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Wacousta : a tale of the Pontiac conspiracy — Volume 1

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Title: Wacousta : a tale of the Pontiac conspiracy — Volume 1

Author: Major Richardson


        
Release date: December 1, 2003 [eBook #4719]
                Most recently updated: December 28, 2020

Language: English

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WACOUSTA;

   or,

THE PROPHECY.

Volume One of Three


by

John Richardson





Preface

It is well known to every man conversant with the earlier history of
this country that, shortly subsequent to the cession of the Canadas to
England by France, Ponteac, the great head of the Indian race of that
period, had formed a federation of the various tribes, threatening
extermination to the British posts established along the Western
frontier. These were nine in number, and the following stratagem was
resorted to by the artful chief to effect their reduction. Investing
one fort with his warriors, so as to cut off all communication with the
others, and to leave no hope of succor, his practice was to offer terms
of surrender, which never were kept in the honorable spirit in which
the far more noble and generous Tecumseh always acted with his enemies,
and thus, in turn, seven of these outposts fell victims to their
confidence in his truth.

Detroit and Michilimackinac, or Mackinaw as it is now called, remained,
and all the ingenuity of the chieftain was directed to the possession
of these strongholds. The following plan, well worthy of his invention,
was at length determined upon. During a temporary truce, and while
Ponteac was holding forth proposals for an ultimate and durable peace,
a game of lacrosse was arranged by him to take place simultaneously on
the common or clearing on which rested the forts of Michilimackinac and
Detroit. The better to accomplish their object, the guns of the
warriors had been cut short and given to their women, who were
instructed to conceal them under their blankets, and during the game,
and seemingly without design, to approach the drawbridge of the fort.
This precaution taken, the players were to approach and throw over
their ball, permission to regain which they presumed would not be
denied. On approaching the drawbridge they were with fierce yells to
make a general rush, and, securing the arms concealed by the women, to
massacre the unprepared garrison.

The day was fixed; the game commenced, and was proceeded with in the
manner previously arranged. The ball was dexterously hurled into the
fort, and permission asked to recover it. It was granted. The
drawbridge was lowered, and the Indians dashed forward for the
accomplishment of their work of blood. How different the results in the
two garrisons! At Detroit, Ponteac and his warriors had scarcely
crossed the drawbridge when, to their astonishment and disappointment,
they beheld the guns of the ramparts depressed--the artillerymen with
lighted matches at their posts and covering the little garrison,
composed of a few companies of the 42nd Highlanders, who were also
under arms, and so distributed as to take the enemy most at an
advantage. Suddenly they withdrew and without other indication of their
purpose than what had been expressed in their manner, and carried off
the missing ball. Their design had been discovered and made known by
means of significant warnings to the Governor by an Indian woman who
owed a debt of gratitude to his family, and was resolved, at all
hazards, to save them.

On the same day the same artifice was resorted to at Michilimackinac,
and with the most complete success. There was no guardian angel there
to warn them of danger, and all fell beneath the rifle, the tomahawk,
the war-club, and the knife, one or two of the traders--a Mr. Henry
among the rest--alone excepted.

It was not long after this event when the head of the military
authorities in the Colony, apprised of the fate of these captured
posts, and made acquainted with the perilous condition of Fort Detroit,
which was then reduced to the last extremity, sought an officer who
would volunteer the charge of supplies from Albany to Buffalo, and
thence across the lake to Detroit, which, if possible, he was to
relieve. That volunteer was promptly found in my maternal grandfather,
Mr. Erskine, from Strabane, in the North of Ireland, then an officer in
the Commissariat Department. The difficulty of the undertaking will be
obvious to those who understand the danger attending a journey through
the Western wilderness, beset as it was by the warriors of Ponteac,
ever on the lookout to prevent succor to the garrison, and yet the duty
was successfully accomplished. He left Albany with provisions and
ammunition sufficient to fill several Schnectady boats--I think
seven--and yet conducted his charge with such prudence and foresight,
that notwithstanding the vigilance of Ponteac, he finally and after
long watching succeeded, under cover of a dark and stormy night, in
throwing into the fort the supplies of which the remnant of the
gallant "Black Watch," as the 42nd was originally named, and a company
of whom, while out reconnoitering, had been massacred at a spot in the
vicinity of the town, thereafter called the Bloody Run, stood so
greatly in need. This important service rendered, Mr. Erskine, in
compliance with the instructions he had received, returned to Albany,
where he reported the success of the expedition.

The colonial authorities were not regardless of his interests. When the
Ponteac confederacy had been dissolved, and quiet and security restored
in that remote region, large tracts of land were granted to Mr.
Erskine, and other privileges accorded which eventually gave him the
command of nearly a hundred thousand dollars--enormous sum to have been
realized at that early period of the country. But it was not destined
that he should retain this. The great bulk of his capital was expended
on almost the first commercial shipping that ever skimmed the surface
of Lakes Huron and Erie. Shortly prior to the Revolution, he was
possessed of seven vessels of different tonnage, and the trade in which
he had embarked, and of which he was the head, was rapidly increasing
his already large fortune, when one of those autumnal hurricanes, which
even to this day continue to desolate the waters of the treacherous
lake last named, suddenly arose and buried beneath its engulfing waves
not less than six of these schooners laden with such riches, chiefly
furs, of the West as then were most an object of barter.

Mr. Erskine, who had married the daughter of one of the earliest
settlers from France, and of a family well known in history, a lady who
had been in Detroit during the siege of the British garrison by
Ponteac, now abandoned speculation, and contenting himself with the
remnant of his fortune, established himself near the banks of the
river, within a short distance of the Bloody Run. Here he continued
throughout the Revolution. Early, however, in the present century, he
quitted Detroit and repaired to the Canadian shore, where on a property
nearly opposite, which he obtained in exchange, and which in honor of
his native country he named Strabane--known as such to this day--he
passed the autumn of his days. The last time I beheld him was a day or
two subsequent to the affair of the Thames, when General Harrison and
Colonel Johnson were temporary inmates of his dwelling.

My father, of a younger branch of the Annandale family, the head of
which was attainted in the Scottish rebellion of 1745, was an officer
of Simcoe's well-known Rangers, in which regiment, and about the same
period, the present Lord Hardinge commenced his services in this
country. Being quartered at Fort Erie, he met and married at the house
of one of the earliest Canadian merchants a daughter of Mr. Erskine,
then on a visit to her sister, and by her had eight children, of whom I
am the oldest and only survivor. Having a few years after his marriage
been ordered to St. Joseph's, near Michilimackinac, my father thought
it expedient to leave me with Mr. Erskine at Detroit, where I received
the first rudiments of my education. But here I did not remain long,
for it was during the period of the stay of the detachment of Simcoe's
Rangers at St. Joseph that Mr. Erskine repaired with his family to the
Canadian shore, where on the more elevated and conspicuous part of his
grounds which are situated nearly opposite the foot of Hog Island, so
repeatedly alluded to in "Wacousta," he had caused a flag-staff to be
erected, from which each Sabbath day proudly floated the colors under
which he had served, and which he never could bring himself to disown.

It was at Strabane that the old lady, with whom I was a great favorite,
used to enchain my young interest by detailing various facts connected
with the siege she so well remembered, and infused into me a longing to
grow up to manhood that I might write a book about it. The details of
the Ponteac plan for the capture of the two forts were what she most
enlarged upon, and although a long lapse of years of absence from the
scene, and ten thousand incidents of a higher and more immediate
importance might have been supposed to weaken the recollections of so
early a period of life, the impression has ever vividly remained. Hence
the first appearance of "Wacousta" in London in 1832, more than a
quarter of a century later. The story is founded solely on the artifice
of Ponteac to possess himself of those two last British forts. All else
is imaginary.

It is not a little curious that I, only a few years subsequent to the
narration by old Mrs. Erskine of the daring and cunning feats of
Ponteac, and his vain attempt to secure the fort of Detroit, should
myself have entered it in arms. But it was so. I had ever hated school
with a most bitter hatred, and I gladly availed myself of an offer from
General Brock to obtain for me a commission in the King's service.
Meanwhile I did duty as a cadet with the gallant 41st regiment, to
which the English edition of "Wacousta" was inscribed, and was one of
the guard of honor who took possession of the fort. The duty of a
sentinel over the British colors, which had just been hoisted was
assigned to me, and I certainly felt not a little proud of the
distinction.

Five times within half a century had the flag of that fortress been
changed. First the lily of France, then the red cross of England, and
next the stars and stripes of America had floated over its ramparts;
and then again the red cross, and lastly the stars. On my return to
this country a few years since, I visited those scenes of stirring
excitement in which my boyhood had been passed, but I looked in vain
for the ancient fortifications which had given a classical interest to
that region. The unsparing hand of utilitarianism had passed over them,
destroying almost every vestige of the past. Where had risen the only
fortress in America at all worthy to give antiquity to the scene,
streets had been laid out and made, and houses had been built, leaving
not a trace of its existence save the well that formerly supplied the
closely besieged garrison with water; and this, half imbedded in the
herbage of an enclosure of a dwelling house of mean appearance, was
rather to be guessed at than seen; while at the opposite extremity of
the city, where had been conspicuous for years the Bloody Run,
cultivation and improvement had nearly obliterated every trace of the
past.

Two objections have been urged against "Wacousta" as a consistent
tale--the one as involving an improbability, the other a geographical
error. It has been assumed that the startling feat accomplished by that
man of deep revenge, who is not alone in his bitter hatred and contempt
for the base among those who, like spaniels, crawl and kiss the dust at
the instigation of their superiors, and yet arrogate to themselves a
claim to be considered gentlemen and men of honor and independence--it
has, I repeat, been assumed that the feat attributed to him in
connection with the flag-staff of the fort was impossible. No one who
has ever seen these erections on the small forts of that day would
pronounce the same criticism. Never very lofty, they were ascended at
least one-third of their height by means of small projections nailed to
them for footholds for the artillerymen, frequently compelled to clear
the flag lines entangled at the truck; therefore a strong and active
man, such as Wacousta is described to have been, might very well have
been supposed, in his strong anxiety for revenge and escape with his
victim, to have doubled his strength and activity on so important an
occasion, rendering that easy of attainment by himself which an
ordinary and unexcited man might deem impossible. I myself have knocked
down a gate, almost without feeling the resistance, in order to escape
the stilettos of assassins.

The second objection is to the narrowness attributed in the tale to the
river St. Clair. This was done in the license usually accorded to a
writer of fiction, in order to give greater effect to the scene
represented as having occurred there, and, of course, in no way
intended as a geographical description of the river, nor was it
necessary. In the same spirit and for the same purpose it has been
continued.

It will be seen that at the termination of the tragedy enacted at the
bridge, by which the Bloody Run was in those days crossed, that the
wretched wife of the condemned soldier pronounced a curse that could
not, of course, well be fulfilled in the course of the tale. Some few
years ago I published in Canada--I might as well have done so in
Kamschatka--the continuation, which was to have been dedicated to the
last King of England, but which, after the death of that monarch, was
inscribed to Sir John Harvey, whose letter, as making honorable mention
of a gallant and beloved brother, I feel it a duty to the memory of the
latter to subjoin.

   GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON, N.B.,

   Major Richardson, Montreal.

   November 26th, 1839.

   "Dear Sir;--I am favored with your very interesting
   communication of the 2nd instant, by which I learn
   that you are the brother of two youths whose gallantry
   and merits--and with regard to one of them, his
   sufferings--during the late war, excited my warmest
   admiration and sympathy. I beg you to believe that I
   am far from insensible to the affecting proofs which
   you have made known to me of this grateful recollection
   of any little service I may have had it in my power
   to render them; and I will add that the desire which
   I felt to serve the father will be found to extend
   itself to the son, if your nephew should ever find
   himself under circumstances to require from me any
   service which it may be within my power to render him."

   "With regard to your very flattering proposition to
   inscribe your present work to me, I can only say that,
   independent of the respect to which the author of so
   very charming a production as 'Wacousta' is entitled,
   the interesting facts and circumstances so unexpectedly
   brought to my knowledge and recollection would ensure
   a ready acquiescence on my part."

   "I remain, dear sir your very faithful servant"

   "(Signed)   J. HARVEY. "

The "Prophecy Fulfilled," which, however, has never been seen out of
the small country in which it appeared--Detroit, perhaps, alone
excepted--embraces and indeed is intimately connected with the
Beauchamp tragedy, which took place at or near Weisiger's Hotel, in
Frankfort, Kentucky, where I had been many years before confined as a
prisoner of war. While connecting it with the "Prophecy Fulfilled," and
making it subservient to the end I had in view, I had not read or even
heard of the existence of a work of the same character, which had
already appeared from the pen of an American author. Indeed, I have
reason to believe that the "Prophecy Fulfilled," although not published
until after a lapse of years, was the first written. No similarity of
treatment of the subject exists between the two versions, and this, be
it remembered, I remark without in the slightest degree impugning the
merit of the production of my fellow-laborer in the same field.

THE AUTHOR.

New York City, January 1st, 1851.




CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

As we are about to introduce our readers to scenes with which the
European is little familiarised, some few cursory remarks, illustrative
of the general features of the country into which we have shifted our
labours, may not be deemed misplaced at the opening of this volume.

Without entering into minute geographical detail, it may be necessary
merely to point out the outline of such portions of the vast continent
of America as still acknowledge allegiance to the English crown, in
order that the reader, understanding the localities, may enter with
deeper interest into the incidents of a tale connected with a ground
hitherto untouched by the wand of the modern novelist.

All who have ever taken the trouble to inform themselves of the
features of a country so little interesting to the majority of
Englishmen in their individual character must be aware,--and for the
information of those who are not, we state,--that that portion of the
northern continent of America which is known as the United States is
divided from the Canadas by a continuous chain of lakes and rivers,
commencing at the ocean into which they empty themselves, and extending
in a north-western direction to the remotest parts of these wild
regions, which have never yet been pressed by other footsteps than
those of the native hunters of the soil. First we have the magnificent
St. Lawrence, fed from the lesser and tributary streams, rolling her
sweet and silver waters into the foggy seas of the Newfoundland.--But
perhaps it will better tend to impress our readers with a panoramic
picture of the country in which our scene of action is more immediately
laid, by commencing at those extreme and remote points of our Canadian
possessions to which their attention will be especially directed in the
course of our narrative.

The most distant of the north-western settlements of America is
Michilimackinac, a name given by the Indians, and preserved by the
Americans, who possess the fort even to this hour. It is situated at
the head of the Lakes Michigan and Huron, and adjacent to the Island of
St. Joseph's, where, since the existence of the United States as an
independent republic, an English garrison has been maintained, with a
view of keeping the original fortress in check. From the lakes above
mentioned we descend into the River Sinclair, which, in turn,
disembogues itself into the lake of the same name. This again renders
tribute to the Detroit, a broad majestic river, not less than a mile in
breadth at its source, and progressively widening towards its mouth
until it is finally lost in the beautiful Lake Erie, computed at about
one hundred and sixty miles in circumference. From the embouchure of
this latter lake commences the Chippawa, better known in Europe from
the celebrity of its stupendous falls of Niagara, which form an
impassable barrier to the seaman, and, for a short space, sever the
otherwise uninterrupted chain connecting the remote fortresses we have
described with the Atlantic. At a distance of a few miles from the
falls, the Chippawa finally empties itself into the Ontario, the most
splendid of the gorgeous American lakes, on the bright bosom of which,
during the late war, frigates, seventy-fours, and even a ship of one
hundred and twelve guns, manned by a crew of one thousand men,
reflected the proud pennants of England! At the opposite extremity of
this magnificent and sea-like lake, which is upwards of two hundred
miles in circumference, the far-famed St. Lawrence takes her source;
and after passing through a vast tract of country, whose elevated banks
bear every trace of fertility and cultivation, connects itself with the
Lake Champlain, celebrated, as well as Erie, for a signal defeat of our
flotilla during the late contest with the Americans. Pushing her bold
waters through this somewhat inferior lake, the St. Lawrence pursues
her course seaward with impetuosity, until arrested near La Chine by
rock-studded shallows, which produce those strong currents and eddies,
the dangers of which are so beautifully expressed in the Canadian Boat
Song,--a composition that has rendered the "rapids" almost as familiar
to the imagination of the European as the falls of Niagara themselves.
Beyond La Chine the St. Lawrence gradually unfolds herself into greater
majesty and expanse, and rolling past the busy commercial town of
Montreal, is once more increased in volume by the insignificant lake of
St. Peter's, nearly opposite to the settlement of Three Rivers, midway
between Montreal and Quebec. From thence she pursues her course unfed,
except by a few inferior streams, and gradually widens as she rolls
past the capital of the Canadas, whose tall and precipitous
battlements, bristled with cannon, and frowning defiance from the
clouds in which they appear half imbedded, might be taken by the
imaginative enthusiast for the strong tower of the Spirit of those
stupendous scenes. From this point the St. Lawrence increases in
expanse, until, at length, after traversing a country where the traces
of civilisation become gradually less and less visible, she finally
merges in the gulf, from the centre of which the shores on either hand
are often invisible to the naked eye; and in this manner is it
imperceptibly lost in that misty ocean, so dangerous to mariners from
its deceptive and almost perpetual fogs.

In following the links of this extensive chain of lakes and rivers, it
must be borne in recollection, that, proceeding seaward from
Michilimackinac and its contiguous district, all that tract of country
which lies to the right constitutes what is now known as the United
States of America, and all on the left the two provinces of Upper and
Lower Canada, tributary to the English government, subject to the
English laws, and garrisoned by English troops. The several forts and
harbours established along the left bank of the St. Lawrence, and
throughout that portion of our possessions which is known as Lower
Canada, are necessarily, from the improved condition and more numerous
population of that province, on a larger scale and of better
appointment; but in Upper Canada, where the traces of civilisation are
less evident throughout, and become gradually more faint as we advance
westward, the fortresses and harbours bear the same proportion In
strength and extent to the scantiness of the population they are
erected to protect. Even at the present day, along that line of remote
country we have selected for the theatre of our labours, the garrisons
are both few in number and weak in strength, and evidence of
cultivation is seldom to be found at any distance in the interior; so
that all beyond a certain extent of clearing, continued along the banks
of the lakes and rivers, is thick, impervious, rayless forest, the
limits of which have never yet been explored, perhaps, by the natives
themselves.

Such being the general features of the country even at the present day,
it will readily be comprehended how much more wild and desolate was the
character they exhibited as far back as the middle of the last century,
about which period our story commences. At that epoch, it will be borne
in mind, what we have described as being the United States were then
the British colonies of America dependent on the mother-country; while
the Canadas, on the contrary, were, or had very recently been, under
the dominion of France, from whom they had been wrested after a long
struggle, greatly advanced in favour of England by the glorious battle
fought on the plains of Abraham, near Quebec, and celebrated for the
defeat of Montcalm and the death of Wolfe.

The several attempts made to repossess themselves of the strong hold of
Quebec having, in every instance, been met by discomfiture and
disappointment, the French, in despair, relinquished the contest, and,
by treaty, ceded their claims to the Canadas,--an event that was
hastened by the capitulation of the garrison of Montreal, commanded by
the Marquis de Vaudreuil, to the victorious arms of General Amherst.
Still, though conquered as a people, many of the leading men in the
country, actuated by that jealousy for which they were remarkable,
contrived to oppose obstacles to the quiet possession of a conquest by
those whom they seemed to look upon as their hereditary enemies; and in
furtherance of this object, paid agents, men of artful and intriguing
character, were dispersed among the numerous tribes of savages, with a
view of exciting them to acts of hostility against their conquerors.
The long and uninterrupted possession, by the French, of those
countries immediately bordering on the hunting grounds and haunts of
the natives, with whom they carried on an extensive traffic in furs,
had established a communionship of interest between themselves and
those savage and warlike people, which failed not to turn to account
the vindictive views of the former. The whole of the province of Upper
Canada at that time possessed but a scanty population, protected in its
most flourishing and defensive points by stockade forts; the chief
object of which was to secure the garrisons, consisting each of a few
companies, from any sudden surprise on the part of the natives, who,
although apparently inclining to acknowledge the change of neighbours,
and professing amity, were, it was well known, too much in the interest
of their old friends the French, and even the French Canadians
themselves, not to be regarded with the most cautious distrust.

These stockade forts were never, at any one period, nearer to each
other than from one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles, so that, in
the event of surprise or alarm, there was little prospect of obtaining
assistance from without. Each garrison, therefore, was almost wholly
dependent on its own resources; and, when surrounded unexpectedly by
numerous bands of hostile Indians, had no other alternative than to
hold out to the death. Capitulation was out of the question; for,
although the wile and artifice of the natives might induce them to
promise mercy, the moment their enemies were in their power promises
and treaties were alike broken, and indiscriminate massacre ensued.
Communication by water was, except during a period of profound peace,
almost impracticable; for, although of late years the lakes of Canada
have been covered with vessels of war, many of them, as we have already
remarked, of vast magnitude, and been the theatres of conflicts that
would not have disgraced the salt waters of ocean itself, at the period
to which our story refers the flag of England was seen to wave only on
the solitary mast of some ill-armed and ill-manned gunboat, employed
rather for the purpose of conveying despatches from fort to fort, than
with any serious view to acts either of aggression or defence.

In proportion as the colonies of America, now the United States, pushed
their course of civilisation westward, in the same degree did the
numerous tribes of Indians, who had hitherto dwelt more seaward, retire
upon those of their own countrymen, who, buried in vast and
impenetrable forests, had seldom yet seen the face of the European
stranger; so that, in the end, all the more central parts of those
stupendous wilds became doubly peopled. Hitherto, however, that
civilisation had not been carried beyond the state of New York; and all
those countries which have, since the American revolution, been added
to the Union under the names of Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan,
&c., were, at the period embraced by our story, inhospitable and
unproductive woods, subject only to the dominion of the native, and as
yet unshorn by the axe of the cultivator. A few portions only of the
opposite shores of Michigan were occupied by emigrants from the
Canadas, who, finding no one to oppose or molest them, selected the
most fertile spots along the banks of the river; and of the existence
of these infant settlements, the English colonists, who had never
ventured so far, were not even aware until after the conquest of Canada
by the mother-country. This particular district was the centre around
which the numerous warriors, who had been driven westward by the
colonists, had finally assembled; and rude villages and encampments
rose far and near for a circuit of many miles around this infant
settlement and fort of the Canadians, to both of which they had given
the name of Detroit, after the river on whose elevated banks they
stood. Proceeding westward from this point, and along the tract of
country that diverged from the banks of the Lakes Huron, Sinclair, and
Michigan, all traces of that partial civilisation were again lost in
impervious wilds, tenanted only by the fiercest of the Indian tribes,
whose homes were principally along the banks of that greatest of
American waters, the Lake Superior, and in the country surrounding the
isolated fort of Michilimackinac, the last and most remote of the
European fortresses in Canada.

When at a later period the Canadas were ceded to us by France, those
parts of the opposite frontier which we have just described became also
tributary to the English crown, and were, by the peculiar difficulties
that existed to communication with the more central and populous
districts, rendered especially favourable to the exercise of hostile
intrigue by the numerous active French emissaries every where dispersed
among the Indian tribes. During the first few years of the conquest,
the inhabitants of Canada, who were all either European French, or
immediate descendants of that nation, were, as might naturally be
expected, more than restive under their new governors, and many of the
most impatient spirits of the country sought every opportunity of
sowing the seeds of distrust and jealousy in the hearts of the natives.
By these people it was artfully suggested to the Indians, that their
new oppressors were of the race of those who had driven them from the
sea, and were progressively advancing on their territories until scarce
a hunting ground or a village would be left to them. They described
them, moreover, as being the hereditary enemies of their great father,
the King of France, with whose governors they had buried the hatchet
for ever, and smoked the calumet of perpetual peace. Fired by these
wily suggestions, the high and jealous spirit of the Indian chiefs took
the alarm, and they beheld with impatience the "Red Coat," or
"Saganaw," [Footnote: This word thus pronounced by themselves, in
reference to the English soldiery, is, in all probability, derived from
the original English settlers in Saganaw Bay.] usurping, as they deemed
it, those possessions which had so recently acknowledged the supremacy
of the pale flag of their ancient ally. The cause of the Indians, and
that of the Canadians, became, in some degree, identified as one, and
each felt it was the interest, and it may be said the natural instinct,
of both, to hold communionship of purpose, and to indulge the same
jealousies and fears. Such was the state of things in 1763, the period
at which our story commences,--an epoch fruitful in designs of
hostility and treachery on the part of the Indians, who, too crafty and
too politic to manifest their feelings by overt acts declaratory of the
hatred carefully instilled into their breasts, sought every opportunity
to compass the destruction of the English, wherever they were most
vulnerable to the effects of stratagem. Several inferior forts situated
on the Ohio had already fallen into their hands, when they summoned all
their address and cunning to accomplish the fall of the two important
though remote posts of Detroit and Michilimackinac. For a length of
time they were baffled by the activity and vigilance of the respective
governors of these forts, who had had too much fatal experience in the
fate of their companions not to be perpetually on the alert against
their guile; but when they had at length, in some degree, succeeded in
lulling the suspicions of the English, they determined on a scheme,
suggested by a leading chief, a man of more than ordinary character,
which promised fair to rid them altogether of a race they so cordially
detested. We will not, however, mar the interest of our tale, by
anticipating, at this early stage, either the nature or the success of
a stratagem which forms the essential groundwork of our story.

While giving, for the information of the many, what, we trust, will not
be considered a too compendious outline of the Canadas, and the events
connected with them, we are led to remark, that, powerful as was the
feeling of hostility cherished by the French Canadians towards the
English when the yoke of early conquest yet hung heavily on them, this
feeling eventually died away under the mild influence of a government
that preserved to them the exercise of all their customary privileges,
and abolished all invidious distinctions between the descendants of
France and those of the mother-country. So universally, too, has this
system of conciliation been pursued, we believe we may with safety
aver, of all the numerous colonies that have succumbed to the genius
and power of England, there are none whose inhabitants entertain
stronger feelings of attachment and loyalty to her than those of
Canada; and whatever may be the transient differences,--differences
growing entirely out of circumstances and interests of a local
character, and in no way tending to impeach the acknowledged fidelity
of the mass of French Canadians,--whatever, we repeat, may be the
ephemeral differences that occasionally spring up between the governors
of those provinces and individual members of the Houses of Assembly,
they must, in no way, be construed into a general feeling of
disaffection towards the English crown.

In proportion also as the Canadians have felt and acknowledged the
beneficent effects arising from a change of rulers, so have the Indian
tribes been gradually weaned from their first fierce principle of
hostility, until they have subsequently become as much distinguished by
their attachment to, as they were three quarters of a century ago
remarkable for their untameable aversion for, every thing that bore the
English name, or assumed the English character. Indeed, the hatred
which they bore to the original colonists has been continued to their
descendants, the subjects of the United States; and the same spirit of
union subsisted between the natives and British troops, and people of
Canada, during the late American war, that at an earlier period of the
history of that country prevailed so powerfully to the disadvantage of
England.

And now we have explained a course of events which were in some measure
necessary to the full understanding of the country by the majority of
our readers, we shall, in furtherance of the same object, proceed to
sketch a few of the most prominent scenes more immediately before us.

The fort of Detroit, as it was originally constructed by the French,
stands in the middle of a common, or description of small prairie,
bounded by woods, which, though now partially thinned in their
outskirts, were at that period untouched by the hand of civilisation.
Erected at a distance of about half a mile from the banks of the river,
which at that particular point are high and precipitous, it stood then
just far enough from the woods that swept round it in a semicircular
form to be secure from the rifle of the Indian; while from its
batteries it commanded a range of country on every hand, which no enemy
unsupported by cannon could traverse with impunity. Immediately in the
rear, and on the skirt of the wood, the French had constructed a sort
of bomb-proof, possibly intended to serve as a cover to the workmen
originally employed in clearing the woods, but long since suffered to
fall into decay. Without the fortification rose a strong and triple
line of pickets, each of about two feet and a half in circumference,
and so fitted into each other as to leave no other interstices than
those which were perforated for the discharge of musketry. They were
formed of the hardest and most knotted pines that could be procured;
the sharp points of which were seasoned by fire until they acquired
nearly the durability and consistency of iron. Beyond these firmly
imbedded pickets was a ditch, encircling the fort, of about twenty feet
in width, and of proportionate depth, the only communication over which
to and from the garrison was by means of a drawbridge, protected by a
strong chevaux-de-frise. The only gate with which the fortress was
provided faced the river; on the more immediate banks of which, and to
the left of the fort, rose the yet infant and straggling village that
bore the name of both. Numerous farm-houses, however, almost joining
each other, contributed to form a continuity of many miles along the
borders of the river, both on the right and on the left; while the
opposite shores of Canada, distinctly seen in the distance, presented,
as far as the eye could reach, the same enlivening character of
fertility. The banks, covered with verdure on either shore, were more
or less undulating at intervals; but in general they were high without
being abrupt, and picturesque without being bold, presenting, in their
partial cultivation, a striking contrast to the dark, tall, and
frowning forests bounding every point of the perspective.

At a distance of about five miles on the left of the town the course of
the river was interrupted by a small and thickly wooded island, along
whose sandy beach occasionally rose the low cabin or wigwam which the
birch canoe, carefully upturned and left to dry upon the sands,
attested to be the temporary habitation of the wandering Indian. That
branch of the river which swept by the shores of Canada was (as at this
day) the only navigable one for vessels of burden, while that on the
opposite coast abounded in shallows and bars, affording passage merely
to the light barks of the natives, which seemed literally to skim the
very surface of its waves. Midway, between that point of the continent
which immediately faced the eastern extremity of the island we have
just named and the town of Detroit, flowed a small tributary river, the
approaches to which, on either hand, were over a slightly sloping
ground, the view of which could be entirely commanded from the fort.
The depth of this river, now nearly dried up, at that period varied
from three to ten or twelve feet; and over this, at a distance of about
twenty yards from the Detroit, into which it emptied itself, rose,
communicating with the high road, a bridge, which will more than once
be noticed in the course of our tale. Even to the present hour it
retains the name given to it during these disastrous times; and there
are few modern Canadians, or even Americans, who traverse the "Bloody
Bridge," especially at the still hours of advanced night, without
recalling to memory the tragic events of those days, (handed down as
they have been by their fathers, who were eye-witnesses of the
transaction,) and peopling the surrounding gloom with the shades of
those whose life-blood erst crimsoned the once pure waters of that now
nearly exhausted stream; and whose mangled and headless corpses were
slowly borne by its tranquil current into the bosom of the parent
river, where all traces of them finally disappeared.

These are the minuter features of the scene we have brought more
immediately under the province of our pen. What Detroit was in 1763 it
nearly is at the present day, with this difference, however, that many
of those points which were then in a great degree isolated and rude are
now redolent with the beneficent effects of improved cultivation; and
in the immediate vicinity of that memorable bridge, where formerly
stood merely the occasional encampment of the Indian warrior, are now
to be seen flourishing farms and crops, and other marks of agricultural
industry. Of the fort of Detroit itself we will give the following
brief history:--It was, as we have already stated, erected by the
French while in the occupancy of the country by which it is more
immediately environed; subsequently, and at the final cession of the
Canadas, it was delivered over to England, with whom it remained until
the acknowledgement of the independence of the colonists by the
mother-country, when it hoisted the colours of the republic; the
British garrison marching out, and crossing over into Canada, followed
by such of the loyalists as still retained their attachment to the
English crown. At the commencement of the late war with America it was
the first and more immediate theatre of conflict, and was remarkable,
as well as Michilimackinac, for being one of the first posts of the
Americans that fell into our hands. The gallant daring, and promptness
of decision, for which the lamented general, Sir Isaac Brock, was so
eminently distinguished, achieved the conquest almost as soon as the
American declaration of war had been made known in Canada; and on this
occasion we ourselves had the good fortune to be selected as part of
the guard of honour, whose duty it was to lower the flag of America,
and substitute that of England in its place. On the approach, however,
of an overwhelming army of the enemy in the autumn of the ensuing year
it was abandoned by our troops, after having been dismantled and
reduced, in its more combustible parts, to ashes. The Americans, who
have erected new fortifications on the site of the old, still retain
possession of a post to which they attach considerable importance, from
the circumstance of its being a key to the more western portions of the
Union.




CHAPTER II.

It was during the midnight watch, late in September, 1763, that the
English garrison of Detroit, in North America, was thrown into the
utmost consternation by the sudden and mysterious introduction of a
stranger within its walls. The circumstance at this moment was
particularly remarkable; for the period was so fearful and pregnant
with events of danger, the fort being assailed on every side by a
powerful and vindictive foe, that a caution and vigilance of no common
kind were unceasingly exercised by the prudent governor for the safety
of those committed to his charge. A long series of hostilities had been
pursued by the North-American Indians against the subjects of England,
within the few years that had succeeded to the final subjection of the
Canadas to her victorious arms; and many and sanguinary were the
conflicts in which the devoted soldiery were made to succumb to the
cunning and numbers of their savage enemies. In those lone regions,
both officers and men, in their respective ranks, were, by a
communionship of suffering, isolation, and peculiarity of duty, drawn
towards each other with feelings of almost fraternal affection; and the
fates of those who fell were lamented with sincerity of soul, and
avenged, when opportunity offered, with a determination prompted
equally by indignation and despair. This sentiment of union, existing
even between men and officers of different corps, was, with occasional
exceptions, of course doubly strengthened among those who fought under
the same colours, and acknowledged the same head; and, as it often
happened in Canada, during this interesting period, that a single
regiment was distributed into two or three fortresses, each so far
removed from the other that communication could with the utmost
facility be cut off, the anxiety and uncertainty of these detachments
became proportioned to the danger with which they knew themselves to be
more immediately beset. The garrison of Detroit, at the date above
named, consisted of a third of the ---- regiment, the remainder of
which occupied the forts of Michilimackinac and Niagara, and to each
division of this regiment was attached an officer's command of
artillery. It is true that no immediate overt act of hostility had for
some time been perpetrated by the Indians, who were assembled in force
around the former garrison; but the experienced officer to whom the
command had been intrusted was too sensible of the craftiness of the
surrounding hordes to be deceived, by any outward semblance of amity,
into neglect of those measures of precaution which were so
indispensable to the surety of his trust.

In this he pursued a line of policy happily adapted to the delicate
nature of his position. Unwilling to excite the anger or wound the
pride of the chiefs, by any outward manifestation of distrust, he
affected to confide in the sincerity of their professions, and, by
inducing his officers to mix occasionally in their councils, and his
men in the amusements of the inferior warriors, contrived to impress
the conviction that he reposed altogether on their faith. But, although
these acts were in some degree coerced by the necessity of the times,
and a perfect knowledge of all the misery that must accrue to them in
the event of their provoking the Indians into acts of open hostility,
the prudent governor took such precautions as were deemed efficient to
defeat any treacherous attempt at violation of the tacit treaty on the
part of the natives. The officers never ventured out, unless escorted
by a portion of their men, who, although appearing to be dispersed
among the warriors, still kept sufficiently together to be enabled, in
a moment of emergency, to afford succour not only to each other but to
their superiors. On these occasions, as a further security against
surprise, the troops left within were instructed to be in readiness, at
a moment's warning, to render assistance, if necessary, to their
companions, who seldom, on any occasion, ventured out of reach of the
cannon of the fort, the gate of which was hermetically closed, while
numerous supernumerary sentinels were posted along the ramparts, with a
view to give the alarm if any thing extraordinary was observed to occur
without.

Painful and harassing as were the precautions it was found necessary to
adopt on these occasions, and little desirous as were the garrison to
mingle with the natives on such terms, still the plan was pursued by
the Governor from the policy already named: nay, it was absolutely
essential to the future interests of England that the Indians should be
won over by acts of confidence and kindness; and so little disposition
had hitherto been manifested by the English to conciliate, that every
thing was to be apprehended from the untameable rancour with which
these people were but too well disposed to repay a neglect at once
galling to their pride and injurious to their interests.

Such, for a term of many months, had been the trying and painful duty
that had devolved on the governor of Detroit; when, in the summer of
1763, the whole of the western tribes of Indians, as if actuated by one
common impulse, suddenly threw off the mask, and commenced a series of
the most savage trespasses upon the English settlers in the vicinity of
the several garrisons, who were cut off in detail, without mercy, and
without reference to either age or sex. On the first alarm the weak
bodies of troops, as a last measure of security, shut themselves up in
their respective forts, where they were as incapable of rendering
assistance to others as of receiving it themselves. In this emergency
the prudence and forethought of the governor of Detroit were eminently
conspicuous; for, having long foreseen the possibility of such a
crisis, he had caused a plentiful supply of all that was necessary to
the subsistence and defence of the garrison to be provided at an
earlier period, so that, if foiled in their attempts at stratagem,
there was little chance that the Indians would speedily reduce them by
famine. To guard against the former, a vigilant watch was constantly
kept by the garrison both day and night, while the sentinels, doubled
in number, were constantly on the alert. Strict attention, moreover,
was paid to such parts of the ramparts as were considered most
assailable by a cunning and midnight enemy; and, in order to prevent
any imprudence on the part of the garrison, all egress or ingress was
prohibited that had not the immediate sanction of the chief. With this
view the keys of the gate were given in trust to the officer of the
guard; to whom, however, it was interdicted to use them unless by
direct and positive order of the Governor. In addition to this
precaution, the sentinels on duty at the gate had strict private
instructions not to suffer any one to pass either in or out unless
conducted by the governor in person; and this restriction extended even
to the officer of the guard.

Such being the cautious discipline established in the fort, the
appearance of a stranger within its walls at the still hour of midnight
could not fail to be regarded as an extraordinary event, and to excite
an apprehension which could scarcely have been surpassed had a numerous
and armed band of savages suddenly appeared among them. The first
intimation of this fact was given by the violent ringing of an alarm
bell; a rope communicating with which was suspended in the Governor's
apartments, for the purpose of arousing the slumbering soldiers in any
case of pressing emergency. Soon afterwards the Governor himself was
seen to issue from his rooms into the open area of the parade, clad in
his dressing-gown, and bearing a lamp in one hand and a naked sword in
the other. His countenance was pale; and his features, violently
agitated, betrayed a source of alarm which those who were familiar with
his usual haughtiness of manner were ill able to comprehend.

"Which way did he go?--why stand ye here?--follow--pursue him
quickly--let him not escape, on your lives!"

These sentences, hurriedly and impatiently uttered, were addressed to
the two sentinels who, stationed in front of his apartments, had, on
the first sound of alarm from the portentous bell, lowered their
muskets to the charge, and now stood immovable in that position.

"Who does your honour mane?" replied one of the men, startled, yet
bringing his arms to the recover, in salutation of his chief.

"Why, the man--the stranger--the fellow who has just passed you."

"Not a living soul has passed us since our watch commenced, your
honour," observed the second sentinel; "and we have now been here
upwards of an hour."

"Impossible, sirs: ye have been asleep on your posts, or ye must have
seen him. He passed this way, and could not have escaped your
observation had ye been attentive to your duty."

"Well, sure, and your honour knows bist," rejoined the first sentinel;
"but so hilp me St. Patrick, as I have sirved man and boy in your
honour's rigimint this twilve years, not even the fitch of a man has
passed me this blissed night. And here's my comrade, Jack Halford, who
will take his Bible oath to the same, with all due difirince to your
honour."

The pithy reply to this eloquent attempt at exculpation was a brief
"Silence, sirrah, walk about!"

The men brought their muskets once more, and in silence, to the
shoulder, and, in obedience to the command of their chief, resumed the
limited walk allotted to them; crossing each other at regular intervals
in the semicircular course that enfiladed, as it were, the only
entrance to the Governor's apartments.

Meanwhile every thing was bustle and commotion among the garrison, who,
roused from sleep by the appalling sound of the alarm bell at that late
hour, were hastily arming. Throughout the obscurity might be seen the
flitting forms of men, whose already fully accoutred persons proclaimed
them to be of the guard; while in the lofty barracks, numerous lights
flashing to and fro, and moving with rapidity, attested the alacrity
with which the troops off duty were equipping themselves for some
service of more than ordinary interest. So noiseless, too, was this
preparation, as far as speech was concerned, that the occasional
opening and shutting of pans, and ringing of ramrods to ascertain the
efficiency of the muskets, might be heard distinctly in the stillness
of the night at a distance of many furlongs.

HE, however, who had touched the secret spring of all this picturesque
movement, whatever might be his gratification and approval of the
promptitude with which the summons to arms had been answered by his
brave troops, was far from being wholly satisfied with the scene he had
conjured up. Recovered from the first and irrepressible agitation which
had driven him to sound the tocsin of alarm, he felt how derogatory to
his military dignity and proverbial coolness of character it might be
considered, to have awakened a whole garrison from their slumbers, when
a few files of the guard would have answered his purpose equally well.
Besides, so much time had been suffered to elapse, that the stranger
might have escaped; and if so, how many might be disposed to ridicule
his alarm, and consider it as emanating from an imagination disturbed
by sleep, rather than caused by the actual presence of one endowed like
themselves with the faculties of speech and motion. For a moment he
hesitated whether he should not countermand the summons to arms which
had been so precipitately given; but when he recollected the harrowing
threat that had been breathed in his ear by his midnight visiter,--when
he reflected, moreover, that even now it was probable he was lurking
within the precincts of the fort with a view to the destruction of all
that it contained,--when, in short, he thought of the imminent danger
that must attend them should he be suffered to escape,--he felt the
necessity of precaution, and determined on his measures, even at the
risk of manifesting a prudence which might be construed unfavourably.
On re-entering his apartments, he found his orderly, who, roused by the
midnight tumult, stood waiting to receive the commands of his chief.

"Desire Major Blackwater to come to me immediately."

The mandate was quickly obeyed. In a few seconds a short, thick-set,
and elderly officer made his appearance in a grey military undress
frock.

"Blackwater, we have traitors within the fort. Let diligent search be
made in every part of the barracks for a stranger, an enemy, who has
managed to procure admittance among us: let every nook and cranny,
every empty cask, be examined forthwith; and cause a number of
additional sentinels to be stationed along the ramparts, in order to
intercept his escape."

"Good Heaven, is it possible?" said the Major, wiping the perspiration
from his brows, though the night was unusually chilly for the season of
the year:--"how could he contrive to enter a place so vigilantly
guarded?"

"Ask me not HOW, Blackwater," returned the Governor seriously; "let it
suffice that he has been in this very room, and that ten minutes since
he stood where you now stand."

The Major looked aghast.--"God bless me, how singular! How could the
savage contrive to obtain admission? or was he in reality an Indian?"

"No more questions, MAJOR Blackwater. Hasten to distribute the men, and
let diligent search be made every where; and recollect, neither officer
nor man courts his pillow until dawn."

The "Major" emphatically prefixed to his name was a sufficient hint to
the stout officer that the doubts thus familiarly expressed were here
to cease, and that he was now addressed in the language of authority by
his superior, who expected a direct and prompt compliance with his
orders. He therefore slightly touched his hat in salutation, and
withdrew to make the dispositions that had been enjoined by his Colonel.

On regaining the parade, he caused the men, already forming into
companies and answering to the roll-call of their respective
non-commissioned officers, to be wheeled into square, and then in a low
but distinct voice stated the cause of alarm; and, having communicated
the orders of the Governor, finished by recommending to each the
exercise of the most scrutinising vigilance; as on the discovery of the
individual in question, and the means by which he had contrived to
procure admission, the safety of the whole garrison, it was evident,
must depend.

The soldiers now dispersed in small parties throughout the interior of
the fort, while a select body were conducted to the ramparts by the
officers themselves, and distributed between the sentinels already
posted there, in such numbers, and at such distances, that it appeared
impossible any thing wearing the human form could pass them
unperceived, even in the obscurity that reigned around.

When this duty was accomplished, the officers proceeded to the posts of
the several sentinels who had been planted since the last relief, to
ascertain if any or either of them had observed aught to justify the
belief that an enemy had succeeded in scaling the works. To all their
enquiries, however, they received a negative reply, accompanied by a
declaration, more or less positive with each, that such had been their
vigilance during the watch, had any person come within their beat,
detection must have been inevitable. The first question was put to the
sentinel stationed at the gate of the fort, at which point the whole of
the officers of the garrison were, with one or two exceptions, now
assembled. The man at first evinced a good deal of confusion; but this
might arise from the singular fact of the alarm that had been given,
and the equally singular circumstance of his being thus closely
interrogated by the collective body of his officers: he, however,
persisted in declaring that he had been in no wise inattentive to his
duty, and that no cause for alarm or suspicion had occurred near his
post. The officers then, in order to save time, separated into two
parties, pursuing opposite circuits, and arranging to meet at that
point of the ramparts which was immediately in the rear, and
overlooking the centre of the semicircular sweep of wild forest we have
described as circumventing the fort.

"Well, Blessington, I know not what you think of this sort of work,"
observed Sir Everard Valletort, a young lieutenant of the ----
regiment, recently arrived from England, and one of the party who now
traversed the rampart to the right; "but confound me if I would not
rather be a barber's apprentice in London, upon nothing, and find
myself, than continue a life of this kind much longer. It positively
quite knocks me up; for what with early risings, and watchings (I had
almost added prayings), I am but the shadow of my former self."

"Hist, Valletort, hist! speak lower," said Captain Blessington, the
senior officer present, "or our search must be in vain. Poor fellow!"
he pursued, laughing low and good humouredly at the picture of miseries
thus solemnly enumerated by his subaltern;--"how much, in truth, are
you to be pitied, who have so recently basked in all the sunshine of
enjoyment at home. For our parts, we have lived so long amid these
savage scenes, that we have almost forgotten what luxury, or even
comfort, means. Doubt not, my friend, that in time you will, like us,
be reconciled to the change."

"Confound me for an idiot, then, if I give myself time," replied Sir
Everard affectedly. "It was only five minutes before that cursed alarm
bell was sounded in my ears, that I had made up my mind fully to resign
or exchange the instant I could do so with credit to myself; and, I am
sure, to be called out of a warm bed at this unseasonable hour offers
little inducement for me to change my opinion."

"Resign or exchange with credit to yourself!" sullenly observed a stout
tall officer of about fifty, whose spleen might well be accounted for
in his rank of "Ensign" Delme. "Methinks there can be little credit in
exchanging or resigning, when one's companions are left behind, and in
a post of danger."

"By Jasus, and ye may say that with your own pritty mouth," remarked
another veteran, who answered to the name of Lieutenant Murphy; "for it
isn't now, while we are surrounded and bediviled by the savages, that
any man of the ---- rigimint should be after talking of bating a
retrate."

"I scarcely understand you, gentlemen," warmly and quickly retorted Sir
Everard, who, with all his dandyism and effeminacy of manner, was of a
high and resolute spirit. "Do either of you fancy that I want courage
to face a positive danger, because I may not happen to have any
particular vulgar predilection for early rising?"

"Nonsense, Valletort, nonsense," interrupted, in accents of almost
feminine sweetness, his friend Lieutenant Charles de Haldimar, the
youngest son of the Governor: "Murphy is an eternal echo of the
opinions of those who look forward to promotion; and as for Delme--do
you not see the drift of his observation? Should you retire, as you
have threatened, of course another lieutenant will be appointed in your
stead; but, should you chance to lose your scalp during the struggle
with the savages, the step goes in the regiment, and he, being the
senior ensign, obtains promotion in consequence."

"Ah!" observed Captain Blessington, "this is indeed the greatest curse
attached to the profession of a soldier. Even among those who most
esteem, and are drawn towards each other as well by fellowship in
pleasure as companionship in danger, this vile and debasing
principle--this insatiable desire for personal advancement--is certain
to intrude itself; since we feel that over the mangled bodies of our
dearest friends and companions, we can alone hope to attain preferment
and distinction."

A moment or two of silence ensued, in the course of which each
individual appeared to be bringing home to his own heart the
application of the remark just uttered; and which, however they might
seek to disguise the truth from themselves, was too forcible to find
contradiction from the secret monitor within. And yet of those
assembled there was not one, perhaps, who would not, in the hour of
glory and of danger, have generously interposed his own frame between
that of his companion and the steel or bullet of an enemy. Such are the
contradictory elements which compose a soldier's life.

This conversation, interrupted only by occasional questioning of the
sentinels whom they passed in their circuit, was carried on in an
audible whisper, which the close approximation of the parties to each
other, and the profound stillness of the night, enabled them to hear
with distinctness.

"Nay, nay, De Haldimar," at length observed Sir Everard, in reply to
the observation of his friend, "do not imagine I intend to gratify Mr.
Delme by any such exhibition as that of a scalpless head; but, if such
be his hope, I trust that the hour which sees my love-locks dangling at
the top of an Indian pole may also let daylight into his own carcass
from a rifle bullet or a tomahawk."

"And yit, Captin, it sames to me," observed Lieutenant Murphy, in
allusion to the remark of Blessington rather than in reply to the last
speaker,--"it sames to me, I say, that promotion in ony way is all fair
and honourable in times of hardship like thase; and though we may drop
a tare over our suparior when the luck of war, in the shape of a
tommyhawk, knocks him over, still there can be no rason why we
shouldn't stip into his shoes the viry nixt instant; and it's that, we
all know, that we fight for. And the divil a bitter chance any man of
us all has of promotion thin yoursilf, Captin: for it'll be mighty
strange if our fat Major doesn't git riddlid like a cullinder through
and through with the bullits from the Ingians' rifles before we have
quite done with this business, and thin you will have the rigimintal
majority, Captin; and it may be that one Liftinint Murphy, who is now
the sanior of his rank, may come in for the vacant captincy."

"And Delme for the lieutenancy," said Charles de Haldimar
significantly. "Well, Murphy, I am happy to find that you, at least,
have hit on another than Sir Everard Valletort: one, in fact, who will
render the promotion more general than it would otherwise have been.
Seriously, I should be sorry if any thing happened to our worthy Major,
who, with all his bustling and grotesque manner, is as good an officer
and as brave a soldier as any his Majesty's army in Canada can boast.
For my part, I say, perish all promotion for ever, if it is only to be
obtained over the dead bodies of those with whom I have lived so long
and shared so many dangers!"

"Nobly uttered, Charles," said Captain Blessington: "the sentiment is,
indeed, one well worthy of our present position; and God knows we are
few enough in number already, without looking forward to each other's
death as a means of our own more immediate personal advancement. With
you, therefore, I repeat, perish all my hopes of promotion, if it is
only to be obtained over the corpses of my companions! And let those
who are most sanguine in their expectations beware lest they prove the
first to be cut off, and that even before they have yet enjoyed the
advantages of the promotion they so eagerly covet."

This observation, uttered without acrimony, had yet enough of delicate
reproach in it to satisfy Lieutenant Murphy that the speaker was far
from approving the expression of such selfish anticipations at a moment
like the present, when danger, in its most mysterious guise, lurked
around, and threatened the safety of all most dear to them.

The conversation now dropped, and the party pursued their course in
silence. They had just passed the last sentinel posted in their line of
circuit, and were within a few yards of the immediate rear of the
fortress, when a sharp "Hist!" and sudden halt of their leader, Captain
Blessington, threw them all into an attitude of the most profound
attention.

"Did you hear?" he asked in a subdued whisper, after a few seconds of
silence, in which he had vainly sought to catch a repetition of the
sound.

"Assuredly," he pursued, finding that no one answered, "I distinctly
heard a human groan."

"Where?--in what direction?" asked Sir Everard and De Haldimar in the
same breath.

"Immediately opposite to us on the common. But see, here are the
remainder of the party stationary, and listening also."

They now stole gently forward a few paces, and were soon at the side of
their companions, all of whom were straining their necks and bending
their heads in the attitude of men listening attentively.

"Have you heard any thing, Erskine?" asked Captain Blessington in the
same low whisper, and addressing the officer who led the opposite party.

"Not a sound ourselves, but here is Sir Everard's black servant, Sambo,
who has just riveted our attention, by declaring that he distinctly
heard a groan towards the skirt of the common."

"He is right," hastily rejoined Blessington; "I heard it also."

Again a death-like silence ensued, during which the eyes of the party
were strained eagerly in the direction of the common. The night was
clear and starry, yet the dark shadow of the broad belt of forest threw
all that part of the waste which came within its immediate range into
impenetrable obscurity.

"Do you see any thing?" whispered Valletort to his friend, who stood
next him: "look--look!" and he pointed with his finger.

"Nothing," returned De Haldimar, after an anxious gaze of a minute,
"but that dilapidated old bomb-proof."

"See you not something dark, and slightly moving immediately in a line
with the left angle of the bomb-proof?"

De Haldimar looked again.--"I do begin to fancy I see something," he
replied; "but so confusedly and indistinctly, that I know not whether
it be not merely an illusion of my imagination. Perhaps it is a stray
Indian dog devouring the carcass of the wolf you shot yesterday."

"Be it dog or devil, here is for a trial of his vulnerability.--Sambo,
quick, my rifle."

The young negro handed to his master one of those long heavy rifles,
which the Indians usually make choice of for killing the buffalo, elk,
and other animals whose wildness renders them difficult of approach. He
then, unbidden, and as if tutored to the task, placed himself in a
stiff upright position in front of his master, with every nerve and
muscle braced to the most inflexible steadiness. The young officer next
threw the rifle on the right shoulder of the boy for a rest, and
prepared to take his aim on the object that had first attracted his
attention.

"Make haste, massa,--him go directly,--Sambo see him get up."

All was breathless attention among the group of officers; and when the
sharp ticking sound produced by the cocking of the rifle of their
companion fell on their ears, they bent their gaze upon the point
towards which the murderous weapon was levelled with the most aching
and intense interest.

"Quick, quick, massa,--him quite up," again whispered the boy.

The words had scarcely passed his lips, when the crack of the rifle,
followed by a bright blaze of light, sounded throughout the stillness
of the night with exciting sharpness. For an instant all was hushed;
but scarcely had the distant woods ceased to reverberate the
spirit-stirring echoes, when the anxious group of officers were
surprised and startled by a sudden flash, the report of a second rifle
from the common, and the whizzing of a bullet past their ears. This was
instantly succeeded by a fierce, wild, and prolonged cry, expressive at
once of triumph and revenge. It was that peculiar cry which an Indian
utters when the reeking scalp has been wrested from his murdered victim.

"Missed him, as I am a sinner," exclaimed Sir Everard, springing to his
feet, and knocking the butt of his rifle on the ground with a movement
of impatience. "Sambo, you young scoundrel, it was all your fault,--you
moved your shoulder as I pulled the trigger. Thank Heaven, however, the
aim of the Indian appears to have been no better, although the sharp
whistling of his ball proves his piece to have been well levelled for a
random shot."

"His aim has been too true," faintly pronounced the voice of one
somewhat in the rear of his companions. "The ball of the villain has
found a lodgment in my breast. God bless ye all, my boys; may your
fates be more lucky than mine!" While he yet spoke, Lieutenant Murphy
sank into the arms of Blessington and De Haldimar, who had flown to him
at the first intimation of his wound, and was in the next instant a
corpse.




CHAPTER III.

"To your companies, gentlemen, to your companies on the instant. There
is treason in the fort, and we had need of all our diligence and
caution. Captain de Haldimar is missing, and the gate has been found
unlocked. Quick, gentlemen, quick; even now the savages may be around
us, though unseen."

"Captain de Haldimar missing!--the gate unlocked!" exclaimed a number
of voices. "Impossible!--surely we are not betrayed by our own men."

"The sentinel has been relieved, and is now in irons," resumed the
communicator of this startling piece of intelligence. It was the
adjutant of the regiment.

"Away, gentlemen, to your posts immediately," said Captain Blessington,
who, aided by De Haldimar, hastened to deposit the stiffening body of
the unfortunate Murphy, which they still supported, upon the rampart.
Then addressing the adjutant, "Mr. Lawson, let a couple of files be
sent immediately to remove the body of their officer."

"That shot which I heard from the common, as I approached, was not
fired at random, then, I find," observed the adjutant, as they all now
hastily descended to join their men.--"Who has fallen?"

"Murphy, of the grenadiers," was the reply of one near him.

"Poor fellow! our work commences badly," resumed Mr. Lawson: "Murphy
killed, and Captain de Haldimar missing. We had few officers enough to
spare before, and their loss will be severely felt; I greatly fear,
too, these casualties may have a tendency to discourage the men."

"Nothing more easy than to supply their place, by promoting some of our
oldest sergeants," observed Ensign Delme, who, as well as the ill-fated
Murphy, had risen from the ranks. "If they behave themselves well, the
King will confirm their appointments."

"But my poor brother, what of him, Lawson? what have you learnt
connected with his disappearance?" asked Charles de Haldimar with deep
emotion.

"Nothing satisfactory, I am sorry to say," returned the adjutant; "in
fact, the whole affair is a mystery which no one can unravel; even at
this moment the sentinel, Frank Halloway, who is strongly suspected of
being privy to his disappearance, is undergoing a private examination
by your father the governor."

"Frank Halloway!" repeated the youth with a start of astonishment;
"surely Halloway could never prove a traitor,--and especially to my
brother, whose life he once saved at the peril of his own."

The officers had now gained the parade, when the "Fall in, gentlemen,
fall in," quickly pronounced by Major Blackwater, prevented all further
questioning on the part of the younger De Haldimar.

The scene, though circumscribed in limit, was picturesque in effect,
and might have been happily illustrated by the pencil of the painter.
The immediate area of the parade was filled with armed men, distributed
into three divisions, and forming, with their respective ranks facing
outwards, as many sides of a hollow square, the mode of defence
invariably adopted by the Governor in all cases of sudden alarm. The
vacant space, which communicated with the powder magazine, was left
open to the movements of three three-pounders, which were to support
each face in the event of its being broken by numbers. Close to these,
and within the square, stood the number of gunners necessary to the
duty of the field-pieces, each of which was commanded by a bombardier.
At the foot of the ramparts, outside the square, and immediately
opposite to their several embrasures, were stationed the gunners
required for the batteries, under a non-commissioned officer also, and
the whole under the direction of a superior officer of that arm, who
now walked to and fro, conversing in a low voice with Major Blackwater.
One gunner at each of these divisions of the artillery held in his hand
a blazing torch, reflecting with picturesque yet gloomy effect the
bright bayonets and equipment of the soldiers, and the anxious
countenances of the women and invalids, who, bending eagerly through
the windows of the surrounding barracks, appeared to await the issue of
these preparations with an anxiety increased by the very consciousness
of having no other parts than those of spectators to play in the scene
that was momentarily expected.

In a few minutes from the falling in of the officers with their
respective companies, the clank of irons was heard in the direction of
the guard-room, and several forms were seen slowly advancing into the
area already occupied as we have described. This party was preceded by
the Adjutant Lawson, who, advancing towards Major Blackwater,
communicated a message, that was followed by the command of the latter
officer for the three divisions to face inwards. The officer of
artillery also gave the word to his men to form lines of single files
immediately in the rear of their respective guns, leaving space enough
for the entrance of the approaching party, which consisted of half a
dozen files of the guard, under a non-commissioned officer, and one
whose manacled limbs, rather than his unaccoutred uniform, attested him
to be not merely a prisoner, but a prisoner confined for some serious
and flagrant offence.

This party now advanced through the vacant quarter of the square, and
took their stations immediately in the centre. Here the countenances of
each, and particularly that of the prisoner, who was, if we may so term
it, the centre of that centre, were thrown into strong relief by the
bright glare of the torches as they were occasionally waved in air, to
disencumber them of their dross, so that the features of the prisoner
stood revealed to those around as plainly as if it had been noonday.
Not a sound, not a murmur, escaped from the ranks: but, though the
etiquette and strict laws of military discipline chained all speech,
the workings of the inward mind remained unchecked; and as they
recognised in the prisoner Frank Halloway, one of the bravest and
boldest in the field, and, as all had hitherto imagined, one of the
most devoted to his duty, an irrepressible thrill of amazement and
dismay crept throughout the frames, and for a moment blanched the
cheeks of those especially who belonged to the same company. On being
summoned from their fruitless search after the stranger, to fall in
without delay, it had been whispered among the men that treason had
crept into the fort, and a traitor, partly detected in his crime, had
been arrested and thrown into irons; but the idea of Frank Halloway
being that traitor was the last that could have entered into their
thoughts, and yet they now beheld him covered with every mark of
ignominy, and about to answer his high offence, in all human
probability, with his life.

With the officers the reputation of Halloway for courage and fidelity
stood no less high; but, while they secretly lamented the circumstance
of his defalcation, they could not disguise from themselves the almost
certainty of his guilt, for each, as he now gazed upon the prisoner,
recollected the confusion and hesitation of manner he had evinced when
questioned by them preparatory to their ascending to the ramparts.

Once more the suspense of the moment was interrupted by the entrance of
other forms into the area. They were those of the Adjutant, followed by
a drummer, bearing his instrument, and the Governor's orderly, charged
with pens, ink, paper, and a book which, from its peculiar form and
colour, every one present knew to be a copy of the Articles of War. A
variety of contending emotions passed through the breasts of many, as
they witnessed the silent progress of these preparations, rendered
painfully interesting by the peculiarity of their position, and the
wildness of the hour at which they thus found themselves assembled
together. The prisoner himself was unmoved: he stood proud, calm, and
fearless amid the guard, of whom he had so recently formed one; and
though his countenance was pale, as much, perhaps, from a sense of the
ignominious character in which he appeared as from more private
considerations, still there was nothing to denote either the abjectness
of fear or the consciousness of merited disgrace. Once or twice a low
sobbing, that proceeded at intervals from one of the barrack windows,
caught his ear, and he turned his glance in that direction with a
restless anxiety, which he exerted himself in the instant afterwards to
repress; but this was the only mark of emotion he betrayed.

The above dispositions having been hastily made, the adjutant and his
assistants once more retired. After the lapse of a minute, a tall
martial-looking man, habited in a blue military frock, and of handsome,
though stern, haughty, and inflexible features, entered the area. He
was followed by Major Blackwater, the captain of artillery, and
Adjutant Lawson.

"Are the garrison all present, Mr. Lawson? are the officers all
present?"

"All except those of the guard, sir," replied the Adjutant, touching
his hat with a submission that was scrupulously exacted on all
occasions of duty by his superior.

The Governor passed his hand for a moment over his brows. It seemed to
those around him as if the mention of that guard had called up
recollections which gave him pain; and it might be so, for his eldest
son, Captain Frederick de Haldimar, had commanded the guard. Whither he
had disappeared, or in what manner, no one knew.

"Are the artillery all present, Captain Wentworth?" again demanded the
Governor, after a moment of silence, and in his wonted firm
authoritative voice.

"All present, sir," rejoined the officer, following the example of the
Adjutant, and saluting his chief.

"Then let a drum-head court-martial be assembled immediately, Mr.
Lawson, and without reference to the roster let the senior officers be
selected."

The Adjutant went round to the respective divisions, and in a low voice
warned Captain Blessington, and the four senior subalterns, for that
duty. One by one the officers, as they were severally called upon, left
their places in the square, and sheathing their swords, stepped into
that part of the area appointed as their temporary court. They were now
all assembled, and Captain Blessington, the senior of his rank in the
garrison, was preparing to administer the customary oaths, when the
prisoner Halloway advanced a pace or two in front of his escort, and
removing his cap, in a clear, firm, but respectful voice, thus
addressed the Governor:--

"Colonel de Haldimar, that I am no traitor, as I have already told you,
the Almighty God, before whom I swore allegiance to his Majesty, can
bear me witness. Appearances, I own, are against me; but, so far from
being a traitor, I would have shed my last drop of blood in defence of
the garrison and your family.--Colonel de Haldimar," he pursued, after
a momentary pause, in which he seemed to be struggling to subdue the
emotion which rose, despite of himself, to his throat, "I repeat, I am
no traitor, and I scorn the imputation--but here is my best answer to
the charge. This wound, (and he unbuttoned his jacket, opened his
shirt, and disclosed a deep scar upon his white chest,) this wound I
received in defence of my captain's life at Quebec. Had I not loved
him, I should not so have exposed myself, neither but for that should I
now stand in the situation of shame and danger, in which my comrades
behold me."

Every heart was touched by this appeal--this bold and manly appeal to
the consideration of the Governor. The officers, especially, who were
fully conversant with the general merit of Halloway, were deeply
affected, and Charles de Haldimar--the young, the generous, the feeling
Charles de Haldimar,--even shed tears.

"What mean you, prisoner?" interrogated the Governor, after a short
pause, during which he appeared to be weighing and deducing inferences
from the expressions just uttered. "What mean you, by stating, but for
that (alluding to your regard for Captain de Haldimar) you would not
now be in this situation of shame and danger?"

The prisoner hesitated a moment; and then rejoined, but in a tone that
had less of firmness in it than before,--"Colonel de Haldimar, I am not
at liberty to state my meaning; for, though a private soldier, I
respect my word, and have pledged myself to secrecy."

"You respect your word, and have pledged yourself to secrecy! What mean
you, man, by this rhodomontade? To whom can you have pledged yourself,
and for what, unless it be to some secret enemy without the walls?
Gentlemen, proceed to your duty: it is evident that the man is a
traitor, even from his own admission.--On my life," he pursued, more
hurriedly, and speaking in an under tone, as if to himself, "the fellow
has been bribed by, and is connected with--." The name escaped not his
lips; for, aware of the emotion he was betraying, he suddenly checked
himself, and assumed his wonted stern and authoritative bearing.

Once more the prisoner addressed the Governor in the same clear firm
voice in which he had opened his appeal.

"Colonel de Haldimar, I have no connection with any living soul without
the fort; and again I repeat, I am no traitor, but a true and loyal
British soldier, as my services in this war, and my comrades, can well
attest. Still, I seek not to shun that death which I have braved a
dozen times at least in the ---- regiment. All that I ask is, that I
may not be tried--that I may not have the shame of hearing sentence
pronounced against me YET; but if nothing should occur before eight
o'clock to vindicate my character from this disgrace, I will offer up
no further prayer for mercy. In the name of that life, therefore, which
I once preserved to Captain de Haldimar, at the price of my own blood,
I entreat a respite from trial until then."

"In the name of God and all his angels, let mercy reach your soul, and
grant his prayer!"

Every ear was startled--every heart touched by the plaintive,
melancholy, silver tones of the voice that faintly pronounced the last
appeal, and all recognised it for that of the young, interesting, and
attached wife of the prisoner. Again the latter turned his gaze towards
the window whence the sounds proceeded, and by the glare of the torches
a tear was distinctly seen by many coursing down his manly cheek. The
weakness was momentary. In the next instant he closed his shirt and
coat, and resuming his cap, stepped back once more amid his guard,
where he remained stationary, with the air of one who, having nothing
further to hope, has resolved to endure the worst that can happen with
resignation and fortitude.

After the lapse of a few moments, again devoted to much apparent deep
thought and conjecture, the Governor once more, and rather hurriedly,
resumed,--

"In the event, prisoner, of this delay in your trial being granted,
will you pledge yourself to disclose the secret to which you have
alluded? Recollect, there is nothing but that which can save your
memory from being consigned to infamy for ever; for who, among your
comrades, will believe the idle denial of your treachery, when there is
the most direct proof against you? If your secret die with you,
moreover, every honest man will consider it as having been one so
infamous and injurious to your character, that you were ashamed to
reveal it."

These suggestions of the Colonel were not without their effect; for, in
the sudden swelling of the prisoner's chest, as allusion was made to
the disgrace that would attach to his memory, there was evidence of a
high and generous spirit, to whom obloquy was far more hateful than
even death itself.

"I do promise," he at length replied, stepping forward, and uncovering
himself as before,--"if no one appear to justify my conduct at the hour
I have named, a full disclosure of all I know touching this affair
shall be made. And may God, of his infinite mercy, grant, for Captain
de Haldimar's sake, as well as mine, I may not then be wholly deserted!"

There was something so peculiarly solemn and impressive in the manner
in which the unhappy man now expressed himself, that a feeling of the
utmost awe crept into the bosoms of the surrounding throng; and more
than one veteran of the grenadiers, the company to which Halloway
belonged, was heard to relieve his chest of the long pent-up sigh that
struggled for release.

"Enough, prisoner," rejoined the Governor; "on this condition do I
grant your request; but recollect,--your disclosure ensures no hope of
pardon, unless, indeed, you have the fullest proof to offer in your
defence. Do you perfectly understand me?"

"I do," replied the soldier firmly; and again he placed his cap on his
head, and retired a step or two back among the guard.

"Mr. Lawson, let the prisoner be removed, and conducted to one of the
private cells. Who is the subaltern of the guard?"

"Ensign Fortescue," was the answer.

"Then let Ensign Fortescue keep the key of the cell himself. Tell him,
moreover, I shall hold him individually responsible for his charge."

Once more the prisoner was marched out of the area; and, as the
clanking sound of his chains became gradually fainter in the distance,
the same voice that had before interrupted the proceedings, pronounced
a "God be praised!--God be praised!" with such melody of sorrow in its
intonations that no one could listen to it unmoved. Both officers and
men were more or less affected, and all hoped--they scarcely knew why
or what--but all hoped something favourable would occur to save the
life of the brave and unhappy Frank Halloway.

Of the first interruption by the wife of the prisoner the Governor had
taken no notice; but on this repetition of the expression of her
feelings he briefly summoned, in the absence of the Adjutant, the
sergeant-major of the regiment to his side.

"Sergeant-major Bletson, I desire that, in future, on all occasions of
this kind, the women of the regiment may be kept out of the way. Look
to it, sir!"

The sergeant-major, who had stood erect as his own halbert, which he
held before him in a saluting position, during this brief admonition of
his colonel, acknowledged, by a certain air of deferential respect and
dropping of the eyes, unaccompanied by speech of any kind, that he felt
the reproof, and would, in future, take care to avoid all similar cause
for complaint. He then stalked stiffly away, and resumed, in a few
hasty strides, his position in rear of the troops.

"Hard-hearted man!" pursued the same voice: "if my prayers of gratitude
to Heaven give offence, may the hour never come when my lips shall
pronounce their bitterest curse upon your severity!"

There was something so painfully wild--so solemnly prophetic--in these
sounds of sorrow as they fell faintly upon the ear, and especially
under the extraordinary circumstances of the night, that they might
have been taken for the warnings of some supernatural agency. During
their utterance, not even the breathing of human life was to be heard
in the ranks. In the next instant, however, Sergeant-major Bletson was
seen repairing, with long and hasty strides, to the barrack whence the
voice proceeded, and the interruption was heard no more.

Meanwhile the officers, who had been summoned from the ranks for the
purpose of forming the court-martial, still lingered in the centre of
the square, apparently waiting for the order of their superior, before
they should resume their respective stations. As the quick and
comprehensive glance of Colonel de Haldimar now embraced the group, he
at once became sensible of the absence of one of the seniors, all of
whom he had desired should be selected for the court-martial.

"Mr. Lawson," he remarked, somewhat sternly, as the Adjutant now
returned from delivering over his prisoner to Ensign Fortescue, "I
thought I understood from your report the officers were all present!"

"I believe, sir, my report will be found perfectly correct," returned
the Adjutant, in a tone which, without being disrespectful, marked his
offended sense of the implication.

"And Lieutenant Murphy--"

"Is here, sir," said the Adjutant, pointing to a couple of files of the
guard, who were bearing a heavy burden, and following into the square.
"Lieutenant Murphy," he pursued, "has been shot on the ramparts; and I
have, as directed by Captain Blessington, caused the body to be brought
here, that I may receive your orders respecting the interment." As he
spoke, he removed a long military grey cloak, which completely
enshrouded the corpse, and disclosed, by the light of the still
brightly flaming torches of the gunners, the features of the
unfortunate Murphy.

"How did he meet his death?" enquired the governor; without, however,
manifesting the slightest surprise, or appearing at all moved at the
discovery.

"By a rifle shot fired from the common, near the old bomb proof,"
observed Captain Blessington, as the adjutant looked to him for the
particular explanation he could not render himself.

"Ah! this reminds me," pursued the austere commandant,--"there was a
shot fired also from the ramparts. By whom, and at what?"

"By me, sir," said Lieutenant Valletort, coming forward from the ranks,
"and at what I conceived to be an Indian, lurking as a spy upon the
common."

"Then, Lieutenant Sir Everard Valletort, no repetition of these
firings, if you please; and let it be borne in mind by all, that
although, from the peculiar nature of the service in which we are
engaged, I so far depart from the established regulations of the army
as to permit my officers to arm themselves with rifles, they are to be
used only as occasion may require in the hour of conflict, and not for
the purpose of throwing a whole garrison into alarm by trials of skill
and dexterity upon shadows at this unseasonable hour."

"I was not aware, sir," returned Sir Everard proudly, and secretly
galled at being thus addressed before the men, "it could be deemed a
military crime to destroy an enemy at whatever hour he might present
himself, and especially on such an occasion as the present. As for my
firing at a shadow, those who heard the yell that followed the second
shot, can determine that it came from no shadow, but from a fierce and
vindictive enemy. The cry denoted even something more than the ordinary
defiance of an Indian: it seemed to express a fiendish sentiment of
personal triumph and revenge."

The governor started involuntarily. "Do you imagine, Sir Everard
Valletort, the aim of your rifle was true--that you hit him?"

This question was asked so hurriedly, and in a tone so different from
that in which he had hitherto spoken, that the officers around
simultaneously raised their eyes to those of their colonel with an
expression of undissembled surprise. He observed it, and instantly
resumed his habitual sternness of look and manner.

"I rather fear not, sir," replied Sir Everard, who had principally
remarked the emotion; "but may I hope (and this was said with
emphasis), in the evident disappointment you experience at my want of
success, my offence may be overlooked?"

The governor fixed his penetrating eyes on the speaker, as if he would
have read his inmost mind; and then calmly, and even impressively,
observed,--

"Sir Everard Valletort, I do overlook the offence, and hope you may as
easily forgive yourself. It were well, however, that your indiscretion,
which can only find its excuse in your being so young an officer, had
not been altogether without some good result. Had you killed or
disabled the--the savage, there might have been a decent palliative
offered; but what must be your feelings, sir, when you reflect, the
death of yon officer," and he pointed to the corpse of the unhappy
Murphy, "is, in a great degree, attributable to yourself? Had you not
provoked the anger of the savage, and given a direction to his aim by
the impotent and wanton discharge of your own rifle, this accident
would never have happened."

This severe reproving of an officer, who had acted from the most
praiseworthy of motives, and who could not possibly have anticipated
the unfortunate catastrophe that had occurred, was considered
especially harsh and unkind by every one present; and a low and almost
inaudible murmur passed through the company to which Sir Everard was
attached. For a minute or two that officer also appeared deeply pained,
not more from the reproof itself than from the new light in which the
observation of his chief had taught him to view, for the first time,
the causes that had led to the fall of Murphy. Finding, however, that
the governor had no further remark to address to him, he once more
returned to his station in the ranks.

"Mr. Lawson," resumed the commandant, turning to the adjutant, "let
this victim be carried to the spot on which he fell, and there
interred. I know no better grave for a soldier than beneath the sod
that has been moistened with his blood. Recollect," he continued, as
the adjutant once more led the party out of the area,--"no firing, Mr.
Lawson. The duty must be silently performed, and without the risk of
provoking a forest of arrows, or a shower of bullets from the savages.
Major Blackwater," he pursued, as soon as the corpse had been removed,
"let the men pile their arms even as they now stand, and remain ready
to fall in at a minute's notice. Should any thing extraordinary happen
before the morning, you will, of course, apprise me." He then strode
out of the area with the same haughty and measured step that had
characterised his entrance.

"Our colonel does not appear to be in one of his most amiable moods
to-night," observed Captain Blessington, as the officers, after having
disposed of their respective companies, now proceeded along the
ramparts to assist at the last funeral offices of their unhappy
associate. "He was disposed to be severe, and must have put you, in
some measure, out of conceit with your favourite rifle, Valletort."

"True," rejoined the Baronet, who had already rallied from the
momentary depression of his spirits, "he hit me devilish hard, I
confess, and was disposed to display more of the commanding officer
than quite suits my ideas of the service. His words were as caustic as
his looks; and could both have pierced me to the quick, there was no
inclination on his part wanting. By my soul I could .... but I forgive
him. He is the father of my friend: and for that reason will I chew the
cud of my mortification, nor suffer, if possible, a sense of his
unkindness to rankle at my heart. At all events, Blessington, my mind
is made up, and resign or exchange I certainly shall the instant I can
find a decent loop-hole to creep out of."

Sir Everard fancied the ear of his captain was alone listening to these
expressions of his feeling, or in all probability he would not have
uttered them. As he concluded the last sentence, however, he felt his
arm gently grasped by one who walked a pace or two silently in their
rear. He turned, and recognised Charles de Haldimar.

"I am sure, Valletort, you will believe how much pained I have been at
the severity of my father; but, indeed, there was nothing personally
offensive intended. Blessington can tell you as well as myself it is
his manner altogether. Nay, that although he is the first in seniority
after Blackwater, the governor treats him with the same distance and
hauteur he would use towards the youngest ensign in the service. Such
are the effects of his long military habits, and his ideas of the
absolutism of command. Am I not right, Blessington?"

"Quite right, Charles. Sir Everard may satisfy himself his is no
solitary instance of the stern severity of your father. Still, I
confess, notwithstanding the rigidity of manner which he seems, on all
occasions, to think so indispensable to the maintenance of authority in
a commanding officer, I never knew him so inclined to find fault as he
is to-night."

"Perhaps," observed Valletort, good humouredly, "his conscience is
rather restless; and he is willing to get rid of it and his spleen
together. I would wager my rifle against the worthless scalp of the
rascal I fired at to-night, that this same stranger, whose asserted
appearance has called us from our comfortable beds, is but the creation
of his disturbed dreams. Indeed, how is it possible any thing formed of
flesh and blood could have escaped us with the vigilant watch that has
been kept on the ramparts? The old gentleman certainly had that
illusion strongly impressed on his mind when he so sapiently spoke of
my firing at a shadow."

"But the gate," interrupted Charles de Haldimar, with something of mild
reproach in his tones,--"you forget, Valletort, the gate was found
unlocked, and that my brother is missing. HE, at least, was flesh and
blood, as you say, and yet he has disappeared. What more probable,
therefore, than that this stranger is at once the cause and the agent
of his abduction?"

"Impossible, Charles," observed Captain Blessington; "Frederick was in
the midst of his guard. How, therefore, could he be conveyed away
without the alarm being given? Numbers only could have succeeded in so
desperate an enterprise; and yet there is no evidence, or even
suspicion, of more than one individual having been here."

"It is a singular affair altogether," returned Sir Everard, musingly.
"Of two things, however, I am satisfied. The first is, that the
stranger, whoever he may be, and if he really has been here, is no
Indian; the second, that he is personally known to the governor, who
has been, or I mistake much, more alarmed at his individual presence
than if Ponteac and his whole band had suddenly broken in upon us. Did
you remark his emotion, when I dwelt on the peculiar character of
personal triumph and revenge which the cry of the lurking villain
outside seemed to express? and did you notice the eagerness with which
he enquired if I thought I had hit him? Depend upon it, there is more
in all this than is dreamt of in our philosophy."

"And it was your undisguised perception of that emotion," remarked
Captain Blessington, "that drew down his severity upon your own head.
It was, however, too palpable not to be noticed by all; and I dare say
conjecture is as busily and as vaguely at work among our companions as
it is with us. The clue to the mystery, in a great degree, now dwells
with Frank Halloway; and to him we must look for its elucidation. His
disclosure will be one, I apprehend, full of ignominy to himself, but
of the highest interest and importance to us all. And yet I know not
how to believe the man the traitor he appears."

"Did you remark that last harrowing exclamation of his wife?" observed
Charles de Haldimar, in a tone of unspeakable melancholy. "How
fearfully prophetic it sounded in my ears. I know not how it is," he
pursued, "but I wish I had not heard those sounds; for since that
moment I have had a sad strange presentiment of evil at my heart.
Heaven grant my poor brother may make his appearance, as I still trust
he will, at the hour Halloway seems to expect, for if not, the latter
most assuredly dies. I know my father well; and, if convicted by a
court martial, no human power can alter the destiny that awaits Frank
Halloway."

"Rally, my dear Charles, rally," said Sir Everard, affecting a
confidence he did not feel himself; "indulge not in these idle and
superstitious fancies. I pity Halloway from my soul, and feel the
deepest interest in his pretty and unhappy wife; but that is no reason
why one should attach importance to the incoherent expressions wrung
from her in the agony of grief."

"It is kind of you, Valletort, to endeavour to cheer my spirits, when,
if the truth were confessed, you acknowledge the influence of the same
feelings. I thank you for the attempt, but time alone can show how far
I shall have reason, or otherwise, to lament the occurrences of this
night."

They had now reached that part of the ramparts whence the shot from Sir
Everard's rifle had been fired. Several men were occupied in digging a
grave in the precise spot on which the unfortunate Murphy had stood
when he received his death-wound; and into this, when completed, the
body, enshrouded in the cloak already alluded to, was deposited by his
companions.




CHAPTER IV.

While the adjutant was yet reading, in a low and solemn voice, the
service for the dead, a fierce and distant yell, as if from a legion of
devils, burst suddenly from the forest, and brought the hands of the
startled officers instinctively to their swords. This appalling cry
lasted, without interruption, for many minutes, and was then as
abruptly checked as it had been unexpectedly delivered. A considerable
pause succeeded, and then again it rose with even more startling
vehemence than before. By one unaccustomed to those devilish sounds, no
distinction could have been made in the two several yells that had been
thus savagely pealed forth; but those to whom practice and long
experience in the warlike habits and customs of the Indians had
rendered their shouts familiar, at once divined, or fancied they
divined, the cause. The first was, to their conception, a yell
expressive at once of vengeance and disappointment in pursuit,--perhaps
of some prisoner who had escaped from their toils; the second, of
triumph and success,--in all probability, indicative of the recapture
of that prisoner. For many minutes afterwards the officers continued to
listen, with the most aching attention, for a repetition of the cry, or
even fainter sounds, that might denote either a nearer approach to the
fort, or the final departure of the Indians. After the second yell,
however, the woods, in the heart of which it appeared to have been
uttered, were buried in as profound a silence as if they had never yet
echoed back the voice of man; and all at length became satisfied that
the Indians, having accomplished some particular purpose, had retired
once more to their distant encampments for the night. Captain Erskine
was the first who broke the almost breathless silence that prevailed
among themselves.

"On my life De Haldimar is a prisoner with the Indians. He has been
attempting his escape,--has been detected,--followed, and again fallen
into their hands. I know their infernal yells but too well. The last
expressed their savage joy at the capture of a prisoner; and there is
no one of us missing but De Haldimar."

"Not a doubt of it," said Captain Blessington; "the cry was certainly
what you describe it, and Heaven only knows what will be the fate of
our poor friend."

No other officer spoke, for all were oppressed by the weight of their
own feelings, and sought rather to give indulgence to speculation in
secret, than to share their impressions with their companions. Charles
de Haldimar stood a little in the rear, leaning his head upon his hand
against the box of the sentry, (who was silently, though anxiously,
pacing his walk,) and in an attitude expressive of the deepest
dejection and sorrow.

"I suppose I must finish Lawson's work, although I am but a poor hand
at this sort of thing," resumed Captain Erskine, taking up the prayer
book the adjutant had, in hastening on the first alarm to get the men
under arms, carelessly thrown on the grave of the now unconscious
Murphy.

He then commenced the service at the point where Mr. Lawson had so
abruptly broken off, and went through the remainder of the prayers. A
very few minutes sufficed for the performance of this solemn duty,
which was effected by the faint dim light of the at length dawning day,
and the men in attendance proceeded to fill up the grave of their
officer.

Gradually the mists, that had fallen during the latter hours of the
night, began to ascend from the common, and disperse themselves in air,
conveying the appearance of a rolling sheet of vapour retiring Back
upon itself, and disclosing objects in succession, until the eye could
embrace all that came within its extent of vision. As the officers yet
lingered near the rude grave of their companion, watching with
abstracted air the languid and almost mechanical action of their jaded
men, as they emptied shovel after shovel of the damp earth over the
body of its new tenant, they were suddenly startled by an expression of
exultation from Sir Everard Valletort.

"By Jupiter, I have pinked him," he exclaimed triumphantly. "I knew my
rifle could not err; and as for my sight, I have carried away too many
prizes in target-shooting to have been deceived in that. How delighted
the old governor will be, Charles, to hear this. No more lecturing, I
am sure, for the next six months at least;" and the young officer
rubbed his hands together, at the success of his shot, with as much
satisfaction and unconcern for the future, as if he had been in his own
native England; in the midst of a prize-ring.

Roused by the observation of his friend, De Haldimar quitted his
position near the sentry box, and advanced to the outer edge of the
rampart. To him, as to his companions, the outline of the old bomb
proof was now distinctly visible, but it was sometime before they could
discover, in the direction in which Valletort pointed, a dark speck
upon the common; and this so indistinctly, they could scarcely
distinguish it with the naked eye.

"Your sight is quite equal to your aim, Sir Everard," remarked
Lieutenant Johnstone, one of Erskine's subalterns, "and both are
decidedly superior to mine; yet I used to be thought a good rifleman
too, and have credit for an eye no less keen than that of an Indian.
You have the advantage of me, however; for I honestly admit I never
could have picked off yon fellow in the dark as you have done."

As the dawn increased, the dark shadow of a human form, stretched at
its length upon the ground, became perceptible; and the officers, with
one unanimous voice, bore loud testimony to the skill and dexterity of
him who had, under such extreme disadvantages, accomplished the death
of their skulking enemy.

"Bravo, Valletort," said Charles de Haldimar, recovering his spirits,
as much from the idea, now occurring to him, that this might indeed be
the stranger whose appearance had so greatly disturbed his father, as
from the gratification he felt in the praises bestowed on his friend.
"Bravo, my dear fellow;" then approaching, and in a half whisper, "when
next I write to Clara, I shall request her, with my cousin's
assistance, to prepare a chaplet of bays, wherewith I shall myself
crown you as their proxy. But what is the matter now, Valletort? Why
stand you there gazing upon the common, as if the victim of your
murderous aim was rising from his bloody couch, to reproach you with
his death? Tell me, shall I write to Clara for the prize, or will you
receive it from her own hands?"

"Bid her rather pour her curses on my head; and to those, De Haldimar,
add your own," exclaimed Sir Everard, at length raising himself from
the statue-like position he had assumed. "Almighty God," he pursued, in
the same tone of deep agony, "what have I done? Where, where shall I
hide myself?"

As he spoke he turned away from his companions, and covering his eyes
with his hand, with quick and unequal steps, even like those of a
drunken man, walked, or rather ran, along the rampart, as if fearful of
being overtaken.

The whole group of officers, and Charles de Haldimar in particular,
were struck with dismay at the language and action of Sir Everard; and
for a moment they fancied that fatigue, and watching, and excitement,
had partially affected his brain. But when, after the lapse of a minute
or two, they again looked out upon the common, the secret of his
agitation was too faithfully and too painfully explained.

What had at first the dusky and dingy hue of a half-naked Indian, was
now perceived, by the bright beams of light just gathering in the east,
to be the gay and striking uniform of a British officer. Doubt as to
who that officer was there could be none, for the white sword-belt
suspended over the right shoulder, and thrown into strong relief by the
field of scarlet on which it reposed, denoted the wearer of this
distinguishing badge of duty to be one of the guard.

To comprehend effectually the feelings of the officers, it would be
necessary that one should have been not merely a soldier, but a soldier
under the same circumstances. Surrounded on every hand by a fierce and
cruel enemy--prepared at every moment to witness scenes of barbarity
and bloodshed in their most appalling shapes--isolated from all society
beyond the gates of their own fortress, and by consequence reposing on
and regarding each other as vital links in the chain of their wild and
adventurous existence,--it can easily be understood with what sincere
and unaffected grief they lamented the sudden cutting off even of those
who least assimilated in spirit and character with themselves. Such, in
a great degree, had been the case in the instance of the officer over
whose grave they were now met to render the last offices of
companionship, if not of friendship. Indeed Murphy--a rude, vulgar, and
illiterate, though brave Irishman--having risen from the ranks, the
coarseness of which he had never been able to shake off, was little
calculated, either by habits or education, to awaken feelings, except
of the most ordinary description, in his favour; and he and Ensign
Delme were the only exceptions to those disinterested and tacit
friendships that had grown up out of circumstances in common among the
majority. If, therefore, they could regret the loss of such a companion
as Murphy, how deep and heartfelt must have been the sorrow they
experienced when they beheld the brave, generous, manly, amiable, and
highly-talented Frederick de Haldimar--the pride of the garrison, and
the idol of his family--lying extended, a cold, senseless corpse, slain
by the hand of the bosom friend of his own brother!--Notwithstanding
the stern severity and distance of the governor, whom few
circumstances, however critical or exciting, could surprise into
relaxation of his habitual stateliness, it would have been difficult to
name two young men more universally liked and esteemed by their brother
officers than were the De Haldimars--the first for the qualities
already named--the second, for those retiring, mild, winning manners,
and gentle affections, added to extreme and almost feminine beauty of
countenance for which he was remarkable. Alas, what a gloomy picture
was now exhibited to the minds of all!--Frederick de Haldimar a corpse,
and slain by the hand of Sir Everard Valletort! What but disunion could
follow this melancholy catastrophe? and how could Charles de Haldimar,
even if his bland nature should survive the shock, ever bear to look
again upon the man who had, however innocently or unintentionally,
deprived him of a brother whom he adored?

These were the impressions that passed through the minds of the
compassionating officers, as they directed their glance alternately
from the common to the pale and marble-like features of the younger De
Haldimar, who, with parted lips and stupid gaze, continued to fix his
eyes upon the inanimate form of his ill-fated brother, as if the very
faculty of life itself had been for a period suspended. At length,
however, while his companions watched in silence the mining workings of
that grief which they feared to interrupt by ill-timed observations,
even of condolence, the death-like hue, which had hitherto suffused the
usually blooming cheek of the young officer, was succeeded by a flush
of the deepest dye, while his eyes, swollen by the tide of blood now
rushing violently to his face, appeared to be bursting from their
sockets. The shock was more than his delicate frame, exhausted as it
was by watching and fatigue, could bear. He tottered, reeled, pressed
his hand upon his head, and before any one could render him assistance,
fell senseless on the ramparts.

During the interval between Sir Everard Valletort's exclamation, and
the fall of Charles de Haldimar, the men employed at the grave had
performed their duty, and were gazing with mingled astonishment and
concern, both on the body of their murdered officer, and on the dumb
scene acting around them. Two of these were now despatched for a
litter, with which they speedily re-appeared. On this Charles de
Haldimar, already delirious with the fever of intense excitement, was
carefully placed, and, followed by Captain Blessington and Lieutenant
Johnstone, borne to his apartment in the small range of buildings
constituting the officers' barracks. Captain Erskine undertook the
disagreeable office of communicating these distressing events to the
governor; and the remainder of the officers once more hastened to join
or linger near their respective companies, in readiness for the order
which it was expected would be given to despatch a numerous party of
the garrison to secure the body of Captain de Haldimar.




CHAPTER V.

The sun was just rising above the horizon, in all that peculiar
softness of splendour which characterises the early days of autumn in
America, as Captain Erskine led his company across the drawbridge that
communicated with the fort. It was the first time it had been lowered
since the investment of the garrison by the Indians; and as the dull
and rusty chains performed their service with a harsh and grating
sound, it seemed as if an earnest were given of melancholy boding.
Although the distance to be traversed was small, the risk the party
incurred was great; for it was probable the savages, ever on the alert,
would not suffer them to effect their object unmolested. It was perhaps
singular, and certainly contradictory, that an officer of the
acknowledged prudence and forethought ascribed to the
governor--qualities which in a great degree neutralised his excessive
severity in the eyes of his troops--should have hazarded the chance of
having his garrison enfeebled by the destruction of a part, if not of
the whole, of the company appointed to this dangerous duty; but with
all his severity, Colonel de Haldimar was not without strong affection
for his children. The feelings of the father, therefore, in a great
degree triumphed over the prudence of the commander; and to shield the
corpse of his son from the indignities which he well knew would be
inflicted on it by Indian barbarity, he had been induced to accede to
the earnest prayer of Captain Erskine, that he might be permitted to
lead out his company for the purpose of securing the body. Every means
were, however, taken to cover the advance, and ensure the retreat of
the detachment. The remainder of the troops were distributed along the
rear of the ramparts, with instructions to lie flat on their faces
until summoned by their officers from that position; which was to be
done only in the event of close pursuit from the savages. Artillerymen
were also stationed at the several guns that flanked the rear of the
fort, and necessarily commanded both the common and the outskirt of the
forest, with orders to fire with grape-shot at a given signal. Captain
Erskine's instructions were, moreover, if attacked, to retreat back
under the guns of the fort slowly and in good order, and without
turning his back upon the enemy.

Thus confident of support, the party, after traversing the drawbridge
with fixed bayonets, inclined to the right, and following the winding
of the ditch by which it was surrounded, made the semi-circuit of the
rampart until they gained the immediate centre of the rear, and in a
direct line with the bomb-proof. Here their mode of advance was
altered, to guard more effectually against the enemy with whom they
might possibly have to contend. The front and rear ranks of the
company, consisting in all of ninety men, were so placed as to leave
space in the event of attack, of a portion of each wheeling inwards so
as to present in an instant three equal faces of a square. As the rear
was sufficiently covered by the cannon of the fort to defeat any
attempt to turn their flanks, the manoeuvre was one that enabled them
to present a fuller front in whatever other quarter they might be
attacked; and had this additional advantage, that in the advance by
single files a narrower front was given to the aim of the Indians, who,
unless they fired in an oblique direction, could only, of necessity,
bring down two men (the leading files) at a time.

In this order, and anxiously overlooked by their comrades, whose eyes
alone peered from above the surface of the rampart on which they lay
prostrate, the detachment crossed the common; one rank headed by
Captain Erskine, the other by Lieutenant Johnstone. They had now
approached within a few yards of the unfortunate victim, when Captain
Erskine commanded a halt of his party; and two files were detached from
the rear of each rank, to place the body on a litter with which they
had provided themselves. He and Johnstone also moved in the same
direction in advance of the men, prepared to render assistance if
required. The corpse lay on its face, and in no way despoiled of any of
its glittering habiliments; a circumstance that too well confirmed the
fact of De Haldimar's death having been accomplished by the ball from
Sir Everard Valletort's rifle. It appeared, however, the ill-fated
officer had struggled much in the agonies of death; for the left leg
was drawn Up into an unnatural state of contraction, and the right
hand, closely compressed, grasped a quantity of grass and soil, which
had evidently been torn up in a paroxysm of suffering and despair.

The men placed the litter at the side of the body, which they now
proceeded to raise. As they were in the act of depositing it on this
temporary bier, the plumed hat fell from the head, and disclosed, to
the astonishment of all, the scalpless crown completely saturated in
its own clotted blood and oozing brains.

An exclamation of horror and disgust escaped at the same moment from
the lips of the two officers, and the men started back from their
charge as if a basilisk had suddenly appeared before them. Captain
Erskine pursued:--"What the devil is the meaning of all this,
Johnstone?"

"What, indeed!" rejoined his lieutenant, with a shrug of the shoulders,
that was intended to express his inability to form any opinion on the
subject.

"Unless it should prove," continued Erskine, "as I sincerely trust it
may, that poor Valletort is not, after all, the murderer of his friend.
It must be so. De Haldimar has been slain by the same Indian who killed
Murphy.--Do you recollect his scalp cry? He was in the act of
despoiling his victim of this trophy of success, when Sir Everard
fired. Examine the body well, Mitchell, and discover where the wound
lies."

The old soldier to whom this order was addressed now prepared, with the
assistance of his comrades, to turn the body upon its back, when
suddenly the air was rent with terrific yells, that seemed to be
uttered in their very ears, and in the next instant more than a hundred
dark and hideous savages sprang simultaneously to their feet within the
bomb-proof, while every tree along the skirt of the forest gave back
the towering form of a warrior. Each of these, in addition to his
rifle, was armed with all those destructive implements of warfare which
render the Indians of America so formidable and so terrible an enemy.

"Stand to your arms, men," shouted Captain Erskine, recovering from his
first and unavoidable, though but momentary, surprise. "First and
fourth sections, on your right and left backwards wheel:--Quick, men,
within the square, for your lives." As he spoke, he and Lieutenant
Johnstone sprang hastily back, and in time to obtain admittance within
the troops, who had rapidly executed the manoeuvre commanded. Not so
with Mitchell and his companions. On the first alarm they had quitted
the body of the mutilated officer, and flown to secure their arms, but
even while in the act of stooping to take them up, they had been
grappled by a powerful and vindictive foe; and the first thing they
beheld on regaining their upright position was a dusky Indian at the
side, and a gleaming tomahawk flashing rapidly round the head of each.

"Fire not, on your lives," exclaimed Captain Erskine hastily, as he saw
several of the men in front levelling, in the excitement of the moment,
their muskets at the threatening savages. "Prepare for attack," he
pursued; and in the next instant each man dropped on his right knee,
and a barrier of bristling bayonets seemed to rise from the very bowels
of the earth. Attracted by the novelty of the sight, the bold and
daring warriors, although still retaining their firm grasp of the
unhappy soldiers, were for a moment diverted from their bloody purpose,
and temporarily suspended the quick and rotatory motion of their
weapons. Captain Erskine took advantage of this pause to seize the
halbert of one of his sergeants, to the extreme point of which he
hastily attached a white pocket handkerchief, that was loosely thrust
into the breast of his uniform; this he waved on high three several
times, and then relinquishing the halbert, dropped also on his knee
within the square.

"The dog of a Saganaw asks for mercy," said a voice from within the
bomb-proof, and speaking in the dialect of the Ottawas. "His pale flag
bespeaks the quailing of his heart, and his attitude denotes the
timidity of the hind. His warriors are like himself, and even now upon
their knees they call upon their Manitou to preserve them from the
vengeance of the red-skins. But mercy is not for dogs like these. Now
is the time to make our tomahawks warm in their blood; and every head
that we count shall be a scalp upon our war poles."

As he ceased, one universal and portentous yell burst from the
fiend-like band; and again the weapons of death were fiercely
brandished around the heads of the stupified soldiers who had fallen
into their power.

"What can they be about?" anxiously exclaimed Captain Erskine, in the
midst of this deafening clamour, to his subaltern.--"Quiet, man; damn
you, quiet, or I'll cut you down," he pursued, addressing one of his
soldiers, whose impatience caused him to bring his musket half up to
the shoulder. And again he turned his head in the direction of the
fort:--"Thank God, here it comes at last,--I feared my signal had not
been noticed."

While he yet spoke, the loud roaring of a cannon from the ramparts was
heard, and a shower of grape-shot passed over the heads of the
detachment, and was seen tearing up the earth around the bomb-proof,
and scattering fragments of stone and wood into the air. The men
simultaneously and unbidden gave three cheers.

In an instant the scene was changed. As if moved by some mechanical
impulse, the fierce band that lined the bomb-proof sank below the
surface, and were no longer visible, while the warriors in the forest
again sought shelter behind the trees. The captured soldiers were also
liberated without injury, so sudden and startling had been the terror
produced in the savages by the lightning flash that announced its heavy
messengers of destruction. Discharge after discharge succeeded without
intermission; but the guns had been levelled so high, to prevent injury
to their own men, they had little other effect than to keep the Indians
from the attack. The rush of bullets through the close forest, and the
crashing of trees and branches as they fell with startling force upon
each other, were, with the peals of artillery, the only noises now to
be heard; for not a yell, not a word was uttered by the Indians after
the first discharge; and but for the certainty that existed in every
mind, it might have been supposed the whole of them had retired.

"Now is your time," cried Captain Erskine; "bring in the litter to the
rear, and stoop as much as possible to avoid the shot."

The poor half-strangled fellows, however, instead of obeying the order
of their captain, looked round in every direction for the enemy by whom
they had been so rudely handled, and who had glided from them almost as
imperceptibly and swiftly as they had first approached. It seemed as if
they apprehended that any attempt to remove the body would be visited
by those fierce devils with the same appalling and ferocious
threatenings.

"Why stand ye there, ye dolts," continued their captain, "looking
around as if ye were bewitched? Bring the litter in to the
rear.--Mitchell, you old fool, are you grown a coward in your age? Are
you not ashamed to set such an example to your comrades?"

The doubt thus implied of the courage of his men, who, in fact, were
merely stupified with the scene they had gone through, had, as Captain
Erskine expected, the desired effect. They now bent themselves to the
litter, on which they had previously deposited their muskets, and with
a self-possession that contrasted singularly with their recent air of
wild astonishment, bore it to the rear at the risk of being cut in two
at every moment by the fire from the fort.

One fierce yell, instinctively proffered by several of the lurking band
in the forest, marked their disappointment and rage at the escape of
their victims; but all attempt at uncovering themselves, so as to be
enabled to fire, was prevented by the additional showers of grape which
that yell immediately brought upon them.

The position in which Captain Erskine now found himself was highly
critical. Before him, and on either flank, was a multitude of savages,
who only awaited the cessation of the fire from the fort to commence
their fierce and impetuous attack. That that fire could not long be
sustained was evident, since ammunition could ill be spared for the
present inefficient purpose, where supplies of all kinds were so
difficult to be obtained; and, if he should attempt a retreat, the
upright position of his men exposed them to the risk of being swept
away by the ponderous metal, that already fanned their cheeks with the
air it so rapidly divided. Suddenly, however, the fire from the
batteries was discontinued, and this he knew to be a signal for
himself. He gave an order in a low voice, and the detachment quitted
their recumbent and defensive position, still remaining formed in
square. At the same instant, a gun flashed from the fort; but not as
before was heard the rushing sound of the destructive shot crushing the
trees in its resistless course. The Indians took courage at this
circumstance, for they deemed the bullets of their enemies were
expended; and that they were merely discharging their powder to keep up
the apprehension originally produced. Again they showed themselves,
like so many demons, from behind their lurking places; and yells and
shouts of the most terrific and threatening character once more rent
the air, and echoed through the woods. Their cries of anticipated
triumph were, however, but of short duration. Presently, a hissing
noise was heard in the air; and close to the bomb-proof, and at the
very skirt of the forest, they beheld a huge globe of iron fall
perpendicularly to the earth, to the outer part of which was attached
what they supposed to be a reed, that spat forth innumerable sparks of
fire, without however, seeming to threaten the slightest injury.
Attracted by the novel sight, a dozen warriors sprang to the spot, and
fastened their gaze upon it with all the childish wonder and curiosity
of men in a savage state. One, more eager and restless than his
fellows, stooped over it to feel with his hand of what it was composed.
At that moment it burst, and limbs, and head, and entrails, were seen
flying in the air, with the fragments of the shell, and prostrate and
struggling forms lay writhing on every hand in the last, fierce agonies
of death.

A yell of despair and a shout of triumph burst at the same moment from
the adverse parties. Taking advantage of the terror produced, by this
catastrophe, in the savages, Captain Erskine caused the men bearing the
corpse to retreat, with all possible expedition, under the ramparts of
the fort. He waited until they got nearly half way, and then threw
forward the wheeling sections, that had covered this movement, once
more into single file, in which order he commenced his retreat. Step by
step, and almost imperceptibly, the men paced backwards, ready, at a
moment's notice, to reform the square. Partly recovered from the terror
and surprise produced by the bursting of the shell, the Indians were
quick in perceiving this movement: filled with rage at having been so
long baulked of their aim, they threw themselves once more impetuously
from their cover; and, with stimulating yells, at length opened their
fire. Several of Captain Erskine's men were wounded by this discharge;
when, again, and furiously the cannon opened from the fort. It was then
that the superiority of the artillery was made manifest. Both right and
left of the retreating files the ponderous shot flew heavily past,
carrying death and terror to the Indians; while not a man of those who
intervened was scathed or touched in its progress. The warriors in the
forest were once more compelled to shelter themselves behind the trees;
but in the bomb-proof, where they were more secure, they were also more
bold. From this a galling fire, mingled with the most hideous yells,
was now kept up; and the detachment, in their slow retreat, suffered
considerably. Several men had been killed; and, about twenty, including
Lieutenant Johnstone, wounded, when again, one of those murderous
globes fell, hissing in the very centre of the bomb-proof. In an
instant, the Indian fire was discontinued; and their dark and pliant
forms were seen hurrying with almost incredible rapidity over the
dilapidated walls, and flying into the very heart of the forest, so
that when the shell exploded, a few seconds afterwards, not a warrior
was to be seen. From this moment the attack was not renewed, and
Captain Erskine made good his retreat without farther molestation.

"Well, old buffers!" exclaimed one of the leading files, as the
detachment, preceded by its dead and wounded, now moved along the moat
in the direction of the draw-bridge, "how did you like the grip of them
black savages?--I say, Mitchell, old Nick will scarcely know the face
of you, it's so much altered by fright.--Did you see," turning to the
man in his rear, "how harum-scarum he looked, when the captain called
out to him to come off?"

"Hold your clapper, you spooney, and be damned to you!" exclaimed the
angry veteran.--"Had the Ingian fastened his paw upon your ugly neck as
he did upon mine, all the pitiful life your mother ever put into you
would have been spirited away from very fear; so you needn't brag."

"Sure, and if any of ye had a grain of spunk, ye would have fired, and
freed a fellow from the clutch of them hell thieves," muttered another
of the men at the litter. "All the time, the devil had me by the
throat, swinging his tommyhawk about my head, I saw ye dancing up and
down in the heavens, instead of being on your marrow bones on the
common."

"And didn't I want to do it?" rejoined the first speaker. "Ask Tom
Winkler here, if the captain didn't swear he'd cut the soul out of my
body if I even offered so much as to touch the trigger of my musket."

"Faith, and lucky he did," replied his covering man (for the ranks had
again joined), "since but for that, there wouldn't be at this moment so
much as a hair of the scalp of one of you left."

"And how so, Mr. Wiseacre?" rejoined his comrade.

"How so! Because the first shot that we fired would have set the devils
upon them in right earnest--and then their top-knots wouldn't have been
worth a brass farthing. They would have been scalped before they could
say Jack Robinson."

"It was a hell of a risk," resumed another of the litter men, "to give
four men a chance of having their skull pieces cracked open like so
many egg-shells, and all to get possession of a dead officer."

"And sure, you beast," remarked a different voice in a tone of anger,
"the dead body of the brave captain was worth a dozen such rotten
carcasses with all the life in them. What matter would it be if ye had
all been scalped?" Then with a significant half glance to the rear,
which was brought up by their commander, on whose arm leaned the
slightly wounded Johnstone, "Take care the captain doesn't hear ye
prating after that fashion, Will Burford."

"By Jasus," said a good-humoured, quaint looking Irishman, who had been
fixing his eyes on the litter during this pithy and characteristic
colloquy; "it sames to me, my boys, that ye have caught the wrong cow
by the horns, and that all your pains has been for nothing at all, at
all. By the holy pope, ye are all wrong; it's like bringing salt butter
to Cork, or coals to your Newcastle, as ye call it. Who the divil ever
heard of the officer wearing ammunition shoes?"

The men all turned their gaze on that part of the vestment of the
corpse to which their attention had been directed by this remark, when
it was at once perceived, although it had hitherto escaped the
observation even of the officers, that, not only the shoes were those
usually worn by the soldiers, and termed ammunition or store shoes, but
also, the trowsers were of the description of coarse grey, peculiar to
that class.

"By the piper that played before Moses, and ye're right, Dick Doherty,"
exclaimed another Irishman; "sure, and it isn't the officer at all!
Just look at the great black fist of him too, and never call me Phil
Shehan, if it ever was made for the handling of an officer's spit."

"Well said, Shehan," observed the man who had so warmly reproved Will
Burford, and who had formerly been servant to De Haldimar; "the
captain's hand is as white and as soft as my cross-belt, or, what's
saying a great deal more, as Miss Clara's herself, heaven bless her
sweet countenance! and Lieutenant Valletort's nigger's couldn't well be
much blacker nor this."

"What a set of hignoramuses ye must be," grunted old Mitchell, "not to
see that the captain's hand is only covered with dirt; and as for the
ammunition shoes and trowsers, why you know our officers wear any thing
since we have been cooped up in this here fort."

"Yes, by the holy poker," (and here we must beg to refer the reader to
the soldier's vocabulary for any terms that may be, in the course of
this dialogue, incomprehensible to him or her,)--"Yes, by the holy
poker, off duty, if they like it," returned Phil Shehan; "but it isn't
even the colonel's own born son that dare to do so while officer of the
guard."

"Ye are right, comrade," said Burford; "there would soon be hell and
tommy to pay if he did."

At this point of their conversation, one of the leading men at the
litter, in turning to look at its subject, stumbled over the root of a
stump that lay in his way, and fell violently forward. The sudden
action destroyed the equilibrium of the corpse, which rolled off its
temporary bier upon the earth, and disclosed, for the first time, a
face begrimmed with masses of clotted blood, which had streamed forth
from the scalped brain during the night.

"It's the divil himself," said Phil Shehan, making the sign of the
cross, half in jest, half in earnest: "for it isn't the captin at all,
and who but the divil could have managed to clap on his rigimintals?"

"No, it's an Ingian," remarked Dick Burford, sagaciously; "it's an
Ingian that has killed the captain, and dressed himself in his clothes.
I thought he smelt strong, when I helped to pick him up."

"And that's the reason why the bloody heathens wouldn't let us carry
him off," said another of the litter men. "I thought they wouldn't ha'
made such a rout about the officer, when they had his scalp already in
their pouch-belts."

"What a set of prating fools ye are," interrupted the leading sergeant;
"who ever saw an Ingian with light hair? and sure this hair in the neck
is that of a Christian."

At that moment Captain Erskine, attracted by the sudden halt produced
by the falling of the body, came quickly up to the front.

"What is the meaning of all this, Cassidy?" he sternly demanded of the
sergeant; "why is this halt without my orders, and how comes the body
here?"

"Carter stumbled against a root, sir, and the body rolled over upon the
ground."

"And was the body to roll back again?" angrily rejoined his
captain.--"What mean ye, fellows, by standing there; quick, replace it
upon the litter, and mind this does not occur again."

"They say, sir," said the sergeant, respectfully, as the men proceeded
to their duty, "that it is not Captain de Haldimar after all, but an
Ingian."

"Not Captain de Haldimar! are ye all mad? and have the Indians, in
reality, turned your brains with fear?"

What, however, was his own surprise, and that of Lieutenant Johnstone,
when, on a closer examination of the corpse, which the men had now
placed with its face uppermost, they discovered the bewildering fact
that it was not, indeed, Captain de Haldimar who lay before them, but a
stranger, dressed in the uniform of that officer.

There was no time to solve, or even to dwell on the singular mystery;
for the Indians, though now retired, might be expected to rally and
renew the attack. Once more, therefore, the detachment moved forward;
the officers dropping as before to the rear, to watch any movements of
the enemy should he re-appear. Nothing, however, occurred to interrupt
their march; and in a few minutes the heavy clanking sound of the
chains of the drawbridge, as it was again raised by its strong pullies,
and the dull creaking sound of the rusty bolts and locks that secured
the ponderous gate, announced the detachment was once more safely
within the fort.

While the wounded men were being conveyed to the hospital, a group,
comprising almost all the officers of the garrison, hastened to meet
Captain Erskine and Lieutenant Johnstone. Congratulations on the escape
of the one, and compliments, rather than condolences, on the accident
of the other, which the arm en echarpe denoted to be slight, were
hastily and warmly proffered. These felicitations were the genuine
ebullitions of the hearts of men who really felt a pride, unmixed with
jealousy, in the conduct of their fellows; and so cool and excellent
had been the manner in which Captain Erskine had accomplished his
object, that it had claimed the undivided admiration of all who had
been spectators of the affair, and had, with the aid of their
telescopes, been enabled to follow the minutest movements of the
detachment.

"By heaven!" he at length replied, his chest swelling with gratified
pride at the warm and generous approval of his companions, "this more
than repays me for every risk. Yet, to be sincere, the credit is not
mine, but Wentworth's. But for you, my dear fellow," grasping and
shaking the hand of that officer, "we should have rendered but a
Flemish account of ourselves. How beautifully those guns covered our
retreat! and the first mortar that sent the howling devils flying in
air like so many Will-o'the-wisps, who placed that, Wentworth?"

"I did," replied the officer, with a quickness that denoted a natural
feeling of exultation; "but Bombardier Kitson's was the most effective.
It was his shell that drove the Indians finally out of the bomb-proof,
and left the coast clear for your retreat."

"Then Kitson, and his gunners also, merit our best thanks," pursued
Captain Erskine, whose spirits, now that his detachment was in safety,
were more than usually exhilarated by the exciting events of the last
hour; "and what will be more acceptable, perhaps, they shall each have
a glass of my best old Jamaica before they sleep,--and such stuff is
not to be met with every day in this wilderness of a country. But,
confound my stupid head! where are Charles de Haldimar and Sir Everard
Valletort?"

"Poor Charles is in a high fever, and confined to his bed," remarked
Captain Blessington, who now came up adding his congratulations in a
low tone, that marked the despondency of his heart; "and Sir Everard I
have just left on the rampart with the company, looking, as he well
may, the very image of despair."

"Run to them, Sumners, my dear boy," said Erskine, hastily addressing
himself to a young ensign who stood near him; "run quickly, and relieve
them of their error. Say it is not De Haldimar who has been killed,
therefore they need not make themselves any longer uneasy on that
score."

The officers gave a start of surprise. Sumners, however, hastened to
acquit himself of the pleasing task assigned him, without waiting to
hear the explanation of the singular declaration.

"Not De Haldimar!" eagerly and anxiously exclaimed Captain Blessington;
"who then have you brought to us in his uniform, which I clearly
distinguished from the rampart as you passed? Surely you would not
tamper with us at such a moment, Erskine?"

"Who it is, I know not more than Adam," rejoined the other; "unless,
indeed, it be the devil himself. All I do know, is, it is not our
friend De Haldimar; although, as you observe, he most certainly wears
his uniform. But you shall see and judge for yourselves, gentlemen.
Sergeant Cassidy," he enquired of that individual, who now came to ask
if the detachment was to be dismissed, "where have you placed the
litter?"

"Under the piazza of the guard-room, Sir," answered the sergeant.

These words had scarcely been uttered, when a general and hasty
movement of the officers, anxious to satisfy themselves by personal
observation it was not indeed De Haldimar who had fallen, took place in
the direction alluded to, and in the next moment they were at the side
of the litter.

A blanket had been thrown upon the corpse to conceal the loathsome
disfigurement of the face, over which masses of thick coagulated blood
were laid in patches and streaks, that set all recognition at defiance.
The formation of the head alone, which was round and short, denoted it
to be not De Haldimar's. Not a feature was left undefiled; and even the
eyes were so covered, it was impossible to say whether their lids were
closed or open. More than one officer's cheek paled with the sickness
that rose to his heart as he gazed on the hideous spectacle; yet, as
the curiosity of all was strongly excited to know who the murdered man
really was who had been so unaccountably inducted in the uniform of
their lost companion, they were resolved to satisfy themselves without
further delay. A basin of warm water and a sponge were procured from
the guard-room of Ensign Fortescue, who now joined them, and with these
Captain Blessington proceeded to remove the disguise.

In the course of this lavation, it was discovered the extraordinary
flow of blood and brains had been produced by the infliction of a deep
wound on the back of the head, by the sharp and ponderous tomahawk of
an Indian. It was the only blow that had been given; and the
circumstance of the deceased having been found lying on his face,
accounted for the quantity of gore, that, trickling downwards, had so
completely disguised every feature. As the coat of thick encrusted
matter gave way beneath the frequent application of the moistening
sponge, the pallid hue of the countenance denoted the murdered man to
be a white. All doubt, however, was soon at an end. The ammunition
shoes, the grey trowsers, the coarse linen, and the stiff leathern
stock encircling the neck, attested the sufferer to be a soldier of the
garrison; but it was not until the face had been completely denuded of
its unsightly covering, and every feature fully exposed, that that
soldier was at length recognised to be Harry Donellan, the trusty and
attached servant of Captain de Haldimar.

While yet the officers stood apart, gazing at the corpse, and forming a
variety of conjectures, as vague as they were unsatisfactory, in regard
to their new mystery, Sir Everard Valletort, pale and breathless with
the speed he had used, suddenly appeared among them.

"God of heaven! can it be true--and is it really not De Haldimar whom I
have shot?" wildly asked the agitated young man. "Who is this,
Erskine?" he continued, glancing at the litter. "Explain, for pity's
sake, and quickly."

"Compose yourself, my dear Valletort," replied the officer addressed.
"You see this is not De Haldimar, but his servant Donellan. Neither has
the latter met his death from your rifle; there is no mark of a bullet
about him. It was an Indian tomahawk that did his business; and I will
stake my head against a hickory nut the blow came from the same rascal
at whom you fired, and who gave back the shot and the scalp halloo."

This opinion was unanimously expressed by the remainder of the
officers. Sir Everard was almost as much overpowered by his joy, as he
had previously been overwhelmed by his despair, and he grasped and
shook the hand of Captain Erskine, who had thus been the means of
relieving his conscience, with an energy of gratitude and feeling that
almost drew tears from the eyes of that blunt but gallant officer.

"Thank God, thank God!" he fervently exclaimed: "I have not then even
the death of poor Donellan to answer for;" and hastening from the
guard-room, he pursued his course hurriedly and delightedly to the
barrack-room of his friend.




CHAPTER VI.

The hour fixed for the trial of the prisoner Halloway had now arrived,
and the officers composing the court were all met in the mess-room of
the garrison, surrounding a long table covered with green cloth, over
which were distributed pens, ink, and paper for taking minutes of the
evidence, and such notes of the proceedings as the several members
might deem necessary in the course of the trial. Captain Blessington
presided; and next him, on either hand, were the first in seniority,
the two junior occupying the lowest places. The demeanour of the
several officers, serious and befitting the duty they were met to
perform, was rendered more especially solemn from the presence of the
governor, who sat a little to the right of the president, and without
the circle, remained covered, and with his arms folded across his
chest. At a signal given by the president to the orderly in waiting,
that individual disappeared from the room, and soon afterwards Frank
Halloway, strongly ironed, as on the preceding night, was ushered in by
several files of the guard, under Ensign Fortescue himself.

The prisoner having been stationed a few paces on the left of the
president, that officer stood up to administer the customary oath. His
example was followed by the rest of the court, who now rose, and
extending each his right hand upon the prayer book, repeated, after the
president, the form of words prescribed by military law. They then,
after successively touching the sacred volume with their lips, once
more resumed their seats at the table.

The prosecutor was the Adjutant Lawson, who now handed over to the
president a paper, from which the latter officer read, in a clear and
distinct voice, the following charges, viz.--

"1st. For having on the night of the --th September 1763, while on duty
at the gate of the Fortress of Detroit, either admitted a stranger into
the garrison himself, or suffered him to obtain admission, without
giving the alarm, or using the means necessary to ensure his
apprehension, such conduct being treasonable, and in breach of the
articles of war.

"2d. For having been accessary to the abduction of Captain Frederick de
Haldimar and private Harry Donellan, the disappearance of whom from the
garrison can only be attributed to a secret understanding existing
between the prisoner and the enemy without the walls, such conduct
being treasonable, and in breach of the articles of war."

"Private Frank Halloway," continued Captain Blessington, after having
perused these two short but important charges, "you have heard what has
been preferred against you; what say you, therefore? Are you guilty, or
not guilty?"

"Not guilty," firmly and somewhat exultingly replied the prisoner,
laying his hand at the same time on his swelling heart.

"Stay, sir," sternly observed the governor, addressing the president;
"you have not read ALL the charges."

Captain Blessington took up the paper from the table, on which he had
carelessly thrown it, after reading the accusations above detailed, and
perceived, for the first time, that a portion had been doubled back.
His eye now glanced over a third charge, which had previously escaped
his attention.

"Prisoner," he pursued, after the lapse of a minute, "there is a third
charge against you, viz. for having, on the night of the --th Sept.
1763, suffered Captain De Haldimar to unclose the gate of the fortress,
and, accompanied by his servant, private Harry Donellan, to pass your
post without the sanction of the governor, such conduct being in direct
violation of a standing order of the garrison, and punishable with
death."

The prisoner started. "What!" he exclaimed, his cheek paling for the
first time with momentary apprehension; "is this voluntary confession
of my own to be turned into a charge that threatens my life? Colonel de
Haldimar, is the explanation which I gave you only this very hour, and
in private, to be made the public instrument of my condemnation? Am I
to die because I had not firmness to resist the prayer of my captain
and of your son, Colonel de Haldimar?"

The president looked towards the governor, but a significant motion of
the head was the only reply; he proceeded,--

"Prisoner Halloway, what plead you to this charge? Guilty, or not
guilty?"

"I see plainly," said Halloway, after the pause of a minute, during
which he appeared to be summoning all his energies to his aid; "I see
plainly that it is useless to strive against my fate. Captain de
Haldimar is not here, and I must die. Still I shall not have the
disgrace of dying as a traitor, though I own I have violated the orders
of the garrison."

"Prisoner," interrupted Captain Blessington, "whatever you may have to
urge, you had better reserve for your defence. Meanwhile, what answer
do you make to the last charge preferred?--Are you guilty, or not
guilty?"

"Guilty," said Halloway, in a tone of mingled pride and sorrow, "guilty
of having listened to the earnest prayer of my captain, and suffered
him, in violation of my orders, to pass my post. Of the other charges I
am innocent."

The court listened with the most profound attention and interest to the
words of the prisoner, and they glanced at each other in a manner that
marked their sense of the truth they attached to his declaration.

"Halloway, prisoner," resumed Captain Blessington, mildly, yet
impressively; "recollect the severe penalty which the third charge, no
less than the others, entails, and recall your admission. Be advised by
me," he pursued, observing his hesitation. "Withdraw your plea, then,
and substitute that of not guilty to the whole."

"Captain Blessington," returned the prisoner with deep emotion, "I feel
all the kindness of your motive; and if any thing can console me in my
present situation, it is the circumstance of having presiding at my
trial an officer so universally beloved by the whole corps. Still," and
again his voice acquired its wonted firmness, and his cheek glowed with
honest pride, "still, I say, I scorn to retract my words. Of the two
first charges I am as innocent as the babe unborn. To the last I plead
guilty; and vain would it be to say otherwise, since the gate was found
open while I was on duty, and I know the penalty attached to the
disobedience of orders."

After some further but ineffectual remonstrance on the part of the
president, the pleas of the prisoner were recorded, and the examination
commenced. Governor de Haldimar was the first witness.

That officer, having been sworn, stated, that on the preceding night he
had been intruded upon in his apartment by a stranger, who could have
obtained admission only through the gate of the fortress, by which also
he must have made good his escape. That it was evident the prisoner had
been in correspondence with their enemies; since, on proceeding to
examine the gate it had been found unlocked, while the confusion
manifested by him on being accused, satisfied all who were present of
the enormity of his guilt. Search had been made every where for the
keys, but without success.

The second charge was supported by presumptive evidence alone; for
although the governor swore to the disappearance of his son, and the
murder of his servant, and dwelt emphatically on the fact of their
having been forcibly carried off with the connivance of the prisoner,
still there was no other proof of this, than the deductions drawn from
the circumstances already detailed. To meet this difficulty, however,
the third charge had been framed.

In proof of this the governor stated, that the prisoner, on being
interrogated by him immediately subsequent to his being relieved from
his post, had evinced such confusion and hesitation, as to leave no
doubt whatever of his guilt; that, influenced by the half promise of
communication, which the court had heard as well as himself, he had
suffered the trial of the prisoner to be delayed until the present
hour, strongly hoping he might then be induced to reveal the share he
had borne in these unworthy and treasonable practices; that, with a
view to obtain this disclosure, so essential to the safety of the
garrison, he had, conjointly with Major Blackwater, visited the cell of
the prisoner, to whom he related the fact of the murder of Donellan, in
the disguise of his master's uniform, conjuring him, at the same time,
if he regarded his own life, and the safety of those who were most dear
to him, to give a clue to the solution of this mysterious circumstance,
and disclose the nature and extent of his connection with the enemy
without; that the prisoner however resolutely denied, as before, the
guilt imputed to him, but having had time to concoct a plausible story,
stated, (doubtless with a view to shield himself from the severe
punishment he well knew to be attached to his offence,) that Captain de
Haldimar himself had removed the keys from the guard-room, opened the
gate of the fortress, and accompanied by his servant, dressed in a
coloured coat, had sallied forth upon the common. "And this,"
emphatically pursued the governor, "the prisoner admits he permitted,
although well aware that, by an order of long standing for the security
of the garrison, such a fragrant dereliction of his duty subjected him
to the punishment of death."

Major Blackwater was the next witness examined. His testimony went to
prove the fact of the gate having been found open, and the confusion
manifested by the prisoner. It also substantiated that part of the
governor's evidence on the third charge, which related to the
confession recently made by Halloway, on which that charge had been
framed.

The sergeant of the guard, and the governor's orderly having severally
corroborated the first portions of Major Blackwater's evidence, the
examination on the part of the prosecution terminated; when the
president called on the prisoner Halloway for his defence. The latter,
in a clear, firm, and collected tone, and in terms that surprised his
auditory, thus addressed the Court:--

"Mr. President, and gentlemen,--Although, standing before you in the
capacity of a private soldier, and, oh! bitter and humiliating
reflection, in that most wretched and disgraceful of all situations, a
suspected traitor, I am not indeed what I seem to be. It is not for me
here to enter into the history of my past life; neither will I tarnish
the hitherto unsullied reputation of my family by disclosing my true
name. Suffice it to observe, I am a gentleman by birth; and although,
of late years, I have known all the hardships and privations attendant
on my fallen fortunes, I was once used to bask in the luxuries of
affluence, and to look upon those who now preside in judgment over me
as my equals. A marriage of affection,--a marriage with one who had
nothing but her own virtues and her own beauty to recommend her, drew
upon me the displeasure of my family, and the little I possessed,
independently of the pleasure of my relations, was soon dissipated. My
proud soul scorned all thought of supplication to those who had
originally spurned my wife from their presence; and yet my heart bled
for the privations of her who, alike respectable in family, was, both
from sex and the natural delicacy, of her frame, so far less
constituted to bear up against the frowns of adversity than myself. Our
extremity had now become great,--too great for human endurance; when,
through the medium of the public prints, I became acquainted with the
glorious action that had been fought in this country by the army under
General Wolfe. A new light burst suddenly upon my mind, and visions of
after prosperity constantly presented themselves to my view. The field
of honour was open before me, and there was a probability I might, by
good conduct, so far merit the approbation of my superiors, as to
obtain, in course of time, that rank among themselves to which by birth
and education I was so justly entitled to aspire. Without waiting to
consult my Ellen, whose opposition I feared to encounter until
opposition would be fruitless, I hastened to Lieutenant Walgrave, the
recruiting officer of the regiment,--tendered my services,--was
accepted and approved,--received the bounty money,--and became
definitively a soldier, under the assumed name of Frank Halloway.

"It would be tedious and impertinent, gentlemen," resumed the prisoner,
after a short pause, "to dwell on the humiliations of spirit to which
both my wife and myself were subjected at our first introduction to our
new associates, who, although invariably kind to us, were,
nevertheless, ill suited, both by education and habit, to awaken any
thing like congeniality of feeling or similarity of pursuit. Still we
endeavoured, as much as possible, to lessen the distance that existed
between us; and from the first moment of our joining the regiment,
determined to adopt the phraseology and manners of those with whom an
adverse destiny had so singularly connected us. In this we succeeded;
for no one, up to the present moment, has imagined either my wife or
myself to be other than the simple and unpretending Frank and Ellen
Halloway.

"On joining the regiment in this country," pursued the prisoner, after
another pause, marked by much emotion, "I had the good fortune to be
appointed to the grenadier company. Gentlemen, you all know the amiable
qualities of Captain de Haldimar. But although, unlike yourselves, I
have learnt to admire that officer only at a distance, my devotion to
his interests has been proportioned to the kindness with which I have
ever been treated by him; and may I not add, after this avowal of my
former condition, my most fervent desire has all along been to seize
the first favourable opportunity of performing some action that would
eventually elevate me to a position in which I might, without blushing
for the absence of the ennobling qualities of birth and condition, avow
myself his friend, and solicit that distinction from my equal which was
partially extended to me by my superior? The opportunity I sought was
not long wanting. At the memorable affair with the French general,
Levi, at Quebec, in which our regiment bore so conspicuous a part, I
had the good fortune to save the life of my captain. A band of Indians,
as you all, gentlemen, must recollect, had approached our right flank
unperceived, and while busily engaged with the French in front, we were
compelled to divide our fire between them and our new and fierce
assailants. The leader of that band was a French officer, who seemed
particularly to direct his attempts against the life of Captain de
Haldimar. He was a man of powerful proportions and gigantic stature--"

"Hold!" said the governor, starting suddenly from the seat in which he
had listened with evident impatience to this long outline of the
prisoner's history. "Gentlemen," addressing the court, "that is the
very stranger who was in my apartment last night,--the being with whom
the prisoner is evidently in treacherous correspondence, and all this
absurd tale is but a blind to deceive your judgment, and mitigate his
own punishment. Who is there to prove the man he has just described was
the same who aimed at Captain de Haldimar's life at Quebec?"

A flush of deep indignation overspread the features of the prisoner,
whose high spirit, now he had avowed his true origin, could ill brook
the affront thus put upon his veracity.

"Colonel de Haldimar!" he proudly replied, while his chains clanked
with the energy and force with which he drew up his person into an
attitude of striking dignity; "for once I sink the private soldier, and
address you in the character of the gentleman and your equal. I have a
soul, Sir, notwithstanding my fallen fortunes, as keenly alive to
honour as your own; and not even to save my wretched life, would I be
guilty of the baseness you now attribute to me. You have asked," he
pursued, in a more solemn tone, "what proof I have to show this
individual to be the same who attempted the life of Captain de
Haldimar. To Captain de Haldimar himself, should Providence have spared
his days, I shall leave the melancholy task of bearing witness to all I
here advance, when I shall be no more. Nay, Sir," and his look partook
at once of mingled scorn and despondency, "well do I know the fate that
awaits me; for in these proceedings--in that third charge--I plainly
read my death-warrant. But what, save my poor and wretched wife, have I
to regret? Colonel de Haldimar," he continued, with a vehemence meant
to check the growing weakness which the thought of his unfortunate
companion called up to his heart, "I saved the life of your son, even
by your own admission, no matter whose the arm that threatened his
existence; and in every other action in which I have been engaged,
honourable mention has ever been made of my conduct. Now, Sir, I ask
what has been my reward? So far from attending to the repeated
recommendations of my captain for promotion, even in a subordinate
rank, have you once deemed it necessary to acknowledge my services by
even a recognition of them in any way whatever?"

"Mr. President, Captain Blessington," interrupted the governor,
haughtily, "are we met here to listen to such language from a private
soldier? You will do well, Sir, to exercise your prerogative, and stay
such impertinent matter, which can have no reference whatever to the
defence of the prisoner."

"Prisoner," resumed the president, who, as well as the other members of
the court, had listened with the most profound and absorbing interest
to the singular disclosure of him whom they still only knew as Frank
Halloway, "this language cannot be permitted; you must confine yourself
to your defence."

"Pardon me, gentlemen," returned Halloway, in his usual firm but
respectful tone of voice; "pardon me, if, standing on the brink of the
grave as I do, I have so far forgotten the rules of military discipline
as to sink for a moment the soldier in the gentleman; but to be taxed
with an unworthy fabrication, and to be treated with contumely when
avowing the secret of my condition, was more than human pride and human
feeling could tolerate."

"Confine yourself, prisoner, to your defence," again remarked Captain
Blessington, perceiving the restlessness with which the governor
listened to these bold and additional observations of Halloway.

Again the governor interposed:--"What possible connexion can there be
between this man's life, and the crime with which he stands charged?
Captain Blessington, this is trifling with the court, who are assembled
to try the prisoner for his treason, and not to waste their time in
listening to a history utterly foreign to the subject."

"The history of my past life--Colonel de Haldimar," proudly returned
the prisoner, "although tedious and uninteresting to you, is of the
utmost importance to myself; for on that do I ground the most essential
part of my defence. There is nothing but circumstantial evidence
against me on the two first charges; and as those alone can reflect
dishonour on my memory, it is for the wisdom of this court to determine
whether that evidence is to be credited in opposition to the solemn
declaration of him, who, in admitting one charge, equally affecting his
life with the others, repudiates as foul those only which would attaint
his honour. Gentlemen," he pursued, addressing the court, "it is for
you to determine whether my defence is to be continued or not; yet,
whatever be my fate, I would fain remove all injurious impression from
the minds of my judges; and this can only be done by a simple detail of
circumstances, which may, by the unprejudiced, be as simply believed."

Here the prisoner paused: when, after some low and earnest conversation
among the members of the court, two or three slips of written paper
were passed to the President. He glanced his eye hurriedly over them,
and then directed Halloway to proceed with his defence.

"I have stated," pursued the interesting soldier, "that the officer who
led the band of Indians was a man of gigantic stature, and of
apparently great strength. My attention was particularly directed to
him from this circumstance, and as I was on the extreme flank of the
grenadiers, and close to Captain de Haldimar, had every opportunity of
observing his movements principally pointed at that officer. He first
discharged a carbine, the ball of which killed a man of the company at
his (Captain de Haldimar's) side; and then, with evident rage at having
been defeated in his aim, he took a pistol from his belt, and advancing
with rapid strides to within a few paces of his intended victim,
presented it in the most deliberate manner. At that moment, gentlemen,
(and it was but the work of a moment,) a thousand confused and almost
inexplicable feelings rose to my heart. The occasion I had long sought
was at length within my reach; but even the personal considerations,
which had hitherto influenced my mind, were sunk in the anxious desire
I entertained to preserve the life of an officer so universally
beloved, and so every way worthy of the sacrifice. While yet the pistol
remained levelled, I sprang before Captain de Haldimar, received the
ball in my breast, and had just strength sufficient to fire my musket
at this formidable enemy when I sank senseless to the earth.

"It will not be difficult for you, gentlemen, who have feeling minds,
to understand the pleasurable pride with which, on being conveyed to
Captain de Haldimar's own apartments in Quebec, I found myself almost
overwhelmed by the touching marks of gratitude showered on me by his
amiable relatives. Miss Clara de Haldimar, in particular, like a
ministering angel, visited my couch of suffering at almost every hour,
and always provided with some little delicacy, suitable to my
condition, of which I had long since tutored myself to forget even the
use. But what principally afforded me pleasure, was to remark the
consolations which she tendered to my poor drooping Ellen, who, already
more than half subdued by the melancholy change in our condition in
life, frequently spent hours together in silent grief at the side of my
couch, and watching every change in my countenance with all the intense
anxiety of one who feels the last stay on earth is about to be severed
for ever. Ah! how I then longed to disclose to this kind and
compassionating being the true position of her on whom she lavished her
attention, and to make her known, not as the inferior honored by her
notice, but as the equal alike worthy of her friendship and deserving
of her esteem; but the wide, wide barrier that divided the wife of the
private soldier from the daughter and sister of the commissioned
officer sealed my lips, and our true condition continued unrevealed.

"Gentlemen," resumed Halloway, after a short pause, "if I dwell on
these circumstances, it is with a view to show how vile are the charges
preferred against me. Is it likely, with all the incentives to good
conduct I have named, I should have proved a traitor to my country?
And, even if so, what to gain, I would ask; and by what means was a
correspondence with the enemy to be maintained by one in my humble
station? As for the second charge, how infamous, how injurious is it to
my reputation, how unworthy to be entertained! From the moment of my
recovery from that severe wound, every mark of favour that could be
bestowed on persons in our situation had been extended to my wife and
myself, by the family of Colonel de Haldimar; and my captain, knowing
me merely as the simple and low born Frank Halloway, although still the
preserver of his life, has been unceasing in his exertions to obtain
such promotion as he thought my conduct generally, independently of my
devotedness to his person, might claim. How these applications were
met, gentlemen, I have already stated; but notwithstanding Colonel de
Haldimar has never deemed me worthy of the promotion solicited, that
circumstance could in no way weaken my regard and attachment for him
who had so often demanded it. How then, in the name of heaven, can a
charge so improbable, so extravagant, as that of having been
instrumental in the abduction of Captain de Haldimar, be entertained?
and who is there among you, gentlemen, who will for one moment believe
I could harbour a thought so absurd as that of lending myself to the
destruction of one for whom I once cheerfully offered up the sacrifice
of my blood? And now," pursued the prisoner, after another short pause,
"I come to the third charge,--that charge which most affects my life,
but impugns neither my honour nor my fidelity. That God, before whom I
know I shall shortly appear, can attest the sincerity of my statement,
and before him do I now solemnly declare what I am about to relate is
true.

"Soon after the commencement of my watch last night, I heard a voice
distinctly on the outside of the rampart, near my post, calling in a
low and subdued tone on the name of Captain de Haldimar. The accents,
hastily and anxiously uttered, were apparently those of a female. For a
moment I continued irresolute how to act, and hesitated whether or not
I should alarm the garrison; but, at length, presuming it was some
young female of the village with whom my captain was acquainted, it
occurred to me the most prudent course would be to apprize that officer
himself. While I yet hesitated whether to leave my post for a moment
for the purpose, a man crossed the parade a few yards in my front; it
was Captain de Haldimar's servant, Donellan, then in the act of
carrying some things from his master's apartment to the guard-room. I
called to him, to say the sentinel at the gate wished to see the
captain of the guard immediately. In the course of a few minutes he
came up to my post, when I told him what I had heard. At that moment,
the voice again repeated his name, when he abruptly left me and turned
to the left of the gate, evidently on his way to the rampart. Soon
afterwards I heard Captain de Haldimar immediately above me, sharply
calling out 'Hist, hist!' as if the person on the outside, despairing
of success, was in the act of retreating. A moment or two of silence
succeeded, when a low conversation ensued between the parties. The
distance was so great I could only distinguish inarticulate sounds; yet
it seemed to me as if they spoke not in English, but in the language of
the Ottawa Indians, a tongue with which, as you are well aware,
gentlemen, Captain de Haldimar is familiar. This had continued about
ten minutes, when I again heard footsteps hastily descending the
rampart, and moving in the direction of the guard-house. Soon
afterwards Captain de Haldimar re-appeared at my post, accompanied by
his servant Donellan; the former had the keys of the gate in his hand,
and he told me that he must pass to the skirt of the forest on some
business of the last importance to the safety of the garrison.

"At first I peremptorily refused, stating the severe penalty attached
to the infringement of an order, the observation of which had so
especially been insisted upon by the governor, whose permission,
however, I ventured respectfully to urge might, without difficulty, be
obtained, if the business was really of the importance he described it.
Captain de Haldimar, however, declared he well knew the governor would
not accord that permission, unless he was positively acquainted with
the nature and extent of the danger to be apprehended; and of these, he
said, he was not himself sufficiently aware. All argument of this
nature proving ineffectual, he attempted to enforce his authority, not
only in his capacity of officer of the guard, but also as my captain,
ordering me, on pain of confinement, not to interfere with or attempt
to impede his departure. This, however, produced no better result; for
I knew that, in this instance, I was amenable to the order of the
governor alone, and I again firmly refused to violate my duty.

"Finding himself thwarted in his attempt to enforce my obedience,
Captain de Haldimar, who seemed much agitated and annoyed by what he
termed my obstinacy, now descended to entreaty; and in the name of that
life which I had preserved to him, and of that deep gratitude which he
had ever since borne to me, conjured me not to prevent his departure.
'Halloway,' he urged, 'your life, my life, my father's life,--the life
of my sister Clara perhaps, who nursed you in illness, and who has ever
treated your wife with attention and kindness,--all these depend upon
your compliance with my request. 'Hear me,' he pursued, following up
the impression which he clearly perceived he had produced in me by this
singular and touching language: 'I promise to be back within the hour;
there is no danger attending my departure, and here will I be before
you are relieved from your post; no one can know I have been absent,
and your secret will remain with Donellan and myself. Do you think,' he
concluded, 'I would encourage a soldier of my regiment to disobey a
standing order of the garrison, unless there was some very
extraordinary reason for my so doing? But there is no time to be lost
in parley. Halloway! I entreat you to offer no further opposition to my
departure. I pledge myself to be back before you are relieved.'"

"Gentlemen," impressively continued the prisoner, after a pause, during
which each member of the court seemed to breathe for the first time, so
deeply had the attention of all been riveted by the latter part of this
singular declaration, "how, under these circumstances, could I be
expected to act? Assured by Captain de Haldimar, in the most solemn
manner, that the existence of those most dear to his heart hung on my
compliance with his request, how could I refuse to him, whose life I
had saved, and whose character I so much esteemed, a boon so earnestly,
nay, so imploringly solicited? I acceded to his prayer, intimating, at
the same time, if he returned not before another sentinel should
relieve me, the discovery of my breach of duty must be made, and my
punishment inevitable. His last words, however, were to assure me he
should return at the hour he had named, and when I closed the gate upon
him it was under the firm impression his absence would only prove of
the temporary nature he had stated.--Gentlemen," abruptly concluded
Halloway, "I have nothing further to add; if I have failed in my duty
as a soldier, I have, at least, fulfilled that of a man; and although
the violation of the first entail upon me the punishment of death, the
motives which impelled me to that violation will not, I trust, be
utterly lost sight of by those by whom my punishment is to be awarded."

The candid, fearless, and manly tone in which Halloway had delivered
this long and singular statement, however little the governor appeared
to be affected by it, evidently made a deep impression on the court,
who had listened with undiverted attention to the close. Some
conversation again ensued, in a low tone, among several members, when
two slips of written paper were passed up, as before, to the president.
These elicited the following interrogatories:--

"You have stated, prisoner, that Captain de Haldimar left the fort
accompanied by his servant Donellan. How were they respectively
dressed?"

"Captain de Haldimar in his uniform; Donellan, as far as I could
observe, in his regimental clothing also, with this difference, that he
wore his servant's round glazed hat and his grey great coat."

"How then do you account for the extraordinary circumstance of Donellan
having been found murdered in his master's clothes? Was any allusion
made to a change of dress before they left the fort?"

"Not the slightest," returned the prisoner; "nor can I in any way
account for this mysterious fact. When they quitted the garrison, each
wore the dress I have described."

"In what manner did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan effect their
passage across the ditch?" continued the president, after glancing at
the second slip of paper. "The draw-bridge was evidently not lowered,
and there were no other means at hand to enable him to effect his
object with promptitude. How do you explain this, prisoner?"

When this question was put, the whole body of officers, and the
governor especially, turned their eyes simultaneously on Halloway, for
on his hesitation or promptness in replying seemed to attach much of
the credit they were disposed to accord his statement. Halloway
observed it, and coloured. His reply, however, was free, unfaltering,
and unstudied.

"A rope with which Donellan had provided himself, was secured to one of
the iron hooks that support the pullies immediately above the gate.
With this they swung themselves in succession to the opposite bank."

The members of the court looked at each other, apparently glad that an
answer so confirmatory of the truth of the prisoner's statement, had
been thus readily given.

"Were they to have returned in the same manner?" pursued the president,
framing his interrogatory from the contents of another slip of paper,
which, at the suggestion of the governor, had been passed to him by the
prosecutor, Mr. Lawson.

"They were," firmly replied the prisoner. "At least I presumed they
were, for, I believe in the hurry of Captain de Haldimar's departure,
he never once made any direct allusion to the manner of his return; nor
did it occur to me until this moment how they were to regain possession
of the rope, without assistance from within."

"Of course," observed Colonel de Haldimar, addressing the president,
"the rope still remains. Mr. Lawson, examine the gate, and report
accordingly."

The adjutant hastened to acquit himself of this laconic order, and soon
afterwards returned, stating not only that there was no rope, but that
the hook alluded to had disappeared altogether.

For a moment the cheek of the prisoner paled; but it was evidently less
from any fear connected with his individual existence, than from the
shame he felt at having been detected in a supposed falsehood. He
however speedily recovered his self-possession, and exhibited the same
character of unconcern by which his general bearing throughout the
trial had been distinguished.

On this announcement of the adjutant, the governor betrayed a movement
of impatience, that was meant to convey his utter disbelief of the
whole of the prisoner's statement, and his look seemed to express to
the court it should also arrive, and without hesitation, at the same
conclusion. Even all authoritative as he was, however, he felt that
military etiquette and strict discipline prevented his interfering
further in this advanced state of the proceedings.

"Prisoner," again remarked Captain Blessington, "your statement in
regard to the means employed by Captain de Haldimar in effecting his
departure, is, you must admit, unsupported by appearances. How happens
it the rope is no longer where you say it was placed? No one could have
removed it but yourself. Have you done so? and if so, can you produce
it, or say where it is to be found?"

"Captain Blessington," replied Halloway, proudly, yet respectfully, "I
have already invoked that great Being, before whose tribunal I am so
shortly to appear, in testimony of the truth of my assertion; and
again, in his presence, do I repeat, every word I have uttered is true.
I did not remove the rope, neither do I know what is become of it. I
admit its disappearance is extraordinary, but a moment's reflection
must satisfy the court I would not have devised a tale, the falsehood
of which could at once have been detected on an examination such as
that which has just been instituted. When Mr. Lawson left this room
just now, I fully expected he would have found the rope lying as it had
been left. What has become of it, I repeat, I know not; but in the
manner I have stated did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan cross the
ditch. I have nothing further to add," he concluded once more, drawing
up his fine tall person, the native elegance of which could not be
wholly disguised even in the dress of a private soldier; "nothing
further to disclose. Yet do I repel with scorn the injurious
insinuation against my fidelity, suggested in these doubts. I am
prepared to meet my death as best may become a soldier, and, let me
add, as best may become a proud and well born gentleman; but humanity
and common justice should at least be accorded to my memory. I am an
unfortunate man, but no traitor."

The members were visibly impressed by the last sentences of the
prisoner. No further question however was asked, and he was again
removed by the escort, who had been wondering spectators of the scene,
to the cell he had so recently occupied. The room was then cleared of
the witnesses and strangers, the latter comprising nearly the whole of
the officers off duty, when the court proceeded to deliberate on the
evidence, and pass sentence on the accused.




CHAPTER VII.

Although the young and sensitive De Haldimar had found physical relief
in the summary means resorted to by the surgeon, the moral wound at his
heart not only remained unsoothed, but was rendered more acutely
painful by the wretched reflections, which, now that he had full
leisure to review the past, and anticipate the future in all the gloom
attached to both, so violently assailed him. From the moment when his
brother's strange and mysterious disappearance had been communicated by
the adjutant in the manner we have already seen, his spirits had been
deeply and fearfully depressed. Still he had every reason to expect,
from the well-known character of Halloway, the strong hope expressed by
the latter might be realised; and that, at the hour appointed for
trial, his brother would be present to explain the cause of his
mysterious absence, justify the conduct of his subordinate, and
exonerate him from the treachery with which he now stood charged. Yet,
powerful as this hope was, it was unavoidably qualified by dispiriting
doubt; for a nature affectionate and bland, as that of Charles de
Haldimar, could not but harbour distrust, while a shadow of
uncertainty, in regard to the fate of a brother so tenderly loved,
remained. He had forced himself to believe as much as possible what he
wished, and the effort had, to a certain extent succeeded; but there
had been something so solemn and so impressive in the scene that had
passed when the prisoner was first brought up for trial, something so
fearfully prophetic in the wild language of his unhappy wife, he had
found it impossible to resist the influence of the almost superstitious
awe they had awakened in his heart.

What the feelings of the young officer were subsequently, when in the
person of the murdered man on the common, the victim of Sir Everard
Valletort's aim, he recognised that brother, whose disappearance had
occasioned him so much inquietude, we shall not attempt to describe:
their nature is best shown in the effect they produced--the almost
overwhelming agony of body and mind, which had borne him, like a
stricken plant, unresisting to the earth. But now that, in the calm and
solitude of his chamber, he had leisure to review the fearful events
conspiring to produce this extremity, his anguish of spirit was even
deeper than when the first rude shock of conviction had flashed upon
his understanding. A tide of suffering, that overpowered, without
rendering him sensible of its positive and abstract character, had, in
the first instance, oppressed his faculties, and obscured his
perception; but now, slow, sure, stinging, and gradually succeeding
each other, came every bitter thought and reflection of which that tide
was composed; and the generous heart of Charles de Haldimar was a prey
to feelings that would have wrung the soul, and wounded the
sensibilities of one far less gentle and susceptible than himself.

Between Sir Everard Valletort and Charles de Haldimar, who, it has
already been remarked, were lieutenants in Captain Blessington's
company, a sentiment of friendship had been suffered to spring up
almost from the moment of Sir Everard's joining. The young men were
nearly of the same age; and although the one was all gentleness, the
other all spirit and vivacity, not a shade of disunion had at any
period intervened to interrupt the almost brotherly attachment
subsisting between them, and each felt the disposition of the other was
the one most assimilated to his own. In fact, Sir Everard was far from
being the ephemeral character he was often willing to appear. Under a
semblance of affectation, and much assumed levity of manner, never,
however, personally offensive, he concealed a brave, generous, warm,
and manly heart, and talents becoming the rank he held in society, such
as would not have reflected discredit on one numbering twice his years.
He had entered the army, as most young men of rank usually did at that
period, rather for the agremens it held forth, than with any serious
view to advancement in it as a profession. Still he entertained the
praiseworthy desire of being something more than what is, among
military men, emphatically termed a feather-bed soldier; and, contrary
to the wishes of his fashionable mother, who would have preferred
seeing him exhibit his uniform in the drawing-rooms of London, had
purchased the step into his present corps from a cavalry regiment at
home. Not that we mean, however, to assert he was not a feather-bed
soldier in its more literal sense: no man that ever glittered in gold
and scarlet was fonder of a feather-bed than the young baronet; and, in
fact, his own observations, recorded in the early part of this volume,
sufficiently prove his predilection for an indulgence which, we take
it, in no way impugned his character as a soldier. Sir Everard would
have fought twenty battles in the course of the month, if necessary,
and yet not complained of the fatigue or severity of his service,
provided only he had been suffered to press his downy couch to what is
termed a decent hour in the day. But he had an innate and, perhaps, it
may be, an instinctive horror of drills and early rising; a pastime in
which the martinets and disciplinarians of the last century were very
much given to indulge. He frequently upheld an opinion that must have
been little less than treason in the eyes of a commander so strict as
Colonel de Haldimar, that an officer who rose at eight, with all his
faculties refreshed and invigorated, might evince as much of the true
bearing of the soldier in the field, as he who, having quitted his
couch at dawn, naturally felt the necessity of repose at a moment when
activity and exertion were most required.

We need scarcely state, Sir Everard's theories on this important
subject were seldom reduced to practice; for, even long before the
Indians had broken out into open acts of hostility, when such
precautions were rendered indispensable, Colonel de Haldimar had never
suffered either officer or man to linger on his pillow after the first
faint dawn had appeared. This was a system to which Sir Everard could
never reconcile himself. He had quitted England with a view to active
service abroad, it is true, but he had never taken "active service" in
its present literal sense, and, as he frequently declared to his
companions, he preferred giving an Indian warrior a chance for his
scalp any hour after breakfast, to rising at daybreak, when, from very
stupefaction, he seldom knew whether he stood on his head or his heels.
"If the men must be drilled," he urged, "with a view to their health
and discipline, why not place them under the direction of the adjutant
or the officer of the day, whoever he might chance to be, and not
unnecessarily disturb a body of gentlemen from their comfortable
slumbers at that unconscionable hour?" Poor Sir Everard! this was the
only grievance of which he complained, and he complained bitterly.
Scarcely a morning passed without his inveighing loudly against the
barbarity of such a custom; threatening at the same time, amid the
laughter of his companions, to quit the service in disgust at what he
called so ungentlemanly and gothic a habit. All he waited for, he
protested, was to have an opportunity of bearing away the spoils of
some Indian chief, that, on his return to England, he might afford his
lady mother an opportunity of judging with her own eyes of the sort of
enemy he had relinquished the comforts of home to contend against, and
exhibiting to her very dear friends the barbarous proofs of the prowess
of her son. Though these observations were usually made half in jest
half in earnest, there was no reason to doubt the young and lively
baronet was, in truth, heartily tired of a service which seemed to
offer nothing but privations and annoyances, unmixed with even the
chances of obtaining those trophies to which he alluded; and, but for
two motives, there is every probability he would have seriously availed
himself of the earliest opportunity of retiring. The first of these was
his growing friendship for the amiable and gentle Charles de Haldimar;
the second the secret, and scarcely to himself acknowledged, interest
which had been created in his heart for his sister Clara; whom he only
knew from the glowing descriptions of his friend, and the strong
resemblance she was said to bear to him by the other officers.

Clara de Haldimar was the constant theme of her younger brother's
praise. Her image was ever uppermost in his thoughts--her name ever
hovering on his lips; and when alone with his friend Valletort, it was
his delight to dwell on the worth and accomplishments of his amiable
and beloved sister. Then, indeed, would his usually calm blue eye
sparkle with the animation of his subject, while his colouring cheek
marked all the warmth and sincerity with which he bore attestation to
her gentleness and her goodness. The heart of Charles de Haldimar,
soldier as he was, was pure, generous, and unsophisticated as that of
the sister whom he so constantly eulogized; and, while listening to his
eloquent praises, Sir Everard learnt to feel an interest in a being
whom all had declared to be the counterpart of her brother, as well in
personal attraction as in singleness of nature. With all his affected
levity, and notwithstanding his early initiation into fashionable
life--that matter-of-fact life which strikes at the existence of our
earlier and dearer illusions--there was a dash of romance in the
character of the young baronet which tended much to increase the
pleasure he always took in the warm descriptions of his friend. The
very circumstance of her being personally unknown to him, was, with Sir
Everard, an additional motive for interest in Miss de Haldimar.

Imagination and mystery generally work their way together; and as there
was a shade of mystery attached to Sir Everard's very ignorance of the
person of one whom he admired and esteemed from report alone,
imagination was not slow to improve the opportunity, and to endow the
object with characteristics, which perhaps a more intimate knowledge of
the party might have led him to qualify. In this manner, in early
youth, are the silken and willing fetters of the generous and the
enthusiastic forged. We invest some object, whose praises, whispered
secretly in the ear, have glided imperceptibly to the heart, with all
the attributes supplied by our own vivid and readily according
imaginations; and so accustomed do we become to linger on the picture,
we adore the semblance with an ardour which the original often fails to
excite. When, however, the high standard of our fancy's fair creation
is attained, we worship as something sacred that which was to our
hearts a source of pure and absorbing interest, hallowed by the very
secrecy in which such interest was indulged. Even where it fails, so
unwilling are we to lose sight of the illusion to which our thoughts
have fondly clung, so loth to destroy the identity of the semblance
with its original, that we throw a veil over that reason which is then
so little in unison with our wishes, and forgive much in consideration
of the very mystery which first gave a direction to our interest, and
subsequently chained our preference. How is it to be lamented, that
illusions so dear, and images so fanciful, should find their level with
time; or that intercourse with the world, which should be the means
rather of promoting than marring human happiness, should leave on the
heart so little vestige of those impressions which characterize the
fervency of youth; and which, dispassionately considered, constitute
the only true felicity of riper life! It is then that man, in all the
vigour and capacity of his intellectual nature, feels the sentiment of
love upon him in all its ennobling force. It is then that his impetuous
feelings, untinged by the romance which imposes its check upon the more
youthful, like the wild flow of the mighty torrent, seeks a channel
wherein they may empty themselves; and were he to follow the guidance
of those feelings, of which in that riper life he seems ashamed as of a
weakness unworthy his sex, in the warm and glowing bosom of Nature's
divinity--WOMAN--would he pour forth the swollen tide of his affection;
and acknowledge, in the fullness of his expanding heart, the vast
bounty of Providence, who had bestowed on him so invaluable--so
unspeakably invaluable, a blessing.--But no; in the pursuit of
ambition, in the acquisition of wealth, in the thirst after power, and
the craving after distinction, nay, nineteen times out of twenty, in
the most frivolous occupations, the most unsatisfactory amusements, do
the great mass of the maturer man sink those feelings; divested of
which, we become mere plodders on the earth, mere creatures of
materialism: nor is it until after age and infirmity have overtaken
them, they look back with regret to that real and substantial, but
unenjoyed happiness, which the occupied heart and the soul's communion
alone can bestow. Then indeed, when too late, are they ready to
acknowledge the futility of those pursuits, the inadequacy of those
mere ephemeral pleasures, to which in the full meridian of their
manhood they sacrificed, as a thing unworthy of their dignity, the
mysterious charm of woman's influence and woman's beauty.

We do not mean to say Clara de Haldimar would have fallen short of the
high estimate formed of her worth by the friend of her brother; neither
is it to be understood, Sir Everard suffered this fair vision of his
fancy to lead him into the wild and labyrinthian paths of boyish
romance; but certain it is, the floating illusions, conjured up by his
imagination, exercised a mysterious influence over his heart, that
hourly acquired a deeper and less equivocal character. It might have
been curiosity in the first instance, or that mere repose of the fancy
upon an object of its own creation, which was natural to a young man
placed like himself for the moment out of the pale of all female
society. It has been remarked, and justly, there is nothing so
dangerous to the peace of the human heart as solitude. It is in
solitude, our thoughts, taking their colouring from our feelings,
invest themselves with the power of multiplying ideal beauty, until we
become in a measure tenants of a world of our own creation, from which
we never descend, without loathing and disgust, into the dull and
matter-of-fact routine of actual existence. Hence the misery of the
imaginative man!--hence his little sympathy with the mass, who, tame
and soulless, look upon life and the things of life, not through the
refining medium of ideality, but through the grossly magnifying optics
of mere sense and materialism.

But, though we could, and perhaps may, at some future period, write
volumes on this subject, we return for the present from a digression
into which we have been insensibly led by the temporary excitement of
our own feelings.

Whatever were the impressions of the young baronet, and

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