 his hand on the prow of the skiff in which the fugitives 
 were seated. " I know your voice. Here, Captain Bim — 
 here's good news ! They have escaped !" 
 
 " By St. George and the Dragon !" cried Bim, rising in 
 another boat. " I know that musical voice myself. Oh, Miss 
 AUce ! My heart is six ounces lighter than it was an hour 
 ago." 
 
 " I am happy to hear you say so. Captain Bim," replied 
 Alice. " And you were resolved to rescue me ?" 
 
 " Or die !" said Bim. 
 
 " Never say die !" said Fink. 
 
 " And now, Willy," said Alice, " why are you so silent ?" 
 
 " I have been thinking — " 
 
 " Is that you. Wiry Willy ?" said Bim, interrupting him ; 
 " no wonder Miss Alice escaped ! She never had a truer 
 friend !" 
 
 " That is true, Captain Bim," said Alice. 
 
 " He's always ahead of me. When he's needed, he's 
 there. When I'm needed, sometimes I'm away." 
 
 "Never mind, Captain Bim," said Alice. "Do not re- 
 proach yourself. No one blames you. It was my fault as 
 much as yours, that you were absent. But what were you 
 thinking about, Willy ?" 
 
 " A scheme. Miss Alice, if it met your approbation, to 
 cover the manner of your escape, and to embarrass Ruffle- 
 ton." He then repeated the words he had heard when con- 
 cealed in the closet, and suggested that if Lord Slysir were 
 taken prisoner, without creating alarm, a feat quite prac- 
 ticable, since he had taken possession of Senator Langdon's 
 mansion, the Protector would be very likely to couple his 
 disappearance with the flight of Alice. 
 
 " It has my sanction," said Alice. " I give it my hearty 
 approbation. I care not what Ruffleton and his army of 
 traitors may say of me. I am delighted with the idea. 
 Captain Bim, and you, Captain Fink, may distinguish your- 
 selves, by capturing Lord Slysir." 
 
 " We'll do it or die," said Bim. 
 
 " Never say die !" said Fink — " but we'll do it ! ' And 
 
PUETHEE ADVENTURES. 891 
 
 it's the best thing we could do to insure the escape of Miss 
 Alice fi"om the British. Let the boat go down the river by 
 itself, having one of our pilots and two strong rowers in it. 
 If they are likely to be observed, they can squat, and ride 
 past on the tide." 
 
 " And if they board us," said Willy, " I have got a paper 
 that will silence them. I believe you know which is Senator 
 Langdon's house, Captain Bim ?" 
 
 " As well as the fork knows the way to my month. But 
 that reminds me that you don't know the way to the farm- 
 house where Senator Langdoa and President Randolph are 
 now sleeping." 
 
 " Do you think they are sleeping, Bim ?" asked Alice. 
 
 " May be not — it's not late — and we must wait some 
 hours before we march into the city. Sleeping ! no indeed ! 
 They're all thinking of you. Miss Edith has cried herself 
 almost ugly. But the President bears up bravely, and tells 
 them you have the wit to escape harm." 
 
 " I was in no danger of being harmed, Captain. But 
 who will accompany us to the farm-house ?'' 
 
 " My silent lieutenant," said Fink. " Attention, CHck !" 
 
 " I'm always attention," said the taciturn lieutenant. 
 
 " Get in there, and do your duty — what that is will be 
 told you. You are under the orders of the President's 
 daughter, and it's a great honor to you." 
 
 Click got in, and then the skiflF was propelled forward 
 with great rapidity by the muscular oarsmen, until they 
 came in the vicinity of the British ship anchored highest up 
 the river ; when every possible precaution was used to elude 
 observation. 
 
 CHAPTER LXVIII. 
 
 FtTETHEE ADVENTUEES. 
 
 BiM and Fink led their party quietly up the canal, and 
 awaited the flight of the hours, when the inhabitants of the 
 city, not on duty, should be steeped in unconscious slum- 
 ber. Fink, however, could not remain inactive; and 
 
392 rUETHEK ADVBNTUKES. 
 
 although he had spent hut two or three days in the 
 Capital previous to its evacuation by the Federal army, 
 yet his practised eye had indexed all its prominent land- 
 marks, and now he was capable, even in the obscurity of 
 night, of finding his way without difficulty to any remem- 
 bered point. He wandered forth, therefore, to reconnoitre. 
 Finding the street deserted and quiet in the vicinity of 
 Lord Slysir's quarters, he contented himself for the present 
 with extinguishing the lamp in front of the door, and then 
 proceeded westward towards the White House, knowing 
 very well that all the approaches to the Despot's Palace 
 were strictly guarded by soldiers. But Fink had the 
 faculty of creeping unperceived even into the camp of 
 watchful Indians ; and hence he did not doubt his ability 
 to escape the observation of a regiment of half-drunken 
 novices in the art of nocturnal perambulation. He had no 
 difficulty in finding access to the Palace ; every external 
 portion of vrhioh he scrutinized with attention. In the 
 rear, and near the western extremity of the building, one 
 or two lights could be distinguished in the second story; 
 and once he perceived Ruffleton himself, with a lamp in his 
 hand, move across a window. He was in his night clothes, 
 and doubtless just retiring to bed. Fink was constrained 
 to abandon the hope, which had momentarily animated him, 
 of capturing the Despot. But, as he was turning away, 
 with an intention to escape in the direction of the canal from 
 the lawn in the rear of the Palace, sounds from one of the 
 basement rooms met his ear. He drew near the open win- 
 dow from which they seemed to proceed, and listened. 
 Footsteps next attracted his attention, and soon after a man 
 and woman entered the pantry, for such it was, the latter 
 leading the way with a burning candle in her hand. 
 
 "Go ! Be off!" said she, "and get your money, or I'll 
 inform on you. I'll tell General Ruffleton that you are a 
 Randolph man, and have been working on a ship at the 
 Navy Yard !" 
 
 " You won't do any such foolish thing, Mrs. Punt !" was 
 the reply. 
 
 " I will, I tell you ! If I sacrifice my own husband in his 
 cause, he'll be bound to reward me for it." 
 
 " You're an unnatural woman. President Randolph will 
 pay me. He's an honorable man." 
 
FUETHEE ADYSasTTUBES. 393 
 
 •' Then go and get your money, and I'll be reconciled !" 
 
 " Tes, and if what the cook tells me is true, you'll be 
 easily reconciled if I never return !" 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 "Why, I'm getting suspicious you've been casting sheep's 
 eyes at that Jim Ready at the door ! If he don't take care 
 I'll give him a black eye. He didn't want to let me in, and 
 I had to get an order from the Colonel !" 
 
 " How did you get the order ?" 
 
 " I told him you was my wife, and then he gave it quick 
 enough !" 
 
 " You see I am a person of consequence ! " 
 
 " I don't want my wife to be a person of consequence 
 among the Colonels and doorkeepers ! She don't belong 
 to their circle." 
 
 " Don't talk about circles ! I tell you many a rich lady 
 would give her ears to occupy my place — and if I had a 
 husband worth a cent, I could make a man of him." 
 
 " And that's what the cook said. Well, I'm worth a hun- 
 dred dollars, for I know President Randolph will pay me." 
 
 " Where are you going now ?" 
 
 " To Senator Langdon's." 
 
 " Senator Langdon's ! Why he's gone." 
 
 " But his house has stayed, and Dick Clusky was left to 
 take care of the things. I slept with him last night, and he 
 invited me to come back to-night, if I couldn't find lodg- 
 ings here." 
 
 " If you stayed here, we should all be guillotined for it. 
 It's against positive orders. But aint Dick's mother, Maud, 
 left behind?" 
 
 " Yes, she's now Lord Slysir's cook, and as proud as ever. 
 She thinks his Lordship's going to marry Miss Edith, and 
 then the fine house will belong to him." 
 
 "She must be a fool ! And perhaps she thinks she's mak- 
 ing a conquest of you — and perhaps she is " 
 
 " What ! that old wrinkled dishclout ? Good night !" 
 Saying this, Punt turned his back on his inappeasable wife, 
 and passed through the window near which Fink was 
 standing. 
 
 Coming out of a lighted room. Punt's vision was imper- 
 fect. He ran against a stone pillar, then stumbled among 
 the flower pots, and fell to the earth, 
 
 17* 
 
394 FUKTHKR ADTENTUEES. 
 
 " Let a friend help you up," said Fink, in a low tone, and 
 at the same time assisting Punt to rise. 
 
 " I thank you, stranger," said Punt ; " and you are a 
 friend indeed. If you had been an enemy, you'd have 
 been more likely to keep me down than to help me up." 
 
 " Yes, I'm your friend, because I've heard my iriend Cap- 
 tain Bim speak about you. I know he wants to see you 
 very much." 
 
 " Captain Bim ! Where is he ?" 
 
 " He's not far oif. Would you like to see him ?" 
 
 " Indeed I would, if he's not too far off, and if it wouldn't 
 take me too long to go to him. Dick Clusky is waiting to 
 let me in at Lord Slysir's." 
 
 "If you choose you can see Captain Bim in five 
 minutes." 
 
 " That'll suit. Have you got a passport ?" 
 
 "Yes — but it would be best for us to go singly. I'U 
 meet you at the lower corner of the Treasury Building." 
 
 " Very well." 
 
 "Don't fail!" 
 
 " No danger of that. You helped me up when I was 
 down !" 
 
 Punt then pursued his way out, passing through the bril- 
 liant gaslight from the tall lamps, and exhibiting his pass- 
 port unsolicited to all the sleepy sentinels. And when he 
 arrived at the place of rendezvous he was very much sur- 
 prised to find Captain Pink awaiting him. 
 
 It was not long before Fink and Punt arrived at the 
 boats in the canal. 
 
 "Captain Bim!" said Fink, standing directly over the 
 boat containing the Captain. 
 
 " By George, I was napping !" said Bim. 
 
 "And if I had been an enemy," said Fink, "you would 
 never have waked up in this world. But come out and see 
 one of your old friends I have brought you." 
 
 " Captain Fink !" exclaimed Bim, scrambling up the wall, 
 " if you've captured Lord Slysir by yourseltj and without 
 my assistance, you have perpeti-ated a very unfriendly and 
 unofBcer-like action, and I shall call you to an account for 
 it, if you have a white eyebrow." 
 
 " Come and see for yourself," said Fink, laughing, and 
 patting Punt on the shoulder. 
 
FUETHEB ADVEimTEEB. 395 
 
 . "How are you, Captain Bim?" said Punt, seiaang the 
 Captain's hand. 
 
 " Very well, I thank you," said Bim, " but you are not 
 Lord Slysir, I think." 
 
 '■ 1 should rather think not," said Punt. "I am a ship- 
 carpenter by trade, and was once a sergeant in Captain 
 Bim's company at the battle of Bladensburg." 
 
 " It's Punt ! How are you. Punt ? I'm glad to see you, 
 Punt !" said Bim. " And, Punt, I'm glad you ain't Lord 
 Slysir." 
 
 " Well," said Punt, " I can't say I'm glad, too, because 
 his Lordship is in very comfortable quarters ; and as he's a 
 bachelor, he can't be harassed by a contrary wife. I'm 
 going to his Lordship's house from here, and Dick Clusky 
 is waiting to let me iu." 
 
 " You are, are you ?" exclaimed Bim. " So am I, and so 
 are a dozen or so of us. And if you sleep there this night, 
 it's more than Lord Slysir himself is fated to do." 
 
 " What do you mean. Captain ?" 
 
 "I mean to take Lord Slysir prisoner, or die in the 
 attempt." 
 
 " Never say die !" said Fink. 
 
 " Then I know you'll do it," said Punt ; " for you never 
 fail ; and I can tell you it won't be a difficult thing to ac- 
 complish, particularly if I help you to get in." 
 
 " That's exactly the thing I intended you to do," said 
 Fink. 
 
 " It's a capital idea," said Bim. 
 
 " It is, by jingo !" said Punt. " But if they found it out, 
 the awful guillotine would be my lot. Will you take me 
 with you ? I want to go to President Randolph to get ray 
 wages, and if they believe I was made a prisoner with the 
 great Lord, I can snap my fingers at the guillotine. And 
 when I get my wages, and go back, the fearful Protector 
 won't suspect anything." 
 
 " Go back ?" asked Fink. 
 
 " What will you want to return for ?" demanded Bim. 
 
 "Why, Mrs. Punt is now a great lady at the White 
 House, and can make my fortune. The chances of promo- 
 tion, by having access to the kitchen there, are not to be 
 despised by anybody. That's what Mr. Windvane told me, 
 and he's to guide me. He says immense influence may 
 
396 FtTRTHEB ADVENTURES. 
 
 be gained through the kitchen, and he's to help me engineer, 
 as he calls it." 
 
 " That's enough ! It's about time now for us to be mov- 
 ing ; you shall lead, Captain Fink, as we agreed." 
 
 Fink placed the men in single file, instructing them par- 
 ticularly to " tread " in each other's " tracks," so that the 
 whole company would make but one sound at each step; 
 and that this might be the more certainly done, he required 
 every man to grasp the skirt of the coat of the one in front 
 of him. Then placing himself at the head of the line, and 
 putting the fringe of his hunting-shirt in the hand of Bim, 
 he ordered eveiy one to lift his right foot. 
 
 " Now, march !" said he, and away they strode. 
 
 But they had not gone twenty paces before Bim paused 
 so abruptly that they all stumbled against each other, and 
 several came near falling. 
 
 " What's the matter now ?" demanded Fink. 
 
 " An idea just struck me," said Bim. 
 
 " An idea ! And it struck so hard as to come nigh knock- 
 ing us down! I hope such things aint going to hit us 
 often !" 
 
 " But listen !" said Bim. " I haven't been so much about 
 head-quarters for nothing. I've learned something of diplo- 
 macy — " 
 
 " What's that ?" asked Fink. 
 
 "It's a weapon that sometimes kills without letting a 
 person know what hurts him. It makes bargains and breaks 
 them ; and sometimes causes an enemy to kill himself — " 
 
 " Oh, that's nothing out in the prairies. It's not new to 
 us. We do it every day — " 
 
 "Do what?" 
 
 " Why, when we catch a rattlesnake alive, we scratch his 
 tail and make him bite himself. That's certain death." 
 
 " That's it ! That's diplomacy ! Now here's my idea, 
 but Willy put it in my head. We'll make Dick Clusky say 
 Lord Slysir ran off with Miss Alice, and that'll make Rufile- 
 ton bite himself! He'll fall out with the British, as sure aa 
 a gun ! And then we'll tell his Lordship that Rutlloton gave 
 us the wink to capture him, to get him out of his way — and 
 that'll make him as mad as a hornet at Rufiieton." 
 
 " Captain !" said Fink, " that's a great idea. I don't 
 wonder at its staggering us ! But the latter end of it ain't 
 
FEDERAL HKAD-QtJAETEES. S97 
 
 perfect. How will we manage it when Lord Slysir sees the 
 President's daughter at our head-quarters ?" 
 
 " Hey ! I didn't think of that ! But we'll leave it for 
 another idea, and it'll come. Yes ! we aint to know any- 
 thing about Miss Alice's escape. Remember that. And 
 v.hen he sees her, and learns all about it, of course he'll be 
 all the better pleased !" 
 
 " That's natural, too !" 
 
 " But," said Punt, who was next behind Bim, " I rather 
 think his Lordship has a hankering after Miss Edith — at 
 least that's what Dick says." 
 
 " True, again !" said Bim. " Go ahead. Captain Fink. It's 
 our duty to act, not think. I forgot that military maxim." 
 Fink led the way through the silent streets, until the party 
 arrived in front of the mansion. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX. 
 
 FEDEEAl HEAD-QUAETERS. 
 
 As the skiff containing the fugitives gUded past the Bri- 
 tish fleet, and when Alice and "Willy began to breathe 
 freer under the conviction that every obstacle had been sur- 
 mounted, they were startled by a flash on the right, fol- 
 lowed by the report of a cannon, and a terrible splash from 
 the ball but a few fathoms ahead. Of course the rowers 
 eeased their labor abruptly ; and a few moments after they 
 were confronted by a boat from the Styx, which lay below 
 the Buzzard. 
 
 "Who have we here? And where are you going?" de 
 manded the oflBcer in command. 
 
 " Be bold, Willy," said Alice. 
 
 " Friends," said Willy, " on the service of the Lord Pro • 
 tector." 
 
 " If that be so," said the officer, in a lower tone, as he 
 approached the stem of the skiff, " you shall pass." 
 
 " Come here," said Willy, " and you shall see." Then 
 
398 FEDBEAU HEAD-QUAETBES. 
 
 Striking a light with a match, he exhibited the signature of 
 Ruffleton to his passport and protection. 
 
 " That will do 1" said the officer, satisfied with a very brief 
 examination of the papers, for before he could inspect them 
 closely the light had gone out. Besides, while it lasted, he 
 h:id caught a glimpse of the beautiful features of Alice, and 
 could not avoid lifting his cap to her. 
 
 " Then work away, oarsmen !" said Willy, " for we have 
 no time to lose." 
 
 " Can I render any assistance ?" asked the young officer, 
 addressing himself to Alice. 
 
 " No, sir," said she : " but I thank you." 
 
 The fugitives had now passed the kst of the British cruis- 
 ers, and the tide being with them, they rapidly approached 
 the place of destination, as indicated by the guide. 
 
 An hour more, and the boat was near the spot where Bim 
 and Fink had embarked. And there they were met by Ma- 
 jor Milnor, and a number of the Blue Caps, who awaited 
 intelligence from "Washington, and hoped to be the first to 
 announce to the President tidings of his daughter. 
 
 " What news have you ?" demanded the Major. " What 
 chance is there of a rescue ?" 
 
 " None at all, Major," said Alice, " for the bird had flown." 
 
 "That voice!" 
 
 " Yes ; it is ray voice," said Alice. " And by your leave, 
 Major, I would be the first to announce my escape to my 
 father." 
 
 Upon hearing these words, the Major plunged into the 
 water, some six or eight inches in depth, where the boat had 
 grounded, and gallantly bore the maiden to land. 
 
 " Thank you. Major !" said she. " And now to hoi'se. I 
 hope the President's head-quarters are not far off." 
 
 " Not more than a mile, and we have your favorite Sir 
 Archy yonder, awaiting you. I never saw him so restless ; 
 he really seems distressed at your absence, like all who have 
 heard of your capture." 
 
 " I am sure I am obliged to them all. I see you are looking 
 for the other boats with Captains Bim and Fink. We met 
 them. But as I had escaped before their arrival, and as 
 they had resolved upon a successful expedition, I gave them 
 permission to bring off some prisoner of note, by way of 
 retaliation. I think they will be successful ; but they will 
 
FEDEEAl HEAD-QUAETEBS 399 
 
 not return immediately ; even if they should succeed in elud- 
 ing the vigilance of the British cruisers." Alice was soon 
 mounted on her favorite charger, and accompanied by Major 
 Miluor, galloped towards the ancient country-seat occupied 
 as the head-quarters of the President. 
 
 But they were defeated in the purpose to present them- 
 selves unannounced before the weary watchers, who prayed 
 for the enfranchisement of Alice. She was recognised by 
 the Blue Caps surrounding the house, and it was impossible 
 for them to repress the joyful feelings her return inspired. 
 Deafening cheers announced the deliverance of the captive ; 
 and the enthusiasm, spreading with rapidity among the 
 divisions of the aimy, the silence of midnight was startled 
 by the thunders of their applause. 
 
 " My dear child !" said the President, upon rushing out 
 on the lawn and folding his daughter to his heart, while a 
 tear moistened his cheek. 
 
 " My father !" said she, " all is repaired. I have escaped 
 unharmed ; but henceforth I am the President's daughter, 
 and not Marble!" She was next folded in the arms of 
 Edith — then embraced by General Crook, who had wept 
 like a child on hearing of her capture — by General Blount, 
 pale and decked in the habiliments of mourning — by Sena- 
 tor Langdon — ^by the aged Doctors of divinity and medi- 
 cine. Love and Darnell ; and, indeed, hundreds of others 
 would have shown their joy in the same manner. And as 
 Alice, in reply to their congratulations, gave a large share 
 of the merit to Wiry Willy, every one present grasped the 
 young man's hand in token of their approbation. 
 
 " I cannot sleep, father," said Edith, who had been quite 
 ill. " But I am well, now ! Oh, Alice ! I feared we should 
 never meet again ! How did you escape ?" 
 
 " Answer me first !" said Randolph. " Where are Bim 
 and Fink ?" 
 
 " They resolved to make a prisoner of importance," said 
 Alice, archly, '' by w.iy of retaliation." 
 
 " Now proceed with Edith," said Randolph, when they 
 re-entered the house ; " I am answered. I will say nothing 
 about the epoti-sm of camps or the vaulting ambition of 
 heroines. Proceed." 
 
 " Ho '.V did I escape ?" continued Alice. " But how shall I 
 escape the sarcasms of the Commander-in-Chief if I tell you?" 
 20 
 
400 FEDERAL HEA.D-QUARTEE8. 
 
 " EasUy," said Randolph. " It shall be attributed excln- 
 sively to your address — your merit." 
 
 " It was not that — not that," she said. 
 
 " Not that !" iterated Edith. 
 
 " No ; it was the jealousy of another." 
 
 " .lealousy ?" 
 
 " Or fear — which, you know, is the same thing." 
 
 " I know nothing about it." 
 
 " How they do beat about the bush. General !" said 
 Crook to Blount, whose sad expression of countenance had 
 been momentarily relaxed. 
 
 " Don't interfere. Crook," said Randolph, " or the mys- 
 tery will be prolonged indefinitely." 
 
 " It was the jealousy or fear — as she confessed herself — 
 of Flora Summers." 
 
 " Flora Summers !" exclaimed Edith. " That fearful wo- 
 man ! The wonder is, that she did not assassinate you." 
 
 " She miglit have done so, if I had not escaped, and, in- 
 deed, she threatened it if I did not escape. She is the mis- 
 tress, now, of his I-Iighness''3 Palace ; and wields immense 
 power. She it was who furnished me the means of escaping. 
 Let no one denounce Flora again. She is not vile by natui-e, 
 b.vit only loves the tyrant too well." 
 
 " No wonder, then," said Randolph, " that she could not 
 be won by the President. However, since she served my 
 daughter, I will serve her, if it be in my power." 
 
 " But who is the one of importance Jack Bim is to cap- 
 ture by way of retaliation ?" demanded General Crook. 
 
 " Lord Slysir, I think," said Alice. 
 
 " Good ! I do hope his Lordship will fall into our hands 
 again," said Crook ; " because I intimated that I had a pre- 
 sentiment we should capture him once more. But then the 
 fellow said it would be no mortification " 
 
 " I trust," said Edith, quickly, while a melancholy smile 
 illumined the pale face of Blount, " that Bim will not bruise 
 him again !" 
 
 At a late hour the company sought the repose of which 
 they stood in great need after the fatigues and excitements 
 of the day. 
 
DIPLOMATIC CATEGORIES. 401 
 
 CHAPTER LXX. 
 
 DIPLOMATIC CATEGORIES. 
 
 " Stop there ! Who are you ?" cried Dick Clusky, see- 
 ■ing Bim, Fink, and a number of their men gliding in at 
 the door which he had opened, on hearing Punt's signal. 
 
 " They are friends," said Punt. 
 
 "Friends? But there's too many of 'em. His Lord- 
 ship will be in a rage !" 
 
 " That's true, Dick," said Bim, "but it can't be helped." 
 He then proceeded very deliberately to station his men in 
 the hall, while Dick looked on in amazement, ever and 
 anon rubbing his eyes, as if doubtful whether it was a dream 
 or reality. Bim next ignited the candle he always carried 
 in his pocket, and then extinguished the gas. " Now, Dick," 
 continued he, "you must not be astonished at anything. 
 Lord Slysir will at least pretend to be in a great rage. He 
 may swear a little. But it will be nothing but sham. 
 You understand ?" 
 
 " No, I don't !" said Dick. 
 
 " Well, I'll tell you. He's going to run away with a lady 
 against the will of the Protector, and he wants the Protec- 
 tor to think we captured him, and dragged him off by force. 
 Do you understand, now ?" 
 
 " No, I don't ! I know his Lordship is in love with my 
 mistress — " 
 
 " Miss Edith ? It was only pretence — and, besides, she 
 wouldn't have him. I'll tell you a secret in your ear. Lord 
 Slysir is going to marry Miss Alice, the President's daugh- 
 ter. He sent for us to come and take him jsrisoner. You 
 know mi?, and you know Captain Fiak ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well. We are officers in the President's army, and it's 
 not likely we'd be here without an invitation. You under- 
 stand ?" ■ 
 
 " No, I don't : because you said be was going to run 
 away with a lady," 
 
402 DIPLOMATIC CATEGOEIES 
 
 "You are stupid! Don't you know General Ruffleton'B 
 got Miss Alice a prisoner at the "White House ?" 
 
 "No, I don't! Yes — yes, I do! I heard one of Lord 
 Slysir's men say so, but I didn't believe it — for the British 
 are most abominable liars about ladies." 
 
 " All you have to do is to keep quiet, Dick. We'll 
 manage the rest." 
 
 Bim, then, candle in hand, led the way up-stairs, followed 
 by Fink and ten of the men. He, knocked at the door of 
 Lord Slysir's chamber, through the key-hole of which he 
 perceived all was darkness. 
 
 " Who's there ? What do you want ?" 
 
 " We have a message for Lord Slysir!" said Bim, enter- 
 ing, for the lock had given way under his gigantic pressure. 
 
 " A message ! Who from ?" demanded his Lordship, 
 starting up in bed, and gazing at the intruders in astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 "My Lord," said Bim, "perhaps I used the wrong word. 
 We have no special message. It's a mission." 
 
 " A mission ? What the deuce does this mean ?" con- 
 tinued his Lordship, endeavoring to snatch a brace of pis- 
 tols which lay on a table near his pillow. 
 
 " Pardon me, my Lord," said Bim, interposing and plac- 
 ing the pistols in his own belt, "but these tools are danger- 
 ous, and it's not our mission to let you commit suicide." 
 
 " Suicide ! Mission !" repeated his Lordship. " Will you 
 not oblige me by explaining all this." 
 
 " Well," said Bim, " our mission is to convey your Lord- 
 ship down the river into the camp of the President. And 
 the meaning is, I think, that -without the permission of the 
 Protector — or rather I think him a Traitor — ^it isn't likely 
 we would have ventured into this city. Your Lordship 
 must know who I am. It ain't possible your Lordship could 
 have forgotten Captain Bim, already. Your Lordship's 
 capture made me a captain — I hojje it wiU now make me a 
 major. But there is not a moment to be lost. The boats 
 are waiting. Here is paper, pen, and ink. Please your 
 Lordship write an order to the British cruisers to let 
 the boats pass without question. Do this, and I promise 
 not to bruise you this time." Saying this, Bim lifted Sly- 
 sir from his couch and placed him on a chair beside the 
 table. 
 
DIPLOMATIC CATEGOEIES. 403 
 
 His Lordship became suddenly aware of his helpless 
 condition, and was stunned by the intimation that Ruffleton 
 had been the contriver of the plot. Seeing no other alter- 
 native but submission and obedience, he wrote the lines dic- 
 tated by Bim and affixed his signature to them. 
 
 "Now, your Lordship," continued Bim, again lifting 
 Slysir in his herculean arms, " we will depart without de- 
 lay." 
 
 " Stop !" cried his Lordship. " I must put on my clothes ! 
 You would not take me out in the street with nothing on 
 but my nightcap and gown !" 
 
 " The air is pleasant," said Bim ; " besides it's quite dark. 
 We cannot gratify yon, indeed, my Lord. We must hasten. 
 And they say it takes a Lord two hours to dress. Bring 
 his clothes along, Captain Fink. He can dress in the boat." 
 
 Silently the party descended the stairs, and returned to 
 the boats. Then the oarsmen bent to their work and rapid 
 progress was made. 
 
 In the meantime Lord Slysir proceeded to put on his 
 clothes. But an indispensable garment was missing. He 
 could find no breeches. 
 
 " My breeches !" cried he. " They are not here." 
 
 " I thought I had everything," said Fink. " What are 
 these ?" he continued, lifting up a light garment. 
 
 " They are my drawers !" said Slysir. 
 
 " I thought I got all the clothes in the room," said Fink. 
 " Are you right sure, sir, you had any breeches ?" 
 
 " Had any breeches ! I will have none of your impu- 
 dence !" 
 
 " You're safe !" said Fink ; " but I'll give you a chance to 
 fight on equal terms some day or other, perhaps. Still, I 
 was perfectly serious in the question. Sometimes men wear 
 l^gings, and no breeches at all. However, I brought all 
 the clothes that were in the room, for I never do anything 
 by halves." 
 
 "My breeches were in the next room," said his Lord- 
 ship. 
 
 " Then all I've got to say is," replied Fink, " they had no 
 business to go in there by themselves, for now they're left 
 behind. I peeped into that chamber — " 
 
 "You did?" 
 
 "And shut the door again — it was pitch dark. But 
 
404 DIPLOMATIC CATEGOEIEiS. 
 
 really I'm sorry for you — and I doubt whether any man 
 has an extra pair of breeches to loan you." 
 
 "Loan me!" 
 
 Bun and Fink, who were in the same boat, held a pro- 
 tracted consultation in a low voice, which did not reach the 
 ears of Lord Slysir. 
 
 "Captain Fink," said the former, "the moon will soon 
 hinder us from giving 'em the slip in the ' snaking' way. I 
 have got his Lordship's pass ; but then we've got his Lord- 
 ship himself, and he might revoke it ! I want to hear what 
 you've g(jt to say — think well on it, for we've a high prize 
 if we can only steer it into port." 
 
 " Captain Bim," said Fink, " I have thought the mat- 
 ter over. It's my opinion the boats ought to go all in a 
 bunch, boldly and audaciously, to keep from being suspi- 
 cioned. If we go in a bunch, right imder their guns, and 
 show 'em we don't want to hide, they won't suspicion us, I 
 think, because the British are not half so smart as the 
 Indians. We can gag his Lordshij) and make hun lie down 
 in the bottom of the boat, and pass him off for a sick man 
 if any of the enemy should visit or search us." 
 
 " I like your plan. Captain Fink," said Bim. " There is 
 only one thing I would add to it, which I hope you'll agree 
 to, and the plan will be the joint production of two heads. 
 To appear bold, and indifferent, and confident, I think our 
 men should sing a boat song." 
 
 " A boat song ? My men can sing a "Western river boat 
 song, ten miles long, if that'll do." 
 
 "And my men can sing any chorus that ever was in- 
 vented. Now let us announce the result of our conference 
 to his Lordship. Will you do it ?" 
 
 "ISTo ; I'd rather not. I hav'n't been used to speaking 
 to Lords, except one that came out to Missouri to hunt 
 with us, and he could eat, and drink, and laugh, and joke, 
 as well as any white man." 
 
 " Then I'll do it ! My Lord Slysir," he continued, in a 
 louder voice. 
 
 "I hear you, Bim. And, Bim, I don't blame you for 
 what has occurred this night. But if my suspicions be well 
 founded — no matter! If I see Randolph, or even if I 
 escape, or am rescued by her Majesty's officers^-" 
 
 " My Lord," said Bim, " it was concerning your reS- 
 
DIPLOMATIC CATKQOlilKS. 405 
 
 cue or escape, that we have been putting our heads toga- 
 ther." 
 
 " I thought so. And no doubt Randolph will deem it 
 meritorious conduct on the part of his officers in perform- 
 ing an act of courtesy to her Britannic Majesty's Plenipoten- 
 tiary, when he had been betrayed by a perfidious ally. 
 And I shall certainly regard it as a friendly service — " 
 
 " My Lord !" said Bim, " you're mightily out of it ! "We 
 don't intend to do any such thing !" 
 
 " You don't !" 
 
 "No, sir — I mean your Lordship. We intend to con- 
 duct you to the President's head-quarters, breeches or no 
 breeches !" 
 
 " The d — ^1 you do ! Then I am mistaken." 
 
 " Yes, sir — I mean your Lordship — you are mistaken in 
 the men you have to deal with." 
 
 " But sure you don't reckon on being able to pass through 
 the British fleet, with such a number of boats without 
 being detected? Such a feat might be done of a dark 
 Bight ; but now the moon will reveal everything." 
 
 " But, sir — I mean your Lordship — you gave us a pass, 
 and you wrote that we were not to be questioned." ' 
 
 "That was under compulsion. If they question me, 
 they'll know my voice — " 
 
 " That's the point I've been steering for," said Bim. " On 
 the matter of that, we have come to the conclusion to say 
 a few plain words to your Lordship, and we hope your 
 Lordship won't take any offence at 'em." 
 
 " Say on, Bim — never fear!" 
 
 " As for that, sir — I mean your Lordship — I never feared 
 but once, and that was about a minute. I thought I saw a 
 ghost. But to the matter in hand, and there's no time to 
 ■pare. Captain Fink and I have come to the conclusion 
 that you must not be heard or seen by any of the prying 
 midshipmen or lieutenants." 
 
 "How will you prevent it, Bim," asked his Lordship. 
 " "Will you throw me overboard ?" 
 
 "Lord! no, sir — ^I mean your Lordship. Thi-ow yon 
 overboard, indeed ! and lose our prize ! No, sir — I mean 
 your Lordship — we only intend to gag you and lay you 
 down in the bottom of the boat — " 
 
 « "What ? "What's that ? "Would you dare—" 
 
406 DIPLOMATIC CATEGORIES. 
 
 " "We're daredevils," said Fink, " when provoked." 
 
 " I must say you resemble them," added his Lordship, 
 seeing they were entirely in earnest. " But I will have no 
 violence. If you will not take my word, I will, myself, tie 
 a handkerchief over my mouth, and conceal my face from 
 recognition." 
 
 " I'm not afraid to trust your Lordship," said Bim — " and 
 so the treaty's made. All I have to add, as a guarantee of 
 its faithful performance, is that Captain Fink and myself are 
 to sit at your elbows, with the understanding that rather 
 than see the prize snatched out of our hands, we would sink 
 it to the bottom." 
 
 " I agree," said his Lordship. 
 
 After this the boats were " bunched," as Fink expressed 
 it, and the crews sang the western boat song. When they 
 approached the first cruiser, Bim ordered his men to meet 
 the boat rowed towards them. And striking a light and 
 igniting his candle, he had his paper in readiness by the 
 time the officer came alongside. 
 
 " That is good enough authority for me," said midship- 
 man Slysir, a nephew of his Lordship. " But how is uncle 
 Potbelly to-night ?" 
 • " Uncle who ?" demanded Bim. 
 
 " Oh, his Lordship. He's my uncle, and sometimes I call 
 him uncle Potbelly." 
 
 " He was quite well, I thank you," said Bim, " when I 
 saw him last ; and I think the pot was as great as ever. 
 Good night, sir." 
 
 " The impudent rascal," said his Lordship, when the boats 
 had gUded some distance apart. "Uncle Potbelly! I'll 
 send him home, to be put to school again I Thank you, 
 Bim, for permitting me to express my dissatisfaction with 
 my nephew. Now tie up my mouth again. You see I did 
 not violate my word. My own nephew did not know me." 
 
 "If he had, he would have been more respectful, per- 
 haps," said Bim. 
 
 " He shall not escape ! But here comes another boat." 
 
 His Lordship's mouth was again bandaged, and by the 
 time the man-of-war's boat was alongside, Bim had his light 
 and his paper in readiness. The officer seeing the signa- 
 ture of Lord Slysir to the pass, did not pause to conjecture 
 what might be the nature of the expedition ; but, touching 
 
DIPLOILATIC CATEGOKIES. 407 
 
 his cap very politely, ordered his men to row back to the 
 ship. And soon after it was observed that signals were 
 exhibited on the ships from one end of the fleet to the 
 other. 
 
 " Now I may put the handkerchief in my pocket," said 
 Lord Slysir, " for they have given orders not to visit us 
 any more." 
 
 As they drew near the place of landing, Bim giving 
 the signal, the ■ solemn hour of early dawn was startled 
 by three vociferous huzzas from the crews. The echoes 
 and reverberations roused their comrades on the shore, 
 and repeated cheers attested the hearty welcome which 
 awaited the return of the adventurers. And when the 
 boats touched the land, hundreds of gallant spirits 
 crowded round Bim and Fink to hear the news. All 
 was soon known, and many hearty bursts of laughter 
 assailed the ears of his Lordship, as he walked between 
 the two Captains in his white drawers. 
 
 " Where is President Randolph ?" he asked. " Take me 
 to his head-quarters immediately." 
 
 "As soon as our horses come," said Bim ; "it's too far to 
 walk without pantaloons." 
 
 " Pantaloons !" said his Lordship, glancing down at his 
 nether garment. " Be careful, Bim," said he, in a less pre- 
 sumptuous tone, " not to lead me where the ladies or Gene- 
 , ral Crook can see me." 
 
 "Well, sir," said Bim — "I mean your Lordship, you 
 shall be obeyed. But I was thinking that none except 
 General Crook's breeches would fit your Lordship. He's 
 lust about your size." 
 
 " And that's true, Bim. Lead me to him." 
 
 In the space of a few minutes they had galloped up 
 to the mansion where the President and his Generals 
 ^odged. The sun was gilding the tops of the distant 
 hills, the rosebushes on the lawn were bespangled with 
 dew, and the fragrance of flowers fiUed the atmosphere. 
 
 Lord Slysir and Bim, who had approached the man- 
 sion, dismounted quietly in front of the wing of the house, 
 where a sentinel said the Genei-al they were in quest of 
 had his lodgings. They were met at the door by General 
 Crook himself, who was an early liser. 
 
 " WeU, Bim ?" said be, " but what's that hiding behind 
 
408 DIPLOMATIC CATEGOKIES. 
 
 you? Stop!" he continued, pushing Bim aside and con- 
 fronting his Lordship, at whom, he gazed in silence. He 
 looked fit his Lordship's soiled hat and coat, and then cast 
 his ej'^es down at his — drawers. He could restrain himself 
 no longer. Clapping his hands, and laughing vociferously, 
 nearly all the inmates of the mansion were roused from 
 their slumber. The Venetian blinds of every window on 
 that side of the building, above and below, seemed agitated. 
 
 " General Crook," said Slysir, " why do you keep me 
 standing here exposed to the curious gaze of all who may 
 choose to look at me ?" 
 
 " What ! Is it possible ?" cried the General, in a very 
 loud voice. "Pardon me ! I didn't know your Lordship 
 without your — breeches." 
 
 " Confound it. General !" said his Lordship, " speak lower, 
 or everybody will hear you ! Let me in, and lend me a 
 pair of your breeches." 
 
 " Certainly," continued Crook, still very loudly. " Par- 
 don me for keeping you standing here so long, in the dew, 
 and without your breeches. John, you rascal, wake up, 
 and get a pair of my breeches for Lord Slysir !" 
 
 " Why did you speak so loudly. General ?" asked Slysir, 
 when admitted within the chamber. 
 
 " I was not aware of it. But your Lordship must know 
 that I have been bellowing so much in the field after the 
 John Bulls, that my voice has become uncontrollable. But 
 here are the breeches — put them on quickly, for I hear Ran- 
 dolph coining — and, for what I know, some of the petticoats 
 may be with him. Bira has by this time reported every- 
 thing, and Alice may claim you as her prisoner." 
 
 Daring these words his Lordship Used the utmost dis- 
 patch with the breeches, and had only succeeded in adjust- 
 ing them when Randolph entered. 
 
 " My Lord," said he, " you are right welcome ! And I 
 congratulate you on your exemption, this time, from the 
 terrible bruises^— " 
 
 " Bruises or breeches ?" asked Crook. 
 
 "Ah, Crook," said Randolph — "you had better bridle 
 your tongue before Rnffleton gets your head. He swears 
 vengeance against you. But really, Bim informed me that 
 your Lordship, in the hurry of departure, actually did leave 
 one of your garments bdmid — " , 
 
DIPLOMATIC CATEGOEIES. 409 
 
 " Yes — his breeches," said Crook. 
 
 " I hope your Lordship," continued Randolph, " will con- 
 sider my wardrobe entirely at your service." 
 
 " I thank your Excellency," said Slysir, " and will avail 
 myself of the generous offer." 
 
 "But," said Crook, "don't you see Randolph's legs are 
 six inches longer than your Lordship's ?" 
 
 " No matter," said Randolph, " come with me and 
 examine the other garments ; you may at least change your 
 coat !" 
 
 " I recognise a diplomatic emphasis in that, your Excel- 
 lency," said Slysir, " and will not neglect the intimation. 
 But I hope there will be no danger of meeting the ladies ?" 
 
 "None whatever," said Randolph, smiling. "They will 
 fly before you like frightened fawns." 
 
 " And why ? Have they been made acquainted with my 
 condition on arriving hither ?" 
 
 " Bless your life," said Crook, speaking at random, " did 
 you not hear the rattling of Venetian blinds just over our 
 heads when we were conversing in the yard ? The young 
 ladies occupy the chamber directly over mine." 
 
 " And it was for the purpose of attracting their attention, 
 General," said Slysir, reproachfully, " that you spoke in such 
 deafening tones ! That was very unkind. I would not have 
 been seen by the ladies for thousands." 
 
 " Nonsense, Slysir !" continued Crook, his eye gleaming 
 with memment ; " you do not understand our .American 
 ladies at all." 
 
 Slysir, without uttering a word in reply, withdrew with 
 the President. They proceeded directly to Randolph's pri- 
 vate office. 
 
 "Now, my Lord," said the President, "if we have any 
 business to transact, we will dispatch it immediately. But, 
 my Lord, how can you treat ? You have ceased to be a 
 negotiator, and become — " 
 
 " What, your Excellency ?■" 
 
 " A prisoner. You let the opportunity slip of regnining 
 Bang, when you held Senator Blount." 
 
 " I protested against his execution." 
 
 " I know it. But you should have prevented it." 
 
 " And I shall for ever protest against another, and a stiu 
 more in&mous act of Ruffleton's. They tell me, sir, thai 
 
 18 
 
410 DIPLOMATIC CATBGOEIES. 
 
 my capture, or rather abduction, was connived at, or insti- 
 gated by him." 
 
 " They deceive you. It was the blundering idea of Bim, 
 who supposed a rupture between you and Ruffleton would 
 be of service to me. The honest Captain is no diplomatist, 
 though he seems to have misled one." 
 
 " The unwashed ruffian ! But then, your Excellency, all 
 the world knows RufBeton's weakness for the sex, and — " 
 
 " Yours, my Lord." 
 
 " Conceded. And, as I bad no means of knowing that 
 Miss Alice had escaped his clutches ; and, as she had been 
 captured by her Majesty's officer — " 
 
 ^' The one who applied the torch to Mount Vernon — the 
 immortal JunkLns." 
 
 " I protested against that, also. But, under all the cir- 
 cumstances, your Excellency may easily conceive why I 
 might be, and any one might be, inspired with the belief 
 that Ruffleton had yielded to the expediency of having me 
 removed." 
 
 " Granted. But, my Lord, for either Ruffleton, or the 
 Envoy of any nation on earth, to offend my daughter, would 
 involve as serious consequences as befell the famous Trojan 
 city. No more of that ! Have you any proposition to 
 make ?" 
 
 " I believe my Government would not be averse to a re- 
 newal of the propositions I made your Excellency on the 
 status quo ante helium ; for it never can and never will be 
 particeps criminis in the sanguinary work of the guillotine." 
 
 " It is premature. The pear is not yet ripe. Ruffleton's 
 alliance with England is a twofold necessity to me. Nay, 
 start not, nor stare in surprise. If your Lordship had not 
 been incapable, as all the British diplomats have been, of 
 comprehending the public sentiment in this country — I 
 mean the patriotism of our popular sovereigns — you would 
 have withheld your co-operation from both sections, at least 
 until the rupture and collision had progressed into more 
 desperate stages. And now, my Lord, I not only decline 
 Ibrming any alliance with England myselfj but will contri- 
 bute all in my power to prevent a rupture between you and 
 Ruffleton. Your Lordship may at any time return to your 
 ally, on parole, to be honorably exchanged whenever an 
 equivalent, can be tendered. I will have your Lordship's 
 
DIPLOMATIC CATEGORIES. 411 
 
 breakfast served immediately, and, in the meantime, you 
 will amuse yourself until I return from my morning's ride." 
 
 Saying this, Randolph withdrew, leaving his Lordship in 
 a state of profound amazement. 
 
 During the interview between Randolph and Slysir, 
 Blount" and Edith met in the parlor. The General was 
 promenading slowly to and fro, pale and haggard, having 
 been unable to sleep during the night, for the vision of his 
 father and the butchery of the guillotine frightened slumber 
 from his pillow. But now he was composed, though very 
 sad. Edith, who had been attracted by his measured step, 
 was so overcome by his appearance, that her sympathy 
 found expression in tears ; and, upon beholding her bede^ted 
 eyelids, Blount advanced and silently folded her in liis arms, 
 and their tears were mingled together. 
 
 " Dearest Edith," said he — " and who else now remaining 
 on earth can be so dear to me ? — I thank you for this ! The' 
 vision is dispelled — the horrid picture of his humiliation 
 and agony — and dispelled by an angel ! The severed links 
 that bound me to another earthly object, now for ever gone, 
 only attach me the more indissolubly to you. Here and 
 hereafter, now and for ever, we will exist for each other. 
 Let us go to your father. Let us lose not a moment in 
 consummating the union. You are silent," said he, gazing 
 down at the fair maiden's face, half-hidden on his breast, 
 " But you do not oppose ?" 
 
 " No, Harry," said she. 
 
 " No ? I have not misinterpreted ? Then let us hasten 
 to your father !" 
 
 Half-leading — half-bearing the precious burden, the Gene- 
 ral entered the room occupied by Senator Langdon. Blount 
 briefly but explicitly made known the nature of his errand, 
 and Edith was silent. 
 
 " My son !'' said Langdon, while tears started in his eyes 
 — " I will be your father in affection, as well as in law. I 
 loved your father, though I often differed with him. I 
 shall not differ with you, and therefore must love you more. 
 Send for Dr. Love, and let us all repair to the little chapel 
 in the grove which we attended last evening." 
 
 Blount, placing the blushing maiden in the arms of her 
 father, hastened away to make the necessary preparations 
 for the nuptials. 
 
412 THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXI. 
 
 THE MIJSnSTEK OF JUSTICE. 
 
 Mr. Wixdvane, the Minister of Justice, or rather the 
 head of the Police, was roused early in the morning by a 
 tremendous knocking at the door of his dwelling. The 
 stars being still faintly glimmering in the heavens, the great 
 man ordered his library to be illuminated, and proceeded 
 thither himself with as little delay as possible. The visi- 
 tor, he felt assured, must be one of his secret agents, and 
 he had already organized a corps of them in imitation of 
 Fouche. 
 
 "Ah! it is you. Cute!" said Windvane, on perceiving 
 the visitor. Cute was one of Lord Slysir's secretaries, 
 whom Windvane had employed as a spy. He narrated the 
 circumstances of Lord Slysir's abduction. 
 
 "This is important," said Windvane. "I thank you, 
 Cute, for this information — I mean for apprising me of the 
 occurrence, for you " 
 
 " True, your Excellency, the occurrence was all I could 
 understand. It required your genius to unravel the tangled 
 skein." 
 
 " I think I may lay claim to some sagacity, Mr. Cut6 — 
 but then I have the means of information possessed by no 
 other man, and the power to defeat and destroy all false 
 players " 
 
 " I trust your Excellency "WiU never have cause to suspect 
 my fidelity," said Cute. 
 
 " I trust so, too — because in the event — in that event — I 
 should be under the disagreeable necessity — enough ! 
 Whither do you go now ?" 
 
 " It was my purpose to report this matter to the Pro- 
 tector." 
 
 "JSTo. Return to your couch. Go into that chamber 
 and allow me to turn the key on this side of the door. I 
 have reasons for it, perhaps involving your safety. The 
 
THE MINISTER OB" JUSTICE. 413 
 
 Protector may order the executioner to decapitate all the 
 household of Slysii-, before I can appease him." 
 
 Cute, trembling, for he was aware that Windvane's house 
 was ever filled with the servitors of the guillotine, did not 
 venture to hesitate. 
 
 And Windvane, left to his own reflections, promenaded 
 his office a few moments, contemplating the web of intrigue 
 which seemed to invite the control of a master-mind. 
 
 " Now, or perhaps never !" thought he, "the opportunity 
 is presented for me to grasp the reins of power. The flight 
 of Alice will exasperate the Protector, and the desertion of 
 his British ally — but no ! He cannot long avoid arriving at 
 the conclusion that after the burning of Mount Vernon by 
 the British, there can never be a reconciUation between 
 Randolph and Slysir — never! But will that conviction 
 come before he goes in pursuit of the enemy ? I think 
 not ; and my point is to get him off, out of the way, imtil I 
 can realize a fortune." 
 
 This result attained in his meditations, Windvane hastened 
 to the Palace, and found ready admission. He was ushered 
 into Rufileton's bed-room. 
 
 "Windvane," said the Protector, "I have broken the 
 thread of a most delightful dream. I hope your informa- 
 tion may be of an agreeable nature ; and quite sure am I 
 that you ^ould not have disturbed my slumber at this, the 
 most unseasonable hour for one who perforce must be up 
 late o'nights, were it not of great magnitude." 
 
 " It is of very great magnitude, your Excellency," said 
 Windvane, " and I am sorry to say it must necessarily be 
 veiy disagreeable to you." 
 
 " Pause there, Windvane," said Rufileton, sitting upright 
 in bed, "until I can consider the condition of affairs a 
 moment. No. It was impossible for any serious calamity 
 to occur. There has been no battle, of course, or I should 
 have known it. What is the occurrence, Windvane, which 
 has blown you hither ?" 
 
 " There are two of them, your Excellency." 
 
 " Two of them ? Nay, don't be alarmed — ^for I am as 
 mild as a midsummer morning — I know the attitude of 
 affairs immediately around me — and Randolph has more 
 cause of distress than I have. One question. Is there any 
 rebellion in the distant States ?" 
 
414 THE MrNISTEE OF JUSTICE. 
 
 " No, sir. The guillotine secures permanent submission 
 to your Highness's authority in all the free States, and in 
 Delaware and Maryland !" 
 
 " Then, Windvane, I defy your worst ! Out with it !" 
 Saying this, he folded his arms and threw himself back on 
 his pillow. 
 
 " Alice Randolph has escaped," said Windvane. Ruffle- 
 ton stared a moment in silence, while his eyes revolved 
 quickly and furiously in their sockets. Then he sprang to 
 the floor, and seized the bell-string. So energetic was his 
 action that the cord snapped in twain. 
 
 "But how do you know this?" he cried, turning to 
 Windvane, and throwing the tassel to the floor. 
 
 " I have it from one of Lord Slysir's family." 
 
 " One of Lord Slysir's family ! And how should one of 
 Lord Slysir's family know anything about it?" 
 
 " His Lordship, himself — " 
 
 " Well ? His Lordship, himself—" 
 
 " Is gone, likewise." 
 
 "Gone? Gone over to the enemy? What time is it? 
 That clock was not wound up." 
 
 " He was seized by Captain Bim at the head of a detach- 
 ment of the enemy ; so your Excellency will see — " 
 
 " See d u ! Her own infernal Blue Caps. A pretty 
 
 contrivance, indeed! That is the solution of Slysir's con- 
 duct last night. But none of them shall escape me. The 
 guillotine shall make an inundation of blood — ah !" 
 
 The last exclamation was caused by the abrupt appiearance 
 of Flora Summers, who came running in, exhibiting marks 
 of alarm. She was in her night-clothes, and paused sud- 
 denly on beholding Windvane. 
 
 "I feared you were ill, sir," said she, addressing Ruffleton. 
 "I am sure you rang the bell. Did you not desire me to 
 come ?" 
 
 " Yes. What time is it ? Look at your own clock and 
 send me word." 
 
 Flora, astonished, withdrew, and instantly after sent word 
 that daylight appeared in the East. 
 
 " That Bim !" said Ruffleton, as he proceeded to put on 
 his clothes. "That is the whole secret in one word, and 
 that word his name. My soldiers, excepting a few drunken 
 or sleepy-headed loons, all over the river I But with tie 
 
THE MINISTKB OF JUSTICE. 416 
 
 Potomac between us and the enemy, who would have anti- 
 cipated such a thing? The wonder is that they did not 
 carry me off with the rest ! But then I was not so palatable 
 as his Lordship ! Oh, no ! I will rush like a tornado upon 
 them all !" 
 
 " I must say, your Excellency, that it seemed as if Lord 
 Slysir was not in the plot ; for they hurried him away with- 
 out his " 
 
 "His what?" 
 
 " His breeches, your Excellency." 
 
 " A diplomatic ruse, a shallow diplomatic ruse, sir ; I have 
 known a pair of breeches to play an important part in 
 politics — and why not in love, or perfdy, or treason ?" 
 
 "His Lordship may have had another pair somewhere 
 else — ^but Cut6 declares the soldiers hurried him off in his 
 drawers." 
 
 " His drawers ! I'U soon have his legs, unless he can fly 
 faster than I can pursue ! It is broad daylight !" said he, 
 turning to a window, and thrawing open the shutters. " My 
 horse ! Ho, there ! Kouse my aides," he continued, speak- 
 ing to an officer below. " And, Windvane," he resumed, 
 in a milder tone, " send Virus after me. Let my Minister^ 
 meet to-day as usual, and stay here all day. I will send 
 messengers to you from the field of battle or the field of- 
 flight. Li an hour you will hear my cannon." 
 
 The Despot withdrew hastily from the apartment by the 
 door which Flora had opened, and Windvane retreated in 
 another direction. 
 
 As the Protector passed through the next chamber, his 
 hand was seized by Flora, who bathed it with tears, 
 
 "Listening! ever listening! When will you be done 
 with it, foolish girl ? Release my hand, I am in great haste." 
 
 " Hastening to the battle-field from whjeh you may never 
 return." 
 
 " I thrive nowhere else so well as in the field. Flora ; and 
 will try and preserve the life which seems not altogether 
 worthless to you. I will not question you closely about this 
 escape." 
 
 " What escape, sir ?" asked Flora, in weU counterfeited 
 surprise. 
 
 "Oh, no matter — she was a woman, and you are a 
 woman. She's gone — and that's an end of it, until the 
 27 
 
416 A CONTKE TEMPS. 
 
 story be continued. Now,, Flora, you remain without a 
 rival in the Palace. Guard my interests well. From the 
 secret closet you will hear every word my Ministers utter 
 — and I can rely on 3/0M." 
 
 " You can, indeed." 
 
 " I know it. Now, farewell. Dry your eyes, and make 
 a fortune. Make Windvane share his gains with you, or 
 else defeat his projects." 
 
 The Protector, soon after, surrounded by many aides, was 
 galloping over the intervening space between the Federal 
 City and the Long Bridge. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXII. 
 
 A CONTEE TEMPS. 
 
 Shobtly after Randolph left Slysir, his Lordship, happen- 
 ing to see Wiry Willy, beckoned him into the library. 
 
 "Willy," said his Lordship, "you see I am a prisoner 
 again. I am not bruised, as before. Walk round behind 
 me, Willy. Now do you observe anything odd in my 
 dress ?" 
 
 "I think your Lordship's pantaloons," said Willy, "may 
 be a trifle too tight — but that defect is mainly concealed by 
 the coat." 
 
 " That will do, sir. You speak like a costumer. But the 
 letter, Willy — you remember the letter ?" 
 
 " The letter ? Oh, yes ! Miss Edith gave it me, and I 
 placed it — excuse me, and I will get it immediately." 
 
 "A letter from Edith !" said Slysir, when Willy had gone 
 out. " By Jupiter ! Her Ladyship and her Grace, may 
 liave their fascinations, after all ! Ah, you have returned !" 
 said he, on perceiving Wiry Willy standing at his elbow. 
 " Now the letter, Willy !" 
 
 '^ Here it is, precisely as it came from her hand," said he^ 
 delivering it. 
 
 " Why, you rascal — " 
 
 ^' Rascal, sir ?» said Willy. 
 
A CONTEE TEMPS. ill 
 
 "Why, this is my letter, sir!" 
 
 "I know it," said Willy, with imperturbable gravitj 
 " and have you it not in your possession ?" 
 
 " In my possession ? What does it mean, sir ?" 
 
 " It means that when I delivered your letter, the one to 
 whom it was addressed, seeing your Lordship's seal, returned 
 it, unopened." 
 
 " That's not probable. The idea of any lady, and espe- 
 cially an American lady, returning a Lord's letter unopened ! 
 Why, feminine curiosity would be in-esistible !" 
 
 " Nevertheless, your Lordship, if you will read the line in 
 pencil mark and the initials below the seal, will discover that 
 I have spoken the truth." 
 
 " By Jupiter," said his Lordship, with his glass to his 
 eye, " this is most extraordinary." 
 
 " And if your Lordship be not yet satisfied," said Willy, 
 " I am sure you will be very soon, for Miss Edith is to be 
 married to General Blount within an hour from this time." 
 
 " Stupid fellow ! Sure that such an occurrence will be 
 satisfactory to me ! Stay ! Why are you in such great 
 haste ?" 
 
 " I am sent in quest of the good Dr. Love, to come to the 
 chapel and marry them. I hope your Lordship will be pre- 
 sent on the occasion." WiUy then sped away without mark- 
 ing his Lordship's countenance. 
 
 "Come, Slysir," said General Crook, who entered and 
 grasped his Lordship's arm — " come with me to the chapel. 
 Blount is to be married. Why do you seem disconcerted ?" 
 
 "Do I?" 
 
 " Crook, I am an unhappy man I But there is no remedy. 
 Pray do not publish to all the world that I am in a borrowed 
 garment. It may be the effect of habit ; but the idea of 
 being in any man's breeches but my own makes me very 
 miserable." 
 
 " Will you accept them ? Then they will be your own. 
 But, really, you are too large for my breeches." 
 
 " Come — let us go to the chapel. I see the bridal party 
 entering the President's carriage." 
 
 They repaired to the chapel. Senator Langdon stood by 
 the altar in readiness to give away his daughter. Edith, 
 arrayed in beauty, gazed through her veil alternately at 
 
 18* 
 
418 A COSTEE TEMPS. 
 
 Blount and Alice. The former exhibited on his lofty fore- 
 head the calm majestic expression which had ever distin- 
 gTiishcd him, even in days of buoyant youth; the latter, 
 veiled, seemed, indeed, like marble. The lijjs were not red 
 like the bride's ; and she stood as collected and motionless 
 as a statue, her eyes fixed on the stained-glass window, 
 whose variegated hues seemed concentrated on her head, 
 and revealed the death-like pallor of her countenance. 
 
 After a considerable pause, the wonder felt at the absence 
 of the minister and of President Randolph, began to be 
 whispered from one to another. 
 
 " I hope the minister won't be — " said Lord Slysir, and 
 then paused. 
 
 " Don't be uncharitable," said Crook ; " Blount has 
 waited, and watched, and fairly won her. He shall wear 
 her. But, what's that ? Look at him ! "What does he 
 hear ? His glance, for a moment, as his eyes were raised, 
 reminded me of the animated expression which has distin- 
 guished him on the field of battle. But he saw nothing, 
 heard nothing, and he is perfectly composed again. See, 
 now, his smile ! From the lion to the lamb, from the eagle 
 to the dove, such are the characteristic transitions of the 
 truly great ! I, ass as I sometimes think myself, have ob- 
 served it. But I bray whenever I please, and sometimes I 
 kick like the devil ! Yet Randolph and Blount understand 
 me, and can control me. I love them both, and I have a uni- 
 versal love for womankind. How beautiful, but cold, is the 
 President's daughter ! And even Edith begins to hang her 
 head, as if in fear the parson cannot be found ! Gtad, I'm 
 determined there shall be no disappointment. I am a ma- 
 gisti'ate in my own country, and I'll marry them myself, in 
 ex]3iation of my offence. Did your Lordship know it was 
 I who interrupted the ceremony at Washington, when the 
 General first led that lovely creature to the altar ? I 
 have reproached myself for it ever since, and will make 
 amends." 
 
 " Yes, she told me herself." 
 
 " And did she blame me ?" 
 
 " No, General. She said you were not aware of what 
 was going on at the church." 
 
 " That was true ! By George ! if I had known it, I 
 should have delayed the attack on the President! And 
 
A CONTEE TEMPS, 419 
 
 now I am one of Randolph's lieutenants ! "What changes 
 in politics and in war !" 
 
 "And love!" said Slysir — "for here comes a disturb- 
 ance !" 
 
 Crook turned his eyes towards the door, where a sudden 
 commotion among the half-dozen slaves that were gazing in, 
 had arisen. 
 
 " Go ! scatter and conceal yourselves like partridges in 
 the stubble!" cried crazy Charlotte, to the negroes that 
 scampered away. " Where is the good shepherd ?" she 
 Continued, striding towards the chancel, in her cuirass and 
 painted helmet, and waving her spear. "Here are the 
 lambs, but where is the good shepherd ?" 
 
 " Sit down, Charlotte," said Mr. Langdon, " and be a 
 witness of the marrifige of my daughtei'. The minister has 
 been sent for, and will arrive in a few minutes." 
 
 " A few minutes ! Know you not what may happen in a 
 few minutes ? I saw him myself, a few minutes ago, hold- 
 ing up the head of a poor youth in a barn, who had received 
 a fatal wound in his side. And a few minutes have sufficed 
 to launch the noble boy into eternity ! He was whispering 
 a loving message for his mother! Could the Reverend 
 man of God neglect the dying to wait upon the living ? 
 Then came Randolph like the rushing of a mighty wind — " 
 
 " "Where is he, good Chai-lotte ?" asked Alice, throwing 
 aside her veil. 
 
 " Pale daughter of the President !" said she, " he was 
 spurring towards the mansion to announce " 
 
 At that moment a discharge of cannon and musketry 
 startled the whole party, for it seemed in fearful proximity. 
 Then the earth was shaken with a deep rumbling sound, as 
 Lf all the cavalry were approaching. 
 
 " Blount !" exclaimed Crook, throwing aside the arm of 
 Lord Slysir which had been thrust within his own. " It is 
 a surprise ! The enemy are upon us !" 
 
 " Away ! Away !" cried Charlotte. 
 
 " To the carriage !" said Blount, leading the ladies out, 
 and followed by Senator Langdon. " It is Ruffleton him- 
 self, no doubt," he continued, as he hurried them into the 
 carriage. 
 
 The next moment Randolph dashed up to the chapel door. 
 " Fly !" said he to the coachman, " to yonder house on the 
 
420 THE MAECH TO KICnsIOND. 
 
 hill. Come, Blount— come, Croot — I have ordered Valiant 
 and Carleton to converge in this direction. We shall check 
 the enemy at this point until the ladies are beyond the reach 
 of danger." 
 
 A moment after, all had disappeared, excepting Lord 
 Slysir, who remained within the church, gazing at the place 
 from which Alice and Edith had so suddenly vanished. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIII. 
 
 THE MAECH TO EICHMOSTD. 
 
 The enraged Despot, in contempt of the science of war, 
 and in spite of the appeals of his Generals, who vainly 
 declared that none of the necessary preparations for an 
 advance had been completed, ordered all the cavalry and 
 all the light artillery to follow him in a precipitate attack 
 upon the rear guard of the enemy. 
 
 Lord Slysir, left to himself, remained undecided what 
 step to take in such an emergency. In the game of diplo- 
 macy, he was ever ready ; but in the actual incidents of war, 
 he was, like other great negotiators, uncertain which course 
 to pursue. Whilst he promenaded the nave of the chapel, 
 along which the rays of a summer's sun were brightly stream- 
 ing, one of the flat stones near the altar slowly rose from 
 the floor. Upon this was inscribed the name of one of the 
 rectors who had been buried a century before, and his 
 Lordship started back involuntarily, as if the sheeted dead 
 were about to come from their graves in his presence. But, 
 when he looked again, he beheld the dusky features of a 
 iK'gro man who had selected that novel locality as a place 
 of concealment for the living. 
 
 " Why are you there ?" demanded Slysir. 
 
 " Pray, massa, don't tell anybody !" said the negro. 
 
 " I see how it is. You are a slave. I will not betray 
 you. The JSTorthern people and the British will make a free 
 man of you." 
 
 " No, they won't ! I'm gwine back to Alabama 1 I've 
 
THE MAECH TO BICHMOND. 421 
 
 had 'nuff of 'em !" said the man, leaping out of the grave, 
 and throwing back the slab with such violence that it was 
 broken to pieces. 
 
 " What do you mean ? Where are you going ?" de- 
 manded his Lordship, seeing the negro stiiding towards the 
 door. 
 
 "I'm gwine to massa Crook. But he musn't see me. 
 I'm folio win' him. He's my massa. I belong to him. I 
 ran away in de under-ground railroad las year — and got 
 sick ob de Norf. Dey starbed me, and wouldn't give me 
 physic when I was sick — and now dey's got a guUeting dat 
 chops off people's heads ! Stan' aside, I say !" 
 
 The negro strode past his Lordship without molestation. 
 And the next moment, with the noise of a hurricane, came 
 the cavalry of Ruffleton. A yellow dust enveloped the 
 earth as the host swept past, however, leaving here and 
 there a horse or its rider stricken to the earth by a chance 
 shot from the Federal batteries, now beginning to play on 
 the intruders, and the Protector himself, at length reflecting 
 on the impropriety of his conduct, paused suddenly in his 
 career. He descended from his charger, surrounded by his 
 staff, and rushed into the chapel, as he said, to get a 
 mouthful of- pure air, and to wipe the dust from his eyes. 
 
 " By Jupiter !" he exclaimed, on beholding Slysir, " here 
 is one capital prize at all events. Your Lordship is my 
 prisoner ! If I cannot consign you to a deserter's doom — 
 and we have overtaken and slaughtered a thousand this 
 day — at all events 1 can prevent any further co-operation 
 with the enemy." 
 
 " What does your Highness mean ?" demanded his Lord- 
 ship. 
 
 " Are you not a deserter ? Answer me that !" 
 
 " Deserter ? Whom have I deserted ?" 
 
 "Have you not unceremoniously abandoned me, your 
 ally?" _ ' 
 
 " By no means ! I am gratified to find myself rescued 
 from the hands of the enemy by your Highness. I was a 
 prisoner — but now, I hope, I am free." 
 
 " You assert, then, that your flight was not a voluntary 
 abandonment of my cause ? " 
 
 " I do most positively assert it 1" 
 
 " And that you did not escape with AJioe Randolph ?" 
 
422 THE MAECn TO EICHMOXD. 
 
 " Certainly not. She preceded me, and I knew nothing 
 of her flight before my own seizure." 
 
 " Then I have made a grave mistake I Mailer, sound a 
 recall ! Slysir, mount one of my horses — a number of them 
 have lost their riders. Let us get back again before more 
 mischief is done ! Where's Col. Snare ?" > 
 
 " I-Ie pursued the carriage," said one of the aides. 
 
 " Send him word to return ! Or they will cage him again, 
 nhere it will not be in my jjower to release him." 
 
 Col. Snare, promoted on the threshold of the prison door 
 in Georgetown, dashed forward at the head of several hun- 
 dred men, and surrounded the carriage as it ascended the 
 hill pointed out by the President. But Bim was there. 
 And Captain Fink, with his Wild "Western Scouts, was 
 likewise within striking distance. A most terrible conflict 
 ensued. Bira on one side and Fink on the other, sprang 
 npon the dragoons like tigers, and in a shorter space of 
 time than it takes to record it, one half the horses of the 
 enemy were galloping away without their riders. But two 
 of the carriage horses being wounded, Alice, exposed to the 
 shower of balls flying in every direction, descended to the 
 gFound, and induced the rest to follow. They -took refuge 
 in a deep ravine at the roadside without the slightest hin- 
 drance from Snare, whose attention was wholly occupied 
 by his assailants. Bim charged at the head of about a hun- 
 dred mounted Blue Caps, and Fink's men, throwing down 
 their rifles, rushed upon the foe with their tomahawks, utter- 
 ing horrible yells like wild savages. Snare fought pretty 
 well, but in vain. Fruitless were his desperate efforts to 
 retrieve his past mishaps. The notes of the bugle recalling 
 him from the enterprise fell upon his ear, and he was under 
 the necessity of relinquishing the prize which he supposed 
 at one time had been secured. And it was full time. Five 
 minutes more, and every one of this rash detachment would 
 have been destroyed. When they overtook the Protector, 
 himself in full retreat, Randolph, Blount, Crook, Valiant, 
 and Carleton were launching their concentric thunders upon 
 them. 
 
 In the meantime, however, the Generals of the Northern 
 army had marshalled their mighty columns in battle array ; 
 and when the Protector, at the head of the cavalry, found 
 
THE MARCH TO EICIIMOND. 423 
 
 shelter under their protection, the sgnal of battle was given. 
 Randolph, from an eminence, surveyed the imposing atti- 
 tude of the enemy, and knew it would be impossible to 
 withstand such a multitude of combatants upon that ill- 
 chosen field. Yielding to a necessity, apparent even to 
 Crook, and contenting himself with the severe rebuke ad- 
 ministered to the Northern Commander-in-Chief, he gave 
 the order to retire along the line marked out for the retreat 
 days and weeks before. 
 
 Save the occasional discharges from the batteries of the 
 reai-guard of the Federal ai'my, as the enemy encroached 
 too near upon them, there were no sounds of conflict dui-ing 
 the remainder of the day. At night the two armies en- 
 camped some five miles apart ; and at daylight the pursuit 
 was resumed. And thus the invasion and the retreat con- 
 tinued for manydays, duiing which no serious engagement 
 occurred. 
 
 Scarcely a negro slave was seen by the invaders. This 
 class of locomotive property had been previously removed 
 out of the range of the Northern liberators. But the 
 Southern and Federal forces in the field did not seem to 
 increase, for Randolph was garrisoning all the forts, some 
 eighty in number, which had been previously constructed 
 by the labor of the slaves. These fortifications extended in 
 a line five hundred miles in length, and from ten to fifty 
 miles east and west of the track of the invaders. Every 
 commanding position, every point, unassailable by nature, 
 had been designated by the engineers, and were now occu- 
 pied by the defenders of the soil. These were the depots 
 for the arms, ammunition, and provisions, so that the main 
 army in its retreat would be always accessible to supplies, 
 and never under the necessity of transporting, like the 
 enemy, excessive stores of articles indispensable for their 
 subsistence. 
 
 RuflSeton marched directly to Richmond, declaring his 
 purpose to spare the town, provided the bridges were not 
 destroyed, and no resistance made to his entry into the 
 Capital of Virguiia. And Randolph evacuated the place 
 without hesitation, followed by most of the inhabitants. 
 The Protector, not yet seriously suffering for food, and not 
 having sustained any losses of magnitude except from deser- 
 tions, affected great state, and assumed an air of magnani- 
 
424 THE MARCH TO EICHMOND. 
 
 inity in bis intercourse with such of the Southern people as 
 ventured in his presence. He issued here a lengthy Pro- 
 clamation, in which he stated that the torch had been ap- 
 plied to Mount Vernon by a party who had misconstrued 
 their orders. He announced that the Federal system was 
 a failure — that the sovereignty of States and the National 
 sovereignty constituted an absurdity — an imperium in ini- 
 perio, which experience had proved a fallacy, and it was his 
 mission to put a period to it. Like the Romans, we should 
 henceforth be known only as Americans. State lines were 
 to be obliterated. There were to be no Governors except 
 in conquered provinces, and these were to be appointed by 
 the head of the American Empire. The Senate should be 
 composed of an hereditary order of nobles — the descendants 
 of men who had won distinction. The Representatives 
 were to be chosen as provided in the Constitution, and 
 several other provisions in that instrument were to be pre- 
 served — its system of land offices — its post offices, etc., etc. 
 And, although it would be necessary to have an Emperor — 
 and for life, or during good heJia.vior, still the Government 
 would be a Republic, as that of Rome, with its Emperors. 
 And, like Republican Rome, America would have its Patri- 
 cian Order, to be chosen by the Emperor and the Senate ; 
 and the title of nobility would be conferred as the reward 
 of existing merit, as well as on the descendants of illustrious 
 men of former generations. In regard to Slavery, the Pro- 
 clamation amazed everybody by the distinct declaration 
 that the institution should be perfectly lawful, as in Home, 
 
 EVERYWHERE WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE EMPIRE ; that the 
 
 agitations of anti-slavery fanatics should end, under pain of 
 the death penalty. That sectional prejudices should cease, 
 because, henceforth, there would be no distinctive sections 
 at all, other than the points of the compass. That the navy 
 should consist of 1,000 ships of war ; and the army should 
 number 500,000 men. That the entire Continent, and all 
 the Islands adjacent, must submit to the sway of the Ame- 
 rican Empire. That religion, of all denominations, should 
 be everywhere tolerated — but polygamy and free-love 
 should be punished, as inconsistent with religion. There- 
 fore the Protector, whose authority had been conferred by 
 the millions of freemen who had changed the Government 
 by the right of Revolution, called upon the people of the 
 
AMHERST CASTLE. 428 
 
 South to rally under his standard, and aid him in the recon' 
 Btruction of the Government on an enduring basis. The 
 Proclamation asserted that Virginia, particularly, as well as 
 several of the sea-board Southern States, contained many 
 families entitled to the patrician distinction, and it was 
 desirable that they should participate in the important pub- 
 lic affairs of the Empire. 
 
 This document had been suggested, as a master-stroke, by 
 Mr. Windvane, who affected to have the names of certain 
 prominent Southern politicians, who, if the institution of 
 slavery were conceded by the despot, would be willing to 
 nnite with him in overturning the Federal Government. 
 But it turned out, when Ruffleton occupied the Governor's 
 mansion, awaiting a responsive demonstration on the part 
 of the aristocratic families of the Old Dominion, that none 
 but a few old women had been captivated by his dazzling 
 overtures. His Highness then resolved to penetrate still 
 farther, and with the utmost vigor. He seized all the flour 
 found in the great mills in the vicinity of Richmond, the 
 British fleet having failed to open a communication with the 
 army by means of James river. The United States ships 
 of war and the well-served batteries at Fortress Monroe, 
 presented an insuperable barrier to the entrance of Hamp- 
 ton Roads. Therefore the Despot determined to pursue 
 the invasion, assured that the British ships would be able 
 to furnish the supphes he stood in need of in Albemarle ' 
 Sound, North Carolina, and that the navigable portion of 
 the Roanoke would be indefensible against his approaches. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXrV. 
 
 AMHEEST CASTLE. 
 
 Ok one of the spurs of the Blue Ridge Mountain, on 
 either side of which flowed the sparkling waters tributary 
 to the great central river of Virginia, Randolph had caused 
 to be erected one of the most stupendous fortifications ou 
 the American Continent. For months, no less than one 
 
428 AMHEEST CASTLE. 
 
 hundred and fifty thousand negro laborers, tinder the direc- 
 tion of comiDeteut engineers and architects, had been em- 
 ployed in its construction. 
 
 It was in the vicinity of this pile, that a coach, escorted 
 by a body of cavalry, entered the highway, whence there 
 was an unobstructed view of the Castle. The party halted 
 involuntarily. 
 
 " The Stars and Stripes !" exclaimed Alice, from the open 
 window. 
 
 " Three of them," said Edith. " One over the dome in 
 the centre, and one at each end of the noble Castle." 
 
 "That, indeed, is very grand!" said Senator Langdon. 
 
 " And he kept us all in ignorance of it," continued Alice. 
 " But I observed a mysterious expression on my father's 
 lip when you questioned him, Edith, in relation to the 
 accommodations we would find in the garrison to which 
 he was sending us." 
 
 " Ay, and I remember how he evaded my interrogatories. 
 He said a soldier's daughter, and the affianced bride of a 
 hero, would be contented with the fare and shelter which 
 the Commander-in-Chief had provided. And, indeed, we 
 are likely to be ! I do believe he had us in view — an asy- 
 lum in contemplation for us — when this magnificent Castle 
 was built." 
 
 "No doubt — no doubt!" said Alice. "And, in truth, it 
 is much better for us to await in a place of security the 
 issue of this terrible campaign, than to follow the camp." 
 
 " Oh ! I have grown sick of it." 
 
 " And I, too, my children !" said the aged Senator. "And 
 I have a presentiment that I shall repose in Amherst Castle 
 until the war be ended." 
 
 " Major Bim," said Alice, "why are you so melancholy?" 
 
 " Miss Alice," replied Bim, who had been sitting on his 
 charger during the conversation, gazing in profound silence 
 at the almost innumerable embrasures in the Castle walls, 
 and the cannon on the turrets, "when I first saw that 
 mighty work my heart sank within me ; for it seemed that 
 Jack Bim's fighting days were ended. But now I recollect 
 hearing President Randolph say this was too important 
 a fortress for an invading army to leave in its rear, and, 
 therefore, I think there is reason to hope the Despot will 
 send out a detachment to reduce us " 
 
AMHEEST CASTLE, 427 
 
 " You hope he will do so, Major Bim ?" demanded Dr. 
 Love, who came pacing up from the rear on his gentle old 
 brown mare. 
 
 "I will not lie, Rev. sir," said Bim, "and therefore I 
 must confess the truth. I really did hope so ; and if it was 
 wrong, I pray you forgive me. But my motive was merely 
 to contribute my share in the destruction of the enemy." 
 
 " Your motive is ever good," said Alice. 
 
 " And, therefore," said the Doctor, " we will forgive him. 
 But what do I see yonder ?" he continued, gazing through 
 a spyglass ; " a cross on a spire ! Gothic windows, and — 
 I believe, stained glass !" 
 
 " True," said Senator Langdon ; " Randolph informed 
 me there was a chapel. But let us not linger here !" 
 
 " On ! on !" said both Alice and Edith. And the coach- 
 man drove forward without further delay. 
 
 Alice and Edith traversed the numerous and magnificent 
 apartments of the Castle in joyful surprise. Everything 
 had been thought of, everything provided, for their com- 
 fort and enjoyment, and all this during the incessant civil 
 and military occupations of the President ! 
 
 There were sevei-al regiments of volunteers within the 
 Castle grounds, drilling for the service, and immense stores 
 were daily arriving from the West. But the command of 
 the citadel, and of the regular soldiers, had been assigned 
 by courtesy to Alice. Two hundred of the Blue Caps, 
 under Major Bim, had been detached as an escort. 
 
 At the time of the separation of Senator Langdon and 
 the young ladies from the head-quarters of the President, 
 the Federal army was in full retreat for Richmond, and 
 followed steadily by Ruffleton. And since then nothing 
 had been heard from the seat of war, excepting the vague 
 and conflicting rumors of frightened fugitives. But Ran- 
 dolph had assured his daughter that if no unforeseen event 
 occurred to change the plan of the campaign, there would 
 be no great battle for many weeks. Every day the North- 
 ern host of invaders experienced serious diminution from 
 desertions, and that was better than the destruction of so 
 many lives on the battle-field. Hence the party, during" 
 their journey to the Castle, and after their arrival, were 
 relieved of the many tenible apprehensions usually insepa- 
 rable from a state of war. During the journey they had 
 
428 AMHEEST CASTLE. 
 
 been exceedingly cheerful. The fine scenery, and tho 
 novelty of many objects and incidents, together with the 
 sense of security, both for themselves and those dear to 
 them retiring before the foe, sufficed, in a measure, to dis- 
 pel the melancholy forebodings so painfully experienced in 
 advance of the actual invasion. Major Bim, alone, seemed 
 vmhappy ; and this arose, as we have seen, from the appre- 
 hension that he was to be immured within impregnable 
 walls, beyond the reach of the enemy. 
 
 For several days the aged Senator and the ladies found 
 sufficient divertisement within the walls of the Castle to 
 prevent their thoughts from recurring unpleasantly to the 
 probable events in the field, while Bim scoured the coun- 
 try for miles eastwardly and southwardly, industriously 
 catching every straggler flying to the mountains. Yet the 
 intelligence from the armies was always conflicting and un- 
 certain. But even such items of news as these, reported at 
 the eve of each day, at length created an anxiety in the 
 breasts of Alice and Edith to receive tidings from those 
 so dear to them, and whom, in their dreams, they now 
 began to behold exposed to frightful dangers, and some- 
 times the victims of dire calamity. 
 
 It was a calm moonlight night. Senator Langdon and 
 the young ladies were seated in one of the capacious balco- 
 nies projecting from the eastern side of the Castle, and some 
 seventy feet in height from the foundation of the structure. 
 The summer air was dry, but cool and pleasant at that alti- 
 tude. Within, a mellow light, radiating from a silver lamp, 
 faintly illuminated the ample apartment, fi-om which a few 
 minutes before the sounds of music, under the magic touch 
 of Edith, had issued, and where the Rev. Dr. Love and Ma- 
 jor Bim still lingered, discussing the merits and moraUties 
 of bloody war. The tranquil scene for a long time seemed 
 to impose a solemn silence on the party gazing into the ob- 
 scure depths of the surrounding forest. They were mutely 
 'ssrved with confections and refreshments by the several 
 negresses that attended, as if they, too, and no doubt they did, 
 partook of the inspiration of the hour. 
 
 " Father," said Edith, " can you point in the direction of 
 Richmond?" 
 
 " Easily, my child," said the Senator. " It is almost due 
 east from us." 
 
AUIIKBST CASTLS. 429 
 
 "Andho-wfar?" 
 
 " Near one hundred miles." 
 
 " Oh," said Alice, after a pause, " if one could only with 
 the same certainty point out the locality occupied by my 
 father and his faithful Generals and followers !" 
 
 " Only One may do that," said the aged minister, aban- 
 doning Eim as incorrigible and joining the party: " and He 
 can shield them from every harm." 
 
 " I think a military man," said Major Bim, following, 
 " may indicate with some precision the relative positions of 
 the head-quarters of the two armies." 
 
 "Then pray give us your opinion, Major Bim," said 
 Edith. 
 
 " Do, Major," said Alice. " For instance, tell us where 
 General Blount is at this moment, the condition of his 
 health, the nature of his employment, and any other par- 
 ticulars which you may discover." 
 
 " No doubt such information would be partioulaijy inter- 
 esting to all concerned," said Bim ; " but I am no seer, nor 
 even a believer in Yankee spiritualism." 
 
 " I give you praise for that. Major Bim," said Dr. Love. 
 " This modern ism of fruitful New England would really 
 make the employments of the existence beyond the grave 
 as frivolous, if not as absurd and sinful, as we behold them 
 in this life. It is, I fear, the result of an excessive credulity, 
 engendered by wicked persons for no good purpose." 
 
 " But according to my ideas, as a military man," said Bim, 
 " there can be no difficulty in conjecturing the events since 
 we left the camp to hide ourselves in this Castle. Napoleon 
 could take a map and an almanac, and look at his watch, 
 and foretell the place, the day, and hour, where and when a 
 great battle would occur. Now, I don't pretend to be ano- 
 ther Napoleon, but think it almost certain that President 
 Randolph had a day's hard fighting at Richmond. And if he 
 could not prevent the crossing of the British and Tory allies, 
 I have no doubt, after slaughtering about 50,000 of them, 
 he retired to the island, in the James river. That is what 
 Napoleon did near Vienna. Unable to withstand superior 
 numbers at Aspern and Essling, he took possession of the 
 Island Lobau, and defended Vienna. It was bloody busi- 
 ness, though, and many brave Generals fell. And many of 
 our brave Generals may have fallen " 
 
430 AMHEEST CASTLE. 
 
 " Which, do you think ?" asked Edith ; " Valiant, Crook, 
 
 " Which ? Valiant is truly brave, and may have fallen. 
 Crook ! by George ! it would be too bad to lose him ! 
 Blount? Never! Don't be alarmed !" 
 
 Senator Langdon and Dr. Love could not avoid giving 
 vent to laughter, in which, a moment after, the young ladies 
 joined right heartily, and their tones of merriment rang 
 upon the moonlit scene. 
 
 " But -what of the President, Major Bim ?" said Alice ; 
 " you have omitted all mention of him." 
 
 " President Randolph ?" said Bim, " his fall is altogether 
 out of the question ! I believe in crazy Charlotte. She 
 says he will be preserved to regenerate the Union. And I 
 have some faith in Captain Fink's rifle, after seeing him kill 
 Ruffleton's horse a mile off. Well, I got the Captain to 
 swear me an oath before I left the camp that he and his 
 Scouts, or some of them, would never lose sight of the 
 President, day or night, until I returned, or until they re- 
 turned him safe to me. Therefore he's safe." 
 
 " Major Bim,'-' said Alice, rising and placing her fair hand 
 in that of the stalwart officer, " I thank you ! Whatever 
 else might be alleged, no one can question your noble fide- 
 lity. That quality is paramont to all others!" 
 
 " As well as I know my duty, Miss Alice," responded 
 Bim, with an expanding heart, " I am always f eady to pex'- 
 form it. In all things where I may be deficient in know- 
 ledge, I am willing to be instructed ; and, right or wrong, 
 I obey the orders of my superiors." 
 
 This speech checked the mirth at his expense, and all had 
 some words of commendation to bestow on the Major. 
 
 " But now," said the Major, sighing, in response to the 
 praises of his friends, " I fear my services are ended. Here 
 
 ami, one hundred miles from the scene of war, andno^ 
 
 What's that ?" he exclaimed, leaning over the balcony and 
 listening. 
 
 The clatter of hoofs was heard distinctly in the pebbled 
 valley east of the Castle, where a road had been cut on the 
 mai'gin of the mountain stream. 
 
 " It is a horseman," said Alice ; " a messenger I hope !" 
 
 " Heaven speed him, then," said Edith. 
 
 " But why does he come in such a terrible hurry ?" re- 
 
AHHEEST CASTLE. 431 
 
 marked Bun, as the sounds approached. " Such a break 
 neck gait as that is very strange. I will go down and see 
 that he is admitted without delay." 
 
 The ladies strained their eyes to recognise the courier, 
 that they might be assured of" tidings from the army ; but 
 as he leaned heavily on the arm of the Major, and walked 
 in the shadow of the gigantic soldier, the suspense was pro- 
 longed until the many flights of stairs which separated the 
 balcony from the pavement could be traversed. At length, 
 almost borne along by Bim, the ladies beheld the familiar 
 face of Wiry Willy by the light of the silver lamp within 
 the spacious apartment. Thither they ran to meet him. 
 He was pale and haggard, and almost speechless from ex- 
 cessive fatigue and loss of rest. 
 
 "Let these speak for me," said he, placing on the table 
 beside the lamp a number of letters, and then sinking into 
 a chair. 
 
 " Some wine !" cried Alice to a slave. " Before I break 
 the seal of the letter from my father, I vow to witness the 
 resuscitation of his faithful Mend and messenger." 
 
 "And you!" cried Edith to another obedient negress, 
 " bring water and napkins ! Willy, cool your parched lips, 
 lave the dust from your eyes, and bathe your temples !" 
 
 In a brief time Willy seemed restored, and declined 
 further ministrations fi-om the fair hands of the young ladies, 
 
 " Huzza !" cried Bim, springing from his chair. Then- 
 sitting down, he indulged in such involuntary exclamations 
 as these : " I like that I By George ! let 'em come !" He 
 rose a second time, and was about to hasten away, when a 
 gesture from Willy arrested him. 
 
 " Major," said he, " I have later intelligence than is to be 
 found in any of the letters. Do you not observe the date ? 
 I was taken on the road and detained several days." 
 
 " Hey ! you were ? On the road ? Then they are coming 
 now ?" 
 
 " Close at hand !" responded Willy in a whisper. " But 
 wait until Miss Alice finishes reading the President's let- 
 ter." 
 
 28 
 
Jii AS EXCHAKGE. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXV. 
 
 AS EXCHANGB. 
 
 The occupation of Richmond by Ruffleton, and the 
 defeat of the British fleet in an attempt to enter Hampton 
 Roads occurred on the same day ; and immediately upon 
 the reception of intelligence of the disaster, Ruffleton sent 
 Virus, his negotiator, to the head-quarters of Randolph. 
 
 " Well, sir," said the President, when Virus entered his 
 tent, " what are Ruffleton's demands?" 
 
 " Unconditional submission, of course," said General 
 Crool?. 
 
 " No," said Virus ; " he <iemands nothing. He merely 
 proposes an exchange." 
 
 " An exchange," continued the President. " What pri- 
 soners have you, excepting a few superannuated negroes, 
 abandoned by their masters ? And the owners of these 
 poor creatures, it ought to be known the world over, were 
 natives of the North. Ah, Virus, the most unmerciful 
 slave-drivers in the South were once anti-slavery Yankees." 
 
 " That is true, sir !" said Virus, " and all such prisoners 
 are made exceptions by his Highness. They are guillotined 
 immediately." 
 
 " And yet your Highness proposes in his Proclamation 
 to legalize slavery everywhere !" 
 
 " Therefore he punishes the inhuman masters who aban- 
 don the aged slaves to their fate." 
 
 " Pray give my compliments to General Ruffleton," said 
 General Crook, " and say I have slightly modified my opinion 
 of his character. He is not such a villain as I supposed 
 him to be !" 
 
 " But what does he propose ?" asked the President. 
 
 " He has taken possession of the two detached eastern 
 counties of Virginia, Accomac and Northampton " 
 
 " Ay," said Crook, " he holds the Oyster Fundum, but I 
 doubt whether his men are expert at dredging." 
 
AN EXCHANGE. 433 
 
 " Well, what does he propose to do with Accomac and 
 Northampton?" continued Randolph. 
 
 " To exchange them for Admiral Bang." 
 
 " For Admiral Bang ! What a novelty ! Did the coun 
 ties make any resistance ?" 
 
 "Every creek had its battery. We lost two thousand 
 men !" 
 
 " But surely you have not made prisoners of the entire 
 population ?" 
 
 " No — ^but there is a question if the slaves be not a fair 
 prize. If the project of his Highness to legalize slavery be 
 carried into effect, the slaves of the eastern shore will bring 
 a large sum of money." 
 
 " But," said Randolph, smiling, " in the meantime they 
 will consume a vast quantity of provisions. At this season 
 it will not do to eat the oysters." 
 
 "They have crabs and clams, your Excellency," said 
 Crook, archly. "But here comes Blount, and I hope he 
 will second the motion to exchange the Admiral for ne- 
 groes." 
 
 And Blount did advocate the measure. Indeed, Ran- 
 dolph agreed to the proposition with cheerfulness, and the 
 arrangement was consummated without delay. 
 
 " And now," said Crook, " I have an exchange to pro 
 pose." 
 
 " Pray proceed," said Virus. 
 
 " Oh, you must understand that Lord Slysir is to be a 
 principal in the negotiation. It is for an exchange of 
 breeches." 
 
 " Pardon me, General," said Virus gravely, " but really I 
 do not comprehend you. I am ignorant of the motive for this 
 levity, and am wholly uninformed of the fact to which you 
 allude." 
 
 "The motive of the levity," said Crook, "is to manifest 
 our buoyant spirits under the calamity of an invasion, and 
 to show you that we are not likely to despair. But as to 
 the fact — I see how it is. His Lordship has endeavored to 
 suppress the affair. I'll tell you all about it." He did so 
 and then proceeded thus : " Now, Virus, you will much 
 oblige me, when you return, by gazing steadUy a moment 
 at his Lordship's breeches, and- then inquiring who's his 
 tailor. If you don't divulge the secret to your people, I 
 
 19 
 
434 AN EXCHAJfGE. 
 
 will send spies to whisper that Lord Slysir conquers both in 
 the iiekl and in the boudoir in my breeches." 
 
 " His Lordship," said Virus, " will no doubt be very 
 much annoyed. But, nevertheless, I may as well inform 
 you that he has not yet reached Richmond. Upon arriving 
 
 at , his Lordship received certain information which 
 
 induced him to pause in his travels." 
 
 " By George, Blount," said Crook, in a whisper, " it was 
 
 at that the ladies left us ! Can you put that and that 
 
 together ?" 
 
 Blount merely smiled, but made no remark, and Virus, 
 having accomplished the object of his mission, embraced 
 the opportunity to return to the head-quarters at Ulch- 
 mond. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Randolph, who had been for some 
 time perusing a report from Captain Fink of the Scouts, 
 that had been despatched by a special messenger, " here is 
 
 information of some importance. At , it appears, some 
 
 10,000 men, under General Mailer, were detached, at the 
 special instance of Lord Slysir, for the reduction of our 
 Castle in Amherst." 
 
 " The deuce !" exclaimed Crook. " General," he con- 
 tinued, turning to Blount, " you are deeply interested in 
 that movement. By George, the fat Lord, and in my 
 breeches, too, has thrust himself between irs and the ladies !" 
 
 " I own that I am deeply interested in this movement, 
 General. Amherst Castle is an extremely important place. 
 If it should fall into the hands of the enemy " 
 
 " That is not probable," said Randolph. " The place is 
 safe with 1000 men against 10,000. But Bim's Caps are 
 the only disciplined troops there at present ; however, there 
 will soon be a division under Major General Toler. I think 
 the Castle is safe. Still, the garrison must have warning of 
 the menaced blow. Mailer will employ every artifice for its 
 reduction. Send for Wiry Willy." 
 
 A messenger brought in Willy, who readily undertook 
 to perform the journey, not doubting his ability to notify 
 the inmates of the Castle of the approaching danger in 
 advance of the detachment's arrival before the walls. 
 
ABKITAL OF THE BNEMT. 435 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVI. 
 
 AKEIVAL OF THE ENEMY. 
 
 " Alas !" exclaimed Senator Langdon, -when he had coTit 
 pleted the perusal of his letter, "we cannot escape the 
 alarms and cruelties of war, fly whithersoever we will ! 
 And yet the brave Major Bim can give vent only to joyous 
 exclamations." 
 
 " You look only at the alarms and cruelties of war, sir," 
 said Bim ; " while I shut my eyes to everything but its ro- 
 mantic adventures and glory. That's the difference between 
 us. Miss Alice, I await your directions." 
 
 " Major Bim, you know I can but repeat the desires of 
 my father. He says not less than 10,000 men, infantry, 
 cav.alry, and artillery, are marching against this Castle, and 
 that messengers should be sent into Randolph, and the 
 other counties beyond the mountains, where General Toler 
 is organizing an army. The two or three regiments of 
 militia now here, undisciplined as they are, may not be 
 capable of withstanding so large a besieging force." 
 
 " Then we are to be besieged !" said Dr. Love. 
 
 "Until Major General Toler arrives," said Edith ; "when 
 that gifted and indomitable officer will doubtless put the 
 enemy to flight. General Blount thinks we are in no danger. 
 He says we are provisioned for 30,000 men a whole year." 
 
 " And father says it is a knowledge of that fact, in part," 
 said Alice, " which has induced the enemy to march in this 
 direction. They would fain capture our stores for their 
 own consumption, as well as destroy a strong fort menacing 
 their line of retreat. Retreat is the word he uses, and he 
 never uses a superfluous word. Go, Major Bim, and send 
 your fleetest couriers over the mountains to General 
 Toler !» 
 
 Bim withdrew to execute the order, and to see that the 
 men in garrison were properly posted and prepared to repel 
 any sadden assault. 
 
436 AEHIVAL Ol- THE ENEMY. 
 
 The next day being Sunday, there was a large congrega- 
 tion in the chapel. Dr. Love had once been the rector of 
 the church in that neighborhood, and was highly reverenced 
 by all the people in the vicinity. The venerable priest preach- 
 ed an impressive seiTion, applicable to the condition of the 
 country, demonstrating both the necessity of obedience to 
 God, and submission to rulers exercising a rightful author- 
 ity. 
 
 But the congregation had no sooner been dismissed than 
 the j)eople were thrown into great consteination by the 
 arrival of several countrymen trora the East, announcing 
 the fearful proximity of General Mailer's army. The visi- 
 tors at the chapel, even the female portion of the congrega- 
 tion, departed immediately for their homes, notwithstanding 
 Alice's pressing invitation for them to remain at the Castle, 
 to remove their remaining personal effects beyond the 
 mountains. 
 
 Major Bim made every preparation for defence, and Alice, 
 accompanied by Dr. Love and Edith, exhorted the soldiers 
 to stand up bravely in defence of the Castle. 
 
 In the dusk of evening, the little party again assembled 
 on the high balcony, with their faces towards the East, the 
 direction whence the arrival of the foe was momentarily 
 expected. And, when the stars began to appear, a thou- 
 sand camp-fires became visible a few miles distant in the 
 valley. 
 
 " There they are at last !" exclaimed Alice, the first to 
 discover the fires. 
 
 " And here are we ready for them !" said Major Bim. 
 
 "For my part," said Senator Langdon, "I should be 
 well satisfied if they would keep at that distance. Still, 
 Major Bim, I would not have you infer that I entertain any 
 doubts of your disposition, -and perhaps ability, to repel 
 any attempts to storm the Castle." 
 
 "And, man of peace jis I am," said Dr. Love, "I have 
 more faith in God to defend the right, than in the strength 
 of walls or the valor of the soldiery." 
 
 " The walls," said Bim, " around the grounds may pos- 
 sibly be battered doWn, or surmounted with ladders. And, 
 indeed, if the attack is made before we receive succor from 
 the West, we shall not have men enough to defend them. 
 But -let the enemy once get on this side of them, and thee 
 
AKEIVAL OP THE BNBMT. 437 
 
 you'll see them slaughtered by the thousand. The Castle 
 walls are fifteen feet thick, and there are fifty guns pointed 
 from each of the four sides, and loopholes for five thousand 
 muskets. Believe me, ladies, we are secure in this Castle." 
 
 " But, Major Bim," said Edith, " cannot they assail us 
 with their cannon from a distance ?" 
 
 " Not easily. President Randolph, or whoever selected 
 this site for a Castle, must have considered that. Our 
 guns command every eminence within cannon shot, and 
 no doubt General Mailer must have been aware of that 
 fact, or else he would not have encamped down in the valley 
 in full view of us. He must intend to besiege us in the 
 regular way ; and a tedious process it is. I have just been 
 reading an account of the siege of Sebastopol " 
 
 " But, Major," said Alice, interrupting him, " that city 
 was stormed and taken !" 
 
 " True ; but recollect how long it held out ! And how 
 many assailants were slain ! If this siege should only be as 
 &,mous " 
 
 " Bless my life. Major !" said Dr. Love, " I hope you do 
 not anticipate anything of the sort I" 
 
 " In war. Dr. Love," said Major Bim, " it is hard to know 
 what to anticipate. But of one thing I am certain. Th^ 
 defenders of this Castle will prove themselves as brave as 
 the Russians did at Sebastopol. They may not be com- 
 manded by ofncers of equal skill; and neither may the 
 enemy possess the same talents and experience as the 
 French and English ; indeed, I doubt whether the nigger- 
 worshippers are equal to the Turks." 
 
 As the Major ceased speaking, a bugle was heard be- 
 yond the walls, sounding a parley ; and Bim, leaning over 
 the balustrade of the balcony, directed a Lieutenant to 
 ascertain the nature of the summons. The officer soon 
 returned with the information that one of the aides of 
 General Mailer demanded a conference. 
 
 " According to the rules of war," said Bim, " flags of 
 truce, no matter who bear them, are always respected. 
 Conduct the officer hither," he continued, addressing his 
 subordinate, " but see that he be blindfolded." 
 
 The officer from the enemy's camp was led to thie Castle, 
 and appeared before the little party in the great salooh, 
 then illuminated with many lamps. 
 
438 AEKIVAL OF TUE ENEMY. 
 
 " Unbind his eyes," said Bim. 
 
 " Monsieur Cut6 1" exclaimed both Alice and Edith, upon 
 recognising one of the Secretaries of Lord Slysir. 
 
 " I am very happy, ladies," said Cute, bowing and affect- 
 ing the fashionable foreign accent then so much in vogue 
 by tufthunters, " to find myself in the presence of fair ladies, 
 who are not altogether strangers to me." 
 
 " It would be strange, indeed, sir," said Alice, " if I 
 were not to recognise one who has so often been the guest 
 of my father in the Executive Mansion, now converted into 
 a palace for the convenience of his enemy. But I had not 
 been prepared to learn that the Secretary of the British 
 Legation had embarked in the service of a traitor to my 
 country !" 
 
 " Pardon me. Miss Alice," said Cut6, " but your infer- 
 ence is not strictly correct in regard to my position. I 
 am still loyal to my Government, which is in alliance with 
 the de facto head of the American Government. Although 
 I have the honor of acting, on the present occasion, as an 
 aide-de-camp of General Mailer, I am still in the service and 
 pay of my own Government." 
 
 "The explanation, sir, is quite sufficient," said Alice. 
 "And now pray, what proposals do you bring from General 
 Mailer ?" 
 
 "My message. Miss Alice," said Oute, "is for the com- 
 mander of the garrison and the Governor of the Castle ; 
 and I would not pain your ears, if it be a,voidable, by 
 announcing the purport of the General's demand." 
 
 "I am the commander of the garrison," said Bim; "and 
 Miss Alice is the Governess '*^ 
 
 " Governor, Major Bim !" said Edith, smiling. 
 
 I' Fear not to pain my ears, sir," said Alice ; " they are 
 quite familiar with unpleasant sounds, as my eyes are with 
 frightful spectacles, since they beheld the destruction of 
 Mount Vernon." 
 
 " Would to heaven that deed had never been done !" said 
 Cut6. " But I have to deal with the business in hand ; and 
 I niust say that it is not exactly a proposal I am charged to 
 deliver, but rather a demand. General Mailer demands the 
 surrender of this Castle and fortress. He does this with a 
 full knowledge, not only of his own irresistible means of 
 capture, but of the weakness of the garrison, and of the im- 
 
AEEIVAL OF THE ENEMY. 439 
 
 possibility of succor coming to its relief. You seem incre- 
 dulous, and I am authorized to be more explicit. In the 
 first place, then, the General is empowered to order, if 
 necessary, men from the stream pouring into the country 
 from the North, to his assistance. In the second place, he 
 is credibly informed that Major-General Toler will have 
 abundant employment in withstanding the growth and 
 spread of the South-western insurrection." 
 
 " Insurrection ! What insurrection ?" demanded Senator 
 Langdon. 
 . " Oh, I see you are not aware of the great rising in the 
 South-west, under General Fell." 
 
 " No. Are you, sir ?" 
 
 " I am. We have means of intelligence of which you can 
 have no knowledge. We have some of his proclamations in 
 our camp. He is arming the slaves ; and he says 250,000 
 negro soldiers, added to the white forces of the South, 
 would have prevented the enemy from crossing the Susque- 
 hanna river. He is backed by the white population in the 
 States alluded to, and is now marching in this direction/' 
 
 "That is rebellion !" said Alice. 
 
 " It is infernal treason !" said Bim. 
 
 " No matter what it is," said Alice. " But say to General 
 Mailer that this Castle will never be surrendered to him. 
 If he can storm it and overpower its defenders, he must use 
 his pleasure ; but until then I will use mine. Bear him our 
 defiance ; and say the stars and stripes shall float over the 
 dome of Amherst Castle." 
 
 " Bravo !" exclaimed Dr. Love. 
 
 " It is the only answer," said Senator LangdoB, " that 
 could be returned by the daughter of the President." 
 
 " Or the daughter of a Senator of the United States !" 
 said Edith, proudly. 
 
 " And God will prosper the parents who have such patrio- 
 tic daughters !" said Dr. Love. 
 
 " That matter being disposed of," said Cut6, " I have next 
 a request to make on behalf of Lord Slysir." 
 
 " A request .'" iterated Alice. 
 
 " And from Lord Slysir !" ejaculated Edith. 
 
 " His Lordship," said Cute, " has not been accustomed to 
 the exposure of camps, and he is now suffering with ague 
 and fever." 
 
440 AEEIVAL OF THE ENEMY. 
 
 " Give him calomel !" said Alice. 
 
 " Quinine !" said Edith. 
 
 " Brandy !" said Major Bim. 
 
 "Oh, he has prescriptions enough from the surgeons," 
 said Cut6. " But his complaint is against his quarters. The 
 farm-house in the valley where he lies is damp, and there is a 
 miasma from a pond — " 
 
 " No matter !" said Alice. " What is his request ?" 
 
 *' He begs to have lodgifngs in the Castle." 
 
 " Lodgings in the Castle !" said Alice. 
 
 " And would he not have boarding and washing also ?" 
 asked Edith. 
 
 " Upon my word, ladies," said Cut6, " I am unable to 
 answer. I can only repeat his Lordship's language — that 
 diplomatists are non-combatants, and that he throws him- 
 self on your mercy." 
 
 " Here is Wiry Willy," said Alice, " entering just in time 
 to answer the question I was about to ask. WUly, was his 
 Lordship very pale when you took leave of him a few days 
 ago ?" 
 
 " French leave !" said Cute, aside. 
 
 " Pale ? His face was as red as the sunny side of a 
 Brandywine apple in October," said WiUy. 
 
 " It is red when the fever is on," said Cute. "But if I 
 am to be the bearer of a denial. Miss Alice, in what lan- 
 guage shall it be couched ?" 
 
 " Say to his Lordship," responded Alice, after a pause, 
 with averted face, " that we hold the request under con- 
 Bidora,tion, and that it is not yet either granted or denied." 
 
 " And say to him also," added Edith, " that we have been 
 enjoined in a communication from the brave General Crook, 
 in any negotiations that may be conducted with the Envoy 
 of her Britannic Majesty, to stipulate for the restitution of 
 a certain article of property claimed by the said General as 
 being exclusively his own, and not subject to legal deten- 
 tion or contraband — " 
 
 " Pray, lady," said Cute, who had no knowledge of the 
 matter alluded to, " be more explicit." 
 
 "Indeed I cannot be more explicit, sir," said Edith ; "but 
 doubtless his Lordship will comprehend it suiGciently." 
 
 " Oh, tell him all," said Alice, " else Lord SlysLr will sup- 
 press the whole transaction." 
 
DESEETIONS TO EANDOLPH. 441 
 
 " At all events," continued Editb, " if his Lordship per- 
 sists in the negotiation for a diplomatic residence in the> 
 Castle, he must be prepared to make the surrender de- 
 manded by General Crook. It is our ultimatum. Major 
 Bim, no doubt, sir, will explain more fully the nature of 
 the article — " 
 
 "Oh, the breeches ?" said Bim, whose attention a moment 
 before had been attracted by the challenges of the sentinel 
 without. 
 
 " The breeches ?" repeated Cnt6, turning to the Major, 
 while the ladies repaired to the balcony. 
 
 Bim, while conducting Cute to the gate of the castle 
 wall, made known everything concerning the capture and 
 adventures of Lord Slysii'. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVIL 
 
 DESERTIONS TO EANDOLPH. 
 
 The Commander-in-chief of the Northeni army, upon 
 resuming his march from Richmond, strove in vain to bring 
 Randolph to a decisive battle. The President's course had, 
 been taken after deliberate consideration. Futile then were 
 the repeated stratagems of Ruffleton to pi-ecipitate a gene- 
 ral engagement ; and equally unsuccessful were the per- 
 suasions and remonstrances of many of the President's 
 Southern friends. He knew that the preponderating phy- 
 sical force of the Despot must inevitably be diminished as 
 he ventured farther into the country, and that he could, at 
 the proper moment, concentrate all the patriotism and 
 chivalry of the slave States against the invader. He went 
 still further, and for every thousand men that joined his 
 standard, he detached fifteen hundred from it, and stationed 
 them in the garrisons on the right and left of the invadei-s, 
 to be in readiness to fall upon their flanks, or to intercept 
 their communications. 
 
 Thus for days and weeks Randolph retired and Ruffleton 
 pursued. The foiTiier presented no serious obstacle to th-e 
 
 19* 
 
442 DESERTIONS TO EANDOLPH. 
 
 passage of the Roanoke, or Cape Fear river, but fell back 
 into South Carolina, much to the chagrin and disgust of 
 the large planters, who were under the necessity of remov- 
 ing their dense population of slaves beyond the Catawba, 
 and to witness, unnecessarily, as they believed or asserted, 
 the destruction of the growing crop. But Randolph per- 
 sisted in his plan, and Blount concurred in it heartily. 
 Nevertheless there were dissensions in the camp as well as 
 out of it, among divers ambitious political leaders; and 
 the discontented chiefs in several States conspired together 
 for the overthrow of the President. This conspiracy ob- 
 tained consistency when it was ascertained that General 
 Fell, the rival and competitor of Randolph for the Presi- 
 dency, had levied an army in the valley of the Mississippi, 
 consisting mostly of slaves, and was then approaching the 
 Atlantic seaboard by way of Tennessee and Virginia. 
 
 Nevertheless Randolph remained steadfast in his plan of 
 conducting the campaign. He sent couriers to Major-Ge- 
 neral Toler to oppose the passage of Fell across the moun- 
 tains, and to render what aid he could to the beleaguered 
 castle commanded by his daughter. But in the midst of 
 these complications the President began to reap the fruits 
 for which he had been laboring so long and so consistently. 
 The seventh regiment from New York, the elite of Ruffle- 
 ton's army, embraced the first opportunity, which occurred 
 on the Pee Dee — for Ruffleton had been fearful of such an 
 event — to go over in a body to the Federal army, with 
 
 hearty huzzas for the Union. And Col. D was followed 
 
 by twenty other Colonels, at the head of their respective 
 regiments, bearing the National Flag, which had hitherto 
 been concealed in their drums. The President embraced 
 them all, and welcomed them as patriots, loyal to the Fede- 
 ral Government — and with whom he had been in secret 
 correspondence for several weeks. 
 
 Even this accession to the Federal army gave rise to a 
 new outburst on the part of Randolph's Southern enemies ; 
 and they made many credulous people believe that the Pre- 
 sident himself was in league with the Northern fanatics for 
 the subjugation of the Slave States. They published depre- 
 ciatory articles in the newspapers, asserting that the reason 
 why Randolph did not fight the Despot, was because he in- 
 tended to enlist his followers. And they Lasinuated that the 
 
DESERTIONS TO EANDOLPH. 443 
 
 seeming desertion of the Northern regiments was merely 
 a preliminary to a more extensive union, for the purpose of 
 abolishing slavery. And as Ruffleton, in one of his Pro- 
 clamations, had offered to legalize slavery everywhere, he 
 ought to be regarded as less an enemy to the South than the 
 false and traitorous Southerner who had availed himself of 
 the Federal sword and purse to destroy his native country. 
 
 Still Randolph remained unmoved. The approbation of 
 his own conscience, the concurrence of his own head and 
 heart, sustained him in the midst of the thickening shafts of 
 calumny. And no other man could have risen above the 
 cloud which enveloped the Federal cause. A return of the 
 army exhibited the fact, that although there had been acces- 
 sions to the ranks on southern ground, amounting in all to 
 250,000 men, yet, on the Pee Dee, the effective force in the 
 field, retiring before the invaders, numbered 50,000 less than 
 it did on the day that Washington City was abandoned. 
 Moreover, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia (the eastern por- 
 tion), half of North and South Carolina, with all their 
 capitals and principal cities, bad fallen into the hands of the 
 enemy^and yet no blow had been struck, no battle had 
 been fought, since the slight stand made on the banks of the 
 Potomac. 
 
 But Randolph was aware of other facts not known to his 
 Southern enemies. He knew that at least two-fifths of 
 Ruffleton's army were on the sick list, and that the daily 
 mortality was making terrible inroads upon his strength. 
 Bilious fever, and the ague, were incapacitating the enemy 
 in a greater ratio than the arrival of recruits from the North ; 
 so that if the retreating army was daily diminished by de- 
 tachments sent off to healthy positions, the invaders were 
 decimated by the departure of victims never to return to the 
 theatre of mortal strife. 
 
 And, here, on the Pee Dee, Ruffleton paused in his career 
 of invasion. Randolph, advised of the enemy's purpose to 
 advance no further, sent General Carbon with a flag to 
 Ruffleton, demanding an unconditional sui-render. This, of 
 course, was declined; and the long wished-for signal for 
 battle was given. 
 
 Pale and debilitated by disease engendered in the mias- 
 matic swamps through which they had been enticed by Ran- 
 dolph, and in a climate to which none of them, and par- 
 
444 DESERTIONS TO EANDOLPH. 
 
 ticularly the English, had been acoustomed, the Northern 
 invaders were not prepared for the furious onset made by 
 those whom they had so recently been chasing from river 
 to river, and across so many plains, without encountering 
 serious opposition. The battle raged furiously for several 
 hours ; when General Crook galloped through the dust and 
 .smoke up to Randolph, waving his hat, and announced that 
 the enemy had given way at all points, and the victory was 
 complete. Blount arrived soon after, and confirmed the 
 good tidings. Then messengers came spurring from Valiant 
 and Carlton. 
 
 " No !" said Randolph, on perusing the brief notes handed 
 him in pencil-mark, " they are our fellow citizens. Keep 
 back our cavalry. The war is over. Further effusion of 
 blood would only be a national calamity. Arrest the lead- 
 ers, and punish them according to law, but spare their fol- 
 lowers. Gentlemen," he continued, as many of his princi- 
 pal officers rode up and surrounded him, " you have stood 
 by me, and by the Constitution of our country, through evil 
 report. None of you have abandoned me when I retired 
 before the invaders, and when the almost universal cry was 
 for battle. Now, that the battle has been fought and won, 
 your fidelity is to be tested on the field of victory. With 
 many it is harder to withstand prosperity than adversity. 
 But I must announce to you that it is not my purpose to 
 slay the Northern people who have invaded the territory of 
 their Southern brethren. It was never my purpose to do 
 so, and hence I have avoided as much.as possible sanguinary 
 engagements. Disease is mowing doing the ranks of Ruf- 
 fleton's victims with sufficient rapidity. All we have to do 
 is to confine them in as narrow limits as possible until they 
 leave the country. This wUl be triumph ' enough for the 
 Chief Magistrate of the Union." 
 
 " Sir," said Blount — the first to speak — " I am with you 
 still. If the Union is to endure, no good could be accom- 
 plished by a sanguinary policy. By the frightful slaughter 
 we might inflict, we should only exasperate the people of 
 the opposite section, and enlist the sympathies of the world 
 in their behalf." 
 
 " I must acknowledge I am very bloodthirsty," said 
 Crook ; " but, at the same time, I must own that the judg- 
 ment of my superiors has always been superior to my own. 
 
DESEETIONS TO EANDOLPH. 445 
 
 Racdolph, I am with you to the end — and to the bitter end, 
 ifitmustbe so, against your old enemy, General Fell! I 
 learn he has all my niggers with him and none of his own !" 
 
 This speech was followed by applause, and some merri- 
 ment. 
 
 "I thank you, gentlemen," said Randolph. " And al- 
 though we shall certainly have a reflux of the tide of inva- 
 sion, from this point, and although it may be said from this 
 moment there is a virtual termination of the war, we must' 
 expect strifes, executions, and, perhaps, bloody battles be- 
 fore the majesty of the law can be fully vindicated. The 
 time has not yet expired named in my proclamation for the 
 submission of the misguided rebels in arms against the Go- 
 vernment. Those who lay down their arms must have 
 mercy and assistance ; while those who persist in their hos- 
 tility must be tried and punished. For the leaders there is 
 no pardon ; and knowing this, they will make desperate 
 efforts to prolong the civil dissensions. What General Fell 
 may do, I have no means of determining. But he is acting 
 quite as much in defiance of the authority of the United 
 States as Ruffleton has been doing. And if it should be his 
 purpose to subvert the Federa,l Government, he may pos- 
 sibly form a junction with the rebels, and turn his arms 
 against the South, for which he has professed so much loy- 
 alty !" 
 
 " If so," said General Crook, " the South will be against 
 him ! And I should like to aim the first blow at the infer- 
 nal traitor !" 
 
 " The first blow," said General Blount, " will be dealt by 
 General Toler." 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Randolph, " for he will have several hun- 
 dred miles the start of us. And the danger is that Toler 
 will not have a suflEicient force to withstand this motley 
 army, numbering five or six to one. If Fell should succeed 
 in taking Amherst Castle, in conjunction with Mailer, and 
 then unite with Ruffleton " 
 
 " Can such a thing be possible ?" exclaimed Crook, who 
 had, until recently, been an admirer and partisan of Fell. 
 
 " General," said Randolph, " I have information that 
 Windvane has been authorized, on the part of Ruffleton and 
 Lord Slysir, to make certain propositions to Fell, which 
 have been favorably entertained." 
 
446 DESEETIONS TO KANDOLPH. 
 
 " Then him, say I !" was Crook's response. 
 
 " If this treasonable union be consummated," continued 
 Randolph, " and a Revolution be proclaimed on the basis 
 of a recognition of slavery everywhere, with the State lines 
 obliterated, and the establishment of a consolidated empire, 
 then the war will recommence in earnest. But the scene of 
 its horrors will be shifted, and the despot will experience 
 the bitterness of rebellion among his first advocates and fol- 
 lowers. The North will rise up against him as the South 
 has done, and then we must all make common cause with 
 the North ! And, you see, my friends, why it is I would 
 spare the lives of the poor deluded creatures now flying 
 from this field of victory." 
 
 " It is consummate wisdom and patriotic duty," said 
 Blount. " But what becomes of Fell's black soldiers, when 
 it is understood that negro slaver'y is to prevail every- 
 where ?" 
 
 " We shall send them back to their masters," said Ran- 
 dolph. 
 
 " I am with you there, too, Randolph," said Crook, " and 
 I shall claim my share of them. But who comes here ?" 
 
 It was Virus, with a flag of truce. Orders had been 
 issued to stop the pursuit. 
 
 " Well, Virus," said Randolph, " it has been some days 
 since we had the pleasure of seeing you. Then you offered 
 peace, with the Roanoke the dividing line between the 
 North and the South. Is it now the Pee Dee ?" 
 
 " I am not charged to ofifer peace, your Excellency," said 
 Virus, with much gravity of countenance. "But I may 
 say I would to God the war were ended !" 
 
 "Amen!" said the President. "But let us hear what 
 you have to propose." 
 
 " I come merely to solicit a suspension of hostilities until 
 we can bury the dead." 
 
 " Granted," said the President, " provided you agree to 
 retrace your steps in the track of desolation you have made 
 through the country." 
 
 " Perhaps I do not fully comprehend your Excellency," 
 said Virus. 
 
 " I will be explicit. Your loss in this battle has not been 
 very great, and more have fallen during the last month from 
 disease than by the sword. The suspension is not for the 
 
NocrnmNAL expedition. 447 
 
 purpose you name ; for Ruffleton never stops to bury the 
 dead. But he would ' steal a march ' on us. His purpose 
 is to retreat beyond the reach of our cavalry, if possible ; 
 but it is not possible. Say to him, however, whether he 
 goes by day or by night, if his columns be confined vdthin 
 the limits I have named, I will not be the first to strike the 
 next blow." 
 
 " I will faithfully report what your Excellency has charged 
 me with," said Virus ; " but I am quite sure his Highness the 
 Protector has no purpose of retiring far from the scene of 
 his last conflict. His army is suffering somewhat, however, 
 with the enervating disease of ague and fever ; and after a 
 temporary cessation of marching, to restore the sick to 
 health, and to incorporate his ample recruits and allies in 
 the Grand Army, I know it is his intention to resume ope- 
 rations." 
 
 " No doubt you think so. Virus," said Randolph, smiling ; 
 " but it is probable the slaves will be quite as willing to live 
 with their old masters as to die for their new ones." 
 
 Virus stared in astonishment, for he comprehended the 
 significance of the allusion. But not venturing to reply, 
 he returned to his principal, who readily agreed to the 
 terms dictated by Randolph. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXVm. 
 
 irOCTXIEN'Al EXPEDITIOM". 
 
 DuEiNG the fortnight which succeeded the arrival of Ge- 
 neral Mailer before the Castle, several unsuccessful attempts 
 to take it had been made. Breaches had been effected in 
 the outer walls in several places, and the enemy had twice 
 rushed in and filled the area in the centre of which the 
 Castle was situated ; but they had not been able to make 
 any serious lodgment in the immense structure itself. They 
 were driven out on these occasions by a destructive fire of 
 grape and musketry, and were forced to return, foiled and 
 bleeding, to their own camp. 
 29 
 
448 NOCTUENAL BXPBDITION. 
 
 It was night, clear and silent, but dark, for the moon had 
 not risen. The two young ladies, the aged Senator, Dr. 
 Love, and Major Bim, were seated on the eastern balcony. 
 Though exposed to the aim of the cannoniers without, 
 hitherto it had been observed that not one ball had struck 
 that portion of the Castle where Cut6 had been introduced 
 into the presence of Alice. The exemption of that location 
 from the missiles of the enemy, was owing to the interposi- 
 tion of Lord Slysir ; and that fact had been made known by 
 subsequent messengers from the hostile camp, who came 
 with flags to adjust the terms of an exchange of .prisoners 
 taken by either party in the skirmishes which daily ensued. 
 And it was quite obvious to MaUer that nothing more 
 than the destruction of iurniture could have resulted from 
 firing in that direction ; for the balcony would have been 
 instantly abandoned. 
 
 While gazing at the distant camp-fires with various emo- 
 tions, for they were uncertain of the events transpiring at a 
 distance, the party were startled by a full, manly voice be- 
 neath, in the Castle yard. 
 
 " Colonel Bim ! Colonel Bim !" was repeated several times. 
 
 " He must be a stranger," said Bim ; " and yet it seems 
 like a familiar voice to me. But I have never heard of 
 Colonel Bim, although I hope some day to make his acquaint- 
 ance. What the deuce does he mean ? And what is he 
 doing there ? How did he get there without being seen by 
 the sentinels ? I will go and unravel the mystery." 
 
 He descended the winding stairway hastily, and soon 
 emerged in the yard before the stranger. 
 
 " Who are you ?" he demanded, confronting the visitor, 
 who was quite as tall as himself. 
 
 " You are Colonel Bim himself! How are you ?" 
 
 " I am not Col. Bim !" said Bim, hesitating to take the 
 hand held out. " But who the d — 1 are you ?" 
 
 " I'm Major Fink." 
 
 "Major Fink? I don't know him. I used to be ac- 
 quainted with one Captain Fink, and I also knew one Major 
 Bim. Yes !" he continued ; " it must be so ! I understand 
 now! We've been promoted. Give me your hand. Major!" 
 A mighty shake ensued, for they were both giants in sta- 
 ture and strength. 
 
 " I'm the bearer of tidings from the President," said Fink. 
 
NOCTUENAL EXTBDITIOIf. 449 
 
 "Then come with me, Major," said Bim, leading him by 
 the arm. " But how the d — ^1 did you pass the sentinels ?" 
 asked Bim, as they proceeded up the stairway. 
 
 " How, Colonel ? Do you ask me that question ? Why, 
 I have just passed through the enemy's camp, and a more 
 disorderly one I never beheld. I could put them to rout 
 with half their number of men." 
 
 " I forgot your western skill, Major," said Bim ; " but," ha 
 added, despondently, " we have not one fourth their num . 
 ber of men." 
 
 " Where's General Toler ?" 
 
 " He's some fifty miles oflf yet ; but he is hard pressed 
 by General Fell and his negroes in the Shenandoah valley. 
 Here we are," he continued, as they entered the large illumi- 
 nated apartment, where they were met by the whole party, 
 who had heard the words " from the President," and were 
 impatient to receive their letters. "Ladies and gentlemen," 
 said Bim, " permit me to introduce Major Fink." 
 
 Alice and Edith and the rest surrounded the Major with 
 alacrity, regardless of the formal introduction ; and after 
 brief but hearty salutations, almost seized the sealed packets 
 the faithful messenger produced. During the silence that 
 ensued, the brave Scout, who had been really half famished, 
 helped himself to the cold beef, and bread and wine he hap- 
 pened to espy on a side table. 
 
 " I have the great pleasure," said Alice to Bim, " of de- 
 livering the Colonel's commission. Here it is !" And she 
 drew it forth from its envelope, and placed it in the hands 
 of the delighted officer. 
 
 " I thank you — I thank him !" said Bim, with moistened 
 eyes ; " but there is one thing I must regret. There has 
 been a great battle, and I had no hand in it !" 
 
 " A great victory !" said the aged Senator, lifting his eyes 
 from his letter. 
 
 " And almost a bloodless one, !" added Dr. Love, having 
 perused his own letter from the President. "I thank heaven 
 for it !" 
 
 " My father writes from the field of victory," said Alice. 
 " And does not doubt that the war is near its termination ?" 
 
 " Yes," said Fink, joining them after his lunch, " they 
 have taken the back-track, as we used to say in the back- 
 woods, and it will soon be a run." 
 
450 NOCTCTENAL EXPEDITION. 
 
 "And," said Edith, blushing and smiling, "our friends 
 will probably be here at the expiration of ten days." 
 
 " Be here ?" asked Alice. " The armies " 
 
 " No ; I don't mean that ; but — but General- 
 
 " Ah ! I understand ! The chapel ! Yes ; it must be 
 so ! God wills it !" 
 
 The little party were made very happy by the news from 
 the Federal camp, and by the turn affairs had taken ; and 
 the only drawback to their felicity was the dark cloud in 
 the West, directed by General Fell, who proclaimed every- 
 where his defiance of the Federal authority. 
 
 "It might be surprised!" said Colonel Bim, after a brief 
 conversation in a low tone with Major Fink. 
 
 " What might be surprised ?" asked Alice. 
 
 " The country house to the left of the enemy's encamp- 
 ment. Major Fink says he peeped in as he came " 
 
 "Did you venture so near the enemy. Major?" asked 
 Alice, in surprise. 
 
 " Oh, it was no venturing at all," said Fink. " I was 
 merely acting the Scout, which is my second nature, and 
 ran no risk at all. I even got near enough to see General 
 Mailer iu his nightcap going to bed. But in the farm- 
 house they were playing cards, and the sentinels were 
 asleep." 
 
 " Playing cards ? Who were they ?" 
 
 " They were very high officers, I think, from the number 
 of champagne bottles I saw on the table." 
 
 " And these officers, you think," continued Alice, " might 
 be captured without risk to the assailants ? If so, you have 
 my permission to make the attempt. And they can resume 
 their whist here, by way of divertisement." 
 
 " Away, then," said Bim, rising. 
 
 " And I'll guarantee that not a drop of blood shall be 
 shed, if I may lead the expedition. And I want only twelve 
 men," said Fink. 
 
 " You shall lead," said Bim, " and select your men, so I 
 be one of them. I'll put oif my officer's trappings, and go 
 incog." 
 
 They set out immediately. 
 
6ENKBAXS TOLEB XSD FEIX, 461 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIX. 
 
 GSinSBALS TOIEE AKD VELL. 
 
 Geneeai Fell had reached the head-quarters of the She- 
 nandoah with his motley followers, and seemed to threaten 
 Amherst Castle, for he was incessantly breathing vengeance 
 against President Randolph, whom he charged with betray- 
 ing the cause of the South. But General Toler had suc- 
 ceeded in interposing his comparatively diminutive army 
 between Fell and Mailer, for he did not doubt that the 
 ambitious leader, notwithstanding his charges against the 
 Southern President, meditated a junction with the enemy. 
 
 He granted the request of Fell, that they should hold a 
 personal conference midway between the armies, attended 
 by an equal number of officers, who were not to be within 
 hearing. A small hut in the centre of a large field was the 
 place selected for the meeting, and they proceeded thither 
 on the morning of the day of Major Fink's arrival at the 
 Castle. 
 
 "General Fell," said Toler, as the former approached, 
 " before we clasp hands let us understand whether we are 
 friends or enemies." 
 
 " Can I be mistaken ?" exclaimed Fell. " General Toler, 
 one of the most enthusiastic champions of Southern Rights, 
 one whose pen and whose voice have been devoted to the 
 cause of his native land, to ask the question whether Gene- 
 ral Fell is a friend or an enemy !" 
 
 " General Toler would hurl back the Northern invader 
 from his native land : can General Fell say as much ?" 
 
 "He can say," replied the other, quickly, "that he is 
 resolved to hurl destruction on all the enemies of the South. 
 But who is the worst enemy of the South ? The one whom 
 she has nurtured and trusted, and to whom she gave power 
 and command, but who, nevertheless, permits her fair fields 
 to be ravaged when he had the means to prevent the inva- 
 sion ; or the great leader of the North who proclaims, at 
 the head of an army numbering nearly three-quarters of a 
 
452 GENEEALB TOLEB AND FELL, 
 
 million of men^an irresistible force — that slavery shall be 
 legal everywhere ?" 
 
 " Alas !" said Toler, " it is as I suspected ! Sir, why utter 
 such disingenuous words to me?" ». 
 
 " Disingenuous ? Beware, sir !" 
 
 " Ay, disingenuous ! for do you not assail Randolph 
 because he did not sooner arrest the progress of this ISTorth- 
 ern Chieftain, who proclaims the universal legality of 
 slavery, and whose interminable columns you admit are 
 irresistible ?" 
 
 " Irresistible without being opposed by the slaves." 
 
 " The slaves ! And you would have had Randolph le.ad 
 the slaves, and that too without the permission of their 
 owners, as you have done, in the presence of an enemy 
 which at first proclaimed their freedom !" 
 
 " At first. But now slavery is proclaimed everywhere. 
 And the Federal Government no longer exists." 
 
 " Sir, I act under its authority," said Toler. 
 
 " Is that your determination f " 
 
 "It is." 
 
 " Then our conference is at an end. But you little dream 
 of the great triumphs and achievements that would " 
 
 " Dreams ! All dreams. General !" 
 
 " No, by heaven ! A month hence — and " 
 
 " Randolph will again inhabit the Executive Mansion, 
 and the rebellion will be at an en^." 
 
 " No, sir ! An hour hence, and you will think dif- 
 ferently." 
 
 " Then be it so. I shall do my utmost to avert it. But 
 beware of the announcement among your rabble of slaves, 
 that Ruffleton, instead of setting them free, intends to close 
 all the doors of freedom against them, in the North as well 
 as in the South." 
 
 " Who can announce it ?" 
 
 "Do you not intend to make your negroes unite with the 
 enemy ? And will they not learn it then ?" 
 
 " That is my afiair ! But will you oppose my junction 
 with Mailer ?" 
 
 "Unquestionably. I obey the orders of the Presi- 
 dent." 
 
 "The President! But are you not aware that I have 
 two white men to your one ?" 
 
THB FBISOSTBBS. 4fiS 
 
 " I am. But I am thrice armed in a just quarrel !" 
 
 "Very well!" 
 
 And soon after the two Generals were mounted, and gal- 
 loping away to the heads of their respective armies. 
 
 Fell led only his white soldiers against the strong posi- 
 tion of Toler, and was defeated. Toler's superior artillery, 
 furnished by the Federal garrisons, more than compensated 
 for his inferiority in numbers ; and after a bloody day of 
 desperate conflict, the assailants fell back, and abandoned 
 the field to the brave heroes who stood up in defence of 
 "the Constitution, which guaranteed liberty and equality 
 (for white men) in all sections. Nevertheless, apprehend- 
 ing a demonstration in his rear by General Mailer, for it had 
 become apparent that Fell was in communication with the 
 enemy against whom he had originally declared his purpose 
 to fight. General Toler deemed it advisable, after burying 
 the dead, to retire towards Amherst Castle. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXX. 
 
 THE PEISONBES. 
 
 "What's the matter, sentinel?" asked one of the officers, 
 too intent at winning a trick with an ace to lift his eyes from 
 the cards, when Fink and Bim entered the detached farm- 
 house. 
 
 " Nothing," said Bim, " only the honors are against you." 
 
 " And I'm a trump !" said Fink, seizing the pistols which 
 lay conveniently beside the players. 
 
 " What does this mean ?" exclaimed the players, spriug- 
 mg to their feet. 
 
 " Oh, nothing serious !" said Bim. " Only the ladies have 
 sent you an invitation to come to the Castle." 
 
 " The deuce !" exclaimed a Brigadier, gazing round at the 
 muzzles of the menacing pistols. 
 
 " You've lost. General," said Fink, " and you must sub- 
 mit. If you resist, it is likely we may be prevented from 
 
454 THE PEISONERS. 
 
 having your company at the Castle ; but you will surely 
 die." 
 
 " I see it aU !" said Lord Slysir. " There' Bim's face. "We 
 submit. He's the Sergeant, gentlemen, I was telling you 
 about." 
 
 "No, your Lordship," saidBim, "I'm no Sergeant." 
 
 "Truel He's a Captain now — ^promoted for capturing 
 me." 
 
 " I'm not a Captain, either, your Lordship," said Bun. 
 
 "Oh! Major!" 
 
 " No, your Lordship." 
 
 "Higher still? A Colonel?" 
 
 " Colonel Bun, at your Lordship's service." 
 
 "I shouldn't have been surprised if it had been General, 
 in this mutable country," said Slysir, seeing Bim's enjoyment 
 of the enumeration of the steps he had taken. " Very 
 well, then, we have the honor of surrendering to a Colonel." 
 
 " No, youj Lordship," said Bim, " I'm only a volunteer, 
 and Major Fink is the commander of the expedition." 
 
 "That tall white-eyed—" 
 
 " Scout," said Fink. " But we have no time for farther 
 parley." 
 
 "General," said Slysir, addressing the Biigadier (the 
 others were British Captains on the sick list), " we should 
 have won the rubber. You might as well take the money ;" 
 and he pomted to some fifty sovereigns lying on the table. 
 
 " Excuse me, sir," said Fink, interposing ; " but it seems 
 to my my partners and myself are the winners here." 
 
 " How is that, your Lordship ?" asked Bim. " Is not the 
 gold fair prize to the captors ?" 
 
 " You an officer, and ask such a question !" exclaimed the 
 balked Brigadier. 
 
 " I asked for information, sir. Take the gold. Major Fink, 
 and when we arrive at the Castle we'll consult the books. 
 Your Lordship must understand that there is a capital mili- 
 tary library at the Castle.'' 
 
 " Come !" said Fink. " We have not a moment to lose." 
 
 "True, Major!" said Bim. "And his Lordship will 
 excuse any little seeming rudeness in us newly promoted 
 officers — " 
 
 " Oh, I hope your hard-trotting horse is dead, Bim I" 
 said his Lordship. " After the great rudeness of being 
 
THE PEISONERS. 455 
 
 pummelled to a jelly on that infernal beast, we shall be happy 
 to excuse any little rudeness on this occasion. But, Colonel 
 Bim, I have a request to make, and I know I can rely on 
 your honor — " 
 
 " I hope so, your Lordship," said Bim, somewhat flattered 
 by the appeal. 
 
 " Then I entrust to you this packet of inestimable value. 
 I will not attempt to conceal or destroy it ; but boldly place 
 it in your hands, relying on your honor as a man and an 
 officer to see that the seals be not broken without my consent, 
 and then only in the presence of President Randolph, and 
 such other witnesses as he may select." 
 
 " My Lord," said Bim, in tones of solemn gravity, " I 
 receive the deposit, and you may rely on my honor." 
 
 It was a parcel enveloped in paper, carefully wrapped 
 with red tape, and sealed at both ends and in the centre 
 with red wax, bearing the impression of his Lordship's 
 arms. 
 
 This ceremony ended, the prisoners were led oflF without 
 further delay to the Castle. 
 
 " Who are you ? Halt, I say !" said Bim, as a man crossed 
 his path, and then vanished in the bushes. " Gone ! and he 
 will give the alarm ! Lead on, Major Fink — ^it will not do 
 for us to be balked now. Take his Lordship's arm and run. 
 I will keep the others close at your heels. Hey !" he con- 
 tinued, as the same person who had attracted his notice 
 reappeared from the bushes and recrossed the path behind 
 him. " Who the d — 1 are you ? Speak, or I'll send a bullet 
 after you, although I confess I would rather not make a re- 
 port to any ears but my superior officer's." 
 
 " Don't shoot. Sergeant !" said the stranger. 
 
 " Sergeant ? You're a fool !" said Bim. " But since you 
 ask for mercy, you shall have it. Come out of the bushes, 
 and let me scan your phiz as well as the darkness wiU per- 
 mit." 
 
 " I'm not an enemy. Sergeant," said the other, gliding 
 to his side. 
 
 ' " You'll make me your enemy if you call me Sergeant 
 again !" said Bim. 
 
 " Oh, i forgot ! I meant to say Captain Bim." 
 
 " Captain ! I'm no Captain, either !" said Bim. 
 
 " Major, then. I shouldn't be surprised if you — " 
 
456 THE PEISONEES. 
 
 " Nor Major, either." 
 
 " What then ? A General ?" 
 
 " E'ot yet. One step m6re first." 
 
 " Colonel Bini !" 
 
 " Now you've hit it. But, stranger, what are you ?" 
 
 " Me ? I'm a ship-carpenter by trade." 
 
 " Ship-carpenter ?" _ I 
 
 " Yes. Don't you know me ? We were together in the, 
 deep ditch, after we lost all our men in the hig battle at 
 Bladensbiirg." 
 
 " What ! Is this you, Sergeant Punt ?" 
 
 " I'm not Sergeant Punt now." 
 
 " Not Sergeant. Have you been stepping up too, tra^ 
 veiling the same road ? Captain — Major ?" 
 
 " No — ^nothing of the sort. I quit fighting from the day 
 of our falling into the ditch. You know I went to work on 
 the sloop at the Navy Yard. And so I'm now out on a 
 collecting tour, hunting for President Randolph, or some 
 of his men who have his money, to get my wages." 
 
 " Now I know all about you," said Bim. " But you can't 
 get at the President, conveniently, just at this time, and I 
 don't know how he's ofi" for money. He's in arrears to me, 
 or rather the country is — ^but I'll fight, you know, for the 
 love of it." 
 
 " And hang me if I'll fight at all," said Punt, " because 
 I don't see any use in it. I don't know who's right and 
 who's wrong, and I'll let everybody alone if they'll let me 
 alone. That's what I told General Mailer this very night, 
 when they had me up before him. And I showed him a 
 pass, writ by Mrs. Punt, now in the White House, for me 
 to go where I pleased, and so he discharged me." 
 
 " Here we are at the Castle gate. Punt," said Bim, " and 
 you must excuse me, for I'm the chief officer. But you 
 shall see Miss Alice, the President's daughter, and perhaps 
 she'll pay her father's debt." 
 
 The Colonel hastened forward, and conducted the prison- 
 ers, accompanied by Major Fink, up to the great saloon 
 where the ladies, and Senator Langdon, and Dr. Love, anx- 
 iously awaited the result of the expedition. 
 
 Lord Slysir stepped forward, and in the most friendly and 
 cordial manner shook hands with his old acquaintances. 
 Then, turning round, he introduced his fellow-prisoners. 
 
THE PEISONEES. 45'! 
 
 " This is Brigadier General Gordon," said he ; " this 
 Captain Ponsouby, and this Captain Ashburton, all in Her 
 Majesty's service, all in the line of the Peerage, ladies, and 
 aU on the sick list." 
 
 " Pray be seated, gentlemen," said Alice. 
 
 " Sick gentlemen," said Edith, "should not stand, and 
 above aU, should not be exposed to the night air. But I 
 must say," she continued, addressing Slysir, " that the ague 
 and fever have not left their usual marks on your Lordship's 
 face ; and I congratulate your Lordship on your speedy 
 recovery." 
 
 " True," said Alice ; " and I had forgotten that his Lord- 
 ship's messenger, only the other day, alleged that his Lord- 
 ship had been made a victim of that cruel disease of our 
 unfortunate climate. But really the color has not all de- 
 parted from his cheeks." 
 
 " Ah, Miss Alice !" said his Lordship, " if you could have 
 seen me when the chill vras on — " 
 
 " Oh, I am quite familiar with the phases of the terrible 
 complaint," said Alice. " And I am aware of the change 
 it makes in one's complexion when the fever succeeds. And, 
 I must say, Colonel Bim — or rather Major Fink — that it 
 was no proof of humanity to make his Lordship a prisoner, 
 and rudely drag him from his couch when the fever was 
 on—" 
 
 " I beg your pardon, madam," said Fink, not compre- 
 hending the drift — " but as I'm a man of honor and an officer 
 of truth, though a Wild Western Scout, that red-faced 
 man — and for that matter they are aU red-faced enough — 
 was sitting at a table and playing cards, and drinking 
 liquor' — " 
 
 " Hist, Major Fink !" said Bim, in a whisper, " she's only 
 making fun of him." 
 
 "That's it, hey ?" responded Fink, " then I'll not inter- 
 fere." 
 
 "The color," said his Lordship, "is produced by the 
 doctor's prescription. He advises brandy — and the abo- 
 minable stuff they call brandy in the country, would make 
 the devil blush!" 
 
 " It was hot whisky punch. Miss Alice !" said Bim, in a 
 whisper, " for I drank some." 
 
 " So. But, Colonel," continued Alice, " what is it that 
 
 20 
 
458 THE PEISONEES. 
 
 you grasp so carefully ? A prize of value, or a file of hia 
 Lordship's secret instructions ?" 
 
 " I know not what, Miss Alice," said he ; " hut his Lord- 
 ship produced it himself, and received my word that it 
 should be sacredly kept until the President demanded the 
 breaking of the seals. It may be important papers, for 
 what I know, or even diamonds and rubies, and I must say, 
 upon reflection, that I regret it was entrusted to my care." 
 
 "Very well, Colonel," said Lord Slysir, rising and re- 
 ceiving the deposit from his hands : " I relieve you of the 
 responsibility. Miss Alice, this packet contains what, if 
 once lost, could never be replaced ; and therefore, by your 
 leave, I will entrust it to your keeping, relying wholly on 
 your generosity to oblige me so far as not to break th e seals — " 
 
 " I certainly will not break them," said she, " without 
 your permission, or the orders of my father." 
 
 " Enough ! I am content," said his Lordship. 
 
 "The packet seems to have been carefully prepared," 
 said Senator Langdon, archly, " as if in anticipation of such 
 an event as has just happened." 
 
 " Surely you do not mean to intimate that his Lordship 
 exposed himself in the tempting farm-house for the purpose 
 of being captured 1" said Dr. Love, in a low tone. 
 
 " That is precisely what I meant," said the aged Senar 
 tor. 
 
 " And now, our prisoners being rested," said Fink, " the 
 next question is, what shall be done with them ? Colonel 
 Bim, I think you said there was a secure dungeon under the 
 Castle ?" 
 
 " Yes, Major, a dark and strong one ! But it is a little 
 damp. I went into it yesterday with a candle, and stumbled 
 over some rats — " 
 
 " Rats !" said Brigadier Gordon. 
 
 " There was a great squeaking among them," continued 
 Bim. " And on stepping down I found the cause of it. A 
 tremendous rattlesnake had got in through the wall, and 
 was swaEowing them — " 
 
 " A rattlesnake !" said Captain Ponsonby. 
 
 " Oh, none of your dungeons. Colonel Bim !" said Lord 
 Slysir. " A dark dungeon, under ground, for officers with 
 the ague and fever!" 
 
 "My Lord," said Alice, "I cannot interfere with the 
 
THE PKISOinSRS. 459 
 
 rules of the service. Whatever Colonel Bim and Major 
 Fink may deem their duty, will, no doubt — " 
 
 " Heavens !" exclaimed Captain Ashhurton, " a dun- 
 geon !" 
 
 " And is this to he the result of your Lordship's strata- 
 gem ?" said General Gordon. 
 
 " Stratagem !" cried Edith, " what stratagem ?" 
 
 " I wiU confess," said Lord Slysir, " that for several days, 
 or rather nights, it was my confident expectation that we 
 would be captured. The fare is infamous in Mailer's camp. 
 And now, after this confession, you wiU not, you cannot, 
 consign us to a dungeon !" 
 
 " We will have your Lordship and companions," said 
 Edith, with all the seriousness she could command, "pro- 
 vided with the best food our poor larder may furnish. You 
 shall have calomel, jalap, quinine, and brandy ; and then — " 
 
 " Oh, don't mention them !" said Slysir. " I know very 
 well that we shall not be sent to the dungeon — " 
 
 " By your leave," said Bim, " that must be as the Com- 
 mander of the garrison decides. You must not be at liberty, 
 except on parole—" 
 
 " There you are right, Colonel," said Slysir ; " and we are 
 prepared to accede to the condition. We pledge ourselves 
 not to escape, and to be present whenever and wherever 
 our presence may be required. That being understood, I 
 have to request a private interview with Miss Alice, on a 
 matter of special importance — " 
 
 " A private interview !" exclaimed Alice. 
 
 " Or, if you desire it. Miss Edith may be present. Per- 
 mit me to whisper a word in your ear before you refuse my 
 request." Saying this, he did whisper something in the ear 
 of Alice which seemed to interest her greatly. 
 
 " I will see you, sir," said she, " at once, and alone. Come 
 with me into the library." And she led the way out, fol- 
 lowed by his Lordship. 
 
460 STAETLIN& NEWS, 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXI. 
 
 STAETLING NEWS. 
 
 Flora Summers was the centre of attraction in the great 
 saloon of the Executive Palace. She was surrounded hy 
 many courtiers, and seemed very happy during the absence 
 of the Lord Protector ; for hitherto all the bulletins which 
 had been received, anncrtinced the uninterrupted progress 
 of the invaders, and the probable subjugation of the 
 country. 
 
 Wind vane, knowing Flora's influence over the despot, 
 had cultivated her good graces with so much success, that 
 he attained a preponderating influence in the Cabinet. And 
 the effects of this soon became apparent. He had the finest 
 house, and coach, and horses, of any member of the Go- 
 vernment; and as for Flora, she was a perfect blaze of 
 jewels, and had, besides, near a million of dollars to her 
 credit in the banks. 
 
 It was just when Flora was in the zenith of her glory, 
 and surrounded by many flattering ladies, who, a year 
 before, would have disdained to enter a room polluted by 
 her presence, that Mrs. Punt, glittering with jewels in imi- 
 tation of her mistress, glided into the saloon and whispered 
 a message in her ear. 
 
 " Mr. Windvane wishes to see you immediately," said 
 she. 
 
 " Wishes to see me immediately !" said Flora. " Then 
 why don't he come to me ?" 
 
 " The Cabinet is in session in the Lord Protector's ofSce." 
 
 " Very well. I am not a member of the Cabinet." ~ 
 
 " But Mr. Virus has come back." 
 
 " n.i ! Has he letters for me ? Has he news ?" 
 
 " Air. Windvane says he has; and not good news, either." 
 
 " I wUl see him immediately." 
 
 Flora arose, and making the necessary excuses to the 
 company, proceeded with a quick, if not a tottering step, 
 towards the door, still closely attended by Mrs. Punt. 
 
STAETLING NEWS. 461 
 
 " Punt's gone, madam !" said Mrs. P. 
 " Never mind, Punt ! Where's Windvanft ?" 
 " In the green room, tnadam ; and he wishes to see you 
 before you meet with Mr. Virus. But I never expect to set 
 eyes on Punt again. And Mr. Ready says you could have ■ 
 our marriage annulled." 
 
 " Nonsense ! Why wUl you annoy me ? Leave me. I 
 will go alone." 
 
 Mrs. Punt, knowing the imperious will of Flora, paused, 
 and turning aside, hastened away to Ready, to report the 
 response to his sage suggestion. Flora, a moment after, 
 confronted Windvane in the green room. 
 
 " What is it, Windvane ? Say the very worst at once !" 
 exclaimed Flora, with a flashing eye and contracted brow. 
 
 " His Highness," said Windvane, watching eagerly the 
 effect of the announcement, " has been defeated." 
 
 "Defeated? Has he escaped death and wounds him 
 self?" 
 
 " He was not injured, and his health is good." 
 "Enough! I can laugh at the rest !" 
 " But the defeat has arrested his progress in the South." 
 " So much the better ! He will return the sooner. It is 
 an unhealthy country. Witness the faces of all who return. 
 Was he retreating ?" 
 " He was." 
 
 " Why this is good news, instead of bad !" 
 " The Cabinet think differently. They do not say so ; 
 but, between us, they regard this retrograde movement as 
 the beginning of Ruffleton's downfall. They fear hence- 
 forth his star will decline, and unless an amicable arrange- 
 ment can be effected with Randolph, I think some of them 
 will abandon their places." < 
 
 " With Randolph ! Let them go ! Better and truer 
 men can be found ! But, Windvane, remember Ruffleton's 
 
 last words " 
 
 " Never fear me ! Short shrift for traitors ! I have my 
 spies everywhere. But I wished to prepare you for the 
 interview with the Cabinet. They despond ; but I exult." 
 "Exult?" 
 
 " Yes. I have conjured up a new enemy against Ran- 
 dolph." 
 
 " You mean General Fell. Can he be relied on ?" 
 
462 STAETLESTG NEWS. 
 
 " He is in the field in ftill march to join General Mailer 
 before Amherst Castle, and to fall upon the enemy's 
 flank." 
 
 " Windvane, I thank you for this intelligence ! I am now 
 prepared to meet these faint-hearted gentlemen. Let us go 
 to them at once." 
 
 Flora, taking the proffered arm of the consummate poli- 
 tician, they proceeded to the council-room, where the seve- 
 ral Cabinet ministers were assembled, listening attentively, 
 and with pallid countenances, to the narration of Virus. 
 
 " The letters ! Virus, the letters !" exclaimed Flora. 
 
 " But one, madam," said Virus, " was all he had time to 
 write. Here it is." 
 
 Flora, taking the letter, and breaking the seal as she 
 strode rapidly to a distant table, over which a jet of gas 
 was burning, threw herself into a chair, and plunged 
 abstractedly into the contents. 
 
 " The Proclamation, Windvane," said one of the most 
 timid members of the Cabinet, " has not proved the master- 
 stroke you anticipated." 
 
 " We do not know that yet," said Windvane. 
 
 "Not one Southern man or woman of distinction has 
 responded to it," replied the other. 
 
 " You are not well informed," said Windvane. 
 
 " Virus has just returned from the scene of action." 
 
 " Does he say no Southern leader has responded ?" 
 
 " None has joined the Protector," said Virus. 
 
 "But one will join him," said Windvane. 
 
 " Who ?" demanded Virus. " General Fell, I learned 
 before leaving the camp, was marching eastward ; but we 
 could not ascertain exactly hi^ purpose ; and I know the 
 Protector feared no reliance could be placed on his co-ope- 
 rsition in the event of the retreat becoming a rout, which 
 seemed inevitable." 
 
 " I have news from General Fell — a letter written with 
 his own hand. He has fought a battle with General Toler 
 and beaten him." 
 
 "I hope so," said Virus, evidently in doubt as to the 
 accuracy of the intelligence, and his incredulity seemed 
 shared by the others. 
 
 " Gentlemen !" said Flora, coming forward, " I am sorry 
 you seem so much cast down !" 
 
STARTLING NE-WS. 463 
 
 " Cast down !" said Virus. " You must not think so, 
 madam, and above all, I trust you will not say so in your 
 letters to the Protector. It is true, we have somu slight 
 apprehensions that the Proclamation, obliterating State 
 lines, and declaring slavery legal throughout the Empire, 
 may shock the prejudices of the Northern people; but still, 
 the telegraphic intelUgence received this morning does not 
 indicate any serious opposition to the election of- the Gene- 
 ral's friends." 
 
 " I am glad to learn such is the case, sir, and will write 
 
 him fully on that point. But he will soon be here " 
 
 " Soon be here ?" exclaimed Virus, while the rest looked 
 up in astonishment. 
 
 " I do not know — ^he does not say — ^how soon — but it is 
 not to be supposed he will remain much longer -with the 
 
 army, after the junction of General Fell " 
 
 " Junction of General Fell !" exclaimed several. 
 " Oh, yes ! That is an event that will occur in Virginia, 
 and then, with such an accession of Southern allies. Generals 
 Balatrum and Fell will be enabled to prosecute the cam- 
 paign in his absence. But he intimates, and no doubt his 
 directions have been sufficiently explicit, that the guillo- 
 tines will have to receive a new impetus — — " 
 
 " The guillotines !" exclaimed the Postmaster-General, 
 while a deathly pallor spread over his face. " There is no 
 movement here against his authority." 
 
 " None openly made," said Flora ; " but be has been in- 
 formed that the Abolitionists have had secret conferences, 
 and the object may be to organize a rebellion — " 
 " Rebellion !" exclaimed several. 
 " Never !" said Windvane. 
 
 " Oh, I assure you he writes me that overtures have been 
 made to Randolph, even from Massachusetts, to revive the 
 old Federal Government, on the terms of the Constitution, 
 provided the former rights of the States be guaranteed, so 
 that slavery shall not be re-established in the free States. 
 Such propositions have been intercepted, gentlemen. They 
 agree that slavery may be extended South and South-west, 
 or in any new territory where the inhabitants desire it ; and, 
 moreover, the fxigitive slaves are to be given up by the 
 Northern States, and without trouble and expense to their 
 owners ; and even the decisions of the Supreme Court will 
 30 
 
464 STABTLING NEWS. 
 
 be respected and enforced by the free States, if Randolph 
 will resume the Executive chair, and grant an amnesty — " 
 
 " Amnesty !" said several of the Cabinet Ministers. 
 
 " Yes, amnesty for the past, to all citizens who have not 
 taken conspicuous parts — so you see we were not to be 
 included." 
 
 " Nor General Fell," said Wiudvane. " And rely upon 
 it, if there should be any defection in any portion of the 
 North, it will be more than compensated in the South. I 
 hope the Protector wiU soon give me the names of the 
 Abolition conspirators. I'll make short work with them. 
 Gentlemen!" he continued, rising and gesticulating with 
 emphasis, " the thing we want is a strong government on a 
 stable basis. There must be a master or nothing. We 
 must be beyond the reach of the agitators, or they will 
 bring us down. They call Ruffleton Dictator, and that is a 
 far more abhorrent title than Emperor ; let us make him 
 Empbeoe !" 
 
 "Why not?" cried Flora, seeing the rest remained 
 silent. 
 
 " We all propose it," said several, 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say so. And you will be his 
 Dukes and Earls. Gentlemen, General Ruffleton shall be 
 speedily apprised of your sentiments, for he has authorized 
 me to dispatch special messengers. 
 
 Flora glided out of the council chamber in apparent exul- 
 tation, and then the Cabinet Ministers resumed the con- 
 sideration of the grave matters before them, 
 
 " For my part," said the Postmaster-General, " I am ap- 
 prehensive General Fell's army will be seriously diminished 
 when his sooty followers learn that we design establishing 
 the institution everywhere." 
 
 " He will take precautions to prevent a knowledge of that 
 fact being imparted to them," said Windvane. "The 
 General himself would be involved in our destruction, if we 
 failed to retain power." 
 
 " I have no doubt your calculations are all correct, gentle- 
 men," said the Secretary of the Navy, " and that the Revo- 
 lution wiU ultimate in the establishment of a great Empire. 
 But I fear I am not destined to see it." 
 
 " Not destined to see it ?" exclaimed Windvane. 
 
 " No ; my health is failing. There is something in the 
 
BALATKUM IN EANDOLPH'S CAMP. 465 
 
 air of Washington fatal to certain conBtitutions, and I feel 
 that my life is ebbing away — " 
 
 " I hope not," said Windvane. " A change of air, at 
 this season — " 
 
 " I have been thinking of that," said the Secretary ; " but 
 my duties here, I fear, would be neglected." 
 
 " A few days could make no difference," said the Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury. " We will remain, and if the Protector 
 ■ should return during your absence, we will explain every- 
 thing to his satisfaction. Suppose you go to Philadelphia, 
 or rather to Wilmington, and I will give you an order to 
 the Collector there to sail with you on a visiting tour to the 
 lighthouses. The fresh au* on the water would be of 
 service." 
 
 This was assented to ; and indeed several other members 
 of the Cabinet indicated a disposition to indulge in similar 
 excursions for the benefit of their health ; but they did not 
 propose to join him. The Secretary of the Navy was in- 
 deed quite ill and restless of nights. He set out the next 
 morning, and fell into the hands of Windvane's agents at 
 the Baltimore dep6t, and an hour afterwards was relieved of 
 all his pains by the guillotine. It was proved that he in- 
 tended to fly with a large sum of money ; and his death 
 struck a salutary terror among his surviving colleagues. 
 They trembled in their places, but feared to fly. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 BAIATETJM IN EANDOLPH'S CAMP. 
 
 It was after crossing Dan river, before its junction with 
 the Roanoke, and after the army of invasion had retired 
 more than one hundred miles from the scene of its last battle 
 in South Carolina, that General Balatrum appeared with a 
 flag of truce at the head-quarters of the Federal army. 
 
 " Well, General," said Randolph, who had been feasting 
 sumptuously in the midst of his friends, " you find us ia 
 good health and spirits. . We are disposed to be lenient, 
 
 20 
 
466 BAIATEUM IK EAKDOLPH'S CAMP, 
 
 and if you will stipulate to lay down your arms and disperse 
 your rabble before the day of grace expires, we'll send you 
 physicians who know how to cure the ague and fever." 
 
 "And," said General Crook, with invincible gravity, 
 "provided Lord Slysir agrees to return my breeches." 
 
 " Sit down. General," said Blount, " and eat some peaches. 
 They were brought from beyond the mountain, where none 
 of your stragglers could get them." 
 
 " We are not allowed to eat fruit," said Balatrum, whose 
 cada,verous visage too plainly told that he, too, had been a 
 victim. 
 
 " Your doctor=,are fools," said Crook. "Here are figs 
 and watermelons, 'and we eat them every day. Why- don't 
 we suffer as you do ?" 
 
 " It is your native climate," said Balatrum. 
 
 " That's true," said Crook. "And if you won't taste the 
 fruits, take some brandy; that is the very best defence 
 against the chills." In that opinion Balatrum concurred ; 
 and he frankly acknowledged that Ruffleton's store of 
 liquors was nearly exhausted. Then turning to the Presi- 
 dent, he proceeded to deliver the proposals with which he 
 had been charged. And these were by no means of a sub- 
 missive character. They explained, however, the meaning 
 of Ruffleton's slight divergence from his former line of 
 march, and his inclination towards the mountain. A junc- 
 tion with General Fell was anticipated at the James River, 
 where, Ruffleton's envoy inturiated, offensive operations 
 might be resumed. 
 
 " Ruffleton knows better !" said Randolph. " He cannot 
 suppose the negroes will fight for him, after his Proclamation 
 at Richmond. But say to him, once for all, that I do not 
 recognise any decadence of the Constitution or overthrow 
 of the Confederacy. My oath must be fulfilled. The insur- 
 gents must return to their homes and submit to the laws of 
 the Federal Government, else no alternative remains but to 
 deal with them as rebels and traitors. Balatrum, you must be 
 aware that but for my forbearance your retreat ere this would 
 have been a latal rout. I might easily destroy three-fourths 
 of Ruffleton's followers on Southern soil ; but wherefore 
 should I ? Disease will punish them sufficiently. The best 
 thing the leaders of this rebellion can do, is to decamp in 
 the night, and fly to foreign countries. Their misguided 
 
irajWS FROM THE CAPITAl. 467 
 
 followers may be forgiven. But I doubt whether their 
 British allies will transport them from their native shores, 
 since that Proclamation at Richmond." 
 
 " Such being the views of your excellency," said Balatrum, 
 " of course there can be no agreement by which further 
 bloodshed may be averted !" 
 
 " And, General," said Crook, as Balatrum rose to depart, 
 " if you sail away in the British fleet, be siire and remind his 
 Lordship of my breeches. I need them very much." 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXin. 
 
 MEWS FEOM THE CAPITAL. 
 
 " Now, my Lord," said Alice, when she accompanied his 
 Lordship into the Ubrary, "pray be seated, and deliver fi-ankly 
 what you may have to say. But remember I can listen to 
 matters pertaining only to the interests of the country. For 
 better, for worse, in life and in death, with the exception of 
 the affection due my parent and my friends, I am wholly 
 devoted to the object of my patriotic solicitude. I need not 
 be more explicit, and yet I might be. I might say there was 
 a time — and another object — but it is past ! When the last 
 flickering ray of love goes out in the heart of a true woman 
 — self-extinguished — it is gone for ever !" 
 
 Having uttered these words, Alice, who had reclined her 
 brow for a moment on her hand, raised her pale face, and 
 gazed with her tearless eyes at the now serious Countenance 
 of his Lordship. 
 
 " Fair lady !" said he, " far be it from me to desecrate the 
 sacred shrine of the true and faithful heart of maiden ! And 
 if I have seemed to offend by any former levity, or by my 
 politic suggestions, wherein, as is sometimes the habit in 
 Europe, the heart might not be a party in an alliance sub- 
 scribed with the hand — I humbly crave your pardon ! And 
 now, my words will surely convince you, I trust, that my 
 motive in soliciting this interview may very properly merit 
 your consideration." 
 
468 KTEWS FKOM THE CAPITAI,. 
 
 "But, my Lord," said Alice, archly shaking her head, 
 " it was really your design to be captured, when you per- 
 sisted in occupying the farm-house !" 
 
 " It was — and I have confessed it. But it was for the 
 purpose of announcing to you, and through you to the Pre- 
 sident, my purpose of rupturing the alliance of my Govern- 
 ment with Ruffleton." 
 
 " Is it possible ?" exclaimed Alice, gazing steadfastly at 
 the diplomatist. 
 
 " It is not only possible," replied his Lordship, " but it 
 became inevitable, when the Despot proclaimed his design 
 to legalize slavery in all the States. After the adoption of 
 such a measure as that,, my Government has no alternative 
 but to renounce the alliance. Every British Administration 
 for years has been solemnly committed in favor of the abo- 
 lition of slavery throughout the world. And yet this fool- 
 ish man, yielding to the counsels of a mere weather-cock 
 politician — " 
 
 " Windvane !" said Alice. 
 
 " Yes, lady — a mere wind-vane politician — ^has perpetrated 
 an infamous absurdity, which, if it did not rupture our 
 friendly relations, would justly subject us to the condemna- 
 tion and contumely of all the civilized nations of the earth." 
 
 " Very true, my Lord ! But, then, what does the world 
 say in regard to the act which consigned the homestead of 
 Washington to the flames !" 
 
 " It speaks but one voice ! But we are prepared to prove 
 it was not sanctioned by us. And we have dismissed Jun- 
 kins from the service." ^ 
 
 " I am glad to hear this. My Lord, we will confer again 
 in relation to this matter. And in the meantime I will 
 communicate with my father. An express starts for his 
 head-quarters to-night." , 
 
 "Adieu, then, till to-morrow," said Lord Slysir, rising 
 and bowing profoundly. "I will not trespass further on 
 your time to-night." And he rejoined his companions in 
 the great saloon. 
 
 But he had no sooner retired than Edith glided into the 
 library from another door, bearing a letter just brought to 
 the Castle by one purporting to be a deserter. 
 
 '■'■Miss Alice Randolph, Amherst Castle," repeated Edith, 
 reading the superscription. 
 
mews PEOM THB CAriTAL. 469 
 
 " Here am I, Edith," said Alice. " Did you call ?" 
 
 " I but read the address of this letter — a love-letter, I 
 hope, for our mutual diversion." 
 
 " A letter for me ? Whom from ? From whence ?" 
 
 " Nay, that I am in agony to learn myself. But here let 
 us sit and conjecture, before you break the seal," she con- 
 tinued, reclining in a great chair beside the one occupied 
 by her friend, and placing the letter in her hand. " Our 
 tSte-a-t§te will not be disturbed. Dr. Love has uttered his 
 brief petition, and sent all the guests and inmates to their 
 couches but ourselves and the nodding maids who await the 
 tinkle of your bell. Gaze on — ^but do not break the seal 
 yet; it was brought hither by one whom I have seen in 
 Washington — I know not his name, but Willy says he is 
 anxious to enter the service of the President." 
 
 " Then the letter may be from some one we left in Wash- 
 ington — but I will see !" Saying this, she broke the seal. 
 
 " Read on, while I close my eyes," said Edith. " I do 
 not ask to know its contents. But if you should choose to 
 read aloud, I may listen." 
 
 " Listen, Edith !" cried Alice. " It is good news ! It is 
 from " 
 
 " Whom ?" 
 
 " Windvane." 
 
 " Windvane !» 
 
 " Ay, Windvane — and it is marked confidential." 
 
 " Indeed ! And does he possess your confidence ?" 
 
 " The miscreant ! But still he can be of infinite iservice. 
 Listen — " 
 
 " Tou forget it is confidential." 
 
 " He has no right to impose any such restriction on nie. 
 But you will keep the secret until I absolve you. Listen." 
 
 The letter set out by saying that grass was growing in 
 the streets of the Northern cities ; the factories were idle ; 
 the ships rotting at the wharves, and most of the stores and 
 shops closed and deserted — while everywhere the people 
 were secretly pining for a restoration of the Government 
 under which they had lived so long and prospered so much. 
 In Boston the Three had been assassinated, and half the 
 guillotines had been destroyed by unknown parties. in the 
 night. In many places the obnoxious agents of Ruffleton 
 had absconded in obedience to anonymous warnings ; and 
 
470 NBWS FROM THE CAPITAL, 
 
 more than five hundred of the three thousand fanatical 
 political parsona had been hung by persons wearing masks. 
 Windvane declared his piiri^ose to overthrow the Tyrant, 
 and to deliver him into the hands of justice. He said the 
 Secretary of the Treasury was likewise disposed to abandon 
 the enemy and serve the President, unless, indeed, he cpuld 
 succeed in shipping the $30,000,000 to Europe, and sailing 
 in the same vessel. But that would be prevented, as his 
 spies were ever watching the Secretary's motions. But the 
 ladies were greatly startled at the next development of 
 Windvane's sagacity. He said that by obtaining an inter- 
 view with Lord Slysir, Alice could easily induce him to 
 order the British fleet to guard the coast — and prevent both 
 the escape of fugitives and the sending away of treasure — 
 and that he — Windvane — had induced Ruffleton to issue 
 his famous Richmond Proclam,ation, for the express pur- 
 pose of detaching England from his alliance ! The next 
 announcement was a master-stroke of the politician. Sup- 
 posing he was familiar with all the secret impulses of Alice's 
 heart, he proposed, upon the reception of an affirmative 
 intimation from tlie Castle, to have Flora Sumwiers seized 
 and dragged to the guillotine ! 
 
 " Alice !" cried Edith, and at the same time throwing her 
 arms round the neck of her friend, "a light is breaking 
 from Heaven ! The prayers of the good and great of the 
 Union have ascended to the Throne of God ! Peace will 
 be restored, and the Republic preserved for ever !" 
 
 "For ever! For ever !" responded Alice, with uplifted and 
 tearful eyes — " may He who presides over the destinies of 
 nations, and who vouchsafed his approbation of the work 
 ol" Washington, grant that this great Republic may survive 
 the crumbling of all other Governments, to the end of re- 
 corded time !" 
 
 "But, Alice!" continued Edith, "you will not permit 
 the horrid executioner to guUlotine the misguided but 
 faithful Flora. 
 
 "No! No!" cried Alice, springing up, and ringing the 
 bell violently. " Never ! Never ! She aided me in escaping, 
 I care not what her motive was — ^I care not if she did medi- 
 tate my death — I care not how much she loves the Despot. 
 She is faithful in her love — true to the object of her love — 
 and I will, at all hazards, fulfil my promise to her ! Where's 
 
liTBWS FEOM THE CAPITAL. 471 
 
 Wiry Willy ?" she demanded of the five or six female slaves 
 that came running into the library in answer to the sum- 
 mons of the bell. ' 
 
 " Lii, missus," said the foremost, " he's done gone |;o bed 
 long ago 1" ^ 
 
 "Wake him up! Tell him to come hither immedi- 
 ately!" 
 
 "Yes, missus!" said the maid, departing precipitately, 
 while the rest remained awaiting further orders. 
 
 " Bring us some cake and wine," said Alice. " We shall 
 not close our eyes to-night. Edith, you will aid me. Many 
 letters must be written, and several messengers despatched 
 before the dawn. Now," she continued, when she beheld 
 a table covered with refreshments, and addressing the 
 slaves, " you may go to your rest. Sleep while we labor, 
 and be fresh in the morning. We labor for you as well as 
 ourselves, for you are members of our families, and shall 
 share our good as well as our evil fortunes." 
 
 " Miss Alice," said one of them, curtsying, " all de Abo- 
 litionists in de world couldn't make us desert you ! And 
 brother Pompey, who was wid General Fell, has stole away, 
 and says none of de dark folks are gwine to fight agin de 
 President." 
 
 " I hope they will not, Agnes. Good night !" 
 
 " I thought it was Pompey I saw talking to Agnes in one 
 of the corridors," said Edith. "And why should any of 
 Fell's army of slaves unite with Ruffleton, since his famous 
 Proclamation consigns them to slavery ? Not only so, but 
 I am sure it is his intention to make slaves of all the free 
 negroes in the North !" 
 
 " Nor is that all," said Alice, " he would make a nation 
 of white freemen his slaves ! But we are upon the eve of 
 great events — -events which will consign the enemies of the 
 country to destruction ! Ah, Willy !" she continued, as the 
 faithful messenger appeared. " Come in. I am sorry to be 
 under the necessity of disturbing your slumber. But, 
 Willy, it is a necessity. It is a mission of the greatest im- 
 portance — especially to me. It is for life or death — it is — " 
 
 "No matter what it is. Miss Alice!" said Willy. "I 
 await your commands !" 
 
 "Wiily, Windvane writes me— confidentially, he says, 
 but from you no confidence is withheld — that the country — 
 
472 BATTLE AND STAMPEDE. 
 
 all the North, is ready to rise against the Usurper and Ty- 
 rant, and — " 
 
 "Windvane too?" said "Willy. 
 
 " Of course," said Edith, " if the wind is in that direc- 
 tion." 
 
 " Yes, Windvane, too," continued Alice smiling ; " but 
 he would go too far — ^he would seize and decapitate Flora 
 Summers !" 
 
 " Flora Summers !" cried "WUly, springing up from the 
 chair he had occupied, in obedience to the injunction of Alice. 
 "Do not permit it ! She was your friend ! She planned your 
 escape and assisted — " 
 
 " I know it, Willy. And I promised my gratitude and 
 protection, if it should ever be in my power to serve her." 
 
 " Let me go to Washington ! I will set out immediately !" 
 
 " Can you pass in safety ?" 
 
 " No doubt — ^no doubt ! But I will procure a letter from 
 Lord Slysir." 
 
 " True — ^it may be obtained. Go to him at once, "Will," 
 said Alice, " and say I sent you — say I desire as a special 
 favor, that he will provide you with a passport, and any 
 message in his own behalf that will facilitate your progress." 
 
 "Willy hastened to the chamber of his Lordship, and 
 Alice seized her pen and wrote with great rapidity ; while 
 Edith indited a letter to General Blount, to be borne by the 
 messenger about setting out for the head-quarters of the 
 President. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXIV. 
 
 BATTLE AND STAMPEDE. 
 
 In pursuance of a previous agreement. Generals Toler 
 and Fell again met midway between their armies, now 
 encamped in full view of each other. The place selected 
 for the interview was beneath a solitary sycamore, on the 
 margin of a brook, in the centre of a plain chosen as the 
 scene of conflict for the next day. The two generals had 
 
BAITLK AND STAMPEDE. 4^3 
 
 been accompanied by numerous officers to within a hundred 
 paces of the tree, and from thence they had advanced alone. 
 
 " General," said Fell, after gazing a moment in silence at 
 the tall form before him, and recognising the lineaments 
 of the chieftain, " we meet again — may we not part as 
 friends?" 
 
 " We may, if you will it so." 
 
 " By coinciding with your will ? Is not that your meaning ?" 
 
 "Rather say. by yielding to the dictates of duty and 
 patriotism." 
 
 "Duty and patriotism ! General Toler, how often have I 
 heard you say the first duty of Southern men was to the 
 South ? And that patriotism consisted in maintaining our 
 equality and independence ?" 
 
 " I know not how often — but I have said it repeatedly. 
 General Fell. Equality in the Union, or independence out 
 of it, has been my theme — and is so still. But neither 
 equality nor independence is to be achieved by leading our 
 slaves into the camp of the Northern enemy ! I care not 
 what Eiuffleton may promise in his Proclamations. I will 
 not trust him. I care not if it be his purpose to perform 
 his promises — ^for I know the Northern people will not sanc- 
 tion his edicts. Nor would I desire to see slavery re-esta- 
 blished against the people's will in the States where it has 
 been abolished. Randolph is now hurling back the North- 
 ern invader — " 
 
 " How know you that ?" 
 
 " I know it. I have intelligence of the fact. Let all the 
 true sons of the South rally under Randolph's standard in 
 this good work. There is no other course !" 
 
 " General," said Fell, in tones that evinced his feeling, 
 " if this be so — if Randolph should succeed in driving the 
 invader out of the South, after permitting him so long to 
 ravage our fields with impunity — and should re-establish the 
 Union and the Federal authority, what, then, will the South 
 have gained ?" 
 
 " It will gain security in the Union, or it will go out of it 
 ■without further molestation." 
 
 " No" — we shall have only the same old story ! Randolph 
 will be run for a third term of the Presidency, and of 
 course the North must again be conciliated." 
 
 " General Fell," said Toler, with dignity, " we have not 
 
 20* 
 
474 BATTLE AND STAMPEDE. 
 
 mot to discuss the distant future. In regard to the past, 
 when the portentous cloud appeared in the Nortliern hori- 
 zon, I announced my readines>s to follow your lead, and was 
 then eager to strike for an immediate separation, but you 
 failed me, and all your partisans shrank back, alleging that 
 it would he better first to obtain possession of the sword .and 
 purse, by elevating you to the Presidency, a consummation 
 4;hen deemed practicable. I regarded the excuse as a mere 
 pretext to obtain the Federal patronage, and so I aban- 
 doned your cause — but not the cause of the South. Aid 
 me and Randolph in expelling the Northern invader from 
 our native soil, and then I will imite with you, whether 
 Randolph shall be with us or not, in demanding security 
 in the Union, or Independence out of it. This is my ulti- 
 matum. Send back the slaves to their masters!" 
 
 " No. I shall go on. The ball of ReYolution must roll to 
 a final consummation. In the Union, or out of it, our safety 
 will be best secured by the legal existence of slavery every- 
 where." 
 
 " The legal existence of slavery to be achieved by slaves ! 
 Fell, you are mad !" 
 
 " You are beside yourself!" 
 
 " Then to-morrow will be memorable as the day on which 
 two madmen engaged in a pitched battle, for the security 
 of the South. Southern men on Southern soil, with South- 
 ern armies !" 
 
 " You cannot withstand me ! Why oppose my march ?" 
 
 " I have no words to answer." 
 
 " Nothing but blows !" 
 
 " Nothing else." 
 
 " Then be it so ! Good-night !" and the Generals sepa- 
 rated and retired to their respective tents. 
 
 Every disposition had been made for a decisive battle the 
 following day, and most of the officers retired early to their 
 couches in quest of repose. General Toler alone was wake- 
 ful, and strode to and fro in his tent. On turning once he 
 saw the canvas slightly agitated. He paused, and gazed 
 steadily, and a moment after the following words reached 
 his ear : 
 
 " Massa John ! Massa John !" 
 
 " Who's there ?" demanded the General. 
 
 "It's me, Massa John." 
 
BATTLE AND STAMPEDE. 415 
 
 " And who the d — Vs me ? Let me see your face." 
 
 " Don't you know me, Massa John ?" asked a very black 
 negro, creeping under the canvas and rising in front of the 
 astonished General. 
 
 " If it were not for the red flannel on your collar, and 
 epaulette on your shoulder, with bright buttons and sword, 
 I would say you were my slave Scipio." 
 
 " Dat's it! Dat's it, Massa John," said the negro. "I am 
 so still, dough dey call me Captain Scip. I been belonging 
 to de grand army under General Fell." 
 
 " And, now you have deserted to your master, Scip." 
 
 " Not dzacly dat, Massa John — but dam if I fight, Massa 
 John! And dat's de way all de niggers is thinking and 
 talking too !" 
 
 " Ha ! Is that so, Scipio ?" asked the General, quickly, and 
 at the same time advancing and cordially grasping the hand 
 of his faithful slave. 
 
 " It's just so, Massa John !" replied Scipio, while great 
 tears ran down his cheeks. " You know you learnt me how 
 to read, Massa John ? Well, I got one ob de Plocklama- 
 tions of General RufBeton, which says we's all to be slaves 
 in de North as well as in de South. I had it and kep it for 
 more dan a week, and read it ebery night by de pine 
 knots to de colored Captains, till I got through wid 'em 
 all—" 
 
 " You did, Scipio ?" 
 
 " Sartin, Massa John ! De niggers ain't flowed to be 
 higher den Captain. But all de Captains is been 'splainin' 
 de Plooklamation to de men — and now we's all ready." 
 
 " Ready for what, Scipio ?" 
 
 " To break up and go home, Massa John, and 'tend to our 
 work 'mong our wives and children." 
 
 " Is that so, Scipio ? Why, it is understood Fell intends 
 to lead you into battle to-morrow." 
 
 " I know dat, Massa John ! We said he mus let us fight, 
 or we'd desart. I put 'em all up to dat, Massa John ; and 
 now all's 'ranged. To-morrow all you'll have to do will be 
 to jus' gallop your white horse right up to us and order us 
 to throw down our arms and go about our business. Dat's 
 all !" 
 
 " Scipio, I know you love me. We were boys together, 
 almost like brothers — and indeed the slave in the South is 
 
476 BATTLE AND STAMPEDE. 
 
 more like a member of his master's family than the fi-ee 
 negro of the North is like a freeman. Scipio, I shall trust 
 you. If you deceive me, I shall perish, and my death will 
 weigh upon your conscience — " 
 
 " Stop, Massa John — you're breaking my heart !" ex- 
 claimed Scipio, prostrating himself and embracing his mas- 
 ter's knees. " 13ut if Scipio's 'ceiving Massa John, dat he 
 loves so much, may he roast in brimstone fires for eber and 
 eber !" 
 
 " I will trust you, Scipio ! You will know me by my white 
 horse, which you trained from a colt ! and I am sure he 
 would know you if it were not for your military trappings. 
 When you see me approach, contrive to be near the place 
 where I shall address the men." 
 
 " I'll be dar, Massa John — nebber fear ! And all de 
 Captains, and all de men will know what's to be done. I've 
 been preparing 'em ! Dey all understand ! De white 
 horse'll be looked for ! Ride right up to us, Nebber 
 mine what the white soldiers say — dey'll think you're de- 
 sartin'!" ......^ 
 
 " Scipio, your hand ! If this scheme of yours succeeds — " 
 
 " Now, don't say so, Massa John. Don't say I shall hab 
 ray freedom, Massa John ; I want to be wid yon all your 
 life, and I won't be free no how you can fix it !" 
 
 " Then farewell, Scipio, till to-morrow !" A moment 
 after Scipio disappeared, and the General resumed his pro- 
 menade, resolved to hazard everything on the fidelity of 
 his slave. 
 
 Early in the morning General Fell put his army in mo- 
 tion, and General Toler awaited his approach behind the 
 breastworks which had been constructed the day before. 
 Not a shot was fired, except at the extreme left, where 
 the white soldiers engaged — and these formed but an in- 
 considerable portion of Fell's army. On the black mass 
 advanced, maintaining an ominous silence. The white 
 ofiicers were in the rear, urging the slaves before them, 
 while Fell himself looked on in amazement from a neigh- 
 boring hill. No smoke arose from the plain, no reports of 
 fire-arms were heard, save from the most distant part of the 
 field. 
 
 It was then that General Toler, in despite of remon- 
 
S'LOBA.'S INTEEPIDITT. 4Y7 
 
 strances, galloped towards the interminable array of slaves. 
 Nor did he pause until he was within a few paces of the 
 foremost ranks, and not a shot had been iired at him. 
 
 " What are you doing here ?" he exclaimed in a loud 
 voice. " Why are you in arms against your masters ? I 
 teU you the Northern Abolitionists have deceived you. 
 They are determined to be your masters themselves, and 
 you aU know what hard masters the Yankees make ! Throw 
 down your arms and go home, and I will forgive you ! Go, 
 I say !" 
 
 Then Scipio rushed out of the ranks and gave the pre- 
 concerted signal, and the sky was rent with cheers for 
 General Toler and for the South. They threw down their 
 arms, but a moment after snatched them up again, and de- 
 manded to be led against Fell, who had deceived them. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXV. 
 
 PLOEA'S nrrEEPIDITY. 
 
 The members of the Cabinet were assembled in Council, 
 with pallid countenances and trembling joints. Flora sat 
 apart, gazing in silence out of the window. 
 
 " It is bad news," said the Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 " Bad enough !" said the Postmaster General. 
 
 " D bad !" said the Secretary of the Interior. 
 
 " My opinion," said the Attorney General — 
 
 " By your leave," said Virus, interrupting him, " I doubt 
 whether a legal opinion, oral or written, can have much 
 bearing upon the case. The country will not attach much 
 importance, I fear, to the decision of an Attorney General 
 in favor of an Administration of which he is a member. 
 The question is, what should be done in the present exi- 
 gency ?" 
 
 " And the present exigency," said Windvane, " accord- 
 ing to the dispatch received from Ruffleton himself — " 
 
478 PLOEA'S INTKEPIDITT. 
 
 '■'■Muffleton P" said Flora, darting an indignant glance at 
 the Minister of Justice. 
 
 " Certainly !" said Windvane. " Does his letter not lie be- 
 fore us on the table ? Did you not receive one from him ?" 
 
 " Ituffieton /" repeated Flora. 
 
 " Oh, I beg pardon !— the Lord Protector. According 
 to the dispatch, then, from his Highness, the Lord Pro- 
 tector, we have intelligence that three-fourths of the army- 
 have been disabled by sickness, and that the remainder 
 have not the physical ability or moral courage to contend 
 against the President — " 
 
 " The President .'" said Flora. 
 
 "Oh, by courtesy!" said Windvan,e; "or simply Ran- 
 dolph — that will do. But his Highness likewise reports the 
 complete defeat and utter dispersion of Fell's irmy by 
 General Toler." 
 
 "But the Protector," said Flora, "writes me that he 
 would form a junction in a few days with General Mailer, 
 before Amherst Castle, and await fresh troops, which he 
 expects the Secretary of War to send immediately." 
 
 " But will they go, when I send them ?" said the Secre- 
 tary. " There are only thirty thousand men remaining 
 available for service ; and if I order them to march away 
 from the District, what security will we have here ?" 
 
 " I am clearly of the opinion," said Virus, " that all idea 
 of subjugating the South ought to be abandoned ; else we 
 shall have an ugly rising in the North. Why does not he 
 — I mean the Protector" — he added, on beholding the 
 reproachful gaze of Flora, " fall back with all his forces on 
 this side of the Potomac ? I am told the Castle in Amherst 
 county is impregnable. On this side of thfe Potomac, he 
 might still hold the reins. But the idea of sending more 
 men to the South ! Why, in less than two months we have 
 sustained almost as great losses as Napoleon did in his disas- 
 trous Russian campaign." 
 
 " True !" said Windvane, with a sigh of impatience, and 
 at the same time rising and promenading to and fro before 
 his colleagues. " And he might have been utterly annihi- 
 lated, but for the singular forbearance of Randolph. Do 
 you not perceive that Randolph, for some politic purpose, 
 hesitates to avail himself of the advantages fortune throwa 
 in his way ?" 
 
floba's intbsfiditt. 470 
 
 ".FbriMnc/" said Flora. 
 
 " Yes ; what else ?" demanded Windvane. 
 
 " Treachery, I tear !" said Flora, returning with unflinch- 
 ing steadiness the surprised looks of the Cabinet ministers. 
 " Gentlemen," she continued, " the Protector has sent for 
 recruits, money, and medicine, and you are discussing the 
 propriety of his conduct ! You are deliberating instead of 
 obeying." 
 
 " We are his Constitutional advisers," said Virus, " accord- 
 ing to the form of Government we have been elaborating 
 under his direction." 
 
 "That system has not yet been adopted," said Flora, 
 " nor the advisers it provides for appointed. At present, 
 the Protector is supreme or he is nothing. You must obey 
 or oppose." 
 
 " We certainly do not intend to oppose," said Virus, " and 
 we will obey to the utmost of our ability. But we may 
 consider our ability, and unite in a representation of the 
 condition of the country, and express our opinions frankly 
 to our benefactor and friend. It is our duty, for instance, 
 to appiise the Protector of the fact, that Admiral Bang 
 declines co-operating with us, and that our recruiting agents 
 have ceased to send us more men from the North and the 
 West." 
 
 " And likewise make known to him," said the Secretary 
 of the Treasury, " that all other sources of revenue, except- 
 ing duties on imports, have failed. The guillotine has lost 
 its terror — " 
 
 " Because it has ceased its operations," said Flora, " ex- 
 cept where it can victimize a friend of the Protector." 
 
 " A friend of the Protector !" exclaimed Windvane. 
 
 " Yes ; a friend of the Protector, Who has been a more 
 efficient friend than Dr. Blood ?" 
 
 " Oh, that was a mistake of the clerk who copied the 
 order," said Windvane. " Dr. Blood was the accuser in a 
 case requii-ing prompt action, and my clerk, most negli-* 
 gently, in the order for execution, substituted the name of 
 the accuser for the accused, and the blundering executioner 
 beheaded the rich parson." 
 
 " You signed the order." 
 
 " I did not read it." 
 
 "Nor dictate, it?" 
 31 
 
480 iloea's inteepiditt. 
 
 " Dictate it I But yonder is a messenger ! Perhaps Tve 
 shall have further news from the Castle — I mean from the 
 seat of war." 
 
 Windvane, in directing his eyes towards the window, had 
 recognised Wiry Willy below. 
 
 " Excuse me a moment, gentlemen," he continued ; " I 
 will myself conduct him hither." He passed out into the 
 hall, and seeing WiUy ascending the stairway, awaited his 
 approach. 
 
 " Youi- letter, Willy," said Windvane. He tore it open 
 and perused its contents where he stood. And while his 
 eye glanced eagerly down the page, a smile of triumph illu- 
 minated his features, for Alice had given him every encou- 
 ragement in her power, to forward the project of counter- 
 revolution. " Good !" said he. " All goes well. But, 
 WiUy," he continued, in a whisper, " did she not send me a 
 Terbal message regarding Flora ?" 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Are you quite sure ?" 
 
 " Quite, sir. But she said she would send other messen- 
 gers soon. She may have deferred it, if she intended any 
 message in regard to her." 
 
 " I suppose so. Oh, yes, she will communicate with me 
 frequently." And ailer some further conversation with 
 Willy, he told him his general news had been anticipated 
 hj telegraph, and special expresses, and therefore he need 
 not go into the Council Chamber. Then turning away, 
 Windvane rejoined his colleagues. 
 
 "It is merely a messenger from Lord Slysir," said he, 
 " with no tidings of public moment. His Lordship, you 
 know, contrived to be taken prisoner to enjoy the society 
 of the ladies and his whist. And now he sends for some 
 articles of dress." 
 
 " His breeches, perhaps !" said the Secretary of the Inte- 
 rior. " But let xxs attend to our own affairs." 
 
 And during the discussion that ensued, Flora retired 
 from the chamber, and sent for Willy, whom Mrs. Punt was 
 questioning, in high excitement, in regard to the move- 
 ments of her absent husband. 
 
 " WUly," said Flora, " why are you here ?" 
 
 " I came, Miss Flora," said Willy, at the same tinie glanc- 
 ing round, that no one else might learn the nature of his 
 
FLORA'S INTEEPIDITT. 481 
 
 mission, " expressly to bear a letter to you from iMiss 
 Alice." 
 
 " Ha ! Alice Randolph ! Where is it ?" she cried, start- 
 ing up and almost seizing WUly. 
 
 " One moment, Miss Flora, and you shall have it. I con- 
 cealed it in a secure place, that it might not fall into im- 
 proper hands. I knew it was a matter of importance to 
 you," he continued, as he detached the false scalp from his 
 head — " to you who have served Miss Alice so effectually 
 when she most required assistance." 
 
 "Important to me! It must be so! Alice Randolph 
 pledged me her word — and that, too, voluntarily — that she 
 would serve me, if it should ever be in her power. Give 
 me the letter ! Ah ! there it is ! under your wig. Willy, I 
 "will never betray you !" Saying this, she threw herself on 
 a cushion and tore open the envelope. The letter was as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Flora : — My only motive, my only desire, in writ- 
 ing this, and in sending a special messenger, is to save 
 your life. Ruffleton's career is nearly ended. But it was 
 not the Usurper — it was the man — you loved. And I re- 
 spect him for not abandoning you in the height of his 
 power. I will save his life if possible. But yours is in the 
 gi'eatest danger. If you can rely upon Colonel Snare, who, 
 I am told, commands the regiment at the President's Man- 
 sion, warn him that a conspiracy is in existence to arrest 
 and drag you to execution. I cannot indicate the authors 
 of this diabolical scheme — at present. But I declare to you 
 that I know it exists. Lose not a moment in taking effec- 
 tual measures to guarantee your safety. I know, however, 
 that you cannot remain long in Washington — and I would 
 advise you to leave the city and sojourn in some place of 
 security where you may communicate with Ruffleton, who 
 will soon be — I am certain. Flora — a fugitive. Fly with 
 him to other lands. And that you may be happy is the 
 sincere wish of Alice." 
 
 " Happy !" exclaimed the almost frantic girl — " And why 
 not ? It is the only way ! Alice Randolph is incapable of 
 deception — she would perish rather than utter an untrutli — 
 it must be so ! But wh«re shall I fly ?" 
 
 21 
 
483 FLOBA'S rNTEEPIDITT. 
 
 " Oh, believe it — take her advice !" said Willy. 
 
 " Ha !" cried Floi-a, lifting her face, which had been mo- 
 mentarily concealed in her hands, and having forgotten the 
 presence of Willy. " But you are not my enemy." 
 
 "No! As God is my judge !" said Willy. "And if you 
 desire to find a place of security, I will aid you, and faith- 
 fully deliver any message or note to General Rufileton. I 
 go now to my aged grandame's, where my Mary awaits 
 me. If you would accompany me thither, I would answer 
 for your safety." 
 
 " I thank you, Willy !" said Flora, rising and taking the 
 hand of the young man between her own. " I have heard 
 all about the little paradise you have on the Brandywine ; 
 the humble cottage — the peaceful grove — the sparkling 
 brook, and the perennial flowers. But the most beautiful 
 blossom is your Mary ! Yes, happiness awaits you there, 
 Willy! But for me — oh! would you have me conduct 
 Ruffleton thither?" 
 
 " He should be concealed — " 
 
 " Alas ! you speak as if he were already a fugitive ! But 
 if God spares us to meet again, he shall know how kind and 
 forgiving you were ! But, Willy, it has not come to that ! 
 Yet, were I compelled to fly, I know not where else I 
 should go ! Willy ! I have riches ! I have the command 
 of the soldiers about the Palace, and I can rely on Colonel 
 Snare ! Go, Willy, to your happy Mary ! As for me, I 
 will battle it out bravely to the end ! If we should meet 
 no more — I charge you to say to Alice Randolph that I 
 thanked her from my heaii; — and — what do you want?" 
 she continued, addressing a messenger sent from the Coun- 
 cil Chamber. 
 
 " Mr. Virus sent me to beg your attendance in the Cabinet 
 Council. They have received fresh news." 
 
 " Fresh news ! Good or bad ?" 
 
 " I cannot say, madam — ^but — I think — " 
 
 " But you think what ?" 
 
 "I'm afraid it ain't good news." 
 
 " Enough ! Say I will be there presently. Go !" And 
 when the messenger withdrew. Flora indited a few lines in 
 pencil mark on a card, demanding Colonel Snare's presence 
 immediately, and begged Willy to deliver it. Willy has- 
 tened away, and executed the trust without loss of time. 
 
FLOBA'S INTBEiflDITT. 488 
 
 " Colonel Snare !» said Flora, who promenaded the room 
 with composure, when the officer entered, " your fidelity 
 has never been doubted by General Ruffleton or myself. 
 Your own life, your own prosperity, must depend — " 
 
 ^ " I owe everything to the Protector ! And will serve 
 him faithfully to my life's end," said Snare. 
 
 " In saving my life, you will serve him, Colonel Snare," 
 said Flora. 
 
 " Saving your life ? How is it endangered ?" 
 
 " We are surrounded by traitors. There is a conspiracy 
 to seize me to propitiate the enemy !" 
 
 " Is it possible ! Give me the names of the traitors, and 
 if Windvane don't cut off the heads of every one of them, I 
 wiU have him shot !" 
 
 " It must not be ! I cannot do it ! But, Colonel Snare, 
 I am menaced, here, in the Palace. You will be respon- 
 sible for my safety. Be vigilant — ^that is all you can do at 
 present, and until you have my signal to arrest the traitors. 
 If charges be made against me — ^if an attempt be made to 
 arrest me, even by any legal process — " 
 
 " I'll shoot every civil officer in the District, from the 
 Executioner up to the Minister of Justice !" 
 
 " Enough ! Go, Colonel, and charge your sentinels to 
 be vigilant — ^it is all we can do until we know our ene- 
 mies." 
 
 "I obey. The Protector said your command over the 
 
 .troops stationed here, was unqualified. If you should at 
 
 any time order me to seize and shoot the traitors, it will be 
 
 done. But without any order, I will shoot any one who 
 
 ventures to molest you !" 
 
 Flora wrote some specific instructions for the Colonel, 
 and then ascended to the Council Chamber, where she 
 found the members of the bogus Government in great dis- 
 may, occasioned by the recejjtion of despatches both from 
 the South and the North. From the North, the ocean 
 telegraphic intelligence induced the belief that England 
 would at once withdraw from the alliance with Ruflieton, 
 in consequence, at least it served as a pretext, of his famous 
 Richmond Proclamation. But Russia and France were 
 arming — and it was believed that Randolph's Plenipoten- 
 tiaries had succeeded in consummating treaties with both 
 nations. It was further rumored that France had agreed 
 
484 FLOBA's nrntEPiDiTT. 
 
 that Russia should have Constantinople, and that the 
 former would receive an aggrandizing equivalent on the 
 American continent. At all events, a combined fleet of 
 unprecedented magnitude, would soon sail towards the 
 "West. From the South, the despatches and messengers 
 not only confirmed the news of the defeat of General Fell, 
 and the utter dispersion of his army, but indicated that tlie 
 day of grace named in the President's Proclamation, be- 
 yond which every insui'gent would be out of tlie pale of 
 Executive clemency, was to be made memorable by the 
 submission of the greater portion, if not all, of the followers 
 of Ruffleton in the field. An express stated that the guil- 
 lotine had already been destroyed within sight of the 
 Despot's tent ; and that instrument of terror removed, aU 
 subordination was at an end. 
 
 " Let us cut the wires !" said Yirus. 
 
 " Wherefore ?" asked Flora. 
 
 " It would do no good now," said Windvane, " for I 
 learn that the news reached Boston simultaneously with its 
 reception here. And the intelligence from Europe is 
 already on the bulletin boards in New Orleans !" 
 
 " Then what is to be done ?" asked the Attorney- 
 General. 
 
 " What is your opinion P" asked the Secretary of the 
 Treasury. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the Secretary of the Interior, rising, 
 " I will give you my opinion ; and whether it be according 
 to the Attorney General's construction of law, or not, I 
 shall act in pursuance of it, and others may do as they 
 please. Randolph, or rather the Union, is the victor, and 
 I submit. I resign. I will not fly. I will face my fate, 
 and I shall oppose the seizure of the public treasure." 
 
 " I will follow your example !" said Windvane. 
 
 "I will put my seal on the treasure," said the Secretary 
 of the Treasury. " It is in sisecie, and in Washington." 
 
 "And I will defend it !" said the Secretary of War, "for 
 the use of the Federal Government." 
 
 " Let us unite in an address to Randolph," said Wind- 
 vane, "and he will save us; it is the only course. What 
 says the Postmaster General ?" 
 
 " He's gone !" said the Secretary of the Interior. 
 
 "Ah! I know the reason!" said Windvane. "He has 
 
I'LOBA'a nrrKEFisiTT. 4S5 
 
 been appointing partisans of his own, and aspired to ths 
 Chief Magistracy himself!" 
 
 " And what is to become of the Protector f " demanded 
 Flora, with flashing eyes. 
 
 " The game is played out," said Windvane, " and sauve 
 qui pent / Let him protect himself!" 
 
 " Ingrate ! Traitor !" said Flora. 
 
 " Miss — or Madame !" said Windvane, " you forget that 
 while the guillotine has been demolished at head-quarters, 
 it is still in operation here !" 
 
 Flora rose with dignity, and, turning her back on the ex- 
 Cabinet Ministers, approached the open window. She 
 gazed in silence for several moments at the lawn and at the 
 barracks, as if in profound meditation. Then taking from 
 her pocket a silver whistle, she sounded what seem,ed a 
 preconcerted signal, for a moment ailer the roll of the 
 drum was heard without, and in unusual proximity to the 
 Palace during the sessions of the Cabinet. 
 
 " What does that mean ?" asked the Secretary of War. 
 
 " In my opinion the Secretary of War ought to know 
 exactly what it means," said the Attorney General. 
 
 "D — opinions now I" said the Secretary of the Interior; 
 " we have to deal with facts ; and I am not afraid to faea 
 the music." 
 
 The roll of the drum continued, and was heard the more 
 distinctly every moment, as a body of troops, headed by 
 Colonel Snare, ascended the great stairway of the Palace. 
 And soon the door was thrown open, and a score of 
 bayonets were precipitated into the room. 
 
 " What means this, Col, ?" demanded the Secretary of 
 War. 
 
 "She commands here," said the Colonel, bowing defe- 
 rentially to Flora. 
 
 " Then," said Flora, " arrest that traitor !" pointing to 
 Windvane, who shrank aghast in his great chair. 
 
 " Arrest me ?" 
 
 " No words, sir !" said Colonel Snare. " I obey — and 
 you must be silent. Soldiers, conduct the prisoner away, 
 and keep him securely." 
 
 He was led out, pale and trembling at every joint. 
 
 "Do you want any more of us, Colonel?" asked the 
 Secretary of the Interior. " K so, just call the roll," 
 
488 tlobVs intbepiditt, 
 
 "I await the order of Flora Summers," said Snare. 
 
 "You may retire," said Flora, and^the next moment the 
 chamber was cleared of the military. 
 
 " By George !" said the Secretary of the Interior, " that 
 was bravely done, and weU done, and not undeserved. He 
 threatened to cut off your head. Flora, and you have caged 
 him. It is a lesson for the rest of us ! And for my part, 
 I declare that I shall do nothing to injure you ; but as for 
 the cause — " 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Flora, " what I have done was in self- 
 defence. It was Windvane's purpose to send my head as 
 a peace-offering to Alice Randolph. But she, appreciating 
 his villany, warned me of the danger. He shall not die 
 by my hands, but will be dealt with according to law. 
 And, believe me, I have no intention to molest any one of 
 his colleagues; for I do not think any other member of the 
 Protector's late Cabinet meditated my death." 
 
 " No 1" said Virus. " Windvane enjoyed a monopoly of 
 that conception ; and I am glad you have not doomed him 
 to death, because it was not ill-will, or malignity, but a 
 mere trump-card in politics — " 
 
 " Why did Ruffleton appoint the rascal ?" demanded the 
 Secretary of the Interior. 
 
 "No matter, gentlemen!" said Flora. "You have all 
 resigned ; and from the tenor of the despatches, the Govern- 
 ment of the Protector is at an end. What next ?" 
 
 " We have only to consult the means of safety," said Vi- 
 rus ; " for we know not what another day may bring forth." 
 
 " For my part," said Flora, " I shall provide for my own 
 security. I have resolved what to do. Let each one pur- 
 sue his own course. I fear not for myself. I see other cou- 
 riers approaching !" And fresh despatches were laid on the 
 table, which only increased the consternation. 
 
BCSirm XT TBS CASTLB. 48? 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVI. 
 
 SCENES AT THE CASTLE. 
 
 There was a succession of excitements in the Castle after 
 Wiiy Willy had been sent to Washington. The agents of 
 Lord Slysii* had found access to him with despatches from 
 his Government, transmitted by the Ocean Telegraph. These 
 seemed to confirm his Lordship in his policy, and now he 
 denounced Ruffleton openly. 
 
 General Toler, after sending off the negroes to their re- 
 spective masters, and seeing that the white followers of Fell, 
 consisting in great part ot natives (5f the North who had 
 become citizens of the South, were hopelessly demoralized 
 and dispersed, encamped his army, now swollen to 70,000 
 men by desertions from the enemy, outside the Castle walls, 
 and in front of Mailer, to whom he offered battle. Disap- 
 pointed in not being assailed in the position he had selected, 
 it was his purpose to become the assailant, when a messen- 
 ger arrived from President Randolph with orders to act 
 only on the defensive, and await events. But instead of a 
 hostile disposition being manifested by Mailer, that General, 
 after the second day of the presence of General Toler, 
 fell back further down the valley, abandoning his sick and 
 wounded, amounting to several thousand men. 
 
 The Castle was illuminated very brilliantly, and there was 
 a festival in its capaciojis hall, in celebration of the pros- 
 pect of a speedy re-establishment of law and order through- 
 out the vast Confederacy. The aged Senator occupied one 
 end of the ample board, between the young ladies, while 
 the aged Dr. Love pronounced a benediction from the other. 
 Lord Slysir, with his captive companions, General Toler, 
 Colonel Bim, Major Fink, and other officers and gentlemen 
 were present. But in the midst of the repast the company 
 were startled by the shrill voice of one at once recognised 
 by Alice and Edith. 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! ha 1 Laugh ! laugh I All ye sons and daugh- 
 ters of America ! The night is far spent, and the day is 
 
488 BCEXES AT THB CASTLB. 
 
 dawning! I come, the herald of glad tidings! "Who 
 shall stay me ? Let me pass, I say !" 
 
 " Charlotte !" said Alice. " That is her voice ! Let her 
 enter !" 
 
 " I knew it I" said the demented woman, rushing in with 
 the same helmet, cuirass, and spear, with which she had ap- 
 peared at the White House before its abandonment by the 
 President. " I knew the virgin of the starry brow would 
 have the door thrown open to Charlotte ! Fair Maid of 
 the Morning, let me kiss the hem of your garment !" 
 
 " No, Charlotte !" said Alice, rising and kissing the pallid 
 cheek of the poor woman. 
 
 " And I, too," said Edith, " claim the privilege of salut- 
 ing with a kiss the harbinger of glad tidings !" 
 
 "Glad tidings?" said Charlotte. "Yes! He comes! 
 The conquering hero, comes ! HaU to the chief who in tri- 
 umph advances ! The Bridegroom approaches ! The Presi- 
 dent returns ! I am the avant courier." 
 
 " But sit down and eat and drink, Charlotte," said Alice. 
 " Tou would not tarry and partake of the feast at Wash- 
 ington — do not decline the invitation at the Castle." 
 
 " No ! brave and bonny lassie ! I am hungry as a shark, 
 and thirsty too. Some wine ! Never fear, but I wUl eat 
 and drink with you now ! And I have earned my wages !" 
 And she did devour the viands with a voracity which at- 
 tested her need of refreshment. 
 
 " Now teU us where you have been, Charlotte," said 
 Edith, when the poor creature had finished eating and 
 drinking. 
 
 " Where have I been ? I have been to all the State Capi- 
 tals distributing the Proclamations, both the President's 
 and Ruffleton's." 
 
 " And that was really good service !" said Senator Lang- 
 don. 
 
 " Was it not ?" said she. " But before doing that I spent 
 a week in the camp of RufSeton, reading the future to his 
 deluded followers. And now the ftiture has dawned, and 
 my predictions have been verified !" 
 
 " But, Charlotte," continued Edith, " did you not say the 
 President was coming hither ?" 
 
 " I did ! And I said the bridegroom was approaching. 
 Let your dear heart leap with joy, blushing daughter of the 
 
SCESSS AT THS CASXLB. 489 
 
 North ! And why are you so pale, thou heroine of destiny ?" 
 said she, gazing at Alice. 
 
 "Am I pale, Charlotte? If so, it is with joy. Have 
 you not heard of joy having its victims as well as grief? 
 But I will restrain my heart from breaking with gladness. 
 I am glad — Heaven knows how truly glad I am to witness 
 the triumph of the Republic of Washington! But go on 
 with your narrative." 
 
 " Two days ago I left the head-quarters of the President, 
 and, with Randolph's permission, plunged again into the 
 camp of the enemy. Ha ! ha ! ha ! I will laugh ! Did you 
 not hear my laughter at the door? "Well, it is a farce. 
 There were the tents and the sick, but no army " 
 
 " No army !" cried Colonel J^im. 
 
 " And who are you ?" demanded Charlotte, gazing at the 
 gigantic form of the faithful ofScer. " Oh, I remember ! 
 Alas for you ! Tour sword will be converted into a sickle ! 
 No army — I say no army, but the army of the sick. All 
 who could run away had taken to their legs, and they 
 will be swaiining here, ay, here, and everywhere, to- 
 morrow " 
 
 " Here ?" asked General Toler. 
 
 " Yes, here, General — but not with arms in their hands. 
 Fugitives and mendicants, your foes will crave a httle food 
 a^d water for charity ! Nor was Ruffleton there " 
 
 " Ruffleton not there ?" demanded AUce. 
 
 " No- — ^not there ! Fled I no one knew whither. His 
 men, by hundreds of thousands, swarming like locusts, had 
 thrown away their arms and spread out in all directions in 
 quest of magistrates, before whom to swear allegiance to 
 the Federal Government, and to crave a httle food for 
 charity !" 
 
 "This is most extraordinary intelligence !" saidLangdon. 
 
 " You may rely on it implicitly !" said Edith. 
 
 " Charlotte never gives false information !" said AUce. 
 
 "How could she? Why should she?" she exclaimed. 
 " You have dungeons ! If my news be not confirmed in an 
 hour, let me suffer — ^There! There! Hear you not the 
 rattle of hoofs? List to the bugle! Prepare all your 
 throats to shout for your country 1 God, and your native 
 land!" 
 
 These words had hardly been uttered before the huzzas 
 
 21* 
 
490 SCEITES AT THE CASTXB. 
 
 of a great multitude were heard in the distance ; and soon 
 after the enthusiasm, spread among the soldiers within the 
 Castle walls, and the sounds were echoed and re-echoed 
 in every direction. 
 
 "Huzza!" cried Colonel Bim, springing from his chair 
 and wavmg his hand over his head. " Excuse me, ladies 
 and gentlemen," said he, a moment after, "but I never 
 could hear the hearty cheers of Young America without 
 flapping my wings and crowing!" 
 
 " For one," said Senator Langdon, " I can pardon you 
 right heartily for that !" 
 
 " Colonel Bim !" said the Rev. Dr. Love, "there is not 
 only jDatriotism, but religion in huzzaing for the Union, 
 framed by "Washington, under the auspices of God I" 
 
 "May God preserve it, then!" said General Toler ; "but, 
 at the same time, may He preserve the honor and equality 
 of the South !» 
 
 " General !" said Alice, " believe He will preserve both. 
 My father is a native of the South. Confide in him." 
 
 "I have drawn my sword at his bidding," said the 
 General. 
 
 "And not only drawn it," said Alice, "but flashed it 
 on the field of victory in behalf of the Great Republic !" 
 
 " The Great Republic !" said Lord Slysir, standing up ; 
 " I propose the Great Republic of Washington !" 
 
 This sentiment was applauded heartily, but the clapping 
 of hands was interrupted by Charlotte, who rose hastily and 
 rushed out. A moment after, her shrill laughter rang 
 through the hall, and was succeeded by another deafening 
 burst of applause. 
 
 " The soldiers," said General Toler, " have heard Char- 
 lotte's news of the dispersion of Ruffleton's army." 
 
 "General!" exclaimed Bim, springing to his feet again, 
 "that is Carleton's band ! I, know every bugle of the Blue 
 Caps ! They are here ! Behold the torches through the 
 loop-holes ! The parade ground is filled with cavalry — 
 and here we are feasting and toasting " 
 
 "ThbPeesidbnt!" exclaimed AUce. "Did you not hear 
 that ! He comes ! he comes ! I heard his voice, Edith ! 
 Let us haste to welcome those who thus announce them- 
 selves. Let us bid our hearts be still — but give our arms 
 to the heroes." 
 
BCBXES AT THE CA3TLB. 491 
 
 At that moment Randolph, Blount, and Crook appeared 
 at the entrance of the hall, having galloped up to the door 
 and dismounted before any one could announce their arrival, 
 
 We will not attempt to describe the scene that ensued. 
 The rapturous embraces — ^the joyful tears ! But one inci- 
 dent ought not, perhaps, to be omitted. General Crook, 
 dashing ahead of Blount, snatched up Edith in his arms, 
 and running away with her, was pursued with celerity by 
 his superior officer, to whom, at last, he was compelled to 
 resign the blushing maiden. 
 
 " That is my last act of nonsense," said the humorous 
 General, with a sober countenance, as he rejoined th,> Presi- 
 dent, and received Alice from her parent's arms. 
 
 "General!" said Alice, when the greetings were over, 
 "you have fought a good fight, but Edith has conquered!" 
 
 " How is that ? I don't understand it !" 
 
 " Come !" said the President, " we have not leisure for 
 explanations. Lot us dine." 
 
 " Ay," said Blount, " here's good cheer, and we have 
 keen appetites after a gallop of forty miles." 
 
 " Fire away, then," said Crook, suiting the action to the 
 word. 
 
 And during the repast, the President confirmed the newa 
 brought by Charlotte. Ruffleton was a fugitive, and his 
 army had submitted to the Federal authority. More than 
 seven hundred thousand muskets and other small arms had 
 been given up or strewn along the roads. And while these 
 details were being narrated, General Toler was informed by 
 an officer that Mailer had fled, and that his troops had 
 signed a submission in accordance with the President's Pro- 
 clamation. 
 
 " Charlotte," said the President, " has labored diligently 
 in distributing the Proclamations in the camps of the rebels." 
 
 " And, father," said Alice, " is not this the day named 
 in the Proclamation, beyond which no indulgence would be 
 extended ?" 
 
 " It is, my daughter," said the President, " or rather the 
 night — and," he continued, looking up at the clock, " seve- 
 ral hours yet remain before the beginning of another day. 
 But the work of submission will be complete ! The wires, 
 repaii-ed by my friends, have brought me intelligence of the 
 public sentiment in the North and the West. Our troubles 
 
492 THE FUGITIVE. 
 
 are over. Gentlemen !" he continued, rising, " the rebellion 
 is at an end. Let us repair to the chapel. Come, Alice. 
 Take my arm, Langdon. Let us follow Dr. Love to the 
 holy altar, and give thanks to God !" 
 It was done. And God was present ! 
 
 4s ^ ^ ^ :{c 4: 
 
 Long after the principal personages of this drama had 
 retired to their couches that night, the sounds of innocent 
 and patriotic revelry rang through the halls of the Castle, 
 and reverberated from the peaks of the mountains, where 
 bonfires had been lighted in celebration of the great 
 event. And thousands of stragglers from the deserted 
 camps of Ruffleton and MaUer came in and partook of the 
 bountiful fare of the Federal quarters. Men, from different 
 sections, who had been recently armed for each other's de- 
 struction, now embraced like brothers. The hungry were 
 fed, and the sick were ministered to. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVn. 
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 
 
 Willy, and Mary, and the grandame, were seated at the 
 breakfast table, as the early sun of the morning threw its 
 rosy tints on the peaceful valley of the Brandywine. 
 
 "Yes," said Willy, "we shall have peace, now, and a 
 lasting peace, I have no doubt. Both sections have found 
 that nothing is to be gained by civil war ; and as for Dis- 
 union, what is that but war ?" 
 
 " True, Willy," said Mary, who had always sympathized 
 with the South, " such Disunion as was attempted by Ruf- 
 fleton and General Crook. But if either section wore to 
 seek to deprive the other of its constitutional rights, so that 
 the people of the opposing sections were unanimous, then 
 separation would be quite a different thing — it would be the 
 same as the separation of the Colonies from Great Britain, 
 which Washington approved, and which his Maker seemed 
 to sanction." 
 
THE FUGITIVE. 408 
 
 " His Maker did sanction it !" said the grandame, " or it 
 would not have sncceedeil And, be assured, my children, 
 that this Union will conlnuie, until the Lord, which sanc- 
 tioned it, shall consent to its destruction. And I pray that 
 he may not be made angry by the guilt and ingratitude of 
 the people, so as to permit them to become the victims of 
 anarchy and despotism I But who is that ?" This inquiry 
 was occasioned by the barldng of Bruce, the watchdog, and 
 a moment after the latch of the door was raised, and a 
 woman in tattered garments, but whose face was enveloped 
 in a thick green veil, entered hurriedly, and tottered to a 
 chair, seemingly exhausted by fatigue. 
 
 " Begone, Bruce !" said Mary, interposing between the 
 dog and the visitor. 
 
 " Poor thing !" said the grandame. " How she pants ! 
 Lift up your head, child — you are among friends here. 
 Come, sit at the table and eat with us." 
 
 "Yes, you must be the friends of the houseless wan- 
 derer !" said the stranger. And throwing aside her veil, 
 Willy and Mary recognised her face, though pale and care- 
 worn. 
 
 " Flora Summers !" they exclaimed. 
 
 " Yes — it is Flora !" said she. " I am now a fugitive, 
 and crave a little food for charity ! I have wandered on 
 foot all night long, in quest of — no matter 1" 
 
 " All night !" said the grandame — " and no sleep — ^no 
 food — no rest !" 
 
 " No — no rest ! 'No rest for me !" said Flora, swallowing 
 some coffee, which had been brought by Willy. " Thank 
 you, Willy ! That will do. Now let me read this paper 
 which I obtained fi'oni a boy at the depot." It was one of the 
 Philaidelphia journals, printed that morning, and contained 
 telegi-aphic news from all directions. A copy had likewise 
 been received at the cottage, and Willy and Mary were 
 already familiar with its contents, and they maintained a 
 respectful silence while Flora glanced at the exciting items. 
 
 " It is as I supposed !" said Flora. " President Randolph 
 has arrived at Washington, and is re-established at the 
 White House. All the members of the late government 
 have signified their adhesion. All abandoned Ruffleton in 
 the hour of adverse fortune ! None— none, true to him! 
 None but me ! And here I see that it is the same in the 
 
494 THE PUGirrvs. 
 
 East, the North, and the West. And even in England, 
 They are rejoicing in France over his downfall, and call 
 him another Robespierre! But I — yes, I will share his 
 fate !" 
 
 " Where is he ?" asked Mary. 
 
 "Where is he? If I knew, think you I would tell — 
 and above all, tell you, who hate him ?" 
 
 " I hate no one," said Mary. " I feared him — and he 
 sought to do me injury — ^but that is forgiven — for he has 
 since been kind to Willy." 
 
 " To Willy— yes ! I would trust Willy. But there is 
 no necessity. He will meet me at the place appointed, if 
 not taken — and if he had been taken, would not the news 
 have been in the paper ? And yet I have waited and 
 watched in vain, I will return to the place appointed. Willy, 
 you must not go with me ! I believe you would serve me 
 — but it is not necessary, and it might put you in trouble, 
 for he is charged with the death of General Hudson. I 
 have provided a vessel, and if we escape, we shall leave the 
 country for ever. A morsel of bread to carry with me, and 
 then I must leave your blessed cottage — with many thanks 
 for your kindness. And now — pray do not reply — fare- 
 well — and may God bless you !" 
 
 Flora, being revived, hurried away, without heeding the 
 menacing eyes of the dog. But the animal was awed by 
 her indifference, and did not dare to molest her. She pro- 
 ceeded to the- place appointed for the meeting, and seeing 
 a portly man in a harvester's blouse, she rushed forward 
 and threw herself in his arms. It was Ruffleton. He bore 
 her to a homely cart a few paces distant, and drove away 
 towards the river, where a schooner lay at anchor. They 
 were soon on board, and were never heard of afterwards. 
 
THB mmxBGBorin) bbidal chaubbb. 496 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVm. 
 
 THE UNDBBGEOUITD BBIDAL CHAMBEB. 
 
 Colonel Bim arrived in Philadelphia in time to witness 
 the grand illumination. Not only the public edifices, but 
 private dwellings and shops, were in a blaze of- light. Every 
 city, and almost every town and village in the Union was 
 illuminated. Peace was restored, and the Federal Govern- 
 ment had once more ressumed its sWay. 
 
 " This is the place," said Bini, to the fottr policemen Who 
 attended him. 
 
 " Here ?" said one of them in surprise, as they halted in 
 Sixth street, opposite Independence Square. 
 
 "YeSj" said Bim, "here w6 will find them, dead or 
 alive. But if they were not economical of their fish and 
 crackers, no doubt they starved to death." 
 
 " They deserved such a fatis^" said one of the officers. 
 
 " No doubt," said Bim, leading the way, and igniting a 
 candle by meaas of a lucifer match when they passed into 
 the chamber. " But yet, gentlemen, I would rather have 
 them hung according to law than their blood should be on 
 my hands." 
 
 " That's strange," said one of the officers. 
 
 " Not so," said Bim, " In fair fight I have killed my 
 share. But I do not fancy being an executioner of common 
 culprits. Here we are ! and now we'll see what has beea 
 their fate." Saying this, he descended, followed, not with- 
 out some hesitation, by the ministers of the law. A great 
 accumulation of rust on the iron door of the dungeon at- 
 tested that it had not been disturbed. 
 
 " Cardini 1 Popoli !" said Bim, in a loud voice, " if you 
 live, answer me. I have come to release you from this 
 dungeon." 
 
 " Yes !" cried they, after a momentary pause. " We live 
 — ^but are nearly famished. Are you General Ruffleton ?" 
 
 " No," said Bim, hurling back the door on its creaking 
 hinges, " I am only a Colonel I" 
 32 
 
490 Tax vaajsnQnovim bbidal uhambeb. 
 
 " Captain Bim !" said the pale and haggard Cardini, start- 
 ing back, and falling into the arms of Popoli. 
 
 " No such thing," said Bim. " I am a Colonel ! But no 
 matter. The war is ovei* — the Union saved — and Ruffletoii 
 is nowhere. I surrender you into the hands of justice, to 
 be tried for murder. Officers, do your duty. Take them 
 to the legal prison, until the day of trial. This is the prison 
 for offenders when there is no law to punish criminals ; and 
 I think even an assassin has reason to prefer the lawful one. 
 Now, gentlemen, I must leave you. I have some private 
 business to transact." 
 
 The Colonel hastened to the attic where his gold bad been 
 left in the keeping of Solomon Mouser. 
 
 " Aha ! Old Tuppenny !" said he, as he stalked in, and 
 beheld the Jew seated at a table figuring away on paper, 
 before a lighted tallow candle stuck in a porter bottle. 
 
 " Captain — it is Captain Bim," exclaimed Solomon. 
 
 " No — I'm not Captain Bim. You are mistaken," 
 
 " Mistaken ? Not Captain Bim !" said Solomon, lifting 
 the candle and scanning the features of the officer. 
 
 " I'm Colonel Bim, at your service." 
 
 " Ah I A Colonel I Good I But the higher the rank 
 the greater the expenditure. And it has been long since 
 you drew any money." 
 
 " I have not drawn any, Solomon, since I was here in 
 person. So, if you have been paying di-afts, they were 
 forgeries, and you must be the loser." 
 
 "No — no I You don't understand me. They were no 
 drafts or checks ; but I heard several creditors abusing you 
 in your absence, and I thought you would thank me for 
 paying the debts," 
 
 " Debts ?" 
 
 " Yes, debts of honor — honor, Colonel. I O Us." 
 
 " Gambling debts. They were not large. I don't care 
 — for, between us, Solomon, I had some misgivings about 
 finding you this time. But since my money is sate, I won't 
 quaiTel about a few disbursements to the swindlers that 
 used to cheat me. What did they amount to ?" 
 
 "About $2,000." 
 
 " Hardly. Have you the vouchers ?" 
 
 " Here they are." 
 
 " By George, that was signed when I was drunk," said 
 
TH£ UNDKKGBOUJiril BBTDAL CHAMBSB. 497 
 
 Bim, gazing at the principal one — " but it's my signature — ^I 
 can't deny it." 
 
 " It's a debt of honor. Colonel," said the Jew, who had 
 purchased it for five cents on the dollar. 
 
 " Well," said Bim, " chai-ge me with it — but the rascal 
 oifered to take half the amount — I recollect that — ^if I 
 would pay the next day — ^but I forgot it. The rest is safe ?" 
 
 " Safe ? Certainly ! But it has brought me no interest, 
 no commission ! Now, having got your commission, I hope 
 there will be some operations." 
 
 "Commission? Oh, I understand. Yes, yoy'll make 
 money fast enough now. Why, you'll make your fortune, 
 Old Mouser. Haven't you heard the news ?" 
 
 " I don't meddle with politics. But I see they ,ara ;vr.asting 
 light everywhere, and the boys are selling -extra papers in 
 the streets. I hope real estate and stocks will rise." 
 
 " Rise? They'll go up like balloons, and you'll be rich 1 
 Have you any stocks ?" 
 
 " I've got some, !" said Solomon. 
 
 " And I shall invest my money in them. Have you any 
 Pennsylvania Railroad shares ?" 
 
 " I have one thousand shares !" 
 
 " And what did they cost you ?" 
 
 " Ten dollars a share." 
 
 "I'll give you fifteen." 
 
 "Fifteen ! Five thousand pi-ofit ! And commission." 
 
 " I don't care — I suppose it would be right." 
 
 " Good ! I'll do it !" And Mouser, who really had not 
 been well posted in recent events, hastily pulled from under 
 his vest the number of shares he had named, and with in- 
 credible rapidity made the transfer. 
 
 " So far so good I" said Bim. " Now shell out the ba- 
 lance, after deducting the commission for keeping my money 
 acfO''ding to agreement." 
 
 This Solomon diJ with alacrity, as if in fear the ternble 
 Cul.>nel might change his mind ; and then proceeded to 
 dedict a hrohef's commission for the purchase of the 
 slocks. 
 
 " What's that ?" demanded Bim, on seeing one-fourth of 
 one per cent, added to the $15,000. 
 
 "Nothing — only the customary broker's commissioa — 
 you said you didn't care. It's all right, you know." 
 
498 THB EESTOKATION. 
 
 "I meant the commission on the money drawn out of 
 your custody. But let it go !" said Bim, taking possession 
 of the remainder of the gold after all reductions. " The 
 speculation on the shares will satisfy me. I've got you, 
 Mouser! Mr. Corcornn advised me, just as I left Wasl> 
 ington, to buy Pennsylvania Railroad shares, and — " 
 
 "Mr. Corcoran! Did he say that? Are you sure? 
 What did he say you ought to give?" 
 
 " He didn't tell me the price I ought to pay," said Bim, 
 having pocketed his shares and his cash ; " but he said he 
 would buy all I could get — " 
 
 " He buy all ! He ? And how much will he give ?" 
 
 "He said he would pay me twenty-five dollars for every 
 share I could produce." 
 
 "Ah! I'm robbed! I'm cheated!" cried the miserable 
 man, and fainted. 
 
 "Hello, Old Jew!" said Bim, turning over Solomon's 
 body after it fell to the floor, " don't go to dying in my 
 presence ! Wake up ! Or they'll say I killed you ! It 
 was a fair bargain, Solomon !" he added, stooping down 
 and bellowing in the Jew's ear. This produced signs of 
 returning animation, and the Colonel abandoned his banker, 
 and hurried away. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXIX. 
 
 THE EESTOKATIOIT. 
 
 At Washington the excitement was intense. On the 
 morning succeeding the arrival of the President — which had 
 occurred in the night — the whole population of the city 
 appeared to be hastening to the White House for the pur- 
 pose of uttering their congratulations. Randolph stood in 
 the great East-room, calm and self-possessed, precisely as 
 he did immediately after the rupture of the Government. 
 But a slight smile of the satisfaction he felt was perceptible 
 on his lip. 
 
 And Alice stood, pale and proudly, at his side — proud of 
 the Republic, and pale from the subsidence of the violent 
 
THE KBSTOBATION. 409 
 
 emotions which had so long agitated her. Edith, clinging 
 to the arm of her honored father^ was radiant with smiles and 
 blushes, for Blount was presently to lead her to the altar, 
 and her imagination could not now summon even the 
 shadow of a phantom to mar the ceremony. And Crook 
 was present, all glee and exultation — for he was immediately 
 to be made Secretary of War, and had sent a message to 
 his family to repair without delay to the Capital. 
 
 The Diplomatic representatives of all the nations were 
 there, in their stars and ribbons ; and Lord Slysir seemed 
 as well contented at the turn affairs had taken as any of 
 them. 
 
 Never before had there been so much enthusiasm at tho 
 Executive Mansion. The multitude was so great it was 
 impossible to keep open the avenues for the visitors, and 
 hundreds might have been seen passing through the win- 
 dows. For hours the President did nothing but submit his 
 hand to be shaken by his friends ; and then, embracing the 
 first good opportunity, Alice having preceded him, he 
 made his escape into the green-room, where he found the 
 wedding party awaiting his presence. Soon after his ap- 
 pearance, a side door opened, and Mrs. Punt appeared, 
 leading her husband. All eyes were turned upon the in- 
 truders. 
 
 " Well ? Who are you ?" demanded the President, 
 gazing at Punt. 
 
 " I'm a ship-carpenter by trade," said he, " and — and — 
 you owe me a hundred dollars !" 
 
 "I do? Yes — I remember!" said Randolph, smiling, 
 and thrusting his hand in his pocket. " But, my friend," 
 he continued, a moment after, " I have not so much money 
 about me at this moment, and you must call again to-morrow, 
 or the next day, and the accoimt shall be audited and paid." 
 
 "That'll do— come out. Punt!" said Mrs. P., and he 
 obeyed. 
 
 " And that reminds me," said Alice, " of a deposit in my 
 keeping. It is in the next room. I will fetch it in a mo- 
 ment." She withdrew, and returned instantly, bearing the 
 sealed packet belonging to Lord Slysir, which had been 
 placed in her keeping at the Castle. 
 
 "Will your ExceUeney," said his Lordship, "break the 
 seals?" 
 
600 THE EESTOEATlON. 
 
 "If yon clesire it," said Randolph, tearing away the pa- 
 per. " But whfit'have we here?" he continued, gazing at 
 the contents, while the rest looked on with intei'est. 
 
 " My breeches !" exclaimed Crook. 
 
 " Your breeches !" saidSlysir; " and I am much obliged 
 for the loan of them." 
 
 " Never mind the breeches !" said Crook. " Let us have 
 the wedding !" 
 
 It was with great difficulty that the lines of carriages 
 passed to the church through the dense crowd, constantly 
 increasing in magnitude, as train after train arrived every 
 hour, both from the North and the South, filled with pa^ 
 triotic citizens. 
 
 " Father," said Alice, when the carriages halted tempo- 
 rarily, while a procession of young girls, dressed in white, 
 with garlands, obstructed the way, " 1 hope your clemency 
 will be extended to all. I trust no more blood will be shed, 
 and that the rejoicing will be universal." 
 
 ' Never fear, AHoe," said he, " that J shall become mae- 
 BLE, since you are flesh and blood again. But, really, my 
 child, I would be glad to see more color in your face." 
 
 " Fear not for me, father ! The good Doctor Duraell 
 need not bo so particular in his attentions. It is not con- 
 sumption Hor the ague. But let me plead for the late 
 offenders — " 
 
 "I must except Windvane. The fellow begged a pri- 
 vate intei-view this morning, and had the impudence to 
 claim great merit for his secret correspondence with you. 
 I told him that was subsequent to the change of the wind, 
 and that I should have no use for him. But I will not pursue 
 him, or any of his colleagues, with my vengeance. But 
 Slysir's case is the most difficult. He says he is really in 
 love with you — " 
 
 " Father ! if he refers to the subject again, pray rebuke 
 him, effectually and finally." 
 
 The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Dr. Love, in 
 the presence of as many witnesses as the church could con- 
 tain. And when the bridal party returned to the Presi- 
 
eONOLUBION. liOl 
 
 dential Mansion, the signal was given, and a thousand guns 
 were fired in honor of the Restoration. All the flags, bear- 
 ing the stars and stripes, floated once more on the breeze ; 
 and Generals Valiant and Carleton ordered the hands to 
 play " The Star-Spangled Banner," " Hail, Columbia, Hap- 
 py Land," and, finally, " Yankee Doodle." Then followed 
 the waving of hats, and thunders of spontaneous huzzas ! 
 
 CONCLtrSION. 
 
 The author sat on his pillow, with his right hand uplifted 
 over his head. His wife, with dishevelled nair, and in great 
 astonishment, confronting him. 
 
 Wife. Give me my night-cap I 
 
 Author. Night-cap ? It is not night. 
 
 Wife. Day is breaking. But why have you been hnxza- 
 ing so ? And why did you snatch my cap and hurl it round 
 and round ? 
 
 Author. Have I been huzzaing ? 
 
 Wife. Certainly — and you have alarmed the house. 
 
 Author. Nonsense! But has not President Randolph 
 retui-ned to the Capital ? 
 
 Wife. President Randolph ? There is no such President. 
 There never was a President of that name. 
 
 Author. No such President as Randolph ? Where are 
 we? 
 
 Wife. We are in our own poor house in this quiet village. 
 
 Author. {Rubbing his eyes and looking routed.) These 
 fractured chairs, and that broken glass, do seem familiar. 
 
 Wife. Then give me my_ night-cap, and behave yourself. 
 
 Author. {Lowering his hand and gazing at the cap.) 
 And this is your night-cap in my hand ! Wife, I have had 
 a singular dream ! 
 
 Wife. A dream 1 You have been dreaming all your life ! 
 And all your fine fancies fade away when your eyes are 
 opened. 
 
 Author. But, wife, if one sleeps half his life and is happy 
 in his dreams, and miserable by day — ^what is the difierenoe 
 between his enjoyment and that of the one who is happy 
 all day and miserable in his dreams ? 
 
Wife. That may be ^ very comfortable phil<??ophy for 
 you — but for my part I do not dream at all. Suppose you 
 publish this singular dream, and let aU the world and you* 
 wife read it. 
 Author. I WEUU 
 
 TBB TIXD, 
 
T. B. mON & BRQTBERS' PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 rhe Sooks in this Catalogrue are the Best and latest Fnblicationi Vf 
 
 the most Popular and Celebrated Writers in the World. They arc 
 
 also the most Beadable and Entertaining Books published. 
 
 SaitaHefor the Parlor, Liirary, Sittinj-Rooin, Railniai Steamtot or Chamler Readinj 
 
 PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE BY 
 
 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, FMadelphia. 
 
 Booksellers, News Agents, Fedlers, etc., will be Supplied at Low Batei. 
 
 Copies of any of Petersons' Publications, or any other work or works 
 
 Advertised, Published, or IToticed by any one at all, in any place, will 
 
 be sent by us, Free of Postage, on the receipt of the Price. 
 
 IHRS 
 
 The Tiro Slstera. This is Vbi. 
 
 Sontliwn'tli's laet new work. Two 
 
 Tols., paper cover. Fiice $1.00; or 
 
 bound in one Tolome, e otli, for $1.25. 
 
 The Three Bea atles. Complete 
 in two Tolnmes, laper cover. Price 
 One Dollar ; or bound in one Tolnme^ 
 cloth, for $1.23. 
 
 Vl-rltt. The Secret of Po-wer. 
 
 Two Tolomea, paper cover. Price One 
 Dollar ; or one volnme, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 India. The Pearl of Pearl 
 River. Two Tola.,paper cover. Price 
 One Dollar ; or bonnd in cloth, $1.25. 
 
 The ■Wife's Vletory. Twovol- 
 nmes, paper cover. Price One Dollar ; 
 or bonnd in one volume, cloth, $1.25, 
 
 The Iiost Heiress. Two volumes, 
 
 Saper cover. Price One Dollar ; or 
 ound in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The Mlgslng Bride. Two vol- 
 umes, paper cover. Price One Dollar ; 
 or bonnd in one volume, cloth, $1.25. 
 
 SOVTH\POB.TH>S AVORKS. 
 
 Retribution t A Tale of Paa> 
 slon. Two vols., paper cover. Price 
 One Dollar ; or in one vol., cloth, $1.26. 
 
 The Curse of Clifton. Twovols., 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar ; or 
 bound in one volume, cloth, $1.25. 
 
 The Discarded Daughter, 
 Two volumes, paper cover. Price One 
 Dollar ; or one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The Deserted 'Wife. Twovols., 
 paper cover. Price One Doliar; or 
 bound in one vol., cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The Belle of Washlneton. 
 
 Two volumes, paper cover. Price One 
 Dollar ; or in cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The Initials. Aliove Story of 
 Blodern Ijlfe> Two vols., paper 
 cover. Price ifrl.OO; or in one volume 
 cloth, $1.25. 
 
 The Dead Secret. Two yjinma, 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar; or 
 bound in one volume, cloth, for $1.25 
 
 Kate Aylesford. Two volumes, 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar; or 
 bonnd in one volnme, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The whole of the above are also published in very fine style, bound in full Crimson, 
 filt ed^es, rides, backs, etc., making elegant presentation books. Price $2.00 a copy 
 
 JAS. X. BIAITI,AND'S GRBAT WTORKS. 
 Sartaroe. ATale of Nortvay 
 
 Highly recommended by Washington 
 Irving Complete lu two volumes, pa^ 
 percover- Price One Dollar ; or bonnd 
 in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The IVatchinan. Complete In two 
 large vols., paper cover. Price One 
 DoUar ; or in one volume, cloth, $1.25. 
 
 The Wanderer. Complete in two 
 AV. Hi 
 
 •tnrles of IVaterlooi Oneofthe 
 best books in the English language. 
 Complete in one laxfe octav9 volume. 
 Price Fifty cents 
 
 Tolnmes, paper cover. Price One Dol- 
 lar ; or in one vol., cloth, for $1.^. 
 Tlie Diary of an Old Doctor* 
 
 Complete in two rols., paper cover. 
 Price One Dollar; or in cloth, $1.25 
 
 Tlie l^anryer's Story ; or, 7ii« 
 Orphan's Wrongs. Two vole., papex 
 cover. Price One Dollar ; or bcnkct la 
 one volnme, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 MAX-WELL'S W^OKS. 
 
 Brian O'JLiynn ; or, Lack la Bvfirj 
 
 thing. Price fiO cents, 
 W^llfl Sports in the W««t« 
 
 One volume. Fnce SO cesta 
 
T. B, PETEESON & BEOTHEES' PUBLICATIONS. 3 
 
 MRS. CAROIillVK LEK HEIVTZ'S WORICS. 
 
 Rena ; or, The Snow Bird. 
 
 Two vols, paper cover. Price On«» Dol- 
 lar ; or in one vol., cloth, for $1 .25. 
 
 lUai'vus "Warland. Pwo volomes, 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar; M 
 bound in one volume, cloch, for ):1.25. 
 
 liove after Slarrlage. Two vols., 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar ; oi 
 bound in one vol., cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 Kolliiet or, nia^fnollH Vale* 
 
 Two vols., paper cover. Price On« 
 Dollar ; or in one vol., cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The Banished Son. Two vols., 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar ; <n 
 bound in one vol., cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 Tlie Lost Daughter; and Other 
 SioriBR of the Hcai-t. (Just published.) 
 Two volumes, paper cover. Price One 
 Dollar ; or in one vol., cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 iPlanter*s Northern Bride. 
 Beautifully Illustrated. Two volumes, 
 paper cover, 600 pages. Price One Dol- 
 lar ; or in one volume, cloth, for$1.23. 
 
 «tnda. The Youne Pilot of 
 the Belle Creole. Two volumes, 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar ; or 
 bound in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 Robert Graham. The Sequol to, 
 and Continuation of Linda, Two vols., 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar ; or 
 bound in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 Courtship and Marriage. Two 
 
 volumes, paper cover. Price One Dol- 
 lar ; or one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 Helen and Arthur. Two vols., 
 paper cover. Price One Dollar ; oi 
 bound in one vol., cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 The whole of the above are also published in a very fine style, bound In full 
 Crinisun, with gilt edges, full gilt sides, gilt backs, etc., making them the best book* 
 tor presentation, at the price, published. Price of either one in this style, $2.00 a copy. 
 
 MISS 
 Confessions of a Pretty "Wo- 
 man. By MiHS Pardoe. Complete 
 In one large octavo volume. Price 50 
 cents. 
 
 The Jealous 'Wife. ByMissPar- 
 doe. Complete in one large octavo 
 volume. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 The AVife's Trials. By Miss Par- 
 doe. Complete in one large octavo 
 volume. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 The Rival Beauties. By Miss 
 
 PARDOIS'S W^ORKS. 
 
 Pardoe. Complete in one large octavo 
 Tolume. Price Fifty cents. 
 Rontancc of the Harem* By 
 
 Miss Pardoe. Complete in one large 
 
 octavo volume. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 The wJtole of the alove Five vr^ks art 
 
 also hound in doth, gilt, in one large 
 
 octavo voluTne. Price $2.50. 
 
 The Adopted Heir. By Miss 
 
 Pardoe. Two vols., paper cover. Price 
 
 $1.00; or in cloth, $1.25. {In Press.) 
 
 MRS. AWW S. STEPHENS' W^ORICS. 
 
 The Old Homestead. Two Tol- 
 umes, paper cover. Price One Dullar ; 
 
 Mary Der-went. This is Mrs. Ann 
 8. Stephens' last new work. Complete 
 In two volumes, paper cover. Price 
 One Dollar; or in one vol., cloth, $1.25. 
 
 Fashion and Famine. Twovol- 
 umea, paper cover. Price Due Dollar; 
 or ' J ono volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 or in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 The Gipsy's Legacy; or, the 
 Hefress of Greeithurst. Two 
 
 volumes, paper cover. Price One Dol- 
 lar; or in one volume, cloth, for $1.26. 
 
 COOK BOOKS. BEST IX THE WORLD. 
 
 Hii^s lieslic^g IVe^v Cookery 
 Book# Being the hirgest, best, and 
 most complete Cook Book ever got up 
 by Miss Leslie. Now first published. 
 One volume. Price $1.25. 
 
 Hrs. Hale's Ne-w Cook Book. 
 By Mrs. Surali J, Hale. One volume, 
 ^onnd. Piicb One Dollar. 
 
 MRS. HAIiE' 
 Sirs* Hale's Receipts for the 
 Million. Containing Four Thou- 
 sand Five Hundred and Forty-five Re- 
 9«iptB, Facts, Directlooa, and Enow- 
 l«dge for All, In tl.e Uflsfal, Onut- 
 
 Miss Tjeslle*8 Neiv Receipts 
 for Cooking. Complete in o»n 
 large volume, bound. Price Cse 
 Dollar. 
 
 TTIddineld's IVew Cook Bock^ 
 or, Practical Receipty for the Hons»- 
 wife. Recommended by all. Ont r»l> 
 nme, cloth. Price One Dollar. 
 
 RECEIPTS. 
 
 mental, and Dom-itlc A»y Bring § 
 complete Family 1 'rector iu 1 Hooso- 
 hold Guide for tho Mlllf a By Mrft 
 Sarah J. Hale. One vo1nt,.a, soO pagwi 
 strongly bound IVfc% $1.^5 
 
ft T. B FETEESON & BBOTHEKS* PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 CHARIiKS I^KVKR'S WORKS. 
 
 AU neatly done up in paper covers. 
 
 Olimriea 0'AIalIcy,.Price 50 cents. 
 
 Harry Liorreqner, fiO " 
 
 Horace Teinpleton,... 60 " 
 Tom Burke of Ours, fiO " 
 Jack Htuton, the 
 Guardsman, fiO " 
 
 Arthur 0*X4C*.ry,.,.Pri«« OOmbi* 
 
 K-nlglit of Gwynne,.. £0 ** 
 
 Kate O'Donoghue,.... SO ^ 
 Con Cretan, the Irlah 
 
 Gil Blag, fiO " 
 
 Davenport Dunn, a 
 
 Man of our Day, SO " 
 
 A complete Bett of the above \7iU be soldj or sent to 11117 <>^^t ^ ^^7 place, ./k^ 
 of postage, for $4.00. 
 
 LIBRARY EDITION. 
 
 THIS EDITIOW is complete in FOtJR large octavo volnmes, contalnlagr Charlet 
 
 O'Malley, Harry Lorrequer, Horace Templeton, Tom Burke of Ours, Arthur O'Leary, 
 
 Tack Hintou the Guardsman, The Knight of Gwynne, Kate O'Donoghne, etc., haad- 
 
 fomely printed, and hound in various styles, as follows : 
 
 Price of a sett iii Black cloth, $6.00 
 
 " " Scarlet cloth 6.60 
 
 *' " Law Library sheep, 7.00 
 
 " " Half Calf, 9.00 
 
 " " Half Calf, marbled edges, French, 10.00 
 
 • " Half Calf, antique,.. 12.00 
 
 FINER EDITIONS. 
 Charles O'DIalley, flue edition, one volume, cloth, $1.50 
 
 " " Half calf, 2.00 
 
 Harry I<orrequer, fine edition, one volume, cloth, l.fiO 
 
 " " Half calf, 2.00 
 
 Jack Hlnton, fine edition, one volume, cloth 1.50 
 
 « " Half calf, a.00 
 
 Valentine Vox, fine edition, one volume, cloth, l.fiO 
 
 « " Half calf, 2.00 
 
 <* " cheap edition, paper cover, ; *. fiO 
 
 Ten Thousand a Year, fine edition, one volume, cloth 1.60 
 
 <* " Half calf, : 2.00 
 
 <« ** cheap edition, paper cover. Twovolumes, l.Ofl 
 
 Diary of a Medical Student. By S. G.Warren, autbor of "Ten 
 Thousand a Year. " One volume, octavo. fiO 
 
 HVMOROtlS 
 Major Jones' Courtship nnd 
 Travels. Beautifully illustrated. 
 One volume, cloth. Price $1.25, 
 
 Major Jones' Scenes in Geor- 
 gia. Full of beautiful illustrations. 
 One volume, cloth. Price $1.25. 
 
 Sam Slick, the Clockmaker. 
 
 By Judge Haliburton. Illustrated. 
 Being the be»t funny work ever writ- 
 ten by any one in tbiB vein. T'.vo vols., 
 paper cover. Price One I>oUar ; or 
 bound in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. 
 
 ■Simon Suggs' Ail ventures 
 
 and Tra-vels. Illu-strated. One 
 volume, cloth Price $1.2j. 
 Ilnznors of Falconbrldgc. Two 
 
 Tolnraes, paper cover. Price One Dol- 
 lar ; or one vol., clotn, for $1.25. 
 
 tf^ranh Forester's Sporting 
 
 ILIiUSTRATED -WORKS. 
 
 Scenes &■ Characters* Illus- 
 trated. Two vols,, cloth. Price $2.50. 
 
 Dow's Short Patent Sermons. 
 First Scries. By Do^v, Jr. 
 
 Containing 128 Sermons. Complete in 
 one volume, cloth, for One Dollar 01 
 paper cover, 75 cents. 
 
 Dow's Short Patent Sermons. 
 Second Series. By Do^v, Jri 
 
 Containing 144 Sermons. Complete in 
 one voluiae, cloth, for One Dollar ; 01 
 paper cover, 75 cents. 
 Do^v's Short Paten**. Sermons« 
 Ttiird Series. Lj Dow, Jr. 
 Containing llfJ Sermons. Complete in 
 one volume, cloth, for One Dollar; ui 
 paper cover, 75 cr,aU. 
 
 American J<>e Miller. WUhlOfl 
 Illustrations One of the most humor 
 ou« bo6k!4 ir. the world Trl^3A eenii 
 
T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS' PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 CHARIiKS mCKKNS' WORKS. 
 
 Fourteen Different Editions in Octavo Farm. 
 "PETBRSON'8" are the only complete and uniform editions of CiarlesDlckm* 
 Wnrkfi ever pablisfa ed in the world ; they are printed from the original London Edl- 
 oons, and are the only editions published in this country. No library eltbef 
 public or prlrate, can be complete without having in it a complete sett of th« 
 works of this, the greatest of all living authors. Every family should possess a 
 lett of one of the editions. The cheap edition is CMuplete in Sixteen Yolamea 
 paper cover ; either or all of which can be had separately, as follows ; 
 
 Little Dorrlt, Price CO cents. 
 
 Pickwick Papers, 60 " 
 
 Dickens' New Stories, SO " 
 
 Bleak House, 50 ■' 
 
 David Copperfleld, SO " 
 
 Dombey and Son, fiO " 
 
 Kficholas ]WlckIe1>y, 50 " 
 
 Clirlatmag Stories, SO " 
 
 itiartlu Chuzzlevrlt SO " 
 
 Barnaby. Rudge,. ..Prfctf SO cents 
 
 Old Cnrlosity Skop,.... SO " 
 
 SketcUes by "Boz," SO '■ 
 
 Oliver Twist, 00 " 
 
 The T-wo Apiirentlces, 2d " 
 'Wreck of the Golden 
 
 Mary, 2S " 
 
 Perils of certain Kn* 
 
 glish Prisoners, 25 " 
 
 A complete sett of the above Sixteen books, will be sold, or sent to any one, t* «■/ 
 place, /ree of postage, for $6,00. 
 
 LIBRARY OCTAVO EDITION. 
 
 , Pvblislted in Seven Different Styles. 
 
 This Edition is complete in SIX very large octavo volumes, with a Portrait on terf 
 »f Charles Dickens, containing the whole of the above works, handsomely printed 
 ind bound in various styles. 
 
 Vol. 1 contains Plckw^ick Papers and Cnrlosity Shop. 
 " % do. Oliver Twist, Sketches by "Boz,'' and B»r- 
 
 naby Rudge. 
 " 3 do. Mlcholns Ntckleby, and Martin Chuzzlewlt. 
 " 4 do. David Copperfleld, Dombey and Son, »«d 
 
 Ckristnias Stories. 
 " 5 do. Bleak House, and Dickens' Ne-iv Stories. 
 " 8 do. Litlle DorrK. In two books— Poverty and Kichcs. 
 
 f'ilce of a sett, in Black cloth, ^ Oq 
 
 " Scarlet elotb, extra, '.'..".'.','. ]O.Ofl 
 
 " Law Library style, 11*011 
 
 " MM Turkey, or Half Calf, "■'■." ig^oe 
 
 " Half calf, ma.-hled edges, French .] \i.Si 
 
 *' Half calf, real ancient antique ' 18 oj 
 
 ' Half calf, full gilt backs, etc islos 
 
 ILLUSTRATED OCTAVO EDITION. 
 
 THIS EDITION I,S fjf THIRTEES VOLnWES, 'and l.s printed on vary tLl«« 
 Bad flne white paper, and is f.rofn«ely illu6tr,TMi.^ with all the original IllnstratioM 
 bj Cruikshank, Alfred Crowquiil, Phiz, etc., fruKi the nriginal London editions, ca 
 •sppsr, steel, and wood, Eutli rolume contain* . nove! cmopiete, and may be kaa 
 la complete setts. Iieautifuily li.und in cloth, for Kineleea Dollars a «etf : or aaj 
 
8 T. B PETERSON & BS OTHERS' PTTBLICATIOITS. 
 
 vtlnme will be loU separately at One Dollar and Fifty cents each. The foll«wlBt 
 are their respectlTe names: 
 
 I^tttle Dorrlt. Nicholas HlcUeby. 
 
 IMckwick Papers. 
 Bamaby Radge. 
 Old Curiosity Shop. 
 BlealL House. 
 David Copper Held. 
 Dombey and Son. 
 
 Christmas Stories. 
 JHartln Chuzzlewlt. 
 Sketches by "Box." 
 Oliver Twist. 
 Dickens* Vevr Stories. 
 
 flee of a sett, in Black cloth, in Thirteen Tolnmes fU.ce 
 
 " Fnll Lav Library style iSM 
 
 " Half calf, or half Turkey, 29.00 
 
 '* Half calf, marbled edges, French, 32.09 
 
 " Half calf, ancient antique 39.00 
 
 " Half calf, fnU gUt backs, etc W.OC 
 
 DUODECIMO fLLUSTRATEO EDITION. 
 
 Complete in Twenty-Five Volumes. 
 
 The Editions in Duodecimo form are beantifnlly lllnatrated with over Five Su» 
 4red Steel and Wood lUvMratione, from designs by Crnikshank, Phiz, Leech, 
 Browne, Maclise, ete., iUustrative of the best scenes in each work, making it the 
 Bost beautiful and perfect edition in the world ; and each work is also reprinted 
 from the first original London editions that were issued by subscription in monthly 
 numbers, and the volumes will be found, on examination, to be published on the 
 finest and best of white paper. 
 
 This edition of Dickens' Works is now published complete, entire, and unabrid£:ed 
 in Twenty-five beautiful volumes, and supplies what has long been wanted, an edi- 
 tion that shall combine the advantages of portable size, large and readable type, 
 and uniformity with other standard English authors. 
 
 This Dnodeclmo edition has been gotten up at an expense of over Ibrty-Fim 
 Thousand Dollars, but the publishers trust that an appreciative public will repay 
 them for the outlay, by a generous purchase of the volumes. All they ask is for 
 the public to examine them, and they are confident they will exclaim, with one 
 voice, that they are the handsomest and cheapest, and best Illustrated Sett of Works 
 ever published. This edition is sold in setts, in various styles K binding, or au^ 
 work can be had separately, handsomely bound in cloth, Ir two volumes each, 
 Price $2.60 a sett, as follows : 
 
 Fickivlck Papers. 
 Nicholas Nlckleby. 
 David CopperAeld. 
 Oliver Tavist. 
 Bleak House. 
 Iilttle Dorrlt. 
 Dombey and Son. 
 
 Sketches by "Box." 
 Bar^aby Rudge. 
 martin Chuzzleivlt. 
 Old Curiosity Shop. 
 Christmas Stories. 
 Dickens' New Stories. 
 
 flic* of 1 sett In Iweuty-Five volumes, bound in Black doth, gilt nacxs 430 01 
 
 " " Full Law Library style 40.0t 
 
 " " Scarlet, full gilt, sides, edges, etc., 4S.O0 
 
 " " Half calf, ancient antique, ,.., (0.04 
 
 <• " Half calf, full gUt back - IO.0C 
 
 " " Full calf; ancient antique........... ; 76.06 
 
 * ■■ Fan oaU; gUt edges) baoU, eta., 71.00 
 
T. B. PETEB.SON & BROTHERS* PUBLICATIONS. 7 
 
 PEOPLE'S DUODECIMO EDITION. 
 
 Published in EigJit Different Styles. 
 Tbifl Duodecimo edition, is complete in Thirteen volumes, of near One Thotuaod 
 DagGB each, with two illnstrations to each yolame, bat is not printed oh as thlcb 
 or a» 6 DO paper as the Illustrated Edition, but contains all the reading mattei that 
 UiD tbe Illustrated Edition, printed from large type, leaded. The volames avs 
 sold separately or together, price One DoUar and Fifty cents each, neatly bound li 
 «lotb ; or a complete sett of Thirteen Tolnmes in this style wUI be sold for (Id.OO. 
 following are their names: 
 
 Nicholas Xlclcleby* 
 CliriBtmas Stories. 
 Old Curiosity Sliop* 
 Sketches by <(Boz.» 
 Oliver Tavist. 
 Dickens* New Stories. 
 
 I^lttle Dorrlt. 
 Pickwick Papers. 
 Blartiu Cliuxzlcwit. 
 Bariiaby Rudg^e. 
 Bleak House. 
 David Copperfleld. 
 Oombey and Sou. 
 
 Price of a sett, in Black cloth,....*. $19.00 
 
 '* " Full Law Library style, 24.00 
 
 ' " Half calf, or half Turkey, 26.00 
 
 " " Half calf, marbled edges, French, 28.00 
 
 " " Half calf, ancient antique...... 32.00 
 
 " " Half calf, full gilt backs, 32.00 
 
 ** ** Full calf, ancient antique, 40.00 
 
 " " Full calf, gilt edges, backs, etc 40.00 
 
 ADVENTURES AND TRAVELS. 
 
 Don Q,uixotte.— Life and Ad- 
 
 Harris's Explorations in 
 Soutii Africa. By Major Corn- 
 wallis Harris. This book is a rich 
 treat. Two volumes, paper cover. 
 Price $1.00 ; or in cloth, $1.2d. 
 
 Wild Oats Sovrn Abroad; or. 
 On and Off Soundings. Price dO cents 
 in paper cover ; or cloth, gilt, 75 cents. 
 
 EUGENE SUE*S 
 Illustrated "Wandering Jevr. 
 
 With Eighty-seven large Illustrations. 
 
 Two volumes. Price $1.00. 
 Mysteries of Paris; and Ge- 
 
 rolstein, the Sequel to it. Two 
 
 volumes, paper cover. Price $1.00. 
 First liove. A Story of the Heart. 
 
 Price 2£ cents. 
 Woman's Ijovc. Illustrated. Price 
 
 25 cents. 
 
 GEORGE 
 Legends of tbe American 
 
 Revolution; or, Washington and 
 
 his General. Two vols. Price $1 . 00. 
 Tbe Ctuaker City; or. The Monks 
 
 of Monk Hall Two volumes, paper 
 
 cover. Price One Dollar. 
 
 Paul Ardenkeim, ; the Monk of 
 Wissahikott. Two volumes, paper 
 cover. Price One Dollar. 
 
 Blancke of Brandyvrine. A 
 
 Bevolutlonazy Jlomance. Two vol- 
 iui«t), jAper oover. Price One Dollar. 
 
 ventures of Don Q,ulxotte| 
 
 and his Squire, Sancho Panza. Com- 
 plete in two Volumes, paper co> it 
 Price $1.00, 
 
 liife and Adventures of Paul 
 Periwinkle. Full of lUustrati^jiis. 
 Price 60 cents. 
 
 GREAT NOVELS. 
 Jftartln tlie Fotindline. Beau- 
 tifully Illustrated. Two volumes, pa- 
 per cover. Price One Dollar. 
 
 Tke nian-of-War's-Man. Com- 
 plete in one' larg^e octavo volume. 
 Price 25 cents. 
 
 Tke Female Bluebeard. One 
 
 volume. Price 25 cents. 
 Raoul de Survllle. One velome. 
 
 Price 25 cents. (In Press.) 
 
 LIPPARD'S "WORKS. 
 
 Tke Nazarene. One roL Price 
 
 50 cents. 
 
 Ijc^euds of Alexlco. Onevolnia*. 
 
 Price 25 cents. 
 
 Tke liady of Alkarone ; or. 
 
 The Poison Goblet. Two volames, pa- 
 per cover. Price One Dollar ; or bound 
 in one volume, cloth, for $1.25. (In 
 Press.) 
 
 Netv York I Its Upper Tea 
 and l40vper Million. Oa«T«l- 
 
 ume. Price fiO oente. 
 
a T. B. PETEESON & 2E0THEE3' PUBIICATIOia^S. 
 
 UUAIOIiOUS AMERICAN \irORKS. 
 
 With Original Illnslrations by Darley and Others. 
 
 Done up in Illuminated Covers. 
 
 SSaJor Jones' Courtfililp. With 
 
 Tfairteen IlluRtrp dons, from designs 
 
 by Daiiey. Prict bo cents. 
 Drama In Pokervllle. ByJ. M. 
 
 Field. With Illustrations by Daiiey. 
 
 Price Fifty cents. 
 C«oulslana S^vanip Doctor. By 
 
 a.utb3r of *' Gnpping on the Sternum." 
 
 Illustrated by barley. 60 cents. 
 Charcoal Sketches. By Joseph 
 
 G. I^eaL With Illustrations. 50 cents. 
 
 Yankee Amongst the Mer- 
 maids. By W. E. Barton. With 
 Ulustrations by Darley. Price 50 cents. 
 
 Allsfbrtiines of Peter f^aber. 
 
 By Joseph C. Neal. With Illustrations. 
 by Darley. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Blajor Jones' Sketches of Tra- 
 vel. With Eight lUaBtrations, from 
 designs by Darley. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Western Scenes; or* I<ife on 
 the Prairie. By the author of 
 "Major Jones' Courtship." 60 cents. 
 
 QiUarter Race in ICeutucky. 
 
 By W. T. Porter, Esq. With Illustra- 
 tions by Darloy. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Sol. Smith's Theatrical Ap- 
 
 prenticesliip. Illustrated by 
 
 Darley. Price Fifty Cents. 
 Vankee Yarns and Yankee 
 
 X«ette'rs. By Sam Slick, alias Judge 
 
 Haliburton. Price 60 cents. 
 Olfe and Adventures of Col. 
 By author " Wild 
 
 Vaiiderhomb. 
 
 Weatern Scenes," etc. 
 
 Price 60 cents. 
 
 Big" Bear of Arkansas. Edited 
 by Wm. T. Porter. With Illustrations 
 by Darley. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Blajor Jones' Chronicles of 
 Pineville. With Illustrations by 
 Darley. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Life and Adventures of Per- 
 cival Maberry. By J. H. In- 
 graham. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Frank Forester's Q,uorndon 
 
 Hounds. By H. W. Herbert. Ea%. 
 With Illustrations. Price 60 cents. 
 Pickings from the <<Plcay* 
 une." With IlluBtrations by Darley 
 Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Frank Forester's Shooting 
 Box. With IllustratioiiB by Darley. 
 Price Fifty cents 
 
 Peter Ploddy. By author of " Char- 
 coal Sketches. " With Illustrations by 
 Darley. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Streaks of Squatter liife. By 
 the author "Major Jones' Courtship.' 
 Illustrated by Darley. 60 cents. 
 
 Simon Suggs. — Adventure* 
 of Captain Simon Sngga> 
 Illustrated by Darley. Price 60 cents. 
 
 Stray Subjects Arrested and 
 Bound Over. With Illustration* 
 by Darley. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Frank Forester's Deer Stalk- 
 ers* With Illustrations. 60 cents. 
 
 Adventures of Captain Far- 
 rago. By Hon. H. H. Brackenridgo. 
 
 With Illustratlona. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 "WldovF Rugby's Hudband. 
 
 By author of " Simon Suggs. " With 
 Illustrations. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 MaJo^rO'Regan's Adventures. 
 
 By Hon. H. H. Brackenridge. With 
 Illustrations by Darley. 60 cents. 
 
 Theatrical Journey-AV ork &. 
 Anecdotal Recollections of 
 Sol. Smith, Bsq. 60 cents. 
 
 Polly Peablossom's IVed- 
 ding. By the author of "Major 
 Jones' Courtship." Price Fifty cents. 
 
 Frank Forester's Warwick 
 IVoodlands. With beautiful Il- 
 lustrations, illuminated. 60 cebts. 
 
 TSew Orleans Sketch Book. 
 By "Stahl." With Illustrations by 
 Darley. Price Fifty cents. 
 
 The CharuLS of Paris; or, 
 
 Sketches of Travel and Adventures by 
 Night and Day. 60 cents. {In Press.) 
 
 C. J, PKTERSON'S AVORKS. 
 
 If ate Aylesford. A Love Story. 
 Two ToU., paper cover. Price One 
 Dollar ; or bound in one vol., cloth, 
 for $1,24 
 
 rrulsing in the Last IVar. 
 
 First and Second Series. Being the 
 complete work. By Charles J, Peter- 
 •DO. Price 60 i«nts 
 
 The Valley Farm ; or. The Auto* 
 biography of an Orphan. A Compan* 
 ion to Jane Eyre. Price 26 cents. 
 
 Grace Oudley ; or, Arnold at Sara- 
 toga. Price 26 cents. 
 
 Mabel; or, Darkness and Dawn. Tw<? 
 Tols., paper cover. Price One Dollar 
 or booad In cloth, $1.36. (/n Pr4u\ 
 
PETEESOM'S M&AZM 
 
 THE BEST AND CHEAPEST IN THE WORLD FOR LADIES. 
 
 This popular monthly will be greatly improved for 1 860. It haa a circulation of nearly 
 lOO.OOO: &r ten times as much as anif otlier two dollar Magazine. It contains nearly 
 lOOO pages of double column reading matter yearly: from 25 to 30 Steel Plates and 
 about 800 Wood Engravings : prcportionatdy nwrt ilmn any periodical, at any price, 
 gives. The newspapers, very generally, pronounce it sv/perior in many respects^ to the 
 three dollar Magazines. Subscribe for it, and 
 
 SAVS A DOLLAR. 
 
 The stories in " Peterson" are conceded to be tlie best published anywhere. Thai 
 editors are Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, author of "Mary Derwent," "Fashion and Famine;" 
 and Charles J. Peterson, author of "The Old Stone Mansion," "Kate Aylesford," "The 
 Talloy Farm," etc., etc.; and they are assisted by Alice Carey, by Frank Lee Benedict, 
 by the author of "Susy L.'s Diary," by T. S. Arthur, IS. L. Chandler Moulton, Mehita- 
 ble Uolyoke, Virginia F. Townsend, Carry Stanley, Caroline E. Fairfield, Ellen Ashton, 
 Kosnlie Grey, E. Dewees, A. L. Otis, and all the most pcmular female writers of America. 
 In addition to the usual quantity of stories, there will be given in 186Q, several 
 
 THRILLING COPY-RiCHT NOVELETS 
 
 Equal in merit, at least, to those for which this Magazine has already attained such 
 celebrity, and superior td those to be found anywhere else. Morality and Vtrtue are 
 always inculcated. CUrgymen recommend this Magazine particularly for families in 
 which tliere are daughters. Its pictorial embellishments are unrlTalled. Its 
 
 SUPEKB MEZZOTINTS & OTHER STEEL ENGRAVIirGS 
 Excel those in any other Magazine, and one at least is given in every number. Its 
 
 COLORED FASHION PLATES m APVANCE. 
 
 AS- II 19 IH£ 0NL7 UASA-ZIHE WHOSE FASinOH PLATES CAK BE RELIED ON.*^ 
 
 Each number contains a Fashion Plate, engraved on steel, and colored; also, a dozen 
 or more New Styles, engraved on wood; also, a Pattern, from which a Press, Mantilla, 
 or Child's Costume can bo cut, without the aid of a mantua-maker — so that each Numher, 
 in this way, will SAVE A YBAK'S SUBSCRIPTION. The Paris, London, Philadelphia 
 and New York Fashions are described at length, each month. Engravings of new styles 
 of Caps, Bonnets, IJead Dresses, Mantillas, Xlloaks, Capes, Under-Garments, &c., &c., 
 given in great profusion in every number. 
 
 COLORED PATTERNS IN EMBROIDERY. 
 
 The Work-Table department of this Magazine IS WHOLLY UNRIVALLED. Every 
 Number contains a dozen or more patterns in every variety of Fancy work; Crochet, 
 Embroidery, Knitting, Bead-work, Shell-work, Ilair^work, Wax Flowers, Stained Glass, 
 Leathe]>work, Painting. Photographs, &c., &c., wiiJi /uU descriptions. Every Number 
 containsa SUPERB COLORED PATTERN FOR A SLIPPER, PURSE, CHAIR 
 SEAT, or some other useful, or ornamental article, and each of these would cost at a 
 retail store, Fifty cents ; these can be had in no other American Magazine. 
 
 -A.Kr oitic3-iKr.A.Xj cooe:-boo:k. 
 
 Will also be given in 1860. In addition, other receipts for the kitchen, for housekeeping 
 in general, for invalids, for making cosmetics, &c , &c., will ho given in every Number. 
 4S-A PIECE OF NEW AND FASHIONABLE MUSIC WILL APPEAR 
 EACH MONTH. Also, hints for the Toilette, Etiquette, and all matters interesting 
 to Ladies. TBT IT FOR ONE YEAR I 
 
 TERMS--ALWAYS IN ADVANCE: 
 
 One Copy for One fear, - $2.00 
 three Copies for One Tear, 6.00 
 Five Copies for One Year, 7.50 
 
 Eight Copies, One Year, 810.00 
 Twelve Copies, One Year, 15.00 
 Sixteen Copies, One Year, 20.00 
 
 Pbeuiuhs for Geiiikq dp Clues. Three, Five, Eight, Twelve, or Sixteen copies make 
 a Club. To every person getting up a Club of Three, and remitting Five Dollars; or a 
 Club of Five, and remitting Seven Dollars and a-half; or a plub of Kight, and romit- 
 ting Ten Dollars: we will send; graMs, our two splendid MEZZOTINTS of NIAOAKA. 
 To every person getting up a Club of Twelve, and remitting Fifteen Dollars we will send 
 either an extra copy of the Magazine for 1S60, or the two splendid Mezzotints of Niagara, 
 as the getter up may prefer. To every person getting up a Club of Sixteen, and remit- 
 ting Twenty Dollars, we will send the two splendid Mezzotints of Niagara, and also an 
 extra copy for 1860. The Mezzotints are eadi 12 inches by 25. 
 
 Jdlntt, pat paid, CHARLES J. PETERSON, 
 
 306 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 
 J^AU Futmaiteri constituted Agents. A Specimen sent when desired. 
 
} T. B. J™£iJR™^^ \ 
 
 The Books on this Page are the Best and Latest Publications by 
 
 the most Popular and Celebrated Writers in the World* 'Ihey are 
 
 also the most Readable and Entertaining Books published. 
 
 Suitable for Cie Parlor, Litrary, Sitting-Room, Railroad, ^■teairloat, or Chaislisr Reading. 
 
 PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE BY 
 
 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHEES, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 DUODECIMO ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF , 
 CHARI^KS DICKERS' WORKS. 
 
 Tlie Editions in Duodecimo form are beautifully Illustrated with over Five Hun- 
 dred Steel and Wood IlliLStrntioTis, from deaigua by Cruikshank, Phiz, Leech, 
 Browne, Maulise, etc., illustrative of the best sceuesi in each work, making it the 
 mout beautiful and perfect edition in the world. This cdinon of Dickons* Works 
 ia now published complete, entire, and unabridjfed, in Twculy-five beautiful vol- 
 nmes, and supplies what has long been wanted, an edition that shall cumbiue the 
 advantages of portable size, large and readable type, and uuiformity with other 
 standard English authors. This edition ia sold in setts, in various styles of biud- 
 ing, or any work can be had separately, handsomely bound iii cloth, in two 
 Yolomes each. Price One Dollar and Twenty-Five cents a volume. 
 Price of a sett in Twenty-Five volumes, bound in Black cloth, gilt backs,.. ..$30.00 
 
 " " Pull Law Library style, 40.00 
 
 " " Scarlet, full gilt, side.'*, edges, etc., 45.00 
 
 " " Halfcalf, ancient antique, 60.00 
 
 " " Halfcalf, full gilt back, 60.00 
 
 " " Full calf, ancient antique, 7o.00 
 
 " " Full calf, gilt edges, backs, etc., 75.00 
 
 Major Jones' Cpurtslilp and 
 Travels. Beautifully i]l«.strated. 
 One volume, cloth. Price $1.25. 
 
 major Jones' Scenes In Geor- 
 gia* Full of beautiful illustrations. 
 One volume, cloth, Piice $L2d. 
 
 Sam Sliek, lEie Clockmaker. 
 By Judge Haiiborton. Illustrated. 
 
 PEOPLE'S DUODECIMO EDITION. 
 
 This Duodecimo edition is complete in Thirteen volumes, of near One Thousand 
 pages each., with two illustrations to each volume, and contains all the readitag 
 matter that Is in the Illustrated Edition, printed from large type, leaded. The 
 volumes are sold separately, in cloth, price One Dollar and Fifty cents each. 
 
 Price of a sett, in Black cloth, $19.00 
 
 " " Full Law Library style, 2100 
 
 " « Halfcalf, or half Turkey,. 2H.00 
 
 " " Half calf, marbled edges, French, 28.00 
 
 " " Half calf, ancient antique, 32.00 
 
 " " Half calf, full gilt back.^ 32.00 
 
 " " Full calf, ancient antique, 40.00 
 
 " " Fall calf, gilt edges, backs, etc 40.00 
 
 HUMOROUS II<I-USTR,ATED WORKS. 
 
 Two vols., paper cover. Price One 
 Dollar; or in one vol., cloth, $1.23. 
 Sinkon Siig'^s'' Adventures 
 
 and Trawli*. Illustrated. One 
 volume, cloth. Price $1.2u. 
 Humors of Falconbrldg-e. Two 
 
 volumes, paper cover. Price One Dol- 
 lar ; or one vol., cloth, for $1.2d. 
 
 o) Copies of any of the above Works will be sent by Mail to any one, Free 0) 
 ^ of Postage, on mailing the Price in a letter to Peterson & Brothers, p