their arms and plunder, were placed in the centre of the army, and displayed in all the show of military grandeur. The trumpets sounded their wildest notes of victory, and a peal of ordnance was at times fired in defiance, towards their point of destination. The general himself mounted upon a spirited charger, with the smile of hope upon his cheek, and the fire of enthusiasm in his eye, dashed from rank to rank, now in the yan, and now in the wings and rear, dispelling fear and uneasiness from every bosom, and rousing the pride and ardour of his followers, by "thoughts that breathed, and words that burned."

It was upon the second evening after the army had commenced its march homewards, that the youthful commander found himself in the neighborhood of his own dwelling. The army had formed their camp, and made every arrangement against a surprise, as they were now in the enemy's country, and upon the next evening they calculated to raise their entrenchments against Jamestown. It was not until he had seen every proper disposition made of his forces, that the general determined to ride to the cottage where he had left his fond and sorrowing bride. Having mounted his steed, he dashed with the swiftness of the wind through the forest, and a few moments brought him within view of the white walls of his cottage, and the green shrubbery of his domains. He dismounted, and proceeded cautiously towards the door; his footsteps were arrested by the sound of song, and listening he heard the rich musical voice of his wife, in accompaniment to a harp, pouring forth the following strains :

"Love's torch was waved far on high,
It shone upon the lea,

It flashed across the deep blue sky,

And o'er the troubled sea.

But now the light has darkness grown,

So joyous once to ine,

And where hope's flame in splendour shone,

Is gloom and misery."

The sounds suddenly ceased; the voice of the lovely songstress seemed impeded by some overwhelming thought, and a deep convulsive sob struck with deathlike weight upon the ear of the youthful husband; he rushed into the apartment, and in the next moment was encircled in the embrace of his wife. Long and rapturous was the welcome; alter- ́ nate weeping and smiles showed the excessive agitation of his lovely partner; and when the general gazed upon the beauteous form, the soft melting eye, the transparent complexion, and heard the silvery musical tones of his beloved Clara, he for the first time regretted the cause which had torn him from the bliss which he might have enjoyed, and the dearest of beings whom it was his first duty to cherish and delight. "And have you come to go no more?" exclaimed the enraptured Clara. "Have you at last forsaken the horrors of warfare, and the dangers of the battle field, to rest once more in your own peaceful cottage? Oh! Nathaniel, if you could imagine the anxieties which I have undergone since you left me last; if you could have witnessed with what eagerness I listened to every passing breeze, and imagined it the swift speed of your charger, conveying you home, I am certain that you would

never leave me more." At this time Bacon found himself almost overcome; he regretted that he had left his army, as his arrival home had excited hopes which he must destroy, and in so doing must inflict one more to the numberless pangs which his wife had suffered. With a troubled gaze, he looked upon her bright smiling features, as she seemed anxiously expecting his reply. "Nay, look not so serious, my dear Nathaniel, I know that you can stay. Have we not all heard of the desperate battle which you fought a few days since with the Indians, and in which my gallant husband acted so conspicuous a part. The Indians are driven away in ruin, and I am sure you have no cause to fight again. As for poor old Sir William Berkeley, he" "Has returned to Jamestown with an overwhelming army," interrupted the general; "even now his warrants for my capture are awaiting my arrival; even now the scaffold upon which my body is condemned to lie a headless trunk, is erecting; but even now, also, have I a gallant army, whose strength and courage can set him and his partizans at defiance. They are but a few miles from this, and I left them but to see you for a short time; to-morrow's earliest dawn must see them in motion, and upon to morrow's eve will the death-charged orduance under my command pour their contents upon the devoted capital where Sir William Berkeley has assembled his forces. These, my dearest Clara, are the real facts of my situation. A gallant body of partizans who have risked their lives and fortunes in my behalf; a reputation which now stands among the

highest, and which may endure unsullied in after ages, are the sacrifices which I must make if I desert my cause. Would you insist upon my doing so?" A deep glow which mantled her face and neck with the richest tints of the rainbow, succeeded a deathlike paleness in the face of the General's bride; her soft dark eyes seemed lighted with the fire of enthusiasm, and as her etherial figure rose to its most majestic height, and her black raven curls were thrown from her forehead and hung in a mass of ringlets down her shoulders, she might have seemed a second Joan of Arc inciting some devoted warrior to deeds of vengeance and fame. "No, my dearest husband," she exclaimed, "I am sure that you would not think me so selfish as to indulge such desires. If you must perish in the cause which you are pursuing, you shall not reflect in your last hours upon your Clara for having caused you to perish with infamy. Join your gallant army, my beloved warrior, and show them that the wife of their commander is willing to part with happiness and even life itself, before you should desert them in the hour of danger. But, go not yet; the night has not passed, and let us talk over former days of peace and happiness, when you were a wild student of the Temple, and I was a giddy foolish girl, who believed all the fine stories you told me of gold mines and silk dresses, which we were to find in this country. Don't you recollect when my poor old father forbid you to come to our house, how you disguised yourself as a sedan-carrier, and used to convey me to the Fortune Theatre in company with my old watchful aunt; and how you used

to slip letters into my hand, and poetry also at divers times; and how you laughed when somebody overturned the sedan by your contrivance, and you left the poor old lady, my aunt, in the dirt and carried me to St. Paul's where we were married." This sudden gaiety in the young wife, as may be well supposed, was all affected; for, no sooner had she concluded the last sentence, than she burst into a flood of tears. The General used every entreaty, and art of soothing eloquence to calm her agitation; but the sound of his voice seemed to touch upon a still tenderer chord, and her grief became more wild and extravagant. But, the more sudden and violent the storm, the sooner will it be exhausted; and in a few moments the young bride resumed all the dignity and self-possession of a high-minded though deeply sensitive female. "I am truly ashamed of myself, my dear Nathaniel," she exclaimed, "to cause you so much uneasiness; but 1 can't help it, and I know you will attribute the proper cause to my conduct. Come, relate to me the particulars of your expedition against the Indians, and the description of the country towards the mountains." The young husband, pleased to find that his wife was perfectly composed and resigned, related to her every particular which she desired, and the fascination of his eloquence kept her feelings suspended with breathless interest towards the narrative, till the shrill crowing cock startled them both from their seats. "God bless you, my dearest "be of good heart; success

Clara," he exclaimed,

must attend me, and in a few days you will see me