Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-07-16

the tempest, and entered tie mousse her
first care after placing her infant in his
cradle; was to light candle, and then,
moro reassured, she took the Billie. Tho
Bible was the talisman of our ancestors
1t guarded them from evil, and guided
them to good. Its pages were direc-
ton in every trial. Rebecca read. and
prayed alternately, mingling the idea Of
Edward, his safety and return, with eve-
ry thought and wish, but still he came
not. She had no means Of ascertaining
the lapse of time, except by the length
Of candle consumed, or the stars, as
there was no moon; but she conjectured
it must bo past midnight. Again and
again she went forth and examined with
searching glance around, but nothing
could sho see except the dark forest, in
the distance, and close around her dwell
ling, the black stumps that stood like
sentinels on guard, while nothing was
heard save the soft murmur Of the wa
ter, and at times, low rustlng as the
breeze stirred the leaves Of the chesnut
tree. AT length, as she stood at The
corner Of the house, beneath the shade
Of that tree, looking earnestly towards
the woods, she thought she perceived
something emerge from their shadow.
If she did, it vanished instantly. She
kept her eyes fixed on the spot. A
brigh starlight enabled her to discern
objects quite distinctly, even at dis
tance, especially when her faculties
were reused and stimulated both by
hope and fear. After some time, she
again, and plainly, saw human figure.
1t rose from the ground, looked and
pointed towards her house, and then
again disappeared She recolocted her
light. 1t could bo seen from the win
dow, and had probably att racted the no
tice Of the savages, whom, she could no
longer doubt, were approaching. They
had, as she fancied, waylaid and mur-
dered her husband. They were COM
ing to capture, perhaps murder, her and
her child. What should she do! She
never thought Of attempting to escape
without her babe; but in what direction
should she fly, when perhaps, the In.
dians surrounded the house' There
was one moment Of terrible agony, when
the maneled form Of her husband SEEM
ed before her, and she heard, in idea,
the shrcks OF her infant beneath savage
torture, till her breath failed, and reason
seemed deserting her. But she made
strong effort to recall her wandering SEN
SOS, and then, with her claspcd hands
raised to heaven, she took her resolu-
ton. With a noiseless step she enter
cd her dwelling, extinguished the light,
took her infant in her arms, and again
stole softly forth, creeping along in the
shadow of the house till she reached the
spot from whence she had first seen the
object that alarmed her. Here she
stood perfectly still. Her infant lay on
her bosom in profound sleep, as quiet
and seemingly as breathless as though
his spirit had already departed. She
did not wait long before the same figure
again rose, looked round, and then sank
down as before. The moment it disap-
peared, Rebecca passed swift and softly
as shadow over the space that separa-
ted the house from the chesnut tree
This tree was an uncommon large one,
and there was a separation of the trunk
into two branches, about three feet from
the ground, where Rcbecca thought it
possible she might be concealed. She
gained it, and placed herself in posi-
ton which allowed her to watch the
door Of her dwelling. All was silent for
a long timc-more than an hour, as she
thought. and she began to doubt the re-
ality of what she had seen, imagining
she had been deceived and taken a
stump for human figure, and she was
about to descend from the tree, where
her situation was extremely uncomlorta-
BILE, when suddenly a savage crept by
her between the house and tree. An
other and another followed, and il was
with difficulty that she suppressed her
screams. But she did suppress them,
and the only sign she gave of fear was
to press her infant closer to her bosom.
They reached the door, and sound Of
surprise at finding it open, was uttered
by the first savage, and replied to by the
second, IN the Indian language. After
short consultation they entered, and
Rebecca soon saw a light CLEAN, and
supposed they had kindled it to search
for her. Her pulse beat wildly, yet she
hoped to escape. 1t was not probable
they would search tree so near the
house they would rather suppose she
had fled TO a distance. Presently a
cracking noise was heard in the house,
the light flashed from the window, the
Indians raised their wild yell as they
rushed out and danced around with fran
tic gestures, and Rebecca saw that the
house was on fire.
Still, tho only sign she gave Of fear
was, as she unloosed the handkerchief