Page 235 (1/1)

I went to the table, and the books upon it were Jeremy Sparrow's: the minister's house, then, had been his home once more Beside the books lay a packet, tied with silk, sealed, and addressed to iven it, the day before, into Master Bucke's care,--I do not know; at any rate, there it lay I looked at the "By the Esperance" upon the cover, and wondered dully who at home would care to write to me; then broke the seal and untied the silk Within the cover there was a letter with the superscription, "To a Gentleh to the signature, which was that of his Grace of Buckinghaain, and threw the paper down It rateful, or that Jaraciously sanctions the h, with Captain Ralph Percy; invites theone home, and I her husband, I who loved her, was left behind How , O Lord?

The reat armchair was drawn before the cold and blackened hearth How often she had sat there within its dark clasp, the firelight on her dress, her hands, her face! She had been fair to look upon; the pride, the daring, the willfulness, were but the thorns about the rose; behind those defenses was the flower, pure and lovely, with a heart of gold I flungmy arms across it, hid my face upon them, and could weep at last

That passion spent itself, and I lay with h slept The battle was done; the field was lost; the storm and stress of life had sunk into this dull cal and white ash upon the hearth, cold, never to be quickened again

Tith I raised my head, roused suddenly to the consciousness that for a while there had been no stillness The air was full of sound, shouts, savage cries, the beating of a dru tothe threshold

He put his arm within mine and drew ht I should find you here," he said; "but it is only a room with its ht There is country yet, Ralph, and after a while, friends The Indians are beginning to attack in force Humphry Boyse is killed, and Morris Chaloner There is smoke over the plantations up and down the river, as far as we can see, and awhile ago the body of a child drifted down to us"