CHAPTER XXXI.
"His only plot was this--that, much provoked. He raised his vengeful arm against his country." _Thomson_.
Alice Duncombe remained on the sands, watching the dark spot that wassoon hid amid the waves in the obscurity of night, and listening, withmelancholy interest, to the regulated sounds of the oars, which wereaudible long after the boat had been blended with the gloomy outline ofthe eastern horizon. When all traces of her departed friends were to befound only in her own recollections, she slowly turned from the sea,and hastening to quit the bustling throng that were preparing forthe embarkation of the rest of the party, she ascended the path thatconducted her once more to the summit of those cliffs along which shehad so often roved, gazing at the boundless element that washedtheir base, with sensations that might have been peculiar to her ownsituation.
The soldiers of Borroughcliffe, who were stationed at the head of thepass, respectfully made way; nor did any of the sentinels of Manual heedher retiring figure, until she approached the rear guard of the marines,who were commanded by their vigilant captain in person.
"Who goes there?" cried Manual, advancing without the dusky group ofsoldiers, as she approached them.
"One who possesses neither the power nor the inclination to do ye harm,"answered the solitary female; "'tis Alice Dunscombe, returning, bypermission of your leader, to the place of her birth."
"Ay," muttered Manual, "this is one of Griffith's unmilitary exhibitionsof his politeness! Does the man think that there was ever a woman whohad no tongue! Have you the countersign, madam, that I may know you beara sufficient warrant to pass?"
"I have no other warrant besides my sex and weakness, unless Mr.Griffith's knowledge that I have left him can be so considered."
"The two former are enough," said a voice, that proceeded from a figurewhich had hitherto stood unseen, shaded by the trunk of an oak thatspread its wide but naked arms above the spot where the guard wasparaded.
"Who have we here!" Manual again cried; "come in; yield, or you will befired at."
"What, will the gallant Captain Manual fire on his own rescuer!" saidthe Pilot, with cool disdain, as he advanced from the shadow of thetree. "He had better reserve his bullets for his enemies, than wastethem on his friends."
"You have done a dangerous deed, sir, in approaching, clandestinely,a guard of marines! I wonder that a man who has already discovered,to-night, that he has some knowledge of tactics, by so ably conducting asurprise, should betray so much ignorance in the forms of approaching apicket!"
"'Tis now of no moment," returned the Pilot; "my knowledge andmy ignorance are alike immaterial, as the command of the party issurrendered to other and perhaps more proper hands. But I would talk tothis lady alone, sir; she is an acquaintance of my youth, and I will seeher on her way to the abbey."
"The step would be unmilitary, Mr. Pilot, and you will excuse me if I donot consent to any of our expedition straggling without the sentries.If you choose to remain here to hold your discourse, I will march thepicket out of hearing; though I must acknowledge I see no ground sofavorable as this we are on, to keep you within range of our eyes. Youperceive that I have a ravine to retreat into in case of surprise, withthis line of wall on my left flank and the trunk of that tree to covermy right. A very pretty stand might be made here, on emergency; for eventhe oldest troops fight the best when their flanks are properly covered,and a way to make a regular retreat is open in their rear."
"Say no more, sir; I would not break up such a position on any account,"returned the Pilot; "the lady will consent to retrace her path for ashort distance."
Alice followed his steps, in compliance with this request, until he hadled her to a place, at some little distance from the marines, where atree had been prostrated by the late gale. She seated herself quietlyon its trunk, and appeared to wait with patience his own time for theexplanation of his motives in seeking the interview. The pilot pacedfor several minutes back and forth, in front of the place where she wasseated, in profound silence, as if communing with himself; when suddenlythrowing off his air of absence, he came to her side, and assumed aposition similar to the one which she herself had taken.
"The hour is at hand, Alice, when we must part," he at length commenced;"it rests with yourself whether it shall be forever."
"Let it then be forever, John," she returned, with a slight tremor inher voice.
"That word would have been less appalling had this accidental meetingnever occurred. And yet your choice may have been determined byprudence--for what is there in my fate that can tempt a woman to wishthat she might share it?"
"If ye mean your lot is that of one who can find but few, or even none,to partake of his joys, or to share in his sorrows--whose life isa continual scene of dangers and calamities, of disappointments andmishaps--then do ye know but little of the heart of woman, if ye doubtof either her ability or her willingness to meet them with the man ofher choice."
"Say you thus, Alice? then have I misunderstood your meaning ormisinterpreted your acts. My lot is not altogether that of a neglectedman, unless the favor of princes and the smiles of queens are allowedto go for nothing. My life is, however, one of many and fearful dangers;and yet it is not filled altogether with calamities and mishaps; is it,Alice?" He paused a moment, but in vain, for her answer. "Nay, then, Ihave been deceived in the estimation that the world has affixed to mycombats and enterprises! I am not, Alice, the man I would be, or eventhe man I had deemed myself."
"You have gained a name, John, among the warriors of the age," sheanswered, in a subdued voice; "and it is a name that may be said to bewritten in blood!"
"The blood of my enemies, Alice!"
"The blood of the subjects of your natural prince! The blood of thosewho breathe the air you first breathed, and who were taught the sameholy lessons of instruction that you were first taught; but, which, Ifear, you have too soon forgotten!"
"The blood of the slaves of despotism!" he sternly interrupted her; "theblood of the enemies of freedom! You have dwelt so long in this dullretirement, and you have cherished so blindly the prejudices of youryouth, that the promise of those noble sentiments I once thought I couldsee budding in Alice Dunscombe has not been fulfilled."
"I have lived and thought only as a woman, as become my sex andstation," Alice meekly replied; "and when it shall be necessary for meto live and think otherwise, I should wish to die."
"Ay, there lie the first seeds of slavery! A dependent woman is sure tomake the mother of craven and abject wretches, who dishonor the name ofman!"
"I shall never be the mother of children, good or bad," said Alice, withthat resignation in her tones that showed she had abandoned the naturalhopes of her sex. "Singly and unsupported have I lived; alone andunlamented must I be carried to my grave."
The exquisite pathos of her voice, as she uttered this placid speech,blended as it was with the sweet and calm dignity of virgin pride,touched the heart of her listener, and he continued silent many moments,as if in reverence of her determination. Her sentiments awakened in hisown breast those feelings of generosity and disinterestedness which hadnearly been smothered in restless ambition and the pride of success. Heresumed the discourse, therefore, more mildly, and with a much greaterexhibition of deep feeling, and less of passion, in his manner.
"I know not, Alice, that I ought, situated as I am, and contented, ifnot happy, as you are, even to attempt to revive in your bosom thosesentiments which I was once led to think existed there. It cannot, afterall, be a desirable fate, to share the lot of a rover like myself; onewho may be termed a Quixote in the behalf of liberal principles, andwho may be hourly called to seal the truth of those principles with hislife."
"There never existed any sentiment in my breast, in which you areconcerned, that does not exist there still, and unchanged," returnedAlice, with her single-hearted sincerity.
"Do I hear you right? or have I misconceived your resolution to abide inEngland? or have I not rather mistaken your early fe
elings?"
"You have fallen into no error now nor then, The weakness may stillexist, John; but the strength to struggle with it has, by the goodnessof God, grown with my years. It is not, however, of myself, but of you,that I would speak. I have lived like one of our simple daisies, whichin the budding may have caught your eye; and I shall also wilt like thehumble flower, when the winter of my time arrives, without being missedfrom the fields that have known me for a season. But your fall, John,will be like that of the oak that now supports us, and men shallpronounce on the beauty and grandeur of the noble stem while standing,as well as of its usefulness when felled."
"Let them pronounce as they will!" returned the proud stranger. "Thetruth must be finally known: and when, that hour shall come, they willsay, he was a faithful and gallant warrior in his day; and a worthylesson for all who are born in slavery, but would live in freedom, shallbe found in his example."
"Such may be the language of that distant people, whom ye have adoptedin the place of those that once formed home and kin to ye," said Alice,glancing her eye timidly at his countenance, as if to discern how farshe might venture, without awakening his resentment; "but what will themen of the land of your birth transmit to their children, who will bethe children of those that are of your own blood?"
"They will say, Alice, whatever their crooked policy may suggest, ortheir disappointed vanity can urge. But the picture must be drawn by thefriends of the hero, as well as by his enemies! Think you, that thereare not pens as well as swords in America?"
"I have heard that America called a land, John, where God has lavishedhis favors with an unsparing hand; where he has bestowed many climeswith their several fruits, and where his power is exhibited no less thanhis mercy. It is said her rivers are without any known end, and thatlakes are found in her bosom which would put our German Ocean to shame!The plains, teeming with verdure, are spread over wide degrees; and yetthose sweet valleys, which a single heart can hold, are not wanting. Inshort, John, I hear it is a broad land, that can furnish food for eachpassion, and contain objects for every affection."
"Ay, you have found those, Alice, in your solitude, who have beenwilling to do her justice! It is a country that can form a world ofitself; and why should they who inherit it look to other nations fortheir laws?"
"I pretend not to reason on the right of the children of that soil todo whatever they may deem most meet for their own welfare," returnedAlice--"but can men be born in such a land, and not know the feelingswhich bind a human being to the place of his birth?"
"Can you doubt that they should be patriotic?" exclaimed the Pilot,in surprise. "Do not their efforts in this sacred cause--their patientsufferings--their long privations--speak loudly in their behalf?"
"And will they who know so well how to love home sing the praises of himwho has turned his ruthless hand against the land of his fathers?"
"Forever harping on that word home!" said the Pilot, who now detectedthe timid approaches of Alice to her hidden meaning. "Is a man a stickor a stone, that he must be cast into the fire, or buried in a wall,wherever his fate may have doomed him to appear on the earth? The soundof home is said to feed the vanity of an English man, let him go wherehe will; but it would seem to have a still more powerful charm withEnglish women!"
"It is the dearest of all terms to every woman, John, for it embracesthe dearest of all ties! If your dames of America are ignorant of itscharm, all the favors which God has lavished on their land will availtheir happiness but little."
"Alice," said the Pilot, rising in his agitation, "I see but too wellthe object of your allusions. But on this subject we can never agree;for not even your powerful influence can draw me from the path of gloryin which I am now treading. But our time is growing brief; let us, then,talk of other things.--This may be the last time I shall ever put footon the island of Britain."
Alice paused to struggle with the feelings excited by this remark,before she pursued the discourse. But soon shaking off the weakness, sheadded, with a rigid adherence to that course which she believed to beher duty:
"And now, John, that you have landed, is the breaking up of a peacefulfamily, and the violence ye have shown towards an aged man, a fitexploit for one whose object is the glory of which ye have spoken?"
"Think you that I have landed, and placed my life in the hands ofmy enemies, for so unworthy an object! No, Alice: my motive for thisundertaking has been disappointed, and therefore will ever remain asecret from the world. But duty to my cause has prompted the step whichyou so unthinkingly condemn. This Colonel Howard has some considerationwith those in power, and will answer to exchange for a better man. Asfor his wards, you forget their home, their magical home is in America;unless, indeed, they find them nearer at hand, under the proud flag of afrigate that is now waiting for them in the offing."
"You talk of a frigate!" said Alice, with sudden interest in thesubject. "Is she your only means of escaping from your enemies?"
"Alice Dunscombe has taken but little heed of passing events, to asksuch a question of me!" returned the haughty Pilot. "The question wouldhave sounded more discreetly had it been, 'Is she the only vessel withyou that your enemies will have to escape from?'"
"Nay, I cannot measure my language at such a moment," continued Alice,with a still stronger exhibition of anxiety. "It was my fortune tooverhear a part of a plan that was intended to destroy, by sudden means,those vessels of America that were in our seas."
"That might be a plan more suddenly adopted than easily executed, mygood Alice. And who were these redoubtable schemers?"
"I know not but my duty to the king should cause me to suppress thisinformation," said Alice, hesitating.
"Well, be it so," returned the Pilot, coolly; "it may prove the meansof saving the persons of some of the royal officers from death orcaptivity. I have already said, this may be the last of my visits tothis island, and consequently, Alice, the last of our interviews--"
"And yet," said Alice, still pursuing the train of her own thoughts,"there can be but little harm in sparing human blood; and least of allin serving those whom we have long known and regarded!"
"Ay, that is a simple doctrine, and one that is easily maintained," headded, with much apparent indifference; "and yet King George might wellspare some of his servants--the list of his abject minions is so long!"
"There was a man named Dillon, who lately dwelt in the abbey, but whohas mysteriously disappeared," continued Alice; "or rather, who wascaptured by your companions: know you aught of him, John?"
"I have heard there was a miscreant of that name, but we have never met.Alice, if it please Heaven that this should be the last--"
"He was a captive in the schooner called the Ariel," she added, stillunheeding his affected indifference to her communication; "and whenpermitted to return to St. Ruth, he lost sight of his solemn promise,and of his plighted honor, to wreak his malice. Instead of effecting theexchange that he had conditioned to see made, he plotted treason againsthis captors. Yes, it was most foul treason! for his treatment wasgenerous and kind, and his liberation certain."
"He was a most unworthy scoundrel! But, Alice----"
"Nay, listen, John," she continued, urged to even a keener interest inhis behalf by his apparent inattention; "and yet I should speak tenderlyof his failings, for he is already numbered with the dead! One part ofhis scheme must have been frustrated; for he intended to destroy thatschooner which you call the Ariel, and to have taken the person of theyoung Barnstable."
"In both of which he has failed! The person of Barnstable I haverescued, and the Ariel has been stricken by a hand far mightier than anyof this world!--she is wrecked."
"Then is the frigate your only means of escape! Hasten, John, and seemnot so proud and heedless; for the hour may come when all your daringwill not profit ye against the machinations of secret enemies. ThisDillon had also planned that expresses should journey to a seaport atthe south, with the intelligence that your vessels were in these seas,in order that ships might b
e dispatched to intercept your retreat."
The Pilot lost his affected indifference as she proceeded; and beforeshe ceased speaking, his eye was endeavoring to anticipate her words, byreading her countenance through the dusky medium of the starlight.
"How know you this, Alice?" he asked quickly--"and what vessel did hename?"
"Chance made me an unseen listener to their plan, and--I know not but Iforget my duty to my prince! but, John, 'tis asking too much of a weakwoman, to require that she shall see the man whom she once viewed witheyes of favor sacrificed, when a word of caution, given in season, mightenable him to avoid the danger!"
"Once viewed with an eye of favor! Is it then so?" said the Pilot,speaking in a vacant manner. "But, Alice, heard ye the force of theships, or their names? Give me their names, and the first lord of yourBritish admiralty shall not give so true an account of their force as Iwill furnish from this list of my own."
"Their names were certainly mentioned," said Alice, with tendermelancholy; "but the name of one far nearer to me was ringing in myears, and has driven them from my mind."
"You are the same good Alice I once knew! And my name was mentioned?What said they of the Pirate? Had his arm stricken a blow that made themtremble in their abbey? Did they call him coward, girl?"
"It was mentioned in terms that pained my heart as I listened; for it isnever too easy a task to forget the lapse of years, nor are the feelingsof youth to be easily eradicated."
"Ay, there is luxury in knowing that, with all their affected abuse, theslaves dread me in their secret holds!" exclaimed the Pilot, pacing infront of his listener with quick steps. "This it is to be marked, amongmen, above all others in your calling! I hope yet to see the day whenthe third George shall start at the sound of that name, even within thewalls of his palace."
Alice Dunscombe heard him in deep and mortified silence. It was tooevident that a link in the chain of their sympathies was broken, andthat the weakness in which she had been unconsciously indulging was metby no correspondent emotions in him. After sinking her head for amoment on her bosom, she arose with a little more than her usual air ofmeekness, and recalled the Pilot to a sense of her presence, by saying,in a yet milder voice:
"I have now communicated all that it can profit you to know, and it ismeet that we separate."
"What, thus soon?" he cried, starting and taking her hand. "This is buta short interview, Alice, to precede so long a separation."
"Be it short, or be it long, it must now end," she replied. "Yourcompanions are on the eve of departure, and I trust you would be one ofthe last who would wish to be deserted. If ye do visit England again, Ihope it may be with altered sentiments, so far as regards her interests.I wish ye peace, John, and the blessings of God, as ye may be found todeserve them."
"I ask no farther, unless it may be the aid of your gentle prayers! Butthe night is gloomy, and I will see you in safety to the abbey."
"It is unnecessary," she returned, with womanly reserve. "The innocentcan be as fearless, on occasion, as the most valiant among yourwarriors. But here is no cause for fear. I shall take a path thatwill conduct me in a different way from that which is occupied by yoursoldiers, and where I shall find none but Him who is ever ready toprotect the helpless. Once more, John, I bid ye adieu." Her voicefaltered as she continued--"Ye will share the lot of humanity, and haveyour hours of care and weakness; at such moments ye can remember thoseye leave on this despised island, and perhaps among them ye may thinkof some whose interest in your welfare has been far removed fromselfishness."
"God be with you, Alice!" he said, touched with her emotion, and losingall vain images in more worthy feelings--"but I cannot permit you to goalone."
"Here we part, John," she said firmly, "and forever! 'Tis for thehappiness of both, for I fear we have but little in common." She gentlywrested her hand from his grasp, and once more bidding him adieu, ina voice that was nearly inaudible, she turned and slowly disappeared,moving, with lingering steps, in the direction of the abbey.
The first impulse of the pilot was certainly to follow, and insist onseeing her on the way; but the music of the guard on the cliffs at thatmoment sent forth its martial strains, and the whistle of the boatswainwas heard winding Its shrill call among the rocks, in those notes thathis practised ear well understood to be the last signal for embarking.
Obedient to the summons, this singular man, in whose breast the naturalfeelings, that were now on the eve of a violent eruption, had so longbeen smothered by the visionary expectations of a wild ambition, andperhaps of fierce resentments, pursued his course, in deep abstraction,towards the boats. He was soon met by the soldiers of Borroughcliffe,deprived of their arms, it is true, but unguarded, and returningpeacefully to their quarters. The mind of the Pilot, happily for theliberty of these men, was too much absorbed in his peculiar reflections,to note this act of Griffith's generosity, nor did he arouse from hismusing until his steps were arrested by suddenly encountering a humanfigure in the pathway. A light tap on his shoulder was the first markof recognition he received, when Borroughcliffe, who stood before him,said:
"It is evident, sir, from what has passed this evening, that you are notwhat you seem. You may be some rebel admiral or general, for aught thatI know, the right to command having been strangely contested among yethis night. But let who will own the chief authority, I take the libertyof whispering in your ear that I have been scurvily treated by you--Irepeat, most scurvily treated by you all, generally, and by you inparticular."
The Pilot started at this strange address, which was uttered with allthe bitterness that could be imparted to it by a disappointed man; buthe motioned with his hand for the captain to depart, and turned aside topursue his own way.
"Perhaps I am not properly understood," continued the obstinate soldier:"I say, sir, you have treated me scurvily: and I would not be thought tosay this to any gentleman, without wishing to give him an opportunity tovent his anger."
The eye of the Pilot, as he moved forward, glanced at the pistols whichBorroughcliffe held in his hands, the one by the handle, and the otherby its barrel, and the soldier even fancied that his footsteps werequickened by the sight. After gazing at him until his form was lost inthe darkness, the captain muttered to himself:
"He is no more than a common pilot, after all! No true gentleman wouldhave received so palpable a hint with such a start. Ah! here comes theparty of my worthy friend whose palate knows a grape of the north sideof Madeira from one of the south. The dog has the throat of a gentleman;we will see how he can swallow a delicate allusion to his faults!"
Borroughcliffe stepped aside to allow the marines, who were also inmotion for the boats, to pass, and watched with keen looks for theperson of the commander. Manual, who had been previously apprised of theintention of Griffith to release the prisoners, had halted to see thatnone but those who had been liberated by authority were marchinginto the country. This accidental circumstance gave Borroughcliffe anopportunity of meeting the other at some little distance from either oftheir respective parties.
"I greet you, sir," said Borroughcliffe, "with all affection. This hasbeen a pleasant forage for you, Captain Manual."
The marine was far from being disposed to wrangle, but there was that inthe voice of the other which caused him to answer:
"It would have been far pleasanter, sir, if I had met an opportunityof returning to Captain Borroughcliffe some of the favors that I havereceived at his hands."
"Nay, then, dear sir, you weigh my modesty to the earth! Surely youforget the manner in which my hospitality has already been requited--bysome two hours mouthing of my sword-hilt; with a very unceremoniousricochet into a corner; together with a love-tap received over theshoulders of one of my men, by so gentle an instrument as the butt of amusket! Damme, sir, but I think an ungrateful man only a better sort ofbeast!"
"Had the love-tap been given to the officer instead of the man,"returned Manual, with all commendable coolness, "it would have beenbetter justice; and the
ramrod might have answered as well as the butt,to floor a gentleman who carried the allowance of four thirsty fiddlersunder one man's jacket."
"Now, that is rank ingratitude to your own cordial of the south side,and a most biting insult! I really see but one way of terminating thiswordy war, which, if not discreetly ended, may lead us far into themorning."
"Elect your own manner of determining the dispute, sir; I hope, however,it will not be by your innate knowledge of mankind, which has alreadymistaken a captain of marines in the service of Congress, for a runawaylover, bound to some green place or other."
"You might just as well tweak my nose, sir!" said Borroughcliffe."Indeed, I think it would be the milder reproach of the two! will youmake your selection of these, sir? They were loaded for a very differentsort of service, but I doubt not will answer on occasion."
"I am provided with a pair, that are charged for any service," returnedManual, drawing a pistol from his own belt, and stepping backward a fewpaces.
"You are destined for America, I know," said Borroughcliffe, who stoodhis ground with consummate coolness; "but it would be more convenientfor me, sir, if you could delay your march for a single moment."
"Fire and defend yourself!" exclaimed Manual, furiously, retracing hissteps towards his enemy.
The sounds of the two pistols were blended in one report, and thesoldiers of Borroughcliffe and the marines all rushed to the place onthe sudden alarm. Had the former been provided with arms, it is probablethat a bloody fray would have been the consequence of the sightthat both parties be held on arriving at the spot, which they didsimultaneously. Manual lay on his back, without any signs of life, andBorroughcliffe had changed his cool, haughty, upright attitude for arecumbent posture, which was somewhat between lying and sitting.
"Is the poor fellow actually expended?" said the Englishman, insomething like the tones of regret; "well, he had a soldier's mettle inhim, and was nearly as great a fool as myself!"
The marines had, luckily for the soldiers and their captain, by thistime discovered the signs of life in their own commander, who had beenonly slightly stunned by the bullet, which had grazed his crown, andwho, being assisted on his feet, stood a minute or two rubbing his head,as if awaking from a dream. As Manual came gradually to his senses, herecollected the business in which he had just been engaged, and, in histurn, inquired after the fate of his antagonist.
"I am here, my worthy incognito," cried the other, with the voice ofperfect good nature; "lying in the lap of mother earth, and all thebetter for opening a vein or two in my right leg;--though I do thinkthat the same effect might have been produced without treating the boneso roughly!--But I opine that I saw you also reclining on the bosom ofour common ancestor."
"I was down for a few minutes, I do believe," returned Manual; "there isthe path of a bullet across my scalp."
"Humph! on the head!" said Borroughcliffe, dryly; "the hurt is notlikely to be mortal, I see.--Well, I shall offer to raffle with thefirst poor devil I can find that has but one good leg, for who shallhave both; and that will just set up a beggar and a gentleman!--Manual,give me your hand; we have drunk together, and we have fought; surelythere is nothing now to prevent our being sworn friends."
"Why," returned Manual, continuing to rub his head, "I see noirremovable objections--but you will want a surgeon? Can I orderanything to be done? There go the signals again to embark--march thefellows down at quick time, sergeant; my own man may remain with me, or,I can do altogether without assistance."
"Ah! you are what I call a well-made man, my dear friend!" exclaimedBorroughcliffe; "no weak points about your fortress! Such a manis worthy to be the _head_ of a whole corps, instead of a solitarycompany.--Gently, Drill, gently; handle me as if I were made of potter'sclay.--I will not detain you longer, my friend Manual, for I hear signalafter signal; they must be in want of some of your astonishing reasoningfaculties to set them afloat."
Manual might have been offended at the palpable allusions that his newfriend made to the firmness of his occiput, had not his perception ofthings been a little confused by a humming sound that seemed to abidenear the region of thought. As it was, he reciprocated the good wishesof the other, whom he shook most cordially by the hand, and oncemore renewed his offers of service, after exchanging sundry friendlyspeeches.
"I thank you quite as much as if I were not at all indebted to youfor letting blood, thereby saving me a fit of apoplexy; but Drill hasalready dispatched a messenger to B---- for a leech, and the lad maybring the whole depot down upon you.--Adieu, once more, and rememberthat if you ever visit England again as a friend, you are to let me seeyou."
"I shall do it without fail; and I shall keep you to your promise if youonce more put foot in America."
"Trust me for that: I shall stand in need of your excellent head toguide me safely among those rude foresters. Adieu; cease not to bear mein your thoughts."
"I shall never cease to remember you, my good friend," returned Manual,again scratching the member which was snapping in a manner that causedhim to fancy he heard it. Once more these worthies shook each other bythe hand, and again they renewed their promises of future intercourse;after which they separated like two reluctant lovers--parting in amanner that would have put to shame the friendship of Orestes andPylades.