"Did you see banners in the
clouds, and mistake Miss Peyton's Aeolian harp for rebellious music?"
"Nay, Henry," rejoined the maid, looking at him affectionately, "much as
I love my own country, the approach of her troops just now would give me
great pain."
The brother made no reply; but returning the fondness expressed in her
eye by a look of fraternal tenderness, he gently pressed her hand in
silence; when Caesar, who had participated largely in the anxiety of the
family, and who had risen with the dawn, and kept a vigilant watch on
the surrounding objects, as he stood gazing from one of the windows,
exclaimed with a face that approached to something like the hues of a
white man,--
"Run--Massa Harry--run--if he love old Caesar, run--here come a rebel
horse."
"Run!" repeated the British officer, gathering himself up in military
pride. "No, Mr. Caesar, running is not my trade." While speaking, he
walked deliberately to the window, where the family were already
collected in the greatest consternation.
At the distance of more than a mile, about fifty dragoons were to be
seen, winding down one of the lateral entrances of the valley. In
advance, with an officer, was a man attired in the dress of a
countryman, who pointed in the direction of the cottage.
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