The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-02-22

before the eyes of my readers so vivid reality
of the scenery of that loveliest portion of pictu-
rescue England, in its finest aspect.
1t was not, indeed, quite so late in the season,
that all the changes so beautifully depicted
above had yet occurred, when, late in clear
autumnal evening, Kenric and Edith stood
together in the porch of their new home, gazing
across the tranquil bosom of the little mere,
and down the pastoral valley of the Kent, yet
the face of the picture was close to that described
in the quotations. The trees, in the level
ground and in the lower valleys, had not lost
all their verdure, though the golden, the russell,
and the rudy red, had intermingled largely with
the green; the meadows, by the water edge,
had not changed tint, a shade of their sum
mer glory, but all the hilsides were as they
stand painted by the poetpen of the child OF
Nsture.
The sun was setting far away, to the right
hand, as they gazed down the long dale to the
southwark, behind the mighty tops of Hawks
head and BACKBONE, which lowered against
the gorgeous golden sky, hecked with thou
sand glowing cloudlets, orange and rosy-red,
and glazing crimson, like huge perpendicular
wall of dusky purple; with the long basin of
Winandermere, visible from that elevation over
the lower intervening ridges, lying along their
bases as it seemed, though in truth many miles
distant, a sheet of beaten gold. The lower hills,
to the west of Kentmere, downward to Bowness,
whose chapel window cleaned like fire in the
distance, were shrouded in soft purple haze,
and threw long blue shadows across the rich
vale, broken by the slant golden beams which
streamed through the gaps in their SUBMITS, in
far-reaching pencils of misty light At the same
time, the little lake of Kentmere lay at the feet
of the spectators, still, clear and transparent as
an artificial mirror, giving back counterfeit
presentment of everything around and above it,
only less real than the actual reality; while
toward the precipitous and craggy hills, behind
them and on their left, the westering sun sent
forth such floods of rosy and golden light as
illuminated all their projections and cavities,
bringing them with, all their accidents of crag
or coppice, ivy bush or slvery birch tree, close
to the eye of the beholder, blended with an
intermixtnre of solemn shadows, seen distinctly
through the clear atmosphere
Over this scene the happy couple gazed with
such feelings as none can gaze, but they who
are good and happy. The sleepy hum of the
good mothers wheel came drowsily through the
open doorway; the distant laugh and cry of
the hunters boys, as they were clearing the
kennels and feeding the hounds for the night,
with an occasional bay or whimper of their
impatient charges, rose pleasantly on the night
air Most of the natural sounds and sights had
ceased the songs of the birds were silent, for
the nightingales visit not those valleys of the
west; the bleat of the focks was heard no
more the lowing of the herds had passed home
ward only few late swallows skinned the
bosom of the mere which a leaping trout would
break, now and then, with loud plash, into a
silvery maze of circling dimples and the jar
ring note of the nighthawk, as his swift wing
glanced under the brown shadows of the oak,
in chase of the great evening moths, was heard
in. the cleaning; and the pinions of the grea.
golden eagle hung like shadow, leagues up in
the burning sky. e
Perfect contcntmcntwas the breathing spiri. Of
the calm and gentle scene, with something of
that heavenly peace which induced THE friend
of Isaac Waltonf to apostrophize the Sabbath,
eSweet day, calm, so pure 40 bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky
and perfect were the contentment and peace
which tho adjuncts inspired into the hearts OF
those, who, of late 80 hopeless and suffering,
now looked over the face of the fair earth, and
thence upward to the boundless sky, as who
should say, "Not in one only, but in both of
these, we have our heritage
But while they gazed, the sun sank lower
in the west, the round tops of the vast blue
mountains intercepted his lustrous disk, and
heavy twilight fell, like the shadow of a cloud,
over the valley and the steep faces of the
northeastern hills.
Just at this moment, while the girl was
whispering something about entering the house
and preparing the evening meal she observed
her husbands eyes fixed on the declivity of the
hills above the lake shore, and, following the
direction of his glance, she speedily discovered
dark figure making its way in a crouching
attitude among the stunted shrubs and evident
ly avoiding, or striving to avoid, observation.
Something between a shudder and start
seemed to shake the manly form of Kenric for
an instant and his young wife, perceiving it rs
she chung to his arm, looked up to his face for
explanation.
Something is going wrong up yonder,' said
the verdurer, "some marauder after the roe
deer, l trow. | must up and after him. Give
me my bugle, Edith, my wood knife, and my
gisarme l will take the black alan with me
he lies under the settle, by the hearth. Fetch
them, girl"
And while she went, he stood gazing with
his hawks eye on the lurking figure, though it
was marvellous, in the distance and gloom,
that he could distinguish even the outlines of
the human form. Yet it was evident that he
did distinguish something more than that, for
he smote bis thigh with his hand heavily, as he
muttered, at is he, by st. Edward the Con-
lessor. What new disaster can have brought him
hither?"
The next moment Edith stood beside him,
bearing the weapons, and accompanied by the
great grizzly deer greyhound.
"Kenric," she said, as he was leaving her,
" this is something more than mere marauders.
There is danger!"
I" trust not, GIRL" he answered, kindly;
but if there be, and black Bladder, here, are
men enough to brunt it. But bark you, girl,
ret In nd
have our mother to her chamber, and the var.
lets to their quarter in the kennels and do you
sit up, without a light, mark me, and, whatever
shall fall out, be silent. l may bring some one
with me-"
~ knew it." she murmured to herself. as she
turned away to do his bidding at is Fad
wulf What brings him hither? No good, war
rant me-"
Meanwhile Kenric scaled the crags rapidly,
with the hound at his heels, and, when he reach
ed the spot where he had seen the figure, halt
ed, and whistled bar or two of an old Saxon
ballad of Sherwood. 1t was answered, and from
out of the brushwood Eadwulf came, cripging,
travel-soiled, weary, and disaster-stricken, to
the knees almost of his brother.
$50. This is thou, Eadwulf? l thought as
much. What brings thee hither?n
" Almost as fair cause as / find fair well
come"
I" / looked for no other. Thou are rnna-
way, then, and pursued2 Come, speak out
man, if thou wouldst have me aid thee
Thou dost not seem overly glad to see me,
brother"
"How should l be?" When did thy pres-
ence ever bring Joy, or aught else than disas-
ter and disgrace But speak, what brings thee
hither? How hast thou escaped2 Art thou
pursued? What dost thou require? 4"
I" Last asked, first answered. Rest refuge,