And now her charms are fading fast,
Her spirits now no more are gay:
Alas! that beauty cannot last!
That flowers so sweet so soon decay!
How sad appears
The vale of years,
How changed from youth's too flattering scene!
Where are her fond admirers gone?
Alas! and shall there then be none
On whom her soul may lean?
--_Cynthia's Grave_.
The walls of the cottage were all that was left of the building; and
these, blackened by smoke, and stripped of their piazzas and ornaments,
were but dreary memorials of the content and security that had so lately
reigned within. The roof, together with the rest of the woodwork, had
tumbled into the cellars, and a pale and flitting light, ascending from
their embers, shone faintly through the windows. The early flight of the
Skinners left the dragoons at liberty to exert themselves in saving much
of the furniture, which lay scattered in heaps on the lawn, giving the
finishing touch of desolation to the scene. Whenever a stronger ray of
light than common shot upwards, the composed figures of Sergeant
Hollister and his associates, sitting on their horses in rigid
discipline, were to be seen in the background of the picture, together
with the beast of Mrs. Flanagan, which, having slipped its bridle, was
quietly grazing by the highway. Betty herself had advanced to the spot
where the sergeant was posted, and, with an incredible degree of
composure, witnessed the whole of the events as they occurred. More than
once she suggested to her companion, that, as the fighting seemed to be
over, the proper time for plunder had arrived, but the veteran
acquainted her with his orders, and remained inflexible and immovable;
until the washerwoman, observing Lawton come round the wing of the
building with Sarah, ventured amongst the warriors. The captain, after
placing Sarah on a sofa that had been hurled from the building by two of
his men, retired, that the ladies might succeed him in his care. Miss
Peyton and her niece flew, with a rapture that was blessed with a
momentary forgetfulness of all but her preservation, to receive Sarah
from the trooper; but the vacant eye and flushed cheek restored them
instantly to their recollection.
"Sarah, my child, my beloved niece," said the former, folding the
unconscious bride in her arms, "you are saved, and may the blessing of
God await him who has been the instrument."
"See," said Sarah, gently pushing her aunt aside, and pointing to the
glimmering ruins, "the windows are illuminated in honor of my arrival.
They always receive a bride thus--he told me they would do no less.
Listen, and you will hear the bells."
"Here is no bride, no rejoicing, nothing but woe!" cried Frances, in a
manner but little less frantic than that of her sister. "Oh! may heaven
restore you to us--to yourself!"
"Peace, foolish young woman," said Sarah, with a smile of affected pity;
"all cannot be happy at the same moment; perhaps you have no brother, or
husband, to console you. You look beautiful, and you will yet find one;
but," she continued, dropping her voice to a whisper, "see that he has
no other wife--'tis dreadful to think what might happen, should he be
twice married."
"The shock has destroyed her mind," cried Miss Peyton; "my child, my
beauteous Sarah is a maniac!"
"No, no, no," cried Frances, "it is fever; she is lightheaded--she must
recover--she shall recover."
The aunt caught joyfully at the hope conveyed in this suggestion, and
dispatched Katy to request the immediate aid and advice of Dr.
Sitgreaves. The surgeon was found inquiring among the men for
professional employment, and inquisitively examining every bruise and
scratch that he could induce the sturdy warriors to acknowledge they had
received. A summons, of the sort conveyed by Katy, was instantly obeyed,
and not a minute elapsed before he was by the side of Miss Peyton.
"This is a melancholy termination to so joyful a commencement of the
night, madam," he observed, in a soothing manner. "But war must bring
its attendant miseries; though doubtless it often supports the cause of
liberty, and improves the knowledge of surgical science."
Miss Peyton could make no reply, but pointed to her niece.
"'Tis fever," answered Frances; "see how glassy is her eye, and look at
her cheek, how flushed."
The surgeon stood for a moment, deeply studying the outward symptoms of
his patient, and then he silently took her hand in his own. It was
seldom that the hard and abstracted features of Sitgreaves discovered
any violent emotion; all his passions seemed schooled, and his
countenance did not often betray what, indeed, his heart frequently
felt. In the present instance, however, the eager gaze of the aunt and
sister quickly detected his emotions. After laying his fingers for a
minute on the beautiful arm, which, bared to the elbow and glittering
with jewels, Sarah suffered him to retain, he dropped it, and dashing a
hand over his eyes, turned sorrowfully away.
"Here is no fever to excite--'tis a case, my dear madam, for time and
care only; these, with the blessing of God, may effect a cure."
"And where is the wretch who has caused this ruin?" exclaimed
Singleton, rejecting the support of his man, and making an effort to
rise from the chair to which he had been driven by debility. "It is in
vain that we overcome our enemies, if, conquered, they can inflict such
wounds as this."
"Dost think, foolish boy," said Lawton, with a bitter smile, "that
hearts can feel in a colony? What is America but a satellite of
England--to move as she moves, follow where she wists, and shine, that
the mother country may become more splendid by her radiance? Surely you
forget that it is honor enough for a colonist to receive ruin from the
hand of a child of Britain."
"I forget not that I wear a sword," said Singleton, falling back
exhausted; "but was there no willing arm ready to avenge that lovely
sufferer--to appease the wrongs of this hoary father?"
"Neither arms nor hearts are wanting, sir, in such a cause," said the
trooper, fiercely; "but chance oftentimes helps the wicked. By heavens,
I'd give Roanoke himself, for a clear field with the miscreant!"
"Nay! captain dear, no be parting with the horse, anyway," said Betty.
"It is no trifle that can be had by jist asking of the right person, if
ye're in need of silver; and the baste is sure of foot, and jumps like a
squirrel."
"Woman, fifty horses, aye, the best that were ever reared on the banks
of the Potomac, would be but a paltry price, for one blow at a villain."
"Come," said the surgeon, "the night air can do no service to George, or
these ladies, and it is incumbent on us to remove them where they can
find surgical attendance and refreshment. Here is nothing but smoking
ruins and the miasma of the swamps."
To this rational proposition no objection could be raised, and the
necessary orders were issued by Lawton to remove the whole party to the
Four Corners.
America furnished but few and very indifferent carriage-makers at the
period of which we write, and every vehicle, that in the least aspired
to that dignity, was the manufacture of a London mechanic. When Mr.
Wharton left the city, he was one of the very few who maintained the
state of a carriage; and, at the time Miss Peyton and his daughters
joined him in his retirement, they had been conveyed to the cottage in
the heavy chariot that had once so imposingly rolled through the
windings of Queen Street, or emerged, with somber dignity, into the more
spacious drive of Broadway. This vehicle stood, undisturbed, where it
had been placed on its arrival, and the age of the horses alone had
protected the favorites of Caesar from sequestration by the contending
forces in their neighborhood. With a heavy heart, the black, assisted by
a few of the dragoons, proceeded to prepare it for the reception of the
ladies. It was a cumbrous vehicle, whose faded linings and tarnished
hammer-cloth, together with its panels of changing color, denoted the
want of that art which had once given it luster and beauty. The "lion
couchant" of the Wharton arms was reposing on the reviving splendor of a
blazonry that told the armorial bearings of a prince of the church; and
the miter, that began to shine through its American mask, was a symbol
of the rank of its original owner. The chaise which conveyed Miss
Singleton was also safe, for the stable and outbuildings had entirely
escaped the flames; it certainly had been no part of the plan of the
marauders to leave so well-appointed a stud behind them, but the
suddenness of the attack by Lawton, not only disconcerted their
arrangements on this point, but on many others also. A guard was left on
the ground, under the command of Hollister, who, having discovered that
his enemy was of mortal mold, took his position with admirable coolness
and no little skill, to guard against surprise. He drew off his small
party to such a distance from the ruins, that it was effectually
concealed in the darkness, while at the same time the light continued
sufficiently power ful to discover anyone who might approach the lawn
with an intent to plunder.
Satisfied with this judicious arrangement, Captain Lawton made his
dispositions for the march. Miss Peyton, her two nieces, and Isabella
were placed in the chariot, while the cart of Mrs. Flanagan, amply
supplied with blankets and a bed, was honored with the person of Captain
Singleton. Dr. Sitgreaves took charge of the chaise and Mr. Wharton.
What became of the rest of the family during that eventful night is
unknown, for Caesar alone, of the domestics, was to be found, if we
except the housekeeper. Having disposed of the whole party in this
manner, Lawton gave the word to march. He remained himself, for a few
minutes, alone on the lawn, secreting various pieces of plate and other
valuables, that he was fearful might tempt the cupidity of his own men;
when, perceiving nothing more that he conceived likely to overcome their
honesty, he threw himself into the saddle with the soldierly intention
of bringing up the rear.
"Stop, stop," cried a female voice. "Will you leave me alone to be
murdered? The spoon is melted, I believe, and I'll have compensation, if
there's law or justice in this unhappy land."
Lawton turned an eye in the direction of the sound, and perceived a
female emerging from the ruins, loaded with a bundle that vied in size
with the renowned pack of the peddler.
"Whom have we here," said the trooper, "rising like a phoenix from the
flames? Oh! by the soul of Hippocrates, but it is the identical
she-doctor, of famous needle reputation. Well, good woman, what means
this outcry?"
"Outcry!" echoed Katy, panting for breath. "Is it not disparagement
enough to lose a silver spoon, but I must be left alone in this lonesome
place, to be robbed, and perhaps murdered? Harvey would not serve me so;
when I lived with Harvey, I was always treated with respect at least, if
he was a little close with his secrets, and wasteful of his money."
"Then, madam, you once formed part of the household of Mr. Harvey
Birch?"
"You may say I was the whole of his household," returned the other;
"there was nobody but I, and he, and the old gentleman. You didn't know
the old gentleman, perhaps?"
"That happiness was denied me. How long did you live in the family of
Mr. Birch?"
"I disremember the precise time, but it must have been hard on upon nine
years; and what better am I for it all?"
"Sure enough; I can see but little benefit that you have derived from
the association, truly. But is there not something unusual in the
movements and character of this Mr. Birch?"
"Unusual is an easy word for such unaccountables!" replied Katy,
lowering her voice and looking around her. "He was a wonderful
disregardful man, and minded a guinea no more than I do a kernel of
corn. But help me to some way of joining Miss Jinitt, and I will tell
you prodigies of what Harvey has done, first and last."
"You will!" exclaimed the trooper, musing. "Here, give me leave to feel
your arm above the elbow. There--you are not deficient in bone, let the
blood be as it may." So saying, he gave the spinster a sudden whirl,
that effectually confused all her faculties, until she found herself
safely, if not comfortably, seated on the crupper of Lawton's steed.
"Now, madam, you have the consolation of knowing that you are as well
mounted as Washington. The nag is sure of foot, and will leap like
a panther."
"Let me get down," cried Katy, struggling to release herself from his
iron grasp, and yet afraid of falling. "This is no way to put a woman on
a horse; besides, I can't ride without a pillion."
"Softly, good madam," said Lawton; "for although Roanoke never falls
before, he sometimes rises behind. He is far from being accustomed to a
pair of heels beating upon his flanks like a drum major on a field day;
a single touch of the spur will serve him for a fortnight, and it is by
no means wise to be kicking in this manner, for he is a horse that but
little likes to be outdone."
"Let me down, I say," screamed Katy; "I shall fall and be killed.
Besides, I have nothing to hold on with; my arms are full of valuables."
"True," returned the trooper, observing that he had brought bundle and
all from the ground. "I perceive that you belong to the baggage guard;
but my sword belt will encircle your little waist, as well as my own."
Katy was too much pleased with this compliment to make any resistance,
while he buckled her close to his own herculean frame, and, driving a
spur into his charger, they flew from the lawn with a rapidity that
defied further denial. After proceeding for some time, at a rate that a
good deal discomposed the spinster, they overtook the cart of the
washerwoman driving slowly over the stones, with a proper consideration
for the wounds of Captain Singleton. The occurrences of that eventful
night had produced an excitement in the young soldier, that was followed
by the ordinary lassitude of reaction and he lay carefully enveloped in
blankets, and supported by his man, but little able to converse, though
deeply brooding over the past. The dialogue between Lawton and his
companion ceased with the commencement of their motions, but a footpace
being more favorable to speech, the trooper began anew:
"Then, you have been an inmate in the same house with Harvey Birch?"
"For more than nine years," said Katy, drawing her breath, and rejoicing
greatly that their speed was abated.
The deep tones of the trooper's voice were no sooner conveyed to the
ears of the washerwoman, than, turning her head, where she sat directing
the movements of the mare, she put into the discourse at the
first pause.
"Belike, then, good woman, ye're knowing whether or no he's akin to
Beelzeboob," said Betty. "It's Sargeant Hollister who's saying the
same, and no fool is the sargeant, anyway."
"It's a scandalous disparagement" cried Katy, vehemently, "no kinder
soul than Harvey carries a pack; and for a gownd or a tidy apron, he
will never take a king's farthing from a friend. Beelzebub, indeed! For
what would he read the Bible, if he had dealings with the evil spirit?"
"He's an honest divil, anyway; as I was saying before, the guinea was
pure. But then the sargeant thinks him amiss, and it's no want of
l'arning that Mister Hollister has."
"He's a fool!" said Katy tartly. "Harvey might be a man of substance,
were he not so disregardful. How often have I told him, that if he did
nothing but peddle, and would put his gains to use, and get married, so
that things at home could be kept within doors, and leave off his
dealings with the rig'lars, and all incumberments, that he would soon
become an excellent liver. Sergeant Hollister would be glad to hold a
candle to him, indeed!"
"Pooh!" said Betty, in her philosophical way; "ye're no thinking that
Mister Hollister is an officer, and stands next the cornet, in the
troop. But this piddler gave warning of the brush the night, and it's no
sure that Captain Jack would have got the day, but for the
reenforcement."
"How say you, Betty," cried the trooper, bending forward on his saddle,
"had you notice of our danger from Birch?"
"The very same, darling; and it's hurry I was till the boys was in
motion; not but I knew ye're enough for the Cowboys any time. But wid
the divil on your side, I was sure of the day. I'm only wondering
there's so little plunder, in a business of Beelzeboob's contriving."
"I'm obliged to you for the rescue, and equally indebted to the motive."
"Is it the plunder? But little did I t'ink of it till I saw the movables
on the ground, some burnt, and some broke, and other some as good as
new. It would be convanient to have one feather bed in the
corps, anyway."
"By heavens, 'twas timely succor! Had not Roanoke been swifter than
their bullets, I must have fallen. The animal is worth his weight
in gold."
"It's continental, you mane, darling. Goold weighs heavy, and is no
plenty in the states. If the nagur hadn't been staying and frighting the
sargeant with his copper-colored looks, and a matter of blarney 'bout
ghosts, we should have been in time to have killed all the dogs, and
taken the rest prisoners."
"It is very well as it is, Betty," said Lawton. "A day will yet come, I
trust, when these miscreants shall be rewarded, if not in judgments upon
their persons, at least in the opinions of their fellow citizens. The
time must arrive when America will distinguish between a patriot and
a robber."
"Speak low," said Katy; "there's some who think much of themselves, that
have doings with the Skinners."
"It's more they are thinking of themselves, then, than other people
thinks of them," cried Betty. "A t'ief's a t'ief, anyway; whether he
stales for King George or for Congress."
"I know'd that evil would soon happen," said Katy. "The sun set to-night
behind a black cloud, and the house dog whined, although I gave him his
supper with my own hands; besides, it's not a week sin' I dreamed the
dream about the thousand lighted candles, and the cakes burnt in
the oven."
"Well," said Betty, "it's but little I drame, anyway. Jist keep an 'asy
conscience and a plenty of the stuff in ye, and ye'll sleep like an
infant. The last drame I had was when the boys put the thistle tops in
the blankets, and then I was thinking that Captain Jack's man was
currying me down, for the matter of Roanoke, but it's no trifle I mind
either in skin or stomach."
"I'm sure," said Katy, with a stiff erectness that drew Lawton back in
his saddle, "no man shall ever dare to lay hands on bed of mine; it's
undecent and despisable conduct."
"Pooh! pooh!" cried Betty; "if you tag after a troop of horse, a small
bit of a joke must be borne. What would become of the states and
liberty, if the boys had never a clane shirt, or a drop to comfort them?
Ask Captain Jack, there, if they'd fight, Mrs. Beelzeboob, and they no
clane linen to keep the victory in."
"I'm a single woman, and my name is Haynes," said Katy, "and I'd thank
you to use no disparaging terms when speaking to me."
"You must tolerate a little license in the tongue of Mrs. Flanagan,
madam," said the trooper. "The drop she speaks of is often of an
extraordinary size, and then she has acquired the freedom of a
soldier's manner."
"Pooh! captain, darling," cried Betty, "why do you bother the woman?
Talk like yeerself, dear, and it's no fool of a tongue that ye've got in
yeer own head. But jist here-away that sargeant made a halt, thinking
there might be more divils than one stirring, the night. The clouds are
as black as Arnold's heart, and deuce the star is there twinkling among
them. Well, the mare is used to a march after nightfall, and is smelling
out the road like a pointer slut."
"It wants but little to the rising moon," observed the trooper. He
called a dragoon, who was riding in advance, issued a few orders and
cautions relative to the comfort and safety of Singleton, and speaking a
consoling word to his friend himself, gave Roanoke the spur, and dashed
by the car, at a rate that again put to flight all the philosophy of
Katharine Haynes.
"Good luck to ye, for a free rider and a bold!" shouted the washerwoman,
as he passed. "If ye're meeting Mister Beelzeboob, jist back the baste
up to him, and show him his consort that ye've got on the crupper. I'm
thinking it's no long he'd tarry to chat. Well, well, it's his life that
we saved, he was saying so himself--though the plunder is nothing
to signify."
The cries of Betty Flanagan were too familiar to the ears of Captain
Lawton to elicit a reply. Notwithstanding the unusual burden that
Roanoke sustained, he got over the ground with great rapidity, and the
distance between the cart of Mrs. Flanagan and the chariot of Miss
Peyton was passed in a manner that, however it answered the intentions
of the trooper, in no degree contributed to the comfort of his
companion. The meeting occurred but a short distance from the quarters
of Lawton, and at the same instant the moon broke from a mass of clouds,
and threw its light on objects.
Compared with the simple elegance and substantial comfort of the
Locusts, the "Hotel Flanagan" presented but a dreary spectacle. In the
place of carpeted floors and curtained windows, were the yawning cracks
of a rudely-constructed dwelling, and boards and paper were ingeniously
applied to supply the place of the green glass in more than half the
lights. The care of Lawton had anticipated every improvement that their
situation would allow, and blazing fires were made before the party
arrived. The dragoons, who had been charged with this duty, had conveyed
a few necessary articles of furniture, and Miss Peyton and her
companions, on alighting, found something like habitable apartments
prepared for their reception. The mind of Sarah had continued to wander
during the ride, and, with the ingenuity of the insane, she accommodated
every circumstance to the feelings that were uppermost in her own bosom.
"It is impossible to minister to a mind that has sustained such a blow,"
said Lawton to Isabella Singleton. "Time and God's mercy can alone cure
it, but something more may be done towards the bodily comfort of all.
You are a soldier's daughter, and used to scenes like this; help me to
exclude some of the cold air from these windows."
Miss Singleton acceded to his request, and while Lawton was endeavoring,
from without, to remedy the defect of broken panes, Isabella was
arranging a substitute for a curtain within.
"I hear the cart," said the trooper, in reply to one of her
interrogatories. "Betty is tender-hearted in the main; believe me, poor
George will not only be safe, but comfortable."
"God bless her, for her care, and bless you all," said Isabella,
fervently. "Dr. Sitgreaves has gone down the road to meet him, I know.
What is that glittering in the moon?"
Directly opposite the window where they stood, were the outbuildings of
the farm, and the quick eye of Lawton caught at a glance the object to
which she alluded.
"'Tis the glare of firearms," said the trooper, springing from the
window towards his charger, which yet remained caparisoned at the door.
His movement was quick as thought, but a flash of fire was followed by
the whistling of a bullet, before he had proceeded a step. A loud shriek
burst from the dwelling, and the captain sprang into his saddle; the
whole was the business of but a moment.
"Mount--mount, and follow!" shouted the trooper; and before his
astonished men could understand the cause of alarm, Roanoke had carried
him in safety over the fence which lay between him and his foe. The
chase was for life or death, but the distance to the rocks was again too
short, and the disappointed trooper saw his intended victim vanish in
their clefts, where he could not follow.
"By the life of Washington," muttered Lawton, as he sheathed his saber,
"I would have made two halves of him, had he not been so nimble on the
foot--but a time will come!" So saying, he returned to his quarters,
with the indifference of a man who knew his life was at any moment to be
offered a sacrifice to his country. An extraordinary tumult in the house
induced him to quicken his speed, and on arriving at the door, the
panic-stricken Katy informed him that the bullet aimed at his own life
had taken effect in the bosom of Miss Singleton.