The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1842-02-22

was hardly seventeen. And then Redeem posses.
sed advantage that, in the eyes OF young gentie-
man cancels all feminine weaknesses-she was
very beautiful. A lady now displaying similar
churms would for her face, DO entitled to the cpl
lhets Of divine, angelic, Grecian, Madonna, while
the gracefuness Of her figure would be well under
stood by every one, travelled or untravelled,
if but compared with tho Venus do Medci.--
But the primitive language of our excellent ances.
tors conveyed the idea of beauty without all this
waste of words They simply called Rebecca Can
exceedingly comeiy young woman" YetRebecca
felt no pride on this account nor even dreamed Of
gaining the admiration Of any except her hus-
band. There then but little of what we call
social intercourse, meaning balls, parties, &c,
among the people, but there a deep and iervent
and domestic affection. The former has greatly
improved since the period of which am writing
but if we credit The bard, and believe that
"Corrup,on shakes when peril could not part
The love whose deadiest foe is human art" 4
we must not imagine every advantage lis reserved
for our own homes. D.
Rebccca watched the sun ill il had sunk behind
the western hills, and then she watched its beams
tho clouds till the last faint tints had departed
and fixing her eyes steadily upon that part Of the
forest from which she expected to see her husband
her arms, watching in VAIN for his appearance
The room into which she occasionally glanced,
looked so gloomy and dosolate she could not en-.
dure to enter il. Indeed, the evening waved
later, and her fears increased, she sometimes imag-
ined sho strange figures and faces with gleam-
ing eyes, as she had behed in her dream, moving
around the dusky apartment Ashamed of these
Fears and knowing her husband, when he camo,
! 40 h.r far hue
to the evening dews, she brea,hrd PRAYER TO HIM
who stlled The tempest and entered the house.
Her first care after placing her infant in his cradle
was TO light a candle, and then, more assured,
she took her bible. The bible was the iasrnan OF
our ancestors. Ii guarded them from evil, and
guided them to good. Its pages direction
in every difficulty, and it promises n resource in
every trial Rebecca prayed and read alternately,
mingng the idea of Edward, his snfety and return
with every thought and wish but still he came
not. She had no Of ascertaining the lapse
ofume, except by tho length OF the candle consu.
med, the stars, as there was no moon, but she
onectured it might be past midnight. Again and
again she went forth and examined with searching
glance around but nothing could she except the
dark iores. in the distance, and clese around her
dwelling the black stumps that stood like sentnels
! on guard, while nothing heard save the soft
mutmu OF the water, and at times, low rustling
as the breeze OF the chestnut tee. At length az
she stood at the corner of the house, beneath the
shade of that tree, looking earnestly towards tho
woods, she thought she perceived something e.
merge from their shadow. II it did, it vanished
Instantly. She kept her eyes fixed Tho spot
bright starlight enabled her to discern objects
quite distinctly even at distance, especially when
her faculties were aroused and stimulated both by
! hope and fear. After some time she again saw a
human figure 1t from the ground, looked
and pointed towards tho house, and then again
disappeared. Size recollec,ed her light. II could
be seen from her window and had probably attrac.
ted the notice ofthe savases hon. she could no
longer doubt were approaching They had Us shs
fancied way laid and murdered her husband. They
were coming to capture, perhaps murder, her and
her child What should she do? She never thot
OF attempting TO escape without her babe; but in
what direction should she fly, when perhaps the
| Indians surrounded the house? There was one
| moment Of terrible agony, when the mangled form
of her husband seemed before he and sh heard, in
idea the cries of her babe beneath savage tortures
till her breath failed and seemed deserving
her. But she made strong effort to recall her
wandering senses, and then with her eyes and
elapsed hands raised to heaven, she took her reso-
dwelling, exunguished the light took her infant
in her arms, and again stole soitly forth, creeping
along in the shadow of her house, ill she reached
the spot whence she had fist the obj ect tina,
alarmed her. Here she stood Perfectly still. Her
infant lay upon her bosom in profound sleep,
quiet IL seemingly as breathless as though his spir
it had already departed. She did not wait long
before the figure again rose, looked around, and
then sunk down as before. The moment il disap.
peared, Rebecca passed swift and softly as a shad-
ow, over the space that separated the house from
the chesnut tree. The tree was an uncommonly
large one, and there separation from the
trunk into two branches about three feet from tho
ground, where Rebecca thought il possible she
might be concealed. She gained it and placed
herself in a position which allowed her to watch
tho door Of her dwelling.
All was silent for a long time more than hour
she thought, and she began to doubt the reality
of W hat she had seen ima ginning she had been de>