As the language of these officers appeared to be sincere, and such as disappointed men in their rough occupations are but too apt to use, the Whartons thought it prudent to discontinue the subject. It was no new intelligence to any of the family, that Harvey Birch was distrusted, and greatly harassed, by the American army. His escapes from their hands, no less than his imprisonments, had been the conversation of the country in too many instances, and under circumstances of too great mystery, to be easily forgotten. In fact, no small part of the bitterness, expressed by Captain Lawton against the pedler, arose from the unaccountable disappearance of the latter, when intrusted to the custody of two of his most faithful dragoons. A twelvemonth had not yet elapsed, since Birch had been seen lingering near the head-quarters of the commander-in-chief, and at a time when important movements were expected hourly to occur. So soon as the information of this fact was communicated to the officer, whose duty it was to guard the avenues of the American camp, he despatched Captain Lawton in pursuit of the pedler. Acquainted with all the passes of the hills, and indefatigable in the discharge of his duty, the trooper had, with much trouble and toil, succeeded in effecting his object. The party had halted at a farm-house for the purposes of refreshment, and the prisoner was placed in a room by himself, but under the keeping of the two men before mentioned; all that was known subsequently is, that a woman was seen busily engaged in the employments of the household near the sentinels, and was particularly attentive to the wants of the captain, until he was deeply engaged in the employments of the suppertable. Afterwards, neither woman nor pedler was to be found. The pack, indeed, was discovered open, and nearly empty, and a small door, communicating with a room adjoining to the one in which the pedler had been secured, was ajar. Captain Lawton never could forgive the deception: his antipathies to his enemies were not very moderate, but this was adding an insult to his penetration that rankled deeply. He sat in portentous silence, brooding over the exploit of his prisoner, yet mechanically pursuing the business before him, until, after sufficient time had passed to make a very comfortable meal, a trumpet suddenly broke on the ears of the party, sending its martial tones up the valley, in startling melody. The trooper rose instantly from the table, exclaiming"Quick, gentlemen, to your horses; there comes Dunwoodie;" and, followed by his officers, he precipitately left the room. With the exception of the sentinels left to guard Captain Wharton, the dragoons mounted, and marched out to meet their comrades. None of the watchfulness necessary in a war, in which similarity. of language, appearance, and customs, rendered prudence doubly necessary, was omitted by the cautious leader. On getting sufficiently near, however, to a body of horse of more than double his own number, to distinguish countenances, Lawton plunged his rowels into his charger, and in a moment he was by the side of his commander. The ground in front of the cottage was again occupied by the horse; and, observing the same precautions as before, the newly arrived troops hastened to participate in the cheer prepared for their comrades CHAPTER V1. and let conquerors boast Their fields of fame - he who in virtue arms Moore. THE ladies of the Wharton family had collected about a window; deeply interested in the scene we have related. Sarah viewed the approach of her countrymen with a smile of contemptuous indifference; for she even undervalued the personal appearance of men, whom she thought arrayed in the unholy cause of rebellion. Miss Peyton looked on the gallant show with an exulting pride, which arose in the reflection, that the warriors before her were the chosen troops of her native colony; while Frances gazed with a singleness of interest that absorbed all other considerations. The two parties had not yet joined, before her quick eye distinguished one horseman in particular from those around him. To her it appeared that even the steed of this youthful soldier seemed to be conscious that he sustained the weight of no common man: - his hoofs but lightly touched the earth, and his airy tread was the curbed motion of a blooded charger. The dragoon sat in the saddle, with a firmness and ease that showed him master of himself and horse, his figure uniting the just proportions of strength and activity, being tall, round, and muscular. To this officer Lawton made his report, and, side by side, they rode into the field opposite to the cottage. The heart of Frances beat with a pulsation nearly stifling, as he paused for a moment, and took a survey of the building, with an eye whose dark and sparkling glance could be seen, notwithstanding the distance: her colour changed, and for an instant, as she saw the youth throw himself from the saddle, she was compelled to seek relief for her trembling limbs in a chair. The officer gave a few hasty orders to his second in command, walked rapidly into the lawn, and approached the cottage. Frances rose from her seat, and vanished from the apartment. The dragoon ascended the steps of the piazza, and had barely time to touch the outer door, when it opened to his admission. The youth of Frances, when she left the city, had prevented her sacrificing, in conformity to the customs of that day, all her native beauties on the altar of fashion. Her hair, which was of a golden richness of colour, was left, untortured, to fall in the natural ringlets of infancy, and it shaded a face which was glowing with the united charms of health, youth, and artlessness;- her eyes spoke volumes, but her tongue was silent; - her hands were interlocked before her, and, aided by her taper form, bending forward in an attitude of expectation, gave a loveliness and an interest to her appearance, that for a moment chained her lover in silence to the spot. Frances silently led the way into a vacant parlour, opposite to the one in which the family were assembled, and turning to the soldier frankly, placing both her hands in his own, exclaimed "Ah, Dunwoodie! how happy, on many accounts, I am to see you! I have brought you in here, to prepare you to meet an unexpected friend in the opposite room." "To whatever cause it may be owing," cried the youth, pressing her hands to his lips, "I, too, am happy in being able to see you alone. Frances, the probation you have decreed is cruel; war and distance may shortly separate us for ever." "We must submit to the necessity which governs us. But it is not love speeches I would hear now: I have other and more important matter for your attention." "What can be of more importance than to make you mine by a tie that will be indissoluble! Frances, you are cold to me — me— from whose mind, days of service and nights of alarm have never been able to banish your image for a single moment." "Dear Dunwoodie," said Frances, softening nearly to tears, and again extending her hand to him, as the richness of her colour gradually returned, "you know my sentiments- this war once ended, and you may take that hand for ever- but I can never consent to tie myself to you by any closer union than already exists, so long as you are arrayed in arms against my only brother. Even now, that brother is awaiting your decision to restore him to liberty, or to conduct him to a probable death.” "Your brother!" cried Dunwoodie, starting and turning pale; "your brother! explain yourself-what dreadful meaning is concealed in your words?" "Has not Captain Lawton told you of the arrest of Henry by himself this very morning?" continued Frances, in a voice barely audible, and fixing on her lover a look of the deepest concern. "He told me of arresting a captain of the 60th in disguise, but without mentioning where or whom," replied the Major in a similar tone; and dropping his head between his hands, he endeavoured to conceal his feelings from his companion. "Dunwoodie! Dunwoodie!" exclaimed Frances, losing all her former confidence in the most fearful apprehensions, "what means this agitation?" As the Major slowly raised his face, in which was pictured the most expressive concern, she continued, "Surely, surely, you will not betray your friend-my brother-your brother—to an ignominious death.” "Frances!" exclaimed the young man in agony, "what can I do?" "Do!" she repeated, gazing at him wildly; "would Major Dun |