Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-07-27


her and the other maids going their
ways unattended. with faces of avert
ed meekness or naughty uplifts Of
brows and noses, as suited best their
different characters.
Mistress Mary was no doubt the fair
est of them all. and yet there was more
than that in the cause for her adyan-
tage over Them She Kept all her ad-
mirers by the very looseness of her
grasp, which gave no indication of
any eagerness to hold and thus aroused
in them no fear of detention nor Of
wiles of beauty which should subvert
their wills. And. furthermore, Mary
Cayendish distributed her smiles as i'm
partially as a flower its sweetness, to
each the same, though but scant al
lotment to each, as beseemed a maid.
I could not. even with my outlook. OBJ
serve that she favored one more than
another, unless it might have been Sir
Humphrey Hyde. knew well that
there was some confidence betwixt the
two, but whether it was of the nature
of love / could not tell
Sir Humphrey kept the road with us
for some distance after we had left the
others, gazing beside the horse block,
all equally DESTROYS of following, but
knowing we'll that it would not be a
fair deed to the maid to attend her
homeward on the Sabbath day with a
whole troop of lovers. But Sir Humph-
rey Hyde leaped to his saddle and rode
abreast with no ado. being ever mind
ed to do what seemed good to himself,
unless indeed his mother stood in the
way of his pleasure. Sir Humphrey
mother, Lady Clarissa Hyde, was one
of those unwilling tyrants which one
sees among women. by. reason of her
exceeding delicacy and gentleness,
which made it seem but the cruelty of
a brute to cross her, and thus had her
own way forever and never suspected
it We're not always the way of others.
Sir Humphrey was q well set young
gentleman, and he was dressed in the
farthest fashion The broad back of
his scarlet coat, rising to the trot of his
horse, clashed through the soft gold
green nlists and radiances of the spring
landscape like the blare of trumpet,
his gold buttons glittereds the long
plume on his hat ruffied to the wind
over his fair periwig.
Behind us struggled the black slaves
as on our way thither, moving unhalt
ingly, yet with small energy, as do folk
urged hither and yon only by the will
of others and not by their own; but
presently through them, scattering
them to the left and right, galloped a
black lad on a great horse after Sir
Humphrey. with the word that his
mother would have him return to the
church and escort her homeward Then
Sir Humphrey turned, after a whisper
ed word or two with Mistress Mary,
and rode back to jamestown. and the
black lad, bounding in the saddle like
a ball, after him.
l still kept my distance behind Mis-
tress Mary though often saw her
head turn and caught blue flash OF
an eye over her mask.
Then passed us, booted and spurred,
for he had gotten his priestIy robes off
In a hurry, Parson Downs on the fast
est horse in those parts and riding like
a jockeysin spite of his heavy weight
His horses head was stretched in a
line with his neck. and after him rode,
at near as great speed. Captain Noel
Jaynes, who. as report had it. had won
wealth on the high seas in unlawful
fashion He was a gray old man with
the eye Of Il hot headed boy and d sa-
Der cut across his right cheek.
The nars9a salnted Mistress Mary as
he passed.. aud SO did Captain Haynes.
with a glance of his bright eyes at her
that stirred my blood aud made me
ride up faster to her side.
But the two men left the road abb
ruptly. plrnging into a bride path at
the right and the green walls of the
wood closed behind them. though one
could still hear for long the galloping
splash Of their horses hoofs in the
miiy path.
Mistress Mary turned to me, and her
voice rang sharp. lis a pretty par
SON" said she lie is on his way to
Barry Upper Branch with Captain
Jaynes. and who is there doth not
know it's for no good. and on the. Sab
bath day too:"
Now Barry Upper Branch belonged
to brothers of exceeding i'll repute. ex
cept for their courage. which no one
doubted. They had fought well against
the Indians, and also against the gov
eminent with Nathaniel Bacon some
half dozen years before There had
been a prize on their heads, and they
had been in hiding, but now lived
openly on their plantation and were in
full feather, and therein lay in great
measure their i'll repute.
When my Lord Culpeper had arrived
in Virginia, succeeding Berkeley, JEFF
fries and Chichely, then returned the
brothers Richard and Nicholas Barry.
or Dick and Nick as they were termed