Chapter 2

"Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola!"--Shakespeare

While one of the lovely beings we have so cursorily

presented to the reader was thus lost in thought, the other

quickly recovered from the alarm which induced the

exclamation, and, laughing at her own weakness, she inquired

of the youth who rode by her side:

"Are such specters frequent in the woods, Heyward, or is

this sight an especial entertainment ordered on our behalf?

If the latter, gratitude must close our mouths; but if the

former, both Cora and I shall have need to draw largely on

that stock of hereditary courage which we boast, even before

we are made to encounter the redoubtable Montcalm."

"Yon Indian is a 'runner' of the army; and, after the

fashion of his people, he may be accounted a hero," returned

the officer. "He has volunteered to guide us to the lake,

by a path but little known, sooner than if we followed the

tardy movements of the column; and, by consequence, more

agreeably."

"I like him not," said the lady, shuddering, partly in

assumed, yet more in real terror. "You know him, Duncan, or

you would not trust yourself so freely to his keeping?"

"Say, rather, Alice, that I would not trust you. I do know

him, or he would not have my confidence, and least of all at

this moment. He is said to be a Canadian too; and yet he

served with our friends the Mohawks, who, as you know, are

one of the six allied nations. He was brought among us, as

I have heard, by some strange accident in which your father

was interested, and in which the savage was rigidly dealt

by; but I forget the idle tale, it is enough, that he is now

our friend."

"If he has been my father's enemy, I like him still less!"

exclaimed the now really anxious girl. "Will you not speak

to him, Major Heyward, that I may hear his tones? Foolish

though it may be, you have often heard me avow my faith in

the tones of the human voice!"

"It would be in vain; and answered, most probably, by an

ejaculation. Though he may understand it, he affects, like

most of his people, to be ignorant of the English; and least

of all will he condescend to speak it, now that the war

demands the utmost exercise of his dignity. But he stops;

the private path by which we are to journey is, doubtless,

at hand."

The conjecture of Major Heyward was true. When they reached

the spot where the Indian stood, pointing into the thicket

that fringed the military road; a narrow and blind path,

which might, with some little inconvenience, receive one

person at a time, became visible.

"Here, then, lies our way," said the young man, in a low

voice. "Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the danger

you appear to apprehend."

"Cora, what think you?" asked the reluctant fair one. "If

we journey with the troops, though we may find their

presence irksome, shall we not feel better assurance of our

safety?"

"Being little accustomed to the practices of the savages,

Alice, you mistake the place of real danger," said Heyward.

"If enemies have reached the portage at all, a thing by no

means probable, as our scouts are abroad, they will surely

be found skirting the column, where scalps abound the most.

The route of the detachment is known, while ours, having

been determined within the hour, must still be secret."

"Should we distrust the man because his manners are not our

manners, and that his skin is dark?" coldly asked Cora.

Alice hesitated no longer; but giving her Narrangansett* a

smart cut of the whip, she was the first to dash aside the

slight branches of the bushes, and to follow the runner

along the dark and tangled pathway. The young man regarded

the last speaker in open admiration, and even permitted her

fairer, though certainly not more beautiful companion, to

proceed unattended, while he sedulously opened the way

himself for the passage of her who has been called Cora. It

would seem that the domestics had been previously

instructed; for, instead of penetrating the thicket, they

followed the route of the column; a measure which Heyward

stated had been dictated by the sagacity of their guide, in

order to diminish the marks of their trail, if, haply, the

Canadian savages should be lurking so far in advance of

their army. For many minutes the intricacy of the route

admitted of no further dialogue; after which they emerged

from the broad border of underbrush which grew along the

line of the highway, and entered under the high but dark

arches of the forest. Here their progress was less

interrupted; and the instant the guide perceived that the

females could command their steeds, he moved on, at a pace

between a trot and a walk, and at a rate which kept the sure-

footed and peculiar animals they rode at a fast yet easy

amble. The youth had turned to speak to the dark-eyed Cora,

when the distant sound of horses; hoofs, clattering over the

roots of the broken way in his rear, caused him to check his

charger; and, as his companions drew their reins at the same

instant, the whole party came to a halt, in order to obtain

an explanation of the unlooked-for interruption.

* In the state of Rhode Island there is a bay called

Narragansett, so named after a powerful tribe of Indians,

which formerly dwelt on its banks. Accident, or one of

those unaccountable freaks which nature sometimes plays in

the animal world, gave rise to a breed of horses which were

once well known in America, and distinguished by their habit

of pacing. Horses of this race were, and are still, in much

request as saddle horses, on account of their hardiness and

the ease of their movements. As they were also sure of

foot, the Narragansetts were greatly sought for by females

who were obliged to travel over the roots and holes in the

"new countries."

In a few moments a colt was seen gliding, like a fallow

deer, among the straight trunks of the pines; and, in

another instant, the person of the ungainly man, described

in the preceding chapter, came into view, with as much

rapidity as he could excite his meager beast to endure

without coming to an open rupture. Until now this personage

had escaped the observation of the travelers. If he

possessed the power to arrest any wandering eye when

exhibiting the glories of his altitude on foot, his

equestrian graces were still more likely to attract

attention.

Notwithstanding a constant application of his one armed heel

to the flanks of the mare, the most confirmed gait that he

could establish was a Canterbury gallop with the hind legs,

in which those more forward assisted for doubtful moments,

though generally content to maintain a loping trot. Perhaps

the rapidity of the changes from one of these paces to the

other created an optical illusion, which might thus magnify

the powers of the beast; for it is certain that Heyward, who

possessed a true eye for the merits of a horse, was unable,

with his utmost ingenuity, to decide by what sort of

movement his pursuer worked his sinuous way on his footsteps

with such persevering hardihood.

The industry and movements of the rider were not less

remarkable than those of the ridden. At each change in the

evolutions of the latter, the former raised his tall person

in the stirrups; producing, in this manner, by the undue

elongation of his legs, such sudden growths and diminishings

of the stature, as baffled every conjecture that might be

made as to his dimensions. If to this be added the fact

that, in consequence of the ex parte application of the

spur, one side of the mare appeared to journey faster than

the other; and that the aggrieved flank was resolutely

indicated by unremitted flourishes of a bushy tail, we

finish the picture of both horse and man.

The frown which had gathered around the handsome, open, and

manly brow of Heyward, gradually relaxed, and his lips

curled into a slight smile, as he regarded the stranger.

Alice made no very powerful effort to control her merriment;

and even the dark, thoughtful eye of Cora lighted with a

humor that it would seem, the habit, rather than the nature,

of its mistress repressed.

"Seek you any here?" demanded Heyward, when the other had

arrived sufficiently nigh to abate his speed; "I trust you

are no messenger of evil tidings?"

"Even so," replied the stranger, making diligent use of his

triangular castor, to produce a circulation in the close air

of the woods, and leaving his hearers in doubt to which of

the young man's questions he responded; when, however, he

had cooled his face, and recovered his breath, he continued,

"I hear you are riding to William Henry; as I am journeying

thitherward myself, I concluded good company would seem

consistent to the wishes of both parties."

"You appear to possess the privilege of a casting vote,"

returned Heyward; "we are three, while you have consulted no

one but yourself."

"Even so. The first point to be obtained is to know one's

own mind. Once sure of that, and where women are concerned

it is not easy, the next is, to act up to the decision. I

have endeavored to do both, and here I am."

"If you journey to the lake, you have mistaken your route,"

said Heyward, haughtily; "the highway thither is at least

half a mile behind you."

"Even so," returned the stranger, nothing daunted by this

cold reception; "I have tarried at 'Edward' a week, and I

should be dumb not to have inquired the road I was to

journey; and if dumb there would be an end to my calling."

After simpering in a small way, like one whose modesty

prohibited a more open expression of his admiration of a

witticism that was perfectly unintelligible to his hearers,

he continued, "It is not prudent for any one of my

profession to be too familiar with those he has to instruct;

for which reason I follow not the line of the army; besides

which, I conclude that a gentleman of your character has the

best judgment in matters of wayfaring; I have, therefore,

decided to join company, in order that the ride may be made

agreeable, and partake of social communion."

"A most arbitrary, if not a hasty decision!" exclaimed

Heyward, undecided whether to give vent to his growing

anger, or to laugh in the other's face. "But you speak of

instruction, and of a profession; are you an adjunct to the

provincial corps, as a master of the noble science of

defense and offense; or, perhaps, you are one who draws

lines and angles, under the pretense of expounding the

mathematics?"

The stranger regarded his interrogator a moment in wonder;

and then, losing every mark of self-satisfaction in an

expression of solemn humility, he answered:

"Of offense, I hope there is none, to either party: of

defense, I make none--by God's good mercy, having

committed no palpable sin since last entreating his

pardoning grace. I understand not your allusions about

lines and angles; and I leave expounding to those who have

been called and set apart for that holy office. I lay claim

to no higher gift than a small insight into the glorious art

of petitioning and thanksgiving, as practiced in psalmody."

"The man is, most manifestly, a disciple of Apollo," cried

the amused Alice, "and I take him under my own especial

protection. Nay, throw aside that frown, Heyward, and in

pity to my longing ears, suffer him to journey in our train.

Besides," she added, in a low and hurried voice, casting a

glance at the distant Cora, who slowly followed the

footsteps of their silent, but sullen guide, "it may be a

friend added to our strength, in time of need."

"Think you, Alice, that I would trust those I love by this

secret path, did I imagine such need could happen?"

"Nay, nay, I think not of it now; but this strange man

amuses me; and if he 'hath music in his soul', let us not

churlishly reject his company." She pointed persuasively

along the path with her riding whip, while their eyes met in

a look which the young man lingered a moment to prolong;

then, yielding to her gentle influence, he clapped his spurs

into his charger, and in a few bounds was again at the side

of Cora.

"I am glad to encounter thee, friend," continued the maiden,

waving her hand to the stranger to proceed, as she urged her

Narragansett to renew its amble. "Partial relatives have

almost persuaded me that I am not entirely worthless in a

duet myself; and we may enliven our wayfaring by indulging

in our favorite pursuit. It might be of signal advantage to

one, ignorant as I, to hear the opinions and experience of a

master in the art."

"It is refreshing both to the spirits and to the body to

indulge in psalmody, in befitting seasons," returned the

master of song, unhesitatingly complying with her intimation

to follow; "and nothing would relieve the mind more than

such a consoling communion. But four parts are altogether

necessary to the perfection of melody. You have all the

manifestations of a soft and rich treble; I can, by especial

aid, carry a full tenor to the highest letter; but we lack

counter and bass! Yon officer of the king, who hesitated to

admit me to his company, might fill the latter, if one may

judge from the intonations of his voice in common dialogue."

"Judge not too rashly from hasty and deceptive appearances,"

said the lady, smiling; "though Major Heyward can assume

such deep notes on occasion, believe me, his natural tones

are better fitted for a mellow tenor than the bass you

heard."

"Is he, then, much practiced in the art of psalmody?"

demanded her simple companion.

Alice felt disposed to laugh, though she succeeded in

suppressing her merriment, ere she answered:

"I apprehend that he is rather addicted to profane song.

The chances of a soldier's life are but little fitted for

the encouragement of more sober inclinations."

"Man's voice is given to him, like his other talents, to be

used, and not to be abused. None can say they have ever

known me to neglect my gifts! I am thankful that, though my

boyhood may be said to have been set apart, like the youth

of the royal David, for the purposes of music, no syllable

of rude verse has ever profaned my lips."

"You have, then, limited your efforts to sacred song?"

"Even so. As the psalms of David exceed all other language,

so does the psalmody that has been fitted to them by the

divines and sages of the land, surpass all vain poetry.

Happily, I may say that I utter nothing but the thoughts and

the wishes of the King of Israel himself; for though the

times may call for some slight changes, yet does this

version which we use in the colonies of New England so much

exceed all other versions, that, by its richness, its

exactness, and its spiritual simplicity, it approacheth, as

near as may be, to the great work of the inspired writer. I

never abid in any place, sleeping or waking, without an

example of this gifted work. 'Tis the six-and-twentieth

edition, promulgated at Boston, Anno Domini 1744; and is

entitled, 'The Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the Old

and New Testaments; faithfully translated into English

Metre, for the Use, Edification, and Comfort of the Saints,

in Public and Private, especially in New England'."

During this eulogium on the rare production of his native

poets, the stranger had drawn the book from his pocket, and

fitting a pair of iron-rimmed spectacles to his nose, opened

the volume with a care and veneration suited to its sacred

purposes. Then, without circumlocution or apology, first

pronounced the word "Standish," and placing the unknown

engine, already described, to his mouth, from which he drew

a high, shrill sound, that was followed by an octave below,

from his own voice, he commenced singing the following

words, in full, sweet, and melodious tones, that set the

music, the poetry, and even the uneasy motion of his ill-

trained beast at defiance; "How good it is, O see, And how

it pleaseth well, Together e'en in unity, For brethren so to

dwell. "It's like the choice ointment, From the head to the

beard did go; Down Aaron's head, that downward went His

garment's skirts unto."

The delivery of these skillful rhymes was accompanied, on

the part of the stranger, by a regular rise and fall of his

right hand, which terminated at the descent, by suffering

the fingers to dwell a moment on the leaves of the little

volume; and on the ascent, by such a flourish of the member

as none but the initiated may ever hope to imitate. It

would seem long practice had rendered this manual

accompaniment necessary; for it did not cease until the

preposition which the poet had selected for the close of his

verse had been duly delivered like a word of two syllables.

Such an innovation on the silence and retirement of the

forest could not fail to enlist the ears of those who

journeyed at so short a distance in advance. The Indian

muttered a few words in broken English to Heyward, who, in

his turn, spoke to the stranger; at once interrupting, and,

for the time, closing his musical efforts.

"Though we are not in danger, common prudence would teach us

to journey through this wilderness in as quiet a manner as

possible. You will then, pardon me, Alice, should I

diminish your enjoyments, by requesting this gentleman to

postpone his chant until a safer opportunity."

"You will diminish them, indeed," returned the arch girl;

"for never did I hear a more unworthy conjunction of

execution and language than that to which I have been

listening; and I was far gone in a learned inquiry into the

causes of such an unfitness between sound and sense, when

you broke the charm of my musings by that bass of yours,

Duncan!"

"I know not what you call my bass," said Heyward, piqued at

her remark, "but I know that your safety, and that of Cora,

is far dearer to me than could be any orchestra of Handel's

music." He paused and turned his head quickly toward a

thicket, and then bent his eyes suspiciously on their guide,

who continued his steady pace, in undisturbed gravity. The

young man smiled to himself, for he believed he had mistaken

some shining berry of the woods for the glistening eyeballs

of a prowling savage, and he rode forward, continuing the

conversation which had been interrupted by the passing

thought.

Major Heyward was mistaken only in suffering his youthful

and generous pride to suppress his active watchfulness. The

cavalcade had not long passed, before the branches of the

bushes that formed the thicket were cautiously moved

asunder, and a human visage, as fiercely wild as savage art

and unbridled passions could make it, peered out on the

retiring footsteps of the travelers. A gleam of exultation

shot across the darkly-painted lineaments of the inhabitant

of the forest, as he traced the route of his intended

victims, who rode unconsciously onward, the light and

graceful forms of the females waving among the trees, in the

curvatures of their path, followed at each bend by the manly

figure of Heyward, until, finally, the shapeless person of

the singing master was concealed behind the numberless

trunks of trees, that rose, in dark lines, in the

intermediate space.

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