"
"Rest easy," cried Dunwoodie, holding her to his bosom for a moment,
"rest easy, for Henry is safe."
He waited not to explain, but darting from the room, he left the family
in amazement. They continued in silent wonder until they heard the feet
of his charger, as he dashed from the door with the speed of an arrow.
A long time was spent after this abrupt departure of the youth, by the
anxious friends he had left, in discussing the probability of his
success. The confidence of his manner had, however, communicated to his
auditors something of his own spirit. Each felt that the prospects of
Henry were again brightening, and with their reviving hopes they
experienced a renewal of spirits, which in all but Henry himself
amounted to pleasure; with him, indeed, his state was too awful to admit
of trifling, and for a few hours he was condemned to feel how much more
intolerable was suspense than even the certainty of calamity. Not so
with Frances. She, with all the reliance of affection, reposed in
security on the assurance of Dunwoodie, without harassing herself with
doubts that she possessed not the means of satisfying; but believing her
lover able to accomplish everything that man could do, and retaining a
vivid recollection of the manner and benevolent appearance of Harper,
she abandoned herself to all the felicity of renovated hope.
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