Long o'er his writings hidden in the tree
Pondered the slave, and found at last their worth.
Must he return them? To whom did they belong?
If he should give them back to Dalton Earl
Unjustly, Richard Wain might claim them still.
He chose to keep there folded round the Book,
Hid in the secret hollow of the tree.
He thought of Ruth as one who was at rest,
And wept for her as though she was no more,
And sometimes gathered flowers, and placed them where
He knew she soon would pass, as tenderly
As though he laid them down upon her grave.