A Song of a Single Note: A Love Story Read online

  A SONG OF A SINGLE NOTE

  A Love Story

  by

  AMELIA E. BARR

  Author of "The Bow of Orange Ribbon," "The Maidof Maiden Lane," etc.

  Decoration]

  New YorkDodd, Mead & Company1902

  Copyright, 1902,By Dodd, Mead & Company.

  First Edition published October, 1902.

  The Burr Printing House,New York.

  TO MY FRIEND,

  DR. STEPHEN DECATUR HARRISON:

  An American who loves his country "Right or Wrong," And who always believes she is "Right,"

  THIS NOVEL IS WITH MUCH ESTEEM DEDICATED.

  Contents

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I. RED OR BLUE RIBBONS . . . . . . . . 1

  II. THE FAIR AND THE BRAVE . . . . . . . 21

  III. LIFE IN THE CAPTIVE CITY . . . . . . . 50

  IV. A SONG OF A SINGLE NOTE . . . . . . . 75

  V. LOVE'S SWEET DREAM . . . . . . . . 103

  VI. THE INTERCEPTED MESSAGE . . . . . . . 134

  VII. THE PRICE OF HARRY'S LIFE . . . . . . 160

  VIII. THE HELP OF JACOB COHEN . . . . . . . 185

  IX. THE TURN OF THE TIDE . . . . . . . . 211

  X. MARIA GOES TO LONDON . . . . . . . . 253

  XI. THE QUESTION OF MARRIAGE . . . . . . . 283

  XII. LOVE AND VICTORY . . . . . . . . . 306

  List of Illustrations

  PAGE

  THE SONG OF A SINGLE NOTE--_Frontispiece_.

  MARIA LAY DRESSED UPON HER BED _facing_ 100

  THE DRUMMERS AND FIFERS IN FRONT DID NOT SEE HIM _facing_ 208

  HE CAUSED THE SMALL BOAT TO PUT HIM ON SHORE _facing_ 320

  PROLOGUE.

  "Love, its flutes will still be stringing, Lovers still will sigh and kneel; Freedom sets her trumpets ringing To the clash of smiting steel." So I weave of love and glory, Homely toil, and martial show, Fair romance from the grand story Lived a century ago.

  A Song of a Single Note

  CHAPTER I.

  RED OR BLUE RIBBONS.

  It was the fourth year of the captivity of New York, and the beleagueredcity, in spite of military pomp and display, could not hide thedesolations incident to her warlike occupation. The beautiful trees andgroves which once shaded her streets and adorned her suburbs had beencut down by the army sappers; her gardens and lawns upturned forentrenchments and indented by artillery wheels; and some of the bestparts of the city blackened and mutilated by fire. Her churches had beenturned into prisons and hospitals, and were centres of indescribablesuffering and poisonous infection; while over the burnt district therehad sprung up a town of tents inhabited by criminals and by miserablewretches whom starvation and despair had turned into highwaymen.

  But these conditions were the work of man. Nature still lavished uponthe captive city a glory of sunshine and blue skies, and winds, full ofthe freshness and sparkle of the great sea, blew through all her sicklystreets. Wherever the gardens had not been destroyed, there was thescent of mays and laburnums, and the indescribable beauty of appleblossoms on the first day of their birth.

  In front of one of these fortunate enclosures, belonging to a littlehouse on Queen Street, an old gentleman was standing, looking wistfullyin at a trellis of small red roses. He turned away with a sigh as a mandressed like a sailor touched him on the arm, saying, as he did so:

  "Well, then, Elder, a good afternoon to you? I am just from Boston, andI have brought you a letter from your son."

  "You, De Vries! I didna look for you just yet."

  "You know how it is. I am a man of experience, and I had a good voyageboth ways."

  "And Robertson and Elliot and Ludlow will have a good percentage on yourcargoes?"

  "That is the way of business. It is as it ought to be. I do not defraudor condemn the Government. It is the young--who have no knowledge orexperience--who do such things."

  "What do you bring in, Captain?"

  "Some provisions of all kinds; and I shall take back some merchandise ofall kinds--for them who can not get it in any other way."

  "To Boston again?"

  "This time only to the Connecticut coast. The goods will easily gofurther. The trade is great. What then? I must waste no time; I have tolive by my business."

  "And I have nae doubt you think the 'business' on the King's service."

  "Every respectable man is of that way of thinking. We carry no militarystores. I am very precise about that. It is one of my principles. Andwhat, then, would the merchants of New York do without this opening fortrade? They would be ruined; and there would also be starvation. Theywho say different are fools; we give help and comfort to the royalists,and we distress the rebels, for we take from them all their ready money.If the trade was not 'on the King's service,' the Governor would not bein it."

  "Even so! That circumstance shows it is not far out o' the way."

  "'Out of the way!' What the deuce, Elder! I am a deacon in the MiddleKirk. My respectability and honesty cannot be concealed: any one can seethem. Batavius de Vries would not steal a groschen; no, nor half ofone!"

  "Easy, easy, Captain! Why should you steal? It is far mair lucrative tocheat than to steal; and the first is in the way o' business--as youwere remarking. But this or that, my good thanks for the letter you havebrought me; and is there anything I can do in return for your civility?"

  "If you will kindly call at my dwelling and tell Madame I am arrivedhere safe and sound; that would be a great satisfaction for us both."

  "I pass your door, Captain, and I will tell Madame the good news. Naedoubt she will gie me a smile for it."

  Then De Vries turned away with some remark about business, and ElderSemple stood still a moment, fingering the bulky letter which had beengiven him; and, as he did so, wondering what he should do, for "ill newscomes natural these days," he thought, "and maybe I had better read itthrough, before I speak a word to Janet anent it. I'll step into theKing's Arms and see what Alexander has to say."

  When he entered the coffee-room he saw his son, Mr. Neil Semple, andGovernor Robertson sitting at a table with some papers between them.Neil smiled gravely, and moved a chair into place for his father, andthe Governor said pleasantly:

  "How are you, Elder? It is a long time since I saw you."

  "I am as well as can be expected, considering a' things, Governor; butwhat for will I be 'Elder,' when I have nae kirk to serve?"

  "Is that my fault, Elder?"

  "You might have spoke a word for the reopening of the kirk, and thereturn o' Dr. Rogers. Your affirmative would have gone a long way towardit. And the loyal Calvinists o' New York hae been too long kirkless.What for didn't you speak the word, Governor? What for?"

  "Indeed, Elder, you know yourself that Dr. Rogers is a proved traitor.As a fundamental rule, a Calvinist is a democrat--exceptions, ofcourse--like yourself and your worthy sons, but as a fundamental,natural de
mocrats. There is the Church of England open for allservices."

  "Aye; and there is the Kirk o' Scotland closed for all services. Whathas the Kirk done against King George?"

  "Must I remind you, Elder, that her ministers, almost without exception,are against the King? Did not this very Dr. Rogers pray in the pulpitfor the success of the rebels? As for the Church of Scotland, she hasbeen troubling kings, and encouraging rebellion ever since there was aChurch of Scotland. What for? No reason at all, that I can see."

  "Yes, she had reason enough. Scotsmen read their Bibles, and theythought it worth while to fight for the right to do so. There's yourcolleague, Judge Ludlow; his great-grandfather fought with OliverCromwell in England in a quarrel of the same kind. He should have said aword for us."

  "Elder, it is undeniable that Dissent and Calvinism are opposed toroyalty."

  "The Kirk is not subject to Caesar; she is a law unto hersel'; and theMethodists are dissenters, yet their chapel is open."

  "The loyalty of John Wesley is beyond impeachment. He is a friend of theKing."

  "Yet his brother Charles was imprisoned for praying for the Pretender,and nae doubt at all, he himsel' would gladly have followed PrinceCharlie."

  "As the Semples and Gordons _did do_."

  "To their everlasting glory and honor! God bless them!"

  "Will your Excellency please to sign these papers?" interrupted Neil;and his calm ignoring of the brewing quarrel put a stop to it. Thepapers were signed, and the Governor rising, said, as he offered hishand to the Elder:

  "Our sufferings and deprivations are unavoidable, sir. Is there any usein quarreling with the wheel that splashes us?"

  "There is nane; yet, if men have grievances----"

  "Grievances! That is a word that always pleases, and always cheats.There are no grievances between you and me, I hope."

  "None to breed ill-will. Human nature is fallible, but as a rule, Torydoesna eat Tory."

  "And as for the Whigs, Elder, you know the old fable of the wolf and thelamb. Judging from that past event, Tory and Whig may soon make aneternal peace."

  He went out well pleased at the implication, and Neil, after a fewmoments' silence, said, "I am going to register these documents, sir, orI would walk home with you."

  "Much obligated to you, Neil, but I can tak' very good care o' mysel'.And I have a letter from your brother Alexander. I must see what news hesends, before I tell your mother."

  He was opening his letter as he spoke, carefully cutting round the largered seal, which bore the arms of the Semples, and which, therefore, hewould have thought it a kind of sacrilege to mutilate. A cup of coffeehad been brought to him, and he took one drink of it, and then no more;for everything was quickly forgotten or ignored in the intelligence hewas receiving. That it was unexpected and astonishing was evident fromhis air of perplexity and from the emotion which quite unconsciouslyfound relief in his constant ejaculation, _"Most extraordinary! Mostextraordinary!"_

  Finally, he folded up the epistle, threw a shilling on the table for hisentertainment, and with more speed than was usual, took the road to thewest of Broadway. He had been remarkable in days past for his erectcarriage, but he walked now with his head bent and his eyes fixed on theground. There was so much that he did not want to see, though he wasnaturally the most curious and observant of mortals. Fifteen minutes'walk brought him to the river side, and anon to a large house separatedfrom his own by a meadow. There were horses tied to the fence and horsestethered in the garden; and in a summer-house under a huge linden tree,a party of soldiers drinking and playing dominoes. The front door waspartly open, and a piece of faded red ribbon was nailed on its lintel.Semple knocked loudly with his walking-stick, and immediately a stout,rosy woman came toward him, wiping her hands on a clean towel as she didso.

  "Well, then, Elder!" she cried, "you are a good sight! What is thematter, that you never come once to see us, this long time?"

  "I come now to bring you good news Joanna--Madame, I should say."

  "No, no! I make not so much ceremony. When you say 'Joanna' I think ofthe good days, before everybody was unfriends with each other."

  "Well, then, Joanna, your husband is back again; as he says, safe andsound, and I promised him to let you know as I passed."

  "But come in once, Elder--come in!"

  "Some day--some day soon. I am in haste at this time--and you have muchcompany, I see." He spoke with evident disapproval, and Joanna was atonce on the defensive.

  "I know not how to alter that. A good wife must do some little thingthese hard times; for what is to come after them, who knows--and thereare many boys and girls--but I am not discontented; I like to look atthe bright side, and that is right, is it not?"

  Semple had already turned away, and he only struck his cane on theflagged walk in answer. For while Joanna was speaking he had casuallynoticed the fluttering red ribbon above her head; and it had broughtfrom the past a memory, unbidden and unexpected, which filled his eyeswith the thin, cold tears of age, and made his heart tremble with a fearhe would not allow himself to entertain.

  He was so troubled that he had to consciously gather his forces togetherbefore he entered his own dwelling. It, at least, kept visible state andorder; the garden, perhaps, showed less variety and wealth of flowers;but the quiet dignity of its handsomely furnished rooms was intact. Intheir usual parlor, which was at the back of the house, he found hiswife. "You are late to-day, Alexander," she said pleasantly; "I was justwaiting till I heard your footstep. Now I can make the tea."

  "I'll be glad o' a cup, Janet. I'm fairly tired, my dearie."

  "What kept you so far ahint your ordinar time? I thought it long waitingfor you."

  "Twa or three things kept me, that I am not accountable for. I was onthe way hame, when Batavius De Vries spoke to me."

  "He's back again, is he? Few words would do between you and him."

  "He brought me a letter from our lad in Boston; and I thought I would gointo the King's Arms and read it."

  "You might have come hame."

  "I might; but I thought if there was any bad news folded in the paper, Iwould just leave it outside our hame."

  "There is naething wrang, then?"

  "It is an astonishment--the lad has sold all he had and gone toScotland. When he can find a small estate that suits him, he thinks o'buying it, and becoming 'Semple o' that Ilk.' Alexander aye had ahankering after land."

  "He has the siller, I suppose; there is no land given awa in Scotland."

  "Alexander wasn't born yesterday. He has been sending siller to Englandever since the first whisper o' these troubles. Ten years ago, he toldme the Stamp Act riots spelt Revolution and maybe Independence; and thatin such case the best we could hope for would be a dozen or mair states,each with its ain rights and privileges and government; and a constantwar between them. He is a far-seeing lad, is Alexander."

  "I think little o' his far sight. There are others who see further andclearer: petty states and constant war! Na, na! _It's not so written."_

  "Perhaps he is right, Janet."

  "Perhaps is a wide word, Alexander. Perhaps he is wrang. Has he sailedyet? And pray, what is to become of the little Maria?"

  "He sailed a week since--and Maria is coming to us."

  "Coming to us! And what will we do wi' the lassie?"

  "We'll just hae to love and comfort her. In a way she has neitherfather nor mother--the one being in the grave and the other beyond seas.She may be a pleasure to our auld age; when she was here last she was abonnie, lovesome little creature."

  "That is mair than eight years ago, and she was eight years old then;she'll be sixteen and a half, or, perhaps, nearer seventeen now--you kenweel what to expect from lassies o' that indiscreet age; or, if youdon't, you ought to."

  "I know she is our ain grandbairn and that we be to give her love andall that love calls for. She was the very image o' yoursel' Janet, andher father was much set up o'er the extraordinar likeness."

  "I thought sh
e favored you, Alexander."

  "A little--a little, perhaps--but not enough to spoil her. If she haskept the Gordon beauty, she will be a' the mair welcome to me. I haveaye had a strong prejudice in its favor;" and he leaned forward and tookMadame's small brown hand, and then there was a look and a smile betweenthe old lovers that made all words impotent and unnecessary.

  Such pauses are embarrassing; the lealest hearts must come back quicklyto ordinary life, and as the Elder passed his cup for more tea, Madameasked: "What way is the lassie coming? By land or water?"

  "She is coming by land, with John Bradley and his daughter."

  "How's that?"

  "Madame Charlton's school had to be closed, and Agnes Bradley was one ofthe scholars. Her father has gone to Boston to bring her hame, andMaria being her friend and schoolmate, Bradley promised Alexander tosee her safe in our home and care. Doubtless, he is well able to keephis word. If the Governor and the Commander-in-Chief can do ought tomak' travel safe, John Bradley will hae their assistance; but I'm vexedto be put under an obligation to him. I would rather have sent Neil, oreven gane mysel'."

  "What ails you at John Bradley? He wears the red ribbon on his breast,and it blaws o'er his shop door, and he is thick as thack with a' thedignities--civil and military."

  "I don't like him, and I don't like his daughter being friends with mygranddaughter."

  "He serves our turn now, and once is nae custom."

  "Let alone the fact that girls' friendships are naething but fine wordsand sugar candy. I shall put a stop to this one at the very outset."

  "You'll do what, gudeman?"

  "Put my commands on Maria. I shall tell her that beyond yea and nay, anda fine day, or the like o' that, she is to have no intercourse wi' JohnBradley's daughter."

  "You'll have revolution inside the house, as weel as outside. Let thegirls alane. Some young men will come between them and do your businessfor you. You have managed your lads pretty well--wi' my help--but twoschoolgirls in love wi' one anither! they will be aboon your thumb--aneo' them may keep you busy."

  "I shall lay my commands on Maria."

  "And if Maria tak's after the Gordons, she'll be far mair ready to givecommands than to tak' them. Let be till she gets here. When did sheleave Boston?"

  "Mair than a week ago, but Sunday intromits, and Bradley, being whatthey call a local preacher would hae to exploit his new sermon and holda class meeting or a love feast; forbye, he wouldna neglect ony bit o'business that came his way on the road. I shouldn't wonder if they wereat Stamford last Sunday, and if so, they would be maist likely at EastChester to-night. They might be here to-morrow. I'll ask Neil to ride asfar as the Halfway House; he will either find, or hear tell o' themthere."

  "What for should Neil tak' that trouble? You ken, as weel as I do, thatif Bradley promised Maria's father to deliver her into your hand, atyour ain house, he would do no other way. Say you were from hame, hewould just keep the lassie till he could keep his promise. He is a veryPharisee anent such sma' matters. If you have finished your tea,gudeman, I will get the dishes put by."

  They both rose at these words, Madame pulled a bell rope made of a bandof embroidery, and a girl brought her a basin of hot water and two cleantowels. Semple lit his long, clay pipe and went into the garden to seehow the early peas were coming on, and to meditate on the events the dayhad brought to him. Madame also had her meditations, as she carefullywashed the beautiful Derby china, and the two or three Apostleteaspoons, and put them away in the glass cupboard that was raised inone corner of the room. Her thoughts were complex, woven of love andhope and fear and regret. The advent of her granddaughter was not anunmixed delight; she was past sixty, not in perfect health, and shefeared the care and guiding of a girl of scarce seventeen years old.

  "Just the maist unreasonable time of any woman's life," she sighed. "Atthat age, they are sure they know a' things, and can judge a' things;and to doubt it is rank tyranny, and they are in a blaze at a word, forthey have every feeling at fever heat. A body might as well try toreason wi' a baby or a bull, for they'll either cry or rage, till yougive in to them. However, Maria has a deal o' Gordon in her, and theyare sensible bodies--in the main. I'll even do as the auld song advises:

  "Bide me yet, and bide me yet, For I know not what will betide me yet."

  When the room was in order, she threw a shawl round her and went to herhusband. "I hae come to bring you inside, Elder," she said, "the nightair is chilly and damp yet, and you arena growing younger."

  "I walked down as far as the river bank, Janet," he answered, "and I seethe boat is rocking at her pier. Neil should look after her."

  "Neil is looking after another kind of a boat at present. I hope he willhave as much sense as the rats, and leave a sinking ship in good time tosave himsel'."

  "Janet, you should be feared to say such like words! They are fairlywicked--and they gie me a sair heart."

  "Oh, forgive me, Alexander! My thoughts will fly to my lips. I forget! Iforget! I hae a sair heart, too"--and they went silently into the housewith this shadow between them until Janet said:

  "Let me help you off wi' your coat, dearie. Your soft, warm wrap is herewaiting for you," and against her gentle words and touch he had noarmor. His offense melted away, he let her help him to remove his heavysatin-lined coat, with its long stiffened skirts, and fold round hisspare form the damasse wrap with its warm lining of flannel. Then, witha sigh of relief he sat down, loosened his neckband, handed Madame hislaces, and called for a fresh pipe.

  In the meantime Madame hung the coat carefully over a chair, and inflecking off a little dust from its richly trimmed lapel, she tossedaside with an unconscious contempt, the bit of scarlet ribbon at thebuttonhole. "You are requiring a new ribbon, Alexander," she said. "Ifyou must wear your colors on your auld breast, I would, at least, haethem fresh."

  He either ignored, or did not choose to notice the spirit of her words;he took them at their face value, and answered: "You are right, Janet.I'll buy a half yard in the morning. I tell you, that one bit o' rusty,draggled red ribbon gave me a heart-ache this afternoon."

  Madame did not make the expected inquiry, and after a glance into herface he continued: "It was at the Van Heemskirk's house. I was talkingto Joanna, and I saw it o'er the door, and remembered the night myfriend Joris nailed up the blue ribbon which Batavius has taken down. Icould see him standing there, with his large face smiling and shining,and his great arms reaching upward, and I could hear the stroke o' thehammer that seemed to keep time to his words: '_Alexander myn jougen!_'he said, 'for Freedom the color is always blue. Over my house door letit blow; yes, then, over my grave also, if God's will it be.' And Ianswered him, 'you are a fool, Joris, and you know not what you aresaying or doing, and God help you when you do come to your senses.' Thenhe turned round with the hammer in his hand and looked at me--I shallnever forget that look--and said 'a little piece of blue ribbon,Alexander, but for a man's life and liberty it stands, for dead alreadyis that man who is not free.' Then he took me into the garden, and as wewalked he could talk of naething else, 'men do not need in their coffinsto lie stark,' he said, 'they may without that, be dead; walking aboutthis city are many dead men.'"

  "Joris Van Heemskirk is a good man. Wherever he is, I ken well, he isGod's man," said Janet, "doing his duty simply and cheerfully."

  "As he sees duty, Janet; I am sure o' that. And as he talked he kepttouching the ribbon in his waistcoat, as if it was a sacred thing, andwhen I said something o' the kind, he answered me out o' the Holy Book,and bid me notice God himself had chosen blue and told Israel to wear iton the fringes o' their garments as a reminder o' their deliverance byHim. Then I couldna help speaking o' the Scotch Covenanters wearing theblue ribbon, and he followed wi' the Dutch Protestors, and I was ableto cap the noble army wi' the English Puritans fighting under Cromwellfor civil and religious liberty."

  "And gudeman!" cried Janet, all in a tremble of enthusiasm, "GeneralWashington is at this ver
y time wearing a broad blue ribbon across hisbreast;" and there was such a light in her eyes, and such pride in hervoice, the Elder could not say the words that were on his tongue; hemagnanimously passed by her remark and returned to his friend, Joris VanHeemskirk. "Blue or red," he continued, "we had a wonderfu' hour, andwhen we came to part that night we had no need to take each other'shands; we had been walking hand-in-hand together like twa laddies, andwe did not know it."

  "You'll have many a happy day with your friend yet, gudeman; Joris VanHeemskirk will come hame again."

  "He will hae a sair heart when he sees his hame, specially his garden."

  "He will hae something in his heart to salve all losses and all wrongs;but I wonder Joanna doesna take better care o' her father's place."

  "She canna work miracles. I thought when I got her there as tenant o'the King, she would keep a' things as they were left; but Batavius hassix or eight soldiers boarding there--low fellows, non-commissionedofficers and the like o' them--and the beautiful house is naething butbarricks in their sight; and as for the garden, what do they care forboxwood and roses? They dinna see a thing beyond their victuals, andliquor, and the cards and dominoes in their hands. Joanna has mair thanshe can manage."

  "Didn't Batavius sell his house on the East river?"

  "Of course he did--to the Government--made a good thing of it; then hegot into his father-in-law's house as a tenant of the Government. Idon't think he ever intends to move out of it. When the war is over hewill buy it for a trifle, as confiscated property."

  "He'll do naething o' the kind! He'll never, never, never buy it. Youmay tak' my solemn word for that, Alexander Semple."

  "How do you ken so much, Janet?"

  "The things we ken best, are the things we were never told. I will notdie till I have seen Joris Van Heemskirk smoking his pipe with you onhis ain hearth, and in his ain summer-house. He can paint some newmottoes o'er it then."

  She was on the verge of crying, but she spoke with an irresistiblefaith, and in spite of his stubborn loyalty to King George, Semple couldnot put away the conviction that his wife's words were true. They hadall the force of an intuition. He felt that the conversation could notbe continued with Joris Van Heemskirk as its subject, and he said, "Iwonder what is keeping Neil? He told me he would be hame earlyto-night."

  "Then you saw him to-day?"

  "He was in the King's Arms, when I went there to read my letter--he andGovernor Robertson--and I had a few words wi' the Governor anent Dr.Rogers and the reopening of our kirk."

  "You did well and right to speak to them. It is a sin and a shame in aChristian country to be kept out o' Sabbath ordinances."

  "He told me we had the Church o' England to go to."

  "Aye; and we hae the King o' England to serve."

  "Here comes Neil, and I am glad o' it. Somehow, he makes things mairbearable."

  The young man entered with a grave cheerfulness; he bowed to his father,kissed his mother, and then drew a chair to the cold hearth. In a fewminutes he rang the bell, and when it was answered, bid the negro bringhot coals and kindle the fire.

  "Neil, my dear lad," said the Elder, "are you remembering that wood isnearly ungetable--ten pounds or mair a cord? I hae but little left. I'mfeared it won't see the war out."

  "If wood is getable at any price, I am not willing to see mother and youshivering. Burn your wood as you need it, and trust for the future."

  "I hae told your father the same thing often, Neil; careful, of course,we must be, but sparing is not caring. There was once a wife who alwaystook what she wanted, and she always had enough." The fire blazedmerrily, and Neil smiled, and the Elder stretched out his thin legs tothe heat, and the whole feeling of the room was changed. Then Madamesaid:

  "Neil, your brother Alexander has gane to Scotland."

  "I expected him to take that step."

  "And he is sending little Maria to us, until he gets a home for her."

  "I should not think she will be much in the way, mother. She is only achild."

  "She is nearly seventeen years old. She won't be much in my way; it isyou that will hae to take her out--to military balls and the like."

  "Nonsense! I can't have a child trailing after me in such places."

  "Vera likely you will trail after her. You will be better doing thatthan after some o' the ladies o' Clinton's court."

  "I can tell you, Neil," said Neil's father, "that it is a vera pleasantsensation, to hae a bonnie lassie on your arm wha is, in a manner, yourain. I ken naething in the world that gives a man such a superiorfeeling."

  Neil looked at the speaker with a curious admiration. He could not helpenvying the old man who had yet an enthusiasm about lovely women.

  "I fancy, sir," he answered, "that the women of your youth were asuperior creation to those of the present day. I cannot imagine myselfwith any woman whose society would give me that sensation."

  "Women are always the same, Neil--yesterday, to-day, and forever. Whatthey are now, they were in Abraham's time, and they will be when timeshall be nae langer. Is not that so, mother?"

  "Maybe; but you'll tak' notice, they hae suited a' kinds o' men, in a'countries and in a' ages. I dare say our little Maria will hae herlovers as well as the lave o' them, and her uncle Neil will be to keepan eye on them. But I'm weary and sleepy, and if you men are going totalk the fire out I'll awa' to my room and my bed."

  "I have something to say to father," answered Neil, "about theGovernment, and so----"

  "Oh, the Government!" cried Madame, as she stood with her lighted candlein her hand at the open door; "dinna call it a government, Neil; call ita blunderment, or a plunderment, if you like, but the other name is outo' all befitting."

  "Mother, wait a moment," said Neil. "You were saying that Maria wouldwant to be taken to dances; I got an invitation to-day. What do you sayto this for an introduction?" As he spoke he took out of his pocket agilt-edged note tied with transverse bands of gold braid and narrow redribbon. Madame watched him impatiently as he carefully and deliberatelyuntied the bows, and his air of reverential regard put her in a littletemper.

  "Cut the strings and be done wi' it, Neil," she said crossly. "There isnae invite in the world worth such a to-do as you are making. And dinnaforget, my lad, that you once nearly threw your life awa' for a bit o'orange ribbon! Maybe the red is just as dangerous."

  Then Neil took the red ribbon between his finger and thumb, and droppingit into the fire looked at his mother with the denial in his face. "Itis from Mrs. Percival," he said; and she nodded her understanding, butcould not help giving him a last word ere she closed the door:

  "If you hae a fancy for ribbons, Neil, tak' my advice, and get a blueone; a' the good men in the country are wearing blue."