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TICONDEROGA; 
 
 OR 
 
 THE BLACK EAGLE. 
 
 % mt of %hMB itrt long |asi 
 
 BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ., 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "THE GIPSY," *' RICHELIEU," "THE FORGERY," 
 
 "AGNES SOREL," " PEQUINILLO," "REVENGE," 
 
 "vicissitudes of a LIFE," ETC. 
 
 " Wliat's the matter ? Have we devils here ? Do you put tidcks 
 upon us with savages, and men of Inde ? " 
 
 The Terfpest, 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES, 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 THOMAS CAUTLEY NEWBY, PUBLISHER, 
 
 30, WELBECK STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE. 
 1854. 
 
r 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The first Chapters of this work were 
 written in the month of May, in the year 
 
TICONDEROGA; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE BLACK EAGLE 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 ^^ Among the minor trials of faith, few, perhaps, 
 are more difficult to contend against than that 
 growing conviction, which, commencing very- 
 soon after the holiday happiness of youth has 
 been first tasted, becomes stronger every year, 
 as experience unfolds to us the great, dark 
 secrets of the world in which we are placed — ■ 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
2 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 the conviction of the general worthlessness of 
 our fellow men. A few splendid exceptions, 
 a few bright and glorious spirits, a few noble 
 and generous hearts, are not sufficient to cheer 
 and to brighten the bleak prospect of the 
 world's unworthiness ; and we can only recon- 
 cile to our minds the fact that this yast multi- 
 tude of base, depraved, tricky, insincere, un- 
 grateful beings, are the pride of God's 
 works, the express images of his person, by a 
 recurrence to the great fundamental doctrine 
 of man's fallen state, and utter debasement 
 from his original high condition, and by a 
 painful submission to the gloomy and fearful an- 
 nouncement, that ' strait is the gate and narrow 
 is the way^ and few there he that find it!* 
 
 '' If man's general unworthiness be a trial 
 of our faith and of our patience, the most 
 poignant anguish of the torture is perhaps the 
 keen conviction of his ingratitude and his in- 
 justice — not alone the ingratitude and injustice 
 of individuals, but those of every great body — 
 
TICONDEROGA. 6 
 
 of every group — of so called friends, of govern- 
 ments, of countries, of people. Vainly do we 
 follow tlie course of honor and uprightness ; 
 vainly do we strive to benefit, to elevate, to en- 
 noble our fellow men ; vainly do we labour to 
 serve our party, or our cause, or our country. 
 Neither honor, nor distinction, nor reward, fol- 
 lows our best efiPorts, even when successful, un- 
 less we possess the mean and contemptible 
 adjuncts of personal interest, pushing impu- 
 dence, crooked policy, vile subserviency, or 
 the smile of fortune. 
 
 " Here am I, v/ho for many arduous years 
 laboured with zeal, such as few have felt, at 
 sacrifices such as few have made, and with in- 
 dustry such as few have exerted, to benefit my 
 kind and my country. That I did so, and 
 with success, was admitted by ail ; even while 
 others, starting in the career of life at the same 
 time with myself, turned their course in the 
 most opposite direction, pandered to vice, to 
 lolly, and even to crime, and trod a flov^ery 
 B 2 
 
4 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 and an easy way, with few of the difficulties 
 and impediments that beset my path. 
 
 ^^ And what has been the result ? Even 
 success has brought to me neither reward, nor 
 honor, nor gratitude. On those who have 
 neither so labored, nor so striven, whose ob- 
 jects have been less worthy, whose efforts have 
 been less great, recompenses and distinctions 
 have fallen thick and fast — a Government's 
 patronage — a Sovereign's favor — a people's 
 applause. And I am an exile on a distant 
 shore ; unthought of, unrecompensed, unre- 
 membered." 
 
 He paused with the pen in his hand, and 
 the bitter and corroding thoughts of the 
 neglect he had endured still busy in his mind, 
 spreading into a thousand new channels, and 
 poisoning all the sources of happiness within 
 him. An old newspaper lay on the table. 
 Newspapers were scarce in those days, and it 
 had reached him tardily. Some accidental 
 traveller through the wilderness had brought it 
 
TICONDEROGA. O 
 
 to him lately, and he had found therein fresh 
 proofs of the forgetfulness of friends — fresh 
 evidence of the truth of the old axiom, ^^ out 
 of sight out of mind." 
 
 The perusal of this journal had given rise to 
 the dark view of his own fate, and of human 
 nature which he had just put upon record. 
 His was not, in truth, a complaining spirit. 
 It was not his nature to repine or to murmur. 
 He had a heart to endure much, and to 
 struggle on against obstacles : to take even 
 bright and happy views : to rely upon friend- 
 ship, and trust in God. It was only when 
 some fresh burden was cast upon the load of 
 ingratitude and falsehood he had met with, that 
 a momentary burst of indignation broke from 
 him — that the roused and irritated spirit spoke 
 aloud. He had been a good friend, faithful, 
 and true, and zealous. He had been a kind 
 master, looking upon all around him as brethren, 
 seeking their welfare and their happiness often 
 more than his own. He had been a good 
 
6 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 subject, honoring and loving liis Sovereign, 
 and obedient to the laws. He had been a good 
 patriot, advocating by pen and voice (without 
 fear, and without favor) all those measures 
 which, from his very inmost heart, he believed 
 were for his country's welfare, and grudging 
 neither time, nor exertion, nor labor, nor 
 money, to support that party which he knew 
 to be actuated by the same principles as him- 
 self. 
 
 But, with all this, no one had ever sought 
 to serve him. No one had ever thought of 
 recompensing him. Many a friend had proved 
 false, and neglected the best opportunity of 
 promoting his interests : many, who had fed 
 upon his bounty, or shared his purse, had 
 back-bitten him in private, or maligned him in 
 the public prints; and, though there were a 
 few noble and generous exceptions, was it 
 wonderful that there should be some bitterness 
 in his heart, as he sat there in a lowly dwel- 
 ling, in the midst of the woods of America, 
 
TICONDEROGA. 7 
 
 striving to carve a fortune from the wilderness 
 for himself and his two children ! 
 
 Yet it was but for a moment that the gloom 
 was suffered to remain — that the repining 
 spirit held possession of him. Though his hair 
 was very grey — rather with care than with 
 age — body and mind were both active, and his 
 heart was quite young. Sometimes he could 
 hardly fancy himself anything but a boy : such 
 was still his delight in the things which had 
 delighted his early youth. Neither were 
 trifles — matters of mere material comfort or 
 discomfort — capable of annoying him in any 
 shape. He trod upon all petty annoyances 
 — trampled them beneath his feet. He 
 had lived at ease, moved in refined society, 
 enjoyed the conversation of the wise, the 
 high, and the noble ; had servants to whom 
 he said, " Do this," and they did it. But the 
 absence of all these things in his present soli- 
 tude affected him very little ; sometimes pro- 
 voked a smile, yet rarely called forth a sigh. 
 Not even solitude oppressed him ; though his 
 
8 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 was that kind of solitude which is the most 
 oppressive, the want of congenial minds and 
 congenial spirits. Notwithstanding he had no 
 near neighbours, the presence of man was not 
 altogether wanting, though it was not of that 
 kind which makes society for a mind like his. 
 There was the shrewd, keen trader with the 
 Indians, the rough, uncultivated pioneer of 
 man's advance into the wilds, and an occa- 
 sional wanderer like himself, seeking some 
 place of settlement upon the very verge, of 
 civilization ; but even this last kind of adven- 
 turer had none of those refinements which, at 
 first sight, seemed to render the recluse, who 
 recorded the foregoing reflections, as unfit for 
 his position as man could be. Thus, there 
 were scarcely any whose thoughts could be 
 linked with his thoughts by associations either 
 in the past or the present ; none in habits or 
 manners upon a par with himself ; none who 
 in cultivation of mind or general education 
 could pretend to be his companion. The forest 
 shut him and his little household in from all 
 
TICONDEROGA. 9 
 
 the accessories which custom, intellect, and 
 taste had rendered precious. 
 
 Still this privation had not affected him so 
 much as might have been expected. He had 
 resources in himself. He had some books, 
 some musical instruments, and materials for 
 drawing. He had his children too. It was only 
 the decay of hopes, the frustration of bright 
 aspirations, a bitter sense of the world's ingra- 
 titude, unmerited neglect, and the vanity of 
 confidence, that ever clouded his heart as we 
 have seen it clouded in the words he wrote. 
 Those words were written in a record kept of 
 each day's thoughts and actions, a record most 
 useful to every man, in all circumstances ; but, 
 above all, to the disappointed, and to the so- 
 litary. There, day by day, he can trace the 
 progress he has made against fate and his own 
 heart — how far he has enlisted spirits of thought 
 upon his side against the desolating warfare of 
 silent hours — how far he has triumphed over 
 circumstances, and conquered repining. Ha 
 
10 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 can detect, too, how often lie has weakly 
 yielded, how far he has fallen back before the 
 enemy — what the ground gained, what the 
 ground lost — and can strengthen himself to 
 better endeavor. 
 
 Strong resolution is a mighty thing, and he 
 who sat there had come with many a determina- 
 tion which remained unshaken, but yet to 
 be fulfilled. Part of every resolution is a 
 dream ; for no man can ever say, '^ I will do 
 thus or thus," with certainty; and the things 
 which frustrate purposes, and retard and deny 
 fruition, arc generally petty obstacles, and 
 small impediments. The pebbles in our path 
 weary us, and make us foot-sore, more than the 
 rocks, which only require a bold effort to sur- 
 mount. He trod firmly, and strongly, how- 
 ever, undiscouraged by all minor difficulties ; 
 and it was only the grievance and oppression of 
 spirit that ever caused him to sit down in sad- 
 ness, and pause in the struggle onward. 
 
 The house was a neat, though a lowly one. 
 
TICONBEEOGA. 1 1 
 
 It bore traces of newness ; for the bark on the 
 trunks which supported the little veranda, had 
 not yet mouldered away. Nevertheless, it was 
 not built by his own hands ; for when he came 
 there, he had much to learn in the rougher 
 arts of life. But with a carpenter, from a 
 village some nine miles off, he had aided to 
 raise the bidlding, and directed the construc- 
 tion by his own taste. The result was satis- 
 factory to him ; and, what was more in his 
 eyes, was satisfactory to the two whom he 
 loved best — at least, so it seemed ; although 
 those who knew them, even not so well as he 
 did, might have doubted, and yet loved them 
 all the better. 
 
 There is one sort of hypocrisy, and only one, 
 which is loveable, which is noble ; and perhaps 
 they practised it : certainly if they saw a defect in 
 anything that had been done, they would not have 
 admitted it even to their own hearts ; for their 
 father had done it : if they ever felt a want, 
 they never confessed it in their inmost 
 
12 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 thoughts ; for their father had provided all that 
 his means allowed. 
 
 Love — even earthly love — has a saving 
 grace in it that keeps many a heart from 
 destruction ; and if, when a fit of gloom or 
 sadness came upon him, the father felt that it 
 was wrong to repine at anything which 
 Heaven's will inflicted, he felt it the more bit- 
 terly wrong when he remembered the blessing 
 which two such children were, even under the 
 most adverse fate. He laid down the pen, then, 
 with a sigh ; and, in that sigh, self-reproach had 
 a share, as well as sorrow. 
 
 Hardly was the ink dry upon the paper, 
 when the sound of a horse's feet was heard 
 without, beating with a slow and measured 
 pace upon a part of the narrow road where the 
 rock had been uncovered. It was a sound 
 seldom heard in that little, lonely house ; and 
 the master thereof hastily put by the book in 
 which he had been writing, and asked himself, 
 '' What now ?" 
 
TICONDEROGA. 13 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 The door of the house was open, and custom 
 admitted every visitor freely, whatever w^as 
 his errand. It was a strange state of society, 
 in which men, though taught by daily experi- 
 ence that precaution was necessary, took none. 
 They held themselves occasionally ready to 
 repel open assault, which Avas rare, and neg- 
 lected every safeguard against insidious attack, 
 which was much more common. They were 
 frank and free spirits in those olden times ; 
 and, though it be now the custom to sneer at 
 the state of society, and the habits both of 
 thought and action, in days long gone, methinks 
 it might have been better, while we polished 
 
14 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 away the coarseness of our ancestors, and 
 remedied some of the evils of their early state, 
 to have striven hard to retain their higher and 
 finer qualities, their generous confidence, 
 and that expansiveness of heart which the 
 world so seldom sees in an age of mere material 
 conveniences. 
 
 The door stood open, and it was the custom 
 of the few who visited that secluded spot, to 
 enter without ceremony, and to search in any 
 or every room in the house for some one of the 
 inhabitants. But, on this occasion, the horse 
 that came up the road stopped at the gate 
 of the little fence, and the traveller, when 
 he reached the door, after dismounting, knocked 
 with his whip before he entered. 
 
 The master of the house rose and went to 
 the door. He was somewhat impatient of cere- 
 mony in a place where ceremony had long 
 ceased ; and his thoughts had not been of a 
 tranquillising natui^e ; but the aspect and de- 
 meanor of his visitor were not of a kind to 
 
TICONDEROGA. 15 
 
 nourish any angry feeling. The latter was a 
 young and yery handsome man, probably not 
 more than thirty years of age, sinewy, and well 
 formed in person, with a noble and command- 
 ing countenance, a broad, lofty brow, and a 
 keen, but tranquil eye. His manner was 
 courteous, but grave ; and he said, without 
 waiting to have his errand asked — 
 
 ^^I know not, sir, whether I shall intrude 
 upon you too far in asking hospitality for the 
 night ; but the sun is going down, and I was 
 told by a lad whom I met in the woods just 
 now, that there is no other house for ten miles 
 farther, and, to say the truth, I am very igno- 
 rant of the way." 
 
 '^ Come in," said the master of the cottage ; 
 " we never refuse to receive a visitor here ; and, 
 indeed, have sometimes to accommodate more 
 than the house will well hold. We are alone, 
 however, now, and you will not have to put up 
 with the inconveniences which our 2:uests are 
 
16 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 sometimes obliged to encounter. Stay, I will 
 order your horse to be taken care of." 
 
 Thus saying, he advanced a step or two 
 beyond the door, and called, in a loud voice, 
 for some one whom he named Agrippa. He 
 had to shout more than once, however, before a 
 negro appeared, blind in one eye, and some- 
 what lame withal, but yet, apparently, both 
 active and intelligent. 
 
 The necessary orders were soon given ; and, 
 in a minute after, the traveller was seated with 
 his host in the little parlor of the cottage. The 
 manner of the latter could not be called cordial, 
 though it was polite and courteous. It spoke a 
 man acquainted with other scenes and other 
 habits ; but not a lover of his race ; not a 
 social or a genial spirit. The feelings, the 
 thoughts, the memories, which had been busy 
 in his brain, if not in his heart, before the 
 arrival of the stranger, had thrown a coldness 
 over his manner, which was only rendered not 
 repulsive by the suavity of his words. 
 
TICONDEEOaA. ] 7 
 
 The other seemed to feel this in some degree ; 
 and a certain stateliness appeared in his de- 
 meanor, which was not likely to warm his host 
 into greater familiarity. 
 
 Suddenly, however, the chilly atmosphere of 
 the room was warmed in a moment, and a 
 chain of sympathy was established between 
 the two, by the presence of youth. A boy of 
 fifteen, and a girl a little more than a-year 
 older, entered with gay and sunshiny looks, and 
 the cloui was dispelled in a moment. 
 
 ^^ My daughter, Edith — my son, Walter," 
 said the master of the house, addressing the 
 stranger, as the two young people bounded in ; 
 and then he added, with a slight inclination of 
 the head, ^^ It was an ancient and honorable 
 custom in Scotland, when that country was 
 almost as uncivilized as this, and possessed all 
 the uncivilized virtues, never to enquire the 
 name of a guest ; and therefore I cannot intro- 
 duce you to my children ; but, doubtless, they 
 
18 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 will soon acknowledge you as their nameless 
 friend." 
 
 "I am a friend of one of them already," 
 answered the stranger, holding out his hand to 
 the lad. *^ This is the young gentleman who 
 told me that I should find the only house 
 within ten miles about this spot, and his father 
 willing to receive me — though he did not say 
 that I should find a gem in the wilderness, and 
 a gentleman in these wild woods." 
 
 " It has been a foolish fancy, perhaps," said 
 the master of the house, ^*to carry, almost into 
 the midst of savage life, some remnants of 
 civilization. We keep the portraits of dead 
 friends — a lock of hair — a trinket — a garment of 
 the loved and departed. The habits and the 
 ornaments of another state of society are to me 
 like those dead friends ; and I love to have 
 some of their relics near me." 
 
 ^^ Oh, my dear father," said Edith, seating 
 herself by him, and leaning her head upon his 
 
TICONDEROGA. 19 
 
 bosom, mthout timidity or restraint, "you 
 could never do without them. I remember 
 when we were coming hither, now three years 
 ago, that you talked a great deal of the joys of 
 free, unshackled, natural existence ; but I knew 
 quite well, even then, that you would not be 
 content till you had subdued the rough things 
 around you to a more refined state." 
 
 " "What made you think so, Edith ?" asked 
 her father, looking down at her with a smile. 
 
 " Because you never could bear the parson 
 of the parish drinking punch and smoking 
 tobacco-pipes," answered the beautiful girl, 
 with a laugh; " and I was quite sure that it 
 was not more savage life you sought, but greater 
 refinement." 
 
 " Oh, yes, my father," added the lad, " and 
 you often said, when we were in England, that 
 the red Indian, had much more of the real 
 gentleman in him than many a peer." 
 
 " Dreams, dreams !" ejaculated their father. 
 
20 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 with a melanclioly smile ; and then, turning 
 to the stranger, he added, "yon see, sir, how 
 keenly our weaknesses are read even by 
 children. But come, Edith, our friend must be 
 hungry with his long ride ; see and hasten the 
 supper. Our habits are primeval here, sir, 
 like our woods. We follow the sun to bed, and 
 wake him in the morning." 
 
 " They are good habits," observed the stran- 
 ger, " and such as I am accustomed to follow 
 myself. But do not, I pray you, hasten your 
 supper for me. I am anything but a slave of 
 times and seasons. I can fast long and fare 
 scantily, without inconvenience." 
 
 " And yet you are an Englishman," remarked 
 the master of the house, gravely; '' a soldier, or 
 I mistake ; a man of rank and station, I am 
 sure ; though all three would generally imply, 
 as the world goes at this present time, a fond- 
 ness for luxurious ease, and an indulgence of 
 all the appetites." 
 
TICONDEROGA. 21 
 
 A slight flush came into his companion's 
 cheek ; and the other hastened to add, 
 
 '^ Believe me, I meant nothing discourteous. 
 I spoke of the Englishman, the soldier, and the 
 man of rank and station, generally — not of 
 yourself. I see it is far otherwise with you." 
 
 "You hit hard, my good friend," rejoined 
 the stranger, " and there is some truth in what 
 you say. But, perhaps, I have seen as many 
 lands as you ; and 1 holdly venture to pro- 
 nounce that the fault is in the age, not in the 
 nation, the profession, or the class. We will 
 try to amend it. That is the best course ; and, 
 though individual effort can but do little, each 
 separate man may improve several others, and 
 thus onward to better things and better days." 
 
 As he spoke, he rose, walked thoughtfully to 
 the window, and gazed out for a moment or 
 two in silence ; and then, turning roimd, he 
 said, addressing his host's son — 
 
 "How beautifully the setting sun shines 
 down yonder glade in the forest, pouring, as it 
 
22 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 were, in a golden mist tlirougli tlie needle 
 foliage of tlie pines ! Euns there a road down 
 there ?" 
 
 The boy answered in the affirmative ; and, 
 drawing close to the stranger's side, pointed 
 out to him by the undulations of the ground, 
 and the gaps in the tree tops, the wavy line that 
 the road followed, down the side of the gentle 
 hill on which the house stood, and up the oppo- 
 site ascent. His description was peculiarly 
 clear and accurate. He seemed to have marked 
 every tree and stone and brook along the 
 path ; and where a bye-way diverged, or where 
 the road divided into two, he noted the mark- 
 ing object, saying — 
 
 *^ By a white oak and a great hemlock tree, 
 there is a foot-path to the left : at a clump of 
 large cedars on the edge of the swamp the road 
 forks out to the right and left, one branch 
 leading eastward towards the river, and one 
 out westward to the hunting-grounds." 
 
 The stranger seemed to listen to him with 
 
TICONDEROGA. 23 
 
 pleasure, often turning Ms eyes to the lad's 
 face as lie spoke, rather than to the landscape 
 to which he pointed ; and when he had done, 
 he laid his hand on his shoulder, saying — 
 
 " I wish I had such a guide as you, Walter, 
 for my onward journey." 
 
 " Will it be far ?" asked the youth. 
 
 " Good faith, I cannot well tell," answered 
 the other. '^ It may be as far as Montreal, or 
 even to Quebec, if I get not satisfaction soon." 
 
 " I could not guide you as far as that," re- 
 plied the boy ; ^' but I know every step 
 towards the lakes, as well as an Indian." 
 
 "With whom he is very fond of consorting," 
 said his father, with a smile. 
 
 But before the conversation could proceed, 
 an elderly, respectable woman-servant entered 
 the room, and announced that supper was 
 on the table. Edith had not returned, but 
 they found her in a large, oblong chamber, to 
 which the master of the house led the way. 
 There was a long table in the midst, and four 
 
24 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 wooden chairs arranged round one end, over 
 which a snowy table-cloth was spread. The 
 rest of the table was bare. But a number 
 of other seats, and two or three benches, were 
 in the room, while at equal distances on either 
 side, touching the walls, lay several bear- skins 
 and buffalo-skins, as if spread out for beds. 
 
 The eye of the stranger glanced over them 
 as he entered ; but his host replied to his 
 thoughts with a smile, saying — 
 
 ^^We will lodge you somewhat better than 
 that, sir. We have just now more than one 
 room vacant ; but you must know there is no 
 such thing as privacy in this land, and when 
 we have a visit from our Indian friends, those 
 skins make them supremely happy. I often 
 smile to think how a red man would feel 
 in Hoi] and sheets. I tried it once, but it did 
 not succeed. He pulled the blankets off the 
 bed, and slept upon the floor." 
 
 When the companions were seated at table, 
 the conversation turned to many subjects, 
 
TICONDEROGA. 25 
 
 general of course ; yet personally interesting to 
 both the elder members of the party ; at least, 
 so it seemed from the eagerness with which 
 they discussed them. The state of the Colonies 
 was spoken of ; the state of England ; the 
 relation of the t^o to each other ; and the dan- 
 gers which were then apprehended from the 
 encroaching spirit of the French, who were 
 pushing forward posts, on every point of their 
 frontier, into territories undoubtedly British. 
 'No mention was ever made of even the proba- 
 bility of the separation of England from her 
 ^N'orth American Colonies ; for at that time the 
 idea had never entered into the imagination of 
 any, except some of those quiet students of the 
 past, who sometimes derive, from the very dis- 
 similar history of former days, a foresight 
 regarding the future, which partakes of, without 
 being wholly, intuition, and whose warnings, 
 like Cassandra's, are always scoffed at till the 
 time for remedial action is passed. The danger 
 to the British possessions in North America 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
26 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 seemed, to the eyes of almost all men, to lie in 
 the power, the eager activity, and the grasping 
 spirit of France ; and the little cloud of dis- 
 satisfaction, no bigger than a man's hand, which 
 hung upon the horizon of British interests in 
 the transatlantic world, was little supposed to 
 forebode the storm and the earthquake which 
 should rend the colonies from the mother 
 country. Alas, for man's calculations, and for 
 his foresight ! How rarely, how very rarely, do 
 they penetrate below the surface of the present 
 or the future ! 
 
 Both the host and his guest had travelled 
 far, and had seen much. Both also had 
 thought mnch ; but experience was, of course, 
 on the side of the elder. The other, however, 
 had one advantage ; he had seen the European 
 countries of which they spoke, at a much later 
 period than his companion ; and many great 
 changes had taken place, of which the latter 
 had no personal knowledge. Thus, they viewed 
 the state of society in the old world from diffe- 
 
TICONDEROGA. 27 
 
 rent points, and, of course, held different 
 opinions, especially regarding France, Never- 
 theless, the views of him who had not been in 
 that land for many years, were upon the whole 
 more accurate than those of the other. He was 
 a man of singular acuteness of perception, who 
 judged less from broad and glittering surfaces, 
 than from small but fundamental facts ; while 
 the other, a man of action and quick intelligence, 
 though clear and accurate in his perception of 
 ail with which he had immediately to do, judged 
 it a waste of time to carry his thoughts far 
 into the future, over which he could have no 
 control. Somewhat dazzled by the military 
 display, and apparently well cemented power 
 of government, which he had beheld in France, 
 just before he quitted Europe, he entertained 
 great apprehensions regarding h^r progress in 
 America, and expressed them, 
 
 ''I entertain but little fear," replied the 
 other, ^^ and will never remove a steer from my 
 stall, till I see the French at my door. They may 
 c 2 
 
28 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 advance for some short distance, and for some 
 short time, but they will be forced to recoil." 
 
 " God grant it ! " ejaculated the guest ; '^ but 
 more energetic measures must be taken to repel 
 them, than have been hitherto employed. The 
 French force at this time in Canada, I am as- 
 sured, outnumbers, by many thousands, the 
 whole disposable forces of our colonies. They 
 are of a different material, too, from our armies, 
 and officered by very different men. The 
 Frenchman accomm^odates himself better to 
 circumstances than the Englishman; is as 
 brave, though less persevering ; is more agile, 
 though less vigorous. The French troops here, 
 too, are accustomed to the march through the 
 forest, and the skirmish in the wood ; and their 
 officers know far better than ours how to carry 
 on their operations with, or against, the Indians. 
 We are too rigid in our notions of discipline, 
 too pedantic in our system of tactics. In one 
 set of circumstances, we follow the rules that 
 are only applicable to another ; and in planning 
 
TICONDEROGA. 29 
 
 our operations, though we may consider the 
 local features of the country, and the force 
 opposed to us, we refuse to take into calcula- 
 tion the character and habits of our enemy. We 
 may be victorious in the end, and I trust in 
 God that we shall ; but depend upon it, my 
 good sir, we require, and shall have, probably 
 more than one good drubbing, before we learn 
 our lesson completely. Now, we cannot afford 
 many drubbings, for our small island cannot 
 afford many men. Already, to contend with 
 the enemies we have in Europe, we have to 
 subsidize fifty thousand foreigners, a practice 
 much to be deprecated, and which I should be 
 sorry to see introduced here ; for though, by 
 blood, not wholly English, I know that the 
 intrinsic value of the British Soldier is superior 
 to that of any other on the face of the earth. 
 We cannot, however, supply this country with 
 re-inforcements to meet many checks ; while 
 France, from her much larger population, can 
 
30 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 pour a continuous stream of troops into her 
 colonies.'' 
 
 " Not for long," answered his host. " The 
 fabric of her power is undermined at the 
 foundation. The base is rotten ; and the 
 building, though imposing without, is crum- 
 bling to decay. It is well, however, to see as 
 you do the utmost extent of a danger — per- 
 haps, even to over-estimate it, in order to meet 
 it the more vigorously. Depend upon it, howr- 
 ever, the present state of things in France is 
 not destined for long duration. I judge not by 
 the feebleness she has shown of late years in 
 many most important efforts. Beset as she is 
 by enemies, and enemies close at her gates, 
 distant endeavors may well be paralized without 
 there being any real diminution of her power. 
 But I judge from what I myself saw in that 
 country, a good many years ago. The people 
 — the energetic, active, though volatile people, 
 in whom lies her real strength — were every 
 where oppressed and suffering. Misery might 
 
TICONDEROGA. 31 
 
 driye them into her armies, and give them the 
 courage of despair ; but, at the same time, it 
 severed all ties between them and those above 
 them — substituted contempt and hatred for 
 love and reverence, in the case of the nobility, 
 and fear, doubt, and an inclination to resist, for 
 affection, confidence, and obedience, towards 
 the throne. Corruption, spreading through 
 every class of society, could only appear more 
 disgusting when clad in the robes of royalty, 
 or tricked out in the frippery of aristocracy ; 
 and nations speedily learn to resist powers 
 which they have ceased to respect. A state of 
 society cannot long endure, in which, on the 
 one side, boundless luxury, gross depravity, 
 and empty frivolity, in a comparatively small 
 body, and grinding want, fierce passions, and 
 eager, unsated desires, on the other side, are 
 brought into close contiguity, without one 
 moral principle, or one religious light — where 
 there is nothing but the darkness of super- 
 stition, or the deeper darkness of infidelity. 
 
32 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 Ere many years have passed, the crown of 
 France will have need of all her troops at 
 home." 
 
 The stranger mnsed much upon his com- 
 panion's words, and seemed to feel that they 
 were prophetical. The same, or very nearly 
 the same, were written by another ; but they 
 were not given to the world for several years 
 after, on the eve of the great catastrophe ; and 
 in the year one thousand seven hundred and 
 fifty-seven, few seemed to dream that the 
 power of France could ever be shaken, except 
 by an external enemy. Men ate, and drank, 
 and danced, and sang, in the Parisian capital, as 
 gaily as they did in the palace of Sardanapalus, 
 with as great a fall at hand. 
 
 The conversation then assumed a lighter 
 tone. Each asked the other of his travels, and 
 commented on many objects of interest which 
 both had seen on tlie broad high- ways of the 
 world. Both were men of thought, according 
 to their several characters — both men of taste 
 
TICONDEROGA. 3 
 
 o 
 
 and refinement ; and the two young people, who 
 had sat silent, listening to their graver dis- 
 course, now joined in, from time to time, with 
 happy freedom, and unchecked ease. Their 
 father's presence was no restraint upon them ; 
 for, in all that they had known of life, he had 
 been their companion and their friend — the one 
 to whom their hearts had been ever opened — 
 the one chiefly reverenced from love. The 
 stranger, too, though he was grave, was, in no 
 degree, stern, and there was something winning 
 even in his very gravity. He listened, too, 
 when they spoke — heard the brief comment — 
 answered the eager question ; and a kindly 
 smile would, ever and anon, pass over his lip, 
 at the strange mixture ot refinement and sim- 
 plicity which he found in those two young 
 beings, who passed many a month of every 
 year without seeing any one, except the wild 
 Indians of the friendly tribes surrounding them, 
 or an occasional trader wending his way, with 
 
 his wares, up the stream of the Mohawk, 
 c 5 
 
34 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 More than an hour was beguiled at the 
 table — a longer period than ordinary — and 
 then the bright purple hues, which spread over 
 the eastern wall of the room, opposite to the 
 windows, told that the autumnal sun had 
 reached the horizon. The master of the house 
 rose to lead the way into the other room again ; 
 but, ere he moved from the table, an additional 
 figure was added to the group around it, 
 though the foot was so noiseless that no one 
 heard its first entrance into the chamber. 
 
 The person, who had joined the little party, 
 was a man of the middle age, of a tall, com- 
 manding figure, upright and dignified carriage, 
 and fine, but somewhat strongly- marked, 
 features. The expression of his countenance 
 was grave and noble; but there was a 
 certain strangeness in it — a touch of wildness, 
 perhaps I might call it — very difficult to define. 
 It was not in the eyes ; for they were good, 
 calm, and steadfast, gazing straight at any 
 object of contemplation, and fixed full upon 
 
TICONDEROGA. 35. 
 
 the face of any one he addressed. It was not 
 in the lips; for, except when speaking, they 
 were firm and motionless. Perhaps it was in 
 the eye-brow, which, thick and strongly 
 marked, was, every now and then, suddenly 
 raised or depressed, without any apparent 
 cause. 
 
 His dress was very strange. He was evi- 
 dently of European blood, although his skin 
 was embrowned by much exposure to sun and 
 weather. Yet he wore not altogether either 
 the European costume, the garb of the American 
 back- woodsman, or that of the Indian. There 
 was a mixture of all, which gave him a wild and 
 fantastic appearance. His coat was evidently 
 English, and had stripes of gold lace upon the 
 shoulders ; his knee-breeches and high riding- 
 boots would have looked English also, had not 
 the latter been destitute of soles, properly so 
 called ; for they were made somewhat like a 
 stocking, and the part beneath the foot was of 
 the same leather as the rest. Over his shoulder 
 
36 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 was a belt of rattle-snake skin, and round his 
 waist a sort of girdle, formed from the claws of 
 the bear, from which depended a string of 
 wampum, while two or three knives and a 
 small tomahawk appeared on either side. No 
 other weapon had he whatever. But under his 
 left arm hung a common powder-flask, made of 
 cow's horn, and, beside it, a sort of wallet, 
 such as the trappers commonly used for carry- 
 ing their little store of Indian corn. A round 
 fur cap, of bear-skin, without any ornament 
 whatever, completed his habiliments. 
 
 It would seem that in that house he was 
 well known ; for its master instantly held forth 
 his hand to him, and the young people sprang 
 forward and greeted him warmly. A full 
 minute elapsed before he spoke ; but nobody 
 uttered a word till he did so, all seeming to 
 imderstand his habits. 
 
 " Weil, Mr. Prevost," he said, at length, 
 ^' I have been a stranger to your wigwam for 
 some time. IIow art thou, "Walter ? Not a 
 
TICONDEROGA. 37 
 
 man yet, in spite of all thou canst do. Edith, 
 my sweet lady, time deals differently with 
 thee from thy brother. He makes thee a 
 woman against thy will." Then, turning sud- 
 denly to the stranger, he said, " Sir, I am glad 
 to see you ; were you ever at Kielmansegge ?" 
 
 ^' Once," replied the stranger, laconically. 
 
 " Then we will confer presently," observed 
 the new comer. ^^ How have you been this 
 many a day, Mr. Prevost ? You must give me 
 food ; for I have ridden far — I will have that 
 bear-skin, too, for my night's lodging place, 
 if it be not pre-engaged. I^o, not that one ; 
 the next. I have told Agrippa to see to my 
 horse ; for I ever count upon your courtesy." 
 
 There was something extremely stately and 
 dignified in his whole tone, and, with frank 
 straightforwardness, but without any indecorous 
 haste, he seated himself at the table, drew 
 towards him a large dish of cold meat, and, 
 while Edith and her brother hastened to sup- 
 ply him with everything else he needed, pro- 
 
38 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 ceeded to help himself, liberally, to whatever 
 was within his reach. Not a word more did 
 he speak for several minutes, while Mr. Prevost 
 and his guest stood looking on in silence, and 
 the two young people attended the new comer 
 at the table. 
 
 As soon as he had done, he rose abruptly, 
 and then, looking first to Mr. Prevost, and next 
 to the stranger, said — 
 
 " Now, gentlemen, if you please, we will to 
 council." 
 
 The stranger hesitated; and Mr. Prevost 
 answered, with a smile — 
 
 ^' I am not of the initiated. Sir William, so 
 I and the children will leave you with my 
 guest, whom you seem to know ; but of whose 
 name and station 1 am ignorant." 
 
 '' Stay, stay," interposed the other, to whom 
 he spoke, " we shall need not only your advice 
 but your concurrence. This gentleman my, 
 Lord, I will answer for^ as a faithful and loyal 
 subject of his Majesty King George. He has 
 
TICONDEROGA. 39 
 
 been treated with that hardest of all hard 
 treatment — neglect. But his is a spirit in 
 which not evep neglect can drown out loyalty 
 to his King, and love to his country. More- 
 over, I may say, that the neglect which he has 
 met with has proceeded from a deficiency in 
 his own nature. God, unfortunately, did not 
 make him a grumbler, or he would have been 
 a peer long ago. The Almighty endowed him 
 with all the qualities that could benefit his 
 fellow creatures, but denied him those which 
 were necessary to advance himself. Others 
 have wondered that he never met with honors, 
 or distinctioQ, or reward. I wonder not at all ; 
 for he is neither a charlatan, nor a coxcomb, 
 nor a pertinacious beggar. He cannot stoop 
 to slabber the hand of power, nor lick the 
 spittle of the man in office. How can such a 
 man have advancement ? It is contrary to the 
 course of the things of this world. But as he 
 has loved his fellow men, so will he love them. 
 As he has served his country, so will he serve 
 
40 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 it. As he has sought honor and truth more 
 than promotion, honor and truth will be his re- 
 ward. Alas, that it should be the only one ! 
 But when he dies, if he dies unrecompensed, it 
 will not be unregretted or un venerated. He 
 must be of our council." 
 
 Mr. Prevost had stood by in silence, with his 
 eyes bent upon the ground, and, perhaps, 
 some self-reproach at his heart for the bitter 
 words that he had wiitten only a few hours 
 before. But Edith sprang forward, and caught 
 Sir William Johnson's hand, as he ended the 
 praises of her father ; and, bending her head 
 with exquisite grace, pressed her lips upon it. 
 Her brother seemed inclined to linger for a 
 moment; but saying, ^^ Come Walter," she 
 glided out of the room, and the young lad, 
 following, closed the door behind him. 
 
TICONDEROaA. 41 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " Who can he be ?" said Walter Prevost, when 
 they had reached the little sitting-room. " Sir 
 William called him ^ my lord.' " 
 
 Edith smiled at her brother's curiosity. Oh, 
 how much older women always are, than 
 men! 
 
 " Lords are small things here, Walter,'' 
 she said, gazing forth from the window at the 
 stately old trees within sight of the house, 
 which for her, as for all expanding minds, had 
 their homily. Age — hackneyed age — ■ reads 
 few lessons. It ponders those long received, 
 subtilizes, refines, combines. Youth has a 
 
42 TICONDEROaA. 
 
 lesson in every external thing ; but, alas ! soon 
 forgets the greater part of all. 
 
 ^^ I do not think that lords are small things 
 anywhere," answered her brother, who had 
 not imbibed any of the republican spirit which 
 was even then silently creeping over the 
 American people. ^^ Lords are made by kings 
 for great deeds, or great virtues." 
 
 ^^ Then they are lords of their own making," 
 retorted Edith ; ^^ kings only seal the pa- 
 tent Nature has bestowed. That great red oak, 
 Walter, was growing before the family of any 
 man now living was ennobled by the hand of 
 royalty." 
 
 *^ Pooh, nonsense, Edith !" ejaculated her 
 brother; ^' you are indulging in one of your 
 day dreams. What has that oak to do with 
 nobility ?" 
 
 '' I hardly know," replied his sister ; ^^ yet 
 something linked them together in my mind.. 
 It seemed as if the oak asked me, ' what is 
 ^A^er antiquity to mine V and yet the antiquity 
 
TICOIsDEEOGA. 43 
 
 of their families is their greatest claim to our 
 reverence." 
 
 " No, no !" cried Walter Prevost, eagerly ; 
 *' their antiquity is nothing; for we are all of 
 as ancient a family as they are. But it is that 
 they can show a line from generation to genera- 
 tion, displaying some high qualities, ennobled 
 by some great acts. Granted that here or 
 there a sluggard, a coward, or a fool, may have 
 intervened, or that the acts which have won 
 praise in other days may not be reverenced 
 now ; yet I have often heard my father say, 
 that, in looking back through records of noble 
 houses, we shall find a sum of deeds and qua- 
 lities suited to, and honoured by, succeeding 
 ages, which, tried by the standard of the times 
 of the men, shews that hereditary nobility is not 
 merely an honor won by a worthy father for 
 unworthy children, but a bond to great en- 
 deavors, signed by a noble ancestor, on behalf of 
 all his descendants. Edith, you are not say- 
 ing what you think." 
 
44: TICONDEROGA. 
 
 '' Perhaps not," answered Edith, with a 
 quiet smile ; ^^ but, let us have some lights, 
 Walter ; for I am well nigh in darkness." 
 
 They were not ordinary children. I do not 
 intend to represent them as such. But he who 
 says that what is not ordinary is not natural, 
 may, probably, be an ass. How they had be- 
 come what they were, is another question ; 
 but that is easily explained. First — Nature 
 had not made them of her common clay ; for, 
 notwithstanding all bold assertions of that 
 great and fatal falsehood, that all men are 
 born equal, such is not the case. No two 
 men are ever born equal. No two leaves are 
 alike upon a tree, and there is a still greater 
 dissimilarity — a still greater inequality — be- 
 tween the gifts and endowments of different men. 
 God makes them unequal. God raises the one, 
 and depresses the other, ay, from the very 
 birth, in the scale of his creation ; and man, 
 by one mode or another, in every state 
 of society, and in every land, recognises the 
 
TICONDEROGA. 45 
 
 difference, and assigns the rank. Nature, then, 
 had not made those two young people of her 
 common clay. Their father was no common 
 man: their mother had been one in whom 
 mind and heart, thought and feeling, had been 
 so nicely balanced, that emotion always found 
 a guide in judgment. But this was not all. 
 The one ' child up to the age of thirteen, the 
 other until twelve, had been trained and in- 
 structed with the utmost care. Every ad- 
 vantage of education had been lavished upon 
 them ; and every natural talent they possessed 
 had been developed, cultivated, directed. They 
 had been taught from mere childhood to think, 
 as well as to know ; to use, as well as to receive, 
 information. Then had come a break — the sad, 
 jarring break in the sweet chain of the golden 
 hours of youth — a mother's death. Till then 
 their father had borne much from the world 
 and from society unflinching. But then his 
 stay and his support were gone. Visions became 
 realities for him. What wonder if, when the 
 
46 TICOKDEROGA. 
 
 light of his home had gone out, his mental 
 sight became somewhat dim, the objects around 
 him indistinct ? He gathered together all he 
 had, and migrated to a distant land, where 
 small m^eans might be considered great, and 
 where long nourished theories of life might 
 be tried by the test of experience. 
 
 To his children, the change was but a new 
 phase of education — one not often tried, but 
 not without its uses. If their new house was 
 not completely a solitude, it was very nearly 
 so. Morally and physically they were thrown 
 nearly upon their own resources. But pre- 
 vious training had made those resources many. 
 Mentally, at least, they brought a great capital 
 into the wilderness, and they found means to 
 employ it. Everything around them, in its 
 newness and its freshness, had a lesson and a 
 moral. The trees, the flowers, the streams, 
 the birds, the insects, the new efforts, the new 
 labors, the very wants and deficiencies of their 
 present state — all taught them something. Had 
 
TICONDEROGA. 47 
 
 they been born amidst such things : had they 
 been brought up in such habits : had their 
 previous training been at all of the same kind ; 
 or even had the change been as great as it 
 might have been : had they been left totally 
 destitute of comforts, conveniences, attendance, 
 books, companionships, objects of art and 
 taste, to live the life of the savage, — the result 
 might have been — must have been — very dif- 
 ferent. But there was enough left of the past 
 to link it beneficially to the present. They 
 brought all the materials with them from their 
 old world for opening out the rich mines of 
 the new. It is not to be wondered at, then, 
 if they were no ordinary children ; and if, at 
 fifteen and sixteen, they reasoned and thought 
 of things, and in modes, not often dealt with 
 by the young. I say, not often ; because, even 
 under other circumstances, and with no such 
 apparent causes, we see occasional instances of 
 beings like themselves. 
 
48 TICONDEROaA. 
 
 They were, then, no ordinary children, but 
 yet quite natural. 
 
 The influences which surrounded them had 
 acted differently, of course, on the boy and on 
 the girl. He had learned to act as well as 
 think : she to meditate as well as act. He 
 had acquired the strength, the foot, the ear, 
 the eye, of the Indian. She too had gained 
 much in activity and hardihood ; but in the 
 dim glades, and on the flower-covered banks, 
 by the side of the rushing stream, or hanging 
 over the roaring cataract, she had learned to 
 give way to long and silent reveries, dealing both 
 with the things of her own heart and the 
 things of the wide world ; comparing the pre- 
 sent with the past, the solitude with society, 
 meditating upon life and its many phases, and 
 yielding herself, while the silent majesty of 
 the scene seemed to sink into her soul, to 
 what her brother was wont to call her ^' day 
 dreams." 
 
TICONDESOGA. 49 
 
 I have said that she dealt with the things of 
 her own heart. Let me not be misunderstood : 
 the things of that heart were very simple. 
 They had never been complicated with even 
 a thought of love. Her own fate, her own 
 history, her soul in its relation to God and to 
 His creation, the sweet and bright emotions 
 produced within her by all things beautiful in 
 art or nature, the thrill excited by a lovely 
 scene or a dulcet melody, the trance-like plea- 
 sure of watching the clear stream waving the 
 manj^-colored pebbles of its bed, these, and 
 such as these, were the things of the heart I 
 spoke of; and on them she would dwell and 
 ponder, asking herself what they were, whence 
 they came, how they arose, whither they 
 tended. It Vv^as the music, the poetry, of her 
 own nature, in all its strains, which she sought 
 to search into ; but the sweetest, though some- 
 times the saddest, of the harmonies in woman'^s 
 heart was yet wanting. 
 
 She had read of love, it is true ; she had 
 
 VOL. I. D 
 
50 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 heard it spoken of, but, with a timidity not 
 rare in the most sensitive minds, she had ex- 
 cluded it even from her day-dreams. She 
 knew that there was such a thing as passion : 
 she might be conscious that it was latent in 
 her own nature, but she tried not to seek it 
 out. To her it was an abstraction. Psyche 
 had not held the lamp to Eros. 
 
 So much it was needful to say of the two young 
 Prevosts before we went onward with our tale ; 
 and now, as far as they were concerned, the 
 events of that day were near their close. 
 Lights were brought, and Walter and his 
 sister sat down to muse over books — I can 
 hardly say read — till their father re-appeared ; 
 for the evening prayer and the parting kiss 
 had never been omitted in their solitude ere 
 they lay down to rest. 
 
 The conference in the hall, however, was 
 long, and more than an hour elapsed before 
 the three gentlemen entered the room. Then 
 a few minutes were passed in quiet conversa- 
 
TICONDEROGA. 51 
 
 tion, and then, all standing round the table, 
 Mr. Prevost raised his voice, saying, 
 
 *^ Protect us, oh Father Almighty, in the 
 hours of darkness and unconsciousness. Give 
 us thy blessing of sleep, to refresh our minds 
 and bodies ; and, if it be Thy will, let us wake 
 again to serve and praise Thee through another 
 day more perfectly than in the days past, for 
 Christ's sake." 
 
 The Lord's prayer succeeded ; and then they 
 separated to their rest. 
 
 D 3 
 
 0. OF la. ua 
 
3-1 riCONDEROaA, 
 
 CHAPTEE lY. 
 
 Befoee daylight in the morning, Sir William 
 Johnson was on foot, and in the stable. Some 
 three or four negro-slaves — for there were 
 slaves then on all parts of the American con- 
 tinent — lay sleeping soundly in a small sort of 
 barrack hard by ; and, as soon as one of them 
 could be roused. Sir William's horse was saddled, 
 and he rode away, without pausing to eat, or 
 to say farewell. He bent his course direct 
 towards the Mohawk, flowing at some 
 twenty miles' distance from the cottage of Mr. 
 Prevost. 
 
 Before Sir William had been five minutes in 
 the saddle, he was in the midst of the deep 
 
TICONDEROGA. 53 
 
 woods wliich surrounded the little, well- 
 cultivated spot where the English wanderer 
 had settled. It was a wild and rather gloomy 
 scene into which he plunged ; for, though 
 something like a regular road had been cut, 
 along which carts as well as horses could travel, 
 yet that road was narrow, and the branches 
 nearly met overhead. 
 
 In some places, the underwood, nourished by 
 a moist and marshy soil, was too thick and 
 tangled to be penetrated either by foot or eye. 
 In others, where the path ascended to higher 
 grounds, or passed amongst the hard, dry rocks, 
 the aspect of the forest changed. Pine after 
 pine, with now and then an oak, a chesnut, or 
 a locust-tree, covered the face of the country, 
 with hardly a shrub upon the ground below, 
 which was carpeted with the brown, slippery 
 needles of the resinous trees ; and between the 
 huge trunks poured the grey, mysterious light 
 of the early dawn, while a thin, whitish vapor 
 hung amongst the boughs overhead. 
 
54 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 About a mile from tlie house, a bright and 
 beautiful stream crossed the road, flowing on 
 towards the greater river ; but bridge 
 there was none; and, in the middle of the 
 stream, Sir William suffered his horse to stop, 
 and bend its head to drink. He gazed to the 
 westward ; but all there was dark and gloomy 
 under the thick, overhanging branches. He 
 turned his eyes to the eastward, where the 
 ground was more open, and the stream could 
 be seen flowing on for nearly half a mile, with 
 little cascades, and dancing rapids, and calm 
 lapses of bright, glistening water, tinted with 
 a rosy hue, where the morning sky gleamed 
 down upon it through some break in the forest 
 canopy. 
 
 While thus gazing, his eye rested on a figure 
 standing in the midst of the stream, with rod 
 in hand, and the back turned towards him. He 
 thought he saw another figure, also, amongst 
 the trees upon the bank ; but it was shadowy 
 there, and the form seemed shadowy too. 
 
TICONDERGGA. 55 
 
 After gazing for a minute or so, he raised his 
 voice, and exclaimed — 
 
 " Walter !— Walter Prevost !" 
 
 The lad heard him ; and, laying his rod upon 
 the bank, hastened along over the green turf 
 to join him ; at the same moment, the figure 
 amongst the trees — if really figure it was — 
 disappeared from the sight. 
 
 ^^Thou art out early, Walter," said Sir 
 William. '^ What do you at this hour ?" 
 
 "I am catching trout for the stranger's 
 breakfast," replied the lad, with a gay laugh. 
 ^' You should have had your share, had you but 
 waited." 
 
 " Who was that speaking to you on the 
 bank, above ?" asked the other, gravely. 
 
 ^' Merely an Indian girl, watching me fish- 
 ing," responded Walter Prevost. 
 
 ^' I hope your talk was discreet/' rejoined 
 Sir William. ^^ These are dangerous times, 
 when trifles are of import, Walter." 
 
 " There was no indiscretion," returned the 
 
66 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 lad, with the color mounting slightly in his 
 cheek. ^^ She was remarking the feather-flies 
 with v/hich I caught the trout, and blamed me 
 for using them. She said it was a shame to 
 catch anything with false pretences." 
 
 " She is wise," observed the other, with a 
 faint smile ; ^^ yet, that is hardly the wisdom 
 of her people. An Indian maiden !" he added, 
 thoughtfully. " Of what tribe is she ? One 
 of the Five iSTations, I trust?" 
 
 " Oh, yes — an Oneida," replied Walter ; 
 " one of the daughters of the Stone ; the 
 child of a Sachem, who often lodges at our 
 house." 
 
 ^^ Well, be she whom she may," rejoined 
 Sir William, ^^ be careful of your speech, 
 Walter, especially regarding your father's guest. 
 I say not, to conceal that there is a stranger 
 with you, for that cannot be ; but, whatever you 
 see or guess of his station, or his errand, keep 
 it to yourself, and let not a woman be the 
 
TICONDEROGA. 57 
 
 sharer of your thoughts, till you have tried her 
 with many a trial." 
 
 ^^ She would not betray them, I am sure," 
 said the lad warmly; and then added, with 
 slight embarassment, as if he felt that he had 
 in a degree betrayed himself, '^ but she has 
 nothing to reveal, or to conceal. Our talk was 
 all of the river, and the fish. We met by 
 accident, and she is gone." 
 
 ^^ Perhaps you may meet again by accident," 
 suggested the other, " and then be careful. 
 But now, to more serious things. Perchance 
 your father may have to send you to Albany — 
 perchance, to my castle. You can find your 
 way speedily to either. Is it not so ?" 
 
 ^^ Farther than either," replied the lad, 
 
 gaily- 
 
 " But you may have a heavy burden to 
 carry," rejoined Sir William ; ^' do you think 
 you can bear it? — I mean the burden of a 
 secret." 
 
58 TICONDEEAGO. 
 
 ^^ I will not drop it by the way,'' returned 
 Walter, gravely. 
 
 '^ Not if the Sachem's daughter offers to 
 divide the load ?" asked his companion. 
 
 " Doubt me not," replied Walter. 
 
 ^^ I do not doubt you," said Sir William, 
 "I do not. But I would have you warned. 
 And now farewell. You are very young to 
 meet maidens in the wood. Be careful. Fare- 
 well." 
 
 He rode on; and the boy tarried by the 
 wayside, and meditated. His were very 
 strange thoughts, and stranger feelings. They 
 were the feelings that only come to any person 
 once in a life- time — earlier with some, later 
 with others — the ecstatic thrill, the joyous emo- 
 tion, the dancing of the young, bright waters 
 of early life, in the pure morning sunshine of 
 first love : the dream : the vision : the trance 
 of indefinite joy : the never-to-be-forgotten, 
 the never -to-be-renewed, first glance at the 
 
TICONDEEAGO. 
 
 59 
 
 world of passion that is within us. Till that 
 moment, he had been as one climbing a moun- 
 tain with thick boughs shading from his eyes 
 the things before him ; but his friend's words 
 had been a hand drawing back the branches on 
 the summit, and shewing him a wondrous and 
 lovely sight beyond. 
 
 "Was he not very young to learn such 
 things? O, yes, he was very, very young; 
 but it was natural that in that land he should 
 learn them young. All was young there : 
 all is young : every thing is rapid and 
 precocious; the boy has the feelings of the 
 young man ; the young man the thoughts of 
 maturity. The air, the climate, the atmos- 
 phere, of the land and the people, all have 
 their influence. The shrubs grow up in an 
 hour : the flowers succeed each other with hasty 
 profusion, and even the alien and the stranger - 
 born feel the infection, and join unresistingly 
 in the rapid race. Well did the dreamers of 
 the middle ages place the fountain of youth on 
 the shores of the new world. 
 
60 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 The boy, who stood there meditating, had 
 lived half a life time in the few short years he 
 had spent upon that soil ; and now, at Sir 
 William's words, as with him of old, the scales 
 fell from his eyes, and he saw into his own 
 heart. 
 
 His reverie lasted not long, indeed ; but it 
 was long enough. In about two minutes, he 
 took his way up the stream again, still musing, 
 towards the ^ place where he had laid down his 
 rod upon the bank. He heeded not much 
 where he set his feet. Sometimes, it was on 
 the dry ground, by the side of the stream ; 
 sometimes, it was in the gurgling waters, and 
 amongst the glossy pebbles. 
 
 He paused, at length, where he had stood 
 fishing a few minutes before, and looked up to the 
 bank covered with green branches. He could 
 see nothing there in the dim obscurity ; but 
 even the murmur of the waters, and rhe sighing 
 of the wind, did not prevent him from hearing 
 a sound — a gentle stirring of the boughs. He 
 sprang up the bank, and in amongst the 
 
TICONDEROGA. 61 
 
 maples ; and, about ten minutes after, the sun, 
 rising higher, poured its light through the 
 stems upon a boy and girl, seated at the foot of 
 an old tree : he, with his arms around her, and 
 his hand resting on the soft, brown, velvety 
 skin, and she, with her head upon his bosom, 
 and her warm lips within the reach of his. 
 What, though a sparkling drop or two gemmed 
 her sunny cheek, they were but the dew of the 
 sweetest emotion that ever refreshes the sum- 
 mer morning of our youth. 
 
 Her skin was brown, I have said — yes, very 
 brown — but still hardly browner than his own. 
 Her eyes were dark and bright, of the true 
 Indian hue, but larger and more open than is 
 at all common in any of the tribes of Iroquois. 
 Her lips, too, were as rosy and as pure of all 
 tioge of brown, as those of any child of 
 Europe ; and her fingers, also, were stained of 
 Aurora's own hue. But her long, silky, black 
 hair would have spoken her race at once, had 
 not each tress terminated in a wavy curl. The 
 
62 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 lines of the form and of the face were all won- 
 derfully lovely, too ; and yet were hardly those 
 which characterize so peculiarly the Indian 
 nations. The nose was straighter, the cheek- 
 bones less prominent, the head more beauti- 
 fully set upon the shoulders. The expression, 
 also, as she rested there, with her cheek lean- 
 ing on his breast, was not that of the usual 
 Indian countenance. It was softer, more 
 tender, more impassioned ; for, though romance 
 and poetry have done all they could to 
 spiritualise the character of Indian love, I 
 fear, from what I have seen, and heard, and 
 known, it is rarely what it has been pour- 
 trayed. Her face, however, was full ot love, 
 and tenderness, and emotion ; and the picture 
 of the two, as they sat there, told, at once, the 
 tale of love just spoken to a mlling ear. 
 
 There let us leave them. It was a short hour 
 of joy ; a sweet dream, in the dark, stormy 
 night of life. They were happy, with the 
 unalloyed happiness so seldom known even for 
 
TICONDEROGA. 63 
 
 an hour, without fear, or doubt, or guilt, or 
 remorse ; and so let them be. What matters it 
 if a snake should glide through the grass hard 
 by ? It may pass on, and not sting them. What 
 matters it if a cloud should hang over the dis- 
 tant horizon? The wind may waft away the storm. 
 Forethought is a curse or a blessing, as we use 
 it. To guard against evils that we see, is wise ; 
 to look forth for those we cannot guard against, 
 is folly. 
 
64 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 The hour of breakfast had arrived, when Wal- 
 ter Prevost returned with his river spoil ; but 
 the party at the house had not yet sat down to 
 table. The guest who had arrived on the pre- 
 ceding night was standing at the door, talking 
 with Edith, while Mr. Prevost himself was 
 within, in conference with some of the slaves. 
 Shaded by the little rustic porch, Edith was 
 leaning against the door-post in an attitude of 
 exquisite grace ; and the stranger, with his arms 
 crossed upon his broad, manly chest, now 
 raising his eyes to her face, now dropping them 
 to the ground, seemed to watch with interest 
 
TICOKDEEOGA. 65 
 
 the effect his words produced, as it was written 
 on that beautiful countenance. I have said 
 with interest, rather than with admiration ; 
 for although it is hardly possible to suppose 
 that the latter had no share in his sensations, 
 yet it seemed, as far as outward manner could 
 indicate inward thought, that he was reading a 
 lesson from her looks, instead of gazing upon a 
 beautiful picture. The glance, too, was so 
 calm, and so soon withdrawn, that there could be 
 nothing offensive in it — nothing that could even 
 say to herself, " I am studying you," although 
 a looker-on might so divine. 
 
 His words were gay and light, indeed, and 
 his whole manner very different from the day 
 before. A cloud seemed to have passed away — 
 a cloud rather of reflection than of care ; and 
 Walter, as he came up, and heard his cheerful 
 tones, wondered at the change ; for he knew 
 not how speedily men accustomed to action and 
 decision, cast from them the burden of weighty 
 
66 TICOISnOEROGA. 
 
 thought, when the necessity for thought is 
 past. 
 
 " I know not," said the stranger, speaking as 
 the young man approached, " I know not how 
 I should endure it myself for any length of 
 time. The mere abstract beauty of nature 
 would soon pall upon my taste, I fear, without 
 occupation." 
 
 " But you would make occupation," answered 
 Edith earnestly ; ' you would find it. Occu- 
 pation for the body is never wanting, where you 
 have to improve, and cultivate, and ornament ; 
 and occupation for the mind flows in from a 
 thousand gushing sources in God's universe — 
 even were one deprived of books and music." 
 
 " Ay, but companionship, and social converse, 
 and the interchange of thought with thought," 
 said the stranger — ^' where could one find 
 those ?" And he raised his eyes to her face. 
 
 ^^Have I not my brother and my father?" 
 she asked. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 67 
 
 " True," said the other ; " but I should have 
 no such resource." 
 
 He had seen a slight hesitation in her last 
 reply. He thought that he had touched the 
 point where the yoke of solitude galled the 
 spirit. He was not one to plant or to nourish 
 discontent in any one ; and he turned at once to 
 her brother, saying, " What, at the stream so 
 early, my young friend ? Have you had sport ? " 
 
 " Not very great," answered "Walter ; " my 
 fish are few, but they are large. Look here," 
 
 " I call such sport excellent," observed the 
 stranger, looking into the basket. " 1 must 
 have you take me with you some fair morning ; 
 for I am a great lover of the angle." 
 
 The lad hesitated, and turned somewhat red- 
 der in the cheek than he had been the moment 
 before ; but his sister saved him from reply, 
 saying in a musing tone : — 
 
 " I cannot imagine what delight men find 
 in what they call the sports of the field. To 
 
68 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 inflict death may be a necessity, but surely 
 should not be an amusement." 
 
 ^^ Man is bom a hunter, Miss Pre vest," re- 
 plied the stranger, with a smile : "he must 
 chase something. It was at first a necessity, 
 and it is still a pleasure when it is no longer 
 a need. But the enjoyment is not truly in the 
 infliction of death, but in the accessories. The 
 eagerness of pursuit ; the active exercise of 
 the faculties, mental and corporeal ; the ex- 
 citement of expectation, and of success — nay, 
 even of delay ; the putting forth of skill and 
 dexterity — all form part of the enjoyment. 
 But there are, especially in angling, a thousand 
 accidental pleasures. It leads one through 
 lovely scenes ; we meditate upon many things 
 as we wander on ; we gaze upon the dancing 
 brook, or the still pool, and catch light from 
 the light amidst the waters ; all that we see is 
 suggestive of thought — I might almost say of 
 poetry. Ah, my dear young lady ! few can 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 69 
 
 tell the enjoyment, in the midst of busy, active, 
 troublous life, of one calm day's angling by 
 the side of a fair stream with quiet beauty all 
 around us, and no adversary but the speckled 
 trout." 
 
 '' And why should they be your foes ?" 
 asked Edith. ^^ Why should you drag them 
 from their cool, clear element, to pant and die 
 in the dry upper air ?" 
 
 " 'Cause we want to eat 'em," uttered a voice 
 from the door behind her : ^^ thet/ eats every 
 thing. Why shouldn't tve eat them? Darn 
 this world ! it is but a place for eating, and 
 being eaten. The bivers that I trap eat fish ; 
 and many a cunning trick the crafty critters 
 use to catch 'em : the minkes eat birds, and 
 birds' eggs. Men talk about beasts of prey. 
 ^Tiy, everything is a beast of prey, bating 
 the oxen and the sheep, and such like; and 
 sometimes I've thought it hard to kill them 
 who never do harm to no one, and a great deal 
 of good sometimes. But, as I was saying : 
 
70 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 everything's a beast of prey. It's not lions, 
 and tigers, and painters, and such ; but from 
 the fox to the emmet, from the beetle to the 
 bear, they're all alike, and man at the top o' 
 them. Darn them all ! I kill 'em when I can 
 catch 'em, ma'am, and always will. But 
 come, master Walter, don't ye keep them fish 
 in the sun. Give 'em to black Eosie, the cook, 
 and let us have some on 'em for breakfast afore 
 they're all wilted up." 
 
 The types of American character are very 
 few — much fewer than the American people 
 imagine. There are three or four original 
 types very difficult to distinguish from their 
 varieties; and all the rest are mere mo- 
 difications — variations on the same air. 
 It is thus somewhat difficult to pourtray any 
 character purely American, without the risk of 
 displaying characteristics which have been 
 sketched by more skilful hands. The outside 
 of the man, however, afibrds greater scope than 
 the inside; for Americans are by no means 
 
TICONDEROGA. 71 
 
 always long, thin, sinewy fellows, as they are too 
 frequently represented ; and the man who now 
 spoke was a specimen of a very different kind. 
 He might be five feet five or six in height, and 
 was anything but corpulent ; yet he was, in 
 chest and shoulders, as broad as a bull ; and 
 though the lower limbs were more lightly 
 formed than the upper, yet the legs, as well as 
 the arms, displayed the strong, rounded muscles 
 swelling forth at every movement. His hair 
 was as black as jet, without the slightest mix- 
 ture of grey, though he could not be less than 
 fifty-four or fifty-five years of age ; and his 
 face, which was handsome, with features some- 
 what eagle-like, was browned by exposure to a 
 color nearly resembling that of mahogany. 
 With his shaggy bear-skin cap, well worn, and 
 a frock of deer-skin, with the hair on, descend- 
 ing to the knees, he looked more like a bison 
 or bonassus than anything human ; and, ex- 
 pecting to hear him roar, one was surprised to 
 
72 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 trace tones soft and gentle, though rather 
 nasal, to such a rude and rugged form. 
 
 While Walter carried his basket of fish to 
 the kitchen, and Mr. Provost's guest was gaz- 
 ing at the stranger, in whom Edith seemed to 
 recognize an acquaintance, the master of the 
 house himself appeared from behind the latter, 
 saying, as he came — 
 
 " Let me make you acquainted with Mr. 
 Brooks ; Major Kielmansegge — Captain Jack 
 Brooks.'' 
 
 " Pooh, pooh, Prevost," exclaimed the other. 
 *^ Call me by my right name. I war Captain 
 Brooks long agone. I'm new christened, and 
 called Woodchuck now — that's because I bur- 
 row. Major. Them Ingians are wonderful cir- 
 cumdiferous ; but they have found that, when 
 they try tricks with me, I can burrow under 
 them; and so they call me Woodchuck, 
 'cause it's a burrowing sort of a beast." 
 
 '^ I do not exactly understand you," replied 
 
TICONDEROGA. ( 6 
 
 the gentleman who had been called Major 
 Kielmansegge ; '' what is the exact meaning of 
 circumdiferous P^ 
 
 ^' It means just circumventing like," an- 
 swered the Woodchuck. ^^ First and foremost, 
 there's many of the Ingians — the Aloquin, for 
 a sample — that never tell a word of truth. IsTo, 
 no, not they. One of them told me so plainly, 
 one day : ^ Woodchuck,' says he, ^ Ingian sel- 
 dom tell truth. He know better than that. 
 Truth too good a thing to be used every day : 
 keep that for time of need.' I believe, at that 
 precious moment, he spoke the truth, the first 
 time for forty years." 
 
 The announcement that breakfast was ready, 
 interrupted the explanation of Captain Brooks, 
 but appeared to afford him great satisfaction ; 
 and, at the meal, he certainly ate more than 
 all the rest of the party put together, consum- 
 ing everything set before him with a voracity 
 truly marvellous. He seemed, indeed, to think 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
74 TICONDEROGA, 
 
 some apology necessary for his furious ap- 
 petite. 
 
 '"'You see. Major," he said, as soon as lie 
 could bring himself to a pause sufficiently long 
 to utter a whole sentence, "I eat well when I 
 do eat ; for, sometimes, I get nothing for three 
 or four days together. When I get to a lodge 
 like this, I take in stores for my next voyage, 
 as I can't tell what port I shall touch at 
 again.'' 
 
 ^' Pray do you anticipate a long cruise just 
 now ?" asked the stranger. 
 
 " ISTo, no," answered the other, laughing ; 
 ^^ but I always prepare against the worst. I 
 am just going up the Mohawk, for a step or 
 two, to make a trade with some of my friends 
 of the Five [N'ations — the Iroquois, as the 
 French folks call them. But I shall trot up 
 afterwards to Sandy Hill and Fort Lyman, to 
 see what is to be done there in the way of 
 business. Fort Lyman I call it still, though 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 75 
 
 it should be Fort Edward now ; for, after tli(3 
 brush with Dieskau, it has changed its naire. 
 Ay, that was a sharp affair. Major. You'd ha' 
 liked to bin there, I guess." 
 
 "Were you there. Captain?" asked Mr. 
 Pre vest. '' I did not know you had seen so 
 much service." 
 
 '^ Sure I was," answered Woodchuck, ^vith 
 a laugh ; " though, as to service, I did more 
 than I was paid for, seeing I had no commis- 
 sion. I'll tell you how it war. Pre vest : just 
 in the beginning of September — it was the 
 seventh or eighth, I think, in the year afore 
 last, that is seventeen fifty-five — I was going 
 up to the head of the lake to see if I could not 
 get some peltry, for I had been unlucky down 
 westward, and had made a bargain in Albany 
 I did nofc like to break. Just on the top 
 o' the, hill near where the King's road comes 
 down to the ford, who should I stumble upon 
 amongst the trees, but old Sendrik, as they 
 
 called liim — wliy^ I can't tell — the Sacliem of 
 E 2 
 
76 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 the Tortoise totem of the Mohawks. He was 
 there with three young men at his feet; but we 
 were always good friends, he and I, and, over 
 and above, I carried the calumet, so there was 
 no danger. Well, we sat down and had a talk 
 and he told me that the General — that is. Sir 
 William, as he is now — had dug up the toma- 
 hawk, and was encamped near Fort Lyman to 
 give battle to You-non-de-yoh — that is to say, 
 in their jargon, the French Governor. He told 
 me, too, that he was on his way to join the 
 General, but that he did not intend to fight, 
 but only to witness the brave deeds of the 
 Corlear's men — that is to say the English. 
 He was a cunning old fox, old Hendrik, and 
 I fancied from that, he thought we should be 
 defeated. But when I asked him, he said, no, 
 that it was all on account of a dream he had 
 had, forbidding him to fight, on the penalty of 
 his scalp. So I told him I was minded to go 
 with him and see the fun. Well, we mustered 
 before the sun was quite down, well nigh upon 
 
TICONDEROOA. 77 
 
 three hundred Mohawks all beautiful painted 
 and feathered ; but they told me that they had 
 not sung their war song, nor danced their war 
 dance, before they left their lodges, so I could 
 see well enough they had no intention to fight, 
 and the tarnation devil wouldn't make 'em. 
 How could we get to the camp where they 
 were all busy throwing breast-works, and we 
 heard that Dieskau was coming down from 
 Hunter's in force ? The next morning early, 
 we were told that he had turned back again 
 from Fort Lyman ; and Johnson sent out Wil- 
 liams with seven or eight hundred men to get 
 hold of his haunches. I tried hard to get old 
 Hendrik to go along, for I stuck fast by my 
 Ingians, knowing the brutes can be service- 
 able when you trust them. But the Sachem 
 only grunted and did not stir. In an hour and 
 a half we heard a mighty large rattle of mus- 
 kets, and the Ingians could not stand the sound 
 quietly, but began looking at their rifle- flints 
 and fingering their tomahawks. Howsever, 
 
78 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 they did not stir, and old Hendrik sat as grave 
 and as brown as an old hemlock stump. Then 
 we saw another party go out of camp to "help 
 tlie first ; but in a very few minutes they came 
 running back with Dieskau at their heels. In 
 they tumbled, over the breast- works, head over 
 heels any how ; and a pretty little considerable 
 quantity of fright they brought with them. If 
 Dieskau had charged straight on that minute, 
 we should have all been smashed to ever- 
 lasting flinders; and I don't doubt, no more than 
 that a b<?6ar's a crittar, that Hendrik and his 
 painted devils would have had as many 
 English scalps as French ones. 
 
 '^ But Dieskau, like a stupid coon, 
 pulled up short tv/o hundred yards off, and 
 Johnson did not give him much time to look 
 about him, for he poured all the cannon-shot th^t 
 he had got into him as hard as he could pelt. 
 Well, the French Ingians — and there was a 
 mighty sight of them — did not like that game 
 of ball, and they squattered off to the right 
 
TICONDEROGA. 79 
 
 and left — some into the trees, some into the 
 swamps; and I couldn't stand it no longer, 
 but up with my rifle, and give them all I had 
 to give, and old Hendrik, seeing how things 
 was like to go, took to the right end too, but a 
 little too fast ; for the old devil came into him, 
 and he must needs have scalps. So out he 
 went with the rest ; and just as he had got his 
 forefinger in the hair of a young Frenchman, 
 whiz came a bullet into his dirty red skin, and 
 down he went like an old moose. Some twenty 
 of his Ingians got shot too ; but, in the end, 
 Dieskau had to run. 
 
 ^' Johnson was wounded too ; and then folks 
 have since said, that he had no right to the 
 honor of the battle ; but that it was Lyman's, 
 who took the command when he could fight 
 no longer. But that's all trash. Dieskau had 
 missed his chance, and all his irregulars were 
 sent skimming by the first fire long afore 
 Johnson was hit. Lyman had nothing to do 
 
80 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 but hold what Johnson left him, and pursue 
 the enemy. The first he did well enough ; but 
 the second he forgot to do — though he was a 
 brave man and a good soldier, for all that.'' 
 
 This little narrative seemed to give matter 
 for thought both to Mr. Prevost and his 
 English guest ; and, after a moment or two of 
 somewhat gloomy consideration, the latter asked 
 the narrator whether the friendly Indians had, on 
 that occasion, received any special offence to 
 account for their unwillingness to give active 
 assistance to their allies, or whether their in- 
 difference proceeded merely from a fickle or 
 treacherous disposition. 
 
 *' A little of both," replied Captain Brooks. 
 And, after leaning his great, broad forehead on 
 his hand for a moment or two, in deep thought, 
 he proceeded to give his view of the relations 
 of the colonies with the Iroquois, in a manner 
 and tone totally different from any he had used 
 before. They were grave and almost stern ; 
 
TICONDEROGA. 8l 
 
 and his language had few, if any, of the coarse 
 provincialisms with which he ordinarily seasoned 
 his conversation. 
 
 *^ They are a queer people, the Indians," he 
 said, ^' and not so much savages as we are in- 
 clined to believe them. Sometimes I am ready 
 to think that in one or two points they are 
 more civilized than ourselves. They have not 
 got our arts and sciences ; and, as they possess 
 no books, one set of them cannot store up the 
 knowledge they gain in their own time to be 
 added to by every generation of them that come 
 after ; and we all know that things which are sent 
 down from mouth to mouth, are soon lost or 
 corrupted. But they are always thinking ; and 
 they have a calmness and a coolness in their 
 thoughts that we white men very often want. 
 They are quick enough in action when once 
 they have determined upon a thing ; and for 
 perseverance they beat all the world — but they 
 take a long time to consider before they act ; 
 and it is really wonderful how quietly they do 
 
 E 5 
 
82 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 consider, and how steadily they stick in con- 
 sideration to all their own old notions. 
 
 " We have not treated them well, sir ; and 
 we never did. They have borne a great deal, 
 and they will bear more still ; yet they feel 
 and know it ; and some day they may make 
 us feel it too. They have not the wit to take 
 advantage, at present, of our divisions, and, by 
 joining together themselves, make us feel all 
 their power; for they hate each other worse 
 than they hate us. But, if the same spirit were 
 to take the whole red men, that got hold of the 
 Five I^ations many a long year ago, and they 
 were to band together against the whites, as 
 those Five ]N'ations did against the other tribes, 
 they'd give us a great deal of trouble ; and 
 though we might thrash them at first, we 
 might teach them to thrash us in the end. 
 
 ^^ As it is, however, you see there are two 
 sots of Indians and two sets of wliite men in 
 this country : each as different from the other 
 us anything can be. The Indians don't say, as 
 
TICONDEKOGA. 83 
 
 they ought, ^ The country is ours, and we will 
 fight against all the whites till we drive them 
 out ; ' but they say, ^ The whites are wiser 
 and stronger than we are, and we will help those 
 of them who are wisest and strongest.' 
 
 " I don't mean to say that they have not 
 got their likings and dislikings, or that they 
 are not moved by kindness, or by being talked 
 to ; for they are great haters, and great iikers. 
 Still, what I have said is at the bottom of all 
 their friendships with white men. The Dutch- 
 men helped the Five Nations — Iroquois, as the 
 French call them — gave them rifies and gun- 
 powder against their enemies, and taught them 
 to believe they were a very strong people. So 
 the Five IN'ations liked the Dutch, and made 
 alliance with them. Then came the English, 
 and proved stronger than the Dutch, and 
 the Five !N'ations attached themselves to tlie 
 English. 
 
 '^ They have stuck fast to us for a long 
 time, and would not go from us without cause. 
 
84 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 If they could help to keep us great and power- 
 ful, they would, and I don't think a little 
 adversity would make them turn. But to see 
 us whipped and scalped would make them 
 think a good deal ; and they won't stay long by 
 a people they don't respect. 
 
 " They have got their own notions, too, 
 about faith, and want of faith. If you are quite 
 friendly with them — altogether — out and out — 
 they'll hold fast enough to their word with 
 you ; but a yqyj little turning, or shaking, or 
 doubting, will make them think themselves 
 free from all engagements ; and then take care 
 of your scalp-lock. If I am quite sure, when 
 I meet an Indian, that, as the good book says, 
 ' m?j heart is right with his heart ;' that I 
 have never cheated him, or thought of cheat- 
 ing him ; that I have not doubted him, nor do 
 doubt him — I can lie down and sleep in his 
 lodge as safe as if I w^as in the heart of Albany. 
 But I should not sleep a wink if I knew there 
 was the least little bit of insincerity in my 
 
TICONDEROGA. 85 
 
 own heart ; for they are as 'cute as serpents, 
 and they are not people to wait for explana- 
 tions. Put your wit against theirs at the back 
 of the forest, and you'll get the worse of it." 
 
 '^But have we cheated, or attempted to 
 cheat, these poor people ?" asked the stranger. 
 
 '' Why, the less we say about that the bet- 
 ter, Major," replied Woodchuck, shaking his 
 head. " They have had to bear a good deal ; 
 and now, when the time comes that we look as 
 if we were going to the wall, perhaps they 
 may remember it." 
 
 ^' But I hope and trust we are not exactly 
 going to the wall," pursued the other, with his 
 color somewhat heightened ; '' there has been a 
 great deal said in England about mismanage- 
 ment of our affairs on this continent, but I 
 have always thought, being no very violent 
 politician myself, that party spirit dictated 
 criticisms which were probably uijjust." 
 
 " There has been mismanagement enough, 
 
86 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 Major," replied Woodchuck; "hasn't there, 
 Prevost?" 
 
 " I fear so indeed," replied his host with a 
 sigh; " but qnite as much on the part of the 
 colonial authorities, as on that of the govern- 
 ment at home." 
 
 " And whose fault is that ? " demanded 
 Y^oodchuck, somewhat warmly ; " why, that of 
 the government at home too ! Why do they 
 appoint incompetent men ? Why do they ap- 
 point ignorant men ? Why do they exclude 
 from every office of honor, trust, or emolument, 
 the good men of the provinces, who know the 
 situation and the wants and the habits of the 
 provinces, and put over us men who, if they 
 were the best men in the world, would be in- 
 ferior, from want of experience, to our own 
 people, but who are nothing more than a set of 
 presuming, ignorant, grasping blood-suckers, 
 who are chosen because they are related to a 
 minister, or a minister's mistress, or perhaps 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 87 
 
 his valet, and whose only object is to make as 
 much out of us as they can, and then get back 
 again. I do not say that they are all so, but a 
 great many of them are ; and this is an insult 
 and an injury to us." 
 
 He spoke evidently with a good deal of heat ; 
 but his feelings were those of a vast multitude 
 of the American Colonists, and those feelings 
 were preparing the way for a great revolution. 
 
 " Come, come "Woodchuck," exclaimed Wal- 
 ter Pre vest with a laugh, ^' you are growing 
 warm ; and when you are angry, you bite. The 
 Major wants to hear your notions of the state 
 of the English power here, and not your cen- 
 sure of the King's government." 
 
 " God bless Xing George ! " cried Woodchuck 
 warmly ; ^^and send him all prosperity. There's 
 not a more loyal man in the laud than I am ; 
 but it vexes me all the more to see his minis- 
 ters throwing away his people's liearts, and 
 losing his possessions into the bargain. But 
 
88 TICONDEBOGA. 
 
 I'll tell you how it is Major — at least how I 
 think it it is — and then you'll see. 
 
 " 1 must first go back a bit. Here are 
 we, the English, in the middle of North 
 America ; and we have got the French on both 
 sides of us. Well, we have a right to the 
 country all the way across the continent — and 
 we must have it ; for it is our only safety. But 
 the French don't want us to be safe, and so they 
 are trying to get behind us, and push us into 
 the sea. They have been trying it a long time, 
 and we have taken no notice. They have 
 pushed their posts from Canidy, right along by 
 the Wabash and the Ohio, from Lake Erie to 
 the Mississippi ; and they have built forts, won 
 over the Ingians, drawing a string round us, 
 which they will tighten every day, unless we 
 cut it. 
 
 " And what have the ministers been doing 
 all the time ? Why, for a long time they did 
 nothing at all. First, the French were suffered 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 89 
 
 boldly to call the country their own, and to 
 carry off our traders and trappers, and send them 
 into Canidy ; and never a word said by our 
 people. Then they built fort after fort, till 
 troops can march, and goods can go, with little 
 or no trouble, from Quebec to New Orleans ; 
 and all that this produced was a speech from 
 Governor Hamilton, and a message from Gover- 
 nor Dinwiddle. The last, indeed, sent to 
 England, and made representations ; but all he 
 got was an order to repel force by force, if he 
 could, but to be quite sure that he did so on 
 the undoubted territories of King George. 
 
 '^ Undoubted ! Why, the French made the 
 doubt, and then took advantage of it. Din- 
 widdle, however, had some spirit, and, with 
 what help he could get, he began to build a fort 
 himself, in the best chosen spot of the whole 
 country, just by the meeting of the Ohio and 
 the Monongahela. But he had only one man 
 to the French ten, and not a regular company 
 amongst them. So the French marched with a 
 
90 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 thousand soldiers, and plenty of cannon and 
 stores, turned his people out, took possession of 
 his half-finished fort, and completed it them- 
 selves. That was not likely to make the 
 Ingians respect us. 
 
 ^^ Well, then. Colonel Washington, the Yir- 
 ginian, and the best man in the land, built 
 Fort Necessity ; but they left him without 
 forces to defend it, and he was obliged to sur- 
 render to Yilliers, and a force big enough to 
 eat him up. That did not raise us with our 
 redskins; and a French force never moved 
 without a whole herd of Ingians, supposed to 
 be in friendship with us, but ready to scalp us 
 whenever we were defeated. 
 
 " Then came Braddock's mad march upon 
 Fort Du Quesne, where he and a'most all who 
 was with him were killed by a handful of 
 Ingians amongst the bushes — fifteen hundred 
 men dispersed, killed, and scalped, by not four 
 hundred savages — all the artillery taken, and 
 baggage beyond count — think of that ! Then 
 
TICONDEROaA. 91 
 
 Shirley made a great parade of marching 
 against Fort Niagara; but he turned back 
 almost as soon as he set out ; and, had it not 
 been for some good luck, on the north side of 
 Massachusetts' bay, and the viclory of Johnson 
 over Dieskau, you would not have had a tribe 
 hold fast to us. They were all wavering as 
 fast as they could — I could see that, as plain as 
 possible, from old Ilendrik's talk ; and the 
 French Jesuits were in amongst them day and 
 night to bring the Five Nations over. This was 
 the year afore last. 
 
 " Well, what did they do last year ? Nothing 
 at all, but lose Oswego. Lord Loudun, and 
 Abercrombie, and Webb, marched and counter- 
 marched, and consulted, and played the fool, 
 while bloody Montcalm was beseiging Mercer, 
 taking Oswego, breaking the terms he had ex- 
 pressly granted, and suffering his Ingians to 
 scalp and torture his prisoners of war before 
 his eyes. Well, this was just about the middle 
 of August ; but it was judged too late to do 
 
92 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 anything more, and nothing was done. There 
 was merry work in Albany, and people danced 
 and sang ; but the Ingians got a strange notion 
 that the English lion was better at roaring 
 than he was at biting. 
 
 ^^ And now, Major, what have we done this 
 year to make up for all the blunders of the 
 last five or six ? Why, Lord Loudun stripped 
 the whole of this province of its men and 
 guns, to go to Halifax and attack Louisburg. 
 "When he got to Halifax, he exercised his men 
 for a month, heard a false report that Louis- 
 burg was too strong and too well prepared to 
 be taken, and sailed back to New York. In 
 the meanwhile, Montcalm took Fort William 
 Henry on Lake George, and, as usual, let the 
 garrison be butchered by his Ingians. 
 
 ^^ So, now the redskins see that the English 
 arms are contemptible on every part of this 
 continent, and the French complete masters of 
 the lakes and the whole Western country. 
 The Five I^ations see their Long House open to 
 
TICONDEROGA. 93 
 
 our enemies on three sides, and not a step 
 taken to give them assistance or protection. 
 We have abandoned them. Can you expect 
 them not to abandon us V 
 
 The young officer, long before this painful 
 question was asked, had leaned his elbows on 
 the table, and covered his eyes and part of his 
 face with his hand. "Walter and Edith both 
 gazed at him earnestly, while their father bent 
 his eyes gloomily down on the table, all three 
 knowing and sympathising with the feelings of 
 a British officer while listening to such a 
 detail. The expression of his countenance 
 they could not see ; but the finely- cut ear, ap- 
 pearing from beneath the curls of his hair, 
 glowed like fire before the speaker finished. 
 
 He did not answer, however, for more than 
 a minute; but then, raising his head with a 
 look of stem gravity, he replied — 
 
 ^' I cannot expect it. I cannot even under- 
 stand how they have remained attached to us 
 so long and so much." 
 
94 TICONDEROaA. 
 
 ^'The influence of one man has done a great 
 deaV replied Mr. Prevost. ^' Sir William 
 Johnson is what is called the Indian agent ; and, 
 whatever may be thought of his military 
 abilities, there can be no doubt that the 
 Iroquois trust him, and love him more than 
 they have ever trusted or loved a v/hite man 
 before. He is invariably just towards them, 
 always keeps his word with them ; he never 
 yields to importunity or refuses to listen to 
 reason ; and he places that implicit confidence 
 in them which enlists every thing that is noble 
 in the Indian character in his favor. Thus, Jn 
 his presence, and in their dealings with him, 
 they are quite a different people from what 
 they are with others — all their fine qualities 
 are brought into action, and all their w'ld pas- 
 sions are stilled." 
 
 " I should like to see them as they really 
 are," exclaimed the young officer, eagerly. 
 And then, turning to Woodchuck, he said — 
 
TTCONDEROGA. 95 
 
 ^' You tell me you are going amongst them, my 
 friend ; can you not take me with you ?" 
 
 " Wait three days and I will," replied the 
 other. ^' I am first going up the Mohawk, as I 
 told you, close by Sir William's castle and 
 hall, as he calls the places. You'c see little 
 there ; but, if you will promise to do just as I 
 tell you, and mind advice, I'll take you up to 
 Sandy Hill and the creek, where you'll see 
 enough of them. That will be arter I come 
 back on Friday about noon," 
 
 Mr. Prevost looked at the young officer, and 
 he at his entertainer ; and then the former 
 said — 
 
 '' When will you bring him back, Captain ? 
 He must be here again by next Tuesday 
 night." 
 
 "That he shall be, with or without his 
 scalp," answered Woodchuck, with a laugh. 
 " You get him ready to go ; for you know, 
 Prevost, the forest is not the parade-ground." 
 
 " I will lend him my Gakaah and Gischa 
 
96 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 and Gostoweh," cried Walter. ^' We will make 
 him quite an Indian." 
 
 ^^ Xo, no !" answered Woodchnck, '^ that 
 won't do, Walter. The man who tries to 
 please an Ingian by acting like an Ingian, 
 makes naught of it. They know it's a cheat, 
 and they don't like it. We have our ways, and 
 they have theirs; and let each keep their own like 
 honest men. So T think, and so the Ingians think. 
 Putting on a lion's skin will never make a man 
 a lion. Get the Maj or some good tough leggins, 
 and a coat that won't tear ; a rifle and an axe 
 and a wood-knife — a bottle of brandy is no 
 bad thing. But don't forget a calumet and a 
 pouch of tobacco, for both may be needful. 
 So now good bye to ye all. I must trot." 
 
 Thus saying, he rose from the table, and, 
 without more ceremonious adieu, left the 
 room. 
 
TICONBEEOGA. 
 
 97 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 ''^How sweet she looks !" exclaimed a man of 
 nearly my own age — a man most distinguished 
 in his own land — as we gazed on a young and 
 lovely girl, near and dear to us both as our 
 own child — soon to become my child in law as 
 she already is in affection. ^^ How sweet she 
 rooks !" 
 
 The w^ords set me thinking. What was it in 
 which that sweetness consisted? Sweetness as of 
 the song of a bird, or the ambrosial breathing of a 
 flower — sweetness as of an entrancing melody, 
 which had its solemn sadness as well as its de- 
 light — sweetness w^hich carried the soul on its 
 wings of perfume into the far future, to gather 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
98 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 in the land of dreams, with the trembling awe 
 of fear-touched hope, the mystic signs of her 
 future destiny. It consisted not in the lovely 
 lines of the features, in the exquisite hues of 
 the complexion, in the beautiful symmetry of 
 the form. But it consisted in that nameless, 
 unphonetic, but ever lucid, hieroglyph of the 
 heart — expression — expression in form as well 
 as in face — in tranquillity as well as in move- 
 ment — in the undefined and undefinable beauty 
 of beauties — grace. 
 
 " La grace encore plus belle que la beauts.'' 
 
 Grace which no art can ever attain, though 
 it may imitate. Grace which is the gift of 
 God to the body — to the mind — to the spirit. 
 Grace which, in our pristine state, was, doubt- 
 less, common to all the three, blending taste, and 
 reason, and religion, in one harmony almost 
 divine — breathing forth from the earthly form 
 in the image of its Maker, and which lingers 
 
TICONDEEOGA.. 99 
 
 yet, and breathes forth still, in the pure and the 
 innocent and the bright. 
 
 Such grace was in Edith Prevost ; and hard 
 or pre-occupied must have been the heart that 
 could resist it. She was certainly very beauti- 
 ful, too, and of that beauty the most attractive. 
 Though so young, her fully-developed form left 
 maturity but little to add ; and every swelling 
 line flowed into the other with symmetry the 
 most perfect. The rich, warm, glossy curls of 
 her nut-brown hair, unstained and unrestrained 
 by any of the frightful conceits of the day, 
 wantoned round her ivory forehead in lines 
 all in harmony with her figure and her features, 
 and in hue contrasting, yet harmonizing, with 
 her complexion, in its soft, rich warmth ; fair, 
 yet glowing with a hardly perceptible shade of 
 brown, such as that which distinguishes the 
 Parian marble from the stone of Carrara. Then 
 her liquid, hazel eyes, full of ever- varied expres- 
 sion — now sparkling with gay, freejoy, now full 
 of tender light (especially when they turned upon 
 F 2 
 
100 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 her father,) and now shaded with a sleepy sort of 
 thoughtfiilness, when one of her day dreams 
 fell upon her. There was something moreover 
 in her m^anner — in her whole demeanor — which 
 lent another charm to beauty, and added grace 
 to grace. Yet it was of a kind difficult to 
 define. I cannot describe it ; I can only tell 
 how she came by it. 
 
 I have shewn that, in early years, she had been 
 educated in a land where civilization and refine- 
 ment were carried to their highest point ; but 
 it is necessary to add, that her education there 
 had been conducted in the midst of the most 
 refined society of that land, and by those in 
 whom refinement had been a quality, rather 
 than an acquisition. She had it, too, as an 
 hereditary right : it was in her blood, and in 
 her nature ; and, until she was nearly fourteen 
 years of age, everything that father or mother 
 could do, was done, to cultivate the rich soil of 
 her mind and her heart — remember, to cultivate, 
 
TICONDEROGA. 101 
 
 not to alter : it needed no change. Every 
 natural grace remained entire, and many a 
 bright gift was added. 
 
 Then suddenly she was transplanted to a 
 scene where all was wild — where there were no 
 conventionalities — where ISTature ruled, and was 
 the rule. She came there exactly at the age 
 when, without losing one particle of that 
 which society could confer that was vv^orth 
 retaining, the mind — the fresh, young mind — 
 was ready to receive a peculiar tone from the 
 wild things around her, a freedom, an innocent 
 carelessness of the trifles magnified into false 
 importance in a more artificial state. Feeling, 
 knowing, that she was a lady, that every 
 thought was pure and bright, that every pur- 
 pose was noble and true, she had no fear of 
 infringing small proprieties ; she had no 
 thought of that dread bug- bear of the mul- 
 titude, " what the tvorld would sayP Thus, 
 while habit rendered all refined, and while 
 heart and innocence gave dignity and calmness, 
 
102 IICONDEKOGA. 
 
 she had all the free, frank, heartful confidence 
 of untutored nature. 
 
 Such was Edith Prevost, and such she ap- 
 peared to the stranger who had visited her 
 father's house. At first, perhaps, he did not 
 comprehend her fully ; but he was a man of 
 keen perceptions and a great and noble heart. 
 Within his breast and hers were those sym- 
 pathies which are keys to open the doors of 
 character; and he had not been four-and- 
 twenty hours under the same roof before he 
 knew her, and appreciated her entirely. He 
 had seen much of the world, much of society ; 
 and perhaps that which is false and wrong 
 therein had been over-estimated by a mind 
 somewhat too clear-sighted for much happiness. 
 At all events, he had passed through life 
 hitherto heart-whole and untouched with love ; 
 and he felt fearless and confident from the ex- 
 perience of security. Thus he boldly made 
 the character of Edith a study ; scanned it 
 accurately — watched every little trait— dwelt 
 
TICONDEROaA. 103 
 
 upon her beauty and lier grace, and took pleasure 
 in eliciting all that was bright and lovely. 
 Imprudent man ! He had never met any one 
 like her before. 
 
 She, too, in unconscious frankness, without 
 thought or design, was led on, by new and 
 fresh association, to open all the treasures of 
 her mind to her new friend, not knowing 
 how they might dazzle ; and her brother and 
 her father both aided, unthinkingly, in the same 
 course. 
 
 When Brooks had left them, half an hour 
 was spent in one of those pleasant after- 
 breakfast dreams, when the mind seems to 
 take a moment's hesitating pause before grap- 
 pling with the active business of the day. 
 But little was said ; each gazed forth from 
 window or from door — each thought, perhaps, 
 of the other — and each drank in sweet sensa- 
 tion from the scene before the eyes. 
 
 Each thought of the other, I have said ; and, 
 
104 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 when such is the case, how infinite are the 
 varieties into which thought moulds itself ! 
 
 Walter paused and pondered upon the 
 stranger's state and objects — asked himself 
 who he was — what could be his errand — how, 
 why, he came thither. Major Kielmansegge 
 he knew him not to be. A charce word had 
 shown him not only his rank and station, but 
 had shown also that there was a secret to be 
 kept — a secret to which his imagination, per- 
 haps, lent more importance than it deserved. 
 He was an English peer, the young man knew, 
 one of a rank with which, in former years, he 
 had been accustomed to mingle, and for which, 
 notwithstanding all that had passed, and lapse 
 of time, and varied circumstances, he retained 
 an habitual veneration. But what could have 
 led a British Peer to that secluded spot? 
 what could be the circumstances which, having led 
 him thither, had suddenly changed his purpose 
 of proceeding onward, and induced him to re- 
 
TICONDEROGA. 105 
 
 main a guest in his father's cottage, in a state 
 of half concealment ? Could it be Lord Loudun, 
 he asked himself, the commander-in-chief of 
 the royal forces, whose conduct had been so 
 severely censured in his own ears by the man 
 just gone ? 
 
 Youth always leaves a thousand things out of 
 calculation, and darts at its conclusions with 
 rapidity that overleaps the real end ; and thus, 
 what with the military bearing, the secrecy, a 
 certain degree of reserve of manner, and an air 
 of command, he argued himself into the belief 
 that their guest was certainly the general of 
 whom they had heard so much and knew so 
 little ; without at all considering how unlikely 
 it was, that §o important a command should be 
 entrusted to one so young. It did not, indeed, 
 raise the stranger in his esteem, or in his regard, 
 to believe hhn to be Lord Loudun ; for this 
 noblemi.u had not won the good will of the 
 people of the province, nor secured their appro- 
 bation. They had perhaps expected too much 
 F 5 
 
106 TICOXDEROGA. 
 
 from bis coming, and had been bitterly disap- 
 pointed by the result. 
 
 Edith thought of his rank and station not at 
 all. Some of his words lingered in her ear, and 
 afforded matter for the mind to work with. 
 They were not such as she had heard for long. 
 They were different even, in some respects, 
 from any that she remembered. There was 
 nothing light in them, nothing frivolous ; but, 
 combined with the tone and manner, they gave 
 the impression that they sprang from a mind 
 deep, powerful, self-relying, cultivated and en- 
 riched by study and observation, and full of 
 activity and eagerness. She might enquire 
 what sort of heart was united with that mind ; 
 she might be doubtful of it ; for she had not 
 much experience, and she knew not how often 
 men, in mere sport, or to elicit the shy secrets 
 of woman's heart, or for idle vanity or light 
 caprice, utter that which they do not feel, 
 affect a character they do not possess, and often 
 inferior to their own. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 107 
 
 She did not make up her mind hastily, how- 
 ever. Indeed she had not yet sufficient interest 
 in the object of her thoughts, to care much 
 about making up her mind at all. She thought 
 him a very handsome and a very agreeable 
 man, sufficiently odd, or different from the com- 
 mon run, to excite some interest, yet with an 
 oddity, in no degree offensive ; but that was all. 
 She knew that he had only come for a day, and 
 that, though some accidental meeting with Sir 
 William Johnson had induced him to protract 
 his stay, it would probably only be for a day or 
 two longer. Then he would go : his shadow 
 would pass away from the floor, and his memory 
 from her mind — she thought. 
 
 Accident ! Who is there that believes in 
 accident ? On my life, it requires more faith to 
 conceive such a thing as accident, than to be- 
 lieve in the divinity of Juggernautc The only 
 reason why any man can imagine such a thing, 
 is because he sees not the causes which bring to 
 pass the event which he calls an accident; and yet 
 
108 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 he perceives the hands of a clock move round 
 the dial, without beholding the springs and 
 wheels, and never dreams it is by accident 
 that the bell chimes noon. Let any man look 
 through the strange concatenation of event with 
 event, through the course of his own life, and 
 dream of accident, if he can. 
 
 It was not by accident that Lord LI and 
 
 Edith Prevost met there. It was for the 
 working out of their mutual destiny, under the 
 will of God ; for, if there be a God, there is a 
 special Providence. 
 
 ^'This is very lovely, Miss Prevost," said 
 the young soldier, when the long meditative 
 lapse was drawing to a close ; " but I should 
 think the scene would become somewhat 
 monotonous. Hemmed in by these vv^oods, the 
 country round, though beautiful in itself, must 
 pall upon the taste." 
 
 ^^Oh, no I" cried Edith, eagerly; ''it is 
 full of variety. Each day affords something 
 new ; and every morning's walk displays a thou- 
 
TICONDEROGA. 109 
 
 sand fresh beauties. Let us go and take a 
 ramble, if you have nothing better to do ; and 
 I will soon show you there is no monotony. 
 Come, Walter, take your rifle and go with us. 
 Father, this is not your hour. Can you never 
 come before the sun has passed his height, and 
 see the shadows fall the other way ?" 
 
 ^' Mine is the evening hour, my child, "answered 
 Mr. Prevost, somewhat sadly ; ''but go, Edith, 
 and shov*^ our noble friend the scenes you so 
 much delight in. He will need something to 
 make his stay in this dull place somewhat less 
 heavy." 
 
 The stranger made no complimentary reply ; 
 for his thoughts were busy with Edith, and 
 he was, at that moment, comparing her frank, 
 unconscious, undesigning offer to lead him 
 through love-like woods and glades with the 
 wily hesitations of a court coquette. 
 
 "Perhaps you are not disposed to walk?" 
 said E'lith, marking his reverie, and startling 
 him from it. 
 
110 TICONDEROaA. 
 
 ^' I shall be delighted," he said, eagerly, and 
 truly, too. '' You must forgive me for being 
 somewhat absent. Miss Prevost. Your father 
 knows I have much to think of, though, in- 
 deed, thought at present is vain ; and you will 
 confer a boon by banishing that idle but im- 
 portunate companion." 
 
 " Oh, then, you shall not think at all while 
 you are with me," returned Edith, smiling. 
 
 And away she ran, to cover her head with 
 one of those black wimples very generally worn 
 by the women of that day. 
 
TICONDEROGA. ill 
 
 CHAPTEE YII. 
 
 Let us see what can be made out of a walk. 
 It began with a bad number, though one that 
 is generally assumed to be lucky. But, on the 
 present occasion, no one felt himself the third ; 
 and Walter, and Edith, and Lord H , con- 
 versed as freely as if only two had been 
 present. First came a discussion between 
 Edith and her brother as to what path they 
 should take ; and then they referred it to their 
 companion, and he, with a smile, reminded 
 them that he knew none but that by which he 
 had come thither ; and so Edith had her own 
 way, and led towards the west. 
 
112 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 By dint of labour and taste, aided, in some 
 degree, by accident, not less than fifty acres of 
 ground had been cleared around the house of 
 Mr. Prevost —not partially cleared, with large, 
 black stumps of trees sticking up in the fields, 
 and assuming every sort of strange form, all 
 hideous ; but perfectly and entirely, leaving 
 the ground (some part of which had, indeed, 
 been free of forest Avhen Mr. Prevost first 
 settled there) smooth and trim as that of the 
 fair farms of England. The fences, too, were 
 all in good order ; and the buildings neat and 
 picturesque. 
 
 Beyond the cultivated ground, as you de- 
 scended the gentle hill, lay the deep forest, at 
 the distance of about three hundred yards; 
 and at its edge Edith paused, and made her 
 companion turn to see how beautiful the 
 cottage looked upon its eminence, shaded by 
 gorgeous maple-trees, in their gold and crimson 
 garb of autumn, with a tall rock or two, grey 
 and mossy, rising up amidst them. 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 113 
 
 Lord H gazed at the housej and saw 
 
 that it was picturesque and beautiful — very- 
 different, indeed, from any other dwelling he 
 had beheld on the Western side of the Atlan- 
 tic ; but his eyes expressed an absent thought- 
 fulness ; and Edith thought he did not admire 
 it half enough. 
 
 Close by the spot where she had stopped, 
 appeared the entrance of a broad road, cut, 
 probably, by the Dutch settlers many years 
 before. It could not be called good, for it was 
 furrowed and indented with many a rut and 
 hollow, and roughened by obtrusive stones and 
 rock; but there were no stumps of trees upon 
 it, no fallen trunks lying across, which, for a 
 forest road in America, at that time, was rare 
 perfection. For about a quarter of a mile, it 
 was bordered on each side by tangled thicket, 
 with gigantic pine trees rising out of an im- 
 penetrable mass of underwood, in whic'i benies 
 of many a hue supplied the place of flowers. 
 
114 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 But flowers seem hardly wanting to an Ameri- 
 can autumn ; for almost every leaf becomes a 
 flower, and the whole forest glows with all the 
 hues of yellow, red, and green, from the soft 
 primrose-color of the fading white wood and 
 sycamore, through every tint of orange, scarlet, 
 and crimson on the maple, and of yellow and 
 green on the larch, the pine, and the hem- 
 lock. 
 
 ^^ How strange are man's prejudices and 
 
 prepossessions !" ejaculated Lord H , as 
 
 they paused to gaze at a spot where a large 
 extent of woodland lay open to the eye below 
 them. ^^ We are incredulous of everything 
 we have not seen, or to the conception of which 
 we have not been led by very near approaches. 
 Had any one shown me, before I reached these 
 shores, a picture of an autumn scene in 
 America, though it had been perfect as a por- 
 trait, hue for hue, or even inferior in its strik- 
 ing coloring to the reality, I should have 
 
TICOXDEROGA. 115 
 
 laughed at it as a most extravagant exaggera- 
 tion. Did not the first autumn you passed 
 here make you think yourself in fairy land ?" 
 
 ^' Xo ; I was prepared for it," replied Edith ; 
 ^^ my father had described the autumn scenery 
 to me often before we came." 
 
 ^^ Then was he ever in America before he 
 came to settle ?" asked her companion. 
 
 *^Yes, once," answered Edith. She spoke 
 in a very grave tone, and then ceased sud- 
 denly. 
 
 But her brother took the subject up with a 
 boy's frankness, saying — 
 
 " Did you never hear that my grandfather 
 and my father's sister both died in Virginia ? 
 He was in command there, and my father came 
 over just before my birth." 
 
 ^' It is a long story, and a sad one, my lord," 
 interposed Edith, with a sigh ; '' but look now, 
 as we mount the hill, how the scene changes. 
 Every step upon the hill-side gives us a different 
 sort of tree, and the brush disappears from 
 
116 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 amidst the trunks. This grove is my favorite 
 evening seat, where I can read and think 
 under the broad shady boughs, with nothing 
 but beautiful sights around me." 
 
 They had reached a spot where, upon the 
 summit of an eminence, numbers of large oaks 
 crested the forest. Wide apart, and taller than 
 the English oak, though not so large in stem, 
 the trees suffered the eye to wander over the 
 grassy ground, somewhat broken by rock, which 
 sloped down between hundreds of large bolls to 
 the tops of the lower forest trees, and thence 
 to a scene of almost matchless beauty beyond. 
 Still slanting downwards with a gentle sweep 
 the woodlands were seen approaching the banks 
 of a small lake, about two miles distant, while, 
 beyond the sheet of water, which lay glittering 
 like gold in the clear morning sunshine, rose 
 up high purple hills, with the shadows of grand 
 clouds floating over them. Around the lake, 
 on every side, were rocky promontories and 
 slanting points of lower land jutting out into 
 
TICONDEROGA. 117 
 
 the water ; and, where they stood above, they 
 could see all the fair features of the scene 
 itself, and the images of the clouds and sky 
 redoubled by the golden mirror. To give 
 another charm to the spot, and make ear and 
 eye combine in enjoyment, the voices of distant 
 waters came upon the breeze, not with a roar 
 exactly, but with rather more than a murmur, 
 shewing that some large river was pouring 
 over a steep not far away. 
 
 ^^ Hark I" ejaculated Lord H . " Is there 
 
 a waterfall near ?" 
 
 " Too far to go to it to-day," answered Edith. 
 ^^ We must economize our scenes, lest we 
 should exhaust them all before you go, and you 
 should think more than ever that our country 
 wants variety." 
 
 ^' I cannot think so with that prospect before 
 my eyes," replied the young nobleman. '^ Look 
 how it has changed already ! The mountain is 
 all in shade, and so is the lake ; but those low, 
 wavy, wood-covered hills, which lie between 
 
118 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 the two, are starting out in the prominence of 
 sunshine. A truly beautiful scene is full of 
 variety in itself. Every day changes its 
 aspect, every hour, every season. The light of 
 morning, and evening, and mid-day, alter it 
 entirely ; and the spring and the summer, 
 the autumn and the winter, robe it in different 
 hues. I have often thought that a fair land- 
 scape is like a fine mind, in which every vary- 
 ing event of life brings forth new beauties." 
 
 '^ Alas, that the mind is not always like the 
 landscape !" exclaimed Edith. " God willed 
 it so, I doubt not, for there is harmony in all 
 His works ; but man's will and God's will are 
 not always one." 
 
 '^ Perhaps, after all," said her companion, 
 thoughtfully, ^^ the best way to keep them in 
 harmony is for man, as much as may be, to 
 recur to IN'ature, which is but an expression of 
 God's will." 
 
 '' Oh, yes !" cried Walter Prevost, eagerly, 
 '* I am sure the more we give ourselves up to 
 
TICONDEROGA. 119 
 
 the factitious and insincere contrivances of 
 what we call society j the more we alienate our- 
 selves from truth and God." 
 
 The young nobleman gazed at him with a 
 smile almost melancholy. 
 
 '' Yery young," he thought, "to come to such 
 sad conclusions. But do you not, my friend 
 Walter," added he, aloud, " think there might 
 be such a thing as extracting from society all 
 that is good and fine in it, and leaving the 
 chaff and dross for others ? The simile of 
 the bee and the poisonous flower holds good 
 with man. Let us take what is sweet and 
 beneficial in all we find growing in the world's 
 garden, and reject all that is worthless, 
 poisonous, and foul. But truly this is an en- 
 chanting scene. It wants, methinks, only 
 the figure of an Indian in the foreground. And 
 there comes one, I fancy, to fill up the picture. 
 — Stay, stay, we shall want no rifles. It is 
 but a v/on^an coming through the trees." 
 
 "It is Otaitsa — it is the Blossom !" cried 
 
120 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 Edith and Walter, in a breath, as they looked 
 forward to a spot where, across the yellow 
 sunshine as it streamed through the trees, a 
 female figure, clad in the gaily-embroidered and 
 brightly -coloured galcaah or petticoat of the 
 Indian women, was seen advancing with a 
 rapid yet somewhat doubtful step. 
 
 Y»^ithout pause or hesitation, Edith sprang 
 forward to meet the nev*^ comer, and, in a mo- 
 ment after, the beautiful arms of the Indian 
 girl who had sat with Walter in the morning, 
 were round the fair form of his sister, and her 
 lips pressed on hers. There was a warmth 
 and eagerness in their meeting, unusual on the 
 part of the red race ; but, while the young 
 Oneida almost lay upon the bosom of her 
 white friend, her beautiful dark eyes were 
 turned to'vards her lover, as, with a mixture of 
 the bashful feelings of youth and the conscious- 
 ness of having something to conceal, Yf alter, 
 with a glowing cheek, lingered a step or two 
 behind his sister. 
 
TICOjSDEROGA. 12 i 
 
 *' Art thou coming to our lodge, dear 
 Blossom ?" asked Edith, and then added, 
 ^^ Where is thy father?" 
 
 '' We both come," answered the girl, in 
 Huent English, with no more of the Indian 
 accent than served to give a peculiar softness to 
 her tones. " I wait the Black Eagle here since 
 dawn of day. He has gone towards the morning, 
 with our father the White Heron ; for we 
 heard of Hurons by the side of Corlear, and some 
 thought the hatchet would be unburied ; so he 
 journeyed to hear more from our friends by the 
 Horicon, and bade me stay and tell you and 
 our brother Walter to forbear that road if I saw 
 you turn your eyes towards the east wind. 
 He and the White Heron will be by your 
 father's council-fire with the first star." 
 
 A good deal of this speech was unintelligi- 
 ble to Lord H , who had now approached, 
 
 and on whom Blossom's eyes were turned with 
 
 VOL. I. a 
 
122 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 a sort of timid and inquiring look. But 
 Walter hastened to interpret, saying — 
 
 " She means that her father and the mis- 
 sionary, Mr. Gore, have heard that there are 
 hostile Indians on the shores of Lake Champlain, 
 and have gone down towards Lake George to 
 inquire ; for Black Eagle — that is her father — 
 is much our friend, and he always fancies that 
 my father has chosen a dangerous situation 
 here just at the verge of the territory of the 
 Five I^ations, or their Long House as they call 
 it." 
 
 ^^ Well, come to the lodge with us, dear 
 Blossom," said Edith, while her brother was 
 giving this explanation ; '^ thou know est my 
 father loves thee well, and will be glad to have 
 the Blossom with us. Here, too, is an English 
 chief dwelling with us, who knows not what 
 sweet blossoms grow on Indian trees." 
 
 But the girl shook her head, saying — 
 
 " Nay, I must do the father's will. It was 
 
TICONDEROGA. 123 
 
 witli much prating that he let me come hither 
 with him ; and he bade me stay here from 
 the white rock to the stream. So I must 
 obey." 
 
 ^^ But it may be dangerous," replied Edith, 
 ^* if there be Hurons so near ; and it is sadly 
 solitary, dear sister." 
 
 " Then stay with me for a while," said the 
 girl, who could not affect to deny that her lonely 
 watch Avas somewhat gloomy. 
 
 " I will stay with her, and protect her," 
 cried Walter, eagerly ; ^^ for, dearest Blossom, 
 should there be danger, my sister must fly to the 
 lodge." 
 
 ^' Yes, stay with her, Walter. Oh yes, stay 
 with her," ejaculated the unconscious Edith. 
 And so it was settled, for Otaitsa made no 
 opposition, though, with a cheek in which 
 something glowed warmly through the brown, 
 and with a lip that curled gently with a mean- 
 ing smile, she said — 
 
 ^^ Perhaps my brother Walter would be 
 G 2 
 
124 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 elsewhere ? Ee may find a long watcli 
 wearisome on the hill and in the w^ood.'' 
 
 Well was it that others were present, or the 
 lips that spoke w^ould have paid for their in- 
 sincerity. Eut, perhaps, the Blossom vrould 
 not have so spoken had they been alone ; for 
 woman feels a fear of playfulness, and knows 
 that it needs a safeguard ; while deep passion 
 and pure tenderness seem to have a holy safe- 
 guard in themselves, and often in their very 
 weakness find strength. 
 
 ^' Let us stay awhile ourselves," said Lord 
 
 H , seating himself on the grass, and 
 
 gazing forth with a look of interest over the 
 prospect : ^^ methinks this is a place where one 
 may well dream away an hour, without the 
 busiest mind reproaching itself for inactivity." 
 
 There was no ceremony certainly in his 
 manner, and yet no assumption. Had there 
 been older persons present, women nearer his 
 own age, perhaps the formal decorums of the 
 time might have put upon him a more cere- 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 125 
 
 monious bearing : he miglit have asked their 
 wishes — waited till they were seated — bowed 
 and assisted them to a commodions spot. But 
 Edith was so young, that a feeling of her being 
 almost a child was unconsciously present in his 
 mind — a very dangerous feeling, inasmuch as 
 it put him wholly off his guard ; and, acting as 
 plain nature taught, he cast himself down there 
 to enjoy an hour of pleasant idleness, in a 
 beautiful scene, with one too lovely, too deep- 
 toned in mind — ay, too mature in heart and in 
 body — to be so treated with impunity. 
 
 That hour passed by, and another came and 
 went, while into his thoughts and into his 
 breast's inmost caves were stealing strange new 
 sensations. A dreamy charm was over him, a 
 golden spell around him, more powerful than 
 Circe ever threw, or the Syren ever sung. Oh, 
 the Lotus ! — he was eating the Lotus : that 
 sweet fruit, the magic taste of which could 
 never be forgotten — which was destined thence- 
 
126 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 forth and for ever to draw him back, with 
 irresistible power, to the spot where it grew. 
 
 Surely, that nectareous fruit, which trans- 
 formed the whole spirit into desire for itself, 
 was but an image of love, pure and bright, 
 growing wild upon the bank of the sacred 
 river. And the first taste, too, gave no warn- 
 ing of its power. Thus he was all unconscious 
 of what was coming over him ; but yielded 
 himself calmly to the enjoyment of the moment, 
 and imagined that in the next he could be free 
 again in every thought. 
 
 The reader may ask — " Was he thus early 
 in love ? Had the impassioned haste of Italian 
 love — the love of Eomeo and Juliet — flown 
 across the wide Atlantic ?" 
 
 Is'o I I answer, no. But he was yielding 
 himself to thoughts and feelings, scenes, cir- 
 cumstances, and companionships, which were 
 sure to light it up in his heart — yielding with- 
 out resistance. He was tasting the Lotus-fruit ; 
 and its effects were inevitable. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 127 
 
 For two hours, the four companions sat there 
 on the hill -side, beneath the tall, shady trees, 
 with the wind breathing softly upon them — the 
 lake glittering before their eyes — the murmur 
 of the waterfall sending music through the air. 
 But to the young Englishman these were but 
 accessories. The fair face of Edith was before 
 his eyes, the melody of her voice in his ear. 
 
 At length, however, they rose to go, pro- 
 mismg to send one of the slaves from the house 
 with food for Walter and Otaitsa at the hour 
 of noon ; and Lord H and his fair com- 
 panion took their way back towards the house. 
 
 The distance was not very far; but they 
 were somewhat long upon the way. They 
 walked slowly back, and by a different path 
 from that by which they went : and often they 
 stopped to admire some pleasant scene ; often 
 
 Lord H had to assist his fair companion 
 
 over some rock, and her soft hand rested in his. 
 He gathered flowers for her — the fiinged gentia 
 and other late blossoms ; they paused to ex- 
 
128 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 amine them closely, and comment on their 
 loveliness. Once he made her sit down beside 
 him on a bank, and tell the names of all the 
 different trees ; and from trees his conversation 
 went on into strange, dreamy, indefinite talk 
 of human things and human hearts. 
 
 Thus noon was not far distant when they 
 reached the house ; and both Edith and her com- 
 panion were very thoughtfuL 
 
TICONDEROGA. 129 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 Edith was very thoughtful through the rest of 
 the day. Was it of herself she thought ? 
 Was it of him who had been her companion 
 through the greater part of the morning ? 
 Hardly at all. 
 
 Hast thou not heard, reader, in eastern fable, 
 of springs of deep, clear water covered from the 
 eye of passing strangers by a sealed stone ; 
 and how, when he who has the talismanie 
 secret approaches and says the words of power, 
 or makes the sign, the sealed fountain opens 
 its cool treasure, and the bright stream Avells 
 forth ? Such is woman's love, 
 
 No word had been spoken, no sign had been 
 G 2 
 
130 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 given ; no intimation to make the seal on the foun- 
 tain indicate that the master of its destiny was 
 near. Edith had had a pleasant ramble with one 
 such as she seldom saw — and that was all. That 
 he was diiferent from the common multitude — 
 higher, brighter, nobler in his thoughts — she had 
 gathered from their short acquaintance ; and 
 so far she might be led to think of him some- 
 what more than she thought of other men. 
 But her meditations had another object. Her 
 mind was attracted strongly in anothei direc- 
 tion. 
 
 It is strange, how clearly and how willingly 
 women look into the hearts of others — how 
 dimly, how reluctantly, they see into their 
 own. There had been something in the manner 
 of her brother "Walter, a hesitation, and yet an 
 eagerness, a timidity unnatural, with a warmth 
 that spoke of passion, which had not escaped 
 her eye. In the sweet Indian girl, too, she 
 had seen signs not equivocal : the fluttering 
 blash ; the look full of soul and feeling ; the 
 
TICONDEROGA. 131 
 
 glance suddenly raised to the boy's face, and 
 suddenly withdrawn ; the eyes full of liquid 
 light, now beaming brightly under sudden 
 emotion, now shaded beneath the long fringe, 
 like the moon behind a passing cloud. 
 
 They were signs that Edith did not mistake ; 
 and they were for her suggestive of thoughtful- 
 ness. 
 
 It might tire the reader, were we to trace all 
 the considerations that chased one another 
 through her mind,"or to tell how, for the first time 
 — when she thought of her brother wedding an 
 Indian girl, linking his fate for ever to the 
 savages of the woods — she realized the con- 
 sequences of the solitary life her father had 
 chosen, of the removal from civilization, of the 
 life in the wild forest. 
 
 For the first time, it seemed to her that a 
 dark, impenetrable curtain was felling between 
 herself and all the ancient things of history : 
 that all, indeed, was to be new, and strange, 
 and different. And yet she loved Otaitsa well, 
 and, in the last two years, had seen many a 
 
132 TICOI^DEROGA. 
 
 trait which had won esteem as well as love. 
 The old Black Eagle, as her father was called, 
 had ever been a fast and faithful ally of the 
 English ; but to Mr. Pre vest he had attached 
 himself in a particular manner. An accidental 
 journey on the part of the old Sachem, had 
 first brought them acquainted, and from that day 
 forward the distance of the Oneida settlements 
 w^as no impediment to their meeting. "When- 
 ever the Black Eagle left his lodge, he was 
 sure, in his own figurative language, to wing 
 his flight sooner or later towards the nest of 
 his white brother ; and, in despite of Indian 
 habits, he almost invariably brought his 
 daughter with him. When any distant or 
 perilous enterprise was on hand, Otaitsa vv^'as 
 left at the lodge of the English family ; and 
 many a week she had passed there at a time, 
 loved by, and loving, all its inmates. 
 
 It was not there, however, that she had 
 acquired her knowledge of the English 
 tongue, or the other characteristics which dis- 
 
TICONDEROGA. 133 
 
 tinguished her from the ordinary Indian women. 
 When she first appeared there, she spoke the 
 language of the settlers as perfectly as they did ; 
 and it was soon discovered that from infancy 
 she had been under the care and instruction of 
 one of the English missionaries — at that time, 
 alas, few — who had sacrificed all that civilized 
 life could bestow for the purpose of bringing 
 the Indian savage into the fold of Christ. 
 
 Is or was it altogether rare in those days to 
 find an Indian woman adopting, to a consider- 
 able degree, the habits and manners of the 
 Europeans. The celebrated Queen of Hearts, 
 who played so important a part in the con- 
 spiracy of Pontiac, went even farther than 
 Otaitsa, for she assumed tlie garb of the French, 
 while the latter always retained the dress of 
 her own nation, and was proud of her Indian 
 blood. And yet it was with a sort of melan- 
 choly pride; for she would frankly acknow- 
 ledge the superiority of the white race, and 
 he advantage of the civilization which her 
 
134 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 own people did not possess. It was, perhaps, 
 rather like the clinging affection which binds 
 the noble-hearted to the falling and nnfortu- 
 nate than that vainer sort of pride which 
 fancies a reflected light to fall upon ourselves 
 through connexion with the powerful and the 
 prosperous. 
 
 Whatever she was — whatever was high and 
 bright in her nature — she was still the Indian 
 maiden ; and as such only could Edith look 
 upon her when she thought of the love 
 between her brother and Otaitsa, which had 
 become but too apparent to her eyes. 
 
 Then again she asked herself, how should 
 she act towards Walter, towards her father. 
 Could she direct his attention to that which 
 was so evident to her ? Oh, no ! She felt as 
 if it would be betraying a secret entrusted to 
 her keeping. True, no word had been spoken, 
 no confession made ; still they had both un- 
 veiled their hearts to eyes they believed 
 friendly, and she would not take advantage of 
 
TICONDEROGA. 135 
 
 the knowledge so acquired. Her father could 
 and would see, she thought, and he would then 
 judge for himself, and act according to his 
 judgment. 
 
 But Edith did not know how little and how 
 rarely men see into such secrets — especially 
 men of studious habits. Mr. Prevost judged 
 it quite right that Walter should stay with 
 Otaitsa, and he even sent out the old slave 
 Agrippa, who, somehow, was famous as a 
 marksman, with a rifle on his shoulder, to act as 
 a sort of scout upon the hill side, and watch 
 for anything bearing a hostile aspect. 
 
 After dinner, too, he walked out himself, and 
 sat, for an hour, with his son and the Indian 
 girl, speaking words of affection to her that 
 sank deep into her heart, and more than once 
 brought drops into her bright eyes. No father's 
 tenderness could exceed that he showed her ; 
 and Otaitsa felt as if he were almost welcoming 
 her as a daughter. 
 
 When Mr. Prevost returned to the house, he 
 
136 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 gave himself up to conversation with his guest, 
 transporting his spirit far away from the 
 scenes before him to other lands and other 
 times. Matters of taste and art were discussed : 
 the imperishable works of genius, and the 
 triumphs of mind; and, from time to time, 
 the musical tones of Edith's voice mingled 
 with the deeper sounds of her two companions. 
 It was a pleasant afternoon to all, for Mr. Pro- 
 vost was himself somewhat of a dreamer ; and 
 he, or Edith, or both, perhaps, had taught Lord 
 
 H , for the time, at least, to be a dreamer 
 
 also. 
 
 Nor were higher topics left untouched. No 
 where so well as in wide solitudes can the 
 spirit feel itself free to deal with its own 
 mighty questions. The pealing organ and the 
 sounding choir may give a devotional tone to 
 the mind ; and the tall pillar and the dusty 
 aisle may afford solemnity to the thoughts ; 
 but would you have the spirit climb from the 
 heart's small, secret chamber towards the foot- 
 
TICOXDEROGA. 137 
 
 steps of the throne of God, and bring back 
 some rays of brighter light to illuminate the 
 darkness of our earthly being, choose the temple 
 unprofaned of his own creation : stand and con- 
 template His Might and Majesty amidst the 
 solemn woods or on the awful mountain- tops : or 
 gaze with the astronomer at the distant stars, re- 
 solving filmy clouds into innumerable worlds, 
 and separating specks of light into suns and 
 systems. 
 
 Evening had not lost its light, when a shout 
 from Walter's voice, announced that he was 
 drawing nigh the house ; and, in a moment 
 after, he was seen coming across the cleared 
 land, with his bright young companion, and two 
 other persons. 
 
 One was a tall, red man, upwards of six 
 feet in height, dressed completely in the Indian 
 garb, but without paint. He could not have 
 been less than sixty years of age; but his 
 strong muscles seemed to have set at defiance 
 the bending power of time. He was as up- 
 
138 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 riglit as a pine, and he bore his heavy rifle in 
 his right hand as lightly as if it had been a 
 reed. In his left he carried a long pipe, show- 
 ing that his errand was one of peace ; but 
 tomahawk and scalping knife were in his belt, 
 and he wore the sort of feather crown or Gos- 
 toweh distinguishing the chief. 
 
 The other man might be of the same age, or 
 a little older. He, too, seemed active and 
 strong for his years ; but he wanted the erect 
 and powerful bearing of his companion; and 
 his gait and carriage, as much as his features 
 and complexion, distinguished him from the 
 Indian. His dress was a strange mixture of 
 the ordinary Eui-opean costume, and that of 
 the half savage rangers of the forest. He 
 wore a black coat, or one which had once been 
 black ; but the rest of his garments were 
 composed of skins, some tanned into red 
 leather, after the Indian fashion, some with the 
 hair still on, and turned outwards. He bore 
 no arms whatever, unless a very long and 
 
TICOISTDEROGA. 139 
 
 sharp-pointed knife could be considered a 
 weapon, though in his hands it only served 
 the innocent purpose of dividing his food, or 
 carving willow whistles for the children of the 
 Sachem's tribe. 
 
 Eunning, with a light foot, by the side of 
 the chief, as he strode along, came Otaitsa; 
 but the others followed the Indian fashion, 
 coming after him in single file, while old 
 Agrippa, with his rifle on his arm, brought up 
 the rear, appearing from the wood somewhat 
 behind the rest. 
 
 ^' It is seldom I have so many parties of 
 guests in two short days," said Mr. Pre vest, 
 moving towards the door. ^' Generally, I have 
 either a whole tribe at once, or none at all. 
 But this is one of my best friends, my Lord, 
 and I must go to welcome him." 
 
 " He is a noble-looking man," observed the 
 young officer. '^This is the Black Eagle, I 
 suppose, whom the pretty maiden talked of." 
 
 Mr. Prevost made no reply, for, by this 
 
140 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 time, the chief's long strides had brought him 
 almost to the door, and his hand was already 
 extended to grasp that of his white friend. 
 
 ^' Welcome, Black Eagle !" said Mr. Pre- 
 vost. 
 
 ^' Thou art my brother," returned the chief, 
 in English, but with a much less pure accent 
 than that of his daughter. 
 
 ^^ What news from Corlear ?" asked Mr. Pre- 
 vost. 
 
 But the Indian answered not ; and the man 
 who followed him replied in so peculiar a 
 style, that we must give his words, though 
 they imported very little, as far as the events 
 to be related are concerned. 
 
 "All is still on the banks of Champlain 
 Lake," he said; " but Huron tracks are still 
 upon the shore. The friendly Mohawks 
 watched them come and go ; and tell us that 
 the Frenchman, too, was there, painted and 
 feathered like the Indian chiefs ; but finding 
 England stronger than they thought, upon the 
 
TICONDEROGA. 141 
 
 side of Horicon, they sailed back to Fort Car- 
 rillon on Monday last." 
 
 For awhile, Lord H was completely 
 
 puzzled to discover what it was that gave such 
 peculiarity to the missionary's language; for 
 the words and accents were both those of an 
 ordinary Englishman of no very superior 
 education ; and it was not till Mr. Gore had 
 uttered one or two sentences more, that he per- 
 ceived that everything he said arranged itself 
 into a sort of blank verse, not very poetical, 
 not very musical, but easily enough to be 
 scanned. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the Black Eagle and his 
 host had entered the house, and proceeded 
 straight to the great eating hall, where the 
 whole party seated themselves in silence, 
 Otaitsa taking her place close to the side of 
 Edith, and Walter stationing himself where 
 he could watch the bright girl's eyes without 
 being remarked himself. 
 
 For a moment or two, no one spoke, in deference 
 
142 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 to the Indian habits ; and then Mr. Prevost 
 broke silence, saying — 
 
 " Well, Black Eagle, how fares it with my 
 brother ?" 
 
 ^^ As with the tamarack in the autumn," 
 answered the warrior ; the " cold wind sighs 
 through the branches, and the fine leaves wither 
 and fall ; but the trunk stands firm as yet, and 
 decay has not reached the heart." 
 
 ^^ This is a chief from the land of my white 
 fathers," said Mr. Prevost, waving his hand 
 
 gracefully towards Lord H ; " he has but 
 
 lately crossed the great water." 
 
 " He is welcome to what was once the red 
 man's land," said Black Eagle ; and, bending 
 his eyes upon the ground, but without any 
 sign of emotion at the thoughts which seemed 
 to lie beneath his words, he relapsed into 
 silence for a minute or two. Then raising his 
 head again, he asked, '^ Is he a great chief? 
 Is he a warrior ? or a man of council? or a medi- 
 cine man ?" 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 143 
 
 "He is a great chief and a warrior," 
 answered Mr. Prevost ; "he is moreover skilful 
 in council, and his words are clear as the 
 waters of Horicon." 
 
 " He is welcome," repeated the chief; "he is 
 our brother. He shall be called the Cataract, 
 because he shall be powerful, and many shall 
 rejoice at the sound of a strong voice. — But my 
 brother — " 
 
 "Speak on," said Mr. Prevost, seeing that 
 he paused ; " they are friends' ears that 
 listen." 
 
 "Thou art too near the Caturqui ; thou art 
 too near to Corlear," said the warrior, meaning, 
 the river St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain. 
 " There is danger for our brother ; and the 
 wings of the Black Eagle droop when he is in 
 his solitary place afar amidst the children of the 
 Stone, to think that thou art not farther within 
 the walls of the Long House." 
 
 " What does he mean by the walls of the 
 
144 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 Long House ?" asked Lord H in a whisper, 
 
 addressing Edith. 
 
 " Merely the territory of the Five ISTations, or 
 Iroquois, as the French call them," answered 
 his fair companion. 
 
 ^^ I fear not, brother," replied Mr. Prevost, 
 '*' the fire and the iron have not met to make the 
 tomahawk which shall reach my head.'* 
 
 ^^ But for the maiden's sake," pursued 
 Black Eagle. '' Is she not unto us as a daughter ? 
 Is she not the sister of Otaitsa ? I pray thee, 
 White Pine-tree, let her go with the Eagle and 
 the Blossom into the land of the children of 
 the Stone — but for a few moons — till thy 
 people have triumphed over their enemies, and 
 till the Five I^ations have hewed down the tree 
 of the Huron and the Alonquin ; till the war- 
 hatchet is buried, and the pipe of peace is 
 smoked." 
 
 '^ 'Twere better, truly, my good friend Pre- 
 vost," said Mr. Gore. ^^ We have seen sights, 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 145 
 
 to-day, would make the blood of the most bold 
 and hardy man on earth, turn cold and icy to 
 behold, and know he hal a daughter near such 
 scenes of death." 
 
 ^^ What were they, my good friend ?" asked 
 Mr. Prevost. " I have heard of nothing very 
 new or near. The last was the capture of 
 Fort William-Henry, some six weeks since ; but 
 as yet we have not heard the whole particulars ; 
 and surely, if we are far enough away for the 
 tidings not to reach us in six weeks, it is not 
 likely that hostile armies would approach us 
 very soon." 
 
 "Thou art deceived, my brother," answered 
 the Black Eagle. " One short day's journey 
 lies betwixt thee and the battle-field. This 
 morning we crossed it when the sun wanted 
 half an hour of noon, and we are here before 
 he has gone down behind the' forest. What 
 we saw chilled the blood of my brother, here, 
 for he has not seen such things before. The 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
146 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 cliildren of the Stone slay not women and chil- 
 dren when the battle is over." 
 
 '' Speak, speak, my good friend, Mr. Gore," 
 said the master of the house ; '^ you know our 
 habits better, and can tell us more of what has 
 happened. Things which are common to his 
 eye must be strange to yours." 
 
 ^' We passed the ground between the one 
 fort and the other," answered the Missionary. 
 " The distance is but seven or eight miles ; 
 and, in that short space, lay well nigh a thou- 
 sand human bodies slain by every dark and 
 terrible means of death. There were young 
 and old ; the grey-headed officer ; the blooming 
 youth fresh from his mother's side ; women, 
 and boys and gii'ls, and little infants snatched 
 from a mother's breast, to die by the hatchet, 
 or the war-club. We heard that the tiger 
 Montcalm, in violation of his given word, in 
 defiance of humanity, Christianity, and the 
 spirit of a gentleman, stood by and saw his 
 
TICO:f^DEROGA. 147 
 
 own convention broken, and gallant enemies 
 massacred by liis savage allies. But wliat the 
 chief says is very truo, my friend. Yon are 
 far too near this scene ; and although, perhaps, 
 no regular army could reach this place before 
 you received timely warning, yet the Indian 
 forerunners may be upon you at any moment ; 
 your house may be in flames, and you and your 
 children massacred ere any one could come to 
 give you aid. The troops of our country are 
 far away ; and no force is between you and 
 Horicon, but a small number of our Mohawk 
 brethren : who are not as well pleased with 
 England as they have been." 
 
 Mr. Prevost turned his eyes towards Lord 
 
 H ; and the young Englishman replied to 
 
 Mr. Gore at once, saying, with a quiet inclina- 
 tion of the head : — 
 
 '^ On one point you are mistaken, sir. Lord 
 
 Loudon has returned, and there is now a strong 
 
 force at Albany. I passed through that city, 
 
 lately, and I think that, by the facts which 
 
 H 3 
 
148 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 must have come to his knowledge, General 
 Montcalm will be deterred from pushing his 
 brutal incursions farther this year, at least. 
 Before another morning shines upon us, he may 
 receive some punishment for his faithless 
 cruelty." 
 
 ^' If not here, hereafter," said the Mis- 
 sionary. " There is justice in heaven, sir ; 
 and often it visits the evil-doer upon earth. 
 That man's end cannot be happy. But I fear 
 you Avill not give us aid in persuading your 
 friend here to abandon, for a time, his very 
 dangerous position." 
 
 " I know too little of Mr. Prevost's affairs," 
 
 replied Lord H , " to advise either for or 
 
 against. I know still less, too, of the state of 
 the country between this and the French line. 
 Perhaps, in a day or two, I may know more, and 
 then, as a military man myself, I can better tell 
 him what are the real dangers of his situation. 
 At all events, I should like to think over the 
 matter till to-morrow morning, before I offer 
 
TICONDEROGA. 149 
 
 an opinion. From what was said just now, I 
 infer that, the Hurons and the French having 
 gone back, there can be no immediate peril." 
 
 Mr. Gore shook his head, and the Indian 
 chief remained in profound and somewhat dull 
 silence ; seeming not very well pleased at the 
 result of the discussion. 
 
 A few minutes after, the evening meal was 
 brought in, and to it the Black Eagle did 
 ample justice ; eating like an European with a 
 knife and fork, and displaying no trace of the 
 savage in his demeanor at the table. He re- 
 mained profoundly silent, however, till the 
 party rose, and then, taking Mr. Prevost by the 
 hand, he said — 
 
 '' Take counsel of thine own heart, my 
 brother. Think of the flower that grows up 
 by thy side — ask if thou wouldest have it 
 trodden down by the red man's mocoassin ; and 
 listen not to the Cataract, for it is cold." 
 
 Thus saying, he unrolled one of the large 
 
150 TICOKDEROGA. 
 
 skins, which lay at the side of the roonij and 
 stretched himself upon it to take repose. 
 
 Edith took Otaitsa by the hand^ saying — 
 *^ Come, Blossom : you shall be my com- 
 panion as before." Walter, retiring the mo- 
 ment after, left Lord H and his host to 
 
 consult together with Mr. Gore. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 151 
 
 CIIAPTEE IX. 
 
 Were any one inclined to doubt the wonderful 
 harmony which pervades all the works of God, 
 from the very greatest to the very least, he 
 might find a collateral, if not a direct, proof of 
 its existence in the instinctive inclination of 
 the mind of man to discern, in the external 
 world of IN'ature, figurative resemblances and 
 illustrations of the facts, the events, and the 
 objects of man's moral being and spiritual 
 existence. Not an hour of the day — not a 
 season of the year — not a change in the sky, or 
 on the prospect — not a shade falling over the 
 light, nor a beam penetrating the darkness — 
 but man's imagination seizes upon it to figure 
 
152 TXCONDEEOGA. 
 
 some one or other of the moral phenomena of 
 his nature, and at once perceives and proclaims 
 a harmony between material and immaterial 
 things. The earliest flower of the spring (the 
 shade-loving violet) images to the mind of most 
 men a gentle, sweet, retiring spirit. The 
 blushing rose, in its majesty of bloom, displays 
 the pomp and fragrance of mature beauty. 
 The clouds and the storms give us figures for 
 the sorrows, the cares, and the disasters of life ; 
 and the Spring and the Winter, the dawning and 
 the decline of day, shadow forth to our fancy 
 youth a'Kl old age ; while the rising sun 
 pictures our birth into this life of active ex- 
 ertion, effort, toil, glory, and immortality ; and 
 the night, with the new dawn beyond it, the 
 grave, and a life to come. 
 
 It was in the old age of the year, then — not 
 the decrepit old age, but the season of 
 vigorous, though declining, maturity ; and in 
 the childhood of the day — not the infancy of 
 dawn, where everything is grey and obscure, 
 
TICONDEROGA. 153 
 
 but the clear, dewy childhood, where all is 
 freshness, and elasticity, and balm — that three 
 travellers took their way onward from the 
 house of Mr. Prevost, along a path which led 
 toward the north- east. 
 
 Two other persons watched them from the 
 door of the house, and two negro-men and a 
 negro -woman gazed after them from the corner 
 of the building, which joined on to a low fence, 
 encircling the stable and poultry-yard, and 
 running on round the well- cultivated kitchen 
 garden. 
 
 The negro-woman shook her head, and 
 looked sorrowful and sighed, but said nothing ; 
 the two men talked freely of the imprudence 
 of ^^ master" in suffering his son to go upon 
 such an expedition. 
 
 Mr. Prevost and his daughter gazed in 
 silence till the receding figures were hidden by 
 the trees. Then the master of the house led 
 Edith back, saying — 
 
 " God will protect him, my cliild. A parent 
 H 5 
 
154 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 was not given to crush the energies of youth, 
 but to direct them." 
 
 In the meanwhile, Lord H and his 
 
 guide — Captain Brooks, according to his 
 English name, or Woodchuck in the Indian 
 parlance — followed by Walter Preyost, made 
 their way rapidly, though easily, through the 
 wood. The two former were dressed in the 
 somewhat anomalous attire which I have 
 described in first introducing the worthy cap- 
 tain to the reader; but Walter was in the 
 ordinary costume of the people of the province 
 of that day, except inasmuch as he had his 
 ride in his hand, and a large leathern wallet 
 slung over Iiis left shoulder ; each of his com- 
 panions, too, had a rifle hung across the back 
 by a broal leathern band ; and each was 
 furnished with a liatchet at his girdle, and a 
 long pipe, with a curiously carved stem, in his 
 hand. 
 
 Although they were not pursuing any of the 
 public provincial roads, and they were con- 
 
TICONDEROGA. 155 
 
 sequently obliged to walk singly, the one 
 following the other, yet Woodchuck, who led 
 the way, had no difficulty in finding it, or in 
 proceeding rapidly. 
 
 We are told, by an old writer of those days 
 who, unlike many modern writers, witnessed, 
 with his own eyes, all he described, that the 
 Indian trails, or foot-paths, were innumerable 
 over that large tract of country which the 
 Five Nations called their '^ Long House," 
 crossing and re-crossing each other in every 
 different direction : sometimes almost lost 
 where the ground was hard and dry : sometimes 
 indenting, by the repeated pressure of many 
 feet, the natural soil to the depth of thirty-six 
 or forty inches. 
 
 It was along one of these that the travellers 
 were passing ; and, although a stump here and 
 tliere, or a young tree springing up in the 
 midst of a trail, offered an occasional impedi- 
 ment, it was rarely of such a nature as to 
 
156 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 retard the travellers in their course, or 
 materially add to their fatigues. 
 
 With the calm assurance and unhesitating 
 rapidity of a practised woodsman, Brooks led 
 his two companions forward without doubt as 
 to his course. No great light had he, it is 
 true ; for, though the sun was actually above 
 the horizon, and now and then his slanting rays 
 found their way through some more open space, 
 and gilded their pathway, in general the thick 
 trees and underwood formed a shade, which, at 
 that early hour, the light could hardly pene- 
 trate ; and the sober morning was still dressed 
 almost in the dark hues of night. 
 
 ^^ Set your steps in mine," said Woodchuck, 
 speaking in a whisper over his shoulder to 
 
 Lord H ; " then we shall be real Ingians. 
 
 Don't you know that when they go out on the 
 war-path, as they call it, each man puts down 
 his foot just whore his leader put down his 
 before. So, come dog, come cat, no one can 
 
TICONDEKOGA. 167 
 
 tell how many went to Jack Pilbury's 
 barn." 
 
 '' But do you think there is any real dan- 
 ger ?" asked Lord H . 
 
 " There is always danger in a dark wood 
 and a dark eye," answered Woodchuck, with a 
 laugh; '^ but no more danger here than in 
 Prevost's cottage of either the one or the other, 
 for you or for Walter. As for me, I am safe 
 anywhere." 
 
 '' But you are taking strange precautions 
 
 where there is no danger," observed Lord H , 
 
 who could not banish all doubts of his wild 
 companion : " you speak in whispers, and advise 
 us to follow all the cunning devices of the In- 
 dians, in a wood which we passed through fear- 
 lessly yesterday." 
 
 " I am just as fearless now as you war then, 
 if you passed through this wood," answered 
 Brooks, in a graver tone ; " but you are not a 
 woodsman. Major, or you'd understand better. 
 We, who, five days out of the seven, are sur- 
 
158 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 rounded by enemies, or but half friends — 
 just like a man wrapped up in a porcupine 
 skin — are quite sure that a man's worst enemy 
 and greatest traitor is in himself. So, even 
 when a wise man is quite safe, he puts a guard 
 upon his lips lest that traitor should betray 
 him ; and as for his enemies, knowing there is 
 always one present with him, he takes every 
 care that his everlasting fancy can hit upon, 
 lest more should come suddenly upon him. 
 What I mean, sir, is, that we are so often in 
 danger, that we think it best to act as if we 
 were always in it ; and, never knowing how 
 near it may be, to make as sure as we can that 
 we keep it at a distance. You cannot tell that 
 there is not an Ingian in everj^ bush you pass ; 
 and yet 3^ou'd chatter as loud as if you Avere in 
 my lady's drawing-room. But I, though I 
 know there is ne'er a one, don't speak louder 
 than a gi-asshopper's hind legs, for fear I should 
 get into the habit of talking loud in the 
 forest." 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 159 
 
 '^ There is some truth, my friend, I believe, 
 
 in what you say," returned Lord H ; '^but 
 
 I hear a sound 2;rowing louder and louder as we 
 advance. It is the cataract, I suppose." 
 
 '* Yes, just the waterfall," answered the 
 other, in an indifferent tone. '' Down half a 
 mile below. Master Walter will find the boat 
 ^ that will take him to Albany. Then you and I 
 can snake up by the side of the river till we 
 have gone as fur as we have a mind to. I 
 shouldn't wonder if we got a shot at somewhat 
 on four, as Ave run along ; a moose, or a painter, 
 or a look-severe,, or something of that kind. 
 Piry we liavn't got a canoe, or a batteau, or 
 something to put our game in." 
 
 '' In Heaven's name, what do you call a 
 look-severe ?" asked Lord II . 
 
 *' Why, the French folks call it a loup- 
 cervier,^^ answered Brooks. " I guess you 
 never saw one. But he is not as pleasant as a 
 pretty maid in a by-place — is he. Master Wal- 
 ter ? He puts himself up into a tree, and there 
 
160 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 he watches, looking fast asleep, but with the 
 devil that is in him moving every joint of his tail 
 the moment he hears anything come trotting 
 along ; and when it is just under him, down 
 he drops upon it plump, like a rifle-shot into 
 a pumpkin." 
 
 The conversation then fell off into a word or 
 two spoken now and then ; and still the voice of 
 the waters grew louder and more loud, till 
 Lord H could hardly hear his own foot- 
 falls. The more practised ear of Brooks, how- 
 ever, caught every sound; and at length he 
 exclaimed : — 
 
 '^ What's alive ? Why are you cocking 
 your rifle, Walter?" 
 
 " Hush !" said the lad ; '' there is something 
 stealing in there behind the laurels. It is an 
 Indian, I think, going on ail fours. Look 
 quietly out there." 
 
 '' More likely a b^ear," replied Woodchuck, 
 in the same low tone which the other had used 
 — '' I see, I see. It's not a b^^ar either ; but 
 
TICONDEROGA. 161 
 
 it's not an Ingian. It's gone — no, there it is 
 agin. Hold hard ! — let him climb. It's a painter. 
 Here, Walter, come up in front — you shall 
 have him. The cur smells fresh meat. He'll 
 climb in a minute. There he goes. No, the 
 crittur's on again. We shall lose him if we 
 don't mind. — Quick, Walter ! spread out there 
 to the right. I will take the left, and we 
 shall drive him to the water, where he must 
 climb. You, Major, keep right on a head — 
 mind take the middle trail all along, and look 
 up at the branches, or you may have him on 
 your head. There, he's a bending south. 
 Quick, Walter, quick !" 
 
 Lord H had as yet seen nothing of the 
 
 object discovered by the eyes of his two com- 
 panions ; but he had sufficient of the sportsman 
 in his nature to enter into all their eagerness ; 
 and, unslinging his rifle, he followed the path, 
 or trail, along which they had been proceed- 
 ing, while Walter Prjevost darted away into the 
 taagled bushes on the right, and Woodchuck 
 
162 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 stole more quietly in amongst the trees on his 
 left. He could hear the branches rustle, and, 
 for nearly a quarter of a mile, could trace their 
 course on either side of him by the various 
 little signs of now a waving branch, now a 
 slight sound. Once, and only once, he thought 
 he saw the panther cross the trail, but it was 
 at a spot peculiarly dark, and he did not feel 
 at all sure that fancy had not deceived him. 
 
 The roar of the cataract in the meantime 
 increased each moment ; and it was evident to 
 the young nobleman that he and his com- 
 panions on their different courses were ap- 
 proaching close and more closely to some large 
 stream towards which it was the plan of good 
 Captain Brooks to force the object of their pur- 
 suit. At length, too, the light became 
 stronger, and the blue sky and sunshine could 
 be seen through the tops of the trees in front, 
 when suddenly, on the right, he heard the re- 
 port ot a rifle, and then a fierce snarling sound, 
 with a shout from Walter Pre vest. 
 
TICONDEROGA. ibo 
 
 Knowing how dangerous the wounded 
 panther is, the young officer, without hesita- 
 tion, darted away into the brush to aid Edith's 
 brother ; for, by this time, it was in that light 
 that he generally thought of him ; and the 
 lad soon heard his approach, and guided him 
 up by the voice, calling — " Here, here !" There 
 was no alarm or agitation in his tones, which 
 were rather those of triumph ; and, a moment 
 after, as he caught sight of his friend's coming 
 form, he added — " He's a splendid beast. I 
 must have the skin off him." 
 
 Lord H drew nigh, somewhat relaxing 
 
 his speed, when he found there was no danger, 
 and in another minute he was by the side of 
 the lad who was just quietly re-charging his 
 rifie, while at some six or seven yards' distance 
 lay a large panther of the American species, 
 mortally wounded, and quite powerless for evil, 
 but not yet quite dead. 
 
 " Keep away from him — keep away," cried 
 Walter, as the young nobleman approached. 
 
;164 TICONDEROaA. 
 
 ^^ They sometimes tear one terribly even at the 
 last gasp." 
 
 " Why, he is nearly as big as a tiger," said 
 Lord H . 
 
 "He is a splendid fellow," answered Walter, 
 joyfully. " One might live a hundred years 
 in England without finding such game." 
 
 Lord li smiled, and remained for a mo- 
 ment or two^ till the young man's rifle was re- 
 loaded, gazing at the beast in silence. 
 
 Suddenly, however, they both heard the sound 
 of another rifle on the left, and Waiter, ex- 
 claimed — 
 
 " Woodchuck has got one too." 
 
 But the report was followed by a yell very 
 ^ different from the snarl or growl of a wounded 
 beast. 
 
 " That's no panther's cry," exclaimed Walter 
 Prevost, his cheek turning somewhat pale; 
 " what can have happened ?" 
 
 " It was a human utterance," said Lord 
 H , listening; " like that of some one in sud- 
 
TICOOTDEROGA. 165 
 
 den agony. I trust our friend, the Woodchuck, 
 has not shot himself by accident." 
 
 ^^ It is not a white man's cry ," said Walter, 
 bending his ear in the direction from which 
 had come the sounds. But all was still ; and 
 the young man raised his voice, and shouted to 
 their companion. 
 
 No answer was returned ; and Lord H , 
 
 exclaiming, ^' We had better seek him at once, he 
 may need help," darted away towards the spot 
 whence his ear told him the shot had come. 
 
 " A little more to the right my Lord, a little 
 more to the right," said Walter ; '^ you will hit 
 on a trail in a minute." Then, raising his voice 
 again, he shouted '' Woodchuck ! Woodchuck !" 
 with evident alarm and distress. 
 
 He was right in the supposition that they 
 should soon find some path, for they struck an 
 Indian trail, crossing that on which they had 
 been previously proceeding, and leading in the 
 direction in y\ hich they wished to go. Eoth 
 then hurried on with greater rapidity, Walter 
 
166 TICONDEKOGA. 
 
 running rather than walking, and Lord H 
 
 following, with his cocked rifle in his hand. 
 
 They had not far to go, however ; for the 
 trail soon opened upon a small piece of grassy 
 savanna, lying close upon the river's edge ; and 
 in the midst of it they beheld a sight which 
 was terrible enough in itself, but which af- 
 forded less apprehension and grief to the mind 
 
 of Lord H than to that of Walter Prevost, 
 
 who was better acquainted with the Indian 
 habits and character. 
 
 About ten yards from the mouth of the path 
 appeared the powerful form of Captain Brooks, 
 with his folded arms leaning on the muzzle of 
 his discharged rifle. He was as motionless as a 
 statue ; his brow contracted ; his brown cheek 
 very pale, and his eyes bent forward upon an 
 object lying upon the grass before him. It 
 was the body of an Indian ^^eltering in his 
 blood. The dead man's head was bare of all 
 covering, except the scalp-lock. He was 
 painted with the war colors ; and in his hand, as 
 
TICONDEROGA. 167 
 
 he lay, he still grasped the tomahawk, as if it 
 had been raised in the act to strike, the moment 
 before he fell. 
 
 To the eyes of Lord H , his tribe or 
 
 nation was an undiscovered secret ; but certain 
 small signs and marks in his garb, and even in 
 his features, showed "Walter Prevost at once 
 that he was not only one of the Five Nations, 
 but an Oneida. 
 
 The full and terrible importance of the fact 
 will be seen by what followed. 
 
68 TICOJfDEROGA, 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 For a few minutes, the tiiree living men 
 stood silent in the presence of the dead ; and, 
 then Walter exclaimed, in a tone of deep grief, 
 " Alas, Woodchuck, what have you done ?" 
 
 ^' Saved my scalp," answered Brooks, sternly ; 
 and fell into silence again. 
 
 There was another long pause ; at last, Lord 
 
 H , mistaking in some degree the causes of 
 
 the man's strong emotion, laid his hand upon 
 the hunter's arm, saying, " Come away, my 
 friend ! Why should you linger here ?" 
 
 ''It's no use," answered Woodchuck, 
 gloomily; ^'he had a woman with him, audit 
 
TICOXDEROGA. 169 
 
 will soon be known all through the 
 tribe." 
 
 ^' But for your own safety," said Walter, 
 '' you had better fly. It is very sad indeed. 
 Vriiat could make him attack you ?" 
 
 " An old grudge, Master Walter," answered 
 Brooks, seating himself deliberately on the 
 ,ground, and laying his rifle across his knee. 
 ^' I knew the crittur well — the Striped Snake 
 they called him, and a snake he was. He tried 
 to cheat and rob me, and I made it plain to the 
 whole tribe. Some laughed and thought it 
 fair ; but old Black Eagle scorned and rebuked 
 him, and he has hated me ever since. He has 
 been long watching for this, and now he has 
 got it." 
 
 ^^Well, well," returned Walter, "what's 
 done cannot be undone. You had better 
 get away as fast as you can ; for Black Eagle 
 told me he had left three scouts behind, to 
 bring us tidings in case of danger, and we can- 
 ot tell how near the others may be." 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
170 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 ^^ This was one of them," answered Brooks, 
 still keeping his seat, and gazing at the Indian ; 
 '^hut what is safety to me, Walter? I can no 
 more roam the forests ; I can no more pursue 
 my way of life ; I must go into dull and smoky 
 cities, and plod amongst thieving, cheating 
 crowds of white men. The rifle and the hatchet 
 must be laid aside for ever ; the forest grass 
 must know my foot no more. Flowers, and 
 green leaves, and rushing streams, and the 
 broad lake, and the mountain top, are lost and 
 gone — the watch under the deep boughs, and by 
 the silent water. Close pressed amidst the 
 toiling herd, I shall become sordid, and low, 
 and filthy, as they are ; my free nature lost, and 
 gyves upon my spirit. All life's blessings are 
 gone from me ; why should I care for life ?" 
 
 There was something unusually plaintive, 
 mournful, and earnest in his tones, and Lord 
 
 H could not help feeling for him, although 
 
 he did not comprehend fully the occasion of 
 his grief. 
 
 ^^ But, my good friend," he said, " I cannot 
 
TIC0]ST)EI10GA. 171 
 
 perceive how your having slain this Indian, in 
 your own defence, can bring such a train of 
 miseries upon you. You would not have killed 
 him, if he had not attacked you. " 
 
 ^^ Alas for me ! alas for me !" was all the 
 answer that the poor man made. 
 
 " You do not know their habits, sir," said 
 Walter, in a low voice ; " they must always 
 have blood for blood. If he stays here, if he 
 ever returns, go where lie will in the Indian 
 territory, they will track him, they will follow 
 him day and night. He v/ill be amongst them 
 like one of the wild beasts whom we so eagerly 
 pursue from place to place, with the hatchet 
 always hanging over his head. There is no 
 safety for him, except far away in the provinces 
 beyond those towns that Indians ever visit. 
 Do persuade him to come away and leave the 
 body. He can go down with me to Albany, 
 and thence mai>:e his wav to New York or 
 Philadelphia." 
 
 For some minutes Brooks remained deaf to 
 
172 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 all arguments ; his whole thoughts seemed 
 occupied with the terrible conviction that the 
 wild scenes and free life which he enjoyed so 
 intensely, were, with him, at an end for ever. 
 
 Suddenly, however, when Lord H was 
 
 just about to abandon, in despair, the task of 
 persuading him, he started up as if some new 
 thought struck him ; and, gazing first at 
 Walter and then at the young officer, he ex- 
 claimed — 
 
 '^But I am keeping you here, and you too 
 may be murdered. The death- spot is upon me, 
 and it will spread to all around. I am ready 
 to go. I will bear my fate as I can, but it is 
 very, very hard. Come, let us be gone quick. 
 Stay, I will charge my rifle first. Who knows 
 how soon we may need it for more such bloody 
 work ?" 
 
 All his energy seemed to have returned in a 
 moment, and it deserted him not again. He 
 charged his rifle with wonderful rapidity, tossed 
 it under his arm, and took a step as if to go. 
 Then for a moment he paused, and, advancing 
 
TICONDEROGA. 17o 
 
 close to the dead Indian , gazed at him sternly. 
 
 " Oh, my enemy !" he cried, " thou saidst 
 thou wouldst have revenge, and thou hast had 
 it, far more bitter than if thy hatchet had 
 entered into my skull, and I were lying there 
 in thy place.'' 
 
 Turning round as soon as he had spoken, he 
 led the way back along the trail, murmuring, 
 rather to himself than to his companions — 
 
 " The instinct of self-preservation is very 
 strong. But better for me had I let him slay 
 me. I know not how I was fool enough to fire. 
 Come, Walter, we must get round the falls 
 where we shall find some batteaux that will 
 carry us down." 
 
 He walked along for about five minutes in 
 silence; and then suddenly looked around to 
 Lord H , exclaiming — 
 
 '' But what's to become of him ? How is he 
 to find his way back again ? Come, I will go 
 back with him ; it matters not if they do catch 
 
174 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 me and scalp me. I do not like to be dogged 
 and tracked and followed, and taken nnawares. 
 But I can only die at last. I will go back with 
 him as soon as yon are in the boat, Walter." 
 
 ^^1^0, no, Woodchuck, that will not do," re- 
 turned the lad; ^^ you forget that if they found 
 you with him, they would kill him too. I will 
 tell you how we will manage it. Let him come 
 down with us to the point ; then there is a 
 straight road up to the house, and we can get 
 one of the batteaux-men to go with him and 
 show him the way, unless he likes to go on 
 with me to Albany." 
 
 " I cannot do that," replied Lord H , 
 
 "for I promised to be back at your father's 
 house by to-morrow night, and matters of much 
 importance may have to be decided. But I 
 can easily land at the point, as you say — what' 
 ever point you may mean — and find my way 
 back. As for myself, I have no fears. There 
 seem to be but a few scattered parties of 
 
TICONDEROGA. 175 
 
 Indians of different tribes roaming about, and 
 I trust that anything like general hostility is 
 at an end for this year at least." 
 
 "In Indian warfare, the danger is the 
 greatest, I have heard, when it seems the least," 
 observed Walter Prevost; '^but from the point 
 to the house, some fourteen or sixteen miles, 
 the road is generally safe, for it is the only one 
 on which large numbers of persons are passing 
 to and from Albany." 
 
 " It will be safe enough," said Woodchuck ; 
 "that way is always quiet, and, besides, 
 a wise man and a peaceful one could 
 travel at any time from one end of the Long 
 House to the other without risk — unless there 
 were special cause. It is bad shooting we have 
 had to day, Walter ; but still I should have 
 liked to have the skin of that painter; he 
 seemed to me an unextinguishable fine 
 crittur." 
 
 " He was a fine creature, and that I know, 
 for I shot him, Woodchuck," said Walter 
 
176 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 Prevost, with some pride in the achievement. 
 " I wanted to send the skin to Otaitsa ; but it 
 cannot be helped." 
 
 *' Let ns go and get it now," cried Wood- 
 chuck, with the ruling passion strong in death ; 
 "'tis but a step back. Darn those Ingians ! 
 Why should we care ?" 
 
 But both his companions urged him forward; 
 and they continued their way through the 
 woods skirting the river, for somewhat more 
 than two miles, first rising gently to a spot 
 where the roar of the waters was heard dis- 
 tinctly, and then descending to a rocky point, 
 midway between the highest ground and the 
 water level, where a small congregation of huts 
 had been gathered together, principally inha- 
 bited by boatmen, and surrounded by a stout 
 palisade. One of the most necessary parts of 
 prudence in any body of settlers, was to choose 
 such a site for their dwelling-place as v/ould 
 command a clear view of an approaching 
 stranger, whether well or ill disposed ; and the 
 
TICONDEROGA. 177 
 
 ground round this little hamlet had been 
 cleared on all sides of every tree and shrub 
 that could conceal a rabbit. Thus situated on 
 the top of the eminence nearest to the water, it 
 possessed an almost panoramic view, hardly to 
 be surpassed in the world. 
 
 That view, however, had one principal ob- 
 ject. On the left, at about four hundred 
 yards' distance, the river of which I have 
 spoken came thundering over a precipice of 
 about three hundred feet in height. Whether 
 worn by the constant action of the waters, or 
 cast into that shape by some strange geological 
 phenomenon, the rock over which the torrent 
 poured had assumed the form of a great amphi- 
 theatre, scooped out, as it were, in the very 
 bed of the river, which, flowing on in a mighty 
 stream, fell over the edge at various points; 
 sometimes in an immense green mass, some- 
 times in a broad and silvery sheet, sometimes 
 in a dazzling line of sparkling foam ; all the 
 streams meeting about half way down, and 
 I 6 
 
178 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 thundering and boiling in a dark abyss, wbich 
 the eye from above could hardly fathom. Jut- 
 ting masses of grey rock protruded themselves 
 in strange fantastic shape about, around, and 
 below, the chasm ; and upon these, wherever a root 
 could cling, or a particle of vegetable earth could 
 rest, a tree, a shrub, a flower, or had perched 
 itself. The green boughs waved amidst the 
 spray ; the dark hemlock contrasted itself, in 
 its stern grandeur, with the white, agitated 
 waters ; and the birch and the ash with their 
 waving branches seemed to sport with the 
 eddies as they leapt along. 
 
 At the foot of the precipice was a deep, 
 whirling pool, unseen, however, fi^om the spot 
 where the travellers stood ; and from this is- 
 sued, first narrow and confined, but then 
 spreading out gradually, betw^een the decreasing 
 banks, a wide and beautiful river, which, by 
 the time it circled the point in front of 
 the travellers, had become as calm and glossy 
 as a looking-glass, reflecting for their eyes the 
 
TICONDEROGA. 
 
 179 
 
 blue sky, and the majestic clouds which were 
 now moving slowly over it. 
 
 The bend taken by the river shaped the 
 hilly point of ground on which the travellers 
 stood into a small peninsula, about the middle 
 of the neck of which was the boatman's little 
 hamlet which I have mentioned ; and nearly at 
 the same distance as the falls from the huts, 
 though more than a mile and a half by the 
 course of the stream, was a piece of broad, 
 sandy shore, on which the woodman had drawn 
 up ten or twelve boats, used sometimes for the 
 purposes of fishing, sometimes for the carriage 
 of peltries to the towns lower down, and goods 
 and passengers returning. 
 
 Thence onward, the course of the river could 
 be traced for eight or ten miles, flowing 
 through a gently undulating country, densely 
 covered with forest, while to the east and north 
 rose up some fine blue mountains, at the dis- 
 tance, probably, of thirty miles. 
 
 The scene at the hamlet itself had nothing 
 
180 TICOXDEROGA. 
 
 very remarkable in it. There were women 
 sitting at the door, knitting and sewing ; men 
 lounging about, or mending nets, or making 
 lines ; children playing in the dirt, as usual, 
 both inside and outside the palisade. The 
 traces of more than one nation could be dis- 
 covered in the features, as well as on the 
 tongues, of the inhabitants ; and it was not 
 difficult to perceive, that here had been congre- 
 gated, by the force of circumstances, into which 
 it is not necessary to inquire, sundry fragments 
 of Dutch, English, Indian, and even French, 
 races, all bound together by a community of 
 object and pursuit. 
 
 The approach of the three strangers did not 
 in any degree startle the good people from 
 their idleness or their occupations. The car- 
 rying trade was then a very good one, especially 
 in remote places where travelling was difficult ; 
 and these people could always make a tolerable 
 livelihood, without any very great or continuous 
 exertion. The result of such a state of things 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 181 
 
 is always very detrimental to activity of mind 
 or body ; and the boatmen, though they 
 sauntered round Lord H and his com- 
 panions, divining that some profitable piece of 
 work was before them, showed amazing indiffe- 
 rence as to whether they would undertake it, 
 or not. 
 
 But that which astonished Lord H the 
 
 most, was to see the deliberate coolness with 
 which Woodchuck set about making his bar- 
 gain for the conveyance of himself and Wal- 
 ter to Albany, He sat down upon a large 
 stone within the inclosure, took a knife from 
 his pocket, a piece of wood from the ground, 
 and began cutting the latter into small splin- 
 ters, with as tranquil and careless an air 
 as if there were no heavy thought upon his 
 mind, no dark memory be-hind him, no 
 terrible fate dogging him at the heels. 
 
 But Woodchuck and Walter were both well 
 known to the boatmen ; and, though they might 
 
182 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 probably have attempted to impose upon the 
 inexperience of the lad, they knew they had 
 met their match in the shrewdness of his 
 companion, and were not aware that any 
 circumstance rendered speed more valuable to 
 him than money. 
 
 The bargain then was soon concluded ; but 
 Captain Brooks was not contented till he had 
 stipulated also for the services of two men in 
 
 guiding Lord H back to the house of Mr. 
 
 Prevost. This was undertaken for a dollar 
 a-piece ; and then the whole party proceeded 
 to the bank of the river, where a boat was 
 soon unmoored, and Walter and his companion 
 set forth upon their journey : not, however, 
 
 until Lord H had shaken the former 
 
 warmly by the hand, and said a few words in 
 the ear of Captain Brooks, adding : — 
 
 ^' "Walter will tell you more, and how to 
 communicate with me." 
 
 '' Thank you, thank you," replied the hunter, 
 wringing his hand hard. " A friend in need 
 
TICONDEROGA. 183 
 
 is a friend indeed : I do not want it, but I 
 thank you as mucli as if I did. But you 
 shall hear if I do, for somehow I guess you are 
 not the man to say what you don't mean." 
 
 After seeing his two companions row down 
 the stream for a few yards, the nobleman 
 turned to the boatmen who accompanied him, 
 saying :— 
 
 ^' jS'ow, my lads, I want to make a change of 
 our arrangements, and to go back the short way 
 by which we came. I did not interrupt our 
 good friend Woodchuck, because he was 
 anxious about my safety. There are some 
 Indians in the forest ; and he feared I might 
 get scalped. However, we shot a panther 
 there, which we couldn't stay to skin, as their 
 business in Albany was pressing. Now, I want 
 the skin, and am not afraid of the Indians — 
 are you ?" 
 
 The men laughed, and replied in the negative, 
 saying that there were none of the red men 
 there, except four or five Oneidas, and some 
 
184 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 Mohawks ; but they added that the way, though 
 shorter, was much more difficult and bushy, 
 and, therefore, they must have more pay. 
 
 Lord H was less difficult to deal with than 
 
 Captain Brooks, and the bargain was soon 
 struck. 
 
 Each of the men then armed himself with a 
 rifle and took a bag of parched corn with him, 
 
 and the three set out. Lord H undertook 
 
 to guide them to the spot where the panther 
 lay ; and not a little did they marvel at the ac- 
 curacy and precision with wiiich his military 
 habits of observation enabled him to direct 
 them step by step. He took great care not to 
 let them approach the spot where the Indian 
 had been slain, but, stopping about a quarter 
 of a mile to the south, led them across the 
 thicket to within a very few yards of the object 
 he was in search of. It was soon found when 
 they came near the place, and about half an 
 hour was employed in taking off the skin, and 
 packing it up for carriage. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 185 
 
 " Now," said Lord H , " will you two 
 
 undertake to have this skin properly cured, 
 and dispatched by the first trader going west 
 to the Oneida village ?" 
 
 The men readily agreed to do so, if well 
 paid for it, but of course required farther di- 
 rections, saying there were a dozen cr more 
 Oneida villages. 
 
 ^' It will be sure to reach its destination," 
 
 said Lord H , " if you tell the bearer to 
 
 deliver it to Otaitsa, which I believe means 
 the Blossom, the daughter of Black Eagle, the 
 Sachem. Say that it conies from Walter 
 Pre vest." 
 
 '' Oh ay," answered the boatmen, " it shall 
 be done ; but we shall have to pay the man 
 who carries it." 
 
 The arrangement in regard to payment was 
 soon made, though it was somewhat exorbitant ; 
 but, to insure that the commission was faith- 
 fully executed. Lord II reserved a portion 
 
 of the money, to be given when he heard that 
 
186 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 the skin had been delivered. He little knew 
 the consequences which were to flow from 
 the little act of kindness he was performing. 
 
 The rest of the journey passed without 
 interruption or difficulty, and at an early hour 
 of the evening the young nobleman stood once 
 more at the door of his countryman's house. 
 
TICO^^)ER0GA. 18' 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 The return of Lord H , without his guide 
 
 and companion, Captain Brooks, caused some 
 surprise in Mr. Prevost and his daughter, who 
 had not expected to see any of the party before 
 a late hour of the following evening. 
 
 Not choosing to explain, in the presence of 
 Edith, the cause of his parting so suddenly 
 from the hunter, the young nobleman merely 
 said that circumstances had led him to con- 
 clude that it would be advisable to send Wood- 
 chuck in the boat with Walter to Albany ; and 
 his words were uttered in so natural and easy 
 a tone, that Edith, unconscious that her pre- 
 sence put any restraint upon his communica- 
 
188 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 tion with her father, remained seated in their 
 pleasant little parlor till the hour for the 
 evening meal. 
 
 ^* Well, my Lord," said Mr. Prevost, after 
 the few first words of explanation had passed, 
 " did you meet with any fresh specimen of the 
 Indian in your short expedition ?" 
 
 The question might have been a somewhat 
 puzzUng one for a man who did not want to 
 
 enter into any particulars ; but Lord H 
 
 replied with easy readiness — 
 
 *' Only one. Him we saw but for a mo- 
 ment, and he did not speak with us." 
 
 " They are a very curious race," observed 
 Mr. Prevost, " and, albeit not very much given 
 to ethnological studies, I have often puzzled 
 myself as to whence they sprang, and how 
 they made their way over to this continent." 
 
 Lord H smiled. 
 
 " 1 fear I cannot help you," he said. '' My 
 profession, you know, my dear sir, leads one much 
 more to look at things as they are than to inquire 
 
TICONDEROGA. 189 
 
 how they came about. It strikes me, at once, 
 however, that in mere corporeal characteristics 
 the Indian is very different from any race I 
 ever beheld, if I may judge by the few indivi- 
 duals I have seen. The features are very dif- 
 ferent from those of any European or Asiatic 
 people that I know of, and the frame seems 
 formed for a combination of grace and power, 
 almost perfect. Our friend, the Black Eagle, 
 for instance : compare him with a Yorkshire 
 or Somersetshiie farmer, and what a contrast 
 you would find ! Habits could not have pro- 
 duced the difference ; at least, if they sprang 
 from an Eastern stock, for the tribes of the 
 desert are as free and unrestrained, as much 
 used to constant exercise and activity ; but I 
 should be inclined to fancy that climate may 
 have something to do with the matter, for it 
 has struck me that many of the people I have 
 seen in the provinces have what I may call a 
 tendency toward the Indian formation. There 
 
190 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 is a length and suppleness of limb, which to 
 my eyes has something Indian about it." 
 
 '^ Bating the grace and dignity," said 
 Edith, gaily, ^^ I do think that what my father 
 would call the finest specimens of the human 
 animal are to be found among the Indians. 
 Look at our dear little Otaitsa, for instance, 
 can any thing be more beautiful, more grace- 
 ful, more perfect, than her whole face and 
 form ?" 
 
 Lord H smiled, and slightly bowed his 
 
 head, saying — 
 
 '' Now, many a fail' lady. Miss Pre vest, 
 would naturally expect a very gallant reply ; 
 and I might make another without a compli- 
 ment in good cool blood, and upon calm, mature 
 consideration. I am very poorly versed, how- 
 ever, in civil speeches, and therefore I will 
 onlv say that I think I have seen white ladies 
 as beautiful, as graceful, and as perfect, as your 
 fair young fiiend, together with the advantage 
 of a better complexion. But, at the same time, 
 
TICOXDEROGA. 191 
 
 I will admit that she is exceedingly beautiful, 
 and not only that, but very charming, and very 
 interesting too. Hers is not exactly the style 
 of beauty I admire the most ; but certainly it 
 is perfect in its kind, and my young friend 
 Walter seems to think so too.'' 
 
 A slight flush passed over Edith's cheek, and 
 her eyes instantly turned towards her father. 
 But Mr. Pre vest only laughed, saying — 
 
 "If they were not so young, I should be 
 afraid that my son would marry the Sachem's 
 daughter, and, perhaps, in the end, take to the 
 tomahawk and the scalping -knife. But, joking 
 apart, Otaitsa is a very singular little creature. 
 1 never can bring myself to feel that she is an 
 Indian — a savage, in short. TVhen I hear her 
 low, melodious voice, Avith its peculiar song- 
 like intonation, and see the grace and dignity 
 with which she moves, and the ease and pro- 
 priety with which she adapts herself to every 
 European custom, I have to look at her bead- 
 embroidered petticoat, and her leggins, and her 
 
192 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 moccassins, before T can carry it home to my 
 mind that she is not some very high-bred lady 
 of the court of France or England. Then she 
 is so fair, too ; but that is probably from care, 
 and the lack of that exposure to the sun which 
 may, at first, have given and then perpetuated 
 the Indian tint. To use an old homely ex- 
 pression, she is the apple of her father's eye, 
 and he is as careful of her as of a jewel, after 
 his own particular fashion." 
 
 '^ She is a dear creature,'' said Edith, warmly; 
 " all soul, and heart, and feeling. Thank God, 
 too, she is a Christian, and you cannot fancy, 
 my Lord, what marvellous stores of information 
 the little creature has. She knows that England 
 is an island in the middle of the salt sea ; and 
 she can write and read our tongue nearly as 
 well as she speaks it. She has a holy hatred of 
 the French, however ; and would not, for the 
 world, speak a word of their language ; for all 
 her information, and a good share of her ideas, 
 come from our friend, Mr. Gore, who has 
 
TICONDEROGA. 193 
 
 carried John Bull completely into the heart of 
 the wilderness, and kept him there perfect in a 
 sort of crystallized state. Had we but a few 
 more men such as himself amongst the Indian 
 tribes, there would be no fear of any wavering 
 in the friendship of the Five illations. There 
 goes an Indian now past the window. We shall 
 have him in here in a moment, for they stand 
 upon no ceremony — and he is speaking to 
 Antony, the negro -boy. How curiously he 
 peeps about him ! He must be looking for some- 
 body he does not find." 
 
 Lord H rose and went to the window, 
 
 and, in a minute or two after, the Indian 
 stalked quietly away, aud disappeared in the 
 forest. 
 
 '' Yf hat could he want ?" said Edith. '' It 
 is strange he did not come in. I will ask An- 
 tony what he sought here.'' 
 
 And, going to the door, she called the gar- 
 dener boy up, and questioned him. 
 
 " He want Captain Woodchuck, Missy," re- 
 
 YOL. I. X 
 
194 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 plied the lad. " He ask if he not lodge here 
 last night. I tell him yes ; but Woodchuck 
 go av/ay early this morning, and not come back 
 since. He 'quire very much about him, and 
 ^ho went with him. I tell him Massa Walter 
 and de strange gentleman, but both leave him 
 soon — Massa "Walter go straight to Albany, 
 strange gentleman come back here.'' 
 
 '' Did he speak English ?" asked Edith. 
 
 '' Few word," replied the negro. ^^I speak 
 few word Indian. So patch 'em together make 
 many, missy." 
 
 And he laughed with that peculiar unmean- 
 ing laugh with which his race are accustomed 
 to distinguish anything they consider witty. 
 
 The whole conversation was heard by the 
 two gentlemen within. On Mr. Prevost it had 
 no effect, but to call a sort of cynical smile 
 upon his lips ; but the case was different with 
 
 Lord H . He saw that the deed which 
 
 had been done in the forest was known to the 
 Indians; that its doer had been recognized, 
 
TICONDEROGA. 1 95 
 
 and that the hunt was up ; and he rejoiced to 
 think that poor Woodchuck was ah-eady far 
 beyond pursuit. 
 
 Anxious, ho^Yever, to gain a fuller insight 
 into the character and habits of a people of 
 whom he had as yet obtained only a glimpse, 
 he continued to converse with Mr. Prevost in 
 regard to the aboriginal races, and learned 
 several facts which bj no means tended to de- 
 crease the uneasiness which the events of the 
 morning had produced. 
 
 ^' The Indians," said his host, in answer to 
 a leading question, ^' are, as you say, a very 
 revengeful people ; but not more so than many 
 other barbarous nations. Indeed, in many of 
 their feelings and habits they greatly resemble 
 a people I have heard of in central Asia called 
 Afghans. Both, in common with almost all 
 barbarians, look upon revenge as a duty im- 
 perative upon every family and every tribe. 
 They modify their ideas, indeed, in case of 
 war ; although it is very difficult to bring 
 K 2 
 
196 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 about peace after war has commenced ; but if 
 any indiyiclual of a tribe is killed by another 
 in time of peace, nothing but the blood of the 
 murderer can satisfy the family or the tribe, if 
 he can be ca:ight. They will pursue him for 
 weeks and months, and employ every stratagem 
 which their fertile brains can suggest to entrap 
 him, till they feel quite certain that he is en- 
 tirely bey OP d their reach. This perseverance 
 proceeds from a religious feeling, for they be- 
 lieve that the spirit of their dead relation can 
 never enter the happy hunting-grounds till his 
 blood has been atoned by that of the slayer." 
 '' But if they cannot catch the slayer," 
 
 asked Lord H , ^' what do they do then ?" 
 
 '^ I used a wrong expression," replied Mr. 
 Prevost. '' I should have said the blood of 
 some other victim. It is their duty, according 
 to their ideas, to sacrifice the slayer. If satis- 
 fied that he is perfectly beyond their power, 
 they strive to get hold of his nearest relation. 
 If they cannot do that, they take a man of his 
 
TICONDEROGA. 197 
 
 tribe or nation, and sacrifice him. It is all 
 done very formally, and with all sorts of con- 
 sideration and consultation ; for in these bloody 
 rites they are the most deliberate people in the 
 world, and the most persevering also.'' 
 
 Lord H mused gravely for some mo- 
 ments without reply ; and then turned the 
 conversation in another du^ection. It certainly 
 was not gay ; but it was, to all appearance, 
 cheerful enough on his side ; for this world is a 
 strange teacher of hypocrisy in all its various 
 shades, from that which is the meanest and 
 most detestable of vices to that which is dig- 
 nified by its motives and its conduct almost to 
 a virtue. God forbid that I should ever, for a 
 moment, support the false and foul axiom that 
 the end can justify the means. But it is with 
 all evil things as with deadly poisons. There 
 are occasions when, in small portions, they 
 may, for certain diseased circumstances, become 
 precious antidotes. Had man remained pure, 
 perfect, and upright, as he came from the 
 
198 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 hands of his Creator — had he never doubted 
 God's word, disobeyed his commandments, 
 tasted of that which was forbidden — had dis- 
 obedience never brought pain and death — had 
 blood never stained the face of earth, and pain 
 in all its shapes followed in the footsteps of sin 
 — there would, indeed, have never been any 
 occasion or any circumstances in which it 
 would have been needful, honorable, or kind 
 for man to hide one feeling of his heart from 
 his fellow beings. Eut in this dark, corrupted 
 world, where sickness and sorrow, care, distress, 
 and death, surround, not only ourselves, but those 
 who are dearest to us, and hem us in on 
 every side, how often is it needful to hide from 
 those, even whom we love the best, and trust 
 the most, the anxieties which imagination 
 suggests, or to which reason and experience give 
 birth ; to conceal, for a time, even the sad and 
 painful facts of which we are cognizant ; to shut 
 up our sorrow and our dread in our own bosom, 
 till we have armed and steeled the hearts of 
 
TICOKDEROGA. 199 
 
 those we love better than ourselves, to resist or 
 to endure the evil which is preying on our 
 own. 
 
 A few clays earlier, Lord H might plainly 
 
 and openly have told all the occurrences of the 
 morning in the ears of Edith Prevost ; but 
 sensations had been springing up in his breast, 
 which made him more tender of her feelings, 
 more careful of creating alarm and anxiety; 
 and he kept his painful secret well till after 
 the evening-meal was over, and she had re- 
 tired to her chamber. Then, however, he 
 stopped Mr. Prevost just as that gentleman was 
 raising a light to hand to his guest, and 
 said — 
 
 " I am afraid, my good Mend, we cannot 
 go to bed just yet. I have something to tell 
 you, which, from all I have heard since it oc- 
 curred, appears to me of much greater im- 
 portance than at first. Whether anything can 
 be done to avert the evil consequences or not, 
 
200 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 I cannot tell ; but, at all events, it is as well 
 that you and I should talk the matter over." 
 
 He then related to Mr. Prevost all the 
 events of the morning, and was sorry to per- 
 ceive that gentleman's face assuming a deeper 
 and deeper gloom as he proceeded. 
 
 " This is most unfortunate indeed," said 
 Mr. Prevost, at length. *'I quite acquit our 
 poor friend Brooks of any evil intent ; but to 
 slay an Indian at all so near our house, and 
 especially an Oneida, was most unlucky. That 
 tribe, or nation, as they call themselves, has, from 
 the strong personal regard, I suppose, which has 
 grown up accidentally between their chief and 
 myself, always shown the greatest kindness 
 and friendship towards myself and my family. 
 Before this event, I should have felt myself, 
 in any of their villages, as much at home as by 
 my own fire-side, and I am sure that each man 
 felt himself as secure on any part of the lands 
 granted to me, as if he were in his own lodge. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 201 
 
 But now, their blood has stained my very mat, 
 as they will call it, and the consequences no 
 one can foresee. Wocdchuck has himself 
 escaped. He has no relations or friends on 
 whom they can wreak their vengeance." 
 
 " Surely," exclaimed Lord H , *' they 
 
 will never visit his offence on you or yours." 
 
 ^' I trust not," replied Mr. Pre vest, after a 
 moment's thought ; '' yet I cannot feel exactly 
 sure. They will take a white man for their 
 victim — an Englishman — one of the same na- 
 tion as the offender. Probably it may not 
 matter much to them who it is ; and the 
 affectionate regard which they entertain to- 
 wards us may turn the evil aside. But these 
 Indians have a sort of fanaticism in their re- 
 ligion, as well as we have in ours ; the station 
 and the dignity of the victim which they offer 
 up enters into their consideration — they like 
 to make a v/orthy and an honorable sacrifice, as 
 they consider it ; and, just as this spirit moves 
 them or not, they may think that any one will 
 K 
 
20 J TICONDEROGA. 
 
 do for their purpose, or that they are required 
 by their God of vengeance to immolate some 
 one dear to themselves, in order to dignify the 
 sacrifice." 
 
 '^ This is, indeed, a very sad view of the 
 affair, and one which had never struck me," re- 
 plied Lord H . '^ It may be well to con- 
 sider, my dear sir, what is the best and safest 
 course. I must now tell you one of the ob- 
 jects which made me engage your son to carry 
 my dispatches to Albany. It seemed to me, 
 from all I have learned during my short resi- 
 dence with you, especially during my confe- 
 rence with Sir William Johnson, that the un- 
 protected state of this part of the country left 
 Albany itself, and the settlements round it, 
 unpleasantly exposed. "We know that on a 
 late occasion it was Dieskau's intention, if he 
 had succeeded in defeating Sir William, and 
 capturing Fort George, to make a dash at the 
 capital of the province. He was defeated ; 
 but there is reason to believe that Montcalm — 
 
TICONDEROGA. 203 
 
 a man much his superior, both in energy and 
 skill — entertained the same views, although we 
 know not what induced him to retreat so hastily 
 after his black and bloody triumph at Fort 
 William Henry. He may seize some other 
 opportunity ; and I can perceive nothing what- 
 soever to oppose his progress, or delay him for 
 an hour, if he can make himself master of the 
 few scattered forts which lie between Carrillon 
 or Ti6onderoga. In these circumstances, I have 
 strongly urged that a small force should be 
 thrown forward to a commanding point on the 
 river Hudson, not many miles from this place, 
 which I examined as I came hither — with an 
 advanced post or two, still nearer to your 
 house. My own regiment I have pointed out 
 as better fitted for the service than any other ; 
 and I believe that if my suggestions are adopted, 
 as I doubt not they will be, we can give 
 you efficient protection. Still I think," con- 
 tinued the nobleman, speaking more slowly 
 and emphatically, " that, with two young 
 
204 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 people so justly dear to you ; with a daughter 
 so beautiful, and every way so charming ; and 
 so gallant and noble a lad as Walter, whose 
 high spirit and adventurous character will ex- 
 pose him continually to any snare that may be 
 set for him, it will be much better for you to 
 retire with them both to Albany ; at least till 
 such time as you know that the spirit of Indian 
 vengeance has been satisfied, and that the real 
 peril has passed." * 
 
 Mr. Prevost mused for several minutes ; and 
 then replied — 
 
 ^' The motives you suggest are certainly 
 very strong, my Lord ; but I have strange 
 ways of viewing such subjects, and I must 
 have time to consider whether it is fair and 
 right to my fellow countrymen, scattered over 
 this district, to withdraw from my share of the 
 peril which ail who remain would have to en- 
 counter. — Do not argue with me upon the sub- 
 ject to-night. I will think over it well ; and 
 doub^ not that I shall view the plan you have 
 
TICONDEROGA. 205 
 
 suggested with all the favor that paternal love 
 can afford. I will also keep my mind free to 
 receive any further reasons you may have to 
 produce. But I must first consider quietly 
 and alone. There is no need of immediate 
 decision; for these people, according to their 
 own code, are hound to make themselves per- 
 fectly sure that they cannot get possession of 
 the actual slayer, before they choose another 
 victim. It is clear from what the Indian said 
 to the negro boy, that they know the hand that 
 did the deed, and they must search for poor 
 Brooks first, and practise every device to allure 
 him back before they immolate another. Let 
 us both think over the matter well, and confer 
 to-morrow." 
 
 Thus sayin?-, he shook hands with Lord 
 
 H ; and they retired to their several 
 
 chambers with very gloomy and apprehensive 
 thoughts. 
 
206 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 Theee are hours in the life of man when no 
 actual grief oppresses him — when there is no 
 imminent peril near — when no strong passion 
 wi'ings his heart ; and yet those hours are 
 amongst the most dark and painful of his 
 whole existence. They come on many oc- 
 casions, and under various circumstances 
 — often when some silent voice from within 
 warns him of the instability of all human joy, 
 and a grey shadow takes the place of the sun- 
 shine of life — often when the prophetic soul, 
 seeing in the distant horizon a cloud no bigger 
 than a man's hand, foretels the hurricane and 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 207 
 
 the tempest that is to sweep away his bright- 
 est hopes for ever. 
 
 Such hours were those of Mr. Prevost during 
 a great part of the night which succeeded his 
 
 parting with Lord H . He slept but little 
 
 for several hours, and, though he knew not why, 
 a gloomy, oppressive fancy seized upon him, 
 that his household would be the one to suffer 
 from the event which had lately passed. 
 
 The want of sleep in the earlier part of the 
 night protracted the slumbers of the morning. 
 He was usually the first person up in the 
 house, and enjoyed many an hour of study or 
 of thought before even the negroes were stir- 
 ring. But this morning he was aroused by a 
 distant knocking at the huts where the out- 
 door servants slept, and then by a repetition of 
 the same sound at the door of the house 
 itself. 
 
 Eising hastily, he got down in time to see 
 the door opened by old Agrippa. and found a 
 man on horseback bearing a large, official- 
 
208 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 looking letter, addressed to Major-General 
 
 Lord H . 
 
 It proved to be a dispatch from Sir William 
 
 Johnson, requesting both Lord H and 
 
 Mr. Prevost to attend a meeting of some of the 
 chiefs of the Five !N'ations, which was to be 
 held at Johnson Castle on the Mohawk in the 
 course of the following day. Though the dis- 
 tance was not very great, the difficulty of 
 travelling through that part of the country 
 made it necessary to set out at once in order 
 to reach the place of rendezvous before night. 
 
 ^' I will mount my horse as soon as it can 
 
 be got ready," said Lord H , when he had 
 
 read the letter, and shown it to Mr. Prevost. 
 '^ I suppose, in existing circumstances, you 
 will not think it advisable to accompany me ?" 
 
 "Most certainly I v/ill go with you, my 
 Lord," replied his host. ''As I said last 
 night, the danger, though very certain, is not 
 immediate. Weeks, months, may pass before 
 these Indians feel assured that they cannot ob- 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 209 
 
 tain possession of the actual slayer of their red 
 brother ; and, as many of the Oneidas will pro- 
 bably be present at this ' talk,' as they call it. 
 I may, perhaps, f though it is very doubtful), 
 gain some insight into their thoughts and in- 
 tentions. I will take my daughter with me, 
 however, for I should not like to leave her 
 here altogether alone. Her preparations may 
 delay us for half-an-hour ; but we shall have 
 ample time; and the horse of the messenger 
 who will act as our guide, must have some 
 little time to take rest and feed." 
 
 Edith was all gaiety and satisfaction at 
 the thought of the expedition before her. She 
 knew many of the Indians well ; was ac- 
 quainted with their habits and manners, and 
 was a great favorite with several of the chiefs ; 
 but she had never been present at any of their 
 great meetings, and the event before her had 
 all the recommendation of novelty. The keen 
 observer before whom she stood, drew from 
 her active eagerness an inference, partially 
 
210 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 true, though carried, perhaps, a little too far, 
 that she was not in reality well satisfied with 
 her residence in the wilderness — that it was 
 oppressive to her, and that, though she might 
 studiously conceal her distaste for such soli- 
 tude, she was very glad to seize an opportunity 
 of escaping from it to busier scenes. 
 
 However that might be, she was ready the 
 first. A very brief time was spent at break- 
 fast, and then the whole party set out on 
 horseback, followed by a negro leading a pack- 
 horse, and preceded by the messenger of Sir 
 William Johnson. 
 
 It was customary in those days in all lands 
 for every gentleman to go armed with the 
 sword at least ; and, in those parts of America 
 which bordered upon the Indian territory, few 
 people thought of going forth for any distance 
 without a rifle as a protection, not alone against 
 any hostile natives, but against wild beasts 
 which were then somewhat numerous. Mr. 
 Pre vest, the messenger, and the negro, were all 
 
TICONDEROGA. 211 
 
 thus armed ; but Lord H who had hitherto 
 
 worn nothing but the common riding-suit in 
 which he had first presented himself, except 
 in his unfortunate expedition with Captain 
 Brooks, had now donned the splendid uniform 
 of a Major- General in the British service, and 
 was merely armed with his sword and pistols 
 in the holsters of his saddle. 
 
 Thus equipped, and mounted on a horse full 
 of life and spirit, from a four days' rest, he 
 was certainly as gallant looking a cavalier as 
 ever presented himself to lady's eyes. But, to 
 say sooth, his military station and his military 
 dress were no great recommendation to Edith ; 
 for it is sad to say, but too true, that officers in 
 the English army in those days had made 
 themselves anything but popular or well 
 esteemed in the American provinces. A more 
 simple and more virtuous state of society 
 certainly existed in the northern portion of 
 the New World, than in any part of the 
 Old ; and, coming from a luxurious and 
 
212 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 vicious scene to a completely different state of 
 things, the English officer, despising the simpler 
 habits of the people, displayed no slight 
 portion of insolence and presumption, and 
 carried to excess the evil habits which should 
 have been disgraceful in any country. A great 
 change has since come over his manners and 
 character in almost every respect ; but at that 
 period he was notorious in the colonies for 
 blasphemy, drunkenness, and depraved morals. 
 Thus, to be a military man was, as I have 
 said, no great recommendation in the eyes of 
 any lady who possessed self-respect, but in the 
 
 case of Lord H it served to heighten the 
 
 good qualities which were apparent in him, by 
 showing him in a favourable contrast to the 
 great body of his comrades. He swore not ; 
 in eating and drinking he carried moderation 
 to abstemiousness ; and in manners, though 
 firm, easy, and self-possessed, there was not the 
 slightest touch of overbearingness or pre- 
 sumption. Occasionally his tone was grave, 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 213 
 
 almost to sternness ; but at otlier times it was 
 mild, and even tender ; and there was some- 
 thing peculiarly gentle as well as bright in his 
 smile, and in his eyes. 
 
 The journey passed without incident. Deep 
 woods succeeded each other for many miles, 
 but not without interruption. Every now and 
 then a bright stream would come dancing 
 along in its autumnal freshness ; and then 
 the road would circle the edge of a small 
 lake, sweet, and calm, and beautiful, reflecting 
 the blue sky and the over-hanging branches of 
 the pine and hemlock. At j)laces where the 
 maple grew, the forest would be all in a glow, 
 as if with the reflection of some vast unseen 
 fire ; and then again, where the road passed 
 through a deep valley, all would be dark and 
 sombre and gloomy. 
 
 ^0 Indian villages were passed, and not a 
 human being was seen for seventeen or 
 eighteen miles ; though here and there a 
 small log-hut, apparently deserted; testified to 
 
Hi TICONDEROGA. 
 
 the efforts of a new race to wrest their hunting- 
 grounds from an earlier race — efforts too soon, 
 too sadly, too cruelly, to be consummated. 
 
 The softer light of early morning died away, 
 and then succeeded a v/armer period when 
 the heat became very oppressive; for in 
 the midst of those deep forests, with no wind 
 stirring, the change from summer to winter is 
 not felt so rapidly as in more open lands. 
 
 About an hour after noon, Mr. Prevost pro- 
 posed to stop, rest the horses, and take some 
 refreshment ; and a spot was selected where 
 some fine oaks spread their large limbs over a 
 beautifully clear little lake or pond, the view 
 across which presented peeps of a distant 
 country, some blue hills, at no very great 
 elevation, appearing above the tops of the trees. 
 It was a calm and quiet spot ; and, while resting 
 there for an hour, the conversation, as is 
 generally the case, was tinged by the influence 
 of the scene. 
 
 Mr. Prev6st himself, though passed the age 
 
TICONDEROGA. 215 
 
 when impressions of any kind are most readily 
 received, had preserved much of the fresh and 
 plastic character of youth, and gave himself up 
 to any train of thought that might be suggested 
 by circumstances. A casual word led his mind 
 away from those drier topics on which he was 
 often pleased to dwell, to friendship and to love ; 
 
 and he and Lord H discussed for some 
 
 time a number of subjects which rarely arise 
 between an elderly man and one in early 
 middle age. Of the two, strange to say, Mr. 
 Pre vest, in dealing with such topics, seemed 
 the most enthusiastic and fanciful. He would 
 play with them, he would embellish them, he 
 would illustrate them, as if he had been a 
 young lover, with his imagination freshly kindled 
 by the torch of the blind god. But in the 
 
 little said by Lord II there was a depth, 
 
 and a strength, and an. earnestness, which more 
 than made up for the lack of figurative 
 adornment. 
 
 Edith said little — nothing, in truth, that bore 
 
216 TICOKDEROGA. 
 
 upon the subject ; but perhaps she did not 
 think — perhaps she did not feel — the less. It 
 must be a strange thing, to a young girl's ears, 
 I have often thought, when first in her presence 
 are discussed, by the cool, fearless tongues of 
 men, those deep sympathies, those warm af- 
 fections, those tender and absorbing passions — 
 like the flimous Amreeta cup, good or evil, life 
 or death, according to the spirit in w^hich they 
 are received — which form for her the key-note 
 of the whole harmonies of her nature, the foun- 
 dation of life's happiness or woe, the talisman 
 of her whole destiny. Must she not shrink and 
 thrill, as would the idolater at seeing profane 
 and carelesss hands sport with the image of 
 his god ? 
 
 Needless, perhaps vain, were it, to try and 
 look into that young girl's heart. Suffice it, 
 she was silent, or very nearly so — suffice it, 
 that she thought and felt in her silence. Was 
 it that the portals of a new world were opened 
 to her, full of beauty, and of interest, and that 
 
TICOKDEROGA. 217 
 
 she stood on the threshold, gazing in voiceless 
 awe ? 
 
 At the end of an hour, the party again 
 mounted, and pursued their way, still 
 through forests and valleys, across streams, 
 and by the side of lakes ; till, at length, just 
 as the evening sun was reaching the horizon, a 
 visible change took place in the aspect of the 
 country : spots were seen which had been cul- 
 tivated, where harvests had grown and been 
 reaped ; and then a house gleamed here and 
 there through the woodland, and blue wreaths of 
 smoke might be seen rising up. Tracks of cart- 
 wheels channelled the forest path; a cart or 
 waggon was drawn up near the road- side ; high 
 piles of fire-wood showed preparation against 
 the bitter winter ; and every thing indicated, 
 that the travellers were approaching some new, 
 but prosperous, settlement. 
 
 Soon all traces of the primeval woods, except 
 those which the little party left behind them, 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
218 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 disappeared; and abroad tract of well-cultivated 
 country spread out before them, with a fine 
 river bounding it at the distance of more than 
 a mile. The road, too, was comparatively 
 good and broad ; and, half way between the 
 forest and the river, that road divided into two, 
 one branch going straight on, and another 
 leading up the course of the stream. 
 
 '^ Is Sir William at the Hall, or at his 
 castle ?'^ asked Mr. Prevost, raising his voice 
 to reach the ears of his guide, who kept a little 
 in front. 
 
 ^^He told me, sir, to take you to the Hall if 
 you should come on, sir," replied the messenger. 
 ^' There is a great number of Indians up at the 
 Castle already, and he thought you might, 
 perhaps, not like to be with them altogether." 
 
 " Probably not," returned Mr. Prevost, drily ; 
 and they rode on upon the direct road, till, 
 passing two or three smaller houses, they came 
 in sight of a very large and handsome edifice, 
 
IICOJn)EROGA. 219 
 
 built of wood, indeed, but somewbat in tbe 
 style of a European bouse of tbe eigbteentb 
 century. 
 
 As they approacbed tbe gates. Sir William 
 Jobnson himself, now in full costume of an 
 officer of the British army, came down the 
 steps to meet and welcome them; and little 
 less ceremonious politeness did be display, in 
 tbe midst of tbe wild woods of America, than 
 if be bad been, at tbe moment, in tbe balls of 
 St. James's. With stately grace, be lifted 
 Edith from her horse, greeted Lord JI~ — 
 with a deferential bow, shook Mr. Prevost by 
 tbe band, and then led them himself to rooms 
 which seemed to have been prepared for 
 them. 
 
 " Where is my friend Walter ?" be asked, 
 as be was about to leave Mr. Prevost to some 
 short repose ; ^' what has induced him to deny 
 bis old acquaintance the pleasure of bis society ? 
 Ha, Mr. Prevost, does be think to find metal 
 more attractive at your lonely dwelling ? 
 L 2 
 
220 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 Perhaps he may be mistaken ; for, let me tell 
 you, the beautiful Otaitsa is here — here, in this 
 very house ; for our good friend Gore has so 
 CDmpletely Anglified her, that, what between 
 her Christianity, her beauty, •*' and her deli- 
 cacy, I believe she is afrqid to trust herself 
 with four or five hundred red warriors at the 
 Castle." 
 
 , He spoke in a gay and jesting tone ; and 
 every one knows the blessed facility which 
 parents have of shutting their eyes to the love- 
 affairs of their children. Mr. Prevost did not, 
 in the least, perceive anything in the worthy 
 General's speech, but a good-humored joke at 
 the boyish fondness of his son for a pretty 
 Indian girl ; and he hastened to excuse Walter's 
 absence by telling Sir William that he had been 
 
 sent to Albany on business by Lord H . 
 
 He then enquired, somewhat anxiously — 
 
 '' Is our friend the Black Eagle here, with 
 his daughter ?" 
 
 ''He is here on the ground," replied Sir 
 
TICONDEROGA. 221 
 
 William, "but not in the house. His Indian 
 habits are of too old standing to be rooted out 
 like Otaitsa's, and he prefers a bear-skin and 
 his own blue blanket to the best bed and quilt 
 in the house. 1 offered him such accommoda- 
 tion as it afforded ; but he declined with the 
 dignity of a prince refusing the hospitality of 
 a cottage." 
 
 " Does he seem in a good-humor to-day ?" 
 asked Mr. Prevost, hesitating whether he should 
 tell Sir William, at a moment when they were 
 likely to be soon interrupted, the event which 
 had caused so much apprehension in his own 
 mind ; ^^you know he is somewhat variable in 
 his mood." 
 
 '' I never remarked it," replied the other 
 " I think he is the most civilized savage I ever 
 saw ; far more than King Hendrick, though 
 the one, since his father's death, wears a blue 
 coat, and the other does not. He did seem a 
 little grave, indeed; but the shadows of In- 
 
222 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 dian mirth and gravity are so faint, it is diffi- 
 cult to distinguish them.^^ 
 
 While these few words were passing Mr. 
 Prevost had decided upon his course, and he 
 merely replied, 
 
 '^ Well, Sir William, pray let Otaitsa know 
 that Edith is here. They will soon be in each 
 others' arms ; for the two girls love like 
 sisters." 
 
 A fev>^ words sprang to Sir William John- 
 son's lips, which, had they been uttered, 
 might, perhaps, have opened Mr. Provost's 
 eyes, at least, to the suspicions of his friend. 
 He was on the eve of answering, ^^ And, some 
 day, they may he sisters." But he checked 
 himself, and nothing but the smile which 
 should have accompanied the words made any 
 reply. 
 
 When left alone, the thoughts of Mr. Pre- 
 vost reverted at once to more pressing con- 
 siderations. 
 
 " The old chief knows this event," he 
 
TICONDEROaA. 223 
 
 said to himself: " he has heard of it — heard 
 the whole, probably. It is wonderful how 
 rapidly intelligence is circulated amongst this 
 people from mouth to mouth !" 
 
 He was well nigh led into speculations re- 
 garding the strange celerity with which news 
 can be carried orally, and was beginning 
 to calculate how much distance would be 
 saved in a given space, by one man shouting 
 out the tidings to another afar off, when 
 he forced back his mind into the track 
 it had left, and came to the conclusion, 
 from a knowledge of the character of the par- 
 ties, and from all he had heard, that certainly 
 the Black Eagle was cognizant of the death of 
 one of his tribe by the hand of Captain 
 Brooks, and that, probably — though not cer- 
 tainly — he might have communicated the facts, 
 though not his views and purposes, to his 
 daughter, whose keen eyes were likely to dis- 
 cover much of that which he intended to 
 conceal. 
 
224 TICONDEROGA, 
 
 CIIAPTEE XIII, 
 
 A cuinors and motley assembly was present 
 that nigLt in the halls of Sir William John- 
 son. There were several' ladies and gentlemen 
 from Albany : several young military men, and 
 two or three persons of a class now extinct, 
 but who then drove a very thriving commerce, 
 and whose peculiar business it was to trade 
 with the Indians. Some of the latter were 
 exceedingly well educated men ; and one or 
 two of them were persons, not only of en- 
 lightened minds, but of enlarged views and 
 heart. The others were mere brutal specu- 
 lators, whose whole end and object in life was 
 
TICONDEROGA. 225 
 
 to wring as much from the savage, and give as 
 little in return, as possible. 
 
 Besides these, an Indian chief would, from 
 time to time, appear in the rooms, often 
 marching through in perfect silence, observ- 
 ing all that was going on with dignified 
 gravity, and then going back to his compan- 
 ions at the castle. Amongst the rest was 
 Otaitsa, still in her Indian costume, but evi- 
 dently in gala dress, of the finest cloth and 
 the most elaborate embroidery. Not only was 
 she perfectly at her ease, talking to every one, 
 laughing with many ; but the sort of shrinking, 
 timid tenderness which gave her so great a 
 charm in the society of the few whom she 
 loved, had given place to a wild spirit of 
 gaiety, little in accordance with the character 
 of her nation. 
 
 She glided hither and thither through the 
 room : she rested in one place hardly for a 
 moment : her jests were as light, and some- 
 times as sharp, as those of almost any Parisian 
 L 5 
 
226 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 dame ; and, when one of the young officers 
 ventured to speak to her somewhat lightly as 
 the mere Indian girl, she piled upon him a 
 mass of ridicule that wrung tears of laughter 
 from the eyes of one or two elder men standing 
 near. 
 
 " I know not what has come to the child to- 
 night," said Mr. Gore, who was seated near 
 Edith in one of the rooms ; ^^ a wild spirit seems 
 to have seized upon her, which is quite unlike 
 her whole character and nature — unlike the 
 character of her people, too, or I might think 
 that the savage had returned, notwithstanding 
 all my care." 
 
 '^ Perhaps it is the novelty and excitement 
 of the scene," observed Edith. 
 
 " Oh no," answered the missionary ; " there 
 is nothing new in this scene to her ; she has 
 been at these meetings several times during 
 the last two or three years, but never seemed 
 to yield to their influence as she has done to- 
 night." 
 
TICONDEROGA. 227 
 
 " She has hardly spoken a word to me," 
 said Edith ; " I hope she will not forget the 
 friends who love her." 
 
 " No fear of that, my dear," replied Mr. 
 Gore. ^^ Otaitsa is all heart ; and that heart is 
 a gentle one. Under its influence is she 
 acting now ; it throbs with something that we 
 do not know ; and those light words that make 
 us smile to hear, have sources deep within her 
 — perhaps of bitterness." 
 
 ^' I think 1 have heard her say," remarked 
 Edith, '^ that you educated her from her child- 
 hood." 
 
 " When first I joined the People of the 
 Stone," replied the missionary, ^' I found lier 
 there, a young child of three years old. Her 
 mother was just dead ; and, although her 
 father bore his grief with the stern, gloomy 
 stoicism of his nation, and neither suffered tear 
 to fall, nor sigh to escape his lips, I could see, 
 plainly enough, that he was struck with grief 
 such as the Indian seldom feels, and never 
 
228 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 shows. He received me most kindly ; made my 
 efforts with his people easy ; and though I 
 know not to this hour whether with himself 
 I have been successful in communicating blessed 
 light, he gave his daughter altogether up to 
 'my charge, and with her I have not failed. I 
 fear in him the savage is too deeply rooted 
 ever to be wrung forth, but I have made her 
 one of Christ's flock, indeed.'^ 
 
 It seemed , as if by a sort of instinct, that 
 Otaitsa discovered she was the subject of 
 conversation between her two friends. Twice 
 she looked round at them from the other side of 
 the room, and at length glided across, and 
 seated herself beside Edith. For a moment, 
 she sat in silence there ; and then, leaning her 
 head gracefully on her beautiful companion's 
 shoulder, she said, in a low whisper, '^ Do not 
 close thine eyes this night, my sister, till thou 
 seest me." 
 
 Having thus spoken, she started up, and 
 mingled with the little crowd again. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 229 
 
 It was still early in the night when Edith 
 retired to the chamber assigned for her ; for, 
 even in the most fashionable society of those 
 times, people had not learned to drive the 
 day into the night, and make morning and 
 evening meet. Her room was a large and 
 handsome one ; and, though plainly, it was 
 sufficiently, furnished, No forest, as at her own 
 dwelling, intercepted the beams of the rising 
 moon ; so she sat and contemplated the ascent of 
 the queen of night, as she soared grandly over 
 the distant trees. 
 
 The conduct of Otaitsa during that evening 
 had puzzled Edith, and the few whispered 
 words had excited her curiosity ; for it must 
 not be forgotten that Edith was altogether 
 unacquainted with the fact of one of the 
 Oneidas having been slain by the hands of 
 Captain Brooks, within little more than two 
 miles of her own abode. She proceeded to make 
 her toilet for the night, however, and was al- 
 most undressed when she heard the door of her 
 
230 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 room open quietly, and Otaitsa stole in, and 
 cast her arms around her. 
 
 ^'Ah, my sister," she exclaimed, "I have 
 longed to talk with you." Seating herself 
 by her side, she leaned her head again upon 
 Edith's shoulder, but remained silent for several 
 minutes. 
 
 . The fair English girl knew that it was bet- 
 ter to let her take her own time^ and her own 
 manner, to speak whatever she had to say ; but 
 Otaitsa remained so long without uttering a 
 word, that an indefinable feeling of alarm 
 spread over her young companion. She felt her 
 bosom heave, as if with struggling sighs ; she 
 even felt some warm drops, like tears, fall upon 
 her shoulder ; and yet Otaitsa remained without 
 speaking ; till, at length, Edith said, in a 
 gentle and encouraging tone, 
 
 " What is it, my sister ? There can surely be 
 nothing you should be afraid to utter to my 
 
TICONDEROGA. 231 
 
 " Not afraid," answered Otaitsa ; and then 
 she relapsed into silence. 
 
 ^' But why do you weep, my sweet Blos- 
 som ?'' said Edith, after pausing for a moment 
 or two, to give her time to recover her composure, 
 
 " Because one of your people has killed one 
 of my people," answered the Indian gii4 sor- 
 rowfully. '' Is not that enough to make me 
 weep ?" 
 
 " Indeed 1" exclaimed Edith. " I am much 
 grieved to hear it, Blossom ; but when did this 
 happen, and how ?" 
 
 ^' It happened only yesterday," replied the 
 girl ; " and but a little towards the morning 
 from your ov»^n house, my sister. It was a sad 
 day ! It was a sad day I" 
 
 ^' But I trust it was none near and dear to 
 thee. Blossom, or to the Black Eagle," said 
 Edith, putting her arms around her, and trying 
 to soothe her. 
 
 " IS"©, no," answered Otaitsa ; '' he was a bad 
 man, a treacherous man, one whom my father 
 
232 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 loved not. But that matters little. They will 
 have blood for his blood.'' 
 
 The truth flashed upon Edith's mind at once ; 
 for, although less acquainted with the Indian 
 habits than her brother or her father, she knew 
 enough of their revengeful spirit to feel sure 
 that they would seek the death of the murderer 
 with untiling eagerness, and she questioned 
 her sweet companion earnestly as to all the 
 particulars of the sad tale. Otaitsa told her 
 all she knew, which was, indeed, nearly all that 
 could be told. The man called the Snake, she 
 said, had been shot by the white man, Wood- 
 chuck, in the wood to the north-east of Mr. 
 Provost's house. Intimation of the fact had 
 spread like fire in dry grass through the whole 
 of the Oneidas, who were flocking to the 
 meeting at Sir William Johnson's Castle, and 
 from them would run through the whole 
 tribe. 
 
 " Woodchuckhas escaped," Otaitsa said, " or 
 would have been slain ere now ; but they will 
 
TICONDEROGA. 233 
 
 have his life yet, my sister — " and then she 
 added, slowly and sorrowfully, ^^ or the life of 
 some other white man, if they cannot catch 
 the one." 
 
 Her words presented to Edith's mind a sad 
 and terrible idea — one more fearful in its 
 vagueness and uncertainty of outline, than in 
 the darkness of particular points. That out of 
 a narrow and limited population, some one was 
 foredoomed to be slain — that out of a small 
 body of men, all feeling almost as brethren, 
 one was to be marked out for slaughter — that 
 one family was to lose husband or father or 
 brother, and no one could tell which — made her 
 feel like one of a herd of wild animals, 
 cooped up within the toils of the himters. 
 
 Edith's first object was to learn more from 
 her young companion ; but Otaitsa had told 
 almost all she knew. 
 
 '^ What they will do I know not," she said ; 
 " they do not tell us women. But I fear, 
 Edith, I fear very much ; for they say our 
 
234 TICOKDEROGA. 
 
 brother "Walter was with the Woodchuck when 
 the deed was done." 
 
 " I^ot so, not so," cried Edith ; ^' had he been 
 so, I should have heard of it. He has gone 
 to Albany, and had he been present I am sure 
 he would have stopped it if he could. If your 
 people tell truth, they will acknowledge that 
 he was not there." 
 
 Otaitsa raised her head suddenly, with a 
 look of joy, exclaiming — 
 
 '^ I will make her tell the truth, were she as 
 cunning a snake as he was ; but yet, my 
 sister Edith, some one else will have to die if 
 they find not the man they seek." 
 
 The last words were spoken in a melancholy 
 tone again ; but then she started up, repeat- 
 ing— 
 
 " I will make her tell the truth." 
 
 "Can you do so?" asked Edith; "snakes 
 are always very crafty." 
 
 " I will try at least," answered the girl ; 
 " but oh, my sister, it were better for you, and 
 
TICONDEROGA. 235 
 
 Walter, and your father too, to be away. 
 When a storm is coming, wq try to save what 
 is most precious. There is yet ample time to 
 go ; for the red people are not rash, and do not 
 act hastily as you white people do.'' 
 
 ** But is there no means,'' asked Edith, " of 
 learning what the intention of the tribe 
 really is ?" 
 
 " I know of none," replied the girl, '^ that 
 can be depended upon with certainty. The 
 people of the Stone change no more than the 
 stone from which they sprang. The storm 
 beats upon them, the sun shines upon them, 
 and there is little difference on the face of the 
 rock. Yet let your father watch well when 
 he is at the great talk, to-morrow. Then, if 
 the priest is very smooth and soft-spoken, and if 
 the Black Eagle is stern and silent, and wraps 
 his blanket over his left breast, be sure that 
 something sad is meditated. That is all that I 
 can tell you — but I will make this woman 
 speak the truth if there be truth in her, and 
 
236 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 that too before the chiefs of the nation. Now, 
 sister, lie down to rest. Otaitsa is going at 
 once to her people." 
 
 "But are you not afraid?" asked Edith. 
 " It is a dark night, dear Blossom. Lie down 
 with me, and wait till the morning sun- 
 shine." 
 
 " I have no fear," answered the Indian girl ; 
 "nothing will hurt me. There are times, 
 sister, when a spirit possesses us, that defies 
 all and fears nothing. So has it been with me 
 this night. The only thing I dreaded to face 
 was my own thought, and I would not sufi'er 
 it to rest upon anything till I had spoken with 
 you. Now, however, I have better hope*?. I 
 will go forth, and I will make her tell the 
 truth." 
 
 Thus saying, she left Edith's chamber, and, 
 in about an hour and a half, she stood beside 
 her father, who was seated near a fire kindled 
 in one corner of the court attached to a large 
 house, or rather fort, built by Sir William 
 
TICONDEROGA. 137 
 
 Jolmsoii on the banks of the Mohawk, and 
 called by him his Castle. Eound the Sachem, 
 forming a complete circle, sat a number of the 
 head men of the Oneidas, each in that peculiar 
 crouching position which has been rendered 
 familiar to our eyes by numerous paintings. 
 The court and the Castle itself were well nigh 
 filled with Indians of other tribes of the Five 
 Nations ; but none took any part in the pro- 
 ceedings of the Oneidas but themselves. 
 
 The only stranger who was present in the 
 circle was Sir William Johnson. He was still 
 fully dressed in his British uniform, and seated 
 on a chair in an attitude of much dignity, with 
 his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword. 
 With the exception of that weapon, he had 
 no arms whatever, and indeed it was his custom 
 to sleep frequently in the midst of his red 
 friends utterly unarmed and defenceless. The 
 occasion seemed a solemn one ; for all faces 
 were very grave, and a complete silence pre- 
 vailed for several minutes. 
 
238 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 " Bring in the woman," said Black Eagle, 
 at length ; '' bring her in, and let her speak the 
 truth." 
 
 '' Of what do you accuse her, Otaitsa ?" 
 asked Sir Willian Johnson, fixing his eyes upon 
 his beautiful guest. 
 
 " Of uttering lies to the Sachem and to her 
 brethren," answered Otaitsa. " Her breath 
 has been full of the poison of the snake." 
 
 ''Thou hearest," said Black Eagle, turning 
 to a woman of some one or two-and-twenty 
 years of age. '' What say est thou ?" 
 
 ''I lie not," answered the woman, in the 
 Indian tongue. ^' I saw him lift the rifle, and 
 shoot my brother dead." 
 
 '' Who did it ?" asked Black Eagle, gravely 
 and calmly. 
 
 '•'The Woodchuck," answered the woman; 
 " he did it. I know his face too well." 
 
 " Believe her not," rejoined Otaitsa. " The 
 ^\ oodchuck was ever a friend of our nation. 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 239 
 
 He is our brother. He would not slay an 
 Oneida." 
 
 ^^ But be was my brother's enemy," an- 
 swered the woman ; " there was vengeance 
 between them." 
 
 "Vengeance on thy brother's part," re- 
 torted the old ehief ; " more likely he to slay 
 the Woodchuck, than the Woodchuck to slay 
 him." 
 
 " If she have a witness, let her bring him 
 forward," said Otaitsa. '^ "We will believe her 
 by the tongue of another." 
 
 "I have none," cried the woman, vehemently. 
 "^ I have none ; but I saw him kill my brother 
 with my own eyes, and I cry for his blood." 
 
 ** Didst thou not say that there were two 
 white men with him ?" asked Otaitsa, raising 
 up her right hand. " Then in this thou hast 
 lied to the Sachem and thy brethren ; and who 
 shall say whether thou speakest the truth 
 now ?" 
 
 A curious sort of drowsy hum ran round the 
 
240 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 circle of the Indians ; and one old man said — 
 " She has spoken well." 
 
 The woman in the meanwhile stood silent 
 and abashed, with her eyes fixed upon the 
 ground ; and the Black Eagle said, in a grave 
 tone, 
 
 '' There was none." 
 
 "No," said the woman, lifting her look 
 firmly, " there was none ; but I saw two others 
 in the wood hard by, and I w^z sure they 
 were his companions." 
 
 " That is guile," said Black Eagle, sternly. 
 " Thou didst say thtxt there were two men with 
 him, one the young, pale -face Walter, and the 
 other a tall stranger ; and thou broughtest a 
 cloud over our eyes, and madest us think that 
 they were present at the death." 
 
 "Then methinks. Black Eagle," said Sir 
 William Johnson, using their language nearly 
 as fluently as his own, " there is no faith to be 
 put in the woman's story, and we cannot tell 
 what has happened." 
 
TICONDEROGA. 241 
 
 ^* N"ot SO, my brotheiy ' answered Black 
 Eagle. ^^ We know that the Snake was slain 
 yesterday, before the sun had reached the pine 
 tops. We believe, too, that the Woodchuck 
 slew him; for there was enmity between them, 
 and the ball which killed him was a large ball, 
 such as we have never seen but in that man's 
 pouch." 
 
 '' That is doubtful evidence," said Sir Wil- 
 liam, ^^ and I trust my brother will let ven- 
 geance cease till he have better witnesses." 
 
 The Indians remained profoundly silent for 
 more than a minute ; and then the old man who 
 had spoken once before, replied — 
 
 " If our brother will give us up Woodchuck, 
 vengeance shall cease." 
 
 " That I cannot do," answered Sir William 
 Johnson. ^' First, I have no power ; secocdly, 
 he may be tried by our laws ; but I will not lie 
 to you. If he can show he did it in self-de- 
 fence, he will be set free." 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
242 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 Again there was a long silence ; and then 
 Black Eagle rose, saying — 
 
 "We must take counsel." 
 
 His face was very grave ; and, as he spoke, he 
 drew the large blue blanket which covered his 
 shoulders over his left breast with the gesture 
 which Otaitsa had described to Edith as indi- 
 cating some dark determination. Sir William 
 Johnson marked the signs he saw, and was too 
 well acquainted with the Indian character to 
 believe that their thirst for blood was at all 
 allayed ; but neither by expression of counte- 
 nance nor by words did he show any doubt of 
 his red friends, and he slept amongst them 
 calmly that night, without a fear of the result. 
 
 At an early hour on the following morning, 
 all the arrangements were made for the great 
 CouDcil or " Talk" that was about to be held. 
 Some large arm-chairs were brought forth into 
 the court. A few soldiers were seen moving 
 about, and some negro servants. A num- 
 
TICONDEKOGA. 243 
 
 ber of the guests from the Hall came up about 
 nine o'clock, most of tliem on liorseback ; but 
 when all were assembled, the body of white 
 men present were few and insignificant com- 
 pared with the multitude of Indians who sur- 
 rounded them. No one showed or entertained 
 any fear, however ; and the conference com- 
 menced and passed off with perfect peace and 
 harmony. 
 
 It is true that several of the Indian chiefs, 
 and more especially King Hendrick as ho was 
 called, the son of the chief who had been 
 killed near Fort George a year or two before, 
 made some complaints against the English 
 government for neglect of the just claims of 
 their red allies. All angry feeling, however, 
 was removed by a somev/hat large distribution 
 of presents; and, after hearing everything which 
 the Indians had to say. Sir William Johnson 
 rose from the chair in which he had been seated, 
 with Lo.d H and Mr. Prevost on either 
 
244 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 side, and addressed the assembly in English, 
 his speech being translated sentence after 
 sentence, by an interpreter, according to his 
 invariable custom, when called upon to deal 
 publicly with the heads of the Five Nations. 
 
 The whole of his address cannot be given 
 here ; but it was skilfully turned to suit the 
 prejudices and conciliate the friendship of the 
 people to whom he spoke. He said that their 
 English Eather, King George, loved his red 
 children with peculiar affection ; but that, as his 
 lodge was a long way off, he could not always 
 know their wants and wishes. He had very 
 lately, however, shewn his great tenderness and 
 consideration for the Five ]N"ations, by appointing 
 him, Sir William Johnson, as Indian agent, 
 to make known, as speedily as possible, all that 
 his red children desired. He then drew a 
 glowing pictui'e of the greatness and majesty 
 of the English monarch, as the Attotarho or 
 chief leader of a thousand different nations, 
 
TICONDEROGA. 245 
 
 sitting under a pine-tree that reached to the 
 sky, and receiving, every minute, messages 
 from his children in every part of the earth. 
 
 A hum of satisfaction from the Indians 
 followed this flight of fancy ; and then the 
 speaker went on to say that this great chief, 
 their father, had long ago intended to do much 
 for them, and still intended to do so ; but that 
 the execution of his benevolent purposes had been 
 delayed and impeded by the machinations of 
 the French, their enemies and his^ whom he 
 represented as stealthily lying in wait for all 
 the ships and convoys of goods and presents 
 which were destined for his Indian children, 
 and possessing themselves of them by force or 
 fraud. Eich as he might be, he asked how 
 was it possible that their white father could 
 supply all their wants, when he had so many 
 to provide for, and when so many of his 
 enemies had dug up the tomahawk at once. If 
 the chiefs of the Five I^ations, however, he 
 said, would vigorously aid him in his endeavors, 
 
246 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 King George would speedily drive the French 
 from America ; and, to show his intention of so 
 doing, he had sent over the great chief on his 
 
 right hand, Lord H , and many other 
 
 mighty warriors, to fight side by side with 
 their red brethren. More, he said, would come 
 over in the ensuing spring ; and with the first 
 flower that blossoms under the hemlock-trees, 
 the English warriors would be ready for the 
 battle, if the Indian chiefs there present would 
 promise them cordial support and co-opera- 
 tion. 
 
 It must not be supposed that, in employing 
 very exaggerated language. Sir William had 
 any intention of deceiving. He merely used 
 figures suited to the comprehension of his 
 auditors ; and his speech gave the very highest 
 satisfaction. The unusually large presents 
 which had been distributed — the presence and 
 bearing of the young nobleman who accom- 
 panied him, and a natural weariness of the 
 state of semi-neutrality between the French and 
 
TICONDEROGA. 247 
 
 Englisli, which they had maintained for some 
 time, disposed the chiefs to grant the utmost he 
 could desire ; and 'the conference broke up with 
 the fullest assurance of support from the heads 
 of the Iroquois tribes — assurances which were 
 faithfully made good in the campaigns which 
 succeeded. 
 
248 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 CHAFfEE XIY. 
 
 All was pleasant ease at tlie house of Sir 
 William Johnson, from which the stateliness 
 of his manner did not at all detract ; for, when 
 blended with perfect courtesy, as an Irishman, 
 perhaps better than any man, can blend it, 
 stateliness does not imply restraint. 
 
 The conference with the Indians had not 
 ended until too late an hour for Mr. Prevost 
 and his companions to return to his dwelling 
 on the day when it took place ; and, as Walter 
 was not expected with the answers to Lord 
 
 H 's dispatches for at least two days more, 
 
 the party were not unwilling to prolong their 
 stay till the following morning. Several of 
 
TICONDEROGA. 249 
 
 the guejsts, indeed, who were proceeding to 
 Albany direct, set out at once for their destina- 
 tion, certain of reaching the well-inhabited 
 parts of the country before nightfall; and it 
 was at one time proposed to send a letter by 
 them to young Walter Prevost, directing him 
 to join his father at the Hall. 
 
 The inconveniences which so frequently 
 ensue upon deranging plans already fixed, 
 caused this scheme to be rejected ; and while 
 lier father. Lord H ^, and their host, wan- 
 dered forth for an hour or two along the banks 
 of the beautiful Mohawk, Edith remained at 
 the Hall, not without hope of seeing Otaitsa 
 present herself with some intelligence. 
 
 The Indian girl, however, did not appear ; 
 and gloomy thoughts thronged fast upon poor 
 Edith. She strove to banish them : she schooled 
 herself in regard to the folly of anticipating 
 evils only possible; but who ever mastered 
 completely those internal warnings of coming 
 peril or ^yoe which as often come to cloud our 
 
250 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 brightest days, as to darken tlie gloom of an 
 already tempestuous sky. Edith's chief com- 
 panion was an old lady, nearly related to Sir 
 William, but very deaf and very silent ; and 
 she had but small relief in conversation. 
 
 In the meantime, the three gentlemen and a 
 young aid-de-camp pursued their way amongst 
 the neat farm-houses and mechanics' shops 
 which had gathered round the Hall. Mr. 
 Prevost gave way to thoughts apparently as 
 gloomy as those which haunted his daughter, 
 but in reality not so ; for his was a mind of a 
 discursive character, which was easily led by 
 collateral ideas far away from any course 
 which it Avas at first pursuing ; and, though he 
 had avroke that morning full of the consider- 
 ations which had engaged him during the pre- 
 ceding day, he was now busily calculating the 
 results of liiQ meeting which had just been 
 h.cld, and arriving at conclusions more just 
 tlian were roaclied by many of the great 
 statesmen and politicians of the time. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 251 
 
 Lord H , on his part, paid no little at- 
 tention to the demeanor and all the proceedings 
 of their host. The character of his mind was 
 the exact reverse of that of Mr. Prevost, at- 
 taching itself keenly to one object, and being 
 turned from its contemplation with difficulty. 
 His thoughts still dwelt upon the consequences 
 which were likely to ensue from the death of 
 the Oneida by the hands of Captain Brooks ; 
 without anything like alarm, indeed, but with 
 careful forethought for those who, in a few 
 short days, had won for themselves a greater 
 share of the warm affections which lay hidden 
 in his heart, than he often bestowed upon any 
 one. 
 
 As they quitted the door of the house, a 
 mere trifle called his attention to something 
 peculiar in the conduct of Sir William Johnson^ 
 and led him to believe that the mind of that 
 officer was not altogether at ease, notwithstand- 
 ing the favorable result of the meeting with 
 the Indians. 
 
252 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 After they had taken a step or two on their 
 way, Sir William paused suddenly, turned 
 back, and ordered a servant to run up to the 
 top of the hill, and there watch till he re- 
 turned. 
 
 ^^Mark well which paths they take," he 
 said, without specifying the persons of whom 
 he spoke ; ^' and let me hear if you see any- 
 thing peculiar." 
 
 The man seemed to understand him per- 
 fectly ; and Lord H watched everything 
 
 with the utmost attention. In the course of their 
 ramble, not less than nine or ten persons came 
 up at different times, and spoke a word or 
 two to Sir William Johnson. First, a negro, 
 then a soldier, then an Irish servant, then an- 
 other white man, but with features of a 
 strongly marked Indian character. Each seemed 
 to give some information in a few words ut- 
 tered in a low tone ; and each departed as soon 
 as he had spoken, some with a brief answer, 
 some with none. 
 
TICONLEROGA. 253 
 
 The evening which succeeded their walk 
 passed somewhat differently from the preceding 
 one. Fewer persons were present ; the con- 
 versation was more general and intimate ; and 
 Sir William Johnson, seating Edith at the old- 
 fashioned instrument which, in those days, 
 supplied the lack of pianofortes, asked for a 
 song which, it seems, he had heard her sing 
 before. She complied without any hesitation, 
 with sufficient skill and management of her 
 voice to show that she had been well taught, 
 but with tones so rich, so pure, and so melodi- 
 ous, that every sound in the room was in- 
 stantly hushed, and Lord H approached 
 
 nearer and nearer to listen. 
 
 Music, I suppose, may be considered as the 
 highest language — the language of the heart 
 and spirit. Mere words can only reach or con- 
 vey a very limited class of ideas, the distinct 
 and the tangible ; but music can convey the 
 fine, the indistinct, the intangible shades of 
 feeling and of thought which escape all other 
 
254 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 means of expression. It is only, however, to 
 those who understand the language ; but Lord 
 
 H ^as full not only of the love but of the 
 
 science of music ; and he drew closer and closer 
 to Edith, as she sang, and, at lengthy hung 
 over her, with his face turned away from the 
 other guests in the room, and bearing, written 
 on it, feelings which he hardly yet knew were 
 in his heart. 
 
 Sir William Johnson was standing on the 
 other side of the beautiful girl's chair ; and, as 
 she concluded one of the stanzas, he raised his 
 
 eyes suddenly to the face of Lord H with 
 
 a look of great satisfaction. What he saw 
 there made him start, and then smile ; for the 
 characters written on the nobleman's counte- 
 nance were too plain to be mistaken ; and Sir 
 William, who was not without his share of 
 worldly wisdom, at once divined that Edith 
 Prevost was likely to be a peeress of England. 
 
 '^ What a fine musician she is !'' exclaimed 
 the older general to Lord H , after he had 
 
TICONDEROGA. 255 
 
 conducted Edith to her former seat, but before 
 the enthusiasm had subsided ; ^^ one would 
 hardly expect to find such music in these wild 
 woods of America." 
 
 " She is all music," said Lord H , in an 
 
 absent tone ; and then added, rousing himself ; 
 " but you must not attribute such powers and 
 such perfections, altogether, to America, Sir 
 William ; for I find that Miss Prevost was edu- 
 cated in Europe." 
 
 ^^Only till she was fourteen," replied the 
 other ; ^' but they are altogether a most re ni ark- 
 able family. If ever girl w;'3 perfect, it is 
 herself. Her father, though somewhat too 
 much given to dream, is a man of singular 
 powers of mind ; and her brother Walter, whom 
 I look upon almost as a son, is full of high and 
 noble qualities and energies, which, if he lives, 
 will certainly lead him on to greatness." 
 
 '^ I think so," returned Lord H . And 
 
 there the conversation dropped for the time. 
 
256 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 The rest of the evening passed without any- 
 incident of notice ; and by daybreak on the 
 following morning, the whole household were 
 on foot. An early breakfast was ready for the 
 travellers ; and nothing betrayed much anxiety 
 on the part of their host, till the very moment 
 of their departure. As they were about to set 
 forth, however, and just when Edith appeared 
 in her riding-habit, or Am.azon, as it was then 
 called, and the hat, with large floating ostrich 
 plumes, usually worn at that time by ladies 
 when on horseback, looking lovely enough, it is 
 true, to justify any compliment, Sir William 
 took her by the hand, saying, with a gay and 
 courteous air, 
 
 '' I am going to give you a commission, 
 my fair Hippolyta, which is neither more 
 nor less than the command of half-a-dozen 
 dragoons, whom I wish to go with you 
 for a portion of the way, partly to exercise their 
 horses on a road, which is marvellously cleared 
 of stumps and stones, for this part of the 
 country, partly to examine what is going 
 
TICONDEROGA. 2-57 
 
 on a little to the north-east, and partly, to 
 bring me the pleasant intelligence that you 
 have gone, at least, half way to your home in 
 safety." 
 
 Lord H looked in his face in silence ; 
 
 and Edith turned a little pale, but said nothing. 
 Mr. Prevost, however, went directly to the 
 point, saying, ^' You know of some danger, my 
 good friend ; you had better inform us of all the 
 particulars, in order that we may be upon our 
 guard." 
 
 '' None whatever, Prevost," answered Sir 
 William, '' except the general perils of inha- 
 biting an advanced spot on the frontiers of a 
 savage people, especially when anything has 
 occurred to offend them. You know what we 
 talked about yesterday morning. The Oneidas 
 do not easily forgive ; and, in this case, they 
 will not forgive. But I have every reason to 
 believe that they have taken their way home- 
 ward for the present. My people traced them 
 a good way to the west ; and it is only from 
 
258 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 some chance stragglers that there is any 
 danger." 
 
 Mr. Prevost mused, without moving to the 
 door which was opened for them to depart, and 
 then said in a meditating kind of tone, " I do 
 not think they will attack any large party, Sir 
 William, even when satisfied that they can- 
 not get hold of the man who has incensed them. 
 These Indians are a very cunning people ; and 
 they often satisfy even their notions of honor 
 by an artifice, especially when two duties, as 
 they consider them, are in opposition to one 
 another. Depend upon it, after what passed 
 yesterday, they will commit no act of national 
 hostility against England. They are pledged 
 to us, and will not break their pledge. They 
 will attack no large party, nor slay any Eng- 
 lishman in open strife, though they may kidnap 
 some solitary individual, and, according to their 
 curious notions of atonement, make him a 
 formal sacrifice, in expiation of the blood shed 
 by another." 
 
TICONDEROGA. 259 
 
 ^^ You know the Indians well, Prevost," said 
 Sir William Johnson, gravelj ; " marvellonsly 
 well, considering the short time you have been 
 amongst them." 
 
 ^^ I have had little else to do than to study 
 them," responded the other, " and the subject 
 is one of great interest. But do you think I 
 am wrong in the view I take, my good 
 friend ?" 
 
 *^ Quite the contrary," replied Sir "William, 
 ^^ and that is the reason I send the soldiers 
 with you. A party of eight or ten will be per' 
 fectly secure ; and I would certainly advise 
 that, for the next two or three months, or till 
 this unlucky dog, Brooks, or Woodchuck, as 
 he is called, has been captured, no one should 
 go any distance from his home singly. Such a 
 party as yours might be large enough. I am 
 not sure that my Lord's red coat, which I am 
 happy to see he has got on to-day, might not 
 be sufficient protection ; for they will not risk 
 anything which they themselves deem an act 
 of hostility against the English government. 
 
260 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 Still, the soldiers will make the matter more 
 secure, till you have passed the spot where 
 there is any chance of their being found. I re- 
 peat, I know of no peril ; but I would fain 
 guard against all, where a fair lady is con- 
 cerned.'' And he bowed gracefully to Edith. 
 
 Little more was said ; and, taking leave of 
 their host, Mr. Prevost's party mounted their 
 horses, and set out, followed by a corporal's 
 guard of dragoons, a small body of which corps 
 was then stationed in the province of New 
 York, although, from the nature of the country 
 in which hostilities had hitherto been carried 
 on, small opportunity had as yet been afforded 
 them of showing their powers against an enemy. 
 Nor would there have been any very favorable 
 opportunity for so doing in the present instance, 
 even had Mr. Prevost and his companions been 
 attacked; for though the road they had to 
 travel was broad and open, compared to an 
 ordinary Indian trail, yet, except at one or 
 two points, it was hemmed in with impervious 
 
TICONDEROGA. 261 
 
 forests, where the action of cavahy would be 
 quite impossible, and under the screen of which, 
 a skilful marksman might bring down his man, 
 himself unperceived. 
 
 Sir William Johnson was nevertheless sin- 
 cere in saying that he believed the very sight 
 of the English soldiers would be quite sufficient 
 protection. The Indians, he knew right well, 
 would avoid anything like a struggle or a con- 
 test, and would more especially take care not 
 to come into collision of any kind with the 
 troops of their British allies. It was likely 
 that they would depend entirely upon cunning, 
 to obtain a victim wherewith to appease their 
 vengeance ; but on this probability he did not 
 choose altogether to rely. He saw his friends 
 depart, however, with perfect confidence, as 
 the soldiers went with them ; and they pro- 
 ceeded without seeing a single human being, 
 after they quitted his settlement, till they 
 reached the shores of the small lake near 
 which they had halted on their previous jour- 
 
262 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 ney, and where they again dismounted to take 
 refreshment. 
 
 It was a very pleasant spot, and well fitted 
 for a resting place : nor was repose altogether 
 needless, though the distance already travelled 
 was not great either for man or horse. But 
 the day was exceedingly oppressive, like one of 
 those which come in what is called the Indian 
 summer, when the weaiher, after many a 
 frosty day, becomes suddenly sultry, as if in 
 the middle of June, and the air is loaded with 
 thin yellow vapor, well deserving the term of 
 ^^ smoky," usually given to it on the western 
 side of the Atlantic. Yet there was no want 
 of air : the wind blew from the south-east, but 
 there was no freshness on the breeze. It was 
 like the Sirrocco, taking away strength and 
 firmness from all it breathed upon ; and the 
 horses, after being freed from the burden they 
 bore, stood for several minutes with bent heads 
 and heaving sides, without attempting to crop 
 the forest grass beneath the trees. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 263 
 
 Thus repose was sweet, and the look of the 
 little lake was cool and refreshing. The tra- 
 vellers lingered there somewhat after the hour 
 at which they had proposed to depart, and it 
 was the negro, who took care of the luggage, 
 who first warned them of the waning of the 
 day. 
 
 " Massa forget," he said, ^^ sun go early to 
 bed in October. Twelve mile to go yet, and 
 road wuss nor dis." 
 
 " True, true," replied Mr. Prevost, rising. 
 ''We had better go on, my Lord, for it is now 
 past two, and we shall barely reach home by 
 daylight. I really think. Corporal," he con- 
 tinued, turning to the non-commissioned officer, 
 who had been seated with his men hard-by, 
 enjoying some of the good things of life, '' that 
 we need not trouble you to go farther. There 
 is no trace of any Indians, or indeed of any 
 human beings, in the forest, but ourselves. Had 
 there been so, my good friend Chundo, here, 
 
264 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 would have discovered it ; for he knows their 
 tracks as well as any of their own people." 
 
 " Dat I do, Massa," replied the negro, to 
 whom he pointed. " No Ingin pass dis road 
 since yesterday, I swear." 
 
 '^ My orders were to go to the big blazed 
 Basswood tree, sir, four miles farther," observed 
 the soldier, in a firm but respectful tone ; " and 
 I must obey orders." 
 
 "You are right," said Lord H , pleased 
 
 with the man's demeanor. "What is your name. 
 Corporal ?" 
 
 " Clithero, my lord," replied the man, with 
 a military salute ; " Corporal Clithero." 
 
 Lord H bowed his head ; and the party, 
 
 remounting, pursued their way. The road, 
 however, as the negro had said, was more 
 difficult in advance than it had been nearer to 
 Sir William Johnson's settlement ; and it took 
 the whole party an hour to reach the great 
 Basswood tree, which had been mentioned, and 
 
TICONBEEOGA. 265 
 
 which was marked out from the rest of the 
 forest by three large marks upon the bark, 
 hewn by some surveyor's axe when the road 
 had been laid out. There the party stopped 
 for a moment or two ; and with a few words of 
 thanks, Mr. Prevost and his companions parted 
 from their escort. 
 
 " How dim the air along the path is!" ejacu- 
 lated Lord H , looking on ; " and yet the 
 
 sun, getting to the west, is shining right down 
 it through the valley. One could almost 
 imagine it was filled ^Yith smoke." 
 
 ^'This is what we call a smoky day in 
 America," replied Mr. Prevost ; '^ but I never 
 knew the Indian summer come on us with such 
 a wind." 
 
 Xo more was said on that matter at the time ; 
 and, as the road grew narrower, Mr. Prevost 
 and the negro, as best acquainted with the way, 
 
 rode first, while Lord H followed by 
 
 Edith's side, conversing with her in quiet and 
 
 VOL. I. X 
 
266 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 easy tones ; but with words which sometimes 
 caused the color to vary a little in her cheek. 
 
 These words were not exactly words of love. 
 Write them down, and they might have very 
 little meaning — less application ; hut all things 
 have such a harmony throughout the universe, 
 that every thing separated from its accessories 
 means nothing, or worse than nothing. His 
 tones, I have said, were low and easy ; but they 
 were tender, too. His words were not words of 
 love, but they had a fire in them that nothing 
 but love could give ; and the contrast between 
 the low, easy tone, and that rich, glowing lan- 
 guage, added all that was needful to give them 
 the meaning of the heart, rather than the 
 meaning of dictionaries. He spoke of her 
 singing the night before, and of music in 
 general ; he spoke of the beauties of the 
 scenery, the tints of the landscape : he spoke 
 of the old world and the new, and society and 
 solitude. But it mattered not: whatever he 
 
TIC02CDEE0GA. 267 
 
 spoke of J lie thought of Edith Prevost ; and 
 there was something that shewed her he did so. 
 
 Thus they went on for some four miles 
 farther ; and the evening was evidently closing 
 round them rapidly, though no ray had yet 
 passed from the sky. Suddenly Mr. Prevost 
 drew in his rein, saying, in a low but distinct 
 voice, to the negro, '^ What is that crossing 
 the road ?'' 
 
 *' No Ingin," cried the negro, whose eyes 
 had been constantly bent forward. 
 
 '^ Surely there is smoke drifting across the 
 path," said Mr. Prevost; ^' and I think I smell 
 it also.'' 
 
 '' I have thought so for some time," said 
 
 Lord H , who was now close to them with 
 
 Edith. " Are fires common in these woods ?" 
 
 '^ Not very," answered Mr. Prevost, "but the 
 season has been unusually dry. Good Heavens ! 
 I hope my fears are not prophetic : I've been 
 thinking all day of what would become of the 
 Lodge, if the forest were to take fire." 
 N 2 
 
256 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 "We had better ride on as fast as possible," 
 said the uobleman ; "for then, if the worst 
 happens, we may be able to save some of your 
 property." 
 
 " We must be cautious, we must be cau- 
 tious," returned the other, in a thoughtful 
 tone. " Fire is a capricious element, and often 
 runs in dii^ections the least expected. I have 
 heard of people getting so entangled in a burn- 
 ing wood, as not to be able to escape." 
 
 " yes," cried the negro, " when I were 
 little boy, I remember quite well, Massa John 
 Bostock, and five other men wid him, git in 
 pine wood behind Albany, and it catch fire. 
 He run here and dere, but it git all round 
 him, and roast him up black as I be. I saw 
 dem bring in what dey fancied was he, but it 
 no better dan a great pine stump." 
 
 " If I remember," observed Lord H , 
 
 " we passed a high hill somewhere near this 
 spot where we had a fine clear view over the 
 whole of the woody region round. We had 
 
TICONDEROGA. 269 
 
 better make for that at once. The fire cannot 
 yet have reached it, if my remembrance of 
 the distance is correct ; for, though the wind 
 sets towards us, the smoke is as yet anything 
 but dense. It may be miles off, even beyond 
 your house." 
 
 " Pray God it be so !" ejaculated Mr. Pre vest, 
 spurring forward ; ^^ but I fear it is nearer." 
 
 The rest followed as quickly as the stump 
 and the fallen trees would let them ; and, at 
 the distance of half a mile, began the ascent 
 of the hill to which Lord H— — had alluded. 
 As far as that spot, the smoke had been grow- 
 ing denser and denser every moment ; ap- 
 parently pouring along the valley formed by 
 that hill and another on the left, through which 
 valley, let it be remarked, the small river in 
 which Walter had been seen fishing by Sir 
 William Johnson, but now a broad and very 
 shallow stream, took its course onwards 
 toward the Mohawk. As they began to ascend, 
 
270 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 however, the smoke decreased ; and Edith ex- 
 claimed, joyfully — 
 
 ^^ I hope, dear father, the fire is farther to 
 the north." 
 
 ^' We shall see, we shall see," said Mr. Pre- 
 vost, still pushing his horse forward. "The 
 sun is going down fast ; and a little haste will 
 be better on all accounts." 
 
 In about five minutes more, the summit of 
 the hill was reached, at a spot where, in lay- 
 ing out two roads which crossed each other 
 there, the surveyors had cleared away a con- 
 siderable portion of the wood, leaving, as 
 
 Lord H had said, a clear view over the 
 
 greater part of the undulating forest country, 
 lying in the angle formed by the upper Hudson 
 and the Mohawk. Towns have now risen up ; 
 villages are scattered over the face of the land ; 
 rich fields of wheat and maize, gardens, 
 orchards, and peaceful farm-houses, greet the 
 eye wherever it is turned from the summit 
 
TICONDEROGA. 271 
 
 of that hill; but it was different then. With the 
 few exceptions of a small pond or lake, a rush- 
 ing stream, or a natural savanna of a few 
 hundred acres, it was ail forest ; and the only 
 sign of man's habitation which could be 
 descried at any time, was the roof and 
 chimneys of Mr. Provost's house, which, in 
 general, could be discerned rising above the 
 trees, upon an eminence a good deal lower 
 than the summit which the travellers had 
 reached. Now, however, the house could not 
 be seen. 
 
 The sight which the country presented was 
 a fine but a terrible one. On the one side, the 
 sun, with his lower limb just dipped beneath 
 the forest, was casting up floods of many- 
 colored light, orange and purple, gold, and 
 even green, upon the light, fantastic clouds 
 scattered over the western sky ; while above, 
 some fleecy vapours, fleeting quickly along, 
 were all rosy with the touch of his beams. 
 
 Onward to the east and north, filling up the 
 
272 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 whole valley between the hill on which they 
 stood and the eminence crowned by Mr. Pre- 
 vost's house, and forming an almost semi- 
 circular line, of some three or four miles in 
 extent, was a dense, reddish-brown cloud of 
 smoke, marking where the fire raged, and 
 softening off at each extreme into a bluish 
 grey. ^N'o general flame could be perceived 
 through this heavy cloud ; but, ever and 
 anon, a sudden flash would break across it, not 
 bright and vivid, but dull and half obscured, 
 when the fierce element got hold of some of 
 the drier and more combustible materials of 
 the forest. Once or twice, too, suddenly, at 
 one point of the line or another, a single tree, 
 taller, perhaps, than the rest, or more inflam- 
 mable, or garmented in a thick matting of dry 
 vine, would catch the flame, and burst forth 
 from the root to the topmost branch like a tall 
 column of fire ; and here and there, too, fi:om 
 what cause I know not — perhaps, from an ac- 
 cumulation of dry grass and withered leaves, 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 273 
 
 seized upon by the fire and wind together — a 
 volley of bright sparks would mingle with the 
 cloud of smoke, and be thrown up, for a mo- 
 ment, to the westward. 
 
 It was a grand, but an awful, spectacle ; and, 
 as Mr. Prevost gazed upon it, thoughts and 
 feelings crowded into his bosom, which even 
 Edith herself could not estimate. 
 
 n5 
 
274 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 n 
 
 HAPTEE XY 
 
 *' Look, look, Prevost !" cried Lord H , 
 
 after they had gazed during one or two minutes 
 in silence ; *' the wind is drifting away the 
 smoke ; 1 can see the top of your house ; it is 
 safe as yet — and will be safe," he added, " for 
 the wind sets somewhat away from it." 
 
 '* Not enough," said Mr. Prevost, in a dull, 
 gloomy tone. " The slightest change, and it 
 is gone. The house I care not for ; the barns, 
 the crops, are nothing. They can be replaced, 
 or I could do without them ; but there are 
 things within that house, my Lord, I cannot do 
 without." 
 
TICONDEROGA. 275 
 
 " Do you not think we can reach it ?" asked 
 
 Lord H . *' If we were to push our 
 
 horses into the stream there, we might follow 
 its course up, as it seems broad and shallow, and 
 the trees recede from the banks. Are there any 
 deep spots in its course ?" 
 
 ^' None, massa," replied the negro. 
 
 " Let us try, at all events," exclaimed Lord 
 
 H , turning his horse's head ; '^ we can but 
 
 come back again, if we find the heat and smoke 
 too much for us." 
 
 '^ My daughter !" ejaculated Mr. Pre vest, in a 
 tone of deep, strong feeling ; ^^ my daughter, 
 Lord H !" 
 
 The young nobleman was silent. The stories 
 he had heard that day, and many that he had 
 heard before, of persons getting entangled in 
 burning forests, and never being able to escape 
 — which, while, in the first enthusiasm of the 
 moment, he thought only of himself and of 
 Mr. Prevost, had seemed to him but visions^ 
 wild chimeras — assumed a terrible reality, as 
 
276 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 soon as the name of Edith was mentioned ; and 
 he would have shuddered to see the proposal 
 adopted, which he had made only the moment 
 before. He was silent, then ; and Mr. Prevost 
 was the first who spoke. 
 
 " I must go," he said, with gloomy earnest- 
 ness, after some brief consideration. " I must 
 go, let vrhat will betide." 
 
 He relapsed into silence again, and there was 
 a terrible struggle within his bosom, which 
 the reader cannot, even in part, comprehend, 
 without having withdrawn for him that dark 
 curtain which shades the inmost secrets of the 
 heart from the cold eyes of the unobservant 
 world. He had to choose whether he would 
 risk the sacrifice of many things dearer to him 
 than life itself, or go through tliat fiery gulf 
 before him — whether he would take that 
 daughter, far dearer than life, with him, ex- 
 posing her to all the peril that he feared not 
 for himself, the scorching flame, the suffocating 
 smoke, the failing timber — or whether he should 
 
TICONLEROGA. 277 
 
 leave her behind him, to find her way in dark- 
 ness, and through a forest perhaps tenanted by 
 enemies, to a small farm-house, seven or eight 
 miles off, where resided some kind and friendly 
 people, who would give her care and good 
 attendance. Then came the question — for the 
 former was soon decided — whom he should leave 
 with her. Some one was needed with himself, 
 for, in the many, many perils that environed 
 his short path, he could hardly hope to force 
 
 his way alone, unaided. Lord H might 
 
 have been his most serviceable companion in one 
 view ; for his courage, his boldness, his habits 
 of prompt decision, and his clearness of ob- 
 servation, were already well and publicly 
 known. 
 
 But then, to leave Edith alone in that dark 
 night, in that wild wood, with nothing but a 
 negro for her guide ; a man shrewd and clear- 
 witted, keen and active enough, yet with few 
 moral checks upon his passions, few restraints of 
 education or honor, and still fewer of religion and 
 
278 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 the fear of God. It was not to be thought of. 
 
 In Lord H he felt certain he could trust. 
 
 He knew, that in scenes as dangerous to the 
 spirit as any he could go through would be to 
 the body, he had come out unfallen, un wounded, 
 untouched. He had the reputation and the 
 bearing of a man of honor, and a gentleman ; 
 and Mr. Prevost felt that the man must be 
 base, indeed, low, degraded, vile, who, with 
 such a trust as Edith on his conscience, could 
 waver even in thought. 
 
 Such considerations pressed upon him heavily 
 — they could not be disposed of by rapid 
 decision ; and he remained for two or three 
 minutes profoundly silent. Then, turning sud- 
 denly to Lord H — — , he said — 
 
 " My lord, I am going to entrust to you the 
 dearest thing I have on earth, my daughter — 
 to place her under the safeguard of your honor 
 — to rely for her protection and defence upon 
 your chivahy . As an English nobleman, of high 
 name and fame, I do trust you without a doubt. 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 279 
 
 I must make my way through that fire by 
 some means — I must save some papers, and two 
 pictures, which lvalue more than my own life. I 
 will take my good friend Chando here with me. 
 I must leave you to conduct Edith to a place of 
 safety." 
 
 " Oh, my father !" cried Edith ; but he con- 
 tinued to speak without heeding her. 
 
 " If you follow that road," he continued, 
 pointing to the one which led southward, 
 ^' you will come at the distance of about seven 
 miles to a good-sized farm-house on the left 
 of the road. Edith knows it, and can show 
 you the way up to it. The men are most 
 likely out, watching the progress of the fire ; 
 but you will find the women within ; and good 
 and friendly they are, though homely and un- 
 educated. I have no time to stop for farther 
 directions. Edith, my child, God bless you ! 
 Do not cloud our parting with a doubt of 
 Heaven's protection. Should anything occur 
 — and be it as He wills — you and Walter will 
 
280 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 find at the lawyer's at Albany all papers 
 referring to this small farm, and to the little 
 we still have in England. God bless you, my 
 child, God bless yon !" 
 
 Thus saying, he turned and rode fast down 
 the hill, beckoning the negro to follow him. 
 
 '' Oh, my father, my father !" cried Edith, 
 dropping her rein and clasping her hands to 
 gether, longing to follow, yet unwilling to 
 disobey. '^ He will be lost — I fear he will be 
 lost !" 
 
 ^^ I trust not," said Lord H , in a firm, 
 
 calm tone, well fitted to iuvspire hope and con- 
 fidence. ^^ He knows the country well, and 
 can take advantage of every turning to avoid 
 the flame. Besides, if you look along what I 
 imagine to be the course of the stream, you 
 will see a deep undulation as it were in 
 that sea of smoke, and, when the wind blows 
 strongly, it is almost clear. He said, too, that 
 the banks continued free from trees." 
 
 ^' As far as the bridge and the rapids near 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 281 
 
 our house," replied Edith, *' after that ; they 
 are thickly wooded.'' 
 
 *^ But the fire has evidently not reached that 
 spot," observed the young nobleman ; ^' all the 
 ground within half a mile of the house is free 
 at present. I saw it quite distinctly a mo- 
 ment ago, and the wind is setting this way." 
 
 " Then can we not follow him ?" asked his 
 fair companion, imploringly. 
 
 ^' To what purpose ?" returned Lord H ; 
 
 " and besides," he added, " let me call to 
 your mind the answer of the good soldier, 
 Corporal Clithero, just now. He said he must 
 obey orders ; and he was right. A soldier to 
 his commander : a child to a parent : a Chris- 
 tian to his God, have, I think, but one duty — to 
 obey. Come, Edith, let us follow the di- 
 rections we have received. The sun is already 
 beneath the forest edge ; we can do no good 
 gazing here; and although I do not think 
 there is any danger, and believe you will be 
 quite safe under my protection, yet, for many 
 
282 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 reasons, I could wish to place you beneath the 
 shelter of a roof, and in the society of other 
 women as soon as may be.'' 
 
 *^ Thank you much," she answered, gazing 
 up into his face, on which the lingering light 
 in the west cast a warm glow ; " you remind 
 me of my duty, and strengthen me to follow it. 
 I have no fear of any danger, with you to pro- 
 tect me, my Lord — it was for my father only I 
 feared. But it was wrong to do so even for him. 
 God will protect us all, I do hope and believe. 
 We must take this way, my Lord." And with 
 a deep sigh she turned her horse's head upon 
 the path which her father had pointed out. 
 
 There is no situation in which good feeling 
 shows itself more brightly than in combat with 
 good feeling. It may seem a paradox ; but it 
 is not so. Lord H did not at that mo- 
 ment like to hear Edith Prevost call him by 
 his formal title. He would fain have had her 
 give him some less ceremonious name. Nay, 
 more, he would have gladly poured into her 
 
TICONDEROGA. 283 
 
 ear, at that moment of grief and anxiety, the 
 tale of love wliich had more than once during 
 their ride been springing to his lips, and which 
 he fondly fancied, with man's usual misappre- 
 ciation of woman's sensitiveness, might give 
 her support and comfort — for by this time he 
 felt sure that, if he rightly appreciated her, she 
 was not indifferent towards him. But he re- 
 membered that she was there a young girl, 
 left alone with him, at night, in a wild forest 
 — a precious trust to his honor and his deli- 
 cacy ; and he struggled hard and manfully to 
 govern every feeling, and regulate every 
 word. What if a degree of growing tender- 
 ness modulated his tone ? — wtat if the words 
 " Miss Prevost," were uttered as if they 
 should have been " Edith ?" — what if the 
 lamiliar expression of '^ my dear young lady," 
 sounded almost as if it had been, '' dear girl ?" 
 We must not look too closely, or judge too 
 hardly. There was but enough tenderness to 
 comfort, and not alarm — just sufficient famili- 
 
284 TICONBEROGA. 
 
 arity to make her feel that she was with a 
 Mend, and not a stranger. 
 
 No general subject of conversation could, of 
 course, be acceptable at that moment ; only one 
 topic had they to discuss. And yet Lord 
 
 H made more of that than some men 
 
 would have made of a thousand. He com- 
 forted, he consoled : he raised up hope and ex- 
 pectation. His words were full of promise; 
 and from everything he wrung some illustra- 
 tion to support and cheer. 
 
 If he had appeared amiable in the eyes of 
 Edith, in the quiet intercourse of calm and 
 peaceful hours, much more so did he appear to 
 her now, when the circumstances in which she 
 was placed called forth all that was kind and 
 feeling in his heart, naturally gentle, though it 
 had been somewhat steeled by having to strug- 
 gle, and to act with cold and heartless men in 
 scenes of peril, and of strife. 
 
 A few moments after they left the summit 
 of the hill, and began the more gentle descent 
 
TICOKDEROGA. 285 
 
 which stretched away to the south-east, the 
 last rays of the sun were withdrawing, and 
 ni^ht succeeded ; but it was the bright and 
 sparkling night of the American sky. There 
 was no moon, indeed ; but the stars burst forth 
 in multitudes over the firmament, larger, 
 more brilliant, than they are ever beheld even 
 in the clearest European atmosphere ; and they 
 gave light enough to enable the two travellers 
 to see their path. The wind still blew strongly, 
 and carried the smoke away ; and the road was 
 wide enough to show the starry canopy over- 
 hanging the trees. 
 
 Lord H lifted his hand, and, pointing to 
 
 one peculiarly large orb which glittered not 
 far from the zenith, said in a grave but con- 
 fident tone, ^^ The God who made that great, 
 magnificent world, and who equally created 
 the smallest emmet that runs along our path — 
 who willed into being innumerable planetary 
 systems with their varied motions, and per- 
 fected the marvellous organization of the most 
 
286 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 minute insect, must be a God of love and 
 mercy, as well as of power ; and is still, I do 
 believe, acting in mercy in all that befalls us 
 here on earth/' 
 
 ^^ I believe and trust so too," answered 
 Edith ; "yet there are times and seasons when, 
 in our blindness, we cannot see the working of 
 the merciful, in the mighty hand ; and the 
 heart sinks with terror for want of its support. 
 Surely there can be no sin in this. Our Divine 
 Master, himself, when in our mortal nature, 
 on the cross, exclaimed, in the darkest hour, 
 ' My Godj my God^ why hast thou forsaken 
 me r '' 
 
 Obliged to go exceedingly slowly, but little 
 progress had been made in an hour, and, by the 
 end of that time, a strong odour of the burning 
 wood, and a pungent feeling in the eyes, 
 showed that some portion of the smoke was 
 reaching them. 
 
 " I fear the wind has changed," said Edith ; 
 " the smoke seems coming this way." 
 
TICONDEROGA. 287 
 
 " The better for your father's house, dear 
 
 lady," answered Lord H . *^ It was a 
 
 change to the westward he had to fear ; the 
 more fully east, the better." 
 
 They fell into silence again ; but in a 
 minute or two after, looking to the left of the 
 road, where the trees were very closely set, 
 though there was an immense mass of brush- 
 wood underneath, Lord H — — beheld a small 
 solitary spot of light, like a lamp burning. It 
 was seen and hidden, seen and hidden again, 
 by the trees as they rode on, and must have 
 been at about three or four hundred yards 
 distance. It seemed to change its place, too ; 
 to shift, to quiver ; and then, in a long winding 
 line, it crept slowly round and round the boU of 
 a tree, like a fiery serpent, and, a moment after, 
 with flash, and crackling flame, and fltful blaze, 
 it spread flickering over the dry branches of a 
 pitch-pine. 
 
 '' The fire is coming nearer, dear Miss Pre- 
 vost," said Lord H ; *^ and it is necessary we 
 
28 S TICONDEROGA. 
 
 should use some forethought. How far, think 
 you, this farm house is now ?" 
 
 "Nearly four miles," answered Edith. 
 
 " Does it lie due south ?'' asked her com- 
 panion. 
 
 " Very nearly," she replied. 
 
 "Is there any road to the westward?" de- 
 manded the young nobleman, with his eyes 
 still fixed upon the distant flame. 
 
 " Yes," she answered; " about half a mile on, 
 there is a tolerable path made along the side of 
 the hill, on the west, to avoid the swamp 
 during wet weather, but it rejoins this road a 
 mile or so farther on." 
 
 " Let us make haste," said Lord H , 
 
 abruptly ; "the road seems fair enough just 
 here, and I fear there is no time to lose." 
 
 He put his hand upon Edith's rein as he 
 spoke, to guide the horse on, and rode forward, 
 perhaps, somewhat less that a quarter of a mile, 
 watching, with an eager eye, the increasing 
 light to the east, where it was now seen glim- 
 
TICONDEROGA. 289 
 
 mering through the trees in every direction, 
 looking through the fretted trellis-work of 
 branches, trunks, and leaves, like a multitude of 
 red lamps hung up in the forest. Suddenly, 
 at a spot where there was an open space or 
 streak, as it was called, running through some 
 two or three hundred yards of the wood, 
 covered densely with brush, bi^t destitute of 
 tall trees, the whole mass of the fire appeared 
 to view ; and the travellers seemed gazing into 
 the mouth of a furnace. Just then, the wind 
 shifted a little more, and blew down the 
 streak: the cloud of smoke rolled forward: 
 flash after flash burst forth along the line as 
 the fire caught the withered leaves on the top 
 of the bushes : then the bushes themselves 
 were seized upon by the fire, and sent flaming 
 far up into the air. 
 
 Onward rushed the destroying , light, with a 
 roar, and a crackle, and a hiss — caught the 
 taller trees on either side, and poured across the 
 K)ad right in front. 
 
 VOL, I. 
 
290 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 Edith's horse, unaccustomed to such a sight, 
 started and pulled vehemently back ; but Lord 
 
 H , catching her riding-whip from, her 
 
 hand, struck him sharply on the flank, and 
 forced him forward by the rein. But again the 
 beast resisted. 
 
 Xot a moment was to be lost ; time wasted 
 in the struggle must have been fatal ; and, 
 casting the bridle free, he threw his right arm 
 round her light form, lifted her from the 
 saddle, and seated her safely before him. Then 
 striking his spurs into the sides of his well- 
 trained charger, he dashed, at full speed, 
 through the burning bashes, and in two 
 minute;^ had gained the ground beyond the 
 fire. 
 
 '^ You are saved, dear Edith," he said, 
 " you are saved !" 
 
 He could not call her Miss Prevost then; 
 and, though she heard the name he gave her, 
 at that moment of gratitude and thanksgiving 
 it sounded only sweetly on her ear. 
 
TICOXDEROGA. 291 
 
 I have not paused to tell what were Edith's 
 thoughts and feelings when she first saw the 
 fire hemming them in. They were such as 
 the feelings of any young and timid woman 
 might be at the prospect of immediate and 
 terrible destruction. 
 
 As always happens, when any of the stern 
 events of Fate place before us an apparent 
 certainty of speedy death — when the dark 
 gates between the two valleys seem to be 
 reached, and opened to let us pass — when the 
 flood, or the fire, or the precipitous descent, or 
 any other sudden casualty, seems ready to hurry 
 us in an instant into eternity, without diinriiing 
 the sight of the mind, or withering the powers 
 of reason and of memory, as in the slow pro- 
 gress of sickness or decay — as always happens, 
 I say, in such cases, Edith's mind passed rapidly, 
 like a swallow on the wing, over every event 
 of her past existence; and thoughts, feelings 
 hopes, joys, griefs, cares, expectations, regrets, 
 rose one after the other to the eye, presented 
 2 
 
292 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 with tlie clearness and intensity which will 
 probably appertain in a future state to all the 
 things done in the flesh. Every memory, 
 too, as it rose before her, seemed to say, in a 
 sad and solemn tone, " We are gone for 
 ever !" 
 
 It is terrible to part with life — with all its 
 joys, ay, and even with its cares — at the bright 
 season of hope and happiness; to have the 
 blossom broken off the bough of life, before 
 the fruit can form or ripen ; and Edith felt it 
 as much as any one could feel it. But it is 
 only necessary to allude to her feelings, in or- 
 der to contrast them with the joy and gratitude 
 she felt when the moment of peril had passed 
 away. 
 
 " Thank God, thank God 1" exclaimed 
 Edith; *' and oh, my Lord, how can I ever 
 show my gratitude to you ?" 
 
 Lord H was silent for a moment, and 
 
 then said, in a low tone — for it would be 
 spoken : — 
 
TICONDEROGA. 293 
 
 '^ Dear Edith, I have no claim to gratitude ; 
 but if you can give me love, instead, the gra- 
 titude shall he yours for life. But I am 
 wrong, very wrong, for speaking to you thus, 
 at this moment, and in these circumstances. 
 Yet there are emotions which force them- 
 selves into words, whether we will or not. 
 Forget those I have spoken, and do not trem- 
 ble so, for they shall not be repeated till I 
 find a fitter occasion — and then they shall im- 
 mediately. Now, dear Edith, I will ride 
 slowly on with you to this farm-house; will 
 leave you there with the good people; and, 
 if possible, get somebody to guide me round 
 another way, to join your father, and assure 
 him of your safety. That he is safe, I feel 
 confident ; for this very change of wind must 
 have driven the fire away from him. Would 
 you rather walk ? for I am afraid you have an 
 uneasy seat, and we are quite safe now ; the 
 flames all go another way." 
 
 From many motives, Edith preferred to go on 
 
294 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 foot, and Lord H siuTered her to slip 
 
 gently to the ground. Then, dismounting 
 himself, he drew her arm through his, and, 
 leading his horse by the bridle, proceeded along 
 the road over the shoulder of the hill, leaving 
 the lower-road, which the flame still menaced, 
 on their left. 
 
 Edith needed support, and their progress 
 
 was slow, but Lord H- touched no more 
 
 upon any subject, that could agitate her, and 
 at the end of about an hour and a half, they 
 reached the farm-house, and knocked for 
 admission. 
 
 There was no answer, however ; no dogs 
 barked ; no sounds were heard ; and all was 
 
 dark within. Lord H knocked again. 
 
 Still all was silent ; and, putting his hand upon 
 the latch, he opened the door. 
 
 " The house seems deserted," he said. Then 
 raising his voice, he called loudly to Avake 
 any slumbering inhabitant who might be 
 within. 
 
TICONDEROGA. 295 
 
 Still no answer was returned ; and he felt 
 puzzled, and more agitated than he would have 
 been in the presence of any real danger. iSTo 
 other place of shelter was near ; he could not 
 leave Edith there, as he had proposed; 
 yet the thought of passing a long night 
 with her in that deserted house, pro- 
 duced a feeling of indecision, chequered by 
 many emotions which were not usual to him. 
 
 "This is most unlucky!" he ejaculated. 
 " What is to be done now ?" 
 
 '' I know not," replied Edith, in a low and 
 distressed tone. " I fear, indeed, the good 
 people are gone. If the moon would but rise, 
 we might see what is really in the house." 
 
 "I can soon get a light," rejoined Lord 
 
 H ; " there is wood enough scattered about 
 
 to light a fire. Stay here in the doorway, 
 while I fasten my horse, and gather some 
 sticks together. I will not go out of sight." 
 
 The sticks were soon gathered, and carried 
 into the large kitchen in^o which the dooi^ 
 
296 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 opened directly. Lord H 's pistols, which 
 
 he took from the holsters, afforded the means 
 of lighting a cheerful fire on the hearth ; and, as 
 soon as it blazed up, a number of objects were 
 seen in the room, which shewed that the house 
 had been inhabited lately, and abandoned sud- 
 denly. Nothing seemed to have been carried 
 away, indeed ; and amongst the first things that 
 were perceived, much to Edith's comfort, were 
 candles, and a tin lamp of Dutch manufacture, 
 ready trimmed. These were soon lighted; and 
 
 Lord H , taking his fair companion's hand 
 
 in his, and gazing fondly, on her pale and 
 weary face, begged her to seek some repose. 
 
 ^'I cannot, of course," he said, ^' leave you 
 here, and join your father, as I proposed just 
 now ; but, if you will go up stairs, and seek 
 some room, where you can lock yourself in, in 
 case of danger, I will keep guard here below. 
 Most likely, all the people of the house have 
 gone forth to watch the progress of the fire, 
 and may return speedily." 
 
TICONDEROaA. 297 
 
 Edith mused, and shook her head, saying — 
 
 " I think something else must have fright- 
 ened them away." 
 
 " Would you have courage to fire a pistol in 
 
 case of need ?" asked Lord H , in a low 
 
 tone. 
 
 Edith gently inclined her head, and he then 
 added — 
 
 " Stay, I will charge this for you again." 
 
 He then reloaded the pistol, the charge of 
 which he had drawn to light the fire, and was 
 placing it in Edith's hand, when a tall, dark 
 figure glided into the room with a step per- 
 fectly noiseless. Lord H drew her sud- 
 denly back, and placed himself before her; 
 but a second glance showed him the dignified 
 form and fine features of Otaitsa's father. 
 
 '' Peace !" exclaimed the old chief. " Peace 
 to you, my brother !" 
 
 And he held out his hand to Lord H ^, 
 
 who took it frankly. Black Eagle then un- 
 5 
 
298 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 fastened the blue blanket from his shoulders, 
 and threw it round Edith, saying — 
 
 '^ Thou art my daughter, and art safe. I 
 have heard the voice of the Cataract, and its 
 sound was sweet. It is a great water, and a 
 good. The counsel is wise, my daughter. Go 
 thou up, and rest in peace. The Black Eagle 
 will watch by the Cataract till the eyes of 
 morning open in the east. The Black Eagle 
 will watch for thee, as for his own young ; and 
 thou art safe." 
 
 ^' I know I am when thou art near, my 
 father," said Edith, taking his brown hand in 
 hers ; " but is it so with all mine ?" 
 
 '^If 1 can make it so," answered Black 
 Eagle. " Go, daughter, and be at peace. This 
 one, at least, is safe, also ; for he is a gieat 
 chief of our white fathers ; and we have a 
 treaty with him. The man of the Five Na- 
 tions who would lift his hand against him is 
 accursed." 
 
TICONDEROGA. 299 
 
 Edith knew that she could extract nothing 
 more from him, and, with her mind somewhat 
 lightened, but not wholly relieved, she as- 
 cended to the upper story. Lord H 
 
 seated himself on the step at the foot of the 
 stairs ; and the Indian chief crouched down be- 
 side him. But both kept a profound silence ; and, 
 in a few minutes after, the moon, slowly rising 
 over the piece of cleared ground in front, 
 poured in upon their two figures as they sat 
 there, side -by-side, in strange contrast. 
 
300 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 There was tlie fate of another connected with 
 the events of that night, of whom some notice 
 must be taken, from the influence which his 
 destiny exercised over the destinies of all. 
 With greater promptness and celerity than had 
 been expected from him, even by those who 
 knew him best, Walter Prevost had executed 
 the business entrusted to him, and was ready 
 to set out from Albany, a full day, at least, be- 
 fore his return had been expected by his family. 
 Fortune had favored him, it is true. He had 
 found the Commander-in-Chief in the city, and 
 at leisure. A man of a prompt and active mind 
 had readily appreciated the promptitude and 
 
TICONDEROGA. 801 
 
 activity of the lad ; and his business had been 
 dispatched as readily as circumstances per- 
 mitted. 
 
 A boat sailing up the Hudson with some 
 stores and goods for traffic, was found to convey 
 him a considerable way on his journey ; and 
 he was landing at a point on the western bank 
 of the river, some seventeen miles from his 
 father's house, at the very moment that Mr. 
 
 Pre vest, Lord H , and Edith, were mounting 
 
 by the side of the little lake to pursue their 
 joui-ney. 
 
 The way before him was rough and uneven, 
 and the path somewhat intricate ; but he 
 thought he knew it sufficiently to make his way 
 by it, before sunset, to a better known part of 
 the country, and he hurried on with youthful 
 confidence and vigor. His rifle in his hand, 
 his knapsack on his shoulder, and a good large 
 hunting-knife in his belt, with great agility of 
 limbs and no small portion of bodily vigor, he 
 would have proved no contemptible opponent 
 
302 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 in the presence of any single enemy. Bnt he 
 never thought of enemies ; and all in his bosom 
 was courage and joy and expectation. 
 
 Whatever great cities and camps and courts 
 might have offered, Albany, at least, a small 
 provincial capital filled with a staid and some- 
 what rigid people, and only enlivened by the 
 presence of a regiment or two of soldiers, had 
 no attraction for him ; and he was heartily 
 glad to escape from it again, to the free life 
 around his paternal dwelling, and to the so- 
 ciety of his father and Edith — and Otaitsa. 
 
 Steadily he went along, climbed the hills, 
 strode along the plain, and forded the river. 
 The traces of cultivation soon became fewer, 
 and then ceased ; and, following resolutely the 
 path before him, two hours passed before he 
 halted, even to look around. Then, however, 
 he paused for a minute or two to consider his 
 onward course. 
 
 Two or three Indian trails crossed at the 
 spot where he stood, one of them so deeply 
 
TICONDEROGA. 303 
 
 indented in the ground as to show that its 
 frequent use existed from a very ancient date. 
 Its course seemed to lie in the direction in which 
 he wanted to go ; and he thought he remem- 
 bered having followed it some months before. 
 Across it ran the settlers' way, broader and 
 better marked out, but not very direct to his 
 father's house ; and he was hesitating which 
 he should take, when the sound of creaking 
 wheels, and the common cry used by plough- 
 men and teamsters to their cattle, showed him 
 that some one was coming, who was likely to 
 give him better information. That information 
 seemed the more necessary as tlie day was 
 already far on the decline ; and he had not yet 
 reached a spot of which he could be certain. 
 
 A moment or two after, coming up the lane 
 in the wood, as we should call it in England, 
 appeared a heavy ox- waggon, drawn by four 
 stout steers, and loaded with three women and 
 a number of boxes, while, by the side of the 
 rude vehicle, appeared three men on foot, and 
 
3 04 TICONDEEOGA. 
 
 one on horseback, each very well armed, 
 together with no less than five dogs of diJSPerent 
 descriptions. 
 
 Walter instantly recognised, in the horseman, 
 the farmer who lived some ten miles to the 
 south-west of his father's house. The farmer 
 was a good-humored, kindly-hearted man, 
 honest enough, but somewhat selfish in his 
 way ; always wishing to have the best of a 
 bargain, if it could be obtained without absolute 
 rogvbery^ yet willing enough to share the fruits 
 of his labor or his cunning with any one who 
 might be in need. 
 
 On the present occasion, however, he was 
 either sullen or stupid ; and it was indeed clear 
 that both he and his male companions had 
 been di'inking quite enough to dull the edge of 
 intellect in some degree. Those on foot went 
 on, without even stopping the oxen to speak 
 with their young neighbour ; and the farmer 
 himself only paused, for a moment or two, to 
 answer Walter's questions. 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 305 
 
 ^^ Why, Mr. Whitter," said the young gen- 
 tleman, ^^ you seem to be moving with all your 
 family." 
 
 ^^ Ay, ay," answered the farmer, a look of 
 dull cunning rising to his face. " I don't like 
 the look of things. I've had a hint. I guess 
 there are other places better than the forest 
 just now — though not so warm, mayhap." 
 
 " Why, what is the matter?" asked Walter, 
 ^' has anything happened ?" 
 
 " Oh no," answered the farmer, looking un- 
 comfortable, and gi^'ing his bridle a little sort 
 of jerk, as if he wished to pass on. " The 
 forest's too full of Ingians for my notion ; but 
 as you and your father are so fond of them 
 and they of you, there's no harm will come to 
 you, I guess." 
 
 His manner was almost uncivil ; and Walter 
 moved out of his way without even asking 
 the question he had intended. The man passed 
 on ; but suddenly he seemed to think better of 
 the matter, and, turning round in the saddle. 
 
30 G TICONDEROGA. 
 
 called out, in a voice much louder than neces- 
 sary, considering the distance between them — 
 
 '' I say. Master Walter, if you're going home, 
 you'd better take that deep trail to the right, 
 I guess. It's shorter and safer ; and them 
 red devils, or some other vermin, have set fire 
 to the wood on there. It's not much of a 
 thing just yet; but there's no knowing how 
 it will spread. However, if you keep to the 
 west, you'll get on. I'm going to more 
 civilized parts for a month or two, seeing I 
 have got all my crops in safe." 
 
 As soon as these words were uttered, he 
 turned, and rode after his waggon ; and 
 "Walter at once took the Indian trail which the 
 other had mentioned. About half-a-mile 
 farther on, for the first time, he perceived the 
 smell of smoke ; and, as soon as he reached 
 the summit of another hill beyond, the whole 
 scene of the conflagration was before his eyes. 
 Between the spot where he stood and his 
 father's house, stretched a broad belt of fire and 
 
TICONDEROGA. 307 
 
 smoke, extending a full mile to the north 
 further than he had expected from the vague 
 account of the farmer ; and the cloud of 
 brownish vapor had rolled so far up the oppo- 
 site slope, that the lad could neither see the 
 dwelling itself, nor distinguish what spot the 
 fire had actually reached. 
 
 Ignorant of the absence of his father and 
 sister, and well awarehow rapidly the flame ex- 
 tended when once kindled in a wood, after a 
 long season of dry weather, Walter's heart 
 sank as he gazed. But he lost no time in use- 
 less hesitation. The sun was already setting ; 
 the distance was still considerable ; and he 
 resolved to break through that fiery circle, if it 
 were possible, and reach his home at once. 
 
 Onward he plunged, then, down the side of 
 the hill ; and, the moment he descended, the 
 whole scene was shut out from his sight so 
 completely that, but for the strong and in- 
 creasing smell of burning pine-wood, and a 
 feeling of unnatural warmth, he would have 
 
308 TICONDEROGA. 
 
 had no intimation that a fire was raging close 
 at hand. As he came nearer and nearer, how- 
 ever, a certain rushing sound met his ear, 
 something like that of a heavy gale of wind 
 sweeping the forest, and the smoke became 
 suffocating ; while through the branches and 
 stems of the trees a red light shone, especially 
 towards the south and west, showing where the 
 fire raged with the greatest fierceness. 
 
 Breathing thick and fast, he hurried on, 
 lighted by the flames alone ; for the sun had 
 sunk by this time, and the dense cloud of 
 smoke which hung over this part of the wood 
 shut out every star, till, at length, he reached 
 the very verge of the conflagration. Some 
 hundreds of acres lay before him, with trees, 
 some fallen one over the other, some still stand- 
 ing, but deprived of foliage, and with masses of 
 brushwood and long trailing parasites, all in 
 fiery confusion and glowing with intense heat. 
 
 To proceed in that direction, he felt was 
 death. He could hardly breathe ; his face 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 309 
 
 seemed scorched and burning ; and yet the 
 drops of perspiration rolled heavily from his 
 forehead. Eetreating a little to escape the 
 heat, he turned his steps northward ; but, by 
 this time, he had lost the trail, and was forcing 
 his way through the brush-wood, encumbered 
 by his rifle and knapsack, when, suddenly, by 
 the light of the fire shining through the trees, 
 he saw a dark figure, some twenty or thirty 
 yards before him, waving to him eagerly and 
 apparently calling to him also. The roar and 
 crackling of the burning wood Y/"as too loud for 
 any other sounds to be heard ; but the 
 gestures of the figure seemed to direct him 
 towards the south again ; and, obeying the 
 signs, he soon found himself once more upon 
 an Indian trail. 
 
 The next instant, the figure he had seen was 
 upon the same path, and a little nearer. 
 It was that of an Indian ; but, in the smoky 
 light, Walter Prevost could not distinguish 
 the tribe or nation. He advanced cautiously, 
 
o 
 
 TICONDEKOGA. 
 
 tlien, with his thumb upon the cock of the 
 rifle ; but, as soon as he was within hearing, 
 the man called to hiin, in the Oneida tongue, 
 and in a friendly tone, telling him to follow, and 
 warning him that death lay to the westward. 
 
 Thrown off his guard by such signs of in- 
 terest, the lad advanced with a quick step, and 
 was soon close to his guide, though the man 
 walked fast. 
 
 " Is the house burnt, brother ?" asked the 
 youth, eagerly. 
 
 ^''What, the lodge of the pale-face?" re- 
 turned the Indian. '^ Xo — it stands fasti" 
 
 " Thank God for that !" ejaculated Walter 
 Pre vest in English. 
 
 But the words had hardly passed his lips, 
 when he suddenly felt his arms seized; his 
 rifle was wrested from his hands, and he him- 
 self cast backward on the ground. Two savage 
 faces glared above him, and he expected to see 
 the gleam of the deadly tomahawk the next 
 instant. 
 
TICONDEEOGA. 311 
 
 ^^What now?" he exclaimed, in Oneida; 
 ^^ am I not your brother ? Am I not the son of 
 the Black Eagle — the friend of the children of 
 the Stone ?" 
 
 There was no answer ; but in dead silence 
 the Indians proceeded with rapid hands to 
 bind his arms with thongs of deer- skin; and 
 then, raising him on his feet, forced him to re- 
 tread his steps along the very trail which had 
 brought him thither. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 f . C. KtAvby, Printer, 30. V. elbtt-k Stieet. Cavendish Squ.-ire. 
 
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