CHAPTER I
And though amidst the calm of thought entire, Some high and haughty features might betray A soul impetuous once--'twas earthly fire That fled composure's intellectual ray, As Etna's fires grow dim before the rising day. --Gertrude of Wyoming.
It was near the close of the year 1780 that a solitary traveler was seenpursuing his way through one of the numerous little valleys ofWestchester. [Footnote: As each state of the American Union has its owncounties, it often happens that there are several which bear the samename. The scene of this tale is in New York, whose county of Westchesteris the nearest adjoining to the city.] The easterly wind, with itschilling dampness and increasing violence, gave unerring notice of theapproach of a storm, which, as usual, might be expected to continue forseveral days; and the experienced eye of the traveler was turned invain, through the darkness of the evening, in quest of some convenientshelter, in which, for the term of his confinement by the rain thatalready began to mix with the atmosphere in a thick mist, he mightobtain such accommodations as his purposes required. Nothing whateveroffered but the small and inconvenient tenements of the lower order ofthe inhabitants, with whom, in that immediate neighborhood, he did notthink it either safe or politic to trust himself.
The county of Westchester, after the British had obtained possession ofthe island of New York, [Footnote: The city of New York is situated onan island called Manhattan: but it is at one point separated from thecounty of Westchester by a creek of only a few feet in width. The bridgeat this spot is called King's Bridge. It was the scene of manyskirmishes during the war, and is alluded to in this tale. EveryManhattanese knows the difference between "Manhattan Island" and the"island of Manhattan." The first is applied to a small District in thevicinity of Corlaer's Hook, while the last embraces the Whole island; orthe city and county of New York as it is termed in the laws.] becamecommon ground, in which both parties continued to act for the remainderof the war of the Revolution. A large proportion of its inhabitants,either restrained by their attachments, or influenced by their fears,affected a neutrality they did not feel. The lower towns were, ofcourse, more particularly under the dominion of the crown, while theupper, finding a security from the vicinity of the continental troops,were bold in asserting their revolutionary opinions, and their right togovern themselves. Great numbers, however, wore masks, which even tothis day have not been thrown aside; and many an individual has gonedown to the tomb, stigmatized as a foe to the rights of his countrymen,while, in secret, he has been the useful agent of the leaders of theRevolution; and, on the other hand, could the hidden repositories ofdivers flaming patriots have been opened to the light of day, royalprotections would have been discovered concealed under piles ofBritish gold.
At the sound of the tread of the noble horse ridden by the traveler, themistress of the farmhouse he was passing at the time might be seencautiously opening the door of the building to examine the stranger; andperhaps, with an averted face communicating the result of herobservations to her husband, who, in the rear of the building, wasprepared to seek, if necessary, his ordinary place of concealment in theadjacent woods. The valley was situated about midway in the length ofthe county, and was sufficiently near to both armies to make therestitution of stolen goods no uncommon occurrence in that vicinity. Itis true, the same articles were not always regained; but a summarysubstitute was generally resorted to, in the absence of legal justice,which restored to the loser the amount of his loss, and frequently withno inconsiderable addition for the temporary use of his property. Inshort, the law was momentarily extinct in that particular district, andjustice was administered subject to the bias of personal interests andthe passions of the strongest.
The passage of a stranger, with an appearance of somewhat doubtfulcharacter, and mounted on an animal which, although unfurnished with anyof the ordinary trappings of war, partook largely of the bold andupright carriage that distinguished his rider, gave rise to manysurmises among the gazing inmates of the different habitations; and insome instances, where conscience was more than ordinarily awake, to nolittle alarm.
Tired with the exercise of a day of unusual fatigue, and anxious toobtain a speedy shelter from the increasing violence of the storm, thatnow began to change its character to large drops of driving rain, thetraveler determined, as a matter of necessity, to make an applicationfor admission to the next dwelling that offered. An opportunity was notlong wanting; and, riding through a pair of neglected bars, he knockedloudly at the outer door of a building of a very humble exterior,without quitting his saddle. A female of middle age, with an outwardbearing but little more prepossessing than that of her dwelling,appeared to answer the summons. The startled woman half closed her dooragain in affright, as she saw, by the glare of a large wood fire, amounted man so unexpectedly near its threshold; and an expression ofterror mingled with her natural curiosity, as she required his pleasure.
Although the door was too nearly closed to admit of a minute scrutiny ofthe accommodations within, enough had been seen to cause the horseman toendeavor, once more, to penetrate the gloom, with longing eyes, insearch of a more promising roof, before, with an ill-concealedreluctance, he stated his necessities and wishes. His request waslistened to with evident unwillingness, and, while yet unfinished, itwas eagerly interrupted by the reply:
"I can't say I like to give lodgings to a stranger in these ticklishtimes," said the female, in a pert, sharp key. "I'm nothing but aforlorn lone body; or, what's the same thing, there's nobody but the oldgentleman at home; but a half mile farther up the road is a house whereyou can get entertainment, and that for nothing. I am sure 'twill bemuch convenienter to them, and more agreeable to me--because, as I saidbefore, Harvey is away; I wish he'd take advice, and leave offwandering; he's well to do in the world by this time; and he ought toleave off his uncertain courses, and settle himself, handsomely, inlife, like other men of his years and property. But Harvey Birch willhave his own way, and die vagabond after all!"
The horseman did not wait to hear more than the advice to pursue hiscourse up the road; but he had slowly turned his horse towards the bars,and was gathering the folds of an ample cloak around his manly form,preparatory to facing the storm again, when something in the speech ofthe female suddenly arrested the movement.
"Is this, then, the dwelling of Harvey Birch?" he inquired, in aninvoluntary manner, apparently checking himself, as he was about toutter more.
"Why, one can hardly say it is his dwelling," replied the other, drawinga hurried breath, like one eager to answer; "he is never in it, or soseldom, that I hardly remember his face, when he does think it worth hiswhile to show it to his poor old father and me. But it matters little tome, I'm sure, if he ever comes back again, or not;--turn in the firstgate on your left;--no, I care but little, for my part, whether Harveyever shows his face again or not--not I"--and she closed the doorabruptly on the horseman, who gladly extended his ride a half milefarther, to obtain lodgings which promised both more comfort andgreater security.
Sufficient light yet remained to enable the traveler to distinguish theimprovements [Footnote: Improvements is used by the Americans to expressevery degree of change in converting land from its state of wildernessto that of cultivation. In this meaning of the word, it is animprovement to fell the trees; and it is valued precisely by thesupposed amount of the cost.] which had been made in the cultivation,and in the general appearance of the grounds around the building towhich he was now approaching. The house was of stone, long, low, andwith a small wing at each extremity. A piazza, extending along thefront, with neatly turned pillars of wood, together with the good orderand preservation of the fences and outbuildings, gave the place an airaltogether superior to the common farmhouses of the country. Afterleading his horse behind an angle of the wall, where it was in somedegree protected from the wind and rain, the traveler threw his valiseover his arm, and knocked loudly at the entrance of the building foradmission. An aged black soon appeared;
and without seeming to think itnecessary, under the circumstances, to consult his superiors,--firsttaking one prying look at the applicant, by the light of the candle inhis hand,--he acceded to the request for accommodations. The travelerwas shown into an extremely neat parlor, where a fire had been lightedto cheer the dullness of an easterly storm and an October evening. Aftergiving the valise into the keeping of his civil attendant, and politelyrepeating his request to the old gentleman, who arose to receive him,and paying his compliments to the three ladies who were seated at workwith their needles, the stranger commenced laying aside some of theouter garments which he had worn in his ride.
On taking an extra handkerchief from his neck, and removing a cloak ofblue cloth, with a surtout of the same material, he exhibited to thescrutiny of the observant family party, a tall and extremely gracefulperson, of apparently fifty years of age. His countenance evinced asettled composure and dignity; his nose was straight, and approaching toGrecian; his eye, of a gray color, was quiet, thoughtful, and rathermelancholy; the mouth and lower part of his face being expressive ofdecision and much character. His dress, being suited to the road, wassimple and plain, but such as was worn by the higher class of hiscountrymen; he wore his own hair, dressed in a manner that gave amilitary air to his appearance, and which was rather heightened by hiserect and conspicuously graceful carriage. His whole appearance was soimpressive and so decidedly that of a gentleman, that as he finishedlaying aside the garments, the ladies arose from their seats, and,together with the master of the house, they received anew, and returnedthe complimentary greetings which were again offered.
The host was by several years the senior of the traveler, and by hismanner, dress, and everything around him, showed he had seen much oflife and the best society. The ladies were, a maiden of forty, and twomuch younger, who did not seem, indeed, to have reached half thoseyears. The bloom of the elder of these ladies had vanished, but her eyesand fine hair gave an extremely agreeable expression to her countenance;and there was a softness and an affability in her deportment, that addeda charm many more juvenile faces do not possess. The sisters, for suchthe resemblance between the younger females denoted them to be, were inall the pride of youth, and the roses, so eminently the property of theWestchester fair, glowed on their cheeks, and lighted their deep blueeyes with that luster which gives so much pleasure to the beholder, andwhich indicates so much internal innocence and peace. There was much ofthat feminine delicacy in the appearance of the three, whichdistinguishes the sex in this country; and, like the gentleman, theirdemeanor proved them to be women of the higher order of life.
After handing a glass of excellent Madeira to his guest, Mr. Wharton,for so was the owner of this retired estate called, resumed his seat bythe fire, with another in his own hand. For a moment he paused, as ifdebating with his politeness, but at length threw an inquiring glance onthe stranger, as he inquired,--
"To whose health am I to have the honor of drinking?"
The traveler had also seated himself, and he sat unconsciously gazing onthe fire, while Mr. Wharton spoke; turning his eyes slowly on his hostwith a look of close observation, he replied, while a faint tingegathered on his features,--
"Mr. Harper."
"Mr. Harper," resumed the other, with the formal precision of that day,"I have the honor to drink your health, and to hope you will sustain noinjury from the rain to which you have been exposed."
Mr. Harper bowed in silence to the compliment, and he soon resumed themeditations from which he had been interrupted, and for which the longride he had that day made, in the wind, might seem a verynatural apology.
The young ladies had again taken their seats beside the workstand, whiletheir aunt, Miss Jeanette Peyton, withdrew to superintend thepreparations necessary to appease the hunger of their unexpectedvisitor. A short silence prevailed, during which Mr. Harper wasapparently enjoying the change in his situation, when Mr. Wharton againbroke it, by inquiring whether smoke was disagreeable to his companion;to which, receiving an answer in the negative, he immediately resumedthe pipe which had been laid aside at the entrance of the traveler.
There was an evident desire on the part of the host to enter intoconversation, but either from an apprehension of treading on dangerousground, or an unwillingness to intrude upon the rather studiedtaciturnity of his guest, he several times hesitated, before he couldventure to make any further remark. At length, a movement from Mr.Harper, as he raised his eyes to the party in the room, encouraged himto proceed.
"I find it very difficult," said Mr. Wharton, cautiously avoiding atfirst, such subjects as he wished to introduce, "to procure that qualityof tobacco for my evenings' amusement to which I have been accustomed."
"I should think the shops in New York might furnish the best in thecountry," calmly rejoined the other.
"Why--yes," returned the host in rather a hesitating manner, lifting hiseyes to the face of Harper, and lowering them quickly under his steadylook, "there must be plenty in town; but the war has made communicationwith the city, however innocent, too dangerous to be risked for sotrifling an article as tobacco."
The box from which Mr. Wharton had just taken a supply for his pipe waslying open, within a few inches of the elbow of Harper, who took a smallquantity from its contents, and applied it to his tongue, in a mannerperfectly natural, but one that filled his companion with alarm.Without, however, observing that the quality was of the most approvedkind, the traveler relieved his host by relapsing again into hismeditations. Mr. Wharton now felt unwilling to lose the advantage he hadgained, and, making an effort of more than usual vigor, he continued,--
"I wish from the bottom of my heart, this unnatural struggle was over,that we might again meet our friends and relatives in peace and love."
"It is much to be desired," said Harper, emphatically, again raising hiseyes to the countenance of his host.
"I hear of no movement of consequence, since the arrival of our newallies," said Mr. Wharton, shaking the ashes from his pipe, and turninghis back to the other under the pretense of receiving a coal from hisyoungest daughter.
"None have yet reached the public, I believe."
"Is it thought any important steps are about to be taken?" continued Mr.Wharton, still occupied with his daughter, yet suspending hisemployment, in expectation of a reply.
"Is it intimated any are in agitation?"
"Oh! nothing in particular; but it is natural to expect some newenterprise from so powerful a force as that under Rochambeau."
Harper made an assenting inclination with his head, but no other reply,to this remark; while Mr. Wharton, after lighting his pipe, resumedthe subject.
"They appear more active in the south; Gates and Cornwallis seem willingto bring the war to an issue there."
The brow of Harper contracted, and a deeper shade of melancholy crossedhis features; his eye kindled with a transient beam of fire, that spokea latent source of deep feeling. The admiring gaze of the younger of thesisters had barely time to read its expression, before it passed away,leaving in its room the acquired composure which marked the countenanceof the stranger, and that impressive dignity which so conspicuouslydenotes the empire of reason.
The elder sister made one or two movements in her chair, before sheventured to say, in a tone which partook in no small measure oftriumph,--
"General Gates has been less fortunate with the earl, than with GeneralBurgoyne."
"But General Gates is an Englishman, Sarah," cried the younger lady,with quickness; then, coloring to the eyes at her own boldness, sheemployed herself in tumbling over the contents of her work basket,silently hoping the remark would be unnoticed.
The traveler had turned his face from one sister to the other, as theyhad spoken in succession, and an almost imperceptible movement of themuscles of his mouth betrayed a new emotion, as he playfully inquired ofthe younger,--
"May I venture to ask what inference you would draw from that fact?"
Frances blushed yet deeper at this direct ap
peal to her opinions upon asubject on which she had incautiously spoken in the presence of astranger; but finding an answer necessary, after some little hesitation,and with a good deal of stammering in her manner, she replied,--
"Only--only--sir--my sister and myself sometimes differ in our opinionsof the prowess of the British." A smile of much meaning played on aface of infantile innocency, as she concluded.
"On what particular points of their prowess do you differ?" continuedHarper, meeting her look of animation with a smile of almostpaternal softness.
"Sarah thinks the British are never beaten, while I do not put so muchfaith in their invincibility."
The traveler listened to her with that pleased indulgence, with whichvirtuous age loves to contemplate the ardor of youthful innocence; butmaking no reply, he turned to the fire, and continued for some timegazing on its embers, in silence.
Mr. Wharton had in vain endeavored to pierce the disguise of his guest'spolitical feelings; but, while there was nothing forbidding in hiscountenance, there was nothing communicative; on the contrary it wasstrikingly reserved; and the master of the house arose, in profoundignorance of what, in those days, was the most material point in thecharacter of his guest, to lead the way into another room, and to thesupper table. Mr. Harper offered his hand to Sarah Wharton, and theyentered the room together; while Frances followed, greatly at a loss toknow whether she had not wounded the feelings of her father's inmate.
The storm began to rage with great violence without; and the dashingrain on the sides of the building awakened that silent sense ofenjoyment, which is excited by such sounds in a room of quiet comfortand warmth, when a loud summons at the outer door again called thefaithful black to the portal. In a minute the servant returned, andinformed his master that another traveler, overtaken by the storm,desired to be admitted to the house for a shelter through the night.
At the first sounds of the impatient summons of this new applicant, Mr.Wharton had risen from his seat in evident uneasiness; and with eyesglancing with quickness from his guest to the door of the room, heseemed to be expecting something to proceed from this secondinterruption, connected with the stranger who had occasioned the first.He scarcely had time to bid the black, with a faint voice, to show thissecond comer in, before the door was thrown hastily open, and thestranger himself entered the apartment. He paused a moment, as theperson of Harper met his view, and then, in a more formal manner,repeated the request he had before made through the servant. Mr. Whartonand his family disliked the appearance of this new visitor excessively;but the inclemency of the weather, and the uncertainty of theconsequences, if he were refused the desired lodgings, compelled the oldgentleman to give a reluctant acquiescence.
Some of the dishes were replaced by the orders of Miss Peyton, and theweather-beaten intruder was invited to partake of the remains of therepast, from which the party had just risen. Throwing aside a roughgreatcoat, he very composedly took the offered chair, andunceremoniously proceeded to allay the cravings of an appetite whichappeared by no means delicate. But at every mouthful he would turn anunquiet eye on Harper, who studied his appearance with a closeness ofinvestigation that was very embarrassing to its subject. At length,pouring out a glass of wine, the newcomer nodded significantly to hisexaminer, previously to swallowing the liquor, and said, with somethingof bitterness in his manner,--
"I drink to our better acquaintance, sir; I believe this is the firsttime we have met, though your attention would seem to say otherwise."
The quality of the wine seemed greatly to his fancy, for, on replacingthe glass upon the table, he gave his lips a smack, that resoundedthrough the room; and, taking up the bottle, he held it between himselfand the light, for a moment, in silent contemplation of its clear andbrilliant color.
"I think we have never met before, sir," replied Harper with a slightsmile on his features, as he observed the move ments of the other; butappearing satisfied with his scrutiny, he turned to Sarah Wharton, whosat next him, and carelessly remarked,--
"You doubtless find your present abode solitary, after being accustomedto the gayeties of the city."
"Oh! excessively so," said Sarah hastily. "I do wish, with my father,that this cruel war was at an end, that we might return to our friendsonce more."
"And you, Miss Frances, do you long as ardently for peace as yoursister?"
"On many accounts I certainly do," returned the other, venturing tosteal a timid glance at her interrogator; and, meeting the samebenevolent expression of feeling as before, she continued, as her ownface lighted into one of its animated and bright smiles of intelligence,"but not at the expense of the rights of my countrymen."
"Rights!" repeated her sister, impatiently; "whose rights can bestronger than those of a sovereign: and what duty is clearer, than toobey those who have a natural right to command?"
"None, certainly," said Frances, laughing with great pleasantry; and,taking the hand of her sister affectionately within both of her own, sheadded, with a smile directed towards Harper,--
"I gave you to understand that my sister and myself differed in ourpolitical opinions; but we have an impartial umpire in my father, wholoves his own countrymen, and he loves the British,--so he takes sideswith neither."
"Yes," said Mr. Wharton, in a little alarm, eying first one guest, andthen the other; "I have near friends in both armies, and I dread avictory by either, as a source of certain private misfortune."
"I take it, you have little reason to apprehend much from the Yankees,in that way," interrupted the guest at the table, coolly helping himselfto another glass, from the bottle he had admired.
"His majesty may have more experienced troops than the continentals,"answered the host fearfully, "but the Americans have met withdistinguished success."
Harper disregarded the observations of both; and, rising, he desired tobe shown to his place of rest. A small boy was directed to guide him tohis room; and wishing a courteous good-night to the whole party, thetraveler withdrew. The knife and fork fell from the hands of theunwelcome intruder, as the door closed on the retiring figure of Harper;he arose slowly from his seat; listening attentively, he approached thedoor of the room--opened it--seemed to attend to the retreatingfootsteps of the other--and, amidst the panic and astonishment of hiscompanions, he closed it again. In an instant, the red wig whichconcealed his black locks, the large patch which hid half his face fromobservation, the stoop that had made him appear fifty years of age,disappeared.
"My father!-my dear father!"--cried the handsome young man; "and you, mydearest sisters and aunt!--have I at last met you again?"
"Heaven bless you, my Henry, my son!" exclaimed the astonished butdelighted parent; while his sisters sank on his shoulders, dissolvedin tears.
The faithful old black, who had been reared from infancy in the house ofhis master, and who, as if in mockery of his degraded state, had beencomplimented with the name of Caesar, was the only other witness of thisunexpected discovery of the son of Mr. Wharton. After receiving theextended hand of his young master, and imprinting on it a fervent kiss,Caesar withdrew. The boy did not reenter the room; and the blackhimself, after some time, returned, just as the young British captainwas exclaiming,--
"But who is this Mr. Harper?--is he likely to betray me?"
"No, no, no, Massa Harry," cried the negro, shaking his gray headconfidently; "I been to see--Massa Harper on he knee--pray to God--nogemman who pray to God tell of good son, come to see old fader--Skinnerdo that--no Christian!"
This poor opinion of the Skinners was not confined to Mr. CaesarThompson, as he called himself--but Caesar Wharton, as he was styled bythe little world to which he was known. The convenience, and perhaps thenecessities, of the leaders of the American arms, in the neighborhood ofNew York, had induced them to employ certain subordinate agents, ofextremely irregular habits, in executing their lesser plans of annoyingthe enemy. It was not a moment for fastidious inquiries into abuses ofany description, and oppression and injustice were the naturalc
onsequences of the possession of a military power that was uncurbed bythe restraints of civil authority. In time, a distinct order of thecommunity was formed, whose sole occupation appears to have been that ofrelieving their fellow citizens from any little excess of temporalprosperity they might be thought to enjoy, under the pretense ofpatriotism and the love of liberty.
Occasionally, the aid of military authority was not wanting, inenforcing these arbitrary distributions of worldly goods; and a pettyholder of a commission in the state militia was to be seen giving thesanction of something like legality to acts of the most unlicensedrobbery, and, not infrequently, of bloodshed.
On the part of the British, the stimulus of loyalty was by no meanssuffered to sleep, where so fruitful a field offered on which it mightbe expended. But their freebooters were enrolled, and their efforts moresystematized. Long experience had taught their leaders the efficacy ofconcentrated force; and, unless tradition does great injustice to theirexploits, the result did no little credit to their foresight. Thecorps--we presume, from their known affection to that useful animal--hadreceived the quaint appellation of "Cowboys."
Caesar was, however, far too loyal to associate men who held thecommission of George III, with the irregular warriors, whose excesseshe had so often witnessed, and from whose rapacity, neither his povertynor his bondage had suffered even him to escape uninjured. The Cowboys,therefore, did not receive their proper portion of the black's censure,when he said, no Christian, nothing but a "Skinner," could betray apious child, while honoring his father with a visit so full of peril.