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a necdy artist, who eats when his pencil can purchase food, and, when it cannot, who starves. Thou wilt roll in no stately chariot over the paths of shady parks. Thou must trudge it afoot, my girl, by thy husband's side. Hast thought of these things, Kate ?"

"Ay, Dudley, but they only strengthen my love for thee, and increase my desire to sooth thy cares and cheer thy gloom."

"If I marry thee, we must leave England for ever. We must cross the broad seas. The wilds of America must

receive us."

"And what matters the name of any clime, where I reside with thee?"

"Kate, my noble, my pure, my perfect," again exclaimed Morton, in a tone of the deepest feeling, "may these kisses shield thee from harm. Be magic in their warm breath. Aid her, ye angels; guard her ye wandering sprits of the air. If she be not true, then farewell woman! By heaven I swear-"

But from an attitude of lofty and dignified grace and grandeur, the youth again appeared to recollect himself, and, with the eyes of his gentle Kate melting away his soul, once more resumed his usual demeanour.

was marked with something charming and superior. As he took the hand of the astonished Kate, Morton stepped back, with an air of constraint, and, with arms folded on his bosom, lips compressed closely together, face somewhat pale, and eyes, that, after stealing one keen look upon the lovely countenance of Katrina, sought the ground with a composure apparently embarrassed and painful. As for the artless and inexperienced girl, she was bewildered with the rapid alternations of the little drama in which she sustained so prominent a part, and scarcely knew what to think, or how to act.

"Exquisite creature!" cried the stranger, boldly taking her hand, and respectfully, but firmly, raising it to his lips.

"Dudley!" exclaimed Kate.

But the youth, in his cold and statuelike attitude, remained motionless and untouched, as if he were indeed marble.

"Nay, angel of light, and lovely beyond compare," said the stranger, "let your confidence in yon young man pass away."

She looked again in wonder at her lover. He was yet stirless and silent. "Dudley Morton loves you not," con

"Kate, this friend-you must allow tinued the new-comer. "Nay, he loves

me to procure"

"As you will."

"Nay, I have procured one."
"If you are pleased, so am I.”
"Shall I present you?"

"When ?"

"Even now." "What, here ?" "Even so." And Morton inhaled a long breath, like one forcibly mastering some powerful agitation.

"What is it you mean?" asked Kate, smiling; "as I live, you are as mysterious as an astrologer. If your friend, and our trusty go-between, is here concealed among the roses, bring her forth, and make us acquainted."

"But it is no 'her,'" cried Morton. "What, a man, Dudley?"

66

Ay, and a true one," cried a strange voice, "who, in the sweet pursuit of beauty, breaks through the formalities of custom, and solicits his pardon here."

The intruder was neither remarkable for youth nor beauty. He was simply arrayed in a dress befitting one of a middling rank; his face rather homely than otherwise; but his air was confidant and graceful, his voice well modulated, low, and tender, and his language, even in the few words he had already spoken,

another. This night he will hasten from you to her arms.

"Slanderer! villain!" exclaimed the girl, with a sudden burst of indignation. "Dudley, come to this knave, and strike him dead at my feet."

"Kate,” replied Morton, without unfolding his arms, or in any way stirring from the wall against which he leaned, "what he tells you is true. I do love another. I have wantonly trifled with your affections. He has long known, and ever loved you; give him your heart, fair girl. He only can make you happy."

"I am in a dream," muttered Kate, with pale face and trembling lips, striving in vain to disengage her hand from that of her kneeling and audacious adorer.

"No dream, my beauteous madonna !" exclaimed the stranger, smiling, and not in the least losing the singular serenity of his manner. "His words are true, even as he himself tells you. He is beneath your love. I, oh, rarest of earth's sunny daughters, will prove more faithful." And with a gesture of familiarity, he laid his hand upon her shoulder, as if to draw her to his breast.

But the affrighted girl was in no mind to bear such an insult. With a

shriek that pierced the heavens, she started away, and would have fled like the wild forest-doe, had not her uncere. monious admirer held her with a firm grasp. At this moment Anna, alarmed by the voice of her beloved child, whom she believed all this while ruminating in the garden upon the advice she had given her, darted into the scene of action. Her surprise may be imagined at the bold group which there met her gaze. Kate in the iron grasp of a licentious stranger, and, at the distance of a few feet, Dudley Morton, composedly standing with folded arms, and face halfturned away, making no effort to relieve from insult the object of his sworn love. Her astonishmeht was still farther heightened by the perfect nonchalance with which both the bold intruders disregarded her presence, neither betraying the least alarm or emotion upon being discovered in so inexcusable a dilemma, nor even exhibiting any intention of breaking off their insolent design. Kate's eyes flashing fire, her now Aushed and indignant features alone seemed to rescue the whole picture from the appearance of some fantastic illusion. The good Anna, after twice rubbing her eyes, began also to consider herself in a dream. At length the tremulous voice of Kate broke the silence.

"If you be robbers, who have thus broken in upon the solitude of two unprotected females, take these jewels and all the coin you find, and spare us, we entreat, further fright. If not robbers, but merely gentlemen, amusing yourselves by exciting the blushes and terrors of those too weak to punish you, we beseech you trespass no longer on our time, but seek your noble and knightly sports in some other quarter, and leave us to our grief and shame."

"We trust, my fair dame," replied the unknown," to somewhat reduce the keen anger of that tongue, which shall hereafter syllable, or we mistake us much, less angry thoughts."

"Abandoned wretch!" cried Anna, and the stranger loosening the hand of the weeping Kate, turned with a cool smile to hear the words which, till now, the very extremity of rage had prevented her from uttering, "Oh for some gentleman's sword to protect us from these ruffians!"

"Well done," muttered the object of her wrath; "if the young chicken be so formidable, we may well expect no better from the old hen. Lovelace!" he made a gesture of command, bid

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these fair ladies adieu for the present, and let us seek some more auspicious moment for a next visit. Come again I will, and no tears shall wet yonder lovely lids, but what these repentant lips shall kiss away."

"Sir," cried Anna, resuming her an< ger at this cool impertinence, "you are a coward and villain. Nature, that made you a knave, hath written your name upon your brow. You may be rich, you may be great; but, high or low, it needs only one glance upon your bestial face to detect a low mind and a vulgar soul. By what infatuation does one so ugly as thou count on the smile of any woman with eyes ?"

The stranger reddened to the very temples, at this keen and fierce rebuke, as unexpected as it seemed successful. He regarded the speaker with a sardonic smile, and a low "we shall recollect you, madam."

Kate, with streaming eyes, yet elevated figure, stepped loftily forward as if to confirm the scorn of her friend, when Morton, apparently unable longer to maintain his calmness, stealing quickly round to her ear, whispered, in a voice of the deepest agitation, "Silence, on your life! It is his majesty. It is THE KING!"

In a gorgeously furnished apartment of the royal palace, the heartless and ungrateful young monarch stood coldly turned away from a kneeling supplicant. It was Morton, no longer arrayed in the modest garment of a needy artist, but glittering in the gay dress of a proud cavalier.

"I protest to your grace," cried the kneeling youth," that no slave ever served his master with so true and zealous a heart as I have toiled for your majesty. I have exhausted argument and entreaty. I have sworn myself forsworn; I have called every oath to my aid that I acted but as your friend, and that my own soul ever has been, and is irrevocably another's. Vainly I have striven. She is indignant, outraged and invincible. The splendours of a throne have no more dazzle for her heavenly mind than the humblest flower-wreathed cot in England. Against your majesty she pours out such fiery scorn, such scorching contempt, as nought but my own eyes could convince me had ever lurked in the soft bosom of such a dove! I fear your grace has at length found that fabled creature-a woman enthroned in her own virtue, infinitely above the reach of avarice, ambition, or vanity."

"Colonel Lovelace," said the sovereign, with a quiet sneer, "has rendered himself too attractive in the eyes of beauty. Henceforth, I shall choose more appropriate messengers. Were you, my lord, as successful in enterprises of war as in those of love, your powers would claim our more cordial approbation."

"My sovereign," cried the soldier, stung to the quick by this allusion to a certain ill-fated attempt before the restoration, and reddening to the top of his ample brow; "I can but disclaim the suspicions which your majesty has been pleased to insinuate, and hope that your majesty will no longer retain in your service one whom you cannot either love or trust."

"You are the master, my lord, of your own actions," said the king. "You may come and go without hindrance from me. It was your own offer to present to me this obstinate Dutch wench, who, by Our Lady, might deem her dull blood honoured by a touch of our hand. As for the insolent dame, by heaven, she shall feel our anger. For you, sir, should you fancy other climes more attractive than our foggy island-a threat which we understand has more than once fallen from your lips, you can seek them at your earliest leisure. The king of England can yet govern his people, and peradventure win the fealty of loyal men, and even the favours of lovely women, though his army and court be unenriched with the presence of Colonel Lovelace."

The youth, lofty as twenty kings, fire gleaming from his dark, large eyes, and crimsoning his manly cheek, his heart bursting with grief, rage, shame, apprehension and smothered love, and the scorching insult of his master felt burningly through all, unbelted the sword from his thigh, and laid it in silence on the table. At length, with a voice tremulous with deep, yet mastered passion, he found calmness to say:

"I understand your grace. The sword which has leaped forth gladly to the light in your sacred cause, with the blood of your enemies scarce wiped from its blade, lies before you, masterless and idle."

Better thus," said Charles, coldly, "than by the side of - -"He paused; and the youth's heart felt like ice in his bosom.

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Hollander, I will have no tampering, no plotting with her. Aspire not to her love. Seek not even her presence. We will ourself undertake the task of melting her obduracy. Mark me, sir! Meet her not. Look not on her-speak not -nay, dream not of her, or," and he assumed a sterner air, and made a motion with his finger across his throat -"that high head of yours my lord, shall be humbled, as those of your betters have been before you. Enough sir. Begone! we would be alone."

The youth bowed so low that his features were hidden from his master's gaze, and withdrew, But the veins of Percy never boiled with hotter blood.

"Not dream of her?" echoed the panting lover. "By earth-and by heaven! Is it for this I have been a tool, a slave, a panderer? Accursed be the king. Let lightning strike him! Ever be his false breast the throne of fear and misery. Be tempests around his head, and volcanos beneath his feet. May treachery attend his every step, and torture mark his every hour. Let his fame rest only on his nation's hatred, and, long ere he run the natural circle of his life, may the thirsty blade of some midnight assassin, no baser-no more cruel than himself-drink the foul blood of his envenomed heart, and be the deed hailed and sanctified with the praises of all mankind !"

He paused, and as his high choler subsided, tears, scalding tears, leaped to his eyes and fell upon the turf.

"Kate too, my gentle, my beautiful, my adored. Villain that I am! What has this Cyprian court made of me! There was a time when I too was pure. Oh, my past boyhood! Had I met thee, celestial being, but a few years ago, would I have lent myself to the hellish purpose of luring such an angel into the grasp of the devil! Curse him! Curse him! I will see her. Let my head roll in the dust! Let it! Is it for me to tremble now? Some hope remains. I may repent, confess, explain, and sue for pardon. She will spurn me. Right! she should do so, Yet I can aid her escape, reveal her danger, foil the plans of this royal Lucifer, and oh! lost though I be to myself, a pitying God may make me the instrument of saving this bright innocence, of crushing this serpent's head-of guarding the paradise of my exquisite Kate, from the wiles of Satan, even though I be for ever banished from its Elysian groves. Yes, I will meet her."

Wrapping, therefore, around him the

folds of a cloak, which he had hastily seized ere he rushed forth upon his mad design, he proceeded, scarcely breathing for the tumultuous beating of his heart, to the abode of Katrina. He entered. The very hand of death seemed to strike him as he proceeded. The well-known apartments were abandoned. A peasant rudely informed him that the family had disappeared, no one knew whither. Not a letter, not a note, not a word of parting. The flowers she cultivated, the vines she nursed and loved, still bloomed upon the garden wall. But Kate was gone. Whither had she disappeared? Had she fled? Had she perished? The king! At this dreadful thought, rendered more fiendishly frightful by his perfect knowledge of his cruel and licentious master, the distracted and guilty youth felt his brain reel, and with a ghastly look at the spot where last he had seen her tearful eyes directed reproachfully towards him, he fell senseless upon the ground.

It was several years after the incidents above related, in the month of August 1664, that three armed vessels, hoisting the flag of England, floated slowly into the harbour of New York, then in possession of the Dutch. Only fifty years had rolled away since Hudson had, for the first time, entered the bay, and explored the river. Since that period, the Dutch had once lost and regained possession of this beautiful country. which they now quietly enjoyed under a grant made by the States' General. Van Twiller, Keift, and Stuyvesant-names (alas! for their sterling virtues!) now consecrated only to the lovers of humour and hearty laughter, had reigned in turn, and the last now guided the affairs of that 'peaceful and lovely settlement-a tranquil village-a rural retreat, sheltered from the earthquakes of the European world. To this little abode, the arm of tyranny seemed scarcely able to reach; and here had fled, from priestly and kingly wrath, many that were noble, brave, and lovely, cheerfully abandoning the great world, for domestic happiness and principle, safety and liberty. The peaceful citizens, who scarcely knew the meaning of the three warlike intruders, were soon informed, that Charles the Second, the selfish and dastardly monarch of Great Britain, had sent these messengers of death, to deprive of liberty even the happy and harmless inhabitants of this remote corner of the globe. The town surrendered, and New Amsterdam from

that time assumed the name of New York. Colonel Nichols, the commander of the expedition, having satisfactorily arranged the preliminaries of the treaty, landed with a party of men, and one confidential officer as a companion. They were respectfully quartered in one of the best mansions of the town, and the hospitable family, however coolly disposed to regard the instruments of their unjustifiable subjugation, still extended to the two distinguished officers every mark of respect and attention. Colonel Nichols, absorbed in the importance of his responsibilities, yielded himself up to his official cares and duties, while his companion, a noble and manly youth, whose prepossessing appearance soon won him a welcome, was left at leisure to amuse himself by examining the strange country, to him so contrasted with the luxurious elegance of London. The stranger was of a deportment sad and gentle; an air of melancholy marked him for one thoughtful beyond his years. The opulent citizen of whose hospitality he partook, had awarded to him a large room, leading into a parlour, and thence into a small but well-stocked library: and here he was wont to spend his of hours, during the week of his sojourn, when fatigued from his long rambles. One day, seated in this secluded retreat, the master of the dwelling, with a respectful knock, applied for admission, and addressed his guest:

"You must excuse me, sir, I am a plain man and an old man, but I mean well; I perceive that you are of a solitary turn of mind, and I have therefore thought you most preferred being left to yourself-otherwise I should have oftener sought your company."

"Indeed, my kind friend," replied the soldier, "I highly appreciate the politeness and delicacy of your motive, and perhaps I have been selfish and rude in my retirement; in truth, I have scarcely been presented to your family."

"Why, no sir-no; and that was my business here. My wife, you must know, has a wedding here to night, and nothing will serve but you must be invited. I told her, the gentleman doubtless cares nothing about us-and our little hopes and fears, and weddings, and all that. How should you, sira great traveller, and they say also, a great lord?"

"You do me injustice, my kind sir. I will, with pleasure, attend the festival,

and the happy pair will possess no sincerer well-wisher than myself. Your daughter, I presume?"

"Yes, sir-no, sir-that is-not exactly. We love her like a daughter, sir; but she is only an adopted one-a kind of ward, your lordship."

"Well, in either case, present my best congratulations. I will attend with pleasure."

"Ah, I hear her voice-and there is my son, the bridegroom, too. He is coming in. My son, your lordship."

The usual obeisances were paid. The garrulous old father withdrew. The bridegroom conversed a few moments, with such calm self-possession, as implied a peaceful and happy mind. He was a plain, but fine-looking youth, evidently without much refinement of personal manners; but still, about him there was something which commanded respect. His eye was bold and unflinching, and his manner that of one who feared nothing but doing wrong. As he withdrew, a female voice of musical sweetness, halfmurmuring a low air, caught the ear of the stranger with magical effect. He turned quickly. It was repeated. He ceased to breathe, and a paleness, as if he were about to swoon, crossed his features; but he remained firm and erect. The door opened. A lovely form darted into the room-a face of sweetness never to be mistaken or forgotten. She started -a glow of joyous surprise flushed the stranger's cheeks, as he exclaimed, "Katrine!"

And those once impassed lovers, whose arms had been interwreathed, whose lips had met, who had felt the beatings of each other's hear, stood now distant, separated, silent. Seas-years had been between them.

At length Lovelace, trembling with a feeling, half agony, half rapture, approached and knelt.

"Morton," cried his once fond mistress, but with a calmness that rung the knell of his hopes, "rise-you kneel to the wife of another."

He clasped his hands. "Kate, I still love you. I can explain all. Years of repentance-”

“Sir,” said the girl haughtily, and, as she spoke, every vestige of embarrassment disappeared, "mistake me not again. Kneel not, nor assume the language of a lover. I am this day to become the bride of another. He and liis virtuous father know my past life, even to that frightful peril in which you involved me. Beware, sir, lest they

recognize in you the profligate whom I have taught them to hate."

I confess I tremble-I repent," murmured the abashed libertine.

"Mr. Morton," rejoined she, "if that be your name, let us quietly understand each other. You met in me an inexperienced and idle girl. I loved you." "Dearest Kate!'

"But I loved what I thought you were, not what you are! When your true character was betrayed, that instant love perished, and gave place to indignation and horror. With reflection, every partiality for you has utterly passed away. I know you, with all the virtues you fancy you possess, to be full of vices, the worst the most incurable. No woman can love truly, who loves a libertine. None can continue to love him when the mask is torn off."

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Nay, Kate, you do but mock me," exclaimed the youth, maddened by the contemplation of charms lovelier than ever, this must not be." 66 Unhand me, sir."

"I will account to your guardian and your would-be-husband, Kate. I am rich, great and powerful. I seek no longer your ruin-I will make you my wife. I will plant your brow with diamonds. I am reconciled to my royal master. Beautiful, celestial girl, you shall be mine."

"Never!-even if you call me to the

throne."

"Nay, then, enchantress, one kiss.”

Unaccustomed to restrain the wild impulses of his nature, he clasped her to his bosom, in spite of her screams, when an iron grasp upon his shoulder dragged him violently back, and a rude blow rung upon his forehead. Aghast at the insult, he looked up. The calm face of the sturdy bridegroom was bent sternly on him.

"Insolent knave-coward-villaindraw!" cried the enraged cavalier, losing all presence of mind.

"Certainly," said the other coolly. In an instant their bright blades gleamed in the light, and the clash of a deadly contest rung through the room. Twice the desperate sword of Lovelace passed through the skirt of his opponent. But self-possession at length coped successfully with blind fury. The weapon of the frantic Englishman flew from his convulsive grasp, and its exhausted, breathless, and bleeding master, with one knee on the floor, lay utterly exposed to the death he merited, and had striven arduously to inflict.

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